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December 8, 2014

New Design + Thanksgiving (part 1)

Happy Monday!!

Maybe you notice the updated blog design – I got tired of messing with my own design and my navigation bar continued to not work, so I buckled down and bought a fairly inexpensive design that was super easy to put together!  Etsy is great for finding pre-made blog templates for those of you looking!  I’m excited to be back up and running.  I was having a lot of issues around Thanksgiving with the blog, so I ended up not posting or re-capping at all, but Thanksgiving was a wonderful time had by all.

First, my weekend was pretty basic.  Didn’t have a lot of plans, did a lot of cleaning and rearranging, got the spare room ready for my sisters to come to town next weekend, did an 8 mile run (it was supposed to be 10), had coffee with a friend, and went to Whole Foods!  My marathon training is going…. okay.  I’m just a couple miles behind on my long runs, but I’m feeling stronger and more confident.  I really need to focus on strength training – it’s be lacking.  I also need to focus on being more active in the evenings.  I do my runs like I should, but I also spend a lot of time watching TV or messing with the computer.  Running, but then leading a sedentary life style is not going to cut it!

Breakfast this morning was delicious toast with peanut butter, banana, honey, and cinnamon along with a comforting cup of french vanilla coffee.

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Now for my very late Thanksgiving Re-cap (Part 1)

Nick and I arrived to Gainesville later in the day on Tuesday before Thanksgiving.  When we got there, his siblings weren’t at the house, but we spent some time with Kathryn & Nick’s dad until they arrived.  Nick and his siblings were so excited to spend some quality time together so naturally we had a late night planned.  A good many strenuous games of Jenga ensued!

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We finally headed off to bed only so we could wake up really early for our day at Disney!  We left the house around 6am and got there in time for opening at Epcot.  We definitely picked the wrong line to stand in because the people in front of us had NO CLUE what finger they used for their magic band.I kid you not…. the guy asked him, “What finger did you use the first time you scanned your magic band?”  The guy said, “This one” and held it up.  The cast member replied, “Ok, use that finger.” and then the not so smart person in front of my proceeded to use a DIFFERENT finger.  I didn’t get it, but finally Nick and I made it in line for Soarin’.  Soarin’ is one of our favorite rides!  After Soarin’, we decided to have breakfast in The Land.

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I ordered the eggs, hashbrowns, french toast, and biscuit platter.  It came with sausage & bacon, but I passed that along to Nick.  The hashbrowns were absolutely delicious!  So much flavor to them.  The rest of it was pretty basic, but still very good & satisfying.

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Nick ordered a breakfast Panini that came with eggs, ham, and some other stuff.  He thought it was really good.  He made a comment about how there are good & bad things to me not eating meat… The good is that he gets the meat that I don’t want (i.e. the bacon & sausage), the bad is that when he tries something so delicious, he wants me to experience it as well, but I won’t eat it.  That’s what he said about the Panini.  He really wanted me to try it, but I couldn’t.  He also likes how me not eating meat helps incorporate more vegetarian dishes into his life though.  There are definitely some give & takes when you’re with a non-meat eater, but then again… that’s with any relationship!

After breakfast, we went and did Figment & Captain EO.  We had never done Captain EO before, but It turned out really good.  Not gonna lie, it was kind of nice seeing Michael Jackson performing.  Around this time, we were ready to walk around the world.  I was able to purchase my dad’s Christmas gift while there and I also grabbed some German chocolate for us all to share when we got back to Gainesville.  It was a little chilly, so we grabbed some warm Apple Cider while we looked around.

Our next stop was Animal Kingdom, but unfortunately it was SO CROWDED!  Ridiculously crowded in my opinion…  we didn’t ride a single ride while we were at Animal Kingdom.  We did manage to get a vegan donut, my favorite!

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After that, we decided to head home a little early so we could spend some more time with Nick’s siblings before they headed out of town the next day.  We enjoyed our day at Disney, but I’m so thankful we chose to head back because we had such a wonderful evening together.  On the way back to Gainesville, we saw the coolest sunset.

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I’ll recap part 2 later, for now I need to get ready for work.  If you’re interested in reading about any other of my Disney adventures, then check those out here!

Have a great week and I’ll talk to y’all soon!

Filed Under: Disney, Family, Food, Nick, Travel Tagged With: bacon, coffee, Disney, epcot, food, gainesville, vegetarian Leave a Comment

July 17, 2014

Fresh Water Pearl – Japan at Disney World

Nick and I went to Disney World for 4th of July Weekend, Here’s the re-cap in case you missed it:

  • Independence Day 2014 Weekend

Ever since I was in the College Program at Disney World, I’ve wanted a Fresh Water Pearl from Japan at Epcot!  I never got one because (1) I was afraid it’d be too expensive (2) It was way too busy or (3) I’m ridiculously indecisive.  Every time my roommates and I would go to Epcot, I absolutely loved going to Japan!  It’s my favorite place to browse in Epcot and I would always stop and watch others open their oysters and receive their pearls!  Once I left the College Program, I never failed to mention it on every trip back – this trip over the 4th of July weekend was no exception!

open-oyster

The conversation went something like this…

Me: I think I’m going to get a Fresh Water Pearl this time!

Nick: Oh good, you always say you want one

Me: Yeah… but then again, I don’t know if I should spend the money

Nick: Heather, you say you want this every single time you come, you should get it!

We get to Japan.

Me: Let me ask how much it is

Sweet Japan Man: $17 for pearl, then you can pick your setting.

Me: Oh ok, let me look around and think about it

Walk around the store a little bit

Me: I kind of like this (a purse, some chopsticks…. whatever!), Maybe I should get this.

Nick: No, go get your pearl.  You’ve always wanted one!

Me: Well okay then!

I got all giddy inside and was really excited when I finally decided I would purchase my own pearl.  I knew I wanted a pearl ring, and I honestly liked the simple look of their cheapest setting, so being the frugal one that I am, that’s what I went with!  Pearl – $17    Ring Setting – $35

The process was a lot of fun and very easy.  They give you a numbered card and when your number is called, you get to pick your oyster from the fresh water.  Being that I’m indecisive, this process caused me a little bit of anxiety at the time.  I finally picked the oyster I wanted though.  Then the super excited Japanese girl teaches you how to count 1, 2, and 3 [Sun, Knee, Itchy].  Then she cracks open the oyster and seeks out the pearl.  They say that the average size is 6.5!  She started measuring mine and it went all the way up to 7.5! [In all honesty though, I saw quite a few pearls opened and all of them were bigger than 6.5]  Then she goes on her drum to let everyone know that you got a large pearl!

fresh-water-pearl

I then went and picked out my ring setting and was told it would be ready in an hour!  At this point, Nick and I had to take a picture with Minnie & Pluto (I get a free 5×7 with the Chase Disney Visa Credit Card I have) and then we came back to pick up my ring!

I originally purchased it to go on my right ring finger, but my fingers were a little swollen from the humidity that day and I accidentally got it one 1/2 size too big for that finger, so now I wear it on my left pointer finger.  I got it as a size 4.5, but I need a size 4.  Nick’s sister-in-law, Kathryn, thought that was insane!  I’ve always had really small fingers though, even after popping them practically my whole life!   Having recently worked at a jewelry store this past Christmas season, I know I can get “speed bumps” to tighten my ring which I think I’ll do at some point so I can wear it on my right ring finger again!

right-ring-finger

left-pointer-finger

I’m absolutely in love with this ring and it will always remind me of the most perfect day Nick and I had at Disney!

  • Have you gotten a fresh water pearl ring before?  Where at?
  • Are you like me about purchasing things for yourself?  I have a hard time buying something unless I know I really want it or really like it!  This makes me very indecisive sometimes.

Filed Under: Disney, Nick Tagged With: Disney, Disney College Program, epcot, Japan, pearl 3 Comments

July 8, 2014

I high-fived a Tumble Monkey!

You are in for one heck of a Disney re-cap, so buckle up!

Not only did Nick & I travel to Gainesville to visit his brother and sister-in-law, but we also made our way to Disney on Saturday!  Since the trip down is only about 2 hours, it was the obvious choice.  I’m sure by now, most of you are aware that we know how to squeeze as much as possible into a Disney trip!  This past Saturday was NO exception!

We woke up around 5:45am so we could be out the door by 6:15am.

We stopped for gas and some McDonald’s breakfast (My first choice was Starbucks, but they weren’t quite open yet).  I ordered a egg & cheese bagel.  The guy in the back thought I wanted chicken on it and I saw him actually place the chicken ON MY BAGEL, then take the chicken off my bagel, wrap it up and give it to me.  Although that was frustrating, I don’t want to waste food, so I ate it – I was just annoyed.  Some of you may not understand why that is, but if you’re a vegetarian, then I’m sure you get it.

Anyways… onward and downward toward Orlando we went!

We arrived at around 8:30am and it seemed a lot more crowded than I originally anticipated at that time, but we hustled through the crowd, go our bags checked, and scanned our Magic Bands.

MAGIC KINGDOM

Magic Kingdom was our first stop for the day.  They always do a spectacular opening show in the morning and Nick had never seen it, nor had heard that it existed, so he was pretty excited about that!

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The characters rode out on the train to wave us all in.  Anna & Elsa were there!

The second we got in the park, we ran to the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train!! It wasn’t open when we visited in May, so we were both really excited about finally riding it!  It wasn’t a big thrill, but it was a lot of fun and the animation was superb!  At this point, I expect nothing less of Disney.  Somehow our timing throughout the entire day was spot on!  They did open the park about 10 minutes early though.  We were out of the mine train by 9:10!  We were on our way to Splash Mountain when I saw the Peter Pan ride.  I’ve only been on it once or twice, but I remember loving the animation in it and you literally feel like you’re flying in the clouds above the rest of the world.  We hopped in since it wasn’t even a 10 minute wait.  Nick didn’t remember riding it before, so I’m really glad we decided too because he enjoyed it a lot!

We finally made our way to Splash and waited maybe 5 minutes.  After Splash Mountain, we hit up Big Thunder Mountain Railroad.  The wait time said 20 minutes, but we literally walked straight onto the ride.  Like I said, our timing was spot on.  What we assumed happened (after seeing a thousand little 15 year old international kids) was that they all went on Thunder Mountain first, while we were on Splash.  They increased the wait time to 20 minutes.  They all finished as we were walking to Thunder and headed to Splash.  Basically we bypassed all of them which was awesome because honestly… those tour groups from overseas are my worst nightmare at Disney.  That’s another story, for another day from my Housekeeping Days at Disney!

Once we finished Thunder, we ran to the other side of the park – Tomorrow Land!  We wanted to ride Space Mountain since it was still pretty early.  Unfortunately, we had a bit of a wait, but it’s not so bad because they have games throughout the entire line.  I got front seat and that spot can be scary!  I felt like I wasn’t really sure if we were going to run into something the entire ride.  If you’ve ridden Space Mountain then you know it’s pitch black!

We were going to ride the People Mover until we learned that it was closed for refurbishment.  That’s one of our favorite rides, so I look forward to seeing what they change!

We stopped for lunch at Cosmic Ray’s Café in Tomorrow Land.  Nick got the burger & fries.  I munched on some of our snacks and nibbled on some fries w/ ketchup.

At this point, we decided our time at Magic Kingdom was over and we were ready to head out to Animal Kingdom!

ANIMAL KINGDOM

I had been looking forward to Animal Kingdom ALL WEEK!  My absolutely favorite thing is the Festival of the Lion.  When we were there in May, it had been closed for refurbishment.  They were moving locations.  I wasn’t sure if it was opened back up yet until my friend David told me it was!

Our first stop was Mount Everest though which is my favorite ride.  We always do single-rider because there is barely a wait time.  You could stand in line for 50 minutes the regular way, but it took us about 10min. to do single-rider.  After that, we headed for the Festival of the Lion King show.  We waited in line about 30 minutes, but I was fine with that – we got great seats!   The show was absolutely spectacular (as usual).

I have this list of Disney Experiences/Memories I want at some point during my life.  One of those is to be the person they choose for the start of the show.  I haven’t made it there yet, but one day it’s happening because I’m practically a Festival of the Lion SUPERFAN!  Although that memory didn’t make it this go round, I was able to experience the greatest memory I’ve had to date at Disney.

Have you seen or heard of the Tumble Monkeys?  They’re my favorite part of the show!  Okay, that’s probably a lie… the entire show is my favorite part of the show.  Check out a video of the tumble monkey’s from my trip back in November for the Wine & Dine.

So back to my now greatest Disney memory…. A Tumble Monkey, who we have now established is the coolest thing in the world, hopped up to our seats and HIGH-FIVED US!!!! I didn’t see him coming, but he popped up, I literally SCREAMED, “OMG, YES!!!!!!!” and gave him the biggest and best high five of my entire life!  My entire day was made!  They’re like celebrities to me.  It was epic!

So after that, we did Primeval Whirl and then treated ourselves to a Vegan Donut (which is delicious!) and my fave – Mickey Pretzel w/ Cheese!

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We wanted to do Kali River Rapids, but decided the wait time wasn’t worth it.  Before we headed on to the next park, I knew I wanted to visit my old Disney Roomie, Nicolina.  She’s doing a Professional Internship at Disney right now and I hadn’t seen her in almost 2 years!  It was a short reunion, but it was completely worth it just to hug her and hear a little about her life right now!  She was such a joy to be around during my time at Disney and I know she’s spreading that same joy to her new Disney friends & cast members!

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After our mini-reunion, we took a boat to the Contemporary and then the monorail to Epcot!  Epcot was our last stop for the day.

EPCOT

We started off with Starbucks because we knew there was still a lot of the day left to accomplish.  While we sipped on that, we found ourselves in Club Cool & Nick had never known you could try the different flavors of Coca-Cola here!

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It started raining some, so our goal was to start looking through the countries and if the rain wasn’t too bad, then hurry to the next one before it started pouring.  Luckily, it never got that bad and we enjoyed our time looking around!

Nick’s brother & sister-in-law decided to drive down for dinner and my friend got them in so we could eat at La Hacienda de San Angel & watch the Epcot firework show.  Before they arrived though, we had a fast pass for Soarin‘ and it’s one of our favorite rides because it’s so relaxing!  Somehow we managed to squeeze that in right before our dinner reservation.  I got a hefty run in from Soarin’ to Mexico though!

The evening ended perfectly with dinner & fireworks!  I also got to catch up with my old Disney friend and fellow Housekeeper, David!

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mexico-dinner

I enjoyed the veggie enchiladas and Nick & I split a Margarita.  They also served black beans  & rice for the table.

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So for the record:  We accomplished 3 parks, 8 rides, 1 show, 1 extra awesome high five from a tumble monkey, visiting with 2 special friends from Disney, 2 restaurants, 1 fire works show & one of the greatest Disney days I could have asked for!

I am a little shocked that we made it back to Gainesville safely because we were both unbelievably exhausted from this full fun-packed day!  Little side note: Katy Perry was there on Saturday as well and stayed in Cinderella’s Castle.  No I did not see her because if I had, we’d have a picture together.

Questions:

  • What is your all time favorite Disney Memory?
  • What’s your favorite Disney ride?
  • What’s your favorite Disney show?
  • I would love to know you if you’ve been able to accomplish more in a day at Disney, because you’d be my hero, so introduce yourself below!

Filed Under: Disney, Family, Nick, Travel Tagged With: animal kingdom, Disney, Disney College Program, epcot, festival of the lion king, gainesville, magic kingdom, mexican, starbucks, tumble monkey, vegetarian, wine & dine 5 Comments

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The views and statements expressed on No Bologna are my own. You are reading No Bologna at your own risk and I am not providing any type of professional advice. Unless otherwise noted, all material on No Bologna may not be used, reprinted, or published without my consent. I do occasionally have affiliated links on my blog - this does not raise the price of the product, I simply get a very small commission from the regular retail price if something is purchased using an affiliated link on my site. I appreciate any support by you in regards to affiliated links.

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