My Chicken Soup

Movies and books have always been my escape from the world. They bring me comfort and make me feel better when I'm feeling rough around the edges. Somehow, when watching or reading something, I feel less alone and more understood.

It's been wonderful to have strong examples in my real world...

And it's also been wonderful to have strong examples in my fantasy world...

What I'm trying to say is...

I'm grateful for those deep emotions that you never knew you could feel. ..I'm talking about magic. The kind of magic a select few other than Disney can bring. Isn't it amazing how the word "magic" needs no definition? When you have felt it, you have defined it. Going to Disneyland...MAGIC. Meeting the man of your dreams...MAGIC. Being able to say, "I never thought of it that way"...MAGIC. It doesn't matter how you manage to feel it, just as long as you find what's magical to you.

I am glad...

for my life, and divine exhaustion.There is something about good old fashioned hard work that makes me feel better having done it. I may be a complainer most of the time, but I can truly say that I am happy in my life. This is not because extraordinary things have happened to me. I am very ordinary and much like everyone else. I believe that much of my day to day happiness comes from the little things that I find magical and allow myself to experience on a regular basis.

These experiences have allowed me to grow and understand...

So, I'd like to take this time and say "thank you" to the small experiences, the ones that never get any acknowledgement.

This post is for my neglected influences

Dearest sleeping beauty, you always gave my Barbies a good song to waltz to. Thanks to you, my parents walked in on me singing, "I know you, I walked with you once UH-PINE a dream" and I've been brutally mocked ever since.

Thank you Cinderella, for teaching me how to clean...my mom never did. I also appreciate the scheme of leaving one of your possessions at a boys house, only for him to return it the next day. Came.IN.Handy.
Thank you Alice in Wonderland, for making me realize that I'm not the only one who feels lost and confused most of the time. I too give myself good advice, but very seldom follow it.

Thank you to Esther in Meet Me In St. Louis. You are, he-hem, were...my idol. Oh, and this movie is so good that it should have been by Disney. I wanted to have parties like you when I got older. Unfortunately, people in high school don't play instruments and dance around to "skip to my lou" anymore. Bummer.

Thank you Mary Poppins, for making umbrellas in Arizona so much more useful. As for cough syrup...dirty trick...tastes like crap. And although my chalk drawings never gave me anything better than a scraped knee when jumped into...I forgive. P.S. don't ever sweep a chimney, your mom WILL yell at you.

Thank you Wendy, for teaching me how to be a good big sister. As for you Nana, you are the jam. What kind of dog supplies goods on her back...uh-mazing. I appreciate a good happy thought every now and again as well. Also, don't worry, I never smile at a crocodile...they be freaky.Last but not least, thank you Pete's Dragon, for making me go "WTF" at such a young age.

Yikes...

I'm gonna go ahead and declare that picking your favorite child is an easier attempt than picking your favorite Disney movie. There are too many great ones.

P.S. my playlist right now is breathtaking...check it out. It will take you back...

*All images found via Google*

Holiday Road

Well, my friends, I hope that y'all had a fine Independence Day this year. When I think about the 4th of July, I think back to four years ago, picking up Jason at the airport in Honolulu. He came to visit me there and he was received with open arms and fireworks in the background. Little did I know that I would be getting proposed to a few short days later. I am always amazed with life and the twists and turns it has in store. I think about small decisions I have made, and the extreme influences they have had on my life. Some of those decisions I am grateful for, and other decisions I have chosen to learn from and never make again. I think about the influence of others and the impact they have had on my life. It makes me realize that details matter, and by picking up on them, it can change everything. There are so many different routes to choose from and I often find myself spending the majority of my time contemplating all of them. The one thing that brings me peace is the belief in a much higher power than my own. I have to believe that it has been by some sort of design; that there is someone watching out for all of us. Today is truly preparing us for tomorrow.

America, I love you! You've given me a wonderful life.

With that said...

This 4th of July was unexpected and fun, fun, fun. Jason and I weren't planning on going anywhere this year, but at the last minute, we decided to meet my family in So. Cal. for the weekend. There was never a dull moment, and it was great to get away. I feel like I have been working nonstop; probably because when I'm not there, it is always on my mind. I mean, I dream about being at work. It sucks. Does anybody else have that problem?

Jason and I had a grand ol' time driving to the beach. We sang at the top of our lungs and pretended that we were Tim and Faith with no shame at all. The funny/annoying thing about my man is that he changes his voice completely depending on who is singing the song. For instance, when he's singing Tim McGraw, he has a southern twang and tries to sound as much like Tim as possible. When we are in church, he enunciates everything like he is in The Phoenix Boys Choir. When Blink 182 comes on, he sings nasally and thinks that he is a punk. I don't even know. Other people just sing like themselves. Moral of the story, anything with music, Jason, and singing involved is a trip in and of itself. Don't ever do it unless you are fully prepared.

Once we got to the beach, my lover was in a sulky kind of mood, but I managed to perk him right up. Does this not remind you of a little kid? Sometimes I don't know if I adopted a husband or married one...

As the great Johnny Tsunami said, "Go big or go home." Most meaningful quote of all time and you better recognize that we stand by it...especially on vacation.
Oh, and just because we are on holiday doesn't mean that we don't know how to DO WORK! What's a trip to the beach without burying someone? I mean REAlly.
Behold, the finished product. Don't you love how we made him a right arm amputee with mitten hands? He also has one leg shorter than the other.

Also, is smoosh-ball an Olympic sport? 'Cause it should be. Oh, you don't know what smoosh-ball is? I'm sorry, people in my high society play it constantly... it consists of one small blue ball, two wooden paddles, and two highly trained athletes. My sister Olivia and I got up to 17 hits without dropping the ball. I played so long that my bones solidified into the shape of a claw...as evidenced by my left hand in this photo. Maybe that's not even my left hand, it looks like some sort of sea urchin from Davey Jones' Locker. I don't know, you be the judge.
No trip to the beach is complete without surfing. Kind of embarrassing because they gave me the notorious foam board from Costco...whatever. Wish I had a picture of it, but I only have one of Jason. Allow me to recreate the moment for you. Jason picked up this cute little surf board, and puts on a wetsuit, cuz the water is FREEZING. I am left with a big a$$ foam surf board that my arms can't even fully extend around to pick up correctly. So, I had to squeeze it against my body with my palms spread...add a gust of wind to the mix, a shackle around my ankle and a partially intact bikini only. Congratulations, now you have the full picture. Enough said.
Did I mention that I wore SPF 50 all day? Oh, and did I mention that I got the worst sunburn of my entire life? Jason did too. We are such brats, we kept arguing about who had the higher degree burn. However, it didn't matter how bad mine was because Jason got all of the sympathy from my grandma and then some; you better know that he milked it. Looking at the following picture is bitter-sweet...we were so innocent. We had no idea what was to come... little did I know that I would spend the night bathing in aloe-vera and slip into a coma. Nobody even checked to see if I was responsive! I missed the fireworks! REALLY PEOPLE?!?
The burns were worth it! Thanks Grandma and Grandpa! We had so much fun.

All the girls, minus Olivia...she was M.I.A. Probably seagull hunting again... Can't keep that one put I tell ya. I look like a raspberry in this picture. I was in so much pain and the color got more vibrant as the day progressed.