*Pins and Needles of Excitement*

FORTY-FOUR DAYS!!! That's how many days I have until we leave for vacation!! All I have left to do is check in online, which should happen sometime tonight or tomorrow. An unexpected surprise that I get to look forward to? Magic Bands!!

The resort that we are staying at is testing them out in September and October!! I'm super psyched because I've been reading about these over the last few months and they are pretty incredible. After testing, if all goes well, these bracelets will be your room key, park ticket, Fast Pass and Dining Plan payment option. Right now, you have to carry your room key (or 'Key to the World' as it is called), for all of these things. The Magic Band basically makes it so you have one less thing to keep track of. I'm ok with the card, but this new gadget will be super fun to try out! I actually just found out tonight that our Key to the World can also be used at the various gift shops and will charge whatever credit card we have on file. Pretty cool! Also, if we get any souvenirs, a cast member will take it back to our hotel so we don't have to lug it around!! I doubt we will buy anything that would be too cumbersome, but seriously, these people have thought of EVERYTHING!

We have extended our trip by a day, which is SO exciting to me! We will now have an extra day for HARRY POTTER WORLD! *swoon* It means that we have to drive all night, but I can power through if that's what I have to look forward to! I am trying to fit in watching all of the older Disney movies before our trip (Jungle Book, Robin Hood, Pinocchio, Swiss Family Robinson, etc) because the kids have never seen them and because there are attractions/characters in the parks that are based on these films (also because I want an excuse to watch my favorite movies without being judged).


I feel like I should talk about work for a minute to tame this post down a few notches. ;) I am a Phlebotomist (basically I draw blood from patients all day) and I love my job! I love my patients, I love talking to them and hearing their stories. You would be surprised at what you can learn from someone in a scant 5 minutes. Some make me laugh, some make me want to punch the wall. Like one day, the adult daughter of a patient bandaged her mother's arm after I pulled the needle out (why? idk...I was about to do it myself), and after she bandaged her mother she said, "See? I could so do this job." That made me so angry! There is so much skill involved that you would never think of unless you had to do it. There is so much information to keep in your head, let alone policies, legalities and procedures. I just looked down at my tubes of blood, labeled them and smiled. That woman has no idea what we do all day. But through it all, I'm smiling and pleasant. I know I couldn't do it with out my 'Five Girls' that I work with. There are really 4 of us altogether...it's a long story. But these ladies are my pillars. They get me through the hardest of days. They are my voices of reason and support, my shoulders to cry on and the very things that make me laugh all day. And we do laugh SO much! Anyway, I hate needles, and I'm not the biggest fan of blood. But as long as the needle is pointed away from me and the blood stays in the tube where it belongs, then I'm ok.

Just for funsies, here is a picture of me and my mini-me at a Big Time Rush concert last month. She looks SO much like me and acts even more like me. It's a little scary, actually. She's super smart, funny, kind and generous (unless I try to take a bite of food off her plate at the Mexican restaurant here in town. Then she's stingier than anything!). She's my little buddy and I love her so much! I couldn't have picked a better girl to be my eldest child!

 

What things are exciting you this week??