GRADUATION CRUISE 2017 || GOING HOME {Last Day}

Hello All,

It's hard to believe that this travel series is coming to an end. If you've missed any of the post feel free to check out the links on the master post. 

So, like the end of every Disney Cruise we had to get up early, luckily because we had the later seating we got to sleep an extra hour! We would be having breakfast at the Royal Court, which was also the place we had dinner the night before. We thought we'd be saying good-bye to our two table mates from Texas but unfortunately one was sick so we only said good-bye to the one who was feeling well. We hope that if for whatever reason they are reading this they had a safe trip home.

After breakfast we looked around the atrium one last time and then did our least favorite part of the trip and get off the beautiful Disney Fantasy. Our time during customs was pretty easy, which has been my experience with all of my Disney Cruises. We took the Disney Cruise Airport Transportation back to Orlando International Airport.

When we got to the airport we had to kill some time so we found some chairs and sat down. I made lists of videos I wanted to make as well as edited some pictures. I talked to some guys about why California is the best state. I want to visit there so badly! 

When it was time to go through security we got through easily. We also grabbed some dinner and found our gate. We had a layover but our flights were smooth. And soon we were home.

I'll be honest this cruise was not my favorite cruise I have ever been on. Mainly because the weather just wasn't good. It was cold most days and the boat was extremely rocky. But the parts that were controllable were amazing. I'm looking forwards to my next cruise and hoping to have the countdown on my phone sooner rather then later. 

If you want to know more about my cruise you can check out my Disney Cruise YouTube Playlist. I have videos that talk about the excursions that I went on, favorite moments, and things that were new to me. 

I hope you guys enjoyed this series. Keep an eye out on the blog because there is announcement coming early next week regarding the next travel series. Thanks for reading. xoxo

*This post was not sponsored by any of the linked sites. All thoughts and opinions are strictly my own 

and I was in no way compensated for mentioning them ***

GRADUATION CRUISE 2017 || A CHILLY BEACH DAY {Day 9}

Hello All,

I can't believe how close I am to being done with this trip's series. I have so many more travel plans for the next twelve months plus a whole other trip to report coming soon so there are still plenty of posts to come. With that being said if you missed the first 8 days of this trip you can check out the links on the master post.

This day was the last full day of our trip. As with every other trip this day is always bitter sweet. You want to stay positive because your still on vacation but you sad because it's almost over. On this day I woke Mama Judy up early then she wanted to be woken up because I had characters I needed to meet.

We got ready in a hurry and found our way onto Disney's beautiful private island, Castaway Cay. If you ever go on a Disney Cruise getting off at Castaway Cay is a must!

Once we got off we were in search of the characters I wanted to meet. We had to walk around a little to try and figure out where the meet location were, I will say that I wish Disney did a better job telling the meet and greet locations on the island. Ultimately we learned it was right outside the ship.

The first meet and greet we were going to was to meet Chip and Dale. If you look closely to at the picture above you can see one of the chipmunks attempting to help clean the ship. It was pretty funny to watch. Once they were done cleaning they began their meet and greets and we hopped in line to meet them. It was a pretty good meet and greet except the cast member who was their character attendant tried to translate for them too much. I think he probably assumed that I was a "too cool" teenager who was just their for the photo op. I know his heart was in the right place but it was just a little annoying.

I was wearing a Monster University hat and asked them who would be the better scarer. They couldn't agree.

After the meet and greet we had a little bit of time to kill before the next one. We had left something on the ship so I ran back up and Mama Judy took some pictures around the dock area.

Can you tell how windy it was?

When I got back we got in line for the second meet and greet. This time we were a little further back so we had to wait a little while longer.

The pin I got on our Magic Kingdom Day but kept on me the rest of the trip.

Soon it was time to meet Donald. It was another great meet and greet. We talked about his experience at Monsters University and he looked at the map behind us to show me and the character attendant where we were. Once again the cast member was super involved in the meet and greet but followed my lead more then Chip and Dale's character attendant.

After the meet and greets Mama Judy and I made our way over to Serenity Bay which is the adult only beach on the island. On our way we picked up the inner tubes we were renting. For about an hour we hung out in the ocean and then went to get lunch. TIP: There is a BBQ location at both the family sections as well as the adult only section.

After lunch we returned to the beach but didn't stay as long this time. It was pretty chilly that day and there were a lot of flies out. Eventually we walked back to the ship. When we got back on board we debated going up to ride the Aqua Duck but we were still too cold. I ultimately decided to watch the boat leave while Mama Judy went up to the Spa.

Soon the boat was on the move again. I got ready for dinner and went to see the show they were showing in the Walt Disney Theatre. Mama Judy opted not to see the show because she had seen it so many times in the past.

After the show we met back up and did our shopping. The shops are closed whenever the ship is in port so you can only shop when you are at sea. When we were done shopping we packed our bags and put them out in the hallway to be picked up by crew members. We wouldn't see them again until we got to our home airport as Disney does all the checking in for you.

And then it was time for our last dinner. That night we were eating Royal Court. The food was good but definitely wasn't our favorite meal of the trip. At dinner we said good-bye to our table mates from Scotland as they were disembarking as soon as they could because they had an early flight.

After dinner we went to see the See Ya Real Soon show. I also decided to put down a deposit so that I could have a place on another Disney Cruise anytime before January 2019. FUN FACT: Disney allows you to put down two types of deposits on cruise ~ 1 is about $250 dollars that holds your place on another Disney Cruise within 2 calendar years. The other one is a deposit on an exact cruise where you have to be able to put down at least 20% of the cost. But both come with perks if you do it such as on onboard credit!

I don't know official details on my next cruise yet but stay tune because my cruise will come up sometime in the next 18-months! Plus I will try (no promises) to do some planning post to help people who are planning their Disney Cruise.

And that is the end of our last full day of our Disney Cruise! I'll write a quick post about going home and then move onto the next trip series!

*This post was not sponsored by any of the linked sites. All thoughts and opinions are strictly my own 

and I was in no way compensated for mentioning them ***

GRADUATION CRUISE 2017 || Travel Day {Day 1}

Hello All,

Welcome back to my blog and my cruise recap posts! Today is going to be the boring day on this trip's recap because there are next to no pictures. But I still want to document the trip. So, enjoy or skip it. And if you haven't already you can check out the recap of the whole trip here. Now that the housekeeping is out of the way let's get started.

On Thursday, January 5 I woke up relatively early because I had some errands to run. I had to run to Best Buy to get a charger for my camera. I also went to DSW to look for water shoes for Mama Judy, as well as I believe target to grab sunscreen I think. 

When I got home I finished packing up my carry on and I charged my laptop. As well as doing some last minute cleaning. I also had to run to my friends Tori's house because she was keeping an eye on our house while we were away and I needed to give her a key. 

Finally it was time for us to leave the house. We had to run a quick errand to Target and then headed to the airport. We got through security very quickly, there was next to no lines there, which is always good. We plopped down in a seat and Mama Judy attempted to take a nap (remember when I napped on the airport floor when I was coming home from Disney in 2015?). Our local airport also had a candy bar so I went and enjoyed some candy. 

We got on board our flight. We were flying Jet Blue which now offers wifi. Which was awesome because I was able to get some YouTube work done from the air. Other then that our flight was pretty smooth and we arrived like twenty minutes earlier the expected. 

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We headed to the ground level and got on board The Disney Magical Express which is an awesome way to get to the Disney Resorts. We were one of the last few people to get on the shuttle so we got going  pretty quickly. We were staying at Disney's Port Orleans: French Quarter. Mama Judy and I had stayed at the Port Orleans when I was younger but I had no memory of the resort. But I will now say I LOVED it. Probably one of my favorites. 

We went to check-in where we ran in some difficulty. Mama Judy's legal last name is pretty unique and sometimes computers get confused. Finally we got it all sorted out and got to our room. We got curled up in our beds and watched a Lifetime movie while we waited for our suitcases. Although I fell asleep before they got there. 

And that was the end of day one. I'm going to try and get these posts up ASAP but I don't want to guarantee when the next one will go up. 

*This post was not sponsored by any of the linked sites. All thoughts and opinions are strictly my own 

and I was in no way compensated for mentioning them ***

GRADUATION CRUISE 2017 || A Trip in Review

Hello All,

Happy Thursday! In January I went on a Disney Cruise with Mama Judy to celebrate my college graduation! I know i've been kind of cruddy at keeping up with my blog post but I have so many pictures to share so I'm going to attempted to share them here. If you guys have been around for a while you know that I often will start vacation wrap ups with a trip in review post (Disney Cruise 2014, Disney at Christmas 2014 & Disney 2015). These are some of my favorite post to do because it gives you a clue about what's coming and it gets me excited. Also I plan to use this post as a home base and link all other post here once they've been written. 

Thursday, January 5, 2017

This was the day our trip started. I spent the morning running last minute errands. Our flight was later in the evening so we didn't land in Orlando until 9:30 PM. We went and checked in a Port Orleans French Quarter and relaxed. 

Friday, January 6, 2017

The first full day of our vacation we spent at the Magic Kingdom. Mama Judy had been to Disney World since they opened New Fantasyland and she wanted to see the new area. We explored the park as well as having lunch at Be Our Guest.

Me at Be Our Guest

Saturday, January 7, 2017

We boarded the Disney Fantasy for our cruise. We were excited to start a new trip as well as explore any changes that were made to the ship. We had dinner at Animator's Palate and went to an event at the Tube.

Our first towel animal (Swan) thanks to our awesome State Room Host, Michael!

Sunday, January 8, 2017

This was our first day at sea. Mama Judy and I enjoyed the Rainforest (one of the treatments at the spa) as well as exploring. We both took naps and enjoyed the day.

Monday, January 9, 2017
On Monday the port of call was Mexico, we got off the boat and saw the Mexican Ruins!

Tuesday, January 10, 2017
On Tuesday the boat stopped at Grand Cayman. Mama Judy had a spa appointment and we were both tired so we stuck around the boat.

Wednesday, January 11, 2017
This was probably my favorite day of the cruise! On this day we got off the boat in Jamaica and experience probably the best excursion I have ever experienced.

Thursday, January 12, 2017
This was our final day at sea the first Star Wars Day at Sea aboard the Disney Fantasy. Since I didn't really know anything about Star Wars I hung out in the adult section and finished the book I brought with me (You can read the review here).

Friday, January 13, 2017
The last day! The last of the cruise is always the worst and the saddest. But on this day we stopped at Disney's private island, Castaway Cay. This was cold and windy but we tired to make the best out of it.

Saturday, January 14, 2017

We finished our trip and headed home...already dreaming of the next cruise! ;) 

And that was a quick review of our cruise. Over the next few weeks I will attempt to get as many post out as possible about our cruise. Thanks for reading! 

College Graduation

Hello All,

Guess what? I wrote this post almost a month ago and forgot to hit publish. LOL. But no seriously guess what!

I graduated college! After four and half years of college I have finally graduated! And it feel absolutely amazing! This last semester, especially, has been a lot of work but it'll be worth it. 

For those of you guys wondering I got a bachelor of science in Liberal Studies with concentrations in communication, media studies and creative writing. And no I'm not going into journalism or news production. I do have a future career in mind but since the career is in field that requires a lot of confidentially because of that I'm not comfortable discussing exactly what it is online.  I'm currently in the process of looking for a job and it may make it that I will be moving across the country which is really exciting. When I know where I'll be heading I'll let you guys know, at least a general location. 

As for the day itself it was so much fun. I started the day out by getting ready, to which I actually filmed my first Get Ready With Me video on my YouTube channel (You can check it out here). Then we headed to school and got a prime parking space. I gave Mama Judy directions to the theatre when graduation was taking place and then headed to the place where we line up.

I don't know if every school does it this way but my school has us line up by school but other then that its free range has to where you sit/stand. Right as I walked in I get a text message from my friend Chris asking me where I was and he told me where he was. I went up to where he was standing. I ended up lining up with the 3 other graduates from the Media Studies department, which was good because I had so much fun with them.

We headed into the theater right on time. I saw Mama Judy while I was walking in and she was already crying.

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We didn't have a lot of speakers at the graduation itself so it went by rather quickly. My favorite speech was done by the president of the university, where it talked about intental kindness when all around so much hate is happening. I think its an idea that we should all carry around with us.

When it was time to get the degrees we again were called by school with the school of arts and sciences going last. When the finally called us we all whooped and "got lit" as the kid in front of me said. As each person went up they got whoops from the different people in the audience who knew them. When they finally declared us college graduation we whooped and went wild.

After graduation finished I met my parents outside to take pictures. And I made Mama Judy be an Instagram Mama while I posed for some Instagram worthy pictures. If you're interested in following me on Instagram you can by searching @judy_judy94.

When we finished taking pictures I went to say good-bye to my boss. I don't think I ever mentioed it on my blog but for the past year and half I have worked as a student employee in my college's residence life department. I wanted to stop and say good-bye to my boss because she had such an impact on my last couple of years.

After saying good-bye to my boss we headed back to my hometown where we had dinner with some of our close family and friends. It was so much fun celebrating with some really important people in my life. Plus it was at one of my favorite restaurant where the staff knows us by name which made it extra special.

Graduation was such an amazing day and I am so grateful for all the people who have supported me over the past four and half years. And for anyone who has read my college adventures which I have been sharing since the end of my freshmen year thank you. I can't wait to share the next chapter with you guys.

I also want to give a special shout to Natalie, who was my first blogging friend all the way back during the first summer of the World According to Emma. Natalie and I had actually went to the same college and both graduated this December. Congrats Natalie! You can check out her blog by clicking here.

A now enjoy all the awesome pictures and a video snap that I'm adding in.

Me with my degree folder

One of my Instagram inspired pictures even if it hasn't been shared yet

And Instagram picture 

My cap, shout out to Mama Judy for helping decorating it 

My dad and I

Mama Judy and I

Lost in the right direction?

Hello All,

This a post that I have been waiting to write pretty much since I posted this post 2 years ago. But I couldn't write it at first because I had no idea how to write this post because I had no idea what I wanted to do with my future. I went through so many ideas of careers from Hollywood/news producer, to social work even stopping back at high school teacher. But none of those seemed to be the right fit. 

For a long while I figured I would apply for every job that was available and hope for the best. But then I started working for my university and fell in love with my job. One day I was raving about it to my mom or freaking out that I didn't know what I wanted to do, which isn't the point. The point is  my mom told me she always thought I'd do well working at university and she felt even more so after seeing the love I have for my job.

After she mentioned that I started really thinking about and realized that I could see myself working in residence life, student life or the first year programs at a university. If fits a lot of what I wanted out of a career such as working with teens/early adults, making an impact or a difference on people lives and an office job that isn't just sitting behind a desk, pushing paper all day.

I started researching the steps I'd have to take to get there and it looks like I will have to get my masters in higher education counseling. Many of the programs I have looked into require that you have some sort of psych background which at the moment I don't have.  Which means that I will probably be going back to school in January, part time to get  some psych pre-reqs, while working full time at some entry level university job.

At this point I'm still a little lost about where I'm going next but for the first time in almost 3 and half years I'm not scared out of my mind. I'm actually confident about the direction I'm going in and excited for what life after college holds, which starts in approximately 95 days (but whose counting).

I don't regret any of the hops I had to jump through in order to this place in my life. Its been hard and stressful at times but I honestly and truly believe it happened for a reason. I can't wait to share my future with you guys (even if it's not job related).

And for the people who have been there every step of this journey, thank you, your support has been more than appreciated.

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Currently - July 2016

Hello All,

I know, I know I've been missing for awhile. But what else is new here? I could come up with a list of reasons why I haven't been here but I'm not going to bore you with those. I made a goal for this week (the week of July 11th) to blog for at least 10 minutes everyday so I can try and get some cool post up for you guys. 

I figured since I have been "missing" on these parts for a while I would start this up with a currently post, so I can give you guys an update on all the haps in my life. So, let's get started!

Currently I've been...

...binging Friday Night Lights on Netflix

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For those of you who have never seen it, Friday Night Lights is about the town of Dillon, Texas, their football team and the lives of the people connected to the football team. Its a show a lot of people had recommended to me and I finally got around to watching it. I absolutely love it! I'm almost done with the series and I'm on the final season. And if we're being honest I will probably re-watch it as soon as I'm finished with it. My only problem with it is that it only takes place during Football season and because of that not every storyline gets wrapped up and leaves me with a few questions. The show in general has made me want to move down south and raise a bunch of boys who play football. 

...watching The Bachelorette (ABC), Scream: The TV Show (MTV) and Big Brother (CBS).

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This wasn't a show that I watch religiously but over winter break I binge watched the most recently season of the Bachelor (ya know the one where Ben told 2 girls he loves them *Insert eye roll emoji here). At the end of the season when they announced that JoJo was going to be next Bachelorette I knew I had to watch it. Mainly because I love her and she seems so sweet. And yes, I know you can't judge someone by how a reality show portrays them but I love her anyways. 

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I love the Scream movie series (the first one is my favorite) so when MTV announced that they were going to make a TV series based on it I was intrigued. The first season got me hooked and I was beyond excited for season two (which I have been enjoying). My favorite characters are Audrey and Noah (both of who are slightly suspicious). As of right now I have no idea who this season's killer is. 

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If y'all have been around these parts for a while you probably know I LOVE Big Brother and watch it every season. In the past I have done weekly recaps on here but those are a lot of work and I just don't have the time to write them. Although I am brainstorming another way to share my love of a Big Brother on my corner of the internet but it might take some time before ones published. What I will say about this season is one of my favorite in a long time. I think this might have to do with the returning houseguests (Frank (BB14), Nicole (BB16), James and Da'Vonne (BB17)). I feel like when they bring back houseguests the game gets moving a little sooner because they already understand how to play. And for those who are wonder I am on #TeamNicole, #TeamCorey and surprisingly #TeamPaul (even if he was the jerk the first few episode). And my pre-season picks to win (before I knew about the returning Vets) this season are Paul for the guys and Michelle for the girls.

...reading After You by JoJo Moyes

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After You is the sequel to Me Before You. I'm only about 30 pages into and haven't gotten hooked the way I did to Me Before You. Although it takes time for me to get hooked to books sometimes so I'm still determined to finish it. 

...planning a new vacation!

My mom and I are going on a vacation in January and I'm super excited about it. It's one that we have been planning since I started college since it was going to be my graduation celebration. I'm not ready announce it quiet yet (its still over 160 days out) but I wanted to drop a hint. So I found a picture (which was taken by me) and cropped it so it wouldn't give it away but you'd get a hint. 

...getting excited about graduating and my future.

Throwback to my High School graduation circa June 2012

This is it folks, the light is at the end of the tunnel and graduation is coming up! I believe, I'm like 97% sure that I am graduating in December! The reason I say I'm 3% unsure it because things happen. If you guys remember I published this post over two years ago talking about changing my major. I went through a hard time when I realized that I didn't want to be a teacher (my original major) and had no clue what I was going to do. I think I may have found my correct path. I'm going to do a whole post about it, life update style, in the next couple of weeks.

...running 3 minutes straight!

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Recently I've decided to go back to the gym (at least in the summer I'm going 5 days a week!) and I've lost 4.5 pounds (as of July 11th). But the thing I'm most excited about is that I can run for 3 minutes straight. I've always wanted to run a 5K but I've never been a big runner. So when I returned to the gym about 3 weeks ago my main goal was to start running. I based my running plan on the couch to 5K (I post it down below). But changed it up a little to work for me. I've been going but by 15 second increments every few days rather then 1 minute increments. But I follow the how many minutes to walk when I hit the new minute. i.e. I'm currently running 3 minutes and walking 5 minutes on either side of the running. I also have a 5K goal but more on that when it gets closer.

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...playing Best Fiends on my phone

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While the rest of the world is chasing Pokemon I have been trying to kill slugs. I heard about this game through a lot of YouTubers and thought it sounded fun. It is a lot like candy crush where you're matching (what looks like fruit) and you built your team in order to kill slugs. I love it and I'm completely addicted. I recommend it for anyone who enjoy(s/ed) candy crush. 

And that's what's been going on in my world. What has been going on your guy's world? Let me know in the comments down below!

Summer 2016 Bucket List

Hello All,

A few weeks ago I was playing around on the internet when I found a campaign that Eventbrite is running called, GOMO is the FOMO. FOMO (Fear of Missing Out) has become popular with popularity of social media, I notice it the most on Instagram when you see friends posting awesome pictures from their vacations, parties or days at the beach. But Eventbrite (When you can find and organize you own event) wants us to start looking at life differently but GOMO-ing. GOMO stands for Getting Out More Often. I think this is an awesome idea to focus on, especially because I want to have the best summer ever!

After learning about GOMO I was inspired to write my own Summer 2016 Bucket List. Although not everything on my bucket list involves going out they are things that will make me happy or help me eventually be able to go out. Either way these items are going to help me squish the FOMO.

1. I want to go on some adventures

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I love to create memories and have fun. This summer I want to go on some adventures with friends. and explore the world around me.

2. Read as many books as possible

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I love to read and during the school year I feel like I never get a chance to read. But during the summer I have plenty of time to read. This summer I want to read as much as possible and immerse myself in different worlds (wow corny much?😂). Plus I'm taking a young adult lit class next semester and I'm hoping the professor will put the list online ASAP so I can read the books ahead of time and save time during the semester. {PS - Currently reading Me Before You so keep an eye for a book review in the somewhat near future}

3. Daily Vlog!

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This summer I want to vlog everyday! I've actually started on my channel. You can check them out by clicking here. Although because of my work schedules I don't post videos everyday I am vlogging everyday and combining the days together.

4. Go to the beach more then once

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Every year my friend Tori and I go to the beach but that's normally the last time I go. I wouldn't mind go a few more times this year. It's nice to lay on the beach and read, I may even just go by myself so that I can read. LOL. PS you check out the post about mine and Tori's beach days here.

5. Save some molla

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College graduation is right around the corner. Which is scary. I need to start saving some money so that I need to buckle down and save some money. Plus I'm trying to save money to start traveling more. I have a bucket list of places I want to travel and there are even more location then when I originally wrote my Travel Bucket List.

6. Get a new car

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I love my car and I wold drive it for years to come but its starting to get old and I'm worried that it won't last much longer. So, this summer I'm going to safe some money and hopefully get a new car.

7. Blog a lot

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During the school year I don't have a lot time to blog so during the summer I want to blog as much as possible and get a lot content out on the blog. If you guys have any post requests let me know.

And this is everything I want to get done this summer. What's on your summer bucket list? Let me know in the comments down below.