At Sea and Aruba

I am hoping that I can post a picture or two to show you how far we have gone. I did not write til now because I found myself very tired from Castaway Cay. On sea days, there are tons of activities that Disney provides for all ages. Towel folding or Origami. Bingo, yes Bingo. And
Cooking events and the like. I spent a lot of time just resting and working on my photos in the hope that I can upload one or two.
Then we went to Aruba. This is my first time in Aruba, and it did not look appealing at first, but once we got on the bus ride and went to this little Island they have called "De Palm" Island, it looked a whole lot better and had a bunch of fun things to do there.
My sister and I did the Sea Trek dive. Have you heard of this? This is where you were a diving type helmet and go underwater. You do not get you hair wet at all, as it is all under pressure, and so you can breath naturally and walk on the ocean floor and feed the fish and stuff. It is so cool. Our guide said you do not even need to know how to swim. It is important to stand up streight, as this keeps the pressure in the helmet balanced. If you look down, water can fill the helmet a bit, but do not be afraid, because all you have to do to get rid of the water should this happen, is to stand up straight, that's It!!! I know because the first thing I did was look too far down, and choked a bit on the saltwater, but all was fine as I just straightened up,and the water was at the proper level. It is a really great way to see the ocean and Aruba is soo sooo clear you can see so very far. Beautiful, blue green clearity. It was great fun, and after, my sister and I ate a lovely lunch and curled up on a chase lounge. Really fun.
A really fun thing happened as my sister saw a shirt she wanted and it turned out to belong to one of the Snuba experts.(This is where you snorkel with an air line, so no need to come up for air too much.) She asked if she could buy it and he sais sure, after getting her to try it on so he could see her in it. She was delighted to get this shirt, and it did look good on her.
hopefully there are a couple of pictures below.

Disney Cruise, Castaway Cay

Today we landed in Castaway Cay. For those of you who have never been to Disney's private Island, I highly recommend it. As you come into the dock, you can see the Flying Dutchman right out of you window. Stunning.
It was a really hot day, really hot. We spent a lot of time in the water, because it was really hot.
Have I said it enough? No? Well let me tell you, it was so hot the the Cast members who live on the Island, said "Man it is a hot Day!" We also snorkeled with and fed the Stingrays. Now this is really a treat, so much fun. Disney's Castaway Cay is the best place to do this, as the barbs are clipped all the time, so as to keep everyone safe. Also, the price you pay for this excursion, much of it goes to the research of these beautiful animals. I just loved doing this and you will to, just trust me.
After we decided to ride bicycles, and we went to a lookout tower where you can see the Disney Magic, and take a really fine picture. I have not yet downloaded my pictures but I will do it soon so stay tuned.
After that, we went to a teen beach. if you just want to float, and do not like a lot of noise, I highly recommend this spot. You can usually find an unoccupied hammock and a cool drink.
My favorite spot. If you are more adventurous, there are plenty of places for you. Just one word of advice. If you are going on a cruise like this one in May, remember that adults represent the majority, so serinity beach is not the quiet one, the family beach is.
I have decided to write about the privious day, so I can fill you on all the details.
I hope you are all well, see you tomorrow.

Anchor's Away

As you know we boarded the Disney Magic. When I say we, I mean my sister Kathy and my good friend Liz Bradley.
We boarded yesterday, and although I wanted to write and tell you all about it, the 3 of us were dead tired.
So, as usual I am up bright and early, Florida time, 7 am. Yesterday, the day started out with a quick glimpse of the Kennedy Space Center. I am such a geek when it comes to Nasa and space that I had to see it before going to board the ship. When I was a kid, I wanted to be an astronaut but I get motion sick watching video games so that was out. I did not go into the center but it was cool to be so close.
Then off to the ship. The thing about going on a Disney Cruise is that everything has a shape or a theme. For example, your entrance to the ship is a sort of giant porthole shaped like mickey mouse. Your eyes have so much to take in, way before you board. Once on board, there are fun fluffy drinks to be had and a huge deck, where you can sing and dance with a bunch of Disney characters. Just before we set sail the horn sounds. Unlike any other horn, this one plays "When you wish upon a Star." This brings many folks to tears, as it did to Liz, as she has never really been anywhere, let alone a Disney Cruise. I know I will be a witness to some more tears from her throughout the voyage. Just think about it, all your life you have dreamed of something like this, but in you heart you never, ever believed it would happen.
Tears are a given. Makes folks like myself, who travel quite a bit, stop and be thankful for all I have been given. Tomorrow we dock at Disney's private island. Whoo Hoo.

Counting Down to Disney's Panama Canal Cruise

Well, here I sit, the day before the Disney Magic sets sail for California via the Panama Canal.
It is hard to believe this day has finally come. I plan to give you a play by play about it as we click off the many adventures Disney has in store for us.
Many of you may remember that I was on the last Panama Canal Cruise in 2005, the very first time the Disney Magic was going to be in Pacific waters.
On that Cruise, I filmed so many interesting things, but the highlight was catching collectors at their absolute peak, doing all that they could to be the ones to receive the highly limited collectable pins offered . There was such a feeding frenzy, that the ships crew decided to give all the remaining pins out at 8 am, the following day. If you are a collector, you know what this means, don't you?
The line started at 7:30pm the night before, and grew longer and longer as the night progressed. Instead of sleeping in a comfortable suite, they chose to take pillows and blankets and their kids in many cases and sleep in the corridors of the ship. AND I shot it all !!
It was so unbeliveable, that I stayed up and filmed the entire night, including many of the staff coming down in their jammies to take pictures. This had never happened before in Disney Cruise history, and many had to see for themselves.
Perhaps it will be the same this time, perhaps not, but stay tuned dear friends and I will give you the low down as best I can.

Top Chef the Cookbook

Hi all, yes I know it has been a while, but here I am, back again. I just had to say a word about
Top Chef and this new cookbook. Wow! It rocks! Now, Now, I am like a lot of you who hate
reality shows, but this one, created by the folks who brought me my other fave, Project Runway is so wonderful, hold onto you little behinds if you have not seen it. (Wed. nite on Bravo).
AND NOW for fans like myself, The Cookbook has arrived. Great Recipes as you would expect, but lots of other tasty treats like behind the scenes and words from the Chefs. EVEN, YES EVEN, an intro by the king chef hisself, TOM COLICCHIO!!! I am telling you guys, this is NOT to be missed. I have decided ( as soon as I get done with my Disney Panama Canal Cruise) that I want to go to a lot of these restaurants that my dear past contestants have created or are a part of and get this booked signed. Who knows? Perhaps I will create a few sculptures and we can trade signatures.
See you soon
Oh and if you are in San Diego, go to the Oceanaire Seafood Room, this is where Brian Malarkey ( of season 3) is the Executive Chef. You will not only love, LOVE the food, but I got a real charge out of seeing Brian work the room.

holy catz! now where have I been?

Hi to anyone who is reading this. I know, I know. I said I would write more often. But as soon as I said that I was whisked accross country to help create a new sculpture. Well, Hey! Now that I think of it, this is a good thing.
Sow what am I, an actor and Disney artist doing with myself? Well, first I went to the east coast to work on a new sculpture. Seems like I am doing a ton of flying lately, so socks are in abundance. When I say socks are in abundance, this is because I love to knit, and socks are something I really love to knit. They are compact enough to carry on the plane, and when you are working on them, the knitting needles do not hit the guy next to you. Plus, the fact that socks are usually (not always but this is how I make them), knitted on four double pointed needles, the project is a nice conversation starter. I can only really knit while I am flying as work is not always the place to knit. I am now on my 5th pair. Now, today, I am just getting over food poisoning, Whew! All I could think of is how do people do this upchuck thing on purpose? I mean, Really! This really knocked the stuffing out of me, and I am sure glad to be done with it.
I also tried a new product I saw on a late night infomercial. I know, but sometimes there are some really neat inventions. However, not for me. This product is called the MagicJack, and it is supposed to allow you to make calls all over the country for free. (Save the 20 bucks a year fee).
I thought this was a really cool product, and you had 30 days to check it out. No problem I thought. Wrong! The product did not work for me at all. No matter what I did, nothing made it any better, just a big disconnect when the other party picked up, or I sounded like I was underwater. A shame really. But that was not where the real problem rested. The real problem was in the attempt to return the MagicJack. You have to go to the website, find the customer help area, and then enter a live chat space (no phone to call, not even a Magicjack).
took me 3 times and a lot of arguing. By the time they finally helped me, my 30 days were past, and don't think they did not let me know it. Once I told them I was going to write about them, All of a sudden I was taken care of.
If this little beauty works for you, I would love to hear from you. And if it did not, I still would love to hear from you. I was so disappointed. The guy on the infomercial seemed so positive and sure. Perhaps I should take some acting coaching from him.
Well, gotta run. The Disney cruise is in May, and that is coming on quickly.
Stay tuned.
And please write if you get the chance.

Bulldogs

Well, the holiday weekend is upon me and I find myself curled up with the latest edition of Bulldogs, a magazine from the popular dog series. Tillie is my very first bulldog, and I have to say she is really something. She is a mini bulldog, which means she is 35 lbs full grown instead of the 50+ lbs she would normally be. As far as I know the AKC does not recognize this as a breed, as they say it is still a bit new. My trainer wasn't too happy with her at first, calling her a designer breed. But Tillie has won her over as far as the soleful eyes and the loving personality is concerned. The thing with Tillie is, that more than any other dog in my life, I can read her like a book. Now many of you will say no big deal right. I mean when you dog wants you to throw the ball, he brings it to you. Or if he wants out, they go sit by the door. But I do not mean this type of communication. It is like I read her mind. This is very strange for me. Okay, for example, the other day she was just sitting on the couch chewing on her ball( as usual), I was puttering around with dinner as I had my inlaws over so I was not so focused on Tillie. I do not know why, but at a given moment, I looked over to her. She had stopped chewing the ball and was just looking at me. Her face had a funny twist to it. ( If you have ever had the pleasure of keeping company with a bulldog, you know what I mean, this is very normal) and yet, this was different. I stopped, and walked to the front room and grabbed her lease, I said nothing. Tillie was right behind me and she stretched her neck out( as best a bulldog can) for me to put the leash on. I opened the door and she frantically took me outside. She had to poop. I mean, HAD to. No passing go, collecting $200 bucks. She never drags me, for the most part, bulldogs like to sonder, waddle, or bounce a bit. NOT THIS TIME. But this was so weird, how did I know to get the leash and take her out. Her signal to me for this is like most dogs, to sit at the door. She is just so fun and funny. I really get a kick out of her. I love dogs, but Tillie is really different. Bulldogs are discribed as doing what is needed but with as little effort is necessary. If Tillie barks, she barks just 3 times, and then looks to me, as if to say " Mom, you gunna check that out?" I taught her to go limp, when I point a finger at her and say"bang!" I am sure, if you love dogs, you have seen this done. Most dogs, like a Australian cattle dog, or a Benji type, the legs just seem to fly out from under the dog and they are dead, dead, until the owner says" good dog" or whatever. AHHHH, but Tillie is a Bulldog, and Bulldogs do things differently. If you say "Bang" to Tillie, she may fall over dead, but it is not the way I have discribed. She will stagger, throw her head in the air, and give a Norma Desmond performance like you have never seen before. OR, she will just sit there and stare at me. If I am showing off to my friends, and she does the Latter, I just say" what happened, I must've loaded blanks, and reload my gun, and then she falls. Crazy!! She continually amazes me. She will not go to sleep in my presence. I have heard from many a Bulldog owner, that Bulldogs take the art of Napping to new heights. If my husband takes Tillie to visit friends or family, she will pass out on the floor like a normal dog and sleep for a bit. Never with me, it is as though she worries that she is going to miss something or that I need watching.( Now that I think of it, she is mostly likely right) So she will stay up until she is so drunk with the need to sleep, that she staggers and falls down, yet she will still not give in. I call this the Disneyland syndrome, if you have kids you know what I mean by that. Kids will just not allow themselves a nap, and will push hard to stay up because they are at Disneyland, and will not miss anything. Then they pass out on the way home in the car. So when I see this happening, I have to tell her it is time for a nap and she toddles off to a crate I keep next to our bed and waits for me to close the door. She is usually snoring before I get the latch shut. Bulldogs are terrific at snoring as well, and I love that . When my husband was in the hospital last year( heart surgery) he kept asking me to go home instead of staying with him at the hospital. I could not sleep, Tillie was staying with friends and my husband was in the hospital, my house was quiet like a tomb, NO Snoring, I was miserable. Finally, when my husband said I could stay, he said the nurses and doctors who came in and out that first night could not believe how I slept through all the lights going on and off and the prodding of my husband. If they had only asked me, I would have told them I had not slept in days.
Have a lovely holiday, here's hoping it is as fun filled as mine is turning out to be.