Christmas Update

Christmas is over - it's hard to believe. But isn't that always the way it is? We get caught up in the busyness of shopping, decorating, cooking, entertaining, etc., and the holiday is here and gone before we know it. The world is trying to get us to forget what we're celebrating - the birth of our Saviour and the beginning of our redemption story. Christ came to earth as a baby for one reason - to be the ultimate sacrificial lamb.

We have been "enjoying" ill health - nothing major just annoying colds. We went to Disney last week and 3 days later, Dan was down with another cold. This time, I was not fortunate enough to avoid it. I started feeling "coldy" on Monday and Tuesday I had all of the symptoms. Today I am feeling better but still am sniffling and coughing. Enough complaining!

Sunday we headed over to Rick's and had a good visit with them Sunday night. Monday we babysat the girls while Rick and Csilla went over to Disney with the Seminole High School choir. They left about noon. The girls were wonderful - no whimpering or crying. We knew Taylor would be fine, but we were concerned about Ashley. However, our fears were groundless - as Rick and Csilla were leaving, she said "Bye Mom and Dad, see you later," and went back to what she was doing! We had a good time with the girls. Rick and Csilla got home about 7:30 PM and we headed back down to Bradenton getting home about 10:00.

Christmas Day, we were invited over to Sarah and Eric's for dinner. However, when we woke up, both of us were still congested and coughing. Eric's twin sister and her husband were going to be there with their two children (ages 4 and 4 weeks). We really didn't feel we should go and possibly "share the wealth" (spread our germs), so we called and told them we wouldn't be coming over. They were disappointed, but understood. We just stayed home and watched TV and slept!

Last night, we called to wish Eric and Sarah a Merry Christmas and they suggested they come over tonight. We said no problem they were more than welcome, but just know we were still coughing and sneezing. They brought dinner over with them (honey-baked ham, sweet potatoes and salad). We had a lovely dinner and then we exchanged gifts. They left about 8:30 since Sarah has to be up at 6:00 drive down to Sarasota for one of her master's classes. They are squeezing a full semester's class into 4-1/2 days!

We didn't take Aunti Vi shopping today - she called us this morning and said she didn't need any groceries. We're going to check with her Saturday and make sure she's okay.

The rest of this week is quiet. We have nothing scheduled at all. Very scary thought. Of course, there is always housework and yard work to be done.

Everything's Normal - Part Deux

After the choir concert on Sunday, we both were ready just to have a day at home. So Monday we did exactly that - stayed home and enjoyed a day not leaving the house all day!!! We did normal things like laundry, cooking, etc., but enjoyed the day at home. Tuesday, we went back to Disney and spent the afternoon and early evening at the Magic Kingdom. When we got to the Magic Kingdom, even though it was 1-1/2 hours before the castle lighting, we "staked out" an area right in front of the castle where Dan could tape the lighting. After the lighting, the "Wishes" fireworks show went off. The fireworks were spectacular.



Wednesday was just our normal Wednesday - we took Aunti Vi shopping in the afternoon and then choir in the evening. Wednesday was also Sarah and Eric's 9th wedding anniversary and they had asked us to join them for dinner to celebrate. Our choir director was not terribly happy when the four of us got up and left midway through rehearsal but he understood and enjoyed giving us a hard time about leaving!! We had a lovely dinner at Bonefish Grill.

Thursday we just hung out at home - again not leaving the house at all! Twice in one week - a record I think! I also managed to get some scrapbooking done - the first time I've had a chance to scrap since late October. I really enjoyed working on my scrapbooking again. I didn't realize how much I had missed it.

Today, we we didn't do a whole lot of anything during the day. I got out some recipes for baking that I want to do this weekend. Tonight we met Sarah and Eric and Connie and Jesse at the Lonestar Restaurant and had dinner before going to the movie "National Treasure - Book of Secrets." All of us enjoyed the first "National Treasure" movie and were looking forward to the second installment. It did not disappoint!! Lots of action, good plot and all of the cast from the first movie is back with the exception of Ian who is in jail. They also left the door wide open for another installment.

Tomorrow I need to finish wrapping Taylor and Ashley's gifts and get a few more gift cards. Then Sunday, we'll go to church in the morning and after church head over to Sanford. We'll be there until late Monday night. We're babysitting the girls while Rick and Csilla chaperone the high school choir. They're performing at the Candlelight Processional at EPCOT.

Well, I think I'm going to see if I can get some scrapping done. Or maybe I'll bake a batch of cookies :-)!!!

Everything's Normal --

Considering it's Christmas that is. These are days that need to be 48 hours long in order to get everything done. Things are beginning to slow down slightly now since all the packages that needed to be mailed have been mailed and shopping is done except for one gift card. Let's see where do I begin to update since it's been 10 days --

Monday, the 10th, we had an extra choir rehearsal in preparation for the choir concert which was presented at both morning services the 16th. We also had our normal rehearsal on Wednesday. Aunti Vi didn't want to go shopping in the afternoon, so we picked up a gallon of milk for her and went down and visited her for a little while. Thursday evening was the church advisory board meeting. Normally, I wouldn't have to attend, but our church clerk resigned in November and since I am the assistant church clerk, I needed to be there to take the minutes. The meeting lasted a little over 2 hours - UGH!!! Friday, Eric and Sarah came over for dinner. They were both exhausted, so all we did was eat dinner and watch "Ratatouille." Sarah fell asleep midway through the movie and slept until they left about 11:00 PM. Saturday, Dan and I went and saw the movie "Enchanted" which is absolutely darling. In between all of this, we were decorating the house, doing some baking and taking care of normal household chores. I also needed to get the minutes done from the advisory board meeting as well as the church clerk's annual report which will be presented at the annual meeting January 13th.

Sunday morning we met Connie and Jesse and Sarah and Eric at Cracker Barrel for breakfast at 7:00 AM. We all wanted to eat a good breakfast so we wouldn't be totally starved by the time second service started (all of us except Jesse sing in the choir). With the choir presenting its concert at both services, it meant we wouldn't have a chance to eat again until at least 12:30. We came home from church and slept until 5:00 PM!

Well that catches up to Monday of this week. More later.

Christmas??

The calendar says Christmas is 15 days away. However, it still feels like summer down here. Today the high was 85 and the pool is 78. We didn't go swimming, but it definitely was warm enough. I had all of the windows on the lanai open and also the front door which gave us a lovely cross breeze.

We have had a quiet 4 days. Dan has been down with a heavy cold. He is on the mend now, but sleeping has been challenging. He'll just fall asleep and then he'll wake up coughing. So far I have managed to avoid getting whatever it is he has. We didn't go to choir Wednesday night. We did take Aunti Vi shopping Thursday. Friday we went to the Senior Center for scrapbooking class. The ladies are so sweet and are so hungry to learn. Yesterday, we were supposed to meet Rick and Csilla at Disney but Dan didn't feel well enough so we stayed home. Today we also stayed home from church since Dan didn't sleep well last night and is still coughing.

Tomorrow will be another busy day. We have choir rehearsal tomorrow night in preparation for the choir concert next Sunday. We're presenting the choir concert at both the 8:15 AM service and the 10:45 AM service. It will be a long morning and we probably will have no voices left after it's over. I need to finish wrapping packages and get them mailed. Christmas cards are waiting to be done. I'm also trying to get some Christmas baking done. Tuesday we're tentatively planning on going over to Disney for one last time before the Christmas crowds hit. It will be our last trip over until after the first of the year. From the 15th of December on, the crowds at Disney are horrendous. Wednesday is the normal - shopping with Aunti Vi in the afternoon and then choir in the evening. Thursday we may go over to Disney if we don't go on Tuesday. Friday, Sarah and Eric are coming over for dinner and scrapbooking.

Well, it's time for bed and my eyes are definitely getting heavy.

Christmas at Disney

Saturday night was our Sunday School class Christmas party. It was held at a buffet place and a good time was had by all. There were over 50 there - our Sunday School class has about 85 members, but we average between 40 and 50 on any given Sunday. Obviously with being a buffet, everyone had more than enough to eat. The buffet had a huge salad bar, many hot food stations and about every dessert you could imagine.

Sunday morning we went to church - singing at both services and then Sunday School in between the 2 services. We got home about noon and left for Disney. We got over to Disney about 2:30 and settled in our room for our Sunday afternoon nap. We woke up about 5 PM and headed for the Magic Kingdom. We arrived there in time for the castle lighting. It is absolutely magnificent (see picture). The castle is draped in over 500,000 tiny white LED lights. The lighting ceremony lasts about 8 minutes and can be viewed on YouTube - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1DS0AE3vTwA&feature=related (copy and paste link into address window). After the castle lighting, we went and found something to eat and then watched the Christmas show presented on the castle forecourt. It had lots of dancing and music. It was then time for the Christmas Parade which lasted until about 9:00. After the parade, we went and saw the Carousel of Progress and then rode the TTA (Tomorrowland Transit Authority also known as the WED Way People Mover). As soon as the parade finished we went and got some hot chocolate and cookies. It was then time for the fireworks show which was awesome. After the fireworks, we went and saw another Christmas show which was absolutely darling - Mickey's "Twas the Night Before Christmas." By now it was close to 11:00 and we decided we had had enough fun for the day and headed back to the hotel.

We stayed at the Pop Century Hotel which is the newest of the value resorts. The theming is cute and the icons are oversized (see pics at top). It is a very large resort with over 2,880 rooms. Right now, the areas are themed with icons from the decades of the second half of the 20th century. There are plans to have a section devoted to the first half of the 20th century, but construction on that section is at a standstill with two of the buildings partly done and the check in area partly done. The main complaint we had was the beds were like concrete - very, very hard.

Monday we went to the Animal Kingdom and saw the Christmas parade which was all we had planned for that day. After the parade, we left and headed to the barbecue place where we met Rick and Csilla and had a lovely dinner. We visited for awhile and then headed to the Marketplace to do some Christmas shopping. It was very crowded and shopping was not pleasant at all. We managed to get what we were after and then headed back to the hotel.

We were going to go to Disney Studios on Tuesday to see the parade and the Osbourne Lights, but since they were the same as they were other years, we decided to head home. We got home about 4:30. We will be heading back to Disney on Saturday, meeting Rick and Csilla there so the girls can see the lights and Christmas decorations.

Today was just a quiet day at home. Both Dan and I are feeling "coldy", so we didn't do a lot of anything. We're scheduled to take Aunti Vi shopping tomorrow, but we'll see how we feel.

I'll close for now as it's bedtime and my eyes are getting heavy.

EPCOT Tree Lit

It's Been Awhile

Other than the cruise posts, I haven't blogged for a few weeks. We've been managing to stay busy with the normal routine. Bible study finished November 15th and I'm still "adjusting" to Thursdays being "free". Of course the first Thursday after Bible study finished was Thanksgiving. We had a lovely time with Sarah and Eric and Aunti Vi. Dinner was the normal - turkey with all the trimmings. We did the turkey on the charcoal Weber and it turned out tender and moist - delicious with a mild smoky flavor. After Thanksgiving, we actually had 5 days with nothing to do - amazing!!! We enjoyed just being able to relax! Of course, there was laundry and other household tasks to do as well as a few errands. Dan took time and put up our Christmas lights and I started decorating the inside of the house. We haven't put up our tree yet and probably won't until next weekend.

Our "normal" schedule picked up again with choir on Wednesday night after taking Aunti Vi shopping in the afternoon. Thursday we headed over to Disney for a couple of the Christmas special programs. The first one we did was the lighting of the EPCOT Christmas tree. Mickey and Minnie as well as Donald, Chip and Dale and Goofy put on a cute 15 minute show with the finale being the tree lighting. We also went to the Candlelight Processional which is an absolutely phenomenal concert incorporating the narration of the Christmas story with music sung by a massed choir made up of high schoolers from throughout the US and overseas. The concert is presented 3X each night and each time the massed choir is made up of different schools. During the month it's presented, over 300 choirs will participate. We stayed at the All Star Movie Resort which is one resort we had never stayed at. The theming at the resort was adorable and based on the movies The Love Bug, 101 Dalmatians, D2 the Ducks, and Fantasia.

As annual passholders, we were able to get vouchers for the taping of the Disney Christmas parade on Friday. However, they weren't taping the actual parade, they were only taping all of the performances that come between the parade segments. The weather yesterday was cloudy and foggy and there was a mist falling. After finding out they weren't gong to tape the parade, we left getting home about 11:00.

Today, is our Sunday School class Christmas party. We have a great class and it should be lots of fun. Tomorrow is church in the morning and then we're heading back to Disney in the afternoon for our annual Christmas visit. We're staying at the Pop Century Resort which is another resort we haven't stayed at before. We have tickets for Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party tomorrow night and then Monday we're going to go to the Animal Kingdom. We're meeting Rick and Csilla for dinner at a barbecue place near Csilla's work. Tuesday we'll go to MGM Studios and see the Osbourne Family Lights. We may go back to EPCOT after MGM. Wednesday, we'll head home.

Well, I'll close for now - time to get ready for the party.