Topic stolen... um borrowed from Jennifer. Now my brushes with fame aren't the A-listers Jennifer knows. Hence, my change of the title to Almost Famous.
At first I just commented on her blog Playgroups are no Place for Children, because, DUDE I went to the same college as Emmitt Smith. (And I feel the need share this with everyone I've ever met.) You may know him from a little football team called the Dallas Cowboys. If not surely you remember him from his winning Dancing with the Stars. I 
spent the entire DWTS season telling my BFFs hubby about how I once had a beer with Emmitt. No not just near him, I totally talked to him! It was during post season and the Cowboys weren't so good that year apparently, and Emmitt was back at school. I asked why he was in Gainesville and he said because he promised his grandma he would get his degree even if he made it in the NFL. Ain't that just the sweetest? Yah, me and Emmitt we are bonded as only Gators can be.
I also once kissed a former Gator football player who played for the LA Rams. Regardless of the fact that I can’t remember his name, as it was one night in a bar, kissing is a step ahead of drinking a beer. Now that I think of it, hell we were practically engaged! And my old insurance agent Mark Murray, played for the Gators, and was drafted into the NFL to play for Denver. I don't know if he wasn't very good or got hurt but he was only Pro for one year. And who knows you better than the man who has access to all your homeowners info and driving record? Oh, and I almost forgot somewhere I have a picture of Gino Torretta, Heisman Trophy winner from Miami. I so slyly took it from across the room and let's just say (for legal reasons) he "looked" stoned. However, I'm pretty sure I could totally keep him from ever running for President. Only your best friends should have that kind of evidence, so that makes us tight, right?
Lest you think my brushes with fame are all football related, I have more. A sorority sister of mine, my class even, Hilary Andrews is (was?) a meteorologist on the Weather Channel. Wayne Brady, the comedian went to high school with another one of my sorority sisters. And Jimmy Buffet lived next door to one sorority sister's dad in the Keys. They are my sisters, so that makes us all practically one big happy family.
I have a friend who kissed Rob Thomas, way back in the day. I could've been in his wedding if that had worked out. I mention this merely for the excuse to post photo of Rob Thomas, cause I think he is HAWT!
Most recently my BFF was an extra on Friday Night Lights and she french kissed...um hugged...um got her picture taken with Kyle Chandler, baby! And she's letting me post the picture, because DUDE, KYLE CHANDLER!
She also had her picture taken with the Brad Womack the Bachelor, yawn. The same night she saw Riggins.... um Taylor Kitsch from FNL too. Gratuitous hot guy photo op.
But honestly, the whole reason I had to steal... um borrow this blog topic was so I could show off my single biggest claim to fame, (and not because my IRL friends are totally sick of hearing about it or anything like that) that I totally know this guy. On the left that's him in the little movie, maybe you know of it, Pirates of the Caribbean. Now note his arm around me in the 2nd picture? See? Almost.FAMOUS!
His name is Issac Singleton, you may recognize him from various movies and tv shows where he has played a pirate, a thug, a bouncer etc. And he is totally for reals, my friend. He's even my friend on myspace, so you know it's true! That makes me one degree of separation from a lot of really famous people! Wonder if he has Johnny's number? Or maybe Drew's email so I could send her evite for Celebrity Happy Hour.
How famous are you? Who do you know? Or who has your brother's girlfriend's cousin met? Brag here!
Breanna's 1st birthday.
Today marks Breanna's 1/2 life with us. Today she is 9 years old. Half our years with her in our house full time are over. I can't imagine being without her first thing every morning and saying goodnight before bed every night.Breanna is my rule follower. When she was little it took only my counting to three on my fingers to get her to do what she was told. Now I know anywhere I take her I will be sure to be complimented on what a great guest, patient, or student she was. She has started riding her bike to and from school, I know she will not venture from the path or dawdle and be late. Trustworthy should've been her middle name.
Breanna is my perfectionist. Less than perfect causes frustration. She is harder on herself than we ever are. She brings home Straight As every grading period. I joked when they tested her for gifted, saying she studied a lot and tried really hard, so she couldn't be gifted, because those kids are bored by school and don't really try. Um no, apparently she is off the charts smart and tries really hard. I sure hope that doesn't change.
She has it in her head that she wants to go to MIT and become a Math professor. No, not teacher, a college professor. And where would she want to teach? Mommy's alma mater of course, University of Florida. I won't be shocked if this actually happens. She's one of those kids. She already is a great teacher. Sometimes I over hear her helping Brooke and it makes me so proud. Her teacher told me she often assigns Breanna to help other kids in class.
We call her a tomboy, she likes all things blue and sporty. But she has long gorgeous hair, and asked to get her ears pierced in kindergarten, so no all girly things are wasted on her. She has a tough exterior, bruises and scrapes don't bother her. She already has 2 trips to the ER under her belt. But on the inside she's super sensitive, and teasing words hurt her. Breanna talks a lot, but only to those she knows well. She is horribly shy, but deals with it much better when we are not around to help her.
Breanna is a great big sister. And Brooke idolizes her, covering her with hugs and kisses when she gets home from school with tons of stories to share. I love that Breanna still plays so well with her little sister and doesn't think she's too big for such fun.
I am proud everyday to have such a great kid. Happy Birthday Breanna!
One little girl, playing in the water.
One castle, at sunset, across the water.To the dear people who helped create Magical Disney memories for us.
Let's start with you, friendly woman in the parking lot. Wasn't it fun to bond of the fact that years ago we would've all had to actually memorize where we parked? That picture of Pluto 23 painted on the asphalt will always remind me of your laugh.
Happy Disney ticket seller. Thank you so much for taking time to talk with my girls while processing our tickets. And especially for finding out my daughter's birthday was in 3 days and giving her a special birthday button to wear all day. How you managed to make Breanna feel special without overdoing it and making little Brooke jealous I'll never know, but I appreciate it.
All of the, too numerous to count, Disney employees who noticed Breanna's birthday button and wished her a Happy Birthday, quietly so not as to embarrass her, but yet make her feel just a bit extra special, you are also thanked greatly.
Teenage Boys behind us on the tragic adventure that was "the laughing place, the laughing place, the laughing place, the laughing place..." your parents should be so proud! If I had any idea who they were I'd call them and tell them so personally. If you are in Atlanta and your son and two good friends were at Disney with the school band and were stuck on Splash Mountain Saturday, your boys are great! You boys all had nice manners and were friendly to my whole family. Having some fun kids behind us to make jokes with made that extra hour so much more tolerable for all of us. And my love for you has nothing to do with the fact that when you said my answer to your "which of us is cuter" question didn't really count was because I was a married woman, instead of saying an old married woman. Really all three of you were just adorable and personable, putting you leaps and bounds ahead of all the other boys your age. May you all find fun, cute, little girlfriends who appreciate you!
Family on the boat after a long day at Disney with many kids. Weren't you just the nicest? Your 3 year old birthday boy was just the cutest little ham. All of the kids in your party were obviously exhausted yet none of them complained as we all sat on the dirty floor of the boat *GASP* and watched the little ones still going strong. I hope your little man had a wonderful birthday.
And most of all thank you to my wonderful hubby, carrying a 42 lb child on your back, and making extra trips to get food that you then left for us. Grabbing and scaring your kids in the dark, pounding on our car in the haunted mansion. What would we do without you?
Sincerely,
Karen
Dear Magic Kingdom guests and employees,
Yesterday was a day of magic, hubby and I took our girls for a fun trip to Disney World. I understand (trust me I do) that not everyone thinks Disney is the Happiest Place on Earth *GASP* but if you have decided to make the investment and get a 2nd mortgage on your house in order to visit, maybe you could just play along.
Woman with sullen teen daughter complaining loudly about the very nice food service employee at Ariel's Grotto, who greeted my "little Princess" and sincerely wished my older daughter a Happy Birthday, the one who "ignored" you and went to help the people in line at his own register. Yes, you Ma'am, I am sure you must have been about to go into a diabetic coma with out the immediate relief a frozen Coca-Cola. And surely you are new to the Disney experience because 2 minutes in line for food will be the fastest line of the day for you.
And, you, yes all of you. Dads, moms and grandparents in Ariel's Grotto. I am guessing I must have been in the wrong place at the wrong time, surely it was a designated time for kids who can not walk on their own to play in the water and I did not notice the sign. I realize it surely must be a long day for you, what will all that hovering over your precious children who can't even play on a level surface without your help. Too bad those benches right around the perimeter of the play area were not an option for you. See my daughter, who is very independent was having a great time cooling off in the water spouts, which should have given me the much needed rest on a bench in the shade where I could watch her. But instead I had to stand up and walk around, while holding my purse with camera and sunscreen, plus my requisite bucket of pop corn, water bottle and my daughter's shoes, because I could not see around you all standing in the 6 ft expanse of space between the benches and the play area, directly in my line of sight.
Don't think I missed you, parents of the little girls coming out of the Bippity, Boppity, Boo Salon. You, oh you got ripped off. And you are doing no one any favors by over indulging your little brats.... um princesses. Really, $250 for a cheap princess costume, some sparkly makeup and a fancy hair do is excessive to say the least. I promise you that will not keep them from whining while waiting in line for 40 minutes to ride Peter Pan. Not to mention what will these girls have to look forward to in the future? Prom is going to be such a huge let down after this.
Family with the lovely little girl throwing herself over the chain barriers, apparently trying to give her self a concussion, to get your attention, in line for Peter Pan. Where were you going that you thought you wouldn't have to stand in a line at the Magic Kingdom? Really? Because I'd like to go to the secret rides with no lines. Mom, you told someone you'd not moved in line for 30 minutes. Was it really that long? Clearly the heat and standing was too much for you and you bolted. If you had just held on a few minutes more your little girl, who was waiting rather patiently while sitting on the dirty ground *GASP*, would have gotten to fly with Peter Pan. How do I know this? Because within 5 minutes of your bailing we did. Of course your watch that you must have purchased on that island on LOST would have told you we waited another 30 minutes with out moving.
Woman in line with various black and missing teeth. Perhaps a few trips to the dentist instead of a trip to Disney with the family next year? Just sayin...
Last, but definitely not least, not so very helpful employees on Splash Mountain. You KNOW who you are. You make Walt Disney cry, right there under Cinderella's Castle where everyone knows he's really buried. Hey, next time would it kill you to pick up a bit before you invite us back into the depths of your ride? Oh, and maybe cutting the music when the rest of the ride has halted, for some unexplainable reason, would make the guests, especially those of us not so much loving "the laughing place, the laughing place, the laughing place, the laughing place, the laughing place..." a bit less irritable. Also, perhaps an explanation of what exactly it was that "Brer Bear and Brer Rabbit were doing down river" to turn off the ride right before we got to the big waterfall would have been nice. We'd all sincerely like to thank you for the unguided tour of the back of Splash Mountain and for the loss of an hour of our day we will never ever get back. If you think that super duper fast pass was an equitable consolation prize I'd like some of whatever you've been drinking.
So to all of you thank you. Thank you for giving much fodder for my blog.
Sincerely,
Karen
ps Stay tuned for the next installment of Open Letters, because it wasn't all bad!
There's nothing that can help you understand your beliefs more than trying to explain them to an inquisitive child. --Frank A. Clark
Or is it?
We are surprising the girls with a day at the House of the Mouse tomorrow. Yes, we live within an hour of Disney World and we hardly ever go there. Okay, I know we can get Florida resident passes, and it is cheaper than if someone on the vacation of a lifetime comes down from the great white north. But even a fraction of 'outrageously expensive' is still too much for us to justifiably fit into our budget.
Now our 9 (in 4 days) year old went to that magical land many times before she turned 3. These days ended when we suddenly had to PAY to get her in. I may or may not have a list of friends who teach their recently turned 3 year old children that they are only "2 in Mickey years". Anyway, we had various friends when Breanna could still get in for free, who had those luxurious annual passes, and they would take her with their family to keep their toddler terror company while waiting in all the lines. Worked out GREAT for us, a free day with no kid, and a wonderful day out for her! Woo Hoo! As all parents of more than one child know, it's very rare to have friends who have 2 kids the same ages whom both of your children get along with. And if they do they surely aren't offering to take both of someone else's children anywhere. See that's why we all brought home that 2nd little bundle of joy, in order to have two to keep each other company. You parents of onlies, ask us how that worked for us, before you consider giving your child "company". So what I'm trying to say here is Brooke has no memory of having ever been terrorized by that man sized mouse and his friends, because we've been only a couple times since she's been with us. And sweet little Brooke, she is an aspiring princess, so we've been feeling guilty not giving her the pleasure of visiting the home of the princesses. I mean they live so close, how could we deny her?
So we checked. And rechecked. Passes, which ones cost the least, how many times would we have to go to make the passes pay off? Well, if you don't want to go during the summer, or Spring Break or Christmas break, or the 4th Friday of the month, or on a full moon, or a new moon, or when anyone else might possibly want to go, and you want to pay for parking every time.. Then for the low, low price of $230 per adult and $203 per child you can buy a Seasonal pass. Do the math here... that's $866 for our family of 4. Once the 9 year old turns 10 we have to pay full price for her! Another reason we thought this would be a good time to go to the Black Hole of Money. The regular at the door any day of the year Florida resident prices are $64 and $54 that's $236 for our family of 4. That's make going 4 times during those non-blackout dates to hit the break-even point. Now there are also MAC DADDY tickets. Let's just state here that we are not friends with any doctors or lawyers and all our friends enjoy eating fresh fruit on a regular basis, so we know NO ONE with these tickets, this is purely for comparisons sake. They include all parking, all parks, any friggin day of the year, as long as you have a valid Florida license. That'll cost ya, $460 per adult (or kid over freakin 10 years) and $404 per kid, or grand total of $1728, taking 8 visits to 'pay off'. I do see that the annual passes are a "good deal" in comparison to paying the gate price, but forking over all that cold hard credit at once makes me a bit queasy.
See here lays the essence of the problem , shhh, we really aren't the Disney type. There I said it! Okay, little Princess in training would probably live there if we let her, and I'm sure there will be tears when we leave tomorrow. But the rest of us, not so squeaky clean. Oh, sure we'll have a great time. But give us really big roller coasters, and BEER for the Love of PETE, people need beer at amusement parks, all that hot sun mixed with whining kids = Need for BEER! Yeah so Busch Gardens, that's our kind of place. And maybe next year when little bit is tall enough for the good rides, we'll start doing the break even analysis of Universal or Busch Gardens passes. Right now though, Brooke NEEDS to experience Disney. All her little friends have been, many have even gone on Disney Cruises. Like I said I think hubby and I are missing some child friendly fun gene, because the idea of a whole cruise o' Disney, makes us shudder.
So here's what we decided. 4 visits in one year to a Disney park, any Disney park is more than enough. Making those seasonal passes not worth it for us. Now there just so happen to be Florida residents tickets they promote during the slow periods (Pete knows what qualifies as slow, less than a million people in line for It's a Small World? Anyway that would apparently be now.) for 4 day resident passes. And there just so happen to be 4 Disney parks right here in O'town. JACKPOT! So for the horribly expensive price of $159 per big person and $134 per little person we can hit each of the Disney parks for one day in the next 6 months, any day we want. Can you tell the whole BLACKOUT dates thing really doesn't sit well with us? By the way I counted they blackout 13 weeks of the year, that's about 3 months, and that includes the entire summer. Yes, I know it's hot in Florida in June. Hello, hot in Florida in December. But children are whiny about nothing to do in the summer, sucks that they can't go to Disney even though you spent a mortgage payment on passes.
Now don't even get me started on how the price of the ticket is nothing compared to what we will spend on a cheeseburger, fries, and no FREAKIN BEER!