Vegan Carrot Cupcakes & Pinotage

I'm sitting in my flat eating a vegan carrot cupcake, watching Winnie the Pooh and drinking a south african pinotage. I also am realizing that I have so many incredible things to share, and haven't shared any of them.  Lets recap the last week alone...Last Friday and Saturday we stayed in a Boardwalk Inn Villa for my boyfriend Kyle's birthday.  We went for dinner at Bistro de Paris in the France pavilion and had an incredible bottle of wine with a delicious meal.  We went to lunch the next day at Le Cellier and had another delicious meal (which we were all extra excited for because it was the new menu!) and I surprised Kyle with a huge intense chocolate cake! It had a huge solid white chocolate mickey on it, was painted with gold on the chocolate flakes around the edges. It was pretty! We then drank around the world, watched fireworks, went to a duelling piano bar on the boardwalk and had a bunch of friends over! It was a great celebration. Sunday I worked in the evening, Monday I worked in the evening as well.  Tuesday morning I had a wonderful shift with amazing guests, then came home and spent the evening with my fantastic Scottish roommate Lindsay pal and watched...the end of the Muppets, moulin rouge, oliver and company and tangled with yummy wine and beer and pizza! Wednesday I worked in the morning again and then went with Kyle to Wonderworks..a silly "science world'-esque place where we saw how long we could keep our hands in titantic temperature waters, felt what the shakes of an earthquake are like and the winds of a hurricane. We found our respective homes and high schools on google earth and walked through a spinning tunnel that made you feel like you were falling everywhere! The highlight was actually the huge bubbles! We were able to pull them over out bodies and be INSIDE the bubbles! It was pretty fun! haha.

Thursday was my day off and I ran some errands, sent my school some papers and then met a friend for a glass of wine by the water in Celebration. We sat outside and people watched before heading for dinner at Jiko in Animal Kingdom Lodge. It was so delicious! They have an entire vegetarian AND vegan menu! Score! I don't know how I've never been here before! (Also may be where the pinotage is from...) we ended up in the pool and hot tub and spent the night thanks to my fantastic friend! So much fun!

We got late check out this morning (sleeping in until 12:30 in the comfiest huge bed ever? YES PLEASE!) and I went shopping at...Whole Foods! They sell soygurt which is my favourite breakfast! I bought some things for a cute dinner as well.  I cooked dinner for Kyle and I tonight...burgers (meat for him, veggie for me) and green beans and got a little dessert even (raspberry sorbet...yum!).  We watched a lousy movie too! haha. I remember being excited to see Couple's Retreat in the theatre..I'd forgotten being disappointed in it.

Tomorrow I work at 1015 and then six of us are going to Tampa for the Lightning vs. Jets Hockey Game!! I will never be a Jets fan, but I can tell you soo many things about them haha. But can you believe that that's just one week of life! Of course most weeks aren't this full of crazy fun, but a lot are.  There was one week where we hit all the different parks in one week not long ago and it's just so fantastic and wonderful. It really makes you sit back and realize how incredibly special it is here.

I love Disney. Can't wait to make magic tomorrow :)

Week long Update!

After Food Core Cafe Chelsea, Tamara, Linsey and I went to Magic Kingdom!

On our way to the monorail!

Chelsea and Tamara were stoked on the tiaras. 

Rode Splash Mountain!

Last two rows...I was pretending to sleep...sooo funny. I know. 

We decided this is quite possibly the cutest way to draw flowers ever.

The next day (Thursday) was my first day in the restaurant! It was nerve racking, but I got bombarded by familiar faces (especially in the kitchen) and it was nice to see so many people remembered me! Kind of overwhelming actually.  I feel a bit of pressure to remember everything and preform exceptionally well.  I'm trying to work hard and learn my menu well.  Things were a little different with the restaurant turning signature.

Like lapping napkins.  I can't lie. Laying a napkin on a middle aged man's lap is awkward.  Yup.

It's good though, we spiel paintings by The Group of 7 on our way down into the restaurant and then get to practise spieling desserts as we have a table with them displayed now.  Then we go to the table and let the guests know a fact about the province they're sitting in, and lap their napkins (read: awkward)

With training there are 4 positions inside (well kind of only 3) and then 3 positions outside.  I started my training inside the restaurant.  My first day was PM seating, then Stocker training then I had two days off!

The responsibility of the stocker is to make sure there is bread and cutlery all the time for the servers and to bus tables and help out where ever you can.  As well as stock the side plates and wine glasses in the side stations, rotate the white wine and stock the red wines.  It sounds pretty simple and most people thing it's the easiest shift but I feel like I'm running around the whole shift bussing and setting tables, doing bread, running cutlery, or doing something.  Maybe I just need practise lol. Last time I was here it was a shift everyone dreaded because you had to work hard (there's the laziness of my friends haha) where as now people are totally relaxed about it. Differences :)
Speaking of my days off...
I went to Epcot with my friend Meaghan, her roommates (from Mexican and Norway..soooo awesome!) as well as Laura and her boyfriend Troy who were visiting from Canada (Laura was on my last contract!).  It was super fun! We walked onto the Mexican Boat Ride (my favourite!) and listened to these guys...

The picture is a bit blurry but they mariachi band is SO good!

We also walked onto the Norway boat ride which was sweet! We did Soarin and test track as well! We had lunch at Le Cellier for the first time since coming down and it was of course really good! I had a mixed greens salad, gnocchi and a creme brulee although I could only eat about half of each course. So much food!!

After the rides I went to Hollywood Studios to meet Linsey for her birthday!! We had dinner at the Brown Derby (appies and dessert! So much food today!) but it was really nice and yummy!

Vanilla Bean Creme Brulee with a Dark Chocolate Dipped Biscotti

Bumbleberry Cobbler

Can you guess which of these desserts is mine? haha. I LOVE creme brulee. After dinner we watched Fantasmic which is Linsey's favourite show and we had great seats right up front in the middle. It's such an emotional little show! Really gets you! haha. It was such a great day! So jam packed with awesomeness!

I had Sunday off as well and after doing some chores around the house (laundry mainly) I ventured to this place:

Everest!

Animal Kingdom!!!! I LOVE Animal Kingdom.  It doesn't have as many thrilling rides etc as the other parks but it's so gorgeous and peaceful.  I went and studied my menu for a bit at a table surrounded by trees and water (trying to create a homelike environment in Central Florida haha) and then decided to hop on the Safari for a quick spin.
So glad I did!

Black Rhino bum!

Black Rhino taking a mud bath!

Hungry Hungry Hippos!

I can never remember their names..but their horns are filled with honeycomb
and actually not super heavy. They help them cool off somehow I think...

Giraffes going in for dinner!

Cool twisty horns!

I LOVE elephants!!!!!

I even MORE LOVE baby Elephants! (Good english there eh?)

This little guy was on the road and made us stop safari!

White Rhino! 

After Animal Kingdom closed I bussed to Magic Kingdom to do something I only do alone...

Grand Floridian Stop Over! Big band playing over the lobby

Huge chandelier! So gorgeous!

.....Watch the Hall of Presidents.  It is slightly embarassing enjoying this show so much when I am not American.
Here is why I love this show:
-The audio animatronics are incredible.  Abe Lincoln actually stands up, talks, gestures with this speech and sits back down.  All the presidents are introduced and nod, and then as they are being introduced all the other presidents turn to look at them, look as though they're making comments to one another, it's crazy impressive.
-Barack Obama.  He gives a speak at the end that is all about hope, coming together and truly being a group of people working together for the betterment of all the people, not just the rich and privileged.
-The Overall Message.  Yes this show is about American Pride.  However it's also about the roots of the creation of a government. The leaders who are showcased such as George Washington, Abe Lincoln and Barack Obama all speak messages of being one of the people, of working together for everyone, of being equal, tolerant and hopeful. I cannot stand the American Adventure show at Epcot, will never go in it again, and want to gag the whole time, as its a false glorified version of their history that focusses on their greatness and power and ignores their faults.  I would watch the Hall of Presidents continuously for 5 days straight instead of watching the American Adventure show once. Now that that rant is over...
So yes, I went to Magic Kingdom just to watch the Hall of Presidents. It shows the bad with the good as how you deal with things is how you form a real nation. Plus B-Obama is just generally awesome.

Castle Shot!

A Custodian Cast Member made this Goofy with rain water!!! SOOOO impressive and cool!
I'd heard they did this but had never gotten to see one :) Yay! Magical Moment!

Leaving Magic Kingdom I wanted to try and find something for another birthday coming up and headed to Epcot!

Must do Spaceship Earth Shot

Chelsea likes Hello Kitty so I was trying to find something for her at the department store in the Japan Pavilion.  I didn't like anything really so just gave her my original idea instead...which you'll hear about in December...yup, a ways off! haha

Epcot sunset!

I was craving a pretzel since I arrived (I have a gross love for pretzels in any form) and thought Germany would be the perfect place to get one.   Unfortunately it was super dry and not very yummy.  I'm willing to try one more sometime, but not soon.  Instead I got what is kind of a snow cone from Japan instead. And it was SO GOOD! It's called Kaki-Gori and you get to pick the flavour (I got rainbow) and it's fruity juice but didn't taste like normal topping syrup. It was less sugary and just yummy! And the ice didn't clump into a big chuck which made it perfect!

I made my way home after this and went out with Chelsea to celebrate her birthday at TGIFridays! We just had a chill meal and chat. It was fun :P)

Monday I was trained on AM seater.  It's a lot like dinner seating however you don't lap napkins and we have a different table setting and different desserts. That night I went to Canadian Girls which went out to a bar called Sun on the Beach.  It was fun, there was lots of dancing and Backstreet Boys.... haha.

Tuesday was my last training shift in the restaurant and I was trained on Greeter.  Much like it sounds you greet people into the restaurant.  It's a pretty chill position and besides the fact that you're standing in 90 degree weather in polyester black pants and a long sleeved totally buttoned shirt it's fun.  The part that sucks is telling guests continuously that we are full! They look so disappointed and it feels like I've crushed their hopes and dreams...continuously all night! Sometimes they got upset at you as well, saying that they paid a ton to be there, that their kids are so tired and starving etc... makes you feel bad but there isn't anything you can do as the greeter.  No decisions are made by us.  Most people are super nice about it and understanding though so that's good. And the few times we can take walk ins makes you feel so good!

After my Greeter shift, I had to have 4 shifts proving I could do the 4 positions I've been trained on.  I have done my prove it greeter, PM seater and stocker shifts and tomorrow I have my prove it AM seater shift.  Then Tuesday I'll start training outside on the popcorn cart!

Yesterday and today were my days off this week! Yesterday was one of the most fun days yet!

Gabrielle & Camille!

We started bright and early with Wine Class at 9am with Janice.  She taught us quite a lot about tasting profiles on our popular wines and we got to do a tasting! Then we ate lunch at Le Cellier (I know, no more meals out until I spiel!) which was delicious and so fun! They marked that it was an anniversay so JS said he was having one with himself, which landed him an Anniversary celebration plate and both of us some champagne! At lunch with was JS, Camille, Gabrielle, Kyle, Tamara and I! Wade served us in the very middle of the restaurant, good times! So much laughing.

Happy Anniversary!!

Anniversary Champagne

After lunch we headed to Typhoon Lagoon!!!! So much fun! Tamara, Linsey and I headed over and had a blast on the raft water slides and in the wave pool.  It took us about two hours on the bus though because we took a really bad route! haha. After Typhoon Lagoon we met up with Chelsea at the Beach Club for ice cream at Beaches and Cream. I don't know what happened but I started feeling SO sick as soon as we went in and watching the guy make the sundaes made me sick! I definitely didn't have one, although Tamara and Linsey did, Chelsea and I shared onion rings which made me feel better. I think it was because I ate my left over lunch after it had been sitting in the sun for a few hours....whooops!

After Beaches and Cream we made our way over to Downtown Disney where Gabrielle joined us (after sitting at the bus stop for an hour poor girl!) and we had Earl of Sandwich.

Earl of Sandwich is the greatest sandwich known to man.

It's so good.

If you haven't had Earl of Sandwich stop reading, google your closest Earl and go there immediately.

It's that good!
hehehe

I couldn't finish so got to have some left overs today (well refrigerated, don't worry!) We got home and headed to Gabrielle's to hang out for a while before coming home and hanging out at Meaghan's.

Long day but soooo much fun!!! Today I'm taking it easy a bit as I have some chores to do and a big exciting surprise that I can't tell until tomorrow!!!!

Sorry for such a long post!! Hope you're fully caught up and I didn't over share! haha And if Vanessa ever reads this...HI!!! ;)

Friends + Disney Challenge Day 3

Jill and I at Le Cellier folding napkins during pre-meal!

Today was a great day! I went for coffee with Jill. She was my roommate for a month at the end of my contract in Patterson Court and I hadn't seen her since I left except for a few hours during a visit last July! To be honest I was a bit apprehensive about hanging out because we haven't really stayed friends in the last while. It ended up really great though and we hung out a lot longer than I thought we would! Time flew by. It was really nice. Jill is reapplying for the program as well so hopefully she will be returning to Florida next March and I'll see her down there!

Jill after a glorious day at Universal!

Speaking of which, here's a little tidbit you don't really find out until afterwards. Yummy Jobs doesn't allow you to reapply for another program until you've been home for 6 months, and you cannot return to the states on another Q1 visa until you've been out of the country for the length of your contract. For example I had a 12 month contract (minus a week) so I technically couldn't go back until March 17th of this year. However I vacationed in the states for about a week and a half in the past year and didn't leave from my contract until the 22nd of March, therefore I actually couldn't return on the visa until April 8th! I'll all good thought because I start in August! Weeee! Jill got extended on her contract so it was 15 months long, therefore even though Jill returned in December 2010, she cannot go return for another contract until March 2012. Just in case you're making some plans ;)

No Access to America until you wait a year!

Also I don't think I reported this yet but I have my first visitor already!! I haven't even booked my flight to Orlando and my dear friend Emma has booked hers from Australia!!! Emma was my flat mate in second year university as she was on exchange from Sydney, Australia. I haven't seen her since November 2008 (crazzzzyness!!!) and she is landing in Orlando November 5th!! So it's nearly 3 years to the day that I'll be seeing her and I'm out of this world excited!! Emma and I, as well as our other flat mate Heather were super close and I hope Heather comes down too! Although she's in grad school so I don't know how great a time November is for her. I can not wait for this visit! Such an incredible reunion!! YAY!

We named our floor Ustrali after the horrible stiff zip ups they sell where the As are under your armpits..

As seen here modelled by Emma!

and now for...

DISNEY CHALLENGE DAY 3: FAVOURITE HEROINE

A heroine is defined as distinguished by exceptional courage, nobility and strength. I feel like it is extremely obvious that Mulan is the greatest Disney Heroine. She disguised herself as a man saving her father's life, beat up tons of bad guys, proved to all of China that girls were just an tough and amazing, if not more so then men and got a hunky guy (after saving HIS life too!). Tiana works hard to follow her dreams, and would probably be my second choice, but really, I don't know how you can pick anyone besides...

She's so tough...!

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?