Hummus and Carrots

You: Say Jenn, is that a healthy choice you're making?

Me:  why yes it is?

You: I am having proud feelings. I would have expected a slab of cheese and some delicious crusty white bread. 

Me:    Who me? Oh no, I make healthy choices. I love vegetables. Carrots are the best.   And this snack has NOTHING to do with the fact that the only cheese I have in the house is the brick of Velveeta my dad gave me. That shit ain't cheese. I promised him I wouldn't throw it out....right away.

Quick Poll:

What would.be the best beverage pairing with this clearly healthy choice:

A) eggnog and spiced rum

B) red wine

c) dark ginger ale and spiced rum

D) water

(If you picked D, we clearly aren't friends. I have LIMITS people. It's the festive SEASON). 

Matryoshka

Russian Nesting Dolls for Travellers:

(aka: how to store a bunch of suitcases in a small space)

Wait!

Bet you thought we would be home by now, didnt you?  We sure did. I even started making a mental grocery list. Have i ever told you how much i hate grocery shopping. 

Hate. It. So. Much. 

Anyway. Focus. 

We were scheduled to arrive in Saskatoon at 3:30 today. Right now it is 7:13 and we have taken over a section  of the Minneapolis airport. 

Our flight home was overbooked. The airline was offering a prepaid Visa card if three passengers would get on the 10 pm flight. I would normally never go for that but its Saturday. All i had to doat home was laundry and grocery shopping. I was ok with post poning those joyful chores. 

Delta gave us $500 USD per person plus vouchers for lunch and supper. Plus i didnt have to go to Superstore today. #winning

Of course we did what any other family with an almost 9 year old would do.... We took the train to Mall of America!  

(LEGO!)

Now we have two hours left to kill. We are all starting to look tired. Thank goodness for airports with plenty of outlets and free wifi. 

Did i mention we woke up at 5 am for our  first  flight?  It is starting to feel like a long day. Will be so nice to go home to our own beds. 

Not sure if you can see what this thing is, but it hooks onto your suitcase and then acts like a bungee cord to hold the rest of your bags. It is pure genius. My mom leant it to us and it has been a life saver (thanks, Mom!)

Ways to entertain your kid at an airport:

1. Laps on the emptyescalators

2. Running the wrong way on the moving sidewalk

3. Taking the tram around the airport 

 

Last day

Sigh. 

I dont want it to be over. I love this holiday. It felt like a true vacation. People say Disney is a trip not a vacation. But its so much easier when you have an almost 9 year old and a GPS. Maddie hasnt complained or whined. Even when i know she was so tired. We havent had any problems getting around thanks to the GPS on Jason's tablet. Magic i tell you. I named her Kitty in honour of the first talking car. #knightrider

Every morning i get up early and drink coffee on the deck. It over looks a pond with a water fountain. There is a big tree to make my deck private. Maddie is binge watching American Netflix and Jason is sleeping so i get about two hours out here by myself. And y'all know how i like to be by myself. 

Yesterday we went to Disney. Magic Kingdom. Disney is so good at creating an atmosphere that makes you WANT to be a part of things. How else would they convince people to wear $20 mouse ears? It seemed much busier than universal but we used three fast passes and  really didn't have trouble with long lines. Our family favorite rides are the rides i loved as a kid: the Haunted Mansion and Big Thunder (smallish roller coaster)

We talked about it and in the end we preferred Universal over Magic Kingdom. We preferred the style of rides. In general it was less overwhelming. I think we would have enjoyed Disney's Hollywood Studios but we had time and $$$ for only one park so we went with a classic. 

We still had a great day. 

Jason refused to go on Its a Small World. Maddie and I loved it. 

This is what happens when you run a toll booth....

Christmas trees in the "jungle"

Only picture i have of the Haunted Mansion. We went on it twice. 

The "Frozen" castle after Elsa dropped by. 

This is what snow looks like in Disney - soap bubbles. 

And today is a rainy day so we are shopping. 

Jason wants to buy clothes. He wants to go to the Premium Outlet Mall near our condo. To buy clothes. 

WHO IS THIS MAN AND WHAT HAS HE DONE WITH MY HUSBAND?

Best part

The best part of this trip might be the two hours in the morning when I get to sit all by myself on the deck reading my book. So relaxing. 

Or maybe its when we are all eating pancakes at IHOP?  

Or wandering through Diagon Alley?  

This holiday feels like a holiday. 

Public Service Announcement

D

I feel the need to share our restaurant finds with you. We are staying at a very nice resort. Room is clean. Beds are comfortable. Pools are excellent. 

But the food. Gah. So awful. 

The upside is it has forced us to explore and go off the tourist track. 

Food Find #1

@ Siam Thai Restaurant (yes, that is the name)

On International Drive which is an experience all on its own. Small, family run. Delicious  Panang curry. Spring rolls tasted like egg rolls which was fine with me but Maddie didnt like them. Clean. Quick service. 

Food Find #2

IHOP

Im not kidding. Best service ever. Breakfast was so good. Clean. Cheap. 

Food Find #3

Bubbalous BBQ

Treena will be so proud of this one. I swear this place felt legit. My beer was $3 and i picked it out of a bucket.  I had texas brisket.  Amazing. Jason had chicken and ribs. Unbelievable. We even ate deep fried cream corn. Dont ask - just believe me when I tell you it is a good idea. Best part - each table comes with its own roll of paper towel. 

Oh. And we went for day two at Universal. Harry Potter world - perfection. Nailed it. 

Night Bus

"who lives in a pineapple under the sea?"

Meanwhile

....back in Saskatoon....

The Beagles are enjoying their holiday at Auntie's. 

Kennedy Space Centre

This was well worth the price of admission. Lots to see and do. We didn't even get through everything. We met Slow and his family at noon and spent the day with them. They are an easy group and a lot of fun. Slow is really Steven - Ken (short for Kenco) is really Jason. Keep up people. Slow and Ken have been friends for about 20 years - via online gaming. The weirdest part -  they sort of look alike. 

I just realized we didn't get any pictures WITH them. But I think Sue took one of Slow and Ken. 

And of course...the cartwheels 

Florida Morning

I'm not bragging. I'm just sharing what makes me happy. Jason hates heat but i love it when there is a pool.

Today is Cape Canavaral (Kennedy Space Centre). I explained to Maddie that this is "Daddy's version of the American Girl store". 

Right now they are asleep.  I went to bed early so I could get up early. That's how I roll. The people in the condo beside us do not have that same  Life Approach. They were still partying at 4 am. Lucky for me I have a white noise app on my phone so I cranked that up to "Drown Out Obnoxious Neighnors" level and went back to sleep. 

Time to google the space centre so i know what I'm in for. 

J

Florida Day 1

We arrived at our condo at about 2:00 this morning. So tired and hungry. Remember when planes used to serve meals?  Yeah. Me too. 

So we checked in and immediately ordered pizza. Like you do. I can tell you I've  never tasted pizza that good. Thank you Dominos. 

Today was sleep in and shop day. Maddie woke me up three times before i finally hauled my butt out of bed. Pretty sure she had her swimsuit on by 9 :19 (she slept until 9:18. I know this bc she woke me up to tell me). 

Started with coffee for me and homework for her (journal). 

Then (FINALLY) off to the pool. 

I swear that kid is a fish. 

We spent the afternoon at the Florida Mall (yes, that is really a place and its freaking huge). It has the American Girl store. We had literally no other   reason to be there. 

Lunch with Maddie's doll, Gia (who we hauled all the way from home). 

She loved that store. We love her. So we loved it. Honestly we were in there forever but it was a wonderful afternoon. Plus she had her own money she has been saving since spring. 

Oh. - i forgot. When we showed up at 1am to rent our car they were out of the car we rented.   So they had to give us something else. 

We wanted a Kia but I guess this 2015 Camaro convertible will do.....

Day one is winding down. Im drinking cheap US wine that i bought at a grocery store (God bless America).  Everyone is tired and happy. All in all a successful day of vacationing. 

Nighty night. Tomorrow is Kennedy Space Centre. 

Happy Halloween!

Today was Halloween at my work. 

Jeepers, I love my job. 

And...Canadian Princess Leia:

Wagons and Mondays

I have fallen off the Fitness Wagon the past few weeks. Fell off right into another pile of chips and wine. They find me everytime. 

But this morning I dusted the chips off and crawled back on. Thank you Keely,wouldn't  do it without your wake up texts! 

Starting a new position at work today. Sounds like a good day for getting back into the routine. Wish me luck! 

NEVER MISS A MONDAY!

You know what the world needs? A tampon drive through like the banks in Minot. 

Just shoot me them suckers in a tube so I dont have to go in. And throw in a bag of chips and some midol while you're at it. 

Wells Fargo Tampons. 

Get on it, people. 

And while you're at it....

Randa's Surprise Party

Randa turned 40. Her sisters planned a party and asked us to join in on the fun. 

Randa always goes to a lot of trouble to make elaborate home made cakes and super fun themes for her kid's birthdays. We wanted her to have that for herself. 

She really likes Frida Kahlo so a couple  of glue guns, silk flowers, some fondant and we had a theme! 

First mission: kidnap Randa and get her to Moose Jaw. This was actually super easy. Randa LOVES suprises and spontenaity - so followed my rule of no questions. 

Picking her up. 

Then we spent some time in Tuxford to throw her off course. 

So gangsta. 

Her sisters organized rooms at the spa and found a restaurant that would make a custom drink for our night: the Rowdy Randa! 

Allison made a super jeopardy game. That was a huge hit! 

And then, of course, came the dancing!  An 80s cover band was playing at the "pub" across the street! Everything was a short walk. What could be better? 

And then this happened after i left at midnight:

What a GREAT night!!

Happy Birthday, Randa!