The Glamorous Life of a Hausfrau: May 2009

Friday, May 29, 2009

Well, That Was Interesting

Last night, I found myself here:

Amidst this sea of humanity. You see, I managed to find myself in possession of 2 tickets to see Keith Urban in Charleston for his new tour.

I'm not a fan of "new" or pop-country, really. However, I do love Johnny Cash, Patsy Cline and some other "old" country stars like them.

In fact, I had never heard a Keith Urban song in my life.

So, anyway, I made plans with a friend about a week prior. I didn't want to wait 'til the last minute. Unfortunately, she called 24 hours before the concert to tell me that her husband's grandmother (who had been sick and in the hospital all week) had taken a turn for the worst and she couldn't go.

I called everyone I knew and no dice. I even begged on Facebook.

I ended up taking Buddy rather than wasting the tickets. Besides, I just wanted to get out of the house for a while.

It was packed, as you can imagine. But, we got there early and found our seats, so I had reached a nice "comfort zone" by the time the opening band went on.

The opening band was the Zac Brown Band and they were alright. They did a few cover songs that I liked (i.e. was already familiar with) and then after a few minutes of stage rearranging, Keith Urban came out.

It was all very cool effects with the lighting and fog machines, etc. The crowd went wild. Buddy and I just sat in our seats with big eyes.

Now, I've been to plenty of concerts in my day, but this was a first for Buddy. Plus, it has been a really LONG time since my ass sat in those Civic Center seats.

It was very hazy from the fog machines (and I suspect from some people smoking - and not just cigs, if you catch my drift - even though smoking is prohibited) that it was very difficult to get any decent pictures.

We were also on the top level, but in the front row of that, so our seats were actually very good - we also had a monitor close by we could watch when the action on the stage was too confusing:

If you look to the right on the photo above, you can see Keith on the monitor. He changed positions a lot, so he was often closer to our side of the stage and at one point went out into the crowd where he performed a few songs on a different stage set up out there.

We only stayed for about half of his set or so. We wanted to beat the crowds out and it was getting late and it was still a school night, so we vamoosed early.

I must say that Keith plays more of a "rock" country vibe than the "pop" country that seems so popular these days. He is very talented - even if it isn't my favorite musical genre.

The highlights of the evening include a fight that broke out in between the sets - we got to see security haul one guy out. And, that was even before Keith took the stage!

The other highlight was this one guy - he was about 2 or 3 rows back from the main stage (so, right on the main floor). He stood the entire time and waved his cup of beer back and forth - for both the opening act and Keith Urban's set. That is, when he didn't have his wife/girlfriend in a headlock. I know you've seen the "headlock" maneuver where the guy puts his whole arm around his partner's neck with the elbow bent so the entire forearm is across her front neck/chest area.

If anyone did that to me, I'll elbow them in the ribs so hard, they wouldn't attempt it ever again.

Anyway, it was all very interesting and this morning, Buddy told me that he had fun and that the concert was very good. So, I guess that's successful? :-)

Thursday, May 28, 2009

Meatballs!

Every now and then, I have to whip up a batch (or make that a double batch) of my famous meatballs.

I always hate it when I look in the freezer and there are no meatballs. Because I make at least a double batch, it's a little time consuming, but it's also really very easy once you get started.

Here's the recipe. Feel free to snoop around over there while you're at it. I try to add new things as I can.

I get a little help from my friend:

I throw all the ingredients in the mixing bowl, use the flat beater attachment:

(only mine is silver).

Then, I have to physically shape the meatballs, which is not hard - but time consuming depending on how large of meatballs you like. If you want BIG meatballs, your work will be done in no time.

I like to do mine about an inch across and around. I put the mixture to what feels comfortable into my palm and then roll it into a ball.

Today, I did a double batch and ended up with 38 balls:

After 20 minutes in the oven, I carefully picked them off the foil liner and let them rest on some paper towel. I use SUPER lean ground beef, but the paper towel resting allows for any residual fatty stuff to disappear! No fat! Blech!

I use approximately 9 to 11 meatballs per spaghetti dinner (depending on how many each person wants) and I freeze the rest. These will last through at least 2 more dinners.

The thing I like most about doing this is that I know exactly what is in the ingredients. There are no fillers and no preservatives, nothing even remotely suspicious. I'm weird about food anyway and especially meat.

My homemade meatballs are totally safe - and DELICIOUS!

Wednesday, May 27, 2009

Out of Sorts

My anxiety is in overdrive and I've been feeling out of sorts for a few days now. Generally, I have no clue what brings on these "spells". But I think I have an inkling this time.

This end of the school year stress has been really overwhelming. It's just that they squeeze every last event in to the final days and when you add that to the EXTRA graduation activities, well, I just start to feel like I'll never get through it all.

Another big thing going on right now: we're changing banks. Not because we disliked our old bank, but the bank that holds our mortgage offered us a much better overall package. It seemed to make sense, but there are lots of little loose ends things that need to be in place before I can say this is a done deal and start fresh with the new bank.

Not to mention, learning a new format for online bill paying, etc. I'm sure it will be fine - the new banks' ways look much easier and much more streamlined, but it's just making sure everything is covered.

You know, things like making sure places we've set up our debit cards on hold when we need to use them (adding money to our pay as you go cell phones, for example) - all that stuff needs to be changed and that's just ONE example.

On Tuesday, Buddy came home with a paper stating that the boys needed to wear nice dress slacks and a shirt with a tie. Now, I could have sent him in his uniform, but those pants are looking a bit ratty by this time of the year. So, after the Evil Twin got home, we ran out to Kmart and purchased some khaki pants. He'll wear a white button down oxford that is already in his closet, his school tie, navy socks and his dress shoes.

Then, they need to change into their class shirt (special shirts ordered by their teacher early in the year, stating that they are 2009 graduates of their school - they're very nice looking), jeans or shorts, socks and tennis shoes for their field trip to Camden Park. They also need a watch, because the teacher has them all meet up with her every hour. So, we bought Buddy an inexpensive, but cool looking, watch too.

I love being given all that heads up on things that are necessary!

And now, maybe you can see why I'm ready for summer to begin...even if I know by the end, I'll be ready to pull my hair out! LOL.

I'm taking my good camera to the graduation, so maybe I'll have some fun shots to share with you all tomorrow!

Tuesday, May 26, 2009

Down to the Wire

Buddy only has a few days of school left.

On Wednesday, it's the 5th grade graduation, then they take a field trip to Camden Park, which is a local amusement park - it's about an hour from us. It has been there about forever ago - and still has many of the same rides it seems! LOL.

They'll be there all day.

Then, we have a breakfast at Shoney's on June 1 (Monday morning). Shoney's is a restaurant/buffet place. The breakfast buffet there is actually quite tasty. The rest of Monday is "Track and Field" day - basically, it's a day of little competitions like running races, and getting ribbons.

Then, Tuesday June 2 is the school picnic and that's that.

We have a private pool that is about a half a mile from our house and we've joined that again this year. Both kids really enjoy hanging out there.

I'm actually kind of looking forward to the change of pace.

That is, if the kids don't drive me nuts all summer! ;-)

Monday, May 25, 2009

Holiday

It's a holiday day today in the US - Memorial Day. A day when we remember our fellow Americans who are in the military or have served in the military and served for our freedom.

Of course, my 3 year old daughter has no working knowledge of the holiday and woke up extra early this morning.

The Evil Twin has a day off work and Buddy has no school, so I was looking forward to a day of sleeping in just a little bit.

I was rudley awoken, but fabulously molested, at some point in the middle of the night. And, Sissy has no regard for that fact or the fact that I stayed up too late ~~doing laundry~~ drinking too much.

So, instead of sleeping in to honor our service members, past and present, I am up at the glorious hour of 7:15, which is only 45 minutes later than I normally sleep.

I think I'll try to snatch a hammock nap later on.

Speaking of later, we're doing the traditional American thing and grilling steaks. We'll also have corn and baked potatoes.

Before I go, I want to thank all of my glamorous readers for the wonderful comments on the gardening post. I received loads of really great advice! Even one piece of advice from an anonymous commenter about getting another pepper plant for cross-pollination, which was an excellent idea and duly noted - I now have 2 tomato plants, 2 pepper plants, 2 pansies and a hanging Hindu rope plant!

I also want to send a shout out to Leighmo for her great tips as well! Check her out. She may well have saved a few plants' lives with her advice! :-)

So, remember to thank your service members/veterans today. The Evil Twin is a former Air Force member, so I can just hug him all day. He never served war time, but he almost did. He was near the end of his 4 years of active duty when the first Gulf War started. He was given the option to re-enlist or separate. Since his ~~ugly whore~~ first wife had already left, he decided to join her ~~smelly twat~~ .

But, in the end, it means he moved back to the place I lived and we eventually met through a mutual friend. So, it's all good.

Have a great day!

Friday, May 22, 2009

Mama's New Victims

As the weather (finally! What took so long???) gets warmer, I have been dreaming of the flowers or vegetables I will plant this year.

In other words, who will be my newest victims?

I manage to kill off most everything.

I chose 2 tomato plants:

This is one of them. Pay no mind to the hoardes of weeds nearby. I have a plan for that crap, I just need time to implement it.

I also bought a bell pepper plant. I've never done one of these before, so it's planted and we're just hoping for the best (or not).

We'll have to wait -n- see on that one.

I'm not into these plants to try to shield us from the freaking Rapture or whatnot, I'm just curious.

I had ONE tomato plant last season and it did OK. The tomatoes were not as big as I would have liked, but they were passable and edible.

Last year, I used spikes. This year, I plan on caging them. The pepper plant? No clue. That's this summer's experiment.

He may have to give his life for my knowledge.

So sad!

I also bought a hanging potted plant that I just found interesting. No clue what it is, but it seems to be holding up to my cruel standards:

It's interesting, to say the least.

Side note: I found the tag that it came with. It says it's a "Hoya carnosa compacta" or just "Hoya" plant. Also known as a Hindu rope plant!

I also have a couple of pansies in the same area, but further towards the sunny spots.

I hope they make it, too!

It might help if I get out to water them on occasion. So far, it's been the Evil Twin and Sissy doing the watering after dinner.

Well, if the family will enjoy the bounty, it's only fair that the family shares the burden, right?? ;-)

Thursday, May 21, 2009

New Toys

My cell phone is on it's last legs with the battery. It's just not holding a charge like it used to.

So, I ordered a new phone.

You can read more about it here.

I also got my drink on the other night and ordered a GPS, because after JFab loaned us hers for our trip to Disney, we really fell in love with the thing:

Here's the link to learn more about the unit I purchased: Garmin GPS

As you can see, both offer the Bluetooth technology, so I'm hoping I can figure out how to use the phone and GPS together, for hands free talking. I don't get many calls on my cell phone, but they always seem to be at the most inopportune time while I am driving, then I'm fishing around in my purse to try to locate it, swerving all over the place, etc.

This should be much easier... IF I can get it to work! LOL.

I plan on keeping my old phone number and moving it to the new phone, getting a new number for the old phone and passing that phone onto Buddy. He'll just have to charge it more often than a new one. In a few months, we'll see how it's going and get him a new model. Really, at the Virgin Mobile store, you can find nice phones for as little as $9.99 and the prepaid plans are very good and affordable... This works for us, since we still have our land line and use our cells very sparingly.

I love getting new gadgets! The phone is scheduled to arrive today and the GPS tomorrow, so I can spend my long weekend becoming acquainted with my new schtuff.

It's a beautiful day here today and I have nothing on my schedule, so I'm catching up on housework. You know, I like to do laundry late at night when I am alone and can get it all dried, folded and put away on my own. But, it's difficult to wash the kids' sheets if I stick to that late night schedule.

So, Sissy's bed linens are in the wash as we speak. I think she was a little bothered that I was "messing" up her big girl bed, but I had to explain that the sheets need a washing and they'd be ready to put back on her bed today - but all nice and clean and smelling fresh (I use liquid Tide detergent - only - and the generic store brand fabric sheets in the dryer. My stuff always smells SO nice!)

Oh! And I have to give a shout out to a friend who has a birthday today. He doesn't have a blog and I doubt that he even reads this one, but he's a special guy. In fact, we gave Buddy this friends middle name as Buddy's middle name: Vincent. Well, after our friend and the Evil Twin loves Vincent Price, so it was a double vote of "yae" on that name.

Plus which, we were then set up to give Sissy a V middle name as well and settled on Vivian - my all time FAVE V girls name and it reminds me of Vyvyan from the British TV show - Young Ones. Even though that Vyv is a guy. The British tend to regard Vivian as a gender neutral name. Vyv from the Young Ones, Vivian Stanshall from the Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band... Well, really, those are the only two I can think of. And Vivian Stanshall's given name was Victor (another good V name). If Sissy had been a Buddy #2, her middle name would have been either Victor or Chaney (from Lon Chaney, Sr.)

Can you tell the Evil Twin is really, really into the Universal monsters?

Okay, enough rambling! I hope I included enough to impress my readers from Europe and the land of Oz enough, too! :-)

Wednesday, May 20, 2009

Testing

A friend of mine recently went to see her primary care physician for a yearly check-up and since she is not me and some people read this blog who actually know me and therefore, might also know her, I am not going to divulge the specifics or her name.

That would be her story to tell.

Before she left her appointment, her doctor handed her an at home kit. A screening test for Fecal Occult Blood. Whatever that means... Bleh!

It came with it's own little biohazard packaging:

I couldn't get a decent picture of the outside of the packaging, but it boasts the contents as:
3 Slides
3 Collection Tissues
3 Applicator Sticks
1 Postal Service Approved Mailing Envelope
and
Complete Patient Instructions for use.

The three slides look like this:

As you can see, there are two little windows on each of the top two "slides".

I'll talk more about those little windows later.

Then, we have the "collection tissues". They're thicker than a regular tissue, but not as thick as a paper towel. In fact, I likened them to onion paper - then I noticed the water mark, which said, "Onion Skin".

The testee is supposed to float one of the three onion skin papers in the toilet and then take a dump on it.

After that, the testee should use one of the three applicator sticks to get a small poo sample on one end of the stick and smear it on the first of the two little windows of the "slide".

Then, the instructions advise to get another sample from a different portion of the poo log for the other window. Then, flush the whole ordeal (except the stick, of course).

The testee should repeat the previous actions for the next three poops.

Now, what in the HELL is the person supposed to do with their "slide" collection in between poops?

That is just nasty!

At any rate, when finished, the slide sample can be dropped off back at the physician's office or mailed in the special packaging.

By donating this little nightmare to me, I think you can see that my friend had already opted to NOT play "smear the poo" for herself. Frankly, I don't think I would either!

Tuesday, May 19, 2009

Wild, Wonderful.... Winter? (Updated!)

It's May. The pool will be open in just a couple of weeks. And, I wake up to an outdoor temperature of 35 degrees? WTH?

I have noticed that my morning motivation is directly related to the temperature outdoors. Why?

Well, because when I wake up, if it is decent outside, the house is comfortable inside. If it's cold outside, it's cooler inside, too. I currently have the flipping HEAT on inside to take the chill off the air.

I'm in no hurry to get undressed for a shower and I need to get a shower before I get motivated to start my day.

I'm going to set this to auto post in a few minutes and then come back to update it. Blogger is having fits again this morning (must be the weather) and won't let me add links or anything and there are a few things I need to get in here.... Be back in a bit!

I wanted to add a blog I omitted yesterday. It was very late when I was working on that post and I forgot a really good one - it's new to me.

Powdergirl

She is funny, smart and I bet if you crossed her, she would have no problem ripping off your own arm and beating you to death with it! A girl after my own heart, really. :-)

Also, the Blonde Goddess celebrates her birthday today, so go on over and wish her a happy one!

This must have been a popular day back in the mid to late 60s because I had four friends on Facebook who have a birthday today. I guess there were a cold bunch of Februarys around that time. LOL.

Monday, May 18, 2009

Work in Progress - An Award!

I was be-gifted with a sweet award from Buzzardbilly. I was also picked for this award by Ron! I'm so honored!

It's such a wonderful award:

The Bella Rules:

1) Accept the award, post it on your blog together with the name of the person who has granted the award, and his or her blog link.
2) Pass the award to 15 other blogs that you've newly discovered. Remember to contact the bloggers to let them know they have been chosen for this award.

Like the rebel I am, I won't contact anyone. I figure if you read my blog, you'll swing by eventually and see that you've won.

I have plenty of newly discovered blogs that I am happy to highlight and in no particular order:

1. Natalie from Musings From The Deep

2. They Are Just Words

3. Jan at Jan's Place.

4. Tamis - from A Day in The Life

5. Michelle - from The Truth as I Know It.

6. Lisa from Transcript of a Significant Life

7. Jen - from One Day at a Time.

8. Lisha at Everyday Life With a Smile.

9. LoveLladro from If This is Therapy

10. It's Me Penelope

11. Dana at Amid Life's Crises

12. Real Live Lesbian

13. CuteEllaisBold

14. JFab

and

15. Elle

The last two aren't "new" to me, but they deserve the recognition and they should be new to you, if you know what's good for you!

So, there you have it, the Evil Twin's Wife actually picked recipients of an award. That's something I never do.

Happy Monday, dudes.

Friday, May 15, 2009

My Box o Hooch is Greener Than Your Bottles

That's right - sure, I swill cheap boxed wine like a hobo, but did you know by doing so, I lessen my "carbon footprint" on this old earth (not that I really believe any of that hooey, but I think it's funny).

Yes, it's TRUE! Check out my box:

I know it's not the best picture, but it's the best I could do.

I also tried to play around with ideas for HNT (half naked Thursdays), but really wasn't getting anything worth sharing. I may have to get out the big guns (the digital SLR camera, tripod and remote control device), so I have more flexibility to get the shots I want on my own.

I would ask the Evil Twin to help, but he is reluctant to take direction from me when it comes to photography. So, I end up doing it myself. Sure, I might take 75 shots just to get the one I want, but ultimately, I'm pleased with the results.

See how hard I work for you readers? I figure I even have my fair share of lurkers who never ever comment. If you read my stuff here and are too shy to comment publicly, you can always email me at eviltwinswife at gmail (dot)com.

And, as you all know, any of you can use the comments or that email address to ask me anything. I'll answer anything.

Also, I received an award from Buzzardbilly. In order to accept the award, I'm going to have to put some time into gathering the info for that post, so it might take a few days.

Sure, it's easy to throw a picture or two on here and perhaps a couple of links, but if it's any more involved than that, it can take some time on my part.

In my sinus infection news: The Z-pack (antibiotic) seems to be helping already. The liquid codeine has been really great, but it's been kicking my butt - in the sense that it's making me VERY drowsy. Like, all I want to do is just kick back with my eyes shut - not necessarily sleeping, mind you, but just relax and not have to hold my eyes open. Weird.

Makes for some interesting driving.

And now, I must ruin the good I'm doing to the environment by drinking boxed wine and waste lots of water showering and brushing my teeth. Not to mention how many times I flush the toilet from peeing whilst drinking all that wine to begin with!

Happy Friday, my Bewbie Babies!

Thursday, May 14, 2009

More Pics

On Tuesday, May 5, we went to Disney Hollywood Studios. This was a tough park to tour, because there are lots of shows that have specific times, which means you can just walk on and do whatever it is.

So, we rode all the rides we wanted to early on. The Evil Twin and Buddy rode Aerosmith's Rock n Roller Coaster:

I'm not a coaster person, so Sissy and I sat and waited for them. Later, Buddy and I rode the Tower of Terror! It was VERY scary, but VERY fun. We were screaming while we experienced it, but laughed when we were leaving!

We also went on the Studio Backlot Tour, and saw lots of really cool things. One thing was this water tower:

The people at Disney call it the "Earful Tower". Of course!

We ate at Sci Fi Dine In that evening:

This picture had the Evil Twin and both children sitting in front of it. I had him photoshop the family out! Cool, huh?

The food was great and it was a really neat experience too.

On Thursday, we went to Animal Kingdom. Each morning, the parks would have some sort of little opening skit to welcome visitors to the park.

My friend, Sarah, wanted me to get a picture of Goofy and this is the only time I saw him around where I could get a picture:

I'm meeting a friend for lunch today, so I must go and get myself ready for the day.

It's almost Friday! It would be nice if we had some sunshine this weekend. We shall see....

Wednesday, May 13, 2009

Some Disney Junk

OK, we started out at Epcot on Monday morning (5/4). Thanks to subscribing to Tour Guide Mike's site, we were able to ride all the rides and see all the attractions we had on our list very early on and most were without waits. I think the longest stand by wait we had the entire week was about 15 minutes. It rocked.

At Epcot, our dinner that evening was at the Garden Grill. The food was excellent and we had various characters dropping by: Farmer Mickey, Pluto, Chip and Dale!

Here is me and Mickey!

I know... I'm all sweaty and gross looking, but it was HOTTER THAN HADES in Florida. In fact, it was unseasonably warm. We came home to WV and we are currently freezing our buns off! (It's really unseasonably cool here for this time of year!).

We just can't win!

In other news, I went to my primary care doctor yesterday (Tuesday) and he did give me prescriptions for a Z-pack (antibiotic) and the wonderful liquid codeine. But, this time is different from the last - the liquid stuff used to be tasty. Now, it's bitter and yucky, but seems to be working well.

I should be on my way to feeling awesome in a day or two! Yay!

Oh, wait... one more pic I want to share:

Good gracious. That's the girls in my swim suit top. It wasn't taken at Disney - it was one from last night. Give me enough codeine and wine and really? Who knows what you all will see.

Monday, May 11, 2009

Playing Catch Up

I'm trying to "catch up" on all the blogs I read. I'm reading and commenting on the last thing posted, but scrolling back to read stuff from last week as well, so it's taking me a while.

Add to that: This sinus infection is making me feel like crud. I'm so glad I'll be seeing my regular family physician today! He knows that at least once (if not twice) a year, I tend to get these sinus/upper respiratory infections and he'll give me a z pack and possibly some liquid codeine for the cough. Sweet, sweet codeine.

I feel sorry for the Evil Twin. He's allergic to it, as is the rest of his family. It makes them violently ill, but it makes ME feel so much better - and quiets my cough.

I was going to post a pic or two of Disney, but Blogger is giving me fits this AM. I'll try to add some later. Maybe after I get home from the doctor's office.

Happy Tuesday! :-)

Home Again, Home Again

The Evil Twin drove ALL day - from 9:30 AM to 11:30 PM on Saturday to get us home in one day. And, I'm so happy to be home! It's nice to be back to our own home and our own beds and our own kitchen, etc.

We totally relied on the loaner GPS from JFab for the trip home and it was AWESOME! (thanks again, sweetie!).

I thought I had typed up something for Friday morning, but I guess the fact that my feet were killing me and I had some sleep deprivation going on there toward the end, I must have just hallucinated that bit.

As I said in the Animal Kingdom post, we went to the Magic Kingdom for a bit Friday morning, had lunch there and went back to our resort. We then took the ferry to Downtown Disney and grabbed a bus from there to the Wilderness Lodge resort. That's where we had dinner that evening (Whispering Canyon Cafe), then took the bus back to Downtown Disney, shopped a bit, then took the ferry back to Riverside.

So, our last full day of Disney was fun. It was all very exhausting though. And, they apparently are experiencing record high temps this year, so every day was hot. I don't mind the hot, but you mix that in with just wall to wall bodies (people) and it gets uncomfortable fast.

From what I've heard from others who have been there this time of year in previous years, the crowds were about the average. To me, I thought it was too crowded. Then again, I'm not a "crowd" type of person.

About the whole ordeal, I will just say this: Been there, done that, didn't buy the T-Shirt (although the Evil Twin and each child did get a shirt - I don't wear logo type clothing).

I brought home a sinus infection. Those hotel air conditioning units really wreak havoc with my sinuses. Luckily, I have an appointment to see my primary care doctor on Tuesday - I made the appointment months ago, as a follow up appointment, so hopefully, I'll leave there with a prescription for antibiotics.

I spent my Mother's Day doing laundry and emptying suitcases, getting everything back in order. You know how it goes...

I have my yearly "female" check up at 11 am today, my primary care physician appointment at 11 am tomorrow and Wednesday, I plan to just REST. The Evil Twin took both Monday and Tuesday off work, so he'll be here to hang out with Sissy while I see two-thirds of my main physicians. We also need to pick up our mail that I had held at the PO while we were away.

Now, I'm on to catch up to ALL my faithful commenters and favorite blogs....I promise I will check in with each and every one of you over the next two days!

It's SO good to be home! :-)

And, one more thing: a belated Happy Mother's Day to all my readers. Whether you are the mom of two legged critters or four legged critters or both, I hope you enjoyed your day!

We hit the Magic Kingdom super early on Wednesday AM. In fact, we got there nearly an hour before the 9 AM opening time. So, we were very close up in front of the crowd to being one of the first few through the gates!

We skipped Dumbo, but rode Peter Pan's Flight, the Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, Mickey's Philharmagic, it's a small world - all in a row in Fantasyland. Then, we did the Haunted Mansion in Liberty Square, took a detour to Frontierland, had a quick lunch at Peco's Bill's (very good for fast food type food), grabbed fast passes for Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, and moved on to Adventureland to ride Pirates of the Caribbean. The Jungle Cruise was a 30 minute stand by so we bypassed that for the time being and headed to Tommorowland. We checked out the Monsters, Inc. Laugh Floor, which was literally a scream (in the funny way) and the Evil Twin and Buddy did Stitch's Great Escape.

By this time (almost noon), it was time to go back to Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, so we headed back over there. Buddy and the Evil Twin rode it twice (I got 4 fast passes since there are four of us, even though Sissy is too small to ride some of the rides...it gives Buddy the option of riding twice or we would give the second set away to someone else - so far, he has wanted to ride twice for everything!).

At some point, we passed back by the Jungle Cruise and the stand by line was down to a 20 minute wait, so we decided to do that. Afterwards, we had some refreshing snacks and just chilled for a bit in a shady area near Tomorrowland.

The guys (Buddy and the Evil Twin) rode the Indy Speedway, and then we did some shopping on Main Street (Sissy got a shirt - everyone else, except picky me, already had bought a souvenir shirt).

Then we went to Mickey's Toontown Fair and took the railroad trip around the park.

Finally, it was time to board the monorail and head on to the Contemporary resort to have dinner at Chef Mickey's! That was fun. It's a buffet, but the food is very good and Mickey, Minnie, Pluto, and Donald Duck all make appearances at each table. Sissy loved seeing them all.

I was a bit worn out by that time, though. It's tough to deal with other people's children.

Sure, mine have melt downs and bad moods, but what I saw at dinner was unreal. If our children are small enough to need highchairs/booster seats, then they remain in them for the entire meal. There is no point when either of our children are given license to just roam about a restaurant.

Apparently, no one clued in the parents we encountered at Chef Mickey's.

What I loved best about the whole she-bang was that the parents of the said children obviously thought that whatever their little dumplin' was doing was cute as all get out. Note to clueless parents: Your dumplin' is a brat. You cannot "reason" with a 4 year old.

And also? If your very young toddler (barely over a year or so) is terrified of the big characters, do not attempt to repeatedly force her to deal with them.

So: Chef Mickey's - the food was good, the overall experience sucked thanks to not one, not two, or even three spineless parents. It was a rampant disease.

What's all this about Swine Flu? Reporters should focus on Whine Flu.

Whine Flu has also stricken my whole family. If I knew any more ungrateful people, I'd probably have hung myself long ago.

Since day one, I've been met with not only opposition, but open hostility. It's really been a learning experience for me.

Here, I wanted to give my family and especially the kids a really magical, fun trip. Instead, it has been a struggle.

I hereby resign as vacation planner, and in fact, I resign from any and all vacations from now on. If anyone wants a week at the beach whereby they sleep half the day away in a strange bed, then fine. I won't be there to remind them to stay in budget, so they should have a fabulous time.

One more day - it's Animal Kingdom day. Let's see if this gets any better (I doubt it).