Monday, October 31

Happy Halloween!



I can see you..........





Oh I do love this holiday!

This year we are staying home and handing out candy. I'm sort of excited, but I am bummed that I missed the OSF Halloween party last night. We went to the lake house and didn't get back in town until around 6 pm. Matty was sick, we were all tired (Coop had to be carried into the house - - he was snoring!!!!)

BUT - -

I don't want to disappoint, so here is our Young Son in his dragon costume!





I KNOW!!!! How is it possible for him to be even cuter??!!? Okay, I know I turned into one of those weirdos who dresses their dog. But it's only a Halloween costume!






Okay well I hope you have a GREAT PUMPKIN!!! (Crap, I mean a GREAT HALLOWEEN!!!!!)







If you ARE going out tonight, I hope you will have a DD.

Happy Halloween!



I can see you..........





Oh I do love this holiday!

This year we are staying home and handing out candy. I'm sort of excited, but I am bummed that I missed the OSF Halloween party last night. We went to the lake house and didn't get back in town until around 6 pm. Matty was sick, we were all tired (Coop had to be carried into the house - - he was snoring!!!!)

BUT - -

I don't want to disappoint, so here is our Young Son in his dragon costume!





I KNOW!!!! How is it possible for him to be even cuter??!!? Okay, I know I turned into one of those weirdos who dresses their dog. But it's only a Halloween costume!






Okay well I hope you have a GREAT PUMPKIN!!! (Crap, I mean a GREAT HALLOWEEN!!!!!)







If you ARE going out tonight, I hope you will have a DD.

Monday, October 24

My view of Hurricane Wilma, mid morning

Hello!

It's not too bad here in the Orlando area. We are getting some wind and lots of rain though!


The View From Kenzie's bedroom 11 am

Three doors in the house slammed shut when I opened the sliding glass to take this photo, the trees are all blowing toward the house. This is not really hurricane weather for us up here, we are on the lookout for tornados! We have had two touchdown within 75 miles of the Greater Orlando area in the last hour.

We lost power four or five times this morning from around 7:40 am to 9:00 am, but now things are great and I am just hanging around, comforting the pup. This is his first hurricane and he's not used to it yet.


Thank goodness the harshest parts of the storm are hitting offshore, but there is some severe damage down south.

Friday, October 21

All Well Video Clips

All's Well That Ends Well

Video courtesy of Alan Neves,
Video Utah Productions.

mmmmmm.......


Oh. My. God.

Have you been to Seasons 52???? Well go. No, seriously, go soon.

There are currently 4 of them in Florida. They are a Darden restaurant, which means they have a pretty good degree of service and food. Some of Darden's other chains include Olive Garden, Red Lobster, Smoky Bones and Bahama Breeze. (The Darden HQ is here in Orlando, that's why I know their name....)

Anyway, I digress.

Here, they tell it better than I can. This is from their website.


About Our Menu

Seasons 52 promises a dining adventure in which each bite reveals a new taste sensation. Rediscover the authentic tastes of freshly harvested food. Every week of the year as different foods reach their seasonal peak of taste, we seek out the best market-fresh products, such as vine-ripened heirloom tomatoes in summer, crisp apples in autumn, hearty root vegetables in winter and tender green asparagus in spring.

Every item on our seasonally inspired menu contains less than 475 calories, and each meal is nutritionally balanced to include the highest quality lean meats and seafood, good carbs and beneficial oils such as extra virgin olive oil.

Seasons 52 combines the sheer pleasure of a great meal served well with the satisfaction of knowing you've served yourself well too! Each week's menu is created by our team of talented chefs and internationally recognized Executive Chef, Clifford Pleau, who is also our Director of Culinary Development.

Did you notice how everything is less that 475 calories?????? Okay now that is per item, so don't go insane - but Matty and I ate there last night for our anniversary and let me tell you - - it freaking rocks.

This is what we had:

Drinks: They are a wine bar with over 70 different choices. Matt had a merlot (can't remember the name) and I had a Midnight Martini. Oh the martini was with black vodka (YUM), blueberry cordial and a splash of cranberry juice. OH SO GOOD! Also, the martinis are so big that you get 2 servings. $8.75 for essentially 2 drinks was really nice.

Appetizer: Grilled Steak & Roasted Crimini Flatbread with melted blue cheese

Salad: Autumn Greens Salad with toasted pumpkin seeds & light aged balsamic dressing
(I had Shrimp Cocktail in leiu of a salad)

Entrees: (Matt) Jumbo Shrimp Penne Pasta sauteed with fresh broccoli & roasted garlic in fresh tomato basil sauce

(Angi) Cedar Plank Salmon with roasted Yukon Gold potatoes and fresh autumn market vegetables

Dessert:
(Angi) Pecan Pie with Vanilla Bean Mousse
(Matt) Rocky Road (Nut Free)

These desserts are called mini indulgences and they are served in shot glasses. The perfect amount on sweet without overdoing it!


We went to this one, which is in touristland, but oh so pretty.
Orlando, Florida
7700 Sand Lake Road
Orlando, FL 32836
407-354-5212
Open daily at 4:30 p.m.


We were told this one is smaller but just as nice.
Altamonte Springs, Florida
463 East Altamonte Drive, by The Altamonte Mall
Altamonte Springs, FL 32701
(407) 767-1252
Open daily at 11:30 a.m. for lunch and 5:00 p.m. for dinner

They also have one in Ft. Lauderdale and Palm Beach.

So anyhow, its totally wort it, give it a shot!

Wednesday, October 19

It's my anniversary!!!!



Seems like only yesterday, we were walking down the aisle.....


Today Matthew and I celebrate our 3 year anniversary. YEA!

I still love him just as much today as I did that day in 2002.


Marriage has its ups and downs....but *sings* "Love will keep us together....."

*CHEESY GRIN*



Happy anniversary Matthew.....I love you!

Utah Shakes is hiring for the Tour

The Utah Shakespearean Festival is hiring for its upcoming educational tour of Macbeth. The tour travels for twelve weeks to the western United States, playing to a variety of organizations, groups, and schools. Seven actors and three technicians will tour with a shortened, fully produced version of Macbeth. The tour ensemble works together in sharing duties of driving, setup, breakdown, etc.

COMPANY MANAGER: Seeking enthusiastic, mature individual for Utah Shakespearean Festival educational tour of Macbeth. Company manager to be in contact with schools, theatres, and other sponsor groups; make all advance contacts, publicity contacts, and lodging contacts during rehearsal period; act as liaison to booking office for schedule and changes; coordinate all travel schedules and performance schedules while on tour; and handle all transportation issues while on the road.

Contracts run January 2 through April 22, 2006. Salary range is $350-400/week, with housing and travel stipend provided.

Please send letter of application and resume to:Raymond Inkel, Production Manager Utah Shakespearean Festival 351 West Center Street Cedar City, UT 84720
435-865-8264 • Fax: 435-865-8003
inkel@bard.org

Monday, October 17

A Saturday in Cozumel


We got off the boat after breakfast at around 9:30.


The local Ron John's...


The view from Ron John's front door.


















A hospitable island.
















We had a quick look around and then met up with our shore excursion group. We went on a 2 person speedboat that Matt got to drive to a private beach.


Check out that beautiful water!! We were on the ocean for about 45 minutes each way. It was so cool to zip around and play in the waves. There were about 7 boats in our group.
















We spent about an hour and a half hanging out on a beautiful beach and in the ocean. I collected some shells for Kenzie.















They served us a traditional Mexican meal with some kick ass salsa.








Our guides!





We went back to the ship to shower and then headed back out.



Yeah...I HAD to hang with he Captain!












We had a few drinks, bought some souvenirs and headed back to the ship for a NAP before dinner.


That was our view from the ship right before we left port.




The coast line as we pulled away...


Tonight we got a bat. Its cute AND creepy.


I don't know what it is, but I love this photo. I love how the light spills over the bed.




Do you like our night light? :P

Ahhhh Cozumel. What a fun little place.

Saturday, October 15

Friday night was Formal night.

Matt and I got up early and went to the gym. They had a bad ass sauna and whirlpool as well as a shit ton of equipment and weights. They also had an outdoor jogging track that was on the top deck. It was so freaking cool.

Next we had a quick breakfast at the buffet on the Lido deck. Yeah, life is tough on the ship! LOL




The group had to have a meeting on Friday morning, you know, they had to pretend to work a little bit! Sorry, but it was bright in the Rhapsody in Blue room! (I went to a shopping seminar while this was going on!)



Here is the view out of our window this afternoon.



Me pretending to be a diva as the sun set.



Sheri and Jakara at dinner



Paulette and Kathy (aren't they cute?)



Dave and Nancy



Matt and I (we clean up nicely, don't we?????)

We have some professional shots from this evening. As soon as Matt scans them in, I will add them.



Hmmm...our mystery animal. Kind of seems like a monkey...until you see the way a money is really supposed to look. We got the book on towel folding, so expect them on your bed if you visit my place!!!!

This was a "fun day at sea" so we just cruised along. There was a cocktail party where you could meet the captain before dinner and then there was a Vegas style review after dinner. Then there was a comic from New York. It was a lot of fun, but we were pooped. There were a couple of night clubs, but we opted out. We can go to a club any night, but how often can you lie in bed and look out at the ocean?

Bliss.

Thursday, October 13

Our fantastic voyage...Day one

Well we are home safe and sound!

Here's my photo journal. There are some other photos, but I need to get them scanned in so they may be a while. Whatever! It's not like you care!! :P

We left early in the morning on Thursday, October 6, 2005.
Yeah, I got a bunch of cruise clothes! Just wait, there's more!


As you can tell, Matt is a real morning person.

After we got through the boarding stuff, we got to see our rooms.


Jakara (I hope that is spelled right!!!!) and Sheri were next door on our left and Kathy and Paulette were on the right. (Dave and Nancy were 2 doors down.)

This is a shot of our place from the hallway.


Next we had our safety drill. We had muster station D.


Don't we look cute in our life vests?


Dave and Nancy are old hands at the safety drill.


Here is our view from the muster station.


The skies started to get dark as we were sailing away.


Good thing we were sailing into the sun.


Pretty soon we were going under the Sunshine Skyway Bridge. Our cruise director, Chris, told us that the smoke stack comes within 15' of the bridge. EAK!


Paulette and Kathy at dinner the first night.


Sheri and Jakara. We all ate in the Mardi Gras dining room. We had the late seating.




While we were at dinner our cabin steward, Wency, turned down our beds and made these cute little towel animals. This is a lobster, can ya tell??

Okay well tomorrow is another day and I will post it soon.

OH YES IT WAS EVER SO MUCH FUN!!!!!!!!!!!