I saw this article a few months ago and thought, hmm. 30 movies in less than 9 years before I'm 40? I can do that. There's also a bunch of these movies that I've always wanted to see and just never got around to!
So here's the list that I'm going to focus on...
1. Fight Club (1999)
2. The Godfather (1972)
3. Forrest Gump (1994)
4. Pulp Fiction (1994)
5. Psycho (1960)
6. The Shawshank Redemption (1994)
7. One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest (1975)
8. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004)
9. Her (2013)
10. American Beauty (1999)
11. Saving Private Ryan (1998)
12. Full Metal Jacket (1987)
13. Platoon (1986)
14. 300 (2007)
15. Schindler’s List (1993)
16. Léon: The Professional (1994)
17. Kill Bill (2003)
18. The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)
19. The Matrix (1999)
20. X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014)
21. Memento (2000)
22. The Dark Knight (2008)
23. Vertigo (1958)
24. Cabin in the Woods (2012)
25. Shutter Island (2010)
26. Bridget Jones’s Diary (2001)
27. Clueless (1995)
28. (500) Days of Summer (2009)
29. 10 Things I Hate About You (1999)
30. Annie Hall (1977)
I may not watch one or two of them because they'll freak me out but otherwise, I think it's a pretty good goal! Have you seen any of these movies?
Friday, February 20, 2015
Tuesday, February 17, 2015
Adventures in Meditation
I've always been a crazy busy person. With a full time job doing events, a part time wedding coordination business, volunteer roles, keeping up a house and just keeping up family and friends, people ask me how in the world do I get everything done?
Well, I don't. I'm reading Sheryl Sandberg's Lean In where she talks about not doing everything - she focuses on what's important.
In the past few weeks, I've realized that I need to make myself more important during all this crazy scheduling. So I started getting up a little bit earlier each day to walk 40 minutes on the treadmill. It's only been a week and I missed the weekend, but I was back this morning and still focused on that goal.
When we got back from Disney, I heard about an app called Headspace. It's free for the first ten days and then a subscription but I have fallen in love with it, so I'm paying for it (something like the cost of two coffees a month). I'm not even getting paid to talk about this app but I do really think it's doing something good for me.
I'm focusing on the daily meditation thing for ten minutes each morning. It's apparently just the right amount of time for my hair to dry in the towel while I'm getting ready after my treadmill walking.
So by the time 8 am rolls around and I'm heading into the office, I've already walked for 40 minutes or so and taken ten minutes of quiet time for me, just to be still. It's been so amazing for me and my psyche.
Do you take time every day to just sit and be still?
Well, I don't. I'm reading Sheryl Sandberg's Lean In where she talks about not doing everything - she focuses on what's important.
In the past few weeks, I've realized that I need to make myself more important during all this crazy scheduling. So I started getting up a little bit earlier each day to walk 40 minutes on the treadmill. It's only been a week and I missed the weekend, but I was back this morning and still focused on that goal.
When we got back from Disney, I heard about an app called Headspace. It's free for the first ten days and then a subscription but I have fallen in love with it, so I'm paying for it (something like the cost of two coffees a month). I'm not even getting paid to talk about this app but I do really think it's doing something good for me.
I'm focusing on the daily meditation thing for ten minutes each morning. It's apparently just the right amount of time for my hair to dry in the towel while I'm getting ready after my treadmill walking.
So by the time 8 am rolls around and I'm heading into the office, I've already walked for 40 minutes or so and taken ten minutes of quiet time for me, just to be still. It's been so amazing for me and my psyche.
Do you take time every day to just sit and be still?
Sunday, February 15, 2015
Adventures in Valentine's Day 2015
Our lives are so crazy that weekends without events, activities, house work and other stuff to occupy our days are very seldom. So I love it when Husband and I can spend good time together, without stuff to do and places to be! This weekend, he decided to make a whole day of plans without telling me where we were going, or what we were doing. I hate surprises but secretly love them! He loves holding the secrets over me too. ;)
So he planned the whole day, starting with a great Valentine's Day card (the first of a few during the day). Apparently there were a bunch of these on a Buzzfeed article and he printed just a few of them... I won't show you the rest because this is a family blog!
Our first stop after Starbucks was the Botanical Garden, even though it was crazy cold and snowing just a bit. We got our tickets and took our time in the Orchid Show... what a way to get my floral quota in for this holiday!
Lots of people were there for the Orchid Show, so after a trip around the garden, we went onto our next stop. Urban Chestnut Brewing Company is just down the street and we were the first ones there when they opened at 11 am. Pretzels, oysters plus fries with dipping sauces and of course, beer! I asked for a syrup in my sour beer and didn't even realize it made my drink more festive! The bartender even wanted to take a picture for their marketing purposes for later. Hah!
Our next stop was the Art Museum for a wander around the permanent collection, then a special exhibit of American prints. Husband knows the museum really well and likes to see anything new that they bring in.
Husband was telling me all day that we had multiple stops, with one absolute time that we had to make. It was 3:30 pm and for the whole day, I couldn't quite figure out what we were doing!
The St. Louis Science Center has the Planetarium across the highway and I haven't been in years. That was our next stop, with a showing of Live Sky Tonight - an interactive show that tells you what stars will be in the sky tonight and how to pick out the different stars and constellations.
While they do have some chairs in the Planetarium, they have most of the space cleared out so you can grab a mat and lay down to see the stars all above you. So much fun!
It was the best time to snuggle up and really enjoy his new cologne - Calvin Klein's Reveal*. They say that it's got notes of crystallized ginger with vintage vanilla bean and golden amber. I never quite get all the notes that they say, but this one definitely was yummy when Husband wore it for our day out. We got to try it out and I thought Valentine's Day was the perfect time! The free sample we got came just in time.
After the Science Center, it was time for dinner. We've been meaning to try Peacemaker in Benton Park for MONTHS, ever since we saw that it had opened.
Never seems like we had the time, or the money. But when we finally got the chance to sit at the bar and enjoy our hurricane slushie (me) and scazerac (him) while waiting for our yummy lobster rolls, it was worth it.
While not quite as amazing as the lobster rolls we got to try in Boston, the hush puppies and the rolls were pretty darn good for St. Louis. Even if we did have to contend with all the crazies leaving Mardi Gras.
The final stop of the day was Ted Drewes - they always open around Valentine's Day. While we don't live near the shop anymore, we don't get frozen custard as often as we did a few years ago which is a bummer. So any opportunity, snowing or freezing temperatures or no, we have to take it! Husband got his standard chocolate shake and I got the special chocolate covered cherry special. Such a perfect way to end my day with my amazing husband, heart-shaped marshmallow whip cream and all.
How did you spend your Valentine's Day?
*Disclosure: I received these products complimentary from Influenster for testing purposes.
Tuesday, February 10, 2015
Adventures in Big Family Vacation Planning (part 9)
So, we traveled to Walt Disney World with 23 people over 10 days. And survived! Lots of planning went into this trip and we had an amazing time.
What did we end up doing? Well, it was a lot and we never got bored! Here is a brief overview (more for me than anyone else) walking through the trip, day by day.
What did we end up doing? Well, it was a lot and we never got bored! Here is a brief overview (more for me than anyone else) walking through the trip, day by day.
We are here! Gotta take a picture at our resort, this time is All Star Sports.
A bit cold and rainy this time around, but still really fun. We watched the Fantasy in the Sky fireworks show on the 30th from Tomorrowland, which is our traditional spot. Ponchos came out that night but that's ok!
This was the night that we got stuck on Pirates of the Caribbean ride with all 18 of Husband's family -all in our own boat! Something was definitely wrong with the ride, because we got stuck multiple times. Then, they had to evacuate us from the ride RIGHT before the drop. Who knew those ropes on the other side of the boat from this guy were practical? They had to tie our boat down and then help us out, one by one. We got a great shot of this guy from our boat while stuck, so that's a positive!
Late that night, on the 30th, during Extra Magic Hours, the line for Anna and Elsa were crazy short. So I convinced Husband to hop in line and wait for this awesome meet and greet!
The next day was Epcot, and we managed to get a big family picture with the Big Cheese.
Aww, c'mon! Nephew giving Mickey a kiss just stole the show.
It was the nuttiest time at Epcot I have ever seen.
We were told later that it was an estimated 92,000 people in the park that day.
So we went to get pizza in Italy.
The four cheese pizza is "forget your husband's name" good. Oh my.
We were there when Italy celebrated the New Year in the old country, so there was a huge celebration at the restaurant, with singing and ringing of bells. So much fun!
Test Track from back stage.
We ended up taking a bypass out of the park once the 6 pm fireworks went off, because there were just too many people to have any fun. Especially when walking around with 18 people. We decided to head for the resort.
Nephew enjoyed the hat and the noisemaker first, though!
Happy 2015, everyone!
Tuesday, February 3, 2015
Adventures in Big Family Vacation Planning (part 8)
One of the last things that we had to arrange was our Disney Magic Express transportation, once we had made our other plans.
Disney does everything it can to get you to their property and keep you there. Period. We call it the Disney Bubble, and while we love being in the bubble, not everyone feels that way. Husband and I experienced a Disney trip with just the two of us last December and decided to rent a car to avoid some of the long bus rides. It's definitely a different experience when you're driving!
When you make your flight reservations, you send the info to Disney or your travel agent so the bus can be ready for you at Orlando International Airport.
The most amazing thing about DME is that once you check your bags at the airport at home, you don't see them again until they arrive in your Disney Resort room. They take care of waiting at the luggage carousel and load all of the bags up in a van and with the tag they sent you earlier, they know whose bags they are and to which resort and room they belong.
It's a magical service!
But you have to be careful, because this delivery process can take up to four hours from the time you land. By the time, me and the family are already checked in to the hotel and headed to the parks. So we make sure that anything we need for the rest of the first day is in our checked bags, including our park tickets/Magic Bands, a park bag, our camera, change of clothes, you get the idea.
When we check into the hotel, we usually leave a bag or two with bell services while we head to the park. This way our iPads and other airplane bag stuff is stored, safe and sound at the resort, while we have fun.
It may sound scary to lose sight of your luggage for a few hours, but believe me, the magic of walking into your room after your first day in the parks and having your bags there is pretty awesome.
Once our DME information is confirmed, it's just the countdown to the vacation to look to... and that's the hardest part - the waiting!
Disney does everything it can to get you to their property and keep you there. Period. We call it the Disney Bubble, and while we love being in the bubble, not everyone feels that way. Husband and I experienced a Disney trip with just the two of us last December and decided to rent a car to avoid some of the long bus rides. It's definitely a different experience when you're driving!
When you make your flight reservations, you send the info to Disney or your travel agent so the bus can be ready for you at Orlando International Airport.
The most amazing thing about DME is that once you check your bags at the airport at home, you don't see them again until they arrive in your Disney Resort room. They take care of waiting at the luggage carousel and load all of the bags up in a van and with the tag they sent you earlier, they know whose bags they are and to which resort and room they belong.
It's a magical service!
But you have to be careful, because this delivery process can take up to four hours from the time you land. By the time, me and the family are already checked in to the hotel and headed to the parks. So we make sure that anything we need for the rest of the first day is in our checked bags, including our park tickets/Magic Bands, a park bag, our camera, change of clothes, you get the idea.
When we check into the hotel, we usually leave a bag or two with bell services while we head to the park. This way our iPads and other airplane bag stuff is stored, safe and sound at the resort, while we have fun.
It may sound scary to lose sight of your luggage for a few hours, but believe me, the magic of walking into your room after your first day in the parks and having your bags there is pretty awesome.
Once our DME information is confirmed, it's just the countdown to the vacation to look to... and that's the hardest part - the waiting!
Sunday, January 25, 2015
Adventures in Big Family Vacation Planning (part 7)
Oh boy, our planning was almost done! 60 days out and time was flying now.
And now, it was time to spend some more money. But I figure this one was worth it - Disney's MemoryMaker. It's a pass to get your picture taken in multiple places around the resort, with fun backgrounds, that allows everyone to get into the picture. We had so much fun with these pictures!
Since I'm writing this after the trip, I can show you a few of them!
There is a meet and greet with Mickey, Minnie and Goofy in Epcot that was just perfect for a large family picture. We had FastPass+ reservations for this attraction and I gave them a few minutes heads up that we were entering the line with 18 people. They managed to create some extra room so our big group could take a picture - in matching shirts no less! It was so much fun to get all these pictures, and we could all pay attention to the characters and not worry about the pictures.
Plus, the photographers catch some great moments - like this one where I gave Minnie a hug!
The other fun thing about MemoryMaker is the ability to get "magic shots" - the photographers ask you to pose in a certain way and then press a button to have some magic sprinkled into the shot. You find the surprise when you check the website for your photos after you've done vacationing for the day. The girls met Olaf and didn't even know it!
I just love having pictures of the both of us on vacation - the photographers have fun with it, too! Since we take lots of pictures of just the two of us, they usually ask us to get all lovey-dovey and some of the shots are just adorable.
I wouldn't necessarily buy an on-ride photo but getting this one along with all the others is just great - look at my face!
So once one set of family members left, my family came in to join us for some Disney fun! We got a bunch of pictures together too.
In addition to the photographers in the park, there are usually photographers at some of the restaurants. Chef Mickey's in the Contemporary Hotel is one of them where you get a picture at the beginning. They used to print them out for you and upsell you during the meal. Now they're included in the online service! So nice.
And now, it was time to spend some more money. But I figure this one was worth it - Disney's MemoryMaker. It's a pass to get your picture taken in multiple places around the resort, with fun backgrounds, that allows everyone to get into the picture. We had so much fun with these pictures!
Since I'm writing this after the trip, I can show you a few of them!
They have photographers at most of the meet and greets and elsewhere around the parks. So I got to meet Anna and Elsa and get my picture taken!
There is a meet and greet with Mickey, Minnie and Goofy in Epcot that was just perfect for a large family picture. We had FastPass+ reservations for this attraction and I gave them a few minutes heads up that we were entering the line with 18 people. They managed to create some extra room so our big group could take a picture - in matching shirts no less! It was so much fun to get all these pictures, and we could all pay attention to the characters and not worry about the pictures.
Plus, the photographers catch some great moments - like this one where I gave Minnie a hug!
The other fun thing about MemoryMaker is the ability to get "magic shots" - the photographers ask you to pose in a certain way and then press a button to have some magic sprinkled into the shot. You find the surprise when you check the website for your photos after you've done vacationing for the day. The girls met Olaf and didn't even know it!
The service also gives you access to the on-ride photos. This one was really awesome because we didn't even have to scan our bands on the way out of the ride, the RFID technology in the bands recognized that we were on the ride and took our picture. Ain't technology grand?!
There are also a few on-ride videos that were added to our account as well, each time one of us rode Seven Dwarfs Mine Train or Hollywood Tower of Terror.
I just love having pictures of the both of us on vacation - the photographers have fun with it, too! Since we take lots of pictures of just the two of us, they usually ask us to get all lovey-dovey and some of the shots are just adorable.
I wouldn't necessarily buy an on-ride photo but getting this one along with all the others is just great - look at my face!
So once one set of family members left, my family came in to join us for some Disney fun! We got a bunch of pictures together too.
In addition to the photographers in the park, there are usually photographers at some of the restaurants. Chef Mickey's in the Contemporary Hotel is one of them where you get a picture at the beginning. They used to print them out for you and upsell you during the meal. Now they're included in the online service! So nice.
It's another great example of getting the whole family in a picture - it may be a bit overcast but still, so much fun!
Sunday, December 28, 2014
Adventures in Big Family Vacation Planning (part 6)
So Disney is all about planning - and now that we had our dining reservations, we had a few months to hang out and just wait for the next step.
We have the big spreadsheet that dictated which parks we would go to on which day, which was helpful. Looking ahead to the next step needed that info! Since the invention of the My Disney Experience app, you can now book up to 3 FastPass+ reservations a day - basically guaranteeing that you will ride your favorite three rides in any given day. Of course, some parks have rules about which rides can go together - there are tiers that prevent you from getting the most awesome rides in a single park each day. That means you have to strategize if you want to get all the rides in over a single stay, since they won't all be done in a single day.
With 23 people going over 11 days, it was going to be a challenge to get our rides booked. I read a bunch of blogs and got suggestions from the podcasts we listen to. They say to focus on the hardest to get rides or the ones of the busiest days. Seven Dwarfs Mine Train (the new coaster in the Magic Kingdom) or the Anna/Elsa meet and greet (the new hotness) are the main ones you want to focus on, for example, since they are so hard to get at 60 days out.
I stayed up late on October 30 because I heard a rumor that the system opens up at midnight Eastern - or 11 pm central! Sure enough, I refreshed my browser at that time and the FP+ window had opened!
Since there were so many of us, I started booking a single FP+ for me for the rides on the busiest days, and for the 7DMT ride that we wanted both in the daytime and the evening. When I got all the days booked for me, I then started to copy those reservations over to the whole party. Which worked for a while.
And then we hit a roadblock. Apparently one cousin's annual pass expired before our trip started, so I couldn't book their passes. My in-laws weren't hooked up to my account appropriately in the system and so it didn't show them as eligible to get FP+ (since they didn't show as having a hotel reservation) and then something else went cattywompus.
UGH. So I did what I could and then went to bed. I woke up early the next morning when the customer service line opened up, I was one of the first to call. The lovely cast member spent over an hour on the phone with me to get everybody linked up appropriately (which I thought I had done weeks ago) and our cousin renewed her annual pass.
But it actually worked out in the end - the cast member was able to copy the FP+ I had for our family staying on property and then to those who are staying off property too! Plus, she was able to do the same for the family checking in later in the week who technically weren't able to get their reservations for a few more days. That was some Disney magic right there!
The planning is almost done at this point! Just a few more things to cross off the list now...
We have the big spreadsheet that dictated which parks we would go to on which day, which was helpful. Looking ahead to the next step needed that info! Since the invention of the My Disney Experience app, you can now book up to 3 FastPass+ reservations a day - basically guaranteeing that you will ride your favorite three rides in any given day. Of course, some parks have rules about which rides can go together - there are tiers that prevent you from getting the most awesome rides in a single park each day. That means you have to strategize if you want to get all the rides in over a single stay, since they won't all be done in a single day.
With 23 people going over 11 days, it was going to be a challenge to get our rides booked. I read a bunch of blogs and got suggestions from the podcasts we listen to. They say to focus on the hardest to get rides or the ones of the busiest days. Seven Dwarfs Mine Train (the new coaster in the Magic Kingdom) or the Anna/Elsa meet and greet (the new hotness) are the main ones you want to focus on, for example, since they are so hard to get at 60 days out.
I stayed up late on October 30 because I heard a rumor that the system opens up at midnight Eastern - or 11 pm central! Sure enough, I refreshed my browser at that time and the FP+ window had opened!
Since there were so many of us, I started booking a single FP+ for me for the rides on the busiest days, and for the 7DMT ride that we wanted both in the daytime and the evening. When I got all the days booked for me, I then started to copy those reservations over to the whole party. Which worked for a while.
And then we hit a roadblock. Apparently one cousin's annual pass expired before our trip started, so I couldn't book their passes. My in-laws weren't hooked up to my account appropriately in the system and so it didn't show them as eligible to get FP+ (since they didn't show as having a hotel reservation) and then something else went cattywompus.
UGH. So I did what I could and then went to bed. I woke up early the next morning when the customer service line opened up, I was one of the first to call. The lovely cast member spent over an hour on the phone with me to get everybody linked up appropriately (which I thought I had done weeks ago) and our cousin renewed her annual pass.
But it actually worked out in the end - the cast member was able to copy the FP+ I had for our family staying on property and then to those who are staying off property too! Plus, she was able to do the same for the family checking in later in the week who technically weren't able to get their reservations for a few more days. That was some Disney magic right there!
The planning is almost done at this point! Just a few more things to cross off the list now...
Saturday, December 20, 2014
Adventures in Saturday Evening Musings
This whole blogging thing is
kind of amazing - I get to write about what is going on in my life,
read about other people's adventures and make wonderful connections. I've even met some of my blogger friends in real life and attended concerts (hi Sonya!) as well as the St. Louis bloggers who get together every quarter for dinner and drinks (gals, are up for January?).
I even received a Christmas card from a few of those lovely STL bloggers. What amazing ladies I've been able to meet through blogging!
So when a few of them started getting products and tagging #influenster, I just had to figure out what was up! Liz from ellieandaddie.com sent me a link and I signed up.
And I just got my first box! It's the #FrostyVoxBox - and boy am I love with some of this stuff! Husband had opened the box when I got home, and the first thing we did was try the Fruit Vines® Bites. I'm in love with licorice and even with all the chocolate around for Christmas, it was the perfect snack after a really long day at work. We are going to be getting more of them later!
One of the other items I was really excited to see was the EcoTools hairbrush! How did Influenster know that I needed a new brush? This one is coming with me on the Grand Winter Adventure in a few days.
And need I mention the tea? We visited the Celestial Seasonings factory a few years ago when we were in Colorado and had so much fun. It's one of my favorite brands of tea so the holiday version was lovely!
There are a bunch of other things but given that we have this crazy holiday coming up, I'm hoping I'll have a chance to use some of the other stuff in the box in the new year.
DISCLOSURE: I received the products described above complimentary to test and/or review. All opinions are my own.
Friday, December 19, 2014
Adventures in Big Family Vacation Planning (part 5)
Disney is so much more than rides - there's all that FOOD!
Our family loves to eat, and one of our bucket list items is to eat at every single restaurant on property. To that end, we try to pick a few new places each time we go down to the World.
Based on the schedule we created earlier, that helps us decide which places are options for dining while we are there.
I sent an email to the whole group to ask their requests - did they want a special character breakfast or a particular family favorite? I know that we don't necessarily have the most adventurous eaters (cheeseburgers and chicken fingers are usually the norm) but it's sometimes fun to try something new.
Husband and I decided that we were going to splurge and have a date at Victoria and Albert's, the only five star restaurant in Orlando. We cannot wait!
When I got the requests from the family back, I went to town with the schedule. Since we are in Magic Kingdom on December 30 for the pre-New Year's Eve fireworks, Liberty Tree with the whole family is the perfect option.
Then again, we look to when my family joins us - my cousin loves animals, so we wanted to have a sit down dinner at the Animal Kingdom Lodge where they are staying. So since Husband and I haven't been to Jiko and my mom loved Sanaa the last time we were there together, we picked Jiko for the six of us for dinner one night. That plus a few other favorites, and our schedule was set! I'm so hungry just looking at this list...
I got up early on that 180 date and got online. You can make reservations online or on the phone, but online opens up a bit earlier. We had a bit of a hiccup because I can't remember my time zones - it's in Eastern time zone and so I got up extra early. But after a few calls and a hour of work and we had our reservations!
I had to make some additional ADRs when my family decided to join us, but those were relatively easy to get.
And now I'm crazy hungry...
Our family loves to eat, and one of our bucket list items is to eat at every single restaurant on property. To that end, we try to pick a few new places each time we go down to the World.
Based on the schedule we created earlier, that helps us decide which places are options for dining while we are there.
I sent an email to the whole group to ask their requests - did they want a special character breakfast or a particular family favorite? I know that we don't necessarily have the most adventurous eaters (cheeseburgers and chicken fingers are usually the norm) but it's sometimes fun to try something new.
Husband and I decided that we were going to splurge and have a date at Victoria and Albert's, the only five star restaurant in Orlando. We cannot wait!
When I got the requests from the family back, I went to town with the schedule. Since we are in Magic Kingdom on December 30 for the pre-New Year's Eve fireworks, Liberty Tree with the whole family is the perfect option.
Then again, we look to when my family joins us - my cousin loves animals, so we wanted to have a sit down dinner at the Animal Kingdom Lodge where they are staying. So since Husband and I haven't been to Jiko and my mom loved Sanaa the last time we were there together, we picked Jiko for the six of us for dinner one night. That plus a few other favorites, and our schedule was set! I'm so hungry just looking at this list...
- Liberty Tree
- Via Napoli
- Crystal Palace
- 50’s Primetime Cafe
- Victoria and Albert’s
- Jiko
- Rose and Crown for Illuminations
- Spice Road Table
- Chef Mickeys
- Be Our Guest (dinner)
I got up early on that 180 date and got online. You can make reservations online or on the phone, but online opens up a bit earlier. We had a bit of a hiccup because I can't remember my time zones - it's in Eastern time zone and so I got up extra early. But after a few calls and a hour of work and we had our reservations!
I had to make some additional ADRs when my family decided to join us, but those were relatively easy to get.
And now I'm crazy hungry...
Tuesday, December 16, 2014
Adventures in Big Family Vacation Planning (part 4)
The hotel choice is always a big one for any trip, but especially for Disney. Once we decided where to stay, we started to look at our dining reservations.
However, we thought we knew who was coming on our big trip, but apparently we didn't get everybody! A few weeks after we had settled the dates of when we were going and after we had made our dining reservations (more info on that in a bit), my mom and brother started talking about going.
Then my cousin and his wife started asking questions. Before we knew it, we had added more hotel rooms for them and added them to our dining reservations!
So now we're up to something like 23 people coming for portions of the long trip.
That's a lot of people to organize for meals!
When Husband and I start our planning, we look to the park hours of operations as a starting point. We have a big ole spreadsheet that is color coded and everything! Every day we're there has a column, and each hour of the day has a row. We start with the park hours and mark those, plus the Extra Magic Hours for each park. Each day one of the parks is open early and one is open late so we try to arrange our schedule to make one of those extra times in the park. You can ride a bunch of rides in those extra hours when (in theory) the park is less crowded. We also pay for a membership in TouringPlans.com, a website that helps us in the planning process.
It may seem like a bunch of work, but it really is fun for us and the family! The schedule of the park hours allows us to choose which day to tour each park.
We use this schedule to figure out where to eat and when.... but that's for next time!
However, we thought we knew who was coming on our big trip, but apparently we didn't get everybody! A few weeks after we had settled the dates of when we were going and after we had made our dining reservations (more info on that in a bit), my mom and brother started talking about going.
Then my cousin and his wife started asking questions. Before we knew it, we had added more hotel rooms for them and added them to our dining reservations!
So now we're up to something like 23 people coming for portions of the long trip.
That's a lot of people to organize for meals!
When Husband and I start our planning, we look to the park hours of operations as a starting point. We have a big ole spreadsheet that is color coded and everything! Every day we're there has a column, and each hour of the day has a row. We start with the park hours and mark those, plus the Extra Magic Hours for each park. Each day one of the parks is open early and one is open late so we try to arrange our schedule to make one of those extra times in the park. You can ride a bunch of rides in those extra hours when (in theory) the park is less crowded. We also pay for a membership in TouringPlans.com, a website that helps us in the planning process.
It may seem like a bunch of work, but it really is fun for us and the family! The schedule of the park hours allows us to choose which day to tour each park.
We use this schedule to figure out where to eat and when.... but that's for next time!
Thursday, December 11, 2014
Adventures in Big Family Vacation Planning (part 3)
So there has been a lot going on since we decided who was coming on our big family trip.
Now that we knew who was coming, we had to decide where to stay. For most people, this is a big decision to make because it's such a huge chunk of change, next to the park tickets.
One of our Disney Bucket List items is to stay at each resort on property at some point in our lives. This trip allowed us to get one new property - the Boardwalk.
We decided that since it was such a long trip and because the Boardwalk is so expensive, we will start the week at All Star Sports.
My MIL is a Disney Vacation Club owner so we can get our stay at the Boardwalk for a bit less - but we still need to split the stay to make it work for the points we have.
Staying for ten nights is kind of a long time, so splitting the stay will be a good break. Some of the extended family won't stay on property with us, so we'll meet them at the parks most days.
I cannot wait until we get to experience the Board Walk during this trip!
Next up... dining reservations!
One of our Disney Bucket List items is to stay at each resort on property at some point in our lives. This trip allowed us to get one new property - the Boardwalk.
We decided that since it was such a long trip and because the Boardwalk is so expensive, we will start the week at All Star Sports.
My MIL is a Disney Vacation Club owner so we can get our stay at the Boardwalk for a bit less - but we still need to split the stay to make it work for the points we have.
Staying for ten nights is kind of a long time, so splitting the stay will be a good break. Some of the extended family won't stay on property with us, so we'll meet them at the parks most days.
I cannot wait until we get to experience the Board Walk during this trip!
Next up... dining reservations!
Wednesday, September 3, 2014
The 2014 Directive - August Update and September
So apparently when I unplug, I go all the way.
With the trip to Seattle at the beginning of August, I've been unplugged from most social media for the rest of the month. Not checking in at every single vacation stop along the West Coast and into Canada was liberating.
Coming home and checking Facebook wasn't as much of a need as it was before. There weren't a ton of pictures posted on Instagram. I was checking Twitter but not putting a lot out there. Breaking the addiction was refreshing.
Now, even though there are a ton of events screaming for my attention every second of the work day (and then some), I've started easing back into social media. After all, it took me over a week and a half after coming back from vacation to post pictures on Facebook. My friends thought something had happened to me! :)
I'm still going through those images to decide which ones to share here, but my monthly directive for August was apparently to unplug!
For September, I think I'm going to focus on being the best employee I can be - we have at least 8 events in the month and they're all big and important. So I'm going to focus all I can on those tasks ahead of me.
With the trip to Seattle at the beginning of August, I've been unplugged from most social media for the rest of the month. Not checking in at every single vacation stop along the West Coast and into Canada was liberating.
Coming home and checking Facebook wasn't as much of a need as it was before. There weren't a ton of pictures posted on Instagram. I was checking Twitter but not putting a lot out there. Breaking the addiction was refreshing.
Now, even though there are a ton of events screaming for my attention every second of the work day (and then some), I've started easing back into social media. After all, it took me over a week and a half after coming back from vacation to post pictures on Facebook. My friends thought something had happened to me! :)
I'm still going through those images to decide which ones to share here, but my monthly directive for August was apparently to unplug!
For September, I think I'm going to focus on being the best employee I can be - we have at least 8 events in the month and they're all big and important. So I'm going to focus all I can on those tasks ahead of me.
Tuesday, July 29, 2014
Adventures in an Unplugged Vacation?
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I also love sharing my travels on social media. I totally believe the studies that show a dopamine spike when you get a "like" or a comment on Facebook from a photo you just posted. I love the comments I get here when I post trip reviews. I love Twitter and Instagram for the same reasons. Being connected to people through my phone is my favorite reason for having one.
But I'm wondering if it's gone too far. I truly love my friends in person and I'm wondering if spending too much time in my phone is hurting those relationships. My husband would say it is.
We're getting ready to visit friends in Seattle this weekend and I was preparing my packing list. I put in my iPhone, our two DSLRs (his and hers) and the point and shoot, plus my Macbook (in case I have to work) and my iPad and my nook for the flight. Oh yeah, and my Fitbit. That is a ton of electronics to take for a five day trip with friends.
I was wondering how I can decrease the technology for this trip. I can put a book on my iPad and leave the nook at home. And I can make a concerted effort not to "live blog" our trip.
I mean, I'll take pictures with both the iPhone and the DSLR and maybe even the point and shoot camera. But maybe this is a trip to enjoy being with friends and not worrying about updating my Facebook by "checking in" at every different spot along the trip. Or maybe holding off on posting every sweet treat that we get in Seattle.
You know why I think that it's a good time to try an unplugged vacation? Because even writing the paragraph above makes me nervous. Not checking in? How will I know where we were each day? Not adding a photo of a funny sign? How will I get someone else's approval on that particular funny joke? I think it might time to try enjoying the trip as I take it, remembering the good parts and have fun with friends. Then when I get home, I'll update those pictures and tell the story here of our trip.
But I think this might be for the best this time around....
Have you ever had an "unplugged" vacation?
Tuesday, July 22, 2014
Adventures in Big Family Vacation Planning (part 3)
So we're going to Disney. We know when we're going. And we know who we're going with!
Those are some pretty big decisions that are already made. There are a ton more things we will have to figure out over the next few months, such as where to eat and what parks to visit each day.
But first things first - we had to come up with a hotel option for the stay. This always causes lots of discussion amongst the family members. My husband and I like staying at new and different places, but my BIL has one or two resorts that he loves to stay at and doesn't like to switch it up.
When we were trying to decide the dates of our trip, we thought that we might do a split stay. That means we would check into one hotel for the first part of the vacation and then at some point we would check out of that hotel, move our luggage to a new one, and check in there for the rest of the trip. This is relatively common in the hard core Disney community of fans so we've heard a lot about it through blogs and podcasts. We were eager to try it and this was the perfect opportunity!
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Back in my first trip to Disney since childhood, we stayed at the All Star Spots. This is a value resort (read: cheapest) and there are LOTS of people who stay there due to the price and number of rooms available. Since husband and I are going to pay for this trip on our own, we told the family we needed to stay in this category of resort this time around.
Those are some pretty big decisions that are already made. There are a ton more things we will have to figure out over the next few months, such as where to eat and what parks to visit each day.
But first things first - we had to come up with a hotel option for the stay. This always causes lots of discussion amongst the family members. My husband and I like staying at new and different places, but my BIL has one or two resorts that he loves to stay at and doesn't like to switch it up.
When we were trying to decide the dates of our trip, we thought that we might do a split stay. That means we would check into one hotel for the first part of the vacation and then at some point we would check out of that hotel, move our luggage to a new one, and check in there for the rest of the trip. This is relatively common in the hard core Disney community of fans so we've heard a lot about it through blogs and podcasts. We were eager to try it and this was the perfect opportunity!
Back in my first trip to Disney since childhood, we stayed at the All Star Spots. This is a value resort (read: cheapest) and there are LOTS of people who stay there due to the price and number of rooms available. Since husband and I are going to pay for this trip on our own, we told the family we needed to stay in this category of resort this time around.
My
BIL requested the All Star Sports instead of the music or movies themed
version of the resort. So that was settled - All Star Sports for 11
nights was booked.
However,
we have another option. The in-laws purchased a Disney Vacation Club
(DVC) membership a few years ago. This is Disney's version of the
timeshare. They have a certain number of points that they can use each
year, plus move some points around one year in either direction. The DVC
resorts are a bit nicer than the others, more expensive, have more
amenities, and are usually bigger rooms. You don't get housekeeping each
night but you do have a mini kitchenette which makes the stay very
nice.
We
didn't have enough points to do the full 11 nights at one of those DVC
resorts, however. We're going at high season which means increased
crowds (so no availability) and increased prices (don't have enough
points). We also needed three rooms - MIL/FIL plus cousin's family, me
and my husband, BIL and family. That's a lot of rooms for the whole
stay! So we decided that 5 nights at a DVC resort might be a bit easier
to get.
My
MIL is still on the waitlist with DVC, awaiting confirmation on three
rooms for this family. DVC has told us they are hopeful in us clearing
the waitlist sometime soon-ish. We can only hope for a little bit of
pixie dust!
In any case, we have a place to stay, albeit not so fancy. This may change as we get closer! But at least we have a hotel. :)
Friday, July 18, 2014
Adventures in Big Family Vacation Planning (part 2)
So we're going to Disney. And we know when.
Now, we had to decide who was coming.
This trip was going to turn into something big, I had a feeling. Some of my husband's cousins haven't been on a big vacation in a while, and we all love Disney, so I thought this might have a bunch of people add on.
I told my MIL that I was going to take care of the planning for this one, since she's worked on so many in the past. And while it's fun to plan, it's also stressful. I thought I'd take the stress for this particular trip which means corralling all the family and making sure everyone has everything they need. Given that I'm an event planner, I didn't think it would be too hard, but would require patience and organization. I'm only a few weeks into it, so we'll see how it goes!
So for this trip, we have upwards of 19 people joining us over the 11 nights. They include my MIL and FIL; my husband's brother and his girlfriend and their two year old nephew; a cousin and his wife and daughter who live in the Orlando area (they're staying at the hotel with all of us); another cousin and her brother and two daughters who live in George; another cousin with his wife and two sons who live in southern Missouri; and finally, a cousin who goes to school near us in St. Louis and will join us for the last part of the trip. There are 10 of us who will be there the entire time and the rest of the family comes and goes as their vacation schedule allows.
Planning for this big group of people won't be easy! But that's who is coming with us on this crazy adventure.
Now, we had to decide who was coming.
This trip was going to turn into something big, I had a feeling. Some of my husband's cousins haven't been on a big vacation in a while, and we all love Disney, so I thought this might have a bunch of people add on.
I told my MIL that I was going to take care of the planning for this one, since she's worked on so many in the past. And while it's fun to plan, it's also stressful. I thought I'd take the stress for this particular trip which means corralling all the family and making sure everyone has everything they need. Given that I'm an event planner, I didn't think it would be too hard, but would require patience and organization. I'm only a few weeks into it, so we'll see how it goes!
So for this trip, we have upwards of 19 people joining us over the 11 nights. They include my MIL and FIL; my husband's brother and his girlfriend and their two year old nephew; a cousin and his wife and daughter who live in the Orlando area (they're staying at the hotel with all of us); another cousin and her brother and two daughters who live in George; another cousin with his wife and two sons who live in southern Missouri; and finally, a cousin who goes to school near us in St. Louis and will join us for the last part of the trip. There are 10 of us who will be there the entire time and the rest of the family comes and goes as their vacation schedule allows.
Planning for this big group of people won't be easy! But that's who is coming with us on this crazy adventure.
Tuesday, July 15, 2014
The 2014 Directive - July (update)
This month, I'm working on relaxing.
I think I'm doing pretty well at it! I've finished the third Game of Thrones book, read Alyssa's book and now I'm on to the Fall of Giants. It's been a good few weeks!
I've also been working on keeping the house clean and doing the top few items on the to do list each day to stay on top of things. Plus working out! I'm exhausted. :)
But things are good. How's life in your world?
I think I'm doing pretty well at it! I've finished the third Game of Thrones book, read Alyssa's book and now I'm on to the Fall of Giants. It's been a good few weeks!
I've also been working on keeping the house clean and doing the top few items on the to do list each day to stay on top of things. Plus working out! I'm exhausted. :)
But things are good. How's life in your world?
Friday, July 11, 2014
Adventures in Big Family Vacation Planning (part 1)
And here we are again. It's time to plan another Disney trip!
We are planning a very long trip to Walt Disney World in Florida to celebrate the New Year with a big old family trip this year. Our last Disney trip was in December 2013 with just me and my husband, to celebrate the craziness of law school and him passing the bar in 2013 and starting his new big job after graduating law school.
This upcoming trip would make my 11th to the World - I've had to start a spreadsheet with a list of the times that we have gone to keep track! It goes back to my first trip in (about) 1993 with my family. I really started to fall in love with the Mouse when I went with my husband's family in 2007 for New Year's. My mother-in-law and father-in-law went for their honeymoon in the early 1980s and have been every year since. The boys have grown up at Walt Disney World and they have so many memories from all the parks and resorts. A few years ago, they purchased a piece of the magic and now we can stay at the Disney Vacation Club when we go. It's becoming a bigger and bigger piece of our lives!
After seeing Sonya's planning of her Disney trip, I thought I'd start a not-so-regular blog series of our planning of our big trip coming up in December.
So first thing up, when to go?
When you're planning any kind of vacation, whether you have a location in mind or not, the first step is to determine WHEN to go. Do you brave the crowds on the busiest weekend of the year or do you save some money by going on an off-week?
We are the crazy people who throw in our lot with the unwashed masses for New Year's Eve. Out of all the 365 days on the calendar, this one would rank the top in their crowd calendars. Imagine the most packed outdoor festival you have ever been to, and add 10% and you're getting close to what it seems like. I mean, even the bathroom gets a half hour wait on this night. Everything is busy. Everyone is hot. EVERYWHERE you go there is a line.
But that's half the fun! Seeing all those people in one spot getting to experience a shared moment during the fireworks is pretty amazing. There are always tears in my eye when I ring in the new year at the parks. We love it and that makes it worth all the stress.
So, we knew New Year's was going to be the one for us this year - the in-laws went in March without us and we've been planning since our December trip for a big one with the whole family. Husband and I wanted to the day before New Year's, December 30. Disney has two nights of New Year's fireworks (as they do for the Fourth of July). If we saw these fireworks on the 30th, that allows us the 31st to spend in Epcot. This park isn't as family friendly but they celebrate the new year with the different countries around World Showcase Lagoon. You get to see one of the evening spectaculars in the early part of the evening and then another huge fireworks show at midnight. We haven't ever experienced that, so going down a day early allows us to accommodate both shows. It's a win-win, even though we do have an extra night in the hotel at the most expensive rate.
We had our arrival date - Tuesday, December 30. Now, how long to stay?
Traditionally, we stay in the World for one week. That would be checking out on Tuesday, January 6. When we started talking as a family, my husband and I floated the idea that we would stay an extra night, to leave on the 7th. When my MIL heard that, she thought they could do that as well. So now we're leaving on the 7th.
When we looked at the calendar, we realized that it was two days before my MIL's birthday. We've never celebrated her birthday in the World before and she thought it would be fun to do so this year. So since we couldn't leave ON her birthday (where's the fun in that?), that meant our check out date would be January 10th. Yikes, 11 nights?!
With lots of activities coming in the next year or so with jobs and other vacations, there may not be another time for a good long trip so we are going to seize the opportunity and make this happen! 11 nights in Walt Disney World, here we come!
We are planning a very long trip to Walt Disney World in Florida to celebrate the New Year with a big old family trip this year. Our last Disney trip was in December 2013 with just me and my husband, to celebrate the craziness of law school and him passing the bar in 2013 and starting his new big job after graduating law school.
This upcoming trip would make my 11th to the World - I've had to start a spreadsheet with a list of the times that we have gone to keep track! It goes back to my first trip in (about) 1993 with my family. I really started to fall in love with the Mouse when I went with my husband's family in 2007 for New Year's. My mother-in-law and father-in-law went for their honeymoon in the early 1980s and have been every year since. The boys have grown up at Walt Disney World and they have so many memories from all the parks and resorts. A few years ago, they purchased a piece of the magic and now we can stay at the Disney Vacation Club when we go. It's becoming a bigger and bigger piece of our lives!
After seeing Sonya's planning of her Disney trip, I thought I'd start a not-so-regular blog series of our planning of our big trip coming up in December.
So first thing up, when to go?
When you're planning any kind of vacation, whether you have a location in mind or not, the first step is to determine WHEN to go. Do you brave the crowds on the busiest weekend of the year or do you save some money by going on an off-week?
We are the crazy people who throw in our lot with the unwashed masses for New Year's Eve. Out of all the 365 days on the calendar, this one would rank the top in their crowd calendars. Imagine the most packed outdoor festival you have ever been to, and add 10% and you're getting close to what it seems like. I mean, even the bathroom gets a half hour wait on this night. Everything is busy. Everyone is hot. EVERYWHERE you go there is a line.
But that's half the fun! Seeing all those people in one spot getting to experience a shared moment during the fireworks is pretty amazing. There are always tears in my eye when I ring in the new year at the parks. We love it and that makes it worth all the stress.
So, we knew New Year's was going to be the one for us this year - the in-laws went in March without us and we've been planning since our December trip for a big one with the whole family. Husband and I wanted to the day before New Year's, December 30. Disney has two nights of New Year's fireworks (as they do for the Fourth of July). If we saw these fireworks on the 30th, that allows us the 31st to spend in Epcot. This park isn't as family friendly but they celebrate the new year with the different countries around World Showcase Lagoon. You get to see one of the evening spectaculars in the early part of the evening and then another huge fireworks show at midnight. We haven't ever experienced that, so going down a day early allows us to accommodate both shows. It's a win-win, even though we do have an extra night in the hotel at the most expensive rate.
We had our arrival date - Tuesday, December 30. Now, how long to stay?
Traditionally, we stay in the World for one week. That would be checking out on Tuesday, January 6. When we started talking as a family, my husband and I floated the idea that we would stay an extra night, to leave on the 7th. When my MIL heard that, she thought they could do that as well. So now we're leaving on the 7th.
When we looked at the calendar, we realized that it was two days before my MIL's birthday. We've never celebrated her birthday in the World before and she thought it would be fun to do so this year. So since we couldn't leave ON her birthday (where's the fun in that?), that meant our check out date would be January 10th. Yikes, 11 nights?!
With lots of activities coming in the next year or so with jobs and other vacations, there may not be another time for a good long trip so we are going to seize the opportunity and make this happen! 11 nights in Walt Disney World, here we come!
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