personal blog
As you know I encourage my kids to help with chores around the house when they are very young. Recently Cora took it upon herself to “help” load the dishwasher.
She took all the dirty dishes out of the dishwasher and put them in the sink, every last dish, including the silverware. She then took out the cup drawer and loaded all the clean cups into the dishwasher.
I must say I am impressed at her passion for chores and thankful she didn’t put the clean dishes on top of the dirty dishes.
I was recently interviewed by my friend Amy Bushatz regarding blogging and life as a military spouse. Some of you might not know that I started blogging five years ago when my husband deployed to Iraq. That family blog eventually turned into TheHappyHousewife.com and the rest is history.
You can watch the interview on the Spouse Buzz website.
Since you all asked for more details on my stay in Cinderella’s castle and I love talking about Cinderella’s castle here are a few more details.
The castle suite is equipped with modern technology but it is hidden from view. It even has wi-fi just in case Cinderella wants to update her Facebook status. 🙂 There is a castle phone and you can call anywhere in the United States for free. We all took turns making calls to our family and friends on the princess phone.
The castle has a fireplace that glows and the back of the fireplace lights up in a pattern. One of the patterns is a hidden Mickey. If you blink you miss it!
The suite itself is on the 3rd floor (I think) of the castle. It consists of three rooms, a bedroom, bathroom and sitting area. The suite isn’t very big, but it slept six people comfortably.
When you enter the suite you are in the bedroom. This room has two queen beds, small desk, nightstand, fireplace, television, table and chairs and one window.
You walk through the bedroom to the sitting area. This room has the most natural light and contains a pull-out couch, large wall sized wardrobe, television, and the stained glass windows that tell the story of Cinderella.
The bathroom has two sinks, a large tub, shower, separate throne room, and sitting area. It is off the bedroom.
Whenever we left the room to watch the Main Street Electrical Parade and the fireworks we came back to our beds’ turned down and covered with rose petals.
When you stay in the castle you get your own key. The key is just like all the other Disney Resort keys, except this one is white and it has the castle logo on it. I’m still carrying mine around. 🙂
After sleeping in the castle, although we only slept a few hours, we got up and had breakfast with the Princesses at Cinderella’s Royal Table. Anyone can dine with the princesses inside the castle, but you must make reservations months in advance as the restaurant fills up very quickly.
We were assigned another guide in the morning to finish our magical experience. While Steve was the walking encyclopedia, Michael was the Disney humorist. He told us funny stories about Walt and Roy Disney and gave us a behind the scenes look at Animal Kingdom. Even after we left the parks Michael had photos delivered to our hotel room and went above and beyond our expectations.
While sleeping in the castle cannot be purchased, if you have the money you can pay for a VIP guide like Michael or Steve. Amy wrote all about the VIP tour on her site, Mom’s Travel Tales.
A few more random things about Cinderella’s Castle Suite.
The suite was originally built as an office for Walt Disney not an apartment. Because Walt died before Walt Disney World opened in 1971, the suite was used for phone operators. After they outgrew the suite it wasn’t really used until a few years ago when they decided to create Cinderella’s suite.
The suite is not used for terminally ill children because once the park is closed there is limited access to emergency care. It would not be safe for someone with a life threatening illness to stay in the suite overnight.
Staying in Cinderella’s Castle Suite is sure to give you a bad case of I-want-to-tell-everyone-I stayed-in-the-castle-itis. The symptoms range from mentioning it in casual conversation to the grocery store cashier…. “I had the best fresh fruit when I stayed in Cinderella’s Castle” to telling your family the same stories over and over because you are so excited.
Staying overnight in Cinderella’s Castle was a once in a lifetime experience and our guide’s Michael, Steve, Sean and Kate made it truly magical weekend!
Last Friday my friend Andrea won a night in Cinderella’s castle. I was sitting at her table when she won and was thrilled for her! I assumed she would be coming back to the Magic Kingdom with her family and spending a night in Cinderella’s castle until I learned that she would be going there that night! I was truly excited for her, as she has three boys and I knew they would never want to do such a “girly” thing.
Later that morning I was sitting listening to the speaker and I received this message from Andrea on my computer:
I’m putting you and Amy down for tonight. You want to I’m sure, right????!!
It was all I could do not to squeal with excitement during the conference. I was going to be spending the night in Cinderella’s Castle!!!!!
I would say something about dreams coming true… but I honestly never thought you could even stay in the castle. We packed our bags that afternoon and at 4pm we met our carriage aka minivan.
Accompanying Andrea on the trip were Amy, Briana, Amanda, and Crystal.
Our driver Sean, started telling us about our evening. We would arrive at the Magic Kingdom and could do whatever we wanted. Ride the rides, hang out in the castle suite, shop, eat, it was up to us. We were assigned another guide, Steve, when we arrived through a back door at the Magic Kingdom.
We quickly learned that staying in Cinderella’s Castle suite was a pretty big deal. There is only one room in Cinderella’s Castle and you can’t buy it. The room is given away randomly throughout the year. In the Year of a Million Dreams they would surprise one family a day with a night in the castle. Now, the room is given away every two weeks or so. The Castle Suite has only been used 600 times.
I don’t think any of us knew what to expect when we started our castle experience. The rest of the day unfolded like a dream. Steve was a walking encyclopedia of Disney knowledge, he shared stories and pointed out little details in the park that I had never noticed before.
Steve was also our human “fast pass.” If we wanted to ride a ride, Steve would walk us in the back entrance and we would get right on… no waiting! It was amazing. On every ride Steve would share with us the story of that ride. Since Disney was built by movie makers and not theme park designers every single ride tells a story. It was fun to hear these stories and learn more about the people who built this park many years ago.
But, since many of you know a lot about Disney I’ll get straight to the photos. We took several hundred between us, so I tried to find some of my favorite, and some that give you the best “view” of Cinderella’s Castle suite. I’ll share in another post soon some of the Disney facts I learned from our guides.
Two of our amazing guides, Steve and Kate. They are standing in the lobby of the suite. Notice what time it is on the grandfather clock?
I’m sure you have seen these windows on the castle. Those are windows in the suite.
Same windows on the inside of the suite.
After you enter the lobby, you take a ride in the carriage to your room. When you step out of the carriage you are in a beautiful entry. There is a display on the wall with some of Cinderella’s favorite things, her glass slipper, crown, scepter, and three pumpkins, which were a gift from the Fairy Godmother, so she would never forget her humble beginnings.
If you look up in the entry area you will see several images from the Cinderella movie.
On the floor is a tile mosaic of Cinderella’s carriage. It is made of over 30,000 tiles including tiles made out of gold and silver.
Getting ready to go inside the suite.
Cinderella’s Bed. I bet you didn’t know she had a digital camera. 😉
There was a glass slipper for Andrea to take home.
White chocolate carriage filled with chocolate covered strawberries.
Telescope from Captain Hook, books on loan from Belle, and MacBook Pro on loan from the bloggers.
There are a series of stained glass windows that tell the story of Cinderella.
It is hard to get a good view from the caste suite since all the windows are stained glass.
This is the television in the suite. To turn it on you push a button on the magic wand. Tinkerbell flies across the mirror and it turns into a television!
The bath tub, notice the princess bubble bath.
This is the ceiling above the tub in the bathroom. The lights twinkle like the stars.
A glass slipper made from a towel waited for us in the bathroom.
Would you expect anything else in a princess bathroom? Yes, the toilet is a throne.
There are columns inside the suite. They are all decorated with the story of Cinderella.
The emergency exit.
The one thing that amazed me about Cinderella’s Castle suite and all of Walt Disney World is the attention to detail. I’ll be sharing more about that later this week, but I’ll leave you with one more observation. One of the first pictures in this post is a tile mosaic that is in the walkway of the castle. Thousands of people walk by it every day. Take notice the checkered floor pattern in the mosaic photo.
This is the floor of the suite, does it look familiar? It is the same floor as the mosaic! Nothing you see at Disney is an accident, it was all carefully planned by the Imagineers who designed this park. It was fascinating to learn about these details during our stay at the castle. I’ll write more later this week about our stay and the fun facts I learned about Disney!
Disney… at 2am, the only ones left in the park!
See more about our Disney Trips including tips & tricks for making the most of vacations to Disney. Having lived in Orlando for years, Disney is a way of life! 🙂
This blog is taking a break from its regularly scheduled content because tonight I will be sleeping here.
Yes, that is Cinderella’s castle, and yes, that is where I am sleeping tonight!!!!!
My friend Andrea won a night in the castle and she has graciously invited myself and a few other friends to join her. So tonight I will be sleeping in the Cinderella’s castle with Andrea, Amy, Crystal, Briana, and Amanda. Even though we are all adults we are giddy with excitement.
I’ll be back after the clock strikes midnight!
Photo credit: Intamin10
Cora decided to finger paint with yogurt….
While this post is specifically about blog comments, the advice can be used in life too.
We all remember the first time we got a comment on our blog. We wrote excellent posts, yet the crickets continued to chirp for days, weeks or even months. Then one day we got our first comment, only to be disappointed when you realized it was your Aunt Sally from Wichita! Finally, after a while we started to receive comments from non family members! This was thrilling until we got that first critical comment. Maybe the recipe flopped, or the coupon didn’t work for them, or they just didn’t like the idea, but nevertheless, they are upset and are letting you know in a not so nice way on your blog.
Last week we discussed how to disagree on the internet. This week let’s talk about how to deal with negative feedback on the web. Even if you have never received a negative comment, if you keep publishing eventually you will. You will never be able to please everyone all the time, so remember to be true to your voice and don’t write to make everyone happy. Eventually someone will disagree with you.
There are several things you can do when you receive negative feedback.
Many times we get defensive when we receive negative feedback, but often we receive it because the tone of the article makes it sound like our idea is the only way to do something. Saying things like “I feel, This works for our family, or I’ve found this to be helpful” helps create a positive debate. If you write a post claiming that anyone who gives their child a bottle of formula is a terrible parent you are probably opening up a big ol’ can of worms. Everyone’s situation is different so don’t act like there is absolutely only one way to do something. Often how you say something is more important that what you say. Â You can still be opinionated without being offensive.
Is the feedback coming from a friend, long time reader/ follower, occasional commenter, or a total stranger? Since you have different relationships with these people your responses will vary. If a friend leaves you a negative comment on Facebook you can pick up the phone and work it out quickly. If it is a stranger your reaction should be different.
Often times when we are upset our ability to read diminishes. 🙂 Read the comment several times to make sure you understand what the person is trying to say before you decide on a response.
Many times there could be a nugget of truth buried in a mass of junk. Try to weed through the junk and consider if any of the points the commenter is making could be valid. While it is hard to admit you are wrong, it is even harder if the other person is wrong too. Try to avoid the blame game and take responsibility when necessary.
Sometimes a comment is just rude and has no redeeming value at all. Delete these types of comments and don’t think about them again. Some people (in the internet world we call them trolls) lurk around the internet just to insult others. Don’t give them the satisfaction of getting published, delete.
Sometimes people have legitimate concerns, but their comment is so rude publishing it will cause “comment drama” on the site. Respond to the commenter via email addressing the concerns, but don’t publish the comment.
Proverbs 15:1 Â – A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger. I have heard numerous stories of bloggers responding to a harsh word with kindness and having the commenter come back and apologize for their comment or email. While you shouldn’t show kindness just to get a positive response, responding negatively almost guarantees another negative response.
Even if you are 90% right, apologize for the 10%. Occasionally people will comment and take frustrations out on you, even if it has nothing to do with you. While this is not excusable, you are only accountable for your actions, not theirs. So take responsibility if necessary and apologize.
Sometimes a direct email is an opportunity for a peaceful resolution. Remember, what is sent via email does not contain any inflection, body language or other non verbal cues. Choose your words carefully to help resolve the issue. I recommend contacting them privately rather than in the comments because responding in the comments can lead to more conflict.
A few states have passed cyber-stalking laws, so find out if you have any legal protection. Â If you are being threatened you can contact the authorities and have them handle it.
The larger your audience the more likely you are to have negative feedback from readers. Learn to shrug off the stuff that isn’t important. Don’t get offended if every single person doesn’t love your ideas. People are going to disagree with you, and some of them aren’t going to be polite about it. Learn to let it go, and don’t dwell on the negative.
photo by Chris Guillebeau
Life As Mom’s comment policy.
This post has been on my heart for several weeks. While my readers, even when they think I’m nuts, are polite and disagree in love on this site, I frequently hear from bloggers who have been hurt by comments or emails from readers. Often times it isn’t what was said, but rather how it was said. When writing we don’t have the benefit of body language or inflection in our voice to get the point across. Sometimes what was meant to be funny comes across as rude when typed instead of spoken.
I believe well meaning people are often misunderstood and can become involved in heated arguments because of a few words or capital letters in a comment or Facebook post.
So what happens when you read something on the internet that you don’t agree with? Everyone has a right to their opinion, but there is a way to share it with grace. Often times we get caught up in sharing “truth’ and forget that giving truth with grace goes a long way towards keeping the discussion friendly and respectful. And Bloggers- you can turn a negative comment into a positive experience (that post coming later this week).
There is nothing wrong with disagreeing with someone, but how you do it can make the difference between open dialogue and a nasty argument. While these suggestions are written with the internet in mind, many of them apply to real life situations too.
Before you leave a comment that is critical determine your motivation for commenting. Are you passionate about the topic? Are you a subject matter expert? Do you have experience in this area, or are you just venting/letting off steam about a particular subject a blogger is writing about? If you want to vent it is better to do it on your own blog, FB page, or Twitter account. Venting on someone else’s space isn’t very polite and usually doesn’t create a productive debate. If your comment can contribute to the discussion in a productive way (and I think disagreeing can be productive) then speak your mind, respectfully.
Before you leave a comment, send an email, or comment on Facebook consider how you would feel if you received a similar comment. Would it encourage you to rethink your views, change your mind, or just hurt your feelings? When disagreeing think of how you would like to receive feedback and let that be your guide.
This is probably the easiest way to share feedback. Most websites allow for comments and leaving one only takes a few minutes. When leaving a comment, remember that the person’s blog is their home on the internet. Be respectful. If you disagree with someone do it in a kind way. Share why you disagree and remember to try to leave some positive feedback too. If the blog you are reading is so off target that you can’t find anything nice to say, maybe it is time to stop reading that blog.
Also remember that things like excessive punctuation and capitals signifies strong emotion or even anger. Refraining from using these in the critical comments goes a long way.
If you feel very strongly about a topic consider sending an email rather than posting in the comment section. Often leaving a critical comment will incite the blogger’s friends to their defense and a large internet slug fest will begin. What’s the point? While some blogs encourage this type of debate, I see this happen far too often on blogs that try to encourage, build up, and help others. A comment war benefits no one.
An email is a good way to privately confront someone if you feel strongly about a topic. Perhaps the blogger will reconsider their post and even edit it if they have erred. The chances of this happening when corresponding via email are much greater than if you leave a public comment.
It’s not a good idea to leave a comment or send an email when you are fired up about something. Write the comment or email, save it and sleep on it. If in the morning you still feel strongly about the topic, submit it. You might find that how you feel in the heat of the moment is much different than how you feel when you’ve had a chance to think about it for a few hours.
There might be instances when someone posts something that does not work for you. Rather than commenting that their idea is the worst idea ever, share that it didn’t work for your family, but something else did. No blogger thinks their ideas work for everyone, and many enjoy hearing reader suggestions in the comments.
You probably wouldn’t walk into a neighbor’s house and tell them you hated their carpet and curtains, so don’t leave a comment with similar sentiments, unless they are asking for feedback. If you don’t like the color choice or design of someone’s site, keep it to yourself or stop reading.
There are millions of blogs to chose from, so if you always find yourself disagreeing with the author stop reading it. It doesn’t benefit you and wastes your time if you are just reading a blog so you can disagree.
If you are a frequent reader and positive commenter on a blog, a critical comment will probably not offend the blog author. Personally, I consider my long time reader/ commenters like family and find their comments helpful even when they disagree. This is because they have earned the right to disagree because we have a relationship (albiet a virtual one). Just like in real life, you have the freedom to disagree with your friends but you probably wouldn’t get into a disagreement with someone standing in line at the grocery store.
I often think people are more disrespectful on the internet because they feel there is a level of anonymity. Let me tell you, there isn’t. If someone wants to figure out where you live, work, your phone number, children’s school, and mother’s maiden name- they can. All they need is your IP address and email, which is listed on any comment you leave on the internet. In some states there are now laws against internet bullying and you can actually be sued for threatening comments. Obviously, this isn’t something that applies to my readers, but it is a good reminder not to get caught up in a comment war. It isn’t worth it.
If you wouldn’t share it over coffee to a friend it probably shouldn’t be shared over the internet either.
February is gone, can you believe it? Another month has passed in our FB 365 Project, did you take a photo every day? I missed a few days this month, which seems to be a routine for me now! There are days when I don’t have my camera with me and I end up going to bed and remembering I didn’t take a photo!
I did something I have never done before in February. I went to Disney World with the kids and didn’t take my camera- on purpose! I just decided I didn’t want to carry it around, so I left it at home. It was weird to not have it, but it was also nice to enjoy the day and not worry about photos. I did snap a few with my phone and this picture is my favorite for the month of February.
Nothing like a surprise trip to Disney World to celebrate your 5th birthday! I think the smile says it all.