A Very Exciting Day

I love new things.  Even if they are old to others, they can be new to me.  I  love chocolate, especially chocolate milk.  Mr. Mouse has been buying me no fat or low fat chocolate milk.  And, I also love peanut butter.  Put chocolate milk with peanut butter, and I'm in heaven.  My first year in college, I practically lived on chocolate milk and Reese's Peanut Butter Cups. Unfortunately, the extra 25 pounds that I went home with weren't so great!

I recently discovered that JIF, my favorite peanut butter, has a line of natural nut butters.  I love the almond butter.  I like to have a protein shake for breakfast; but unlike many others, I don't like mine thick or frozen.  Last Friday, I made my shake with chocolate milk, a large tablespoon of almond butter, and my protein powder.  OMG, it was heaven - like a chocolate covered almond in liquid form.  This morning's shake was with the chocolate milk and Jif Natural Peanut Butter (which hardly separates - a good thing).  Today, I'm excited about my new discovery.

I also love black olives - not the expensive ones at the deli counter, just the black ones in a can.  Friday, I discovered that Pearl makes Olives to Go.  Mr. Mouse found them at Walmart, and it made me so excited.  They are so good!

And now for the most exciting thing of all today.  We have a Disney trip booked for September of thi year.  And . . . . .  this morning Disney released free dining for select dates.  Our travel agent emailed me to let me know that we now have free dining for our trip.  It saved us $740, and saving money always excites me.  Have a good week.

New Items in My Life

I just love something new.  It makes me feel like Christmas.  Today I'm so excited about the fact that Spring seems to have arrived here in Western Pennsylvania.  I've been able to enjoy my back deck this week.  The fish in the pond are doing well, and we have several new babies. We bought 4 new water lilies, and I'm excited to see them bloom.  They're going into the pond today.  Mr. Mouse mowed the lawn over the weekend and the clover smelled wonderful.

We went to the Model Railroad on Thursday, and my mobility scooter died.  With my asthma and bad knees, I don't get around too well, and the scooter has provided me with freedom that I wouldn't have otherwise.  It was pretty old, so it's no crime.  Mr. Mouse and the Mousekids all advised me to get a new one.  So on Sunday, the new scooter was ordered.  It arrived today, and it's got the be the Rolls Royce of Scooters.  It has extra suspension to make for a smoother ride.  It has turn signals,a headlight and seat that adjusts like the seat in a car.  I will certainly be riding in style with this one.

And, finally, there are new water bottle holders on the etsy site.   I am a huge Star Wars fan, and had received an order for a Star Wars bottle holder.  The buyer is sending it to her grandson in Dubai.  

Have a great rest of the week.

Say Whaaat!!!

Today is April 8 - it's supposed to be spring.  My daffodils and forsythia are blooming. The lilacs have buds on them.  Signs of spring, right?  But just wait a second.  We woke up here in western Pennsylvania to snow - yep, two inches of snow.  Is Mother Nature having a bout with menopause?  If so, where are the hot flashes.  But life must go on.

Mr. Mouse is a train collector.  He has a layout in a room in the basement, and it's a work in progress.  Since these photos were taken, he has added a Boy Scout camp area and a waterfall and lake.  Next weekend is the Eastern Division Train Collector's Show in York, PA.  We always attend, and this year is no exception.  It's always a fun weekend for us - time away, no phones, just us.

This year, the show happens to fall on Tax Weekend.  This is a big plus for you.  While we're away, you are the big winners.  We are offering a 10% discount on purchases from The Frozen Mouse if you enter the coupon TaxMan16 in the box for coupon codes when you check out.  Hope this discount can ease some of your tax pain.  Have a great weekend.

April Fool's Day

I've never been a big fan of April Fool's pranks.  I think it's because of the worst prank that I ever fell for.  I was a freshman at Clarion University, and very naive.  I awoke early to make it to my 8:00 am class, and, still half asleep,  trudged to the bathroom.  These were the "olden days" when you had one bathroom per floor.  There were several stalls and showers, but you shared with every room on the floor.  I went into a stall, sat down and proceeded to tinkle.  Some sick individual had stretched plastic wrap across the toilet under the seat.  I woke up in a big hurry when I realized what was happening.  I was so angry - now I needed a shower.  Needless to say, I didn't make that class and my entire day was ruined.  I became a walking, scowling grump!

Enough of April Fool's Day.  I've been working on items for the etsy shop.  I made 4 wristlets with the polka dot Mickey heads.  They've been really popular since the Disney Fashionista featured them on her blog on March 12.  I'd never heard of the Disney Fashionista, but am now a follower of her blog.  Check out her blog and if you comment, tell her The Frozen Mouse sent you.

I also just finished 4 wristlets out of a fun, new fabric.  It's the wallpaper from The Haunted Mansion.  I love them.  

I'm going to make a couple of chemo caps for one of my daughters' friends.  Her mother will be starting chemo in the next few days, and Brittany is putting together a Chemo Survival Kit for her.  

My next project after that will be portable first aid kits.  These will be perfect for camping, sporting events, and of course, touring the Frozen Mouse's favorite parks.  Have a great weekend.

The Mouse Returns

The Frozen Mouse is coming out of hibernation!  Unlike Pennsylvania's groundhog, it takes me a little longer to emerge from my "winter sleep".  I can't believe that my last post was in September, 2015.

I've gotten a lot of new Disney fabrics.  I haven't used most of them, so I'm getting into gear.  I'm cutting back on game playing big time (it's such an addiction), and spending more time at the sewing machine.

I've starting making some cross body bags.  These are two that are currently in stock.

I have also obtained some Haunted Mansion fabric, and need to decide what to make with it.  Stop by to see the new items that are now in the store.

The Frozen Mouse Has Returned

Yes, the Frozen Mouse (FM) has returned from a 7 day vacation to Walt Disney World.  Let me say, first off, that I will NEVER make another trip to Florida in September again!!!  The heat and humidity were almost unbearable for this FM, who doesn't handle the heat well to begin with.

Our first day began with a 7:00 am flight, which arrived in Orlando at 9:00 am.  Our twin daughters took Magical Express with all our bags, and my Mr. Mouse and I headed to pick up our rental car.  It was a Ford Taurus, a hybrid.  Our personal car is a Ford C-Max which is also a hybrid.  We had not been notified that our room was ready, so we headed to Magic Kingdom to meet up with another of our daughters and her family.  FM has really bad knees, and uses her own personal scooter, also known as an ECV.  It was the first problem of the day.  Although we knew that the scooter was fully charged, it had no power.  As my granny would say, it's "get up and go had got up and went".  I've never liked the TTC; but when Mr. Mouse has to push the scooter to get it up the ramps, it makes me irritable.  We had a pleasant day with the three girls, the two grandkids, and Jimmy (the son-in-law who is a natural born comedian.  No matter what the problem, Jimmy finds a way to brighten the day. We all had lunch together at Columbia Harbour House, one of my favorite places to eat in Magic Kingdom.  We visited the Hall of Presidents, air conditioned and as the girls say, a great day to take a a nap.  And then we walked across the street to the handicapped viewing area to watch the 3:00 parade.  We met Gaston, posed for photos and got autographs. We went to see Philharmagic, one of my favorite shows.  As I'm writing this, I just realized that I didn't get to the Big Top Souvenir store, another of my favorites. Not only do they have great souvenirs, but they sell incredible caramel apples and fudge.

Mr. Mouse, the twins and I had reservations for dinner at Be Our Guest.  Usually when we eat there, we are seated in the West Wing, but this year we ate for the first time in the grand ballroom.

We were seated down near the windows at the end of the room, and you could sit and watch it snowing in the windows.  It was very beautiful, but also very noisy.  We didn't eat too much because we were scheduled for the Wishes Fireworks Dessert Party.  We arrived around 8 p.m. and were welcomed with a champagne flute of apple cider.  So far, so good.  The tables were beautiful -

but they were soo close together.  Once I was at the table, Mr. Mouse had to move my scooter out of the way, and my chair was tight against the rope that separated the dining area from the food restocking area.  In order for the people at the table next to us to get up to go to the buffet, Mr. Mouse had to stand up and slide his chair in to give them room to pass.  The desserts were mediocre at best.  The cannoli were soggy on the bottom, the chocolate covered strawberries were mushy in the middle, and the canteloupe was hard. Without the scooter, I had to depend on the rest of my party to get my desserts.  The selection of beverages were also limited.  I chose milk, because I couldn't see having hot chocolate in 90 degree weather.  And for this we paid $50/person!  The view of the fireworks was amazing, but I don't think it was worth the $200 for the four of us.  The dessert party was probably the biggest disappointment of our trip.  

We had reserved a room with a roll in shower.  We got back to our room after the dessert party to find that our room did not have a roll in shower. We had been up since 3:15 that morning, and I didn't feel like fighting for a shower, so I adapted the Scarlett O'Hara attitude. I'll think about it tomorrow.

Tomorrow - Day 2

Getting Closer

As of today, we are 29 days out from our next trip to Walt Disney World.  I'm getting more excited by the day, but I have so much to get done in the next month.

I've been working on designing tip envelopes for Mousekeeping. and am pleased with what I have so far.  I think I've done a total of 10 envelopes, although I only need six.  I also decided to do some cast member thank you cards.  These are examples of two that I've done.

I've also been sewing, and have finished two new wristlets - One themed Beauty and the Beast, and the other is a Bright Pink Floral with Minnie Mouse.  After a quick clean up of my sewing area, I've going to start a couple of cross-body bags with a Disney theme.  Check out the shop.