From Vacation to Staycation
Happy 2018 everyone! First post of the year, and in several months...but you all know how that goes. I hope you have had a wonderful first few weeks of the year!
For me, 2018 began with a long-overdue weekend spent with friends, lots of family, and a cancelled vacation.
Don and I had plans to go to Disney World just before my semester started, but trying to execute a rather expensive trip immediately after Christmas proved to be more difficult than we imagined. So after some careful consideration, we cancelled our trip, and chose to make the most out of some unexpected time at home. While we mainly enjoyed relaxing and not having to be busy, there were three simple things we did that helped us make the most out of our extra time.
1. Go back to basics
Between school, work, work, and work, it's rare that we all have time off at the same time. But this cancelled trip offered us a chance to do some low-key activities we haven't had much time to do. We planned on exploring my hometown a little more, and doing a little hiking, but with temperatures in the teens and 40mph winds, being outside for long periods of time didn't sound too desirable. So instead, we dug out our favorite board games, unplugged, and sat down for a few very competitive rounds (I won, don't let them tell you otherwise). While this isn't a completely atypical thing for us to do, it was nice to really be able to unwind and not have the stresses of work or school hanging over our heads. Similarly, Don and played our favorite card games, replayed old video games, and knocked out a 1,000 piece puzzle (the cat helped).
2. Recreate something from your would-be vacation!
If you know me, you know that my all time favorite food is waffles. So naturally, at some point on a Disney trip when I'm not eating my weight in Mickey pretzels, I absolutely have to have waffles. Mickey waffles are amazing, but the non-Mickey shaped waffles at Sleepy Hollow (in Magic Kingdom) take the cake. The two options (Fresh Fruit Waffle Sandwich and the Sweet and Spicy Chicken Waffle Sandwich) are absolute musts for me every trip.
The best part? They're super easy to recreate at home! You can find the waffle mix used in the parks online (I ordered from Amazon) and make those magical waffles from the comfort of home. Plus, they're basically foolproof.
We chose to make our own version of the Sweet and Spicy Chicken Waffle Sandwich. We fried chicken breast tenderloins in our FryDaddy, whipped up some hot honey sauce, and a smidgen of coleslaw and arugula.
For dessert, we ran some frozen pineapple through our Yonanas to make Dole Whip that *gasp* doesn't melt within 10 seconds!
[Pineapple ears: Be Ear Guest]
Last but not least, plan another getaway.
Using the money we saved from our cancelled WDW trip, Don and I booked a stay at one of Disneyland's resorts, just in time to party up for Mickey's 90th birthday! It'll be our first time to Disneyland as adults, and it's been at least a decade since either one of us has been out to California.
But since the whole family has the travel bug, we also planned another a few other trips to some exciting places throughout the year, stay tuned for updates!
Magically,
Maya
