But how did they come through this time?
Welll.. just sit down and I'll tell you how.
So on Thursday, Teh Frozen Lover called me to ask if I wanted to go to Disney World and it would be a surprise to Teh Running Bestie. One of her friends had backed out at the (very) last minute and there was an available bed space and lodging would be free. In fact, they even offered to pick me up on the way to Orlando from MD! Immediately my brain went into overdrive.. It was something like this: HOW DO I MAKE THIS WORK???
My first call was to Teh German to make sure he wasn't going to be upset if I went to Disney for a few days without him. I know, I know, I said no Disney in 2017, but when certain opportunities fall into your lap, you just don't say no. Ok? ANNNDD this trip (and the MD trip) are my last hoorahs before my surgery, soooooooo #reasoned.
After Teh German said it was ok to desert him for The Mouse, I consulted Google Calendar and realized that there was no way I could have them pick me up. We had plans on Friday and Saturday nights. I decided I'd just head down on my own on Sunday.
I talked to my boss at work to make sure that I could be out on Mon and Tues without causing too many waves. My compromise was to work a full day on Friday (which is the most extreme type of work grossness) and over the weekend. This actually worked out really well for me and I was able to get soooo much accomplished! When the nerds aren't giving me a deadline 2 hours from the time they send me a document, it's super awesome!
While it was supposed to be a surprise for Teh Running Bestie, it didn't work out that way and we ended up telling her on Saturday evening that I was coming down. So here's an "abbreviated" weekend review since so much has went down. You're welcome.
FRIDAY
I worked. It was exactly like you're imagining. I did leave the office early to pick up hockey tickets and a prescription from the Ortho for more meds and to Willie Jewell's to pick up a birfday gift certificate for Teh PT Wife since it was her birfday. I got home and was able to do some work and pack and then I had to run back out and pick up my meds and my groceries from Walmart. I did the pickup since I was getting non-fresh (aka produce) items, and it was super easy. I'd do it again.
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| a sweet rose from Walmart. mmkay. |
I headed back home and Teh German arrived home soon after. Then we departed with Teh PT Wife/Husband in tow for birfday celebrations: dinner at PF Chang's, an improv show at Theater 99, then hookah at Tabbuli.
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| me, Teh PT Wife, Teh Dental Hygienist |
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| Teh Dental Hygienist got to tell everyone about her day and be part of the show! |
We ended up coming home after the improv show to smoke hookah since Tabbuli wanted to charge a $5 cover for each person and we weren't interested in that.
SATURDAY
Saturday was delightfully rainy and we slept in some, but I got up and tried to accomplish some work. We had an appointment at noon with our wedding planner and we made some great progress on table centerpieces and decorations. It was raining, so it was a perfect day for napping.. except that I had to do work. Boooo. |
| Received this message from Papa G saying our German invites had arrived and he'd be delivering them, woot! |
I was able to accomplish a lot of work though since I wasn't having to deal with other people changing the documents at the same time as me. I had planned for everyone to meet at Community Pizza House at 5 for dinner before the Stingrays game. It ended up working out perfectly since we were able to be at the coliseum at 6:30. Teh German was able to grab a beer AND be in his seat for the National Anthem (we like to judge the performers) and the puck drop (which he tends to miss due to getting a beer).
Teh PT Kid was SUPER into the game and I am pleased that we have created a new hockey fan. #Ididthat Sadly, we lost, but we did at least trrrryyy to win by the end and we only lost by 1 point. When we got home, we decided to stay home and go to bed, rather than socialize. It didn't help that I still hadn't packed for Disney.
SUNDAY
Originally, I had planned on leaving SC early in the AM to get to Orlando about mid-afternoon. But then I learned that Teh Running Bestie had bought backstage passes to Universal Studios, which meant that I could leave Charleston later to arrive closer to when Teh Running Bestie would be leaving the park.I took my turn to release Meri and ended up staying downstairs to finish up some work I hadn't completed on Saturday. After finishing, I headed back upstairs to snuggle with Teh German. He ended up leaving around 12:30 to go on a ride with his "Biker Gang" and I finished packing and laid down for a nap before finally hitting the road around 2:30.
I did stop for dinner at Willie Jewell's in Georgia to compare it to our Willie Jewell's and it was satisfactory, even if they didn't let me get bread pudding as a side. I made it to Orlando a little bit before 9pm. Teh Frozen Lover and gang were already at the hotel so I was able to go inside and hang out with them while waiting on Teh Running Bestie to get back from Universal.
After Teh Running Bestie arrived back to the hotel, we all socialized for a bit, had a serious girly moment when 6 ladies were all huddled on 2 full size beds together giggling, and finally decided to call it a night since we were headed to Magic Kingdom (MK) the following day.
MONDAY
We were all loaded into the car by 0830. We made it into MK by 10, after a bit of a wait for the ferry. Our first stop was Space Mountain since we didn't have fast passes and the line was only 30 minutes. |
| The homemade 101 Dalmations ears made an appearance so my brain wouldn't be squeezed our entire time at MK. |
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| Teh Running Bestie's first time riding Space Mountain!!!! |
We did a lot of walking around and riding short line rides. Rather than try to recall all that we did, I'll just share the photos.
We waited on Gaston and I asked him if he got his "smoulder" from Flynn Rider and then said that I'd heard every last inch of him was covered in hair. I was actually going to say, "Every last inch?" But thought that might be too much, instead, I groped his fake pecs and he told me, "This isn't a grab and greet!"
After, we met Merida from Brave.
Obligatory photo of the castle.
It was stupid hot, because Florida, so we decided to get Dole Whip (yay for them finally making the Dole Whip stand not in a tiny freakin' space). While Teh Frozen Lover and I waited in line, a Cast Member came by and asked how we were doing and what my name was. I told her and she filled out a form for FREE Dole Whips for us! No idea why, but this girl isn't complaining!
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| Fuck yassss, Dole Whip Float all to myself. |
We used a fast pass on the Haunted Mansion (which is totally overrated if you ask me).
On our way to somewhere, we saw the midday parade going through and we HAD to get a photo of the 3 Fairies!
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| Flora, Fauna, and Merryweather |
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| Maleficent |
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| Seven Dwarfs |
While some of us rode Thunder Mountain, others waited in the shade and watched this guy "paint" on the walk way. Totally cool.
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| Coke sends special bottles to Disney World. #itsthelittlethings #makinmagichappen |
We had dinner reservations at Liberty Hall at 6:30, which was perfect. Everything was delicious, as expected.
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| Silly faces! |
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| De-fucking-ssert. YYYAAASSSS. |
After dinner, we headed towards the Castle to find seats to watch the night show/fireworks. To our dismay, half the park had already taken all the good seats! Ugh. I did manage to find a spot for us a little further back than I would have liked, but we had something to lean against, which was most important since we were exhausted. We adopted a "grandmother" and "grandfather" (an older couple who were nearby) as our own and Gramps helped me defend our spot from people who were trying to squat in our place while the other ladies were shopping down Main Street.
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| Gramps was part bouncer, part racist. He was vocal about both jobs. Awwwkkkwarddd. |
I was pleased with our adopted grandparents until Gramps said how stupid it was that someone had proposed at Disney World and well.. I didn't have much to say after that.. Mostly because I didn't want to be rude to the people who would be neighbors with us for the next hour and a half.
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| Obligatory lit up castle selfie! |
Approximately one mabillionty photos of the new night show, Happily Ever After, which made me cry
After the show, we headed to Main Street to take care of any last minute shopping and get a group photo in front of the castle, which we hadn't done all day. Whhhhhhaaatttt??
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| Besties! |
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| IDK who these strangers were, but they were trying to do the "prom pose" so I posed them, then took a photo with them! Such good sports. I love awesome people. |
Exhausted, we made the trek back to the car via ferry and tram ride, then finally made it back to the hotel room where we all promptly showered and passed the eff out. Seriously, I feel asleep with the lights on and that never ever happens. I was TIRED.
TUESDAY
Tuesday, we mixed it up. Teh Running Bestie had planned to take her nice back to Universal, and I tagged along. Since Niece had a magic Harry Potter wand, they let me do some of the wand activities and we rode a few rides before taking the Hogwarts Express to Islands of Adventure for lunch and more rides.
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| Minion ride! |
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| Doing magic! |
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| The trrrraaiiinnnnnn |
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| Obligatory Hogwarts Castle selfie! |
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| We met the Grinch.. and whoever that other not Cat in the Hat character is, lol. |
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| I finally got to ride the Hulk coaster again and it was everything I knew I needed. |
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| #exactly |
We ended up leaving Universal around 3 to meet the rest of the gang at Disney Springs for (more) shopping and dinner.
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| If Gloria (from Modern Family) can walk around in Minnie slippers, I felt like I could too. Teh Running Bestie said I wasn't allowed to wear these for the wedding. She's a real Debbie Downer. |
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| A style of ears I had never seen before! #mandatoryduckface |
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| Mike and Sully!!!! |
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| GEGR friends at Disney!!! |
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| This lady ground up 3 bags of coffee for me to bring home to Teh German. |
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| Teh Frozen Lover has some dietary issues, so the sous chef came from the kitchen to speak with her! Disney is awesome for their ability to serve all dietary needs. |
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| This is our server, Dylan, who endured |
After dinner, we picked up a smores crepe for dessert to share, then we spend some more money and then it was finally time to call it a night.
When we got back to the hotel, my feet were so stinky that I rushed Niece out of the shower so I could shower and wash my stinky feet. I rarely have stinky feet, so now I am paranoid about it.
After my shower, I packed up all my stuffs so it was ready to be loaded into the car the following morning (at 0530). It was another night that as soon as my head hit the pillow I was out like a light.
WEDNESDAY
Wednesday morning, we were out of the hotel by 0600, which was when Teh Running Bestie had announced we were leaving. After stopping by McDonald's so I could grab breakfast, we were on the road, dealing with Orlando/I-4 morning traffic. We hit a bit more traffic in Jacksonville, but after that, we were in the clear. We made a few pit stops for bathroom breaks (I drank 2 huge sweet teas.... #sorrynotsorry) and we stopped for lunch. Once we reached SC, traffic got super tangly because of this stupid fucking boat:
Shortly before I passed the boat, Teh Running Bestie had said they needed to make an emergency stop and that I should continue on without them. I put the pedal to the metal and made it back to Charleston shortly before 1:00.
After greeting Meri, who was extra excited to see me, I set about catching up on work. Roux's Humom stopped by mid-afternoon to pick up Meri for a play session and I surprised her by being home. I worked on work things for a bit and eventually Meri was returned and Teh German came home!
I was looking forward to a quiet evening, but we had a community meeting that Teh German wanted to attend. When we got home, we did a pack walk with the beasts. I was super exhausted and passed on hanging out at Teh PT Neighbor's house because I still needed to finish up the laundry and pack for MD..... which we were leaving for on Thursday.
Continuation of a crazy, completely by the seat-of-my-pants week...
