Through God, our love will never fail.

Meg and Jeremy Funderburk

October 2, 2010

I, take you, as the love of my life.

 I vow to be patient with you and the circumstances in our lives.

I vow to be kind to all people we come across.

I vow not to be boastful of our love or about our accomplishments.

I promise to be proud of you, but not proud in love for though I will strive for perfection, I know I can never reach it.

I promise not to be quick to anger, but to think before I speak and act.

I vow not to keep a record of wrongs, but to always keep the happy memories alive.

Through God, our love will never fail.

Really, a Disneymoon?

Why in the world pick Disney World as our honeymoon destination? Let me tell you all the reasons!


1.  It’s the mouse’s house and we love Mickey Mouse! See, he loves us too:

2.  It’s “The Happiest Place on Earth.” Duh?! Don’t you watch tv?
3.  If there’s ever a “justified” reason to shell out a wad of cash for a Disney vacation, don’t you think a honeymoon is a good excuse? (Although I really must say that it was actually quite reasonable for the two of us in comparison with some other honeymoon destinations. The FREE Dining Promotion was an added bonus!)
4.  Hotels. There are several Disney resorts, as well as off-site hotels in the Downtown Disney area to accommodate any pocketbook and any desired level of amenities. On-site hotels are just that – they are on-site, so there is no worrying about how to get where.
5.  Food. Lots of it! There are over 100 restaurants on Disney property to curb ANY appetite and any pocketbook.  Mexican? Yep, they’ve got it. Fine dining? Oh, boy do they have it! Burger and fries? Yep, you’ll have to pick a place. Chinese? Yep. Japanese? Yep. Italian? Yep, they’ve got that too. Canadian? Is that what you call food from Canada? I’m not sure. But, they’ve got it – it was one of our best meals. Plain ole American? Yep. Sweets and treats? Um, yeah! Do you get the picture? They’ve got it all. The biggest problem you’ll have over food selection, is deciding where, among all the options, you’d like to go. Look at some of our yummiest meals:

6.  There is a plethora of things to do at Disney – rollercoasters, rides, parades, musicals, character shows, shopping, people-watching(this is a real fun one), swimming, sun-bathing, eating, meeting new people, spa, lounging, going to the movies, resort hopping, going to the beach, taking a cruise, walking the boardwalk, clubs and night life, running, character meet and greets, giggling and/or smiling(a lot), and the list could go on and on. Pretty much anything you can do somewhere else, you can do at Disney. Here we are ready for Philarmagic:

7.  Fireworks. Big ones!

8.  With on-site accommodations, you never have to worry about transportation. They have buses, boats and monorails that can take you anywhere on Disney property. They even have The Magical Express that will pick you up from the airport and take you to your resort. No rental car needed! And, no fighting about making a wrong turn or driving too fast! Disney's Magical Express:

9.  Disney is magical. There’s just something about that place. You can’t help but smile, and you can’t help but rekindle the “kid” in you – you know, that giggly, innocent, excited 6 year old one. I know it’s deeply buried in some people, but if anything will bring it out, I’d put my money on Disney! (Unless you’re of grand-parent age, and then I’d put my money on your grand-kid. Lol.) Like the kid who wanted to pose by the biggest Sorry piece he'd ever seen:

Or the one who gets giggly and excited because she got to take a picture with the one and only Mary Poppins (and, she talks about it all day!):

Or, maybe even the two kids who road Splash Mountain three times in a row and got soaked the last time because one of them (named Jeremy) actually asked for the front seat. 

See, what kids! But, we loved EVERY minute of it!!! 

10.  It can be very romantic – candle light dinners and four course meals to moon-lit walks and fireworks. 

If you think Disney World is just for kids, you are mistaken. Granted, it helps if you are a kid-at-heart, but its certainly not required. One of my happiest moments while honeymooning was standing with my hubby, his arm tightly wrapped around my shoulders, and watching Wishes (night fireworks display at Magic Kingdom). You see, I always cry a little when they play “When you wish upon a star …” at the closing of the display. Yes, I’m a grown adult, but it just pulls at my heart! I cried a little more this time because I was fortunate to be sharing this moment with my sweet husband. “When you wish upon a star … your dreams really do come true.”  

Eating Around the World Part IV

Okay, this really will be the last post of Eating Around the World. I couldn't fit it all in the last post ...

24^th stop: Greece

This is where we jumped off course and skipped ahead because we wanted Canada to be our last booth of the night. This was also where we realized that we needed to speed things up a bit so that we could get back to claim our spot for the Illuminations fireworks show later that night. Here’s the menu and the picture of the Spanikopita that we chose to try:

I have to say, it was so yummy! The pastry was light and crisp. The filling was just creamy enough but not runny. It really was delish! I could’ve eaten 4 or 5 of them … IF we had eaten at 23 other stops that day. Lol.  Score:  5 Mickeyheads

25^th stop: New Zealand

I was feeling a bit like I was floating in food by this time, and this was the menu set before us:

When we looked over it, I will admit I wondered how in the world I would make myself try one more “new” thing that didn’t at least sound appetizing. Jeremy kept convincing me to take one for the team – the Funderburk Team – we had made the plan to eat around the world, and we were sooo close to achieving that – only 4 more stops.  

Ok. Team.

The “team” chose to try this. The Lamb Slider. 

I wasn’t excited at all. I had tried lamb earlier in the day and wasn’t very impressed. At this point, I must comment about the cast members who were working this booth. They were so energetic and spunky and fun. The first time we had really encountered this Disney attitude all day. The other folks all around the world weren’t rude, they just were not as energized as these 3 outstanding cast members. Every time someone ordered the Lamb Slider, they would exclaim in unison “Lamb Slider, Mmm, mmm good.” Unfortunately that’s the only little cheer I can remember, but they had them for every item on the menu – including the wine. How fun!

With that energized attitude, how could someone not become excited about trying their Lamb Slider???? Jeremy tried it first and I could tell by his face that it was to his liking. With that in mind, and in the spirit of the 3 enthusiastic New Zealand cast members, I went in for my taste. Whhhhhoooooooowwwwww! That Lamb Slider places in our top 5 favorite “Tastes of the World.” (coming soon to this blog) It was YUMMY!  Score: 5 Mickeyheads

26^th stop: McDonald’s

Yes, boys and girls, you read that right. McDonald’s. Apparently, Disney used to serve McDonald’s french fries in a few select places. One of them being at a refreshment port located between the New Zealand and Canada booths. I scurried to the restroom for a potty break and Jeremy scurried to the line for some McDonald fries. When we met back up I was informed that Disney no longer offers McDonald’s fries in the park. That made for a sad little boy. But, he was quickly cheered up when I reminded him that we still had soup at Canada. Onward ho to the next adventure …

27^th stop: Charcuterie & Cheese (Much like the Desserts and Champagne booth, I realize that this is not a country. But, it is the name of a booth at the Food and Wine Festival that is located in the World Showcase Pavilion, so we have to try something.)

I won’t say that we were necessarily excited about this booth, however, we found ourselves chatting with a young woman on the day before in the World Showcase and she happened to be enjoying the Fondue from this booth. She commented that it was very good, and it looked appetizing, so we both had it in our mind to try it when we returned.

I failed to take a picture, but I borrowed the one above from disneyfoodblog.com. The fondue was tasty, but a little watery. It wasn’t nearly as good as it looked or as we had hoped from our previous encounter with the young woman the day before. Score: 3 Mickeyheads

28^th stop: Canada

We planned this to be our last booth stop because we knew we would end with a “good” taste. The day before we had enjoyed an outstanding lunch at Le Cellier in Canada. It was amazing! (possibly more to come about that later in this blog) We knew that the cheese soup we had at Le Cellier was offered at the Canada booth and we KNEW we would have it again. It was a must. The menu at our last booth stop of the day:

The cheese soup – delish! Enough said. I would have licked the bowl clean if I hadn’t been worried about those around me being concerned that I hadn’t eaten all day. LOL! Score: 5 Mickeyheads

The salmon was also yummy. I wasn’t crazy about the lentils. Neither was Jeremy. But the salmon was good to both of us. Jeremy even commented that he’d be happy if I cooked him Salmon sometime. Anyone have a good salmon recipe? Score: 4.5 Mickeyheads

This day had been so fun! We started around 12 and ate all around the world. By this time it was probably around 7:30 pm and we were sitting in our spot for the fireworks display. I know our feet were probably a little tired from walking and standing. Our tummies were probably a little fatigued from digesting so much food. And, our taste buds clocked overtime on this day. But, it was worth it. It was truly a delightful day. As we waited for time to pass, we knew there was one more stop to make. We sat for a little while to let food digest and make more room. Then Jeremy went to get the food from the last stop …

29^th stop: England

No, this was not a booth for the Food and Wine Festival. However, much like my ‘necessary’ stop in Norway for Schoolbread, this was Jeremy’s ‘necessary’ stop for Fish and Chips. I stayed in our spot for the fireworks and he walked to England to get us some Fish and Chips. I failed to get a picture but I borrowed this one from disneyfoodblog.com. Score: 4 Mickeyheads

When he returned, we sat and enjoyed fish and chips and talked about the day. We talked about our favorites, and laughed over the horrible ones, we high-fived about trying sushi together and just soaked up the joy of being together while we reminisced about our fun day.

Extra stop: Surprise

Well, actually it’s not an extra stop. It was actually round 2 of a previous stop. As we discussed our favorites, we decided that we needed just one more taste of the chocolate Crème Brulee. We knew we would not make it back to Epcot before the end of the trip. So, off he went back to visit France and capture another yummy chocolate goodness for us to enjoy. Yum! He also brought a surprise back for me. Isn’t he a sweet hubby?! Can you tell or guess what it is?

That’s right. You remember, don’t you? Belgium. Iced coffee. He’s such a good hubby. How did he know I would enjoy that so much at the end of my day?!

Ahhh, such a good day! And, I’ll close with this picture. It was taken after the fireworks while we sat, enjoyed the weather, and waited for the park to empty before we headed out.

Eating Around the World Part III

Maybe I can fit the remainder of the food stops on our adventure of eating around the world in this post. It should be a good one! J So, where were we? Ah, yes, we had just made our 14^th stop in Italy …

15^th & 16^th stop: USA! (woohoo!)

And, here we are “visiting” America:

Yes, we’re dorks. But we were happy and having fun! So, how about the food in America, you ask? No, it was not a McDonald’s short order line. Here are the 2 menus:

 And, here's what we tried:  

That Lobster Roll was so good it would make you wanna slap your grandma, except we wouldn’t because we love our grandmas and would never want to be disrespectful. I have always wondered why people say that – and, really, who would slap their grandma??? Come on! Nonetheless, I’ll use the expression – it truly did taste good enough that it’d make you wanna slap your grandma. Score: 5 Mickeyheads

And that above? Its Bison Chili. And, it had mushrooms in it. And, neither Jeremy nor myself like mushrooms. But, neither of us picked them out. We just ate it as is – for the experience. Yay, us! And, it was actually good. Score: 4 Mickeyheads

17^th stop: Japan

Dum, da-dum, dum … oh, this booth was highly anticipated by the both of us. Before we even left Mississippi I started asking Jeremy if he would try Sushi with me. I don’t eat Sushi. Jeremy doesn’t eat Sushi. Even the thought of Sushi sends the ole’ tummy into cart-wheels! But, this trip, and specifically this day, was about the experience and trying things that we possibly would never try at home, so I was up for the adventure … I just had to convince him. Before arriving at the Japan booth we really were up in the air with whether we would actually step aboard this adventure – let’s call it “The Sushi Adventure.” I will admit I thought very carefully about all the food I had eaten thus far – what if the Sushi did it for me? I really didn’t want to see all of that again. (uh, gross – sorry for the mental picture I just planted in your mind) We step up to the Japan booth and this is what we see:

I knew the first 3 items were Sushi or Sushi-ish. But, I wasn’t about to be a pansy and try “ribettes” from the Japan booth. I can get ribettes at Applebee’s right here in the good ole’ USA. Well, technically, I can get Sushi right here in the good ole’ USA, but that’s beside the point. We were at the Japan booth. I wanted to try something Japan-ish. So, like any 5 year old who can’t make up their mind about what to get, we asked for pictures. Yes, go ahead and giggle. No, I’m not kidding, we really did ask for pictures. We eliminated the Tuna Sensation because it looked completely raw. From that point, I let Jeremy pick which roll we would try. He chose the Spicy Tuna Roll. Here’s the picture:

My dear husband, being the chivalrous knight he is, volunteered to take the first bite. Aww, isn’t he sweet?! I warned him the green stuff was hot, but he dipped his piece in it anyways. I watched his face. I just knew I was going to see it twist and turn and shrivel and distort until he finally forced himself to either swallow or spit. Being the good wife I am, I already had the Diet Coke and the water bottle open and ready for him to grab … but he didn’t. His first comment was that the green stuff was hot. Duh, I told you that before you took the bite. It was then my turn. I’m sure I made a face because it was different. There’s a lot of rice in one bite. I was more overwhelmed with not choking on such a big bite, than I was about the taste and/or the possibility of its contents being raw. I just kept chewing. I finally did taste something – I’m guessing it was the tuna … and, it wasn’t bad. We had conquered “the sushi adventure” and we had semi-enjoyed it. Jeremy ate the third and final piece. And, it was by choice, not by requirement. And, with that, we were off to the next adventure …. Score: 3.5 Mickeyheads

18^th stop: Australia

I guess we were high on adrenaline after conquering “the sushi adventure” because we decided to try 2 new dishes in Australia. And by “new” I mean something that neither of us had ever eaten before - Barramundi and Lamb Chop. Can anyone tell me what Barramundi is?

If you guessed fish, you would be correct! Congratulations. And, for the record, it was quite tasty! So was the Arugula that was served beside it. Jeremy found a new favorite leafy green vegetable. Anyone have a good recipe using Arugula? Score: 4 Mickeyheads

The Lamb Chop … just wasn’t as good as the fish. I don’t know if it was the preparation or if that’s just the way lamb tastes. I like beef. And, chicken. Lamb? Not so much. At least not for now, but I would try it again. The potato salad that was served beside it was also NOT a favorite. This was one of the very few plates that we did not finish.  Score: 3 Mickeyheads

19^th stop: Morocco

Ugh! This was horrible. I think my tastes are just against Moroccan food. In a previous trip to Disney, I ate at the restaurant in Morocco. It was gross. This was too. Oh, why didn’t we just go with the Baklava??? I’ll spare you the yucky details and just give you pictures. Jeremy and I both took one bite that was quickly followed by water. Ick! Score: 0 Mickeyheads (yes, it was that bad)

20^th stop: Belgium

Oh, thank you Belgium for being the home of Belgium waffles and for following the Morocco booth!!! Woohoo! We didn’t even have to read the menu. We knew exactly what we wanted. Give us the waffle. With fruit compote. With whipped cream. Please. 

Oh wait, is that iced coffee on the menu??? Mmm … nah, I’ll just settle for the waffle that we can both enjoy. And, enjoy we did …

We knew it would deliver, and yummy it was. So light and fluffy, yet crisp on the outside. Hmm … I bet it would’ve been even more yummy with the iced coffee … nonetheless, Score: 5 Mickeyheads

21^st stop: Spain

I have found a new love for Green Olives. Well, they don’t rank up there with Peanut Butter, but I like them. So, I suggested we try the Taste of Spain. And, by this time, I was starting to feel my tummy getting full, so it was a safe choice as well - not too heavy and little bites.

It was good. Nothing special. The Olives were yummy. J  Score: 3 Mickeyheads

22^nd stop: France

“Les poisons, les poisons. How I love les poisons. Love to chop and to serve little fish. First I cut off their heads. Then I pull out their bones. Ah mes oui, savez toujours delice.” Sorry, I just had to include that little bit from Beauty and Beast. Speaking of Beauty and Beast, we saw some of the crew in France:

Sorry, I got off track. Back to the food … France’s menu:

And we chose this: 

This picture was taken later in the night – you’ll have to keep reading to figure out why. This desert was c’est magnifique! (that’s magnificent in French for those who may not know) It was delightfully rich in chocolate flavor; sweet, but not too sweet. And, such smooth consistency but perfect crunch on top! Yum!  Score: 5 Mickeyheads

While Jeremy was in line waiting for our order he starting chatting with some ladies in the line in front of them. All of them had ordered the Parisian Cosmo Slush and were chatting about how good it was. When he got out of line, he came over and told me I should try it because those ladies told him how good it was. So, I did. And, I concur. De. Li. Cious.  Score: 5 Mickeyheads

23^rd stop: Ireland

One of the cast members at one of the other booths had commented on how good the Fisherman’s Pie was, so that is what we tried at this booth.

This is a spin-off of Shepherd’s Pie. Or maybe Shepherd’s Pie was a spin-off of this? I don’t know which came first. It was yummy. I’m not crazy about scallops, but they were good in this dish. The lobster wasn’t nearly as good as the Lobster Roll from USA. The dish was just a bit heavy. Or maybe it seemed heavy because we had eaten around the world all day?! Hmm, probably.  Score: 3 Mickeyheads