I am now a fur mommy

 

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One of the things about being a single person with no children is you become a mommy to other species.  Let me explain today’s topic….

About almost 3 years ago, my nephew and his girlfriend came to me at the time and ask me if they could bring home a kitten.  This family, especially me and mom are not fond of cats.  I do not know what is it about cats, but the cats that were around mom when she was a child were outdoors cats, and they roamed where they wanted to roam.  They were not allowed in the house (both mom and dad were raised in a rural area, outside a small town called Moundville, Alabama).  Neither were dogs but they were tolerated for the most part.  The only cats I had been around as a child was a family friend’s cat named Monkey.  I was scared of cats because Monkey scratched me when I was 6.  I never had any cats around me until I laid eyes on Gizmo.

Meet Miss Gizmo Elizabeth

Anyway, up until today, I have always referred to Gizmo as my nephew and his girlfriend’s cat because they were the ones who basically took care of her, until their daughter was born in February 2020.  I knew they had to move to a new place because there was barely enough room for the 5 of us (me, Gizmo, nephew, girlfriend, and Strype, who is a miniature Husky), with the baby would make 6.  The baby is now 5 months old, and every day that she grows, she needs more room.  Eventually, this means her own room.

When she was born, my nephew and his girlfriend moved into my parent’s home with them.  They have more room than I need.  Gizmo stayed here, and I started feeding her, and my nephew came over once a week to change the litter box.  Now they are moving to a new city where his father and step-mom are staying, which is an hour and a half from here.

I got upset when I hear the news.  So, they decided to let me have Gizmo, and I am now officially a cat mommy.  I had hoped to be a human mommy first, with my child begging for a dog, cat, or the occasional hamster or gerbil (sorry future children, mommy does not do snakes, mice, lizards, or spiders), but I will take being a fur baby mommy as well. So, what does it take to be a fur baby mommy?  Well….

1. In the first two years, I learned of her temperament.  Gizmo is a pretty chill cat.  She wants to be cuddled, but she also is in a place that I could be sitting at my desk (like I am now) and she lays at my feet or goes someplace to lay in the sun.  She loves her sun.  She will lay there for hours if I let her.  I will get up on occasion to check on her. This includes what she likes and does not like.  She will scratch or slightly bite me if she does not like it (stroking her head for too long).
2. She loves belly rubs (but not for long).
3. She does not like her cat bed.  It is going back to Ikea.  She has not laid on it.  She will lay around it, but I have never seen her on it, even for a minute.  I gave her two months with it and nothing.  I am going to try a cat tree.  By the way, Ikea has a 365-day return policy.
4. She is not crazy about wet cat food.   I give it too her every once in a while, and I got a can with my grocery order this time.  I am going to try a Chewy.com subscription.  She has never had any cat treats before.  I am not sure how I feel about that.

So, now I have some tips for all you first-time fur baby parents.

1.  Know what type of animal you are getting.  Do you want a dog? A cat? A ferret? Fish?  It does not matter what type of animal you are getting as long as you do the research.  I knew Gizmo since she was 6 months old, but she was my nephew’s cat. I had dogs before…at my parent’s home.  Guess who took care of them.  Yep, my parents.  We were in charge of the feeding and the cleaning up, but it was my parents who took them to the vet, making sure they had the food to eat (the right kind), and where they were going to sleep at, not only at home (the dogs were mostly outdoors, except in really bad weather; Gizmo is an indoor cat) but where will they be boarded when we go out of town.  I have a retreat in January out of town.  Cats can take care of themselves for a week.  I will be gone for 3 days, but to be on the safe side, and since I will have a carrier to take her back and forth, I may take her to my nephew’s house.  If the family goes to Walt Disney World next year, I will have to board somewhere for a week because my nephew, his girlfriend, and baby will be at Walt Disney World too.  I have not seen any rules about boarding cats at Disney, only dogs.
2. Establish a routine with them.  Gizmo has a routine already, but I am changing it up a bit.  What I mean is I am getting rid of the current litterbox for a new one so that I can change it.  I got her a cat bed, but it is not working, so I am getting rid of it for a cat tree.  I will have a chewy subscription, and she will have a regular vet.
3. Speaking of which.  Like you need a regular doctor, so does the animal.  Get a vet that is friendly and board if you need it.  One of the dogs had a vet who also boards them.  Most will clean and groom a pet while you are gone. 
4. Finally, talk to it.  I have mommy and me time with Gizmo.  I will sit and cuddle her, and say something positive to her.  I tell her she is a pretty cat and a good fur daughter.  Not only it helps them, but it also helps you too.  cuddling a pet has been known to lower blood pressure.  This is why doctors and therapists use them in hospitals.  Call it animal affirmations.

Well, that is it for now on the pet end.  I will have more, since your pet is part of the family, and I do have family posts on here.  I will also talk about the adoption of a pet, rescue pets (Strype is a rescue mini Husky), and other pet care areas.

Until then, be well.

What should you never buy at Disney World?

I am answering another Quora question.  You may wonder why I answer this question and make them into whole posts for you to read?  It is simple, to answer your most burning questions.  You have the same questions as some of the people who are looking at planning for a vacation, and I may have the answer to that question.  To that end here is my answer and the in-depth look into why I said what I said. 

“I am really not sure. I say that to tell you that everyone is different with different tastes. To tell you what not to buy is like telling you not to breathe. I have some guidelines on your purchases that will help you with your purchases (you did not think I would leave you hanging with that answer, did you?). Keep in mind the following tips:

1. As much as the souvenirs are as a whole, never purchase anything that you think is not worth the money. This includes edible souvenirs. Not every cupcake is the same at WDW, nor worth the price you pay
2. Keep in mind your budget. Yes, it is your vacation, but you have to eat the rest of the time you are there, and you have to get home, and you need some money in case of emergencies (Hospital costs, rental car/own car needing immediate repairs, child drawing on the wall of the resort room, and bail money are examples that come to mind) So sorry, a Michael Kors bag from a Disney Springs boutique is a no go, unless you can get it with a credit or debit card, and you have plenty of money to get home.
3. Speaking of which, never buy anything that you cannot do a return on BEFORE you go home. There are many ways of returning something, and if shipping back something is a problem (such as you live outside of the United States, Japan, France, or Asian countries that have a Disney Park in them) do not purchase.
4. Do not purchase something just for the heck of it. I learned this the hard way. Back in 2004, I thought I might have a Disney pin collection. I do not like pins, but I bought a Mulan pin because I was advised to start off with one, and every time you come back to Disney World, I can trade for something better and build on my collection. I do not know where that pin is, and I feel like I wasted my money. For my next vacation there, I will not buy a pin, no matter how cute it is.”

Keep in mind I am using souvenirs in my example. think about this when you purchase a vacation package, using a travel agent, or a paid event at Disney. You know what your family likes, and you know what you like. This is also a perfect way to be budget-friendly even on vacation.

Souvenir Prices and your Budget

Souvenirs and Returns

Way back when Disney was an exclusive company, you could get away with purchasing anything at the park.  Some of the things I have purchased in the past were:

1)       Stickers (because I was a crafter)

2)      Autograph books

3)     Towel (for my sister who was a teen with no money-who goes to Disney with no money, LOL).  She loves Tigger, and I thought that she would love it, along with the

4)     Big Stuffed Tigger. Hey, that’s what big sisters are for.

5)     Pin (see above)

6)     Mug (the airline broke it on the flight home)

There is nothing wrong with these purchases, except the pin at the time of purchase, but since that time, Disney has loosened up a bit, and now you can go to Target, Walmart, and your local Dollar Tree to get some of this stuff.  Only save your money for the exclusives, and only if it is worth the money. 

Please, do not purchase something because someone has one.  It may not be in your best taste, style, or budget.  Please teach your little ones especially if they are using their own money. 

Discount tickets:  Now this one has an exception:  If it is bought through your travel agent, go ahead and buy them.  I do not go through these holes in the walls type of places in Orlando.  Here is the reason why you do not buy discount tickets.  If you buy them, you are running the risk of not getting into the parks.  Sometimes, these so-called ticket centers may have bought tickets from someone with a day left on the ticket itself.  They then sell to you what may be a ticket the center says is a ticket that is the length of your stay.  They also may be stolen. 

Buy from a reliable travel agent, who buys only from Disney.  This goes for package deals as well.

These are the items that you should never buy at Disney and any place.

Disney is Forever Changing:

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I am once again answering a question from Quora.  This time, the question was “How do you Rank the Disney Theme Parks from Best to Worst?”  My answer was as follows:

“The best park by far is the Magic Kingdom. This is classic Disney, celebrating all things Mickey and the gang, Princesses, and classic rides. It is almost Disneyland’s Doppelganger.Next, is the Animal Kingdom. I love the way that the use of a non-Swahili term called Notazu (Not a Zoo, get it?). It is exactly that. You can see the animals at their finest, and I think they take better care of the animals than my city Zoo (which is the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium-sorry, shameless plug). the only I do not like about AK in Dinoland. It looks like an old carnival, but it works.Next, is Disney’s Hollywood Studios. They have toy Storyland, and they just opened Galaxy’s Edge, so the story is still out for me until I visit there. the reason is they had all the construction there for the longest, and I heard that it was hard to navigate there.Last is Epcot. I will not say that it is the worst park in terms of nothing to do., but much of the stuff is so dated, and it needs some TLC, but that will soon change with all the changes that are happening now and all that is to be completed by the 50th anniversary of the resort area.Construction seems to make things look bad, so that is the other reason why I rank the parks the way I did. First, it was the New Fantasyland a few years ago, then it was Downtown Disney, which not only it got an upgrade, but a name change to Disney Springs. That was completed 2 or 3 years ago. Next came Disney’s Hollywood Studios, and that was just completed. Now, like I said, is Epcot’s turn. The Animal Kingdom did get a little update in between Disney Springs and the start of Disney’s Hollywood Studios’ construction, with Pandora, replacing Camp Minnie Mickey, but it is all to keep us coming back and entertained.for this is the reason I ranked the parks the way I did.”

Photo By P. Lynne Designs

Before I get to my answer, I want to get you an update on my Disney trip series.  There has been a slight delay to get out in the next chapter.  We are still going so far, but I as far as writing the series, I did not want to push myself into a “give every detail” account of the trip because there are some things that are private and personal.  As I formulate my ideas, I will write it.  No worries.  For now, let me stick to my answer and I will move on from there. 

What is my ranking of the parks?
Well the ranking of the parks (my ranking) goes like this: (Best to Worst)
• The Magic Kingdom (TMK)- As I said in my answer, this is classic Disney.  You cannot get any better than that, next to Disneyland, of course.  Yes, some of the rides are dated, but when you cannot get to Disneyland and looking for some nostalgia, this is the place to be.  In fact, The Magic Kingdom is probably the closest you will get to a “Disneyland” in Central Florida.  The difference between the two is

• Disneyland is older, has The Sleeping Beauty Castle.
• The Magic Kingdom is, of course, newer, has Cinderella’s Castle, and the “lands” are:
• Adventureland
• Fantasyland
• Frontierland
• Liberty Square
• Main Street USA
• Tomorrowland.

• Disney’s Animal Kingdom (DAK)-has the claim, “Notazu”, which is supposed to be an official Swahili word, which means, “Not a Zoo”.  For anyone who has Swahili as their native tongue already knows that it is not a word.  Yes, I can get Disney on that, but it is a minor thing.  Other than have the humor for making up words to a language that I know very few words to (does Lionel Richie’s song, “All Night Long” ring a bell, anyone?), the Animal Kingdom does a pretty good job in making sure that the animals are safe.  Yes, they have been criticized by conservationists and organizations like PETA, but this animal lover loves this park for all the right reasons, including having a conservation area.

• The “Lands are named
• 
  
• Oasis (Discovery Island and Pandora)
• Asia
• Africa
• Dinoland.
• The best part of DAK is Africa.  This is what the park was built on.  You have a safari ride, called Kilimanjaro Safari that takes you
• The worst part of DAK is Dinoland.  It looks like a carnival, and each time I go, I have that feeling of a carnival, and all its minions (oops, wrong characters).  You have your carnival games, Chester and Hester’s Dino-Rama, Primeval Whirl, which are part of those put/takedown carnival rides that I started hating as a teen, but yet, I am okay with these rides.

• Disney’s Hollywood Studios (DHS)- I actually should have ranked this park first and the reason is Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge.  More one that in a moment.  I thought at first, for a Disney park, it was kind of boring, since I do not ride thrill rides as a whole, nor do I gravitate towards them. If someone from my family asks me to ride with them, maybe, but I am not really a thrill ride person.  However, if you are, this is perfect because Disney is considered a resort geared towards kids, but in the last 20 years of so, they have been really aiming towards the adults.  After all, it is the adults who pay for everything.

• The lands are named
• Animation Courtyard
• Commissary Lane
• Echo Lake
• Grand Avenue
• Hollywood Boulevard
• Pixar Place
• Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge
• Sunset Boulevard
• Toy Story Land
• The Worst part about DHS there are a few lands that have only one attraction there, and the rest are restaurants and shops.  They do have a few sideshows, which remind you of the Vaudeville acts.  One act I saw in 2004 had to do with the “Rule of 100 jokes”.  I cannot exactly remember the act itself, but one of the characters was named “Miss Bunny”.  The park is also one of the parks that do not grab you with “Disney sweetness”.  It is very rare that you will see the “fav 5”, even though Mickey is in a “Newsies” type number.  They may show up every now and then.
• The best part of the park is the new Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge (ST: GE).  For me personally, the jury is still out since I will not see it until December.  At that time, I will give a full report on all things Disney.  From what I can tell by the reviews given on YouTube, most people love ST: GE, but from the perspective of someone who is a Star Trek fan, I am finally warming up to the whole Star Wars saga, due to my brother being a Star Wars fan since the age of 7.  I hope to give a glowing report on the new land in DHS.

• Epcot (or Epcot Center as the new-old name suggests) (EC) is the worst park.  It is not bad in the sense of bad, but it is dated.  It is more dated than TMK.  I think that is why it is getting an almost total makeover.  This has been the park with the most problems in terms of appeal for both children and adults.  I have often called Epcot the “Education Center” because when parents take their children out of school for Walt Disney World, a teacher used to give them “homework” to do while on vacation.  Most of the homework would be conducted while at Epcot.  The Lands are

• Future World
• This land contains the rides, Fast Trek, which is Epcot’s answer to Autopodia in TMK’s Tomorrowland, and Mission Space, where you become part of an astronaut crew, on the way to Mars. You also learn about growing your own garden in a ride called, “The Land”.
• World Showcase
• This land contains little pavilions of counties to visit.  These countries are
• Norway
• Germany
• United Kingdom
• Mexico
• Canada
• The American Experience
• Japan
• France
• China
• Italy
• Morocco
• They have eating places, shops, and a couple of pavilions have rides.  Now I see why teachers want their students to study at Epcot.
• One of the worst things about Epcot is that it is so dated, but I still have fun while I am there.  I can learn a language, experience new food, and for rides, there is Frozen Ever After, which re-tells the story in ride form.  It is in the Norway pavilion.  In Mexico, there is the Gran Fiesta Tour Starring the Three Caballeros.  In this one, Donald Duck gets lost, and his friends try to find him.  This used to be called “El Rio De Tempo” (The River of Time) until it got an upgrade in 2007 to the new theming.
• The best thing about Epcot is World Showcase.  As they say, the best things have yet to come, and this is when the executives at Walt Disney World announced at D23, a fan convention that happens every couple of years, there will be an upgrade to Epcot, which will be completed in time for Walt Disney World’s 50th anniversary in 2021.

Well, this concludes my ranking of parks in Walt Disney World.  I apologize that I did not cover the waterparks, and the thousands of activities you can do outside of the parks, nor did I include the resorts or Disney Springs, a shopping area inside the behemoth of a resort.
One tip I do leave you with before I go is Disney is changing, and as Walt Disney once said about Disneyland, “Walt Disney World will never stop changing”.  There are always new ideas, new ride trends, and new generations of people to enjoy this massive resort area.  So with that being said, this ranking of Walt Disney World parks will most likely change, especially after I get back from my trip.
Until the next time, be safe, God Bless you, and good luck with your planning.