Taking Care of Me: Week 1 Complete!

Here's what I did to take care of myself this week!

I have not had a Coke since last Monday. That is 8 whole days. I am pretty proud of myself I have to say.  I have not had a headache, or really even wanted to drink a pop, and for me, this is a HUGE accomplishment.  I have been drinking a lot of white and green tea, to satisfy my want for caffeine and sweetness, and it really seems to be working.

We ate out twice in the last 7 days. :( However, I do find success in this because I had lemonade to drink both times, no pop!

I cooked dinner at home every night, except for the night I failed. I did cook, but it didn't work so we went and got pizza with friends. Sigh. I'm not totally upset about it, it was nice to get out of the house and see people I hadn't seen in a while. And I had salad with my pizza. :) The meals I cooked this week were:

Barbecue chicken from the crockpot with roasted potatoes and green beans
Stuffed shells (I snuck some spinach in the stuffing!) & salad
Skinny alfredo with whole wheat penne
Breakfast for dinner: Scrambled eggs, turkey bacon, and home fries
Whole wheat angel hair with garlic butter sauce and peas

I am forgetting one meal, but whatevs. The point is, I tried to make a vegetable with each meal, and I tried to make the pasta dishes as healthy as possible. We really really love pasta and it is really really hard to give it up. So I'm doing the best I can-buying whole wheat, (I like Ronzoni Healthy Harvest, the only ingredient is whole wheat durum (?) flour), making homemade sauce, and being sure to pair it with a vegetable.

For lunches this week I had salad or leftovers. I snacked on yogurt, granola, fruit, cashews, or veggie straws. (Those things are fantastic. They are the texture of chips-the best part-but are made of vegetables. Yum). Okay okay and one time I had Skyline with Ben. I needed to get out of the house. But I didn't drink pop while I was there!

Overall I would say this week was 85% successful. The next few days should be interesting as Kato and I are planning on going away this weekend, because Ben will be gone. No point in sitting at home alone, might as well go see my family! Hopefully I can maintain my new habits. I plan on taking some snacks with me.  The Superbowl is this weekend, so I'll be looking for something homemade, minimally processed, and delicious to make!

Here is my angel hair dish this week.  Yes. That is bacon on top. I know I know, bacon is terrible. No health benefit whatsoever. But it is SO yummy.  I got the most natural bacon I could find, and man it was so good. It really made the dish. Maybe someday I will give up bacon, but this is not the week.  

Note: I have now had 2 people in about a week talk about Green Bean Delivery. This is something I am seriously considering, everyone seems to love it. I want to do a price comparison first, but I really think we could benefit from it!

Here's hoping I can continue this plan, and be a healthier me again this week!!

Taking care of me.

I have a confession. I am NOT a healthy person. Some people think I am because of the way I look. I'm not.  I love pop and drink it all the time. I love all candy and eat it often.  I love Taco Bell and most fast food, and I really like eating out. I have very little willpower.  I have a Bachelor's degree in Exercise Science, but I currently exercise about 0 times per week.

It's time for this girl to make a change.  In November, I really felt my metabolism slowing down, just like everyone said it would some day.  I literally woke up one morning and only 1 pair of pants fit.  I have been concerned about this since that time. My solution for being healthier has always been to run or exercise in some way. I've considered doing the Kentucky Derby Festival Triple Crown, but I can't run outside when it snows 3 inches every 3 days, or the temperatures are below 0. (Treadmills=sucksville. No thanks). So this weekend I had a ton of time to think, we're talking 18 total hours in the car, and I came to a couple decisions.  If exercise isn't going to happen this winter, (it WILL happen in the spring. Kato loves to run, he's going to be my running buddy!), then the healthy change I need to make has to be with food.  I decided that this blog would be a good way to hold myself accountable. Each Friday I will talk about the healthy choices I've made that week, and the meals that I've cooked at home.

I dislike the word diet and won't say that I am on a "diet". I associate "diets" with failing for some reason. I don't know why, but I do, and therefore I am not on a "diet", because I don't want to fail. Also, a diet to me means trying to lose weight. Losing weight would be a great plus, but that is not the goal here. ("omg I really wanna lose 3 pounds!" Name the movie! =P ) My goal is to be a healthier person, and do everything I can now to ensure health for the rest of my life.  Not just a healthier weight, but a healthier heart, brain, and body!

 I looked up a few different options. It would be amazing to eat clean, and that is what I am basing my plan off. I am not sure that being completely clean is practical, especially when I live with someone who simply won't give up certain things. He supports me in whatever I do, but if I have stuff in the house for him, there's a high likelihood that I will eat it too.  We had a lengthy discussion about this and came to what I think is a pretty good plan.

I am going to cut way back on bread. I say this as we had meatball sandwiches last night for dinner, but I don't want to eat white bread more than 1 or 2 times per week. In the past I've eaten it almost every day. I know that I could get away with eating wheat bread, and get some nutrients in the process, but I really don't like wheat bread. If I buy bread for Ben, he will take it to work.  I am also cutting out bagels. This will be tough because I love them, but I know I can make much better choices for breakfast. Also, I'm trying only whole wheat pasta, and pasta itself only once per week.

I am going to eat minimal sugar. No pop, (2 days in, so far so good!), or cookies or candy. I have to admit we have some m & m's in the house right now, but as soon as they are gone, no more! I have a thing about eating something sweet at the end of every meal, so my something sweet will be a piece of fruit. If I don't buy cookies and pop and candy, I won't eat them!

I am trying to buy only those products with ingredients I can pronounce. Aka cutting way back on processed food. This is a huge one. I love cheese-it's, chips, popsicles, hot dogs, fruit snacks, juice, gatorade, etc. If it's processed, I love it. But. I know there are ingredients in processed food that are just plain bad for me, and making me unhealthy, so I have to quit.

I am going to eat more fruits, vegetables, complex carbohydrates, & lean proteins. These are things that are mostly natural and beneficial to my overall health.

I've been on my healthy eating plan for 2 full days. I started Sunday night when we ate at Cracker Barrel. I had grilled chicken tenders instead of my usual fried, green beans instead of my usual hash brown casserole, and salad instead of my usual mac & cheese. Yesterday was the first full day. For lunch I had spinach salad with corn and black beans. And a banana. (Okay and ranch dressing BUT when it's gone I won't buy it again I promise!)

This week at the grocery store I did really well. I bought lots of fruits and vegetables, both fresh and canned. (I made sure the canned fruits and vegetables only had ingredients that I recognized). I bought healthy snacks, like cashews, granola, and dried fruit.  I bought turkey bacon instead of regular bacon. (I am so not ready to give up bacon completely!)

Another part of this plan is to start making my own food. Some things I want to make instead of buy are: Ranch & french dressing, barbecue sauce, taco, ranch and italian seasoning, pasta, alfredo sauce, hash browns and fries, cream of chicken soup, chicken broth, salsa & granola bars. It will be a lot of work but I'm up for the challenge, especially while I'm not working and don't have a lot to do other than care for my pup. I'll be sure to document it all!

Last night I made marinara and it turned out fabulous. Restaurant quality, but MAN it was a mess. And took a while. Worth it though, because I know exactly what's in it, and I know it is a much better option than jarred!

Here's my marinara simmering on the stove. Yum! There was plenty leftover for the freezer too!

Overall, my goal is to be healthy. I hope that the blog will keep me accountable, and I can learn to make better choices! Here's to a healthier me!

Blog About a Dog-Kato at 13 weeks!

Kato-bato turned 13 weeks old yesterday.  He is getting bigger every day, and it's really taking it's toll physically. We noticed yesterday that his leg was getting stuck straight out a lot more. There could be a few reasons for this.  It seems to happen whenever he tries to scratch his ears while he is walking. It's like he forgets that he can't scratch and walk at the same time, and his leg just doesn't function that well. He also got a LOT of exercise this weekend, so it's possible that his muscles are just sore. Or it could just be growing pains like the vet said.  We'll keep watching it, and mention it to the vet again when we see him in a few weeks.

Kato and I had a pretty good week.  Last Wednesday was a normal day, and then on Thursday we went on an adventure! I was heading to Cleveland, and Ben was heading to Florida for race testing, so we planned to leave Kato with my parents in Kentucky. He loves it there, and they had no plans for the weekend, so we figured that would be a good place.  I wasn't planning on leaving until noon Thursday, but when Kato and I got up around 7, the news was going on and on about the snow that would soon be arriving. I decided we'd better leave sooner.  I put a sleepy Kato in his crate while I showered and got ready. (I love that I can do that now!) Then it took me about an hour to get everything packed and ready, not just my stuff, but his too. The snow had already started while I was packing up.  It was NOT easy to pack all of my stuff, all of his stuff, and the crate in the car by myself. In blowing snow. With a dog attached to my arm. (I had him on the leash the whole time, he can't be trusted off of it, especially when my attention isn't fully on him).  At one point I left him in the laundry room because there was just no way I could carry the crate out and get it in the car (it barely fits as it is, and it's hard to get in. And heavy.) while he was circling my legs. I gave him a few toys and he did just fine. When I came back in he got up from his playing and we carried on.  We finally got in the car around 8:45 am. I needed food, and gas, and then Ben called to say he had landed in Florida. Then I had to go back to the house to turn off the water. I didn't do it before because I didn't know how, and I was just waiting for Ben to call and tell me.  Finally we hit the interstate around 9:00.  We got about 20 minutes down the road, and traffic just stopped. The snow was piling up, the roads were awful and getting worse, and we just sat there on 65 for a LONG time.  We would move a few feet and then stop for another 10 minutes. Kato didn't mind a bit. He played in his crate and looked out the window. When we hadn't gotten out of Indianapolis after 45 minutes I started to get worried.  I knew he would have to potty, and if we were stuck in traffic I didn't know what we were going to do.  Eventually we moved and got going, but the going was slow. The roads were just awful.  It took 1 hour and 45 minutes to get out of Indianapolis and onto I-74. That's normally a 30 minute trip.  Once we were out of traffic, we could move, but I didn't go above 50 almost the whole trip.  After 2.5 hours in the car, we were only 30 miles out of Indy, so I stopped at a Walmart to let puppy potty. He did fine, and once we were back on the road he slept the rest of the way. Normally the trip to my parents is 3 hours, and on this day it took 5. 5! It was terrible, and could be the worst drive I've ever had.  I counted 25 cars wrecked or slid off. Thank the Lord my puppy did not care one bit. My hatred for winter continues!

Once we arrived at my parents, life was good. Kato was really happy to be there, and spent the first few minutes running around looking for Grandma & Grandpa! (They were at work).  When they got home he was SO happy to see them! I left for Cleveland on Friday afternoon, and returned on Sunday evening. My parents said Kato had a wonderful weekend. He spent lots of time outside and running around their basement, and got a couple visits from his Nana.  He looked HUGE when I got back! It felt good to know that he was in good hands while I was away. When I got back he was EXHAUSTED. He fell asleep around 7 that night.  We came back to Indy Monday morning, and again Kato was fabulous in the car. Slept and played.  Good boy Kato!

I don't know if he is still recovering from the wild weekend, or if he is just really tired from growing so rapidly, but he has slept a LOT the last two days. Yesterday Ben took him out at 6 before he left for work, and he slept until 8:30. This morning he slept until 8:45. The only reason he woke up was because I was worried about him so I went downstairs to check on him.  Even then, he didn't wake up and become his full-of-energy self until about 10:45.  He's such a sleepy wittle puppy!

Here are some pictures from Kato's 13th week!

Apparently this guy needs a bed.  I'm attempting to sew him one currently so he won't have to lay on a towel anymore! =)

Grandpa was teasing him with a flashlight..

But Kato was too smart for that and kept trying to chase the actual flashlight instead of the light on the ground. Silly puppy!

Tried to take a selfie for Daddy, he wasn't into it.

There's my sweet boy, looking so cute!

The day that I left for Cleveland, Kato was EXTRA snuggly buggly. I love when he is like that!

Back home after a tiring weekend, but our big boy got a collar this week! It's Fuzzy's vodka/ECR green!

My handsome 13 week old pup!

Kato at 12 Weeks: Growing Pains

Our puppy is having some growing pains. Not just physically, but emotionally as well. His legs seem to bother him, and one of them gets stuck sometimes. He went to the vet yesterday and he said lameness is a sign of growing pains. It's no surprise, this guy is growing like a weed! The first time we took him to the vet he was 13 pounds. Yesterday he weighed in at 22 pounds! Not as big as I thought though, when I pick him up he is HEAVY! =) He had a good vet visit though, everything seems fine. Emotionally he is really starting to test us, and assert his dominance. We are doing everything we can to knock this down.  Yesterday he would look at us, then grab a shoe and run off. He KNOWS this is not okay, and he did it over and over and over until we finally put him in time out.  He is also barking at us when he doesn't get his way, and he pouted, yes pouted, when I took something away yesterday.  Time out seems to be the most effective thing at calming him down. We also try to get up and walk away when he starts getting too rough. The physical corrections that Cesar suggests don't seem to be working, unless he is on a leash. We've been keeping his harness on, mostly so that we have more control over him and can physically move him away from things he shouldn't be chewing or messing with.  We are all learning, and I have hope that we will get through this emotional roller coaster we are all on!

 This past week was pretty crazy.  With the snow storm on Sunday, we were cramped in the house all day Monday & Tuesday, and Kato didn't even go outside until Wednesday.  Wednesday we did our best to run him outside, but there was still a LOT of snow and it was still cold, so it was a challenge!

I took his tennis ball outside and let him chase it around. It wouldn't go very far once it hit the ground, and Kato loved to bury it deep in the snow and then uncover it as fast as he could!

Our snowy faced pup after trying to get his ball out of the snow!

This week, Kato also discovered 2 new things that he loves.  One is this spot:

This cracks me up  because as a kid I sat under this table, and so has every other kid that has ever been around it.  Now Kato does the same! It helps that there is a heat vent under there, blowing nice warm air. When he first came home the vents confused him, but he likes them now!

Ah, warmth!

The other thing Kato learned to love this week is peanut butter. One morning Ben had peanut butter on a bagel and Kato was just going nuts trying to get it.  This is the first time we have seen him really beg for our food, (we don't ever give him people food, except peanut butter now, so he doesn't really know what he's missing, therefore he doesn't beg. At least that's what we hope!), so I decided to give him a little. He has his own jar.  :) He licked it off the end of a plastic spoon first, and really liked it, so I put some in his kong. Amazing...it kept him entertained for a LONG time, and he got every drop of peanut butter out of there that he could!

Loving some peanut butter!

On Friday, I gave Kato a bath. He did good other than jumping out of the tub twice!

One fresh and clean puppy ready for the next adventure!

This week we also went on our long-anticipated adventure to Kentucky! We were leaving Friday when Ben got home from work, so when Kato woke up from his long nap I kept him awake. This meant he was awake from 2:30, until he eventually fell asleep in the car, around 6. That's a LONG time for him. He is usually not awake for more than 2-2.5 hours at a time.  It was good though, he did GREAT on the ride. He cried for a little bit, but not out of fear, it seemed to mostly be annoyance that he couldn't find a comfortable spot to lay down.  Once he did, he slept great, and we didn't even have to stop on our 3 hour ride.

When we arrived at my parent's, he was super excited.  He LOVES Grandma & Grandpa's house.  He just walked around exploring almost the whole time, and he loved playing with his Grandma, Grandpa, and Aunt Morgan.  He did really well at their house, and even started telling us when he had to go outside.  (Finally!) We had one hiccup when we introduced him to the neighbor's dog Max. Max is not the world's most social dog, and all Kato wanted to do was play.  He went a little crazy but we had him on the leash so we could control him, sorta. There was a party at Mom & Dad's Saturday night, and again Kato did well. I think the people socialization is going really well for him. We kept him on the leash for most of the night.  Everyone thought he was adorable, and he seemed to like all the attention! My cousin had her sweet 4 month old (human) baby Zander with her, so we put the two of them together at one point. Kato was great, just wanted to sniff and explore this small creature, (again we had him on the leash and never let him super close), but Zander wanted nothing to do with him! One look and Zander burst into tears. It was actually quite hilarious, especially Kato's reaction to the crying...he did his characteristic head turn, like "What is that noise? What IS this thing? What did I do?" It was funny. At one point everyone was sitting in a circle so we let Kato off the leash and he ran around the circle getting lovins from everyone. He loved that.  It was a very successful trip to my parents!

On Sunday we went to Ben's parents, and again, Kato had a fun time! They live on a farm, so there was tons of room for running and exploring. I wish the weather had been nicer, it was chilly and cloudy, which didn't make any of us want to be outside.  We did run around a paddock though, and let Kato chase his ball in a contained area, so that was fun. It really made me want a fence for our yard! I can't wait for the day when we can play with him off the leash in our yard. Kato met a cat and a horse while we were there! (Thanks to my MIL for these photos): 

Cougar the cat was NOT amused by our energetic puppy. Kato barked and barked because this thing wouldn't play with him!

Meeting Dolly the horse. Kato had no fear whatsoever, again, he couldn't understand why this giant thing wouldn't play! Silly doggie.

"Oh please oh please let me sniff it!"

Tuckered out from all that playing and exploring!

When it was time to go home, Kato was exhausted., which was exactly what we wanted! He barely made a noise once we got on the road, and slept for a while in the car. When he woke up he played with his toys quietly like a good boy! We stopped for everyone to go potty, and after that he slept for the rest of the trip! Good boy Kato!

Still snuggling that zebra!!

Kato has had a decent week, and tonight we hope to take him to his first puppy kindergarten class! He really needs the socialization with other dogs, as well as some obedience lessons.  I am very excited and hopeful that the place we are taking him to will be nice, friendly, and a place he can feel comfortable in, because they also do boarding and doggie day camp there, which we anticipate we will need in the not so distant future.  Although, to think about leaving my sweet boy for even a day makes me sad. Life has to continue on though! There are places we have to go that he can't, and that's just a fact of life that we all have to accept.  

Here's the pup today, pretty tired after lots of exercise (the sun is finally shining and the snow is mostly melted woohoo!):

Happy 12 weeks Kato-bato!

Blog about a Dog-Kato at 11 weeks

I've decided to dedicate Tuesdays to blogging about our puppy dog and all of our adventures with him.  Today I'll start with his history so far!

We brought Kato the pure-bred brindle Boxer home on December 15. He was 7.5 weeks old when we got him.  Looking back on it now, I know we didn't introduce him to his new home exactly the way we should have, (according to Cesar Milan), but I don't think he's any worse for the wear.  We went and got him on a whim, although we'd been talking about and looking at Boxers for about a month.  Someone finally got back in touch with us so we jumped on the opportunity.  Actually taking him was quite an ordeal...we picked out the one we wanted, but we literally had nothing for him, so we had to leave him with the breeder while we ran to the pet store and bought a crate.  We got back to the breeder, ready to take him, but the breeder would only take cash...so it was back in the car, to the atm, and finally back to pick up our cutie.  We put him in the crate when we got in the car, and he did not care for it. Now I know it was because this was a totally foreign environment, and the first time he was away from his siblings.  At the time, I just fell so sorry for him, so I made Ben pull over.  I got him from the crate and held him in my lap the rest of the way home.  He was so nervous and scared, so I just cuddled him.  Cesar says this was wrong, but I regret nothing =P. He eventually settled down (it was a 45 minute ride), and went to sleep in my lap.

Here's some pictures from puppy's first night at home:

From the moment he arrived, we discovered that he is a snuggle bunny (puppy?). This will be hilarious when he is 95 lbs!

Such a wittle guy right now!

We are trying very hard to keep him off of the furniture. It's hard with him being such a snuggle buggle, but he seems content to sleep at our feet, which we love!

The next day was Monday, and I had a total meltdown of a day.  Because we got him on a whim, we didn't stop to consider our plans for the week.  I was supposed to go to my parents on Tuesday, while Ben traveled to Florida for a race car test.  I was going to stay there until Thursday.  We discovered how much like a newborn Kato really was, and finally determined it would be in his best interest if him & I stayed home.  I had a meltdown because I literally had NO idea what I was doing with this thing.  I have never had a dog in my life, (I know I know), and I literally couldn't fathom how I was going to make it through 3 days by myself with this puppy.  My dear husband and parents assured me that I most likely would not kill it, as long as I fed him, we'd be alright.  So that's what I did. For 3 days Kato and I hung out, and no one died.  I cried about once a day, out of sheer panic for what we have gotten ourselves into.  I wanted him to be potty trained, I wanted him to go in his crate and be content so I could go places, and I wanted him to stop biting when he was on my lap, but it occurred to me that puppy training can not be rushed.  It also occurred to me that I had to have patience.  Looking back on it almost a month later, I can safely say we have come a LONG way from those 3 days.  However, we were SO happy when Daddy came home on Thursday! Then the real training work could begin!

We tried our best to start on potty training, but I don't think we really made progress until Ben's mom arrived on Christmas Eve. Thank the LORD that she came when she did.  She knows what she is doing, (she's had a LOT of puppies in her life!), and without her guidance for 5 days, we wouldn't have made it.  She got Kato started on a potty schedule (every 30 minutes we have to take him out!). Christmas Day was fabulous because he got SO many toys....aka SO many things to chew on besides our feet and hands! Kato loved Christmas, and knew exactly which presents were his!

Our family stockings.

Kato going to town on his stocking. He didn't know what was in there but he knew it smelled good!

A few days after Christmas we had a huge weekend-long party. 23 people were in the house for 2 days, and Kato did amazing.  Again, I thank Ben's mom for this.  It would have been bad if she hadn't been here. She kept him on a leash while he was awake which was brilliant.  It kept him from going crazy and getting overwhelmed.  He slept a lot during the party, which was a miracle!

Since Christmas we have been working hard on a sleep schedule, potty schedule, and crate training.  All are going well.  At this point we are only getting up with him once in the night to potty. We take him out every 30 minutes while he is awake, and he cries very little when it's time to go in his crate.  

Side note: Potty training was going well until yesterday.  Sunday we got a foot of snow, and yesterday the wind chills were around -40 all day. Aka we can't take our little puppy (or ourselves) outside.  We've been trying for the last 2 days to make him pee pee on the puppy pads like he did when first got him, but I can tell he's confused. I just hope we can get back on our every 30 minute schedule in a day or 2. :-/ 

We have an adventure to my parents and Ben's parents coming up this weekend.  So there's 2 things we need to accomplish in the next 3 days....get back on the pottying outside program, and get used to the car.  We've gone on one 30 minute car ride in the crate, and we need to do it again,  for longer. The trip coming up is 3 hours. Luckily we plan on leaving (and coming back) when it is his usual nap time, (hence the consistent sleep schedule we have worked so hard for!) so hopefully he will just sleep the entire trip. It should be an adventure for sure.

Here's Kato last week at 10 weeks old:

 And today at 11 weeks old:

Here's a few more pictures.  Sometimes this puppy is SO naughty, (he likes to run away with our shoes, or sneak through the gate into the dining room, and he's still obsessed with chasing and eating our feet...and hands...and hair....), but when he looks at me like this, I melt. 

I mean..just look at this face. 

Note: When he is tired, he is very snuggly and nice to sit with. When he is wound up, watch out...he can be WILD.  I am anxiously awaiting bearable weather and his 4 month birthday (5 weeks to go!) when we can take him to the park and run him for a long long time. That way he won't be wild in the house. (Hopefully).  Cesar says "A tired dog is s good dog!" and it is absolutely true.

He loves this chicken. His other favorite toys are his "chewies" (bones), his zebra (which he likes to snuggle in his crate), and his tennis ball. His mouth is finally big enough so he can pick it up. We are learning to fetch! (Inside because it's winter...thank goodness our house is big enough and an open floor plan!)

Love this wittle guy!

Puppy's first ride in the car. He did alright, but we need some more practice!

Whaaat? Why can't I eat your face?

Kato LOVES his daddy.  

Overall, I would say puppy is doing well in his new home.  We absolutely adore him, and I think he is starting to like us too. We continue to work on being his pack leader, and I have hope he'll understand and become calm and submissive soon. For now, he's still our wild man.

That is all for today, Kato says night night, time for snuggles with my zebra!

Throwback Thursday...On Friday

I forgot to do a Throwback Thursday post yesterday, so I'll do one today. I like the idea of having a themed blog post for certain days of the week. I think it will keep me accountable, and help me be a better writer!

Today's Throwback Thursday (On Friday) is about our trip to Disney World back in the middle of October.  We actually decided to go on a whim, about a week before.  My parents were going anyways, (to see my sister who was working there), and had already decided on a condo.  The week they were going happened to be the week that Ben was off after the last race of the season, and it happened to be the week after my last day of work.  The timing was right, and I was ready to see my sissy, so we decided to go.

Day 1: Mom, Dad & I drove down early Sunday.  The night before we went to bed around...1 am, and ended up getting up at 4 to hit the road.  It was a long, long drive but totally worth it! Ben would be flying to meet us there on Tuesday.














We saw this super awesome trailer on the way down...I love Yuengling!


We got to our condo Sunday evening, after a rather uneventful trip.  Our condo backed right up to Morgan's apartment, which was neat.  We were able to walk down the sidewalk to meet her, and THAT was super exciting! We went up to see her place and chat a little bit.  To welcome us, Morgan gave us adorable baskets filled with Disney things....shirts, scarves, candy, a Mickey Mouse flipper, of course guide maps to all the parks, etc. It was all super cute, and we really appreciated it! Then she showed us our itinerary for the next day.  She wrote down everything we needed to see while Ben wasn't with us...mostly because he doesn't do roller coasters, so we needed to get those done. We went to dinner at a restaurant at the hotel that night, and went swimming in the awesome pool.  Then we headed for bed, we had a big day planned for Monday!

Day 2: We woke up bright and early to hit the parks! We went to Hollywood Studios first.  It was fantastic because not only did Morgan have the day off, (so she could be our tour guide!) we also had guest passes that we all got, for FREE.  They were park hopper too, so that was awesome.  The first thing we did in Hollywood Studios was get fast passes for Tower of Terror.  Then we rode Rockin Roller Coaster, something I've wanted to ride since I was in Hollywood Studios last, in 1999! It was AH-mazing.  I loved it.  

Ready to hit the parks!

My cute family 

Rockin Rollercoaster...it was definitely rockin!

After hitting a few more rides at Hollywood Studios, (including Tower of Terror....just as fantastic as last time I rode it!) we headed to Animal Kingdom.  We saw the Lion King, which was one of the greatest shows I've ever seen....we went on a safari, which blew my mind.  We were so CLOSE to the animals, and it was just so cool.  We went on Everest, watched monkeys play, and saw Finding Nemo: The Musical.  I had never been to Animal Kingdom, but I really liked it, and would definitely like to go back some day!  

The day still wasn't over after Animal Kingdom, we ended the day at Magic Kingdom, watching fireworks.  That was neat, but the crowds were pretty awful there. You couldn't really walk down Main Street. I think we just timed it wrong, because we got there right as the fireworks were starting. After fireworks, we headed back to the condo, and to bed!

Day 3: Dad & I started the day by picking up Ben at the airport! That was exciting.  After we picked up Ben, we grabbed everyone else and headed for Clearwater Beach.  My parents will be retiring in less than 10 years, so whenever they are in Florida they like to look at potential retirement places! We had a beautiful day in Clearwater, the weather was perfect, and it was nice to just relax and enjoy each other's company!

Day 4: On Wednesday, Morgan had to work.  This was okay because we wanted to see her in action! We started the day at Hollywood Studios.  We went on Star Tours, and the Great Movie Ride before it was time to go see her! She worked at the Backlot Tour, and it was SO cool to watch her do her thing.  She was definitely in her element! Plus, we got to sit VIP, which is always fun!

There she is! She was awesome at her job!

After we watched Morgan we got to sit VIP for the Lights, Motor, Action! Stunt Show and that was really really cool. I think Ben liked that best. =)

The set for the stunt show

After that, we headed to Epcot.  I LOVED Epcot. It was so much better than when I was a kid.  We went on a few things, (Mom & I thought we were gonna die on Mission to Mars!). I liked going in the ball again. That is one of the things that sticks out in my mind from when we went in 99, and it was just like I remembered it!  We went to the world showcase, which was absolutely awesome.  We happened to be there during the food & wine festival. This meant there were tons of little stands from every country you can imagine, selling their country's food and beverages.  Ben & I had ravioli from Italy (of course), and it was SO GOOD.  Real Italian food is just as great as I hoped it would be.  We split up from Mom & Dad after that, and made our way around to the different countries.  I had a little wine in Italy. Ben's favorite was Germany (which I thought was neat too), and of course my favorite was France.  It helped that Belle was there! 

I really really liked Epcot, if I haven't mentioned that yet.  I had Mexican for dinner, (shocker), and then we met up with Morgan, who was off work! We walked around with her some, and went on Test Track, (another one I remembered from childhood, but it was way different this time) and then watched fireworks.  After that it was off to Magic Kingdom again! We went on Space Mountain and a few other things. We shut Magic Kingdom down that night.  Another exhausting day, but it was a fun one!

Day 5: Morgan was off work, but we were a guest pass short.  (The day before Mom just bought a park hopper ticket so we could be together).  Mom decided to spend the day shopping, (the outlet malls are fantastic), and Dad, Morgan, Ben & I headed off to Magic Kingdom.  We did all the things we hadn't done, but you gotta do while you're there. We did the TomorrowLand Speedway and the Teacups, and ate some yummy sundaes.  The only downside to this day was the weather. It was overcast and just a little bit cold. Otherwise, it was a fun day!

That night we made dinner in the condo, and it was a hilarious dinner. I don't remember exactly why, but we were all just silly.  It was fun family memories for sure. :)

Day 6: The last day =( Morgan was working, so Ben & I shopped at the outlets.  We got a couple things, but I am still thinking about things I wish I would have bought while I was there. Oh well, not meant to be.  I did get my first big girl purse from Coach, which I love. Mom & I also went to Downtown Disney to shop.  My legs were aching by the time we got home! That night we had a lovely family dinner at Bahama Breeze.  It was a great way to cap off a wonderful trip!

Sister and I before the last supper.

That night we said goodbye to Morgan, which was really sad. We really had a great time in Disney World though, and those are amazing memories with each other that we will never forget! 

This trip just reminded me that time with family is so very important, and my family means more to me than anything else.  I love to travel with them and be with them.  I feel blessed that we all get along so well, and can stand to be around each other for a week, when there are so many families that can't.  Every night before bed I thank God for my family, my friends and Ben. You know that quote, "What if you woke up tomorrow with only the things you thanked God for yesterday?"  I always remember that. If I woke up tomorrow with only my family, my friends, and Ben, I would be perfectly happy.  Really, what else do I need?  

Okay enough sappiness.  Disney World rocked my socks. My family always rocks my socks.  That is all. =)