Holidays and Celebrations

  • Mardi Gras 2018! Part 1 – Preparation

    Mardi Gras came hot on the heels of Christmas, and together those holidays sandwiched a Disney trip – so basically it’s March and I’m exhausted.  But exhausted by fun! First – we came back from Disney on Thursday.  We almost didn’t make it, as the previously mentioned polar vortex froze up all of I-10 – but it melted in time for us to leave on time, thus saving us the thousand or so bucks we had considered spending on an extra day at Disney, to wait out the snow.  Anyhow, though I was disappointed not to have another MK day under my belt, I was pleased to save the dolla…

  • Animal Kingdom

    Day Three at Disney dawned with a downpour.  We knew it was going to blow over, but not til later, so we suited up and sloshed to breakfast, trying to stay as dry as possible. We milled about in the lobby area of the hotel for a while, then finally headed out on the bus, and then waded into the park. We walked up the ramp toward a bug attraction, looking like a bunch of sentient garbage bags. In case you don’t know, the central feature of Animal Kingdom – its Cinderella castle/Epcot ball – is the Tree of Life. The Tree is 145 feet tall, and 50 feet wide…

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  • Epcot

    I started this post on our second day at Disney World over a month ago . . . then Mardi Gras happened.  So here it is a month later – done, moreso than perfect, as is the usual. Day two was our driest, most comfortable day.  Chilly but not rainy.  As the prior day was the National Championships, in which Clemson played (and which they roundly lost, sob), we had worn our Clemson orange on day one.  Having properly mourned our loss that night, we woke the next day and put on the Mickey t shirts that Santa had put in everyone’s stocking.  Also, the Prof continued the process of…

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  • Weddings, Snowstorms, and Hello to the Mouse

    Friday morning, I woke at 4-something-early-o’clock and pulled together a backpack with underthings, pajamas, a pair of fancy shoes, and work laptop. The husband would start driving the children to Orlando on Saturday morning, alone, while I would meet them in Orlando midday Sunday by way of Pittsburgh, PA.   My cousin planned a last minute, “I would like to deduct my three future step-kids on my 2017 taxes” wedding for December 30, so the Prof found me the cheapest flights possible from NOLA to PA, and PA to FL (hence not even a carryon or purse – Spirit airlines charges $30 to use the overhead bins and won’t even pass…

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  • Christmas Day

    Christmas Day dawned bright and chilly.  The boys raced downstairs and commenced with opening.  I got very few pictures because I was just enjoying it, and also indulging in my OCD need to keep up with the mess.  I took some videos, but pretty much the only pictures I got were of food: We had cinnamon rolls for breakfast and sadly I stupidly did not put them on a jelly roll pan because I don’t have one, and somehow did not think about the fact that the butter in the filling would melt and pour off the baking sheet and burn on the bottom of the oven.  Which is precisely…

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