About a week ago, I went to Orlando for an educational tech conference. While we were there, we went to Downtown Disney so Suzan, my coworker, could buy Tinkerbell stuff for her 5 year old daughter's birthday. Our destination in this giant outdoor Disney money trap was the "official" Disney Store. We ventured inside where they pump happy gas through the vents and all the classic Disney tunes you know by heart softly emerge from the mouse-shaped speakers. Oh and of course, everyone is smiling! I swore I wasn't going to succumb to their immersion tactics, as irresistible as they are, and buy any of their overpriced "stuff." But as you can see from the picture, I caved...as did the 2 other men in my group who also swore that they wouldn't buy anything. I mean come on...could I really go into a store that sells stuff from the "Happiest Place on Earth" -Janet...no comment necessary- and not buy something for my kids? Wouldn't that qualify as child abuse? Well, the boys didn't get anything (well, nothing from the Disney Store but they did each get a surprise) but as I walked through the little girls' section, I couldn't help but think about how cute some of the little dresses would look on my "little princess." I looked around for a few minutes, asked for the opinions of Suzan and Kathy, and picked out the one she's wearing. I think I did pretty good. In fact, I was so proud that I had to try it on her within minutes of arriving home.
By the way, did I mention we didn't get there until 11:00pm...and they close at 11:30?! But ya know what? Sticking with the unspoken Disney Motto-
We never disappoint...OR miss a chance to sell something to someone that they can't live without- they don't ever announce that they are closing like they do at the Wal-Marts or Hardees. They simply don't let anyone else in and those inside are free to shop until sunrise if they want. How do I know this, you ask? One of the sweet little girls working there told me, with a smile on her face of course! But her eyes said "will you please pick out a dress and get the h@!! out of here so I can ditch this smile and go have a drink!"
We spent the weekend in Daphne, Alabama at our cousin's house all in the name of Mardi Gras...some good 'ol fashioned debauchery! We have never been to Mardi Gras before and since our cousins, who live in a Daphne and happen to have a parade that literally goes right in front of their house (The Loyal Order of the Firetruck) have invited us down for a few years in a row, this year we decided to check it out. Well, it was well worth the 4 hours in the car 'cause we ALL had a great time. Lanie travelled very well, loved the attention from the dogs, cats, people, and didn't even cry when the flying beads grazed her while riding in the backpack at the parade. And do I even need to mention that the boys had a blast with their cousins...as they always do? Meghan and I had a great time too hanging out with a very welcoming family that really knows how to feed their guests. We love spending time with our LA (Lower Alabama) family...a great bunch of folks who love to relax and hang out! I always look forward to our time with them because we never seem to get too busy and it's easy to slow down. Oh and I almost forgot to mention that we came home with no less than 40 lbs of beads and other "throws" to boot...from just 2 parades! Thanks for the bags, Stephanie! I couldn't imagine how much you would end up with if you hit all the parades! As a matter of fact, I just got finished dividing up beads for the boys to share with their classmates tomorrow (Fat Tuesday) and I didn't even make a noticable dent in their collections! As many people say, it really was family-oriented with little ones EVERYWHERE...nothing like what I have heard about regarding the crazy scene in New Orleans or even over in Mobile. The only people I saw drinking a bunch were the people on the floats! Well, at least I assumed they were partaking of the happy juice. What else could have been in those GIANT mugs? All in all, this was a great weekend where some great memories were made and I hope it will become something we do every year. Turner even told Stephanie that he was going to make sure this becomes a family tradition so we can come spend Mardi Gras with them every year. Now that's a tradition I hope we can keep 'cause it was fun for everyone! Happy Mardi Gras!!!
