California Vacation, 1 of 5

This is a series of posts about our recent vacation to California. Vacation seems like a foreign word most of the time, because we don't know how to take one, can't afford one, the timing is off, etc. However, we planned and budgeted accordingly and enjoyed our 6 days away. 

First Stop: Disneyland

J went to Disneyland as a child; I went to Disney World as a child. Within our marriage, we've gone to Disney World twice, and now we can say we've gone to Disneyland. In a way, we've both experienced a little bit of each other's childhood memories.

One of our very best friends is a Disney travel agent so she took care of all the logistics for the Disneyland portion of our trip. Disneyland is smaller with only two parks. In addition, we didn't stay on site but rather across the street. We were able to walk to the park each day from our off-site hotel and never had to pay/fight for parking. Some of the rides are exactly the same or very similar to Disney World, but than other rides have varying degrees of differences or altogether different. 

Our first ride was the train that went around the entire area of the Disneyland  park.
This helped us figure out what to do first. 

Disneyland is the home of Sleeping Beauty's castle.
It is much smaller than Cinderella's castle at Disney World. 

J exploring Tom Sawyer's Island.

Mickey's Fun Wheel 

BEFORE and DURING the teacups!

Buzz Lightyear and Toy Story Mania rides. I let J beat me on both!

So we can always remember, here are the attractions we enjoyed at Disneyland:

• Disneyland Railroad
• Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters
• Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage
• Haunted Mansion
• Indiana Jones Adventure
• Innovations
• It's A Small World
• Mad Tea Party
• Pirate's Liar on Tom Sawyer Island
• Pirates of the Caribbean
• Star Tours - The Adventures Continue
• Storybook Land Canal Boats
• Lunch at Carnation Cafe
• Dinner at Rancho del Zocalo Restaurante

Here are the attractions we enjoyed at Disneyland's California Adventure:

• The Bakery Tour, hosted by Boudin Bakery
• Goofy's Sky School
• It's Tough To Be A Bug
• The Little Mermaid, Ariel's Undersea Adventure
• Mickey's Fun Wheel
• Muppet Vision 3D
• Pinoccho's Daring Journey
• Soarin' Over California
• Toy Story Midway Mania
• Breakfast at Fiddler, Fifer & Practical  Cafe on Buena Vista Street
• Lunch at Carthay Circle Restaurant
• Dinner at Paradiise Garden Grill

Wordless Wednesday

Wordless Wednesday

Wordless Wednesday

Wordless Wednesday

Pinterest Told Me To - Mustard and Mayo

I'm an avid blog reader. I've been mourning the death of Google Reader for several months now (this is the app I use to read all my blogs in one place rather than going from site to site). I've recently switched to BlogLovin' and I'm not lovin' it but it works out okay.

I have various categories of blogs that I read - couponing, craftiness, fashion, etc. I'm not sure how long I've been reading Pinterest Told Me To but it's a blog written by a gal named Sheaffer. She uses Pinterest to help her create new outfits and be inspired to put things together that she might normally never would. She has a great wardrobe and seems comfortable in her body. I on the other hand have been on a weight-loss journey so my wardrobe is full of stuff that no longer fits and I'm still trying to figure out my new ever-changing shape.

With that being said, I've tried several times to be inspired by Pinterest or Sheaffer's blog but it's failed almost every time. If it does seem to work I struggle with my confidence level in the outfit and end up changing before every walking outside. A recent post on Pinterest Told Me to was mustard and mayo. It just so happened that I found a yellow pair of pants on the clearance rack for $7.

Here's my version of mustard and mayo:

I give myself a B+ as it's not incredible but I was inspired and tried to think outside the box of what I typically wear. And I give myself a B+ for the added confidence I found somewhere hidden in my closet.

The first week of July marks a year of my weight loss journey. Look for a post then about where I was, where I am, and where I'm headed!

Projects for April & May

In April, I lacked motivation to craft. It scared me for a bit - why was I not in the crafty mode?? I got a new job but still worked my old job and my new job during the month of April. I had limited time to craft. When I got home from work, all I wanted to do was veg out. Then May came and I still lacked motivation. My craft room had become the catch-up for Easter decorations that had not been put away, a box of stuff from my old office, and a layer of dust. I lacked motivation because I had to do some cleaning before crafting and who really wants to clean. Well the cleaning is now done, so here are the projects from the last two months (but really I made them all in less than a week - ha!)

I made this quote for J's office. I cut it with my Cricut machine on brown vinyl.

Block of the Month 2013 - April Block, Fan

Block of the Month 2013 - May -
Strippy Spools, bottom left 7 blocks
(pictured with the other blocks I've already made for this project) .

Sugar Block of the Month, April - Sunny Days

Sugar Block of the Month, May - Signed, Sealed Delivered

Block of the Month April 2012, redo - Hexi Stripe

Block of the Month May 2012, redo - Wonky 5-sided Log Cabin

Block of the Month May 2012 redo - Modern Log Cabin