Give Kids The World Gingerbread Run 2012

I just signed up for my next running event - the Give Kids The World Gingerbread Run on November 3, 2012. I am very excited to have the opportunity to run in the Give Kids The World Storybook Village where children with life threatening illnesses can come with their families for a fantasy inspired cost free vacation.

As a part of my self improvement process, I have really enjoyed getting involved with Give Kids The World. I figure I'm going to run anyway, why not do it for a good cause? For this event, my goal is to raise $100 in donations. If you are interested in donating, please click on the link below to add to my donation bucket. Any amount is appreciated! Thank you very much for your support and kindness :)

Table Manners

The table manners section is where you will find restaurant reviews from my experiences all over Walt Disney World. I cover not only the quality of the food but also how I was treated by the staff and how I felt eating there. I hope you enjoy this section of the blog!

The Hollywood Brown Derby - Our 3 Year Tradition

The Hollywood Brown Derby at Disney's Hollywood Studios holds a special place in my heart because it has become a tradition for my husband, Jason, and I to eat there on our anniversary. It is our #1 favorite restaurant on Disney property and although we have not eaten everywhere just yet, we are sure that the Hollywood Brown Derby will always be our favorite.

It all began in September 2010 when Jason and I took our 2nd trip to the World together to celebrate my 30th birthday. Jason proposed to me on my 30th birthday during Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party while flying over London on Peter Pan's Flight! A few nights later, we got all gussied up and celebrated our new engagement at The Hollywood Brown Derby.

If I had time to think about it, I would've quickly updated the reservation with the engagement celebration. The staff were very nice in congratulating us and our waiter was more than highly skilled. You see my (now) husband is a meat cutter and he really put our waiter to the test on that occasion! After discussing exactly how the salmon was raised, we ordered our delicious meal.

We began with the Blue Crab Cake appetizer which is sadly now gone from the menu. Being from Baltimore we have a certain overwhelming need to feast on blue crab so sadly this was the only photo I was able to get :)



Jason, of course, ordered the salmon. It's so good he's had it every single time we've eaten there!



I had the beef filet on a bed of some fancy pants mashed potatoes. This is the best filet I've ever had - it is so tender and juicy! I always order my steaks medium, not medium well. You want it to be a little bit pink in the middle, it really makes for a better flavor!



We don't generally get dessert but we were on the free dining plan so we thought, what the heck? They brought me a free mousse dessert for my birthday!



Jason ordered the cheesecake - which I ended up eating most of!



I ordered the signature dessert - the Grapefruit Cake. Now if I were a fan of grapefruit, I think I would have loved this cake! However, I found out that I do not like grapefruit, I prefer sweet fruits, not sour ones.



We were really blown away by our fantastic experience! You know you've had a good time when you are sad to have to leave. My only criticism of this meal was that we were seated out in the middle of the room. Luckily we were seated right next to a very nice older couple who wished us well in our new life together.



Fast forward one year. I am so happy that I planned a very special dinner for just the two of us at The Hollywood Brown Derby the night before our Disney Fairytale Wedding. This time, we had purchased a Tables in Wonderland card which gives you 20% off food and beverage (including alcohol) at any participating location. I put the wedding as a celebration on our reservation and our experience was much better this time. I remember they gave us a set of the "Happily Ever After" buttons and they also seated us at a very nice private table in the top corner of the main dining room. The manager came by our table to congratulate us and he was just so nice! It was really a nice relaxing meal which is just what we needed the night before our wedding!

We ordered the Blue Crab Cake appetizer again and I was sure to get a photo this time!



We also split a bowl of the Lobster Bisque which sadly they do not have anymore :(



Jason got a fancy drink and I had a glass of red wine.



And, of course, Jason had the salmon which was a bit different this time but he loved it just the same.



I tried the Pork Tenderloin this time around. I will admit I generally have very simple tastes but the mango chutney rocked my socks! It was SO good!!!



While we were enjoying our dinner, we witnessed another couple get engaged! The guy got down on his knee at the table and the whole restaurant clapped. They looked so happy! It was such a beautiful thing for us to see on the night before our wedding that I forgot to take anymore pictures! Our waitress brought us free champagne and strawberries and wished us well on our life together. Another fantastic meal at The Hollywood Brown Derby!



One year later, Jason and I returned to the Hollywood Brown Derby for our 1st Anniversary.



This was hands down the best experience we've had yet! Before we went to the restaurant, we stopped in a few places looking for Anniversary buttons but came up empty handed. There was no need for all of that though because the manager gave us a pair when he seated us! This time we were seated at the best table we've ever had at a booth in the bottom right corner of the main dining room. It is in the corner farthest from the kitchen and feels very private. It's so private that you can't even hear the conversation at the next table! We made a note of the table number - 215. We will request it next time!



We started out with a round of drinks. I had to try Cheryl's Peach Tree Punch and I am SO glad I did!



Delicious!



The manager came to our table with a camera and asked us if he could be our paparazzi for this evening. Of course we said yes :) While he set up the shot, he asked to hear the story of how we met. After a few minutes, he came back to our table and presented us with this!



This was definitely the most magical thing that had ever happened to us at any restaurant! I will cherish this photo always.

Until now I had never really paid attention to the bread but it definitely deserves a mention, it is REALLY good! I love the whipped butter mmm...



We were very upset to find that the Blue Crab Cake appetizer had been replaced with a Blue Crab Spring Roll instead. The spring roll was excellent but not the same as our favorite crab cake.



Can you guess what entree Jason ordered? That's right! The salmon - this time on a bed of pasta and greens covered in a hot broth. A bus boy poured the hot broth at the table, it was really neat! We both thought it was fantastic but Jason said it wasn't quite as good as its predecessor.



I ordered the beef filet again - this time on a bed of delicious risotto! This was better than its predecessor and I thought that the risotto was a nice upgrade from plain mashed potatoes. Very good, that risotto!



I can't believe we have been lucky enough to eat at The Hollywood Brown Derby 3 times! I think the manager will know us pretty soon :) We love it because the food is top quality, the atmosphere is classy old Hollywood,  and the staff are top notch. You never have to ask for anything, it is the type of place where the staff will anticipate your needs. Your water glass is never empty and your food comes on a very well paced schedule. We will return again and again!

EPCOT Eat To The Beat 2012: Boyz II Men

Last night I had the pleasure of seeing Boyz II Men at the Eat to the Beat Concert Series in EPCOT with my besties, Amy and Wendy!

Photo by Amy Peterman

We all geeked out hardcore when the Boyz came on stage and sang the hits we loved as teenagers. At one point, one of the Boyz came into the audience and he touched my hand as he walked by!! Don't worry, I caught the whole thing on video :)

At the end, they sang "I'll Make Love To You" and a whole bunch of adult women rushed the stage! It was too hilarious not to join in! I liked that there was some order to the chaos and I never felt scared. I've been to concerts where I was scared of being trampled. People were pushing and shoving a bit but it wasn't violent.

We had a great time being adult women turned into 12 year olds for a night! Thanks ladies for sharing this most magical memory with me!

My full YouTube Playlist is below. It has 9 parts and is just over 40 minutes of Boyz II Men goodness! Enjoy!

Here are some highlights:

I'll Make Love To You Stage Rush - pretty much all of part 9

HE TOUCHED ME!! - end of part 5

My First RunDisney Event - The Tower of Terror 10 Miler!

At the beginning of 2012, I caught the running bug. I was very excited to move to Florida and I also wanted to find a way to meet new friends. Enter RunDisney - I had watched the WDW Marathon weekend  streaming live courtesy of my friend Lou Mongello of WDW Radio and everyone seemed to be having so much fun! I want to go to there...

So, I signed up for the ToT 10 Miler. This was not only my first RunDisney event, it was my first running event...period. I had never done a 5k or even a 10k! I really like to set some high goals for myself :)

I began my training shortly after moving to Florida in April 2012. Having gained some weight back after my Disney Fairytale Wedding I was hoping to lose weight and get fit. Things didn't go exactly as I planned - my responsibilities at work changed drastically in May and I ended up going on a lot of business trips over the summer. The stress of traveling and being away from my husband coupled with a generous expense account did not set me up for success. I trained as much as I could and I averaged about 16 minutes per mile before the race. The longest training run I did was about 8.5 miles so I felt well prepared.

I went to the Expo at Wide World of Sports the day before the race to pick up my RunDisney swag bag. I was a bit disappointed that there weren't any free samples at the Expo, it was just a bunch of merch kiosks. But it was fun nonetheless!







I was very lucky it wasn't too busy when I got there and there were only 2 people ahead of me in line for the bags!



Yay my very first RunDisney swag bag! Number 9638 - that's ME!



I ordered the shirt in XL - I really could've gotten the Medium, this thing was HUGE! I didn't have time to exchange it, bummer.



I also bought the "I Did It!" shirt to wear at the after party. These were also cut pretty big - I generally wear an XL but I got the Large and it fit perfectly!



The back of the shirt - wow I had a long way to go!



On race day, I was sure to get lots of sleep and hydration to prepare me for the 10PM start time. I had a meet with my running team - Team Studios Central - beforehand so I left my house planning to park at the Boardwalk for ease of access after the race. Wrong! The Boardwalk was on to me and those like me and was only letting people park there for 3 hours. That would not work for me so I went and parked at Wide World of Sports instead. No parking was allowed at Hollywood Studios for this event, you had to park at Wide World of Sports and take a bus to Hollywood Studios. Luckily, I was there REALLY early so I didn't have to wait in line. The whole parking ordeal took me so long that I couldn't make the meet with my team but I texted folks to make sure we met up in the parking lot before the race. Meanwhile, I hung out with some of my friends!



My awesome friend Beatrice and her hubby Brian cheered me on from the start! Yeah I know my eyes are closed but this is still a cute photo of us :)



Even though I wasn't running with the WDW Radio Running Team, Lou Mongello still found it in his heart to take a photo with me!



My friend Bobby in an awesome Peter Pan outfit! I still can't believe that people run these races while they are down here on vacation - I could never do it!



Then finally Team Studios Central showed up!




Me and my friend Darolyn :)



Then it was time to get into our starting corrals! I was happy to hang around with my friend Yulady and her husband Carlos :)



Thanks again to Yulady for coming up with a parking suggestion for my husband Jason who wasn't arriving until after 10PM. We figured out that he wouldn't be able to park at Wide World of Sports because they were closing Osceola Parkway for the race at 8PM. Yulady suggested that he park at Downtown Disney, take a bus to the Boardwalk, and walk to the Studios - and it worked out perfectly! But seriously, these RunDisney events are obviously not geared towards locals. The after party didn't even begin until 10:30PM, why did everyone need to be there by 8PM? The parking situation for this event was pretty bad overall. More on that later...

Standing in my very first RunDisney starting corral, I was very moved by the Star Spangled Banner. This is one of my favorite renditions of this song!

 And before I knew it, it was 10:15 and Corral D was about to begin! I was SUPER pumped!

 As we began running, I started up my trusty RunKeeper app on my iPhone to coach me through my pace of 20 sec run/40 sec walk. By the second mile marker, I was doing well and feeling good! How can you feel bad when these awesome spectators are cheering you on! They were reading our names off of the bibs throughout the race, it was so fun!

 The coolest part of the entertainment was definitely Scar and the Hyenas. This is my final video of the race because frankly after this there was nothing to see and my camera got all fogged up from the unbelievable heat and humidity.

 I stopped here for a photo and I was fully prepared to buy the professional one but they charge $35 for a digital download per photo! There weren't that many photos of me so it didn't make sense to buy a package. I really only wanted two photos but I'm not paying that, are they crazy? The iPhone camera did okay here.



And that's my last photo from the race course. Sadly, the hyenas took such a long time that I was all the way at the back of the pack. A staffer pointed out some ladies carrying balloons and said we needed to keep the pace with them. From everything I had heard and read, I thought that you could basically walk a 20 minute mile and still get to finish the race. So I ignored him and a few other warnings along the way. I lollygagged with some awesome ladies and we were laughing and having a good 'ol time. Then, at mile 8 we saw the sweeper bus and we were herded onto it. So unfortunately, I did not get to finish this race which really made me angrysadfrustrated because I really could've sprinted those last two miles. I had saved up all of my energy for the end but I never got to use it. People around me on the bus were stunned and they said they had run at a slower pace than this for the half marathon last year. That just goes to show you need to listen to the warnings and not the people.

The sweeper bus dropped us off right after the finish line so we merged in with the finishers. I could've totally lied and said I finished, no one would have known because I still got the medal and posed for the "Finisher" photo but of course I didn't buy it. I was feeling a mixture of emotions as I left the finishing area to meet my husband at the after party. We texted from the sweeper bus so he knew what was going on. I just wanted to bury my head in his shoulder and die. But, I put on a brave face and changed into my "I Did It!" shirt. I felt it was appropriate because the shirt didn't say "I Finished It!" hehe ;)

As my teammates showed up one by one for our after party picture, I told them what happened and they were all so supportive. I think they could tell by the expression on my face how I was feeling. I really appreciated the support but I didn't want to harsh anyone's buzz so Jason and I left the party after we took our group photo. I think you can tell I was crying a little bit in this picture.



When we left the party, we were not prepared for the craziness of trying to get back to Wide World of Sports to get my car. Our plan was to get my car first and then I would drop Jason off at his car at Downtown Disney. The lines for the busses back to Wide World of Sports were insane! Many people were blatently cutting in line and I saw a guy throw up while standing in line. It is really important to stay hydrated during a race, I am very proud of myself for not getting sick or injured!

We waited in line for at least a half hour if not more and I was feeling more than grumpy. Then, when we finally got back to our car, the traffic was so bad it took us another half hour to get to Downtown Disney! Ugh, I just wanted to get home!! Again, the parking at this event was horrible! I hope it was just because this was the first evening event, otherwise I will be forced to stay at a Disney resort for these races.

I'm really glad to have such a supportive husband because he really cheered me up. When we got home, I realized I didn't have a photo of me with my medals! We had to correct that.



It was very nice of my friend Aaron from Team Studios Central to get medals with our team's logo! Plus I still got the Tower of Terror 10 Miler medal that glows in the dark and the doors move up and down just like the ride!



Thanks again to all of my friends on my personal facebook account who were so supportive when I posted what happened with the race. I didn't get any nasty comments, only uplifting ones - and a LOT of them!

Overall, I am still disappointed by my performance at the Tower of Terror 10 Miler. But on the other hand, I did have a blast and I made it 8 miles! I did make it past a few sweeper busses, I believe they began around mile 6. Before this race, I signed up for the WDW Half Marathon in January 2013. That's 13.1 miles, folks. I can do it! I have already begun training this week and I'm now running a 14:30 mile. Don't worry, I'm going to take my anger at myself and use it for good, not evil! I'm lightside, not darkside :)