Fun Things You And Your Family Could Do This Weekend*

Do you wish you and your family spent more time together? Well, we’re a bit guilty of becoming absorbed in our own worlds from time to time, if we’re being honest with ourselves. We all lock ourselves away in our rooms and catch up on the shows we want to see or message our friends rather than simply arranging a catch-up with them in person. It’s a sign of the times. Still, let’s not be negative here - there’s a way to reconnect with your family and loved ones if you just set aside a chunk of your time for socializing. Why not do something fun with your family this weekend? Here are a few ideas.

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Go to your local park

Why spend a lot of money going out and having fun with your family? That’s probably the reason you go out so infrequently in the first place; you always assume it has to cost a lot of money. But going out can be free if you’re just smart about the way in which you do it. And visiting your local park doesn’t have to cost a thing. At the same time, there are countless fun things that you and your family could do at the local park without spending a thing. You could play a game of Capture The Flag, for example. Or if you’d rather not cause arguments through a competitive team-based game then you could bring a Frisbee or a few kites for some entertainment. The list really does go on.

Do some baking

Of course, you don’t have to leave the house this weekend if you and the family want to have fun. You could do some baking. It’s a simple activity, and it produces a delicious result. Still, even if your baking doesn’t produce a delicious result, that’s not the important thing. As long as you and your family are having fun by trying (and perhaps failing) at a new activity together then you’re going to have a great weekend.

Start watching a new TV series

TV isn’t evil, despite the fact that we’re constantly told to avoid technology and enjoy the “real” things in life. Obviously, it’s nice to get outside once in a while, but that doesn’t mean you and the family can’t have fun simply by staying at home. Technology isn’t so bad when you let it bring you and your loved ones together, and there’s no better way to do that than to watch a TV series together. Do you struggle to get everybody to relax in the same room? Well, once you’re all hooked on a new show and you’ve agreed that you can only watch it together, it’ll be impossible to stop everyone from gathering in the same room to catch up on the latest episodes.

Of course, agreeing on the TV series that you and your family are going to watch can be a nightmare. Avoid the hour-long argument and agree on something that you’re all going to enjoy. You should choose a style of show that’s appropriate for every member of the family. You could check out Naruto, as that’s a classic anime with storylines that appeal to both younger and older audiences. You should also get a Netflix subscription because there are heaps of binge-worthy shows on there, and the selection is updated every week, so you’ll never run out of things to watch as a family.

Make some plans for the future

Obviously, you don’t want to waste your entire weekend sitting down and making plans; you want to get out there and start living so that you and your family can spend your time having fun and making memories. However, you could have many more happy weekends and bigger breaks in the future if you just sat down as a family and made some plans. You could decide where you want to go on vacation this year, for starters; it should be a family decision, after all.

You could even agree to start an annual tradition, such as going to Comic-Con every year. If you have family events that you love to do together on a regular basis then you’re going to have fun weekends well into the future. Why stop at this weekend, after all?

You and your loved ones should be spending time together and making memories every time you have free time. The point being made in this article is that you don’t need to wait for the summer or winter break in order to have fun with your family. A weekend is just as good a time as any.

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*Collaborative Post

Disney World Florida Tips & Tricks!

Back in December, I shared my fave Disney World Florida attractions, and I wish I could have mentioned them all, but those were the faves - even though the list is long already! I visited back in September for my birthday, and we spent 8 days, and 3 nights at the parks, so we got to do about 80% of what was there, excluding children's only attractions. Today, I thought I'd share some tips I picked up during my visit to Magic Kingdom, Animal Kingdom, Epcot, Hollywood Studios, and Disney Springs!

First Time Badges
We knew about these before we left, but I had trouble tracking them down in the stores - and the day we went, Magic Kingdom was HEAVING with people at the customer services, soooo, where did we find ours? Most of the stores have them, but we got ours from the Froniter Trading Post, near the Country Bear Jamboree. The lovely Savannah let us all have the first time badge - PLUS, I got a birthday badge too, for my 25th. You can also get ones for anniversaries, celebrations, and family reunion. Just grab a marker and write what you want on it for a personal touch.

Get there early
I cannot stress this enough to you all. I know this is repeated in 99% of tips and tricks posts, but this REALLY helps your day. Our first day at Magic Kingdom, we spent just over 6 hours there, and we got all of Tomorrowland, Adventureland, and Frontierland checked off our list. Plus, a few other rides here and there we were able to get on. There were a few we skipped due to being aimed at kids, but we managed all of this, plus food and a parade in that first day. Plus, early means way lower crowds than lunchtime, and most attractions were walk ons.

FastPass+
The new in-built add on for your park tickets in the FastPass+. You'll need the My Disney app for this to work, or you can use a FastPass+ booth at the parks. This means that if you stay on Disney property for your holiday, you can pick 3 rides to get a fastpass for, per day. If you're offsite, like us, then it's 30 days in advance. Due to the fastpasses, we managed to get on loads of rides. And once all 3 are used, you can pick and 4th.

Chevrolet Design Studio
At the end of Test Track in Epcot, there is a whole Chevrolet design studio for you to play in. You can race cars, design them, create adverts for them, etc. There's even a showroom for some new models of the make. BUT, my fave thing is the car picture booths. There were 4 cars set up before a camera that you access with your Magic Band or park ticket, and then you get into poses for 3 pictures. These are then saved to your memory maker if you have it.

Memory Maker & Photographers 
So Memory Maker is an addition add on you can purchase for $169 per person, to be added to the park tickets/magic band. This means you can get the Photopass photographers to take your pictures and this saves to your ticket, so you can have them on your phone, or print them out later. If you don't have Memory Maker, it just means buying each picture individually which can be pricey.
You can then save your pictures from the rides, meet characters and get to keep the pictures for later. These last for a month on the app before being deleted, so it's wise to download these at the end of each day to your device for safe keeping.

Cosmic Ray's Starlight Cafe
This is in Tomorrowland, just opposite the Speedway. This is a fast food location, and though it was around $50 for the three of us to eat, it has a beautiful view of the castle from inside. We managed to snag a table by the window both times we visited, and it was a perfect spot for a bite and a beautiful view.

Monsters Inc Laugh Floor
This didn't have a massive queue when we went, but it was so worth it. It's a digital performance with audience participation. The animation on the screen is all live and so is what all the character say. You may be picked on to be on the big screen, or to speak, so if you're not sure you want to possibly take part, then give this a skip.

Free Water
If you go to any quick service location and ask them for a free cup of ice water, then you're saving pennies. I personally didn't do this, but I saw a load of other people asking for this at Peco Bills and in the Starlight cafe, and they didn't have to pay for it! A free way to keep hydrated in the heat is a brilliant idea.

Avatar: Flight of Passage
 No matter how hard I tried, I could not get a fastpass for this ride, so we thought we would try and queue up on the day. Oh no.
Both times we went to Animal Kingdom, the line for this was between 4-6 hours. HOURS. I'd wait an hour maximum for a ride, so this was a no-go for us. If you're happy to wait, this is roughly the wait time you will be waiting for!
Hopefully when Toy Story Land opens this year in Hollywood Studios, more people will head there, and Flight of Passage's queue times will drop.

Meet Star Lord & Baby Groot!
This may move soon, but this wasn't so well signed, so you may miss this without knowing it's there! At the back of the One Man's Dream walk through attraction, there is a small area where you can get to meet Star Lord and Baby Groot! This had a wait time of 20 minutes when we stumbled upon it, so this was a nice surprise meet and greet!

Earl Of Sandwich 
In Disney Springs, there are loads of places to eat, but this location is a fave of mine. It's almost like a Subway, so if you're after a snack or a filling dinner, then this is the place to go. You can get healthy items, as well as mini pizza's and small sandwiches. This is at the far end of DS, over by Pin Traders and Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique.

Fantasia Gardens & Mini Golf
With your Disney tickets, you get a free game of Mini Gold at Fantasia Gardens everyday between a certain time frame. This is a great attraction for an hour or so, and it's where we went on the day we flew home. This was a fun and relaxing hour of mini golf in the sunshine before going home. If you need somewhere to waste an hour, or if you really like Mini Golf, then this is a great place to go.

March Of The First Order
This march is on every hour between 10am and 3pm - however 1pm is excluded from this. Captain Phasma, from the newest set of Star Wars movies, leads her team of Stormtroopers up Hollywood Boulevard and onto the center stage before the Chinese theater, demonstrating the First Order’s skill set. This is well worth a watch for all Star Wars fans!

Those are all the tips I have for Disney World! Sorry it's so long, but there was a lot I wanted to mention, even if it's only helpful to a few of you. Hope these were helpful, and if you have any tips you'd like to share, please let me know for the next time I go! Hope you have a great day and keep safe :) 


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Top 10 RuPaul's Drag Race Lip Syncs!

Last year, I started watching RuPaul's Drag race for the first time, and it was honestly the best decision of all of 2017. I've become obsessed with the show, Ru's songs, the Queens, and even the slang. I was gagging for season 3 of All Stars to start, and now it's finally airing, I've decided to look back at my fave 10 lip syncs from the previous seasons!


Manila Luzon vs Delta Work
This is one I remember for the wonders of Manila's facial expressions! The song itself it hilarious - honestly, listen to the lyrics - and Manila and Delta performed this AMAZINGLY, but Manila deserved that win!


Nina Bo'Nina Brown and Valentina
'I'd like to keep it on please.'
This was a HUGE twist of season 9. I had Valentina down as my season winner before all this mask business!! Sadly, this is what happens when you don't learn the lyrics!


Alyssa Edwards vs Tatianna 
This lip sync gives me LIFE. The synchronized twirling, the outfits, the entire performance is one of my all time faves in drag race herstory. I've watched this more times that I will admit...


Jinkx Monsoon and Detox
I'm not a massive lover of this song, but the way Detox and Jinkx perfomed this lip sync was really memorable. Jinkx's grinding is one of the funniest things I've seen. And then Detox's jaw wiggles are one of the things I always think of when I see her name pop up on social media!


India Ferrah and Mimi Imfurst
I remember this one for all the wrong reasons - and it's made my top 10 list anyway. 'Drag is not a contact sport!!'
I still can't believe that Mimi picked her up like it was a wrestling match, but it's gone down as one of the most memorable moments in drag herstory for this reason.


Jujubee vs Raven
I cannot fail to get a bit teary-eyed every time I see this one. Juju and Raven were my faves of season 2, and then again in All Stars 1, but having to see them go against each other like this, was heartbreaking! I loved this whole performance.


Trinity Taylor vs Charlie Hides
I think we can all safely say that Trinity rightly deserved the win on this lip sync. I still can't understand why Charlie just stood there!! Even in her solo interview she said she'd just go home at this stage as she only sings live. Trinity killed this!


The Princess and Dida Ritz
Dida's dance to this is what I always think of when this song plays at work! I don't remember what The Princess does at all during this lip sync - she was very forgettable. Dida totally nailed this song.


Milk and Trinity K. Bonet
I thought the way Trinity performed this was true to the song, and captured the lyrics perfectly. Sadly it meant saying goodbye to Milk, who I really liked as her drag was a total different style to all the other girls.


Roxxxy Andrews and Alyssa Edwards
Who can forget this one? The whole thing was amazing. The wig reveal, the bus stop story, no elimination - amazing. This is another one that makes me weepy, as Roxxxy's story is heartbreaking, and I'm glad both queen's got to stay, as Alyssa's my fave of season 5!



I really had to narrow my list down, but these are the ones I remember for the reasons above. If you're a fan of the show, what are your fave lip syncs? Let me know! Hope you have a great day and keep safe :)


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Orlando Holiday Diary: Days 7 & 8 - My 25th Birthday & Hurricane Irma!

I can safely say, I will never forget my 25th birthday for as long as I live.

I spent the morning opening cards from my friends and family, which we then put up in front of the TV. They lasted less that an hour there, before we opened the back doors and Irma's winds blew them all across the floor. In a slight huff, I threw them into my suitcase and didn't look back at them all week.

We had spent most of the first week of our holiday knowing Irma was coming our general direction, but Saturday afternoon they knew it was definitely going to hit the coast of Florida. The hopes at this point were that all the weather and news channels were predicting it was going to hit Miami/Key West, and then Irma would head away from central, and go out into the sea. Well that didn't happen!

Instead, early Sunday 10th September - aka my 25th birthday, they realised it was going to pretty much be heading up towards central Florida and Orlando. We were in Clermont in Lake County, literally a 10 minutes drive to Orlando, so we knew it was going to hit us directly. The news all day said the eye was going to be going over the East side of Orlando, but around 9:50pm, they said it was more West, so the eye would be right over us.

Me and my sister ended up sleeping in my closet, as the News 9 reporters has suggested this, just in case any window were to be blown out in the wind. It was very cramped and hot in there, but we fell asleep about 2am, which was about 20 minutes before the eye of Irma went over us.

The sounds of the wind and rain was honestly, the scariest sounding situation I've been in before. I won't lie, I was terrified.

It went right over us!! We're under the white arrow, next to the word Orlando

The next morning, September 11th, we woke up at about 5am, and had a quick look around the villa. There wasn't anything wrong that we could see in the pitch black, so we climbed into my bed and went back to bed. Irma had knocked out our AC and all power, so we spent the next 2.5 days without any power, light or AC!

The storm was at 185mph when in the islands, and was just under 80mph by the time it went over us. We were actually really lucky that we only got the ending of the storm, as the damage on the islands was soul crushing. Even now, some of the islands and Key West, are still destroyed and being repaired. I was scared enough with 80mph, and I cannot even imagine the 185 those people had to endure.

When day broke, the pair of us and Dad went outside to check out the destruction. The wind was at a strong 50mph now, so we were under strict curfew for the day, so we only got as far as the end of the driveway. Thankfully the only damages we had were a load of roof tiles come off, some netting around the pool ripped off, and the pool cover had  been blown into the pool and had some tears in it.

Overall, we were extremely lucky to have as 'calm' winds as we did compared to the Virgin Islands, and the surrounding islands. By the end of Monday 11th, we had been in the pool and played every single game in the villa. We ended up in bed at 8pm as it was so dark and we couldn't do much! Thankfully, the curfew was lifted at 6pm, meaning we would be allowed out of the villa on the Wednesday - yay!




The video above doesn't do the storm justice, nor is there any 'scary' footage, as no way in hell was I going near the windows or outside in the weather, so this is a pretty quiet vlog by all accounts. Hope you have a great day and keep safe :)


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