Liebster Award

I have been nominated for a Liebster award! By the one, the only, the prettiest esthetician and yogini, CHELSEA! She's a lov-a-lie newlywed married to Keke's husband's brother. So... we're basically family, right? Right. Go check out her blog HERE.

"Liebster" means dearest in German, and it's awarded, blogger to blogger, to up-and-coming blogs with less than 200 followers.  The rules for accepting and giving the award are pretty simple.  Once you accept the award, you just have to do the following in a blog entry:

Answer the 11 questions posted by the nominator on her blog

Give 11 facts about yourself

Nominate 5-11 other new, up-and-coming blogs with less than 200 followers

Make up 11 more questions to pass on to the bloggers you choose to nominate

Thank your nominator by linking back to her blog

Upon your post going live, contact your nominees about your nomination for them

Q: What is your favorite food?
DRIED MANGOS. You know those large packs you buy at Sam's Club? I can easily go through one in less than a day. When I lived in Florida, my Mama would send them to me in her care packages and as much as I would try to savor them... I didn't/couldn't.

Q: What's your favorite clothing item in your closet?
Any and all of my Disney gear. I don't have as much as some people (you know who you are!) but I absolutely adore my Little Mermaid sweatshirt and multiple tee-shirts. They are comfy and remind me of the best time of my life!

Q: What was your favorite class in high school? 
Definitely Dance Company. I had the honor of being on the team for two years, my last year being a co-president and it changed my life. It gave me confidence I never knew I had as well as 26 best friends who I would never have been in the right circles to meet otherwise.

d.co 2009-2010 

d.co 2010-2011

Q: What was your favorite Christmas gift you received? 
A: Christmas 2009. Dano was on her mission and Keke was visiting from New York where she was attending school. My parents gave me my final Christmas gift. I opened it to find a New York calendar. When I opened the calendar to the month of March, I saw a plane ticket. Immediately following, I started crying because I was SO HAPPY. I was going to visit my sister in New York for Spring Break! That was the first time I ever cried tears of joy. I had missed both my sisters so much for those few months, I was so excited I was going to have one on one time with one of them in the coolest city EVER in the near future.

Q: What is one of the oldest memories you have? 
My very first memory is from when I'm 2 or 3. I stole one of my clean, unused diapers from the diaper bag and held it out the window like a parachute. Unfortunately though, I accidentally let it go and so my Mom pulled over and made my big sister pick it up. I can still remember Keke picking it up with absolute disgust because it fell in a muddy puddle! Sorry, Keke.

Q: What is your favorite song right now? 
Right now I la-la-love Wake Me Up by Avicii Feat. Aloe Blacc. Listen to it HERE, it'll get you groovin'!

Q: What is your favorite vacation spot you've been to?
When I was younger my family went to Mendicino, CA. It's near the town where Murder She Wrote was filmed. It's small, quiet, quaint, rainy, and full of deer. We stayed in a cabin called 'Fairy Cabin', I saw Grease for the first time there, and also found my boy doppelganger. What a trip for little girl!

Q: What is your typical daily morning routine? 
Nothing special. Wake up at 5:30am, shower, make-up, hair, outfit, run out the door.

Q: Do you have a life motto you repeat to yourself a lot? What is it?
Sure do. Lots actually! One of them is the following gem: Worry is a misuse of your imagination.

Q: What is your favorite part about yourself? 
Oooh tough. I pretend not to have self-esteem issues but let's be real, who doesn't! One thing I like though is my painted finger nails. I feel nearly impossible with my polished cuticles.

Q: What is your dream job? 
I just had the honor of completing my dream job this past year in Florida... you may or may not know what I'm talking about. I miss it everyday but more than that, I am grateful for it everyday. It was the most incredible experience of my entire life.

Eleven facts about myself: 

1. When I was 16, I attended the end of a friend of a friend's soccer game only to make eye contact with the most handsome young man I had ever seen in MYWHOLEDANGLIFE. Immediately, I was smitten. Through a bizarre series of events (that I'd like to think was fate), 8 months later, we went on our first date and have been inseparable ever since (except for the whole mission thing). FUN FACT: He does not remember meeting me on this toasty September afternoon. Rue!

Our first picture together. Taken June 2010.

2. My absolute favorite TV shows on the history of this PLANET is Grey's Anatomy and Private Practice. (Gossip Girl is next though!) I have watched the entire series of those two shows too many times to count. THIS IS A NO JUDGEMENT ZONE.

3. I am so insanely baby hungry IT IS BAD NEWS BEARS. Working with kids this past year, and now in my current job at the learning center makes me want a little muffin of my own so badly. I must resist though, I must resist!

4. My very favorite sport to watch is Baseball. I have lots of fond, fond memories of going to Dodgers baseball games with my Daddy when we lived in So. California.

5. I tend to come up with nicknames for people. Dano, Keke, Curbs, Lala, MP... can't help it. If you get a nickname from me, it's a sign that I'm comfortable around you.

6. When I would play in the parks while living in FL, one of my favorite things to do was meet characters. I had never met a character until March of this year! (6 months after I started working there... embarrassing). But that's actually not the point. The point is that to this day, I still get nervous meeting the lovely ladies of Disney! I know. It does not make ANY sense.

Mary Poppins especially. She told me not to slouch.

7. My ultimate goal in life is to be apart of the SNL cast. However, I'm not an actress, nor am I funny. I also dread improv and can't impersonate anyone sooooooo there's that.

8. I signed up for Oceanography this semester and was super excited about it because I find the sea fascinating but it turned out just to be a bunch of math. (Insert pouty face here). So I quickly transferred out of that and into Art History (--a general I need to complete). I am SO HAPPY I did because Art History is turning out to be one of my favorite classes and has me thinking about an archaeology major.

9. I have a lot of celebrity crushes but my love for Chuck Bass/Ed Westwick reigns supreme. That. Jawline. Those. Cheekbones. Swoon.

10.  I thoroughly enjoy public speaking. It began when I gave my first talk in sacrament meeting on January 1, 2006. Ever since, whether it be at church, at school, or even just theater, I love speaking in front of people. I love the feeling of my heart pounding right before I open my mouth to share my first word. I love the feeling of every single pair of eyes on me. I love the idea of sharing something worthwhile to my fellow human beings. That adrenalin is one of a kind, I tell ya!

11. Crickets at night, turning book pages, keys of a typewriter, skate blades on ice, a bubbling hot tub, crackling fire, airplane silence... Those are a few of my favorite sounds.   

I tag Dano, Lindsay and Christine. Have fun with the following questions...

Questions for my blogger friends:
1. What is your favorite commercial? (Link please!)
2. Your most awkward date ever was...
3. Who is your favorite Disney princess and why? 
4. Who was your favorite teacher growing up?
5. If you could have any accent in the world, what accent would it be?
6. Have you ever had a re-occurring dream? If so, what was it?
7. What is your favorite color?
8. What is your favorite holiday?
9. Share your favorite joke.
10. What is your favorite movie?
11. What do you want to leave as your legacy on this lovely Earth of ours?

tbt

Throwback Thursday to when my sisters and I wore matching dresses to church (made by my ever so talented mother) and we curled our bangs with a curling iron. 

Those were the good ol' days.

1997

(PART 2) My sister came to visit me.

The second day of playing was at Hollywood Studios. 

We met a couple characters:

The Green Army Man

Jake the Neverland Pirate.

And got our faces painted because it's totally normal to walk around with a painted face at the happiest place on Earth. It's lovely.

And of course we rode rides, this one more than most:

What is not pictured is the hour it HURRICANED. Truly, I have never seen rain so fast and furious. It was raining sideways! But that didn't stop us from having fun! Did you know Hollywood Studios is my second favorite park (after Magic Kingdom). I love the shows, the rides, the old jazz music that plays down Sunset Blvd... ah. It is my happy place. If you haven't been before, I highly recommend it. 

(PART 1) My sister came to visit me.

The greatest thing happened, pretty spontaneously, a few short weeks before my program ended. MY SISTER CAME TO VISIT ME. It was such a fun-filled 4 days, here are photos from the second (the first was kind of a half day when she flew in, arrived at our lovely resort, then went straight to visit Ariel in her grotto). 

On this beautiful, sunny day we went to the one, the only, Magic Kingdom.

We rode lots of rides:

and I was able to introduce Dano to some of my Floridian friends! 

Lindsay. "Call Me Maybe"

Robert. He's like 6'7. Nbd.

More photos to come of the rest of our days soon! 

Be excited.

I know I am.

My sister visited Ariel.

One of the very greatest moments of my entire program was this: 

I know Ariel was ECSTATIC to see Dano, it may or may not have made the Little Mermaid tear up just a bit.  

Be Mine, Valentine.

Did you know I take pictures every Valentine's Day?  

Yes, it's a weird tradition, but I think it happens because I simply just love love and I want to celebrate it.

And I love the joy one inevitably feels from this holiday. 

Click HERE for my photos from 2010 (just for kicks).

(Don't I look so different now?)

A big thanks to Dano for getting me the coolest heart shaped twinkle lights for my birthday (which decorate the white asylum walls of my bedroom all year round), which I used in this shoot.

How were all of your Valentine's Days? 

Lovey, dovey and mushy, I hope. 

I had a pretty great day, myself. 

Elder BF certainly did not forget about me!

(He's such a keeper.)

But I'll have to tell you about it a little bit later because right now, I can hear the sound of the rain beating on my windows and roof and therefore, my bed stacked high with blankets and pillows, herbal raspberry tea, and my favorite movie of all time, You've Got Mail are all calling my name. 

Happy heart day, my friends!

xxx

HBD Pumpkin Pie.

 

Happy birthday my sweet, sweet sister. Love you so much.

You deserve 25 ponies, 25 rainbows, 25 gum drops, 25 daisies, 25 happy dances and 25 hugs and kisses.

(Be sure to look for them as I will be willing them your way.)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!!!!!!!

Hello from Orlando.

I had the awesome experience of being an extra
in the Indiana Jones show at Hollywood Studios

Did I drop off the face of the earth? Why yes, yes I did. And for that, I am so sorry! Can I promise it will never ever happen again? Well, no, no I cannot. I'm also sorry for that. Ya see, this Disney internship is keeping me insanely busy. I wouldn't have it any other way because I am having the time of my life and learning such valuable life lessons but it does mean my blog suffers a bit.

But here's a quick update:

• I work all day every day most days. Right now I'm averaging 40 hours/week but closer to the holidays I will be working 60 hours/week. Eeek!
• My Daddy and sissy came to visit me a couple weeks ago...... IT WAS THE BEST. I was so stressed (yes, I love my job but like all jobs, it does come with its stresses) and they were so good to me to take time out of their lives and pay me a visit. We played in the parks, ate out, and shopped. Such a lovely vacation, thank you Daddy and Dano.

I love my family more than anything in
the entire world

• I came down with the flu about a week ago and though I am over the worst of it, I can't seem to kick the last cold-like symptoms! Gah it is the worst. I guess it's time to O.D on water, sleep, and vitamin C!
• One of my housemates left the program so now our 6 girl apartment has only 5 girls. We don't know if the space will be filled or not. I suppose only time will tell!
• Curtis has been out nearly 100 days. Holy smokin' rollers is this real life?! Soon there will only be six more of those sets left. I can't wait.

Elder Boyfriend looking cute as always

• I am meeting so many amazingly talented people it's unreal. In my department though, it's rare to work with the same people day after day so keeping everybodys name straight is very tricky! (Thank goodness for the name tags though, right?) But despite that small detail, I feel so blessed to even be associating with these big guns. What's cool about Disney management is that they pay attention to the little guys... like me. I'm a little guy. But guess what? They still talk to me, listen to me, and coach me. It's awesome! And also something I have never experienced before. I feel important in the work place.
• The new Fantasyland at Magic Kingdom is INCREDIBLE. Maybe it's because I'm obsessed with Disney princesses but the new castles, shops, and rides give me goosebumps every time!

I spy with my little eye... Belle at Epcot

• In a couple weeks I am going to have the most amazing opportunity that sadly I cannot share the details of, but just know it's happening and I can't wait!
• In a couple months I am going to have another awesome opportunity that sadly I also cannot share the details of but I am anxiously waiting for it to begin!
• I was about 10 feet from a certain Wheel of Fortune star yesterday and I didn't even notice. Yes, I know who she is and I would be able to recognize her face but I was kind of in my own little world at the time because I was training for a new attraction that I have the privilege to be apart of. My bad.

Oh my goodness gracious, is this my life?! I have to pinch myself about 937 times a day! There are good moments and not-so-good moments of each day but overall, each day is magical and I feel so blessed that I get to share that magic with guests from all over the world.

Cute family on the infamous tram

The best drivers in all of Disney World

See no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil on Space Mountain

 

Sister Night Adventures.

Dare Bear went on a Big Foot search with some friends so Keke invited Dano and myself to spend the night with her in SLC.

We partied like rock stars.

Just kidding.

We were asleep by 10pm.

But that doesn't mean we didn't have fun!

Agle sista style.

We started by eating dinner at Rumbi Grill.

(Yummmmmmmmm.)

(I had mango cheesecake.)

(Ahhhh. Mango??? Cheesecake???? My two most favorite things!!)

Then we watched one of my most favorite movies, 'My Best Friend's Wedding.'

(Every morning I wake up...)

The following morning, we went shopping at City Creek mall and bonus, none of us exceeded our budgets!

Dang we're awesome.

And then to top it all off, we had pizza.

Lots and lots of pizza for lunch.

What a great 18 hours.

Love my sissies to death.

Grateful Dare Bear didn't get killed by Bigfoot.

Blessed.

The Lucky One

Dano and I saw the movie, "The Lucky One" starring Zac Efron.

(And we had the theater to ourselves.)

Ohhhh myy gash.

He is a beautiful man.

And it was a super fun girls night.

Shanks guurl.