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  1. Love Letter

    August 29, 2010 by Leanne

    While going through my old photo albums searching for band pictures from high school for my upcoming band reunion I came across a note sent to me from my junior high school 7-th grade boyfriend, Robert.

    I barely remember his last name or even what he looked like.

    What a romantic, huh?  LOL!  It was folded in the traditional school note format where we cornered the edge into a fold. Too funny.  Why I kept it all these years – I have no idea. Now it’s timeless history that I can’t throw away.

    School days….  I bet today’s kids don’t ever write notes to each other. Remember how much fun it was passing them down the row hoping the teacher wouldn’t see you?  Or writing them, folding the note and slipping into the locker through the vents?

    Those were the days, my friends.

    Category Daily Life, Featured | Tags: ,,, | 4 Comments

  2. Bad Car Karma

    August 23, 2010 by Leanne

    It’s one thing to get a flat tire – that’s a hassle all in itself.  But to have back-to-back car drama – really??

    On Wednesday, which was my last official day of my summer vacation, I was headed into downtown Orlando to get my hair cut (see previous blog post) and do some errands.  I was on the 408 (for those not in Orlando it’s an East-West highway) cruising along at 60 mph when I noticed all of a sudden my tire  pressure warning light came on.

    I didn’t think much of it, it’s come on in the past when the air got low. I figured I’d put some air in the tires next time I stopped for gas.

    I exited the highway and drove about 2-miles when I started hearing “thump thump thump thump”.  I knew instantly what this was. I slowed down and pulled into a 7-11 parking lot to see the damage.

    It’s really hard to see from this angle but the left rear tire was flat.  Very flat.

    It seemed like I had just put new tires on which made me really frustrated. Turns out my sense of time was flawed, it had actually been almost 3-years ago to the day.

    Anyway, I called AAA for help.  The operator said it would be 2 hours before someone could get there but the rescue man showed up within 45 minutes.

    He couldn’t have been nicer and very efficient. He had me fixed up within 20 minutes and I was on my way again. (Funny, as I’m typing this I’m listening to Willie Nelson sing “On the Road Again” on Sunday Morning Coming Down on Real Radio.  Too funny!)


    That afternoon I was at Sears getting 2 new tires. $$$

    The next morning it was back to work. At least that was the plan. I went out to the garage at 7:50am, turned the ignition and heard “click click click”.  Ugh! You gotta be kidding me!  Yes, a dead battery.  Thank God for my handyman and wonderful neighbor, Pete.  He came over and jumped the battery so I could head back to Sears again.  More $$$.

    My lessons:

    #1.  Women – if you aren’t mechanically savvy, be sure you have a 24-hour car repair service at your disposal.  I’ve had AAA since high school and while there are years that go by where I never use their services, it’s a comfort to know they’re there when I need them.

    #2.  Be prepared for the unexpected and don’t let it ruin your attitude.  Yes I was frustrated and upset, but it is what it is. Deal with it and move on.  I’ll probably get very frustrated again when my credit card bills come in, but that’s life.

    Category Daily Life, Featured | Tags: ,,,,,, | 1 Comment

  3. Running for Office? Don’t Call Me!

    August 22, 2010 by Leanne

    Here in Florida the primary elections are this Tuesday, Aug. 24.  My answering machine has never had as much use as it has this past week, and not from my friends and family. It’s all political.  One night I came home from work to find 9  messages from candidates.

    I early voted this year.  (Love that option!)

    Now, every time I get another political call I just want to scream “Hey – it doesn’t matter now. I’ve already voted. You can’t influence me.”

    But that does no good.

    I have to wonder just how successful these phone messages are for the candidates. I mean, I don’t ever listen to a message past the first 3 seconds – even when they get a celebrity to call on their behalf. My finger is on the delete button immediately. I have to think its mostly wasted money from their campaign funds.  What do you think?

    I almost opted not to vote this time. There is only one race I feel highly confident in my candidate selection (the Orange County Mayoral race.)  In most of the other races it’s the battle of “has-been’s” versus “shady newbie”.  IMO.   But that’s a whole other blog post. Where are the truly good leaders?

    Are you voting this primary?

    Category Daily Life, Featured | Tags: ,,, | No Comments

  4. Camping Completed

    August 21, 2010 by Leanne

    The annual O’Regan Lake George camping adventure for 2010 is completed.  Hard to believe I’ve done this three years now.  If you know me at all, you know what camping instincts I have (NOT!)  So to survive the trip for the third year is quite a feat in my book.

    I’ve definitely learned a LOT about camping over the years.  The first year the biggest lesson learned was about appropriate attire, most importantly, shoes. (Tevas rule!)  I discovered after many bruises, cuts and scrapes that hiking sandals are imperative, and that cute shirts and tops are meaningless in the woods.  I also discovered, too late in the trip to make use of, that there were HOT SHOWERS and toilets at the marina.

    These lessons learned in year 1 made the next year so much more bearable.  In the second year I learned, or paid more thought to, bringing my own personal food and drinks that would survive a camping trip.  For instance, stashing my own snacks that I could eat when my hunger struck if the rest of the campsite was still sound asleep.  I’m an early riser most of the time and need that little nourishment to tide me over till breakfast.

    This year, with food planned, appropriate clothing packed, I went the extra mile and bought a wet-suit so I could enjoy the lake this year with everyone else. Oh my – this made all the difference in the world!  The lake water is typically so cold my thin Florida blood has a hard time adapting to it. In fact last year when I jumped in (sans wet-suit) I started hyperventilating because it was so cold.  This freaked me out because I am a good swimmer but I could barely even dog-paddle back to shore. Not this year!  I swam and swam and swam!

    Lake George is beautiful.  Although we had some reptile visitors this year which made it a little more harrowing experience, it was another great fun time.

    Category Daily Life, Featured | Tags: ,,, | 1 Comment

  5. Hair Today Gone Tomorrow

    by Leanne

    Overused cliche, I know, but it fits this title.  I chopped 6-inches off my hair this week. Every ten years or so I get tired of the same old look  and take the plunge.  Looking back at my photo albums it was late 2000 the last time I went short.

    This year I made the decision while Mike and I were camping.  I called the salon on the way back home from New York and got it done 3 days later.

    No going back now – at least for many more months.

    Category Daily Life, Featured | Tags: , | 6 Comments

  6. The Online Rant

    June 27, 2010 by Leanne

    I love social media. I find it fun, intriguing, educational, inspiring and engaging. I love connecting with former colleagues and classmates and childhood cousins who’ve moved far, far away.  I love discovering new websites and authors and bloggers who I never would have found before on my own. I love seeing what items my friends really like and they find useful – assuming those are true from the heart recommendations.

    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.

    Category Fun Stuff, Social Media | Tags: ,,, | 3 Comments

  7. The Grand Canyon

    June 20, 2010 by Leanne

    Continuing on from my last post about our Adventures by Disney trip to the Southwest…

    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.

    Category Daily Life | Tags: ,,,, | 3 Comments

  8. The Great Southwest

    June 14, 2010 by Leanne

    I just returned from a great adventure to the Southwest – visiting Sedona, Grand Canyon, Monument Valley and Moab, Utah. Mike and I traveled with Adventures by Disney which provided us an amazing vacation. If you’ve never heard of Adventures by Disney, please check out their website and look at all the breathtaking vacations they offer. It’s best described as the ultimate in guest service, giving you memories of a lifetime – the Disney way.

    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.



    Category travel | Tags: ,,,,,,, | 1 Comment

  9. American Idol Lee DeWyze

    May 31, 2010 by Leanne

    The newly crowned 2010 American Idol Lee DeWyze celebrated his win with a motorcade parade down Hollywood Boulevard today (May 31) at Disney’s Hollywood Studios ending with a guest appearance at The American Idol Experience.

    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!

    Category Disney | Tags: ,,,,,, | 1 Comment

  10. And then…TURBULENCE!

    May 28, 2010 by Leanne

    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.

    Category Daily Life | Tags: ,,,, | 2 Comments

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