Supercalifragilisticexpealidocious

My first day of summer freedom last week, my best friend and I celebrated by going to the "happiest place on earth," I think it was a fantastic way to start my summer. It was rather successful. I finally bought ears (sparkly Minnie ears) and a bubble gun! I'm so excited to use my bubbles!

The weather was kind of worrisome on the drive up. It kept raining and I was afraid it'd be rainy weather at Disneyland. It's not that I don't like the rain. In fact I love rain, but I wasn't dressed for rain at Disneyland. But the good thing about rain is that usually there's not as many people at Disneyland. Which was true for Friday, until the weather cleared up later in the day.

So we like being early, it's always fun to be there from opening to closing time. :) We got there in time to countdown to opening and then we raced to Space Mountain. We were in the ninth cart. Pretty sweet yes?
Then we made our normal round to Star Tours right after. So, I've been on Star Tours plenty, and I've had the same scenarios almost every time. This time we got Admiral Ackbar and pod racing, then we went underwater to Jar Jar's planet (I forget the name) and then we're breaking down as we try to reach land. We get to the docking hanger and we can't stop and suddenly we crash into this pointy spaceship and I get scared and move out of the way. haha. C3PO tells the little droid that yells at us that he broke our ship and he does not have permission to come aboard. It was pretty funny. As we leave, one of the castmembers reminds us to pick up our droids in baggage. hehe.
After Star Tours we go and meet Merida. She is SO cute! I love her and her cute accent and the little bears. AH! I'm so excited to see Brave!!! They let us shoot arrows which was pretty neat. I got two tries cuz I failed the first time, but the second I didn't hear that we were counting to three then shooting so I was a tad early but I made it through the bullseye. haha. So I'm a good shot I just can't count. :)

Then we went on Big Thunder Mountain Railroad cuz it's the wildest ride in the WHEELDERNESS!!!! I love how the crazy old man says it. We were sliding back and forth and laughing and it was a lot of fun.

As we were walking to Indiana Jones we saw a duck walking by these bushes. I was surprised because she was letting people get really close to her, then I saw that she had ducklings and was protecting them. Good momma duck.

Indiana Jones is my favorite ride ever!! Just saying.

Then we went back on Space Mountain and Big Thunder. And made our way to Haunted Mansion and had time to kill before our Indiana Jones fastpasses were up so we went on Pirates of the Caribbean! Which is always fun :) "We wants the redhead!"

After we went on Indiana Jones the second time we were going to go to see the princesses at the faire but the line was extremely long and we only need one princess in our autograph book (Aurora why must you avoid me!!!!) So we went into Toon Town to try and find Donald (who evades us always as well) but it was super crowded. Instead we took the train back to Main Street. We saw the Grand Canyon and dinosaurs!!!

Before we went into California Adventure we went through Downtown Disney to find the Create-Your-Own-Ear-Hat shop, which turns out to be in Walt Disney World. It was a bit disappointing but that's ok. I'll go to Walt Disney World eventually. :)

We went to California Adventure and grabbed our Tower of Terror fast passes and did single-rider on California Screamin'. (All time favorite rides at California Adventure!!!) While waiting for TOT we went on Triton's Carousel naming our sea creatures Aqua (Sea Horse) and Sir Phillip (Seal). Then we went on The Little Mermaid and saw Ariel's new hair, which looks weird from the side but nice from the front. After we saw the Muppet Vision show, which was super cute and silly.

We were going to go on the Ferris Wheel that terrifies me, but it was a long wait, instead we met Jessie. Then we went on Tower of Terror. I'd forgotten what the ride was like so I got really nervous, so it was awesome cuz my adrenaline was pumping!

Then we took the train back to Toon Town and saw the animatronics that used to be in Splash Mountain. Toon Town was still super busy, but we went into the shop and I got my sparkly Minnie ears. We were slightly tired at this point, neither of us sleeping well the night before and waking up early, so we watched the parade.

We went back California Adventure because we wanted to see the Mad T Party preview. It was pretty neat! I'm excited to go back and see some more of it. I loved this big Flamingo that they had.

Natasha and I stayed at the T Party for a bit, but we wanted to see the fireworks so we made our way back to Disneyland and went on the Tea Cups, where we heard an announcement that the fireworks were cancelled due to winds. :( made me super sad, I love fireworks. So we got some hot chocolate from these sweet vendors. And also got a taste of some nasty Disneyland patrons. Also found out Natasha acts a lot like me when I'm drunk when she's tired (very agreeable and silly). We sat for a bit with our hot chocolate till we decided we were hungry and went to the French Market and ate their delicious nom noms (chicken, mashed potatoes, and vegetables) and this amazing raspberry cheesecake!!!

Because it was a grad-nite celebration, Disneyland closed a bit early. We probably could have stayed longer, because we still look young enough to be in high school, but we were tired so we left. Took a while

I must say, it was a lovely day. :) Sorry the post is so long.

Love, etc.
Dorothy Grace

Itty Post

Happiest Place on Earth!!!

GOING TO DISNEYLAND TOMORROW!!!!!!!!
Yay!
I'll tell you about it soon ;)

And I'm going to post things I've written for my non-fiction writing class I took a year ago... I miss it... I should write more...
Maybe I should make a new page for my writing... We will see... I'm still confused on how to use blogs n stuff...

Told you it'd be itty :)

Love, etc.
Dorothy Grace

Book Review Before Bed

I'm one of those people that can rarely walk into a bookstore without leaving with something. It's just not in my nature. Kinda like some Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, if I pass a bookstore I have to go in and I have to buy something. 

Okay it's not really that extreme, I've walked into Barnes and Noble and left with nothing, but it was REALLY hard!!!! I can also spend hours exploring, running my hand over titles, trying to see which book catches my attention.

So during my spring break I went to visit my friends from Northern Arizona University. I was meeting up with my friend's girlfriend at the time at Barnes and Noble. I had a while to kill so I was browsing the Teen Fiction section. Which is usually a bad idea, all their books now-a-days seem to be all the same, angsty teen love stories usually with some fantastical creature activity: vampires, werewolves, witches, fairies etc. Don't get me wrong sometimes I want to read what my 10th-11th grade English teacher calls "Junk-Food Books," but usually I need a little depth and meaning.

I'd read on tumblr ages ago a review for a book that I thought sounded interesting. It was called "The Book Thief." I found it, bought it, and just finished on Sunday. And let me tell you, I have not cried that much since Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, in a good way. I don't know about you, but I get attached to characters if they're not too whiny. I love being able to relate to a character.

"The Book Thief" is based in Nazi Germany, a time period which for some reason fascinates and horrifies me. First, the story is told through an interesting perspective, Death, a strangely gentle being who is tired of cleaning up after humans and saddened by the things they do to each other. But he gets glimmers of true humanity, the reason he keeps doing what he's doing. He says "I see everyone at their best and their worst." He's telling the story of Leisel Meminger, a young girl who loves words. She "steals" books, learning to read them with the help of her loving and patient accordion playing foster father, and eventually learns to write. There is love, laughter, grief, pain, suffering, play, happiness and death throughout the book. The amount of description in this book is perfect, it's not overly drawn out and boring and it's not empty. Death likes to bounce back and forth between the end of the story and where he left off, he hints at his... "surprises" I suppose, but everyone knows what happens at the end of their own personal story, so I guess it's really no surprise.

I will warn you, that it is a very sad book. Like I said I cried quite a bit, but it's so beautiful. When I'm a teacher I'd love for my students to read it. Except I'm not sure if that much sadness could be handled by children. It'd give them a pretty good idea of reality, understanding that life isn't all peaches and cream and that it's really short.

So great book. Go read it. Let me know what you think.

I gotta sleep and estudiar para mi examen final de español en la mañana.

Love, etc.

Dorothy Grace

Huddle

Woohoo! Look at me 2 out of 2 days!

I went to what's called a Health Coach Huddle today with my Take Shape For Life family and learned a few neat tidbits that I'd thought I'd share with you.

1. So who feels hungry when you know you're not? I know I certainly do. Usually when I'm stressed, sad or e-hem PMSing... Chocolate is my go to food. As I like to say the dementors just passed by and chocolate will make me feel better. (yes, a Harry Potter reference just happened) Well, today we learned the difference between Emotional Hunger vs. True Hunger. Emotional Hunger starts above the neck, it's a brain and mouth thing, while True Hunger starts in the stomach. Emotional Hunger doesn't have to be satisfied, you can live without it. But True Hunger gives you physical clues like a growling stomach, lightheadedness and dizziness, and it MUST be satisfied! Emotional Hunger makes you crave a specific food (usually something sugary), while True Hunger is flexible... you may want something but if you don't have it you'll easily find something yummy else to eat.
The main thing to know is to be Mindful and Deliberate. Be mindful and deliberate about what you are eating and what is eating you. Food shouldn't control you and it is ok to feel a bit hungry.

2. Magnesium is magic! If you're a nervous person, think too much, or can't focus Magnesium is the element for you! It helps to calm the mind and the intestine. There's a ton of supplements that can help boost your Magnesium. One that was mentioned is an electro mix.
Like with everything, do it in moderation.

3. I'm excited to try this new healthy snack I was told about that might help me with my stress-hunger especially during finals week. Either cucumbers or celery with Walden Farms Fat-Free Chipotle Ranch dressing! :)

These meetings always give me a boost of confidence in my weight loss. I always feel encouraged to keep going.

Love, etc.,
Dorothy Grace

Hi :)

Hello there!

I'm not entirely sure how to begin. Maybe a tad bit about me would be the right way to start off.

First, I'm Christian, but I'm not the kind that will shove it down your throat. It doesn't matter to me what you believe, I may not agree but I'm not one to be closed minded and I'll love you still. It's not my place to judge. Really I'm only mentioning this because I want to be open, so if I say something you find offensive... I'm not exactly sorry.

Second, I'm a free Health Coach with Take Shape For Life. I help people get to their target weight goals and encourage them to keep striving for optimum health. I'm on the track to optimum health myself, since January I've released 40lbs. I have 80+ more to go. It's been hard, but I know in the end it'll be worth it. If you want to learn more my website is dorothygrace.tsfl.com

I guess this blog is going to be a little about everything. I'll document my progress, goals, inspirations, and healthy tidbits. I'll probably blog about other stuff like crafts I'm working on, things I'm up too, and thoughts. Basically, whatever I feel like. :)

"Love, etc." I got this from a book I read called "Talking It Over" by Julian Barnes. Here's the passage:
"Love, etc. The proposition is simple. The world divides into two categories: those who believe that the purpose, the function, the bass pedal and principal melody of life is love, and that everything else - everything else - is merely an etc.; and those, those unhappy many, who believe primarily in the etc. of life, for whom love, however agreeable, is but a passing flurry of youth, the pattering prelude to nappy-duty, but not something as solid, steadfast and reliable as, say home decoration. This is the only division between people that counts."

So....
Love, etc.,
Dorothy Grace