In the Air Again

Thank goodness for free Wi-Fi at Hancock International! Now writing this blog post on my iPod will keep me occupied until our flight back to Florida leaves in an hour and a half. We always arrive early to airports just in case (there is actually an Eric Brown on the Do Not Fly list), and today it was a good thing we did. We didn't have to do the new body scan, but they did unpack and inspect literally every piece of luggage we brought: we each had a carry-on and a personal item, and every last square inch of space is full. (I'll be darned if I'm spending $100 round trip on bag check fees!) It took us a good 15 minutes and excellent teamwork to repack everything at the security checkpoint. L.L. Bean and American Tourister get a big thumbs-up for durability. These things are bursting at the seams. I wish I could take a picture because I feel you just have to see Eric's backpack to appreciate the true Mary Poppins carpet baggedness of this piece of luggage.

Our visit with Eric's side of the family was very restful and festive. We were very sad to say goodbye to the whole family, of course, but it was especially heartbreaking to leave our nephew Andrew and his sweet mommy Laura. Here's hoping he'll be ready to go airborne soon and he can come for a visit soon to his cool uncle Eric and aunt Katie in Florida!

Next on the agenda, making a trip to Apopka tommorow to pick up...my brand new car! Yes, my trusty Honda Civic, which I personally drove for 10 years, finally bit the dust last Monday. Eric is planning to fix it up nicely enough for us to sell or donate it and I'll be driving my 2004 Saab 9-3 just like my Civic--until it dies!

Aftter that will be a slew of holiday gigs stretching into the year, beginning with opening for the Walk Through Bethlehem this Friday night in Winter Park where my newest winter piece, Winter Carol, will be premiering! Then the next day I will be taking part in the filming for the Disney Parks Christmas Parade once again this year, this time with a mystery celebrity diva! I've heard dumped about who it may be but I'm sure I'm not at liberty to share the hunch with the world wide web until it's for sure. So on Saturday afternoon check back for another post :)

Holiday Season Recap

We have officially survived the holiday season from Thanksgiving to New Year's Day, and we have a few photos to prove it.  My first act during the holidays was to attend a book signing of the new Ridley Pearson-Dave Barry collaboration at Downtown Disney.  It was very exciting to meet these two literary legends, but I couldn't even yet tell the two people who would most share my excitement--my parents--because I asked Dave Barry to sign a book for each of them as a Christmas gift!  Didn't want to ruin the surprise :) The inscriptions (his idea, not mine)?  "To Terry, my idol," and "To Sharon, a goddess."

Here's a photo from the Singing Christmas Trees, featuring my talented friend Rachel Scott as the mother Mary.  Believe it or not, all of those hundreds of "ornaments" on the trees are choir singers! 

Check out our fancy new robes for the Candlelight Processional at Epcot!  They look a little funny up close, but from a distance in a tree-shaped clump, they look pretty spiffy!

Here's a photo I found online from our performance with Celine Dion for the Disney Parks Christmas Day Parade.  Can't find us?  Look more closely. 

Okay, I'll give you a hint.

Look how festive our house looks when decorated for the holidays!  We had a little get together to celebrate.

We partied for Eric's birthday, too!  How funny are these cupcakes!

The Young Alpha Chis went on an outing to Kimonos for some sushi and singing!  Rachel and I did a little number together.

We both had to work on Christmas morning, but at least Eric got a chance to wear the new shirt my parents gave him!

It was pretty slow at Saratoga, so he spent the morning making this pretty incredible ballon hat with his cast members.

And here we are, newly arrived home from our respective jobs, ready to open our stockings and read the Christmas story.

Christmas Eve

Tonight is Christmas Eve and I've been reflecting on our holiday season so far. I just returned from the Christmas eve candlelight service at our church and an open house at the home of the associate pastor and his wife. My favorite part of the party was listening to the partygoers' (church members') old stories. And the Baby Jesuses in a Blanket.

We've been keeping ourselves pretty busy preparing for the holiday and hob-nobbing with friends all over town. Our friend Kevin hosted a winter frost party so we frosted ourselves (meaning we wore white, blue, and silver outfits) one evening--there was a show and everything! We went to see Ice at the Gaylord Palms again this year, this time with our friends Jimmy and Becky, the newlyweds, and Paul and Missy. We all had fun and Eric and I wore our Smittens (mittens that allow two people to hold hands inside), except when we were on the slide (once you're in the mittens, you can't rightly let go).

A few Young Alpha Chis from our alumnae chapter got together for sushi, sake, and singing at good old Kimonos, and I got to spend a lot of time with my friend Rachel, but unfortunately I had to cram in the time because she is moving to Washington, D.C. to pursue a civics career. We connected very well and really enjoyed spending time together, so we'll have to reconnect sometime in the near future.

On Sunday afternoon we left for Waycross to have Christmas there and spend a few days with my family. We had our usual traditions of caroling to a few friends, having Christmas breakfast together, and reading the Christmas story. And opening gifts, of course. I got Photoshop from my parents, and Eric and I got a karaoke machine. Party at our house!

Let's see, what else? Our little holiday party was a success. We had lots of jolly guests and even more food. I'll be performing at the Ritz-Carlton in Palm Beach with my friend Dick on New Year's Eve next week, but more on that in a later post. We performed together at the church's Christmas dinner as well. Tomorrow we each have to work on Christmas morning, but hopefully we'll each be done in time for lunch. Then we'll unwrap our gifts (the ones Eric hasn't opened already), watch A Christmas Story, and go out with Paul, Missy, Jimmy, and Becky to the China King for dinner. We'd host dinner at our place, but the kitchen's a mess and the fridge is in the living room. (It's a long story but the short version starts with the dishwasher leaking, continues with mold growing in the kitchen, and ends with the bank paying to have all the walls torn out and cabinets replaced, the epilogue being that the fridge is currently in the living room. So now I'm sitting here watching In Bruges (it's technically a Christmas movie) eating Christmas candy and waiting for my husband to get home so we can snuggle and cuddle in front of the fireplace all night long. A very festive way to spend our Christmas eve, I'd say.

Our 15 Minutes of Fame!

There haven't been many posts lately because since we got back from vacation, we've basically just been settling back in and catching up on real life...until we got an email from Encore, the charity choir we sing with during the summers. We've been asked to appear in the Christmas Day Parade being filmed at Walt Disney World and airing on ABC! The coolest part is that we'll be singing in the finale as back-up singers for a famous singer! The celebrity's identity was very hush-hush and we were all trying to guess who it might be until our first rehearsal last night when it was revealed to be the fabulous, the incomparable, the outrageous...Celine Dion!!

She's just as shocked and excited as we are! We are taping our segment this Friday on the Cinderella Castle stage! So if you have a DVR (or if you have nothing better to do on Christmas morning than to watch TV), tune in to the 26th-annual Emmy award-winning Walt Disney World Christmas Day Parade to spot two of your favorite Browns!

ICE! Update

ICE! at Gaylord Palms was really cool (haha). All volunteers from Give Kids the World qualify to purchase the special VIP charity preview tickets, so we headed to the attraction and exclusive VIP gathering.

The hotel in itself is beautiful, but we were so excited to see the ice sculptures that we decided to head straight through the resort and go back to visit later. We were met by a little party featuring the thickest, richest hot cocoa I've ever had (and hot cider, eggnog, and cappuccino for my thirsty husband).

Inside the attraction, we walked through a lovely foresty Winter Wonderland, the colorful Hall of Ornaments, the delicious Candy Land, Santa's special elfy hideout, a beautiful sparkling Nativity scene, and Santa's Magical Flight, featuring four frigid slides made entirely of ice, and finally Penguin Pointe.

We followed up the experience with more hot cocoa because it was--holy cow--NINE degrees inside! Good thing they provide the parkas!

Below is a sample of the amazing artwork we experienced. Follow this link for pretty pictures!

EDIT: Almost forgot about the video! Of course there's a video. :)

My Favorite Holiday

I think that Halloween is a favorite holiday of many actors and other creative types because it's just another chance to become someone else for a day. I've always taken pride in choosing unique and fun costumes each year.

So how am I celebrating on this, one of my favorite days of the year? Eating chips and salsa, watching Bravo's 100 Scariest Movie Moments, and updating our blog. At first I was a little sad that I didn't have any plans--Eric's at work, most of my friends are working or out of town--but I feel like I'm eating, watching, and blogging in the spirit of Halloween, so I'm satisfied. I wonder if Wal-Mart's Halloween candy will go on sale at midnight, or if there will still be some chocolate left for me tomorrow?

EDIT: I was feeling too eco-friendly (read: lazy) to drive all the way to Wal-Mart, but Walgreens had all types of candy for 50% off! I got Life Savers Gummies, Peanut Butter M&M's, and a Nestle assortment for $6 total. Savvy shopper!