7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1

7 weeks

6 theme parks

5 flights

4 Emporium shifts

3 states

2 HUGE suitcases

1 VERY tired girl

I've been gone for 7 weeks. It's nice to be back in my own bed, with my own pillows, and I should be able to stop living out of a suitcase as soon as I unpack. I've missed my family, though I'm really going to miss all of the people that I had to say goodbye to.

Here are some highlights from my trip:

-I visited Hogsmead, ate at 3 Broomsticks, tried Butter Beer, went to Ollivander's wand shop, rode the Forbidden Journey and took about a million pictures.

-Spent 2 fantastic days at Typhoon Lagoon with the wonderful Amanda Babb

-Spent 9 days in Georgia with my Aunt Ramona, Uncle Bob, and cousins Lexy, Matt and Katie

-Saw 2 movies in the theater! (Something Borrowed and Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides.) This doesn't sound like a big deal, except that the last movie I remember seeing in the theater was Life as We Know it, and Toy Story 3 before that.

-Cuddled up with 2 ducks in Georgia. I bet you didn't know ducks cuddle!

-Had tea at the Grand Floridian with the lovely Holly Hynes

-Got a HUGE self-esteem boost in Georgia!

-Got to meet Rapunzel and Flynn Rider

-Got a miriad of tan lines: everyday = a new outfit = a new tan line

-Met Darth Vader, Chewbacca, 2 Ewoks, Jango Fett, Aurra Sing, Zam Wessell, a Storm Trooper, Luke Skywalker, and C-3PO at Star Wars Weekends. C-3PO was FANTASTIC! He talked and asked questions. He DOES NOT like Jawa's.

-Spent 3 weeks with my 'little' sister, Lisa, her husband, Bryan, & my ADORABLE nephew, Blake!

-Ate at the Sci-Fi Drive-in Diner (mediocre), Friar's Nook (alright), Pizzafari (just don't try and get parmesean cheese for your pizza), Kona Cafe (wonderful as usual), Via Napoli (fantastic!), and the ABC Commissary (where I joined the dark side for the most amazing chocolate & peanut butter cupcake!)

-Rode the Amnityville Boat tour, took on the Hulk & even rode the Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit with Jonathan Warren (the Rip Ride Rockit has a minimum AND maximum height!)

-Met Curious George and had to get a picture for my nephew, Cameron

-Spent a girl's day with Holly Hynes and Amanda Babb watching movies, eating pizza, and finishing the night with a midnight run to Walmart for a Subway sandwich

-Got to do a backstage tour of Fantasmic! ... it was a backstage tour, which means no pictures

-Spent a day at Animal Kingdom with Holly and Max... We saw FOLK twice, Finding Nemo: the Musical, Flights of Wonder, Kilimanjaro Safari twice (once with a WONDERFUL driver and once with a less than mediocre driver) and I got to protect Holly from a Dinosaur. (I really should have bought that picture... CLASSIC)

-Did the Great Piggy Bank Adventure, raced around the world with Lightning McQueen then helped Kim Possible save the world at Epcot with Jonathan Warren

-Discovered milk candy, got Kaki-Gori (a snow cone) and watched Miyuki in Japan

-Saw the Bush Man in San Francisco... Mom was VERY jealous.

-Spent the morning at the Walt Disney Family Museum. AMAZING! I got to see everything from Walt Disney's discharge papers from the army to all of his Oscars, including the 7 mini ones for Snow White and the 7 Dwarfs, to a huge miniature replica of Disneyland and so, SO many other things! No cameras allowed inside the museum though, sadly.

-Spent the afternoon at Pier 39, Fisherman's Wharf and Ghirardelli Square.

These are just a few of the things from my trip, there's a million more I could add, so if you aren't on here, don't feel bad, I just probably didn't have a picture of us doing it. :)

Life doesn´t always turn out the way you plan

That's a quote from While You Were Sleeping. It's so true. I've spent the last 6 hours looking everywhere I can think for something. I'm pretty sure a little elf or something has walked off with it, but either way, I've been searching and searching. So, now, 6 hours later, I'm laying in bed in the middle of the night thinking about where else it could be, not being able to sleep, so instead I'm blogging hoping it'll clear out my mind a little bit and I can sleep.

Okay, so what does life not turning out the way you plan have to do with searching for something lost? While I was searching, I came across a project that I had done in high school... I did it my sophomore or junior year for my English class. It's called, "My American Dream". Reading through it, it shows what my American dream was. There's a lot of pictures, taken from magazines mostly, some of my own pictures, but here's the captions that it has... "Marriage, temple, true love forever - family - kids, mommy - beaches, sunshine, sunsets, family friends, California, Disneyland - forever friends - beautiful house - pets - great cook."

In high school, I was always the one who everyone said I was going to be married by the time I was 19, one friend was giving me "the benefit of the doubt" and said I'd be able to make it to when I was 21. I wanted my American dream to be marriage, family, kids, being a mom... Don't get me wrong, I'm glad I didn't get married at 18, 19, 20... I've gotten to do some really fun and memorable things with my life, but now, I've just turned 27 and wonder if I'm ever going to get my American dream. I had a poem on the back of my project, it was a requirement to have one. I remember just wanting to finish the assignment and threw one I found on there, but it's surprisingly meaningful now.

The Oyster

There once was an oyster whose story I tell, who found that some sand had got into his shell, it was only a grain, but it gave him great pain, for oysters have feelings although they're so plane. Now, did he berate the harsh workings of fate, that had brought him to such a deplorable state? did he curse at the government, cry for election, and claim that the sea should have given him protection? No- he said to himself as he lay on a shell, since I cannot remove it, I shall try to improve it. Now the years have rolled wround as the years always do, and he came to his ultimate destiny - stew. And the small grain of sand that had bothered him so, was a beautiful pearl all richly aglow. Now the tale has a moral: for isn't it grand, what an oyster can do with a morsel of sand. What couldn't we do if we'd only begin, with some of the things that get under our skin. This is my sand that has gotten in my shell, and someday I'll have all of those things I want and that will become a pearl.

On another note, some of the other things I HAVE found

-I have 11 sets of Mickey ears, and none of them are the same. (ironically, including one embroidered with "Mom" and yes, they were meant and worn by me.)

-I found my certificate from completing a "successful" tandum skydive - do you think they give you a certificate if you complete an "unsuccessful" tandum skydive?

- Pictures of helping my brother install a fan in his house in Chandler, AZ... We've since learned that there's a better way to install a fan than standing on a ladder with a towel on your head, balancing a fan while the other person stands on the otherside and screws it into the ceiling.

-Pictures from all of my dances in high school... I went to a lot, I have a lot of amazing memories with friends, and the random, spontaneous pictures are the best. (I have one of my writing a locker comination on my leg... you can tell it was taken in the moment and so not posed by the angle of the picture and that my head is mostly cut off.)

-I have 64 pairs of shoes/flip flops/crocs in my closet. and yes, I mean just in my closet. I'm sure I've got a bunch more floating around the house. I like shoes! especially comfortable ones like tennis/running/athletic shoes.

- I always have one sweatshirt or another that's my favorite, and I still keep them when I move on to the next. I can look back at them and remember some of the fun times and places I had worn them. Often, I start cycling through them again when I remember why it was my favorite.

-I was once a size 4. wow, that's all I'm going to say about that.

-I lose my remotes more than anyone I know. I lose the remote for my Ihome every few days. It always shows up under my bed, in my sheets, somewhere, so I guess technically it's not lost... It's just 'misplaced'

-I have a lot of books... I love to read, so this makes sense. I know, I could get a kindle and have them all in one place, but for some reason I just love the feeling of holding the book in my hand and turning the pages.

-My favorite Disney campaign was the "Where dreams come true" "Where night is as bright as day" "Where everyone screams at the sight of a mouse" ""Where trouble takes a break" "Where elephants fly" "Where everyone is dying to meet you" "Where everyone is happy no matter what their name" "where the clock never strikes midnight" "Where dead men tell no tales" "Where it's a whole new world"

-The easiest way to make me crazy is get my mind set on something, then have something get in the way so I can't accomplish it.

Alright, I think I've rambled enough for tonight!

(I'm really not as depressed as this sounds... Just found it interesting.)

Hey! A blog!

Look! I do have a blog! It's been SO long since I've updated. I found a list I made when I was getting ready to leave for Florida... and you know, I was pretty much right on the money! I thought I'd share. :)

Things I will miss:

The Emporium

The castle

My costume

late night/extremely early morning IHOP runs

Warm weather

Being around single people

Palm Trees

Real rain!

Having a job

My apartment roommates

Things I will not miss:

The Emporium

My costume

My room roommate

Having to remember my ID and key absolutely every time I walk out the door

Big bugs!

Being homesick

Drama, drama, drama

Florida's water

Swearing

Carrying my laundry across the street to do it

Things I'm looking forward to:

My family

Family dinners

My own room

My car!

fresh peaches, fruit, vegetables

the mountains!

Dyson vacuum

Okay... I'll really try to blog more often. All of May will be spent in Florida and Georgia, and the first week of June in San Jose. I have so much to catch up on! I also got to go to San Jose for Blake's birth... but that's a story for another night.