Be your own Fairy Godmother!

Aside from your wedding, what other time in your life do you get your picture taken, all the time, from every angle? You've guessed it! Any Disney visit. I tell you those random  PhotoPass people walking around are like highly trained Special Ops snipers! They are everywhere! Here you are walking along, and BAM! Photo Sniper pops right out of the bushing yelling "Say Mickey!" and grabs your card and then off they go in search of new prey! Oh sure, they have the ones being nice and waiting for you to come up to them at choice locations : The Castle, Main Street, Epcot ball and so on. Those are the "newbies". I believe they are part of the Snipers in Training program. No, the more experienced, higher paid Photo Snipers are the ones you always have to look out for and be prepared for! They will be sure to catch you when you least expect it. They tell you they are trying to capture that unexpected magical moment. . . . I think they are holding those photos as ransom to make sure you visit the parks again or that oh so Non-Magical moment they capture will show up all over Facebook!

I remember when I was running the full marathon. Things were getting a little uh, difficult, around Mile 22. I remember my Hubby had called at one point to cheer me on. He had the best intentions, but unfortunately for him, that was so not the right time to call. I remember saying some not so nice things to him and then hanging up, shoving the phone back into my fanny pack. I felt the pack vibrate again meaning I had a text....a TEXT! Sorry babe, little busy right now, so not even going to look at it. Well, Hubby is a really great guy (shhh don't tell him I said so!) and had texted something still really nice, even after my phone rant. God bless him. Although I didn't read it until after I finished, the fact that he would take a verbal beating then still be encouraging? At that point, I was also starting to feel a bit green around the gills. I kept looking for a spot in the pristine Disney wilderness I was running through, to toss my cookies. Every time I found a spot that would work, wouldn't you know it, a Photo Sniper would pop up from seemingly nowhere and take yet another picture! Uuugughhhh! They clearly had their highest trained sniper crew on that day! Sorry buddy! You are so not getting a chance to snap that picture! I feel bad, but I still have my pride and standards! Remember, my parents raised a lady! I never got a chance to have a nice, peaceful retching moment, because there was no nice, peaceful non-sniper place to be found. At least I only had 4.2 miles left. Yeah, not that far right!?

After all the money and planning that goes into a Disney vacation, the only thing you have left when it is over are the memories and the millions of pictures that you took or that the PhotoPass Snipers have provided. So, like your wedding day, you better be prepared for it! You need to start early and become your own Fairy Godmother! If you don't feel the need to do it for yourself and all your photos, than do it for the millions of other photos that you will be in the background in! Those other guests paid a lot of money for their vacations too and they are going to have tons of photos also. Do you really want to be "that" person in the background that helps make their vacation picture now worthy of the Awkward Family Photos site? I thought not!

We all try to loose weight before vacation, especially one that involves the dreaded swim-suit! We all love relaxing at the beach and by the pool, but walking about in that swim-suit always brings feelings of guilt and horror. Worst part of vacation prep: buying the new swim-suit! Sure some of you are naturally perfect. Good for you. Since I am trying to keep this G-rated, I can't really comment on your perfect status. I will keep telling myself you are oh so lacking in many other areas in life, that the only thing perfect about you is that body and the way you look strolling around un-jiggly in your swim wear! I know that's not nice, so I'll blame the inner two year old! I have struggled with my weight my whole life. Aside from when I was 18, had my red,white and blue bikini, everything was where it was supposed to be and nothing jiggled. Thankfully I have pictures of that time to remember the perfection. Of course at the time I didn't appreciate and thought myself fat, stupid teenagers! Any other time, it's been hit or miss with the weight. Currently I am close to what I want to be, but not 100% swimsuit vacation picture ready. So, I have become my own Fairy Godmother. My magical wand doesn't work so quickly, but it will work, Darn-it! I have put myself on a "healthy lifestyle" diet back in August. Loosing weight, but being healthy about it so hopefully I can keep it off and maintain. I am now stepping it up to the "HOLY COW my vacation is in how many days diet?" A little flick of the magical wand, for added will power. . . . . lean protein, healthy veggies and fruits. I have also been tanning (I know, I know.....but I love the sun and tan fat looks so much better than white fat!) and I have moved up my gym time to 5 days a week. A run, weights and another run. Even if the results do not lead (and they wont) to that perfect swimsuit body, I will have results and I will be happy for my efforts. I use this time at the gym to think more about my Fantasy Disney cruise and I also try to look at it as a treat for myself. No, it's not as fun as a day at the spa, but it's the time during the day that I am doing something really good for myself, so it's a treat! Besides, the extra muscle and stamina will help me chase down those Photo Snipers if they take any pictures from un-flattering angles. Thank you Fairy Godmother!

Next wave of the Fairy Godmother wand. . . . . Facials! Ideally, your pictures will have your face in them. I have several beach vacation photos with my hair and face all greasy and sweaty. Uuughhh...everyone else looks great in the picture! Well, I am doing my best to fight that for this vacation. I have started giving myself facials twice a week. . . .one of the steps in them is a great secret that I will share with you. My sister and I both suffered (and I mean suffered!) from acne as teenagers. I still suffer, but unlike my parents, I took myself to the dermatologist and now have it under control. When we were teenagers and out shopping with my mother, an old Asian woman walked up to us, looked at my sister and tisked. "Such a pretty face, so many red spots." She then gave us a secret that we still use. It works great for wrinkles and any thing else for the face. It really is such an awesome facial "treat". I know when you first hear it you are going to think "do what?!" but I am telling you, try it. . . . at least 3 days a week for 2 -3 weeks before you decide you don't want to. I promise your face will glow! Take an egg. Separate it. Put the egg yoke on your face. Let it dry- about 10 -15 minutes. Wash it off with warm water. Then shower and use your regular face wash regimen. Trust me. I had not done it for a long time and started again to Fairy Godmother myself and I could not figure out why I had stopped doing it!

Bibbidi Bobbidi Boo. . . . .The Fairy Godmother steps up for the rest of the obvious fun preparations! Hair. . . Check! Thankfully I already have a Fairy Godmother for my hair, so that step really isn't much I have to work on. I just need to call and book the appointment! Nails (r) I already also have a Fairy Godmother for my mani/pedi's. No crusty feet here! Something extra and fun to add to your nails. . . .  I have a good friend who told me about Del Sol's sun changing nail polish!!!! http://www.delsol.com/eSource/ecom/eSource/items/items-2-S1-lV12-lV215.aspx?store= You are welcome! The polish is one color out of the sun and changes to a different color in the sun! So stinkin' cool! I hope to see you all sporting it at one time or another! Just think, the whole time of your vacation, it will look like you were getting manicures, because your fingers will be different colors from the outdoor to indoor pictures!

The best part of being my own Fairy Godmother for this Fantasy cruise. . . . . it gives me something else to work on and plan! It has been so difficult having 3 days at sea on our cruise, and not being able to plan them! I now have found the perfect way to still be able to work on my cruise, by working on me! Hopefully with all the PhotoPass Snipers on the Fantasy, at Castaway Cay and our own family snipers, I will be ready for every picture. That way when I look back on the pictures and the memories from that trip I will just see my family having our Magical Moments, not jiggly, greasy, sweaty. . . . oh you get the idea!

The Main Street Walk of Shame

It was a beautiful Disney day! A few days before the Disney World Marathon, still fairly quiet at the parks. The influx of Marathoners were expected to arrive that night and the next day. We had wanted to get a few days of vacation in before and after the race because hey, let's not waste an opportunity to Disney-out! We arrived at the Magic Kingdom a few minutes before opening to watch the opening show. Always one of my favorite things to see. Early in the morning, everyone is fully rested and ready. Disney magical excitement is just gearing up for the day! What a better way to start a morning than all your favorite characters arriving in full song and dance on the Magical Express? I love that moment. I wish it would last longer and carry you through the whole day.

It was late in January. A beautiful sunny day and warm. Thank-you Florida winters! After our opening greetings,we headed up Main Street all giggles and happiness. Main Street is one of our family's favorite areas. Cast members are lined up with warm smiles, just waiting to welcome you. There is an overall feeling of old turn of the century Americana and family values. This is the way Walt felt every town should be. In fact, it was one of his favorite areas also. Main Street is always filled with Happiness. Happy families, happy merchants selling their wares, the smell of fresh made waffle cones floating on the breeze, clean and colorful, not a detail undone. Then, at the end waiting for you in the distance, the beauty and splendor of Cinderella's castle. It is absolutely perfect! Main Street is actually one of the most photographed areas in all of Disney. We have all seen beautiful photos of a long flowing Main Street leading up to the enchanting castle. Once you set foot on that magical pathway of dreams, you can't help but to take a deep breath, let the magic and excitement fill you, smile and think, "We are finally here! We are finally at Disney!"

 Of course we stopped to have our picture taken in front of the castle for about the hundredth time, but it's a must do! That picture is always the best of the day. Everyone is excited, happy and filled with the magic of just entering the parks and heading down Main Street. After our picture we were already talking about what stores we would stop at for treats and souvenirs on our way out of the parks. Then we headed over to Tomorrowland and Buzz Lightyear to start our day.

Several hours later we were over by Liberty Square and exiting out of the Haunted Mansion. It was still early yet, around 11am. I could tell Thing 1 was still ready and raring to go, but Thing 2 was just about ready for us to leave and "Take the Nap." Taking the Nap is some of the best advice I have ever read in anything Disney. Disney is an overwhelming place. There is so much to see and do it overwhelms the senses. That is why it's best to book several days at the parks and The World. There is just too much to do at each park, there is no way to get it in all in one day. If you try to cram it all in, you will be sorry. Everyone ends up in magical overload, which is worse than a cheap tequila hangover! By 4pm everyone is tired and cranky but still pushing on trying to shove each moment with more magic, more rides, more characters. . . .  It' so not gonna happen folks! You might as well raise the white flag and admit defeat. You've already lost! We have all seen those families in the middle of a magical meltdown. Dad's veins are sticking out of his head and he is clinching his teeth. Clearly thinking of  all the money that has been waisted on tickets, trinkets, lunches and anything else to keep everyone happy. Mom's hair, make-up and clothes are a mess! Don't forget to take note of at least one chipped and broken nail and a lost earring. The kids wearing now askew mouse ears are half in a coma walking on auto pilot or half asleep in strollers. If they have to put out any other extended energy or patience by waiting in yet another long line, the ticking time bomb that was a once happy yet tired child, EXPLODES! Crying, yelling, screaming, kicking, running away, Gandhi type sit-in's and so on. Happens every time. It is also contagious. As soon as one or two start, it becomes and epidemic. Starting at one end of the park and within an hour, it's everywhere! Complete and total chaos. Pandemonium ensues! The only way to avoid being a victim of the Magical Hangover Plague is to TAKE THE NAP. At or around noon, judging by Thing 1 and 2, we either have lunch at the parks or head back at the hotel and grab something to eat there. Then everyone gets all comfy and cozy in bed and takes a nap! Simple enough. We set a wake-up call for about 2 1/2 hours later. Freshen up for the evening and then we head back to the parks! We haven't missed that much time and we are happy and ready to go until the parks close. An added bonus, we get to stroll down Main Street again!

As I said before, we had just left the Haunted Mansion. We found a nice shaded bench on the way from Liberty Square  to Fantasyland. We stopped and gave Thing 1 and 2 a drink and a snack from our backpack. Hubby and I decided that we would  head to It's a Small World since the line was short and it has a fast moving que. After It's a Small World, we would then head back to the hotel. The Things heard this and were fine with the idea. Not heading back and taking the nap has never been an option. It's a normal part of all our Disney vacations. Now, I can't remember what exactly got Thing 2 all wound up a moment later. All I remember is that Thing 2 started acting up in a big way. My children are usually well behaved and calm. They know we expect nothing less. We never over threaten punishments and we always carry out what we threaten. Thing 2 is always the child that tests the limits. Thing 2 is also very much like me and has a hot temper. God and his sense of humor! Well, Thing 2 is just about on the verge of either crossing over that fine line of full out tantrum or stepping back and reining it in. I make a huge miscalculation here and think it's the latter. I explain to Thing 2 that we are going on It's a Small World and point out the short line. Then I explain that after we are going to head back for our nap. I also warn Thing 2 to "calm down, eat your snack and behave or you and I are leaving right now. Thing 1 and Hubby will stay and do It's a Small World without us." Well, Thing 2 is the type of child that if you say, "Not another peep." Thing 2 can only hold it in so long before going "PEEP!" and getting into trouble. Just happens. Thing 2 really can't help it. Yep, just like Mom!!

Thing 2 holds it together for another minute, then the Mouse Ears hit the fan so to speak. That's my cue! I tell Thing 2, "That's it!" I then pick up the child and glare at Hubby, "I am taking Thing 2 back to the hotel RIGHT NOW!" Hubby is of course now in deer in the headlights mode and stammers out some reply of, "uh, ok, uh you want us to go with you too?" "NO! You heard me tell Thing 2 that you guys will do It's a Small World without us, so go! Have fun! Enjoy your day! (insert growl here) We are leaving now!" With Thing 2 now kicking and screaming in my arms, I sling the backpack over my shoulder, at least I had enough presence of mind to remember the room key was in there and I will need it! I am now seething and seeing red, of course so is Thing 2. I turn on my heel and walk away from Hubby and Thing 1. I picture them behind me, in my mind, grasping hands, singing and skipping all the way to It's a Small World. Ugggh! How dare they! Then, in my effort to ignore the screaming, kicking, wailing child in my arms, I start to mumble to myself, " Why do I always have to be the enforcer parent? Why does Thing 2 always have to act up?! Does this child even know how much we paid for a ticket?" you get the idea.

At this point, other happier families see us coming like a black cloud of doom. They part faster than the Red Sea! Several look upon the scene of myself and child with disgust. Others look at me, with kicking child and ranting to myself, with pity. No doubt thinking , "Now what has that child done to that poor mother?"  That's right, move it people! Outta my way! Thank goodness my physique was in it's best form, from training for my marathon that was two days away. Disney World is a big place. Carrying a kicking screaming child through it is a marathon in itself!

I had finally made it to Main Street from Liberty Square. The child slung over my shoulder now had a perfect view of Cinderella's Castle quickly moving away. This of course puts Thing 2 into even more frantic hysterics as if the child couldn't believe that we were actually, really leaving! I, myself, now sweaty, bruised and beaten am thinking "almost there, almost there, almost there! When did this kid get so heavy?! When the heck did Main Street get so long?! Stupid Main Street and all your happiness! Hey Lady, stop looking at me like that! Haven't you ever had to prove a point to your kid?! Yeah, catch you at 4pm when they all have a meltdown! So what if I just ruined your happy picture! You couldn't tell I was coming from the black cloud of doom looming over me? Didn't it darken the skies? You couldn't have waited to take it!? Great. . . That's going on Awkward Family Photos! Move it people! Can't you see I have my hands full here?! No I don't want to buy your dumb Mickey balloon! Does it look like this kid deserves one?! Stop waving at me you happy, smiling people! Can't you see this is not my Magical Moment?!" I never felt more embarrassed or ashamed going down Main Street. This was my favorite place, now forever marred with the memories of this moment!

At this point, I am sure there is fire now coming out of my eyes. Perfect! Matches the fire in my muscles from carrying this rabid Tasmanian Devil for miles! Finally! There it is, the last building on Main Street! I can actually see outside the gates! There, that bench right there! Oh I am SO going to sit there! I hope I can make it, come ON! I pick up the pace, finish line so close. . . . . .

Then it happened! One of my magical Main Street Cast Members, TURNED ON ME! She looked at me, all sweaty, scratched, dirty, bruised and beaten. My finely tuned athletic body, that will be put to the test in 48 hours and needs to be at it's best, RUINED! Then she looks at Thing 2 who no longer resembles a child but more of a wild animal. Clearly not that worse for wear and all the damage done to this child is self inflicted. Then this sweet Cast Member, who I am sure has seen this kind of parental abuse many times and should clearly side with the parents (I mean really, who buys the tickets and all the stuff from your store?? Where is your loyalty to the paying guest here lady?!) looks at my hell cat of a child and says, " Oh, poor baby! What's a matter honey?" Poor BABY! What's a matter!?!?! Are you serious?! If you said that to me, it would have just reinforced even more my love of Disney, but NOOoooooooooo. . . . . I whip my head around to look directly at this poor, sad, confused cast member and I use my eyes filled with fire to stare right into her soul. She gasps, puts a hand to her chest and then quickly looks down and away. I may have even growled and mumbled something. . . . hard to remember because at that point, I was only seeing red and spots. The red from being even more angry and the spots, well I think I took a good blow to the head from Thing 2 and was trying not to pass out!

Finally, FINALLY, we made it to that beautiful shaded bench on the other side of the magical gates. To this day there has never been a more wonderful bench in all of Disney! I set the "child" down and gulped down the water that was in my backpack. I also offered one to Thing 2. Clearly after that workout the child needed some hydration also! Thing 2 was instantly quiet and calm. All energy was spent. We sat there on that bench, looking into the Magic Kingdom for about 20 minutes. Neither one of us said anything. We were both exhausted and finally calmed down. Thing 2 gave me a hug and put a sleepy head into my lap, then looked up at me with the faintest of smiles and said, "Mommy, can we go take a nap now?"

The Briar Patch

"Now remember, we want to relax and enjoy this vacation. Please don't go all crazy with the planning. You've already taken care of so much, whatever happens after that, let’s just fly by the seat of our pants." my Hubby said to me recently. Ohhhhh, now why did he have to go and say a thing like that! He knows I take suggestions as a direct order to do the opposite! I apparently have an issue with family "authority" and I have a difficult time following any "orders", advice or direction from anyone other than myself. Lord, just ask my parents! There is a part of me that saw the wisdom in his words, but then there was that perpetual two year old in me that felt the overwhelming urge to buck the system, as usual. That two year old takes over, a lot! Oh, how I love that little rebel!

When I was entertaining the idea of running my first marathon with Team in Training, I went to the initial meeting and then mentioned to Hubby after my interest in going for the half. It would be my first half marathon and not being much of an athlete, I thought it would be a good challenge. Besides, it was for a good cause. He of course tried to be considerate, but balked at the idea. "Why don't you try a 5k first and work your way up from there. I think a half marathon is too big of a goal for you just yet." Well, that threw the two year old into quite the tantrum. The next day I marched right in there and signed up for the full marathon! "Take that!" the two year old proudly said and stopped its foot. I trained for almost a year. (stupid two year old) Originally, my run was supposed to be in Maui, but I didn't meet my fund raising goals and I didn't feel I was ready yet. I moved my run to the Disney World Marathon. Imagine that, how convenient, another trip to Disney World. . . . who says I'm not an evil genius? I finally met my fund raising goals, became adamant about my training, was running up to 20 miles on my long runs and had a great team of runners to support me. During my training, my team also completed 3 half marathons and I was really starting to enjoy the race day atmosphere! That alone is a huge reason to race and run! I completed my first full marathon with all Disney glory and pomp. It was exhausting, painful and amazing! I don't believe I will ever do another full. Mile 20- 26.2 was interesting and a true test of self, but I did it, I finished and I really don't have the overwhelming desire to do it again. Half marathons I still love and still participate in from time to time. Upon crossing the finish line at the Disney full, I was magically adorned with my hard earned golden Mickey medal. I was so proud of it, and couldn't believe I actually finished a full marathon! I then joined some of my running mates and we all waited for the rest of our team to make it across the finish line. When they all arrived in, there were lots of hugs, tears and congratulations. Then we made our way out of the finished racers corral and headed over to our families. I hugged Thing 1 and Thing 2 and then with a smirk looked Hubby dead in the eye and said, “See I told you I could do the full." Yeah that inner two year old is a tough little bugger to tame!

Having been on several cruises, I know it's never a good idea to plan too much on sea days or on the ship in general. The daily newsletters provide you with a great schedule and so much to do. It's hard to balance relaxing, laying in the sun, bingo, shopping talks, karaoke etc. It's better to just plan your at shore days and leave the rest to chance. I know this, yet I am now fighting my inner two year old and my over the top internal magical planner. I have the knowledge of past cruises and the knowledge of how planning for Disney really pays off, how does one combine the two? It's like I'm stuck in the briar patch, looking for a way out! To make things worse, Hubby had to issue his statement (see personal challenge!) how dare he! Clearly this is now becoming an internal battle of the wills. . . . I wonder who will win this one? Clear headed, rational me usually doesn't come out as the champion. I guess I can use this as training to get my rationality back into shape.

Recently, I have slipped a little and planned, with Hubby's approval. Of course his approval makes it no fun and totally ticks off the two year old. In fact. . . I can feel two year old sitting in a corner, plotting away. . . . I can't wait to see what it comes up with! Hubby and I have booked a Couples Villa at the spa for one of our sea days. I am really excited to enjoy this bit of a delicacy! We have booked our own private Villa on board for 130 minutes. We get a couples massage, followed by fruit and champagne and then private time to enjoy the Villa. Without me having to connect the dots for you, you can guess why Hubby was ok with this plan! The Villa's have their own very private balcony, spa and large chase "bed" on the balcony as well as a very large open-air shower. Oh you wicked little Disney planners! On a cruise where parents are surrounded by children, you have given the parents a perfect, quiet little retreat to enjoy and reconnect, for a price of course. After all, it is Disney; you don't think they would give something this awesome away did you? What a great idea though, and yes please. May I have another!

In my need to let my two year old have a little fun with on-board planning, I have also been trying to obtain Remy reservations. HA! We are first time cruisers, so we are the last in the cattle call line to be able to go online and book anything. By the time we could do our online check-in and start booking. . . . . why yes, yes I did stay up until midnight to do this, what Disney Momiac wouldn't?. . . . . all Remy and Palo dining reservations were already sold out. I still keep checking back every day, throughout the day to see if any open up. So far, still not luck. I think our best chance will be to scurry up to the D-lounge after boarding and see if we can't get ourselves worked into a reservation. . . . . fingers crossed! For those of you who aren’t aware, Remy is an adults only fine dining French restaurant. Palo is the adults only fine dining Italian restaurant. These restaurants are not included in your cruise and you are charged extra, although from all I have heard, it's well worth it.

In an effort to control my "must have a magical moment-every moment" take over of the two year old, I have held off making my cruise "book". Those that know me I am sure just fell to the floor. All is well. I'm ok, but if you feel the need to rush over here to check on me with a bottle of wine, well then, I may be feeling a little faint. . . . . I have made a "book" for every Disney vacation that we have gone on. For our first trip, it came about as a matter of necessity. There was no other way for me to keep track of all the great ideas, touring plans, character meal reservations and everything else that we had to shove into that first trip. After that visit was over, I saved it to remember all the great magical moments we had and so I could properly label the scrapbook. Since then, I have loaned it to several friends who have used it as a template to create their own Disney "book". There are now several of our Disney "books" from other Disney trips. With any luck at all, by the time I am too old and frail to go to Disney anymore, I will have had to build a library to hold them all! The fact remains though, that I haven’t even put one page into our cruise "book", yet. I have the binder and all the other needed materials, I just haven’t started it yet. . . . . I guess I am still trying to figure out in my head exactly how to execute everything. I have wanted this cruise for so long, and built it up so much in my head, it's almost as if I am caving under the pressure of it all. I almost have the feeling of tossing out even the idea of the "book" and just going without any plans at all.

Yeah right! Who am I kidding? Ok fine, enough procrastination! There is magic to be planned, and I'm just the gal to do it! Besides. . . . . Hubby already said "not to plan too much."

Fantasies and Stalkings

Even though the Maiden Voyage of our fair Fantasy fell into perfect timing with school Spring Break, we decided not to sail on her then. Having worked many years in the hotel industry, we decided it was best to give them a few sailings to work out any kinks so to speak. The first few weeks of any new hospitality environment can always be a little challenging. I have the utmost confidence in the new cast and crew to provide every guest with the best magical experience, but I also know that they are only human and mistakes are usually at the highest in the first few weeks. After that time, everyone gets more comfortable with their surroundings and fellow "cast mates". They are more at ease as the newness and some excitement wears off and they can provide a better guest experience. This is not to say those first few sailings will not be amazing, but for me, I notice these "little" behind the scenes things and it would be a bit of a distraction. I don't think I would be able to stop myself from jumping in and helping, making myself an honorary Cast Member, much to the horror of my Hubby and Thing 1 and 2. Oh, come on! Don't look at me like that! It's only happened a few times. . . .  I am sure even as I type this, our Fantasy cast mates are in the middle of hours and hours of training that only a company like Disney can provide. When doing my almost daily check of the Port Canaveral webcam http://portcanaveralwebcam.com/ . I was surprised to see that today she wasn't there! Now where could she be? I quickly did an AIS search. . . .  I love watching Fantasy on this little site I found on the Cruise Critic boards http://www.marinetraffic.com/ais/ . It came in handy today when I had the system search the globe for my missing Fantasy. Imagine my even greater surprise when I saw her in Cozumel! I also saw her with my own eyes on the Cozumel dock webcam. Yeah, I am sure by now you've guessed it, I have become a bit of a Fantasy stocker! Knowing Disney like I do, I'm sure they were taking Fantasy out for a little stretch of her legs and maybe some debarkation training at some of the ports. There could also be a boat load of some very lucky people getting a little mini cruise on her as they are still working the P.R. for her and training with sea trials. One of these days, I will be cleaver enough to figure out how to get myself on some of those special Disney "insider" trips. . . . but until then, I am stuck with cyber stalking!

I have been stalking Fantasy since that fateful night in cruise planning that I first discovered her existence and that she was still being constructed. What an amazing thing to be amongst some of the very first (several thousand) cruisers on her! I was enthralled with watching her progress on the Meyer Wharf cam. Thank you again Cruise Critic boards! What a marvelous experience to watch the very ship that you will be sailing on in a few months, be constructed. I am sure it's a once in a lifetime unique opportunity that doesn't come around very often. I also got Thing 1 and Thing 2 hooked on watching her progress too. I love when they really get excited about something with me! We learned of the Float Out, and couldn't wait to watch the videos posted on Youtube. Watching live wasn't an option due to bedtimes and time changes. Darn school! Gosh, why do I have to be so responsible? Peter Pan had it right! After school, we watched the float out with all the grandeur, Mickey and Minnie, fireworks, and adoring German fans. Living in a military town and my neighborhood being a bit of a United Nations, I asked my German neighbor to scan the youtube posts for any comments. I was going to cancel immediately if any of those posts in German had even a hit of, "My cousin worked on that ship, and you couldn't pay me to sail her!" Thankfully, she had said all was well. I think she likes me, so she wouldn't lie, right? Hummmm. . . . . We also used the AIS system after that to randomly check on her at Meyer Wharf, as well as the webcam to watch her at night. (yes, we have cable, but have you seen what's on T.V. lately? Watching an unmoving ship is much safer than explaining the latest Hardees ad!) We then watched all the videos and the pictures of her trek from Meyer Wharf in Papenburg to Bremerhaven. Just before she was to set sail on her trans-Atlantic cruise to New York, we also started watching the Disney Cruise website for their new series of videos on the Fantasy. We waited with giggles and cheers as we watched Fantasy sail into New York Harbor. I am sad to say I was alone in watching her live, but after school they ran into the house and watched all the re-caps. We "watched" her Christening live via Twitter and saw all the pictures and video the next day. Our excitement  almost reached a fever pitch as we watched that magical creation float into Port Canaveral, arriving home, for the first time. It almost brought a tear to the eye watching her float in, horns blaring When you Wish Upon a Star , putting on her best fireworks performance for her new neighbors. Mickey, Minnie, Donald and Goofy were also watching from the docks. She is finally home, only hours away from us now. After all these months of watching her across the seas, our time on her is now quickly approaching. The kids realized this too and became more and more giddy dancing and singing begging for a new video from another angle. Yes, I have turned my children into Fantasy stalkers too. The amount of Fantasy information they can now rattle off would blow your mind, or make you call C.P.S! There are very few times in life that you can get your child's interest and keep them engaged. There are even rarer times that it's a subject you can enjoy with them. I know their Disney love will dwindle as they get older, I can only hope that with these fond memories they have built now, they will someday return.

With the Maiden Voyage off the list of possible cruise dates, we started voting on the other 5 cruises still on our list. After the polls closed, all votes were tallied and double checked for the absence of hanging chads, we had our winner! We decided on a cruise in the beginning of summer. It should still be early enough that the threat of hurricanes should be at a minimum. . . . fingers crossed, fingers crossed, fingers crossed. Also, the Fantasy crew should have enough cruises under their mouse ears that most of the glitches should be worked through and perfected. We chose the 7-night Eastern Caribbean Cruise. We all liked this itinerary the best because of the 3 days at sea in the schedule. We are going on this cruise to cruise, to be on the boat, so the more days on the boat, the better! This of course also means more days for the kids to enjoy the kids club! Hey, they want to be in there, so they say. I won't make them go if they don't like it. Besides they have already been told they must get their daily dose of Vitamin D and they need to have their little booties on that Aqua Duck at least 4 times a day! We didn't just choose this beautiful new boat because it's beautiful and new, we want the SLIDE! Although, it will be nice getting some alone time with the hubby, if my little bosses allow it. I honestly think I am going to have to force them to spend time with us. Yippie! I love a good challenge! I can see it now, mommy dancing with Mickey mid-deck, children scarred with the heat of adolescent embarrassment. . . . .  Hey, no one said I wasn't allowed to have fun here. My life long dream is what is getting them on a boat with my mouse, they'll have to cut me some slack as I live out that dream! I can see it now, "This is a family vacation darn it! We will have some family time and you are going to enjoy it whether you like it or not!  Now get out here and dance with me and Mickey!" Yeah, I don't know if they will really enjoy the kids clubs, but I think they are going to be begging to get in there either way!

Who's afraid of the Big Bad Wolf?

It was dark . All light and magic had left, drowned out by blackness glowing with swirling angry hues of green, red, purple and blue. Evil mist permeated the chamber, filling me with sadness and dread. Compelling me to admit defeat. Lonely howls of those who have gone before me and lost echoed in the blackened void. They called for me to run. Howled that I couldn't win. The Sorceress materialized and stood before me. Giant and looming, her presence not to be denied. She closely resembled Maleficent, with long dark horns atop her head. She had large yellow eyes, and breath so rank that it could even knock out Chuck Norris. She sneered and snickered at me, challenging me, daring me to withstand her. In her high pitched cackle she asked, "What can you do now? You escaped me once, do you think I will let you do it again?" I tossed a box of tic tac's at her as she blew another blast of foul breath in my direction. Yech! I frantically looked around the chamber seeking anything that might aide me, a gas mask perhaps?  I noticed a bag on the floor next to me. It was black, red and yellow with a Mickey head stitched on the front. With a spark of hope, I reached down slowly to grab it, trying not to let her know it was there. I quickly opened it, pleading that there would be something inside to help me. As it opened, light, magic and happiness flooded out. She let out a high pitched wail, and covered her face with her cape. "How did that get here?" She spat and cursed. I reached inside, pulled out a pair of Mickey ears and popped them on my head. I stood up taller and looked right into her wicked yellow eyes. "I am not afraid of you!" I yelled, still fighting my better instincts to run and admit defeat. She let out a low vile hiss at the proclamation and surrounded the chamber with fire. "Remain calm," I tried to remind myself. Wolves she had conjured, started stalking toward me; walking out from the very depths of the fire. Each one yipping out a doubt; "You don't have enough time to plan", "You will fail your family", "You will miss the best and most magical events", "You will never get that Remy reservation", "A cabana on Castaway Cay? Who are you kidding?" I had to stop listening to them! I shook my head and focused on blocking them out. Clutching the bag, I reached inside again. To my surprise, I found Tinker Belle! "What are you doing in there?" I asked, astonished "We need to get out of here!" Tinker Bell just smiled and shook her head, the faintest tinkling sound could be heard over the roar of the fire and the wrathful spell the Sorceress was beginning to chant. Tink  held up her little hands over her head. In them she held a ball of light. In the ball of light, I could barely make out a picture of  Thing 1 and Thing 2, hubby and myself smiling in front of Cinderella's Castle on our first trip to Disney World. Of course! "You smart little pixi! My happy thought!" I quickly lifted the little ball from Tink and dropped the bag. The ball grew larger and larger and I held it over my head. "NO!" the shrill exclamation from the Sorceress filled the most hollow corners of the chamber. She stopped her wicked chanting, trying to come up with a new plan. I smiled, gave her a wink and hurled the ball right at her. "You will no longer haunt me you evil keeper of doubt! I will defeat you and give my family the best Disney Cruise ever!" The ball of light crashed into her and consumed her, washing out her evil screams and filling the room with light. Then the light morphed, projecting new pictures in front of me. Me and my family, on the deck of the Fantasy waving goodbye at sail away. My trip perfectly planned and a week of magic and dreams waiting for us. It was my perfect fantasy! I saw the bag at my feet with my cruise "book" sticking out of the top. I had done it! I had perfectly prepared and planned our vacation! I awoke with a start. Sat up in bed, and shook my head, expecting pixi dust to fall out. "Man, I really do need a vacation." I mumbled to myself, "and how the heck did Chuck Norris get in there?"

When you wish upon a star

From the time I was in about middle school, my parents decided to give us an incentive for our grades. Since we always enjoyed our outings to the little bookstore in the Village, (the main tourist shopping area in Big Bear, ca.) my parents chose to reward us with a book for every A that was earned. My whole family is comprised of avid readers, so this was a great idea! My sister, forever the straight A student, knew she would always make her goal and max out on book rewards. I on the other hand, had to work my butt off for every A. I still never achieved all A status, but I earned enough to keep myself semi stocked in books until the next report cards rolled around. I would supplement my other books from allowance and inventive begging. Judging by the amount of books I owned, I was pretty inventive!

During middle school I discovered the Baby-Sitters Club books by Ann M. Martin. I believe my sister was the one that got me started on them. We used a lot of the ideas from the books such as the Kidkits we brought when we babysat together. The Kidkit was a box of fun toys and color books that all the kids we baby-sat for loved and looked forward to. Many thanks to Ann M. Martin for this idea, you made me a very popular baby-sitter. Eventually my sister grew tired of the series, but I really enjoyed it and kept reading. By around #9 or #10 in the series, the amazing Ann M. Martin wrote her Super Special #1 about - you guessed it - Disney! A Disney cruise to be more specific. Baby-Sitters on Board. She had all the Baby-sitters, some of their family and a few of their charges embark on adventure to the high seas with Mickey and friends. The book was written I believe right before "The Big Red Boat" otherwise known as Disney Wonder was introduced to the world. On a side note -when her Baby-sitters cruised, they cruised on the Premier Cruise Line boats commissioned by Disney in their early trials of Disney cruising. Of course at the time of reading these books, I was unaware of this little fact. Reading the book again recently, I put this all together. I was surprised to figure out that interesting little bit of information and the fact that I now could never really go on "that" cruise. Anyway, I was in 8th grade when I got my hands on that amazing tale for the first time. I read that book cover to cover in one day! Then I read it again. All told I believe I read that book at least 20 times in my youth. I loved the story of being on a cruise with Disney fun, fantasy and characters. I loved the adventures the Baby-sitters had on-board, including a few romances.......I also thought it was so amazing that after the cruise, as part of the cruise package, they also went to the parks for a few days! (Which you now have to book separately, but now you also get longer cruises.) It was more than one at such a young age could imagine, two vacations in one? You could say I was hooked.

Now after reading such an inspiring vacation adventure, I wanted more than anything to pester my parents so relentlessly that they had no choice but to book our own family Disney cruise. Yeeeaahhh. So not gonna happen folks. All kids figure out what things that you might have a chance of  your parents saying yes to. Then there are the things you know you just might as well save your breath on. This definitely fell into the latter category. First of all, my Dad hates crowds. Being locked on a boat with a giant crowd for a few days clearly wasn't going to enter into the realm of "I'll think about it." Of course then there are the crowds at the parks, even worse! There was also the fact that the cruise leaves out of Florida. My parent's don't fly. We lived in California. They are clearly not going to drive that far just to let me meet the Mouse on a boat.  Another point against my crusade, my Dad isn't good in the sun. He crisps up better than bacon. It's not pretty folks, trust me on this one. Beach vacations were never on the itinerary for our Funny Farm Family. Then of course there was the money aspect. Maybe I could figure out a way to make and save money. Of course! That's it! Then they would have to say yes! Unfortunately, Big Bear is a resort community. We had no neighbors- just vacation homes around us, no lawns, no cars to wash, dogs to walk..... I baby-sat with my sister, so that money was already cut in half. Ugggh! By the time I saved up enough for the cruise, I would be able to take it by myself! It was tough being a such an inspired, adventuresome kid with no proper Disney outlet for my magical seed sprouting spirit.....

The most crippling buzz kill on my Disney cruise plotting was that Disney wasn't the type of vacation my family took. Ohhhhhhhhh no. That would be too much fun, and not the right kind of adventure. The fun on that trip is easily had and implied. Fun was just layed right out there for you, waiting to be enjoyed.  It wasn't earned fun or adventure, so clearly not a Funny Farm Family vacation. You see my parents are um, unique and a bit....oh, I'll just say it, ODD. I am sure you have already guessed that by now with my beating around the bush and all. I know, I know, apple not falling far from the tree....The Funny Farm Family adventures were always off the beaten path and loads of enjoyment for my parents. My sister and I wilted and suffered in silence in the back seat of an old brown Subaru; Walkmans playing the only four tapes we had trying to drown out the blaring Pavarotti my parents so enjoyed. Hours and HOURS. I can appreciate his music now. Why in fact, while at the ball feilds today with Thing 1 and Thing 2, I actually found myself humming Funiculi, FuniculA! (Eeek! Brainwashing does work!) When I hear it, it brings back the nostalgia of those Funny Farm Family vacations. Hearing it for hours on end when you are a young adolescent, well bring on the water torture for a change of pace please. We road tripped for ALL of our vacations. I have driven in a car to all the states west of the Rockies. Once again, as an adult I appreciate these learning adventures my parents scouted out for us. As a kid, not so much. Our best entertainment was the burping contest held in the car. Yes Ma'am, may parents were very concerned with raisin' us to be ladies! By the way, I won the burping contest. I believe I am still the family's reining champ. Point of pride that one burp on one Funny Farm Family road trip still is holding strong. It's amazing what a Whopper and a Coke can produce. What? Don't look at me like that. I am sure your family has it's "off" moments too. My father, in his "off" moments, also created his own entertainment. We will say he has a bit of a flatulence problem to put it mildly. Of course the only window in the Subaru that worked, was his. He would slightly giggle, roll up the window and then bask in the afterglow of what he just expelled and the impending doom wafting through the car. My mother, sister and I would groan, beg, plead, gag, turn green and call for mercy........yes, hours and hours spent in that car on family road trips. My Dad of course thought this great fun and felt the need to "rinse and repeat" as often as possible. It really is amazing and breathtaking what a Whopper and a Coke can produce. On our road trips, the Funny Farm parents preferred that we earn our fun on vacations by visiting map dot towns and checking out the smallest historic sites and museums ever made. "Come on kids! This is fun and interesting! Think of how much you are learning!" (insert adolescent groans, eye rolls, and fake hangman's noose.) I think I will blame those vacations, the hours of free time in a car, and the oh so interesting and fun-filled points of (non)interest for my creativity. Despite our surroundings and the situation, we somehow always ended up amusing ourselves with odd and off color Funny Farm Family humor. The last Funny Farm Family vacation was the summer before my sister was a Senior in High School.... thinking back now, man, I kind of miss those vacations. Don't get any idea's Dad, I'm NOT going on another, just being nostalgic.

So there you have it, my MAJOR Disney fantasy that I have had for 21 years now. Me, on a boat, with The Mouse. I have gone on several cruises throughout the years. My first being our honeymoon. We sailed on the Carnival Holiday out of Port of Los Angeles. My husband had gone on a work sponsored one a few years before, but since the Holiday, he hasn't been on another cruise. My second cruise was a fun long weekend cruise with one of my friends down to Mexico. It was the Holiday again, but this time out of Mobile, Al. Years had gone by since I sailed on her, and thought it so funny that she followed us down to the South. The third and last cruise I went on was a few years ago on the Carnival Conquest. I fully planned the trip as a surprise for my husband's 35th Birthday. I planned it for about 8 months. I had every detail worked out perfectly (see OCD story...). I cleared his schedule with his boss and secretary.I arranged the excursions, exclusive dining, flights, limo to Galveston and even worked my way into a San Diego station's Country Cruise tickets to see all the Country artists that they were bringing on our cruise to perform. That was an amazing piece of my handy-work there. Those performances were only supposed to be exculsive for that radio station's listeners from the San Diego area. With a little bit of finagling, and some persistent phone calling, I managed to acquire entrance into these private concerts on-board. I planned on telling my husband we were flying to Houston for a baseball game. Get him in the limo and blindfold him until we were close enough to see the boat, then "Surprise!" Well, unfortunately three weeks before the cruise, I got a call from his boss. There was a project at work that was finishing earlier rather than later and he hated to tell me but hubby needed to be there and couldn't cruise those dates. Well, three weeks out you can't cancel. I was devastated and had to tell him about the whole trip and that he couldn't go. He tried to work a few things out, but the end result was the same. After I got over my disappointment of not being here to spend his birthday with him and him not being able to enjoy all the special things I planned, I called Too Long. Too Long is my "Seester" like Spell-o-matic. Not blood related sisters, but "see-sters". The three of us are peas in a pod and trouble looking for a place to happen. Too Long (I'll have to explain the nickname later....I've digressed too long already) didn't work at the time, had a passport and really needed a vacation. So she became my +1 on that cruise. To say we had fun is an understatement. Sure, I still felt guilty about my husband not being able to go, at first. Rest assured, I got over it.

After all those cruises, I still have never made it to the Big Red Boat. My fantasy get away with my mouse. After fully immersing ourselves in the Disney World kool-aid for several vacations, we finally decided, it was time. We had previously talked about taking a Disney cruise after our first trip to the world. We decided we wanted to wait a few more years until the boys were older for them to take their first cruise. We thought they would enjoy it more, remember it more and become more involved in the kids clubs.We patiently bided our time with several more trips to the world; including one for a full marathon run for me, and another for the inaugural Disney Wine and Dine half marathon, for me. But now......now it was time. I would finally get to be on a boat with my mouse!

 ((Yay!!! Happy dance!!! Giant Mickey fist pump with a giant white gloved hand!!!!! Time to polish off the pirate tiara, we are goin' on a Disney Cruise!!))

Back in November, I met back with my old friend, kind of. Actually I think it's a cousin, but still the same family. http://disneycruise.disney.go.com/ . Hello happy little magical internet world of Disney Marketing. Oh how I have missed you! This time of course I have earned my Disney ears. I was well aware of the advanced preparations that lay ahead of me, kind of. Once again I found myself in the realm of a little in over my head. "What?" you say? No. Not me. Not the Disney Momiac. How is that possible. Well, I have cruised....check. I am fully aware of all the door decorations, cruise critic meet and greets, wipe boards for the door, bungee cords for the balcony and so on. I have also Disney Worlded(yes it's a word, my word, it's a verb. my blog, my verb)....check. Clearly, I know my Mother ship and most of her secrets fairly well. I know to call first thing on the 90th day before you want your Cinderella breakfast or any other character meal. I know to TAKE THE NAP. I know line times and fast past trickery. I know to have the autograph book already open. I know to spend the extra money on the BIG pen to fit character hands and so on. What I did not know was how to combine the two. I started the preliminary exploration on ships and dates. Then we called a family meeting. Thing 1 and Thing 2 now being old enough to have an active roll in the decision making process of this trip. After looking over prices, dates, ship specs and ports of call, we decided on the Disney Fantasy. We ruled out the March 31st sailing because the price was double! Now why would that be? Inaugural Sailing? Newest ship? Still in the process of being built? What?! What's this?! When did this happen?!? How did I, the Disney Momiac NOT know this?!  AAhhhhHaaaaaaa! Then the panic set in. It stared me down with it's big yellow eyes. Giant snarling teeth and that mocking tone of "Oh how charming. Look it's a first time Disney cruise family." (evil snarl snicker, evil snarl snicker). Oh the Disney "I am unprepared and uninformed panic" my old Nemesis.  We meet again!

OCD and the Pumpkin

When the boys were 6 and 3 we decided to finally make our first pilgrimage to "the World". We checked out the Disney World website  (http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/) , picked our hotel, food, ticket package and booked. Easy enough. I would go back to the site once and awhile to check out park activities or hotel info etc. Totally unaware, I had just opened the floodgates of Disney magical sunshine upon that semi dormant seed that was planted all those years ago. Each visit to the site I was whisked away, right there in my own home, into the magical land that was created right in front of me online. I loved the photography, the music and the promised joy that was waiting to greet me. I was still "normal" then, you see. Who doesn't go onto that perfectly designed piece of magical marketing and doesn't feel just a bit of Disney wonder? If you don't, well then I truly feel pity for you! (Eat a cookie, feed the birds, listen to a baby laugh and get some joy in your life for Pete's sake! What the heck is the matter with you!!!) For me, it was great just to check back once and awhile and get a bit giddy thinking of our vacation and the first time my children would see the magnificent mouse. The seed hadn't fully sprouted, yet....

My husband had mentioned to one of his co-workers about our upcoming visit to my future "Mother ship". He and his family had visited the parks several times and gave him the book The Unofficial Guide to Disney World. My husband brought it home to me and had told me several of the stories, tips, and experiences his co-worker had passed on to him. I set the book aside for the time being, not quite ready to delve into the large amount of reading yet. I mean how hard could this trip be? Disney online seemed to have everything all neatly wrapped up into a little bow for us. What more did we really need to do besides show up? So there the book sat. In the following weeks hubby would come home with another story about Disney here or there from other co-workers. Eventually, I started the get the feeling that maybe I was missing something or maybe Disney doesn't have everything tied up into a nice little package like I thought. Maybe I should be doing a little more planning and research about the magical land.

I finally picked up The Unofficial Guide to Disney World and started spot reading through the chapters on subjects about the parks that seemed interesting. I also noted that they too had a website, Great! I am getting rather fond of playing on Disney based websites. http://touringplans.com/ along with the "guide" turned into a wealth of ideas and information. I was starting to realize that I needed to take a more active roll in this vacation to make it more unique to our family and add the great extra-magical experiences that we should be having! I was blindly unaware of character meals, fastpasses, line time tricks, and breakfast at Cinderella's Castle! Gasp! When did Cinderella's Castle actually become a feature you could enter? Panic almost set in. We now only had a few months until our trip and I am fully unprepared! I haven't been planning for over a year, waiting up all night to call in for character reservations, and can someone please explain the fastpass to me, again?! They didn't have a fastpass the last time I was at a Disney property.....ugggh, maybe we should just cancel and re-schedule for the next year when I have had adequate time to prepare!! I can't just lead my family into the wilds of the big bad Disney World unprepared! There we would be, looking around the parks at all the families that clearly read the books, blogs and boards way ahead of time and have planned amazing magical adventures. Watching them frolicking to and fro with their matching t-shirts, homemade scrapbook autograph books, chatting about their exclusive character meet and greats complete with meals, strolling hand and hand with the mouse himself and here we will be just roaming around lost, confused, and having Mickey ice cream be our only claim to current Disney joy. No sir, I'm not going down with that ship! My family has to have that extra special magical trip too! I can't let them down. I can't let them be looked at as "oh, how charming. Look at that first time Disney family! (giggle,giggle,)" How could my little piece of magic at home, my little magical online get-a-way, my Disney World website let me down like this? What happened to my pretty little package with a nice, neat bow?

Now those of you who are unaware, I have been referred to as a little OCD on occasion. It might be an adequate labeling...neurotic, headstrong and raving lunatic may be interjected here as well. I just like to think I like to be prepared, have a great since of organization and attention to the little details in life. When I worked in the hotel industry, in the days before Thing 1 and Thing 2,  those were great attributes to have. Anyone who is involved in Reservations, Front Desk, Event Planning and Group Billing really does need to be a bit compulsive and consumed with the task at hand to provide a great guest experience. Unfortunately the OCD isn't really carried across the board with me. Oh, don't get me wrong, I fully admit it's existence in most realms of my life. Unfortunately, there are some areas it is sorely lacking. I am sure it has already been noted, despite my best attempts at editing, that I can't spell to save my life. My parents, bless their hearts, tried their best to improve this skill within me since I was a child. My teachers tried more fervently once I was in high school. They loved my creative writing, the ease I could pass English Literature, and my hunger for reading. Yet, sadly my English scholar career and I were never the whole package. If I didn't have my best friend become my constant spell-o-matic, spell check and thesaurus.com, things would and could be much worse!

Along with a healthy dose of OCD, I have also been gifted with a very sarcastic wit. I'm am giving this as fair warning now. It is my favorite brush and I paint broadly with it. When I was in elementary school, I got picked on quite a bit. I never got why. I was quiet, behaved myself, always had a smile on my face, tried to be friendly and help those in need when I could. Yes, I was a regular mini Mother Teresa. Recently, in the "I have old pics of you!" facebook war that occurred between my friends and I, I came across quite a few older pictures of myself. Big buck front teeth, thin, fine, straight, oily hair, a bad taste in fashion and chicken poo boots to top it all off......Well, with a cover like that on this great book, any elementary school kid in their right mind would be crazy to pass up the opportunity to goad. To say the least..... Yikes! Clearly my parents loved me, because love really is blind! In those times of adolescent trials and torment, I would always pray, "God, please give me something to say back. Please give me something to say at all to help this daily public humiliation. Please give me....give me.....sarcasm!" Well, God does hear all prayers and he does answer them in his own time. Just like the fairies and Maleficent gifted Sleeping Beauty, God finally gifted me with sarcasm!! AHhh HAHAA! (for those of you that didn't catch it, that was an evil snicker right there) It, of course, came right about....um, oh yeah, graduation from High School. Who says God doesn't have a sense of humor? Needless to say I am now loaded with it. I think I got an extra dose for every prayer I said. I'm Catholic, you do the math. God, in all his infinite wisdom, thought to gift my children with this same power, at very young ages no less. Oh sure, you can cheapen it and say it's a learned behavior, but I just choose to credit God here. Sense of humor indeed.

Faced with the dilemma of a ticking clock and wanting the best magical experience I could produce for my family, my obsessive headstrong nature stepped up to bat and swung for the 2nd star to the right! I got a binder, divider tabs, page protectors, several highlighters, post-it's, lots of printer paper and ink. Armed with my Unofficial Guide to Disney World, a long list of suggested websites, blogs, boards and trip reviews, I set up my command center and began my Disney "Book". The creating of "The Book" lead me straight into the the heart of the mouse. I dove headfirst right into the sparkling fairy dust that intertwines all wishes and dreams that magically bind together to compose the Happiest Place on Earth. That's when my little seed was finally fully exposed to the enchanting spark that it needed to grow and bloom. My little seed took root, grew vines and produced a beautiful pumpkin complete with mouse ears. The more I learned about Disney's magical world, the Sorcerer's Apprentice worked his magic. That pumpkin became spellbound and was transformed into my own personal Cinderella carriage. A perfect vehicle to carry us all away to a life long obsession and love of all things Disney. The best part is, that spell isn't going to end at midnight.....this princess is going to stay at the party all night! So, let's dance.......

Walt created Mickey, then God created me

Well it all started off innocently enough didn't it? Walt started with Mortimer. Poor sad Mortimer.......well he didn't work out well, did he? Back to the drawing board, Walt. Then with a few whimsical flicks of an artist pen, a boat wheel, a happy whistle and there you have it Mickey Mouse! Now that's a handsome fellow there. A mouse you can build your hopes, dreams and fantasys on. A mouse that can build a booming film industry, lands, worlds and The Happiest Places on Earth. That's my kind of mouse! Throw in several hundread other well drawn friends, and the Disney company is born!

Years later in southern California in the summer of 1978, with a not so elequent arrival, God (with a little help from my parents) created me! My family was normal enough ........ ok who am I kidding, my family isn't even close to nornal. In fact it's a point of pride that we will all use the phrase taught to us by my Dad , " Ain't nobody ever accused me of being normal!" You add in a couple of chickens, rabbits, turkeys, biting geese, a few horses, a Rooster named Nana and an apple tree......and well, you have a funny farm.

I grew up in the small town of Big Bear Lake, Ca. located in the San Bernardino Mountains. A big beautiful lake, ski resorts and lots of forrest and hiking trails surrounded our close knit little town. We lived about 2 hours from Disneyland. As a child I believe I have only visited there twice. Once when I was too young to remember, but a recently viewed super 8 home movie has shown it to be true. The second time I was around 7 or 8. My mother and her parents surprised my sister and I with a visit to the magical land. They told us we were going to my grandparent's doctor's softball game. He was a friend of the family and we had gone "down the hill" to watch a few of these games. My sister and I had a hard time putting all the pieces of the surprise together and figuring it out, even while in the Disneyland parking lot! I still remember the feeling of joy, surprise and magic walking into that park for the first time (that I could remember). I remember the whole day, right up until the firework ending! Then it happened. Right there on that very day, a magical seed of pixie dust, Disney Magic and hopes and dreams was planted into me.

It didn't grow right away. It lay dorment for most of my youth. Although it would sprout a leaf here and there.....On occasion my dad, who is quite the yarn spinner, would grace us with one of his, um...interesting, bedtime stories. Each one was quite unique and would make you wonder, laugh and shake your head. Out of all those interesting tales though, our favorite was the story of my " Mom and Dad's First Date." and wouldn't you know where they went? Disneyland, of course! My sister and I would laugh to no end when my dad got to the part in the story about my mother exclaiming with joy about "the Disneyland roof!" It still makes my dad, sister and me crack up anytime we think about it. I would like to explain to you more about this story, but you see, my mother will probably be reading this. She never heard the tales spun in our room at bedtime, and she has never heard this tale. Yes, she was there for the date, but she doesn't know the story that we have been told and why "the Disneyland roof!" and her exclaiming it is so hilarious to us. We have all been sworn to secrecy on the issue and we only speak of it in hushed tones with one another, until we all let out a huge guffaw at her expense. Sorry Mom, you still arn't going to find out!

As I grew older and started babysitting, The Little Mermaid had just made her grand debut. I loved it! My parents didn't by us the movies, but since I paid for my first truck with babysitting monies, I had my fill of Disney movies at my finger tips. Next came Beauty and the Beast , followed by Aladdin and the Lion King. All such great Disney movies and I love that I remember when they first came out. Let me not forget to give a nod to Robin Hood, which we watched when we were little, or Newsies that came out about the time I was a Junior in High School.

When my sister could drive, we took our first road trip to Disneyland. I still don't know how we got my parents to agree to let us go, down the hill, by ourselves.....they were a little overbearing in the strict and protection department if you know what I mean.....but it was another great Disney experience and a rare moment when my sister and I were friends more than sisters.

When I was older and dating, my boyfriend surprised me and took me to my very first touring Broadway production. It just so happened to be Beauty and the Beast, and I fell even more in love with Disney. It was such an amazing show, an amazing cast, the effects we flawless.....Magical.

There was another trip I made to Disneyland when I was about 19 with a friend and her family. That trip was FUN! We had our own room, with a corner view of the kingdom and the fireworks. We had free run of anywhere on property. We had money and ideas..... To protect myself and the other guilty parties here, I cannot divulge anymore information...but it was FUN! Now, that will be all I say about that.

The last time I was in Disneyland was when I was dating my husband. It was our first time at a Disney property together. He didn't drink the Disney Kool-aid so much then. He still only has a big swig of it every now and then. I'm slowing breaking him down, poor man. I mean come on! He's married to ME! You know it's got to rub off at some point. He is gaining more and more of a love for Disney the longer he is exposed to the Disney Momiac. Afterall, guess who already had Disney Mobile Magic loaded onto their iphone? Yep. Busted white four fingered glove handed.