End of a Great First Semester

I called Cameron a little bit after 5 p.m. tonight expecting to hear that he had just left Bloomington.  He had his last final this afternoon and I expected it to have just ended.  Thus, I was completely surprised to hear that he was already on US 31.  His finite exam had been a lot easier than he had expected.  He not only had time to finish it, but to check over it before heading out early.  

I had a lot of fun listening to Cameron talk on his drive to Syracuse.  He was very excited about his grades this semester, expecting to finish with a 4.0.  He was happy with the friends that he had made on his floor and in his classes.  He and his friend, Josh, had just won a case conference in K204, and he had thoroughly enjoyed last night's performance of Straight No Chaser with Brett at the IU Auditorium.  He was looking forward to a week in Northern Indiana visiting Alina, his grandparents and his Bethany friends before heading to Florida.  He was also thankful to have a three week break from studying.

When I hung up the phone, I couldn't help but smile.  When Cameron left for college in August, I had hoped that he would find success.  Every day hadn't been easy, but overall it had gone very well.  His freshmen year reminded me a lot of Doug's first semester.  I knew first hand how much Doug had enjoyed it and was incredibly thankful that Cameron had had the same experience.  I was also happy that I would get to spend two weeks with him.  It was a hard adjustment for me to be an empty nester.  I will definitely enjoy his time at home.

Christmas Party

 Last night I went to a mission meeting at the church.  I wasn't a lot of help to the group this time as they were looking for volunteers to help distribute fliers for the Dominicans.  All four of our children will be here during the distribution period and I don't want to miss any time with them.  I felt bad when I left the meeting, but there will be other opportunities to volunteer later.  

Tonight was the Blessed Trinity Council for Catholic Women's Christmas party.  Doug dropped me off at Milano's at 6 p.m.  I was very nervous about going as it was just a social event this evening and I didn't know a lot of the women very well.  I found a nice table to sit at, however, and enjoyed talking to several of the women during dinner.  The host had four Christmas games for us to play and I actually won the first one - a  holiday word scramble.  I ordered the stuffed shells which were delicious.  The evening ended with a fun gift exchange. I was sad to give up my Christmas charcuterie board, but was happy with the "neck fan" that I received.  It will be perfect this summer.  

Doug picked me up at 8:30 and I told him all about my night.  I realized while I was talking to him that during the past two nights, I was strongly encouraged by multiple people to become more involved in various service projects.  The women tonight told me that it was the best way to make friends.  I knew that they were right, but I wasn't ready to commit to anything just yet, not even making friends.  After two years of non-stop commitments, I am happy just to attend a few meetings a month and slowly get to know people in the Ocala community.

Christmas Movies

In the past, one of my favorite parts of the holiday season has been watching Christmas movies.  The last two years, however, I just haven't been that excited about any of them.  We had watched all of the classic so many times that I felt that I had the lines memorized.  Even the old black and white ones like Christmas in Connecticut and Miracle on 34th Street didn't appeal to me.  I still made time for White Christmas and Doug's favorite, It's a Wonderful Life, but otherwise didn't watch much else.  

This year, I decided to try something different.  Instead of watching the classics, I searched for movies that were recommended by others whether that be by friends, family members or through search engines.  As I started watching some of the non-classics like Disney's Noelle and The 12 Dates of Christmas, I became more excited about holiday movies.  When my Dad said that they just watched Fred Claus, I decided to rewatch that one as well.  It was even better than I remembered and after I finished it, the Vince Vaughn movie "Four Christmases" popped up on my Roku.  I had never seen that and had fun watching it as well.

Tonight, while Doug was at a work dinner, I decided to try one of Meg's suggestions and watch "Love Actually."  Neither that film or While You Were sleeping, which was her movie choice for the evening, were technically Christmas movies, but as they were set during the holidays, I counted each as one.  I had fun rewatching Love Actually and made a note to watch the other film later this week.

I know that I will still watch White Christmas and Meet Me in St. Louis this Christmas season, but I am now looking forward to trying more new holiday movies this year as well.  Doug's not as much into Christmas movies as I am, so Cameron suggested trying Die Hard to get him in the holiday spirit.  I definitely can't turn down an Alan Rickman movie and it does take place during Christmas, so it's not a bad one to add to the list.

Twenty-Five Miles - No Wonder I am Tired

 I was in tears yesterday afternoon at Epcot.  I had dropped something I bought, my legs were aching and I just couldn't keep up with everyone.  Meg asked me what was wrong and I told her.  She said that she could barely keep up, so it shouldn't be surprising that I was struggling after such a busy weekend.  Doug reassured me the same thing.  

I felt better after Doug and Meg said something, but I still felt a little bit down about it last night until I looked at my FitBit.  In a forty-eight hour period, we had walked twenty-five miles.  Seeing it written out like that made me realize that the reason I was tired was because our weekend had been exhausting.  We were on the go for two straight days.  I should have been tired  As sad as that was to realize, I was happy that I was at least able to keep up with everyone for a weekend.  I took it easy today, sleeping in and resting my legs.  If that's what I have to do to still hang out with Doug and our children then I will do it as being a relevant part of their life is extremely important to me.  Thankfully, they all still seem to want me around for now.  

What a Fun Weekend

Yesterday, Meg and Nick celebrated their five year anniversary.  As they were talking, I realized that it's getting to the point that I almost don't remember when they weren't dating.  I was glad that they asked us to join them in Orlando as we had a lot of fun celebrating with them.  I was also thankful that we all decided to sleep in this morning.  Yesterday was awesome, but even with the mid-afternoon nap, we were all still tired last night.  I also stayed up later than Doug as Cameron wanted to order Cal's Christmas gift and it was after 1 a.m. when we got the confirmation email.

We spent most of  today at Epcot.  Nick rode Guardians of the Galaxy and Mission Space while Meg and I shopped.  Doug toured the Canadian side of the countries looking for festival dishes that he hadn't tried on Friday night.  Once Nick joined us, we each picked out foods to eat for lunch.  We also shopped in the England stores where I found the perfect gift for Alina.  The park was crowded, but nothing like Friday, so we were able to navigate it a lot easier.  Our last stop of the day was at the Mexico pavilion where the four of us rode Gran Fiesta Tour, always a family favorite.

Meg and Nick hadn't been to Disney Springs yet this trip, so we headed there next.  We did a lot of shopping and I found several more Christmas gifts.  Meg wanted to eat at Splitsville. There were plenty of tables outside, but as soon as we sat down, a storm hit the area.  It was still raining pretty hard when we finished our meals, but we were able to wait until it was only sprinkling before we headed to the parking garage.  I had an umbrella which Meg and I used when she wasn't able to duck under the store entryways.  I decided to walk barefoot as there were large puddles everywhere and I didn't want to ruin my Birkenstocks.  Thankfully, we weren't too wet when we got back to the car.

The drive to the airport was a quick one.  We had just enough time to download the pictures from Meg's photo pass before we arrived at departures.  I was very sad to see them leave.  We had had such a wonderful weekend and I wasn't ready for it to be over.  Thankfully, Christmas break starts soon and I will be able to see everyone again.  I can't wait.

Who Hates Mickey Mouse?

Doug and I were up early to catch Hollywood Studios before rope drop.  I wasn't sure that I would be able to make it as I was absolutely exhausted from yesterday.  I was glad that we did, however, as we were able to ride Slinky Dog Dash, Toy Story Mania and Runaway Railway before our breakfast reservation at Oga's Cantina.

Meg and Nick met us at the Star Wars themed restaurant.  They had slept in as they were up until 1 a.m. last night.  They had thoroughly enjoyed the Christmas party where they walked on rides, watched the parade and enjoyed hot chocolate with cookies.  This morning's drinks and snacks were delicious at the cantina.  We loved the atmosphere as well. 

Our next stop was back in Toy Story Land where Nick, Meg and I rode Alien Saucer Swirl.  It's meant for younger children, but it's one of my favorites.  The lines had been so long on our last few trips that I hadn't ridden it since 2020.  Meg then beat us all at Toy Story Mania before we ordered lunch at Fairfax Fare on Sunset Boulevard.  It was delicious and the first meal that I had eaten in four days that didn't make me queasy.  

After lunch, Nick rode Rock N Roller Coaster while Meg and I shopped for Christmas presents.  I found a great one for Cal and she picked out a few as well.  Doug wasn't in for shopping or riding and instead hung out at the Baseline Tap.  We were all exhausted by 2 p.m. and decided that resting at the hotel would be our next activity.  Doug and I both fell asleep as soon as we returned.  Nick went swimming while Meg rested in her room.

The four of us spent the evening at Magic Kingdom.  My feet hurt really bad, so I wasn't sure if I would be able to do much of anything.  Thankfully, I was still able to join everyone on Pirates on Caribbean, the Haunted Mansion and Mickey's Philharmagic.  All were a lot of fun and I was glad to finally see the new Hatbox Ghost.  We ate the best chili cheese dogs at Casey's Corner before Doug and I headed back to the hotel.  Meg and Nick wanted to ride several more rides and do some more shopping.  They were able to meet up with us at the piano bar before it closed.  It was there that Doug finally told us that he really didn't care for Mickey Mouse.  Meg and I laughed the rest of the night, questioning him over and over "Who Hates Mickey Mouse?"  Whether he does or does not like the main mouse, we were glad that Doug had agreed to spend the weekend at Disney World. 

A Weekend in Orlando

Meg and Nick were in Orlando this week to celebrate their fifth anniversary.  They asked us if we wanted to join them for part of the trip and we decided that a weekend at Disney World would be a lot of fun.  At first we planned on only staying Saturday night, but last night Doug said that he would be able to leave the office by 3:30 if we wanted to extend our stay.  Thankfully, there was still availability at Port Orleans Riverside and as an added bonus, we got a discount as well.

Doug worked through lunch today so that we could leave Ocala at 2.  I was very excited about that as we would be able to see Meg and Nick before they left for the Christmas party at Magic Kingdom.  They had spent the day at Animal Kingdom and were relaxing in their room when we arrived.  Doug and I unpacked and headed to the pool bar to meet them for a drink.  We enjoyed listening to them talk about all that they had done over the past two days.  

The four of us caught the bus together and rode to Magic Kingdom.  While they left for the party, Doug and I walked over to the Grand Floridian.  I really wanted to see the Christmas tree and gingerbread house in their lobby.  It's always the hit of social media over the holiday season.  They both were definitely impressive.

Afterward, Doug and I caught the monorail for Epcot.  We had decided that dinner would be trying the different booths at the Festival of the Holidays event.  It was very crowded, but we were able to try several foods and drinks while walking the countries.  Doug was impressed with how many booths had salmon as their main dish.  My favorite of the night was the pizza dough bites in Italy.  

With everyone in the countries waiting for the fireworks, we were able to walk right on Soarin' before leaving.  I was very happy about that.  We stopped at the piano bar once we returned to the hotel.  Their infamous piano player was in full swing.  We both enjoyed him until we could no longer keep our eyes open.  It was a great way to spend an evening at Disney World.