But the popularity of social networking sites has it’s “other” side, too.  It has amped the volume of people speaking their minds which isn’t bad, as long as it’s not misused.  Twitter, Facebook and discussion boards provide platforms for people to immediately broadcast what’s on their minds – “I loved it”  ”I hated it”  ”#FAIL” “Anyone out there listening?”

What do you do when one of your online friends asks you to re-tweet or re-post their anger or frustration with someone or some company?  Do you do it just because it’s someone you know?  I think it is more common on Twitter than on Facebook to see that plea “Please RT this!”  I find these requests interesting but a little unsettling. I now have to know all the facts about their story.

But there are what I call the bandwagoners – people who jump on a rant, most not knowing the full story.  Re-tweet it and re-post it multiple times and the next thing you know there’s a full online movement that may or may not be justified.  I’ve seen too many times where the noise-maker rattling the cage  is not quite so innocent as they portray to be.

The knee-jerk online reactions bother me.  I’ve been on both sides of the equation.  I’ve been the consumer with problems and I’ve been the PR side trying to fix things.  Neither side is comfortable.

I love reading consumer-centric columns and blogs that work at solving people’s problems.  Greg Dawson and Christoper Elliott are my steady reads.

So why is this today’s topic? No particular reason. It’s just something that’s been on my mind and finally put it down in writing.

Mike and I had mutually decided last year that the Grand Canyon would be a perfect vacation for us this year.  Neither one of us had ever been before and it was high on our list of “places to see before you die”.

Days 3 and 4 of the Southwest Spendors trip with Disney granted us our dream of finally seeing this breathtaking creation.  Photos do not do it justice. The awe of the size, colors, depth, landscape, sounds and heat are too much to capture with any kind of camera. But I tried —

Look closely – that little blue speck in the center is Mike!  I refused to climb out there.

Went out at 5:30am to take this shot.

Another morning shot.

We had a choice of activities in the afternoon – I chose mule riding which was fun except the guy you see riding in front of me kept whipping his mule for no reason. I was so angry with him for doing that.

A little deceiving – this wasn’t “my” mule ride. I happened to be walking along the Bright Angel trail on the South Rim when I heard “clumpity clump” behind me. Lo and behold a wrangler was leading this pack of mules down into the Canyon.

My mule’s name was “Algebra”.  She was the best mule in the bunch.  I was surprised at how big mules are.  These guys were as big as horses.  Even though it was 105-degrees out this day, we were required to completely cover up from head-to-toe including wearing wide-brimmed hats.

While I was muling – Mike opted for the faster paced helicopter tour of the canyon. He had a blast!  It was a 45-minute flight and he got to sit in the front seat!

This was the view from our hotel, the Thunderbird Hotel, located in the Grand Canyon National Park.  Although it was more like a Motel 6 accommodation, the stellar view makes it worth the missing in-room luxuries.

Our tour included a stop at the Desert View Watch Tower built in the 1930’s to provide the widest possible view of the Canyon.  Mike is looking out from the top floor of the tower – which is about 5-stories tall.  I have no exterior shots because there were two huge construction cranes flanking it doing maintenance work.

A final photo before heading up to Utah for our next adventure.

Our trip started in Phoenix where we met up with our future travel companions in our group.  There were 25 in this group for the week, 19 adults and 6 kids – the youngest was 5 years old.  Interesting there were quite a few women traveling alone with their children.  Most everyone had some experience with a Disney vacation whether regulars to Disneyland or Disney World and several were DVC members.  About half the group were Adventure repeaters.

We loaded a luxury motor coach and started our 2-hour drive to Sedona where we would spend the first two nights.

The scenery in every location we went to was just incredible.

Sedona, AZ

Sedona, AZ

Me, Mike in Sedona

The Amara Resort where we stayed in Sedona. A beautiful boutique hotel.

Was this Walt’s inspiration for Disney’s Big Thunder Mountain? We were told it was.

Our last stop in Sedona was to a Vortex where we saw this stunning view of what legend has was Walt Disney’s inspiration for Disney’s Big Thunder Mountain Railroad attraction in the Magic Kingdom.  Could be!

Funny thing at the Vortex, when we arrived around 9:00am there were three women already there circled together and chanting. I’m sure they weren’t too happy to see a big tour bus show up on their quiet ritual.  We weren’t there long and we weren’t intrusive. They just kept on chanting.

Our next stop – the Grand Canyon!

DISCLOSURE:   Nothing to disclose!  I work for Disney but paid for this trip completely on my own for my summer vacation.  If I hadn’t had a good time, I would say so.

I watched every single episode of this year’s show and was really torn between who should win – Crystal Bowersox or Lee.  They both were fabulous singers but with completely different styles.  Lee really started coming out of his shell the last few weeks and won the audience over with his shy personality and his great vocals.  After seeing him today work the crowds, he really does seem like a genuinely nice guy. I’m happy for him that he won, and I have no worries for Crystal whatsoever.  She’ll go on to also have a stellar career as well.

Lee signs autographs for the fans at Disney’s Hollywood Studios on Memorial Day (May 31, 2010)

The finale moment of the American Idol Experience where Lee DeWyze congratulated the shows winner.

Lee DeWyze on stage giving good luck wishes to the performers.

Brody – the man in the middle – was the winner of the day’s first show at American Idol Experience.  He’ll go on to compete in the finale show.

And finally, I became a photo-journalist of sorts today – when WESH picked up my TwitPic from the parade.  Pretty cool!

]]> http://leanneslife.com/2010/05/31/american-idol-lee-dewyze/feed/ 1 http://leanneslife.com/2010/05/28/and-then-turbulence/ http://leanneslife.com/2010/05/28/and-then-turbulence/#comments Sat, 29 May 2010 01:10:34 +0000 Leanne http://leanneslife.com/?p=1059 It was my second flight to and from Los Angeles in 10 days.

After four hours and fifteen minutes of flying, the pilot came on the loud speaker and said “Ladies and gentlemen, we’re in our final descent into the Orlando area with an approximate landing time in just about 20 minutes. We ask that you turn off your electronic devices and stow away your personal belongings.”
A sigh of relief. Just about home. Gladly it had been a very nice, mellow flight.
We departed Los Angeles at 7:55am PT and it was now around 3:15pm ET.
About 30 seconds after the pilot announces our descent it happens:  BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM. And my stomach falls out below me.
What the heck???
Up and down – BOOM BOOM.
I’m clutching both hands on whatever I can grasp and close my eyes. I’m silently praying “Dear God, please let us land safely. Dear God, Please let us land safely.” Over and Over.
I peek out to see the couple across the aisle holding on to each other.
I look over at my boss who’s calm as a cucumber looking out the window.
I close my eyes again. Pray. Pray. Pray.
I look over at my seat mate, an elderly gentlemen who is reading his book as if nothing is going on.
I’m thinking to myself. “What’s wrong with this man? Doesn’t he know our lives are in danger?”
I’m clutching the seat as hard as I can.
After what seems like an eternity it smooths out again.
The flight attendant comes on the intercom to tell us the pilot says the worst is behind us, but we all need to remain seated until we land.
Twenty seconds goes by then we hit it again. BOOM BOOM BOOM
This time it only lasts about 30 seconds.
Then it gets calm again.
I’m in an aisle seat so I don’t have a great view of what is going on but I can finally see signs of home.
Feeling calmer I grab my camera.

I see downtown Orlando.  I see Lake Eola.  I sense relief. I think – all is well with the world again.

From this point on it was smooth sailing. Or rather, smooth flying.

We landed, as they say, “Without incident”.

I’m happy to be home.  And thankful to God.

My travel life has definitely picked up in the past few weeks which has delayed me from my blogging duties.

After my annual physical earlier this month and meeting with the dietitian I’ve made a commitment to eating healthier.  And this comes after I thought I already WAS eating healthy.  With the exception of my monthly indulgence in calamari with Mike, I rarely ever eat anything fried. I seldom ever touch pizza or any kind of pasta. I eat brown rice, not white rice (rare exception of the sushi encounter).  Whole wheat bread never white bread.

The new changes in my routine will be to eat more organic in my food selections and to cut back on red meats and pork, use natural sweeteners over artificial ones, eliminate caffeine, and start eating more fruits and vegetables – organic, of course and to eat more foods rich in antioxidants.

The first step I took may seem trivial but was a major ordeal for me – giving up my morning Diet Dr. Pepper.  I did this not only because of the dietitian, but because my dentist also advised the same thing.  The dentist believes that the soda was ruining my gums.  So, it’s been 21 days since my last Diet Dr. Pepper.  I know I’ll have one again soon, but I won’t be going back to a daily routine of 2-3 day. I think God will forgive me if I have one a month.

Eating organic is definitely more expensive and harder to stick to but I’m going to give it my all.

Any of you live the organic life?  How has it impacted you?

Downward dog.  Plank. Sun Salutation. Warrior. Child’s pose.

Breathe out the toxins. Breathe from the abdomen.

I’m learning folks – I’m learning.

I started taking yoga classes for the first time on a regular basis last month.  I’m 5 weeks into it attending 2 classes a week and attempting my own work out at home on occasion.

I went into it thinking I wanted to focus on flexibility which would lead to a leaner look.  I quickly learned I am so not flexible and it has nothing to do with the body-type.  I see a person with what appears as a “not-so-great” physique being able to twist, turn, flex and hold poses I can’t even fathom!  The instructors are great though. They remind us  in every class that we’re all made differently and not everyone will ever be able to do the same poses with great flexibility. That does make me feel somewhat better.

The biggest lesson I’ve learned so far is how important the breathing is.  It is by far the number one element to learn.  I find myself focusing on breathing through the nose and from the gut all day long. The instructors tell us this will help us in all areas of our lives – in mentally focusing, in ridding our bodies of toxins, in better digestion and so much more.

At today’s class we learned the phrase “loka samasta sukhino bhavantu”.  It was a little odd to chant this – as I am not a chanter. But I did it.  You can Google the phrase and see what it means.

Namaste.

It’s a fine line…

Between being arrogant to being confident.

Between being too personal to being social in a business world.

Between being polite and non-intrusive to appear uncaring.

What are your fine lines?

So, after gaining a few pounds back I determined I needed to get things under control.  I have a room in my house that is totally under-used.  I call it my piano room. It also served as Mikita’s playpen when she was a puppy. I’ve turned this extra room into my new home gym. This is what I’ve been spending the past few weeks working on:

It has a treadmill, ab crunch machine, 5# 10# and 20# weights.  A bench to do flies and chest press.  A step machine.  A TV and stereo.  And of course, my piano should I just get the urge to sit down and belt out a tune or two.

I worked hard, too, to make it appealing to me to go in there.  I’ve decorated it with a black and white theme. I got the beautiful rug from Overstock.com at a great price with $2.50 shipping.  It’s one of the thick rugs, not the cheap kind you see at discount stores. I found the gorgeous curtains at an outlet store near the Florida Mall. And the photos on the wall above the bench are pictures of the ocean in Cozumel, taken during our 7-night cruise on the Disney Magic last December.

How’s it going so far?  It has only been fully put together for about a month but I’ve been faithful.  I miss the variety of equipment found at a normal gym, but this is serving a good purpose.  It’s really all about commitment.  The mirror is my motivator.

I don’t know what this flower is but I remember it growing along the fence at the daycare center my mom took my brother and me. It was located at the hospital where she worked as an emergency room nurse.  The smell of the flower is distinct. The small buds blossom into a variety of colors. And they attract bees. I remember the daycare play yard located right next to the hospital and alongside a railroad track. The yard was made of mulch and smelled like sawdust.  There were several huge tires we played in plus a sandbox with very gritty sand and a swing set.  I was around 4 – 6 years old.  Isn’t it funny how this flood of memories comes back  just by seeing a flower?

The rest of the photos are some other flowers we found today on our walk:

A wall of azaleas in full bloom.

I think these are pansies.

This bed lines an entire block – it really is beautiful in person.

And I proudly display the one LONE flower in my yard.

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