The Blonde Diaries

It has been quite some time since I last scrapbooked. In fact, I don’t think I’ve done any type of scrapbooking since 2005 (right before I moved to Houston). Tonight, I drug everything out of the closet and sat down to see what I might be able to get accomplished. You see, I have a sorority scrapbook started, a LSU batgirl scrapbook started, 2 Disney scrapbooks waiting to be started, a wedding scrapbook waiting, a honeymoon scrapbook waiting, and a “dating”/first 4 years in Houston scrapbook. Oh and a mini-scrapbook for all of my wedding showers. It really is a daunting task I will admit.

I decided to focus on the 2008 Disney scrapbook as I have quite a few photos already developed and ready to go. I also have the paper, stamps, stickers, etc ready. Since it takes a while to get creative with scrapbooking, I figure this would be the easiest one to start with and then as the creative juices start flowing I’ll move over to the honeymoon and wedding books since those are at least to me more important. With all of the books I figure I’ll start with a few basic pages and then add to them later – either more pages or more embellishments.

So tonight, after 2 hours of work, I have 1 page completed and 2 more “laid” out on the page but not glued down yet. I forgot how time consuming it is to cut photos down, lay them out, and then design the “frames” around the photos. Someone help me when I finally do get in the mood for the extras! It will be 2 hours and no pages done.

Besides wanting to increase the emergency savings fund and losing weight, I have another reason. What you may ask? Well, Mike and I are planning a budget trip back to Walt Disney World in Orlando next fall. Last time we went I ballooned myself up to 160 pounds! eek! If I can get my survey taking butt into gear and earn the money, we’ll be going back next September for Free Dining. I found some great deals on Disney World Tickets at Orlando Fun Tickets so it hopefully won’t take too many surveys to pay for it all. I was shocked at how good the ticket prices were over there. Much cheaper than Disney (who just raised their rates!!!) and some of the other ticket outlets that are known around the web.

Minnie is my absolute favorite and I remember the first time Mike and I went down to WDW we found her in every park. Yup, we tracked her down and Goofy (Mike’s favorite) so we could see them in their different park costumes. Minnie can be found in a camping outfit in Animal Kingdom, a pioneer costume in the Magic Kingdom, and her famous red and white polka dot dress in EPCOT and in the Hollywood Studios. Goofy has an array of costumes too.

I am also really looking forward to trying out the refurbished Space Mountain. I hope someone uploads a video on YouTube when it reopens in November. I am wondering how much, if anything, will change. When I was younger, my family went down to Orlando and I was scared to death to try Space Mountain but a little coaxing from my dad did the trick and it has turned into one of my MUST rides when I go back. I will admit it is a cheesy, not scary at all rollercoaster but it is fun nevertheless.

One of the most important parts of your Disney vacation is selecting the right place to stay during your trip. Do you want to stay on site or off site? I have done both and prefer to stay on site because it is much easier to navigate going to and from the parks thanks to Disney Transportation. I also find it easier to take mid-afternoon breaks by going back to the resort for an hour to rest and change and then back to the parks for dinner.

Disney has three different resort levels: Values, Moderates, and Deluxe. As you can probably guess, the categories are based on price and the amenities you get at each one with the Values being the “cheapest” with the least amenities and the Deluxes being the most expensive with the most amenities. Luckily, there is a ton of things to do at Disney and there are lots of ways to make your budget work at Disney. I have stayed at 3 Values and 2 Moderates during my trips to Disney. By far my favorite resort was Pop Century which is a value. I loved the over the top theme there because I never felt like I left the Parks when I went to the resort each night. I also only spend enough time in my room to sleep and get dressed so values are perfect to me.

The values are all set up the same exact way/layout with the difference being the actual theme of the resort. I have found a video on YouTube from the Travel Channel that takes a closer look at my favorite, Pop Century, and will give you a good idea of what to expect when you consider staying at a value. I hope to find similar videos for Moderate levels and Deluxe level resorts.

Sticky Toffee Pudding has got to be my favorite dessert from my last trip to Walt Disney World. It is very much like a Bread Pudding but has a little British twist. I enjoyed this dessert from the Rose and Crown Pub while dining at the United Kingdom in Epcot. I’m not sure how I managed to fit all of the food I ate in and still enjoy this pudding but somehow I did and then I went back to my room and passed out in a food coma LOL. I was so happy to find this recipe on Deb’s website AllEarsNet.com because it was so tasty that I would like to try and make it at home. The recipe doesn’t look too complicated other than the long list of ingredients. I’ll have to give it a try at home over the Christmas holidays when I have a few days off from work. If you haven’t experienced this before I highly recommend eating at the Rose and Crown Pub on your next vacation or making this one at home!

Sticky Toffee Pudding

“Pudding” Ingredients

12 oz. dates, chopped and blanched
8 oz. hot water
2 tsp. vanilla bean
2 tsp. baking soda
1 lbs. all-purpose flour
2 tsp. baking powder
4 oz. unsalted butter
12 oz. sugar
2 whole eggs
1/4 tsp. salt

Method

1. Chop dates and add to hot water.
2. Stir in vanilla and baking soda.
3. Cream butter and sugar, then add eggs one at a time.
4. On low speed add half flour and baking powder and all of the liquid; mix until combined.
5. Fold in rest of flour to mixture.
6. Fill greased molds halfway and bake 15 minutes at 325 degrees F.

Butter Rum Toffee Sauce

Ingredients
1 oz. butter
4 oz. heavy cream
3 oz. dark brown sugar
1/2 oz. dark rum

Method

1. Combine butter, sugar, and cream; bring to a boil.

2. Remove from heat and add rum. Stir until all is incorporated. Serve hot.

Custard Sauce
Ingredients
8 egg yolks
3 oz. castor sugar
1 vanilla bean
½ pint milk
½ pint heavy cream

Method

1. Beat the egg yolks and sugar together in a bowl until well blended.
2. Scrape the insides of the vanilla pod, if using, into the milk and cream, add the pod too, and bring to the boil.
3. Sit the bowl over a pan of hot water and whisk the cream into the egg yolks and sugar. As the egg yolks cook, the custard will thicken.
4. Keep stirring until it starts to coat the back of a spoon, then remove the bowl from the heat and the pod from the custard.

Serve warm or cold. Stir the sauce occasionally until cool, to prevent a skin forming, or cover with greaseproof paper while it cools.

One of my favorite rides as a kid visiting Disney World was Pirates of the Caribbean. The ride is your typical “boat” ride that kinda just coasts along on a track and brings you to different rooms or scenes similar to It’s a Small World but it is fun never the less. The ride has become more popular in the last few years thanks to Disney’s trilogy movie series that was developed from this very ride. The ride has undergone a series of renovations in the past few years as well updating the ride and adding in a few elements to link it to the movie.

So what can you expect when you go to Disney? As stated above, a pretty mild ride. The ride is on the darker side which may make it a little scary to small children but it isn’t too bad. There are also a few skeletons and a few “bombs” that may seem scary but it goes by quickly. There is lots of singing in a few scenes so you may get a little song stuck in your head for the rest of the day. But hey, yo ho yo ho a pirates life for me isn’t nearly as bad as it’s a small world to some people. lol

This video I found is a pretty good video showing the ride and what you can expect. It is shot in black and white so it makes things a little darker than the ride really is. It’s about 5 minutes long and shows the ride from start to finish so if you haven’t been and don’t want to ruin the excitement just skip over the video part.