Things I'm Grateful For...{Thanksgiving 2014}

Happy Thanksgiving All!

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Like so many other bloggers out there today I'm going to share with all of you all the things that I am grateful for. The things on this list are things that I am grateful for 365 days a year but I want to take a few moments to write it and share it with the world. 

-My amazing family! I am luckily enough to have an amazing family who support me and love me and like me for who I am.

-I am grateful for my friends. For supporting me when I'm down, letting rant when I've had a bad day, and for letting me call them at weird hours because I desperately need someone to talk to.

-I'm grateful that I have a creative mind. I love that I can sit down and write a story or create a project or scrapbook memories. 

-I'm grateful for freedom of speech. If that didn't exist I wouldn't be able to sit down log on to blogger and write a post for all of you. 

-I am grateful for everyone who read this little blog or watch my Youtube videos. It makes me feel less alone in the world just by thinking someone, somewhere out there is reading my words. 

-I am grateful for the ability to travel. I am grateful that I have been able to experience new things, have fun and explore.

-I am grateful for my roommates who have helped me keep my sanity this semester. Been for nights that having cookies delivered to our dorm was a must, to have Binge watching Big Brother marathons with and make laugh every night when I should be sleeping.

-I am grateful for the men and women who risk their lives everyday to keep us safe. Both military personnel and police and firemen.

-I'm grateful for the ability to go to school and further my education.

-I am grateful that I'm only 20 years old and  still have years to figure out why I was put on this planet.

-I am grateful to organ donors who give the gift of life everyday. People like these are the reason that my cousin, one of my favorite people in the whole world, is still hear today and who recently found out that she has gone 8 months without rejection!

-I am grateful for writer's whose work whether its TV, movies or books help transfer me into another world.

-I am grateful that I live in a free country.

-I am grateful for all the food that I will consume this afternoon (my favorite holiday food) and the fact that there is always food on my table and for me to eat.

These are just some of the things that I am grateful for. I hope you all have an amazing Thanksgiving with your friends and family.

OOTN for Wicked {November 2014}

Hello All,

A couple of weekends ago I went with my cousin to go see Wicked when it came to The Bushnell. It was so cool to see again, it was also my cousin's first time and she really enjoyed it as well. I didn't take picture while we there but before we left I made Mama J take some Outfit of the Night pictures because I LOVED my outfit that I wore.

Leggins (I don't remember I think I bought them at Macy's)

Shirt (Part of the Lauren Conrad Collection at Kohls)

Boots (I bought them at DSW awhile ago)

Bow (from the etsy shop TresBeauxBows)

Necklace (It was a gift from Mama J so I have no idea where its from)

MOVIE REVIEW: Big Hero 6

Hello All,

Happy Saturday! Last night Mandi and I went to see the new Disney animated film, Big Hero 6! You can check out the promo for the movie below.

I'm going to be honest with you guys when I first saw the promo I had no idea what this movie was going to be about. Because of that I wasn't really sure I wanted to see it. That was until all of the Disney twitters that I follow on Twitter said it was a must see. 

Basically the story is about a super smart kid, Hiro (Ryan Potter) who graduated high school at 13. He uses his brilliance in order to made robots for robot wars and hustle the older robot guys. When his whole world chances Hiro is introduce to his new best friends Baymax (Scott Adsit), Fred (T.J. Miller), Honey Lemon (Genesis Rodriguez), Go Go (Jaime Chung) and Wasabi (Damon Wayans JR.). The group of them chase after a bad guy and learn a big lesson about friendship and love.

In my opinion the movie was amazing. It was well animated, the story line was cute and appropriate for most age groups. It made me laugh, it made some cry (I rarely cry at movies) and it has a great lesson to it. I definitely recommend. 

I also loved the characters, they were unique, funny, and perfect. Plus I totally fell in love with Baymax, is that weird? I don't know but it true.

I don't know much about animation so I can't really critique that part of the movie. The script and story were spot on though and I totally recommend it.

Have you seen Big Hero 6 yet? If you did what did you think? Let me know in the comments!

A Missed Chance {Part 3 of 3} - Short Fiction

*Disclaimer: This a short story that I wrote for my English 203 class. The story has been submitted and graded. I decided to share this on here because I am proud of the work. If you missed the first three parts you can read them here and here. Enjoy the final installment!***

   The day that Eli will never forget is the day she came to say goodbye before she left for law school. He remembered every detail of that day, it was a rainy Tuesday in late in summer, she walked in around 3 o’clock, and her normally smooth hair was frizzy because of the rain but he didn’t care, he still thought she was the most beautiful girl in the world.

  

  “You ready to go?” he asked as they sat at table and split an order of the restaurant’s top rated bacon cheddar cheese fries.

    “Yeah, I’m terrified to go. You sure you don’t want to drop everything and run away to New York with me so that I won’t be out there all by myself?” Sami laughed; it had become a running joke between the two of them, that Eli would just drop everything and go to New York with her.

    Eli laughed too, but his was more halfhearted because he wanted nothing more than to do that, but he knew that if he loved her he had to let her go. “You’ll do fine, and if you hate it, you can come home, and I’ll be right here waiting.”

    “Good, I think you should audition for some shows in the city. That way I can see you perform, and you might get noticed by a label, you’re good enough to be.”

    “I’m not that good; I’m thinking it’s time that I start looking for something real, maybe music should just be a hobby, instead of a career.”

    Sami shook her head, “You need to stop selling yourself short; you are way too good to hide your music in dive bars and your basement. And you are too passionate about music to call it a hobby. Trust me Eli, you’ll regret it if you don’t chase after your dreams.”

    “I don’t know maybe I'm realizing that I have other dreams too,” Eli said.

    “Go after all of them, who says you can only live one dream?” Sami had always been Eli’s cheerleader and even on the day that she needed him to give her a pep talk here she was giving him one.

    “What am I going to do without you?” he asked.

    “You’ll be fine, and when you need me I’m only a text, tweet or phone call away, I promise,” Sami said with a reassuring smile.

They talked a little bit longer but soon it was time for Eli to clock in for his shift. Sami started giving hugs and saying good-bye to her other co-workers. But finally it was time for her to really leave and say good-bye to Eli. She went over to him and melted into him as they hugged. Tears ran done her face, and she whispered, “I love you, Eli.”

Eli couldn’t muster up words without giving away the fact that he was moments away from tears himself, so he kissed her on her head. She then walked out of the restaurants door, and all Eli could do was stand there and watch.

    But now 12 months later, here he was looking at the girl he always loved. “Hi, Eli,” Sami said the smile plastered across her face, “Come here, after a year, I think I deserve a hug.”

    Eli walked over and pulled her into the tightest hug. “God, I’ve missed you? How’s school, do you love it?”

    “More than I ever thought I could! How have you been? How’s your music?” She asked her eyes filled with questions.

    “I’m good; I’m actually the manager here. As for my music hasn’t really changed, I’m still playing gigs, but now I’m also in school so I can teach music to kids.” Eli explained, after watching Sami, leave he decided to take his future more seriously too.

    “Wow,” Sami said and part of Eli felt as if she was disappointed, like she had expected more from him.

    Then he saw him, another man, wearing khakis, and button-up shirt came up wrapping his arms around Sami’s waist. “Hey Babe.”

    “Hey, so this is my best friend Eli, Eli this Clark, my boyfriend.” And just like that Eli realized that the girl he loved didn’t love him. To her they would always just be best friends, because it was true he wasn’t what she wanted. His heart felt as if it had been ripped out of his chest, but he stood there with a smile as he met the man that took his place.

TRAVEL THURSDAY: Dinning Plans {Disney at Christmas}

Hello All,

This week has been keeping me pretty busy mainly because I'm trying to get a lot of stuff done 1. because the weeks between mid-terms and Thanksgiving, always seem to be the busiest time of the year and 2. I'm going home this weekend and I don't want to bring to much work home. But don't worry I didn't forget about you guys and my Travel Thursday series. 

I personally LOVE dinning at Disney World. There are very few places at Disney World that I don't like to eat. With that being said, I figured I would share where we are planning to eat on our trip.

Night One:

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Teppan Edo located in the Japan Pavilion in EPCOT. This Mama J's favorite Disney restaurant and is a must do every time she goes down. This is a hibachi style restaurant and so entertaining. I'm not a huge fan of oriental but I love watching the food being made and I normally get some meat and rice and really enjoy it.  

Night Two:

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The Grand Floridan Cafe, located at the Grand Floridan Resort and Spa the last few trips I have gone to this restaurant and think that its pretty good. This a new place for Mama J and our other traveling companion, Sara.  

Night Three: 

Mama J and I on our April 2012 trip

Tony's Town Square, Main Street USA in Magic Kingdom. This is my all time favorite Disney restaurant and I go on almost ever trip. Its based on Lady and Tramp and I love the food and vibe of this place. Plus they have a banging Chocolate and Hazelnut cake. I'm drooling just thinking about it. 

This trip is getting closer and closer and I am so excited. Make sure you tune in next week to find out what the next Travel Thursday post will be. If you missed the first few fro this edition of Travel Thursday you can click the links below to check them out.

Trip Announcement

Fun Facts About Disney at Christmas

34 Days until Christmas at Disney!

The Missed Chance {Part 2 of 3} - Short Fiction

*Disclaimer: This is short piece of fiction that I wrote for my English 203 class, it has already been submitted for grading. I decided to share it because I am proud of it. If you didn't read the first part you can here, now enjoy the next part.***

The first several months that they worked together they didn’t really talk to each with the exceptional “Hi” and “Bye”. But one night he was playing at a local run-down bar as he finished his favorite, self-written song he saw a long haired blonde girl walk up to the bar. This time she stuck out; she didn’t look like she belonged in a rundown bar, more like dance club where the alcohol was disguised with bright colors and in test tube. 

    After his set he went out into the audience and asked if she wanted to get a drink with him, she agreed. They then sat there for hours talking and laughing. She was nothing like the girl he had built up in his head. He learned that she wasn’t the spoiled little brat that could just grab Daddy’s credit card and buy whatever she pleases; she didn’t even know who her dad was.

    The bartender called final call and Eli finally asked the question he had been dying to know since he saw her walk into a bar. “Why’d you come? You don’t seem much like punk rocker fan.”

    “I had the coolest aunt in the world who used to be a groupie for the band, NOFX and then when I was like thirteen she got diagnosed with cancer. She last only about 11 month after diagnosis, but for her whole hospital stay she insisted that punk music be played. And after she died it felt like punk was the only connection I had with her.” She said with a small smile.

    “Is it just you and your brother now?” Eli asked.

    “Yeah, my mom wasn’t exactly maternal, she spent more time nursing a glass of rum and coke then she ever did taking care of us. When my younger brother graduated high school we moved out, it’s hard at time but we make it work.” While Sami told that story her Eli notice how there was pain behind her confident exterior.

    That night was the beginning of everything, over the next year they learned everything about each other and his feelings started to blossom. He told her details about his life that he had never told anyone else. Like the meaning behind his favorite song, about how he feels like his parents look at him a like a failure. She was always there to talk; she’d smile and made him feel like he was worth something. And the day she told him she got into law school he felt his heart fall knowing that

everything was about to change.  

TRAVEL THURSDAY: Fun Facts About Disney at Christmas Time

*Sorry I forgot to post this yesterday but now its up now!***

Hello All,

I love to travel, so when I get to plan a trip and share it here or recap a past trip here. So, I'm so excited to stuff here about my upcoming trip. If you missed the announcement of my next trip you can read it here.

Unlike another trip that I'll be announcing when I return from this one I'm not doing a lot of the planning for this trip. Mama J is doing a lot of the work. So, I figured before I talk about the plans I would share some fun facts about the super extra magical time of year at Disney. 

-There are 1,300 decorated trees on the property, which includes the parks, the resorts and the downtown area. 

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-At Hollywood Studios Osborne Light Display there is over 10 miles of Christmas Lights!

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-It takes 150 trailers to store all the decorations for all 4 parks, the downtown area and all 24 resorts on property.

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-Across property there are 150 miles of garland hung

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-There is 300,000 yards of ribbon hanging from the various trees

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-8.5 Million lights are hung across property

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-Grand Floridian has a 16 foot fall gingerbread house, with 1,050 pounds of honey and takes over 160 hours to decorate

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-It always "snows" in the Magic Kingdom on the nights that Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party takes place

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-They transform the popular Adventureland ride, Jungle Cruise, to the Jingle Cruise

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The Missed Chance {Part 1 of 3} - Short Fiction

*Disclaimer: This short story is a one that I wrote for class and now want to share on my blog. This story has already been submitted and I'm pretty proud of it. I have broken it into multiple parts because why not right?***

Eli walked into the kitchen to check on his employees, just walking in the room remind him why he hated this place so much. He smelt the built up grease that always manage to stick to his clothes like a piece of gum on a high school desk. And then there was the never ending beeping of the timers, on the fryers that went off every three minutes, indicating that golden pieces of potatoes were done.  As he got closer to the front counter he saw her, the girl who always made this place feel less like Hell, the girl who walked out of his life almost twelve months ago without really knowing just how much he cared.

    It was obvious that she had grown up in the last year while she was in New York City. Her clothes now looked grown up, wearing an ironed white button up instead her vintage baseball style shirt and a navy blue knee-length skirt instead of ripped up jeans. Her make-up now had more natural colors, rather than the blues and pinks that once painted her face.

He could still remember the day he met her. It was his first day on the job; he felt like he stuck out like a sore thumb. He was a punk rocker dude, with long black greasy hair that just kind of fell at his shoulder, he had gauges in his ears along with multiple other piercings that scattered his face.

Then he saw her; she was standing by the grill, talking to cooks. She had a smile that lit up the whole kitchen and beautiful blue eyes that looked like they were smiling on their own. She had her long blonde hair in a high pony. He had known girls like that; they were the girls that bullied him high school because he wasn’t their definition of cool. But then their eyes met, and she gave him a huge smile.

She slowly moved over to him and said, “Hi, you must be the new guy; I heard you were starting today. I’m Sami; I’m the host, don’t worry I’ll make sure you only get good customers.” It threw him off how nice she had been to him; all he could do was nod, smile and thanked her.

    Now, almost 2 and half years later he debated saying hi to her. How was he supposed to tell the girl who had always thought that he could do something more with his music then just playing in his garage and open mic nights, that he still worked at the place they hated. But even worse now he was the manager. 

Next Part Coming Soon!