Disney World and Universal Studios

 Another vacation under the belt. I love to travel as I really love seeing new sights and sounds. This trip was filled of the happiest place on earth. Where is that you say; well it was Disney World and Universal Studios in Orlando, Florida. Yes, it was not to an exotic out of the country place but full of people and kids. Here is the secret though, shhhh don't tell anyone......IT WAS A BLAST! I am one who does not like crowds very much (who does for that matter) but these parks bring the kid out in you. I went with my husband and the two of us enjoyed this as adults only. You don't need to have kids to go to these theme parks. This was not a relaxing, sit by the pool or beach with a drink but it was full of energy with fun rides and sights.

First I will start with the planning of this trip because we knew this could get costly. We did our research with good ol' Google and for our tickets to the parks we used Reserve Orlando. We did 2 days at Disney and 3 days at Universal with park hoppers (get the park hoppers, I will say why later in the blog). We stayed really close to Universal Studios. I did not want to stay anywhere near Disney. I wanted to be away from the hoards of children, no offense but this was just hubby and me. This worked out perfect as the place we were at did not have many kids at all. I am sure when it is not off-season it would be different.

The hotel we stayed at was The Point Universal Resort Orlando. It was a nice hotel even though it says Resort ( I don't know what constitutes to call one a Resort). It has a pool, hot tub with a bar area, an exercise room, a concierge, shuttles to and from parks, breakfast that cost $11.00 per person each day, and the rooms have kitchenettes. There are a couple style rooms to choose from. Ours was the studio and it was perfect. It was very clean in the rooms and out in the public areas. I would stay here again. Oh and the hot tub at the end of a long day of walking was perfect. It was really hot but totally worth it on the legs and feet. There are more tips at the bottom of the blog.

Disney World we did 2 parks, Epcot and Hollywood Studios. As 2 adults with no children, these were the parks we felt would entertain us the most. Since I have been to Disneyland many times, I did not feel the need to go to Magic Kingdom or any of the animal or water parks. Of course a water park would have been pretty fun. Epcot is definitely a must to go see. Since I have only seen this part of Disney on TV or pictures, I wanted to experience it.
One of our first rides was the simulator. This one you can design your own roller coaster or simulate a wild plane ride. We did the plane and off we went in the simulator to ride the one we designed. Pretty fun.
Next we were off to Mission Space. This ride about laid me out for the day. It is a thrill ride that has 2 ways of riding it. The one "green" option is a non-spinning and the "orange" spins the crap out of you. Why does the orange one spin; for the feeling that astronauts get when launching and be thrown into weightlessness of space. Well, let me tell you, being one who loves roller coasters and crazy rides and has sky dived, I chose orange. Not a good choice for me at all. Half way through the ride I wanted to puke (I did not even know I was spinning because being in enclosed in the car you don't know what is going on except what is on the screen in front of you). I was motion sick. I had to eat something and eat something now. I knew this from cruises, that food will help motion or sea sickness. So fair warning orange is pretty extreme and green mellow. We wandered around the park and tried to experience as much as we could. The flower gardens and sculptures were amazing. Around the world was full of many countries where anyone can try that countries food or drinks. We had dinner in Italy and it was fantastic. 
We did not make it to the fireworks (or any night of fireworks for that matter, long days) but this park was fun. 


The next day was Hollywood Studios. First thing we did in that park was the Tower of Terror. The line wait was short and I knew I would do it once and want to do it again. So off we went and yes that ride is a blast. Now my motion sick issue was not completely gone as I could still feel like I was on that darn mission ride, I had remembered my peppermint Doterra oil I had brought. This will actually calm a foul belly, so every ride I got on for the rest of the trip I would take a drop before and after each ride. Some was a couple drops after but at least it worked. We wandered around in this park weaving in and out of all the nooks and crannies. This park is smaller than Epcot so it felt a bit more crowded but not shoulder to shoulder. Lines were pretty short waits and we hit pretty much all of them except for Toy Story which had a hour and half wait time pretty much all day. Each ride was as much fun as the next and the shows were fun to watch. The food in this park was a bit more naughty. What I mean about naughty; if you are watching what you eat, this one will knock you right off. I justified any of my naughty eating will be counter acted by all the walking we did, which was over 20,000 steps a day. I kept track with my Fit Bit. Hee hee. Is Disney the happiest place on earth? To all those who love Disney, yes it is. I really enjoyed myself at Disney. It made me smile a lot despite the motion sickness episode.

 Universal Studios! This park is definitely in my opinion more fun for adults. There is areas of the park for children from really young to the teens but as an adult, I loved it here. This park I would come to Orlando to go here again and again and even again. There is 2 parks, Universal and Island of Adventure. Get the park hopper to get access to both parks. We did every ride in this park more than once. There is one water ride we did not end up doing because you get super soaked but other than that, all rides were fair game. Rock It roller coaster, The Hulk and The Mummy are fast and furious with a bunch of fun. All of the rides that are virtual 3D indoor rides are absolutely fantastic. 
Of course there is the most famous of all Harry Potter World. Yes, this is a pretty cool area of the parks. Now this is the reason to make sure you have the park hopper. You have Harry Potter world in one park and Diagon Alley in the other. The cool thing about this is the Hogwarts Express Train you ride between the two. (need park hopper to ride) Harry Potter world has some cool rides. One is in the School and the other 2 are outdoor roller coasters. Diagon Alley has a ride in the Gringotts Bank. (I got off this ride and went back on again, loved it) We weaved in and out of the stores and was in awe of the details that were around us. Amazing! Try the Beer Butter while there. It is super good! Oh and the interactive wands, well you just have to go there to see for yourself.  We also had lunch in Harry Potter world and it is pretty good. Give it a try. 
There are many restaurants to choose from in the parks and right outside of the park gates (which is part of Universal Studios). The Palms bar across Margaritaville has some pretty good Margaritas. Wink, wink.
Now for all of us adults, every park there was beer, Disney and Universal. I would hit my beer-thirty (2:00) and be in need for a beer (I was on vacation, mmmmm). I could find a beer anywhere pretty much. My favorite beer that I found was in Diagon Alley. It was a dark stout and boy was it good. 
For any smokers (I know, I know but there are still smokers out there people, don't judge) Epcot had smoking sections around the lakes. They are tucked in but easy to find. Hollywood had a couple tucked away. Universal Studios park were around the lake as well but Island of Adventures were more hidden. For the non-smokers these smoking areas were easy to avoid or walk by without knowing they were even there, unless someone accidentally walked right through one of these areas. Restrooms are a plenty and all the ones I experienced were pretty clean. The well oiled machine of the employees of these parks were incredible and not one of them ever seemed annoyed with their job or with us crazy, overstimulated mob of people who can barely pay attention long enough for full instructions. 

Tips I can give:
Go during off-season. The crowds were smaller and our hotel was cheaper. 
When looking for a hotel through a package site, check TripAdvisor for reviews. We loved our place. Most places have resort fees so check on those as well. 
Most hotels have shuttles for the parks. You might want to check and make sure and check to see if they have on to take you from/ to airport. There is shuttles at the airport but need to reserve them ahead of time to get to your resort/hotel if they do not provide one. It cost me $10 a person for ours. No need to rent a car unless planning to do more fun adventures around Orlando. Plus parking fees for the parks and your resort can add to your cost. Uber is also available in Orlando.
Get park hoppers. Our ticket package was with the park hopper for Universal and Disney. 
May get motion sickness on some of these rides. Get something that may help out with this. 
Don't forget sun screen.
Good and I mean good walking shoes. 
Watch for wands and selfie sticks they are everywhere don't get poked.
Download the apps of these parks on your smartphone these apps can give you wait times on rides and show you everything you need to find.
Take pictures, lots of pictures. There were a couple of days I was so enthralled with the things around me I would forget to take pictures. 

Other than the above, eat, drink, ride and have fun.
We did and it did not cost us an arm or leg just a finger and toe. But hey it was Disney and Universal, had to experience once. 

The highlighted areas in this blog will lead you to the links for more information if needed.

What? An anti-aging lotion that works and works quick?

Yes, there is one out there that I can honestly say works and shows results quickly NeriumAD. I have seen this product on Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter and magazines and I finally decided to try it. I have heard about it about a year ago and now I wish I would have jump on it then. I Love It! A product that actually delivers the goods!

 As you all know from reading my blog bio, I am a hairstylist and work in the beauty industry. I have been in this industry for 18 years and have seen it all when it comes to products. The claims that a product works or does not work in this industry is confusing. We all get duped into products and they don't seem to work or we hear/see about a product and think, hmmmmm is this for real? Nah that can't be true. With social media and the media in general there is also the tons and tons of beauty advice for all of us to try and decipher what is right for us. Then next thing you know, there is all of these products in your bathroom sitting on your counter or under your sink and it is not doing what it said it would do, or just because your skin or hair did not react as you thought, or it is just not getting the results quick enough. I am one who is wanting the quick result than later. (patience is something I work on daily)

 Being that I live in the high desert where the dryness of the air sucks any if not all of the moisture out of your skin and I am in my 40's, I was seeing these results with my skin. Eeeeeek its aging and fast. I was trying everything. I had done expensive products, to cheap ones, to whatever I thought or heard would work. I did botox and loved it but I can't swing that kind of cash all the time for maintenance. What the hell does a lady do?! I don't mind aging but I did not like it happening so fast. So I decided to try this product. 

NeriumAD is an age defying night and day cream. (They also have a body firm lotion as well) I had started using the product a little over a month ago and I can see the results. Shoot, I could see them within 7-10 days. My face, neck and back of my hands were starting to change. Fine lines, skin texture, discoloration was starting to diminish. By day 30 was a real noticeable difference. I am super happy how these products are working. 

These picture are of me: 
1st picture is the day I decided to try this product. I have foundation on in this picture and you can see my lines, some hyper pigmentation and the sagging going on at my chin area.

2nd picture is 7 days later. This day I only had a tinted Bebe creme on and you can see that the lines are starting to diminish and the skin around my chin is starting to firm up. 

3rd picture is 30 days. I have no make up on except mascara. My fine lines have diminished around my eyes and mouth. My skin texture is starting to firm up and my chin area is looking pretty dang good. Oh and the hyper pigmentation and dark spots are diminishing. Ooooooo this stuff works and I mean it works great!! I love it.  (I wish I had before and 30 days of my neck and hands huge difference)

I was skeptical until I tried it. I only wash my face night and morning with a gentle cleanser and use the creams. At night I use one pump of the night on a damp face, neck, chest and top of hands. Morning I cleanse and use about pump and half of the day cream for the same areas. If I need a little more, I will but I usually don't. I don't use any expensive facial cleansers or need more products but if you are one who has a product you love for cleansing, exfoliating, and toning, you can do the whole skin regime and the Nerium night cream will replace any of your night creams. There is no SPF in the day cream so you can apply the SPF to the skin after the day cream has absorbed into the skin. 

Anyone can use this. Twenty-somethings on up. Men also use these products with great results. There is no limit to who can use it. Starting now is the right time, don't wait like I did wondering if it's for real because it is.



Oh and they give to Big Brothers Big Sisters. :)

Music I Love!

I heard this song on Witches of East End and loved it. I could listen to music like this all day and some days I do. It takes me to a relaxing place in my head and helps my creative flow be constant and fluid. Wanted to share with everyone.


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Belize, you have my soul

It is time to talk about Belize. The beautiful Belize, the country where I left my heart and soul. It sits waiting for my return and every day I am pining for that time to come when I am boarding a plane to head back to a place I love. I was in Belize the beginning of December for 6 days. I can say it was love at first sight as I was instantly drawn in. I felt like it was home and where I belonged.

Belize is a country that is maybe the size of Massachusetts, with a population about 350,000. Yes, 350,000 is what I said. They are an English speaking as they were a British nation until 1981 when Belize became an independent country. The other languages are Spanish and Creole. This makes it real easy to communicate with everyone you come in contact with.

Traveling there is easier than I had thought from the west coast. Only one lay over and then we were in Belize. The small airport reminded me of a the airport from my hometown back in the seventies. Getting off the plane on the stairs rolled in on a truck and no terminals. It was like I had gone back in time. Next was customs and it was not to crazy in this small airport and we had to turn around and check in for our flight on the Tropic Air little plane to get over to Ambergris Caye. If you are staying on the main land, you can rent a car to your destination or you are met by someone from your resort. The 15 minute flight to the island was more than enough to enjoy the views from above. The waters so blue and the small islands spread out on the inside of the barrier reef was a beautiful sight to see.

As we landed, we were met by the manager of our resort, La Perla Del Caribe. Enrique was his name with a great welcome to his little tropical oasis he was willing to share with us. He put us on a taxi and took us to board the water taxi that many of the tourists get to know well as these boats are mostly the main transportation on the island. There are no cars (with the exception with the taxi's that pick you up at the airport) and the prime mode of transportation besides the boats are golf carts, bicycles and the use of your own feet.


We were settled into the boat and headed up the coast line towards our destination of La Perla Del Caribe. Passing along the shoreline were many beautiful resorts and homes. The residential homes ranged from very moderate to fancy but not any looked out of place for this island. The sun was setting during our boat ride and the air was cooling off. Comfortably warm. Once we landed our feet on the boat dock, we all looked up and saw our beautiful home for the next 6 days. White sands, palm trees, turquoise blue waters, the sound of the water breaking at the reef and our villa. Ahhhhhhhh, heaven.

The villa was a 2 bedroom, 2 bath that was set up with the living area in the middle and each room at the each side of that area. Each room had a screened in sun porch to enjoy if you wanted to just hid away for a few. The villa also had a front deck with lounge chairs to just sit with the waters edge about 30 feet away and watch the people who walk along the beach. It was the best place to sit and enjoy your morning coffee while watching the sun come up or relax with your cocktail in the afternoon as you watch the locals ride their bikes home from work on waters edge. (This is their rush hour.) Enrique was great at making us feel at home. Anything we needed he or his other assistant Toshiba was there to help out at any time. As they made us feel like family the entire trip. 


Morning

 
Since we were a bit further north of the main town of San Pedro, the options of restaurants were a minimal and our villa had a kitchen. So what did we do; ordered our groceries with alcohol too. What a great thing to do. There was food for us at any time we were hungry and our alcohol was plenty. We did not have a problem cooking while on vacation. We did wander up the beach to a restaurant called Portofino for dinner one night and it was delicious with a lobster bisque soup so creamy and buttery it was divine while sitting on the second floor balcony listening to the waves and the trade winds blowing slightly. We could have taken the water taxi's into the small town and tried the cuisine there but we found ourselves completely content staying where we were.

There were days of excursions that entailed of doing a bit of snuba (not spelled wrong, it is snorkeling/scuba mixed. It is a great way for us non-certified scuba people to try) This is great for snorkelers to get underwater and enjoy its beauty. The boys went bone fishing with an old fisherman who new every nook and cranny of the area surrounding the island. This is a good adventure for any fly or spin real fishermen out there, the guys really enjoyed themselves as the girls sat on the villa deck looking out at the ocean and drinking the local Belkin beer. Then we went to the main land seeing the country side touring a Mayan Ruins Xunantunich and cave tubing along the Yucatan range. We learned about the Mayans and where they loved and praised the Gods and then to the caves where the river flows trough and you are tubing through learning about how they sacrificed to those same Gods in those caves. This was a full day. We had a long boat ride to the main land then the car ride to the ruins which was across the country itself. Literally, we were a few of miles from Guatemala, then we had a great local cuisine in Benque Viejo del Carmen. A small town nestled along the river bank of Mopan and up the hillsides of the Yucatan. On our way back to Belize city was where we took a turn into the jungle of the Yucatan, this is where we went floating into caves. Equipped with our protective headgear, head lamps and float tubes we were off on our hike through the jungle. The guides educated us on all the trees and plants. Then we came over a hill looking down was this turquoise pool of water peaking out from in between the caves. Making our way down into the really cool water, we all attached ourselves to each other and into the cave we went. Pitch black except for the little spot lights from all of our head lamps. Listening to our guide telling us about the history of the caves and of his own heritage as well, it was one of the best lazy rivers I have floated. We also had a great time going to the marine reserve to snorkel around swimming with sea turtles, sting rays, nurse sharks and many other aquatic sea life. I really recommend this one because of all the marine life you get to see and experience. Don't be afraid to swim with the sharks it is a thrill of a lifetime and they are only nurse sharks. On this excursion we were able to meet a couple of men cleaning the conk that they had farmed. Then we were able to try ourselves some raw conk. I can say it was one of the most delicious raw seafood I have had. It was like a sweet buttery flavor. I can still taste that little morsel of goodness. All of our guides were kind and gave you the history of Belize and its surrounding areas. 

This trip was filled with fun activities and we were able to just sit and shut the world out while relaxing on the deck or by the pool. I did not want to leave. I felt like it could be home for me and that is what I plan on making Belize someday. Time stood still there.





The Right Bra Size

Ladies, let us talk about the brassiere. All of us, who have not been fitted or fitted properly, have been wearing the wrong bra for years. Many of us hate our bras and can't wait to get home to rip them off. There are us women who would wear them all the time including in bed (if they were not uncomfortable to sleep in). I happen to be the one who does not mind wearing my bra as it holds these two squishy things that protrude off my chest wall. So, during my perusing of Pinterest, I have seen many pins on how to properly find the right bra size. I knew I wasn't wearing the right bra as I have gained and lost weight and those seem to be the first to come and go on the weight gain and loss. I was curious.
I have been sized once before at VS and I was a size that kind of shocked me. The bra had fit, (I thought it did) but I stuck with that size maybe changing the cups with many different brands of bras. As I have paid attention to TV shows and articles about our bras and how many of us are walking around with wrong sizes, I knew it was time to re-check. I looked at some of the websites that have been pinned and tried out the bra calculator and then the plus and minus thing as I got different sizes. Then I found this site http://www.wikihow.com/Measure-Your-Bra-Size  holy crap this was a new way of measuring. I understood all of what it was saying.
The bra calculator site had given me the measurement of a 30D and let me tell you finding that size in cute bras is a needle in a haystack. I did get a cute Calvin Klein bra that fit like a glove but could not find any others. I do know that every name brands have their own sizing's. This can be very frustrating when shopping, let me tell you. No wonder us women have a couple of bras and we live with those old things for a long time. Finally at one point I had remembered my friend telling me that she learned to go up a size and down a cup size. Ah-ha, so I did that one day when I went for a quick bra shop (ha-ha, quick bra shop, now that was a funny statement). So, I actually found my 30D's and then I took in 32C's that were bra's I liked and tried them on. The D's were actually to small but the C's were perfect. Well, I'll be damned, look at this, all I had to do was adjust my sizes. When was someone going to give this little secret out? Now I at least know what to do and I can get some cute, fantastic fitting bras.
Ladies, try those bra's on in the store. Yeah, yeah I know it a pain in the butt, but it is well worth it. My bras are even more comfortable and I don't feel strapped in. I now have the right band/chest size, cup size is perfect and not spilling or flopping around in the bra, the straps are not the ones holding the girls up digging into my shoulders. Then finding out that we should be hooking the bra on the last hook (the very end one) not the middle or third one (which I don't know why they are there in the first place) I don't have that digging in my back. Now that my girls are up where that are suppose to be, I have been asked if I have lost weight or if I have changed something. It's just a bra that fits right and it is amazing what the girls can do to your body shape when they not where they are suppose to be.
I am here to say, that I have  been transformed. The above website gives you all kinds of info on what type of bras to wear and how to measure. I can say that bra shopping will be a bit easier now that I know how to size myself up or down if that brand does not have my size or it is my size but does not fit in that brand. Give yourselves the luxury of the right fitting bra. It makes a world of a difference.

The Dingy Headlights

Here is a quick little blog about those nasty, dingy headlights. If you live in an area that has weather that requires sand and salt to be blasted all over the roads to keep you from being in a twisted metal outcome and you have an older car with an old, plastic lems covers (apparently not used in the new vehicles headlights) and they get pitted and oxidized as they hold onto any grime not letting go, then this is the trick to help out.

I have washed my car many times and could not get those pesky headlights to shine clear or look as good as they once did. I knew there are those cleaners/ polishes you can buy to do the trick and my lazy ass had never gone to get any, nor did I want to spend the money for them and have this bottle hanging out in my garage with all the other random car cleaning products I own. I mean, come on, I really actually go through the car wash place that I sit my ass in the car and let it do the work. I clean my motorcycle with more efficiency than my poor car. But hey at least I clean it. Back to the headlights; I have found in research and asking friends, that the polishes will work but for only a little while. This is pretty much common sense that once that plastic is pitted and been eaten through by salt and whatever else the environment wants to blast at it, that plastic is never going to look brand spanking new. I knew I just wanted the yellow haze look to be off of it. I have tried to scrub it off from time to time with no effect. Then I saw a pin about using toothpaste. What do I have to lose to try something as simple as toothpaste; nothing. So the other day amongst the other random things I was doing around the house, I grabbed the toothpaste, two rags, one wet and one dry and headed out to the garage.

With those dirty headlights looking at me straight in the eyes, I went in to give them my Brut force called elbow grease. Here is my outcome:

Before:

After:

 Drivers after:

 

 



 

I jumped completely into it and forgot to take the before picture of the drivers side and it was really bad compared to the passenger side. The difference was day and night on the drivers side. What I used was Colgate Total Advanced whitening toothpaste, an old wash cloth to rub the toothpaste on, and then I took an old towel, wet it down and wiped the toothpaste off. I did the whole wax on, wax off circular motions with the toothpaste and then just rinsed it off with the wet towel.

The headlights look so much better. There is still the oxidized plastic from the pitting and blasting of the world on them so they still are a little foggy looking but they are clean and not yellow. I can actually see the headlight bulb now, and I couldn't before. It is going to be amazing at night to be able to see the road actually. Hee hee, yeah those lights were getting bad. Now if only toothpaste would help my timing chain from clanking around my car and I would be golden. :)

 

 

Original pin post: http://pinterest.com/pin/139400550938315411/

 

Now the pics in this post makes them look brand new but don't expect that. 

 

 



Cleaning the yuck off the water dispenser tray....

 

OK, I admit I let this little tray go a long time before cleaning it.  It's disgusting and for some reason, even if you wipe it down each time water gets on it, it still ends up looking pretty gross.  In the past I have tried ways to get the yuck off and it always ends up not turning out so well.  So when I saw this simple way to clean it on Pinterest, I figured it wouldn't hurt to try again. 

 

Ingredients needed:

White Vinegar

Dish Soap

Toothbrush (not to be used for actual teeth cleaning afterwards!)

 

I had 2 gallons of vinegar left over from when I was told that it helped removed wallpaper.  (BTW, it didn't and only made my house smell terrible!)  Of course we all have dish soap.  And I had a toothbrush left over from last dentist appointment.

OK, let's get started.  I took the tray out and placed it in the sink.  As the original said, I poured the vinegar in the tray. (Sorry, I forgot to take a pic of this stage).  I filled it up until it started coming out over the top (what? I wanted to make sure I had enough in all the grooves!)  The pin said to wait only 3 minutes, however I did not feel that was long enough so I waited for 7. 

The pin stated to put dish soap on it at this point, but I decided to start scrubbing with the vinegar still in the tray.  So I gently brushed the toothbrush around in the little grooves.  It really didn't take much effort to see the yuck coming off.  

Once it looked like I couldn't get anymore off, I dumped the vinegar out, put dish soap in the tray (no water) and started brushing again. 

 It seemed like it was working...  I rinsed the tray and here is the end result...

Not completely rid of all the yuk, but a vast improvement.

Next I figured, Hey!  Its 7:00am on a Saturday morning, I'm waiting for fabric to dry for my next project (blanket for my cousins 5th birthday, pictures to follow!) why not make the house smell like a little more vinegar?!?! (I'm sure my husband is appreciating this while he is sleeping!)  I decided to fill a tupperware dish up with about an inch or so of vinegar, emerge my tray upside down in it and let it soak for another 20 minutes.... I really want this thing clean!

After the soaking I brushed the tray again with the toothbrush while still in the vinegar.  I could still see that some of the yuck was still not coming off, so I took the scrubber side of the sponge to it.  When I was satisfied, I pulled it out and did the dish soap thing again. Rinse and.....

Not bad!  It turned out pretty darn clean.  Now, to make it shiny again and to hopefully help prevent some yuck in the future.... the husband suggests Paste Wax.

 

Paste Wax provides rich, satiny lustre and protects multiple surfaces including plastic! WOOT WOOT!  This can help!  I took a paper towel, folded it up, swirled just the corner in the wax (you really don't need very much!), and then rubbed it all over the tray.  VOILA!

Thanks all for reading and happy cleaning!

Amanda