Bernard Pivot Survey

Katie's Answers

What is your favorite word? girly
What is your least favorite word? moist
What turns you on? nice smells
What turns you off? stinky smells
What sound do you love? really good quality music
What sound do you hate? burps
What profession other than yours would you like to attempt? forensic linguist
What profession would you not like to participate in? doctor, nurse, or anything involving blood
What is your favorite curse word? d**chebag. If you can separate yourself from the word's meaning, it sounds really funny.
If heaven exists, what would you like to hear God say when you arrive at the pearly gates? "I wish they'd stop saying 'if heaven exists' on that actor show."

Eric's Answers

What is your favorite word? wonderful
What is your least favorite word? don't
What turns you on? my wife
What turns you off? when my wife is sleeping
What sound do you love? Katie singing
What sound do you hate? cash register going cha-ching! (that means my money's going away)
What profession other than yours would you like to attempt? train engineer
What profession would you not like to participate in? garbage man
What is your favorite curse word? f**k
If heaven exists, what would you like to hear God say when you arrive at the pearly gates? "Thank you for not voting for Obama"

We're famous!

I submitted two glaring errors to a blog I follow, Apostrophe Catastrophe, and they were featured today. Check it out here!

Also, I submitted our wedding announcement to Stetson's quarterly alumni publication, The Cupola. Due in part to our awesomeness and in part to our three-generation Stetson legacy, a photo from the ceremony was featured in the magazine. Thanks for the scans, Mom!



I also sent a humorous photo to SuspiciousVans.com, but I haven't seen it added onto the site yet. Let me know if you spot the photo below online anywhere.

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. :)

Miscellaneous Photo Post

Hello, readers! Here are a few random photos we've taken recently. We're going (across the street) to the Gaylord Palms to see ICE! which is a display of giant ice scupltures, so we will probably have even more photos after that!

Our current cruise fund

Eric Brown, baker

Eric's delicious cinnamon raisin bread

Covering our chairs to match the dining room decor

January 1953 - presumably when our dining set was made

Sold at a furniture retailer in Utica, NY

Eric got creative with my curly fries

Our Christmas decor!

No flash = artsy photo, in this case

The piano area

Our new Jim Shore nativity set! Thanks, in-laws!

The whole little Christmas area

Stockings (and trusty nutcracker nightlight - thanks, McCreas!) hung by the kitchen with care

Our Surprise Date

Eric woke me up on Sunday to tell me we were going on a date that night. Where were we going? It was a surprise.

A surprise? I love surprises! But what to wear?

Eric says to wear something from the '80s. Will I be the only one wearing an '80s outfit, I ask? He hesitates and says no. Sounds fishy. I go for regular clothes.

We drive to Downtown Disney and where do we end up? At House of Blues for a concert! Who's playing? Only the ultimate Michael Jackson tribute band, Who's Bad!

It was amazing! We danced all night long!

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!

Fun Cruise Stuff - Volume 3

The final installment of the Fun Cruise Stuff trilogy is here! I finished the home video montage from our trip. Enjoy!

Fun Cruise Stuff - Volume 2

Here's the sequel to the first Fun Cruise Stuff post--the fun tidbit as promised. Our cruise director had a sense of humor, and on the last night of the cruise he presented the following list of questions asked on the cruise. Since then, I've found out that many cruise directors list the same questions, so you may have heard this list. Still, we thought it was pretty funny.

Top Ten Silliest Questions Asked on a Cruise

1. How far above sea level are we?
2. If I’m married, can I still go to the singles’ mix and mingle?
3. Does the crew sleep onboard?
4. Do I have to leave the ship to go on a shore excursion?
5. Do you think my face is too big for the mini facial?
6. Has this ship ever sunk?
7. Is the water in the toilets fresh water or salt water?
8. What happens to the ice sculptures after they’ve melted?
9. Is the island of Coco Cay completely surrounded by water?
10. If the photos in the gallery aren’t labeled, how do I know which ones are mine?

Stay tuned for one last Fun Cruise Stuff post with the video montage of our vacation!

Fun Cruise Stuff - Volume 1

The cruise photos have been uploaded to our online account! Follow this link to view them.

Following this post will be a few more containing the cruise video montage and another fun tidbit from our adventure at sea.

Cruise Recap

We're back from the birthday cruise and we had so much fun in such a short amount of time that I can't remember it all in sequence! Luckily for you, I kept a ship's log! I was pretty seasick on Day 1, but here are the entries from Days 2 through 4. Stay tuned for photos and video.

Day 2

Hello from the high seas! It's Day 2 of our cruise and we are really enjoying ourselves. Yesterday was a nice introduction to the cruise lifestyle, and we did some cruise-y activities like roulette lessons, a scavenger hunt, and a tasty and unpronounceably fancy dinner. When we set sail, we hit some rough waters, so sadly we missed out on swing lessons because I was driving the porcelain bus! We spend the rest of the evening getting some much needed rest.

Because of some stormy weather, we bypassed Royal Caribbean's private Bahamian island to spend a day at sea. We should be returning to Coco Cay on Thursday [Day 4]. Instead, we climbed the rock wall, came in second in Name That Tune and the Nerd Word Trivia Contest, and watched the crowd favorite win the men's sexy legs contest. His primary talent consisted of scooting back and forth on his electric wheelchair. Really!

Now we're getting ready for the formal dinner this evening. I think I'll have the duck! Later tonight is karaoke (always a favorite) and a stage show, maybe some dancing at the ship's nightclub. Tomorrow is our day in Nassau. We have a shore excursion scheduled (snorkeling and sailing) and we plan to visit some local historic attractions like the Nassau Library, the Queen's Staircase, and a historic Bahamian fort. Should be big fun for my birthday!

We are feeling much better today on smoother seas. We also got some extra seasickness precautions. In addition to the nausea medication, I now have the very stylish drug-free arm bands that use the principles of acupuncture to reduce nausea symptoms. Very natural. All in all, today has been much more comfortable than last evening!

Day 3

Today has been lots of fun so far! Our snorkeling excursion was amazing -- we can't wait to make a video of our findings. After lunch onboard, we went back to Nassau to take in some historical sightseeing. It was a little overrated but still interesting and
educational. Then we did some haggling at the Straw Market. They have things other than straw there, but we sure did come out with a straw hat for me and a [straw surprise for someone's birthday]. And Eric got a conch shell horn thing which he hasn't stopped blowing since we reboarded! Dinner tonight was delicious, and after an already decadent dessert, a birthday cake came to our table! That sneaky Eric :)

AND we won Family Quick Draw, which is basically iSketch in real life, so I've had a lot of training. We're resting up after a round of Deuces Wild to get ready for salsa lessons, the Love and Marriage game show (which I'm pretty sure is a rip-off of the Newlywed Game), an ice sculpture demonstration, dancing under the stars on the pool deck, and, of course, the midnight buffet, since we haven't had enough food today. I could get used to this lifestyle! [I ended up not doing any of that stuff from the salsa lessons on because, you guessed it, I fell asleep.]

Day 4

Today has been a beautiful day in paradise! Ashore at Royal Caribbean's private island, Coco Cay, we started exploring along the beach and ended up at the other end of the mile-long island! After some hammock time, we were ready for crafting, more Name That Tune, and a little exercise back on the ship. In store for tonight are line dancing, more karaoke, a PJ party, and one big scavenger hunt! Our last night should be a fun-filled one and tomorrow we're back home. Hope all is well back on land!

So now we're back in the real world doing what we do. Eric is already excited about our next cruise, and I really enjoyed the vacation, but I, the porcelain bus driver, am glad for now to be back on land.