Monday, November 29, 2010

Monday's Music Moves Me: It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas

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First off, let me apologize for posting SO late, my laptop died at 1:30am Saturday morning - URGH!!  I think it is just the power adapter and I'm waiting for that to come in, so I'm using my old desktop that doesn't have all my installed programs and photos, so I'm really behind on everything. Not to mention, I can only sit at the desk for about a 1/2 hour due to the neck and back pain it causes me... I am not a happy camper!

{Thanks to Dolly for this perfect photo!}


Anyhoo... on to happier matters.... our Monday's Music Moves Me, the fantastic music meme that XmasDolly and I are hosting, along with Larry from Cakeblast and Callie from JamericanSpice. Won't you play along... here are the rules:


First step: You need to run on over to You Tube, (or wherever your find your songs/videos) and get your pick for the day according to the theme. Upcoming themes are over on Dolly's blog on the right sidebar.


Second Step: Grab our "Monday's Music Moves Me" button above or on Dolly's right sidebar.


Third step: Dance with (follow) your hostesses (that would be me and Dolly); grab our buttons; then sign the linky, either here or on Dolly's blog - they are linked.


Final step: Start lookin' for a partner and boogie on down to her blog (or his), and say hello by leaving a comment, and tag (follow) her/him. If you've been tagged (followed) be polite, and go on over there, leave a comment and tag (follow) her/him back.


This week is freebie week, but as I drove around town this weekend, I couldn't help it, I found myself singing this song constantly.  And, because you all know me so well, THIS is the video I chose to represent it....


It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas - Disney Style





Now, don't forget to sign the linky and visit the participants and leave a comment. For more Monday music fun, visit Amanda, Run DMT and Hairbows & Guitar Picks. You may even be picked as the Spotlight Couple for next week like our couple for this week... who were chosen by Random.org. The SPOTLIGHT COUPLE of the week for today is:




~~ Stacy (the random Cool Chick)                       ~~ ~~ FibromyWHAT?




So let's get dancing, get into the Christmas spirit and have some fun... Since next week we are officially into December, we will be asking you to post Christmas songs each week.  If you don't celebrate Christmas, that's OK, just post something that moves you, we are happy to have anyone play along - WE LOVE EVERYBODY!!

ROCK ON, MY FRIENDS!!!    


Saturday, November 27, 2010

Brandcation: Day at Disney World

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The final day of Brandcation we were so lucky to be given a one day park hopper pass to Walt Disney World - which right now is all decked out for the holidays! Now you all know that I was extremely excited to show the ladies I was with all the fantastic places in Disney!




Lisa and I started out at the Magic Kingdom and had such a wonderful time visiting some of the best places. Then we bumped right into the character that Lisa really wanted to have her photo taken with... Goofy, who couldn't have been more gracious.  That is one of my favorite things about Disney, every one of the characters goes out of their way to make sure that each guest has a spectacular time, no matter what age.


 







 

Lisa and I hung out around the park seeing other attractions and taking photos and acting like little kids... we had SO much fun, it was AWESOME!!! We even ran into Trisha and Kim and the girls that were with them, all of whom also looked like little kids having a blast!

 
 






After we finished playing at the Magic Kingdom, Lisa and I met Jessica Benton, Lynsey Jones and her cousin at EPCOT for the Food and Wine Festival, for more fun, food, drink and of course photos.


 



What an absolutely fabulous time we had - and you all know that I will be going back to Disney World, with and without friends and family, HaHa!!  Thank you so much to Leanne Jakubowski at Walt Disney World for providing the park tickets to us, it was really a magical experience!!

***There is one more thing that I have to mention... Thank you very much to Lisa who pushed my butt in the wheelchair 13 miles (we know this as Lisa wears a pedometer) around Disney World all day long and never complained once.  THAT is a true friend, I love you Lisa and cannot wait to see you again!***



{Disclosure: Again, although the park ticket was provided at no charge to me as part of the Brandcation adventure, all opinions expressed in this post are mine alone - as anyone who reads my blog regularly can attest to - I LOVE DISNEY!! It even says so on my sidebar, TeeHee}


(Thanks to Trisha, Nicole and Kim also for the use of  some of the photos in my post taken from Brandcation Flickr stream.)

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Thursday, November 25, 2010

Thanksgiving Cartoon of the Day - What are you Thankful For?

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{Click to Enlarge}


I'm thankful for my family, friends and for cranberries!  :-)

HAPPY THANKSGIVING MY FRIENDS!!!

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To all my dear friends... I wish you all a very happy and healthy Thanksgiving!

I hope you are able to share the day with the ones you love enjoying good food, friendship, health and love.




While you are enjoying your time with your families, please remember the troops who are deployed and are far away from those that they love. Please say a prayer that they all come home safely to their families soon!

Love and friendship to you all!

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Wednesday, November 24, 2010

Another Thanksgiving Cartoon To Make You Smile


Happy Thanksgiving...


Remember all that we have to be thankful for!

Brandcation: Airboats, Birds and Gators, OH MY!

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Part of our spectacular Brandcation weekend included adventures to two amazing places where we had the greatest adventures and saw some incredible sights.





Our first stop on Saturday morning was Boggy Creek Airboat Rides for a wonderful, albeit COLD, glide through the wetlands on a beautiful wildlife tour.  While we didn't see any alligators because of the weather, we did see some beautiful birds, including some soaring bald eagles, and gorgeous scenery.  We had a lot of fun riding in the boat, especially when the pilot would swing the back of the boat around - it was kind of like an amusement park ride. Weeeeee!!

Here is what the website says about the tour:

"Our airboat tours start with a leisure idle down a natural canal viewing exotic birds, turtles and the Florida alligator in their own natural environment. Then you will fly like the wind into the swamps experiencing the awesome feel of an airboat ride traveling up to 45 miles per hour. Boggy Creek Airboat Rides is the best way to experience the beautiful Central Florida Everglades. We offer 3 airboat tour choices. 30 minute airboat ride on 17 passenger airboat, 45 minute private airboat tour on 6 passenger boat & the 1 hour night airboat ride. In the warm seasons the best time to see alligators is at night. If you are not able to go at night we suggest coming first thing in the morning."




 












We did get to hold a young alligator named Elvis after the boat ride and had our photo taken being "attacked" by HUGE gators.... I totally LOVE this photo and am having it framed to hang on my wall. 











I will definitely be taking my family back to Boggy Creek Airboat Rides for another tour.... but it will be when it is warmer, I am such a Florida girl! HaHa


Check out the website for ticket information, locations and tour information.





On Saturday afternoon we headed off to Gatorland in Orlando for lunch and more information on conservation and animal preservation.

Here is some information on Gatorland that we received in our press packet:

"Gatorland is a 110-acre theme park and wildlife preserve, combining “Old Florida” charm with exciting, new exhibits, unique animal encounters and daring entertainment.



Known internationally as the “Alligator Capital of the World,” Gatorland provides affordable priced family-fun with thousands of alligators and crocodiles, a breeding marsh with boardwalk and observation tower, one-of-a-kind reptilian shows, aviary, petting zoo, children’s wet splash area, educational programs and much, much more."

I know that I have said this many times in my posts for Brandcation, but we really did have a ton of fun at Gatorland.  When we first got there, we were able to hold this absolutely adorable baby gator named Fluffy, who surprisingly was really soft. We had THE most amazing guide who explained everything to us (and he really was easy on the eyes) and even took us to feed these ENORMOUS gators. Since I'm not really that agile, I chose to be the photographer while my friends fed the beasts these huge chunks of raw meat.  It was simply incredible to be so close to majestic creatures, some weighing up to 1300 lbs and were 13 feet long.

 



 
 
 




 






 We also had the privilege of seeing some very rare leucistic (white) alligators. They are simply beautiful.  Here is information from our Gatorland press kit about these amazing creatures:

"The rare white alligator collection features four of the world’s largest white leucistic alligators known to roam the planet. Ivory in color, the large reptiles are each ten to eleven plus feet in length, weigh over 800 pounds and have reflective blue eyes that are believed to have the ability to command good fortune to those lucky enough to make eye contact with the blue eyed beauties.


No one knows why Mother Nature produced only one nest of these incredible white alligators. Vulnerable to many predators, because of the lack of skin pigmentation depriving them of natural camouflage; they likely would have never survived in the wild. Collected from deep in a Louisiana swamp, the ivory reptiles were part of a clutch of seventeen infants recovered by workers from the Louisiana Land and Exploration Company while surveying the area. The group later brought the hatchlings to the Audubon Zoo in New Orleans where only a few of the rare reptiles survived."

Then there was the "Gator Wrestling" (a really cute show) that people of all ages will enjoy, plus our own opportunity to sit on Oprah  - a REALLY big gator... you should have seen the two guys trying to help me get back up - thank goodness there are no photos of than. HaHa!  Along with the amazing birds, flowers and other animals we got to see, plus Gatorland provided us a filling lunch. 









 
 

 

 

 

Head over to the Gatorland website to learn all about their events, their education center and how to get tickets. It is definitely a place that is fun for the entire family.

It was an amazing day of fun, laughter and learning. Another place that I will be taking my family back to for a day of adventure!

Thank you to Tanya of MommyGoggles for providing me with a couple of the photos of me. :-)


{Disclosure: Thank you very much to Boggy Creek Airboat Tours and Gatorland for providing admission and tours for all of us as part of our Brandcation event. The opinions expressed herein are those of mine alone.}
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