Hiya, all!
So, this is my pre-Christmas/post-Thanksgiving post. Also, this is gonna serve as my Bradshaw update for the next two weeks prior to Christmas.
Life's been pretty decent here at Bradshaw central. Mom's birthday was this past Sunday (yay!). Allie and I got her this Edible Arrangements thing. It is, essentially, a bouquet of fruit. That's right. A bouquet of fruit. It was really cute, though. No pics here, because, frankly, it was being grazed on by the time I got a chance to see it. Mom and Allie had already worked their way through the chocolate covered strawberries and were working on the melon, strawberries, and pineapple. Anyway, Dad got her some tanning minutes, a little snowman thingy (she likes happy snowmen), and some smell-good thingies for the house. We went out ot California Dreaming on Saturday, then went to see A Christmas Carol at the Solittle Theater, downtown. It was okay, more fun to go with the three of us. The company better than the play, but whatever.
Allie's good. Done with school, now. All A's except for one C (for which we were extremely thankful). She's working and babysitting, making herself a little useful. I'm still fighting the good fight - almost done with my 6th (YAY) class, will be done by Sunday. I'm trying to work ahead so that while I'm not here the first week in January (b/c of the cruise - YAY), I won't get behind. All my thesis stuff for this month is also done (YAY). Now, just to figure out what I want to do after I get done with this whole Masters' thing... Dad and Mom are good. Mom just started her new job - its a lot of learning, but we thinks she likes it. Dad's working on the book for his doctorate. Marlee's still a bit irritating, but we love her.
The new project at the Bradshaw house is puzzle working. We are fiendish puzzle workers. Allie picked this dumb Thomas Kinkade puzzle, which is becoming the bane of our existence.
Christmas is coming up. Yay! Although, with the weather here, it doesn't really feel like Christmas, but anyway.
In other good news, we just watched the trailer for the new X-Men Origins: Wolverine movie... WOW! How excited are we! Particularly me and Allie, but Mom showed some enthusiasm, too. No response from Dad, but whatever. Wow! So super excited!
Nothing else, really. Just a little bit boring, but no need to complain.
Hope everyone's doing great! And, if I don't talk to you before then, hope everyone has a great Christmas!
Ciao all!
Whitney (and the rest of the Bradshaw family)
Monday, December 15, 2008
Monday, November 24, 2008
A Twilight Movie...
Hiya, all!
So, I was told that I had to update everyone on our Twilight movie encounter/endeavor.
Well, Allie's little friend, Lauren, came over (shout out to Lauren:) ). We left Casa Bradshaw at about 11.00pm and rode over to Summerville to hit the theater. There were like a million people in line inside, like queuing for the movie. Thankfully, we had already pre-bought tickets and got to go into theater #2, that's right, the advance theater. WOO HOO! Unfortunately, it was about 11.30 and the theater was totally, basically, almost full. We found three seats together, close to the front of the theater, and, when I say that, I mean we sat in the second row from the front. **Groan**
So there we sat. There were a mass quantity of fangirls present, no surprise there.
The movie started and there was cheering, which was cool. I didn't mind. The previews went on and the flick finally started. YAY! Unfortunately, there was a chick behind us that would not shut up. I was sooooooo irritated. And, besides that, there was laughing in ridiculously inappropriate places. Like, real serious moments, and they started laughing. Made no sense.
But how was the movie, you ask?
It was good, come to find out upon a second viewing (thanks to mom on Saturday). Not totally like the book, but enough angst, enough decent acting, enough desperation, enough like the book for me to be impressed and enjoy myself at a movie.
And, guess what, I get to go see it again. That's right. Allie wants to go see if a second viewing makes her opinion higher. So, I think she and I and Lauren are going again on Wednesday.
And, to make stuff better, AUSTRALIA comes out Wednesay, too! Yay for Hugh Jackman!
So, Happy Thanksgiving to all from the Bradshaw clan.
Hope y'all have a great day!
Love to all...
Whitney
So, I was told that I had to update everyone on our Twilight movie encounter/endeavor.
Well, Allie's little friend, Lauren, came over (shout out to Lauren:) ). We left Casa Bradshaw at about 11.00pm and rode over to Summerville to hit the theater. There were like a million people in line inside, like queuing for the movie. Thankfully, we had already pre-bought tickets and got to go into theater #2, that's right, the advance theater. WOO HOO! Unfortunately, it was about 11.30 and the theater was totally, basically, almost full. We found three seats together, close to the front of the theater, and, when I say that, I mean we sat in the second row from the front. **Groan**
So there we sat. There were a mass quantity of fangirls present, no surprise there.
The movie started and there was cheering, which was cool. I didn't mind. The previews went on and the flick finally started. YAY! Unfortunately, there was a chick behind us that would not shut up. I was sooooooo irritated. And, besides that, there was laughing in ridiculously inappropriate places. Like, real serious moments, and they started laughing. Made no sense.
But how was the movie, you ask?
It was good, come to find out upon a second viewing (thanks to mom on Saturday). Not totally like the book, but enough angst, enough decent acting, enough desperation, enough like the book for me to be impressed and enjoy myself at a movie.
And, guess what, I get to go see it again. That's right. Allie wants to go see if a second viewing makes her opinion higher. So, I think she and I and Lauren are going again on Wednesday.
And, to make stuff better, AUSTRALIA comes out Wednesay, too! Yay for Hugh Jackman!
So, Happy Thanksgiving to all from the Bradshaw clan.
Hope y'all have a great day!
Love to all...
Whitney
Sunday, November 2, 2008
Halloween pics!
So, meet my new alter-ego: Red. That's right, I dressed up for Halloween. I didn't end up going anywhere, but I did get dressed up and go get dinner for the fam. Enjoy my mild humiliation...
Whitney
Breaking Dawn release party pics... a little late...
Okay, so these were taken, like months ago, when Breaking Dawn was released... I'm just a little slow, alright?
Whitney
Thursday, October 30, 2008
Driving in Atlanta... AKA our WICKED trip!
Hiya!
So, this past weekend, the sibling and I were lucky enough to be able to travel to Atlanta, GA (an approximately 6 HOUR TRIP). Excited, we were upon setting out Saturday at 11.30-ish. Six hours later, not quite so much. Seriously. As anyone who has every taken that trip knows, the roads just go on for freakin' ever!
Anywho, we arrived at our destination hotel, right down town (thanks to Nadine, a member of our church and our cleaning lady!), which was super super super nice. We checked in and Allie and I decided to go on out for dinner. Well, I feel like I must tell you that it was, like, 5-ish. We walked two blocks up the street to Hard Rock Cafe, which was awesome, as it always is. I bought a shirt, and we schlepped back to the hotel. It's only, like, 6.30 at this point. The car has been valet parked (because we were told that was the only parking that would be available to us at the hotel... which was a lie; there was a lot across the street, but whatever, it was nice). Allie talks to the parents on the phone who, when she tells them that we're probably not gonna do anything else, suggest that we go see, what else, HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL 3! Yay... (Note the lack of enthusiasm in my voice).
Here it comes, folks, the debacle of the trip. Ya ready for it? Yeah, we weren't either...
I call the conceirge, asking where the closest theater is. Then proceed to call the theater and get movie times, while Allie is standing there watching me... Thanks, Al. We don't have directions to the theater and, because Allie won't call and get them from the conceirge, she calls Dad, who is going to get us there. What everyone fails to tell us is that the theater, located in an area called Atlantic Station, is very near Georgia Tech University... and they had a home game that day. Allie and I get the car and embark on our quest, the object of which is located only 3.2 miles from the hotel. 3.2 miles, we can do this, right? I am driving, Allie is relaying information. Traffic is bad anyway, but, because of the Georgia Tech game, it is horrible! Dad's giving Allie directions to go straight, but there are these vertical post things sticking up in intersections that prevent you from going straight (no one believes me, but I swear, it's so), so we're having to turn and immediately u-turn to get back on the right road. RIDICULOUS! We finally find the theater and there's no parking. Okay, so we have to try to find parking... Which I Forrest-Gump-ed my way into. Then we couldn't figure out how to walk out of the garage and locate the theater...
It was a disaster. Funny, but a disaster...
Long (-er) story short, HSM3, after the first 3 musical numbers, wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. The first three numbers were as bad as I thought it would be...
We made it back to the hotel. Sunday morning, we got up and schelpped to McDonald's to get brekkie, then ended up across the street in the elaborate Westin hotel at a Starbucks. We went back to our hotel and got all dressed up before checking out and heading over to the Fox Theater.
Let me start by saying, if anyone hasn't seen Wicked, I suggest you go... quickly.
THE MUSICAL WAS AMAZING!!!!
If I could do anything else to set this statement off, I would. I was flattened, floored, impressed, astounded. I mean, I knew it would be good; I like the story, the music, the concept, but I wasn't prepared for the GREATNESS that it was. Just amazing. Absolutely loved it.
In fact, Allie and I are looking into possibly going to see it in Jacksonville, FL, or Norfolk, VA, in April or May, and taking Mom, that's how good it was.
We made it back here about 9.30pm on Sunday, without much problem.
Overall, I had a great time. I'm pretty sure Allie did, too.
Until next time, remember...
Not everyone can come and go by bubble!
Whitney
So, this past weekend, the sibling and I were lucky enough to be able to travel to Atlanta, GA (an approximately 6 HOUR TRIP). Excited, we were upon setting out Saturday at 11.30-ish. Six hours later, not quite so much. Seriously. As anyone who has every taken that trip knows, the roads just go on for freakin' ever!
Anywho, we arrived at our destination hotel, right down town (thanks to Nadine, a member of our church and our cleaning lady!), which was super super super nice. We checked in and Allie and I decided to go on out for dinner. Well, I feel like I must tell you that it was, like, 5-ish. We walked two blocks up the street to Hard Rock Cafe, which was awesome, as it always is. I bought a shirt, and we schlepped back to the hotel. It's only, like, 6.30 at this point. The car has been valet parked (because we were told that was the only parking that would be available to us at the hotel... which was a lie; there was a lot across the street, but whatever, it was nice). Allie talks to the parents on the phone who, when she tells them that we're probably not gonna do anything else, suggest that we go see, what else, HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL 3! Yay... (Note the lack of enthusiasm in my voice).
Here it comes, folks, the debacle of the trip. Ya ready for it? Yeah, we weren't either...
I call the conceirge, asking where the closest theater is. Then proceed to call the theater and get movie times, while Allie is standing there watching me... Thanks, Al. We don't have directions to the theater and, because Allie won't call and get them from the conceirge, she calls Dad, who is going to get us there. What everyone fails to tell us is that the theater, located in an area called Atlantic Station, is very near Georgia Tech University... and they had a home game that day. Allie and I get the car and embark on our quest, the object of which is located only 3.2 miles from the hotel. 3.2 miles, we can do this, right? I am driving, Allie is relaying information. Traffic is bad anyway, but, because of the Georgia Tech game, it is horrible! Dad's giving Allie directions to go straight, but there are these vertical post things sticking up in intersections that prevent you from going straight (no one believes me, but I swear, it's so), so we're having to turn and immediately u-turn to get back on the right road. RIDICULOUS! We finally find the theater and there's no parking. Okay, so we have to try to find parking... Which I Forrest-Gump-ed my way into. Then we couldn't figure out how to walk out of the garage and locate the theater...
It was a disaster. Funny, but a disaster...
Long (-er) story short, HSM3, after the first 3 musical numbers, wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. The first three numbers were as bad as I thought it would be...
We made it back to the hotel. Sunday morning, we got up and schelpped to McDonald's to get brekkie, then ended up across the street in the elaborate Westin hotel at a Starbucks. We went back to our hotel and got all dressed up before checking out and heading over to the Fox Theater.
Let me start by saying, if anyone hasn't seen Wicked, I suggest you go... quickly.
THE MUSICAL WAS AMAZING!!!!
If I could do anything else to set this statement off, I would. I was flattened, floored, impressed, astounded. I mean, I knew it would be good; I like the story, the music, the concept, but I wasn't prepared for the GREATNESS that it was. Just amazing. Absolutely loved it.
In fact, Allie and I are looking into possibly going to see it in Jacksonville, FL, or Norfolk, VA, in April or May, and taking Mom, that's how good it was.
We made it back here about 9.30pm on Sunday, without much problem.
Overall, I had a great time. I'm pretty sure Allie did, too.
Until next time, remember...
Not everyone can come and go by bubble!
Whitney
Monday, October 20, 2008
Friday, October 17, 2008
Notes on a play...
Hiya!
So, as many of you know, Allie and I went to a performance of Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street last Friday. We were both fans of the movie and the music, so we decided to scrounge around some fundage and we went.
And here's how it went...
The basic premise of the play is that there's a guy who (you assume) breaks out of prison, where's he been wrongfully held for awhile, like 15 or 16 years. Anyway, he gets out, finds out that his wife is has been poisoned and his daughter's being held by the guy that threw our hero into prison, the evil judge. Our "hero", Benjamin Barker, takes on the name Sweeney Todd and, with a nutsy baker woman named Mrs. Lovett, decides to take his revenge on not just the judge, but anyone who allowed his wife's "murder" and his daughter's abduction to happen... by opening up a barber shop (his former trade) and slitting his customer's throats. Sounds gory, right?
Well, when we got there and opened up a program, we were surprised to find that the cast was their own orchester. You heard me... the cast (the nine people on the stage acting) also played instruments, providing the soundtrack for their own music. Sounds confusing, right? It gets better... Besides playing their own music, they also provided their own staging assistance (i.e. moving props, rearranging the set, etc). It was alot. And, while all this may sound a little distracting (i.e. Sweeney plays the guitar and the trumpet, Mrs. Lovett plays the tuba and a xylophone), it really wasn't. The cast worked so well together that everything was seemless and seemed totally natural. The set was only one setup, and the props were few, but what they used, they used for multiple music numbers and by just changing or turning a piece of it, would change its use or purpose.
Overall, kindof an amazing experience. Definately minimalist and certainly not something everybody would appreciate. But probably one of the better musicals I've been to. Certainly one of the most interesting musicals I've ever been to, and I mean that in the best way possible.
Next Saturday, Allie and I are driving to Atlanta, GA to spend the night and go to see the musical Wicked, something we've wanted to see for a long time, so that should be fun... I hope so.
I'll update with notes about that after we get back!
Later all!
Whitney
So, as many of you know, Allie and I went to a performance of Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street last Friday. We were both fans of the movie and the music, so we decided to scrounge around some fundage and we went.
And here's how it went...
The basic premise of the play is that there's a guy who (you assume) breaks out of prison, where's he been wrongfully held for awhile, like 15 or 16 years. Anyway, he gets out, finds out that his wife is has been poisoned and his daughter's being held by the guy that threw our hero into prison, the evil judge. Our "hero", Benjamin Barker, takes on the name Sweeney Todd and, with a nutsy baker woman named Mrs. Lovett, decides to take his revenge on not just the judge, but anyone who allowed his wife's "murder" and his daughter's abduction to happen... by opening up a barber shop (his former trade) and slitting his customer's throats. Sounds gory, right?
Well, when we got there and opened up a program, we were surprised to find that the cast was their own orchester. You heard me... the cast (the nine people on the stage acting) also played instruments, providing the soundtrack for their own music. Sounds confusing, right? It gets better... Besides playing their own music, they also provided their own staging assistance (i.e. moving props, rearranging the set, etc). It was alot. And, while all this may sound a little distracting (i.e. Sweeney plays the guitar and the trumpet, Mrs. Lovett plays the tuba and a xylophone), it really wasn't. The cast worked so well together that everything was seemless and seemed totally natural. The set was only one setup, and the props were few, but what they used, they used for multiple music numbers and by just changing or turning a piece of it, would change its use or purpose.
Overall, kindof an amazing experience. Definately minimalist and certainly not something everybody would appreciate. But probably one of the better musicals I've been to. Certainly one of the most interesting musicals I've ever been to, and I mean that in the best way possible.
Next Saturday, Allie and I are driving to Atlanta, GA to spend the night and go to see the musical Wicked, something we've wanted to see for a long time, so that should be fun... I hope so.
I'll update with notes about that after we get back!
Later all!
Whitney
Friday, August 29, 2008
Yeah, yeah, yeah... long time, no...
Hiya!
I know, I haven't updated since we got back from Florida. That's 'cause nothing's going on!
SERIOUSLY!
I've been doing school, Allie's just started school, again. Mom and Dad and Allie and I are working. Marlee has been irritating, ya know, the usual.
There's really not that much going on. Allie started the New Vision choir thing. They're really really good. I went the other Sunday and was totally impressed.
As far as my school's going, I just finished up my second class and am getting ready to start my third one on Monday (or rather Wednesday, I think, from the way the syllabus reads)... Interpersonal and Intrapersonal Communications... Yup... Sound as boring to you as it does to me? I think I'll be glad when we get to the more practical application-type classes. This theory stuff is getting a little old.
Allie's been up to no good, as always. She's been reading like a fiend! I've been totally impressed. I mean, I know Mom and I read all the time, but I've been really impressed by how quickly Allie's been going through books. Especially since starting school, singing with New Vision, and working.
Mom and the Padre have just been working. Dad has been COUGHING! It's been ridiculous. We hate it. He sounds like death. And, worst of all, he won't go to the doctor. It's so irritating. Even as I speak, he's coughing. Makes us all wanna scream!
Marlene has been sleeping... she irritates us when we're eating... she eats... she goes out... or goes in the house (not so good)... then sleeping some more...
See. Seriously, nothing going on here. Nothing.
We're fairly boring when we have typical days. Lo siento. My bad.
Anyway, here's hoping that things get more exciting... or not... Ya know, we don't really mind boring. At least there's no drama if things are boring. Which is, like I said, nice.
Hope that things are better for y'all. Or at least maybe more exciting. Or, ya know, not.
Later all!
Whitney
I know, I haven't updated since we got back from Florida. That's 'cause nothing's going on!
SERIOUSLY!
I've been doing school, Allie's just started school, again. Mom and Dad and Allie and I are working. Marlee has been irritating, ya know, the usual.
There's really not that much going on. Allie started the New Vision choir thing. They're really really good. I went the other Sunday and was totally impressed.
As far as my school's going, I just finished up my second class and am getting ready to start my third one on Monday (or rather Wednesday, I think, from the way the syllabus reads)... Interpersonal and Intrapersonal Communications... Yup... Sound as boring to you as it does to me? I think I'll be glad when we get to the more practical application-type classes. This theory stuff is getting a little old.
Allie's been up to no good, as always. She's been reading like a fiend! I've been totally impressed. I mean, I know Mom and I read all the time, but I've been really impressed by how quickly Allie's been going through books. Especially since starting school, singing with New Vision, and working.
Mom and the Padre have just been working. Dad has been COUGHING! It's been ridiculous. We hate it. He sounds like death. And, worst of all, he won't go to the doctor. It's so irritating. Even as I speak, he's coughing. Makes us all wanna scream!
Marlene has been sleeping... she irritates us when we're eating... she eats... she goes out... or goes in the house (not so good)... then sleeping some more...
See. Seriously, nothing going on here. Nothing.
We're fairly boring when we have typical days. Lo siento. My bad.
Anyway, here's hoping that things get more exciting... or not... Ya know, we don't really mind boring. At least there's no drama if things are boring. Which is, like I said, nice.
Hope that things are better for y'all. Or at least maybe more exciting. Or, ya know, not.
Later all!
Whitney
Saturday, July 5, 2008
Our Bahamas Cruise
Hi ya! Well, our cruise is over, but it was certainly a trip that we'll never forget! Besides the fact that Dusty and I have been married now for 25 years...they said it would never last...what a wonderful way to celebrate an anniversary. The best part of the trip was that I was able to spend the time with my best friend, my husband. I realize more and more every day what a lucky person I am to not only be married to a great guy who loves me, but who is also my best friend. Any way...on to the cruise. We left from Port Canaveral, Florida on Monday, June 30th aboard the Royal Caribbean, Sovereign of the Seas. She is a 20 year old cruise ship who will retire in October of 2008. Although I've never been on a ship before, I thought she was a beautiful boat. Once we boarded, we found our cabin on deck 5. It was an inside state room...yep, you guessed it no window, but it wasn't too bad. I couldn't go to the bathroom with the door closed though. Yeah, I know gross, but remember that I get claustrophobic. We were on the deck with all the shops and the casino. No, I didn't lose any money...not even in the shops. At 4pm, everyone had to go on a mandatory lifeboat drill. We all had to put on our lifejackets and go to our muster stations. Ours happened to be in the VIP lounge. We listened to instructions on what to do if we were to hit the ever elusive iceberg, then went back to our rooms. After getting unpacked, it was time to ready for dinner. Casual dining that night, even in the formal dining room. Our waiter was Nickolai, a really nice guy. We're not use to eating such fancy meals though...it was quite interesting. We were at a table with a young couple from Detroit...he was a police officer and she was a social worker, really a nice couple. Then we made our way to the pool deck, deck 11 &12. They were doing line dancing and just having a great time. Dusty and I decided to go for our nightly walk. There is a walking track outside on deck 7. 3 times around the deck is a mile, so off we set. Now remember, the weather is overcast with storms around us, so there is some rocking of the boat and a pretty stiff wind. So swaying, we start walking into the wind. By the time we reached the front of the ship, it was all we could do to walk forward, then as we rounded the front, the wind blew us so hard from the back that we were almost running. Well 4 laps were all we could manage without getting blown away. Talk about resistance training.
During the night, we ran into some rough weather. We didn't know it, but the Captain informed us on Tuesday morning that he made the decision to change our course and head for Nassau first. So around lunch on Tuesday we docked in the port in Nassau. After standing in line with 2000 of our closest friends to disembark, we hit the shopping area of Nassau. After going through customs, we were bombarded by people wanting to take us on taxi rides, surrey rides, scooter rides, tours, braid hair, etc. After wading through them all, we finally made it into the downtown area. I must admit that I was extremely shocked. I knew that the area was not a rich area, but I did not expect to see the poverty that we encountered. Except for the area of Paradise Island, where the Atlantis Hotel is located, Nassau is an extremely dirty, poor area. We did do some shopping for the girls, Hard Rock T's and Senior Frogs T's, and a quick tour of the straw market. The weather was overcast and a few sprinkles of rain, but we enjoyed ourselves. When we got back to our ship and realized that there were 3 other ships anchored there also. Beside of us a the Disney Cruise Line "Wonder". That night after dinner, Dusty and I sat on our pool deck and watched Monsters Inc. on the Disney Cruise ship. They have a huge movie screen on their pool deck and show Disney movies all the time. It was pretty cool. For dinner on Tuesday, it was formal dress night. It was really nice to get all dressed up and have photos made and go to dinner. I must admit that I had the most handsome date there. My only problem was that I kept feeling like I was falling out of the top of my dress. I'm a little too self conscious to wear that little bit of clothes on top. We then went to the Captain's welcome reception where you could have a glass of champagne, rum punch or fruit punch and then meet the Captain and senior crew members. It was sort of boring, but ok to do once. Dusty decided he was still hungry, so we went up to deck 12 and had pizza at Sorrentos Pizza. Let me tell you, you could really eat 24 hours a day on these cruises. Breakfast was served in the main dining room from 7am till 9:30am. If you didn't get enough, you could them go to Windjammer on deck 11 and eat buffet breakfast from 7am till 11am. Then lunch was served buffet style in Windjammer from 12noon until 3pm. Snacks were served there from 3pm-5pm. Dinner was then served in the main dining room, one seating at 6pm and one at 8:30pm. If you were still hungry, buffet dinner was served in Windjammer from 7pm -9:30pm. If you were still hungry, Sorrentos Pizza served from 11am-2am and Johnny Rockets served burgers and fries from 2pm - 2am. Oh, and there was a buffet just about every night at poolside from 11pm-12:30am. Needless to say, we did not go hungry. I sure am glad that I lost weight before we went and of course, I'm dieting again now.
On Wednesday, we took a glass bottom boat tour of the harbour and coral reef. It was really neat. During the afternoon, we took a tour of Nassau by taxi/tour guide. Our guide was a gentleman named Sid. We went to 2 forts on the island, saw the water tower that supplies all drinking water to the island, the hospital, police station, the post office (residents have to go to the post office to get their own mail, no delivery), the college/university, and many residential areas. We found out that our tour guide and his wife were members of a Baptist church in the area and also sang in their praise team. Well, of course, the Pastor came out in Dusty and they began to talk. We found out that Sid's older brother was the Pastor of their church, Landmark Baptist, and since we had a few extra minutes on our tour, he took us by the church to meet his brother. They meet in the storefront in one of the poorer areas of Nassau. I was really glad that our guide was with us, not an area I would want to be in by myself. Church talk took place for a while and it was really interesting to find out that a lot of the same issues are shared by both our congregations. Following, we went to Ardastra Gardens and Zoo. The main attraction at the gardens is the Flamingo March. The Flamingos are trained to follow marching directions...march, reverse, halt. It's really pretty cool. The neatest part was Dusty going out with the flamingos and during his best flamingo poise. Balance is not his best asset. Then we headed back to the ship. Driving in Nassau is a nightmare. They don't have many traffic lights, so everyone just honks their horns and goes. It's terrible. Needless to say, we were so glad to be out of the taxi. After dinner, we went to a show production in the Follies Lounge called Dancing Through the Movies. The performed and danced to songs from different movies and from different decades. It was pretty cool.
We did not get to go over to Paradise Island, but let me tell you a few facts that we learned. The Atlantis Hotel and Casino are on the island. Even though it looks like two buildings, it is actually 4 separate ones. One is the hotel/casino, one is townhomes, one is condo/timeshares, and then more hotel. The cheapest room rents for $375 a night. The suite in the middle of the towers that looks like a bridge is $25,000 a night with a 4 night min. Just to look out on the harbour on one side the the ocean on the other. It's a really beautiful hotel and the island is the prettiest, nicest area of Nassau. We were docked right across from Nicholas Cage's house on Paradise Island. Too bad, he wasn't there. One of the neatest things there is that on the island you and purchase a beachfront home starting at $300,000 where here in Charleston area for beachfront home, you can look at anywhere from $750,000 to over $1million. And in Nassau, its tax free.
During the night on Wednesday, we sailed to Coco Cay in the Bahamas which is a private island owned by Royal Caribbean. We had to board tenders (small ferry boats) to travel over to the island. More standing in line waiting to board, but not too bad. Once on the island, we had pictures made and then there was a variety of activities you could do. There was snorkeling, wave runners, parasailing, a water park, floating beach mats, water slides, volleyball, eating, drinking (the island drink is called a Coco Loco with or without alcohol), sunning, and more eating
We went walking around the island, sat in the sun for a while, did a little shopping in their shops, ate and sat some more. The island was really beautiful and the water was so clear that you could stand waist deep and see straight to the bottom of the ocean. Walking in the water was wild...they have fish that bury themselves in the stand and when you step down, they dart out found under the sand and swim in front of you, they are the exact same color of the sand so until they move you can't see them. There were also fish that were almost clear...they were long and thin with really long noses. Later in the afternoon, it looked as if it might storm (this was our only sunny day), so we headed back to the boat. After getting cleaned up and having dinner, we came back to the room to pack. You have to have all your luggage out in the hallways by 11pm so that is can be packed in racks to remove from the ship the following morning. All you keep is a carry bag. When we finished, we went to show in the Follies Lounge called Flashback. It was sort of like a bad Broadway production...singing and dancing of music through the 50s, 60s, 70s, and 80's. If was actually pretty good. Then we went poolside for a while, then to bed. We had to get up around 6am on Friday because the ship docked at 7am and we disembarked at 7:20am. Had to go through US customs and retrieve our luggage, get it in the car and leave. I MISS MY SHIP. We really had a wonderful time. Who wouldn't? No cooking, but eat all the time, entertainment of all forms and fashions from the musical productions to Wii bowling, Guitar Hero competitions, the casino, live music all the time, dancing, pools, comedy routines, etc, etc, etc, a cabin steward who cleans your room twice a day and makes towel animals to leave along with mints each night, a laundry service to do your clothes and people everywhere who only want you to have a great time...did I mention people taking your photo every time you turn around. I WANT TO GO BACK ON VACATION! PLEASSSSSSSSSSE!
After saying a sad goodbye to our ship, we were on our way to Kennedy Space Center. If you know anything at all about Dusty, you know that he sits and watches the NASA channel for hours on end, so this was somewhere he's always wanted to go. We saw how NASA uses robot to do so much of their research. We went inside one of the space shuttles and rode a simulation of a shuttle take-off. Dusty had his picture taken with an astronaut and we met a real astronaut, Mike Maulvine. We touched a moon rock and a rock from Mars. We took a tour of several NASA areas including launch pads for the shuttle takeoffs, the areas where parts for the Sky Lab are assembled, we saw the astronaut hotel and the building used in I Dream of Jeannie TV series, and the Astronaut Hall of Fame. We also saw the building where the space shuttles are attached to the solid rocket booster. I have to tell you a couple of neat facts about that building. The building is the tallest one story building in the US. Its stands 575 feet tall and would be equivalent to a 53 story building, but it is just one story. It took 500 gallons of paint to paint the NASA emblem on the building and the US Flag on the front of the building is the largest painted flag in the US. The area where the stars are is the size of a full-court basketball court. We also saw the hangers were the 3 space shuttles are kept. Another couple of facts for you. NASA owns 140,000 acres on Merritt Island were the NASA buildings only use about 6000 of those acres. The area is used as a wildlife refuge. There is a bald eagle nest there that is 40 years old and used every year. The nest itself is the size of a king size bed. The also have lots of gators and manatees. It's really cool. Also, all buildings that NASA built back in the late 50s and 60s have to remain as they are as far as their outside appearance. They are on the national historic register and they cannot be altered. These little facts didn't cost you anything.
We really had a wonderful vacation and I'll can't think of a more wonderful anniversary gift that Dusty could have given me. Did I mention that he also sent me a dozen beautiful roses and gave me a beautiful gift as well. Also, and I didn't mean to fail to mention that Mimi and Michael also gave us a great gift on the cruise as well. When we got to our cabin, we had a beautiful flower arrangement from them along with chocolate covered strawberries and non-alcoholic champagne. Then on Tuesday, the night of the formal dinner, they sent us canapes prior to dinner and after dinner sweets. It was really special and we certainly didn't expect it. I can't wait till next year to see how Dusty tops this anniversary. How are we going to spend anniversary 26...?
If you see pictures of a small moose and dog floating around, don't think we've lost our mind. Because this was our anniversary and we went on the cruise without the girls, we didn't want them to be left completely out. SO, we took them along with us. They sent two of their favorite stuffed animals along with us, so we pretended that they were Whitney and Allie. The girls got to lounge in the cabin, try on their lifejackets, lounge around on the deck, went on the glass bottom boat tour, went to Ardarsta Gardens and meet the parrot, lounged in the sun on the private beach, went on a wave runner and parasailing, lounged in the hammock with dad and in the sun with me and got to stand in line to disembark from the boat. They then had pictures made in a lunar module and with an astronaut. They both had a terrific cruise and can't wait to go again. And the best part of having the girls along in this form is that Allie didn't whine once!
Hope you enjoyed reading about our trip! I know that it was long, but there was so much to tell and I still didn't get to all of it. Bye and see ya later!
Julie
During the night, we ran into some rough weather. We didn't know it, but the Captain informed us on Tuesday morning that he made the decision to change our course and head for Nassau first. So around lunch on Tuesday we docked in the port in Nassau. After standing in line with 2000 of our closest friends to disembark, we hit the shopping area of Nassau. After going through customs, we were bombarded by people wanting to take us on taxi rides, surrey rides, scooter rides, tours, braid hair, etc. After wading through them all, we finally made it into the downtown area. I must admit that I was extremely shocked. I knew that the area was not a rich area, but I did not expect to see the poverty that we encountered. Except for the area of Paradise Island, where the Atlantis Hotel is located, Nassau is an extremely dirty, poor area. We did do some shopping for the girls, Hard Rock T's and Senior Frogs T's, and a quick tour of the straw market. The weather was overcast and a few sprinkles of rain, but we enjoyed ourselves. When we got back to our ship and realized that there were 3 other ships anchored there also. Beside of us a the Disney Cruise Line "Wonder". That night after dinner, Dusty and I sat on our pool deck and watched Monsters Inc. on the Disney Cruise ship. They have a huge movie screen on their pool deck and show Disney movies all the time. It was pretty cool. For dinner on Tuesday, it was formal dress night. It was really nice to get all dressed up and have photos made and go to dinner. I must admit that I had the most handsome date there. My only problem was that I kept feeling like I was falling out of the top of my dress. I'm a little too self conscious to wear that little bit of clothes on top. We then went to the Captain's welcome reception where you could have a glass of champagne, rum punch or fruit punch and then meet the Captain and senior crew members. It was sort of boring, but ok to do once. Dusty decided he was still hungry, so we went up to deck 12 and had pizza at Sorrentos Pizza. Let me tell you, you could really eat 24 hours a day on these cruises. Breakfast was served in the main dining room from 7am till 9:30am. If you didn't get enough, you could them go to Windjammer on deck 11 and eat buffet breakfast from 7am till 11am. Then lunch was served buffet style in Windjammer from 12noon until 3pm. Snacks were served there from 3pm-5pm. Dinner was then served in the main dining room, one seating at 6pm and one at 8:30pm. If you were still hungry, buffet dinner was served in Windjammer from 7pm -9:30pm. If you were still hungry, Sorrentos Pizza served from 11am-2am and Johnny Rockets served burgers and fries from 2pm - 2am. Oh, and there was a buffet just about every night at poolside from 11pm-12:30am. Needless to say, we did not go hungry. I sure am glad that I lost weight before we went and of course, I'm dieting again now.
On Wednesday, we took a glass bottom boat tour of the harbour and coral reef. It was really neat. During the afternoon, we took a tour of Nassau by taxi/tour guide. Our guide was a gentleman named Sid. We went to 2 forts on the island, saw the water tower that supplies all drinking water to the island, the hospital, police station, the post office (residents have to go to the post office to get their own mail, no delivery), the college/university, and many residential areas. We found out that our tour guide and his wife were members of a Baptist church in the area and also sang in their praise team. Well, of course, the Pastor came out in Dusty and they began to talk. We found out that Sid's older brother was the Pastor of their church, Landmark Baptist, and since we had a few extra minutes on our tour, he took us by the church to meet his brother. They meet in the storefront in one of the poorer areas of Nassau. I was really glad that our guide was with us, not an area I would want to be in by myself. Church talk took place for a while and it was really interesting to find out that a lot of the same issues are shared by both our congregations. Following, we went to Ardastra Gardens and Zoo. The main attraction at the gardens is the Flamingo March. The Flamingos are trained to follow marching directions...march, reverse, halt. It's really pretty cool. The neatest part was Dusty going out with the flamingos and during his best flamingo poise. Balance is not his best asset. Then we headed back to the ship. Driving in Nassau is a nightmare. They don't have many traffic lights, so everyone just honks their horns and goes. It's terrible. Needless to say, we were so glad to be out of the taxi. After dinner, we went to a show production in the Follies Lounge called Dancing Through the Movies. The performed and danced to songs from different movies and from different decades. It was pretty cool.
We did not get to go over to Paradise Island, but let me tell you a few facts that we learned. The Atlantis Hotel and Casino are on the island. Even though it looks like two buildings, it is actually 4 separate ones. One is the hotel/casino, one is townhomes, one is condo/timeshares, and then more hotel. The cheapest room rents for $375 a night. The suite in the middle of the towers that looks like a bridge is $25,000 a night with a 4 night min. Just to look out on the harbour on one side the the ocean on the other. It's a really beautiful hotel and the island is the prettiest, nicest area of Nassau. We were docked right across from Nicholas Cage's house on Paradise Island. Too bad, he wasn't there. One of the neatest things there is that on the island you and purchase a beachfront home starting at $300,000 where here in Charleston area for beachfront home, you can look at anywhere from $750,000 to over $1million. And in Nassau, its tax free.
During the night on Wednesday, we sailed to Coco Cay in the Bahamas which is a private island owned by Royal Caribbean. We had to board tenders (small ferry boats) to travel over to the island. More standing in line waiting to board, but not too bad. Once on the island, we had pictures made and then there was a variety of activities you could do. There was snorkeling, wave runners, parasailing, a water park, floating beach mats, water slides, volleyball, eating, drinking (the island drink is called a Coco Loco with or without alcohol), sunning, and more eating
We went walking around the island, sat in the sun for a while, did a little shopping in their shops, ate and sat some more. The island was really beautiful and the water was so clear that you could stand waist deep and see straight to the bottom of the ocean. Walking in the water was wild...they have fish that bury themselves in the stand and when you step down, they dart out found under the sand and swim in front of you, they are the exact same color of the sand so until they move you can't see them. There were also fish that were almost clear...they were long and thin with really long noses. Later in the afternoon, it looked as if it might storm (this was our only sunny day), so we headed back to the boat. After getting cleaned up and having dinner, we came back to the room to pack. You have to have all your luggage out in the hallways by 11pm so that is can be packed in racks to remove from the ship the following morning. All you keep is a carry bag. When we finished, we went to show in the Follies Lounge called Flashback. It was sort of like a bad Broadway production...singing and dancing of music through the 50s, 60s, 70s, and 80's. If was actually pretty good. Then we went poolside for a while, then to bed. We had to get up around 6am on Friday because the ship docked at 7am and we disembarked at 7:20am. Had to go through US customs and retrieve our luggage, get it in the car and leave. I MISS MY SHIP. We really had a wonderful time. Who wouldn't? No cooking, but eat all the time, entertainment of all forms and fashions from the musical productions to Wii bowling, Guitar Hero competitions, the casino, live music all the time, dancing, pools, comedy routines, etc, etc, etc, a cabin steward who cleans your room twice a day and makes towel animals to leave along with mints each night, a laundry service to do your clothes and people everywhere who only want you to have a great time...did I mention people taking your photo every time you turn around. I WANT TO GO BACK ON VACATION! PLEASSSSSSSSSSE!
After saying a sad goodbye to our ship, we were on our way to Kennedy Space Center. If you know anything at all about Dusty, you know that he sits and watches the NASA channel for hours on end, so this was somewhere he's always wanted to go. We saw how NASA uses robot to do so much of their research. We went inside one of the space shuttles and rode a simulation of a shuttle take-off. Dusty had his picture taken with an astronaut and we met a real astronaut, Mike Maulvine. We touched a moon rock and a rock from Mars. We took a tour of several NASA areas including launch pads for the shuttle takeoffs, the areas where parts for the Sky Lab are assembled, we saw the astronaut hotel and the building used in I Dream of Jeannie TV series, and the Astronaut Hall of Fame. We also saw the building where the space shuttles are attached to the solid rocket booster. I have to tell you a couple of neat facts about that building. The building is the tallest one story building in the US. Its stands 575 feet tall and would be equivalent to a 53 story building, but it is just one story. It took 500 gallons of paint to paint the NASA emblem on the building and the US Flag on the front of the building is the largest painted flag in the US. The area where the stars are is the size of a full-court basketball court. We also saw the hangers were the 3 space shuttles are kept. Another couple of facts for you. NASA owns 140,000 acres on Merritt Island were the NASA buildings only use about 6000 of those acres. The area is used as a wildlife refuge. There is a bald eagle nest there that is 40 years old and used every year. The nest itself is the size of a king size bed. The also have lots of gators and manatees. It's really cool. Also, all buildings that NASA built back in the late 50s and 60s have to remain as they are as far as their outside appearance. They are on the national historic register and they cannot be altered. These little facts didn't cost you anything.
We really had a wonderful vacation and I'll can't think of a more wonderful anniversary gift that Dusty could have given me. Did I mention that he also sent me a dozen beautiful roses and gave me a beautiful gift as well. Also, and I didn't mean to fail to mention that Mimi and Michael also gave us a great gift on the cruise as well. When we got to our cabin, we had a beautiful flower arrangement from them along with chocolate covered strawberries and non-alcoholic champagne. Then on Tuesday, the night of the formal dinner, they sent us canapes prior to dinner and after dinner sweets. It was really special and we certainly didn't expect it. I can't wait till next year to see how Dusty tops this anniversary. How are we going to spend anniversary 26...?
If you see pictures of a small moose and dog floating around, don't think we've lost our mind. Because this was our anniversary and we went on the cruise without the girls, we didn't want them to be left completely out. SO, we took them along with us. They sent two of their favorite stuffed animals along with us, so we pretended that they were Whitney and Allie. The girls got to lounge in the cabin, try on their lifejackets, lounge around on the deck, went on the glass bottom boat tour, went to Ardarsta Gardens and meet the parrot, lounged in the sun on the private beach, went on a wave runner and parasailing, lounged in the hammock with dad and in the sun with me and got to stand in line to disembark from the boat. They then had pictures made in a lunar module and with an astronaut. They both had a terrific cruise and can't wait to go again. And the best part of having the girls along in this form is that Allie didn't whine once!
Hope you enjoyed reading about our trip! I know that it was long, but there was so much to tell and I still didn't get to all of it. Bye and see ya later!
Julie
A really good Marlee pic...
So, for those of you who wanted a better picture of our new baby, here she is! The Marlee Mouse/ The Marlee Monster, better known as Marlene Wednesday Bradshaw, Marlee.
From Ally and Cally Jaffe... otherwise known as about the Universal Trip
Hiya!
So, this is a long story and we'll tell it. We left early early on Friday morning... like 6.15-ish, which is just awful. And we drove... all the way to Florida. Which is an unusually long way, especially that early. We got there and had lunch. Dad and Mom checked us in and then Dad and Allie went to pick up our tickets to the parks. When they got back, we all tromped over to Universal Studios. It was REALLY hot and we kept having to wait in line with these fans that sprayed water, creating like a mist. Needless to say, our hair all looked like crap. The day was long, but the last ride we rode, the Men In Black Alien Encounter, we were really tired. So, we were standing there with the guy who was like the ride facilitator (aka led us into the front of the ride) who asked how everyone was doing. There weren't that many people and somebody was talking about needing drugs for a headache. Mom proceeded to make the statement that drugs were good; that we liked drugs... which made everyone look at us kinda funny. We got on the ride and, in it, you have to shoot aliens and, at the end of the ride, the other team that you ride with. The other team, apparently, hit us and caused us to spin... which made all of us semi-sick. We then went back to the hotel and showered in the trickling water that was our shower and went to bed. Saturday rose with the sun... and the clouds. We all got up, did brekkie, and headed off to the Islands of Adventure. We started off in Marvel Superhero Land... which was, needless to say, AWESOME! I got my picture taken with all kinds of Superheroes, including the X-Men and Captain America. It was amazing. We rode some rides there, like the Hulk coaster and the Amazing Adventures of Spiderman (also really really cool). We then proceeded to the cartoon area, where we rode the Dudley Do-Right water ride. It seemed like a fun idea at the time; it was hot and sticky and we'd already planned to get wet, so we left Dad with the stuff to keep dry and Mom, Allie, and I headed off to the ride. Where we proceeded to get absolutely soaking, sopping, dripping wet. After which, Allie pouted and complained all day 'cause she was wet and damp and gross. We ate and flew with the Pterodactyls, which was moderately scary because, at one point, it turned really far and felt like we were going to fall out. Allie's stomach as bothering her a little bit, so we went and did some shopping, where I got a really cool picture with X-Men film cells in it and we all got "Thing" shirts. It started to rain... which was not so fun. We went back to the hotel, because we were still tired and hot and gross, and had Outback take-in for dinner. Sunday, we started the day at Islands of Adventure, finishing up what we hadn't finished. We all dressed in matching "Thing" shirts, which everyone thought was adorable. We even had somebody ask to be "Thing 5". We went to the Poseidon's Fury ride/walkthough... which was then closed because of issues with the ride itself. So we left and went to watch the Sinbad show and ride the Dueling Dragons coaster. We kept going back to the Poseidon ride, so much so that the woman who stood at the entrance to tell people the ride situation basically knew us and saw us coming. We went on the quest for the Holy Grail, Allie's lemon slush. We couldn't find one anywhere, so we headed for the front of the park. We finally located a slush and walked next door to Universal Studios to finish up the rides we'd missed there. We also ate at the Hard Rock Cafe. While we were finishing the three rides, it started to rain. We stopped at a restaurant and waited for it to stop. Because Mom and Dad had Blue Man Group performance tickets (care of Allie and I for their anniversary), they needed to get to the auditorium, just outside the park. So, like you would imagine, they bought an umbrella. It practically immediately stopped raining. Allie and I stayed inside the park to ride a couple more things, while they went out to the show. The two of us decided that we were going back to Islands of Adventure to ride some stuff (because the Blue Man Group show started at 9pm and the park didn't close until 10pm). On our way out, this woman stopped us and asked if we were going to stay at the park. We said yes and she handed us two ExpressPasses (which is the equivalent of a line cut, or a Disney FastPass), the difference being that ExpressPasses are good for every ride in both parks that day. God smiles on us. There were preprinted names on the passes, Jaffe, so Allie and I decided, since we were going to be the ones using them, that we would be Ally and Cally Jaffe, the Jaffe twins. We proceeded to go back into Islands of Adventure and ride a couple rides, using our Jaffe passes without question, which was awesome. Ergo, the Jaffe siblings were born. We finally rode/walkedthrough Poseidon's Fury, which is kinda a walkthrough show. Our "tour guide" Taylor tried to be energetic and exciting, but, at one point after he had found the missing trident and was going to lead us out, he held it up and said, "We can do it; we have the trident!" after which everyone was supposed to cheer. It was late and there was a hush, no sound. A startled moment later, our small group of about a dozen finally gave a weak cheer. I think it would have been a little disheartening. Allie and I finally left when the park closed, went over the Margaritaville so Allie/Ally could buy a shirt, and we parked it in Starbucks to wait for the parents. After their show was done, we went back to the hotel. Monday, we packed everything up, and went to Downtown Disney to walk around before going to eat. Allie/Ally and I/Cally headed back this direction while the parents headed off to the boat. They will be on here later to tell you how their trip went.
Until then!
Later!
Ally and Cally Jaffe
Saturday, June 7, 2008
Some Beach Pics!
We drove over to Folly Beach the other night, so here are some pics from our fun-filled beach and lighthouse trip!
Welcome MARLEE!
Hiya!
Yep, I know, I haven't updated since our sweetheart passed, but, as a family, we decided to bring a new member to join our happy crew. So, today, we drove to North Augusta, SC, and met Marlee, a 2-4 year old Italian Greyhound/Chihuahua mix. Yeah, yeah, it's an odd mix, but it makes for an adorable dog. We're not sure she's been inside alot, and everything's new to her and us, so we're adjusting, but, personally, this author thinks that things are gonna work out just fine. She's a lover who wants to be exactly where you are... all the time... She gets a little overexcited sometimes, but getting her calmed down is just a matter of a moment. Anyway, we think she's gonna fit right in here at the Casa Loca. While we'll never forget Bandit, we're really happy about having Marlee here. Enjoy the pics and I'll keep you posted on how things go...
Wish us luck!
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
RIP Bandit
On Sunday, we lost a very special member of our family, our 20 year old puppy, Bandit.
He was loved and he will be missed greatly.
The house is empty without you, baby.
Love you, Us.
Thursday, April 17, 2008
Happy Birthday to ME!
Hi, All!
So, today was my birthday! 22 years old! Yay me! To celebrate the happy occasion, I got tattooed. That's right... pain for my birthday. Anyway, its a symbol from a book series that Mom, Allie and I read, and I LOVE it! Allie and I also went to the movies to see 21 and went shoe shopping. And tonight, the family went to Olive Garden to eat. Overall, a pretty good birthday, if I do say so myself. Thanks to everybody that sent their birthday well-wishes. I really appreciate all the happy thoughts sent my way!
BTW, not only did I get the job at Wachovia, but Allie got into New Vision... YAY for ALL!
Now, everybody's got a plan... for now, at least.
That's all from me for right now!
Whitney
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
In our Easter bonnets...
Yes, there were frills...
And, yes, we were the grandest ladies in the Easter parade...
Except for Dad who is, in fact, a guy....
And, yes, we were the grandest ladies in the Easter parade...
Except for Dad who is, in fact, a guy....
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
Wait Listed... GRRRRR....
So that's it then.
I just heard today that I've been wait listed at Emory. I'm about third on the list. Two people out of six have confirmed that they are attending, but it would take basically everybody else backing out before my opportunity would come up. The odds of that are, well, I'm not sure what the odds of that are.
Currently, the Bradshaws, en masse, are trying to devise a strategy, a plan, if you will, as to what I should do. We're looking into a couple other places, but who knows, right now. Certainly not me. And I'm the person all this is for. So if I don't know, who does, right?
Eh, but life must go on, I suppose. I'll keep everyone posted as the continuing saga unfolds...
It's like a freakin' soap opera.
GRRRRRR.
Whitney
I just heard today that I've been wait listed at Emory. I'm about third on the list. Two people out of six have confirmed that they are attending, but it would take basically everybody else backing out before my opportunity would come up. The odds of that are, well, I'm not sure what the odds of that are.
Currently, the Bradshaws, en masse, are trying to devise a strategy, a plan, if you will, as to what I should do. We're looking into a couple other places, but who knows, right now. Certainly not me. And I'm the person all this is for. So if I don't know, who does, right?
Eh, but life must go on, I suppose. I'll keep everyone posted as the continuing saga unfolds...
It's like a freakin' soap opera.
GRRRRRR.
Whitney
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
A Nice Lil' Short Update...
Hola!
So, since my last updates were so far apart, I'm trying to do better. And because today is my day off, I figured I'd sit here and update this puppy. Life at the Bradshaw house is still in a relative state of normalcy, I guess... if you want to go so far as to call our family normal. Dad got a whole 30 seconds of fame (or less) on TV (only because he was at the church when one of the congregation was recognized by News Channel 5). In other news, Dad has a class next week out of town, so the Bradshaw girls will be rocking the house. Yup, that's right, just me, Mom, and Allie (well, and technically Bandit, but he really doesn't count) for the whole week. Some say we'll be doing good if we manage not to kill each other by the end of the week... I say it won't be that bad. We all get along, most of the time, and we usually enjoy each others company. Hopefully, maybe, we'll get to do something fun at some point; we usually try to at least once a week.
The biggest news, I suppose is that the entire fam is preparing for the Easter worship service/musical on Sunday. Everybody's singing, Dad's doing the speaking thing and communion. There may be dancing... I doubt it, but you never know with us. We can be a little wacky that way. The bottom line for all of this is that if we're not here at the house or at work, we're most likely singing the litany of music for Easter... we've got three practices this week. This may seem a bit much, but, well, that's the way its gonna be.
Other than that, our lives are pretty boring. Life's good. Sun is warm, grass is green... -ish.
Ciao, bella!
Whitney
So, since my last updates were so far apart, I'm trying to do better. And because today is my day off, I figured I'd sit here and update this puppy. Life at the Bradshaw house is still in a relative state of normalcy, I guess... if you want to go so far as to call our family normal. Dad got a whole 30 seconds of fame (or less) on TV (only because he was at the church when one of the congregation was recognized by News Channel 5). In other news, Dad has a class next week out of town, so the Bradshaw girls will be rocking the house. Yup, that's right, just me, Mom, and Allie (well, and technically Bandit, but he really doesn't count) for the whole week. Some say we'll be doing good if we manage not to kill each other by the end of the week... I say it won't be that bad. We all get along, most of the time, and we usually enjoy each others company. Hopefully, maybe, we'll get to do something fun at some point; we usually try to at least once a week.
The biggest news, I suppose is that the entire fam is preparing for the Easter worship service/musical on Sunday. Everybody's singing, Dad's doing the speaking thing and communion. There may be dancing... I doubt it, but you never know with us. We can be a little wacky that way. The bottom line for all of this is that if we're not here at the house or at work, we're most likely singing the litany of music for Easter... we've got three practices this week. This may seem a bit much, but, well, that's the way its gonna be.
Other than that, our lives are pretty boring. Life's good. Sun is warm, grass is green... -ish.
Ciao, bella!
Whitney
Monday, March 3, 2008
I know... a long wait...
Aloha!
No big news at the Bradshaw house. Allie is now 20... yay! Which really doesn't mean much to anybody, except Allie. Also, the Bradshaw yard is now beautified, thanks to mulch and fancy-shmancy edging. Still no word on the Emory front... I'm hearing now that I should know something one way or the other by March Madness... by which point, I, also, will be mad... Mad crazy, not mad angry (just as clarification). The biggest deal at the Bradshaw house, I suppose, at least for the siblings Bradshaw has been watching enormous amounts of movies (Thank you, Hollywood Video). As a change of pace, I'm going to do a little movie recommending... Please feel free to watch, or not watch... whatever.
Great movies we've watched recently:
- Sunshine (amazing sci-fi movie)
- Benny and Joon (an older Johnny Depp movie, but phenomenal)
- Secret Window (predictable, but, you know)
- Eastern Promises (okay, so, Russian mafia and male nudity aside, a brilliant performance by Viggo Mortensen)
- Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium (a movie nobody thought we would like, but that made Allie and I cry)
- Allie requested that I also add the Harry Potter movies (she's a little obsessed right now)
That's really about it. The Bradshaw house has been quiet... and we like it that way.
Ciao!
Bradshaws...
No big news at the Bradshaw house. Allie is now 20... yay! Which really doesn't mean much to anybody, except Allie. Also, the Bradshaw yard is now beautified, thanks to mulch and fancy-shmancy edging. Still no word on the Emory front... I'm hearing now that I should know something one way or the other by March Madness... by which point, I, also, will be mad... Mad crazy, not mad angry (just as clarification). The biggest deal at the Bradshaw house, I suppose, at least for the siblings Bradshaw has been watching enormous amounts of movies (Thank you, Hollywood Video). As a change of pace, I'm going to do a little movie recommending... Please feel free to watch, or not watch... whatever.
Great movies we've watched recently:
- Sunshine (amazing sci-fi movie)
- Benny and Joon (an older Johnny Depp movie, but phenomenal)
- Secret Window (predictable, but, you know)
- Eastern Promises (okay, so, Russian mafia and male nudity aside, a brilliant performance by Viggo Mortensen)
- Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium (a movie nobody thought we would like, but that made Allie and I cry)
- Allie requested that I also add the Harry Potter movies (she's a little obsessed right now)
That's really about it. The Bradshaw house has been quiet... and we like it that way.
Ciao!
Bradshaws...
Thursday, January 24, 2008
Allie is no longer complete... and other Bradshaw stuff...
Greetings!
So, the big news of the week is that Allie, bless her soul, is no longer whole. Tuesday, she had both of her top wisdom teeth cut out (tragic) without anesthesia (even worse!). She now has half as much wisdom, but less pain, so that works out, I guess. Anyway, her teeth had been hurting for awhile so it was actually a really good thing that she got them out. Now she has holes in her gums. They're healing, of course, but it's still odd. Good news, the pneumonia that has been plauging the author is currently abating (yay)! I am feeling better... even as Allie is in pain. Ya know, that's how life goes.
In other news... well, there isn't any.
Seriously, there is nothing going on. Nothing.
I just thought I'd drop a little note before Allie and I take off for a Disciple Now weekend in Winnsboro. Get to hang out with some people that I haven't seen for awhile, which is cool. Maybe I'll take some pics and post them when I get back. We'll see.
Later, all! - Whitney
So, the big news of the week is that Allie, bless her soul, is no longer whole. Tuesday, she had both of her top wisdom teeth cut out (tragic) without anesthesia (even worse!). She now has half as much wisdom, but less pain, so that works out, I guess. Anyway, her teeth had been hurting for awhile so it was actually a really good thing that she got them out. Now she has holes in her gums. They're healing, of course, but it's still odd. Good news, the pneumonia that has been plauging the author is currently abating (yay)! I am feeling better... even as Allie is in pain. Ya know, that's how life goes.
In other news... well, there isn't any.
Seriously, there is nothing going on. Nothing.
I just thought I'd drop a little note before Allie and I take off for a Disciple Now weekend in Winnsboro. Get to hang out with some people that I haven't seen for awhile, which is cool. Maybe I'll take some pics and post them when I get back. We'll see.
Later, all! - Whitney
Monday, January 7, 2008
I know... I know... Or, The First Bradshaws' Stupid Statements
Okay, so I realized, thanks to my sibling, that we haven't updated in forever.
In that vein, I have decided to initiate the official Bradshaws' Stupid Statements. Pretty much everybody knows that we aren't the brightest bulbs on the tree sometimes, while other times, well, we're just plain dumb. We don't say smart stuff sometimes, but we are pretty dang funny when we're stupid. Other people laugh, we laugh, fun is had by all at our expense.
I give you the Bradshaws' Stupid Statements of the moment.
1. "Um, the soups of the day are potato and mine-strone soup." - So Allie and I went to dinner because, well, we were hungry and we'd worked all day. Allie picked Fatz, and off we went. While trying to decide what we wanted to eat, Allie was perusing the soups of the day. I casually asked what today's soup was. She replied, in all seriousness, "Um, the soups of the day are potato and mine-strone soup." Yes, that's right, mine-strone. Two syllables, pronounced like they're written. Mine. Strone. All I could do was look at her and ask, "What?" To which, she repeated, "Mine-strone." So now, minestrone soup is Mine-Strone.
2. "Make sure to dust the leafplants." - We had house cleaning day at the Casa Bradshaw the other day. Mom was working on the bathroom, while Allie and I were dusting and glass cleaning our little hearts out, and Dad was... well, not sure what Dad was doing. Mom calls from the bathroom, "Don't forget to go around the ceiling fans with the long duster. And make sure to dust the leafplants." Allie looked at me; I looked at Allie. Confusion was everywhere. I hesitantly replied, "The leafplants?" Mom poked her head out of the bathroom, leveling a glare at me, "Yes, the leafplants. Get them with the duster, too," before turning back into the bathroom. Leafplants... right...
3. "It's queso." "That's Spanish for cheese." - The Bradshaws were congregating at church after a service one Sunday night, trying to decide what to eat, a normal post-church occurance. I say that I want Zaxby's but that I really wish I could get cheese with the fries because I'd been craving cheesefries. I'd sortof resigned myself to the fact that no cheese was going to be had at Zaxby's. Dad states that we have cheese sauce at home, that we could heat some of it up. Allie looks at us and says, "It's not cheese; it's queso." Dad meets her gaze and states, "That's cheese... in Spanish." Rack up a point for my sister... who was currently taking Spanish at the time of the incident.
4. "...in dark, enclosed spaces." "In the dark." - So, to preface this, I am claustrophobic, and mildly unhappy in the dark, not scared per se, but unhappy. Mom was describing to my grandparents and uncle a ride at Disney World, Mission: Space, which supposedly simulates a space takeoff. During her description, she made the statement that it wasn't bad if you were okay with dark, small, enclosed spaces. To reiterate one of my issues with the ride, I emphasized, "In the dark." Yup. I'm not a winner. I don't like the dark, or small, enclosed spaces. What can I say?
5. "Hey, buuuuddy." - For New Years, Allie and I babysat. That's right. We have no life. She decided that, because she had not seen Spiderman 3, we would watch it. Settling in, she quickly got bored, no great surprise there. The third movie sucked, by the way, had anyone not seen it. Anywho, about oh 45 minutes in, James Franco's character, Harry, gets amnesia, not so funny, right? I guess it just struck us funny or something, because the first words out of his mouth were, "Hey, buuuuddy." We erupted in laughter... and proceeded to stop the movie... because it sucked.
Okay, that's enough for right now. More to come later. Enjoy our stupidity.
In that vein, I have decided to initiate the official Bradshaws' Stupid Statements. Pretty much everybody knows that we aren't the brightest bulbs on the tree sometimes, while other times, well, we're just plain dumb. We don't say smart stuff sometimes, but we are pretty dang funny when we're stupid. Other people laugh, we laugh, fun is had by all at our expense.
I give you the Bradshaws' Stupid Statements of the moment.
1. "Um, the soups of the day are potato and mine-strone soup." - So Allie and I went to dinner because, well, we were hungry and we'd worked all day. Allie picked Fatz, and off we went. While trying to decide what we wanted to eat, Allie was perusing the soups of the day. I casually asked what today's soup was. She replied, in all seriousness, "Um, the soups of the day are potato and mine-strone soup." Yes, that's right, mine-strone. Two syllables, pronounced like they're written. Mine. Strone. All I could do was look at her and ask, "What?" To which, she repeated, "Mine-strone." So now, minestrone soup is Mine-Strone.
2. "Make sure to dust the leafplants." - We had house cleaning day at the Casa Bradshaw the other day. Mom was working on the bathroom, while Allie and I were dusting and glass cleaning our little hearts out, and Dad was... well, not sure what Dad was doing. Mom calls from the bathroom, "Don't forget to go around the ceiling fans with the long duster. And make sure to dust the leafplants." Allie looked at me; I looked at Allie. Confusion was everywhere. I hesitantly replied, "The leafplants?" Mom poked her head out of the bathroom, leveling a glare at me, "Yes, the leafplants. Get them with the duster, too," before turning back into the bathroom. Leafplants... right...
3. "It's queso." "That's Spanish for cheese." - The Bradshaws were congregating at church after a service one Sunday night, trying to decide what to eat, a normal post-church occurance. I say that I want Zaxby's but that I really wish I could get cheese with the fries because I'd been craving cheesefries. I'd sortof resigned myself to the fact that no cheese was going to be had at Zaxby's. Dad states that we have cheese sauce at home, that we could heat some of it up. Allie looks at us and says, "It's not cheese; it's queso." Dad meets her gaze and states, "That's cheese... in Spanish." Rack up a point for my sister... who was currently taking Spanish at the time of the incident.
4. "...in dark, enclosed spaces." "In the dark." - So, to preface this, I am claustrophobic, and mildly unhappy in the dark, not scared per se, but unhappy. Mom was describing to my grandparents and uncle a ride at Disney World, Mission: Space, which supposedly simulates a space takeoff. During her description, she made the statement that it wasn't bad if you were okay with dark, small, enclosed spaces. To reiterate one of my issues with the ride, I emphasized, "In the dark." Yup. I'm not a winner. I don't like the dark, or small, enclosed spaces. What can I say?
5. "Hey, buuuuddy." - For New Years, Allie and I babysat. That's right. We have no life. She decided that, because she had not seen Spiderman 3, we would watch it. Settling in, she quickly got bored, no great surprise there. The third movie sucked, by the way, had anyone not seen it. Anywho, about oh 45 minutes in, James Franco's character, Harry, gets amnesia, not so funny, right? I guess it just struck us funny or something, because the first words out of his mouth were, "Hey, buuuuddy." We erupted in laughter... and proceeded to stop the movie... because it sucked.
Okay, that's enough for right now. More to come later. Enjoy our stupidity.
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