Cruisin Disney Style

So for our vacation we decided to go on a Disney Cruise. As many of you know we are "Disney Nerds." We love all things Disney. We also love the fact that we knew without a shadow of a doubt that we would experience the "Disney Difference" and we were right! Everything was perfect and exceeded our expectations. The service, the food, the entertainment were amazing! Best of all there was an adult only area. So for four glorious days we sailed, drank, ate, and partied in what I like to call Disney Adult style haha. By the time day 1 was over we were already planning our next Disney cruise.

The best part of cruising is the food! This is not a dieter's vacation. Be prepared to stuff your vacationing mouth with a huge array of unlimited gloriousness! Wether it be breakfast, lunch or dinner they have you covered with a variety of tasty delights to keep even the pickest eaters happy. I started off slow and had eggs benedict for breakfast with a side of bacon, but that was only round 1 haha.

If you know me you know I have a talent for eating. Disney has rotational dining down to an art and it allows the guests to fully experience all the restaurants that the ship has to offer. On day two the hubby and I decided to treat ourselves to one of two adult restaurants on board. We chose to dine at Palo, the Dream's Italian style restaurant, and we weren't disappointed. Though it was all good the best part was dessert. A chocolate soufflé with vanilla bean and chocolate syrup that frankly was the best dessert we have ever had! Unfortunately we got too carried away with the amazingness that we did not take a picture.

Our port of call was the Bahamas. We fell victim to rain, but we didn't let that stop us. We explored Atlantis and its aquariums and then returned to the boat for lunch and a movie. There was a movie schedule that played several of Disney's current releases through out the day.

 



Disney Cruise Line is the only cruise line to offer fireworks at sea. Of course they're not just fireworks! Disney builds up the event by turning the entire cruise ship into a Pirate Party. The guests are encourage to join in the fun and everyone (and I mean everyone from the guests to the crew) dresses in their swash buckling best. All the restaurants serve a pirate menu and the fireworks are preceded by show that includes an appearance by Jack Sparrow. All in all I would say its one of the best nights on the ship and everyone gets into the spirit.

 

We could not have been happier with our choice to go on the Disney Cruise as we had four days of stress free sailing. Every detail was covered and ever want or need meet. As always Disney did not disappoint.

What's more Connecticut than sail boats and lobsters?!

Summer is in the air and the hubby and I were itching for a little getaway. So we decided to head to Connecticut for a little day trip. It was a beautiful day an we took our time getting there. We have friends who had told us about a place in Purdys, NY that is known for some pretty awesome burgers. So we stopped for lunch to check it out for ourselves. I ordered their award winning cream of tomato soup and a cheeseburger and Los ordered their house burger with a side of fries. Let's just say this place did not disappoint. The soup was out of this world and the burgers were huge! The fries are steak fries an were just as good as everything else. So with full bellies we hit the road again to Connecticut. The drive was beautiful the sky was blue and the trees were vibrant green. Our first stop was Bristol and we drove around to see the ESPN offices and the quant little town. Next we drive West Hartford and look at Black and Blue Square. It's a lovely residential and commerce complex with restaurants, shops, and condos. We
decided to stop at Starbucks for a pick me up and plan the rest of our route. We ended making our way to Noank, CT. I had heard of the restaurants by the ocean where they serve fresh lobster, mussels, and shrimp and I was dying to try one. We settled on Abbott's and made our way. It's a little difficult to locate but it was well worth the twists and turns. Hands down the BEST lobster and mussels I have ever had! You get quite a bit of food for the price and the scenery is unbelievable. Seating is first come first serve on picnic tables by the shore you have a perfect view of all the sale boats and the little harbor. I have to say I feel in love with Noank/Mystic, CT that day. It felt so much like being back home. After we had our full I begged Los to drive by Mytic Pizza haha. Please tell me people have seen this movie!!! The sign is the same design that appears on the t-shirts in the movie. Like the nerd that I am it made me smile. We
Headed back to NY as the sun was setting making it a perfect end to a wonderful day.

1 year down ... The rest of our lives to go

May 21 marked our one year wedding anniversary! I mean where else did you think we would spend it but Disney World haha! We couldn't have asked for a better time together. We stayed at the contemporary resort and the focus was spending time together and relaxation and of course a little Disney magic here and there. Our room was beautiful and had a view of lake buena vista and the resort pool. For our anniversary dinner we ate at the Artist's Palate. We were on a culinary high from bread to desert. Dinner was low key with great food and great company reflecting on the last year and how much we have been blessed. we are still in as much in love as we were 6 years ago and cannot wait to celebrate many more anniversaries! A year goes by so quickly when your with your best friend!

Exciting Easter Weekend

The weekend started off with a new change. I'm sad to say that after 9 years my precious "Libby" was traded in. For those of you that don't know Libby was my jeep liberty. She had become part of the family and frankly a part of me. Unfortunately she didn't take to NY and we decided to trade her in before she gave out completely. On a happy note we were blessed to have purchased a brand new jeep grand cherokee. Of course I am all smiles as this has always been my dream car. Thanks hubby for coming the dark side. After we picked up the new family member (later named LJ for Libby Jr) and said goodbye to an old one we hit the open road and headed to New Hampshire. We were going to spend the weekend with my best friend Sarina and her husband Greg. We didn't make it to NH till midnight so we decided to meet our friends in the morning and head to Boston. In the morning they picked us up and headed to breakfast. Just a little side note Sarina if you're reading this next time you will not fool us in to going to Dunkin Donuts by calling it DD's haha. The plan was to take the bus from NH to Boston and spend the day there. We had a blast in Boston. The morning consisted of Greg and I getting a "real" cup of coffee at Starbucks (mind you we had already had a cup at DDs) and walking through downtown Boston. Once we hit the cobble stone streets and lunch time hit it was time to start the party. We ate lunch at a cute pub where I had cider for the first time and the best clam chowder I have ever tasted! We finished our lunch and drinks and headed to do some more sight seeing. After the usual we signed up for a Duck Tour. We had an hour wait so what else is there to do but get another drink haha. Sarina and I ordered fabulous champaign martinis which I ended up finishing and the boys had some roman cokes then it was off to the Duck Tours. The duck tour took us on a very informative and lively tour of Boston and its famous Harbor. Now the reason it's called a duck tour is because the vehicle you ride in is amphibious and rides like a bus on land and a boat in water. It really was a fantastic tour and we hit all the hot spots in 1 hour and 45 mins. After the dick tour we headed back to the bus to NH. We decided to finish off the night with some Mexican food and finally ... wait for it... CHEESE DIP!!! Carlos and I were so elated about this cheese dip you would have thought we won the lottery. Unfortunately NY Mexican restaurants do not believe in cheese dip and we were really missing it. But thanks to our wonderful friend our palates were beyond satisfied. We ended the night with full tummies and happy hearts. Sunday morning was Easter Sunday and what better way to spend Easter than with family. We were thrilled to have brunch with Sarina, Greg, and her parents who practically helped raise me since I was always at her house or her at mine. We spent the morning eating fantastic food and spending time with people we love. Of course the weekend ended quickly and soon we were back on the road to NY. It was a perfect weekend getaway!

Here's to many more ...

Yesterday was my birthday!!! Happy Birthday to me! Actually I started off dreading the day, which those of you who know me would be shocked that I just said that. I love birthdays, but for some reason yesterday didn't feel like my birthday. None the less I got ready to head to my doctor's appointment. Long story short my pericarditis is resolving and I'm on the mend so I have to say that was a pretty good birthday present! After my appointment I did a little bit of birthday shopping and picked up a dress and a pair of pants. While shopping the hubby calls and says we are going to dinner at one of my fav restaurants, Gyu Kaku! I was so excited. Gyu Kaku is a Korean BBQ place that is AMAZING! Basically you grill your own meat on a grill that's in the center of the table. You can order a variety of meats and veggies to grill up while you sip on fab cocktails like a lichee bellini. The wait staff is uber friendly and ready to answer your questions. Dinner ended up consisting of us and four others who might I say I was excited to see! It was a great night full of great food and wonderful company. So here's to 28 and many more nights with great friends and fab food!

Just a little pericarditis...

Sporting a Holter Monitor

As I sit here on the couch feeling like an 80 year old I decided why not write about it. I'm hoping a lesson will be learned. It all started last about a week and a half ago with some heart palpitations. Now being that I work in the medical field and that I'm relatively young I brushed it off as stress or lack of sleep. Until it happened again the next day. This is when I told my hubby and as I suspected he says, "You should go have that check out." You see my immune system probably isn't the best around so its kind of a running joke that you might as well put a bullseye on my forehead cause if you got it I'm going to get it. But again I just brushed it off as stress or fatigue. The thought of a twenty something having something seriously wrong with her heart made me laugh. I should have known karma would come to get me the minute I semi-snorted. Then a few days later at work it happened. The dreaded chest pain along with the palpitations, ridiculously high pulse and high blood pressure. This landed me a one way ticket to the ER. Where they did all sorts of tests and dosed me up on pain meds in order to perform the tests. As I was sitting there (as laying down was just unbearable) I thought to myself you idiot first rule is never ignore chest pain! And then it hit me what if I really was having a heart attack? It sure felt like one!  My Grey's Anatomy look-a-like doctor, I swear he was the spitting image of Dr. Owen Hunt, assured me it wasn't a heart attack but that he needed to run some more tests just to make sure. So as we sat there waiting for the verdict all I could think of was geez I really do need that bullseye. I ended up having pericarditis which is a swelling of the sac that lines the heart. This landed me a one way ticket to rest for two weeks and the lovely fashion piece you see in the picture. One week of couch surfing down and another to go I'm grateful I wasn't having a heart attack and that the monitoring is over. I decided to share my story because I don't want other people ignoring their symptoms because they think nothing is wrong. It's always better to be safe than sorry. I count myself lucky that I did go get checked out and that what I have was caught in time to heal with rest, meds, and time.

Train rides and a little game spinning gone bad

You know being a native southerner I have never really used public transit before. If you needed to go somewhere you hopped your in the car. But now if I want to go anywhere it's a train, cab or walk for me. At first I was petrified! Riding in the car to work was my "me time" my zen moment. I was in fear that I would never have that again. Yet strangely enough I find that riding the train is kind of calming (mind you I say the train not the subway). It gives me time to enjoy the scenery and reflect on life (if I'm sitting facing the right direction), but mostly it indulges my guilty pleasure. What is that you might ask? Well people watching of course (insert evil laugh). This disclosure gives me the urge to share one of my people watching experiences. It's was a Friday night and I was on my way to meet the hubby in the city for dinner with some friends. As I board the train I realize every car is full except for, and to my surprise, I find an empty four seat pod. Little did I realize it was empty for a reason. There was a group of four guys who obviously were enjoying Friday night a little too much and trying to hit on a group of three teenage girls seated diagonally from me (perfect people watching position). The only one of the guys to have the guts to strike up a convo with the girls appeared to be a DJ Pauly Jersey Shore wanna be. Except for, might I add, DJ Pauly dresses slightly better. As I listened to this sinking ship I couldn't help but fear for future women everywhere. I mean is this the kind of men the world is creating? He opened with "hey dolls my name is Mcnasty." I mean seriously what kind of name is that. So to myself I think "dude get a new nickname and you could have used your real name." Then he uttered what I suppose was his hook line and sinker ... "so what's your sign? I'm an Aquarius." I wanted to stop him right there in defense of Aquarians everywhere (I'm a pieces, but I know a pretty amazing aquarius)! But I contained myself. I mean he was in his mid-twenties being a gangsta wanna be with his underwear flashing trying to pick up what looked like barely legal very nicely dressed and mannered young ladies. Of course they giggled and paid him attention, but I wanted to stop them all right there and give them a little bit of advice. Don't worry I didn't interrupt McNasty's game spinning, however I will state my advice here. 1) Get a new nickname or here's a thought how bout using your real name. 2) Dude you are old enough to know better. Grow up. 3) Barely-legal Ladies and McNasty let me tell you how this ends. Girls may date the bad boys heck they might even develop feelings for them but the bad boys never win. You want to know who wins the guy that calls you to see if you made it home safely. The one who gives you his real name and doesn't flash you his underwear as a fashion statement. The one who wins is the one you can call your best friend. I don't envy those who are still dating to be honest I think it's much more fun to spend every day with your best friend. And as I was staring at this desperate attempt for a hook up I was pleasantly reminded that I married my best friend and I will never have to endure a scene like this myself again. But that doesn't keep me from watching for entertainment ;-)