Making ears

I've been on a bit of a crafting kick lately. It feels so good to be making stuff again.

I made some floral mouse ears for Kris and Veronica and me for Food and Wine last year. I decided to try making some again, I know some friends wanted to get some too.

So with my trip up to Epcot Food and Wine approaching, I decided to make some ears for myself and some to share too. made a few designs. And now I just have to decide which ones to wear for my Disney trip this weekend.

I think the Wine & Dine ears will definitely make an appearance.

I might even have to come up with a few new designs to go with my outfits for the weekend...

If you wanna grab your own ears, check out my shop.

Neverland 5k and Disneyland! (Part 2)

Friday was an early day, since we had to go cheer on the boys at the 5k.

We got up and called the boys to see if they were on their way, nothing.... Kris called Ed and Dad. No answer, she knocked on their room, no answer. Finally we got a text back from Dad saying they were at the start line.

Kris, V, and I got dressed and headed to Disneyland. Now the 5k started on Main Street, which was so awesome. As we were walking towards the finish line, we saw people still walking into the park... with bibs... at 5:15am. The 5k started at 5am. How are these people still walking to the corrals? We were in a bit of shock. Eventually, we got to part of the course, and were able to see the leaders come through. We headed out to the finish line and got in place.

Now there is no runner tracking for the 5k, and we had no idea when the boys started, but we stood and looked for our runners. And about 45 minutes in, we saw Eddie and Xander crossing the finish.

And about 10 minutes later, Dad crossed! He was so nervous about finishing, but he finished before tons of others that were behind him. We waved and got some pics.

Then they came around with their bling!

We went back to the hotel so the boys could clean up and rest a bit, and then it was off to meet west coast Mickey! I had booked us a couple of character meals, cause I know they're worth it, you get real food and a change to meet the characters while sitting. And let's be serious, I love meeting the characters. Our first one, to celebrate the boys 5k was at Paradise Pier hotel. This was at the back of the property, so we walked back there. **Disney World nerd break: It was so cool to be able to walk everywhere on property and a little strange too. You def can NOT do that at Disney World! ... end Disney World Nerd break.**

We walked right on in and met the man himself, Mickey Mouse. It was like an old school character breakfast, and they sold us the pics later (which we got, cause we needed 1 group pic). We had a yummy breakfast, that even included some Mexican-ified dishes (chilaquiles and some ridiculously good fritatta). And we got to meet Minnie, dressed in a super cute jumpsuit, Daisy, and Stitch (Xander's fave). Now, somehow, usually dry Southern California was rainy this day. It started pouring when we got to the hotel and wasn't really letting up. So after breakfast, we grabbed some ponchos, and headed to Disneyland!

Disneyland is tiny and adorable. It's like a shrunken Magic Kingdom. Like seriously shrunken. When you walk into Main Street, U.S.A. the buildings look like dollhouses. You know people really
couldn't live in there, it's just a model.

And there it is, Sleeping Beauty Castle. (Sorry Aurora, Cindy's got you beat in the castle game). I know it's a castle and all, but it's the most underwhelming sight.

Straight away we headed to Hyper Space Mountain, cause Xander needed to ride it badly. We headed towards Tomorrowland, and OMG, where is the space? It was so cramped getting in there. I can see that this park was built in 1955.

But we got into the line for Space Mountain, and waited it out. One more thing, most Disneyland lines are outside, we wrapped around the building, and then up on the roof. It was so odd. This Florida girl would have liked a little cover while we waited.

But I do have to say, this is where Disneyland has us, the ride was amazing. So much better than our Space Mountain.

After that, we headed to 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, I mean Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage. It was so cool to be in a ride that I had loved as a kid in Disney World. It was pretty much the same thing, but with Nemo and his friends sprinkled in.

After that, we headed towards Fantasyland. But, along the way, Kris and I saw the Evil Queen. We're no fools, so we stalked her and followed her til she stopped. Another weird Disneyland-ism, these characters walk around unguarded. Kinda super weird, but also very cool. She finally stopped, and we were able to get pics with her. She was very demanding about the poses she needed us to do.

We were right at the opening to ToonTown, so we decided to go in and grab a bite to eat for lunch. ToonTown was so cute. It really did look like a ToonTown.

There were tons of places to play and burn off some steam, which is just what the kids did. And then I locked them up... LOL just kidding!

We didn't think the Roger Rabbit ride was open, but just as we were about to leave ToonTown, it opened up, so we got in the line and were able to ride. This was a pretty cool ride. Kinda dark with the weasels going after Roger, but it was fun.

Then, we finally headed towards Fantasyland. First up, one of the OG rides, It's a Small World. Again an outside queue, but the outside with the white facade is so pretty. The white room in Small World has always been my favorite.

This Small World is also better than ours, gotta say. It has more rooms, and they even incorporate characters into each country. Check it out.

Now, since it was kinda cloudy and on and off sprinkling, the lines weren't than bad on this day. So we were able to get a lot in. My one bucket list, must-do was Mr. Toad's Wild Ride. And that was the next stop. The outside of the ride buildings in Fantasyland here are so pretty. It really looks like party of a story tale village.

This is another ride I only vaguely remember since they took it away so long ago. Totally had forgotten about Mr. Toad going to hell, but thankfully the kids didn't seem to bothered. It was more fun riding with Mr. Toad's terrible driving.

The Carrousel and Peter Pan had a pretty short line, so we rode those. They were the same as ours. Peter Pan is the exact same as ours. As we were waiting in line for Peter Pan, outside, I told V to look at the castle, and pointed to it. She asked me where it was, and I told her it was that pink house. She's only 4 and she knows a castle is way more grand! LOL

We also went inside the castle, where they have shadow boxes of the Sleeping Beauty story in various rooms. But this requires, so many up and down the stairs. Ugh. It was cute though, but I prefer the mosaics in Cindy's castle.

At this point we were all waaay past done, so we headed out of the park and back to the hotel for dinner and some rest. Kris and I had a race in the morning anyway, so we needed to chill a bit for the early morning wakeup.

Princess Half Marathon Weekend: Part 2

Forgive my lateness in this post, but the wrist situation has made recreational typing not a very appealing option after typing all day at work.

I left off after breakfast. Let me tell you I was so happy they were still making omelettes at the hotel. It hit the spot! We chilled in the room for a bit and I grabbed a shower. The kids and Eddie headed to the house, since they had some Cub Scout event that night, and Kris and I lounged around for a while. Then the hunger hit and we decided to get moving and head to Epcot for dinner. And Pluto welcomed us in.

We had stopped by Italy to get pizza a few months back, and never did, since it was a whole pie, and not just a slice you could order. But we were hungry and needed some carbs, so we headed right there to get our pizza. The pizza was amazing, we ordered the Capricciossa pizza with ham, eggplant, artichokes, and mushrooms. OMG, it was soooo good.

We walked back to Mexico to grab a margarita (we had to!), and then headed back to the hotel to get some shut eye before our 3am wakeup call. The 2nd 3am wakeup for me! We got dressed, and I even managed a half decent Jasmine-esque hairdo.

Then we headed to the buses and saw the HUGE line to get on. The line was long, but we figured, hey everyone else was waiting too. We finally boarded our bus only to get stuck in traffic. It took us about 45 minutes to get the 15 minutes up the road we needed to reach Epcot. By the time we entered, we went to check our bags and then had to rush off to the corrals. Here is the point where I swore off of the Princess Half and declared the Wine & Dine as my favorite half ever. We walked, and walked, and walked, and walked (I'm thinking a mile, if not more) to get to the corrals. It was complete insanity. We weren't even in our corral when the first one went off.

We finally got to our corral, K, and waited for our fireworks. Unfortunately, the Fairy Godmother only sent off the first few corrals. But they gave us the go and we were off on the long road to the Magic Kingdom. We brushed off the craziness of the morning and the lateness, and set out for our goal, pictures! We never really stop for many pics, but we wanted to get a lot this time. And the first one was the biggie, the princes! Aladdin even asked if I trusted him!--just like he asked Jasmine in the movie. The princes were awesome. We got to see John Smith, my guy, Aladdin, Hercules, Flynn Rider, Prince Eric, and Phoebus. I was so happy to see most of the modern princes!

Then we passed the sign and were on our way to the Magic Kingdom. We managed to see another personal fave, Wreck-It Ralph with Vanellope Von Schweetz! We love Ralph, since he was our first Disney race character pic ever, so we had to stop and grab a pic with them.

We ran up and down some killer, steep ramps and finally circled around the back of Space Mountain and headed into the Magic Kingdom.

We came around the back and before we knew it, we were on Main Street, USA. And it was crowded. Like major traffic, but you could see the castle. And that was goal #2 of us doing this race, running through the castle.

Before we got to the castle there was a detour through Tomorrowland, and we met the Space Ranger himself, Buzz Lightyear.

Then it was time. We headed towards Fantasyland and around the back of the castle. This is where the word FAIL doesn't even begin to explain things. The traffic jam that was Main Street was laughable now. It was a terrible slow trudge. They put Elsa, Anna, and Kristoff at the back of the castle welcoming everyone. Now, I love the Frozen peeps, but to put your most popular characters at the most photo-worthy part of the course was a huge mistake. (I was standing still, and not by choice.)

Then we got to walk, well is there something slower than walking?--cause that's what it was, through the castle. I LOVE the inside of the castle. The Cinderella mosaics have always been so magical and wonderful to me. But it was so jam-packed... words just can't explain.

That was as fast as it got. We were pissed that our "running through the castle" experience was that. The official pics of us, are of me and Kris scowling... so not what I imagined. But we managed to get a castle selfie before heading into the hoard.

Next we headed to Frontierland, for a quick bathroom stop (since we didn't get one pre-race), and then we saw Woody. Had to say hi to him, since we already saw Buzz.

As we headed out around the back of the Magic Kingdom, Aurora and Prince Phillip were there waiting by the castle float from the parade. Kris's costume was supposed to be "Aurora-inspired" so we stopped to see her. She was stunning.

Then, we saw them, and they passed us as we waited for Aurora... the dreaded balloon ladies. I gotta say I started freaking out. We got our pic with Aurora and booked it. But there was a problem, this part of the course was super narrow, and there were a lot of walkers, so it was proving really hard to get more distance between us and the balloon ladies.

We ran where we could and picked up the pace on the walking otherwise. It was also getting hot, and we were in sleeves from the cold morning. We both started feeling it. I think we might have needed some more nutrition, since we were out there for 4 1/2 hours before we finished. But we made the trek back to Epcot, taking water and Powerade and shot blocks along the way.

The part of the run through Epcot was very short, but we were glad it was almost over. I was so happy to see another marching band along the way back. Those kids were great and really kept it going! (Plus, it was Kris's HS band rivals, so extra cool for her.) We came around the back of Epcot, which I know full well means the finish line is less than 1 mile away. And right near the end was a gospel choir. They were amazing and hearing that gorgeous music gave that final push.

And there it was at long last, the finish line! It was finally done. We got our character pics, trudged through the castle and made it another 13.1 miles! I couldn't have done it without Kris by my side. My bestie and racing buddy always helps me make it through the races! We got our medals, got pixie dusted and then I was able to pick up my glass slipper! Loved that it was blue. :)

We finished up with our medals, and headed to France in Epcot to get some quiches and croissant. We were tired and hungry and it was so delicious to sit and eat! We also might have had a croissant donut on our way back to the buses, but hey we just had just done a half marathon, we deserved it!

Each race is a totally different experience and I have to say that I was a princess, got my glass slipper, and I'm done. I love the Princess Enchanted 10k, but the half was not my favorite. This is one race that I won't be signing up for again. I was glad I did it and got my slipper, but the experience left much to be desired. I know each year the race is different and you can have so many different experiences, but I'm so glad to have my glass slipper, and now onto other races for me.

And since finishing this race, I've already signed up for 3 more races... a 15k in April, Wine & Dine in November, and the Sarasota Half next March!

Princess Half Marathon Weekend Recap: Part 1

It all came too quickly and before I knew it, Friday morning had arrived and it was time to head to Orlando for the Princess Half Marathon weekend.

Now, the costumes (which I totally started early!) ran a little late, so that had me going a bit crazy on Thursday night and Friday morning. But I got in my mani, and a few last minute errands, and finally packed up my car and was off. Disney World here I come.

I got to the hotel, Pop Century, and headed to my room. I bought my stuff into the room, and as I was waiting for Kris, was able to relax a bit and grab a snack. Then she arrived and we headed to the expo. I think this is the earliest we've ever been able to head to the expo, and it was great to be able to shop calmly.

We got our bibs and shirts, and then headed to the Run Disney booth for the official merchandise. Grabbed my magnet and was about to get my "I Did It" shirt, but I saw that there were NO "I Did It" shirts for the Glass Slipper?! I asked and they told me that these had sold out the day before, the first day of the expo. I was so sad, I wanted my shirt so bad. Ever since seeing the one from last year with both maps on the back. I got another glass slipper shirt, and we went on to shop some more. Thankfully, we had a little bubbly, which helped a bit.

Kris and I headed to get some last minute costume supplies and then had some dinner. Eddie and the kids met up with us. The kids were running the next morning, so we all headed back to the hotel so we could get some sleep. Well, mostly me, since I was the only one with a 3am wakeup call!

I woke up in the dark and then quietly got ready as the kids and Kris & Ed slept. It was a cold morning, so I didn't don my wings, cause I had no idea how to get them on. Plus, I figured if it did get warmer, it would be hard to get off my jacket and the wings.

The bus line wasn't too bad, and before I knew it I was getting walking towards the bag check. It was really cold, so I huddled with some people by the heaters, and then it was time to get in the corrals. I headed to my corral, and knew I was in for a long wait.

For some reason the 10k corrals at Disney have about a 15 minute wait between each. It takes forever to get started. Since I was in corral D, it was about an hour after the start of the race. Then finally, I was off.

Anna and Elsa made the first appearance, as usual, and the snow seemed so much more real with the cold! Right after the first mile marker, I saw Tinkerbelle! I knew I had to stop to get a pic. She was one of the first, I think maybe the second, character stop, so her line was a little long, but I needed a picture with her.

Finally, it was time to go back into Epcot and through the World Showcase. I love this part of the course, cause you get to run through so many countries.

I took a few mid-race selfies too. Here I am with Spaceship Earth in the background.

And I couldn't resist a "Parisian" selfie.

Then a jaunt through the Boardwalk and Beach Club and we were back in Future World and the finish line was just around the corner. I crossed, and part 1 of the Glass Slipper Challenge was done.

And I managed to finish a whole 5 minutes faster than the year before at the Enchanted 10k. My best RunDisney 10k time to date. Plus, some very pretty bling!

After the race, I waited to get a pic with Cinderella, but by the time I got to the front of the line, they swapped her out for Snow White. Oh well, I'll take it anyway.

Then it was off to watch Veronica and Xander in the kid's races. They both rocked it in their Vanellope Von Schweetz and Wreck-It Ralph costumes. But, they are so used to doing 5ks already, that they said the dashes were too short. I guess they'll be doing the 1 mile next time!

After a morning full of races, we headed back to the hotel to grab some breakfast and rest a bit.

... I'll post part 2, the half marathon soon!