December 20, 2009 by Leanne
All I can say is what an amazing time we had aboard the Disney Magic on our 7-night Caribbean vacation to Key West, Grand Cayman, Cozumel and Castaway Cay - and during the Christmas season! I have never been so pampered, relaxed, well-fed, and totally entertained than I was this past week. The weather cooperated perfectly with the exception of our trip to Castaway Cay, but otherwise – stupendous!
I’ve got so many photos to upload and so many different posts to share stories with you coming up. But for now, because I’ve just arrived back home and am trying to get caught up on unpacking, laundry, etc… plus dealing with a house construction mess (more to come on that, too) – I’ve got my hands full for the next few days. Here are some pics to share tonight – and know there are many more to come.
Oh – and did I mention that I had NO cell phone service or email availability during 90% of the cruise? No checking email, no looking at messages, - just old fashioned enjoyment.
Category Life | Tags: Castaway Cay,Cozumel,Disney,Disney Cruise Line,Disney Magic,Grand Cayman,Key West,Mike,Vacation | 2 Comments
December 11, 2009 by Leanne
I found this slide show through some deep links on Twitter. Thought it was pretty interesting to see how the social media buzz on Tiger Woods changed over the first few days the story broke. My former work-out buddy is in some deep doo-doo. (Before anyone jumps to conclusions, you will see in my previous posts from this summer that Tiger worked out at my gym. I saw him there several times and had one conversation with him that lasted about 1 minute. And – that gym is now shut down so don’t ask me if I’ve seen him lately.)
Category Social Media | Tags: Gym,Social Media,Tiger Woods,twitter | No Comments
December 8, 2009 by Leanne
I just got back from a whirlwind trip to Disneyland in California.
I flew in late Wednesday night and came home Friday afternoon. One of the benefits of working for a large corporation (The Walt Disney Company) with multiple sites around the world is the ability to travel to some of those locations and visit with colleagues I don’t get to see very frequently.
After we got through our mandatory work stuff (you know, meetings etc…) my colleague Tom and I snuck out for a little Disney fun. Tom had never been to the Disneyland before so it was all brand new to him. This was my 3rd time in the park so I led him to my favorite attractions first. I knew he had to experience Pirates of the Caribbean – Disneyland style. Their version of the attraction has some awesome differences from the one at Walt Disney World – like 2 waterfall drops, air blast effects and a longer ride through the storyline. It’s a must do if you get a chance to go there. I love it
We then made our way over to the Haunted Mansion. 
Again the exterior of their Mansion looks very different from the one in Florida. I have to say – this attraction blew me away! The Haunted Mansion Holiday is inspired by Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas. The holiday overlay starts from the moment you walk into the first room and then continues throughout the entire ride. It is amazing and so much fun. I have to admit, I was not expecting such a fun experience and was taken aback by all the attention to detail the Disney Imagineers put into this attraction. I know, I should never be shocked at how they always think of everything, but it was inspiring to see such creativity.
With just a limited time for fun over, we had to boogie on back to the hotel and head home. Side note: The lack of direct flights from LAX to Orlando is frustrating. Our choices were either to leave at 7am or the red-eye at 10:45pm. We opted for the 2:30pm flight that stops in Atlanta and got us back in Orlando at 1:00am Saturday morning. LONG DAY!
View from take-off at LAX.
Category Disney | Tags: Disney,Disneyland,Haunted Mansion,Holidays,Pirates,work life | 1 Comment
December 2, 2009 by Leanne
Someone needs to ban me from purchasing any more books until I catch up reading the ones I already have.
Two more books just arrived on my doorstep this week from Amazon.com. I’ve been very fortunate to meet some wonderful people recently who just happen to be authors as well and I can’t wait to read their books. I met Gary Vaynerchuk in September at Disney and found him very engaging and interesting. His new book, Crush It, was just about to hit the shelves. Gary is nicknamed the “social media sommelier” for building his empire on wine tasting and his wine library by using social media skills and platforms.
And then in October I was speaking at BlogWorld Expo where I happened upon Guy Kawasaki. I had been following Guy for a while (as in following on Twitter and alltop.com) and couldn’t believe that I was actually sitting a table with him having breakfast. He is an amazing wealth of knowledge and so down to earth. He’s also authored numerous books with the most recent “Reality Check“. So I had to buy that, too.
Then there are the Carl Hiaasen books my friend Mike has loaned me. I’ve read two of those and love Carl’s writing! I’ve got about 4 more to read.
And then I read on someone’s blog – can’t remember who – about how wonderful the book is about Steve Job’s presentation style. Had to get that, too.
Bottom line is – I’ve got so many books to read and so little time to read them all. I must be banned from buying any more books until I catch up with these. The great thing is, I am so excited about what I can learn from all of them!
I’ve got a 5-hour flight to LA coming up soon, maybe I can use that time to get going.
Category Daily Life | Tags: books,Gary Vaynerchuk,Guy Kawasaki,Mike,reading,Social Media | No Comments
