How I spent my summer vacation...

I've already shared the Give Kids the World parts (here and here) of my Orlando trip -- I wanted to recap the "vacation" part of my trip, too.

I think I have already mentioned this, but I am a bit of a Disney nerd. My family didn't get to take many vacations, but when I was in middle and high school we took an annual trip to Orlando for as much Disney fun as we could squeeze in, and we REALLY cherished these trips. I took a bit of a hiatus from Disney parks for quite a few years, but I've been making up for lost time -- last week was my 6th trip to the World in two years. Hooray for Annual Passes!

I like how at Disney you're not an adult, you're just "10 or older"

What this means is that I don't feel the need to see and do everything on my trips. Our trip was scheduled during a fairly hot and crowded time of year, and my traveling companions (mom and brother) don't really have the same kamikaze attitude I do about touring. In general I just tried to go with the flow.

So, the highlights....

S#*t my brother says

"The other day I felt like going for a run and ran 11.2 miles in 97 minutes."


"I'm not sure if I could run a half marathon...though I did run 13 miles once when I was lost. So I guess I could."


"I really love running this 1 mile loop around the Boardwalk...so I ran it 10 times. I had to stop because I was getting a little thirsty." (This run took place around 3pm in the brutal Orlando summer heat)


"I had a great 5-mile run. I wish we didn't have to go to the parks, I could have kept going for another hour."

There's no place like home

And just like that, I'm home.

This morning at about 12:30am, I was back in Brooklyn following a fantastic vacation to Disney World. You might not have even noticed I was gone because of my sneaky auto-posts (ah, technology!) -- but while you were reading about Give Kids the World, cake, and dachshunds, I was in the land of sunshine and talking mice.

Vacation planning

This spring is flying by so quickly that I was surprised to remember that I'm going on vacation next month! Woo-hoo!

Where am I headed? Only the Happiest Place on Earth (my #1 vacation destination)!

Photo credit: Disney

We'll be there for about a week, doing all my favorite things: touring the parks, volunteering at Give Kids the World (more on that in another post), and eating!

Now that I realize my trip is so soon, I have begun doing a bit of vacation planning. Not creating itineraries or planning activities -- I've been to Disney a lot, so I have my plans down. The kind of planning I'm talking about is making sure I'm continuing to take care of myself (with good food and exercise) while I'm away. I have some good momentum going and I want to keep that up, and I know when I'm doing the right things just feel better -- and I'm going to need tons of energy for my trip! A Disney vacation is amazing, but it can really kick your ass.

So here's the plan...