Disney World – A whole new world…
Okay – I’ve fallen desperately behind in my blogging. Left everyone hanging with me sick and sleeping through fireworks. So here goes!
The next morning we got up early, ate more oatmeal – but very carefully and with much more time before heading to the park. We headed to Epcot – I was super excited for this day, as I’ve heard so much about Epcot and thoroughly expected it to be my favorite.
Marc and I decided we’d stick to the plan in the guide again and hope that it would allow us to see most of Epcot in one day. So as soon as they opened the doors, Marc headed straight to Mission Space while I ran (well, running isn’t technically supposed to happen there, so it was quick walking) over to Soarin’ to get our fast passes. I was shocked at the surge of people and strollers racing there! I snatched the fast passes and hot-footed it back to Marc.
We’d read ahead of time how MISSION: Space can make folks sick, so after yesterday we decided that we should do the easy version of the ride (you can either be in a motion simulator that just moves, or a motion simulator that’s on a g-force spinner type deal…). It was kind of comical too, because at every single turn you are being asked by Disney if you’re up to the intense version – they ask you when you get in line, then they hand you a “pass” for the ride that reads something like, “if you want to ride the intense orange ride, please be aware that if you’ve ever had a hiccup or hangnail, this might be too intense for you. You might want to try the green version.” The green pass reads something like, “if you want to ride the green ride, please be aware that if you’ve ever stubbed your toe, this might be too intense for you. You might want to try Mission Control Training.” I checked it out – Mission control training is just sitting at a computer! We both decided we’d be fine with a motion simulator, so we loaded up for Green.
Marc was our mission commander, and I was the engineer – which meant we should press buttons at the right time so our craft didn’t “crash.” Marc led the expedition well, and we really enjoyed the ride. Left me a little woozy, but OK.
Afterwards we sent silly emails to our friends and family from the consoles there – it allows you to be in space sending a shout out back home!
We were headed to Soarin’ to catch our next stop on the schedule when something happened that threw our entire schedule off. I saw FIVE characters at Character Spot, and I sort of made Marc take me in. We waited in line for what seemed like forever, but then I got my picture with Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Goofy & Pluto! It was EXCELLENT! Totally worth the wait, and we both took great photos.
We finally made it to Soarin’ with Marc a bit unsure since he’s not a fan of heights, but we both LOVED the ride. We rode the rest of the rides in The Land, including the ride where they take you through the greenhouses. I actually loved that ride. It was so interesting to see bell peppers on trees, and cucumbers hanging from vines at 10 feet high!
We made our way to The Seas, which I was looking forward to as I love Nemo. 
We meandered through the aquarium, but the highlight of the Seas was Turtle Talk with Crush. It’s an interactive program, so that each time Crush the turtle reacts differently. In our session, there was a kiddo running laps around the room, which promped Crush to quip, “Whoa, little dude runnin’ loose, man! Oops, looks like the dad’s gonna catch the little guy in back – good catch dad!” It was cute and the wonder on the children’s faces was definitely evident.
Of course we rode Spaceship Earth (which if you didn’t know, the big giant sphere at Epcot isn’t just a decoration, there is a ride in there, talking about our planet and its history). Fun fact about Spaceship Earth – several of the animatronic people in there have faces of presidents! Disney being frugal reused the casts from the Hall of Presidents to save on costs!
After visiting the imagination ride (yawn), we headed out into the World section of Epcot. I was stoked to experience all the different countries, and see if I could get more character pictures!
We wandered through Canada, watched the video and took a few photos, 
and then made our way to England. I’d been wanting my picture with Eeyore the entire time we’d been at Disney, so when I learned they were in England I insisted that we stay so I could get my photo with him. So to kill time, Marc and I did the Kim Possible mission for England. 
It’s a clever idea, keeping the kids occupied while Mom and Dad attempt the beers around the world (which we didn’t want to try, because beer at Disney is EXPENSIVE). It’s also clever because it uses the scenery of the “country” to further the Kim Possible mission.
We waited in one more line, and then I finally got my photo with Eeyore – and the photographer didn’t get it in focus! Such a bummer!
We continued around the world, stopping in shops for occasional goodies (the English shop had *real* Cadbury chocolate, which is just so much better than any American chocolate!), and for photos of characters 
and each other.
We rode the Norway ride, which was OK 
, and the Mexico ride (which broke down while we were on it and waited 20+ minutes about 20 feet from being able to get off).
Finally the sun set and it was time to head off to dinner, to the meal I was looking forward to most – Biergarten! We got me a beer, and I ate spaetzle and sausage to my heart’s content! 
The oompa band was excellent and even included a cowbell Blue Danube!
We were so engrossed in our great german eats that when we looked down we realized the fireworks would be starting momentarily, and all of the guidebooks recommened camping out a spot for the fireworks well ahead of time! We raced outside, and were delighted to be able to walk right up to the railing and watch the beautiful fireworks.
We headed home and decided to catch up on some well deserved sleep. We were planning on Animal Kingdom for the next day and knew we didn’t have to get up at the crack of dawn for that!
Disney World – No Tower for an Hour
Hurk Alert – if you’re not comfortable with people calling Ralph on the Big White Telephone, you might just want to come back for the next blog about Epcot…
The next day Marc and I headed off to Disney’s Hollywood Studios (formerly MGM Studios). Since we’d gotten in so late the night before, I took my breakfast of instant oatmeal (made with hot water from the coffeemaker and oatmeal packets we’d packed in our bags) with me on the bus. I finished it right as we were let into the park.
My handy guidebooks had a plan for us, and I thought we’d follow it pretty closely. It said to hit the Rock’n Roller Coaster then the Tower of Terror, as those end up with some of the longest lines (the Studio Backlot tour was out of commission while we were there). Also, my cousin Jessica and her husband Jason had extolled the virtues of the Rock’n Roller Coaster, telling us they generally ride it 7 times or so. So once we were let into the park we headed to the Tower, got our fast passes, and then went straight to the roller coaster line. On a side note, one thing Disney has mastered is the PreRide Entertainment area. In almost all the parks, you finish your line, think you’re headed to the ride, but you have to sit through a wait first – with Haunted Mansion it’s the stretch room, with Mission Space it’s mission training… with Rock’n it’s a recording studio. Once we were let out of the “studio” to head to our “concert across L.A.”, we got into our coaster. Unfortunately I hadn’t warned Marc that it goes 0 to 60 in about 3 seconds, and not by going up a hill – it shoots you forward. So he really didn’t get a chance to secure our backpack, and ended up having to step on it as we did loop-dee-loops and twists.
I loved the ride for the first 3/4 of it, and then all of a sudden I didn’t feel so well. Marc thoroughly enjoyed himself though. When we got out we skipped straight past the photo area and gift shop (I told you everything in Disney has a gift shop). I found the nearest bathroom and proceeded to not have oatmeal anymore.
We sat for a while outside the giant electric guitar sculpture on the outside of the roller coaster until I thought I was OK. The only problem was that the time for our FastPasses for Tower of Terror was rapidly approaching. We hadn’t hit the time where we could get more FastPasses, so I thought I’d be OK and we could go. We got in the FastPass line and walked right up to the preRide area. Then we got into our “elevator” and rode around (and up, althought I don’t know when we went up), seeing Twilight Zone-esque specters and stars. Then all of a sudden, we were up 13 stories and dropping and raising, dropping and raising. Just like with the Rock’n Roller Coaster, I loved the first half of the ride. But since the Tower is so random now, you never know when you’re done. I unfortunately had to cover my mouth with one hand so I wouldn’t un-oatmeal on the poor kid in front of me, and hang on for dear life with the other.
I literally ran out of the ride to the nearest restroom and stayed for a while. When I finally came out, Marc was waiting to hold me while I cried that I was so sick in the happiest place on earth. We both decided to look around, and we ended up in the Pixar Place, and we waited in line for the Toy Story Midway Mania. Arguably my favorite ride in all of DisneyWorld! It’s a 3D arcade, where you “throw pies” and “shoot down aliens” by using your little “gun.” You get a score, and if you’re looking to get a great score, make sure to aim low – they make it easier for kids since they have a lower sightline.
Once we were done there, we wandered around the rest of the park. We saw the Indiana Jones Stunt Spectacular (I tried so hard to be chosen as an extra but didn’t get to). It was awesome! I highly recommend it to anyone. 
Of course the downside to Indy was that just watching it actually made me a bit nauseous… yep, just watching… We ate lunch (well, I ate some rice and had some sprite and Marc ate), and then we saw the Muppet 3D movie. I love the Muppets, so that was really fun. We saw Power Rangers, and other characters roaming around, but unfortunately we didn’t get our pictures by the Sorcerer’s Hat, because we were a few days away from ESPN The Weekend, and they were building a stage in front of the hat. Marc was so sweet and waited for me outside of so many of the bathrooms there due to my all-day nauseousness- I bet I probably saw 3/4 of the ladies’ bathrooms in that park. Finally I decided I couldn’t do it anymore, and we headed to the bus stop.
Happily, as we waited for the bus (we waited so often for our busses), I felt better, so we went back in, had some ice cream (which really made me feel better – I know, I’m strange!). We saw a few other shows we’d wanted to see, and then Marc wanted to ride Star Tours. 
I wasn’t sure about that, since the last time I was in a simulator (the Star Trek Experience in Las Vegas) I’d gotten sick. Marc said he really wanted to ride, so we headed over there. I misunderstood Marc, and thought he wanted me to ride it with him, when he was expecting me to take the “chicken exit” (as Disney calls it) and meet him on the other side. So not knowing that, I went ahead and got in the ride. It was fun for – you guessed it – about half the time, and then I had to stare intently at my knee so as not to lose my ice cream.
As soon as the doors opened, I took off like a shot. I saw a “cast member” and asked where the bathroom was. He explained as I ran past that it was out the gift shop and around the corner. Without looking back I yelled, “Trash can?” and he replied “On your left!” I barely made it to the can when I lost my yummy ice cream. But I picked myself up and went to the gift shop, where Marc and I took our own Star Wars picture.
We saw the Beauty and the Beast show, which was excellently done, and then went to have dinner at the 50’s Prime Time Cafe. 
The entire restaurant is decorated in 50’s style, and when they call your party to be seated, it’s like this, “ROHWER KIDS!!! ROHWER KIDS!!! MARC ROHWER, DINNER’S READY!” Totally awesome! The servers stay in character the entire time – reminding you to ask to be excused if you’re going to the restroom, getting your elbows off the table, and generally being good “kids.” At the table next to us, a gal didn’t want to eat her spinach. After airplane sounds, train sounds and no spinach eaten, their server took the spinach away only to bring it back as a SUNDAE! 
Our server was super nice, and after we finished she reminded us, “No Tower for an Hour!” If I’d only known that before that morning!
After eating a memorable dinner we hopped back on the bus, as my poor little self had hit my wall. We got back to the room and I fell right asleep – probably at about 8pm! Marc said the Epcot firework percussions were very loud but they didn’t wake me. I’d see them and feel them the next night!
Disney World – HoopDeeDoo
When Marc and I arrived at the Magic Kingdom that first afternoon, I was brimming with excitement! I’d been to Disneyland twice, and thoroughly enjoyed myself, and I was thinking that MK would be my favorite of the 4 parks down in DisneyWorld since it’s so similar to Disneyland. I was right!
My fantastic Unofficial Guide to DisneyWorld has pages in the back that give recommended times for each ride (best to go after 6pm, etc). Marc and I went directly to Tomorrowland, and were able to ride almost every single ride in that land (with the exception of Space Mountain) with little to no waits by following the guidelines. By the way – quick tip: if you do want to ride Space Mountain after the first hour the park is open, you can ride the TTA (Tomorrowland Transit Authority), and it takes you right past the FastPass/Wait times area, so you can get a good idea of what the wait is like without being crushed by the throng.
We both enjoyed Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin, as it’s very much like a shooting arcade, but with lasers. Parents beware – if your kids have control of the spinner (which allows your little car to spin in all directions to hit your targets) you could get sick – quickly. We did get to meet Buzz Lightyear, which was really cool – the first of many character pictures!
Marc and I thought we’d try our hand at sticking to eating on Mountain time – so our dinner reservations for the 9:30pm HoopDeeDoo Revue sounded fine, as that’s 7:30pm here, which isn’t out of the norm for us for dinner time. However, even though I’d been watching Floridian weather reports for a few weeks, both Marc and I went to the Magic Kingdom in pants and very thin shirts… (as seen in the picture above!)
We found ourselves in Fantasyland as the sun set, beautiful as it made the castle glow (and then it kept glowing, Disney magic with floodlights). But it got a little chilly as the sun set. We found ourselves scrambling through the shops looking for any sweaters that weren’t Grumpy or Tink… and couldn’t. My camera batteries died, and we were left to purchase an expensive disposable film camera to record the evening. Which I still haven’t gotten around to developing yet…
We knew we wanted to take the ferry to the Wilderness Lodge Campground, and I knew it’d be a mess if we tried to go after the fireworks, so we left as the parade was getting into full swing. As we tried to leave the park, we ended up walking through all the shops to get out – the street was impassible. Once we exited the park, we waited in more lines (yay for Disney Magic!) and then got our ferryboat. Unfortunately by this time the sun was fully down, and the wind was blowing. When our boat hit the Seven Seas Lagoon, the fireworks started, and were really quite excellent over the water. Unfortunately I couldn’t enjoy them as much as I wanted to as I was so cold! Marc was wonderful, trying as hard as he could to keep me warm!
When we landed at the Wilderness Lodge and campground, we thought we could head someplace warm to wait for our dinner show, which was an entire hour and a half away. We found the campground’s grocery store / gift shop (everything in Disney is a / gift shop!). We stayed there as long as we could, and then went to wait outside the hall. We even took turns visiting the restroom to get warm. =)
Finally I noticed that they had draft horses and a “hay wagon,” and went over to see them. They were two black, beautiful percherons, messing about with their harnesses. I asked their wrangler/driver if they were crib biting (gnawing on wood, a habit bored horses can get into) and we were off. Marc came over, and we all talked for 40 minutes about horses before it was finally time to go see our show. It’s a good thing I found them; they kept my mind off the freezing weather!
We did get to see the HoopDeeDoo, and it was a good show! Funny, with songs that reminded me of my childhood (Davy Crockett, Oh my darlin’, etc). The food was plentiful, good but sort of standard fare (my insides would protest later though). The actors did a great job, and we ended up with a table right in front of center stage! I mused for a while trying to figure out how I pulled that off and then realized we were one of maybe 4 parties of just 2 in the entire place. They embarrassed Marc, but not horribly, and then of course they use audience “volunteers,” The highlight of the evening was a little old man, playing a fairy with wings and a tutu – and then the tutu fell down around his ankles. We laughed so hard it hurt! It was a blast. When all was said and done, we were finally bussed back to our hotel sometime around Midnight, tired and happy to be together, but still really cold – we turned on the heater in our room and fell into bed and right to sleep. We needed to be up early to visit Hollywood Studios (formerly MGM) the next day! My poor stomach gets upset just remembering it…
Disney World – The Arrival
Okay, so the first installment of our trip! We flew out very early on a Monday morning – my husband’s birthday in fact. The actual flight was uneventful (well done, Southwest!), but when we arrived at the Orlando airport, we meandered through the airport before finally finding the Magical Express counter. Not to be too cynical, but the “magic” was waiting for us – Disney “magic” is basically… lines and waiting! Only one person from your party is allowed to wait in the line, to check in the party and get the assignment for the next line. This was one of the slower lines we were in during the entire trip – I actually had time to call our hotel, try to re-confirm our room selection and make sure the surprise cake I’d ordered for my husband would be in our room.
Once I was able to check us in, we headed to the next line – for the appropriate bus to take us to our hotel. Thankfully that line was non-existent since our bus had pulled up about 5 minutes prior. We were all loaded onto the bus, and driven to our hotel. Along the way, Disney shows a video of how to check in to your hotel using the characters – apparently to keep children interested in an extremely basic concept. And then they ask if you’ve heard the “best kept Disney secret?” And basically give their unwilling captive audience a soft sell for Disney Vacation Club – what they call their timeshare owners. Nothing too pushy, but very sneaky since we couldn’t go anywhere!
When we arrived at our hotel, the Caribbean Beach Resort, we got to stand in – you guessed it – another line! My handy guidebooks (Passporter’s Disney World and the 2009 Disney World Revealed guide) had warned me of this, so we managed to get in line before a fair amount of other people.
Now, my guidebooks had told me what kind of room to request if I wanted sun on the water in the morning – Jamaica or Aruba with a bay view. They instructed me to call several days before arrival to make sure our requests were documented. Then it reminded me to call again the day of arrival to request the specific room. I did all of these things. But when we checked in, on my husband’s birthday (most of which had been spent at the airports and in the air), they insisted they had no water view rooms available at all, no corner rooms to make up for not having water rooms, but they could provide us with a “garden view” 
so at least we didn’t have to stare at the parking lot for a week. What a concession!!
I have to admit, I was highly frustrated. I suppose I should’ve been pushier when calling earlier that day, but it’s just not my style!
We were in the Jamaica group of buildings, which I actually highly recommend for ease of bus transportation. While there is always some waiting time for busses involved, at least with Jamaica you are dropped off first on your way “home” from most of the parks (Animal Kingdom and Downtown Disney being the exceptions). So the home journey was generally better.
However – I really can’t recommend staying at the Caribbean for one reason. The busses. Disney says that the busses run every 20 minutes to/from each park and to/from the hotel. Nope! There were many times when the busses were running about 30-40 minutes at the parks, and many times during our week-long trip we had to wait to board the 2nd or even 3rd bus to the bus stop. I suppose the Caribbean would be fine if you had a car, but we didn’t.
We had some birthday cake and then decided to head toward the Magic Kingdom (MK), as we had dinner tickets to the HoopDeeDoo Revue at 9:30, and the closest park was MK. Our package from Disney had included 7 days at the parks, and unfortunately for us, that first Monday counted as a day, so we were eager to get some park time in!
We had no idea what was in store for us that first night…
Disney World – leave the kids at home?
This is largely in response to Kelly’s question on my last post, but it was going to be part of my Disney entries anyways. Her question was if she should invest in a Disney trip while her kids are younger. My answer is…
I really think it depends! My husband and I debated the entire week we were there about when we would bring our children (non-existent at this point) to the parks. We saw many small children and not so small children in strollers, exhausted, crashed from too much sugar, and silently begging for a nap – being pushed by equally exhausted, money depleted parents who I think just wanted some quiet time with no whining. No doubt about it – it can be really tough on families! I got home and asked my mom when she stopped using a stroller for us. I believe we were still toddlers! We saw children probably up to 10 years old riding in strollers – that just has to get exhausting to the parents! Better than whining kiddos, but still tough. We actually witnessed a family leaving a park for the day, and the child either tripped the adult or kicked her, I didn’t see exactly. But I did see her response – she kicked the child in the leg and said, “How do you like it?” – Now to be fair, I have no idea what happened through the day to merit that kind of response, maybe it had been going on all day – but it still seemed like the response of a tired parent.
Another thought – my family made one trip to DisneyLand when I was about 9 or 10, and unfortunately I just don’t remember much. I remember long lines waiting for Space Mountain (it broke several times while we were in line), riding Small World, and seeing the paddle boat. But not much else.
So our debate was really this – do we bring them when they’re big enough to ride the rides but young enough to experience the magic and hope that they remember? Do we bring them multiple times so that they can re-inforce the memories and remember more? Or do you wait until the brink of “I’m too cool for this” and let them be old enough to do some things on their own if they want?
I think I’m personally leaning toward bringing them when they’re young-ish, but making it clear that there will be naps each day, and days of not going to the parks at all – and always obeying Mom & Dad. Also, I think you really have to look at your family – do your kids tire easily? Can they walk for an hour without whining? Can you keep everyone hydrated? (So much more important than you might realize!) Do your kids get blisters if they walk for more than a few hours? If you think your family can do it – I recommend conditioning. Walk to the park, walk on a treadmill, but whatever you do, practice! I’m in good shape and had to soak a few times in a hot bathtub to relieve my legs! Also, if you go to Disney (world or land), stop if you are tired or not having fun. I’ll say that again: STOP IF YOU AREN’T HAVING FUN. We based a lot of decisions on how we REALLY FELT. When the crowds of people or the long lines made something not fun, we stopped what we were doing and did something else. So many people go to Disney and try to force the fun – it was pretty evident who was enjoying themselves and who wasn’t. Families should feel free to not have to do everything – it’s impossible at WDW anyways.
So I know I am not a mom yet, but I really think this has got to be tough on moms with little ones (1-5). I think we’ll wait a while – for sure until they’re 40 centimeters and can ride the fun rides. And for the record? I’m so glad we went at least once when it was just the two of us!
Disney here we come!
Okay, so this will be a series of posts on our upcoming Disney vacation!
An explanation of why we are going to Disney World:
Marc and I budget. And in our budgeting, I made a miscalculation (I’m human too!). The amazing gift from God miscalculation was in our favor (woo hoo!). So we found ourselves with a higher travel budget than we anticipated. Combine that with a BOGO plane ticket offer from a company we use for our cell phones, and we were looking for a trip! I happened to hear about a sale from one of the airlines, $198 round trip to Orlando, and the wheels began to turn…
We made the final decision about two weeks ago, and booked our trip. It’s an amazing time to go, as Disney has an incredible promotion right now – buy 4 nights hotel and 4 days in the parks, get 3 nights hotel and 3 days in the parks FREE! Plus they give you a free $200 Disney gift card, a round of putt putt, $15 to Planet Hollywood, luggage tags, a Disney PhotoPass 5×7 photo for free and a few other perks. The cost between a 4 day trip and a 7 day trip was less than $50 if I remember correctly.
I thought we could just fly down and roam around – experience it all with a “go-with-the-flow” kind of attitude. But after asking friends about their trips to WDW (Walt Disney World), that idea popped like a balloon left in a hot car. A friend of mine lent me a few guidebooks, which I eagerly devoured – until I found out that information from ‘04 was not remotely relevant. We bought our own guide books, and I’ve been planning ever since.
I’m trying to get into the spirit of things by watching Disney movies - we watched Aladdin and Lilo & Stitch last night. Between the movies and the planning – I’m literally dreaming Disney at night!
Despereaux vs Despereaux
Quick update on Despereaux
So I was randomly at a Barnes and Noble searching for birthday gifts for others when I decided I wanted to get the book Despereaux. The kind customer service rep walked me to the Newberry Award winner section, and handed me a paperback copy. After she walked away to help another customer, I shelved the paperback and grabbed a hardbound. I don’t know what it is, but I love having hardbound books. Maybe they smell better… I have every Harry Potter in 1st edition hardbound (and paperbacks to maul when I read them over and over now). I saw quite a few other “friends” from my childhood in that Newberry section – Charlotte’s Webb, the Rats of Nimh, Number the Stars, Julie of the wolves – I can remember reading those books over and over as a child (in fact I still have quite a few of them!)
So – with all that said, I do have some thoughts on the book vs. movie.
SPOILER ALERT
They are completely different.
I really truly think of them as different entities. The movie shortened character lists, and actually downplayed the parental … well… abandonment of Despereaux. The movie made Roscuro a bit more of a good guy than he seemed to me to be in the book. And though the red thread was there in the movie, it didn’t have the same importance as in the book. Don’t get me wrong – there were, of course, things in the movie not in the book that I loved! I enjoyed the vegetable man immensely, and I was really provoked by the way that they showed the whole world seeming gray when one is in a desperate place.
But I can’t really compare them. The book was thought provoking in different ways, and more… to the point. I don’t know, I really feel like they are so different. I enjoyed them both, and highly recommend them both.
Sorry to be so vague, but there it is. Life is sometimes vague. J
the Lemonade cleanse attempt
So right after Thanksgiving, Marc and I decided we would attempt the so called “Lemonade Cleanse.” Basically you make a “lemonade” from water, fresh squeezed lemon juice, grade B real maple syrup, and cayenne pepper. And you drink 6-8 glasses of that every day for 10 days. You are also supposed to drink laxative tea and take salt water flushes. The purpose is to do a deep clean of your intestinal system top to bottom. I kept a journal of our experiences, and now feel brave enough to share. Here goes!
Day 1:
Okay, so I started last night with the Tea. Due to gaming adventures, didn’t go to bed until 2am, so that’s when I made/drank the tea. I’m not sure I did it right, I probably only steeped it for 5 minutes instead of 10 – and I didn’t cover it. But I dutifully drank it. There’s been nothing unusual from the tea so far. This morning I got out of bed around 11am, and tried to do the salt water flush. It’s supposed to be 32 oz of water with 2 teaspoons of sea salt. I think it makes it the salinity of the ocean – very difficult to drink. I think I got about 22oz down so far, but I’m now feeling queasy and lethargic. This is probably TMI, but I burped and it tasted like salt water – ICK. I made myself my first ‘lemonade’ to drink, but only got two swallows down before the pepper was killing my throat. I think I’ll have to drink it a bit slower…
Alrighty, I managed to finish my first lemonade. It’s 4pm. No way am I going to get 5 more glasses down today. I had such a hard time with the first. I think that I’m actually going to stop using the cayenne, as what I’ve read says it’s just a laxative, and between the tea and the salt water flush I think I’ll be fine.
I am craving lots of things already though – macaroni and cheese, cookies, chocolate; all kinds of sugar and carbs. Maybe this will help me not crave these things anymore!
We kicked the cayenne. Couldn’t handle it – now I can drink the stuff and while it’s not super great, it’s definitely not making me get the shivers drinking it anymore.
I don’t want to do this anymore. I want to eat food. But I don’t want to waste money more (we’ve already bought the syrup and lemons), so we’re going to keep going for now. But the next 9 days sound like an eternity.
Day 2:
Marc and I both took the tea before bed last night – poor Marc was up several times to use the bathroom, but it didn’t work on me until about 9:30am this morning. And apparently it’s not good to do math in the shower – I started to make a batch of lemonade this morning for the whole day, and I inadvertently used double the syrup that I should. So I figured I’d make two batches. Well, then I almost used twice as many lemons for a double batch as I should. My brain just isn’t firing on all cylinders this morning.
I’ve also had a bit of a headache (so I’m drinking even more water), and I’m feeling kind of sapped (lol, syrup joke). Just don’t know how I’ll get through another 8 days after today…
Day 3:
So we didn’t get the tea down last night. Marc said he wanted something that tasted good so I made some Chamomile-mint tea, and that was all we had before dinner. I think he also didn’t want to have to get up to go to the bathroom. I took my salt water cleanse last night, but only got about half down. It didn’t clean out as much as I thought. But I’m tired of having to run to the bathroom!
So far this morning I’ve gotten down 1 glass. Last night I also took some mineral rich – it didn’t taste that bad, so that tells me that I needed it. Marc and I are also taking garlic capsules my mom gave us – it’s supposedly a “bio-film destructor” that will help break down the mucus instead of the cayenne pepper <shudder>.
Today doesn’t seem so bad though – I’m not craving food like I was yesterday, and the headache seems gone for the most part. I’m trying to make sure I’m drinking plenty of water so that I don’t get edema or anything.
Day 4:
Didn’t drink the tea last night – didn’t do a flush either. We took the garlic and mineral rich, and that helped me get through the evening. This morning I was feeling better, so I thought since I missed the tea this morning I’d do a salt water flush. Yeah – huge mistake. I did it at like 10:30am – it’s now after 1:20pm and I am having a hard time concentrating, I’ve thrown up, had diarrhea, and am still queasy. I’m so done with this.
So that was our experience. I think it was beneficial, even if it was only 4 days. But I can only recommend it with reservations to other folks. This is extreme!
Review of Despereaux
It’s been a while since I posted, but I have to post about the movie Despereaux.
Here in Denver we have a company/enterprise named Starland. They host the yearly Sci-fi convention here (StarFest) each April, are involved in haunted houses in Oct, but also have screenings for most movies. You play a quiz, and then they randomly pick names and send emails allowing folks to go. I played the quiz and got tix to Despereaux, and thought it’d be a cute movie to go see. Here are my thoughts:
**One or two minor spoilers (nothing plot related) **
I admit that I have not had the opportunity to read the book from which the film was made, so I cannot speak to the novel, but this movie is one of the most engaging and thought provoking films I have seen in years. While it was amazing animation, down to the fur on the faces of the mice and the play of the whiskers, what caught my imagination was the attention to detail: both with the story and “sets.” The characters were well developed, with one tiny exception – the motivation of the rat king was only ever implied, not explained. Each of the performers did a phenomenal job, and I especially liked Sigourney Weaver as the Narrator. She was never a distraction (as some narrators can be), but always helped – questioned – brought up things for you to think about.
I really enjoyed the message of the film. As I said, going in Saturday I thought it was just going to be a cute film, a throwaway kids movie. But it made me think. It asks important questions – what do you do when someone won’t forgive you? Is it OK to hurt others when you’ve been hurt? And what happens when you do hurt other people? It really speaks to the power of forgiveness, and that it is one of the most powerful things in the world.
The settings that the characters were placed in were amazing – mice living in Mouseworld – an unused cellar or storage area where books make up the schoolroom, and needles and floss are white picket fences. Ratworld had rats being carried in litters made of skulls. The palace was ornate and yet inaccessible (the perfect palace). And the vegetable man was AMAZING! Cherries for eyes, pickles for eyebrows – it was incredible… you really do have to see him to understand it.
I suppose I’m being overly verbose in trying to explain to you all why it touched me so, but what I really want to say is: go see the movie. You won’t regret it.
Problems with Vanilla!
Sooo I volunteered to make my Mom’s birthday cake this year. Mom said she’d like German Chocolate or a Blackout Cake. I’ve never done a Blackout cake before so I said I’d give it a try.
There is no frosting for a blackout cake – it’s a chocolate pudding. And it has to cool at least 4 hours before you can use it. So I knew I needed to make the cake first thing on Saturday, and that meant making the pudding Friday night. Well, I went to Danny Oertli’s concert at Grace Church, to kick off our Hearts of Grace orphan ministry, and didn’t get home early. So fast forward a few hours, and there’s me – in my kitchen at 2 in the morning making chocolate pudding. I was staring at my 1 oz chocolate blocks wondering how long it’d take for them to melt, when I slowly realized it should be chopped up before going into the milk mixture – I frantically chopped it up and added it in before the mix got too hot. Took *forever* to become pudding-like (I was really worried my pudding was going to be a grainy chocolate milk…), but it finally thickened up and became very smooth. So I put it in a glass bowl, covered it and stuck it in the fridge.
I started cleaning up and looked down – my vanilla was waiting calmly on the counter to be put into the pudding. Dang! So I yanked the pudding back out of the fridge, added the vanilla and plopped it right back in the chill chest.
I went to bed – slightly chagrined, since I consider myself a pretty decent baker/cook.
I started on the cake portions of the Blackout the next morning. It’s a different protocol than most cake batters, since you mix your batter in a saucepan (melt the butter and add the cocoa to “toast” it and make it more chocolaty). I’d prepped my 9″ cake pans, cut out parchment paper rounds and everything. I mixed the batter and poured it in. I was just about to put the pans in the hot oven when I looked down. The vanilla was sitting on the counter, wondering what it had ever done to me to be shunned thusly. And apparently it wasn’t enough for me to forget the vanilla – noooo, I forgot the eggs too (mental images of a cake/brick with no leavening fizzle through my mind). So I quickly started scraping the batter out of my beautiful pans, back into the saucepan, mix in eggs and vanilla, whisk once more, then back into the pans to bake.
The cake itself is good, chocolaty, but not overly sweet. I highly recommend it – but with a warning: I’ve never seen a chocolate cake that was so very anti-vanilla!
