Disney Magic

Mike and I just got back (by just got back, I mean we started this blog post the day we got back from Disney and are just now finishing it....therefore please enjoy how we started off strong in the details and then gave up about halfway through....) from a weeklong adventure in Disney World and know many of you are eager to hear about the trip. I know those of you who read both blogs appreciate our differing perspectives (Mike's witty and minimalist style and my tendency to err on the side of verbosity;)...), but because we did SO MUCH and wanted to divide the workload if a monstrous blog, we decided to write our first collaborative post. Don't worry, it won't become a habit;)

Day 0 (The Day Before Disney):

We left from the Eastern Market metro on Saturday to go spend the night at Abigail and Zan's place since the plane left at too-early-o'-clock. We proceeded to watch the "It's a Good Life" episode of The Twilight Zone so that Kelsey would know what to look for on the Tower of Terror and also so that she could see the best  scariest (<edit: Kelsey) Twilight Zone episode ever. 

Day 1 (Magic Kingdom and Epcot):

Well before the sun came up we were at the airport. Brian and Kay met us there, having hopped on an even earlier flight from Philly. 

We were all very tired but also very excited for Disney. Brian and Kay were also excited because they were randomly upgraded to first class seats. 

Magic band status. (The bands were our ticket to everything at Disney and you can even use them to pay for stuff.)

Upon landing, we hopped on a magical express bus and went straight to our place at the Beach Club Resort. This is the same place that we stayed when Absi took a group of us to Disney back in 2009, which was five years ago.

At Epcot......

Love at first view of Epcot. 

England Eats:
We were starving, so the first thing that we did was run into the Epcot World Showcase and grab some fish 'n chips from England. Having never had the real thing, I will assume that these were the real deal. After all, the person who handed it to me had a british accent. Kelsey also got a sausage roll and Mike got a cocktail made with rose-flavored syrup.

Spaceship Earth:
We ate our snack on the run, since we only had twenty minutes to get to Spaceship Earth in order to use our skip-to-the-head-of-the-line passes (you get three per day that you can preselect. Absi handled all of that). Dame Judi Dench narrated our way through the giant golfball and helped us explore the history of communication from cave paintings to the internet.

Captain EO:
Our next fastpass was entirely unnecessary since there was no line, but that doesn't matter because Captain EO is an experience that justifies redundancy. Captain EO is a 3D movie ride that was originally produced in the 1980's as part of the first (and only) collaboration between George Lucas and Francis Ford Coppola. It stars Michael Jackson as a plucky space captain leading an inept crew of aliens on an undefined mission to deliver the a gift to a dystopian planet's evil overlord queen, played by Anjelica Huston. The gift, naturally, is an epic song and dance number. Here it is on youtube, but it pales in comparison to the 3D version with additional in-theater lighting effects. The experience is delightful. It makes absolutely no sense, but in the very best way.

Club Cool:
Club Cool is my (Mike's) favorite place at Epcot. You get to try sodas from around the world. Most of them are pretty good.

Pineapple Whips:

Grabbing another snack at an Epcot Flower & Garden Festival booth, Absi insisted we had to try the Pineapple Whips. They are essentially pineapple soft serve with rum and you could choose between dark rum or coconut rum. I (Kelsey) had the brilliant idea of mixing the two together so that is was less strong and a better balanced flavor;)

Soarin:

This was one of my favorite Disney ride sensory experiences. You basically just get in a roller coaster type thing in front of an IMAX screen of land and scenery and feel like you're flying over top. The sounds, scents, and sights incorporated during the ride made it feel real and now I really want to travel some more!

Afternoon Nap: 

Mike is not a napper, but I (Kelsey) am and thought it was important to add that I took a nap every day at Disney and it was glorious! 

At Magic Kingdom...

First view of the castle. (Brian and Kay are on the left, looking cute.)

Philharmagic:

After scrounging up some dinner in the Magic Kingdom, we decided to fit in the Philharmagic ride before fireworks. This was one of my (Kelsey) favorite 3-D 'rides', mostly because you got to hear all of your favorite Disney songs and that is what really gets me in the spirit.

Wishes:

There are really no words to describe the lights, music, and fireworks shows that take place in the theme parks each night. "Wishes" is the one for the Magic Kingdom and it is very sentimental and beautiful. I was told I was going to cry (do I look like an emotional person or something;)?), but I did not. I think I was more in awe of the production quality of the show to be honest. It is at such a high level with such an incredible attention to detail. This was definitely one of my highlights of the entire trip....being able to watch the fireworks surrounding by friends and warm weather on our first night at Disney.

Right before the fireworks show.

Haunted Mansion:
After "Wishes", the group decided to do the haunted mansion. It looked dark in the mansion, but it was also dark outside, so after people convinced me (Kelsey) it was funny and not scary, I decided to ride. The ride was super cool! I also did think it was funny. There weren't too many things which popped out....something I appreciated. The ghosts also looked real at one part and I made the mistake of asking Mike why. He spent the next 15 minutes teaching me about some illusions trick using mirrors. Mike teaching me things is one of my least favorite activities, only because sometimes I just want the quick answer and not to actually have to learn things. Here's a secret, though. Sometimes I do actually learn things (and like learning them) and they are useful to me later on! (Don't tell him that, though, or he'll get excited.)

Pirates of the Caribbean:
Oh, I loved this one! Pirates make me laugh and the animation (imagineering?) behind animatronic pirates was both impressive and hilarious.

Day 2 (MGM and Epcot):

At MGM...

Star Tours:

This is an AWESOME Star Wars ride! You actually feel like you are moving through space (hello, acceleration or warp speed or whatever you call it in Star Wars) and I've (Kelsey) heard there are different versions of the ride. I've heard because, while I only went on the ride once, others went on it twice. It was so life-like that I got a little 'spaceship-sick' after the ride. I still think it was awesome, though!

The Great Movie Ride
If you want to feel inspired to go back and watch classic movies, The Great Movie Ride will do that! We all felt Jurassic Park should have made the end montage of great movie clips, but of course, that movie was produced by Universal Studios;)

Toy Story 

I (Kelsey) just got really nostalgic for Disney remembering the Toy Story ride. This is an incredibly popular ride, but we had fast passes. You swirl with a partner through several different carnival-style games and try to earn points by 'shooting' pellets with your gun. It seems very simple, but as one who does not always appreciate the 'fun' of video games, I found this really fun!

Sci-Fi Dine-In Theater

I wish we had more pictures of what it actually looked like to be inside this restaurant. It looked just like what I would have imagined going to a drive-in movie might look like. The food was so-so (but we had awesome recommendations from out waitress to customize our orders), but the experience was a must. 

Beauty and the Beast

We saw the Tale as Old as Time performed in about 15 minutes on stage. Naturally, some of the story was left out, but if you get all of the singing and dancing, who cares?!!? Not me (Kelsey)!

Tower of Terror

(Kelsey-) I'll save this section for Mike.

(Mike-)

Muppet Vision 

I think this was the kid's ride that got the best response from children in the audience. My favorite muppet (by far) is Bean Bunny so I was glad he played a huge role in this show:)

Pool
After an morning and early afternoon at MGM, we decided to retire back to the hotel to relax. Since I (Kelsey) had already done the Tower of Terror, I figured I was on a roll with the facing my fears thing and decided to water slide it up. No, water slides aren't really scary by themselves, but I think they are super scary if you haven't been in the water yet and don't know what temperature it is yet! Thankfully, the pool was warm, the hot tubs were hot, and the lazy river was oh-so wonderfully lazy.

Later at Epcot...

Food and Drink

We ate and drank A LOT. Highlights include....we also walked around and took cute pictures....

Our first stop in France: gnocchi, sparkling wine cocktail, frozen cocktail.

Frushi (Fruit Sushi), sushi, and mango-sake smoothie.

Illuminations

This is Epcot's fireworks show and it's spectacular! Mike and I shared a hot chocolate and cookie while watching (because apparently I had not eaten enough) and then we all went back to the hotel for more hot tub and pool before passing out from end-of-the-day exhaustion!

Day 3 (Magic Kingdom and Epcot):

The Magic Kingdom...

Rides included: Teacups (Mad Hatter Tea Party),  Winnie the Pooh, the carousel, Peter Pan, Lunch at Beast Castle, Thunder Mountain Railroad, The Little Mermaid. 

Happy for an easy ride! Photo credit: Mike. 

Waiting in line to get into Beast Castle for lunch, Brian and Kay had the brilliant idea to supply us with ice cream snacks right around the time we started to get a little hangry (hungry/angry). 

Chandelier in Beast's castle when we ate lunch.

Later at Epcot....

Sunset.

I love the look Lady is giving Tramp.

The boys were clearly having no problem relaxing.

Day 4 (Animal Kingdom and Boardwalk):

Rides included: Dinosaur, Safari, A Bug's Life, Everest, and Rapids.

Safari!

Crocks!

Giraffe!

Giraffe!

Rhinos!

Zebes!

Flamingos!

Mike and Zan won mustaches from our hotel's arcade and made us stick them on.

It's vacation. You're allowed to have cookies AND ice cream.

Day 5 (MGM, Epcot, Boardwalk): 

Rides: Indiana Jones, Ariel (Brian and Kelsey), Rock and Roller Coaster, Finding Nemo, Test Track, Club Cool, Beaches N' Cream, Margaritas, Corn Dogs.

Darth.

Brave young female jedi. #girl power

#love

Wendy!

Green.

Eeyore!

Reclaiming Our Bodies Through Self-Love

I'm going to step back on my usual soapbox for this post because last week was "Love Your Body Week" 2014, otherwise known as Eating Disorders Awareness Week.

Much of my life has been spent around women (cheerleading, sorority, female-dominate majors and professions) and, because of that, I've been exposed to a wide range of body image issues. I've also worked to increase eating disorder awareness during my time in student recreation and have counseled clients who were experiencing disordered eating and a negative body image. I believe disordered eating is a spectrum and that, due to several cultural factors, many people exist somewhere on that spectrum. And....um....it's so easy to see why:

Every single day in the media (tv/internet/magazines), I am bombarded with messages like:

Click to View Larger!

These are just the magazines, but I PROMISE you that the internet and TV are not any better, and are sometimes worse. What are all of these messages I'm being fed? 

From what I gather, the general consensus of society is that I need to be fixed. There is something wrong with me. 1) I'm not thin enough. Everyone on these magazines is thinner than I am. 2) I'm not sexy enough on my own. Clearly, I need a magazine to teach me. 3) I'm not constantly flaunting my midriff. What must be wrong with me? 4) Apparently my abs and butt require a lot of work to be acceptable. Why else would all of these magazines be telling me how to fix these two specific areas? In fact, we could probably reduce me to my abs and butt altogether. Those seem to be what matters. In Fact: I bet if you did a word analysis of these magazine covers, the top words would be: abs, butt, sexy, sex. REALLY?!?! Even though it is not much better on the men's magazine side, women's bodies are more frequently objectified as something to be consumed.

In this kind of cultural climate, it is so difficult to combat body hatred and disordered eating. Everything around us supports that and we have to put forth actual work to combat it. There are lots of articles out there about how to love your body, but I thought I'd offer up some ways I'm currently loving my body.

1. REST. It sounds easy, but letting my body rest when it needs to is something I have to practice at. Yes, naps are included.
2. MASSAGES. I found a really great DC massage place and massage therapist! I used to think paying for massages was extravagant, but it makes such a difference in how I feel.
3. EATING WHAT I WANT. This is something I still struggle with. I always think (because society tells me so) that I need to be watching what I'm eating or on a diet or not eating dessert. WHY NOT?! I will tell you (and Mike will tell you) that I am a better person when I've had my dessert....on the daily. I strive to eat what makes me feel good. Sometimes that is two bowls of ice cream. Sometimes it is steak. Sometimes it is a caesar salad. Sometimes it is apples and peanut butter. Mostly it is chocolate. 
4. MOVING. I have a pretty good habit of exercise (mostly because that's how I best deal with stress/thoughts), but have not incorporated nearly enough "PLAY" into my life. A few weekends ago when I played ultimate frisbee, I realized I needed some more PLAY time that wasn't purely for exercise purposes. 
5. WEARING WHAT I WANT. I really like wearing dresses and skirts (mostly because I hate wearing pants). If I'm not wearing dresses and skirts, I prefer workout clothes or leggings as pants because they are comfortable. I don't like heels. Given my wardrobe preferences, I often get self-conscious that I'll either be way over-dressed or under-dressed for everything, but not self-conscious enough to wear pants.
6. AFFIRMATIONS: I know you were probably hoping I'd leave these off the list, but really how do you expect to combat the negative messages you are getting every day unless you enact your own positive message campaign? Sometimes affirmations come from journaling or positive quotations. They can also be the antithesis of negative thoughts. For example, if you regularly have the thought of: "I'm not good enough", an affirmation could be: "I am enough". 

I'll leave you with some relevant websites and articles, but I just wanted to make sure I acknowledged an awareness week that I'm super passionate about. Next post will be more pictures and less soapbox!:)

Further Reading:

Lupita Nyong'o on Racism/Beauty

Operation Beautiful

Healthy is the new Skinny (Disclaimer: I support this org's mission, but don't think an obsession with health should replace and obsession with skinny. That is also an eating disorder and is called orthorexia.)

This article made me laugh in agreement. I can't believe the messages we are sold every day by the media. Eventually, we forget how abnormal they are. And why can't we just say MUSCLE!?

NEDA Infographic on Media Literacy and Body Image

Lately: Earnest & Home & More Pictures

The Importance of Being Earnest

Last Friday evening, Mike and I saw "The Importance of Being Earnest" at The Lansburgh Theatre (this is the 3rd show of season subscription to The Shakespeare Theater Company). I had never seen the show on stage, but am a HUGE fan of the movie (with Colin Firth, Rupert Everett, Reese Witherspoon) and knew it was going to be a lot of fun. And I was right. The audience was laughing non-stop and one of my favorite parts was probably watching the audience respond to the jokes that I knew were coming up. It's like hearing them for the first time. I said 'watch' because Mike and I were lucky enough to have box seats (due to previous snowstorm cancellations) and it was such a luxurious way to watch a show! Although Oscar Wilde's genius comes out in any production, the real standout of this production for me was the set. There were only two sets the entire show (the interior of a city house and the English garden of a country house). When the curtain opened for Act Two displaying the English garden set, people literally clapped because it was so breathtakingly beautiful and realistic. It seriously looked like a movie set.

As The Washingtonian sums up the show: "The servants steal, the women fight, the men lie, all amid the most beautiful surroundings of an English country garden with more florals than a vintage Laura Ashley catalog."

Here's the rest of the Washingtonian review of the show for a more detailed critique.

Home

I went home this past weekend to say goodbye to my youngest sister Kim before she leaves for a temporary trip to the West Coast. She'll come back briefly in April and then leave again for a new job that starts on the West Coast that month. I was grateful to be able to hang out with her and Ashton some more. For dinner, we went to Applebees which is always the place to be in small towns, but it was also trivia night so you know it was crazy! Kim and I also got to play tennis on Sunday before I left. Here are some more pics from my trip.

Kim found this picture of us that we got done at a photo booth at the mall or something? I thought it was too hilarious not to post. This is back when Kim was still shorter than I am.

Ashton in the morning! Kim's hands make him look smaller than he actually is.

Ashton and I catching up on some emails:)

It's so hard to catch him smiling, but he does it all the time!

Right when I got home.

More Pictures

On a sunset run in DC back during our 3-day warm stretch.

Chicken quinoa stir fry I made. Proud that I cooked meat!

LOVE this quote so much. It's so easy to get caught up in a race for things that don't really matter.

I have some students on my caseload at the university I used to work at and got to visit my former coworkers last week!

Bright blue skies as a backdrop for the Capitol building.

It is always spring in the Botanical Gardens!

Beautiful. Botanical Gardens.

I played Ultimate Frisbee on Saturday and got absolutely soaked with mud, but it was a beautiful day and I scored the winning point sooooo worth it!

From my first Marc train trip to Baltimore this week. Not as hard as it seems, but still had to get myself a calming latte for the trip.

Dragonboats in the snow at Inner Harbor!

I'm hoping to get another post in before the end of this week or this weekend, but hope everyone enjoys their weeks!

Snow Days and a Weekend in NC

SNOW DAYS

Mike and I both had Thursday and Friday off this past week due to snow. I am so ready for warm weather that it isn't even funny. I almost miss the unpredictability of DC's weather which would have normally broken up the snowstorms with a few 60 degree days. Not this time. I wish I had some pretty pictures of the snow to share, but truth is that we were hunkered down indoors most of the time. The first night Mike and I got takeout from Far East Taco Grille which is too close to the house for us to have never been to it before. We have been maybe 3 times since discovering it 2 weeks ago and are Korean fusion converts. (I HIGHLY recommend this place to anyone living in NE DC.) Then we had a snow party with Ben, Sara, Jeff, Mike and I watching the BlueRay version of "The Room" (one of everyone's favorite bad movies) and Pulp Fiction. We had white wine and scotch because all of our respective schools had already been closed for the next day. The next couple of days I worked from home, but Friday was also Valentine's Day, otherwise known as House of Cards day. House of Cards is a political drama/thriller set in DC and the 2nd season (all of the 2nd season) was set to be released on February 14th. Mike and I waited up until midnight to try to watch the first episode at which point we realized it was going to be released at 12:01am Pacific Time:/ so we just exchanged cards/gifts instead. And then we spent our Friday evening watching most of the 2nd season and eating funfetti cake cookies for lunch and ordering in Sticky Rice* for dinner. I can't think of any other way I would have wanted to spend the day. Sometimes staying in is the most romantic. *A word to the wise: "Bucket of Tots" is an actual bucket and not meant to be shared for any less than 6 people.

Perfect card choice, MJ! <3 #morehugs

NORTH CAROLINA

On Saturday, we drove down to North Carolina early and got brunch with Mike's dad at a Turkish place on Franklin Street in Chapel Hill. I forget the name, but it was mostly empty when we went (everyone else packing the bars to with TVs to watch the UNC game) and we got to choose a window seat which was basically a turkish tent draped with beautiful fabrics. I had never been to a Turkish restaurant before, but it seems to be lots of lamb, sauces, hummus, vegetarian options and the sauce they brought out at the beginning for us to dip our bread in was divine. It was filling and felt healthier than other alternatives so I was a fan.

L to R: Me, Marilyn, Mike. Jake's instagram of our Duke adventure. I didn't know how else to get the pictures besides screenshotting it.

After brunch, we met Jake and Marilyn (and Rigby their dog!) at their apartment in Durham to hang out before they went to the Duke/Maryland game. They took us for a campus tour of Duke and the Duke gardens and it was apparent that campus mostly shuts down on basketball game days. The Duke Gardens were lovely, but I'm sure I would have been able to appreciate them more if there were more terrain options besides mud and ice. Apparently they got more snow than DC did, though! I've never been a fan of Duke's basketball team, but I have to admit the campus was beautiful. Then Jake took us all to downtown Durham for a tour of old tobacco factories that have been renovated into restaurants and storefronts (tBurt's Bees is centralized here) and, although a little deserted, you can really tell how packed it would be on a warmer night. All restaurants have outdoor seating and lighting and bridges zig zag back and forth between buildings. I really hope to visit at some point this summer.

Later that night, Mike's mom made dinner for us (shrimp/spinach/parmesan pasta and oatmeal chocolate-chip cookies) and Mike and I finished our last two episodes of House of Cards! The next morning, we headed to DPAC for the Book of Mormon with Mike's mom and two of her friends. I was so glad that I had the soundtrack beforehand to learn all of the songs (Mike and I sang to it the entire way down)! I got to hear the audience respond to some of the jokes I already knew about and then finally get ones I hadn't understood before. It was "something incredible" and we still sang some of the songs on the drive home!

L to R: Mike, Leslie, Michael James, Me at a restaurant before the show.

Playbill! #thisbookwillchangeyourlife

I was really excited and forced a selfie before entering the theater. I need better excitement faces.

This picture was most important so I can remember what kind of bottle our blackberry wine came in and be able to find it again!

Headed back to VA after the matinee, I downloaded the Yelp! app and found a Korean restaurant (Koreana) near the interstate with good reviews. We've been really into Korean fusion lately, but decided to go for full Korean and were not disappointed. The restaurant  seemed overlooked because it was a little empty (what other reviews had stated), but our server was the nicest lady ever who made recommendations for blackberry wine, Bulgoggi, and Gop Dol Bim Bi Bap. It was all delicious, inexpensive, and fast. Plus, I was grateful for a mini-date before we headed back to DC. 

I've had today off due to President's Day. Mike and I went on a run to the Capitol and back (something we haven't done together in a while) and realized it's still quite an obstacle course of mud and ice out there. Thus, we started talking about how we're in training mode for our Disney trip (about 20 days away!) and how taking advantage of all the theme parks have to offer is all about agility, endurance, and being able to sprint to any character you come across! Tonight, we're going out to a restaurant in Old Town Alexandria with Absi, Zan, Kacey, and Steve and then I'm sure we'll be swearing off eating out for a while. :)

Adulthood Wins & Ironic Wins

This week got away from me, but that seems to happen during show week (whether I'm in the show or not). The first few GGSS productions I went to, I ushered a couple of nights, then I was House Manager for a show (there all the nights), and then I was actually in a show. For this week's most recent Winter production of "The Tempest", I was enlisted to help out with hair which mostly involved lots of curling and braiding. I don't consider myself to be that skilled with hair but, inspired by Daenerys Targaryen, I worked diligently every night this week to do hair better than the night before. I forgot how rewarding doing creative things other than work can be:) The cast was wonderful (I loved getting to know them all better backstage) and the week was filled with celebrations and reunions.

This was the very first time I tried the hair design. I can barely look at it now because it got MUCH better every night and almost looked nothing like this, but this is the only picture that I have. I was actually so proud of myself when I first did this that I had to take a picture:)

To the title of the post....Since turning 27, I've been please with all of the strides I've been making toward the elusive "adulthood". However, it seems all of my accomplishments have been tainted by youthful errors. I tried to frame one of these learning opportunities as an 'ironic win', but Mike wasn't having it. "An ironic win is just a loss." A learning opportunity is never a true loss. So here are some of the wins and ironic wins that have happened recently.

WINS

• TAXES: 2013 taxes done! (Okay maybe I just managed to gather all of the papers and Mike did most of the work on that front, but I'm still calling this a win because they got done anyway!) :) Since I am helping a lot of kids with their FAFSA submissions at work it also helps me to become familiar with all of the forms before they do their own taxes.
• DRIVING: I've had a very different (and variable) commute from my new job that I've still been acclimating to. This past week, I drove from MD to downtown DC on one street and went through about 5 traffic circles along the way. This is something that would have terrified me when I first moved to the city and I would not even have attempted it, but I'm feeling more comfortable with driving every day!
• BABYSITTING: On the babysitting gig (mentioned below as well), the baby was already asleep so I was actually just paid to do the sitting part of babysitting. I was told there was a small chance he would wake up which I was hoping would not happen given that it had been about 8 months since I last sat for the kid and he would not recognize me. Sure enough, he woke up around midnight crying up a storm and I had only been left a small amount of formula (and they had moved recently so I didn't know where more formula was). I gave him the small amount of formula that I had and then rubbed his belly for like half an hour to get him to fall asleep. I call this a win because I realized I've learned a lot from being around my nephew about baby problem solving.
• WORKING OUT: It's finally starting to sink in that, if I want to work out on any given day, it has to be in the morning AND that working out in the morning makes such a difference in my day. I've started making coffee the night before and leaving it in the fridge overnight to save time and so I can have a boost in the mornings.

One morning workout this week felt like a particular struggle, but as soon as I instagrammed this selfie, Pete replied with a "You got this!" and, since he's a personal trainer, I felt instantly encouaged.

IRONIC WINS

• KEYS: Last week I was getting out of the car and dropped my keys on the ground. I'd had a particularly good day at work so I distinctly remember pausing momentarily smiling to myself about how silly it was that I had dropped my keys. During that momentary pause, my entire keychain slid into the street drain which happened to be right beside where they fell. On the plus side, I located out local neighborhood hardware store that has EVERYTHING you could ever possibly need including key cutting services that took less than 5 seconds.
• BABYSITTING: I got a last-minute offer to babysit last week and drove to Adams Morgan where I had to exchange alley parking spots with Dad. I was feeling really proud of my parking job while walking with him into the house until he asked me "Did you lock your car?" and I realized I was just walking away and making conversation while leaving my car unlocked. Oops.
• PARKING TICKET: My job pays for my parking. All I have to do is log in to an app on my phone and confirm my location. However, this week I forgot to confirm on my phone one day and got a $45.00 ticket?!?! I was really upset because that is a lot of money and I felt so stupid. I instantly called my sister, Kim, who I can count upon to listen to my shame stories and rattled off a list of everything that sucked in my life and how dumb I was (a downward spiral I let myself fall into all because of one little ticket). Kim is so patient...and also wise. She listened to me, said that sucked, and then recommended I breathe and get myself a hot chocolate. I could have let the ticket ruin my day (sometimes I let stuff like that happen), but instead I paid my ticket immediately over the phone, threw the ticket away (and out of my mind), and got a hot chocolate. 

Flowers Mike brought me after his interview in Baltimore on Friday. It went well and he should hear back in about a month!

One of the many pictures of Ashton I get throughout the week that always make my day:) He's getting so big! (3 months old now)

And he wants to talk so badly! (my current favorite video of him with my mom in the background)