TechyDad | The Angel Forever

Category Archives TechyDad

Ultimate Blog Party Memories

Posted on April 9, 2012 12:00 am by TheAngelForever

It’s that time of year again! Yes, on Friday bloggers from all over will participate in the Ultimate Blog Party 2012, or UBP12 for short.

The ladies at 5 Minutes For Mom are inviting everyone to participate and share memories from past UBPs. I know I have been participating in the Ultimate Blog Parties for quite some time. I think I found them five years ago when I was very pregnant with my youngest son. It was a fun way to get to know new bloggers. Of course, as social media increased over the years, so did the number of people participating.

In 2010, the party had extra special meaning to me. It was the year that I really got into the spirit. I wrote my Ultimate Blog Party 2010 post, did lots of blog hopping, participated in Twitter events, and more. I had taken the year before off because of so many things going on at once. It felt great getting back into the swing of things. I had a great time meeting new friends and even wrote about it for the After Party celebration.

Of course, I would be lying if I didn’t mention that the 2010 party also is special to me for another reason. You see, I am sitting here typing away my post on the Grand Prize from that event. YES – I was the winner! Of course, the way I found out was pretty funny. I had gone to sleep early that evening because I was not feeling too well. I knew that the party was ending that evening, but was too tired to follow along.

I fell asleep, but when TechyDad went to go to check on one of the boys, I heard a text message (used to get Tweets via SMS messages) come to my phone. By this time, it was very late. Then, before I knew it my phone kept beeping, beeping, and more beeping. The Tweets were coming in so quickly that I could not even stop to read any of them. I had TechyDad check on his computer to see what was going on. That is when I read everyone congratulating me.

The timing on this prize could not have been better as my old laptop was dying. It was so nice to have the new Toshiba. My laptop has now gone with me to BlogHer, Disney Social Media Moms Celebration, SheStreams, and beyond. So many memories and many more to come as I get ready for The Ultimate Blog Party 2012 – thank you 5 Minutes For Mom for another fun party starting later this week.

Will you be participating in the Ultimate Blog Party 2012? I hope to see you there! For more details, click on the button from 5M4M above.

Disclaimer: I wrote this post because it was a lot of fun to participate while getting ready for the Ultimate Blog Party 2012. In addition to this, there is a possible prize via Rafflecopter for sharing my UBP story.

Categories:
Blog Hop bloggy friends BlogHer DisneySMMoms fun looking back me moments photos TechyDad

The Avengers and LEGO Collide

Posted on April 1, 2012 12:00 am by TheAngelForever

My boys love all things related to super heroes. Of course, when I say my boys, I mean all three of the boys – including TechyDad. Yes, my husband has been talking for months about a new movie coming out

The Avengers will be in theaters May 4 and I have a feeling it will be a date night since the boys are a little too young to see it before we preview. Of course, just because they can’t see the movie right away, doesn’t mean they are not excited. The kids are thrilled to see that Marvel characters from The Avengers will now be made into LEGO items. JSL already has begged to get Captain America for his birthday. NHL loved how Hulk was scaled to be larger than the rest and I agree that is a really nice touch.

Here is a preview of the movie if you have not seen it.

Are you planning on seeing The Avengers? Do you have a favorite hero that you can not wait to see in LEGO form?

It's Me

Categories:
fun jsl Movies my boys nhl play time TechyDad

Feeling Bionic-ly Challenged

Posted on March 31, 2012 10:15 am by TheAngelForever

Please excuse me if I am MIA for a little while. Right now, I am working on something new to me. TechyDad and I finally moved forward and decided to get our first Smartphones. This is the phone that I had been using for the last two and a half years. It was a step up since we finally got a texting plan and I wanted a QWERTY keyboard.

With my little phone I could add status messages to Facebook, Tweet, and send photos as needed. It may not have been the best, but it worked and I managed by being frugal.

Now things have changed and the need for a Smartphone was there. Thanks to Robyn, I won a Droid Bionic. It arrived yesterday and we went to Verizon Wireless and set everything up. Now Violet and I are home.

She’s being a bit temperamental, but it may just be my unrelated headache and Wi-Fi issues. There is definitely a big learning curve and I have a lot to figure out. Still, I know I am up for this and will love it in the long run. So don’t mind me if I double Tweet, send a strange message, or am missing for a bit. I am off with Violet while trying to feel a little more bionic in the Smartphone world.

It's Me

P.S. – If you have any tips, tricks, or other hints….I would love to hear them!

Categories:
looking back me moments photos TechyDad

Memories from July 2000

Posted on March 26, 2012 12:00 am by TheAngelForever

Saturday night, I sat in front of my computer searching our hard drive. I was on a mission to find photos of my parents. Yesterday, they celebrated their 39th anniversary and I had to find some pictures of them for the post. In my quest, I was side tracked a bit. Suddenly, I was sifting through photos from before I was married to TechyDad and WAY before we had the boys.

Just after TechyDad and I were engaged, we were invited to a celebration for Uncle M’s father’s 80th birthday. Here is a photo of TechyDad and I. This is just about two weeks after we were engaged.

My Mimi and Poppy were also there. Here is a photo of the four of us while at this dinner.

One other photo caught my eye. It was the two of us with three of my cousins. Hard to believe how we have all grown up. Everyone is out of college, on their own, and cousin AW was just married earlier this year.

Less than a year after these photos were taken, everyone was gathered again at our wedding. Hard to believe that it has been so long and some of these special people, like my Poppy are no longer with us. Thank goodness we captured these moments to remember and share with our kids.

These are just some of the pictures I came across the other night. Do you ever find yourself just sifting through old photos in books or digital ones on your computer?

It's Me

Categories:
cousins family looking back me moments photos TechyDad

Favorite Disney World Resorts

Posted on March 19, 2012 12:00 am by TheAngelForever

Over the years, I have stayed at a lot of the resorts at Walt Disney World. This Spring, we will be adding two more to my list. Growing up, I stayed at The Contemporary Resort (multiple times), Dixie Landings (multiple times and now called Port Orleans Riverside), and Caribbean Beach (multiple times). Since I have been married, we have stayed at The Beach Club Resort, Pop Century (three times), The Polynesian, and The Grand Floridian. Thanks to Disney dining, we have also visited Port Orleans French Quarter, Animal Kingdom Lodge, Boardwalk, Wilderness Lodge, and Fort Wilderness campground.

Deluxe Hotels:

I don’t think I could just pick one of the deluxe hotels. If money were no option, it would be tough to select which one. There’s monorail convenience, great overall location, and never stayed there before dream.

If I had to pick a resort on the monorail, I would immediately pick the Contemporary. I love that you can simply go down to the ground floor and walk to the Magic Kingdom along a palm tree lined walkway. It isn’t usually crowded, plus you always have the monorail to jump on and get back with relative ease. In addition to this, The Contemporary has Chef Mickey, The Wave, and The California Grill (never been there yet).

After staying at the Beach Club Resort on our honeymoon, I fell in love with the location. Not only is it simply gorgeous with an amazing pool, you can walk or take a boat to Hollywood Studios and Epcot. TechyDad and I often walked into Epcot for dinner, or over to the Boardwalk for a snack or another meal.

A deluxe hotel that I have not stayed at, but visited many time to dine there is the Animal Kingdom Lodge. I would adore waking up one morning and opening my door to view animals like giraffes while sipping my cup of coffee. Another perk would be having Boma and the other great restaurants located steps from our room.

Moderate Resorts:

Looking back I loved the quaint, quiet feel of Dixie Landings. We stayed in the mansions there twice and it was fun to bike, boat, and walk around the resort. Since our stay there, the name has changed. I know the the kids would also adore Port Orleans (either section), but would probably prefer a stay at the newer Pirate Themed rooms at the Caribbean Beach Resort.

Value Resorts:

We adore Pop Century as a fun filled value resort at Walt Disney World. We have never stayed at any of the other value resorts to date. Our last three visits have included nights at this destination.

The rooms are smaller and you do not have a sit down restaurant, but it’s extremely fun, kid friendly, and they a great food court that includes the infamous Tie Dye Cheesecake. We have adjusted to the value resorts by saving money on the room to use for our dining plans and to extend out stays.

So where do you love to stay or dream of calling your home while at Walt Disney World? There are a lot of Disney posts on my blog from trips during the last few years, so check them out if you are interested.

P.S. A huge thank you to Mariana from The Domestic Buzz for creating this magical Blog Hop! The link will be within this post the day after it is published.