Clodagh was born! Arriving in Orlando...DC11!

April 7th, 2011

Clodagh was born today at 3:04am PST!!! SOOOOOO EXCITING I'M AN AUNTIE!!! She is beautiful, healthy and incredible :)

We left Alabama pretty early as we were really excited to get to Orlando!! We headed south east and found this

Yay!!!

We stopped in Tallahassee to take a look around Florida State University (Go Seminoles!) which was beautiful! The campus was gorgeous and even though we just drove around it had a really good feel. 

 

Pretty Florida Swamps

Then since we made my stop in Tallahassee we headed down to Gator Country for Ashley's stop in Gainesville! 

It was also a pretty campus and had some really cool trees with some moss type stuff hanging off of them (they're the spooky looking trees around the Hollywood Tower Hotel at Hollywood Studios!).  

Then we made our way closer and closer to Orlando! I was super excited when I saw this billboard:

and eventually this sign:

YAY!! We made it!!!

We rolled up to our friends Kristin and Oscar's house around 5pm! Kristin was actually napping when we first knocked, but Ashley awoke her with her fantastic doorbell skills and we hung out by the pool for a while meeting and remeeting their other roommates! Then we ventured down to Downtown Disney and walked around, then found the most delicious slushie drinks at the Hole in the Wall outdoor pub and watched the Magic Kingdom fireworks over the trees from a bench in the evening heat. It was amazing.  Then we picked up Oscar from work and got to see some other familiar faces which was fun :) Then we headed back and crashed!

Disney Challenge Day 11: Favourite Love Song

This one is easy...

I'm not going to analyse it, or think to hard about it. This song and scene are so nice and it's my favourite love song. Although Beauty and the Beast is of course amazing and Belle Notte from Lady and the Tramp. I'm going to throw this video up as well:

and this one from Enchanted is nice as well:

Sweet Home Alabama! + Disney Challenge Day 10!

April 6th, 2011


I want to be honest with you all, and that is why I am telling you that this morning was somewhat rough. After not drinking alcohol since the end of January and then trying to last night, it wasn't as easy a return as I had expected.  However my Panera Bread tasted like heaven once I got around to it! I will mention that the Jack Daniels Distrillery is in a DRY COUNTY! Yes, a whiskey distillery in a county that you can not have a drink of alcohol in! WHAAAAT!! 


We left Nashville around 830am and were on our way for a tour through Alabama!! We drove through Birmingham and Montgomery before arrived in the Tri-State Area in Southern Alabama right near the Georgia and Florida borders. I took pictures in Birmingham/Montgomery and all along the route with Ashley's camera so hopefully she will post some of them soon and then I'll steal them and pop them up in here! Sorry it's so uneventful photo-wise! We stayed overnight in Dothan, Alabama.  It is known as the "Peanut Capital of the World" (there were many signs for people selling nuts along the highway), and they had a bunch of supersized Peanut statues around with peanuts dressed up in different outfits. 

First Class Nut 

Mona Peanut

Tomato Nut

Dothan was a nice little town with many many hotels, it seems like a lot of people stop on their way through the area.  They kept advertising a Tri-State Barbecue Fair on the weekend and it sounded realllly yummy.  I was only thinking about the barbecue sauce and not the face that they would be putting that sauce on meat. 


We checked into the Motel 6 (yeehaw!) and the front desk lady Susan was SO nice :) She even called once we were in our room to make sure everything was great and wished us safe travels and such if we didn't get to see her in the morning! So cute! We asked her for a good local restaurant with real southern cooking and she recommended The Blue Plate - and thank goodness we listened! It was delicious!!! Here is their website!  It was honestly so yummy. We walked in and everyone our age kind of looked at us like 'who are those girls?' but once we sat down the staff were friendly with amazing accents.  Ashley had Fried Chicken (YES!) with mashed potatoes, gravy and creamed corn.  She was it was unreal.  I had a 'veggie sampler' and had creamed corn, lima beans, mac & cheese and fried okra!! I was so excited to try okra ever since I heard about it on Top Chef! Apparently one of the judges didn't like it because it was always slimy, but then the cheg made it and changed his mind! Anyways, I was excited for it and it was good.  Although fried anything is usually good ;)


We went back to the hotel and I got an email that my sister Kim had gone to the hospital to have her baby!! I was kept up to date by my Dad, my other sister Carrie and Kim's dear friend Angie!  Everything went well and I am so excited that at 3:04am (6:04am my time) my little niece Clodagh was born with 10 toes, 10 fingers and great health!!! My sister is doing great, Clodagh is doing great, Gar is doing great and all is well!! I right away felt really sad that I wasn't in Vancouver for the big moment, although I would have most likely been sitting in the waiting room or at home with Lily pug while it happened. I wanted to go home then and meet the little Munchkin and it was hard continuing on the trip at least until I talked to Gareth on the phone the next day.  Clodagh is an Irish name (pronounced "Clo-da") and she is the cutest little lady ever. I know people say that all babies are cute, but they aren't. Some are kind of weird looking. I'm not just playing favourites either, Clodagh actually is absolutely adorable! I don't think Kim and Gar want her all over the internet just yet, but I shall try to snag a picture when I'm allowed! :)  I finally knew that it would be Princess dresses that I would be buying over the next year!! Soooo exciting!!! I barely slept but it didn't matter, I was way toooo excited! I'm an Auntie!!!

Disney Challenge Day 10: Favourite Song

I love love love the music from Beauty and the Beast. From Belle to Gaston to Something There to Beauty and the Beast (Tale as old as Time), they are all incredible songs. Not to mention Be Our Guest! I use to sing that through the dining room at Le Cellier sometimes and it made me so happy.  It's hard to compare the classic Disney songs with the newer ones as well. You can't say anything bad about "Friend Like Me" from Aladdin or "I Wanna be Like You" from the Jungle Book, but "Almost There" from Princess and the Frog is incredible and helps me on my long runs, as does "Go the Distance" from The Hercules.  Then there is "God Help the Outcasts" from the Hunchback of Notre Dame that is just so moving. How are you suppose to choose?  Hello the Circle of Life?! Or "I Just Can't Wait to be King," (Lion King) or "I Won't Say I'm in Love" (Hercules) or "Hi-Ho" (Snow White) or "The Bare Necessities" (Jungle Book) or "Some day My Prince Will Come" (Snow White) or, as I sang in a music festival in grade 3 "A Dream is a Wish your Heart Makes" (Cinderella). Then there is the pre-teenage angst years with "Reflection" from Mulan where you relate so well because you want people to see the real you...or was that just me? "Colours of the Wind" or "Just Around the River Bend" from (Pocahontas) were some of my favourites when I was younger, I was in a dance recital that included Pocahontas music! I'm totally leaving out the wonder that is the music from The Little Mermaid (Under the Sea is great for running, and Part of that World goes well with Reflection for pre-teen angst).  Don't even get me started on theme park music...

Clearly there is no BEST Disney song, just my favourite, and I have two. The first means a lot to me because it was Walt Disney's favourite song.  He use to call the Sherman Brothers to his office and ask them to play it, and this is what he wanted to hear: 

Mary Poppin's Feed The Birds.  It has such a potent message and is so simple at the same time.  I think it also shows the true spirit of Walt.  

Disney fact: If you go to meet Mickey in his new Town Square location at the Magic Kingdom in Walt Disney World, look on the desk across from where Mickey is standing. There is a bag sitting on the desk labelled 'Tupence.' ;)

My second choice is the Disney song of all Disney songs...When You Wish Upon a Star. It's the ultimate song for believing in the power of your dreams, especially when Louis Armstrong sings it...

Yikes!

So I am totally failing at updating while driving down, however I have kept a journal by hand and will upload pictures and type it up when I return home! This is just a quick update that we are currently in Dothan, Alabama right by the Georgia/Florida borders and are super pumped for tomorrow when we'll arrive in Orlando!!!!

Update and News! Part 2...

Alrighty then....

CHICAGO! I'll let you know the amazing things we do here once we've done them, but I'm hoping it involves this...

However I feel like it may involve more of this:

I can't even believe that! It looks like of frightening... but I'll try. I'll do my best! :D

When we are in Chicago there is a random high in the tempuratures (says the weather network!) therefore I have great hopes of jogging outside in one of Chicago's many super pretty parks. And don't worry Mummy, I will make sure to stay around lots of people and with Ashley. Yup, I'm dragging Ashley jogging...I don't know if she believes me when I tell her this or not. But with my half marathon coming up May 1st there is no way I'm going 10 days without runs! (and especially if I'm annihilate that pizza up there!)

April 5th: Driving through Indianapolis to Louisville to Elizabethtown (so excited for Elizabethtown!!) we are working out way to Nashville, Tennessee! Yeeehaw, welcome to the south!

April 6th: Exploring Nashville and Franklin! Ahhh to exciting to talk about!

April 7th: This day is going to be amazing, we're making our way through Chattanooga (how can you pass up on a place like that?) through Birmingham, through Montgomery all the way to Tallahassee! There are few things in the United States that I want to do more than see the deep south. I think that it is going to be amazing. I'm excited to stop over in Tallahassee as it is the place that the great and incredible Miss. L.M is from! I'm hoping we get to hear a little Seminole cheer!

Linda and I!

**I'm having mad dejavu about having written this post before...and as I write this I remembered that I did write it this morning...on my itouch. And I gave such better descriptions of everything! My bro-in-law has started calling me Luke, as in Modern Family Luke because sometimes my comments are a little random. I feel like this is that kind of moment. I knew I'd written all this before, and just spent a while looking through out posts for where I already wrote it....dang.**

April 8th: From Tallahassee we're south out of the panhandle towards the Gator Nation! before heading to the Gulf of Mexico for a little R&R! ...as if we won't be getting any of that during this trip! haha. We're going to spend a little time in the Sunshine, 25 degrees Celsius doesn't sound so bad right about now :) and this doesn't look so bad either..

mmmmm white sandy beaches

April 9th-April 11th: Take me home, country road, to the place, I belong! Alright that was SUPER dorky, but this is the day we arrive in, you guessed it, Orlando! We're staying with some fantastic friends and I'm super excited to see them and catch up! We have lots of amazing people to catch up with, some fun activities planned, and a date here:

for lunch on the 11th! Yummmm, what's up maple creme brulee...prepare to meet a stomach that has been dairy free for 40 days! (This is why you start Lent early! and I failed hard at the no refined sugar thing so pretend I never tried that :P) I'm so stoked! Being at Epcot means I also for sure get to see this beauty:

Yelitza!

April 12th: This is Ashley's program start date! YAY! I'm so excited for her! This is also the morning I hit the road to MCO and fly my way back to beautiful Vancouver, Canada! Via Montreal, because that's a completely reasonable route to take!

April 13th: Hopefully I will spend this day with my incredible niece or nephew!

April 14th-April 30th: Home Sweet Home! There really is no place like it. I'm going to spend this time with my family!! and some friends as well :)

May 1st: BMO Half Marathon!!!!! I'm so nervous/anixous/totally stoked for this! I've been running for a few months now and am really excited to do a race! It'd just like to finish well :)

May 4th: My 22nd Birthday! May the fourth be with you ;) ...now you'll never forget!

May 9th: Back over to Vancouver as on

May 10th: I fly to Orlando!!! Yes that's correct, back I go...for University!!!! Yes, it's true, I am a University of Central Florida, Rosen College of Hospitality Management Student!! I want to go to university so badly, and more precisely I want to go to this university to study this subject with these professors in this location. I can't even pretend to contain my extreme glee over all of this!

International Student Orientation is May 12th, then Knights Orientation is May 13th, I can move into housing May 15th and classes start May 16th until June 26th..

June 27th: Fly home to Vancouver and Carebear! ... and the rest of my lovely family! and friends!

July-Mid-August: Prepare for my lovely sister Kim's wedding August 13th! I'm a bridesmaid! Weee! as well as prepare for WORKING AT WALT DISNEY WORLD starting AUGUST 16th!

August 15th: Catch red eye flight to ORLANDO! ...which I haven't booked yet. but will!

So there you have it...nothing that big happening between now and August so I don't really need to post until then.... See you in 5 months!

JUST KIDDING !

I know you're stoked, so stick around, ask me any questions you'd like about me, about the CRP, about UCF/Rosen, about the road trip, about Disney World secrets! (gasp!), about anything, and I'll answer them the best I can. You can even ask for halloween costume inspiration because clearly, if you read yesterday's post, you'll know it's what I'm best at. Kea003@live. ca! I'll leave you with what I'm planning to wear this October:

Thoughts?