1st grade : Language Arts : Valentine's Day letter-writing activity.

My first graders are just about to finish a unit on letter-writing this week, so imagine my joy and surprise when I found this on Pinterest yesterday-

 

How adorable is that?! I shook my first at the heavens, saying, "WHY!? Why did I have to find this SO CLOSE TO VALENTINE'S DAY? And AFTER I wrote all of my lesson plans for the week! AND the week of my first observation!"

Then I stopped and looked over at my mascot for student teaching...

That's right, it's Gumby.

I have a printed picture of Gumby next to my desk at school. Next to it, I wrote the words, "Be FLEXIBLE! ...and cheerful!" And this has basically become my mantra over the last three weeks. Children are unpredictable. Schools are unpredictable. And life is unpredictable. So when the unpredictable happens, I remind myself, "I'm flexible!"

Basically, Gumby is going to be my mascot for the rest of my career. Or maybe I can switch it up to Elastigirl, to suit my Disney obsession a bit better.

So after viewing Gumby, I said, forget it. I can rewrite the lesson plans, no problem. We can squish the lesson on self-editing into one day instead of two. We can put final publishing off by one day for a fun Valentine's Day activity. Of course, it'd have to be the day before Valentine's Day (because Friday we actually have a field trip) and that's the day of my observation... but that's okay too. Plus, I'm a huge fan of incorporating things that the kids can actually handle and manipulate. The fact that it is candy and the kids get excited to eat it doesn't hurt either... so maybe it'd actually be better for my observation rather than boring old peer editing (which is what I originally had scheduled that day.)

I felt it might be unfair to the students to switch their schedule up on them suddenly, so I took a vote.

"Look, ya'll, I'm gonna be honest- I found this really cute thing on Pinterest last night that I think you might find fun," I told them. And then I showed them all the picture. I explained how this would change our original writing plans for the week. Then they voted. The Pinterest Valentines idea won unamimously.

So here I am tonight, editing this week's lesson plans to fit the activity while simultaneously writing lesson plans for the next week. Oh, and blogging, because the idea was too cute to ignore. I wish I typed lesson plans as quickly as I typed up this blog post. Wah.

Continue reading →

Getting back into the swing of things.

Oh my goodness, it's been a long time since I've updated the blog. Since the last update, we experienced our super beautiful and magical Disney vacation. I will eventually go back and update the blog with our day-by-day experiences and photos and all that fun stuff.

In the meantime, though, a big reason of why I haven't been around to update is because first of all, my laptop decided it did not want to charge anymore and so it was rendered useless until I found the problem and purchased a new charger. It literally just came in yesterday so this is my full day back with a completely functional laptop.

The second reason is because I AM OFFICIALLY STUDENT TEACHING! And man, I feel like I have no time at all. I'm always either at some sort of meeting or writing lesson plans or working or trying to sleep for once... and I'm glad Tristan and I took our big romantic vacation right before starting all this madness because we maybe talk fifteen minutes a day now, with a few texts in between. We went from seeing each other every day to once or twice a week. I miss him terribly.

But! Life at the school is great and my kiddos keep me entertained. I am loving being back in the first grade will all of my little ones (even the crazy little ones!) Being in the school every day is exhausting but I can't think of any other way I'd rather spend my days.

After today, I have eleven weeks to go. This week has gone by so quickly! And things have been madness with my health. After we got home from our trip, I got this terrible red eye. It just got worse and the kids started asking me what was wrong with it. I've been to the eye doctor twice and it still isn't any better. I started antibiotics yesterday that will hopefully clear it up. I really miss wearing my contacts.

There's so much I want to write about, both about the trip and about my adventures as a almost-teacher. I want to tell you all about our class gerbil, and the 100th day of school and I even want to write about the book fair where I picked up some goodies. I want to... but it'll have to wait until tonight or tomorrow. Because unfortunately I just got out of class for the day and now I'm headed straight to work. Life is busy!

Continue reading →

A view of my (very pink, very Disney) room.

My room looks like a five year old girl lives in it. But it's totally me and I really dig it, though it's on the small side and oh, right- it's in my parents house. Since I'm basically a nomad, I don't stay with my parents as often and honestly it just gives me the longing to stay at home for as long as possible. I tell my dad I'm gonna get married and still live here, lol.

Anyway, unlike other kids I knew when growing up, I didn't get a cool decorated room with any painted walls or themed sheets or anything. My room was stark white my whole life and super boring. So when I was about 19 years old and in college, I spent Spring Break redecorating my room. All I knew is that I wanted pink EVERYWHERE.

I got it. My room is so pink now that pink reflects off of everything in it. If you take pictures in this room, you get a distinct pink tint. You'll see what I mean in a minute.

Since it's two days till Disney and I'm mostly packed, I'm bored and out of blogging material. So alas, here is a view of my room.

The coolest view, because of that Ariel drawing alone.

So walk in and look to the left and you see the decorations on my wall above my television set. Notable: Wall decal, which I got 50 percent off at Hobby Lobby. And of course, the first thing everybody notices, the Ariel drawing.

I didn't do this. I could only wish I could be that talented. The drawing was done by my old best friend from high school. I actually had it rolled up for a long time before I finally bought a frame for it and put it up.

And to the right is my calendar, which I could not live without.

Take note of the tiny Mickey heads representing the Disney trip!

A Disney princess wall calendar, of course! I actually received this as a birthday present from a fellow cast member, and it is replacing my old wall calendar which was HUGE!!!! I needed a calendar that big in college because I would write all of my due dates and work schedule, etc. Those things take up a lot of room on a small square!

I'm gonna try using the small calendar because with student teaching, I don't think I'll have notes that are quite as extensive- and if I do, I still have my weekly planner that I carry with me. I might end up getting a large wall calendar again anyway just because I'm so used to having all the room to write!

Ramen and coke are recurring decorations on my night stand...

Aside from being obsessed with Disney and with pink, I also really love giraffes. On my night stand is a tiny giraffe I purchased at the San Diego Zoo. He hangs off of my lamp like a koala.

The giraffe sketch above my lamp is a sentimental piece- or rather, the frame is. When I was in middle school, I was a fan of drawing Japanese-style comic book chracters. My grandma asked me to draw a picture for her, so I did, and she framed it and hung it in her house. When my grandma passed away when I was 18, I took the frame and photo from her house.

However, I felt weird about displaying the art inside because it's kind of an embarrassing piece now, you know? So instead I drew a picture of a giraffe randomly and put that picture in front of the one I drew my grandma. It makes me feel better, because in a way, I still have that art and my grandma's frame hanging in my room, just with a slightly more acceptable piece inside. It says "hello giraffe" on it. I think it's cute.

My sheets are usually pink but my aunt will be staying in my bedroom so my mom wanted her to have "new" sheets during her visit instead.

This is where I usually am. Sitting in bed while on my laptop. Rascal is in his usual spot, too. Little sucker.

Random Homecoming mum hanging off of my curtain. I don't have the heart to put it away even though I've been graduated from high school for almost four years.

The bookshelf with awkward-sized spaces!

The top shelf is my Disney movie collection. It's small but that's because I started from scratch. My parents didn't keep any of my kiddie movies and I didn't start collecting until I started working for the Company and became familiar with the Disney vault system. I don't want to collect every single Disney movie, just my favorites.

A few college textbooks go on the second shelf, obscured by a Mickey Mouse painting my best friend painted for me. She even has a little hidden Mickey in the black part!

I have two giraffes on this bookcase, can you find them?

I AM OBSESSED!!!!!

On to my next obsession... Bath and Body Works! This little basket was given to me by Tristan for Valentine's Day, and it's adorable. Luckily, it's also huge so it holds my crazy in one place.

This basket is 95 percent Bath and Body Works. My favorites currently are Winter Candy Apple, Vanilla Bean Noel and Beautiful Day. I usually try to have a new signature scent every season, but those are my go-to favorites. I also have a crap load of Bath and Body Works shower gels, but that's stored in another room.

Wow, I have a lot of obsessions.

Nail polish. I think in a single year I went from owning about eight nail polishes to like, forty. This year I got really invested in doing my nails and doing simple nail art. My mom says I have enough polishes to open a salon, but I don't think I have much compared to some.

My favorite brand is Wet n Wild Megalast. I love their big, wide brush and only wish for more colors to come out!

And now all my Disney things get crammed into one area.

Couple of notable things: Light-up glass Mickey Mouse figurine that my mom bought me "just because." Tinkerbell and Cinderella Castle photo holder that displays a picture of my sister and I on the PeopleMover back in the day. Tristan's vinylmation he hasn't picked up yet. Day of the Dead Jack and Sally figurines I got at ComicCon. Glut Vinylmation from Little Mermaid series.

PRINCESSES!!!!!!!

Little Mermaid musical figurine that plays "Under the Sea" from Disney world. Designer Belle mug from the Disney Store circa 2011. Beauty and Belle pop vinyls, a Christmas present from my brother. Belle musical figurine from the Disney Store circa 2010. Gaston vinyl from Beauty and the Beast series. Japanese "it's a small world" Animator doll. Original Belle animator doll. Hallmark's 101 Dalmations snowglobe. Art of Ariel mug from the Disney Store circa 2013. Designer villain Cruella deVil from Disney Store circa 2012.

Those teacups are actually shot glasses. Classy shot glasses.

On top of my bureau is a temporary set-up. My mom made me put all of my plush away since my aunt is coming to visit (maybe stuffed animals freak her out? I dunno.) so for the time being I have this blue parasol that my grandmother bought me, a Cinderella carriage mug with art by Mary Blair from the Disney Store circa 2012, "A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes" wall hanging given to me as a birthday present from my sister (from an Etsy shop) and of course my cute little teacup shot glasses.

Usually on this surface is my Duffy display, with Duffy backdrop, giant white teddy bear, large core Duffy, medium core Duffy, medium core Shellie May (my holy grail of sorts) and mini-beanie Duffy bear.

My other plush usually hangs out on top of my mirror but those have been banished too. Those include limited edition Genie, marshmallow-scented Mickey Mouse dressed up as a yellow bunny, Pikachu in Mickey ears, a pink sock monkey and yet another giraffe. :)

Wow, that was a lot of typing. I just happen to have a lot of free time while I'm sitting around awaiting the trip. Soon enough...

Back to creating the itinerary! Thanks for reading!

-Mari

Continue reading →

Welcome to 2014!

2014 is finally here! I'm not sure if I'm more excited for Disney or more scared of the new year ahead of me. If it were any other year, I'd probably be fine but 2014 is a BIG year. I've got a semester of student teaching ahead of me, followed by testing for my certification, followed by graduating college and looking into getting my first teaching job (and hopefully, actually teaching in my own classroom!) It's a lot of change looking to happen in just one year. I'm really anxious about it.

But for the time being, something more exciting is on the horizon... DISNEY!!! Starting the year off with a Disney vacation is only the best way to start any year!

The last picture of 2013.

We spent the New Year at Tristan's aunt house with his cousins. My family doesn't do fireworks because they're technically illegal. It's too dry here so there's a ban on fireworks within city limits. As a result, I'm scared of them and the dangers they pose lol. Tristan's family is too bad to listen to any laws (and his uncle is a cop so what the hell) so they go big with the fireworks. Here is me experimenting with a sparkler, which is as far as I'm willing to go with any type of firework. I'm a pansy like that. I do like sparklers though they scare me a bit.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

We kicked off 2014 with a little adventure of our own. Walking out of his aunt's house and ready to come home, we opened the front door and there was a little kitty. Tristan's uncle sneered at it and said it had been hanging around for a few days and he was sick of it. So I did what any normal person would do and plucked it off the street and brought it home.

He was a really, really cute and really sweet brown tabby around five months old. I love cats (and animals of any kind, really) so he would have been mine if I had the time, resources, space and money to keep him. Not to mention he had an eye infection so he really needed to be treated. Since all the shelters were closed on New Years, I had to wait until January 2nd to turn him in, which I did resentfully. I really loved that little kitty for the 24 hours he was mine.

We named him Meeko Mousekawitz. He enjoyed lounging in sinks and playing with shoes.

I hope he gets the treatment he needed and I really hope someone loving adopts him. I've been watching him on the adoption page in the hopes that I'll know when someone chooses him... just to give me peace, I suppose. The agency didn't even use a cute picture of him. Boo!

Did you know you can foster kitties? I might do that in retirement. Tristan and I already agreed that we won't get any pets, but it's hard to resist KITTIES!

Back to 2014. I have some pretty simple resolutions for the year...

2014 resolutions.

• Graduate.
• Pass certification tests.
• Get a teaching job.
• Start looking into finding an apartment at the end of the year.

Anyway, we are FOUR days away from our trip. We are driving up to Austin on Monday, where we will a) leave our car and b) stay with friends overnight. These friends will take us to the airport bright and early the next morning. It's about $100 cheaper to fly out of Austin than it is San Antonio so thank god for that.

The weather in Orlando also looks good right now with the exception of the day we fly in. Hopefully it just gets hotter. And hopefully there's not a lot of rain, which is in the forecast currently... And hopefully our stop in Atlanta doesn't give us any trouble as it is COLD there right now (well, cold for me. Sigh.)

-Mari

Continue reading →

I don't know about you, but I'm feeling 22.

I feel like I never want to be older than 22. It just seems like the perfect age. Maybe 23 or 24 would be okay, too, but I guess I'll know for sure when I get to that.

Anyway, I had a great birthday! Lots of little things went totally NOT according to plan (!!!!) but what can you do? It was still festive and all my friends came and life was wonderful.

Hopefully it doesn't come off as braggy to say that I got a lot of WONDERFUL presents. Seriously, I have the best friends ever- and they all know me so well.

Tristan, the love of my life, got me these pearl earrings from James Avery. I told you I love pearls!

They're soooo beautiful and I wasn't expecting them at all! My love has good taste. Plus, it continues the tradition! If you recall, I mentioned in a previous blog post that Tristan got me this ring last Christmas...

What a beauty!

Considering that he's going to Pick a Pearl for me at Epcot in a week or so, pretty soon I'll have a complete pearl jewelry collection... all from him! How romantic.

Now that Christmas, my mom's birthday and my birthday are over, it's really time to start getting excited about 2014... namely our Disney trip! Tristan purchased a set of Disney puzzles for us to do. The set came with eight puzzles, and my birthday was the ninth day until our trip. He wants us to do a puzzle every night as a countdown. He's so cute!

I mentioned (I think) that we got a ton of Disney gift cards for our trip. It's giving us more flexibility to spend and Tristan loves his food. He wanted to do another special meal. The one thing we didn't have planned was a character meal, so we booked...

OHANA!

Ohana! I have been here once before, but Tristan has not. We had to narrow down our options. For us, it was between Crystal Palace, Ohana or 1900 Park Fare. Crystal Palace would have been much preferred but there were no available reservations short notice.

So it came down to Ohana or 1900 Park Fare. We considered characters, time and the kind of buffet we wanted to experience. Ultimately it came down to Ohana because it would be earlier, giving us more time to eat and relax before park opening. We also prefer to see Mickey, Pluto, Lilo and Stitch over the 1900 Park Fare characters (who, IMO, are more easily found in the parks) and like the idea of having food brought to us, as opposed to potentially missing characters while we are up getting food.

I am really excited about this! My time at Ohana was very memorable and I think Tristan will have a great time too. Nothing says Disney like a character meal so I'm very happy we got to fit this one into our food budget- with the help of our friends and family, of course!

I've been eyeballing the 10-day forecast for Disney pretty religiously. Currently we have Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday weather. All we need is Friday and we'd be set!

Those lows are a little sketchy...

I was really crossing my fingers for 70s weather. Thursday looks GREAT to me! I really want to wear dresses and that can't be done comfortably with weather that is too chilly so this is awesome. It's definitely cooler here in San Antonio (though not by much... high 50s mostly) and I've been wearing dresses with tights comfortably so I think we will be A-OK.

I can't wait!

-Mari

Continue reading →

Merry Christmas to you (and to us!)

We had a wonderful Christmas here! Even better, Tristan and I took the whole weekend off because of my birthday (which is on Sunday) so we will be able to be together for our 10th day until Disney, which is tomorrow.

Us on Christmas. I can't wait to take these kinds of mushy photos in front of the castle.

Between the two of us, we rounded up (literally) hundreds of dollars in Disney gift cards. We are fortunate and blessed to have so many who love us! Because of this, we are going to Disney with lots more flexibility to spend and we are so grateful for that!

P.S. Notice the shirt Tristan is wearing in the above photo? That's his "Duffy Bear" shirt! :)

My family knows that I'm Disney obsessed and I received so many beautiful Disney gifts for Christmas, including...

1. Disney Store "it's a small world" Animator Doll - Japan
2. Minnie Mouse ornament
3. Mickey and Minnie salt and pepper shakers (ceramic with magnets in their noses so that they kiss when they face each other! Sooo cute.)
4. Mickey collectible figurine 
5. Minnie Mouse pen and matching cupcake-styled stand for my desk
6. Disney World notepad
7. Mini Duffy!

Making use of my adorable stocking.

As far as non-Disney items, I lovingly received some other big ticket items...

1.  A Bluetooth speaker for my phone (convenient!)
2. Cognac boots (LOVE!!!!! I want to take them to Disney!)

One of my favorite gifts was this beauty, which was on my Christmas list...

This is actually from the parks, made to commemorate New Fantasyland. I am in love with it, absolutely in love. It is so much more beautiful in real life than in the photos, and even has gold threads (which I love particularly in Belle's dress.) It's a must have for any diehard Beauty and the Beast fan.

Tristan and I promised no Christmas gifts to each other, but since I bought him a stocking this year I slipped a little something inside. He likes Vinylmation and requested one from the Villains series. I felt worried about picking one out and having it be one he hated, so I grabbed a brand new tray and stared at it until I determined which was the best. Then I asked a co-worker to choose one also, and she happened to pick the exact same one I had! I told her, "This is a good sign!" So come Christmas Eve, Tristan opened the box and...

IT WAS THE CHASER! Is that good luck, or what?! I was soooo excited for him (and for myself, since I picked it... hahaha.)

And because I'm a shopaholic and I work in a mall, it was hard to stay away from the semi-annual sales that took place after Christmas. Because I'm obsessed, I went to Bath and Body Works and caved a little.

Their shower gels were on sale for $3 each! I mean, COME ON. I had to stock up on this stuff. It was the second day of the sale, so sadly there weren't many options available... I grabbed the very last Pink Chiffon and Cranberry Twinkle. These scents are all new to me as my favorites were sold out- I'm especially sad about missing out on the Winter Candy Apple shower gel, which is what I really wanted. :( (I did grab the last body mist, though... I wonder when they restock?)

So far, I've only used two and I love them both! Vanilla Bean Noel (how have I not smelled this stuff before?!) and Cranberry Twinkle. These two are from the Holiday Traditions line, so sadly I won't be able to grab more once I run out. At least until next Christmas!

And that's the last three days for me. Today was my mother's birthday, so we celebrated by shopping, eating and seeing Saving Mr. Banks. We are so Disney, aren't we?

Goodnight!

-Mari

Continue reading →

16 days til Disney... and Christmas is approaching!

Wow! I had about a minute to breathe after finals before I started working like a madwoman! The mall has been BUSY! It's to be expected, of course, but I still have no idea why so many people wait until the absolute last minute to Christmas shop. Is it the sales? Or are we a nation of procrastinators?

40% off at the Disney Store! There's my shameless promotion.

 All of my Christmas shopping is done, but it's tough resisting the urge to continue buying things on sale considering that I work at a mall. Just last night I purchased these his and hers stockings for Tristan and I. We promised each other no Christmas gifts to save money for our trip, so they'll be for next year (but I did sneak a little something something in there.) I've always wanted to get us Disney stockings.

The weekend before Christmas is always absolutely atrocious. I'm thankful that even though I work today, it's for a floor move so I don't actually have to interact with any hordes of people and I don't work at all Christmas Eve, which is in my mind the absolute worst day to work. Plus, all the hours don't hurt when I've got a big vacation coming up, amirite?

On the bright side, my manager bought me this adorable little ornament for my tree as a token of appreciation for my slave labor. Jk. Belle is my absolute favorite and I'm in love with the tiny details!

It's been so busy at both Disney and Starbucks that Tristan and I hadn't seen each other much for the last few days. So this morning we went to breakfast and mini golf.

My mom and dad used to go mini golfing at this particular place when they were teenagers and young adults, and they went again recently. (Side note: Today they're celebrating their 40th wedding anniversary.) My mom bought my sister and I two gift cards to go on mini golf dates, so Tristan and I utilized ours today to have a nice date and save some cash at the same time.

Pink and blue is kind of a theme with us.

It was a fun time. Tristan is absurdly good at every sport he tries, while I have self-diagnosed Dyspraxia and have no grace, hand-eye coordination, little strength and horrible aim. Basically, I have no gross motor skills and I suck at every sport in the entire world. So he beat me, as usual, and I pouted. My goal is to one day beat him at some sport. Doesn't matter what.

Tomorrow is 15 days until Disney. It's coming way too fast, and to think I still have to get through Christmas and my birthday first? This is gonna be a fun month...

-Mari

Continue reading →

Which bag to take?

I'm stressing out about this and it's such a miniscule issue. But seriously. Someone help me make a decision! I have a major (first world) problem!

BAGS is my problem!

I need to figure out what freakin' bag to carry with me in the parks. I have a couple of pre-existing options, or I need to buy a new one. In the past I have taken a huge backpack (too big), a little backpack (but one of those lame little stringy ones, so it was unorganized and useless), a crossbody bag (that was way too small) and a purse (actually wasn't too bad but I don't prefer it.)

On this trip I am planning (well, hoping) to take with me to the parks:

• My wallet
• Customized maps
• A couple of vinylmation for trading
• And small snacks!

Here are my options for this trip...

My pink flamingo rucksack! I got it on clearance at Icing.
Sometimes I use it for actual legitimate reasons, like school.
It carries pretty much everything I need, including my laptop.

Option A) My pink flamingo rucksack. It's basically a backpack but a little smaller. It's not meant to carry heavy things because sometimes I put my laptop in and then it refuses to close. But I won't be carrying my laptop, so it's not like it matters. So here's the pros and cons of the pink flamingo rucksack. Feel free to tell me if I forget anything obvious.

Pros	Cons
Plenty of room! Especially to carry snacks! Stays on your back, no having to put it down all the time like a purse. Not too large like a normal backpack.	A little too big, maybe? Having to take it off for rides and photos. And to pay for things to get my wallet out. It’s white. Will it get messy? Does it even matter?

I love this little sucker. My go-to crossbody.
I got it at Charlotte Russe for fifteen dollars, on sale.
It's bigger than my other crossbody and on a normal day carries:
My keys, wallet (which is large) and make-up bag if I stuff it in there well enough.

Option B) The small crossbody. This is my usual everyday bag. It does carry a surprising amount for how small it is, but I worry that I won't be able to take snacks! If I took this, I'd have to take the contents out of my wallet and put it into a smaller one to maximize space. It also has a small zippered compartment in the front. To the pros and cons...

Pros	Cons
It’s small. I NEVER HAVE TO TAKE IT OFF! Literally, photos, rides, eating… so efficient.	It’s small. It can’t hold many (if any) snacks so I’d have to eat prior to leaving the park and no snack during the day… is that so bad? I just don’t know…

And finally, option C.

My pink polka dot lunch tote from Old Navy.
This isn't actually it, but it's the closest I could find on the Internet.
It was pretty cheap and I bought it because I need it for school, but I haven't actually used it yet so I don't know what all fits in this little guy.

Option C) My pink polka dot lunch tote. I literally just bought this so I have no idea how much it can hold, but the reason I'm considering it at all is because it comes with this handy dandy crossbody strap. So technically, I think I could wear it as a crossbody bag. I might have to test it out first to see how much it really holds. The inside is insulated, so I can keep my wallet cold. LOL. Just kidding. It looks like it'll definitely hold a bit more than the standard crossbody bag...

Pros	Cons
I can take snacks!!!! It’s got a crossbody strap attached so it’s a crossbody and a lunch tote in two? So I could probably leave it on for rides and such instead of removing it all the time…	Kind of an awkward shape. Definitely meant to be a lunch bag instead of a purse, but it could work, right?! Maybe?! My camera will be insulated… I don’t think that’s really a con, but whatever.

So there's the pros and cons for everything. Someone needs to make a decision for me! I'm indecisive!

-Mari

Continue reading →

Happy 20 days til Disney!

Wow, time is flying by!

I had my last final today which is a milestone for me, as it was my last college final of my last college class. I'm finished with university classes and now it's time for student teaching. By the end of next semester I'll be ready to graduate and teach! I'm really excited to be a huge step closer to finishing my degree... but I'm also nervous. I'm like Peter Pan not wanting to grow up!

In the meantime, I get some wonderful things to look forward to- Christmas, my mom's birthday, my birthday and then of course... DISNEY!!!

I have no idea what I am going to do for my birthday. In the past, I traditionally invite all friends and family to a big dinner. I've done that every birthday since I turned sixteen. I swore last year was my last year of doing that because I was turning 21 and felt I needed to be more "grown up."

So this year I have a couple of things that I'd like to do, namely going to see Frozen again with my family and going to my favorite pizza place for a much smaller dinner with close friends. Other ideas include inviting said friends over for the night for drinks and playing zombie video games for hours on end (Wow, I thought I was turning into a 22 year old young adult, not a 13 year old teenage boy.) I'm viewing going to Disney as my birthday present to myself, so perhaps that's why I haven't actually organized much yet.

I think the week between my birthday and leaving for Disney is going to be pure TORTURE!

Today was 20 days til Disney and I have started packing! Here is a sneak peak at a few of the outfits in my suitcase.

Matching Mickey and Minnie shirts. Black leggings for me. Minnie ears. Red chunky necklace.
Not pictured: Socks, black boots, black sweater... or any of Tristan's things.

Our matching shirts will be worn on our park hopping AK/HS night. I always associate red and black with Hollywood Studios, for some reason. Maybe because the colors are so glam together, I don't know. The shirts are wrinkly from being thrown around for the last few weeks, forgive me.

The beginnings of our Shellie May and Duffy Disneybounds.
Not pictured: White tights, either of our shoes, my giant Shellie May bow.

The Disneybound is almost complete! I finally convinced Tristan to go with me to buy his shirt. He's hard to shop with, because he will only try on clothes if he feels confident that day (has been running lately, hasn't eaten a lot that day, etc.) because otherwise it doesn't look the way he wants it to.

He tried this shirt on and seemed to like it, which makes me happy! I want him to be comfortable even if he is only doing this to appease me. We found it at Old Navy on clearance for $13. My Shellie May dress was on sale similarly at Target, but I bought it in October so who knows if it's still available.

Cute!!!

I bought this adorable huge bow from Icing to go with the DB that is not packed because I've been wearing it so often. It looks especially cute when accessorizing a bun or ponytail! It makes me want to buy more bows.

From afar this looks weird, but it's actually a really cute polka dot dress with tights and a cardi.

 

This looks like a giant puddle of gross when it's on my floor, but it's actually really cute on. I've worn this outfit combination for student teaching, and I love this dress! There's so many different ways to wear it, I get compliments on it all the time, and it makes me feel like a vintage housewife. I really want to wear it for Christmas but it's already packed. Resist the urge!

That's all I've packed so far. I planned all my outfits weeks ago, but now I'm starting to second guess them... it's so hard to pack without knowing the weather situation.

Things I need to pack but haven't:

• Park tickets
• Customized maps
• Magic Bands
• Duffy and Shellie
• My Cinderella necklace

Indeed I have a lot of things to remember before leaving. At least I have my packing list finished and ready to be checked off. I don't even want to think about Tristan's method of packing, which I'm sure entails throwing random things into a suitcase. It gives me anxiety just thinking about it.

-Mari

Continue reading →

Disney dining.

I've gone to Disney on the dining plan before and for someone like me, who eats like a child and in extremely small portion sizes, it is way too much friggin' food.

BUT something glorious came from the dining plan when I went a few years back. We went to Sanaa (which was alright, but again I have the taste buds of a first grader) and when I was forced to choose a dessert, I picked the random mango tapioca pudding.

OH MY GOD. It's literally the best thing I have ever eaten in my entire life.

Bless you, my glorious little glass of heaven.

OMG just looking at the picture makes me audibly squeal in excitement. I know, I know- it's pudding, it's random, I could probably make it at home if I really tried hard enough, but I could also make Mickey waffles at home if I wanted to and it still wouldn't equate to eating a Mickey waffle AT DISNEY.

The rest of this blog post is a series of photos of the pudding, just to annoy/entice you.

Anyway, so I've dreamed about this pudding ever since and I just haven't made it back to Sanaa. I mentioned this to Tristan and after much debate we decided to re-visit Sanaa so my taste buds can be delighted by mango tapioca pudding again.

We have a very late 8:50 reservation the day we'll be visiting Epcot. We'll be snacking all day during Epcot so we probably won't be too hungry but our reservation is for dessert only (as I told the CM on the phone because I feel like a jerk for taking a whole table just to satisfy my pudding craving.)

My favorite things all in one... mango... tapioca... It's heaven!

We aren't doing a lot of full service this trip because frankly we're college kids and we're broke, so we'll be hitting up a lot of quick service places and the resort food court for most of our dining. But we did make a reservation at one other place...

The 50s Prime Time Cafe, located in Hollywood Studios.

This is another place that I went to with family a couple years back and it is the only place that I can recall visiting that I thought, "I should really go again and try this next time..." I went with A LOT of family, my immediate and extended cousins, and while I ordered chicken noodle soup (I think) some of my other family members ordered the chicken pot pie. I experienced major dinner envy that night.

It's not that I didn't enjoy my chicken noodle soup (I love chicken soup and it's a favorite of mine just about anywhere but I guess it wasn't very memorable because I can't even remember if that's what I really ordered, so crap.) but their chicken pot pie just looked soooo goood. So did just about everything else.

Okay, food always looks gross in these close-up pictures. How do restaurants do it for promotional shots?

So since we couldn't get Be Our Guest dinner reservations on short notice, we agreed on Prime Time. The mango tapioca pudding and chicken pot pie might be what I'm most excited for- I don't know, I'm weird like that.

IT'S SO EXCITING.

Finals finish this week and then I have all of winter break to count down to my magical trip. Well, I have to work too, which is probably going to stink because people just get really grumpy in malls around the holidays. I've already had a few crazy situations.

People, it's Christmas. You're supposed to be merry! If you're at the mall Christmas shopping, it probably means you have beloved family members who you are shopping for (who will likely physically be with you for Christmas) and the means to buy gifts. So feel blessed and stop yelling at random people in line.

On that note, have a magical day!

-Mari

Continue reading →

Another magical delivery! The Magic Bands are in!

Tristan and I were walking out the door this morning to run errands when I spotted a box hiding under a plant near the door- whoever delivered it hid it really well, I almost didn't even notice it.

I thought it was a Christmas present as my dad and I have both been online shopping like nobody's business. But Tristan picked it up and said, "It's our Magic Bands" and we both freaked out. I told him to open it then and there, then thought to pull out my phone to record the opening process.

I was shocked by how quickly they came. I'm pretty sure our last day to customize them was Friday. Saturday when I checked the status, the notice said "Make any last minute changes now! Your Magic Bands will be completed at any second!" or something to that effect. It's Tuesday and they were delivered this morning, it seems. So much faster than expected!

Pink and blue!

At first we were so excited that we said, "Ahh, we're going to wear them everywhere!" Then the excitement wore off and we realized we should keep them safe until we go as to not lose them before we even get on the plane, haha. (We are like children who can't wait to play with a new toy, clearly.)

Blurry car photo of our names next to our bands. Our names are on the inside as well. I love them!

We are 27 days out and getting more and more excited with each day that passes. My parents actually went to Florida this week to visit family, but made a stop at the Magic Kingdom and Hollywood Studios for a mini vacation. I'm eager for them to come back and hear their stories of what has changed. They went to the Christmas Party on Sunday night and stayed at Art of Animation overnight (Sooo jealous! Why wasn't that resort available for our vacation?!)

A few days ago was our 30th day and our plans to celebrate didn't exactly work out the way we wanted them to. Instead, we watched The Little Mermaid on Blu-Ray and watched all the special features about The Little Mermaid ride that never came to be- we plan to compare it to the new one when we visit New Fantasyland for the first time together- although I did ride the version at California Adventure last year, and I suspect they're very similar if not the exact same.

Have a magical day!

-Mari

Continue reading →

Planning what to wear.

It's 31 days out and I'm starting to wonder about when is an appropriate time to start packing things away for the trip. I've put away my Cinderella carriage necklace currently and that's about it, but I have written out exactly what I want to wear on every day that I'm there. This is something I've always done for every trip, including trips that are non-Disney related.

I'm really not a jeans and t-shirt girl. Not that I'm fashion savvy either, but I generally just prefer dresses, shorts, rompers, tights- just about anything over denim jeans. If I must wear pants due to weather, I go for leggings or colored pants rather than plain denim. Below is a series of photos taken over the course of the last year to give you an idea (the middle picture is at Comic Con if you're wondering where in the hell I found a group of Sailor scouts.)

Luckily, I live in Texas, so wearing dresses and shorts year-round is pretty do-able. We rarely get cold weather.

I know most people wear shorts/jeans and t-shirts to Disney, because they're on vacation and they can't be bothered and that's totally okay and I support you! I just can't do that for some reason... maybe I want to look nice because of pictures and the like, I don't know. So I have to plan my outfits before packing. Because if I decide to wear my red polka dot dress, I know I'm going to need my black tights because it'll be winter, but oh wait, that dress needs a belt, the brown skinny one, so let me write that down, and what shoes should I wear because my boots just won't go with that dress...

See my problem? That's why I have to write everything down from the actual outfit to all matching accessories, so I don't forget something and look like an imbecile.

Oh, look, I'm in jeans in this picture. After I gave that little rant and everything.
Well, at least they are technically jeggings.

My other issue is shoes. Whenever I was younger (well, teen years) and I went with my dad, he would become so irritated that I wanted to wear flats and sandals to Disney. Admittedly, they do nothing for support and probably aren't good for feet at all. But they went better with my outfits...

My dad wouldn't allow that though, so to appease him I wore tennis shoes to Disney while growing up. In recent times I have worn flats and sandals and they don't hurt me at all, with the exception of one black pair that made me want to kill myself last time I went to Disneyland. To be fair, those shoes hurt me even when I wear them here at home, so I should have known better. Never again.

This time, since it's winter, I'm planning on mostly wearing flat boots and maybe one pair of flats.

Made using Polyvore.

Whenever I want to plan and remember an outfit, I use Polyvore.com to create it and get an idea of what it's all going to look like together. On Polyvore you can type in "red polka dot dress" and bunches of them will come up and you choose whichever you want.

Above is an example of an outfit I'm going to try to wear at MK, though I don't know if the weather will permit it just yet (I'm kind of a pansy when it comes to the cold, so we'll see- I might give in.)

And have you ever heard of Disneybound?

A Peter Pan example from disneybound.tumblr.com.

Well, I don't have the resources to pull this off for every day we'll be there, so I'm just going with Disney sweaters and whatever matches my ears. But there is one day when I'm going to attempt a Disneybound, although it's a little more obscure than average.

Remember me saying I'm obsessed with Duffy?

Yeah, I'm going to be Shellie May for our Epcot visit and Tristan has agreed to be Duffy. I know, he must really love me. To be fair, it's not totally over-the-top. It's not like I'm forcing him to wear bear ears or a sailor cap. He'll be fine.

I already know I'm weird.

Here's the dress I bought, in terrible lighting. I also have a big bow I just bought last week to go on my head. Part of me thinks it's going to be adorable, though I know nobody is going to get it or even care. It's more for my own personal wants. But I don't care! I will wave my nerd flag high.

Of course, this is all weather-permitting. I've never worn a dress in January at Florida. In the past I've worn pants and even a sweater earlier in the day. I will be packing leggings, sweater tights and cardigans for the dresses I am hoping to wear on the trip and hopefully that will be enough to keep me warm.

San Antonio's definition of cold must be somewhat similar to Florida's definition of cold, right? I've been living in leggings the past two days and it's in the 30s, so what the hey?

-Mari

Continue reading →