WDW Tusker House (Animal Kingdom)

In our first 2 visits to WDW (2012 and 2013), Ken and Austins least favorite park was Animal Kingdom but I think our visit in September 2015 changed their minds. Part of the wonderful experience was a buffet lunch at Tusker House.

The ambiance was inviting. It was sunny and spacious and decorated in a way that made you want to stop and touch. this is the view from the dining room to the buffet area.


this is the dining area where we sat. There are others also.


this is the buffet area


The meal was not expensive (by Disney standards) but it was packed. Even though we had reservations, we still had to wait about 20 minutes. I didn't realize this was a character meal until we were seated and the server told us how the character meet worked ie where we were at within the visit schedule and that we should try to be at our table because if we weren't when they came by we would miss them. This was a 'Mickey &Friends' safari themed character meal and they were a lot of fun.

A, Me, Mickey, K


Me, Donald, A


Daisy and K


Me and Goofy


Even better than the characters was the food. It was buffet and fantastic. I don't think I tried anything I didn't like.





Lastly, our server spent quite a bit of time talking to us about his experience as a cast member and a lot of Disney related trivia. He noticed Kens celebration button and brought him a cupcake with a candle and a birthday card signed by the safari crew;

Sinus Surgery Post op day 19

See Sinus Surgey Post op day 5 for some insight into this surgery. I'm posting this if I need some sort of miserable reminder later on in life or if anyone who is thinking about sinus surgery wants some real world truths.

I'm still quite congested, really as much as I was prior to the surgery and I've had a minor headache non stop for the last 19 days. I stopped taking the pain pills I was given a week ago and now I also can feel the facial pain from my teeth all the way to my forehead.

Blowing my nose has been rather interesting. I've blown stitches out a couple times and thrice I've wondered how the blood clot I've just blown out actually fit through my nostril. My right nostril is now a bit larger than my left one and I don't know if its because of the surgical incision or because its getting stretched out from the humongous blood clots which are the size and consistency of a salamander. Sorry for the visual but that is really what it reminds me of.

Depression does not run in my family nor do I have any of the indicators for post op surgical depression (there really is such a thing) but I think I may have it. Or maybe its just frustration at not feeling better after almost 3 weeks.

A simple positive though is that I went back to work full time today. I was back half time last week and none of my work magically completed itself so I must have some value with this company.

WDW - Packing the Backpack for a day at the park

I just found the SD card with the images from our WDW trip in September so I better post while I can still remember what everything is. This first shot is everything laid out on the table. I usually pack the following;

Ziplock bag #1:

• Reading glasses
• Sunglasses
• Pencil
• Reservation folder (see below)
• Sunglasses
• Lanyard (car keys, scooter keys, and trading pins)
• Snack size ziplock with pennies and quarters
• Ponytail holders
• Ponchos

Ziplock bag #2 is my first aid kit

• Wet wipes
• Essential Oil
• Chafing gel
• Hand sanitizer
• Sunscreen
• Carmex
• Advil
• Kleenex
• Moleskin
• Bandaids
• Cough drops
• Nail clippers
• Tweezers
• Feminine pads

Ziplock bag #3 is my autograph bag. I always keep my sharpies and autograph books in a separate ziplock bag so nothing gets wet if it rains and its easy to pull out. Here is a pic with everything including a birthday card I had signed by all the princesses.



I bring a hard copy of all my reservations and fast pass times. I put schedules for each park in the pockets and manually update the spreadsheet if we need to change anything.


We also bring frozen water


and frozen towels if its hot


Here are our frozen towels in use


fyi, most pics were taken in our cabin at Fort Wilderness



after we get back from the last park of the day, this is what I do to get my bags ready for the next day;

1. freeze 6-8 bottles of water
2. get 2 hand towels or wash clothes wet, roll them up and freeze them
3. put any pressed pennies in the pressed penny book and and replace them with new pennies and quarters. I usually carry about 10 sets. 
4. charge the camera and cell phone
5. replace anything in the 1st aid bag that was used during the day (advil, bandiads, etc)
6. make sure that everything that we need to take with us is in a designated area. I pick a tabletop or counter when we get there and designate that as the spot and anytime anyone takes anything off that needs to go with us goes there. Even if we might wear it the next day, like sunglasses, hats, and magic bands, they go in the bag or in the designated spot. 

Sinus surgery post op: Day 5 Starting to feel human again

Abbott Northwestern POCC (outpatient surgery center Downtown Mpls)

I had sinus surgery on Wednesday November 18th.  I've had chronic congestion and headaches for years and I have sleep apnea and cant always use my mask so I don't sleep well either.

My maxillary sinus's (cheeks) were too small, apparently they stopped developing when I was a kid and they were about 10% the size they should be. I don't remember how my surgeon Dr Thomas Christenson said he fixed these other than reducing my turbinates which he said were pretty large. Reading from the CT scan, my ethmoid sinus's (between eyes) had 'thickened membranes with no air fluid' and I had a right nasal spur so Dr C, also performed a septoplasty. This was all done endoscopic, through a small incision inside my right nostril.

If I had an interesting photo to post I would but Dr C didn't take any during surgery and except for some minor swelling, my face looks pretty normal.

The good, the bad, and the ugly;

The Good;

1. Despite some complications (there always are), Dr C said he found exactly what he was expecting and corrected based on our conversation. 
2. I'm having some minor face pain but it is well controlled by the drugs they gave me
3. I had wonderful nurses and NAs attending me. I asked one of them to write his name down and I think he did, but I cant find it in my papers. I think his name was Okabe and his NA was Darius. They were my night nurses that first night and then at 730am on my discharge day, Robbie came on who was also wonderful. 

The Bad;

1. I woke up from surgery with brutal right shoulder pain and although I don't remember much in the way of conversations, I didn't get a conclusive reason why. I cried off and on until about 3am when I realized If I just held my arm to my body with my other arm, the pain wouldn't build as fast and would subside to something I could live with. X-rays were normal so they think I've got a 'positional' deltoid muscle injury from the restraints, a hard plastic board between me and Dr C and Dr C leaning over me for 2 hours pinching my arm agains tthe restraint and the board. I was supposed to be outpatient but they admitted me because they didn't know what was causing my shoulder pain. Although its better and I'm no longer slinged and ice-packed, I do still have some limitations. Writing is one. This blog post has taken me over 3 hours and 2 pain pills to write. I also can't completely dress myself, wipe my tush, or pull my own pants up after I use the toilet. Temporary loss of your predominant hand is quite the bummer. 

The Ugly;

1. I'm not sleeping. I mostly cant breathe through my nose but sometimes enough air gets through to create a whistle and or vibrates the splint inside my nostril I dont like the sensation and the dog doesnt like the sound. If shes laying with me when it whistles, she barks at my face. I also have the damn shoulder thing and cant always find a good position. Lack of sleep makes me feel a little crazy. 
2. Apparently I had some sort of breathing issue during the surgery. I have a letter from the anesthesiologist, Dr Gerald Holguin, with details but essentially they couldn't 'bag ventilate' me and I stopped breathing so they had to intubate me with an endotracheal tube. Just reading this from the letter, I don't really know what it means. The gist is that Dr H suggested I order a MedicAlert bracelet and if I have planned surgeries in the future, I call the attending Anesthesiologist prior to the day of surgery and discuss Dr H's letter with them. 

Today, on post op day 5, I am going to see Dr C so he can remove the nasal splints. I doubt Ive wanted anything out of my body as much as these 2 pieces of 'devil' plastic. I anticipate an unpleasant appointment because Ken had nasal splints removed and said it was awful and Dr C said to take a pain pill before I see him. 

I have to keep practicing writing so I can go back to work on 12/2 and be useful. 

Please load the dishwasher the correct way

Domestic Science: How to Load a Miele


I don't have a Miele dishwasher or any sort of trumped up rocket dishwasher, just a plain old Frigidaire. By old I mean 10 years or more. My old dishwasher doesn't have any of the special features this one has but the loading concept is the same.


When I read this article, it was like YES, someone else knows my pain and when I read specific directions and was also provided with visual aids, I nearly wept. Long ago, when my children lived at home and more recently when they came back home with girlfriends, wives, children, and a cat, I had to do some serious reconditioning of said children on how to properly load a dishwasher. I didn't think it was rocket science but apparently not everyone understands dishwasher physics, this the haphazard way bowls, cups, pan and silverware were just chucked any old way. Frustration!


As of writing, all children have moved on to separate living quarters leaving me to a peaceful house for my husband and I. Now I if could just get the cat to load his food and water bowls.....

WDW - Thursday September 3rd, 2015: Sick day, Grampa & Austin at Epcot

So I've been congested since my first morning here and Tuesday night it turned into a full blown, disgusting and very frustrating and painful illness. I had severe sinus congestion and coughed all night and woke up to a pounding headache. I couldn't do anything this morning so I ordered some cold medicine from a drug store that delivers and went back to bed until 2pm.

Ken and Austin went to Epcot and did a bunch of rides I guess. I'm still to sick to be jealous. I didn't want to miss out on my favorite restaurant, La Hacienda, so I got high on sudafed and drug myself there for dinner at 7pm but I didn't eat much. I cant taste anything which is a huge bummer. We came back right after dinner to watch the Chip and Dale show but we missed it. We watched the first few minutes of Maleficant and then came home so I could (blog and) go to bed.

Rain factor: none that I seen after 5pm.

Here's some pics of the parade we went to the next day

Ariel



Beauty and the Beast


Anna and Elsa



Peter Pan




Merida


Tangled



Tiana and Naveen

WDW 2015 Meet and Greets

Snow White

Jasmine and Aladdin

Chip and Dale

Hollywood Studios Public Works

Bruce (fish are friends, not food)

Merida

Anna

Elsa

Rapunzel

Cinderella

Ariel

Tremaines

Hitchhiking Ghosts

Tinkerbelle

Mickey

Donald




Goofy