Out with the old and in with the New!

Here we are nearly at the end of one year and the beginning of another.

The run up to Christmas was a mixture of last minute shopping, present wrapping and catching up with friends. We finally got around to seeing friends Phil & Lauren who we had met for the first time during our visit to WDW this past Summer.  We had met during a WDW Radio Meet of the Month at Blizzard Beach and discovered that we only lived just over an hour away from each other!  It really is a 'small world after all'!

I then spent a few hours chatting with my good friend and podcast co-host Michelle as we recorded our second official podcast for the Disney Dream Girls podcast.  We talked Disney Dining plans and took a tour of the New Fantasyland at the Magic Kingdom...go on have a listen :) find us on i-tunes and subscribe for future episodes!

Christmas Eve is a special day in our house as it's our eldest's birthday so to celebrate we had a trip to the local cinema where we divided and conquered...the boys saw the next installment of The Hobbit whilst us girls saw Frozen - which we both loved! Fabulous music, beautiful storytelling and enchanting animation; a winner all round.  We finished the day off with a gigantic chocolate cake!

Christmas Day was a day for family as we all came together to celebrate the season, exchange presents and eat too much food.

Our Boxing Day (for any non-British out there this is what we call the day after Christmas Day, it has its origins in days of old when servants who had to work Christmas Day would be allowed home the following day carrying boxes of gifts)...anyway this Boxing Day we jumped in the car and headed a couple of hours South to see some more friends made through our love of Disney to partake in a BBQ!  Yes that's right a BBQ in the middle of Winter...thankfully the food was brought inside to eat so we all stayed nice and warm. A big thank you to Mark and Tara for providing the hospitality, food, drink and Disney based games :)

The last few days have been a lot quieter and have given us all the time to relax and chill out and enjoy a few days not doing very much at all!  Although Michelle and I did manage to get together to chat all things Disney and prepare for our next podcast, I even had a few lessons in audio editing!

And that brings us to today...New Years Eve...and the end of 2013.  We have an evening planned at my best friends New Years Eve party which should be an evening of fun, laughter, food and drink and I can't think of a better way to see one year out and another year in than spending it with people you love and care about.

I don't know what 2014 will have in store but I do know one thing it will be shared with friends and family who mean the world to me.  So wherever you are I wish you all every happiness for the year ahead, I hope the year is filled with dreams come true and spent with those you love - see you in 2014 and whatever it may bring xx

Goodbye 2012 and Hello 2013

As we get ready to see the old year out and the new one in I thought I would take the time to reflect and look forward.

After a couple of years mulling over various ideas 2012 saw me finally pluck up the courage to get my very own blog up and going.  My chance to share with all of you my thoughts about Disney, my vacation planning journey and my adventures into the world of running!

And talking of running, 2012 saw me put on a pair of trainers and get out for a run - well more like jog-walk-jog! - but after a shaky start back in April I eventually built up to a 25 minute run (about 2 miles), which I was really rather pleased about.  However, the onset of cold (and very wet) weather plus dark nights has seen my running come to a stop...but only a temporary one, I am determined that 2013 will see me out and about again.  Now armed with cold weather running gear (thanks Simon!) I have no excuses and need to get back out there and get moving - I shall keep you informed of my endeavours.

The power of Disney and the internet has opened up a 'whole new world' this year and introduced me to new people, new friends and new communities, for which I am very grateful.  It is good to know that there are so many people out there that have the same silly obsession as I do :)

So as we look forward to 2013 I already have a few things planned - a WDW Radio UK Fan Group meet up, friends getting married and as from tomorrow I will be able to say 'this year I'm going to WDW', so lots to look forward to and plan for, bring it on!

Happy New Year!