Doo, Doo, Doo, Looking out my front door...

A major storm has hit the east coast. *sigh* Can I just state for the record how tired I am of snow. Sure it's pretty coming down. It's fun to stay snuggled under the covers watching movies while it's coming down. But, I've said it before and I'll say it again I hate the clean up. My previous complaint was that we wouldn't get enough to use the snow blower so I would wind up shoveling which I really hate. But this winter we're getting so much snow that I still have to shovel some because the snow is more then my snow blower can handle. It's either feast or famine. Well I've ranted about the weather enough. I'm going back to my NCIS marathon, but before I do I want to share a photo of the view out of my front and back door. Hence the homage to CCR as the title of this post. LOL! You'll have to forgive the gridlines of the window screen and my thumb in the shot. I'm still getting the hang of taking pictures with my cell phone.

So, if you don't live in the path of the storm, lucky you. If you do stay safe and warm.

Getting it in Gear

It would be nice if I was referring to my writing but I'm not. Don't get me wrong I'm still chugging ahead in that arena, but as alaways it's slow going. I'm talking about finally getting out of the chair and getting active. I've been wanting to take karate lessons for ages, but, due to varying circumstances, was not able to sign up until recently. I've only been to about four classes so far, but I'm having a ball. Yes, it's a little bit of a system shock to go from minimal exercise to a very high energy/high impact sport, but the soreness is so worth it. Im' up and moving and toning up, and I'm learning something new in the process.
That's a big thing for me. If what I'm doing doesn't engagement mentally then I'll quickly get bored with it and sooner or later stop. That's why gyms have never worked for me in the past. Free weights, treadmills, whatever are so mind numbing to me it's not funny. The only thing I really enjoyed about gyms were the classes and even then I could take it or leave it. Personally, I really wish that there were more organized activities for adults. I've been saying for ages that if there were some sort of adult league team sport that was actually serious about the sport I'd sign up in a heartbeat. So I guess that's part of what makes karate so great for me, the people that are in class are serious about and dedicated to what they are doing. I want to learn not just be humored. Im' so thrilled that I've found that and that I'm able to do something that's interesting and get back in shape at the same time.
So my little piece of unsolicited advice find an activity that you enjoy, that engages your mind, and gets you up and moving. Regardless of whether it's Wii Fit, karate, riding a stationary bike, or walking, whatever works for you just do it and stick with it. Yes, I know that's Nike's catch phrase, but it's applicable. :)

Merry Christmas

Just a short note to say Merry Christmas everyone! Hope your day is happy, safe, and filled with wonderful things.

For your viewing enjoyment a little Christmas light show. You may have seen it before, but it's a favorite of mine.

Have a very merry one! 

Twas the Night Before Christmas...

And all through the house not a creature was stirring except two crazy kitties. One of whom, is currently sitting with me attacking the tie on my pants.

Merry Christmas Eve! I can't believe another Christmas is here already. I love the holiday season. The music, the lights, the cookies and most especially the getting together with families and friends. This year is especially cool, because we will in essence have a white Christmas (a great holiday movie, btw). We haven't had snow either in the sky or on the ground at Christmas in a long time. So even though the snow is residual it will still help the day be "merry and bright" to quote the song.

For me Christmas Eve was a fairly easy day. I had some last minutes shopping to do today. My trek to the mall wasn't as crazed as expected and I must admit I really enjoy the newly remodeled mall. It's all shiny and bright. LOL! Suffice it to say, I succesfuly accomplished my shopping mission and I hope the gift recipient will be quite happy with this item. The rest of my day was spent getting a little work done. I've designed and manage websites for a few friends. While I did that, I enjoyed the GhostHunters marathon. I just love that show, coupled with the fact that I love television marathons. I've discovered a number of shows that became favorites because of tv marathons. It was nice to have a day to just unwind and not run around crazed.

At any rate, I hope everyone gets some time amongst the bustle of visiting family, cooking, and cleaning to simply relax and enjoy the holiday. Travel safely to wherever the day will take you.

"...Merry Christmas to all and to all a goodnight."  

Random Disney Tip Wednesday

Did you know that Thanksgiving is one of the busiest weekends at Disney World? Shocked the heck out of me. I figured it would actually be a slower time a year with families getting together for a big turkey dinner. The more I thought about that though the more it made sense. Maybe you're really not into cooking for the clan. If you can get that turkey dinner catered as well as  enjoy a few days of fun in the sun, I say go for it. Not to mention that the magic of Disney makes the entire holiday season really special. I mean where else can you walk down main street, enjoy cookies and hot chocolate, get snowed on, and not even need a coat. There are so many wonderful things to do in Disney during the holiday season. The one I previously described is Mickey's Very Merry Christmas part. It's so much fun. They make it snow on Main Street Magic Kingdom, keep the most popular rides open for guest to enjoy. They do family photos, and  special holiday parade. It's a ticketed event so the crowd isn't outrageous. All in all, it's a good time.
Also, at EPCOT they have the candlelight processional in the American Pavilion. A change series of celebrity guests read the story of the nativity accompanied by a soundtrack chorus that performs a selection of seasonal music. Very pretty, very moving, again something worth checking out. When we went to see it last, Neil Patrick Harris was doing the reading. He did a wonderful job. Disney releases a schedule of which celebrities are narrating and when. I know some people that arrange their trip dates to coincide with the celebrity of their choosing. :)

If you're even remotely a Disney fan, you definitely need to get to the House of Mouse during the holiday season. The lights, the displays, the decorations, they all make the Happiest Place on Earth an even happier place to be.

Happy Thanksgiving All!