Babsarella's Pocketful of Sunshine

Highlights from Orlando....

It was a busy weekend in Orlando. Miss B spent much of the time in the hotel with her team either competing, getting ready to compete, and supporting team members. She was in 3 different team dances which were on Friday. The production number (which had all members of the junior and senior teams took first place in the production number category. That meant that they had to compete again on Sunday evening in the Showcase. Well, they were thrilled to also win first place production number in the Showcase too! Now, I don't totally understand why they compete against the same groups they competed against on Friday, but that was the case. Anyhow, Friday snuck away for a few hours to the Florida Mall, since Miss B's dances were not until later in the afternoon. Saw a really cool store with a surfing area right inside (I kid you not).

On Saturday, I decided to head over to Stampfest 2008. I had never been to a rubber stamp convention and was anxious to see what I might find.

I found all sorts of pretty things, but my most favorite booth was Stampers Anonymous. They had Mr. Ted Cutts doing some great demos and since I have many of the things already at home, I decided that I really must try some of his great techinques.

I also got a demo on the Zutter binding system (which I am sorry to say I have had at home from a long time and never used). I will be pullin this thing out too because it was super easy to use. On Saturday evening, we headed to Downtown Disney for dinner. I was superexcited to see they still had Wolfgang Puck's restaurant and we were early enough to get a table pretty quick. (I loved the one by us, but it left the mall and I was so sad.) We also got inside just in time to avoid a major downpour (which happens almost every afternoon in the summer).

On Sunday, while Miss B was still with the team (and the dancing was not until late), Mark and I headed over to Disney's Animal Kingdom. He went on the new Expedition Everest rollercoaster (while I waited). After he came off, I was SUPER HAPPY I didn't ride it!! We also did the safari (tons of animals were out) and then headed over to Epcot. On our way there we got selected to be an honorary family of Disney, which prettymuch only gave us a certificate, a couple of buttons, and a ride in a golf cart to our car. Mark was hoping for a free meal!

In Epcot, our first stop was for some food. We tried to eat Mexican, but they were full for the day. We decided to get a margarita for the road, and headed on to another restaurant. We got lucky in Italy and had a lovely meal there. After that, we took in a few more rides (The Seas with Nemo and Friends, Mission: Space, and Test Track). We then headed back to the hotel to clean up and watch the Showcase.

Monday we headed out early and made our first stop back in Epcot. We wanted to see a new ride called Soarin, but the line was too long on Sunday, so that was our first stop. The ride gives you the sensation of hang gliding over California.

  After that, we took the monorail over to the Magic Kingdom (Blair's choice). It was much more crowded on Monday, so we were concerned about how much we would be able to do, but we made a plan and got on all but one thing.   This was our first stop. Had to see it with Jack Sparrow in different places. Plus there was very little wait.

  Mark is checkin out our next move...

  And Mark managed to take a photo that was not blurry!

  It was a fun day and the weather held up in til about 5pm. Once the clouds rolled in, it was time to head out. We even got lucky and rode with the driver in the front of the monorail. Quite a different perspective. Especially with all sorts of lightening on an electrical track!! We arrived home quite late and prettymuch just dropped our bags, picked up the pupper from Mom, got cleaned up (boy was it hot!) and headed off to dreamland.

I have been playing catch-up ever since!!

Miss B and I did manage to catch a movie...The Jane Austen Book Club. LOVED IT!!

Well, gotta get busy makin a card for the almost-birthday-boy. It is a BIG one this year!

Up to my ears in laundry...

It was a great trip out west. The weather was just stellar...several days of sun, and no bitter cold. In fact, the first day I skiied with my jacket open. We got snow on Thursday, but even that was not bad to ski in since the temps were tolerable. We were a little worried about our flights, because we took Delta, but they were all on time and worked out quite nicely (except for a few bumpy moments going through the clouds). Of course, we did have the typical altitude adjustments. Coming from below sea level, it really wrecks havoc on the system, but by Friday, I didn't wake up with a headache. Oh, and flying with the cold was kind of a pain, but by our first ski day on Wednesday, I was good enough to ski the whole day, and didn't have to take any meds other than something to relieve the headache (which I would have had cold or not). Miss B opted for more snowboard lessons and continues to do well, although she is very cautious and does not go fast or do anything crazy. She is even feeling much more confident about getting on and off the lifts, but we could not convice her to tackle a blue run. She likes her runs not too steep and not too crowded. It turned out to be a good time to go as far as the crowds. Not too long to wait to get on the lifts (except at about 10:15 when all the classes are heading up the mountain).

We got back in the wee hours of Sunday, and I am still sorting through laundry and trying to get back in a somewhat normal schedule. Since the public schools in our area are off for Spring Break this week, we get a reprieve from dance classes, so I won't have to do a lot of running around in the evenings. Although, I did have to drag my butt to the grocery store last evening since we had very little food in the house. Good news is that Miss B has offered to do the cooking if she has no homework or tests to study for. COOL!!! Last evening was a terrific fish dish, and I believe tonight will be pork chops in a marinade and then grilled. YUM! I am hoping that tonight I can get back to doing some fun, creative things since I have a few things on my plate the need to be completed in the next few weeks. I also kept a travel journal while I was gone, so I want to finish adding a few decorative touches to that. It was great to have it with us on the trip, since it contained all the info on our trip from last year. We could remember where we ate and how we felt...all sorts of fun stuff.

Just a few more photos...  

Goodbye Colorado...we will miss you...hope to see you again next year.

Now back to hot humid Florida weather.

New York...day 4...

Our last day in Manhattan was on Saturday (1/6), and this was the day we planned to do everything that we still had not done. We took a cab from the hotel to the Empire State Building where I left Mr. Mark and Miss B to take a ride to the top. Been there, done that, and don't care for heights. (My heart raced in the last King Kong movie when they were at the top of the Empire State Building, and that was just a movie. I even told Mr. Mark he was not allowed to get a hotel that had more than 20 stories...ours had 21 and we were on floor 20...great). Sooooo...I walked a few blocks to the place I most wanted to visit during this whole trip...Tinsel Trading. I was SUPER EXCITED!!! Oh the thought of spending an hour or so looking at all the loveliness I imagined this store had to offer. I walked up, took a few photos and proceeded to enter. The door was locked. WHAT???? I looked at the hours..."open selected Saturdays"!!! WHAT???? My heart sank. How could this be that I came all the way here to have the store closed? I never even thought to check the hours because I knew in the past they had classes on Saturdays, so I figured they would be open.

Just look at all that millinery goodness...so close, and yet so far...I tried calling Mr. Mark, but got his message. I figured he was not getting reception or had to turn off his phone. I was supposed to meet them there, so what should I do? Well, first I walked up to Lord and Taylor to check out the windows, since I was planning to do that anyway. Just beautiful (although they did not photograph well). Lots of movement with a Victorian motif. Each window represented different things about Christmas...The aroma of Christmas...The sights of Christmas...The sounds of Christmas...it was really beautiful.

I wish this photo was nicer, but you can kinda get an idea. Once I was done there, I walked back down the block a few more times. Then, as if God had heard my disappointment, I looked and saw people coming out of a car with boxes, and they were going in. So, I asked if they were the owners and told them how I had come from Florida and was so disappointed that they were closed. Well, she told me that normally they are closed on Saturdays in the winter, but they would be opening in about 10 minutes. OH JOY OH JOY....Now, I just have to hope Mr. Mark and Miss B don't come lookin for me too soon while I am in the midst of this euphoria.   I was the only shopper in the store for most of the time I was there. I had a lovely girl from Poland who helped me and we shared some nice conversations. Then, after about 20 minutes, the phone rang. So, I grabbed the things I had already selected and checked out, meeting the crew back at Lord and Taylor, where they were checking out the windows.

Because of my very brief time in the store, I didn't take any photos. I wanted to make the most of my shoppin time, dontcha know! It was almost overwhelming...I could have used more time to just soak it in and really think about what I needed (and probably spent a heck of a lot more money). I did get a few things, such as some vintage tinsel (how appropriate), velvet leaves, and dresden wings. It was such a thrill to go, and I hope to get back again!!

Our next stop was to Bon au Pain (I think that was the name) to get some food. The food was nice, but I think everyone else decided to eat there that day, because it was a bear to get a table for 3.

Now that we were refreshed, we hopped another cab to...

Little Italy to hit the Paul Frank store. One of Miss B's choices. It was a pretty small store, but she found a belt and a tank top to purchase. If we were smarter, we would have eaten in Little Italy. I can just imagine how good the food must be. Our cab driver dropped us a few blocks from the store (because I think he didn't know exactly where it was), so we walked along Mulberry Street, which was restaurant after restaurant on each side of the street. Each one having a "greeter" to try an lure you in.

It was a fun place, and I hope we can get back there again to savor the ambiance and the food. After this, we hailed another cab and got a ride to FAO Schwartz, so we could walk over to Central Park for a carriage ride.

This is something I have always wanted to do, and it was a really wonderful experience.

Of course, our driver had to have a top hat, so I selected the first one I found. Turns out to be an excellent choice. Our driver was Sal, and his horse was Shaggy. He told us that this is a family business, and he used to do it back in high school. Then, when his father had a fall and could no longer do it, he and his brother now drive the carriages so his Dad can relax. Sal knew so many interesting facts about the park and surrounding buildings, that and the nice snuggly blanket made for a really great ride!

We still had a little bit more time before we had to get back to the hotel for our ride to the airport, so we headed up 5th Ave to St. Patricks Cathedral.

It has been such a long time since I was there, so I had forgotten how absolutely gorgeous this place is. The architecture and stained glass are just beautiful. I wish they still made churches like this, but I know it would cost a fortune.

They actually use REAL candles. Unlike our church, which has electric lights.

How can you not love this....

   

And this....

And this....

And here is where I totally finished filling up my 1 gig SD card on the camera. From here we walked to a few other stores, and then headed to the hotel to pick up our luggage and head to the airport. It was such a WONDERFUL time (except at JFK where they searched my carry on bag several times and had only 2 food choices for dinner with a long wait). I think Miss B really loved this get-away and will cherish the memories of a fun time with her family. I think it was also so great for her to see what a different life it is to live in the city.

I hope you enjoyed re-living my little vaca. I received a MOST LOVELY package yesterday with lots of goodies to spark my creativity (I will share photos once I get them loaded on the pc), and I have some birthdays just around the corner, which means I need to get makin cards. I do have some holiday decorations that must be put away this weekend, but I should squeeze some arty time in there too. Hope all is well with you and you are having a great week!!!!

New York...day 3...

On day 3 (Friday 1/4) I had a wake-up call set for 6am, so that Miss B and I could go to the Today show. Well, at 6am, it was cold and I was tired, so I went back to sleep for a while. Once we got up, we headed out toward the subway, but decided to make a brief stop by the Today show to see what was going on. Since it was 9am, Matt and Meredith would be gone, but we decided to wait for Al Roker to come out and do the weather...

Well, sure enough, in just a short time there he was...

He came right over and started shaking hands with everyone. He was super friendly, and while he was doing the weather, we actually got on TV!!! Did ya see us??? Probably not, but it was cool anyway!!!

From there, we headed down to the subway. I don't remember it being so hard!! Too many choices, and of course no one in the little info booth to answer any of our questions. We finally found that we could get a day pass for $7 each, so that is what we did. Then we had problems getting them to work. Finally, I got thru, Mark got thru, but Miss B did somethin and she could not get thru. Not good. Luckily, some nice lady came by and used her card to get her inside. Note to self...make sure one parent is on each side of the turnstiles.

We took the subway down the the World Trade Center to look around and also visit a store called Century 21. While Miss B and I shopped (for Ugg-type boots to keep our feet warm), Mr. Mark did more looking around.

This is a photo of all the work that is going on in that area.