Orlando Part Two

Our third day in Orlando we went to Epcot at Disney World. I had booked us for a princess character breakfast at Akershus Royal Banquet Hall, which was in Norway at the World Showcase. This was another day that started off raining. Fortunately by the time we finished breakfast it pretty much quit raining the rest of the day. I had bought both my daughter and myself princess themed dresses and was planning on going all out, but we woke up really late which gave me only enough time to get us dressed and throw her hair in a bun before flying down the road like Speed Racer. Although the breakfast was supposed to be at a Norwegian restaurant, I don't think any of the food was traditional/authentic. It was still good regardless. I also wasn't aware that you didn't order your own food. Basically they bring out a little platter that had different types of cheeses, cold cut meats, and fish. Next your presented with yogurt, fresh fruit salad, and a pastry/bread basket that consisted of doughnut wholes, bagels, croissants, and cinnamon roles. The last thing they bring out is a platter that has scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage, and a cheesy sort of potato casserole dish. It was a crazy amount of food for two people! This was a bit of an early birthday princess for my daughter, so I let the staff know and they brought her out a cupcake at the end of our meal and a birthday card signed by the princesses. Once again, this was a character breakfast and we met Cinderella, Snow White, Belle, Sleeping Beauty, and Ariel. At different times during the breakfast they will do a procession and the princesses run around grabbing any child that wants to parade around the restaurant with them. My daughter loved it! Throughout our trip my daughter did meet almost every princess and Tinkerbell, except we missed Jasmine, Pocahontas, and Tiana, The World Showcase was a very neat area. Basically they have a bunch of mini countries set up. I did feel that the World Showcase was much more targeted at selling things than even the rest of Disney. The amount of gift shops were ridiculous and it would be nice if there were more cultural exhibits included in each 'country'. Later on we headed back to the front of Epcot and went to Future World. We ended up making reservations for the Coral Reef restaurant for dinner. Although the food was good, I don't feel it was worth it for the price. I also felt that the online description was a bit misleading. I was under the impression that you're also completely surrounded by an aquarium and in reality it one wall that has the aquarium at it. The ambiance of the restaurant was nice though. Once we finished up at Epcot later that night we went back to the hotel to rest our feet and go swimming.

Breakfast at Akershus (they hadn't brought out the eggs platter yet)

Arial noticed my dress, she said "so mom, I notice your dress. You're going to get in the picture right?" lol

Torrid Little Mermaid Dress, Icings Sea Horse Necklace

Day 4 was all at the Magic Kingdom. An old friend of mine from about 10 years ago has actually settled in Florida, so when she found out we were coming we made plans to meet her and her daughter at Magic Kingdom. It was very nice having someone my daughter's age there for her to play with and for me to be able to have adult conversation and reconnect. I think Magic Kingdom is my favorite, it's got all the princess castles and the fireworks show, and lights, and well, it just feels magical (especially the last hour before close when it's dark, everything is glowing, and there is way less people!)  I know a lot of larger people get concerned about being able to fit in rides at theme parks. I think Disney is very fat friendly (I've been to Disneyland and Disney World, I can't speak about Disneyland Paris or Disney Tokyo, maybe someday ;)). I haven't experienced not being able to fit in rides. Now there are some that are uncomfortable, like the Tommorowland Speedway is one that is a bit of a tight fit, but I still fit. We had also went on the Aladdin's Magic Carpet and let the girls sit together in the front and my friend and I sat in the back. That was a tight fit as well with two large bottom women, but once again, we still fit. One thing that I wasn't aware about Magic Kingdom before we went though was that you aren't actually parking at the park. You park, and if you're pretty far out from the transportation center take a tram, once you're at the transportation center you either ride the ferry to Magic Kingdom or take the Monorail there. While the ferry was nice, there is very limited seating and after a long day of walking through the theme parks it is frustrating to have to ride the ferry (two of the nights the monorail was closed) and not being able to sit down. 

Mad Hatter Tea Cups

One of my personal favorites, the Haunted Mansion

Meeting Arial. Another night we were in Magic Kingdom she was dressed up as Elsa. It had never occurred to me before that Disney has the women play multiple characters. 

Everything and the kitchen sink sunday, it was delicious. 

Shirt and shorts are from Walmart. While these shorts are comfy and I think cute, for me the crotch hangs kind of low due to where I wear them on my waist. It is possible to put them up higher waisted, but that make me uncomfortable. Now with the crotch area hanging low, it also causes dread chub rub so I would say that some type of chub rub defense is in order with these shorts whether it be deodorant or some type of powder. 

My friend and I had to get the obligatory picture in front of the castle. This night was pretty awesome, Disney all of a sudden announced that they were deciding to stay open an extra hour until 1 am. 

Orlando Part One

I can't believe that I haven't made any posts at all in almost two months. Things have been hectic though. I was very sick almost the whole month of July, sinus infection, throwing up (doctor thought it was some type of stomach virus), migraines daily (which are now being treated), and I also had two weeks of jury duty in the midst of that hell. That was an interesting experience, I learned all about manufacturing methamphetamines and finger printing. After serving my civic duty, I returned to work for one week, and then went on a much needed vacation to the hot, humid, and incredibly sweaty Florida. Maybe it's just me, but I'm fully convinced that there is absolutely no looking sexy in Florida in August. That being said I had a fabulous 8 days there (and can't wait for my next expedition).

While in Florida we stayed at the Movieland Monumental Hotel. I only paid $350 for the whole trip and was actually pretty impressed with the hotel. The walls of the hotel are covered in framed movie posters (hence the name) and we just had a very pleasant stay. I LOVED the pool, they had an arcade room, and it was connected to a Black Angus that was great after one long night at the theme park that we missed eating dinner  and were too tired to really venture around Orlando to look for someplace to eat at 1:00 am. I'm always paranoid that hotels will have cockroaches or bed bugs, but fortunately none of that here. Although I did find a little lizard in my room one night and it took me well over 30 minutes to catch the little bugger and release him outside. That's okay though, these little critters are EVERYWHERE in Orlando, and they are cute so he didn't really bother me.

Basically our first day we explored around International Drive in Orlando, did the Eye of Orlando, Sea Life, and Madame Tussauds, and later on drove down to Kissimmee and had dinner at Medieval Times. Despite the fact that we had done a red eye flight going all the way across the US (Washington to Texas and Texas to Florida) and my daughter being exhausted, she powered through enough to stay awake for Medieval Times and loved the dinner and show. She wasn't too pleased about having to "eat like a savage" with her bare hands however. Ha ha, her terminology. It also poured down rain when we had been walking outside around the International Drive area and she wasn't especially fond of that either, telling me "I didn't come on vacation for it to rain" (along with thunder and lightening. 

Eye of Orlando (400 feet in the air)

Madame Tussauds

 Medieval Times (at the medieval village before our dinner and show). Kimono, Shirt, Leggings: Kmart. Flip Flops: Walmart. The Kimono isn't quite hanging right since I have a backpack on. 

Sea Life and a creepy little eel. All I could think was Ursula. 

Our second day we went to Disney World's Animal Kingdom. This day it seriously rained, for hours on end. I had to purchase ponchos and even the ponchos didn't keep us dry! Every restaurant, gift shop, and nook that someone could hide under was pretty much packed with people because it was raining so heavily. My daughter and I kept venturing through and finally came across the Boneyard archeology dig that was actually covered for the most part with very few people hiding out (I don't think many realized it was there since you had to climb up and threw a huge kids climbing structure to even get to that part) , and just chilled there for quite a while. She was able to dig around in the dirt and play, giving us a chance to escape the rain and dry off some. Even though the day had started off hot, there was so much rain that we both ended up being a little bit cold. I took the opportunity to grab my daughter a hot chocolate and get myself an adult drink (a cappuccino with chocolate and Captain Morgans Spiced Rum, and my only adult drink the whole trip). Unfortunately, the rain made us miss quite a bit at Animal Kingdom, but we did get to go on the Pagani Forest Trail exploration, the Kilimanjaro Safari drive, the TriceraTop Spin, and watch the Lion King show. I wish the day had gone a bit different as Animal Kingdom was only open to 6, and I feel like the first half of the day was a waste. After Animal Kingdom we drove over to the Magic Kingdom and ended our night off there with a few rides, some princess meet and greets, and watching the fireworks show. 

Cute hippo

That's a woman hiding in those grape vines. 

Very cool Tree of Life

Braving the rain

At the dig

Giraffes that are actually out in the open of the safari ride 

 At Magic Kingdom

Magic Kingdom

I plan on doing 3 more parts most likely about this trip, so stay tuned.

Minnie Mouse.

I'm such a a horrible blogger! Not only have I not met my New Year Resolution to blog at least once a week (seriously it's the end of June and this is my second June post, wtf), but this dress I got LAST YEAR in August when I went to Disneyland, and let me not forget to mention that the pictures were taken in early May. These are more cruddy cell phone pics. The good news is that I finally found my camera charger, or rather my mom found it in her car. Apparently I left my charger in her car after she picked me and my daughter up from the airport in April.

I want to say I paid about $54 for this dress, and I purchased it at the World of Disney store in Downtown Disney. While I think it's very cute, I do have some gripes about it. First complaint is that the black sash doesn't go all the way around, I'm sure this is do to the ruching in the back, but it seriously bugs me. The other Issue I have is that the bust is pretty big in strange areas and tends to gape; as you can see in the photos, I have to wear a cami underneath. Besides those minor issues, I like the dress. I love the little bow and broach with Minnie (which I obviously need to iron or something since the one side is smashed down). Another element of the dress that I like is that the polka dots are not solid, they're more of a swirled, scribbled effect up close. I almost feel like I should of had a big bow in my hair, but that may of been pushing it. Maybe next time. I wish Disney would expand the plus size clothing options though, because there were definitely some other clothing items I would of purchased had they been available in my size. I'm curious to see how it is at Disney World, we'll be heading there in August (so freaking excited!), so I guess I'll just have to wait and find out.

Dress: Disney. Tights: LYS. Boots: Torrid. Cami: Old Navy

Sunnyside Beach Attire

 These pictures are from about two weeks ago. My daughter and I went to Sunnyside Beach in Steilacoom. It's a pretty nice beach area, it has actual sand in parts and up above the beach there is a play ground, restrooms and volley ball nets. We spent pretty much the whole day out there. When we first arrive it was low tide so we tried to scout for sea life on shore. Gotta love sunny Sundays (or maybe that's just me since it's my day off). Anyways, here's what I wore.

Shirt: Lane Bryant. Pants and Bracelet: Fashion Bug. Shoes: Walmart. Earrings: Kmart. 

Our version of a sand castle.

Nautical

 I seriously loved today. My daughter and I headed up to Ruston Way which is off of Commencement Bay and spent all day on the beach and walking the water front. It was supposed to rain today, but no rain! I also feel like this outfit was the most perfect outfit for what we were doing, and it's all from Walmart except the earrings, actually the whole outfit was cheaper than the necklace. Ruston Way is a really interesting area, it has a sandy beach area as well as rock beach area. At one point, we were on the sandy beach area up towards the top and a man came out there with his two dogs. They are playing fetch with tennis balls down by the water. The funny thing though, was every time one of the dogs would fetch the ball it would run all the way up the beach, drop the ball next to me and my daughter, and head back to the water. We were cracking. My daughter would run the ball back down to them, and the dog would end up doing it again. So cute, apparently her name was Barney. Half way through our day we walked down the board walk and got some fish and chips for dinner, and then headed down to the Chinese Reconciliation Park before going home.

Pants, Shirt, Necklace, Fedora: Walmart. Earrings: Charlotte Russe

Blue skies

 Please excuse my eyes in these pictures! Not only was I super tired, but it was also really bright and I was being blinded a bit. These pictures are from my outfit on Thursday that I wore to work. This is one of those dresses that I was talking about having for a while and not getting around to posting. I bought it in I think, February or March. I absolutely love the pattern, my only issue is that the bust area could probably be about an inch longer. The empire waist hits up a little too high causing it to creep up, mainly because my boobs are a little too big for it. The next size up was way too sloppy everywhere though. I was kind of wishing I had some white slingbacks to wear with it, but I'm trying (yet again) to not do any shopping, since I have another vacation to save up for in August. I also feel like I should of used one of my other purses, but it is way too difficult for me to concentrate on what bag I'm going to use when I'm rushing around at 4 am to get ready for work.

 Dress and Sequim Cami: Lane Bryant. Shoes: Kmart. Necklace: Target. Earrings: Swarovski Crystal (a Mother's Day gift from my daughter).

Makeup that day, this was taken at about 5:00 am when I was still looking fresh. Oh what 14 hours can do to you, lol.  Funny thing (kind of), I was curling my hair in the morning, had finished and hair sprayed. Then I noticed a weird little chunk that's sort of a part of the bangs but lower down towards the ear, was not curled. I go to curl this piece (now remember I said I had just hair sprayed), and it made this loud sizzle sound. I end up getting startled, ever so slightly jerk the curling iron and burnt my damn forehead above the temple. I'm now walking around with an oval burn mark about the size of a half-dollar. Fortunately if I wear my hair down my bangs cover it. 

Orange in the Park

 Happy Mother's Day to all the mama's out there. Yesterday, my daughter had a cheer competition and afterwards we got lunch, then headed to the park since the weather was so amazing out. I've really  been wanting to do more blog posts, but I lost my camera charger, and can only take pictures with my cell phone, which means I have to have someone else take photos for me. I've thought about asking people at work, but have been a little too embarrassed to do so. I've gotten several dresses, including some last year that have yet to make it on to the blog, I'm ridiculous at times. I didn't take pictures today, but I did have a good Mother's Day. My daughter and I got up and had to run to Walmart to get some last minute gifts for my mom that I forgot to pick up earlier in the week (candy and flowers), afterwards we went with my mom to my Grandma's, and then came home and had a BBQ. Normally I get my mom a bunch of roses, but this year I got her a rose bush to plant outside, which is what my daughter and I ended up doing after dinner.

Dress: Lane Bryant. Cardigan and Necklace: Old Navy. Shoes: Kmart. Purse: Imoshion. Sunglasses: Dollar Tree. 

She wanted to mimic the statue at Wright Park.