Friday, December 19, 2008

6 Days til Christmas!

I am counting down. Obviously. ;)

Because of some really bizarre mix-up, it looks like I will be working 7 days next week. Which is fine, to an extent. Trevor and I both put in a request to give away our Christmas Day shift. His went through but unfortunately, mine was not approved. So he has the day off, and I don't. I am hoping that in the next couple of days something will work out. Until then, I work at Sunset tomorrow, Magic Kingdom Sunday and Monday and the rest of the week at Sunset. 62 hours and 45 minutes in all. Even without my Christmas shift(8hr45m) I will have a great amount of hours. The paycheck will really be helpful because it comes in right before we move home.

Speaking of home, we will be moving back to Mississippi in 15 days. =) So much excitement.
I have SO much packing to do. Where am I going to fit that in during the next several days? Ha, I really have NO idea.

Oh yeah, and did I mention that our Patty(Pathfinder) broke down yesterday? I went with several of my friends from work(Amanda, Daniela, and Stephan) to tour the resorts and look at all of the Christmas decorations. On the way back to our apartment, the car just stopped working. Trevor was working and still had about 2 hours left in his shift. Daniela hopped out of the car and started walking(Yes, she is crazy haha). We walked from where the car broke down(past the entrance to Wide World of Sports) all the way to Pop Century resort. This earned us some hilarious looks from the gate guard when we walked up to his kiosk, all flashing our Disney IDs. After explaining the story to him, he told us it would be fine if we caught the bus from Pop Century to Hollywood Studios. We caught the last bus taking guests into Studios for the night. Everyone else caught the CP bus back to the apartments after we waited for Trevor to get off of work. One of the guys that we work with drove Trevor and I to the car where they tried to figure out what is wrong with it. Long story short(well, too late) - they couldn't fix it, we got it towed to the apartment this morning, and we will be waiting a week until Trevor's dad gets here to see if it is worth fixing. The car is old and lately it seems that we keep putting money into it. After we figure out exactly what is wrong, we will decide if it is really worth investing more money into it. It is a matter which we will continue to pray about.

By the way, check out http://shelsscraps.blogspot.com/. That is where I got my new layout from. She does really great work! She has a lot of free stuff but she also does custom layouts for a very reasonable rate.

Well, I need to get some sleep. But first - a to do list.
-Christmas shopping needs to get finished in the next few days. Trevor is the only person I have left and VERY important in my books ;)
-Buy groceries for Christmas day and enough to last until we leave here.
- Try to find someone to take my Christmas shift
- Pack, Pack, Pack!
- Give out the Christmas presents I made for the girls at work
- etc, etc, etc. haha. There is so much more I could add to this, but I think I will leave it at that for now.

Goodnight!

Friday, December 12, 2008

Christmas Time is here!

Some Christmas pictures just to tide curious onlookers over until I can write a blog with actual substance. ;) Haha.

Partial picture of stocking, Christmas tree and presents.



Christmas presents. All from me and Trevor to our families.



Our little Christmas tree with it's fiber optic lights. It's 3' and the picture does not do it justice. I L.O.V.E. my little Christmas tree! =) Note the "Merry Christmas" hanger near the top of the tree. It matches the "Jingle" hanger in my kitchen - see photo farther below.



Trevor using his Christmas stocking happy from Honey.



A close up of our stockings from Honey!



Pictures of my Christmas towels and mits in the kitchen... along with the ever glamorous fire extinguisher sticker. Gorgeous, right?




My cute little "Jingle" hanger that I bought for $2 at the Disney Cast Member SALSA(Spend A Little Save Alot) Sale.



And since we don't have a mantle, I decided to use the greenery and pine cones on our bar, which I think we might have used once in the time we have lived here. I bought everything from Joann's after walking the front door and being overwhelmed by the amazing aroma of cinnamon scented pinecones. MMHMMM. Yes ma'am!



That is all for tonight. To come: possibly some pictures of the Christmas cards I made. =)

Sunday, December 7, 2008

Day 106 of 1001

5. Play putt-putt at both of the Disney courses, no complaints(2/2)

We played at both and, surprisingly, I loved it! We have several free tickets to go again and hopefully we'll have time to use them before we leave here Jan 2.

1.Go on a date with my husband once a month (4/33)
2. Take an us picture every month (2/33)
9. Take a walk at least once a month (3/33)

Numbers 1 & 9 haven't been that hard so far. But sadly, it is hard to get Trevor to agree to be in a good picture anymore. However, I did snag one from November when Hayley was here. And I got one for this month when we were at Mickey's Very Merry Party(which is now my facebook profile picture). Hopefully I'll get better about it.

10. Find a place in FL that can be our Bellingrath this Christmas since we can’t go to the real one

We're actually to two things other than Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party. We are going to Gaylord Palms Hotel and Resort's ICE and to Light Up UCF to go Ice skating. I am excited about both and Trevor is really looking forward to Gaylord. :)

11. Bring him breakfast in bed at least once a month (4/33)

I LOVE doing this one. It still catches him by surprise =)


26. Try 10 new recipes (5/10)

31. Make new starter for friendship bread and share

Well, I stopped adding on to my starter when I was sick 2 weeks ago. I am not going to start it back up again until we move back home and then I can become more consistent.

32. Complete a Cross Stitch

34. Design/create our first family Christmas card and not procrastinate sending them out
I am working on this one right now actually. A little later than planned because of technical difficulty but they will be going out tomorrow! =) And pictures will be posted.


79. Read for pleasure once a day (100/1001)

80. Buy 10 Disney movies, old and new (4/10)

82. Buy a classic movie or musical every month (4/33)

93. Actually use our Disney water park annual tickets at least 2 times a month while the weather is still good. (6/?)


Tuesday, November 25, 2008

Giving thanks

Some things I am thankful for/what makes me happy:

- A sister who is nosy enough to be asking me for an update ;) I love you, Honey!

- A family that loves me whom I regard with equal love and adoration.. I miss my parents and siblings so much. And it is a bittersweet holiday season for me because I am excited to be experiencing a full length Christmas at Disney... but it is so hard not being home with my family. It is both of our first time spending a holiday away from our families. *sigh*

- Christmas music! It love it. It is so soothing. And it makes me happy no matter what my mood might have previously been

- Being crafty and making Christmas cards and ornaments.

- The people I have met and the friends I have made over the past several months while we have been here in Orlando.

While I am looking forward to heading home to Mississippi, getting back to school, and settling down, leaving here is going to be hard. I am going to miss the amazing people that I have met. I have learned so much from this experience, grown so much and met people who I know I will stay in contact with. Words cannot fully express all that I have gotten out of this experience. I just know that Trevor and I will be making quite a few road trips and even a trip to Europe and Asia in the next couple of years.
I am going to miss playing at Disney was much as I want to. Working at Disney is... an adventure to say the least. Honestly, the guests we had today were some of the rudest I have ever encountered. Including a young man who called me a very unsavory name and told me I should be fired because we don't carry salsa on the condiment bar. If only you could see me rolling my eyes right now. It was quite ridiculous.
To sum it up, I will miss living down here(to an extent), playing down here, and the people I have met down here. But knowing that very few people who I am here with now will be here after I leave makes it a little easier.

Well, there is somewhat of a blog update. More like a scattered list. I will try to do better about updating, Honey. But I lack motivation knowing that no one really reads this. Sad I know. :)

Monday, November 3, 2008

Christmas Shopping, Amish Friendship Bread and anything in between

I picked up an extra shift for yesterday, so today was my only day off this week. I started the morning with an hour long frustrating phone call with Capital One. Trevor and I opened up a Money Market Savings Account with them several months ago but have never received our checks or debit card for the account. Since we will be moving home in two months we will need access to that money for school and housing needs. The first thing the man told me was our account had been frozen and we would not be able to access the account. For how long, they wouldn't stay. This really upset me. They have thousands of our money but we can't use it? That is completely not ok with me.
I asked them what we needed to do to get access to it and they said Trevor would have to go through an hour long conference call to authenticate his identity and social security. His name is only on the account as the co-owner. They said after that process they could send us our checks and debit card in the next month. Rather than go through that process and risk yet another thing going wrong, we closed our account. They should be mailing a check to Mom and Dad's in the next few days for them to deposit into our account. Hopefully nothing else will go wrong.

Trevor and I went to Magic Kingdom after lunch for Christmas shopping. Right now we have 50% cast discount on merchandise through the 16th of November. We thought it would be a good time to get some of our Christmas presents knocked out of the way. :) We bought presents for D'Lynn, Josh, Heather & BJ, and Trevor's mom at MK. We visited in Tomorrowland with some of the people I used to work with before we headed out. Paula, one of the managers of Tomorrowland Merchandise, asked me to e-mail her with my days off so that she can send it to the other managers in T-land and the scheduler so they can schedule me for some extra shifts during the holidays. I am BEYOND excited about this. I loved working in merchandise and I loved the people I worked with in Tomorrowland. The only reason I left was to have the same days off as Trevor and closer shifts. I am pretty excited about the prospect of spending some of my time in T-land during Christmas.

After MK we went to Cast Connection. We bought presents for Trevor's brother Adam and his girlfriend, and Trevor's dad. Trevor bought a bag for me and I bought a kit for making Christmas gift tags.

I am working on making part of the present for my parents. I already know what we are buying for Rachel, Winnie and Caleb. It is just a matter of picking it up. Trevor hasn't decided what to get for his other brothers, Estus and Eli. I would love to have all of the Christmas shopping done before Thanksgiving even though none of our family will receive their presents until after New Years when we move home.

I am having trouble dealing with the fact that we won't be with our family's for Christmas. It will be the first time for me to be away from family for Christmas. I know that Trevor and I are now our own family but it is still difficult to adjust to it being just us for the holidays. I don't think we will have stockings this year. And most likely we won't have a tree in order to save money and space when we move home. I just hope that it still feels like Christmas. I would hate for our first Christmas to not even seem like Christmas. It would seem like such a disappointment, especially since it is my favorite time of the year...

On a different note, I used my first batch of bread from my Amish Friendship bread starter. Trevor helped me prepare it and we had a blast cooking. :) It smells so good and is now done baking. I can't wait to taste some of the cinnamon-y goodness!

Friday, October 31, 2008

Beautiful Weather and Christmas Music

The weather has been so beautiful. It is a lot cooler but not too cold. It makes working in the kitchens at work so much cooler and nicer. I love it! I just wish I had more leisure time to be outside and enjoy it. :)

I love, love, love Christmas music. And I usually force myself to wait until November 1st to start listening but I couldn't help it. With the weather change I was even more so in the mood to get the music going. So the last few days I have been listening to all of my Christmas music. I think I might try and expand my Christmas music over the next month or so. Any selections of favorites are very welcome. =)

I don't have much more time to write so that I can finish getting ready for work. Leave a comment if you actually read this, it would be appreciated, I promise! I can see that people are viewing my blog but no one, other than Honey occasionally, ever seems to comment. It would just be nice to know who is reading so that I can read your blog as well. Have a great Friday and Halloween!

Saturday, October 25, 2008

Day 63 of 1001

Just a small update on my progress!

1.Go on a date with my husband once a month (3/33)
I LOVE date nights or even full days. Period. They are amazing!
2. Well, I have completely slacked on taking pictures of the two of us. I think I need to rectify this.
7. I attended a Halloween party. I don't really like Halloween at all, but I did it for Trevor. In his family growing up, the biggest holiday out of the year was Halloween where as in my family Christmas is the biggest holiday. I enjoyed the evening because I was in my sweetheart's company.
11. Bring him breakfast in bed at least once a month (3/33)
It is so special to treat him with this. He loves it and looks so happy and content(which is very rare for him upon awaking in the mornings. :)
26. Try 10 new recipes (4/10)
We've both been enjoying this one. I even have three new cookbooks to try new recipes from. I'll post more about that on another day.
31. Make new starter for friendship bread and share
Day 1 of the starter. I finally quit procrastinating and made my starter today. I can already taste the cinnamon bread! Yum!
32. Complete a Cross Stitch

Christmas surprises, maybe? :)
49. Get to my “ideal” weight
I have been working out a few nights a week with some of the girls I work with. It is much more enjoyable and motivating for me when I work out with others.
50. Start recycling consistently
Ok, so I am not a recycling pro yet or anything, but I am making progress. :)
55. Go through my full bottle of vitamins
Slowly but surely making my way through it.
59. Don’t buy any new clothes unless they are fully flattering to my body type and make me feel comfortable AND 60. Build my professional/adult wardrobe
I bought 3 new shirts and LOVE them. I feel completely comfortable and feel that they are very flattering. They are also pieces that are part of my professional/adult wardrobe. I am so excited!
79. Read for pleasure once a day (60/1001)
I slacked on this for a few days while my parents were here but I have read enough on other days that I think it makes up for it. This is probably one of my favorite things to check off on my list. :)

Wednesday, October 22, 2008

The little things in life...

That make me happy =)

Our vacation was good. Trevor and I were both exhausted by Monday night. We both got ADO's(Approved Day Off) on Tuesday and enjoyed sleeping late. There were still meal credits left from the Dining Plan and they would expire at the end of Tuesday, so we decided to make a day long free date. We had a late breakfast using 2 of the credits. We had some time to kill so we went to Cast Connection and Property Control(one of my favorite places). It is basically a warehouse and store filled with Disney items with mild damage or that we no longer carry in stock on property. It is all highly discounted and then we get a cast discount off of it. I got a kick out of looking at some of the furniture in the back of the store. Whenever they re-do the interiors of the hotels, they sell the furniture at a highly discounted rate. This week they were selling furniture from the Carribean Beach Resort and Fort Wilderness. :)
After looking around for a while, we headed to Downtown Disney. Trevor and I used one set of our free movie tickets from work to go see Fireproof and used what was left of our snacks on the Dining Plan for the movie.
We had dinner at Wolfgang Puck Express with 2 more of the credits. We still didn't use all of the credits but it was nice to enjoy a day long date and not pay for a thing. :)

I dreaded going back to work today. Having the last several days off was great. I could get used to not working WAY too easily. =) But once I got back into the groove of things at work, the day went pretty smoothly. After work they opened the Tower of Terror up to cast members and we rode on it several times. They kept the lights on for the entire ride and offered 8 x 10 photos for $5. We rode a few times and bought the picture from our last ride. :)

And I came home to find a clean kitchen and laundry sorted and put away. I love my sweet husband! It is so nice to come home and find some of the things on my to do list already done without me having to lift a finger. What woman doesn't like to be spoiled like that? :)

As a side note:
As I type, I am importing some music into my iTunes.




I bought this while my parents were here. And I know I will be listening to it constantly. Some of the songs I already had from different things but I was beyond excited to find that it included songs from two of my favorite older Disney Movies: Summer Magic(1963) and The One and Only, Genuine, Original Family Band(1968). The soundtracks for these movies are very hard to find unless it is in LP form. So obviously I am ecstatic about this. I have a feeling I will be listening to the songs A LOT. 126(ish) songs of pure Disney Magic. I can always count on Disney music and Christmas music to make me feel happy, almost giddy no matter what my mood was before. I love it!

Thursday, October 16, 2008

The day is here!!

The day has come for mom and dad's trip to Disney! I feel so giddy and excited, you would think I was the person who was going for the first time. :)
Their plane comes in late tonight, around 10:45pm. So once I get off work tonight, I will go check us into the hotel and make a wal-mart run for mom so that when she gets here she can just relax and enjoy it. Trevor and I bought cast member lanyards with character pendents for each of the little guys. Winnie picked Lady and the Tramp for her character, Josh picked Goofy, D'Lynn wanted Chip and Dale and Caleb picked Donald. All of the little guys except for Winnie will be getting Disney Dollars as belated/early birthday presents since they have birthdays while Trevor and I are working at Disney.
I am SO excited that I only got a few hours of sleep. And I am cleaning and running around in a frenzy trying to get everything done. Sounds pretty ridiculous, huh?
I am looking forward to having several days off and getting to really enjoy Disney as a guest. I was able to get Friday - Monday off. Trevor is supposed to have Friday, Sunday, and Monday off. I am not sure which parks we will be going to each day, I think we are just going to wing it. But, fortunately, we have learned the ins and outs of getting the most out of our time in the parks.
Well, I guess I will go find something to do before I go into work at 11. Hopefully time will fly quickly today at Hollywood Studios so that they will all be here before I know it!

Monday, October 6, 2008

Family Vacation

Ok, so it really isn't much of a vacation for me... BUT my parents and the lil guys will be coming to Disney World October 16-21(next week!).
I am beyond excited about this for many reasons. The main one being that I miss my family terribly and I can not wait for them to be here and get to see and experience some of the things I experience here everyday. It has been many, many years since my parents came to Disney World(early 1990's) so my younger brothers and sisters haven't gotten to come. That is probably one of the most exciting things in my opinion - getting to be here for their first views of the parks and helping create some of that magic for them. All 8 of us(me, trevor, mom, poppa, winnie, josh, d'lynn and caleb) will all be staying at the All-Star Music Resort. We opted for one of the value resorts because with my discount it was $100-$200 less per night than the other places which can accomodate a group of our size. During October they are also doing a special for cast members with the Disney Dining Plan. For adults it is $20.99 per night and somewhat cheaper for children(which Caleb only made by a year). This includes 1 table service meal, a quick service meal, and a snack per day. It's quite a steal considering you can't even eat at a table service restaurant for that price(unless, of course, you are dining on water and appetizers only). So we are VERY excited to be tasting some of the finer foods at Disney.
Here are some of the places we plan on eating:


The Hoop dee Doo Musical Revue! We have category one seats which means we should have a really good view of the stage. I am really excited about this one. :)




Teppan Edo of Japan in Epcot. Trevor and I ate here on our honeymoon. Obviously it was good enough for us to want to go back. ;)




The Crystal Palace at the Magic Kingdom. Mom and I talked it over and thought it would be fun to do character dining and this is what we ended up choosing. I am even more excited about the fact that I know several people who are "friends with characters" at the Crystal Palace! Which means that I might get pictures with characters that I actually know which is always a fun experience.

We have one more dining reservation but I don't think we have decided what to do with that one yet. We shall see.

Work today but long (10.5 hours) but it went by farely quickly and that always makes work 100% better. Extra magic hours were tonight and I didn't get off until midnight. It is super late and I am headed to bed. Good night!

Saturday, September 27, 2008

Day 35(ish) of 1001

My, oh my... How time is flying!

This past week has been a fairly busy one. We both worked full schedules for the most part. Trevor did not work on Thursday because he was sick. I think he had a virus of some sort because it started Wednesday afternoon and wore off sometime yesterday afternoon. He was running a ridiculously high fever. Proof? I "woke up" Thursday morning freezing. I honestly didn't sleep well the entire night because I was too cold. I have to be cold to sleep but this was just too much! So when I finally braved getting out from under the covers I realized that Trevor had the air set on 45 degrees! And he was still sweating. It was crazy.

Wednesday night was lots of fun. We hosted a movie night at our apartment. It got a late start because we didn't get started until after we all got off work. We ordered pizzas and what we like to call mocktails. We bought apple mixer and blue raspberry mixer and added sprite to it. It was an interesting drink to go along with the pizzas. One of the reasons we started it was for those of us who don't go out drinking and partying to have an opportunity to hang out. It also ended up being an opportunity for some of the people who do party to see that you can have fun and a great time without drinking and getting into trouble. The next day, one of the girls told me that the mocktails definitely tasted better than any alcoholic drink she had ever had and she was excited because she said she now knew there were better alternatives out there. Plus, she was glad because she had a good time and remembered it the next morning. It was a really good feeling. Trevor and I have decided to try and have a movie night at least once a week.

We have yet another long weekend off of work because of mixed up days off. But neither of us are really complaining. We slept in this morning. I ran errands this afternoon and Trevor headed over to Mickey's retreat to play baseball with some of the guys from Sunset. I took a little nap and then woke up to cook supper. The nap was desperately needed but I am wondering if it will end up being worth it since it will be hard to get to bed at a decent hour tonight. Oh, but I love my naps!

Tomorrow morning we will be visiting yet another church. Trevor and I know that there will never be another Pinelake for us. We are so ready to be home so that we can be really involved at Pinelake again. I am particularly excited about joining the choir. :) Tomorrow night we are going to volunteer with a group of people from Sunset, including our managers, at the Give Kids the World Village here in Orlando. I am very excited about this opportunity. Everyone says it is an amazing experience.

The plans for Monday are still yet to be determined. I know I have a "to do" list for the morning but I think we are going to play in the parks for the rest of the day. We shall see! :)

Right now, I am headed off to a bubble bath.

To come, an update on my 101 in 1001 and pictures from our birthdays!

Friday, September 12, 2008

Relaxation

Four days off of work in a row!

For some odd reason they changed our days off last week. So instead of the usual Sunday and Monday off, we had Sunday and Saturday. Which translates into both of us having to work on my birthday. Our manager Matt said that he would take care of fixing our schedules so that we would have the day off but there was a miscommunication and it didn't happen. So he gave us an extra day off... SOOO we have Friday, Saturday, Sunday AND Monday off. Day one is over and I feel very rested and relaxed.

We ran a few errands today and it was so nice to be able to take our time and not have a schedule to keep up with. We saw a few stores and places that we wanted to stop off. And we were able to take our time. Tomorrow we have to get new housing ID's, I have a package to pick up and then I think we are going to play in the parks. It is a great time to be in the parks because there are so few people and the lines are really short.

We haven't even talked about plans for Sunday.

Monday is Trevor's birthday(and Honey's!). We decided that since we didn't have my actual birthday off that we would celebrate them together which is perfectly fine with me. I have several things planned and many surprises for his birthday and I am really excited!

I am going to be a lot of work on my to do list. I have some pictures that need to be added to the computer and I want to do some digi scrapbooking with a few. Also, I am determined to make a dent in sending out Spence update/announcement letters. Yes, I still haven't done this yet. What can I say? Procrastination must be my middle name. ;)

But for now, I am going to finish watching Transformers with Trevor... and I may even take the time for a bubble bath and reading before we head to bed.
Goodnight!

Thursday, September 4, 2008

So I'm not very consistent ;)

I know my strengths... updating a blog definitely isn't one of them. But it's alright, since Honey is patient(most of the time) for my updates. I know other people read my blog, but they have yet to comment. This quite possibly might be a bunch of rambling, in no particular order, but it is all good.

* I made TWO new recipes tonight. I am rather excited. Dinner was wonderful, a twist to Poppy Seed Chicken served over noodles and cresent rolls. :) YUM! And dessert is in the freezer waiting for the next "step". It is a oreo ice cream cake of sorts. I'll have to let you know how it turns out. Both of the recipes came from a cook book that was given to me by Norma Jean, my great aunt(I believe).

* I have ordered two books through Barnes and Nobles. Hopefully it won't be too much longer until they get here because I need to read Austenland before the discussions start within our family book club. I might just be a little bit behind. But knowing how much I read I honestly think I will be able to catch up.

* Last night we went to Disney's Boo to You cast preview. It was pretty awesome if I do say so myself. I am not a big fan of holloween but it really wasn't too bad. haha, Trevor loved it. We were front and center with one of the best views. Maybe I can post pictures later.

* Hopefully, I will be knocking a few things off of the list once Trevor's birthday gets here. The organizer in me wants to have everything planned out and set but our work schedule is a little uncertain right now so we will have to see. I'm sure it will be a great birthday for him either way.

* Poppa, Mom and the lil guys are coming!! I am in the process of researching what is available to them. We shall see :) I am just excited that they will be here with us for a little while. And I get to be with them when the lil guys experience Disney for the first time. The plan is for them to come sometime in October because we are getting an AMAZING cast member discount on rooms and the Dining Plan. :)

* I am about to watch a movie with my Angel. And while I watch that movie I will be working on a cross-stitch - yet another thing on my list!

* I got an ER(early release) at work today. Because of my spinal problems, every once in a while too much fluid will collect in my spinal column. But for some strange reason, it seems to be going into my left leg and foot. They went from normal size to double size in about an hour and a half. Needless to say, my leg is fat... and it is heavy, making it extremely difficult to walk and very painful... :( I won't lie, it was nice to be able to cook supper at a normal time and hopefully get to bed at a decent hour.

* Bright and early tomorrow, we are planning on getting my precious Patty towed and fixed. I am beyond excited. Being completely without a car, and relying fully on CP bus transportation, has been difficult. I am ready for my piece of freedom to be fixed ;)

I think that is plenty enough for now. Good night!

Tuesday, August 26, 2008

Making Progress

I have already been able to "check off" some things on my list! Ok... So maybe not a whole thing but atleast adding on to the things that are supposed to be done multiple times. And I've added the list to the left-hand column so that I can update it and see it more regularly.

I am not ready to go back to work tomorrow. I enjoy my days off. However, the pass by WAY too quickly. I never seem to have enough hours on those day whereas the hours on days that I work seem to last forever. Is it bad that I count down to next Sunday when Tuesday is just beginning? I always count down to the next day that we have off. Oh well. It makes the time pass quickly.

There is also a new list coming... Trevor and I are making a list off all the things we want to do, places we want to go and restaurants we want to eat at while we are here at Disney. The last 3 months have flown by. And I have no doubt in my mind that the next four will pass just as quickly. I am reallllllly looking forward to being here for Christmas but it will be strange at the same time. It will be the first holiday away from either of our families... and no Christmas tree because all of our stuff is back in MS. But it should be fun none the less.

Well, I am off to get some sleep before work tomorrow. :)

Sunday, August 24, 2008

So I've been inspired... :)

At work, a lady was talking about her 101 in 1001. I had no clue what she was talking about and I didn't get a chance to ask her because I got rotated to a different spot. However, I come home to find that several people had updated their blogs and were also referring to the 101 in 1001. So I found out some more information and I've decided to take on the task as well. I have always been the type of person who enjoys lists and tasks. I guess I just like seeing my progress and being able to put a check next to something.

The Mission:
Complete 101 preset tasks in a period of 1001 days.

The Criteria:
Tasks must be specific (ie. no ambiguity in the wording) with a result that is either measurable or clearly defined. Tasks must also be realistic and stretching (ie. represent some amount of work on my part).

Why 1001 Days?
Many people have created lists in the past - frequently simple goals such as New Year's resolutions. The key to beating procrastination is to set a deadline that is realistic. 1001 Days (about 2.75 years) is a better period of time than a year, because it allows you several seasons to complete the tasks, which is better for organising and timing some tasks such as overseas trips or outdoor activities.




So here we go... :)


Start date: 8/24/2008
End date: 5/11/2011

Monday, August 18, 2008

Growing

"I'm growing. I don't like it.
I'm growing, and it hurts.
I love You, but I'm tired.
Guess I've got a lot to learn."
- Growing by Wayne Watson

So much is changing, I don't even know where to begin.

WORK
I have officially moved to Hollywood Studios to work in QSR(Quick Service) with Trevor. It was interesting adjusting to working together but I think we are handling it well. It is SO nice to be able to have the same shifts and the same days off. It really has been a blessing.

CAR
The Patty broke down(yet again) today. We'll find out soon what is going on with it. Since we ride the bus to and from work, it is not as pressing to get it fixed as it would be otherwise. Right now we are just waiting.

SCHOOL
I am actually sad that I am not in school for the fall semester. But only a little bit. :)
I miss buying school supplies. For some odd reason, I just LOVE shopping for school/art supplies. But I know I need this break. Hopefully I will be finished with one degree by this time next year if I can get everything scheduled the way I need to. And then I will get to work on my second degree but I think things will be a lot easier once I get that first degree because I will have a (hopefully) better paying job and be able to take my time getting my second degree

ME
I am actually really happy with who I am and where I am. Trevor and I have been doing great. Enjoying our days off and having some really amazing dates. After all, we are in the happiest place on earth.
I am finally getting a good balance of work and housekeeping. In fact, I made a wonderful mexican dish tonight and it felt GREAT! I am sick of eating/seeing fast food. I want good home cooking. :)
I have lost weight! I have not gone back to weigh myself since a week or two after we got here... BUT I have dropped several sizes and lost a good many inches on my waist. I feel so much more comfortable with myself and in my own skin. I have always felt very self-conscious about my weight, especially when both of my older sisters are very slim. But I lost the weight and I am still eating good food. Strangely enough, all of this was without working out. I simply "slimmed down" my portion sized and chose to eat a little bit better. I haven't had time to workout with the way we have been working 50+ hours a week but the busy pace and the work has helped me slim down. And this basically runs me into my next "point"... :)

BIRTHDAYS
September is a big birthday month for my family. Trevor and I have birthdays exactly a week a part. Ironically enough we both had the same idea for each others birthdays, a weekend away in either Miami or Cocoa Beach. Unfortunately, since we don't know what will be going on with the car we are putting off booking anything. Most likely we will just be staying here. Trevor is also giving me a "makeover" for my birthday. I am going to get contacts again which I basically haven't worn in a year. He is paying for me to get a haircut and then I get to go have my makeup done and buy whatever I want that they use for it. I don't wear makeup much, so whatever I buy lasts a long time. Also, since I have been having problems with my skin - my eye in particular - I think it would be better to have better quality makeup. All of this along with my weight loss has me really excited, happy and comfortable with myself. I want to look good for Trevor and being at that point is so satisfying. Now I need to just keep it up ;)

FRIENDS
This is an area of my life that is really weighing on me right now. While I want friends, and I know that I need girl friends to hang out with and talk with, I am at a different point in my life than most girls in my life. I am married to my best friend and I no longer feel the need to have the "BFF" type of relationship. I have learned that there are many types of friendship. Friends for a Lifetime. Friends for a Reason. Friends for a Season.
I miss my "normals". The group of girls from Pinelake that I was constantly with during high school. These girls have been such a support to me through everything and though we don't talk every day and we don't all get to see each other very much, whenever we do hang out it is like we have never skipped a beat. That is the type of friendship I need. These are the Lifetime type of Friendships.
I miss my Alpha Delta Pi girls. These ladies made my last year at USM bearable. I hated USM before but once I met these girls I finally felt comfortable and had a sense of belonging on that campus. But very few of them talk to me. I understand the distance... but somehow I feel so excluded from everything that is going on with them now. They all bonded during sisterhood week and then recruitment... now they are all going back to school while I am here in Florida. I think that this group of friends could both qualify as friends for a Reason or a Season with a few sticking out into the Lifetime category. I will never regret joining a sorority and it was great while it lasted. I wish it had lasted longer, but like I have said before, I feel like I am at a different point in my life than most people my age.
I am making some wonderful friends here but I know that most likely they will all only be friends for a Season. After all, several have already left and the rest of us will part ways before the month is out or in January. It's hard but definitely worth the friendships that are formed. I will never forget the ICPs that I worked with in Tomorrowland. I miss the Europeans and their lovely accents. But the people I will miss the most are "my" Chinese girls. These girls have endeared themselves to me in a way that few people ever have in my life. They are truly kindred spirits who I have waited my whole life to meet. And I have already shed a few tears over them leaving though they aren't leaving until the 22nd/29th. *sigh* Such a struggle. I am not the type to distance myself or miss out on meeting people and becoming friends. But it is hard knowing you will have to leave them in a short time. It isn't like college where you will be with the same people for the majority of your college career. It has definitely been a learning and growing experience.

I think that is enough rambling for today...
I am growing, things are changing... It's life :)

Monday, July 28, 2008

7 Reasons not to spray perfume on a bus...

(the events of Saturday)
1) The person sitting next to you might be allergic
2) Their face might turn purple, they might start to itch all over and they might have trouble breathing
3) Yeah, the guys with the alpha unit might be nice but seriously, who wants to be hooked up to their oxygen machine or heart monitor?
4)Some random man might take a picture of the person who had the allergic reaction while she is hooked up to said machines.
5)The person who had the allergic reaction will have to leave work early and only get to stay for 2 hours of their 9 hour shift. In some cases this might be a good thing but when 5.5 of the 7 hours they missed out on would have been overtime and you calculate how much money was lost... it is NOT a good thing.
6)Poor person with the allergic reaction spent hours laying on the couch with no energy to eat, drink, etc... and eventually ended up throwing up. Yuck
7)Your perfume smelled worse than old lady perfume. Why were you wearing it anyway?
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Saturday morning I took the A bus as usual to West Clock parking lot and then got on the Disney VIP Cast Member bus to go to where we clock in. A Chinese girl sitting next to me sprayed her perfume and I asked her to stop. Honestly, I don't think she understood what I was asking because she just laughed and said, "ah, nah nah". She continued to spray it a few more time and then put it up. My face started to itch really bad and then my arms and legs. The 3 minute ride felt like it was 30 minutes. When I got off the bus I headed straight for the Tomorrowland base and clocked in. I figured that once I was out of the bus and breathing in different, clean air that I would be ok. Not the case... My friend Kimberly came up to me and basically dragged me to the manager's office stating that my face was turning purple. At this point I hadn't looked in a mirror and I realized that I was having trouble breathing. So I told the managers what happened and they called the Alpha Unit(Disney's version of paramedics because it sounds less startling to guests). The came about 5 minutes later, gave me some medicine, hooked me up to an oxygen machine and heart monitor. And so there I sat at the base where every Tomorrowland person could see me as they passed by, clocked in, or went on break - no privacy at all. They had me hooked up for who knows how long and during this time some of the head Tomorrowland managers(not just my merch managers) and some of the head Magic Kingdom bigwigs came and checked on me. Quite possibly one of the most embarrassing moments of my life but THEN it got worse, some random man came and took my picture while I was sitting there miserable and hooked up to the machines. They offered to let me go home but I told them I wanted to atleast try and work. Unfortunately the medicine was making me super sleepy so I eventually went home. And proceeded to lay on the couch and watch the Love Comes Softly movies from about 2pm until who knows when. I will not go into details about the actually "getting sick" part. Sadly enough, I felt slightly better and was so exhausted so I finally fell asleep. Sunday morning I slept in and felt SOOO much better. So there are the details of my lovely Saturday!

Sunday, July 27, 2008

Moving on up...

...Or over... or just plain old transferring.

It went through! I will be moving to Hollywood Studios so that Trevor and I can work in the same park, get atleast one day off together AND have the same shifts. I am excited for so many reasons. I LOVE Studios - which is what I will refer to it as since it is still MGM in my heart but I am forever getting corrected that the name has changed. Believe me, I KNOW they changed the name... but that doesn't mean I have to accept it. haha.

I will miss Tomorrowland and the people that I work with there but I truly believe that the good outweighs the bad in this situation. And God truly opened up the door for me to transfer. Unfortunately, I will not be working in Merchandise anymore. I will be doing Quick Service Food and Beverage. On the bright side, I get paid more and the shifts are shorter. :)

I am glad that I will be leaving when all of my ICP's leave. That means I won't have to work in Tomorrowland without my favorite Chinese girls. We are planning a trip to Miami for next weekend which should be an adventure in and of itself.

The details of my yesterday will have to wait for another day because I have to finish getting ready for work. So for my one reader ;) be looking for the details of yesterday AND the plans for Trevor's birthday which I am already getting underway.

Tuesday, July 22, 2008

Exhausted

Yesterday, I went to Universal Studios with Trevor, Ila and her friends John and Justin. I had a great time. It was my first time to experience U.S. and it was nice to play in some parks other than Disney(not that I am tired of Disney at all!). But we did both parks, Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure, in one day. So I am exhausted and extremely tired.

Sadly, my phone got damaged on one of the water rides. It was in our bag in their "safe" compartments but it still got wet. So I am going this afternoon to find an AT&T store to get my SIM card copied before it stops working and then I will be buying a GO phone from Wal-mart to use for now.

I was supposed to have today off but I signed up for an Extra Hours Shift and I will be working tonight from 6pm to 1am. I didn't really want to work extra hours but I knew I needed to so I did. haha. But atleast I have most of my day to enjoy. Fortunately, the shift was in Tomorrowland. Unfortunately, it is in Zone 2. I love working the Arcade but I hate being at the carts outside. But by the time I get there it will be getting close to dark so I won't have to be out in the sun too long. And I will be in a prime spot for watching the fireworks.

Well I am off to get my phone taken care of so that I won't feel quite so naked anymore being without it. :)

Thursday, July 17, 2008

For Honey!


I have really enjoyed the last two days. Yesterday was spent playing in the parks(Epcot and Hollywood Studios) with different friends and Trevor coming and going. I spent the whole day with Chelsea, one of the girls I work with and we had a GREAT time.

Today Ime and I ran errands and ended our afternoon at Sam's. I LOVE shopping at Sam's. Buying in bulk makes things so much easier and it is especially good down here because it is MUCH cheaper than paying for things in smaller quantities elsewhere. I spent my evening cleaning house and trying to ignore the loud music from the apartment below. I decided to get away from the apartment and walked to the gym to workout for a bit. The music was still going when I got back and considering things were "walking" the coffee table because of the bass I finally called the gate and complained. I hate doing it but it was obnoxiously loud(as in I could hear it over the dishwasher and TV) and it had been going on for 4 hours. Thankfully, the music has stopped and my head has stopped throbbing.

While I cleaned and created the layouts that are posted below I watched this:


I haven't watched this show in AGES. :) I love it and I appreciate it in a whole new light from when I was younger. And now for the layouts... I was kind of worried about them but I really think they turned out well! Let me know what you think.



I can't take credit for any of these papers, elements or wordarts that were used but the layouts are my own. Honestly, I can't even take credit for the pictures considering I took them from Honey's. :) I just thought it would be fun to create something for Honey.




























I can't take credit for any of these papers, elements or wordarts that were used but the layouts are my own. Honestly, I can't even take credit for the pictures considering I took them from Honey's. :) I just thought it would be fun to create something fun for Honey.

As you can probably tell I have recently come across the lovely hobby of digi-scrapbooking. :) I absolutely love it! Here are the links and credits for the papers, elements and wordart.



Credit and LINKS:

Word Art:
Elegant Word Art by Bethany
Papers and Elements:
Digikeepsakes by Lesley B


Sunday, July 13, 2008

The Trip Home


Myself and D'Lynn - Poppa called us "mini-me and maxi-me" all weekend and she loved it! When we came into the living room and surprised all of them, she immediately jumped in my arms and literally didn't let go for almost an hour.

Josh and Caleb(aka Peanut) - These boys are a handful, mess, etc... But I love them and their craziness, young-boy-ness. Weren't they precious in their tuxes?!

Winnie will forever be baby Moses in my eyes. She has been baby Moses to the entire family since I stuck her in my mom's plastic sewing basket and floated her in the filled bathtub. No harm done, she was safe in the basket and she loved the attention. Yes, I thought she was my very own live babydoll when she was born. =) But she is growing up into a young lady, which is exciting and scary at the same time.

Rae and Honey - Rachel and I managed to snag some time together this weekend, which I am really glad of. :)
Honey finally got married and she will be back tomorrow from their mini-honeymoon.

I am exceedingly tired but not sleepy. Back to work and "the real world" tomorrow at the wonderful world of Disney. Magic Kingdom here I come. I am refreshed from our lovely weekend at home and it has renewed a feeling for us to embrace the months we have here before we return to the place that will always claim "home" in our hearts.

More pictures to come!

Kit name: Cinnamon Toast

Designer: Vicki - A Work In Progress

Friday, July 11, 2008

SURPRISE

Well, Honey said that people actually read my blog... and that some of these readers thought that the "news" was that I was pregnant. Now that the surprise has actually occurred I can correct that.

The excitement was over getting plane tickets to come to Jackson for Honey's wedding tomorrow. Trevor and I flew in yesterday afternoon and Poppa picked us up. He was the only person who knew we were coming so it was a big surprise to everyone else(or atleast I am going to keep believing that we pulled off the surprise perfectly).

So we are home until Sunday morning when we will be flying back to Orlando.
=)

Wednesday, July 9, 2008

Getting Creative

I bought a simple black dress last week. Since then I have bought beads and have been "jazzing it up". I am actually quite happy with the results so far. I usually have alot of creative ideas but rarely follow through with them. I rewarded myself yesterday for it too. =)

I sold some clothes that I rarely wear at Plato's closet Yes, I brought clothes with me to Florida knowing I rarely wear them. I brought them with two motives - 1) hoping to lose weight and fit into them 2) thinking I might wear some of the shirts in light of the lovely Florida weather. I have lost the weight but I don't like the way the shorts fit and the shirts aren't that comfortable. So I created some room in my closet by clearing them out and added some "fun money" to my wallet.

After leaving Plato's Closet, I drove around the rest of the shopping center and found a hole-in-the-wall shoe store. I found shoes that match my beads going on my dress perfectly. They are so cute and so comfortable! AND they were on sale so I got them for $10. =) Now I have a cute outfit in case a special occasion comes up. Maybe a date with Hubby!

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Work has been pretty good. I got a migraine a few days ago and got an Early Release but other than that it has been good. I love the people I work with and closing makes time pass so much faster. Sadly, I like the park best once the guests leave. It's a completely different atmosphere and the hours feel like minutes in a good way. But I do love when the guests are there too.

I have been getting some short shifts. They are nice because I go in at 4 or 5 and get off around midnight or 1. It is so nice because I love being home, spending time with my husband, etc. BUT the downside is that I am not getting many hours in for the week. They say it will get better once all the seasonal people leave at the end of the summer. We shall see.

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Monday, June 30, 2008

Oh so Excited =)

Ah! I am almost giddy with excitement. But sadly, I can't share the source of my giddiness JUST yet. I am so good at keeping secrets but this one is just about to make me bust. haha. So since I can't exactly share just yet... I will change the subject.

Things are in the works for me to change parks. =) So if this happens I will get to have the same days off as Trevor, we will be schedule for close to the same shifts and I will be in my favorite park - Hollywood Studios which is still near and dear to my heart as MGM. It is my favorite because of the theming. I love old Hollywood, movie sets, etc. Alas, I was definitely born in the wrong time period. :)

I worked a short shift today which was greatly appreciated. I got off work at 7:45 and Trevor was waiting out the Magic Kingdom cast parking lot for me. We got supper and then headed to Wal-mart for some much needed grocery shopping. We have both decided that it will be work driving the extra 10 minutes to go to a different Wal-mart that is less of a tourist trap. Needless to say, I miss the slow pace and organization of the Wal-marts back home.

I work a long and late shift tomorrow but then I have Wednesday and Thursday off. I have made a commitment to myself to get to sleep at a decent hour and get up no later than 10. I need to make the most of my day and I want to make more time for two of my favorite things: working out and laying out at the pool. :)

Well, enough rambling for now. Good night and sweet dreams!

Saturday, June 28, 2008

Wishes

Last night was amazing. As I worked outside at Ursa's Hat Cart, I had the opportunity to see Wishes in a completely different light. Not as a guest, not as a cast member peeking my head outside of the door to catch a glimpse of the fireworks, but as a spectator of the guests. The looks on peoples faces, the wonder, the excitement and the realization of all the possibilities - I saw it all first hand. And I won't lie... It definitely gave me goosebumps.

It was beautiful and the understanding, once again, that I am a part of making the magic hit me. There is no real way to describe it. It was so special.



This is a picture Trevor and I took a few days ago after he got off work. My Angel is in his costume and I must say that I think he is completely adorable. The last few weeks have been hard as we have adjusted to working and having different schedules. But it has become easier as we have learned to take every moment and savor them. The sweet moments in the morning before we even get out of bed, where we lay there and can find complete bliss in just looking into each other's eyes. =) Those and seeing him waiting on the couch when I get home from work(yes, the roles are usually switched from how I wish they would be) and he just opens his arms in such a welcoming manner. I love being in his arms, it is so precious to me.

I firmly believe that my parents are right: Happiness is being married to your best friend. And I have such a wonderful earthly best friend!