Disney Challenge #7

Favorite Sidekick..






This guy is AWESOME. He's hilarious, has oodles and oodles of pizazz, and is Robin Williams. It's so much fun to watch him switch from character to character, especially during the song "Friend Like Me". Plus, he's central to the plot. He makes Aladdin a prince, saves his life twice, and is a good friend. Of course he works to the evil side for a bit, but that's not his fault. He still tries to help Al out from the bad guys side and is the best friend a person could ask for.

I also ADORE the Aladdin show at California Adventure..I swear it's as good as a Broadway production..and the Genie is awesome in it, and so hilarious!

How we spent our 5 Year Anniversary...

I felt very spoiled this year. We usually always do something for our anniversary, I think there's only been one year where we didn't take a trip because I was recovering from being extremely ill. I felt like I had almost a whole week celebration this year!

The morning of our anniversary was a Saturday, and I woke up to a delicious breakfast in bed from my husband. Biscuits and gravy (My absolute fave!), a mini cheese and mushroom omelet, hot tea and a fresh fruit smoothie. Plus a beautiful letter and card from him. We hadn't really planned on doing anything that day since we had our Disneyland trip planned and all. But after breakfast he decided he wanted to go to Fresno for some shopping and dinner at our favorite sushi place, Wasabi. Of course, I wasn't going to argue with that. We snuggled in bed and watched a few episodes of "How I Met Your Mother", then got ready to go. Of course, me being me, I love any excuse to put on one of my fancy dresses so I did just that. We had a lot of fun shopping, David got some new shoes and bought me a super cute hoodie and of course our dinner was amazing as usual. We always leave there totally stuffed and satisfied!

Sunday we relaxed most of the day and watched football, but also packed and got everything ready for our trip. We planned on leaving at 5am Monday morning..and I'm proud to say I was fully packed by 3pm on Sunday afternoon, and we left at about 5:15am on Monday. That has to be some kind of record for me :)

I think I probably only got like three hours of sleep..I was just WAY too excited! So when my alarm went off it wasn't too hard for me to jump out of bed and start getting ready. We were out the door at 5:15 and off to pick up Todd & Marcy! Woo hoo! Marcy brough along her six disc set of Disney Classic songs so we could set the mood. I'm sure our hubbys loved that! I think they're both used to it, considering how big of Disney freaks we both are. It's not very rare to hear me singing some Disney tunes while cleaning the house. Gotta make it fun!

We got to the park at about 9:30..and because our friends are like VIP Disneyland members, we got free parking the whole time we were there. Score! That saved like fifty bucks! Souvenir money, of course! Being the Disneyland fanatic that I am, I had our first few rides planned out. Normally I'm not the type to do that kind of thing, but when there's new rides with huge lines, you gotta do a little planning. In our case, the new Star Tours ride in 3D was just recently opened, and now that they have those handy dandy Fastpasses, we headed to get those first, and then..Space Mountain "Ghost Galaxy". They do it up for Halloween, but I'm old school and missed the "real" Space Mountain. Still fun though!! Next was the Finding Nemo submarines which are so cool. Then it was time to head back to Star Tours, and I must say, it's AWESOME!!!

The tram ride is always exciting to me..especially on the first day!


Messy hair from Space Mountain..but VERY excited for the new Star Tours!!


It was in the mid 80's that day, so we decided to cool down with Splash Mountain. Of course being the smallest, I had to sit in front and I got drenched! The hair definitely went up after that one!


I don't like being wet..


So after spending all day at Disneyland, which closed early due to a Halloween Party thing, we headed over to California Adventure. I was QUITE excited for this as The Little Mermaid ride recently opened, and let's face it, girls like me have been waiting 20 years for that one. With the whole Halloween Party going on at Disneyland, California Adventure was pretty much a ghost town that night so we walked onto every ride, which is always exciting. The Little Mermaid was everything I hoped it would be, just wish it was a tad longer, and maybe a little bit more of an explanation on how Ariel becomes a human at the end and marries Prince Eric. Other than that..beautiful and amazing!

Of course we hit up Tower of Terror a few times, and I got forced on the "Fun" Wheel..because my husband wanted our friends to hear how deathly scared of those swinging death cages I am. According to Todd, I sound like a rabid chihuahua. I later was rewarded with a big stuffed Dumbo that my husband won for me in one of the games on the boardwalk. Ok, I guess going on that thing was worth it then because he's so very cute!



Sure, it's pretty all lit up at night. But don't you dare get in one of the swinging ones. Go for the stationary!


Our first night ended with a fun dinner at the ESPN Zone in Downtown Disney. Best cheese fries ever, and the baseball games were on, major plus! Of course, I had to see the Yankees lose that night and hear the whole place cheering. Oh well, there's always next year! We were dead tired after dinner and I couldn't wait to snuggle into bed and get up early for Day 2!

Day 2 started off a bit rainy, but cleared up by afternoon and was pretty warm again. We hit up Fantasyland first thing, got on my favorite ride first, Peter Pan! Then of course Dumbo, Snow White, Pinocchio, Small World, Mr. Toad..and couldn't forget the Casey Jr train! We were rockin' the Mickey Mouse panchos too. Luckily it cleared up in time and they went ahead with Mickey's Soundsational Parade. I was very excited for this since some of my favorite characters were included, like Mary Poppins, who I've never seen in a parade before. Of course Rapunzel was there too with her tower and all that hair. It was a really cool parade, and we camped out for a bit before so we had great seats on the benches in Main Street! I was definitely in my happy place with my churro and watching the horses and trolleys go by as we waited.

It's my girl Rapunzel!


Mary Poppins & Bert!


After the parade, we hit up the Haunted Mansion, Jungle Cruise, Matterhorn, and then headed over to California Adventure to wait in line for another new ride, Goofy's Flight School, and then line up for World of Color. Oh World of Color, you are soooo amazing. I could watch it every night we were there, but of course there's other things to be accomplished :) I was quite excited they added Tangled into it. I think I squealed a bit and David gave me a big squeeze from behind. Yeah, everyone knows I'm kind of obsessed with that movie. We finished off the night with dinner and drinks at Red Robin.

Day 3 was definitely RAINY! The panchos were back on, and this time they were on all day. I didn't even bother straightening my hair this day, I let it be wild and curly. No use in trying to look cute when it rains..plus it meant sleeping in extra :) We were prepared with warm clothes and umbrellas, so we didn't let the rain get us down. Plus, the park was super empty this day. We walked on practically every ride. But, some stuff was closed which was a bummer. Tea Cups, Alice in Wonderland, Storybookland, and Thunder Mountain were all closed. But, that just meant we got to back the next day! Score! We spent Day 3 basically just doing whatever, we hit most of the rides up for a second time, or in the case of Tower of Terror, fourth time, and that wasn't even the last haha. We did Indiana Jones of course, and Roger Rabbit which was cool, I hadn't been on that one in years as it's always been closed for some reason the last couple of times we've been. We spent time in the stores, Marcy and I both drooling over all the cute stuff. Especially the Disney Dooney & Bourke purses..(hint hint for anyone shopping for my birthday or Christmas. I want the black princess one!!). We rode Toy Story Mania and Monsters Inc over at California Adventure, and also got a good look at Cars Land while riding the stationary cages of the Fun Wheel. Of course the rain was all up in our faces, but it was actually pretty hilarious. We rode the train all the way through Disneyland which I don't think I've actually done before. Normally we just ride it from Toon Town back to Main Street. But this time we rode it from Main Street, back to Main Street and then got off in New Orleans Square to go on Haunted Mansion again. After a fun filled rainy day, we headed back to the hotel for some hot tub time for my aching body (Yeah I'm like an old lady, my bones hurt when it rains!), followed up by warm showers, dry clothes and dinner at Buca De Beppos. Such a fun time at that place, and great food!!

Day 4, and the last day is always bittersweet. We woke up to beautiful weather though which was great because that meant for sure the stuff we missed would be open. So we headed to Thunder Mountain first, what a great ride to start the day off! Then over to Fantasyland for Tea Cups (4 of us in one trying to all spin it was quite hilarious), Alice and Storybook Land. Oh and the Tiki Room of course!! I also always have to do the walk through of Sleeping Beauty's Castle, it's so magical. Then of course, my usual photo op in front of the castle, and a stop at the Snow White wishing well.


My very own Prince!!


One of the many reasons I love him..because he poses for photos like this with me!


Look who I found!


And look who else!


Mom, I know you're super jealous since she dissed you all those years ago..


So, I took this picture for you :)


Tower of Terror!!


More Tower of Terror! I'll never get enough of this ride!



I had such a blast on this trip. Not only was it the best way to celebrate five years of marriage, but it was also so much fun sharing the experience with my fellow Disney Freak, Marcy! We're so lucky to have such great friends like them. Definitely one of my favorite Disneyland trips ever!

It will always be my favorite place (Even ahead of Disney World, which I've also been to), it's near and dear to my heart for so many reasons. I'll never forget the first time going with my parents and my brother. This trip definitely made me long for a family trip with them sometime in the near future!

Here's to many more Disney memories down the road..hopefully someday soon with my own little Disney Freak :) Yes, my child will have no choice in the matter!

And here's to five years of marriage with the best husband I could have ever imagined. Thank you for everything you do, and for making this one of the most memorable trips ever. I look forward to many more anniversaries and fun times. May we be as happy as Carl & Ellie. Even our bumps in the roads are adventures with you my love. Except somehow I know we'll get to our very own Paradise Falls in the end..

Five Years.

Holy shizballs. I've been married five years! It's hard to believe, but then in a way, it does feel like it's been that long. Sometimes it feels longer considering everything we've gone through.

It's no secret our relationship didn't start off as an easy one. Actually, I shouldn't say that. It was easy for us, not so much for other people. We both had been in bad marriages before we met. David had been seperated for a few years already, but I was freshly seperated and not really looking. I made a stupid decision at 18 to get married to the person I dated in high school. I was stubborn and wouldn't listen to everyone telling me it was a bad idea. I found out the hard way, as that person ended up hurting me in more ways than one, and when I look back, the signs were all there long before we got married, I just chose to ignore them. So, needless to say, when I started dating David only a few months after my break up, some people were skeptical. I think it mostly had to do with our age difference, because that's what I heard "gossiped" about a lot. It's funny though, so many people we worked with would come up to me and be like "OMG..you and David? That totally makes sense. You guys are perfect for eachother!". It's true. We are.

What most people don't know, don't care to know, or choose not to believe is, we were friends long before we started dating. I should clarify, we were work friends. Although he was seperated at the time, I wasn't. I think because I was in such a bad relationship, I kind of looked to David as the guy I wish my husband at the time was like. David just has a way about him. He's very friendly and outgoing. He's super hilarious, and very much a gentlemen. I remember coming into work and hearing him say "Hi gorgeous!", or things like that. That's how he is..I wasn't the only person he said them to, that's just kind of how he greets people. He made me look forward to going to work. Yeah, my home life was bad. I confided in him about things that were going on, and I think that's what made us more than just work friends. We never hung out or anything outside of work until I was seperated, but the fact that he was the one who I was confiding in brought us closer. I can honestly say, I never felt he had intentions of dating me or anything like that. I know he didn't. He always respected that I was with someone else, and never once told me "Oh you should leave him and get divorced" or anything like that. He was genuinely concerned for my safety and knew I didn't have anyone to help me. My parents were stationed in Virginia at the time, and I felt like if I told them, they would think I was irresponsible and couldn't handle things by myself.

So, to make a very long story sort of short..I did get out of the relationship I was in. I took about two months to kind of be by myself. By that I mean, hanging out with friends every night, pulling all nighters, probably drinking more than I should (I shouldn't have been at all actually since I was 20. Oops! :). I felt a little bit out of control. I realized I was never meant to be one of those girls. David and I started having totally platonic movie nights, lunch dates, stuff like that. Then, on one of those movie nights, we talked for hours. Him sitting on his couch, me about five feet away in his leather chair. He asked me to come sit by him on the couch and I did. This lead to our first kiss. Aww. So, I guess you could say that's when we officially became a couple. There were a few bumps in the road after that, where we weren't sure if our timing was right. But, it obviously worked out, led to many wonderful date nights, trips together, and the most romantic engagement ever. Ok, I'm biased, so what. Then of course, we made it official on October 1, 2006 at 4:00 pm. Then..we sailed away for seven days to Mexico. Bliss.

Now, it's five years later. While I'm not where I thought I would be after five years, my marriage has kind of exceeded my expectations. There have been ups and downs, no marriage is without those. But, we've come out of those even stronger than ever. We've been through more than most couples have in five years..and technically most of it happened within the first three years. There's been illness, both with me and with family members which effected us, a devastating miscarriage and grueling fertility treatments, trust issues, financial issues, and I'm sure more stuff I can't think of at the moment. Obviously, that's a lot to deal with. But we did it. There's no one else I would rather go through those things with than David. He knows how to be there for me, and he's been amazing through it all. It's not a secret that I struggle a lot with anxiety, and I can admit it I had a huge mental breakdown last summer after an encounter with my biological father. It triggered a lot of things from my childhood and pretty much rocked me to the core. It's something I'm still dealing with and continue to get help for. David has been so supportive through everything, I just really can't express it enough.

He can calm me down like no one can. There's been times where I've been in full on anxiety attacks and he's just held me and talked me through it. I don't think I'll ever know how I got so lucky..to share my life with someone who loves me as much as he does, who tells me that on a daily basis, who's my #1 fan, who thinks all the nerdy things about me are cute, who holds me when I need it, and stays away from me when I need it.

Of course there's times where we get on eachothers nerves. It's not all sunshine and rainbows all the time. Marriage is work. Anyone who thinks it won't take work, that it's all just gonna be romantic all the time, talk to people who have been married awhile before you walk down the aisle. Don't let the trials get you down, don't bail on it when things aren't perfect.

A wise man once told me (that wise man is my husband), that sometimes it's a choice. You're not always going to feel loving. You're not always going to feel like sharing or serving (and the serving goes for the husband AND wife). The honeymoon stage will end. You're going to be pissed sometimes. Frustrated. Angry as hell. Those are the times when you have to choose to love. Choose to serve. Choose to be committed. Choose to stay.


I thought it was genius. And I'm glad he's mine.

Lagging..

I know..I'm totally lagging on blogging lately. But I have a good excuse! My five year wedding anniversary was October 1st..and then we spent four days at Disneyland last week (I know, I'm so lucky!). Lot's of updates to come soon..and of course..I need to finish my Disney Challenge! Thanks to all my family and friends to the anniversary calls, texts, fb posts..all of it. We appreciate it so much and are truly blessed to have such a loving family and great friends!!

Disney Challenge #6

#6: Favorite Animal

So..this is a hard one. Considering there's animals in like pretty much every Disney movie. But, I go with what first pops into my head. Are you ready to meet someone so sweet and love able, you would definitely adopt him off the streets of New York City?





Why, it's Oliver of course. This is actually the first Disney movie I remember seeing. I had to look up the release date because I know it came out before Little Mermaid, and I was like 5 when that came out, so it was crazy to me that I remembered something from before that. Sure enough it was November 18, 1988..only one day away from my fourth birthday..and I'm sure my mom probably took me for my birthday. I used to feel kind of spoiled by Disney and I think it's one thing that started my love for them was that the new movies always would come out around my birthday. Little Mermaid was November of 1989, then Beauty & The Beast in November of 1991 (You don't even want to know how many times my dad took me to see that one in the theater..ha!)..anyway, I think it made me feel special :)

Oliver is just soo adorable! All he wants is an owner who loves him and plays with him and sure enough he finds that in Jenny, a lonely little girl who adopts him. Oliver runs into some crazy shenanigans on the way, but he eventually gets everything he wants. He's love able and sweet, and orange. My favorite kind of kitty :) Plus, just like one of the songs in the movie says, "He's steet smart, he's got New York City heart." Love. I had my very own Jenny moment about 10 years ago, when on a rainy night, I heard meowing while driving with my boyfriend at the time. We were stopped at a stop sign at the end of a street and I heard meows, so we had to stop. Sure enough there were two brand new kittens that someone had dumped in the gutter. One was orange, one black and white. We took them to his mom's house and dried them off and fed them and gave them a comfy bed to sleep in. The black and white one hadn't even opened her eyes yet so you can just imagine how tiny they were. I of course fell in love with the little bitty orange guy, and he ended up being my mom's "Mother's Day Gift" that next day, which was Mother's Day 2001. I brought him home and of course my family fell in love with the "precious" little guy, he was so tiny and defenseless. Ha! If you only knew! That cat grew up to be the craziest one you'd ever meet. But we still love him..my very own little Oliver.. :)