I’ve started an Arbonne Business!! I’m super excited about it!

Arbonne International is a 26 year old company that produces over 300 herbal/botanical products in five major lines – skin care, cosmetics, nutrition, aromatherapy, and weight management. I am so excited about the Arbonne product line and opportunity and I would like to share this company with all of you!

Check out my brand-spankin-new website: http://monicabirdsong.myarbonne.com

Since I used to be a cast member at Walt Disney World and I go back to visit almost every year, I often get asked for my favorites and tips. So here they are!

* Ask to sit in the front with the conductor on the monorail. It’s cool.
* On main street in Magic Kingdom, all the writing on the windows are the “credits” for the park. Walt’s credit is above the ice cream parlor on the window facing Cinderella’s castle.
* If you want to ride Spaceship Earth (the ride in the big ball in Epcot), do it later in the day. The lines are LONG in the morning because everyone walks in and stops there first but in the evening no one is in line.
* In Magic Kingdom, the best place to view a parade is the Main Street train station second level, if you get there early enough there are chairs up there. Second choice is Frontier Land. Also, lines for rides are shorter during parade times.

Here are my favorite rides/activities in each park!

Magic Kingdom
-Spectromagic Parade
-Pirates of the Carribean
-It’s a Small World
-Splash Mountain
-Space Mountain
-Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin
-Haunted Mansion
-Daytime Parade (they change this but it is aways awesome)

Hollywood Studios
-Fantasmic (this is actually my #1 favorite thing in Disney World!)
-Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster
-Tower of Terror
-Great Movie Ride

Animal Kingdom
-Dinosaur
-Expedition Everest
-Kilimanjaro Safari
-It’s Tough to Be a Bug

Epcot
-Test Track
-Drinking around the World. This isn’t an official activity but a fun one! Start in Mexico or Canada and have a drink at every country until you reach the other side. I’ve actually never been able to complete it!

There is so much yummy deliciousness in WDW it is hard to choose. But I have and here are my favorite eating spots! If it is marked with an *, you should call (407) WDW-DINE (939-3463) to make reservations.

Magic Kingdom
-Main Street Bakery; the cookies here are SO amazing!
-Pineapple Whip in Adventure Land by the Tiki Room
-Turkey Legs in Frontier Land
-Liberty Tree Tavern*; kinda like Thanksgiving dinner, this one is yummy and Minnie Mouse & friends come to your table!

Epcot
In Epcot I like to grab snacks from the different worlds but the only thing I’ve ALWAYS grabbed is pastries from Boulangerie Patisserie in France.

Hollywood Studios
-Sci-Fi Dine-In Theater*; it’s like a drive-in movie! So cool!

Animal Kingdom
-Donald’s Safari Breakfast*; some fun dishes with Donald and Mickey coming to your table!

Any Park
-Fresh Pineapple Spears. I have no idea why they are so good but they are!

That’s it for now! Share your favorites and tips in the comments!

Hi, my name is Monica and I’m addicted to TravBuddy.com. Whew, it feels good to type that out load. But seriously, I’m so addicted! My friend Brian told me about it like a week ago and ever since I’ve checked it obsessively! It’s basically facebook/myspace for travelers and I’m loving it!

I know what you’re thinking –Really, Monica? Another social networking site? YES!!!! Let me tell you why. I’m headed to Europe tomorrow and I’ve already made plans to meet up with a group of girls in Madrid and watch soccer! I also got an invitation to go drinking in London which I only said no to because I will have teenagers with me. The people on the site are welcoming, friendly, ready to meet people and ready to travel. What else could I ask for in an online community? Oh, that’s right, the ability to smile at cute people. TravBuddy.com has it!

So take your happy self on over to TravBuddy.com and be my friend and smile at me! :)

Brian & I headed off to Taiwan to see the sights & watch Baiyi get married! We had such a fantastic time!

Here are the Top 10 Reasons You Should Visit Taiwan!

1. School Girls give you flowers if you wander around Ximending
   
2. You might get a “white girl discount” at the Jade Market when you buy the GORGEOUS jewelry
   
3. Who knows when you’ll stumble across a beautiful temple
   
4. They are as obsessed with Hello Kitty as you are!
   
5. Make your own paper at the SoHu Memorial Paper Museum
   
6. Walk across the Danshui Lover’s Bridge
   
7. Indulge ALL your senses at the Shilin Night Market
   
8. Easy to understand bathroom signs
   
9. Go to the top of one of the world’s tallest buildings
   
10. THE FOOD!!!!!
    
    Cuttlefish balls
    
    Steamed Buns
    
    Square Ice Cream Cones
    
    Yummy Dumplings

There are many other reasons to visit like the hot springs and watching one of your friends get married! Isn’t Baiyi gorgeous?

Check out all the pics:

Taiwan with Brian

For those of you that don’t travel much you should make you way to Austin. Even if you don’t leave the airport you get a real feel for the city and that’s what makes Austin’s airport my favorite!

It’s just the right size — small enough that you can walk across the street to get your rental car but big enough to have live music and lots of food & store options.

As for the food, you won’t find a McDonald’s in this airport and I love that! It feature’s Austin’s finest, Salt Lick BBQ, Amy’s Ice Cream, and Mangia Pizza.

The shopping is full of Texas pride! You’ll see a lot of burnt orange and longhorns. :)

And last, but definitely not least, you’ve just landed in the Live Music Capital of the World! And the airport doesn’t forget that with live performances every week day!

This is what an airport should be, convenient and full of local culture! Nice work Austin-Bergstrom!

When you read something a friend wrote you, do you “hear it” in their voice and with the way they use words? For example, my friend Alana says ‘perhaps’ with a certain inflection that is unique to her. Tonight she wrote ‘perhaps’ on my facebook wall and that key word triggered me to read the wall post with Alana’s voice in my head. It was so much better to read it like that!

I realized it usually is a key word that my friend uses that really brings in their voice. Then I thought, huh, I might just be weird. Am I or do you do this too?

A while ago, I was walking through downtown LA making my friend Brian listen to a pity party for me. I was whining, complaining, feeling icky and like nothing was going right. About that time, a homeless woman literally hit me in the back, looked me in the eye, and said “Jesus Loves You”.

Wow, what a lesson. I am so grateful that Jesus reminded me that he loves me when I needed to hear it most. It was an unconventional way but hey, it worked! Now every time I start to have a pity party for me, I remember that Jesus loves me. Lucky me!

BTW, Jesus loves you too. Hopefully you won’t need to be hit to be reminded. :)

Kayak.com is the best flight search out there. Period. When you search, it searches all the different sites and brings you back a mega list in an easy to read interface. Then, Kayak starts to really shine with its awesome filters! You can choose specific airlines or airports. You can tell Kayak you want to fly between certain hours. You can tell Kayak that you only want an hour layover. You filter to exactly what you want and Kayak shows you. Try it, you’ll love it as much as I do.

I’m headed on a European tour this summer with my cousin and her Girl Scout troop! Here’s a map of the tour:

The part that I need your help with is where to go after the tour is over. It ends on a Wednesday in Munich so I want to spend the rest of that weekend somewhere but I’m not sure where.

Here’s what I’m thinking (in no particular order).

1. Budapest
2. Prague
3. Madrid
4. Berlin
5. Somewhere in Italy

Where would you go?

So, what’s a girl to do when she’s heartbroken? If she’s this girl, get on a big ol’ jet airliner! Lucky for me, BootsnAll just published their Top 10 Destinations for Independent Travelers in 2008!

1. Kathmandu, Nepal — Before I went to Peru, I toyed with the idea of climbing Mount Everest. Ha! I’m over that but I’d still love to see Nepal.

2. Placencia, Belize — I could do this in a weekend. In fact, anyone want Memorial Day weekend plans?

3. Petra, Jordan — Indiana Jones, anyone??? This is one that I’ve wanted to go to for a while but haven’t quite made it.

4. Palermo, Sicily — Not so sure about this one. It seems wonderful but I think I’ll wait & take my kids (later, when I have them).

5. Queenstown, New Zealand — This is on my short list! But I want to go in their winter so I can board!

6. Imet Gogo, Ethiopia — I actually had a car service driver from Ethiopia once. He was really cool & got me to eat Ethiopian food which was actually excellent. I would visit.

7. Chiang Mai, Thailand — a Night Bazaar with bargain crafts and fashions and hotel rooms start around US$5.00 per night?? I’m so there one day. Probably not this year but you never know.

8. Marrakech. Morocco — Who doesn’t want to go to Morocco after seeing Casablanca (the best movie ever)? And there would definitely be a stop in Casablanca.

9. Budapest, Hungary — I’m going to Europe in June & have a couple of extra days. I was thinking of going to Prague but perhaps Budapest instead. Hmmm….

10. Buenos Aires, Argentina — Strangely enough, I got the overwhelming urge to go to Buenos Aires on Sunday, right after my break up. I’m going to get to work on this . . .

This list works nicely with my top 10 places to go which are:

1. London, Paris, & the Alps — I’m doing this in June with my cousin Danica & her Girl Scout troop. Should be entertaining.

2. Prague, Czech Republic — Ever since Sydney Bristow went there, I’ve wanted to follow. However, I may switch to Budapest since I’m an independent traveler.

3. Buenos Aires, Argentina– I’m not really sure what is drawing me here but something is.

4. Egypt – Pyramids & Camels. Enough said.

5. Queenstown, New Zealand — A center for adventure tourism & cute boys with accents?? Hello!

6. South Africa — I’m highly in need of a safari and some shark diving.

7. Great Barrier Reef, Australia — Diving to see one of the most beautiful underground scenes in existence is so on the list.

8. Amsterdam, The Netherlands – Gotta do this on properly BEFORE the husband & kids.

9. Somewhere in India — I’m not sure exactly where but most of the people I meet from India are so fascinating. I want to go see this place!

10. Taipei, Taiwan — I have friends that live here or have lived here so I’d like to see it. I might get a chance to go to a wedding there this year but we shall see.

So that’s it, I’m planning my 2008 travel and #1 & 2 have already made the cut. I’m honestly trying to figure out how to go to Buenos Aires & still work enough. Exciting!!!