The Valentine’s Day class party in elementary school…the valentine mailbox decorated with pink, red, and white construction paper hearts…the games…the snacks…the excitement building up during the day…those were good times.   You can bring back the childhood fun with an elementary school Valentine’s Day party. The great thing about this idea is that you do not have to do a lot to make it a success. The party can be for couples, for singles only, or it can be for a mixed crowd

I want to change society’s mindset about Valentine’s Day.   There is this belief that this holiday should be annoying, humiliating, or depressing if you are not in a relationship, married, or at least able to find a date on the big day. This is not the case. It is not “Black Wednesday” or whichever day of the week it falls. Valentine’s Day is for everyone, single or not.   Valentine’s Day is NOT: A dark day to feel bad about yourself if you do not have a significant other. A

It is everyone’s worst nightmare on a cruise: having an issue that prevents you from docking at your destination, causing you to miss a...

Cruising and enjoying a fantastic stateroom with excellent housekeeping service makes for an incredible vacation. We were fortunate to...

Cruising is a fun vacation but even more memorable with a fantastic Disney stateroom. We stayed in a concierge one-bedroom suite...

What is better than a Christmas trip? A Christmas cruise makes a holiday trip even better! We cruised aboard the Fantasy from Port...

I have always been fascinated by the tradition of making New Year’s resolutions. It is a great way to set yourself up for failure. Also, I think everyone knows what they want to achieve in life and the areas needing improvement, so making a bold statement about how it will all come to fruition in the next year seems unnecessary. On the other hand, writing down goals supposedly leads to greater success, so maybe it is an intelligent approach to make resolutions since they are

We wanted to try staying at a different hotel during our trip to Disney for Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party (read about the party...

On our last trip to Disney World, I decided it was time to continue the steak debate by ordering steak at two different restaurants and...

If you are visiting Dollywood soon and want to stay at one of its resorts, you have two very different but good options. Here is how the...

Christmas is almost upon us, and it reminds me of the Christmas Eve church service I attended years ago. The church had many services available during the day, and it was a stop-by-when-you-wanted kind of service. I do not remember what time slot we attended, but it was so busy that they funneled many of us to the stage where the choir usually sat as an overflow seating area. We were sitting facing all the attendees; it was a little awkward, but it was not a problem. The serv

Are you looking for an experience to capture the magic of Christmas? While Santa is undoubtedly part of the festivities, the Naughty or Nice List at Dollywood offers a twist on seeing Saint Nicholas. We attended the Smoky Mountain Christmas festival to see if we would get coal in our stockings this year. You can read here how the park catered to guests for Christmas . The experience begins with writing a letter to Santa and dropping it off to be mailed to him. Then, you are t

Although combining the anticipation of Christmas with a party at Disney World seems like an over-excitement explosion waiting to happen,...

If you ask people what comes to mind when they think about Christmas, they will probably say they think of lights and decorations, music,...

It is almost time for the most unique meal of the year. People will spend days cooking and stressing over the large meal they must cook for all their guests, all to be a little disappointed that everything is consumed in approximately 30 minutes and the next few days will be filled with boring leftovers. As if chopping vegetables for days in advance and cleaning the house from top to bottom does not contribute enough stress for Thanksgiving hosts, many find themselves working

We stayed at Dollywood’s new HeartSong Lodge & Resort for its grand opening. It was a chance to explore the new lodge and start the...

If you are reluctant to visit Dollywood or its new resort because you are managing food allergies, you must know about my recent trip....

Can you complete most of your Christmas shopping in one stop while enjoying a craft fair? I think you can. I recently attended a local...

I have not attended many flea markets, but when a local one was available, I decided to explore it. It was more of a combination of older...

I will not mention store names, but a certain popular hobby store had this Thanksgiving headband for sale. I heard some women talk about...