Dec 15, 2014

Expedition Everest Challenge On Sale Tomorrow | Mickey Monday

Bonus Mickey Monday post because it's that time again. Yes, it's time to register for runDisney. Next on the runDisney sale schedule: Expedition Everest Challenge in Walt Disney World. This is one of the more unique races held each year. It's a 5K obstacle adventure plus scavenger hunt. The race is held at night where you take on a 5K course with (simple) obstacles such as tires and hay bales. After the completion of the 5K, you must solve some riddles in a scavenger hunt style challenge to finally earn your truly unique compass medal.


That enough makes it worth trying out once. You won't find other races like it (or not that I've seen at least). However, you won't seen any like it at all after this year. After the many rumors that the race was going to be dropped last year, the word is official that this is the final year for the Expedition Everest Challenge. This is a real bummer because there's no way I'll be able to make the trip this year, and I had really hoped to earn it some day. Maybe it will be replaced with something equally special the following year. Maybe something geeky for the east cost to balance Avengers and Star Wars in California. Only time will tell. In the past, there has also been a "family" race during the day and a second race at night. This year it looks like there is only the night race, so take that into consideration.

Registration opens tomorrow, Tuesday December 16 at 12 noon. This race traditionally doesn't sell out as fast as other runDisney events, but whole knows what effect the "final" status and single race will play on registration.

Who's registering?


Bonus Linkup




 Image credit: runDisney (email) and runDisney.com

The Osborne Family Spectacle of Dancing Lights | Xmas@WDW | Mickey Monday

Welcome back to another edition of the Mickey Monday linkup: the linkup centering around a love for Disney, sharing that love and connecting with others. I hope this linkup will become a great place to turn to for Disney content each week and help all the bloggers participating out by helping readers find that great mouse-eared content. I'm co-hosting with Katie from Adventures by Katie, so of course check her blog out.

After my "oops week" last week, I'll be continuing my look at Christmas in Walt Disney World. Last time I went off the main path by looking at the gingerbread house at Disney's Grand Floridian Resort & Spa. This week, I'll be looking at a "spectacle" that's a little larger. This week I'll be talking about...


The Osborne Family Spectacle of Dancing Lights

In a recent Friday Five, I mentioned my love of Christmas lights. The largest display I have ever seen is easily those found at Disney's Hollywood Studios. The official page describes it as a "holiday extravaganza will thrill you with dazzling displays, delightful music and sheer magical magnitude!" That's not just marketing speak, it's true to what you see. The display actually began as a single family's display at their home in Arkansas. Every year, the display grew and grew until in 1995 Walt Disney World offered to become the permanent home to the exhibition. It's an absolute site to be seen, a magical display put to music unlike any other. It really can't describe it with mere words. So instead, here are some pictures to admire.

Mickey and Santa, pals in the magic.

Angels we have heard on high...

Shiny

The lights are all around you.

All around and everywhere.

Even that imagineer touch of hidden mickeys.

Hope you enjoyed the pictures. If you did, go see it in person. These pictures don't do it justice.

Do you enjoy Christmas lights? Have you ever seen the Osborne Family Spectacle of Dancing Lights?


Onto the Linkup

Here are the guidelines:

The post just needs to be about anything Disney related. There have been posts on runDisney, on the parks and even on the Moms Panel, so just give it some Disney and count it.

New posts are fantastic, but for now, if you have a great old post you want to share, drop it on in.

Try to visit as many of the posts that you can as time allows. The point of this is to share and support each other.

If you're going to be a regular, please link back to the host posts. It's just good etiquette and frankly, that's how others will get to your fellow Disney lovers content. Without that link back, they can't find the linkup and therefore the other blogs. Help me help you.

You also have the option to add the linkup code to your post if you'd like. It is not required, just another option. If not, please follow the above link back guideline. Get the InLinkz code

Have fun. Be a kid. Enjoy.


Dec 14, 2014

FruitBreak VoxBox Review

I recently received a product to try out on my taste buds. I receive a Buddy Fruits FruitBreak from Influenster. The product I received was a fruit pouch, much like the ones my daughter used to always enjoy, only this one is geared towards more than just children. The packets are 100% fruits, so they're very healthy. They're package up as an easy grab-and-go pouch: easy to store, easy to grab, easy to eat. My "squeezie" consisted of blended superfruit with raspberry and cranberry.

How did it taste?

Myself, my wife and my daughter all tried out the pouch. We all thought it tasted pretty good. My wife found the texture to be "different". The first time I had a pouch like this, the texture weirded me out a little. This time, it didn't bother me as much. The flavor was pretty good, but a little tart. It wouldn't be bad as a once and a while snack. To eat pouches often, I think I would need a different flavor. I do have to say the best demonstration on how it was can be shown by the empty scrunched packet at the end.

Final thought

In the end, I enjoyed the pouch. It would be and easy and convenient snack, stores longer than whole fresh fruit and a healthy fuel. I can recommend giving them a try and will consider trying out some of the other flavors as well.

Disclaimer: I was provided the FruitBreak for free to try and review from Influenster, but received no compensation for my review. All thoughts and opinions are my own, just like they always are.

Dec 12, 2014

Five Favorite Winter Activities | Friday Five

How quickly it became December. Even December is flying by. We're running head on into winter. In this week's Friday Five linkup we look at what to do in winter. This week's topic is

Five Favorite Winter Actvities

Five Favorite Winter Activities

1. Christmas Lights

I love Christmas lights: the colors, the glow, the site to see. I think they're beautiful. Ever since I was little, we always had a lot of lights on your house. My dad used the large old school C9 bulbs. He used to scour yard sales to find more. We also had the large plastic blow molds. A lot of them: a full manger scene, a parade worth of Disney characters, toy solders, candies, our own winter wonderland. As I grew older, I got to help more and more. As time went on, I even helped get the lights on the house to music. Not the overly complex ones you see on YouTube (you'd be surprised the amount of money that would take to do), but not a slouch either. I love seeing any and all lights I can. We just saw Winter Walk of Lights at Meadowlark and will go to the ZooLights at the National Zoo this weekend. If we're talking lights, we also can't forget to mention The Osborne Family Spectacle of Dancing Lights at Disney's Hollywood Studios. I even enjoy see lights down the street.

2. Grand Illuminations

Second is a celebration that has become a family tradition for my wife and I. Grand Illuminations at Colonial Williamsburg is held the first weekend in December every year. It includes the traditional decorations on the colonial houses, the candle lighting in all the windows and a fireworks display Sunday night. While you'd think their fireworks there may not be that spectacular, you'd be wrong. They are a really great display, done at three locations simultaneously. This also includes purchasing a cup to get us the unlimited cider I've mentioned several times before.

3. Stick to Your Ribs Foods

In a previous Friday Five I talked about "stick to your ribs, warm your innards to the bone" foods. I love those. Stews, soups, chili, anything in a crock pot. It may not be the best for you, but it tastes fantastic and is perfect for a winter's night.

4. Playing in the Snow

I've always enjoyed playing in the snow as long as I can remember. My daughter would always get excited to see snow, but last year was the first year my daughter seemed to really enjoy being out in that cold white stuff. After rolling around in the leaves with her playing this fall, I can't wait to do the same when it snows this winter. Bring on the cold white stuff!

5. Giving a Yeti a Shower

This isn't a literal item. I pulled this from the Phineas and Ferb Christmas Vacation episode. This is because I'm a sucker for Christmas movie and Christmas TV specials. Some of my favorites are the Home Improvement Christmas episodes, which also relates back to #1. We haven't broken out the DVDs to watch them yet, but intend to before the season is done. My favorite movies have to be White Christmas and the original Miracle on 34th Street (in black and white). My daughters favorite, along the same path as her Halloween choice, is Curious George: A Very Monkey Christmas.

Honorable Mention: Exciting News

I also got some exciting news yesterday, which could therefore be a "winter activity". Read more about it on my last post.

Linking Up

Check here for some links out to others sharing, staring with our three lovely hosts: Courtney, Cynthia and Mar. Check their posts (Eat Pray Run DC, You Signed Up for What?! and Mar on the Run to see the full set of links). I will add some others, usually randomly, as I read them to share the love. Go visit and keep reading!


Our hosts:

Mar on the Run

Eat, Pray, Run DC

You Signed Up for What?!



Dec 11, 2014

BibRave Pro Ambassador

I've already made the announcement on Twitter, essentially as soon as I got the email, but I wanted to formally share some exciting news:

I've been selected as a #BibRavePro!

What is BibRave?

What, you may ask, is BibRave Pro? Or BibRave for that matter. This is actually post I've had in notes form for a while waiting to be fully written (that may lend you a hint as to why I'm so excited to be selected). BibRave is a fantastic website, which they simply put it on the homepage as "Find & Review Races". It really is more than just a site to review races. BibRave is a fantastic site that feeds of the awesomeness that is the running community. It’s about sharing your experience so that others can find the best race experience to match their needs. You can discover new races and see how much of a challenge the course is, how well it’s run and if you like swag, how high quality it is. You get more information than you’ll ever find on the race page, direct from runners like you. You can check out all my reviews from my BibRave profile. And while you're there, why not create a profile for yourself and start reviewing races?

BibRave also runs #bibchat, a weekly Twitter chat on Tuesdays discussing a variety of running and race related topic. It's a great way to connect with other runners every week and have some great conversations. I've met several other runners that I talk to fairly regularly through #bibchat. The weekly chat also comes with the added benefit of the chance to win some great swag and products. Who doesn't like that?

What does BibRave Pro mean?

BibRave Pro is BibRave's ambassador program. I'll get the opportunity to work with and run some great races. I'll also help promote BibRave, which I frankly already do. I may even get some race entries and discounts to pass onto you. What it really means is some more great content for you. I plan to make the most of this opportunity and can't wait for what this year has to come.

Dec 8, 2014

Oops | Mickey Monday

Well, sorry about that. I did some traveling this weekend for a long weekend. If you follow me on Twitter, you may have seen some bits from the race I ran. While I was still going to be away, I had planned on still having Mickey Monday. However, Monday came without me realizing it was in fact Monday, and I never got my post out. That will teach me to not pre-write and schedule. One thing you can learn about me, I can have a bad memory sometimes. For any of you that came looking for Mickey Monday, I apologize.

Mickey Monday will return next week, same mouse time, same mouse channel.

In the mean time, I'm still going to add a link up for anyone who wrote posts this week. You can add it to your post as well if you like. If you do add your Disney related post, I'll be sure to give it some promotion for forgetting this week. Get the InLinkz code

Have fun. Be a kid. Enjoy.


Dec 5, 2014

Five Favorite Running Stocking Stuffers | Friday Five

It's early December. That means Christmas is coming but also mean it's time for St. Nicholas day. You may not be overly familiar with this one, but it is one we've always celebrated in my family. It's a very orthodox / European sort of thing. We actually would go see St. Nicholas at my grandmother's, not Santa Clause. If you need some education on St. Nicholas, there's a good VeggieTales on the subject that I watched on Netflix with my daughter the other night. In this week's Friday Five linkup the topic Friday Favorites. The basics of St. Nicholas day is he is a gift giver (the basis for Santa Claus) and children would leave hay and carrots in their shoes as a gift to his horse, and he would leave a present. In our family, it boils down to your stocking being filled. St. Nicholas Day is tomorrow, so this was a very long introduction to get to my topic this week. This week's topic is


Five Favorite Running Stocking Stuffers

1. BondiBand

First on the list is one of my favorite items that I wear each run, a BondiBand headband. It works great to keep the sweat out of my eyes and off my face without getting hot where it is trapping heat. It worked fantastic for me all summer. They come in a ton of colors and even with designs, to fit whatever outfit you have for that day or race. They also offer a ton of other products on their site including sweat wicking hats perfect for the winter running (including ones made for pony tails and pig tails), arm sleeves, neck gators and even stuff for the little ones.

2. Nuun

Second is something I drink after every run, Nuun hydration. It's important to always hydrate, even on cold runs. I prefer to hydrate with more than just water, but things like certain alligator named sports drinks are too heavy and contain extra stuff I don't necessarily need. Enter Nuun, a simple tablet you drop in your water to add flavor, electrolytes and vitamins. If you're like me and like that extra boost, they have a version with caffeine, Nuun Energy. They even offer an All Day blend made for giving you something tasty and healthy to get through the work day.

3. Race Day Energy of Choice

Next throw in their race day energy of choice. I enjoy a Clif Bar pre race and for my long races, GU Gels during. I also don't use them regularly, but ENERGYbits are FANTASTIC as well. The smell isn't great, but their output is. I love being #poweredbybits. There are plenty of options and everyone has their own preferences, so find out what they like and throw it in there.

4. ProCompression

I love compression. My personal brand of choice is ProCompression. I love their sleeves and own several pairs. Their socks look fantastic and they even come in several lengths, including shorter ones that don't offer calf compression, if that isn't your thing. So why not stuff the stockings WITH stockings?

5. Gift Certificate to your Local Running Store

Lastly, when it won't quite fit in a stocking, make it a gift card. This way, they can pick out exactly what they want. In addition, get one for your local running store (my local shout out is for Potomac River Running). They'll generally offer all of the above, as well as safety gear, clothes and shoes.


And finally, for your Friday enjoyment, I'll leave you with the full version of the above. Oh my gawd, shoes! (NSFW language. Use your headphones, people)


Linking Up

Check here for some links out to others sharing, staring with our three lovely hosts: Courtney, Cynthia and Mar. Check their posts (Eat Pray Run DC, You Signed Up for What?! and Mar on the Run to see the full set of links). I will add some others, usually randomly, as I read them to share the love. Go visit and keep reading!


Our hosts:

You Signed Up for What?!

Mar on the Run

Eat, Pray, Run DC