Eat to the Beat Concert Series at Epcot

 

There is a great way to end the Eat to the Beat concert series at Epcot during the Food & Wine Festival…One of the biggest attractions to this concert series is Big Bad Voodoo Daddy…There was Starship and some other bands there (I can’t remember the names now)…

We went to Epcot on Nov. 12 to see Big Bad Voodoo Daddy and hear the great swing music that they play…One of their songs is Go Daddy O and the song from Jungle Book…The music is awesome and ongoing…We were expecting to stand in a line forever for the 7:45 showing but when we got back to the American Theatre there wasn’t a line and plenty of seats to choose from…Camera in hand, we set off to find a good spot to sit, except for up close cause that’s where the guests who pay for a dinner/show get to sit…At 6:30pm, the band started to come out in their zuit suits and the music started…

 

The horn section was awesome…The way they could play their instruments was fabulous…The suits helped with all the swing music… 

Everyone in the audience was clapping and singing…

The lead singer has a great voice…He didn’t stop for a drink or take a break..He just kept on going…I would have to applaud him cause some singers take a drink break…

Boys Boys Boys

Well, it’s more like MEN MEN MEN but there is a song called Boys Boys Boys and it was actually played on the TV show for Peoples 25th Year of the Sexiest Man Alive…It was tough to see all the front covers of the People magazine on tv to see what year every “sexy” guy was in, so I looked it up…The issue started in 1985 just because someone in a meeting shouted “The world’s sexiest man alive” as one of their articles…Well, since that meeting, it’s been an annual event to find the “perfect” sexy man alive…Unfortunately, with the list, there are a few that I just don’t see as being sexy or even cute with sex appeal but I guess others saw something..Hence, everyone’s different tastes in men…

1985 – Mark Harmon – NCIS, Jethro Gibbs; 1986 – Mel Gibson – Mad Max hunk; 1987 – Harry Hamlin (for me, I don’t see it) – LA Law;  1988 – JFK, Jr.; 1989 – Sean Connery – Better known for his roles as 007 James Bond (for me, I don’t see it back then but now he is debonnaire); 1990 – Tom Cruise; 1991 – Patrick Swayze, Johnny in Dirty Dancing; 1992 – Nick Nolte (how in the world did he get in there…I don’t find him cute, handsome, sexy or anything else); 1993 – Richard Gere – Pretty Woman, Gigilo & other movies; 1994 – No one was chosen in this year; 1995 – Brad Pitt; 1996 - Denzel Washington; 1997 – Geo. Clooney  - ER; 1998 – Harrison Ford; 1999 – Richard Gere – This is the second time he is on the cover; 2000 – Brad Pitt – Second time for the appearance of Brad on the cover; 2001 – Pierce Brosnan – James Bond, 007; 2002 – Ben Affleck – he beat his best bud, Matt Damon,  to the cover; 2003 – Johnny Depp – Capt. Jack Sparrow and many other roles; 2004 – Jude Law – Another person I just don’t see what the thing is about him…He’s not handsome or cute..Maybe it’s his accent; 2005 – Matthew McConaughey – Many movies; 2006 – George Clooney – Second time on the cover; 2007 – Matt Damon – I don’t see it but everyone else did and at least he can say he made if finally with his best bud, Ben Affleck; 2008 – Hugh Jackman – XMen, Wolverine & Van Helsing; 2009 – Johnny Depp – Second time on the cover and almost a third time and he was just a little bit out voted by the 2010 man; 2010 – Ryan Reynolds – Two Guys & A Girl, tv show, Blade 3 and The Proposal movie…

So there you have it…25 Sexiest Man Alive cover names…Now I think there should be a few more in that list that just didn’t make it…Let’s start with the tv shows that I watch…

Shemar Moore – Criminal Minds as Derek Morgan;  George Eads – CSI: Las Vegas as Nick Stokes;  Christopher Meloni – L&O: SVU as Det. Stabler;  Alex O’Laughlin – Hawaii Five-O as Steve McGarrett;  LL Cool J – NCIS: LA as Sam;  Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson – Wrestler & Actor…

  

These are just a few of the men who were on the cover of People’s magazine since 1985…The one chosen for 2010 is Ryan Reynolds..

Now I have a few I’d like to post that I thought should be on the cover…

Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson

Christopher Meloni – Law & Order: SVU – Det. Stabler

Alex O’Loughlin – Hawaii Five-O as Steve McGarrett

Shemar Moore – Criminal Minds as Derek Morgan

So with all the people (women) out there, I guess there are many opinions and reasons why these men didn’t make it…Maybe one day compared to some of the ones who showed up on the cover of People’s magazine…

The Grandgirls – Trick or Treating 2010

Halloween was on a Sunday this year and all 4 grandgirls got dressed up to go Trick or Treating or Trunk or Treating..Our youngest granddaughter, Anna, was dressed up for the Renaissance Period of time…Somehow, I don’t think the shoes would qualify but that’s okay cause our little princess looks awesome…Her mommy and daddy picked out a great costume for her to wear…Anna was able to go to the daddy’s hospital to Trick or Treat…then she got to “ride around” for Trick or Treating…What a doll!

After all was said and done and riding around getting all the candy that she could grab, she passed out…All that riding around just wore her out…LOL…

Kay, Bri & Lizzi went trunk or treating and trick or treating…According to their mommy, they got “loads” of candy…Kay got to be the devil, Bri was a diva and Lizzi was a princess….

They got to trunk or treat at Kay’s school and at their great aunt’s church on Halloween day…Then that night they got to go trick or treating around their aunt’s neighborhood..What a great time they had…

 

Unlike their cousin, Anna, these 3 girls didn’t pass out after going trick or treating…They had a 2 hour ride home and they were still awake when they got home…All they wanted was “CANDY”..Go figure!!!  LOL

We hope all our girls had a fabulous time and they all looked adorable and pretty…I can’t wait to see what they will be next year…

Vinylmations – The New Craze for Disney

The new craze for Disney guests are these plastic Mickey figurines that comes in many different designs…They are small, big, keychains, & trading pins…I am a little bit hooked on the trading pins but it depends on what the vinylmation pin looks like…They have plain white vinylmations that you can decorate yourself with stickers or use, I’m guessing, some sort of marker…A new store opened up on the West Side of Downtown Disney in April, 2010…Our walk to our truck from the boat dock took us past this store so we just had to walk in and see what it was all about…The first person we encounter is a Cast Member with a lanyard full of vinylmation pins…I went to trade for 2 of them (and Richard wanted to trade for 1 of the pins) and the Cast Member told us that we had to trade a vinylmation pin for a vinylmation pin…I did not have any of those pins with me cause the ones I have at home are the ones that I liked…I saw a 2010 Happy New Year’s pin that I liked and couldn’t get it…So sad…but we walked around the store and got some photos of what was there…

These are the little ones that you can hook on to your purse, zipper pull or put anywhere you want..These are only a few…

These are your normal sized vinylmations…This is The Muppet series vinylmations…These are about 2 1/2” high and cost about $10 each…

These are the Holiday series collection…

This is part of another type of series…There are several series to choose from…One of the series is the Urban Series and the Clear Series…There are Urban 1 Series, Urban 2 Series and so on…So much to choose from and many to like and want…Pictures help out a lot…LOL

These are the larger vinylmations…They are about 8 inches tall or so…They come in plain white or already decorated…The thing about the vinylmations is that they are in boxes and  you do not know what vinylmation you will be getting…You may like a certain vinylmation but that don’t mean that you will get the one that you like…It’s a big surprise…Not sure if I like that or not especially if I just want a certain one and the larger vinylmations are about $20 each…For that kind of money, I want what I want…

This was different…Not sure if you can actually put any condiments in these but I wouldn’t want to…

In the store there is this large glass case of vinylmations…This is just a “few” of them…Some of these vinylmations I have as a trading pin like the vinylmation, 3rd row from the bottom, 2nd one from the left between the white/purple vinylmation and the lime green vinylmation…

All of these are very interesting and could be an expensive hobby…but I will stick to pictures and trading pins…The one trading pin or vinylmation that Richard would like to have is the Monorail vinylmation..I hope to find it one day for him…

A Relaxing Walk Around Saratoga Springs Resort

Yesterday was a gorgeous day so we thought we would do a little bit of exploring and see what Disney’s Saratoga Springs Resort & Spa  (SSR&S) was like…So we headed out to Downtown Disney to park the truck and take a small walk (hike) around the path from Downtown Disney to SSR&S…On the West Side of Downtown Disney is the House of Blues…Do you know that they want about $14 for a Cheesburger…We won’t be eating there…LOL

At first we thought we would take the boat from the West Side of Downtown Disney to the SSR&S boat dock and then get on the boat that would take us to SSR&S…However, after waiting about 10 minutes for the boat, we decided to walk the path…But while waiting, we saw an Anhinga just sitting in the sun…We thought he had a fish in his beak but when you look closer, what he actually has attached to his lower beak is a piece of netting…We figure that he went for a fish and caught a piece of the netting that is under the rocks/lake here at Downtown Disney…

After the walk (hike) to SSR&S, we found our way in via the gift shop/food shop…This wasn’t a very big shop..Only a few food vendors for the guests to grab a bite to eat and a very small shop…What I didn’t realize was the name of the Resort had to do with horse racing…I just never put 2 + 2 together until I saw this patch on a purse…

While walking around the shop, I came across this bottle of wine…Francis Coppola…Now is this the Francis Ford Coppola, the famous director of movies or another relation…I do know that this name is a relation to Nicholas Cage whose last name use to be Coppola…

Another bottle of wine that I found in the shop was a Fess Parker chardonnay…Anyone hear of Fess Parker…aka  Daniel Boone…

I told Richard about the Fess Parker wine and he just had to get his picture taken with the bottle of Chardonnay…

At the Carriage House Check-in is a beautiful carriage from way back when…Someday it would be nice to take a carriage ride…Just sit back and relax…Maybe on a “chilly” day, snuggled up to my sweetie, hearing the clip-clop of the horses hooves…but at SSR&S they do not have carriage rides…One has to go to Port Orleans – Riverside or Fort Wilderness Campground..

This is a beautiful Carousel horse..The inside of the Carriage House is beautiful…They have little chairs for little guests while they enjoy tv while the parents check-in…The pictures around the Carriage House are “old” and tells you about reminiscing times…

SSR&S is a beautiful place…The landscaped grounds is kept well groomed…There are several “lakes” where you can see some wildlife floating around trying to get some lunch…The pretty pink fluff in more pretty in person than what this picture looks…

SSR&S is a huge resort on Disney property…We hardly touched a portion of the resort by walking…There are buildings all over the place and treehouses which we didn’t even get on the path to those but one day we will…In this lake above, we saw turtles, fish & a cormorant who actually got some lunch while we were taking photos…The cormorant found some small minnowes to have for his lunch…The turtles, 4 in all, were swimming over towards the bridge where we were standing to see if we would drop some food down to them but we didn’t have anything…Not even some cracker crumbs…Maybe next time..

Richard and I were walking around the loop of this section of SSR&S and the landscaping was beautiful…The trellises here were awesome but it made me think how more beautiful they would be if pretty flowers were on them… 

Isn’t this gorgeous??? 

Anyone for a little “me” time?  Here is the place to come…

This is where the kids can go for some entertainment while the parents are resting at the pool…

Believe it or not, this is where the food court/gift shop is…This is where a guest can buy a refillable cup for about $14 for their whole stay at the resort and not pay another penny for a drink like soda, hot chocolate & coffee…If one is staying a whole week, it most definitely pays to have this cup..Going back out of this shop ended our day at this resort…On to our boat ride to Downtown Disney and heading towards our truck…What a great afternoon I had…Of course, it is always great to share these days with my sweetie…Love you, babe!

Being a Proud Grandparent

I remember when my kids were small and going to school…All the cool papers they would do, draw, create and want you to hang up at home…All the kids are grown and now have kids of their own…Right now the only child of mine who has a child in Elementary School is Brandi…Her daughter, Kay, is in 1st grade and for a while she was having some distracted interests in her classroom…With a new incentive program from home, Kay is doing wonderfully in school…Below is a very special award and her Poppy and I are very proud of her..

Another proud moment in our granddaughter’s life is when she looses a tooth….However, Kay lost 2 teeth within the same week…So what does she want for Christmas…Why, her 2 front teeth…When grandchildren start losing their baby teeth, you know they are growing up…I can’t believe that Kay is in 1st grade and doing so well…

Last night was a very special moment for Poppy and me…Kay read us a book over the phone…We felt so special…She did such a fantastic job…She read us the book about the monkeys jumping on the bed and one fell off and bumped his head…Poppy and I can’t wait until she can read us another book…Thank goodness for cell phones and ear pieces…