Day 1 - Back to the World

After getting back to Tampa after our 9-day Eastern Caribbean Cruise aboard RCI's Grandeur (Grandma) of the Seas (wanna see pics? Victoria Shingleton's Photos - Christmas in the Caribbean | Facebook Victoria Shingleton's Photos - Christmas Cruising Part II | Facebook), we headed to Walt Disney World to celebrate New Year's.

The problem is, while on the cruise, I started getting sick, and by the last day, I had completely lost my voice. So, I was headed to my favorite place on Earth... feeling quite terrible, actually.

Now, Rachel and I also stayed up late partying the night before. I suggested we go to bed, but Rachel refused (she found herself a British lad and had grown quite attached). Being the older sister, I felt like I needed to keep an eye on her, so I stayed out with her. We got maybe three hours of sleep.

But, we wouldn't let illness and lack of sleep get in the way of our magical vacation. So we stopped by Walgreens and picked up some medications (which I took double dosage of) and continued to the world.





It was around 11:30, and we decided to head to Epcot since we knew it would be crowded, and Epcot is very large and tends to handle crowds well.



It was very crowded. Dad ran to get FPs for Soarin. He was almost to the front of the line when.... all fastpasses distributed. Drat.

So, he went to Test Track to get FPs. I suggested that we try the Kim Possible World Showcase attraction. Turns out we needed our tickets to sign up, so Mom, Rachel, and I chilled in Innovations until Dad met us.

We were to report to the Kimmunicator station in Italy at 12:25. We started to take a boat, but we realized that we were in the wrong boat line, and the boat we needed was leaving. Drat.





















So, we walked. And we beat the boat. How about that?

It took us awhile to find the tent. We didn't know exactly what we were looking for. Finally we asked someone.







We got our Kimmunicators. Our mission sent us to Germany. We teased my dad about this because he does alot of business in Germany, and whenever we meet any foreigner (mainly European, but anyone from another country, really), he tells them about how he's been to Germany.

The first location was the little train village. With the Kimmunicator, I was able to make the church ding and light up. There were quite a few guests watching the village, and when they saw the church light up, they all pointed. "The bells are ringing." I did it again. And again. And again. They couldn't figure out why the church bell kept ringing. This was fun. I don't think they ever figured it out. It looked like I was texting. This is awesome.





The rest of our mission included making a cuckoo clock chime... er... yodel, making a train in the toy store drive by, and making t
corny. I could do without all of the dialogue and just go around making things go off. Oh, well... it's Disney, I guess it needs a plot.

I'm Baaaaccckkkk!!!

Did you miss me?

Probably not, considering I only have one follower, and she doesn't check blogger that frequently.

Well, I've actually been back for a week, but after three weeks of being out of town, I needed a little break before I could blog about my vacations.

I have already started and almost completed my TR for my favorite Disney forum, MouseBuzz, and I'll begin my vacation updates by copying that over to my blog. I said that I was going to write my blog as I did my blog so that I could easily link the photos, but I lied.

As for the cruise, I'm not going to write a detailed what-we-did report, since there are so many options on a cruise ship, but I will highlight some of the activities offered, as well as the ports of call. Any dining report will be general.

San Antonio.... I didn't really see San Antonio at all, I was just there for a week to learn and perform a marching show. I saw the Alamo Stadium, Alamodome, Convention Center, and Grand Hyatt. And then I went down the Riverwalk to the mall on the last night. So, I don't have alot of pictures, but I'll post a few just to prove how nice our accommodations were.

This winter break was definitely a blast. I had so much fun (despite illness that you will read about later). We are really lucking out on great, carefree vacations, this year. Ahh, 2009... the year of great vacations (Vegas, Destin, Walt Disney World, Eastern Caribbean Cruise). What a wonderful year!

Christmas in the Caribbean

We leave today for our Christmas Caribbean cruise! Well, actually, the ship departs, tomorrow, but we're leaving our house, today and will probably spend the night in Valdosta.

So, I figured I'd leave you with some Caribbean Christmas cheer!





























Happy Holidays!!!

Transform a Room

I can't really tell you how this was done because all credit goes to my dear mother.



I love it.

Excited for New Year's at Disney

Christmas break is going to be great fun. The cruise will of course be wonderful, but I am especially excited for Disney.

New news is that I could possibly be joined by dear boyfriend. His dad has mentioned going to Florida and visiting Walt Disney World for Christmas break, and if things go as we'd like, then we'll be there at the same time. However, that's not really in my control. Still, I decided it would be best to plan ahead and made more ADRs to include them. I suppose that is a bit greedy, but I completely intend to cancel any ADRs that I cannot make. I already have five ADRs up for grabs - Jan 1 7:25 PM party of 8 at Citricos, Jan 1 7:00 PM party of 8 at The Wave, Jan 2 8:05 AM party of 4 at Crystal Palace, Jan 2 8:00 AM party of 4 at Whispering Canyon Cafe, Jan 3 8:25 AM party of 4 at Chef Mickey's.

Here are the ADRs that I have for keepsies: Boma, Ohana's, Todd English's bluezoo, Yachtsman Steakhouse, Whispering Canyon Cafe, Artist Point, 1900 Park Fare.

It's the oddest thing... I booked Todd English's bluezoo for four people with no problem. Then when I tried to book it again for eight, it said that I needed credit card confirmation. I wasn't going to mess with that since I'm not even sure that I'm going to use the ADR, so I booked dinner for seven that night at Yachtsman Steakhouse.

Now... the Wilderness Lodge! I'm very excited to be staying at the Wilderness Lodge. Rachel is a bit disappointed because she wanted the Polynesian, but I had been pulling for WL the entire time. See, I first fell in love with WL when I watched Samantha Brown's review of her stay there on the Travel Channel. Of course, Samantha Brown makes everything seem luxurious, but WL really appealed to me. It's so... rustic. Something you wouldn't expect to find in Central Florida. I've been there once for dinner at Artist Point, and it completely feels like you're outside in the wilderness. The seven-story lobby is magnificent, and one of Disney's finest (competes with the Grand Floridian and Animal Kingdom Lodge Jambo House). Unique features include an 82-foot tall lobby fireplace, a stream that flows through the lobby, over a waterfall, and into the main swimming pool, and Fire Rock Geyser that erupts every hour, shooting water 120 feet into the air. The details of this resort are amazing, and I cannot wait to take it all in.

Christmas in the Caribbean - Theming the Tree

I think it's important that the Christmas tree blend in with its surroundings. A traditionally decorated room should have a traditional tree with colors reflecting those that already exist in the space. However, with fun spaces, such as entertainment rooms, family rooms, play rooms, bedrooms, etc., trees can be creative and fun.

The basement tree is all my own. I picked out the 7.5' tree from Target, as well as the ornaments, and I have decorated it all by myself.

Our basement has a beach house feel to it. It's very light and airy, which is rare for a basement. White cabinetry and light-colored furniture with blue accents helped achieve this (my personal favorite aspect of the basement is the entertainment center with bamboo countertop and cabinet doors). So, since we had put so much thought into keeping the basement soft and bright, the tree and Christmas decor needed to reflect that.



The 7.5' tree I picked out looked pretty in the store. And it looked pretty when we set it up in the house. However, it was massive. It's a really thick tree, and very wide at the base. There's alot of branches to it, which contributes to its fluffy appearance, but also makes it somewhat overwhelming to work with. Some of the branches are coated in a shiny, sparkly material, and others are just plain white. I found that the shiny branches are not as bendable and do not support as much weight as the plain branches. This is a nuisance, considering that this tree has alot of heavy glass ornaments.



I use two different color garlands with the tree. This is mainly because the tree is so big, and the majority of it is blue. A single garland looks lonely on the thick tree. After I put up the second garland, I am still not satisfied. However, once the branches are filled with ornaments, the garland no longer looks pathetic and crooked.



The garland itself is quite a challenge to hang. I take four stools and put them around the tree. I then stand on the stools and rotate around the tree while hanging the garland. It's definitely not safe, as I have to hop from one barstool to another, but it works. I start from the top and wrap one color garland clockwise and the other color counter-clockwise. I try to vary the lengths that the garland drops from the branches. Although I'm never happy with the garland alone, once the tree is complete, I actually like the crooked-hanging garland.



This tree has alot of ornaments. I use varying shades of blue, lime green, and silver balls. Then, I have a few unique ornaments, such as the chandelier-like disks, scuba Santa, swimtrunks, and other tropically-themed ornaments.



The tree took me about 6-7 hours from start to finish. My dad set this up, so this does not include assembly time. However, I did have to fluff the tree. Unpacking the ornaments took almost an hour. The garland alone took about two hours.





I also think that when decorating, it's important to have a sense of humor.



The beach-dressed Beanie Kids are tanning underneath the tree. The tree skirt is white felt covered with a lime green fishing net from Oriental Trading Catalog.



The gifts under the tree are actually empty bags coordinating with the tree.



How's that for Christmas in the Caribbean?