Sunday, June 30, 2013

Harry Potter Anyone?

Let’s backtrack just a little now that I can get to my photos…. My laptop had no storage space left and was giving me warnings.  I was not able to put photos on this hard drive but we do have an external photo hard drive called “ Photo Safe” that we use when we travel and it is perfect.

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I have the 320GB model and we love it! But I thought that once the photos we on this hard drive I would not have access to them until I was home.  Mike to the rescue.  We went and bought the USB data cord that was needed and now this workhorse is indispensable.   

I have been getting back to the room so late that Mike has just been putting the photos on the photo sate drive and we have been going to bed.

  Hee Hee guess what I did last night?

I went over all of the photos are found the ones I wanted to use in the blog and now I can blog until my little heart is content.

Back to Harry Potter shall we.

The day before convention officially started and before my unit team meeting we found Harry Potter! 

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At this point can I just say ….. Can I live here?

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The line to get into Hogwarts was 75 minutes and you better believe that we had no problem waiting!!!  Mike and Kaela went back on a different day and rode it multiple times.  It was worth the wait!

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Then we found a beverage I have always wanted to try.

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I had some Butter Beer!

Because I use a wheelchair for the parks it was hard for me to get into the shops in the village – they were packed! So we enjoyed the Hogwarts Choir.

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One last photo and then it was back to the hotel for my team meetings. 

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What a great day!

Saturday, June 29, 2013

Speed Dating for Scrappers!

What a blast yesterday was.  General Session started off with a few announcements.  Like….. It was announced that a 32 episode video series called ‘Artbooking Made Easy’ will be airing in September and continue through April 2014.  What is Artbooking you ask?  The new Artbooking Cricut Cartridge of course!

Extravaganza once again made the afternoon a hubbub of creativity. Eighteen classes taught by cream-of-the-crop Consultants, all using cutting edge trends and techniques, gave participants new ideas for both creating beautiful works of art.

Think of these classes as speed dating for scrappers.  The instructors have a very small amount of time to give you lots of information about ways to use new products.

Ladies the artwork was out of this world beautiful and all very “do-able”

While waiting for a seat during one of the sessions I was able to meet a consultant that has been a huge art inspiration to me. Vicki Wizniuk has more talent in her pinky finger than I have all day sometimes.

I also caught up with buddies from last year that I am going to try and crop with tonight.  Last year we laughed more than cropped but oh it was fun.

I need to stop and finish getting dressed for the day.  What will I learn today?

See you soon.

Friday, June 28, 2013

Convention- Day 1

Holy My Goodness!!!

Close To My Heart does it right again.  I am blogging quickly during lunch and Mike is not here to help get my photo and info organized (lots of geeky stuff) but I wanted to get some into out there.

There are NO color changes this year (YEA)

Hostess only stamp sets!!!!!!

A jewelry line that can be hand made with our products.

WOTG kits – now easier to see all product that is needed for project.

My Crush™ books

A new CRICUT cart!!!!!!

I am sure there is a ton I am forgetting right off the top of my head.  As soon as I can I will send a more detailed blog.

Right  now I need to finish eating and RUN…..

PS. and a special thanks to Mike and Kaela for stocking the fridge today with a salad so I could run back to the room to eat and blog without waiting in line.

I love you!

 

Tuesday, June 25, 2013

Artist Point–Disney

Mike had a plan.  He wanted to try out one of the signature dining experiences so we went online to pick a restaurant.

He picked Artist Point just because of the name – thinking of Kaela of course Smile

We cleaned up and put our “nice dress clothes” on …..

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Then Mike had to get directions….

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We thought that Disney transport would be fun and thank goodness they told us to allow and hour for transportation – they were right on the money.  But because we used Disney transportation we were not only able to use the water taxi but Mike and I were both able to have a drink at dinner because we were not driving. 

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Mike was able to get this beautiful shot of his beloved Monorail from the water taxi.  It is one of my favorites.

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Kaela loves any kind of boat!

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Now we are at the Wilderness Lodge in search of Artist Point.  Kaela still has no clue what we are doing…..

Oak furnishings, blond-wood beams, ironwork lanterns and scenic murals at Artist Point restaurant

(Photo: Courtesy of)

 https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/dining/wilderness-lodge-resort/artist-point/

So now we are at the restaurant.  She is not nearly as impressed as we thought she would be but then again – we thought it would be more artsy.  It is more Pacific Northwest themed and has a bunch of oil painting that you can not see while at dinner. We will look at those after dinner.  Once she sees a menu full of seafood she perks up! 

Below is the starter course and while she did not “love” the cheese it was paired with Mikes wine selection.  It was pretty darn tasty with my Cosmo too!  Smile

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A Selection of Artisanal Cheeses - Smokey Blue Cheese, Reypenaer VSOP, "The Drunken Goat" with Seasonal Garnishes and Walnut Toast

On to the main course….
Kaela:

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Pan-Roasted Pacific Halibut - sweet corn and chevre porridge, carmelized rapini, black mission fig relish and carbernet vinaigrette

Mine:

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It only looks over-cooked

Grilled Hand-cut "Black Angus" Filet Mignon  (yummo)

Mikes:

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Cedar Plank-roasted King SalmonButternut Squash Purée, Chestnuts, Baby Fennel, Rapini, and Beurre Rouge

Dessert:

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Coffee – 2 plain and 1 Irish coffee (for Mike) and

1 Baked Alaska and 3 spoons!

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So as we walk off into the sunset….

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Our water taxi awaits….

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Thank you Mike for such a magical night!

Time In A Laundry Mat

After a couple of whirl wind days it is time to stop and do laundry.

Even on vacation I can not seem to get away from it! Smile  So while we wait on the washer and dryer I will fill you in.

Let’s backtrack a bit now that I am not just drop dead tired…. my feet and legs are crying but my brain is awake.

We drove for 8 hours each day stopping around dinner time and that left plenty of time to stop and smell the roses or in our case do something we have wanted to do but never had time when traveling.

New Orleans cemeteries….

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Kaela really wanted to go at night but we said a big fat NO to that one!  

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I really wanted to walk around too but my feet were so swollen that I could not get my shoes back on so Mike and Kaela went walking without Grandma or me.  (boo).  But I love the photos that Mike brought back to me.  Kaela still wants to do nighttime guided tour but she will have to go back with Grandma Barbara for that.

We made it to our final destination and were pleasantly surprised to find that our room was ready at 10:00 am.  That has never happened before (happy us)!  Time to move in for the week.

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(lost)

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We did find the elevator but only after my family made me climb 3 flights of stairs.  You better believe I found the elevator!

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As always with convention I am very happy with our room.  It is located pretty close to the convention center and while we have found the pool –

I am not sure we will find it again Smile

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Once we were settled what was the one thing the child asked for? 

FRIED CHICKEN! 

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After a run to the grocery store for fried chicken and sweet tea they put a bath towel on the bed…. turned the old Disney cartoons on the TV and had them a big time.  I sat at the table and enjoyed my Cuban sandwich.

These are good times!

Monday, June 24, 2013

Road Trip 2013!

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We are off to the CTMH 2013 Convention!

After driving for a couple of days we made it!

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Kaela has moved from spare driver to photographer and she is in love with the new camera.  It is almost time to get dressed for dinner so I will close for now.  Stay tuned for Breaking CTMH news!

P.S.  Tink and Radar are having sleepovers with their favorite house sitter and puppy sitter – they love being able to sleep in their own beds at home.

Friday, June 14, 2013

Father’s Day 2013

I work every Sunday so any holiday that lands on a Sunday normally does not get celebrated like the rest of the nation does.  We celebrate early!  I made the card last week and had it hidden but I had no idea what to get my geeky husband.

I had no idea.

Kaela and I were walking around the mall yesterday and she started squealing that she found an Anime store and took off  running.  I took my time getting to her because well – she needed some time before I moved her into a different direction.  Smile 

Well the little fart hit the jackpot!  Now this is not the most traditional gift for Father’s day but Mike needed a new office mate.

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Do I need to explain that my family are HUGE Doctor Who fans?

We did not tell him where  is gift was… he had to find it! 

BTW…. HE LOVES IT!

For Always

A clean and simple “Thanks” leads to a clean and simple “Happy Birthday”.

I was awake and goofy off on the internet this morning about 3am when I found a card that perked my interest on Pinterest.

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The country meets lace goes so well!  I love it! 

But I wanted a classical, elegant style so after checking my papers I found that I had plenty of “For Always” left over and an idea took shape.

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I was able to make 8 of these cards in no time flat.