Giving Thanks for One More Thing

As you read in my last post, I'm thankful for so many wonderful things this year. I would be even more thankful if you could visit my brand new website and share your thoughts about it with me. I'm always looking for ways to improve!
 

The Thanksgiving Spirit

Happy Thanksgiving to anyone following this blog! My lengthy absence has finally ceased. With the next two days off from work and a half-day today, I can post to my heart's content... in between all the schoolwork I have for the two classes that I'm currently taking (Literary Theory and Fundamentals of Copyediting and Proofreading, but more about those another time) and the website that I'm trying to create (I'll update you as soon as it's ready). Now to get to my actual post...

This year,I'd like to list the top 10 things I'm thankful for in my life. So here goes. I am thankful...

... that I have a loving family to support me.

... that my boyfriend is the best in the world.

... that our relationship hasn't lost its spark.

... that my family and friends remain healthy and safe.

... that we survived hurricane Sandy with minimal damage.

... that Obama got reelected president.

... that great literature exists.

... that I have a roof over my head and a steady job that I enjoy.

... that I can afford to attend classes and continue learning.

... that I haven't forgotten all of my Hungarian language skills.

What are you thankful for? I'd love to hear from you and share our stories!

I Remember

I remember sitting in my eighth grade classroom. Someone came to the door and whispered a message to the teacher. I can't remember how they announced it to us. The next recollection is of all of us turned in our chairs to watch a tiny TV screen at the back of the classroom. I didn't know exactly where my dad worked, but I knew it was in the vicinity of the World Trade Center. I remember the panic slowly building in my chest. I don't remember getting home afterward. I don't remember watching the news about the 9/11 attacks. But the memory of that fear still brings tears to my eyes as I write this. I remember the relief when I learned my dad was okay.

Now that another September 11th has passed us by, I think it's safe to say that we haven't yet lost the horror of that day, even though it happened 11 years ago. And I hope that even the generations who didn't experience the tragedy will remember it through stories and news reports and photos. All of those things are painful, but I think we need them to throw salt in the wound so that it won't heal up, lest we forget. My heart goes out to everyone who lost someone.

I wish that everyone in the world could just exist in peace.

Brighton Beach in August

The sand doesn't get hot until noon.
We spread our sheet in a spot still
untouched by human bodies.

I don't want sunblock; you don't
want sunburn, but it's still too early
for even the brightest star to be fully awake.

We swim like tangled jellyfish. We try
to propel ourselves forward as one
entity, drifting farther toward the deep.

I can't stand out there; don't carry me,
don't carry me out, I beg and plead
so you go it alone and I watch.

But now I feel like a starfish
waiting to grow back an arm.

Mouse Ears

Walking Man, this one is for you. Don't worry, there will be a TON more Disney photos to come at a later date (probably more than anyone would ever want to see!).

Technological Tools

Skeptics rest assured, Disney World was an amazing time! Too much happened to even write about now, but eventually I'll share some anecdotes.

In the meantime, I'm typing this on my brand new iPad, and I'm hoping that having this Blogger app at my fingertips (quite literally) will make it easier to post more frequently. I also got a very cute cover for it based on the movie Lilo and Stitch.

And because I want to test both the photo capabilities of my iPad and whether this app will allow me to upload photos, here's one:

Good Intentions

I don't think I've mentioned it on this blog yet, but my brother is going to Disney World too, although unfortunately not at the same time as Todd and I. He left this morning, before I even woke up (and that says a lot, because I wake up at 4:30 a.m.). I didn't expect him to leave so early, and didn't even get a chance to give him the "care package" I'd made for him and his girlfriend: a copy of the fact book I've been posting from to give them some reading on the plane, some emergency band-aids, some hand sanitizer, and a small packet of tissues. I felt really sad that I missed the opportunity to give it to them, and I regret even more that I didn't get a chance to wish them a good time. I texted them when I woke up, but it just wasn't the same. But he did leave behind a box of poptarts (he bought about a dozen for the trip), and I like to think he left them behind for me. (That's highly doubtful, but I'll pretend.) I guess I'll still give them the care package when they come home and they can read the facts afterward haha.

Because I didn't post yesterday, here are two facts for today:

"Disney employs more than 600 horticulture professionals who plant more than 3 million annuals on the property each year and care for 4,000 acres of gardens and landscapes. That's nearly five times the size of New York City's Central Park!"

"Love roses? Almost 13,000 of them can be found at WDW throughout the year."

(Little-Known Facts about Well-Known Places: Walt Disney World, Laurie Flannery)

Fireworks at the Castle

One of the things I'm most excited for at Disney is to see the Wishes fireworks show that happens nightly above Cinderella's castle. Ever since I was a kid, I've loved to marvel over fireworks--and I never seem to lose that sense of awe, either. I've heard that the Wishes show is fantastic, and I'll be sure to take some pictures to share when I return (or I'll finally make some space on my phone and download a Blogger app and post it real-time for once!).

Today's fact of the day: "How many stone blocks were used to create Cinderella Castle, the most photographed building in the world? None. The building's shell is actually a steel skeleton covered in fiberglass. The castle was built to withstand hurricane-force winds exceeding 90 mph." - Little-Known Facts about Well-Known Places: Walt Disney World, Laurie Flannery

Facts & Photos

Here are some photos from a good weekend spent with my parents and Todd. We ate at Yard House, a relatively new restaurant in our area that has amazing appetizers (think big juicy onion ring towers and maple bacon dipping sauce with sweet potato fries) and good food. I really enjoyed dinner, as well as The Dark Knight Rises, which we watched afterward. Although I didn't think Bane stood up to Joker as a villain (but who really expected him to?), I thought this film's storyline had more substance to it and I really enjoyed the performances of both Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Anne Hathaway (who I usually don't like too much). Without further ado, here are the photos. Scroll all the way down to check out today's Disney fact of the day.

Todd and I outside my house before heading to the mall.

Onion ring tower and dipping sauces



My roast beef sandwich with au jus, soup, and truffle fries



Todd's bearnaise burger

My dad's burger-man creation

My mom's plate

"Why are the elevator motors in the Tower of Terror actually sealed inside the building? Because they're so massive, at 12-feet tall and 35-feet long, that they weigh a whopping 132,000 pounds, generating enough torque to equal 275 Corvette engines. They had to be lifted by crane into place, and the building was then completed around them, sealing them in." - Little-Known Facts about Well-Known Places, Laurie Flannery 

Dark Chocolate M&Ms

I'm about to embark on a tv show-watching spree with Todd while, of course, devouring all of the candy that I can grab. Well... I'll try not to eat THAT much.... maybe. The shows that we're mostly watching are Covert Affairs and Colony. The first is about a CIA agent who embarks on a number of semi-dangerous missions while pining for her blind co-worker. The second is a real experiment performed on a group of (coincidentally well-equipped and knowledgable) individuals who must live in a pseudo-post-apocalyptic world.

Anyway, before I go explode with yummy goodness, here's the fact of today:

"One of the hottest dinings spots in the Magic Kingdom, Cinderlla's Royal Table, originally was named King Stefan's Banquet Hal. King Stefan was a misleading moniker, since he was dad to a different princess: Sleeping Beauty. The name change went into effect in 1997" (Little-Known Facts About Well-Known Places, Laurie Flannery).