YUCK

I do not like grapefruit or it's juice form. But after a week or so of seeing the bottle in the refrigerator and juice still left, for some reason I talk myself into taking a sip. YUCK. Yep, still don't like it. Maybe it's good FOR me but it doesn't taste good TO me. Why do I fall for it every time?!

DAY 7 GOODBYE

Goodbye Buena Vista Suites complimentary buffet breakfast. I will miss you.


...oh and Mr. Mouse too. Back to VA.

DAY 6 FRIEND-CATION

The family slept in a little bit today so I headed out to take advantage of my last day to park hop with Matt, Mindy, Amy, and Chris who are still in town on their friend-cation. Epcot and the innoventions will never be the same.


TIPS TO FELLOW/FUTURE PARKERS:

1. If you're gonna be annoying enough to bring a stroller in the park, please don't ram the back of other's heels as you walk through the crowds...especially the 6th or 7th time.
2. Disney dogs=$7 vs 7-eleven dogs=2 for $2 and unlimited toppings
3. Even though you ALWAYS see a 50 minute minimum wait for the Peter Pan ride at Magic Kingdom AND fast passes are given out to the max for it, don't get in line...it's not that great.
4. Lost & found department for the parks IS magical!
5. Photographers who take your photo with their fancy cameras and scan the photopass are also great people to ask to snap a shot on your personal camera. L-O-V-E them.

DAY 5 FINAL PARK

Rain couldn't stop us from going to our final park today at Epcot.
We saw it all. Got sick on the space rides, were creative on the smart rides, and then rocked the worlds around the globe...Disney style.


...until the rain stopped us.

DAY 4 DISNEYING ON

My favorite photo of the day from the Hollywood Studios Park:



It kinda reminded me of this Dior ad:


Maybe I should sell it to Walt Disney.

DAY 3 FRENCH KISS

Today the family made it to the Animal Kingdom. Honestly, I thought this park was gonna blow, but it turned out to be my absolute favorite thus far. The shows were fantastic and the rides were super fun. It just seemed like everything went our way today because we didn't have to wait in any lines and the weather was great.


This parks closes the earliest so after we left, the family went back to the hotel and I headed to Epcot to meet some friends from Utah who are here on a Disney friend-cation. I've never been to this park, but I met them in France. Let's just say this is where the fun began! I had a magical moment where I was proposed to in front of a show full of fellow Disney park visitors and propositioned by another worker in the restaurant. Love those Frenchies! It got me thinking...if I was to kiss a boy from France, would that be considered a "french kiss"?

DAY 2 PARK 1

Continental breakfast.
Caught the shuttle on time.
Magic Kingdom:
Space mountain, castle, buzz, haunted mansion, tea cups, Alice, flying dumbos, snow white, pirates, pooh, and fireworks.
Today was a good day.

DAY 1 DISNEYWORLD

*Lost cell phone at Dulles airport
*$8.99 per 24 hours of internet usage at hotel
*news of free continental breakfast at 6AM
*8 lanes of major highway traffic between our hotel and the Asian Harbor Super Buffet...with NO crosswalk
*30 degree weather with high winds
*sharing a room with 2 people who snore
*$4 bottled water
HAPPIEST PLACE ON EARTH??
Ask me tomorrow.

HEY TJ MAXX

Thank you for having this shirt at your store. If only it wasn't 1) tacky and 2) even more tacky to wear Christmas gear all year round. I laughed to the TJ Maxx!

DJ DEANNA

As we sat in the food court waiting for our lunch at the mall at Tysons Corner Center, I noticed this sign on the table.


I immediately grabbed my celltron, flipped the sign to the other sides to see my selections, and started playing DJ Deanna. Apparently, I was the only person doing it so all of my songs were played for my dining pleasure. It was brilliant!

MAINTENANCE

I looked really cute for church. I mean, fantastic black skirt with lace, nice heels, ruffled top from my local H&M store, great hair, and perfect accessories. I was feeling good...and then I noticed this:


I immediately apologized to the person sharing a hymn book with me for them having to stare at my tacky manicure. Now I know why I don't usually paint my fingernails...I'm not girly enough for the maintenance.

FISHING

I like to CATCH fish, but I don't like to GO FISHING.
And then sometimes when I catch a fish, I just throw it back.

BLIZZARD 2010

We tried our best to enjoy the Blizzard 2010 Part:2 (as cheeky news anchors call it) without any snow clothes in the closets.
So what'd we do to enjoy our snow day? We made our own snow pants...with Hefty bags and duct tape. And we ate bacon...lots of bacon. Thirty inches of snow can't keep us locked in!

SEAT WARMER

Dear Ranger Rover,
I do NOT need you to tell me when you think my seat is warm enough by automatically turning yourself off. These buns need to be well heated. Let's be friends? Thanks.

WORDS

Just by chance, I flipped to these two verses in Proverbs 15:1-2 today while I was distracted in church (actually I randomly scrolled to it on my ipod touch...technology is so cool):

1 A soft word turneth away wrath; but grievous words stir up anger.
2 The tongue of the wise useth knowledge aright; but the mouth of fools poureth out foolishness.

It reminded of the wise advice Gordon B. Hinckley shared when he counseled to "Only say things that are kind, necessary, and true."

Maybe I needed this reminder this very weekend. Maybe the Lord works in mysterious ways to teach us what we need to hear. Maybe even though the word 'b*tch' may SEEM true, it isn't kind OR necessary to say. Ugh...so much to improve.

CLICHE?

This might sound cliché, but when I walk by a floral stand or simply see a vase full, I always take the time to stop and smell the flowers. Really...I do!



"You're only here for a short visit. Don't hurry. Don't worry. And be sure to smell the flowers along the way." -Walter Hagen

FILLING TANKS

I stopped at the gas station to fill up the tank tonight. As I got out of the car, a lady in a wheelchair got out of her mini van, smiled at me, and asked if I'd help her get the cap off so she could fill her tank. For a split second, thoughts of Ted Bundy pretending to use crutches or having his arm in a sling and luring innocent women to his car to 'help him carry things' came to my mind. After all, two well known serial killers were from Wisconsin, dontcha know. Then I realized she was a lady and others were around so I started my pump and walked to help her take off the cap, push the 'pay inside' button, take the pump out when it was full, and return the cap. Thanks for letting me do this good deed nice, non killer, stranger lady...made my heart smile (after it started racing a bit).

I'M NOT A CHICKEN FARMER...

Today I felt like this girl in Kindergarten Cop (starting at about 2:00):



"I'm not a chicken farmer, I'm a princess!"

NEED TO MAKE SOME

I think I love these.



I found them here and I'm pretty sure I NEED to make some!

POWDERED SUGAR ON TOP

Is it just me, or do most people have a love/hate relationship with baked goods that have powdered sugar on top? Love them because they just look so pretty and delicious; hate them because when you go to take a bite, every once in awhile you inhale the powdered sugar and start choking.

BUY ME THINGS

If you know me, then you know I kinda love hair accessories right now. My pal Molly had some super cute homemade clips and headbands on her blog and I made a comment about them. So what did this amazingly creative and kind girl do? She sent me one. It's made from a zipper...what a treat! I can't wait to rock it!



Two things I concluded from this event: 1) it pays to have cool friends and 2) not enough people buy (or make?) me things. Love you Mollister! xoxoxo

GOODBYING

Three things I've discovered lately that I am not very good at:

1) Scrabble. But I will challenge you to a game of Boggle ANY time
2) returning phone calls
3) Saying goodbye

The word goodbye didn't even belong in my vocabulary for the longest time. Once I let someone in my heart (lovers, friends, coworkers, neighbors, doctors, whatever), I kinda don't know how to forget about them.
So this makes it rough for me to say farewell, even if I know one of us will return.
Silly heart. My solution? Tim McGraw says it best in his song Everywhere:



...But ever since you said good-bye
I've been out here on the wind
And baby you would be surprised
All the places you have been

I've seen you in Albuquerque waitin' out a blizzard
Arizona dancin' 'cross the desert
Watchin' the sun set in Monterey
Girl I swear just the other day you were
Down in Georgia pickin' them peaches
Carolina barefoot on the beaches
No matter where you choose to be
In my heart I'll always see you
Everywhere

...Still I know I'll hear your voice
And see you down the road
Maybe in

Oklahoma drivin' 'cross the prairie
In Dallas Texas isn't that where we
Always said we would like to try
But never did so maybe that's why
You're on every highway just beyond the high-beams
Right beside me in all of my sweet dreams
No matter where you choose to be
In my heart I'll always see you
Everywhere.

I love you; you're my friend.

QUESTIONS, NO ANSWERS

Please help me if you can answer these questions that seem to baffle my mind lately:
1. Why does ranch dressing taste SO good on SO many things? I think I would go through a family-sized bottle a week if it was available.
2. Can a man wear anything more ridiculously unattractive than a deep V-neck t-shirt?
3. Is there some super magnetic attraction that forces a person to put their dirty dishes in the sink instead of in the dishwasher which is 1 foot away?
4. Do girls really need to carry such big purses and do they actually need to take that many things with them every where they go?
5. Why oh why does the guy/girl who acts like a jerk/bimbo seem oddly attractive to us?

WASH YOUR HANDS

It's a little disturbing to me that people need to be reminded to wash their hands after they use the restroom. Is it that hard to remember?! Especially if you work at a restaurant and are handling my food...gross.

MOVIE POUNDS

Last week, on the Today Show, Paul Bettany talked about his role of playing Darwin in the movie Creation. He had to gain 45 movie pounds. How'd he do it? His answer: cheese sandwiches and booze. He ate cheese and drank beer. Maybe he moved to Wisconsin for a few months?!
But I love it, I do. I enjoy seeing blocks of cheese at the salad bar for you to slice up, sausage and cheese plates at the local euchre tourney for all to enjoy, and fried cheese curds around every corner.

PS I'm NOT here to bulk up for a part in a movie.

LOVE ON SALE

Chick flicks and lovey stuff don't interest me normally. But right now I totally love cute romantic songs and junk. I blame Super Target for their clever Valentine's Day decorations being on sale so early.

Maybe you think it's too commercial, but I am a total sucker for 5Buck heart-shaped pizza, donuts with pink and red sprinkles, and these super cute typography plates with hidden messages. It's love on sale. And I love it...I'm sold.

ROUND 3: LOST

I wore a brand new pair of earrings Friday night and lost one of them. The thing that makes this such a big deal is that this pair was a replacement for a pair I replaced after losing one on the dance floor in Tulsa. Seriously...round 3 for the big, goldies: lost. What's my problem with earrings?! Maybe I can glue them on.

CAN'T TAKE YOU OFF MY REPEAT

I'm kinda obsessed with the group Lady Antebellum. They're just so hot right now. And I discovered this song which I just can't take off repeat for the last week:


(You may have to push the play button for it to start up)

It almost makes me want to fall in love, then I remember I'm boy retarded.

*To all my Utah friends, go hear them at the Sundance Film Festival
OR anyone wanna go to Madison and see their show with me Feb 12th? They're touring with some fellow named Tim McGraw...heard he's pretty good as well.

ONE OF THOSE DAYS

I went to Super Target in Madison for some much needed emergency essentials. First of all, the floor plan in that store is the strangest I've ever seen. Cat and dog food have their own separate aisles next to the shampoo and luggage BUT A BOTTLE OF MIDOL IS NOT TO BE FOUND ANYWHERE. Trust me I looked. So as I took my bottle of Ibuprofen, I also saw Pasta Roni shells and white cheddar were on sale and grabbed a box. Love that stuff.

I chose a lane that looked like it had the shortest wait and the cashier told me to watch out for spilled water on the ground by the conveyor belt thingy. So I stepped back as another employee came over and tried to mop it up. She was about 142 years old and I felt like I should've mopped it for her, but right at that moment I had some cramps show up and say, "Hello , deanna, my old friend," so I was trying to play it cool. Instead I stood back and let her do her job as cheerful and helpful as she was. The person behind me with their cart was loudly sighing at me for standing back so far from the belt probably so they could put their items on. As soon as the Target lady finished mopping up and warning me about 5 times to watch my step on the slippery floor, I turned around smiled at the sigher, and moved forward in line...grabbing some chocolate on the way and putting it with the rest of my items.

The cashier was trying to win customer service rep of the year and took way too long to ring everything and then started in on the 375 coupons the lady at the register had. By this time, I felt as if my ovaries were punching me one at a time saying, "Make! Some! Babies! Make! Some! Babies!" over and over again. So I opened the bottle of IBU, grabbed a few, walked over to the drinking fountain, swallowed them, and came back to line as the cashier was just finishing up with the lady in front of me. FOR THE LOVE! Bless her heart, I know she was trying to be kind, but she picked up my items and bagged them saying,"Well, now, you've got your drugs, these (pointing to a box of unmentionables), and your Kit Kat. Anything you're missing?!" and looked at the lady behind me making a face like 'YOU know what I mean!' as they both giggled.
To which I replied, "Yep, it's just one of those days." THANKS FOR ANNOUNCING IT TO THE OTHER CUSTOMERS! Maybe you could've jumped on the intercom and made an announcement for me to the WHOLE store:
"Attention Super Target customers, today on checkstand 5..."
Oh well...I want my chocolate.

CHUG

"Ladies sip; they don't chug."
Some wise advice my friend's Grandma Beverly once gave me as I received my third refill of strawberry lemonade at Red Robin.
But I'm not very good at this one. I notice if you give me a drink...I drink it. That's it. No messing around. I'm pretty sure it's a good thing I don't drink alcohol.

TWENTY-TEN

While in Utah, I went to the wedding shindig for these kids:

And I caught this:

Now this is a big deal for me. I went to a reception lots of years ago for the Jubers where I caught the bouquet. The next day, for no good reasons at all, almost every boy I knew either stopped talking to me or phoned to tell me they didn't want to talk to me any more. No exaggeration. My super smart friend Danae and I discovered it was the curse of the wedding bouquet. So we went behind the Wendy's near campus in Provo one night and burned it to destroy all of it's evilness. However, there were metal leaves in it that couldn't be destroyed no matter how hard we tried. For every reception since then I avoided the bouquet when it was tossed and have even dodged, swatted, or kicked it away a few times.
Well, it's twenty-ten, a new decade, so I decided it's time to face the flowers and kick their trash. Misty threw the bouquet to all the single ladies and I caught it. Done and done. No bad messages yet...keep your fingers crossed for me.

BLOWED UP

Whatever your opinion is about this story, cnn news has been on all day and every time I hear the mother's plea I giggle:

"I don't understand why this has got blowed up so big..."
(you just have to watch the first 7 seconds to hear it). Blowed up...wow!

BACK HOME TO YOU-TAH

I went here:
Utah

for these holidays:
Christmas

New Years

to see these people:
love them

Only to come back to this:
freezing cold weather in Wisconsin

where I have to dress like this:
or I'll die

CLOSET SHOPPING

Sometimes I live out of just enough items to fit in a suitcase or duffle bag for months. Then when I go home to my closet I get SO excited. I feel like I have just been shopping, but I haven't spent a cent. I love it. Today, I found a chest full of "skinny jeans" that I fit into and it pretty much made day. Now which ones to pack?

SNOWFLAKES

I kinda really love it when I spot snowflakes that actually look like the snowflakes you cut out of paper in elementary school (at least those made by the artsy kids who knew how to make them look like more than a square paper with crazy eyes).