Otherwise known as stepping outside of my comfort zone.

I don’t know how many people that read this know my husband (and I, kinda) started a Disneyland Resort centric website. Well, it really began with a twitter account. Jason and I were in The Golden Horseshoe one afternoon waiting in line for ice cream. While waiting, a woman near us was ranting about something, I can’t remember what her beef was anymore, but somehow that encounter turned into Overheard at Disneyland. You’d be surprised by some of the things you hear people say while visiting the parks. The twitter account has grown from 2 followers (myself and Jason) to 4733 users at the time I’m writing this.

It was really exciting when Jason and I weren’t the only people using the account to post things they’ve overheard. We’ve met a lot of great local people (and annual passholders) just because of the twitter account and website.

Anyhow, fast forward another year or so, and meeting fellow Disney fans, and the DLR Network (DisneyLand Resort) was born. Our goal is simple. To bring together true fan websites and create a hub where we can all link together and help each other grow.

Yesterday we had our first “TweetUp.” I have to be honest, I was so uncomfortable with the idea simply because I’m a bigtime introvert. And here’s my husband asking me to step out of my comfort zone and attend this thing. I didn’t want to. I really didn’t. But there was no way I wouldn’t go because it was important to Jason. He’d be seriously annoyed with me if I didn’t go. So I went. And I’m SO glad I did. I met some very cool people and participated in some really fun events.

One of the highlights for me was the Pirates of the Caribbean group ride. We somehow managed to stuff 22 or so people into 1 boat. The moment we left the dock and started passing the Blue Bayou, the entire boat erupted into an extremely loud rendition of Happy Birthday, everyone singing to Jason since his birthday was the day before.

We all did a Jungle Cruise group ride and a group picture on the Rivers of America. From there it was the Tiki Room and then over to Village Haus for dinner. At this point it was getting dark and some attendees were drifting away or going home. We were left with the guys from Days In The Park, Finding Mickey, OriginalD, our favorite castmember Jason and his lovely girlfriend Julie and Jessalyn’s newest ride buddy, Jenna   We spent quiet a while at the Village Haus chatting it up. After that we went over to Pinocchio so the little ones could have their turn on little kid rides. It was at this point I thought we’d lose the group from OriginalD. There were 4 of them. all college age, and I really thought they wouldn’t want to do kiddie rides. Turns out I was wrong and they rode Pinocchio as well as Casey Jr. Train. From there it was off to Big Thunder Mountain. Jenna convinced Jessalyn to go on the ride which she absolutely loved. By then it was late and we needed to get Jessalyn to bed. Jason and Jess really didn’t want to leave. Heck, I didn’t want to as long as the others were still there, but I had to insist we go home.

The day was absolutely Magical. Every single person I talked to, whether I met them officially, or just had a conversation with without ever getting their name was great. Everyone was really great. I stepped out of my comfort zone and I was gobsmacked by what an amazing time I had. I’m still basking in the warm fuzzies from yesterday. I absolutely can’t wait until the next TweetUp. I’m sure it’ll be even better than yesterday.

So for those of you that read this and were there, thanks. Thank you for making Jason feel special by singing to him, thank you for being awesome people and thank you for coming. I look forward to our next meeting.

I can’t wait to see where else this Disney adventure takes us!

A lot of year in review type posts have been going up all over the “blogosphere.” (Does anyone even say blogosphere anymore?)

To be honest, I can’t wait for this year to be over. We’ve had two first time ER visits, one for me, one for my son. I had my first broken bone ever, and my son squeaked by with no issues when he fell off his skateboard and hit his head on the street. Talk about a scary moment getting that call. And then there’s the “little” thing with my husband being laid off for the third time in 4 years. 2010 hasn’t been particularly kind to us. I’ve seen other people say the same.

My hope for our family in 2011 is that everyone stays healthy and OUT of the ER, and that my husband can get a good GREAT job. That’s the thing, he’d like something better than a job for the sake of having a job. However, we may be getting to that point anyway. Employment is proving to be very difficult order to fill. This is the longest he’s been out of a job yet, and it’s starting to get a little scary.

My hope for you is that 2011 is kind to you and yours. May you be blessed beyond measure.

To take my mind off of the things we might not have this Holiday season, I’m going to spend the month of November being thankful for the things I do have. That means it’s time once again for the return of 31 Little Things.

As always, I’ll be posting an item or 2 each day. Most posts will contain a picture of something I’m thankful for no matter how silly or insignificant it may be. That’s why it’s called 31 Little Things. It’s all about the little things thank make life a little more pleasant.

And to start off the month, I bring you this:

This was a birthday gift from one of my dear friends. It’s the kind of thing you never buy for yourself but want. It’s one of those spinning K-Cup carousels for the Keurig coffee maker. Which is another thing I love by the way. Not only that, but I filled it with my absolute favorite coffee too.

What about you? Tell me or show me a picture something simple that brings you a lot of pleasure.

If you have a blog, feel free to play along for the month of November!

Donald “Butch” Herman Freeman 1947-2010

A few nights ago, my husband was on his genealogy kick and decided to do a search for my father. For years, we were never able to turn anything up on Google. This night was different.

He found an obituary for my dad.

Donald Freeman
A memorial service for Donald Herman “Butch” Freeman, 62, will be held at 11 a.m., Saturday, March 20, 2010, at the Anderson Clayton Funeral Home in Kemp.
Freeman was born July 1, 1947, in Center and died March 5, 2010, in Tyler. He fought a short but courageous battle with brain cancer.
Freeman was a faithful husband, loving father and a much-loved brother.
He will be greatly missed by his and his wife’s closest fishing buddies Ann and Joe Miles and a host of other friends and loved ones.
He served from 1968-72 in the United States Marine Corps.
He retired from Presbyterian Hospital of Kaufman March 2, 2007.
He and his wife Sarah, purchased the bait shop at Purtis Creek State Park but were forced to close when he became ill.
He loved his four-legged buddies “He-Boy” and “Hooter.” They were always by his side.
Survivors include his wife Sarah Freeman, Alba; daughters Jennifer Loggins*, Whittier, Calif.; Donna Lynn Freeman, Gun Barrel City; and Janna Freeman, Crandall; sons James Peavler, Alba; Jack Barr, Alba; and Charles Barr, Gun Barrel City; 14 grandchildren; two great-grandchildren with another expected in April; sisters Jimmie Hagle and husband Jim, Tundra; Maxine DeRossett, Canton; and Tommie Mooneyhan and husband Mike, Tundra.
In lieu of flowers the family requests donations be made to the Hospice of East Texas, 4111 University Blvd., Tyler, TX 75701.

I didn’t know my father well. My mother and father split up when I was a small child.

There are so many things I don’t know about my dad. How did he get the nickname Butch for instance?

I knew he liked fishing, but what else did he like to do? I don’t know anyone on that side of the family. I know I have step brothers. I have half sisters that I may have met when I was a child, but I know nothing about. I suppose I have aunts and uncles and cousins as well, but I couldn’t tell you how many or anything about them. I have a huge hole in my family history that I’d really like to fill in.

He had 3 grandchildren he never had a chance to meet. I wonder if any of them were counted in the obit where it said he had 14 grandchildren. They knew about my oldest, and I’m pretty sure about my son. I’m fairly certain no one knew about my youngest. So maybe he has 15 grandchildren, or 17 depending on whether or not my kids were counted. That’s a lot of cousins my kids don’t know anything about.

I thought about my dad often. I tried sending letters and for a while, I would hear back. His wife Sarah would do the writing. That was ok with me. I was just happy to hear from them. After a while, my letters went unanswered. I didn’t have a phone number for them, so I did the best I could. I don’t know why I just stopped hearing from them. Any time someone wanted to contact me, they’d write or call my grandma’s house. When he passed, no one contacted me. I don’t know if it was because they didn’t know how, or they didn’t think to do so. I really hope it was the former.

The last time I spent time with my dad was in 1994. He came for my (first) wedding. I was really nervous about it because I hadn’t seen him in a very very long time. It turns out my anxiety was unwarranted. It was more comfortable than I could have imagined. We got along great. I just wish I had taken more time talking with him about HIM.

I didn’t know my dad. But now I’ll never have the chance to get to know him better.

I’m really hoping someone in my Texas family sees this and contacts me. We may not know one another, but I’d like to get to know y’all.

Daddy, you’ll be missed. Even though we had lost touch for the last 8 years, I thought of you often. I wish my kids could have met their granddaddy. I wish you could have met the man I’m spending the rest of my life with. Jason’s a good man and you’d approve. I know he would have liked to have met you.

I love you dad. May you rest in peace.

____

*I’m not sure why they named me Jennifer Loggins. I’ve never been a Loggins in my life. I understand they had no way of knowing I’m Tucker now, but why not just call me Freeman?

A well-known blogger just posted a link to a story she wrote when she first started blogging. She told a story about going to a restaurant in LA when she was a student at a well known college in LA. A famous actor there and she approached him for an autograph. He asked for her address and said he’d send her a “fan kit” instead. There were several people that commented on the post about how rude he was, presumably for not giving her an autograph.

There’s more to the story, but this is what I want to talk about. Was is rude of him to not give her an autograph? He was at a restaurant, trying to enjoy a meal out. In the blogger’s defense, she didn’t push him and beg for an autograph.

I don’t think he was being rude. I’ve only seen 1 “celebrity” in the “wild.” I use quotes because while he’s technically a celebrity, he’s also kind of icky. He’s well-known simply for his cheesy romance novel covers and also getting hit in the face by a goose while on a roller coaster. For the most part, I don’t go where celebs hang out. The exception to that is Disneyland. A ton of celebrities go there, but I haven’t seen one yet. Not even when they’re at the park the same day I’m there.

I can tell you that if my favorite actor was there, there’s no way I’d ever approach for an autograph. If they’re someplace trying to relax, enjoy a meal, spend the day with family or whatever, then why would I think it’s ok to intrude and ask for their signature. Wouldn’t I be the rude one for intruding on their time?

What do you think? Do you think it’s perfectly ok to interrupt someone’s dinner to ask for an autograph?

If you totally ok with approaching them, but they brush you off, do you think they’re being rude?

I’m not faulting the blogger for approaching and requesting. I understand a lot of people do this. I’m just tripping on the comments saying he’s rude for offering a fan kit instead of an autograph right then and there. In fact, I’d go so far as to say that he was pretty decent to offer it. He could have simply pulled a James Cameron and gone off on the poor young thing.

So what do you all think about the subject?

She had fun opening the box and looking at the goodies her grandma made for her.

And just for fun, I want to include something that totally brightened my day.

A few minutes later that little rainbow turned into this

Refraction via a reflector on Christian’s bike wheel. Love it.

This little parrot was just chillin in the road next to the parked car.

I wasn’t sure it could even fly, but after I snapped this picture, I tried to get a little closer and it flew off.

Jason bought a pack of glow in the dark stars and put them above Jessalyn’s bed. One of them ended up on the wall in our room.

——————

The weather has been pretty fantastic here for the past week or so. That means I’ve had the front door open a lot. Once again, something caught my eye.

This brightly colored leaf was suspended by a spider web and was spinning like mad in the breeze. Jessalyn thought it was the coolest thing since it looked like it was just floating there. I have to admit, I was pretty mesmerized by the leaf too.

I saw this crossword puzzle book while checking out the dollar section at Target. For some reason the picture on the cover makes me laugh.

And then yesterday while we were on our way back from the baby shower, We stopped at the Buddhist temple so Caitlin could take a picture with the HUGE Buddha out front. We didn’t mean any disrespect when taking this picture. We just really like this beautiful, pristine Buddha statue.