In addition to our New York visit, we've been doing quite a bit of backyard sightseeing, as I like to call it. By this I mean we've been enjoying some of the more touristy-type attractions in central Florida. We saw the Lincoln Bicentennial Celebration and Jim Henson's Fantastic World exhibits at the Orange County Regional History Center, located in the former courthouse downtown on Central Blvd. Conveniently, we were available on an afternoon on which admission was free in conjunction with Artsfest. (Artsfest is amazing, and I might write a "whole 'nother" post just on this subject.)
We also checked out the Orlando Science Center, the highlight of which was the showing of Grand Canyon Adventure: River at Risk. This was an awesome experience for us because it was shown in the Cinedome, an eight-story theatre where the planetarium displays are also shown. Also, the film featured the subject of rivers and boating which we obviously love, and it was a very well-made piece created with a great deal of care and respect for nature. We got buy-one-get-one tickets as a result of our affiliation with United Arts, the organization that sponsors--you guessed it--Artsfest.
In other news, I highly recommend The Visitor, a quality film which has been decorated with hunks of Oscar nominations and which I enjoyed immensely. I checked it out from the local library for free.
And of course, we enjoyed free breakfast at Denny's on February 3rd (we watched the Super Bowl commercial with everyone else), completing our quartet of examples proving that--even in this economy--in one's own backyard, one can find activities that are exciting, educational, and easy on the wallet. Next on our agenda is Gatorland, where they're charging Florida residents only $10 for admission until the end of February. Any fellow Floridians wanna join us?!
Showing posts with label fun. Show all posts
Showing posts with label fun. Show all posts
Sunday, February 15, 2009
Monday, October 6, 2008
The Cruise Fund has been DEPLETED
At first glance, my adorable denim sequined bag looks very unassuming. However, upon further exploration, after peeking inside you'll realize it is quite assuming indeed. It's full of cash and coins!
I carefully counted and rolled all of our savings and here's what we put in today:
- $256 in cash (thank you, Kimonos patrons!)
- $160 in quarters (640 quarters, 16 rolls)
- $60 in dimes (600 dimes, 12 rolls)
- $20 in nickels (400 nickels, 10 rolls)
- $17 in pennies (578 pennies, 34 rolls)
I wish I had had my camera at the bank because they had these fun little metallic color-coded trays to put the color-coded rolls in (you know, quarters=orange, dimes=green, nickels=blue, pennies=red, pictured separately here), and it looked so festive and colorful!
The final tally included, coincidentally, nearly equal amounts of cash and coin. Along with the $256 in dollar bills, we collected $257 in coins! Weird! And in the end we put in...
...$513!! If you'll remember, our cruise total was $525.30. So if Eric hadn't stolen $13 in cash this morning to take to work, we would have had exactly the amount to cover the cruise with 70¢ to spare to toss into various fountains as we wander through Nassau. Crazy! And exciting!
We had a one penny remainder, and I got a $10 tip the other night from a generous sushi-eater, so we have $10.01 in our brand new Fund. Who knows? Maybe this next one will be a Car Fund!
In other news:
- I baked some organic Jack Skellington cookies for Eric's "secret goblin" at work (don't tell!)
- I returned my Bahamas for Dummies and Cruise Vacations for Dummies and found out that my library doesn't charge late fees (!!)
- the piano is being delivered tomorrow (!! again)
- last night we saw En Vogue in concert at Epcot for the International Food and Wine Festival. At the end of the month, we're going to Boys II Men's free concert! Anyone wanna join us?!
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
How many cannibals could your body feed?
It's a very important question.
Katie's Results
Eric's Results
Bon appetit!
Katie's Results
Eric's Results
Bon appetit!
Our Lives Thus Far
So you've read about the wedding and the events leading up to it. Now here's a quick update on what's been going on with us lately.
Eric moved to Orlando in June 2007 after resigning his position as a manager at the Herkimer Area Resource Center and selling his house in Mohawk, New York. Having earned his associate's degree from Herkimer County Community College, Eric had already begun taking courses online toward his bachelor's in business administration from Everest University.
He began his career with Walt Disney World as a front desk concierge at Disney's Boardwalk Resort. Very early on, he was chosen as a trainer for front desk cast and a facilitator of the training class for all new Boardwalk cast members. Soon after he was trained as an FSA (I don't know what that stands for, but basically it means you're in charge of the whole front desk), Eric applied for a management position and was chosen to be part of a pilot program designed for approximately 30 of the company's top management candidates. He completed the Emerging Leaders program two days before the wedding and, on that day, the official announcement was made that he had been permantently placed as a front desk manager for Disney's Saratoga Springs Resort and Spa and Disney's Old Key West Resort.
As for myself, after I graduated from Stetson, I secured a gig as a full-time piano player at the Marriott World Center for a while, and, until the show ceased broadcast in July, I also wrote for the online trivia game EAgameshow.com by EA Sports. I continued working for Disney in the entertainment department and consequently as a photographer up to the present. In January, my friend Gretchen open her own business, an after-school performing arts academy, and I joined the faculty as a part-time drama, piano, voice, photography, and ballroom teacher. I've also been performing at Kimonos at the Walt Disney World Swan since last May. It's a fun gig!
Outside of work, I sang with the Orlando Chamber Singers and the Orlando Chorale last season, and I also volunteer from time to time at Give Kids the World Village. My songwriting has been coming along as well. I entered a piece in the contest to select a new Florida state song, and it was one of the top 20 contenders. A holiday piece I wrote was premiered by Gretchen's massed choirs at East Ridge High School, and the Orlando Gay Chorus has expressed interest in performing it for their winter concert this year.
Eric rowed for a team from his work location for a regatta called Canoe Races of the World, held annually in the Rivers of America at the Magic Kingdom. The team didn't place, but he enjoyed training for the race and being in the park before opening!
We also both performed for the second straight year in Encore! Cast Choir and Orchestra, an annual charity performance put on by Disney cast members. This year's concerts raised $25,940 for United Arts of Central Florida. Also, we'll be performing as part of the cast choir for Epcot's Christmas Candlelight concerts.
We're keeping busy, that's for sure, but Eric secured vacation time for the week of my birthday in October, and we're going on a four-night Royal Caribbean cruise! 19 days 'til we depart! Bon voyage!
Eric moved to Orlando in June 2007 after resigning his position as a manager at the Herkimer Area Resource Center and selling his house in Mohawk, New York. Having earned his associate's degree from Herkimer County Community College, Eric had already begun taking courses online toward his bachelor's in business administration from Everest University.
He began his career with Walt Disney World as a front desk concierge at Disney's Boardwalk Resort. Very early on, he was chosen as a trainer for front desk cast and a facilitator of the training class for all new Boardwalk cast members. Soon after he was trained as an FSA (I don't know what that stands for, but basically it means you're in charge of the whole front desk), Eric applied for a management position and was chosen to be part of a pilot program designed for approximately 30 of the company's top management candidates. He completed the Emerging Leaders program two days before the wedding and, on that day, the official announcement was made that he had been permantently placed as a front desk manager for Disney's Saratoga Springs Resort and Spa and Disney's Old Key West Resort.
As for myself, after I graduated from Stetson, I secured a gig as a full-time piano player at the Marriott World Center for a while, and, until the show ceased broadcast in July, I also wrote for the online trivia game EAgameshow.com by EA Sports. I continued working for Disney in the entertainment department and consequently as a photographer up to the present. In January, my friend Gretchen open her own business, an after-school performing arts academy, and I joined the faculty as a part-time drama, piano, voice, photography, and ballroom teacher. I've also been performing at Kimonos at the Walt Disney World Swan since last May. It's a fun gig!
Outside of work, I sang with the Orlando Chamber Singers and the Orlando Chorale last season, and I also volunteer from time to time at Give Kids the World Village. My songwriting has been coming along as well. I entered a piece in the contest to select a new Florida state song, and it was one of the top 20 contenders. A holiday piece I wrote was premiered by Gretchen's massed choirs at East Ridge High School, and the Orlando Gay Chorus has expressed interest in performing it for their winter concert this year.
Eric rowed for a team from his work location for a regatta called Canoe Races of the World, held annually in the Rivers of America at the Magic Kingdom. The team didn't place, but he enjoyed training for the race and being in the park before opening!
We also both performed for the second straight year in Encore! Cast Choir and Orchestra, an annual charity performance put on by Disney cast members. This year's concerts raised $25,940 for United Arts of Central Florida. Also, we'll be performing as part of the cast choir for Epcot's Christmas Candlelight concerts.
We're keeping busy, that's for sure, but Eric secured vacation time for the week of my birthday in October, and we're going on a four-night Royal Caribbean cruise! 19 days 'til we depart! Bon voyage!
Monday, September 8, 2008
Inaugural Post
Hello, friends, family, and faraway admirers!
In anticipation of the imminent expiration of our wedding web site's domain, we (meaning I) decided to start a family blog so that people can continue to read about our exploits if they choose. So EricAndKP.com will be alive and well until November, at which point this blog will become the primary source for your Brown family news.
For the inaugural post, I have decided to include some interesting, yet useless, information about us.
Interesting Anagrams of Katie's Name
I won't break
beatnik row
break in two
bear to wink
Bartok wine
tweak robin
twain broke
Interesting Anagrams of Eric's Name
I brew corn
brown rice
robin crew
crow brine
crew in orb
Exciting Events on Katie's Birthday
1815 - Napoleon Bonaparte exiled
1844 - Friedrich Nietzsche is born
1860 - 11-year-old constituent suggests Abraham Lincoln grow a beard
1924 - Statue of Liberty declared a national monument
1939 - LaGuardia Airport opens
1942 - Penny Marshall is born
1951 - I Love Lucy debuts on CBS
1953 - Tito Jackson is born
1959 - Sarah Ferguson, Duchess of York, is born
1964 - Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., receives Nobel Peace Prize
Exciting Events on Eric's Birthday
1777 - First national Thanksgiving day
1936 - First giant panda imported to the US
1947 - Steven Spielberg is born
1954 - Ray Liotta is born
1965 - Brad Pitt is born
1966 - Kiefer Sutherland is born
1996 - TV ratings system adopted
1997 - Chris Farley dies
--Katie
In anticipation of the imminent expiration of our wedding web site's domain, we (meaning I) decided to start a family blog so that people can continue to read about our exploits if they choose. So EricAndKP.com will be alive and well until November, at which point this blog will become the primary source for your Brown family news.
For the inaugural post, I have decided to include some interesting, yet useless, information about us.
Interesting Anagrams of Katie's Name
I won't break
beatnik row
break in two
bear to wink
Bartok wine
tweak robin
twain broke
Interesting Anagrams of Eric's Name
I brew corn
brown rice
robin crew
crow brine
crew in orb
Exciting Events on Katie's Birthday
1815 - Napoleon Bonaparte exiled
1844 - Friedrich Nietzsche is born
1860 - 11-year-old constituent suggests Abraham Lincoln grow a beard
1924 - Statue of Liberty declared a national monument
1939 - LaGuardia Airport opens
1942 - Penny Marshall is born
1951 - I Love Lucy debuts on CBS
1953 - Tito Jackson is born
1959 - Sarah Ferguson, Duchess of York, is born
1964 - Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., receives Nobel Peace Prize
1990 - President Mikhail Gorbachev receives Nobel Peace Prize
Exciting Events on Eric's Birthday
1777 - First national Thanksgiving day
1936 - First giant panda imported to the US
1947 - Steven Spielberg is born
1954 - Ray Liotta is born
1965 - Brad Pitt is born
1966 - Kiefer Sutherland is born
1996 - TV ratings system adopted
1997 - Chris Farley dies
--Katie
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