Tour Guide Mike

We are on the final countdown to our ultra-itineraried (??) trip to
D I S N E Y W O R L D ! ! !

Y'all...you might think I'm crazy about MANY things....and that's fine...but you HAVE to TRUST ME on this one. If you are planning a trip to DW and want to experience it the SMARTEST way possible, you absolutely, positively MUST subscribe to Tour Guide Mike several months before your trip. Now this website is NOT for the faint of heart. It is mucho information overload. It takes several weeks/months to get through the surface info. However, this great site has prepared me/us for a trip with MINIMAL waiting in line the entire week we are there. If we spend more than 20 (ok, 30) minutes in line at ANY attraction, I will feel like a failure.

You may or may not know that the week between Christmas and New Year's Day is THE BUSIEST WEEK of the year for Mickey and pals. There is no time of year (even Spring Break or any Summer months) that can compare to the crowds we'll be in. HOWEVER, this will be my 3rd trip down during this time of year and it's never been miserable. Of course, I've always been a nerd and have tried preparing the best I could but through the amazing Internet, this TGM guy has surfaced since our last trip 7 years ago and boy oh boy...his site is a Disney Nerd's Wish-Upon-A-Star!

If you're interested in joining, let me know. I think (THINK) I can refer a new person and they can get a discount. I won't get anything from it but a satisifaction of knowing that I helped you...but that's OK.

And no, I can't share my great little secrets with you. Mike actually has an e-contract with all his subscribers that we won't share this information with anyone but will refer them to the site. Once you see how much info is on the site, you will gain a respect for why he says this. It must have taken him years to compile all of this. I think the subscription is less than 20 bucks if I refer you and it is totally worth it.

OH, if you don't want to do the ultra-planning that I have done (along with the help of my sis-in-law, Donna), you could always pay the $100 per hour plus 20% gratuity for Mike (or employee) to do everything for you with a personal VIP tour...

I can't wait to post my pictures and stories!

Tee hee :)

p.s. Bad guys -- We have a house/pet sitter so don't even THINK about paying a visit!

Scared Of Santa

This isn't the reason we don't 'do' Santa at our house but it actually could be a pretty good argument if we wanted to use it! Thanks SO MUCH to Jen for posting this on her blog. They are all funny but I am pasting the direct links to my favorites here:

Picture #2 (seen here)

#5 - I'd be scared, too!

#6 - This kid looks photo-shopped to me.

#7 - How did this Santa get hired?

#8 - Creepy. Is that a kid on the far right or a "My Buddy" doll?

#9 - Unbelievable.

#19 - I think I went to school with the girl on the right.

#25 - I laughed and laughed and then I got grossed out.

Playing With The New Camera

We are SO happy about this new toy!


Ain't we cute?


It's amazing how different he looks with his hair slicked back!


We were going for the "Home Alone" look here. It was difficult to get him to mimic my pose. I guess he'll need to see the movie to understand.


I love this one!


Another great one that shows something our old camera would NEVER have done (take a clear, crisp, close-up.)

Go Tell It On The Mountain

This is the song H.A. just played for me on the piano and since it's a song about telling Good News (that Jesus Christ is born and fulfills Old Testament Prophecy and gives us HOPE that we can trust He will return again and save those who call on His name!) I thought I'd use it for the title of MY GOOD NEWS tellin' blog.

No, my good news is nowhere NEAR as good as announcing the birth of our Savior but it IS good news to me.

News 1 - As I have posted numerous times, our Fuji "FinePix" digital camera is just...well....just a really not-good camera. We ordered a new one and TA DA...it was delivered to us LAST NIGHT! We are LOVING these crisp, clear shots! I can't wait to install the dock so I can share with you. VERY good news!

News 2 - Our Christmas cards are always a hassle. This year we TRIED getting them ready earlier but our first 'session' just didn't turn out well. Finally we had a nicer session and uploaded our chosen shot at www.walmart.com. I knew I was running late so I paid the extra couple of bucks to have them shipped "Priority." Well, it STILL took over a week but FINALLY they arrived today. I'm going to try getting them in the mail this evening. If not, they will definitely go out tomorrow. VERY good news.

News 3 - People still like us :) Am I the only person who gets SO excited about Christmas Cards that I actually watch out the window for the postlady? Or when I come home from my outings and pull up to the mailbox before pulling in the driveway, actually sit there parked while I open the mail? Doesn't anyone else do that!? Well I got some REALLY cute cards/pictures today. So fun!

News 4 - Mannatech, glorious Mannatech! A large shipment of our favorite health products arrived yesterday and today and I expect more within the next few days. We were able to order a large amount to get us through the holidays and vacation and having all of those products here make us SO happy! Also, my PLUS deficiency was beginning to catch up with me and the family. EVERYONE is glad we now have PLUS in the house again. This is definitely GOOD NEWS!

Merry CHRISTmas everyone!

Can Anyone Relate?

Another Friday Night Brush With Fame

OK, "fame" and "brush with" might be a little strong to describe our PREVIOUS Friday night outing but we've actually had a closer "brush with" a more "famous" person within the last couple of weeks.

A couple of Tuesday nights ago, I ran into a gal at the mall that used to be my 'student teacher' at the dance studio. She was/is a WAY better dancer than me but since she was still in high school at the time, I was the official teacher and she was just the assistant. I let her do much of the class, though!

Anyway, I ran into her at the mall and well....she has a famous boyfriend...and he was WITH her that night! I met him and introduced him to SR, the only 1 of the 4 kids who were interested in meeing him, even though all the kids were there. She actually knew who he was!

So, we chatted for a few minutes and then moved on with our plans for the night.

Later we found out this famous person would be performing Friday night so, OF COURSE we made plans to attend! Now ALL 4 kids think he's cool!

Here he is...with our crappy camera (hope it doesn't make you TOO drowsy, Jen :) and one stolen from elsewhere on the web. This is Elvis Stojko. Multi-world-champ and 2-time Olympic Silver medalist. He's the first to successfully land a quadruple jump! I've always thought he was cool (heck, his name is ELVIS which gives him big points right away! LOL) but now I'm a bigger fan than ever!

We are still shopping for a new camera so please bear with me these few more times.


Our pathetic version of Elvis.


Picture (couple of years old) hijacked from the web.

Quick plug -- Elvis will be on CBS December 10th. Watch "ICE WARS - Battle of the Sexes" 8-10 PM CT.

Before the show: