Mickey in the Clouds

This is a hidden Mickey I found floating over Seattle.

Spring into Training

Now that it is officially Spring. I figure I should get in gear and start training. My last two races I barely, if at all, trained. I decided the Disneyland Half Marathon this September was going to be different. I set a training program up. I am going to work up towards the 13.1 miles in smaller manageable steps. In May I am going to run a 5k, in July I am going to run a 10K and in September, I am going to run the half marathon.

I just got new shoes. The shoes I ran the Tinkerbell in were to big. They were not my size and they were quite heavy. So I got new ones. They are New Balance Minimus Road shoes. I love them. They are light, yet give me the support I need. My shins don’t kill me from having to pick them up time and time again too. I added some bling I got from BeecauseCharms.com at the Tinkerbell Expo. I got the crown for the princess in me, and the 13.1 as my inspiration.

I also found at the Tinkerbell Half Marathon that I loved compression socks. It was the first time I had run in them, and my feet loved me. Unlike my first half, which I took me 45 minutes to walk back to my hotel from the finish line. I actually was able to go walk around the park and get pictures with Mickey Mouse and Tinkerbell when I finished the Tinkerbell Half Marathon. I think it was the socks. Today I got new compression socks. And they ROCK! They are black and white diamond pattern. I am thinking of putting together a Marie costume to run in, not quite sure yet. There is plenty of time to come up with something amazing. For now, I get to just rock the socks.

Snow White Tea Set

This is another of my recent ceramic projects, I finished last week. I painted a Snow White inspired tea set. She is after all my favorite princess and childhood memory. I had a lot of fun coming up with how I was going to paint this set. I knew I wanted it to resemble her, but subtly.

To start with I painted the saucer in two shades of yellow. A darker yellow inside, and a “ruffle” of a lighter shade of yellow around the rim. The cup is dark blue on the outside. On the inside I painted light blue with a dark pink rim, and reddish rain drop shapes reminiscent of the sleeves on her dress. I even put a tiny little red bow on the handle of the cup, like the one she wears in her hair. I also painted a little “tea baggie” holder as a bright red apple. I am very pleased with how it all turned out. It is my perfect princess tea set.

Suitcase is Ready

Today I got my suitcase down from the shelf. I love my suitcase. It is from Brookstone. They don’t sell this size anymore, which is the 17″ but they do have the 20″ still available. When I got mine I bought one for everyone, 5 different colors(pink, green, red, silver, black), so that we all matched but matched our personalities as well. And as you can see I personalized mine with a Mickey Mouse half marathon sticker and a Tinkerbell Half Marathon sticker. I may add more if I find any worthy to go on the case.

I realize it is a bit early as I don’t leave for 44 days.  I just like to get it out, have it open under the bed so I can slip things in as I think of them. Then a few days before I leave, I officially pack. I am not sure what I am going to pack for this trip. It is my first time going in May. So I will have to be watching weather reports to see what kind of things will be necessity. Obviously I can’t wait to go, I would have been packed yesterday if I could.

Yo Ho Someone is 45

Today is the anniversary for one of my favorite rides at Disneyland. Pirates of the Caribbean opened in 1967. I first rode that ride 18  years later.  And after the first time I wanted to ride it again and again. Every time I ride it I swear I see something I haven’t seen before. And even now with the 2006 renovations to update the ride to be more like the successful movies, with the infamous Captain Jack Sparrow being seen throughout.  I am still seeing and comparing things from the previous model. What is your favorite part??

Also a Disney first opened the same time as the ride. That is the Blue Bayou restaurant. It is the first in-attraction restaurant. I have never eaten there before. But that is changing. I am eating there on my birthday! Which is May 4th. I am very excited. I have wanted to eat there my whole life. And I even ordered a Princess Birthday cake for myself. Gluten free carrot cake! I can not wait.

This is just one of my little trivia updates. I can’t wait to share more.

Mani Pedi Day!

Even though my spring break is all of next week, my boys still have school. So really there is no break for me. They are away at their dad’s until tonight. Today it is my official last day of my break. So I went and got a manicure and pedicure! And of course I had to make it Mickey in some way. So I got crystals on my thumb in his silhouette. I love how it turned out! And I chose a pretty princess pink.

 

A Few of My Favorite Things

Two things I absolutely love in this world (aside from my boys) is Mickey Mouse and Starbucks. What a better way to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day than with those two things! I just bought the tumbler yesterday at the Disney Store. It was only $7.50, which is cheaper than the Starbucks ones. It holds a grande helping of your favorite Starbucks libation. I did switch the straw out of one of my Starbucks cups, because it changes color when it gets cold. So I started my day with a vanilla soy latte, in my Mickey Mouse face cup, life is good!

Follow Me

Now you can get more Daily Disney! My Daily Disney is now on Twitter. You can follow me @mydailydisney. Would love to see my fans there. I will follow you back.

Can I Have Your Autograph

As many of you may know, one highlight for many at Disney Parks is obtaining autographs from all the characters. I personally have never done it. Mainly because I see collecting autographs in a book kind of pointless. Possibly a shirt or poster, but not on a book.

So I researched it. Found out characters will sign other things, you just can’t be wearing them. This made me very excited. Especially when I take the kids, they can have a lasting momento of their trip. So coming up with something creative, useful and lasting became my goal.

For myself I came across this drawstring backpack by Sharpie. It is a white drawstring backpack, and comes with four cloth markers in orange, pink, green and purple. I decided this was perfect. I can use it as a bag for the parks, and for the gym when I am at home. There is room on both sides to write, so I can collect plenty of autographs. I am so excited.

Now that I got mine out of the way it was onto the boys. Things I came across that I though fit the criteria were…

A tshirt. Have the characters autograph with fabric markers. Just be sure to have some cardboard or a clipboard so there is something stable to write on. This is something they could wear for sometime. Then when they outgrow it I could turn it into a bag. The only problem I saw was my little man, is well, a little man and the tshirt would lose real estate quickly.

A hoodie sweatshirt. Like the idea above, this could be something the characters could sign in fabric markers. Then the boys can wear them. The problem I saw was carrying around a bulky sweatshirt in 70+ degrees does not sound fun.

A pillowcase. This isn’t bulky and it is very useful. The boys could sleep on it and remember our trip to Disneyland. Then when (if ever) they get to big for it, I could turn it into a duffle for college or something.

Other ideas I saw that I wouldn’t consider but someone reading this may. Is a white baseball cap, a wall poster, or a photo mat, a photo book that has single photo holder (have characters sign page and photo slips in behind autograph), a school binder, a canvas tote bag, and story or character book.

The idea I decided on is complicated but the results will be amazing! I am taking six inch white and light colored quilting squares (and a clipboard). Going to have one or two characters sign each square. I am going to collect them all after our trip, and make a rag quilt, including some squares with pictures printed onto them, and preprinted character fabric. Then I am giving it to them for Christmas. I am excited about this. It is something they can have for years to remember our family trip.

If you have any other ideas or tried something else not listed, let me know. I am always open to new ideas. Have a magical day!

Countdown App

I have an iPhone, if you were not aware. And I, like many iPhone users, dabble in trying apps of all sorts. One of my newest ones is a countdown app by Sevenlogics, Inc.. The free version lets out create one countdown. If you want more than one, you can purchase the premium, which allows you as many as you like and you can personalize them with your own photos. At first, one would think, this is quite simple really. You enter a date. Pick a picture out, theirs or yours. Select how you like to count down. Whether it is days, months, minutes, heartbeats and a few others. Give it a title and off you go. You can even set music to it.

I made one for my birthday. And it is fun to look at daily to see how many days till I go to Disneyland. I ended up buying the premium because I now have my boys birthdays on my phone. And when they ask, as kids often do, when their birthday is. I can simply show them how many sleeps away it is. This is a great simple little app. I gave it 5 stars on the ratings. Because of its simplicity, and usefulness. It would be great to count down to anything really… the big game, a wedding, birthdays, root canal. Anything you would like. And when the date passes, it gives you the option to count up from, such as, how many days since. Or you could set the date as an anniversary too.

I even made one for my surprise vacation!