Giveaway pins mailed!
I went to the post office today! I did cheat and had a coworker go with me, but I guess as long as they are mailed, it doesn't matter! Once you guys get your pins, let me know so I won't worry and enjoy!
Posts
Giveaway and pup update
Congrats again to the winners of my first ever giveaway! I've got the pins sorted and ready to go, I'm just waiting on Heather Cartwright and Lauren at Ambitious Stitches to send me their info so that I can get it all mailed together!
So, in the meantime, how about a little update of my chitlins...Bam and Zachary (oh, and I took these right after they ate, so they are a bit messy)!
So, in the meantime, how about a little update of my chitlins...Bam and Zachary (oh, and I took these right after they ate, so they are a bit messy)!
My Disney Trips
OK, enough suspense! How many times has Keebles been to Disney World already? The answer still isn't ready to be revealed...let me wander just a bit before I give an actual total.
My first ever trip to Disney World was 1981. I was 10, almost 11 years old and, once it was finished, I swore I would never take another family vacation as long as I lived! Not because Disney was bad, but because my Step-Dad...well, let's just say he isn't the nicest person on the planet. Back then, the only park was Magic Kingdom (Epcot was only a model in Tomorrowland and we had no idea they were actually building it-pre-widespread internet usage). We stayed off-site because there were only a couple of resorts then (and staying on-site wasn't such a big deal like it is now). We also did Sea World, Circus World (R.I.P.), Cape Canaveral and NASA, the beach, and probably other things I don't remember...all in one week! Plus, not only was it the middle of summer, but I was also cutting my molars. Not happy days.
It was also much harder to hide the fact that I was different than other kids my age by then. Do I remember rides or important moments from that trip? Nope...one of the only memories I have is throwing a very loud and public hissie-fit because I was told I could only have one stuffed plush, either Mickey or Minnie, and I wanted both. Needless to say, I got both - not because I was spoiled and just wanted both (OK, I am spoiled, but that's another story), but because Mickey and Minnie were a "set" and should stay together, especially since they were in matching summer outfits (told you I was "off"). I can remember everyone around staring at me, I remember my Mother's face, I can even remember the puzzled look on Am's face. Weird what we remember in detail. Asper-Keebs was shining in her first ever spotlight, and not in a good way.
So much happiness in our little family:
Notice my Mother has four legs? Another tantrum of mine...I hate getting my picture made:
I did go on vacations with my Step-Dad's parents or with my Aunt and Grandmother and even once with my Dad, so I still managed to go to a lot of different places. I never felt like I missed out on anything...lack of family experiences or not.
Later on, when I was in my late teens, my parents and my sister went again...without me. I moved out at 17 and had separated myself even more from the family by then. They didn't ask me to go anyway (not that I would have said yes). I kind of wish now I would have gone with them...to see Epcot in the early years? What a trill! But I know that it would have been just as miserable as '81. They had a good time without me (I don't think I am the problem, the tension between me and my Step-Dad is to blame, but it still hurts my pride knowing they could have a better time without me).
Once I got married, I really wanted to go as a "couple". My ex had never really been anywhere and I was really anxious to show him all that I had seen, no place more than Disney World! I even went to a travel agent (back in the day when you still needed travel agents), booked the trip, and was paying for it when we got divorced. I wasn't so upset about the marriage, but definitely about another Disney opportunity gone (at least I got my money back)!
In 1999, knowing that I still wanted to go, my Mother offered to go with me. Now my count was up to 2 trips! Granted, '99 wasn't much better than '81, but for an entirely different reason. I was at my social worst...constant panic attacks and severe anti-social disorder. I was also less than a year away from filing bankruptcy...some people eat for comfort, I spend. So, when I wasn't trying to hide at every opportunity or making myself sick when I couldn't hide, I was buying everything up in sight!
By 2004, Am and I were grown and relations between the family was better, so why not break my oath and try again? Plus, it would be the first time Am's husband had the full monty of life in our family. Surely, now that Am and I were grown and we'd all matured, we could do much better, right? WRONG! '04 made '81 and '99 look like picnics! We can laugh about it today (Strawberry Shortcake?!?!?), but at the time I had a hard time keeping myself from crying every five minutes.
I planned that entire trip all by myself for five people in three separate rooms (and thank god for that-I was extremely grateful for my solo room). I studied and researched every single book and what little there was on the internet at the time and basically did everything I could to make it all picture perfect, only to be shot down at every turn by my Step-Dad.
It wasn't all bad though...Am and I got closer, everyone else could finally see what a jerk my Step-Dad is (instead of just me), my oath of no more family vacations was renewed with vigor, and my love for Disney got even stronger, bad trips be damned! Once we split off into groups, we were even able to enjoy the end of the trip! Some of our favorite (and worst) memories are from that trip in particular (best-"yo, ho, yo ho a pirates life for me, I use a knife to stir my tea!"; worst-show out at Le Cellier).
Notice how everyone tries to act like they are happy except for the Jerk-Meister? Glad I take the pics now and don't have to be in them or it would have been even worse (not entirely sure Am's not saying, "just shut the hell up and smile":
In an effort to finally have the perfect jerk-free Disney trip, Am and I decided to go together without the rest of the family (although my brother-in-law would have been more than welcome...he's just a very busy man). So in 2005, Sisters Amuck was born and I had my first "real" Disney World trip!! It was also my first stay at Wilderness Lodge (which is probably why it's so endeared to me) as well as our first Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party! Now the addiction was in full swing!
2006 - my first solo and Christmas trip; 2007 - another Halloween Sisters Amuck tour de force; 2008 - my second solo and my first real Food & Wine Festival participation; 2009 - Sisters Amuck travel in luxury thanks to Am's husband; 2010 - another Sisters Amuck masterpiece; and 2012 (I skipped 2011 for financial reasons and I still regret it to this day) - last year's trip and my first Disney Passholder experience.
Granted, even the wonderful trips had their "moments", but not even Disney World is 100% perfect (just 99%). Then again, maybe the horrible years make every good moment in Disney even more magical. I don't really care why it's so wonderful or important to me now, it just is!
So, in case you lost count...that's 10 trips total in my whole life!!!
This upcoming trip is quite possibly the shortest, but I'm really planning on it being the best one ever! I do have reservations about December for many different reasons (Am knows them and concurs on most), but I haven't given up hope on it yet. 2013 will add another two to my belt.
Come 2014, I am planning a spring Flower and Garden Festival trip with my friend Kate over at The Suddenly Kate Show, but I also can't miss a Halloween trip, so another one is in development for October (plus, with the passholder discounts, I can go twice a year for the cost of once a year).
In 2015, there will be a Disney World trip (although I'm not sure when), but there will also be my very first Disneyland trip with my T-Boo! So good times ahead folks and plenty more Disney-themed blog posts on the horizon!!
Congratulations again to all the blog winners!
My first ever trip to Disney World was 1981. I was 10, almost 11 years old and, once it was finished, I swore I would never take another family vacation as long as I lived! Not because Disney was bad, but because my Step-Dad...well, let's just say he isn't the nicest person on the planet. Back then, the only park was Magic Kingdom (Epcot was only a model in Tomorrowland and we had no idea they were actually building it-pre-widespread internet usage). We stayed off-site because there were only a couple of resorts then (and staying on-site wasn't such a big deal like it is now). We also did Sea World, Circus World (R.I.P.), Cape Canaveral and NASA, the beach, and probably other things I don't remember...all in one week! Plus, not only was it the middle of summer, but I was also cutting my molars. Not happy days.
It was also much harder to hide the fact that I was different than other kids my age by then. Do I remember rides or important moments from that trip? Nope...one of the only memories I have is throwing a very loud and public hissie-fit because I was told I could only have one stuffed plush, either Mickey or Minnie, and I wanted both. Needless to say, I got both - not because I was spoiled and just wanted both (OK, I am spoiled, but that's another story), but because Mickey and Minnie were a "set" and should stay together, especially since they were in matching summer outfits (told you I was "off"). I can remember everyone around staring at me, I remember my Mother's face, I can even remember the puzzled look on Am's face. Weird what we remember in detail. Asper-Keebs was shining in her first ever spotlight, and not in a good way.
So much happiness in our little family:
Notice my Mother has four legs? Another tantrum of mine...I hate getting my picture made:
I did go on vacations with my Step-Dad's parents or with my Aunt and Grandmother and even once with my Dad, so I still managed to go to a lot of different places. I never felt like I missed out on anything...lack of family experiences or not.
Later on, when I was in my late teens, my parents and my sister went again...without me. I moved out at 17 and had separated myself even more from the family by then. They didn't ask me to go anyway (not that I would have said yes). I kind of wish now I would have gone with them...to see Epcot in the early years? What a trill! But I know that it would have been just as miserable as '81. They had a good time without me (I don't think I am the problem, the tension between me and my Step-Dad is to blame, but it still hurts my pride knowing they could have a better time without me).
Once I got married, I really wanted to go as a "couple". My ex had never really been anywhere and I was really anxious to show him all that I had seen, no place more than Disney World! I even went to a travel agent (back in the day when you still needed travel agents), booked the trip, and was paying for it when we got divorced. I wasn't so upset about the marriage, but definitely about another Disney opportunity gone (at least I got my money back)!
In 1999, knowing that I still wanted to go, my Mother offered to go with me. Now my count was up to 2 trips! Granted, '99 wasn't much better than '81, but for an entirely different reason. I was at my social worst...constant panic attacks and severe anti-social disorder. I was also less than a year away from filing bankruptcy...some people eat for comfort, I spend. So, when I wasn't trying to hide at every opportunity or making myself sick when I couldn't hide, I was buying everything up in sight!
By 2004, Am and I were grown and relations between the family was better, so why not break my oath and try again? Plus, it would be the first time Am's husband had the full monty of life in our family. Surely, now that Am and I were grown and we'd all matured, we could do much better, right? WRONG! '04 made '81 and '99 look like picnics! We can laugh about it today (Strawberry Shortcake?!?!?), but at the time I had a hard time keeping myself from crying every five minutes.
I planned that entire trip all by myself for five people in three separate rooms (and thank god for that-I was extremely grateful for my solo room). I studied and researched every single book and what little there was on the internet at the time and basically did everything I could to make it all picture perfect, only to be shot down at every turn by my Step-Dad.
It wasn't all bad though...Am and I got closer, everyone else could finally see what a jerk my Step-Dad is (instead of just me), my oath of no more family vacations was renewed with vigor, and my love for Disney got even stronger, bad trips be damned! Once we split off into groups, we were even able to enjoy the end of the trip! Some of our favorite (and worst) memories are from that trip in particular (best-"yo, ho, yo ho a pirates life for me, I use a knife to stir my tea!"; worst-show out at Le Cellier).
Notice how everyone tries to act like they are happy except for the Jerk-Meister? Glad I take the pics now and don't have to be in them or it would have been even worse (not entirely sure Am's not saying, "just shut the hell up and smile":
In an effort to finally have the perfect jerk-free Disney trip, Am and I decided to go together without the rest of the family (although my brother-in-law would have been more than welcome...he's just a very busy man). So in 2005, Sisters Amuck was born and I had my first "real" Disney World trip!! It was also my first stay at Wilderness Lodge (which is probably why it's so endeared to me) as well as our first Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party! Now the addiction was in full swing!
2006 - my first solo and Christmas trip; 2007 - another Halloween Sisters Amuck tour de force; 2008 - my second solo and my first real Food & Wine Festival participation; 2009 - Sisters Amuck travel in luxury thanks to Am's husband; 2010 - another Sisters Amuck masterpiece; and 2012 (I skipped 2011 for financial reasons and I still regret it to this day) - last year's trip and my first Disney Passholder experience.
Granted, even the wonderful trips had their "moments", but not even Disney World is 100% perfect (just 99%). Then again, maybe the horrible years make every good moment in Disney even more magical. I don't really care why it's so wonderful or important to me now, it just is!
So, in case you lost count...that's 10 trips total in my whole life!!!
This upcoming trip is quite possibly the shortest, but I'm really planning on it being the best one ever! I do have reservations about December for many different reasons (Am knows them and concurs on most), but I haven't given up hope on it yet. 2013 will add another two to my belt.
Come 2014, I am planning a spring Flower and Garden Festival trip with my friend Kate over at The Suddenly Kate Show, but I also can't miss a Halloween trip, so another one is in development for October (plus, with the passholder discounts, I can go twice a year for the cost of once a year).
In 2015, there will be a Disney World trip (although I'm not sure when), but there will also be my very first Disneyland trip with my T-Boo! So good times ahead folks and plenty more Disney-themed blog posts on the horizon!!
Congratulations again to all the blog winners!
Blogoversary Giveaway Finished!!
It's done, kaput, finito, fin, ende, terminado, wrapped up, sqashed...well, you get the point. While no one hit the proverbial nail on the head, Siobhan got the closest with 13 and Heather was second with 15. I only wish I had been in the 30's like Lauren and DJH guessed, but their Disney-lovin comments put a huge smile on my face! So, since I only had four total entries, let's just say that EVERYBODY WINS!!! I have enough for everybody anyway. Heather and Siobhan will get a couple of extras thrown in because they were first to guess and top of the class and Lauren and DJH will get their handful for just being Disneyfied!
Everyone, please send me your addresses (and my UK friend will need to send me her phone # as well for the shipping document). I do ask that you guys be patient with me...going to the post office is one of the hardest things for me, so it might take me a bit to gather up the courage to get there. I'll email you when I make it!
CONGRATULATIONS EVERYBODY!
If you've noticed, I haven't actually told how many times I've been to Disney World yet. There is a reason for this. Stay tuned to further blog posts for that information.
Everyone, please send me your addresses (and my UK friend will need to send me her phone # as well for the shipping document). I do ask that you guys be patient with me...going to the post office is one of the hardest things for me, so it might take me a bit to gather up the courage to get there. I'll email you when I make it!
CONGRATULATIONS EVERYBODY!
If you've noticed, I haven't actually told how many times I've been to Disney World yet. There is a reason for this. Stay tuned to further blog posts for that information.
Last day for Giveaway!
Today is the last day to get your entry in for my Blogoversary Celebration-Disney pin giveaway! I've really only gotten one serious entry (thanks to Heather Cartwright!), so I figure I'd give it one more shot! Oh, and Heather, just because you were the "real" first entry, I'm giving you a handful of pins even if someone else beats your guess! Congrats!! Send me your details when you can and I'll get them shipped out A.S.A.P. (there is an email link in my "About Me" section-currently to the lower right of this post).
Anyone interested in winning a handful of Disney pins, you have until midnight tonight to guess how many times in total (solo or with family) I have been to Disney World (not including the two upcoming trips).
Oh, and I forgot...here is the LINK to the original Bloversary Giveaway post for you to sign up!
Anyone interested in winning a handful of Disney pins, you have until midnight tonight to guess how many times in total (solo or with family) I have been to Disney World (not including the two upcoming trips).
Oh, and I forgot...here is the LINK to the original Bloversary Giveaway post for you to sign up!
Blogoversary Giveaway!
Today is the day! My two years in the Blogiverse has officially come to pass! My Giveaway will stay open until next Friday, September 6th. I've only had a couple of private entries so far and not one has been even close, and I have to say to my beloved T-Boo...dude, you've known me for 15+ years! How could you have gotten so far off?!?! I'm hurt (not really...but you ain't backin out of Disneyland 2015, if I have to drag you kicking and screaming).
So everyone have a lovely Labor Day holiday and don't purchase too much junk just because it's on sale (that was more for my benefit than yours). Ha! I just came up with an affirmation...which makes me think of one person...DARREN HAYES! I found this great clip of lyrics, and while not the official video, it's still Darren singing, so I'm willing to compromise! (Oh, and for those that know me...I'm not leaving out Take That's Affirmation song...I just couldn't find a clip I liked of it!).
So everyone have a lovely Labor Day holiday and don't purchase too much junk just because it's on sale (that was more for my benefit than yours). Ha! I just came up with an affirmation...which makes me think of one person...DARREN HAYES! I found this great clip of lyrics, and while not the official video, it's still Darren singing, so I'm willing to compromise! (Oh, and for those that know me...I'm not leaving out Take That's Affirmation song...I just couldn't find a clip I liked of it!).
Almost Blogoversary, so let's try a giveaway!
I can't believe another year has gone by! I know I've been a crappy blogger lately and an even crappier stitcher, but as long as my head is stuck in Disney World, it's probably gonna stay that way for a while! Plus, I've been having laptop probs of late and I'm in the process of a complete reformat, so I'm sort of off-line for now anyway.
Thanks to everyone for your kind comments concerning my scattered brain's hectic Disney obsession! Speaking of my brain...Ferg-id got his annual peek-a-boo this week. I'm still waiting to hear the official word from the doc, but it looks like little dude is hangin in there:
Unfortunately, as long as he stays stable, he gets to keep "living off the land", so to speak. I'd much prefer he be unceremoniously ejected from the stadium for bad behavior, but that's not my choice to make (although, since it is my head, it should be). Maybe I'll toss him around a bit on Mission Space! If you can't remove it, kick it around a bit!!
I do have yet another Disney idea for a blog series...but I'm torn as to whether or not to go ahead. Part of me thinks I've rambled about Disney enough, but then I remember this is, after all, MY blog and I can ramble about Disney all I want! Once I get my laptop back in tip-top shape, maybe I'll re-address it then. But for the meantime...
HAPPY BLOGOVERSARY (in two days) TO ME!! So how about we have my first ever giveaway! I have an overabundance of "extra" Disney pins from my last trip (I have the worst time remembering which ones I already have) and they would make a good prize I think! So, here's the question:
How many times, with family or solo has Keebles been to Disney World?
I don't know if I've ever said the "actual number", but each trip has been referenced at many different points throughout my posts and there are other places to look (i.e. my Flickr page for instance, hint, hint). This will NOT include the two upcoming trips, but trips I have completed. Pick at random or research your best guess, post in the comments of this blog post, and, lets say on next Friday, September 6th, I'll see how many correct answers there are. If there are too many winners, I'll draw amongst them, but if not, then every winner will get a random assortment of about three or four Disney pins a piece...that sound good to anyone? If there is only one winner, I might double the prize! If there are no winners, I'll do a random drawing amongst all the entries and give away the same number of pins. If nobody tries, then I guess the pins will stay in my closet for another year!
So get your entries in and good luck!!
Thanks to everyone for your kind comments concerning my scattered brain's hectic Disney obsession! Speaking of my brain...Ferg-id got his annual peek-a-boo this week. I'm still waiting to hear the official word from the doc, but it looks like little dude is hangin in there:
I do have yet another Disney idea for a blog series...but I'm torn as to whether or not to go ahead. Part of me thinks I've rambled about Disney enough, but then I remember this is, after all, MY blog and I can ramble about Disney all I want! Once I get my laptop back in tip-top shape, maybe I'll re-address it then. But for the meantime...
HAPPY BLOGOVERSARY (in two days) TO ME!! So how about we have my first ever giveaway! I have an overabundance of "extra" Disney pins from my last trip (I have the worst time remembering which ones I already have) and they would make a good prize I think! So, here's the question:
How many times, with family or solo has Keebles been to Disney World?
I don't know if I've ever said the "actual number", but each trip has been referenced at many different points throughout my posts and there are other places to look (i.e. my Flickr page for instance, hint, hint). This will NOT include the two upcoming trips, but trips I have completed. Pick at random or research your best guess, post in the comments of this blog post, and, lets say on next Friday, September 6th, I'll see how many correct answers there are. If there are too many winners, I'll draw amongst them, but if not, then every winner will get a random assortment of about three or four Disney pins a piece...that sound good to anyone? If there is only one winner, I might double the prize! If there are no winners, I'll do a random drawing amongst all the entries and give away the same number of pins. If nobody tries, then I guess the pins will stay in my closet for another year!
So get your entries in and good luck!!