Greetings, Mousketeers!
Are my ears on straight? Is my hair neat, smooth and clean? Is my pleated skirt just so? Are my bobbysocks straight and my patent leather shoes shiny and bright?
I hope so! Annette Funicello might have been the quintessential Mouseketeer, but I assure you, I was never been far behind.
I grew up on old Mickey Mouse Club and Wonderful World of Disney re-runs. That might have something to do with my never-ending love affair with all things MICKEY.
Which leads me to the subject of this very short post. I am off for a week’s vacation in the Caribbean. Since the weather here has suddenly turned cold and windy, it will be a treat to sip coconut rum drinks with funny little umbrellas while gazing out at the sparkling blue waters of the Caribbean. My last blast of summer, and what a blast it will be.
And how am I getting there?
The Disney Cruise Line ship, The Fantasy. Isn’t that the proper mode of transportation for any self-respecting ‘Mouseketeer Wanna-Be?’ Of course it is!
As Mickey, himself, might say, “Oh boy, Pluto! I can’t wait to step onto that ship!”
Actually, this is not our first time taking a Disney cruise. We took one to the Western Caribbean last October; we enjoyed it so much that this year we are sampling the Eastern Caribbean.
This means I will be without internet for the next week. OH NOOOOO!!! (Good thing I have those fancy coconut rum drinks with the funny little umbrellas to sustain me; otherwise, I would need a 12-step recovery program to deal with my inability to CONNECT with all of you.)
The past week has been pretty much a blur as I had to take care of things at work and at home so that I could go off on my Caribbean adventure. I don’t mind telling you that I’m exhausted already and I haven’t even stepped on the ship yet! Does it ever seem to you that you need a vacation to get over your vacation?
But I digress!
Because I’ve been so busy this week, I’ve gotten quite behind in reading all of my favorite bloggers. Please forgive me, folks! There are only so many hours in the day – and most of them have been spent cleaning the house so that the lovely people who stay with my dogs will have a reasonably nice environment for the week. The rest of the time has been spent ironing, packing, and generally going crazy with anticipation. Anyway, I hope to get caught up on my blog reading tomorrow while sitting in the airport.
But I couldn’t leave you guys without doing something nice for you! After all, that’s what Mickey would do!
So, I’ve asked my pal, Heather B. Costa (Trials of a Wanna-be-Published Writer) to guest blog for me while I’m drinking those funny little umbrella concoctions. Heather has agreed, and so next Wednesday you’ll want to check this blog out and see what she’s come up with. I’ve given her full rein to write whatever her heart desires.
Knowing Heather’s mischievous streak, I’m curious what she’ll come up with.
Whatever it is, I know it will be entertaining. She has a keen sense of humor.
Anyway, that’s it for now, folks! I hope you all have a wonderful week.
I’ll tell Mickey you said ‘hey.’ See you real soon, Mouseketeers!
Odyssey of a Novice Writer 
Have a great cruise, Kate! (Better you than me. All things Disney give me the heebie-jeebies. I think it’s those giant head costumes. They’re terrifying.)
Well, there you go, Adan! There’s the genesis for a tale on the high seas… the unfortunate demise of a too-syrupy mouse during a vacation with his grouchy business partner (who has a tendency to waddle like a duck…)
😉
It actually inspired a short story that I’ve started but haven’t finished about a desperate Disney princess and… I’ve said too much already, but I’ll be sure to let you know when I post it.
Try not to murder anyone off while on the cruise. If you cannot restrain yourself, then dump the body where it does not rise to the surface at an inopportune moment. Apart from that, have a great cruise and break – and see you back soon!
Ah, Gwen… you know me too well! I did have a few murderous daydreams while onboard, wondering the best way one might accidentally – and oh so gracefully! – push a man overboard…
I’m so far behind on my reading that I’m just now reading this. lol Hope your vacation is wonderful, Kate. 😊
Hi Kathy! It was lovely, but like Dorothy said, “There’s no place like home.” It’s good to be back. 🙂
Have a fabulous time, Kate 🙂 A Disney cruise sounds amazing. I look forward to Heather’s posts
Thanks, Cathy. You’ll appreciate this – I managed to get through Ken Follett’s ‘Edge of Eternity’ during my vacation – all 1,100 pages of it. Whew – no wonder I needed so many umbrella drinks! 😀
I know you enjoyed Heather’s guest post – she did an amazing job!
Wow, Kate, that’s some achievement! I’m sure the umbrella drinks helped 😉 I could relate to Heather’s post having friends over the pond myself.
Have a wonderful vacation. Sample those cool drinks and save those umbrellas. How else are you going to know how many you’ve had. 😀 ❤ ❤
Thanks, Gwen! I especially appreciated your tip about saving those umbrellas to track my liquor consumption throughout the week. I could probably put together a miniature Polynesian island based on the number of umbrellas I accumulated!
😀 😀 😀
I hope you have a wonderful time on the cruise, Kate, you certainly deserve it! 🙂
I think you may regret unleashing me on your unsuspecting readers and I hope that I don’t break anything while you’re away, although I have to admit that I am itching to press the big red button that says ‘DO NOT PRESS’, I figure playing with it just the once won’t hurt, will it? 🙂
I shall do my best to keep your wonderful readers entertained and if my post fails to do that I am quite happy to slip my dancing shoes on and do a little jig for everyone. If that fails, well….then the impressions are gonna come out! What do you think, should I do the dolphin or the duck first? 🙂
Well, I’m rather partial to the dolphin, but the duck ain’t bad, girlfriend! 😀
I want to thank you for guest-blogging for me last week. I loved your post – it got quite a few chuckles out of me. It was a window into the conversations that we often bungle our way through!
Seriously, Heather, thank you – I appreciated your filling in for me – and for not pressing that big red button! ❤
I managed to keep my finger away from the bug red button all week, see how disciplined I am? 🙂
You’re more than welcome re my guest-posting, it was a lot of fun and I was honoured you asked me! ❤
I’M SOOOOOO JEALOUS. Although, I am in Spring time here south of the equator. Have a great time Kate, and make some lasting memories.
🙂
Hi Staci – so Spring time for you! Yesterday morning in Pennsylvania it was a frosty 28 degrees. 🙂 Glad I had that last dose of summer to sustain me in the coming months!
Brrrrrr. Good thing. Hope your winter isn’t too brutal. But the cold is nice for Christmas. That’s what I miss here. I love the coziness of a chilly Christmas and fireplaces and all that. Here it’s HOT.
🙂
I will send a snow ball your way in a few months!
Hahahaha. I will probably need it by then to cool down.
🙂
Have a splendiferous time, Kate. Soak up the sun and rum! I too remember the Mouseketeers – was quite smitten with Bobby.
Bobby… he was a cutie! 😀 I love the word ‘splendiferous’ – describes perfectly the time we had!
Enjoy, Kate. Your Disney cruise sounds like a coconut rum drink dream!
Now a gentle reminder. I got our phone wireless bill from my dear wife Karen’s cruise without me that I’ve written about. She shut her phone off. But not the data gathering, I gather. Because that little sucker roamed off AT&T in international waters and on Maritime WiFi …
If you have a Smart phone, I’d go into settings general and turn off data gathering while you’re on the ship so you don’t get a little surprise a couple weeks after you get home.
Have a great time! I’m looking forward to reading Heather B’s guest work on Wednesday.
Hi Mark – I saw your comment before we left and I took your advice. Thank you! I had quite a few of those little umbrella drinks this past week (especially after hearing about the Ravens debacle last Sunday night…)
Glad you turned the roamer off, Kate. And used umbrella drinks to drown Ravens sorrows. Welcome home from Mickey heaven!
Oh! Eastern Caribbean! You’ll have so much fun seeing the islands! I’m so excited for you! And good food, food food 🙂
It was so nice, Susan! I liked the old city of San Juan PR very much – I think that was my favorite.
The worst thing about a vacation is preparing and packing for it, and then returning to all the letters/posts/e-mails/work awaiting your return. But don’t think about that – enjoy your cruise, your Disney and your umbrella drink. Cheers!
Oh, the emails! I don’t think the emails at work will match the amount on my personal laptop! (grin) It was daunting to see how many emails came through while I was away. GULP! 😀 (Where did I live my umbrella drink??)
Have a good break, Kate. I shall miss your responses to my little challenges, but shall try to find something for your return. If you pass Dominica, give them a wave for me.
Thanks, Keith – we enjoyed ourselves immensely. Back to reality now, however! 🙂 I look forward to seeing what’s been going on at Keith Kreates.
I was a huge Mouseketeer fan back when Annette and the gang were first doing the shows–saw them live at the Hollywood bowl–wanted to be one despite the lack of any discernable performing talent. Have a really great vacation!
Thanks, Willow – we had a great time!
Have a wonderful time Kate! 🙂 I look forward to lots of cruise-ship inspired fiction when you return!
In moments of Coppertone-infused drowsing under the afternoon sun, I must admit murder did cross my mind… once or twice… okay, more than twice! 😀 Moonlight, dark seas – and even darker deeds. Hmm…
This is fun Kate – enjoyed reading and explore the journey:)
Thanks, my friend. We had great fun!
Have fun, Kate! DCL is a blast, so be sure to do activities when you’re docked at Castaway Cay. Be sure to marvel when eating at Animator’s Palette – that restaurant was wonderful!
Hi Mark – we loved the DCL and have booked another cruise for next November. The Animator’s Palette was great fun – especially when they animated our poor cartoon attempts and we saw them dancing on the screen. 😀 We loved Castaway Cay.
Happy Sailing, Kate!
Ho ho ho and a bottle a rum (a day!)
Hi John, I do feel like I had a bottle of rum (a day!) – I do have a penchant for adult beverages! Had a great time, but it is always good to come home.