Disneyland | Book Chatter

Well, hello there! The holidays are always a bit crazy, but this year they came up too quickly for me. I had planned to be online for most of it and I was for some of it, but then the days got away from me and before I knew it, Christmas was here and then poof, it was over and done with. Isn’t that how it always is?

We did have some fun though.

Leading up to Christmas we went to Disneyland and California Adventure. I love Disneyland at Christmas but the Boy and Hub wanted to see all the new stuff at California Adventure so we did both in one day.

Sleeping Beauty's Castle

We got there before the park opened and stayed for over sixteen hours. Towards the end of the evening, I was hobbled in a big way (like that guy in Misery), but we saw almost everything we wanted to. There is nothing like Disneyland at Christmas! I love the lights, the holiday atmosphere and who am I kidding? Starbucks! California Adventure has a Starbucks now! After sixteen hours of dragging myself all over the park, it felt so good to get a REAL coffee drink instead of the watered-down “tea” they call coffee.

Of course, there were other treats to be had such as the caramel apple and turkey leg I sucked down but I digress.

It was an amazing day. Bliss! I am a bit OCD when it comes to making sure we do stuff but all in all, it was a great day. Tons of people but our fast passes (strategically obtained) came in handy. I don’t think I’ve ever seen the Boy move so fast but he used those cross-country skills to get us passes for Radiator Springs Racers and it paid off because they were sold out by 11am.

On the Saturday before Christmas, we met-up with our friends for a driving tour of the Christmas lights in our neighborhood. We do this every year and have been doing it for well over fourteen years, if you can believe it. Anyway, I didn’t capture any pics because it was raining, but it was still fun to drive around and check out all of the lights. I made my giant ginger cookies and two kinds of fudge and we sipped hot chocolate while driving around. It was great to see everyone again.

On the Sunday before Christmas, we went to my Mother-in-law’s house. We got there a little late because I had a laundry faux pas but let me tell you… it was nice to be late for a change. We are always the first ones there and the party was in full swing when we got there. Felt good to arrive to a crowd of happy, smiling people. The food was great and everything was very casual and relaxed. A perfect evening.

Christmas day, I made cinnamon rolls and a pile of bacon. We watched movies at home and then headed to a restaurant for Christmas dinner. I ALWAYS cook and usually enjoy it but I was just sick of making stuff so this year, I made reservations instead. We like this one restaurant that is right next to the airport and they offered a Christmas buffet this year so I thought, why not?

The Girl and Boy at Christmas Dinner 2012

I think each kid ate their weight in food. The sun was setting in this pic but that’s the air field right there! We got to watch the planes take-off and land while we ate. It was perfect and a lot of fun. I especially liked the fact that there was nothing for me to clean-up afterward!

After dinner, we drove home and watched It’s a Wonderful Life. A perfect end to a perfect evening.

I think everyone on the planet was watching this movie though:

My son got to see it with friends but I seriously feel as if I need to get myself to a theater to see it.

Anyway, that’s it from me. I just started my last book of the year, Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World (Murakami) and tomorrow, I plan to just lounge around and do nothing. I do have two reviews to write-up. We’ll see if that happens.

Disneyland at Christmas

There is nothing more magical than Disneyland during the holidays. Here’s how it went down:

We made plans over 6 months ago to visit Disneyland over Winter break on December, 22nd.
On December 20th, the newscasters were predicting the WORST storm of the year to hit over the next few days.
On December 21st, I had a hair appointment and my stylist told me that her visit to Disneyland on December 20th (the day before) was the worst one ever. It poured, none of the food places were open and there was some sort of electrical problem which caused many of the rides to shut down.
I came home and told The Hub that we needed to cancel. He said no, that all would be fine.
On December 22nd we hit the road at 6am and it was pouring! The freeways were horrible and I am a nervous Nellie when it comes to driving in the rain. I had to take a Dramamine, which works like a sedative for me.
We arrived at Disneyland right when the gates opened. No one was there. No one was parked. We literally parked 6 spaces from the elevator on the FIRST floor. Unheard of. We were the only ones on the parking shuttle. We were the only ones buying tickets. I was a tad stoned from the Dramamine.
On Main Street, there were a couple of small groups. That’s it.
I jumped up and down. The kids jumped up and down and we all ran to Space Mountain.

The ENTIRE day was that way. There were no lines for anything. We went on everything twice. The only thing I didn’t consider was that I’d be practically hobbled after 15 hours of walking. Oh! And the poor Girl was hobbled too. She wore her boots and her poor little feet got all bruised. Then there was that rude cast member that screamed at us after WE got stuck on Indiana Jones for 30 minutes but I chalked that up to holiday grouchiness. She couldn’t rain on our parade.

Yes, it rained all day but cleared for the fireworks show and then we stayed down there for the night so we didn’t have to worry about the drive back. It was the best trip ever. Oh, and the highlight of the day was Captain Eo. Let me just say, that if the Jacksons had any idea how many people laugh at that attraction, they probably wouldn’t allow it to be viewed. Period.

When we got back the next day, we met friends for dinner at Buca Di Beppo. Great food. Great friends. It was really fun. That place is loud! I had a hard time hearing anyone but it was still fun.

Christmas Eve was spent with the in-laws where there was a bit of family drama. I retreated to the fire pit and hung out with The Boy who also retreated to the fire pit. Thank goodness for the fire pit.

Christmas Day we gorged on french toast and bacon and lots of good coffee and then had a full Christmas dinner later that day. In between, I was able to get a little bit of reading in, but only a little bit.

Yesterday we saw Tron. Good flick. I don’t enjoy movies that much these days. People get on my nerves with their texting and loud talking but I didn’t experience any of that this time. All was good.

I am off this week and trying to catch-up on my reading, which I will explain in another post but my reading list suddenly got longer.

Hope the week is going well for you.

Chatting with friends about books and life…