We came back yesterday afternoon from our week at the National NARFE Convention at the Rosen Center in Orlando. The hotel is magnificent, and the pool was as much fun as I had hoped it would be. I was able to go to it on two different occasions. We also ate a meal in every restaurant in the place. The Everglades might become our new favorite fancy restaurant. It had great Florida Everglades decor and wonderful fish dishes.
I sang my three songs. I felt like I did a great job on the National Anthem. I did pretty well on "Golden Dreams." I was in good voice, but I had not attempted to memorize the song. I knew it well, but I brought the words up with me. Then at one point, I had been looking out at the audience, forgot the next line, couldn't find my place in the text when I looked down, missed a few words, and finally got a few of them out. Mark noticed, but he said it wasn't too bad. Probably felt worse to me than to the audience. I received a lot of compliments afterwards. As for "God Bless America," I did it well, but it seemed irrelevant. The convention host called me up to sing late in the evening after dinner and dancing. Half the group was gone and the other half was standing up, milling around and talking. I don't think too many were listening or cared. Oh, well...not really my problem.
Other than that, it was an interesting convention. It's great to learn more and get inspired to work for the benefits of the active and retired federal employees. I know Mark came away with renewed interest in working. Also, it was fun to hang out with our friends from the Plant City Strawberry Chapter.
Yesterday, when we left the convention, we went to Guest Services at Downtown Disney to get our Annual Passes fixed. She was GREAT! She easily fixed the expiration date and made it August 13, like it was supposed to be. Also she found another, potentially BIGGER, problem. The other girl had tied both of the passes to Mark's account and finger print. My pass would not have even gotten me into the park. Ridiculous! So we were very glad we went to DTD to fix it. The lesson learned is that we will always go to DTD Guest Services for pass renewals from now on.
I gained two pounds while we were gone. Then today I did nothing to help that. This week we will eat a few meals out, but mostly we are eating at home. That should help. Then next week we are on a cruise! hahah! We all know how that will go!
Saturday, August 30, 2014
Saturday, August 23, 2014
48 for the price of 52?
Mark and I had an unusual experience
yesterday trying to renew our WDW Annual Passes.
We have had APs for four years, since we became Florida residents in August of 2010. When we renewed them last year, the Cast Member wrote on the back with a Sharpy that our expiration date was August 28 of this year. Fine.
So because we are going to be out of town all next week for the NARFE Convention and unable to do the renewal on the exact date of 8/28, we went to DHS Guest Services yesterday to renew the pass.
The good news is that there was NO line, so we were serviced immediately. The other good news is that the young, female CM was delightful and pleasant.
Now for the bad news. Although she was very pleasant and happy, she didn't seem very competent. It took her nearly 40 minutes to finish the transaction.
At first she couldn't "find" the things she wanted to see in the computer. She left the station to go get help. Mission accomplished. Then a lot of time went by and she finally admitted that it was showing we owed ZERO for the renewal. Well, we would have been pretty happy with that, LOL, but Mark is too honest! He insisted she fix that. She left the station and got help, so yes, we now owed $871.18 for two Florida resident renewals. Making progress.
Next, we wanted to use our Disney Visa Rewards points, which Mark had transferred to the appropriate reward card the day before. We had $791.18 on it. (What are the odds that the pennies turned out to be identical! LOL!)
Well, she didn't know how to use that either. She left the station, twice, to find someone to help. Then those other helpers debated back and forth whether it was a Voucher or a Gift Card. I have NO IDEA which one they settled on and used, but eventually it processed it. Then she was able to process the balance of $80 on our Disney Visa Card, so hey, making more points for next year's purchase right away. And we really shouldn't complain about getting two Annual Passes for less than the price of a one day ticket!
Then she gave us back our cards, but since the cast member last year had written an expiration date on our cards with the Sharpy, I wanted new ones. I thought the point of having plastic cards was to reuse them year after year and be more green. It seemed to defeat the purpose to ask for new ones, but I didn't trust all CMs in the future, especially the ones in restaurants or shops, to accept it if they saw that it had "expired." She left the station to get new ones. She came back with Mark's replacement card with Donald Duck on it. No problem, but she said she had to go somewhere else to find a Minnie Mouse for me. I would have taken anything at that point, but she was gone in a flash. We waited for her to return with Minnie.
Wow, at this point it was already over a half hour for processing and she had left the station six times. She had the money done; she activated the new cards; she handed them to us with a satisfied smile. Then she said, "And these new ones expire on July 30, 2015."
WHAT? The old ones expired August 28 and it's August 22 when we are doing the transaction. There is supposed to be some leeway in the renewal process, but the date is always supposed to remain the same. Why is it now expiring a month earlier? We asked her, and yes, you guessed it. She didn't know, but she'd be happy to go find out. She left the station for the seventh time.
When she came back, with a big smile on her face, she said, "When you renew it reverts to your original purchase date."
She was happy with that answer, and I could tell she expected us to leave. But we didn't. I said to her that there is NO WAY that was our original date because on July 30 of 2010, the year we first bought APs EVER in our LIFE, we were NOT in Florida and NOT Florida residents. We bought our house on August 6, 2010 and bought our APs one week later on August 13, 2010. THAT is our original purchase date. (I know the precise date because of this BLOG! Thank goodness for the blog.)
She seemed confused and left the station for an eighth time. She came back with no other explanation. She carefully repeated that July 30 must have been our original purchase date. She thanked us for being patient. We were now hot, tired, late for our dinner appointment off property, and DONE standing there. We told her once again that it was not correct. We were disappointed that we were NOT actually buying a year long pass, but that we were leaving. Have a nice day.
Since I write an almost daily blog, I was able to look back and see that we did indeed buy those original APs on August 13 of 2010. We have no idea why the one that we turned in had a Sharpy date penned in of August 28, but clearly it was right. Our pass had just gotten us into the park yesterday on Aug 22, no problems. It had not expired.
Now we will expire on July 30, a full four weeks earlier than the pass we turned in. Although, we did feel slightly better when we realized it's only two weeks short of the original purchase date, we still feel cheated and confused.
We have had APs for four years, since we became Florida residents in August of 2010. When we renewed them last year, the Cast Member wrote on the back with a Sharpy that our expiration date was August 28 of this year. Fine.
So because we are going to be out of town all next week for the NARFE Convention and unable to do the renewal on the exact date of 8/28, we went to DHS Guest Services yesterday to renew the pass.
The good news is that there was NO line, so we were serviced immediately. The other good news is that the young, female CM was delightful and pleasant.
Now for the bad news. Although she was very pleasant and happy, she didn't seem very competent. It took her nearly 40 minutes to finish the transaction.
At first she couldn't "find" the things she wanted to see in the computer. She left the station to go get help. Mission accomplished. Then a lot of time went by and she finally admitted that it was showing we owed ZERO for the renewal. Well, we would have been pretty happy with that, LOL, but Mark is too honest! He insisted she fix that. She left the station and got help, so yes, we now owed $871.18 for two Florida resident renewals. Making progress.
Next, we wanted to use our Disney Visa Rewards points, which Mark had transferred to the appropriate reward card the day before. We had $791.18 on it. (What are the odds that the pennies turned out to be identical! LOL!)
Well, she didn't know how to use that either. She left the station, twice, to find someone to help. Then those other helpers debated back and forth whether it was a Voucher or a Gift Card. I have NO IDEA which one they settled on and used, but eventually it processed it. Then she was able to process the balance of $80 on our Disney Visa Card, so hey, making more points for next year's purchase right away. And we really shouldn't complain about getting two Annual Passes for less than the price of a one day ticket!
Then she gave us back our cards, but since the cast member last year had written an expiration date on our cards with the Sharpy, I wanted new ones. I thought the point of having plastic cards was to reuse them year after year and be more green. It seemed to defeat the purpose to ask for new ones, but I didn't trust all CMs in the future, especially the ones in restaurants or shops, to accept it if they saw that it had "expired." She left the station to get new ones. She came back with Mark's replacement card with Donald Duck on it. No problem, but she said she had to go somewhere else to find a Minnie Mouse for me. I would have taken anything at that point, but she was gone in a flash. We waited for her to return with Minnie.
Wow, at this point it was already over a half hour for processing and she had left the station six times. She had the money done; she activated the new cards; she handed them to us with a satisfied smile. Then she said, "And these new ones expire on July 30, 2015."
WHAT? The old ones expired August 28 and it's August 22 when we are doing the transaction. There is supposed to be some leeway in the renewal process, but the date is always supposed to remain the same. Why is it now expiring a month earlier? We asked her, and yes, you guessed it. She didn't know, but she'd be happy to go find out. She left the station for the seventh time.
When she came back, with a big smile on her face, she said, "When you renew it reverts to your original purchase date."
She was happy with that answer, and I could tell she expected us to leave. But we didn't. I said to her that there is NO WAY that was our original date because on July 30 of 2010, the year we first bought APs EVER in our LIFE, we were NOT in Florida and NOT Florida residents. We bought our house on August 6, 2010 and bought our APs one week later on August 13, 2010. THAT is our original purchase date. (I know the precise date because of this BLOG! Thank goodness for the blog.)
She seemed confused and left the station for an eighth time. She came back with no other explanation. She carefully repeated that July 30 must have been our original purchase date. She thanked us for being patient. We were now hot, tired, late for our dinner appointment off property, and DONE standing there. We told her once again that it was not correct. We were disappointed that we were NOT actually buying a year long pass, but that we were leaving. Have a nice day.
Since I write an almost daily blog, I was able to look back and see that we did indeed buy those original APs on August 13 of 2010. We have no idea why the one that we turned in had a Sharpy date penned in of August 28, but clearly it was right. Our pass had just gotten us into the park yesterday on Aug 22, no problems. It had not expired.
Now we will expire on July 30, a full four weeks earlier than the pass we turned in. Although, we did feel slightly better when we realized it's only two weeks short of the original purchase date, we still feel cheated and confused.
So this morning, still wondering about this, I did more blog research! Here is what I found:
Original purchase date 8/13/2010
1st renewal date 8/28/2011
2nd renewal date 8/12/2012
3rd renewal date 7/30/2013
AH HA!!! So when she said "original" date, she didn't mean what I thought she meant. She meant LAST YEAR's renewal date. BUT, last year the cast member personally wrote 8/28/2014 on the back as a reminder of our expiration date. So now there are more questions! Why did she write 8/28 last year when it should ALWAYS be 8/13? And why did the cast member yesterday only find last year's renewal date and not the original purchase date?
Mark has spent a good bit of time online today researching the renewal policy. It is VERY clear that there is a leeway of SIXTY days in advance of the expiration date and THIRTY days AFTER the expiration date to renew the pass with the renewal discount (which is significant) but ALWAYS the original purchase date and hence the expiration date STAYS THE SAME! For us that should always have been August 13.
So....we have to leave at 6:30 a.m. tomorrow morning to go to downtown Orlando for the NARFE Convention. Mark is on Registration Duty starting at 8 a.m. and he has to be there early to set up. There might be a late afternoon/evening time during the week to go back to Downtown Disney to see if this can be cleared up. Otherwise we are just going to keep the "new" expiration date of July 30 from now on.
i think something is wrong in the AP computer system, or something was wrong with that Cast Member's training. Who knows.
All I know for sure is that yesterday we bought 48 weeks for the price of 52!
Wednesday, August 20, 2014
Vote Early and Often!
Haha! That's the old joke: Vote Early and Often. Well, the Florida primary election is next week. Mark and I can't go vote because we will be in downtown Orlando, over an hour north of our polling place, at the National NARFE Convention. Instead, we will go today to vote early (but not often) at the Haines City Public Library. I am glad we are doing this because I don't think we've ever missed voting in either a primary or a general election. Now we have to do some research on the candidates before we go!
I have spent two days eating all my meals at home and not snacking. What a difference! Without even trying hard, I have lost two pounds in two days, down to 259 this morning. Hm....all meals are inside today and tomorrow, but lunch and dinner will both be out on Friday. Then next week all meals will be out starting Sunday lunch through Friday dinner when we get home from the convention. We will be at the Rosen Center in Orlando, which has a lot of restaurant choices, but restaurants are always higher in sodium and fat and calories than food prepared at home. Also, I often make bad choices. Sitting in a convention seat all day is also not very conducive to burning off the calories. They have a MAGNIFICENT pool, so I'm hoping to catch some time poolside and maybe do some laps or water aerobics while we are there.
Oh, I don't think I mentioned this yet, but I was asked to sing THREE songs at this National Convention! I am opening the convention Sunday afternoon with "The Star-Spangled Banner" a cappella and then later in the program I'm singing "Golden Dreams" (the music from the American Adventure in Epcot) with a karaoke accompaniment. I will also close the convention Thursday night after the big banquet with "God Bless America." I sang the first and last songs at the Florida state NARFE Convention in May, and some of the same people are in charge of organizing the National convention. I am SO HONORED to do this! I think there will be about 2,000 or more people in attendance. I have NEVER sung in front of that many people before. Now I'm also praying I stay healthy and in good voice. Mark came down with a cold on Sunday and has been sneezing, blowing his nose, and coughing for three straight days. All I can do is try hard not to breathe in any germs. LOL!
Another fun thing for the month of September is that in addition to that cheap five day/four night cruise on the Carnival Ecstasy out of Miami to Key West and Cozumel that we booked because it was just too damn cheap to pass up, we also realized that we have booked a day to attend every major theme park in our area in the same month. That has never happened. Gatorland has a $10 admission for Florida residents through the end of September. Legoland has a Living Social deal too cheap to pass up. We have Annual Passes to Seaworld, Universal, and WDW. We actually booked Seaworld first because we hadn't gone since the day we got the pass. Universal has now announced early morning hours for Annual Passholders to go to Diagon Alley and the new Hogwarts Express ride. So now our calendar looks like this:
Sept. 7 Tampa Bay Rays v. Orioles in St. Pete with our friends Bob and Jane
Sept. 8-12 Carnival Ecstasy Cruise
Sept. 12 Disney's Hollywood Studios Scavenger Hunt with Solivita Disney Fan Club (after cruise)
Sept. 14 Magic Kingdom to catch the new Seven Dwarfs Mine Train ride
Sept. 15 Seaworld
Sept. 18 Gatorland
Sept. 21 Epcot for first time at Food and Wine Festival this year, Jo Dee Messina in concert
Sept. 22 Universal CityWalk or mini-golf with our friends Barb and Al
Sept. 28 Downtown Disney for a movie, then Animal Kingdom, just to be sure we really are hitting ALL the parks in one month
Sept. 29 Universal Studios early morning hours for Diagon Alley, which when we ride the Hogwarts Express will take us into Universal's Islands of Adventure, too.
Sept. 30 Legoland
I'm pretty sure this is NEVER going to happen again, so I'm very excited for September this year.
And Rosh Hashana and two SOJC choir rehearsals are in this month, too. BUSY MONTH! I love Florida retirement living!
I have spent two days eating all my meals at home and not snacking. What a difference! Without even trying hard, I have lost two pounds in two days, down to 259 this morning. Hm....all meals are inside today and tomorrow, but lunch and dinner will both be out on Friday. Then next week all meals will be out starting Sunday lunch through Friday dinner when we get home from the convention. We will be at the Rosen Center in Orlando, which has a lot of restaurant choices, but restaurants are always higher in sodium and fat and calories than food prepared at home. Also, I often make bad choices. Sitting in a convention seat all day is also not very conducive to burning off the calories. They have a MAGNIFICENT pool, so I'm hoping to catch some time poolside and maybe do some laps or water aerobics while we are there.
Oh, I don't think I mentioned this yet, but I was asked to sing THREE songs at this National Convention! I am opening the convention Sunday afternoon with "The Star-Spangled Banner" a cappella and then later in the program I'm singing "Golden Dreams" (the music from the American Adventure in Epcot) with a karaoke accompaniment. I will also close the convention Thursday night after the big banquet with "God Bless America." I sang the first and last songs at the Florida state NARFE Convention in May, and some of the same people are in charge of organizing the National convention. I am SO HONORED to do this! I think there will be about 2,000 or more people in attendance. I have NEVER sung in front of that many people before. Now I'm also praying I stay healthy and in good voice. Mark came down with a cold on Sunday and has been sneezing, blowing his nose, and coughing for three straight days. All I can do is try hard not to breathe in any germs. LOL!
Another fun thing for the month of September is that in addition to that cheap five day/four night cruise on the Carnival Ecstasy out of Miami to Key West and Cozumel that we booked because it was just too damn cheap to pass up, we also realized that we have booked a day to attend every major theme park in our area in the same month. That has never happened. Gatorland has a $10 admission for Florida residents through the end of September. Legoland has a Living Social deal too cheap to pass up. We have Annual Passes to Seaworld, Universal, and WDW. We actually booked Seaworld first because we hadn't gone since the day we got the pass. Universal has now announced early morning hours for Annual Passholders to go to Diagon Alley and the new Hogwarts Express ride. So now our calendar looks like this:
Sept. 7 Tampa Bay Rays v. Orioles in St. Pete with our friends Bob and Jane
Sept. 8-12 Carnival Ecstasy Cruise
Sept. 12 Disney's Hollywood Studios Scavenger Hunt with Solivita Disney Fan Club (after cruise)
Sept. 14 Magic Kingdom to catch the new Seven Dwarfs Mine Train ride
Sept. 15 Seaworld
Sept. 18 Gatorland
Sept. 21 Epcot for first time at Food and Wine Festival this year, Jo Dee Messina in concert
Sept. 22 Universal CityWalk or mini-golf with our friends Barb and Al
Sept. 28 Downtown Disney for a movie, then Animal Kingdom, just to be sure we really are hitting ALL the parks in one month
Sept. 29 Universal Studios early morning hours for Diagon Alley, which when we ride the Hogwarts Express will take us into Universal's Islands of Adventure, too.
Sept. 30 Legoland
I'm pretty sure this is NEVER going to happen again, so I'm very excited for September this year.
And Rosh Hashana and two SOJC choir rehearsals are in this month, too. BUSY MONTH! I love Florida retirement living!
Monday, August 18, 2014
Frozen Summer Fun
Yesterday exceeded expectations at Disney's Hollywood Studios. At the end of this brief blog are pictures from all the Frozen fun!
Today I weighed in at 261. Still the same since we arrived home. I have eaten a good, healthy breakfast and lunch. I also worked out with weights. Dinner is out at the SPAC Social tonight. I'm also playing Mah Jongg with my neighbors for the first time in over two months. I'm looking forward to that. I some little gifts for them.
Tomorrow I have my mammogram and ultra-sound. It's been a year. This is the first one since I skipped the one six months ago. It's nice to be back on an annual basis instead of every six months. I do not anticipate any problems.
Enjoy the pictures from yesterday's fun.
Today I weighed in at 261. Still the same since we arrived home. I have eaten a good, healthy breakfast and lunch. I also worked out with weights. Dinner is out at the SPAC Social tonight. I'm also playing Mah Jongg with my neighbors for the first time in over two months. I'm looking forward to that. I some little gifts for them.
Tomorrow I have my mammogram and ultra-sound. It's been a year. This is the first one since I skipped the one six months ago. It's nice to be back on an annual basis instead of every six months. I do not anticipate any problems.
Enjoy the pictures from yesterday's fun.
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| Sand sculpture at entrance to park |
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| Waiting for the parade |
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| It's snowing! |
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| Elsa and Anna in a horse drawn sleigh |
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| Ticket for the Sing-Along show |
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| Great show! |
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| Mark and his Olaf-on-a-Stick waiting to go into the Great Movie Ride. |
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| My new stuffed Olaf enjoyed his first time on the ride. |
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| Me and my new buddy |
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| Olaf waiting with Mark to go to the Indiana Jones stunt show. |
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| Is it okay to eat an Olaf cupcake with the "real" one watching? |
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| Ice skating show |
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| REAL SNOW for the little ones to build snowmen. |
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| Posing with the ice skaters. |
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| Frozen summer fun! |
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| Fabulous fireworks ended the day with a bang! |
Saturday, August 16, 2014
Shabbat at home
I am still 261-ish, maybe a fraction over, since I weighed on Wednesday morning. I have been having fun, exercising (I swam 20 minutes of laps yesterday, played mini-golf on Thursday, and lifted weights on Wednesday), but I have eaten a breakfast out, a lunch out, and a dinner at a friend's home. All of that is enough to keep me the same. That's good, but I wish I was keeping a lower number the same!
Mark and I decided to stay home and chill out today instead of rushing off in the morning to shul. Sometimes we just have to crash on a Saturday. Today is the day for that! LOL!
We had a great time at breakfast at the Kona Cafe and mini-golf at Fantasia on Thursday with Barb and Al. On Friday we went to Cypress Cove for the first time in over two months. Mark got a haircut while I swam laps. We had lunch there and then worked in the library for our three hour shift before heading to Shabbat dinner with Ed and Susie Goldberg. I love going to a friend's house for dinner in Solivita because it's always such a nice short drive home late at night!
Later today we will go to the gym again for lifting weights and maybe a short walk to view alligators in the nearby ponds. We haven't spotted one since we got home. If it's too hot or raining, we will NOT be walking. Tonight we plan to watch the Blu-Ray of Frozen that Evey got for Mark. We only saw it once in the theater, so we are really looking forward to seeing it again. Tomorrow we will spend all day at Disney's Hollywood Studios for the special event Frozen Summer Fun. We will view a parade, see the characters, attend a sing-along, and view the special fireworks. We will also eat lunch and dinner at the park. With any luck, the walking will keep me the same, AGAIN!
Here are some pictures from the last few days.
Mark and I decided to stay home and chill out today instead of rushing off in the morning to shul. Sometimes we just have to crash on a Saturday. Today is the day for that! LOL!
We had a great time at breakfast at the Kona Cafe and mini-golf at Fantasia on Thursday with Barb and Al. On Friday we went to Cypress Cove for the first time in over two months. Mark got a haircut while I swam laps. We had lunch there and then worked in the library for our three hour shift before heading to Shabbat dinner with Ed and Susie Goldberg. I love going to a friend's house for dinner in Solivita because it's always such a nice short drive home late at night!
Later today we will go to the gym again for lifting weights and maybe a short walk to view alligators in the nearby ponds. We haven't spotted one since we got home. If it's too hot or raining, we will NOT be walking. Tonight we plan to watch the Blu-Ray of Frozen that Evey got for Mark. We only saw it once in the theater, so we are really looking forward to seeing it again. Tomorrow we will spend all day at Disney's Hollywood Studios for the special event Frozen Summer Fun. We will view a parade, see the characters, attend a sing-along, and view the special fireworks. We will also eat lunch and dinner at the park. With any luck, the walking will keep me the same, AGAIN!
Here are some pictures from the last few days.
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| Goodies we brought back from our SD trip. |
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| All the goodies Lowell and Emily brought us from Europe! |
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| B'fast at the Kona Cafe with Barb and Al. |
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| Barb and I both have August birthdays and were born in the same year! |
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| Our birthday buttons. |
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| Because it was our birthday, we got complimentary Mickey golf balls. So now no one say that Barb and I don't have balls! |
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| Although I had the worst score of the four of us, I did get a hole-in-one on this hole and the last one. |
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| Mark and Al playing. Al was the big winner. Along with Barb, they were the winning team. |
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| Great day with great friends! |
Wednesday, August 13, 2014
Good to be home
It's good to be sitting in my own home this morning as I type a blog. Wow! We love our house.
We had an easy drive for two days. There was no rain and light traffic every where. There was a bit of a rush hour coming through Orlando at 6 p.m., but nothing as bad as the DC or Baltimore area! On the way home, we made plans for breakfast at the Kona Cafe at the Polynesian Resort tomorrow morning with Barb and Al. We'll be celebrating our birthdays, mine belatedly and hers a day early. So, we decided we needed to stop at Downtown Disney to buy the Tables in Wonderland discount dining card. Unfortunately, DTD is a MESS. It's been under construction for a very long time as it is slowly transitioning into Disney Springs. We saw the parking deck is coming along, but meanwhile, it's nearly impossible to park there. We gave up and drove to Epcot. Mark renewed the TiW card, then we walked back to Morocco and ate their fantastic veggie platter and wine for dinner. How cool is it that we can do that? VERY COOL!
We got home at 9:30 and had the whole car unloaded by 9:45. I made TEN trips from the car to the house. Fortunately that's not a long walk and there are NO STEPS! We didn't bother unpacking anything until this morning. We were just exhausted by then!
Of course, it was great sleeping in our own bed and using our own shower this morning. I LOVE my shower! Today Mark has to go shopping since we barely scrounged up stuff for breakfast, and he's going to go pick up two months worth of comic books that they held for him at the store. Tonight I have a rehearsal at the synagogue. Things are back to normal!
I did weigh myself this morning. I was 261, which means I gained 8.5 pounds in the 8.5 weeks we were gone. That's sort of amusing to me. Now I need to get back to normal and try to undo this damage. Of course, there are the usual stumbling blocks, meals out and parties. To counteract those, I need to exercise more, which is easy here, and not snack out of control in the house. Right now there's nothing in here to snack on, so that should be easy. LOL!
Of course, our happiness at being home was tempered with the news that Robin Williams had committed suicide on Monday at age 63 and Lauren Bacall passed away at age 89 of natural causes. Two giants of the entertainment world are gone. Sad.
We had an easy drive for two days. There was no rain and light traffic every where. There was a bit of a rush hour coming through Orlando at 6 p.m., but nothing as bad as the DC or Baltimore area! On the way home, we made plans for breakfast at the Kona Cafe at the Polynesian Resort tomorrow morning with Barb and Al. We'll be celebrating our birthdays, mine belatedly and hers a day early. So, we decided we needed to stop at Downtown Disney to buy the Tables in Wonderland discount dining card. Unfortunately, DTD is a MESS. It's been under construction for a very long time as it is slowly transitioning into Disney Springs. We saw the parking deck is coming along, but meanwhile, it's nearly impossible to park there. We gave up and drove to Epcot. Mark renewed the TiW card, then we walked back to Morocco and ate their fantastic veggie platter and wine for dinner. How cool is it that we can do that? VERY COOL!
We got home at 9:30 and had the whole car unloaded by 9:45. I made TEN trips from the car to the house. Fortunately that's not a long walk and there are NO STEPS! We didn't bother unpacking anything until this morning. We were just exhausted by then!
Of course, it was great sleeping in our own bed and using our own shower this morning. I LOVE my shower! Today Mark has to go shopping since we barely scrounged up stuff for breakfast, and he's going to go pick up two months worth of comic books that they held for him at the store. Tonight I have a rehearsal at the synagogue. Things are back to normal!
I did weigh myself this morning. I was 261, which means I gained 8.5 pounds in the 8.5 weeks we were gone. That's sort of amusing to me. Now I need to get back to normal and try to undo this damage. Of course, there are the usual stumbling blocks, meals out and parties. To counteract those, I need to exercise more, which is easy here, and not snack out of control in the house. Right now there's nothing in here to snack on, so that should be easy. LOL!
Of course, our happiness at being home was tempered with the news that Robin Williams had committed suicide on Monday at age 63 and Lauren Bacall passed away at age 89 of natural causes. Two giants of the entertainment world are gone. Sad.
Monday, August 11, 2014
We are finally starting the long drive home to FLorida.
Mark said that yesterday was National Lazy Day! We felt like we did it justice for a lot of the day. We got up in the morning and spent about an hour packing up our suitcases and organizing all the stuff that we have to take home. It's all laid out and waiting in the foyer to be loaded into the car this morning. Most of the rest of day, up until about 4:45 p.m., we just relaxed. We read, played on the computer, and watched the Orioles' game on TV. I spent about two hours sitting on Cindy's lanai (screen porch) reading my book. It was a lovely day.
The best part was when we drove over to Columbia to have dinner with Lowell, Emily, Pat, and Phil. We had dinner at the Hickory Ridge Grill, close to their house. Then we went back to their house for presents and honeymoon pictures. We could not believe how much great stuff they brought back for all of us. It was just amazing! I lost track of all the fun things Emily gave her parents, but Lowell gave us all of this: a little bucket of chocolate olives, a hand carved Pinocchio, two t-shirts for each of us (Regal Princess Inaugural Cruise and Athens, Greece), a fantastic 8x10 photo of them on Formal Night on the ship (something I had specifically requested!), a magnet from Greece, a Leaning Tower of Pisa mug, Murano glass pendant necklace for my birthday present, Lemon soap from Positano, Lemoncello from Sorrento. There may have been more, but I can't even remember. They were so generous. We were stunned as the gifts just kept on coming.
Lowell and Emily, thank you for all of these wonderful things. It was nice to know you were thinking of us on your honeymoon.
Now we are going to load the car and get on the road. We will stay overnight in our usual spot, Florence, SC, which is about 495 miles from Cindy's house. It's a long drive, but Mark and Carol are driving out from Myrtle Beach to join us in the evening. That's a nice thing to look forward to on the drive. We'll have dinner and breakfast with them before heading to Florida on Tuesday.
Our 62 day odyssey, our nearly 9 week trip, is finally coming to an end.
Oh, and before I close, I guess I had better report that it is Monday Weigh-in Day. I am 262 this morning. So I'm up one since Friday morning. Well, once I get home, I guess I'll have to get back to more exercise and less snacking. Of course, I already have a lot of meals that will be eaten out and a five day cruise in September, all the things that keep losing weight difficult for me. I'm not going to worry about it today. I feel happy and healthy despite weighing 262 pounds. I just want to focus today on driving safely to Florence, SC.
The best part was when we drove over to Columbia to have dinner with Lowell, Emily, Pat, and Phil. We had dinner at the Hickory Ridge Grill, close to their house. Then we went back to their house for presents and honeymoon pictures. We could not believe how much great stuff they brought back for all of us. It was just amazing! I lost track of all the fun things Emily gave her parents, but Lowell gave us all of this: a little bucket of chocolate olives, a hand carved Pinocchio, two t-shirts for each of us (Regal Princess Inaugural Cruise and Athens, Greece), a fantastic 8x10 photo of them on Formal Night on the ship (something I had specifically requested!), a magnet from Greece, a Leaning Tower of Pisa mug, Murano glass pendant necklace for my birthday present, Lemon soap from Positano, Lemoncello from Sorrento. There may have been more, but I can't even remember. They were so generous. We were stunned as the gifts just kept on coming.
Lowell and Emily, thank you for all of these wonderful things. It was nice to know you were thinking of us on your honeymoon.
Now we are going to load the car and get on the road. We will stay overnight in our usual spot, Florence, SC, which is about 495 miles from Cindy's house. It's a long drive, but Mark and Carol are driving out from Myrtle Beach to join us in the evening. That's a nice thing to look forward to on the drive. We'll have dinner and breakfast with them before heading to Florida on Tuesday.
Our 62 day odyssey, our nearly 9 week trip, is finally coming to an end.
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| Friday night we had a Shabbat dinner with Cindy in her home. Thanks to Cindy for everything. |
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| Saturday I played Mah Jongg again with the Mishkan Torah Mah Jongg Maniacs. Debbie, Robin, Annie, me, and Arlene. Sue and Janet had already gone home when I remembered to ask Mark to take a photo. I won four games! |
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| Sunday evening dinner: me, Lowell, Pat, Phil, Emily, and Mark |
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| Lowell said he got me some olives that I'd finally like! I think he's right. They're chocolate! |
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| Mark and his Pinocchio |
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| Cool mug! |
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| Emily is giving her mom something beautiful. |
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| Spending time with my son and his wife, PRICELESS! |
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| Later we spent an hour or two in the basement looking at their honeymoon photos. Lowell and his dog Ozma! |
Friday, August 8, 2014
Back at "home." Well, Cindy's house, which feels like home.
Thank God for my sister Cindy, and I mean that sincerely and completely. I have loved her for her entire life, but since my cancer diagnosis in 2010 when she opened her home to us to live in for six months at my absolute WORST, I can never repay her, thank her, or laud her enough.
Now she has this fabulous NEW house in Linthicum, which is just beautiful. Coming back here after the two weeks at Lowell and Emily's house felt like coming home. It truly did. I sat out on her "lanai" this morning with my cup of coffee (lovingly provided by Mark) and my cell phone, watched the squirrels chase each other and a bird chase a bunny rabbit, felt the cool breeze, and listened to birds chirping. It was a peaceful slice of heaven.
THANK YOU, CINDY! You are an amazing woman, and I love you so much!
We certainly did enjoy Lowell's house, too, but that three floor house with two sets of stairs was tough. We loved the dogs, the cuddling and cuteness factor, but walking them was tough. So, all in all, we are glad we did it and glad we could help out, but I'm glad it was only for two weeks. We are glad to be back at Cindy's, all on one floor!
Today we are going to take care of some errands, and I'm finally going to the Greenbelt National Park for that Passport stamp. We'll get the car washed, do some grocery shopping, pick up some meds for Mark at CVS, and not worry about whether the dogs are in the crate for too long. I love dogs, and I've had a lot of them in my life, but having not had one now for 6 years, I realized I no longer want to do all that work! That's why it's good to enjoy someone else's dogs now and then.
Lowell and Emily are home safe and sound. They loved the crazy, frenetic greeting they got from Trillian and Ozma. I'm sure they enjoyed sleeping in their own bed last night, cuddled up with the pups. I'm very glad we were able to contribute to their honeymoon bliss by house and dog sitting so they didn't have to worry about anything.
And I was only 261 on the scale this morning. Woo Hoo! I'm starting to turn things around.
Now she has this fabulous NEW house in Linthicum, which is just beautiful. Coming back here after the two weeks at Lowell and Emily's house felt like coming home. It truly did. I sat out on her "lanai" this morning with my cup of coffee (lovingly provided by Mark) and my cell phone, watched the squirrels chase each other and a bird chase a bunny rabbit, felt the cool breeze, and listened to birds chirping. It was a peaceful slice of heaven.
THANK YOU, CINDY! You are an amazing woman, and I love you so much!
We certainly did enjoy Lowell's house, too, but that three floor house with two sets of stairs was tough. We loved the dogs, the cuddling and cuteness factor, but walking them was tough. So, all in all, we are glad we did it and glad we could help out, but I'm glad it was only for two weeks. We are glad to be back at Cindy's, all on one floor!
Today we are going to take care of some errands, and I'm finally going to the Greenbelt National Park for that Passport stamp. We'll get the car washed, do some grocery shopping, pick up some meds for Mark at CVS, and not worry about whether the dogs are in the crate for too long. I love dogs, and I've had a lot of them in my life, but having not had one now for 6 years, I realized I no longer want to do all that work! That's why it's good to enjoy someone else's dogs now and then.
Lowell and Emily are home safe and sound. They loved the crazy, frenetic greeting they got from Trillian and Ozma. I'm sure they enjoyed sleeping in their own bed last night, cuddled up with the pups. I'm very glad we were able to contribute to their honeymoon bliss by house and dog sitting so they didn't have to worry about anything.
And I was only 261 on the scale this morning. Woo Hoo! I'm starting to turn things around.
Thursday, August 7, 2014
Lowell and Emily come home today!
Our dog-sitting days are over as of late this afternoon. We are washing sheets and towels and dishes, tidying things up, and making up the bed so that everything is ready for them tonight. They land at BWI at 6:44 p.m., but it will be like 12:44 a.m. in their body's clock. I bet they will be exhausted. I'm also sure the dogs will go BALLISTIC when they see them tonight.
We are moving all of our stuff back to Cindy's house today. Four more nights in Maryland at her house before we start driving home on Monday. Our two month odyssey is almost over.
My birthday was great yesterday. I got 87 Facebook greetings! That's crazy! I got a Facetime phone call from Evey and a FB photo and greeting from VENICE from Lowell and Emily. How cool is that?
I enjoyed my trip to the Capitol Building. Then we changed our plans and walked the tunnel over to the Library of Congress. We had never been there either, and after lunch we no longer had enough time to walk up to the Washington Monument. Both buildings were just gorgeous. Here are a few pictures from my big day in DC.
We are moving all of our stuff back to Cindy's house today. Four more nights in Maryland at her house before we start driving home on Monday. Our two month odyssey is almost over.
My birthday was great yesterday. I got 87 Facebook greetings! That's crazy! I got a Facetime phone call from Evey and a FB photo and greeting from VENICE from Lowell and Emily. How cool is that?
I enjoyed my trip to the Capitol Building. Then we changed our plans and walked the tunnel over to the Library of Congress. We had never been there either, and after lunch we no longer had enough time to walk up to the Washington Monument. Both buildings were just gorgeous. Here are a few pictures from my big day in DC.
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| We took the metro into DC. |
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| South Capitol station is very close. |
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| I had never been inside before, despite living in the DC area for 58 years! |
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| Mark in the background posting on FB with the Library of Congress behind him. |
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| Heading down into the Visitor Center |
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| Looking over at the main floor downstairs. The big statue is a plaster mold of the Freedom statue on the top of the dome. |
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| We came to see this, Sarah Winnemucca from Nevada. In 2012 when we toured Nevada w,e heard all about her and the movement to get this statue funded and placed in the Capitol. |
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| We saw the one outside the police building in Honolulu in 2010! You can also see that one in the opening shots of Hawaii Five-O every week. |
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| Our tour guide |
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| The Rotunda |
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| Statuary Hall. Every state can have two statues, but they are not all in here. Some are not in public places. We felt lucky that Sarah W. was right out in the main floor of the Visitor Center! |
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| Statuary Hall was the original House chamber, so there are plaques on the ground where the desks used to be. |
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| Rosa Parks |
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| Eisenhower |
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| Rankin, the first woman elected to Congress. |
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| Lunch in the cafeteria |
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| Gift shopping! Mark got me a mug and magnet for birthday presents. |
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| Last look in the Capitol Visitor Center |
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| Heading over to the other building |
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| Looking down at the Reading Room from the third floor gallery |
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| Looking out over the other way |
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| Minerva Mosaic on the stairs behind me |
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| We had no idea this building was so beautiful. |
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| Then we came home to walk the dogs. |
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