Update on Life

I suck at blogging here lately. >.<

Anyway, I finally heard back about the PI I applied for, and........I didn't get it. :( Oh well. At least I still have my extension, so I can stay here a little bit longer. :) That's definitely an upside.

Speaking of staying here, I go next Tuesday to find out my new housing placement. I know I'm going to be living with one of my co-workers (Kim) who is also extending. We've gotten pretty close during this program, so I'm excited that we'll be living together come January 4 (move-out/move-in date). We don't know who else we're going to be living with. I guess we'll find that out next week. :)

So, I know that my blog has been mostly about the positive experiences I've had while I've been down here. And for the most part, this has been a very positive experience for me. However, there are times when it gets hard being here and away from my family. Like the holidays. I have a pretty big family, and I'm used to spending Thanksgiving and Christmas around them. And I love being around them. So, it does suck that this year, I missed Thanksgiving, and I'm going to miss Christmas. And it makes it hard because I haven't really had a chance to incorporate some of my families traditions down here. However, my parents are coming back to visit me over Christmas weekend, so that will definitely help because I'll be around them on Christmas morning. And I'm also planning to Skype with my brother and his family that morning as we open our gifts. :) It's not going to be the same as actually being around my nieces and nephew when they open their presents, but it will definitely help. :)

And the program does a lot to make sure that we have a good holiday season down here, too. They know that we're all away from our families, so they try to make up for that. They had a Thanksgiving feast for us the week before Thanksgiving, and on December 20, they're putting on a special edition of Grocery Bingo. Which reminds me, go to at least one Grocery Bingo game while you're here. They are so much fun, and if you win, you get a ton of stuff. They definitely treat us well here. :)

Plus, Disney has some amazing holiday traditions to experience and be a part of. The Magic Kingdom has Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party on select nights in November and December. That's probably one of my favorite traditions. I've been to the party 3 times in the past 10 years, and it always amazes me. :) Epcot has Holidays Around the World, which is my favorite thing to do. You get to walk around World Showcase and learn about the holiday traditions in the different countries. It's so cool! :) Hollywood Studios has the Osbourne Spectacle of Lights, which is amazing. I need to get over to the Studios to see those this year. And Animal Kingdom has Mickey's Jingle Jungle Parade, which I need to go see as well.

So, even though I'm away from my family this year, there is a lot to do to still get in the holiday spirit. Although, I'm not exactly used to wearing shorts in December, which I was doing up until Wednesday night. Then we actually got a cold front, which meant I could finally wear jeans and a jacket outside. But we're apparently going to be warming back up here today. Our high for the day is 78 degrees. It never stays cold long here in Orlando. I'm still trying to figure out how I feel about that. :p

Well, time to get ready for work! Have a magical day!

Signs That I Was Always Meant To Work At Disney Part 2

For my 1st birthday, my parents decided to go with a Mickey Mouse theme. I've told them that they should have realized then that I was going to work at Disney someday. :)

My cake. See? My parents started this. :p

Pretty sure I was telling my mom to leave me alone.

My uncle stole some of my cake. I was not happy. Notice the look on my face.

My daddy and me the day after. Still eating cake. :)

I still think cake is one of the greatest things ever invented. And Disney cakes are the best. :)

Disney has been apart of my life since I can remember. I think it's only fitting that I get to work there now. :)

Reasons Why I Love Disney [[Day 1]]

So, instead of doing another 30 day challenge everyday, I'm going to post one reason why I love Disney. I only have 36 days until check-in! Ah!

So, first reason:

Source: Simple Disney Things

In the teacup to the left...me and my daddy on our first trip to WDW in 1998.

I love the fact that not only do I get to relive my childhood memories every time I go to Disney World, but I get to act like a kid. :)

Leave a Legacy

Source: Simple Disney Things

My mom and I did the Leave a Legacy back in 2000. For those of you who don't know what it is, there's these marble slabs right when you enter Epcot (and there's a lot of them). For the millinium, people had their pictures taken, and they were put onto these slabs (hence, leave a legacy).Since there are so many pictures and slabs, it's hard to find yours. In fact, we didn't find ours again until this past April when we went for vacation. :p

Here's our picture.

The middle one, obviously. :p

It's hard to believe that picture was taken 11 years ago. That means I was 12! Ah! :p

Now, maybe by the time my program ends, I'll be able to find this picture at Epcot without any trouble. :p

Day 23!

Day 23: A movie that makes you laugh.

I love this movie! And I love love love Stitch! :)

My nieces love Stitch, too. :p

Day 6!

I would just like to say that my check-in date (August 8) is two months from today!! :)

Now on with the challenge. :)

Day 6: Your favorite animal

I can't choose just one....so I picked three. :)

 Chip & Dale :)

And Stitch.

I have a thing for characters who make me laugh. And these always do. Even in the parks.

Day 30!

Day 30: A picture that always makes you think of Disney.

 Rain and waiting on parades. :)

 The reverse waterfall at Epcot.

 My cousin getting attacked by Captain Hook at the bus stop at Coronado Springs. :p

 Getting Leslie her first ear hat. :)

Mickey celebration cupcakes. :)

Wow! I'm done with the challenge already! Meg was right....these do make the time go by a little faster! :)

But if you liked seeing my challenge, don't worry. I'll start a new one tomorrow. :)

Day 26!

Day 26: A picture of they way you keep Disney alive when you're not at the parks.

I look through old pictures. :)

And, my countdown chain serves as a daily reminder that I'm getting closer and closer to going back!

And, as you can see, I have quite a bit of Disney stuff in my room, too. :p

Day 25!

Day 25: A picture of your favorite childhood Disney memory.

It's not my childhood memory, but it's a childhood memory. :p When we went to Disney last month, we got to go with my siblings and their families. My sister and her family had been to Disney several times before, but my brother and his family hadn't. This was their first visit. And it was so awesome to get to be there with them for that, and to see his 3 kids take in everything. They all absolutely loved Disney World, and they can't wait to go back! :)

Signs That I Was Always Meant To Work At Disney Part 1

So, in my first post on this blog, I mentioned that I was pretty much destined to work at Disney from day 1. I know I mentioned my 1st and 6th birthday parties being Disney themed. Well, I have come across some more evidence that Disney was always in my future.

Last May, I got the opportunity to travel with some of my classmates and our professor to the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in Pine Ridge, SD. It was an amazing trip, and very eye opening. The 10 days that we spent out there changed my life, and I'm so glad I got to go. While we did get to see Mount Rushmore and the Crazy Horse monument, the main reason we were out there was to see what the educational system on a reservation is like, and to help out at one of the schools. We were education majors, after all.

So anyway, the first day that we were at the school that we worked at, we got tour it. On pretty much every wall in that school was a painting, and most of those paintings are related to the Native American heritage of most of the kids at the school.

So how does a school on an Indian reservation tie in with my destiny to work at Disney? Take a look at some of the paintings that were on 2 of the walls in the school:

Did I have to have my picture taken with them? Um, of course.

And trust me when I say that when I saw these paintings, I got really excited! :)

Look for posts where I have pictures from my 1st and 6th birthday parties. :)

Day 17!

Day 17: A picture of your favorite Disney character.

 Tinkerbell!! I first got to actually meet her back in December 2010. This excited me because I had spent every trip since the first one trying to find her so I could meet her and get her autograph.

Which I got!!! Yay!!!!

Day 15!

Day 15: A picture of what you do when it rains in the park.

We put on ponchos and keep on keepin' on. Seriously. Rain has never stopped us.

And just in case you were wondering, that is my mom and I sitting on Main Street, U.S.A in the rain waiting on the parade back in 1997. And if there is one thing my mom became an expert at, it was getting on the parade route about 2 hours early and sitting there. It's how we got awesome spots for the parades.

Day 12!

Day 12: A picture of your favorite Disney food item.

Mickey Waffles, of course. :)

Memories Make Me Excited

I wish I could say that I found this video, but I didn't. Sydney over at My Disney College Program Adventure  did. But I must say, I'm glad she did!

One of the things that I fondly remember from my early trips to Disney World is the in-room "World Tour" they showed on the TV in the hotel rooms. I loved watching them, seeing what all was going on in the World. But, what I really loved about them was the song that played. :) I would have that song in my head the rest of the day (unless I got on the It's A Small World ride....).

Anyway, here's the video. Watch to relive some great memories, or, if you've never seen it, watch it so you can see what you missed out on. :)

And have a Zip A Dee Doo Dah Day! :)

My First Trip. :)

Allow me to introduce you to the trip that made me fall madly in love with Disney:

Source: Simple Disney Things

The first time I ever saw Cinderella's Castle, it was decorated like a giant birthday cake. This is when I knew that I must work at Disney World someday.

Me at age 9 in front of Cinderella's Birthday Cake. :) (June 1997)

Day 3! :)

Day 3: A picture of your favorite Disney memory.


My latest trip to Disney was about a month ago during Spring Break/my birthday week. In fact, our last day in the parks was my birthday. :) Anyway, this was also the trip that both my brother and sister and their families joined us. My sister and her family had been to Disney before, but my brother and his family never had. So getting to be with them for their first trip (especially since he's got 3 kids under the age of 10) made the trip so much more magical.

But anyway, on to the picture. This was taken on my birthday, our last night. The day was pretty magical already (breakfast at Chef Mickey's, visit to Epcot to finish up World Showcase--my favorite part of Disney World). I loved people wishing me a happy birthday (I was wearing the birthday button and the birthday ears). But the best part came at dinner. We had dinner at Mickey's Backyard BBQ at Fort Wilderness (omg...real southern food. I was in heaven!!). We were sitting there after eating watching the kids (including my 6 year old niece and 3 year nephew) dance on the dance floor when all of a sudden, this huge Mickey cake appeared in front of me. My parents ordered it and didn't tell me. The word surprised is an understatement to how I felt. I was literally overwhelmed with several emotions, including an immense amount of love for my wonderful family. This picture has me (in the middle with the cake), my 9 year old niece, my brother, and my parents. This was seriously the best birthday I've ever had. :)