#with LESS THAN 20 MINUTES TO SPARE. PHEW

[happi-tree]

happy hermiversary to all those who celebrate!!! my son herman he has every disease 💚🃏💚

[kiribaku-queen]

The Blood King and his Queen [1]

Pairing: Bakugou x reader

Romance, Angst, Drama

Word count: 2.4K

Summary:  From being a mere servant girl to marrying the scariest prince in existence, your world changed right before your eyes. Exchanging places with the princess, you knew, wasn’t going to be easy. But could you have found love on the way? Or was it never meant to be?

A/N: Hello my loves! And welcome back to another, rather long, series! I had so many inspirations for this piece that I couldn’t wait to share with you all! Be warned, this might be a 20 part series, maybe more maybe less but we’ll see what happens! I hope you fall in love with this story as much as I do!

And shout out to this amazing artist for the art! I am literally BLOWN AWAY by this art! I can’t stop looking at it! It’s so amazingly well drawn. Just... yes, yes, yes! Please support this artist if you ever want art done! Pricey but just look at this art. So worth it! Check out the end of the chapter for the full image without text!

Also!!!! Check out my side blog if you’re curious about what fics I’m reading! You’ll find alot of j u i c y stuff and please support my friends by reading and commenting on their stories as well! Love <3

                                                                                                         [next]

Nothing started your morning off better than the princess screaming her head off first thing in the morning. You, along with other servants, rushed to aid the princess in her time of distress. Although, it was never something to worry about with her. It was always something minor, like her hair was styled incorrectly or she didn’t like the color of clothes her servant picked out. Of course, this time, she was making a fuss that her perfume didn’t smell right.

“Your highness, I promise you, it’s the same one,” one of the servants who aided her in the morning pleaded for her life.

“No! You must have switched it out because it smells nothing like mine!” the princess screeched. The princess was so outraged that she started throwing everything and anything that was around her. Clothes, jewelry, candles, mirrors, anything she could get her hands on, she threw it. You and the other girls that just arrived could only watch in horror as her whole room becomes a mess with her belongings, some broken some completely shattered.

You wanted to say something. But you knew you couldn’t. If you stepped out of line or even talked back to any of the royals, you were surely to be punished severely later. Yet, you wanted to say something so bad. It was on the tip of your tongue. Because you knew the reason why it may smell different to the princess. To help your fellow friend in desperate need, you were going to say it. You pray to the gods that what you were about to say was right.

“Princess, if I may,” you started. The princess stopped what she was doing, midair, to give you the coldest stare you have ever received from her. You gulped. Well, too late to back out now. You bowed down your head respectfully while extending your hand to take the perfume. You don’t know why the princess decided to trust you at that moment, but she did. She nodded her head, allowing one of the servants to retrieve the bottle and place it in the palm of your hands.

“I believe it’s because your clothes already have a different perfume on it.” you explain. You pick up a different piece of clothing, one you knew was clean and free from previous scents, and spritzed the perfume onto it. “Here, does this smell like normal?” you offer the piece of clothing to the princess. For a moment, she stares at it, not believing your words. But she forcibly takes it anyway and smells it. The look of realization hit her harder than when she smashed her mirror against the floor. She spares you a second glance before handing off her perfume to someone and faces away.

“I would like to be left alone,” the princess states. After a synchronized bow from all her servants, you left the princess’s quarters and back to your own. When you were far enough, you let out a big sigh of relief. Man, that was scary. You probably shouldn’t be doing that again any time soon. Your friend hooked arms with you, the unexpected force made you loose your balance.

“Your intuition was spot on, once again,” she stated. You could only roll your eyes.

“I was just trying to help the situation,” you explained.

“Yeah, well if only the princess could use her brain once in a while, then she would have figured it out herself,” your friend puffed out her cheeks in annoyance.

“Well maybe her highness wasn’t feeling herself this morning,” you tried to defend her. But really, there was only so much you could defend her on.

“Oh, please, (y/n). You know that’s how she acts all the time. You act more like a princess than the princess herself,” your friend finally let the cat out of the bag. You quickly slapped her hand and checked your surroundings. Phew, no one of importance was in sight.

“Oh hush now. Don’t say things like that,” you scold her, giving her a stern look.

“What? You know all us girls think that. It doesn’t help that you look almost exactly like her. If I didn’t know better, I would have thought you were the princess instead.”

“Good gracious! Really? How could you say that so loud? What if someone overhears you? Then both you and me could get in trouble,” you warned. You knew your friend couldn’t care less. It was always gossip coming out of these girl’s mouths. That’s how news spreads fast around here. And you didn’t mind the gossip. Actually, you participated in the gossip too. There was a lot of downtime when you weren’t attending to the princess. So what do you do instead? Gossip. But you couldn’t have this type of gossip going around. This was dangerous.

The main girl who caused the princess to get upset, finally left the room. She was visibly traumatized by the whole event. Who wouldn’t be? Dealing with the princess is something else.

You noticed that the girl was bleeding from her finger. She must have gotten it when the princess was throwing glass around the room and it some pieces cut her.

“Come with me,” you gently grabbed her by the arm and led her to a room that was filled with different plants and bottles. The aroma immediately felt welcoming to anyone who stepped in. You went to a part of the room that you knew well and pulled out a bandage.

“This should do the trick,” you say as you finish wrapping her finger up.

“Thank you. How did you…”

“Oh, I learned a few things from the royal doctor. Sort of like an apprentice?” you explained. Being a servant isn’t the only task you knew how to do. On your spare time, you would come to the royal doctor and assist him whenever needed. In return for your volunteer, he taught you everything he knew about medicine. It was still a lot to process, but at least you knew how to do basic first aid.

“Are you even allowed to do that?” the girl asked. You thought for a minute. Was it? It wasn’t stopping you now.

“Well I guess it’s our little secret,” you put your finger to your mouth and gave a small wink.

After properly getting ready, you and the girls rushed to the princess’s side for it was your job to get her ready to be sent of and wedded. And she was not getting wedded off to just any prince. It was the rumored Blood Prince. Ah, yes. You heard much about this Blood Prince. He was the most vicious out of all the princes in the kingdom. Even more so than his eldest brothers. He was rumored to have sharp teeth and eyes that could kill with a single look. He was told to have scars marked all over his body from the battlefield. An ugly being, you imagined. Big, scary, intimidating, ruthless. God, you felt sorry for the princess for marrying such a man. You couldn’t imagine yourself marrying that type of person. Hearing stories about him made your blood run cold and chills down your spine.

You entered the princess’s room where a beautiful, white wedding dress, flowy, magnificent and perfect in all the right ways, was being fitted on the princess. You watched in awe because she looked absolutely fantastical in the dress. What a dream it would to be wear that dress only once in your life. At the same time her dress was being fitted, some servants were doing her hair and putting decorative pins and head pieces on. It was very chaotic in the room, with servants running everywhere, but it was all worth it for the princess to look this way.

You were preparing water for her hands and feet to soak while some of the girls that came with you were deciding which robe that best fits with her wardrobe.

“Your highness looks so lovely,” you commented, gently soaking her hands into warm bowls of water.

“Of course! I have to look my best for a special guest this afternoon,” the princess said in a cheery voice. You tilted your head slightly in confusion. You weren’t aware that the Blood Prince was coming to the palace. You thought the princess was being sent to him instead. You looked up and came into contact with a friend and she was speaking with her eyes.

She doesn’t know. She signaled to you. You frowned.

She doesn’t know?

She does not know.

Your mouth was left slightly ajar. The princess does not know that she is off to be engaged any moment now? This was a dilemma. She thinks a guest is coming. That’s why she’s dressed so much fancier than usual. But when she finds out that she is to be engaged, she’s going to wreck havoc in the palace. Now you really didn’t dare say anything now.

After finding out that very important piece of information, you could see that all the girls in the room knew, besides the princess. The tension in the room was growing increasingly more uncomfortable as time went on. But the princess was so air headed that she couldn’t read the room.

The princess was over the moon with happiness. And it was only because she could wear her fancy and expensive gowns that she can’t wear on the daily. She was skipping down the long corridors, humming a tune to only she knows as you and other servants follow behind her.

“Isn’t this dress beautiful? I feel like I’m in a wedding dress!” the princess exclaimed. You couldn’t help but raise a brow. Well, it’s because the princess is really in a wedding dress. But the princess did look beautiful beyond compare. She almost looked ethereal dancing in front of you like that. As the princess was dancing down the corridor, she passed by one of many large windows that gave a view of the front of the palace. A carriage was waiting to take her away to her fiancé, but she didn’t know that. Or did she?

She stopped in her tracks to take a better look at the carriage outside. A frown laid upon her lips and her eyebrows rightfully furrowed.

“Is that my carriage down there?” she questions. The ladies around you looked at each other, not knowing what to say. But even if they did know what to say, who was going to say it? One of your friends cleared their throat and bowed down to respond to the princess.

“It is, your highness,” she said.

“Whatever for?” a round of gulps could be heard from everyone there.

“For…your trip to your betrothed,” the girl’s voice shook from fear that the princess was going to blow up.

“My betrothed?” the princess repeated.

“Yes, your highness.”

“As in, to marry?”

“Yes, your highness.”

It was quiet. Nothing more came out of the princess’s mouth. And that scared all of you. This was not the normal reaction you were expecting. You expected her highness to rage, cry, scream, yell, destroy everything around her. But no. She was silent, like her tongue was ripped out of her throat.

In one quick movement, the princess turns around and dashes back to her bedroom. And who does she bring along? You! Before you could comprehend anything, the princess had taken you by the hand and now you were running down the corridor with the princess. The other ladies were running after you. When you turned back to look, you even saw a couple of guards running as well. But it was too late for them. The princess got to her room first, slammed the door closed, and barricaded the door with chairs to prevent anyone from coming inside.

“Your highness,” you call, out of breath from the sudden running. The princess didn’t answer you. She started taking off her dress, sending you into complete shock.

“Your highness! What are you doing?” you panicked. She only glared at you while not stopping what she was doing.

“Enough talking. Just take off your clothes,” she ordered you. You bit your lip. You had no idea what was going on but if she demanded it, then you had no choice but to obey. So, you stripped yourself of your filthy clothes and laid them on the floor. While you stood in front of the princess naked, she was getting the remaining of her clothes off. Then, she passed you her dress.

“Quick, put it on,” she said. You hesitated at first. You? Wear something only a princess could wear? But you couldn’t stall any longer. As quickly as you could, you put on the flowy wedding dress while the princess put on your peasant clothes. Banging was coming from the other side of the door, which only made both of you panic even more. If they came in while all this was happening, you would get into so much trouble. As soon as you both got situated in your new outfits, the princess gripped your shoulders so that you were looking her right in the eyes.

“Listen to me closely. You are going to take my place. I’ll be you and you’ll be me until you come back,” she shouted at you in a whisper.

“Your highness?” you began but she shut you up because she wasn’t finished.

“Your mission is to make this prince hate you so much that he calls off this marriage. Then you’ll return and everything will go back to normal,” she continued. It looked like she wanted to say more, but your time together was cut short. The guards had already pushed their way through the door and charging their way towards you. The princess, who was now dressed as you, quickly covered your face with the veil. The veil was thick enough that no one could see your eyes or face.

“Take the princess,” one of the guards ordered. The real princess bowed her head down, faking it until the end. The guards went straight up to you, grabbing you by both of your arms and forcibly escorted you out to the carriage.

And so there you were, on your way to some unknown kingdom, about to marry some man you didn’t even know. All because the princess ordered you to. No matter how much you hated the idea, you couldn’t even voice your opinions to her. You were in no position to do so. Before you left the palace grounds, you looked back, hoping that this was all some sort of sick joke. But the princess was looking down at you from the window, giving you a nod of trust. She trusted you. You had to fulfil her request.

This is how you found yourself in the presence of the most vicious Blood Prince, Bakugou Katsuki.

A/N: Let me know if you want to be put on a tag list! And leave your thoughts below about the first chapter! What did you think so far? How do you think the story is going to go? What did you think about the art? Speaking of art, here is the full image unedited! Are you in love with it just as much as I am?

[machaaoo-blog]

Most likely to become an AO3 if it is as liked as I hope it to be.

Multi-chapter

Bad Lemons (Rated M) - Drugs, violence, language, etc.

It will have very touchy subjects that relate to very serious problems such as addiction and mental health -- if you can't handle it please don't read! (It'll come up in future chapters if I continue)

Description: Living it rough can really change a person, for better or worse. She became strong, bold and unbothered. Nothing could shake her back into a world full of untrue realities.

Fallin' Out

Chp 1 - Walk

"Where is Mina?" She hated waiting, she hated the train station even more. It's loud and obnoxious, which regularly interrupts her sleeping schedule. She would usually settle for a nice bench in the park or even the sidewalks that lead through a deserted alleyway; sadly both were taken by others who had her current living situation or rats. She'd rather her chances living amongst the rodents, maybe even be blessed with their sickness for the rest of her sad life than go back to a broke home. Of course she had other ways or options to get out of this predicament, she's full filled them, yet she never got the pay she deserved. Her welfare officer had an utmost disdain for her existence. He had and would go to lengths to make her life harder, and therefore couldn't be trusted. Then again her worse enemy yet had to be the people who she lived with: a drunk for a step father and a whore of a step mother, not to mention her elder step brother who doesn't pay a lick of rent allong with his crack sniffing wife. The female laid her head back abit and let out a single, "Fuck." How could she get adopted into their family, where the hell was child protective services when you needed them?!

She rubbef her bruised up limbs and does her best not flinch, and doesn't even bother to spare a glance at her wounds. She doesn't have enough bandages for that mess. Placed her pink fingertips on her cheek which was a mix of green and purple. She paid it no mind though. Not that she ever cared too much, but she why stress the luxury of caring about your appearance? Initially, even as a child, she always presumed that what truly mattered more than anything else about a person is personality. Hypocritically, however, she couldn't care less about either. Right now all that seemed to be on her mind was getting through her problems, with or without help.

You could say this makes Uraraka Ochako a rebellious teen. But yet that's not the case. She'll go wherever as she pleases, but she evades at all costs in the name of self-preservation. Put yourself in her shoes. How can someone last a day with her mentally unstable home? Truthfully when she was adopted into it, everything was dandy, until they went into a debt things just seemed to get out of hand. So she left and decided to break free, they never look for her, so who cared?

Ochako glanced up the clock. Though her chance to escape this time would depend on Mina's miraculous connections and genius planning, her fate rested in her best friends hands.

With a sharp inhale she slaps a bandaid on quickly and smooths it out tightly on the bridge of her nose. Placing her hand on the edge of the sink she looks up at her reflection. Curvaceous, petite, ghostly pale skin with contrasting pink cheeks with cuts and bruises scattered all over. She rolled her eyes and became resolute. Opening the door, then spamming it closed, she made her way out the bathroom she walks towards the bench, but is immediately halted when she sees a guy sitting in it. Her eyes narrow. A tall guy at that. Broad-backed with weird sand-blonde hair, why is it so...spiky? She stuffs her hands into her pockets and sits opposite the bench on the far side of the station waiting for him to leave. She wants to dictate it as a personal problem, but if he's depressed...well then she supposes he won't he moving a muscle any time soon meaning won't be getting her bed back for a long time.

20 minutes had passed and it was already 8:30am and he finally left his seat when a certain green haired boy hoisted Sparky off his heavy ass. They were total opposites and Ochako choked on her spit when the blond suddenly bitch smacked the other boy while both boarded the train.

"Ochako, it's me~!" Mina shouted, waving her small pink hands side to side.

"A private school...U.A? Mina, I know you see me as some Fallen Angel who could possibly be saved but they would never let me step foot on their grounds." Ochako placed her hand on her chest and gave a sly smile, "Look at me, all bruised up because some punk wouldn't lend me a light and look at him now." She pointed at the park bench across from them, "Knocked his ass out straight and now I'm stuck with his lighter that doesn't even work."

"I'm just trying to help you and give you a better life, Ochako. As your only friend take my offer. You know there's nothing for you here and you also know you have allot of pent up pride- let it go, and just come with me to U.A."

Ochako tilted her head to the side, her expression softened by the smile of Mina, her best friend.

°°°

"Ochako." She states. The receptionist looks up at her through her glasses with a look that says a first name like that wouldn't even slightly cut it at such a high-class school. The woman does some typing, and looks at the computer with no change of expression. This school held some of the finest and wealthiest, Ochako was out of her eliminate.

"Come with me."

Ochako followed behind the lady, her eyes looking out the school widows once in awhile to spot preppy teens. Even amongst the worst schools she's attended the students stuck out and looked different, they dressed and did as they pleased. Though her past schools were practically full of fights and no learning, gosh how she missed those days where her small gang ran amuck, when she felt empowered and dominating. She let of a tsk, it still felt that way, but those people she once addressed as family were quick to turn their backs. Clearly everything here is different from what she is used to. Designer brand bags, diamond watches and shoes she couldn't touch with her commoner hands. These damned rich kids all looked alike, she couldn't tell any apart, they all owned the same type of fashion and don't get her started on all the goop plastered on the female students faces. "Yuck." She stuck her tongue out at the window before entering another room with the serious, quiet receptionist.

°°°

Katsuki growled. "Aren't you supposed to be helping out the teachers or some shit?" She laughs as he intercepts her lips and responds immediately in the most favorable way. He pushes her against kitchen table, and slowly presses onto her receiving a deep moan in the process. She looked up at him with a gaze full of lust and want. "Who cares, someone else is can take care if it for me." She whined, pulling out out a condom with a smirk.

°°°

Ochako stared at her I.D with a look of disgust. Mina on the other hand slapped her knee and held her stomach, laughing like her life depended on it. "You look so ugly! EWW!" Mina pointed at the picture, "You flenched and your eyes are barely open!" She cackled. Ochako slammed open the window and held her arm back, "To hell with that." But before she could launch her arm and send that I.D flying Mina grabbed her arm. "Calm down, we got things to do, We gotta get you to your room."

"Well then take me to my room, please."

"But wait we gotta capture this moment!" Mina pulled out her phone and jumped back, getting on her knees and began to tap, flashes going off blinding the poor Brunette who stood before her.

"M-Mina please, my eyes-" Ochako placed her hands out covering the camera which signaled to her friend to stop; which, she did. "I wish you wore something cuter though." Mina pouted as she went through her photos, "You always wear the same thing Ochako."

And she wasn't wrong, her wardrobe was small, she never owned anything more than a phew shirts, jeans and underwear. Why by hundreds of dollars of clothes when she just needed seven pairs to last her throughout the week.

"What's wrong with how I look?"

"Well," Mina coughed, as they began to walk, "For starters...."

Ochako had wore the basics: A red baseball cap, a grey top and loose jeans that bagged from her waist abit to reveal her boyish underwear. Don't even get Mina started on the belly button piercing and tattoo. (which is located on her right arm, a whole sleeve so she constantly wears long sleeves when needed.)

"Alright but Mina remember you wanted to get these body modifications with me? And remember what you did? You chickened out because of your dad." Ochako placed her hand on her school dorms door, "You can't criticize what I wear either because you know I'm poor as shit." She unlocked the door and Mina stood behind her, a constant sorry escaping the pinkettes mouth, she opens the door, and stops in her tracks.

The sweaty bodies laid on the kitchen table, the blonde held a tiny naked waist with one hand whilst tugging at her short blonde hair. Ochako rose an eyebrow at the scene, this timing was horrible because those two were at mid-climax.

"Ah, yes! Katsuki-"

The blondes head falls in between the crook of the males neck. Her feet had become weightless.

"Ochako? Can we go in alrea-" Mina stops as she makes her way to the entrance. Ochako held her arm out from keeping Mina from entering any further. It finally took a few seconds for the two sexually tensed weirdos to notice the presence of two others.

"W-what are you doing here? Mina?!"

"What do you mean, what am I doing here, Toga?!" She shouted and covered her face, seeing a half naked Bakugou made the poor pinkettes hurl.

"Who the hel-" Toga was cut off.

Ochako walked into the room, unphased to see a naked man and woman, she lived in the streets and has seen this and much worse multiple times. Everyone in the situation just seemed to watch. As Ochako picked up their clothes she walked back to the nearest window opening it,

"This is my place, so get out."

Ochako threw their belongings out the window, their clothes slowly fluttering onto the schools dorm field. Toga and Katsuki grimaced, Mina slammed her forehead on the door and as for Ochako... well, she took a seat on the couch and flipped on the TV and began to watch animal planet.

[allbaseballmom]

How to juggle a toddler and a newborn - https://allbaseballmom.com/blog/how-to-juggle-a-toodler-and-a-newborn How to juggle a toddler and a newborn It’s early days with your newborn baby, the ultimate time-waster, you could spend all day staring and cuddling. But wait, what’s that noise in your ear? Oh that’s right, you have a toddler you need to love, feed, clean and play with too! Having a newborn and a toddler is a completely mind-blowing experience in every way, a once fairly easy day is blown apart and the family dynamic that you knew is completely changed. Not necessarily in a bad way, though. The lack of spare hands, free time and visible bench space can be a blessing in disguise. You suddenly realize there’s two little people who love you so much they just want to be in your face all day long, so you may as well slow down, sit down and get amongst it. If you did nothing all day but change nappies, play and make sure everyone was fed for the first four weeks, I’d say you’d be doing fine. As it is, we always think we need to be doing so much more. I found that the best way to adjust to the upheaval of my days and nights and push away the guilt of not doing ‘enough’ was to break it down to what was really necessary: to eat, sleep, clean, bathe, love, and play. 1. Hunting and Gathering Via blush.com.pk You need to feed yourself and your children. Maybe your partner too, this is optional, though, sometimes they just have to fend for themselves at this stage. In order to continue this eating ritual, you may need to shop. Bravo if you have family or friends that you’ve roped into doing the groceries for you or if you’re in town, you can enjoy the option of home delivery from your supermarket. I was lucky enough to be able to take advantage of my kind, loving parents living right next door, so it wasn’t until cabin fever set in that I sucked up the courage to grocery shop with two small children. Turns out, it wasn’t too bad! 2. The Logistics I made sure I timed it so that everyone was fed before we left, then fed our toddler more food on our 20 minutes of driving into town, then gave him a punnet of cherry tomatoes to consume in the trolley. Snacks are my best friend when shopping. I have a baby carrier, so I was able to breastfeed all around the supermarket (one hand holding up a heavy breast, one hand steering the trolley) so we didn’t have to stop. Once we got to the car, I put our toddler in his seat to watch a DVD, changed baby’s nappy (and toddler at that time if needed) then baby in seat, groceries in car and back home. Phew. Relief, I tell you! 3. Location, Location I love Aldi. No doubt about it, it’s my grocery destination, but I did tend to shop somewhere that had a parent’s room pretty close by for a little while until I found my feet with juggling a newbie and toddler. I have a change station set up in the back of the car, but it’s just easier if one of your tiny friends has a poop explosion and you need to do some serious cleaning up. It’s nice to then sit, feed bub, let your big kiddo watch some telly and just have a chill out before venturing out to finish up. Once you get it home, the pantry shopping may sit on the floor in front of said pantry for a few days until finally, you stop eating straight from the shopping bag and have time to unpack properly. This is normal. 4. The Menu Toddlers have a built-in hunger alarm that goes off the very moment you get comfy feeding your new baby. I mean every single time. Make an easy-to-reach shelf in your fridge for bottles of water and the same in your cupboard for snacks that your toddler can reach and bring to you to share. It will save you having to get up while feeding. Simplify your meals so that you’re not hovering over a hot stove in the afternoon, it’s a much better time for some outside playtime to use up stored energy in your big kid! Most toddlers will be thrilled with easy to eat things like ham, tomatoes, cheese, toasted sandwiches, sausages, spaghetti (yes, we use the tinned sort too) and pretty much any form of chicken whether it is a ball, nugget or stick. Try not to stress over their every meal, look at their intake over the week. If the fruit and vegetables are running out and the fish fingers are full, you’re winning. If the broccoli is wilting and the nuggets are empty, you’ve had a normal newborn/toddler week. via giphy.com 5. Sleeping Beauties How you get two children to sleep at the same time had me absolutely mystified. I had to do one at a time. Breastfeeding my toddler and baby overlapped for eight weeks, so while they were both happy to feed to sleep, I used that as much as I could as it was quick and easy for day sleeps. Until that one day, of course, that no one seemed to settle well and we all ended up in the same bed together, trying to get a baby to sleep while I rubbed a toddler-sized back at the same time! Mostly, settling your newborn first is the way to go. It gives you more time to spend reading a story or having a cuddle with your toddler and helping them get to sleep, rather than rushing off to calm the cries of a baby who realises you’re not within reach. Some lucky parents have kids who they can just pop into their beds and they happily have a little chat to themselves before they drift off blissfully to sleep. I’ve seen these kids riding unicorns in a fairy forest not far from here. Ok, ok, they do exist, but their parents and I aren’t friends. 6. Your chance for you. Getting kids to have enough sleep is really important, not just for their temperament, but for their learning and growth. You getting enough sleep is equally as important. When both children are resting soundly, it can be so tempting to jump up, do some washing, clean the kitchen and fuss around like back in the days when you actually had time to spend on fussing. It’s nice to have a clean home, but it’s also very nice to take some time for you. Be ‘selfish’, and leave the dishes, make a sandwich and eat it with two hands or have a steaming mug of tea. There’s also the option of quality TV catch up time or lay down and go to sleep too! The kids will let you know when it’s time to wake up, that’s for sure. 7. A happy mess! When it comes to cleaning the house you need to remember back to the early days of your first newborn, when you learnt to drop your household hygiene standards down a peg, well, now you need to go back there and drop them a few more pegs. Just for a while anyway, until about when the kids move out, by then, you’re probably going to be well past caring. Look at what is absolutely necessary, stack the dishwasher, disinfect the loo, pop on some washing. A very smart midwife told me, ‘If it’s not done by lunchtime, it’s not getting done’. I like to live by that still! It gets a bit depressing for you if you constantly pick up toys all day and toddlers get absolutely miffed that you’re undoing all their hard work, best just do one pick up at night after everyone is in bed. If you pass-out putting them to bed, the mess will dutifully be waiting there tomorrow, don’t stress. 8. Bath time Most people find using a baby bath for their tiny infant works best for a while, I’d agree with that for us, though some might just go straight to bathing both (or all) kids together. If you have a little dirt-loving adventurer toddler like us, bathing them separate until bub is a bit bigger might be wise. Once we did start using the big bath, it was a lot of fun and less time consuming, the same for showering all together, we just made sure we set up properly first. A baby bouncer has always been a friend of mine in the bathroom, even if it was just somewhere to put bub down safely so he could see me while I brushed my teeth. If all was going well, I would get really busy with a hairbrush and moisturiser too! 9. Yes, shower everyone together! For showers, the little one can be wrapped up nice and warm laying in the bouncer, ready for when you have had a minute or two in the shower to wash you and your toddler. Then, get your little one and give them some time under the warm shower while they cuddle into your chest. The soft water is like a gentle massage on their back. Make sure your water is, of course, a safe temperature and that the pressure isn’t hard. Once you’re all done, wrap the newbie warmly again, pop them down in the bouncer and dry yourself and your toddler (who has been playing happily in the shower at your feet the whole time) then scoop up bub and dress them also. Our newbie found it a bit fascinating watching us do things while he happily waited for his turn, he even fell asleep on me in the shower and then on the change table a couple of times! If you have everything ready to go, it’s not stressful at all. 10. Feel the love! All the questions and fears that you had about whether or not you could ever love another child as much as you do your first are put to rest. Yes, you’re absolutely capable of that much love. Probably more, because all of your first round of baby memories come flooding back and suddenly you’re crying, your boobs are leaking and your husband starts nervously asking ‘Are you ok?’ Blubbering out a response of ‘I’m just so happy, I love them so much’ will leave him confused, but that’s ok, what’s new? You will naturally want to spend time with each child separately. This might not always be easy. Be secure in the knowledge that neither of the kids will ‘miss out’ on any of your love, time or energy because of the other. It may just be a little different than what you’re used to and what you imagined it might be like. You can still read a story while nursing a baby, share a plate of fruit, go for walks or watch a show together. It’s a time that your toddler learns a little independence and quiet play time, if they haven’t already, which is very normal and very important. This video will guide you the crucial emotional bridge needed to help you and toddler to communicate better. Spending time thinking of your love for your children will help keep you focused, present and mindful of them and what’s really important during the times when you’re really tired and not feeling up for outside pressures. Their needs, your needs and your special bonding time as a family must come before any of the mundane chores or the outside world’s wants. Take your time to hibernate! 11.Game On! Via akronohiosmoms.com Playtime is an essential part of a child’s day. Children learn through play and they learn even more when playing with a focused care-giver. That’s you. It’s ok that you have to bring a friend (who is probably attached to your chest) to the lego town event of the day, this new kid will have to be incorporated eventually to the game, so why not get your toddler used to their presence now? Lots of games, puzzles, building and drawing will keep your mind off the house and help your toddler adjust and cope with the new addition. Get out of the house to the backyard in the morning or afternoon and make a huge sand castle with your toddler while your bub sleeps in a bouncer or rocker. Strap on a carrier or pad out a pram and go for a stroll, the exercise will give you a nice endorphin boost, not to mention a change from the four walls! Tiny bodies of all ages get so much from fresh air and the great outdoors, including the need for a good night’s sleep, a benefit to everyone! 12. When you struggle to juggle… This parenting gig is tough and sometimes a happy, messy, content home isn’t always what your day dishes out. There are reality check days when your newbie is a squealing, kicking little ball of gas that just won’t feed, settle, burp or fart and your toddler is fancying mirroring that behaviour because it seems to be getting lots of attention from Mummy. via giphy.com 13. Breathe deep, get your brave on and ask for help. There were lots of offers for that help before and after your baby arrived and it would be just rude not to accept. People love to be needed. I know love to be needed and have my help asked for, who doesn’t? You will not be seen as a failure or that you can’t cope, on the contrary, it’s a responsible move. Someone to help hang out a load of washing, unpack the dishwasher or just hold the baby for a while or play with your toddler so you can wash your hair can make such a lot of difference to your mood. 14. Free your hands. The mantra ‘This too shall pass’ saved me from a negative downward spiral more than once. You know what else did? A baby carrying device! Not all babies are in love with them but thank goodness, mine were! The ring sling and sleepy-wrap turned my wriggling squishy into a calm, suckling snuggle-puggle every single time and it instantly freed my hands up to care for my toddler or make dinner or whatever else I needed to do. I’m not giving it up anytime soon. 15. You are not alone. If you find yourself in a situation where you don’t feel you have anyone to ask for help, rest assured there are avenues of assistance available in the community at all times.  You can contact your hospital Midwives, Child Health Nurse, Australian Breastfeeding Association group (whether you breastfeed or bottle feed, they don’t mind!) or Playgroup to name a few. Meeting other parents, giving your children something different to do and just having a cuppa with another adult can give you a normality fix and it’s likely all the other parents will be there doing pretty much the same thing! Please also remember that if you really aren’t coping well or feel like you are just going to snap, make sure your baby and toddler are in a safe place in the house, pick up the phone and call Lifeline on 13 11 14. They are always there to help. Have you got any great tips for juggling a toddler and a newborn? Tips for your kids to be happy and better wellness is here  My gratitude to the author of this article: stayathomemum.com.au

[rhettsooo]

Friday, January 13th to Saturday January 14th, 2017- Gili Air, Mt. Bromo, Yogyakarta

It's on this day I say good bye to the enchanting Gili Air and begin to squeeze in more of Indonesia - or at least as much as possible in my remaining 6 days of travel. Next stop is East Java where Mt Bromo is, the next mountain I want to conquer... but first I have to figure out how I'm doing that...  with a twist: while I'm literally traveling there. What I mean by this is; I have no concrete plans on how I'm going to get to Bromo, but the goal is to do it on this night, to technically see sunrise. All I have sorted so far is the ferry off Gili Air and a bus on the other side to take me to Lombok International Airport, where I've seen online many flights departing that work in my favour, so I'm taking my odds and going in just a little blind. The ferry was the easy part: a short 20 minutes on a 20 person fishing-like boat. Nothing like the 'fast boat' we took to the island-- in fact the exact opposite. In the harbour on the other side, it was a slight panic as locals greeted the boat asking arriving passengers if they needed transport, which was me, but I had transport pre-arranged as part of  shuttle bus, so I struggled for a couple minutes cutting through the noise to hear what was relevant for me and found MY guy pretty easily. An older couple, maybe 50 years old and German, were also on a similar trajectory. They ended up with MY guy too, but their struggle was laughable and entertaining to watch. He (of the couple) had a face that was permanently grumpy (imagine grumpy cat, but on a man) and the woman would always look to him for guidance or direction, but he hadn't a clue. His grumpy face would sometimes gain an injection of confusion or difficulty as he tried to manage their huge piece of luggage off this little fishing boat and on to the beach and then finding THE guy he needed. I think I got such entertainment from this couple because they seemed like the 'all-inclusive resorts' type; you know the type that wants everything done for them and wants to just relax without stress. Thus, they weren't ready for the spice to life island life brings ;) We (myself and this German? couple) wound up with the same GUY, who directed his friends(?) to grab their luggage - since they were struggling - and we all went to a horse-drawn carriage that we maxed out with us four bodies (our GUY, this couple, and myself) and our luggage. It was pretty funny. Especially when the couple didn't want to tip the dude carrying their luggage for him. Shame on him. So we're all in this carriage for about 20 minutes as we trust that this GUY is legit and actually taking us to our bus...which he did :) We waited for the bus for an hour, which was great because I could get some breaky and find some WiFi to figure out how I'm getting to Bromo. I found some tours that included airport pick up, hotel, trek up Bromo, and drop off where ever I wanted, so sent maybe 6 email inquiries hoping that one of them would reply by the next time I reach WiFi, and not to mention could pick me up in like 10 hours at this point. The bus to the airport was long. Very long. I tried to relax, but the windy roads quintupled with the crazy driving wouldn't allow. Did I mention that drivers pass other drivers at any moment. Regardless of lines, corners, oncoming traffic, etc, they'll give warming with a tap on the horn and somehow pull it off. At the airport I found the ticket office for LionAir, the cheaper of the airlines I uncovered earlier, and bought a ticket with a sigh of relief. Now to figure out what's happening on the other side of this flight. I found WiFi and welcomed two replies in my inbox, so now it was a race between them to see who I can confirm first....and with two hours to spare before my flight departed, I confirmed a driver to pick me up and the whole nine yards. WOO WOO Yes the price was a little more than what I would've liked, but I got exactly what I wanted and nothing more or less-- my itinerary was perfect. Since I had some stress free time before my flight, I started thinking about the other side of Bromo, so what the fuck I was going to do tomorrow after the sunrise trek and essentially where I was going to be dropped off. I knew I wanted to go to Yogyakarta in Central Java next, but hadn't a clue how I was going to get there, so I did some digging and found a train! At a fraction of the cost of a plane, but about 5 times as long, the train schedule lined up perfectly; I couldn't have planned it better. So in full, the day would look like this; 1) Ferry from Gili Air to Lombok 2) Shuttle bus from the harbour to the airport 3) Plane to Surabaya airport in East Java 4) Driver from Surabaya to Mt. Bromo 5) Driver from Mt. Bromo back to Surabaya 6) Train from Surabaya to Yogyakarta ^^fun note: this all happens within about 36 hours of each other. Crazy right! After the dull plane ride and the crazy drive from the airport in the rain and traffic to Bromo, I checked into my hotel at about midnight, so I'm now into the next day and have ~4 hours until we leave for sunrise over Mt Bromo. With nothing more than a nap, my driver and I left for a 20min drive to base camp for going up. It was dark. Wet. And cold. Like Canada cold, but luckily I knew what I was doing and bundled up with my touque and gloves and lots of layers. My driver dropped me at the trail and gave me some loose directions. Although it was just me - technically, there dozens of others trying to catch the sunrise from the top too, so I followed the path while keeping an awareness of what the other groups were doing to not go anywhere I wasn't suppose to. The first 30 min of walking up a gradual hill of gravel road was easy and spat out at the first of two view points. This particular one wasn't anything special - besides it being pitch black; you would just see the town below and the crater around the volcano. Oh yeah, Mt. Bromo is an active valcano. So I kept on keeping on up the next bit of the climb. It turned to steps, kind of, for another 45min or so to the top. But it wasn't really the top, it was a peak called Seruni Point. Yes, you could keep going up, but it would have been some serious bushwacking and very vertical. It was here that I chilled and watched sunrise. I found a good spot and struck conversation with this group of kids that had rode their motorbikes over night for 6 hours in the rain to catch the sunrise...crazy kids! I told them I/we are the same: going to crazy distances/lengths to catch the sunrise. The sun itself created a nice glow on the town below and the crater beside us. Although it was stuck behind the rain clouds for a bit, it showed its face and provided some good photo opps. I revealed in its glory, once again being reminded on a) how fucking fortunate I am to be enjoying this moment and b) how the fuck did I pull this off -- hahaha Now the sunrise wasn't the most exciting I had seen on the trip, it was the most illuminating, meaning now that it was light out, I truly got perspective: Although I thought I was going up Mt. Bromo, I had climbed Mount Penanjakan and gotten to Seruni Point, which is the mountain next to Bromo. The sun rose over Bromo and it's crater and the village of Cemoro Lawang below. The crater I was looking out to actually housed my hotel, among other buildings of the village. (An appreciation I didn't have until now and then to be reaffirmed by Dad via text later). If I wanted to check out Bromo, it would require a few more hours to not only descend Mt. Penanjakan and drive back to the village, but a walk across the Sea of Sand and only then be able to elevate myself on Mt. Bromo, physically. Now as much as I wanted to do all of this, it was beginning to rain like a mutha fucker (and if I've learned anything on the trip, it's that when it rains, it pours) and as ready as I was for rain - umbrella, jacket, boots, etc - I wasn't feeling it. And in actual fact, I was feeling like I had done what I came for: to see the sunrise and Mt. Bromo. *Looking back as I write this and read more about Bromo after the fact, I kinda wish I wasn't a big baby and just did it. But, now I have a reason to bring go back, but with company this time* Anywho, the sunrise ended and I have to check out of this hotel, but first it's time for breakfast and figuring out this train situation... Nowhere online would let me book a train ticket and no blog or equivalent was helpful, so I asked real people: first my driver, who had no clue, then the hotel desk, which also had no clue, but he asked his friend who said you can get them at the Indomaret (Seven Eleven of Indonesia). "OK, so the Indomaret eh, I can roll with that", I was thinking, so got my driver to make the stop en route to the train station. At the first Indomaret, there system was down, so couldn't help. The second Indomaret taught us that you can't buy train tickets on the day of departure unless you're at the station. Oooooooo kaaaaay, I guess I'm taking a leap and getting dropped off at the station hoping there's a ticket for me-- which there was! WOO WOO! Once I grabbed my ticket, I found a snack at Dunkin Donuts - which is super popular in Indonesia, alongside KFC - in case you were wondering - and hijacked their WiFi to find accomodation after this train in Yogyakarta. I found this quaint homestay 25min walk from the train station, in a relatively central neighbourhood at a great rate. Boom! I now had somewhere to sleep for the next few days, phew. The train was fun and really long. Like 7 hours long. But it was fun. There were lots of kids who took a fancy to me and I sat across from a young couple and their newborn, whom spoke English well enough for continued conversation. It gave me time to read and have a breath. Arriving in Yogyakarta at about 9pm in a slight drizzle of rain, I took to the streets on foot to get a sense of the city, the neighbourhood, and the people before calling it a night. My homestay turned out to be in an even-better-than-expected neighbourhood close to little street venders, big clothing stores, food, ATMs, etc, all the while being out of sight and very quiet. Although this place cost a few bucks more a night than a hostel, I had my own room, which was heavenly for a change. (I hadn't had my own room since Vietnam). And with that, I could sleep with ease! Especially since I'd never been more tired on this trip than now and felt like sleeping for an entire day! So I did! After leaving Gili Air 40 hours ago at this point which included 1 ferry, 1 plane, 1 train, two longs drives, a mountain, and shit ton of walking, I called it a night. BOOM! Another great series of adventure, wonder, and suspense :)

[beardyallen]

Days 4 thru part-of-Day-6-because-this-takes-forever-and-I-have-to-go-teach-soon

Yikes. Turns out keeping up with this is going to take some serious time-management voodoo on my part. I’ll figure that out eventually, I guess.

Alright, so where did I leave off? *scrolling thru Day 3...* *still scrolling...* *still scrolling........* Ah! There we go. The bank.

There wasn’t a whole lot that happened on Day 4, other than my first meal in one of the main cafeterias. From what I recall, their standard chicken wing (which looked like something you would get from KFC) had a breading that probably puts it somewhere in the top 30% of the spicier wings at Buffalo Wild Wings. Not too spicy, but for sure spicier than I expected from just a lone piece of chicken in a buffet-style dining hall with no labels. I also grabbed semi-gelatinous purple thing that turned out to be lotus and honey. Not really my favorite consistency, but it was pretty yummy nonetheless. But the cucumber. Man, let me tell you about the cucumber!!!!

It tasted like a normal cucumber but with a nice vinaigrette. Nothing crazy special, but it was still my favorite part of the meal. *shrug*

If memory serves, which it might not, I think I spent the rest of the night reading Dan Brown’s Origin. The handbook for the Guest House (where I live) only has one line in it about alcohol consumption in the apartments. It is strictly forbidden to engage in alcohol abuse. That’s pretty much it. Not real specific. So I texted ML if it was okay to have beer in the apartments, she assured me that it was totally fine, and I breathed a sigh of relief as I took another sip from my second beer.

Day 5 (Friday, if you’re keeping track) was slightly more interesting. ML, her boyfriend (S), R (now NR) and I were going on an adventure the next day, so ML, S, and I had to go shopping to get snacks for the trip. Turns out one of the banks (one that doesn’t allow people staying for less than 6 months to open an account) pretty much monopolized relations with Chase. We stopped there to get some cash to deposit into our Chinese bank accounts at our actual bank, then went to our ATMs. I was first in line in our group, dropped some cash into the slot/box that counts your money, and I was only then informed that I can only deposit 100 yuan notes at the ATM. It spit out my 20′s and 50′s, and I added an extra 100 when prompted. Then things went downhill.

Unbeknownst to us, this machine was malfunctioning that day, and I had just tried to do something that it didn’t like as I deposited around $60 into my account. I checked my receipt, it didn’t indicate that any money had been deposited, so we hailed an assistant. Fortunately, S has a much better grasp on the language than ML and myself, so he communicated the issue, and (30 minutes later) we were face-to-face with a banker. ML, as she hadn’t deposited any money yet, had a seamless transaction with him. *phew*

Me, on the other hand...well, I would have to come back on Monday to see if the money made it into my account. I didn’t have a good understand of what transpired during the conversation. It may be the case that the machine worked it out, or maybe the employees had to do some stuff on their end, but as it stood, I just had to wait. *shrug* Oh well. C’est la vie.

We still went shopping, and we set up plans to get sushi that night (to see if it’s what we wanted for lunch the next day as well!), and then our plans changed abruptly. ML was invited over to a colleague’s house for drinks that night, and I was welcome to join. So naturally, I brought a bottle of wine and tried to pretend like I could socialize well with strangers.

All in all, we had a good time. I kept my mouth shut for the most part as the conversations tended to be about things necessitating multiple years of residency in China. Or any country other than the US, really. Eventually the conversation drifted over to topics about which I felt I could contribute (education, books, television shows), and I finally opened my mouth. I’m fairly certain I didn’t embarrass myself. I was, actually, invited to join their book club! (Which mostly just involves getting together to drink wine/beer and eat cheese while we haphazardly dissect the book.)

Day 6 required that I wake up at 6am, which actually had been my routine already. So it wasn’t too bad. While I was out getting the wine the previous night, I had managed to scrounge up enough food and drink to get me through what I was imagining would be a long day. The idea is that we would take a train to a bus stop, then busses to the entrance of some underground cave that has a river in it. After walking for about a mile underground, we would then climb a mountain, and then visit an ancient village that still has some residents who get by as subsistence farmers.

Now an official veteran of the subway station and bus routes, I was completely at ease. Or I would have been, if any of the three of us would have had the foresight to look up exactly where we were meeting the rest of the group! Fortunately, plans had changed with the group, which put them a bit behind schedule as well! We somehow ended up at the bus stop with 5 minutes to spare, met our guide(s), and a couple of other tourists.

I kind of had to cram myself into my seat on the bus, but eventually got comfortable and pulled out my book. I would finish on the bus ride. For Dan Brown, it was alright. I sort of predicted most of it well in advance, but I have to admit I didn’t see the twist with the Spanish King and the Bishop coming! That made me happy.

Anyway, the bus stopped once before the cave to pick up the rest of the crew (which included two more tourists I didn’t know, another tour guide, and last but certainly not least, NR). 

The bus ride was almost completely uneventful, although the other passengers might say that his driving left much to be desired. In fact, at one point, the second tour guide, while drinking some water, may have tossed her cookies... Fortunately, we were only 5 minutes from the cave, though none of us knew that except the bus driver.

Once off the bus, we were in what looked like an open square or pavilion sort of thing in small, mostly vacant village. In the distance, you could just make out what sounded like a radio. From where we stood, the mountains on our left were a stone’s throw away, and the ones on our right were not much further. Centuries ago, the sides of the mountains on our right were carved in tiers to make room for ample farmland. This was quite common in this region, apparently.

As for the cave, we had to wait 30 minutes before it opened. I distracted myself by wandering over to what looked like a series of 12 (turns out there were 12 more on the other side!) images depicting life long ago. One of them had a tiger mauling an older gentleman. Curious, I asked NR for help translating as the top right corner held three characters, two of which I knew said “24.” These were, to the best of our understanding, 24 ways to be respectful. The one with the tiger was apparently supposed to represent protecting your elders from wild animal attacks. Seemed a bit specific, but...*shrug*

I stuck pretty close to NR’s side for the rest of the day as ML and S were enjoying each others’ company, and everyone else in our group seemed to be in some sort of non-platonic pairing. This worked out as I could ask her question after question about the characters we saw, about the language, and I got to find out that, while I likened the long trek into the cave and our merry band of travelers to the 7 Dwarves heading off to work, she had apparently immediately thought of Indiana Jones.

The cave itself was fascinating, although no description I give will really convey much that you can’t glean from an American cave. Turns out rocks over here are pretty similar to rocks in the States. Who’da thought? *insert sarcastic look here* What was so interesting to me was how prominent the influence of their culture was on how they named the formations. They would describe something as looking like a dragon or a Buddha, but those were the furthest from my mind when I looked at them. I’ll post the pictures we got from the cave here later, so stay tuned for those!

As I mentioned before, there was a freshwater river in the cave, and we got to take a boat ride down and back! None of us could really articulate how strange this experience was better than, “I can’t believe I’m in a boat on a river about 1 km below the surface! How neat!” There are just some things that words fail to express.

And now that you’re away of just how far below the surface we were, you may be able to appreciate how arduous the walk back was! On the way in, we had the anticipation of impending coolness to keep us occupied around every turn. On the way out, it was more a drudge. And stairs. So many stairs. Just when you think you’re done with the stairs, you go through a doorway and there’s just as many more staring you in the face. *wordplay partially intended* After what felt roughly like the same amount of time I spent waiting patiently in the bank on Day 3, we were finally back on the surface and could enjoy our dried crab(?), crackers, dried plums, and cookies.

And there were dogs. Dogs with no collars. Dogs that just begged and begged for food. (Don’t worry, Mom, I didn’t pet them. At least not after the first one bit me...) I’m not really sure what breed they were, but I’ve definitely never seen any quite like these. They seem rather common up in the mountain villages, though. *shrug*

After our snack, we started our hike. Which had more stairs. Because of course it did! Why wouldn’t there be more stairs? A sloped path would have been one thing, but actual stairs?! The audacity!!

In actuality, it was quite nice. The fresh air was...refreshing. We didn’t have a weird sense of being slightly damp and mildly cold but also warm anymore as we were hiking in the sun. And judging by the small huts (I would learn later that they are called, or at least one is, a Phoenix Nest), we would have several opportunities for breaks!

I was somewhat mistaken. When we got the first one, everyone grabbed a spot on the benches, conversation picked up, and we munched on our snacks again. By this point, it couldn’t have been more than 30 minutes since we had last been relaxing. The view itself was outstanding, and I think everyone in the group really learned to appreciate what was almost certainly not a radio after all, but a local singing karaoke into a loudspeaker. And she only seemed to know one song. But she sang it nonstop for the entirety of the hike...

But I mentioned that I was mistaken. We could see more of the Phoenix Nests on higher and higher peaks around us, and the valley was nicely sprawled out below us. After 5 minutes of sitting there, I began to suspect that things were not what they seemed. Nobody seemed anxious to keep going. At all. In fact, everyone got rather comfortable. We probably sat up there for another 30 minutes chatting about whatever came up before the guide finally called us back to our feet. (Yes, one of the Europeans asked who I voted for in 2016; he approved of my response, and a long conversation about modern politics ensued amongst the 8 travelers, representing at least 6 different nations. It was quite fascinating. And I was the resident expert on America! Go figure!!)

Anyway, once we got our feet beneath us again, we made our way back to the trail.........and started going back down the mountain. That was it! That was the entire hike! But that was quite alright; I didn’t bring very good shoes for long walks or hikes, and I’d already been on my feet for 3+ hours.

After the uneventful descent, we got back in the van and made our way (uneventfully) to the ancient village. This village looked...very much like the one we came from. It was here that we had lunch (way more food breaks than I expected on this trip!), and we entertained ourselves with more conversation and bigger dogs. I’m guessing the tour guide wasn’t sure how to graciously convey to us that we should probably get going, because after sitting for waaaaaay too long with some of our food still unpacked, one of us had the bright idea to put it away, as a means to convey that we were maybe ready to see the village. Within seconds, our guide had us back on our feet and moving along.

The ancient village itself was something to behold. Very few of the buildings were still occupied, but there was a small restaurant in one of them with stone tablets of Chinese writing laid about. Probably 15 or 20 of them, each one giving me the impression of a Chinese-10-Commandments-Tablet.

The last stop in the village was the old farmlands, with the tiered bits of land making their way up the mountainside. We were primarily relegated into just one of these, but S managed to climb around, up onto the next one above us without the tour guide noticing. I felt his route was a bit too circuitous, so I just pulled myself straight up the wall, bracing myself with the lone tree in the area. I’m pretty sure ML and NR were concerned that I would get hurt. #lol

Eventually the guide called us to come back, to not venture too far, so S and I skulked back to the edge with our tails between our legs. Before the girls knew what I intended to do, I had already jumped the 10-or-so feet back down. S wasn’t quick enough, and he was preemptively admonished for considering it. Classic. I told him he needed to be quicker about it, and that there was a reason I jumped down when they weren’t looking.

After meandering about for a little while longer, we made our way back to the vans and began the long drive back to Beijing.

I alluded to this above, but it’s getting to be about that time that I have to go teach, and this is a somewhat-natural-stopping-point for the story. When I get back to this tomorrow morning (because I’m grabbing beers with colleagues after I teach), I’ll upload pictures into this post and finish the story!

Sláinte,

BeardyAllen

[itdisneymatter]

Day 20 - Magic Kingdom

TLDR: An amazing jam-packed final day at Magic Kingdom. We done LOADS of rides, met some lovely princesses, watched a show or two, had an awesome lunch with Tigger and friends and stared in wonder at a fantastic fireworks and light show. If Carlsberg done final days...

So I sit down with the last glassful of the Woodford Reserve I have left, now well into the wee small hours, to finish writing up the final full day.  Magic Kingdom. The last day before going home tomorrow. The last day we got to experience the Disney Magic. It's been a fantastic holiday and we were determined to make the most it.

As we shared the responsibility of the Fun Fact with Grace the other day, we said that Robert would get a turn today and he pretty much shouted it out as he woke up, so here it is:

Robert shares the same birthday as Walt Disney!

You have reached your destination, or maybe not...

Very apt for today. So we all got ready, jumped in the car and plugged Magic Kingdom into the Sat Nav as per usual. I had my phone all set up to video the big Walt Disney World sign as we drove underneath it, but it never came. On this particular occasion, for some unknown reason the wee sat nav wummin (which is what we called her), took us a weird route and we missed the WDW sign completely. Which was a shame, but we also seemed to bypass the Parking gates and their $20 fee, which might have just evened things out a little. We turned into a Disney resort to make a u-turn and the security guy just said just to park there (even though he wasn't supposed to let us, wink wink). And it was right next to the parking and transportation for Disney! Woot!

We traveled over to Magic Kingdom on our last day, like we did the first, by Ferryboat. Probably takes the same amout of time as the Monorail but its way more scenic. We arrived and got through the gates of the park with less than 15 minutes to spare on our first Fast Pass - Splash Mountain. Grace wasn't too fussed, so me and the boys ran (RAN!) through Adventureland and into Frontier land, making the queue with minutes to spare (they're are very strict on their FP timings, one minute out and you dont get in). This is always a good one to start off with and the regular queue was sitting at 75mins already so FP is always a good option here. Robert now accustomed to higher and faster rides wasn't fazed at all, as the ride photo shows...

So the plan was to grab some Dole Whips when we entered the park but as our times were pushed back slightly, after Splash Mountain we met back up with the girls and grab them, then. Dole whips - pineapple flavoured ice cream and a MK favourite.  We sat down to savor the deliciousness of it. Just what you need for breakfast on a super hot day like today. As we were finishing up we noticed a secret path, straight through to Frontier land, which is where we were going next. Each time we are here, we learn new things which all adds to the experience for next time. Major things to call out like this are Olive Garden, this secret path and the comic book book store of course (next time Gadget, next time).

Now in the interests of time and as we’ve been here before Im running through the next few rides. Im not cutting corners, Im just saving you from me going through the same stuff I’ve went through a number of times before. I may also use this option again, later on in this update, so this is your heads up. Big Thunder - DONE! Haunted Mansion (3rd time) - DONE! Its a Small World - DONE!

Everything except the Hunny

At this point in time, we were hungry. Instead of grabbing a snack we though it would be a good idea to see if there was availability at any restaurants in the park and we were in luck - Crystal Palace had space (a place we had booked but later cancelled due to conflicting plans).  We reached the restaurant just as it started to pour from the heavens :) Lunch was actually a huge buffet and it was filled with Winnie the Pooh and friends, who visited each table to sign autographs and get photos taken. First things first, the food. It was freaking amazing, and I dont think Ive ate so many veggies the whole holiday. HUGE Langoustines, Flank steak, Jambalaya, Chicken, Salmon, potatoes, rice, salad and fifty other things you could pile on to your plate again and again. Ive never seen such an elegant buffet. This is Disney though, I wouldn't have expected anything less. Yes, it was a little more costly than usual, but this was our last day and the food alone was worth it. Buuut, you didn't just get that, you got character(s). Yup, Pooh, Tigger, Piglet & Eeyore all came around and cuddled the kids, signed their book, posed for photographs and all larked about with them - it was brilliant! For this being an off the cuff booking, the kids went absolutely wild for it (and in particular Grace). So glad we did this and we were all stuffed as we left back into the wet, pelting rain.

Two pretty princesses up next, Rapuzel & Tiana. Inside, so that was good. Photos and autographs and back out and during the course of that whole process, the rain had stopped - FINALLY! (Forecast said it wasn't meant to rain at all today, HA!).

Our last Fast Pass, Seven Dwarves Mine Train up next. The first time Grace went on this, she was a little apprehensive, by the time she finished this time, it was her most favourite ride. She wanted to do it again right after but we just didn't have time.

Next up we had some gentler rides. Dumbo - wee fairground, roundabout type ride. Then Journey of the Little Mermaid. A ride which takes you through Ariel's journey of the film. We then met Ariel (but  I didn't get a photo with her, :wee sad face: ). Then we got the steam train around the park (expected more scenic stuff - it was literally a train from A to B and back to A). Then Tomorrowland Speedway - GG and me in car, she started steering but got bored after 10 secs and I had to drive... whilst videoing the whole thing! Then I wanted to see Merida but she was gone (double :wee sad face:). Then Winnie the Pooh, the story of which I didn't actually pay close enough to, so I cant tell you about it, soz. The spinning teacups in the Mad Hatters tea party! Phew, we did a LOT today!

We then stopped for a refuel and the kiosk attendant was called David and he was from Glasgow!!! We all ordered drinks and ice-creams and he just turned round and gave it to us FOR FREE!!! We were all wearing Celtic shorts today so he mustve been a :P (he actually gave Ann and Grace a free drink which we were in Space Mountain last time we were here too - cheers Davido).

Last few attractions in before the fireworks. Monsters Inc Laugh Floor. So. Funny. A stand up show with monsters including MIKE WAZOWSKI in which they interact with the audience for some laughs. I was proper laughing out loud. And then Buzz Lightyear Space Ranger Spin, a shooting game where you get points for shooting targets. You know how this works by now. You know what though, the scores dont matter today, so Im not posting any leaderboard. We all just had a great time :)

Baby, you're a Firework!

We were running late for the Fireworks show, so we got in the best position we could (which wasn't all that great, well for photos at least). Awesome display, which weve come to expect so great we got to grab it on our last night here. And then, the show Ann was holding out to see -Once Upon A Time. This is where they project images onto the castle itself which tell a story, which comprised of several different Disney princesses and their related songs. We managed to move to a better (read great) location to see the castle this time, so we were all left in awe. In fact, it got a little too much for the kids who had a little tear or two, realizing that this was their last night and their last time at Magic Kingdom this time around. As we have proven to ourselves time and time again though, we belong here and this will be far from our last visit. So we all say a quick goodbye and headed off to the Monorail to the carpark (secret free location of our car). One last thing to mention before I move on, Gary our Monorail attendant noticed the kids a little upset so he told them to write down all the happy things they did during their time here and then write down all the things they missed, which would be included in our plans for next time. The attention and service from all Disney staff is always like this, you cant quite believe how good it is.

Before we headed home, we need to make a quick pit-stop at Walmart to pick up so additional carry on bags (we need to maximize our carry potential and even out our weight distribution if were ever going to make it through the airport tomorrow). Two cases and some sweets for work picked up and headed home to sleep and pack. And its getting quite late, so I'm calling it quits here, there are likely more than usual typing and grammar errors and less pics posted than I would have liked (even though we took loads today), but I'm up in about 3 hours and we have a long day ahead of us. Ill post a final update and summary tomorrow for day 21 (at some point), but for now, ciao!

[alans-notes]

Código secreto

The short version

I really wanted to get the Spanish version of Codenames.

Amazon.com.mx doesn’t deliver to the U.S., so I needed someone in Mexico to get the delivery for me.

Finding a person was hard, but my friend who was going to Cancun said he could do it.

The timing of where he was staying, the public holidays in Mexico, and Amazon’s delivery times made it so that I had a huge time pressure.

I had several other issues including misspelled addresses (”cereza” misspelled as “cerveza”) and declined credit cards.

The order went through with less than an hour to spare!

The long version

[The following events took place between March 5 and March 18. The end of winter quarter for us was on Friday, March 17. All prices are in USD.]

While reading the Wikipedia article for Codenames (the board game) (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Codenames_(board_game)), I discovered that the game has been published in 25 languages. I immediately thought that getting a copy of the Spanish version (called “Código secreto") would help me practice my Spanish.

Trying to buy the product myself

The product was not available on Amazon.com, but I did find it on Amazon.com.mx (Mexico) and Amazon.es (Spain). On both websites, I added the game to my cart ("carrito" in Mexico, "cesta" in Spain) and went to checkout. However, I ran into a different problem with each site.

In Amazon Mexico, I entered my Chicago address onto the Amazon Mexico site, and it told me they did not ship to that region. (”"Lo sentimos, este artículo no se puede enviar a la dirección seleccionada.")

For Amazon Spain, shipping to the U.S. cost more than the actual game itself!

So I spent some time searching other online board game stores in Latin American countries. Again, the ones that shipped to the U.S. were all based in Spain and charged exorbitant shipping rates.

Trying to find someone to get the game for me

My next approach was to find someone going to Mexico. Spring break was coming up soon, so it shouldn’t be too hard, right? I asked the organizers of the weekly Spanish table. One said he was going to Mexico in July. The other said he knew someone who might be going in April. Hmm... was there any way to find someone over break?

I asked a third friend from Spanish table. He is a public policy student, and public policy students are very well-traveled and cosmopolitan, right? Yes! It turns out he has three friends all going to Mexico over spring break. He would check with them and get back to me. Unfortunately, all of his friends had other trips planned after going to Mexico. (Too cosmopolitan, it seems!) So they couldn’t bring the game back for me.

Next, I ran into SC at the math department one day, who told me he was leaving for Costa Rica the next day. He told me that he could bring the game for me if I could get it delivered to him, and that people in Costa Rica do get deliveries from Amazon. I spent some more time on Amazon.com.mx, but could not figure out how to deliver there...

FB’s vacation to Cancun!

At this point (Tuesday, March 14), I had given up hope that I would be able to get the game by the beginning of spring quarter. Then one of my officemates mentioned casually that our friend FB was leaving for Cancun the next day for spring break. 

Here was my last chance! I sent him an email and a Facebook message asking if he could help me. He responded a few hours later (probably when he arrived?) saying yes, he could help me. Yes! He told me he was staying in two different places, Address #1 from Wednesday to Friday, and Address #2 from Saturday to Monday.

No problem, I thought. Since it was now Wednesday (3/15) evening, it should be possible to deliver the game to Address #2 with plenty of time to spare. But the shipping options on Amazon.com.mx guaranteed the following delivery dates, if I ordered within the next 18 hours:

* 1-day shipping, to arrive Friday 3/17. 

* 2-day shipping, to arrive Tuesday 3/21.

What?? I checked and learned that 3/20/2017 was a national holiday, celebrating Benito Juárez’s birthday. 

Ughh... so I had to get it delivered to Address #1. FB told me he would stay at Address #1 until Friday. Would that be enough time? I wrote him another email asking him for the precise time he would leave Address #1. I went to bed.

He responded Thursday morning, saying he would leave Address #1 Saturday morning. I should be safe!

Last minute troubles: beer, cherry, credit cards

I proceeded to place the order on Amazon.com.mx. The form asked me for details of Address #1 including the “supermanzana,” literally “super-block” (not “super-apple”!). I searched the address on Google Maps for the address to find the info, but the address couldn’t be found! I tried again several times with no success. 

I wrote to FB again to see if there was a mistake in the address. (At this point, I had to ”order within the next 10 hours.”) Then I went on with my usual Thursday morning tasks (i.e., math).

FB responded around 3pm, apologizing for misspelling “cereza” (”cherry”) as “cerveza” (”beer”). Ah, a road named “cherry” makes more sense! (But in Cancun, a road named “beer” wouldn’t have surprised me!) I found the address and identified the supermanzana on Google Maps. 

I chose 1-day shipping and the order went through, 1.5 hours before the deadline! (Normally, 1-day shipping would be another $12, but I signed up for a free trial of Amazon.com.mx Prime, which lowered the cost to just $2.) The confirmation email said the package would be guaranteed to arrive on Friday. Phew!

But then 30 minutes later, I received an email saying “Tu pago ha sido declinado.” Panicking, I thought this meant “Your order has been declined.” What went wrong? Did they find it fishy that I was placing an order from the U.S.? I clicked around in the email and was led to a page asking me to enter a new credit card number. Ohh..., “pago” means “payment.” My credit card had been declined! That seemed reasonable.

I entered a different card, one in which my parents were the primary card holds and I was secondary. The order went through again, but I sat there worried that this one would get cancelled too. There was less than an hour before the Friday delivery deadline...

A few minutes later, I received a call from my mom. Apparently, she had received an email from the credit card company telling her about “suspicious activity” involving an order from Mexico. “That’s mine!” I said. “Tell them to accept it! And please do it quickly! I have less than an hour!” She did, and I received no more bad news from Amazon.

Tracking the shipment

Later that evening, Amazon notified me that the package had been shipped and gave me a tracking number. I refreshed the DHL page constantly the next day (Friday!), watching the package. It started off in Mexico City, during which the “estimated delivery date” was Tuesday 3/21 (what??) but that changed to Friday when the package arrived in Cancun and was out for delivery. I departed for Michigan for my spring break. When I arrived several hours later, I saw that the package too had arrived! I wake up the next morning (Saturday) to a message from FB that he had received the package. Whooooo!!

Well, I don’t have the package yet, so maybe it’s too early to celebrate. But what could go wrong now? Nothing, right?

[itdisneymatter]

Day 01 - Magic Kingdom

Instead of a summary this time around, I'll try to sum up the day in a few words and sentences with a TLDR (too long; didnt read). Mostly to save me from repeating myself too much but also means you can skip on me droming on about nothing.

So the TLDR for today: Magic Kingdom. Custom t-shirts. Magic Bands. Really worth it. Got a good few rides in and hit 2 out of 3 of the mountains. Went for lunch at Belle's castle. Hot, hot, hot. Seen the 3pm parade. Missed out on a few rides but we'll get them in on a return. Everyone really enjoyed it and kicked the holiday off really well. Didnt hit dinner till late. Caught in a thunderstorm on the way home. Soaked.

And now...

First things first, or is that now second. Anyway,  I may have missed one or two details in my less than awake state which had an impact on todays events. We had planned, all going well, that we would head to Disney Springs (previously Downtown Disney) to get some Magic Bands - a watch-y thing that replaces your park ticket making it easier for Fast Passes and the like. With all the delays and the tiredness of yesterday it just wasnt a thing we were able to do. Ah well, best laid plans and all that. It meant however that we now had to try and pick them up when we hit the park today, pushing out our plans slightly. 

Some of us got personalised t-shirts made up (with our name and a specially selected Disney character), so today was a perfect opportunity to wear them.  We skipped on breakfast, and didnt have any bottled water to make a coffee (normally eek but ok for this morning, strangely). Not too hungry anyway so headed to my mum and dad's hotel to pick them up. They are in the same hotel as my sister, so its really convenient as a meet up point as my brother was picking them up in his car and its between both of our hotels. We were pretty spot on time for it being the first day so off we set for Magic Kingdom.

Parked up and within five minutes we stumbled upon a wee gift shop that sold Magic Bands - woohoo!  They have different colours and design so Ann picked up a nice wee 45th Anniversary Limited edition number. Patrick went for Sorcerers Apprentice (to match his tshirt.) Robert went for Up (to match his tshirt AAAND favourite Disney movie). Grace went for Orange Bird, who is a wee orange bird (funnily enough) who used to appear is old, Disney animations. We picked up a cup one time on the first visit to Disney (in 2013) and that cup had Orange Bird on it, and Grace has had an affinity with the character ever since. I went for Aladdin. Mum and Dad picked some funky coloured bands and we headed off to the park entrance. Spotted some of the other party (the ones in the second car) in their custom t-shirts so sped up to meet them just in time to board the ferry to the Magic Kingdom entrance. Tshirts already coming in handy with finding peeps, so colour matching tees in the way to go for future outings I think! Ferry was lovely and all of the kids were getting really excited.

So me trying to Facebook Live the Magic Kingdom entry was a complete and utter failure. I didnt even know how to start the thing - I should be as ashamed, calling myself a techie. Though I did get slightly reprimanded taking my phone out as they had a no selfie policy at security, prior to going in. He had a gun, so I pretty much did what he said and put my phone away. I fell back on my trusty Go-Pro (that I havent used since last time, but how hard can it be, right?). Video to follow as my laptop is ancient and I can barely run wordpad nevermind a full 1080p video clip. 

Full of smiles we headed in and once we stocked up on some water, a first visit badge for Emily and the others picked up their magic bands, we had 20 minutes to get to to our first fast pass - Splash Mountain in Frontier Land (good job I knew the way :P). Bypassed some rides as well as an opportunity to get Dole Whip (marked down on our initial plans), but we made the ride with 5 minutes to spare - phew!

Magic Kingdom Mountains 1 & 2... check!

Splash mountain. All of the family (save for my Mum, Alessio and Isabella) hit up the ride and it was AWESOME! Grace was quite panicky so was a little clingy (even though she'd been on it before) but Emily and Corrie both first timers absolutely loved it. And for our efforts, our first family ride photo! :D

Then we headed to Big Thunder straight after - ended up riding on my jack jones which was arite though as I go pro-ed the whole thing (our party's reactions, not the ride itself). We did also get a video for our memory maker which we have never had before but its a really fantasticly amazing this to have (even if the photographers does make you hold invisible fairies and set you up in a variety of cheesy poses).

On a role, we then hit Haunted Mansion, It's a Small World (GG's personal fave), Mickey's Philharmagic AND Peter Pan all before lunch. Not bad, for running an hour or so later off plan.

Be. Our. Guest!

Due to availability and a LOT of pre-planning, our wee family were the only ones booked in to Be Our Guest today. We said our goodbyes to the rest of the party and after arranging a meet up point and time we set off for a now, very much needed, lunch. We decided on some really nice menu choices, including a monster Grilled Cheese Sandwich and Barbequed Pulled Pork. The guys also got the infamous "Grey Stuff" for dessert, which seemed to be the kids favourite course of the day. However the star of the show for me was the French Onion Soup which was sublimely awesome (I'd eat this every day and I'm really really not a soup guy!).

We caught back up with the rest of the party after lunch just in time for the 3pm parade, which was only listed as a might-do due to time so really impressed we managed it. Time to get the zoom lens out! :D A side note on cameras - last time we were here I opted to take a reasonably good performing compact camera instead of my main SLR, for accessiblity purposes. While it was good, I always missed the feel and added control of my main camera, so this year its the exact opposite - Im gonna be a packhorse. Quality over comfort! The parade was really colourful and with the smaller kiddos were put up on shoulders so they had a perfect view (however I must add, its quite difficult to take quality photos through a 70-200mm lens mounted on a 5D with a flashgun, I'll have you know).

After cycling through most of the main Disney Princess movies in the Parade (except Frozen, which was kinda dissapointing, mainly as *I* wanted to see Elsa), Mickey and Mickey signed off the show to resounding cheers and waves and applause.

ROARRRRRRR!!!

A little time to go before our last listed Fast Pass of the Day - Seven Dwarves Mine Train, so we queued up for Enchanted Tales With Belle beforehand. The main premise is that kids (and some adults), volunteer to get chosen to reeact a little scene with Belle. For one of the main roles, The Beast, kids must roar their loudest and Grace got chosen! (though I shouldnt really be surposed by that). She was all chuffed and kept saying her and Robert had switched roles from last time with Robert now playing the part of the mighty steed Snaggleforp, or whatever the horses name is (its late and and I'm not going to google Belle's hor..., right fine... its Phillipe). Patrick, Robert, Corrie and Emily were also picked to be part of the show. Even Kevin was picked as a Knight in shining armor - which he played brilliantly (mostly it was about standing still, but still, brilliantly). They all got presented with a little bookmark as a small token, at the end for taking part.

By now, everyone was feeling a little drained so decided after Seven Dwarves that we would head for home and grab a bite to eat. We are going to be back at Magic Kingdom at least one other time when we can prioritize Tomorrowland, so everyone was on board. Seven Dwarves, I ended up on my own again after having lost my little sidekick Gracie (who opted out of the ride). I didn't mind though as I had my Gopro already to go again. I was slotted in on the first seat with a lady, who immediately asked my name and introduced herself (as Martha?... maybe, it was loud and after two attempts of saying 'what' you just need to go along with it). She just started chatting away all through the ride. In fact, just today loads of people just started up full blown convo's with me out of the blue - I mustve been rocking a approachable/chatterbox vibe in my backward facing hat and camera loadout. Those of you who know me, know me as anything but (listen I try, but I'm the first to admit I'm pretty terrible with words and interesting conversation at times). That being said, it was great to chat with so many different people around the world and just goes to show how friendly and amazing this place really is.

A wee cheeky ride on the Speedway for a few folk, a quick tee shirt pic in front of the castle and we headed home.

An absolutely amazing day with Splash mountain being the clear favourite for most of the kids. And although we missed out on a section or two, we still got loads of rides in and everyone was content with general flow how the day. With everyone on the same wavelength I think its gonna make this holiday a really magical one (sorry for the being soppy, Im getting tired, but we're nearly there).

Thunder and Lightning, very very frightening.

Michael & Sarah-Jane decided to grab some dinner and get an early night so we said our goodbyes for the day. We headed out to the shop after getting back to the hotel to grab so Beers and water (in order of priority obvs), as well as a few other bits and pieces. We then met up with my Mum, Dad, Kev, Pauline and Emily to go for a bite to eat (I just realised I havent formall introduced everyone in the party, Ill get around to that tomorrow, promise). With it being a Saturday most places were pretty packed and after checking out a few places (unsuccessfully), we ended up in Johnny Rockets (which Robert pointed out was where we went the second night the last time after failing to find a place - kids memorys are scary at times). We got seated but the service was SLOOOOOW! I can fault our waitress too much though, she brought me over a freee refill pretty much as soon as I finished my first drink. It instantly reminded me of Steve Buchemi's in that infamous Diner scene at the beginning of  Reservoir Dogs...

Mr. Pink: Look, I ordered coffee, alright? And we been here a long *bleeping* time and she's only filled my cup three times. When I order coffee I want it filled six times.

Ok, so it wasnt six times, it was one time, and it wasnt coffee (mmm coffee, I really shoulda went with coffee now that I think about it), but it was the single good thing about the service and one that warranted the tip even if it didnt meet Mr. Pink's stringent tipping criteria.

I actually haven't had an appetite since those prissy little sammiches on the plane. Even at Belle's castle and I wasnt particulary hungry even when we sat down at Johnny Rockets. But hey, do they mak a mean burger! Opted for a Smokehouse, which included some Bacon-y goodness and crispy onion rings - good stuff and nearly worth the wait, nearly... but then again it was a long wait. So the whole experience was fairly ok but then it took a big huge nose dive to round off the night...

When we left the restaurant,  its was bucketing it down. I know coming from Scotland we should be used to a little rain, but this was torrential, and we got huge flashes & bangs of thunder and lightening thrown in, in good measure. Big Rain as Grace so eloquently put it (shes just brilliant with words). Our hotel was right across the road, which was handy, but we had to leave the other guys to struggle to their hotel which was pretty much a mile away :( 

Ok, I'm delivering this really late and have no time to edit so apologies, I must try harder during the day in future. The images are also taking an age to download, so might not have all the ones I want in by the time this goes up, though Ill try to add more later in maybe a weekly slideshow or something. See you tomorrow for Day 02 - Epcot which will which will likely being unofficially subtitled - Battling The Storm!