a disney DIY

So, I recently discovered this great website called Pinterest, which if you are not on it you would not know that this website is one that a person like me should NOT be on! There are all kinds of DIY projects, recipes, crafts, decor, etc on this site and I spend a little too much time on it already. Anyway, i found this recipe there via a friends blog, and decided it would be perfect for my friends at work for Christmas. i wanted to do something, but we certainly don't make enough money to buy presents for everyone, and you can't do some and not others, and i already spent too much money on my family for christmas, and maybe bought myself a few presents too. :) So, here's my project. Mickey ornaments:

1. Get your ingredients together. You don't need much- just salt, flour, and water. 2. Mix 1/2 cup salt and 1 cup flour.

3. Add 1/2 cup water.

4. mix flour, salt and water.5. kneed the dough a little bit to make sure everything is combined together.

6. Roll the dough out on a flat surface, I did between a 1/4 and 1/2 inch, preferably with a rolling pin and not the water bottle like i improvised with. Hey, whatever works. Cut the dough out with a cookie cutter in whatever shape you want. i chose Mickey because it's for my Disney friends.

7. Place the shapes on a baking sheet. Be sure to cut out a hole so that you can hang the ornaments after they are done. i used a pen top and it worked perfectly. The dough is very easy to cut.

8. bake shapes at 200 degrees for 4 hours. i needed to do them longer. You don't want the dough to be soft. It needs to be durable, so longer is better. ***fair warning: if you try to bake them faster at a higher temperature, they will burn. I experimented. :)***

9. Once the shapes have cooled- I let mine sit overnight- you can decorate them however you choose. i painted mine black because Mickey is black, plus I had another idea I wanted to do with them. I used ceramic paint, but you could use anything.

10. Once the paint is all dry- thanks to my roomie Amanda for painting mine while i was at work!- I wanted them to say our resort name on the ornament so everyone would remember our time together. i used a silver sharpie to write on my ornaments and it worked perfectly.

All my ornaments have CP on one ear (for college program), the year of our program on the other ear, and our resort name in the middle.

Last but not least, simply string ribbon through the hole you made before baking and all done!

i sure hope they all like their presents!

What's around the riverbend

So, in the last couple weeks i have had some really tough decisions that i have had to make. Couple that with the fact that all of papers for the semester were due Thursday, I was deployed to another resort, and we had our winter formal on Monday, and very few other things were done, like cleaning my room and this blog. The cleaning will hopefully happen as soon as I'm done here. (hey, i have my priorities. :) )

Being here in Florida has done so much for me. I've grown as a person so much. I've become much more daring, more relaxed, not quite so stressed all the time. I feel like i have changed for the better in so many ways. It's been incredible. i came here hoping for that to happen, expecting it to happen, and willing to allow it to happen, and it did. i couldn't be happier about it. I've met some incredible people, and our stories together are not done yet. I have the most incredible managers at work and i don't want to work somewhere else. I've been put on the magical moments team and was recently put on another team at work, the camera cast, and only person was chosen from each department, and that was me. I have so much going for me here.

But (don't you hate that word?) I still have two classes left to finish at Grand Valley, and to answer the next question, no they cannot be taken online. It's not worth transferring to some school here for two classes, especially when they will probably add more classes for me to take anyway to complete their degree program. Besides that, my dream has been to have a degree from Grand Valley since as long as I can remember. That is really important to me. So, what do I do? Leave this place that absolutely love and these projects I've been selected for in order to finish school, or give up the dream of GV degree and probably go to school even longer?

January 6th I will be coming back to Grand Rapids. I've really struggled with this decision, but I do think it is the right thing to do. i have the option of staying on at yacht and beach club as seasonal, so I would still be a cast member and could come down during spring break or long weekends and work a few hours. Before i leave, i will be setting up a meet and greet with convention services through a manager i met about a week ago. We were talking about what i wanted to eventually get into and i told her meeting and event planning, and she gave me her number and said that she would love to set up a meet and greet with me and convention services because she thinks I'd be a great fit there. Me! She, having talked with me for less than an hour, thinks I'm good enough! I've never had someone say things like that or feel that way about me until I came here. Here, I'm good enough, just as I am. Back home i don't feel like i am good enough. i feel like i am constantly having to prove myself to everyone, my family, my friends, my church, my job, and even then I'm still not good enough.

I think that's another lesson I've learned here. I am good enough. Back home I feel like no one sees my potential even when I am busting my butt doing and being everything to everyone. Here, I don't have to work as hard to impress people- they see me for me. They love me for me. I'm worth it. Damn it, I'm good enough!

Coming home will be tough, but I will get through it. I always do. I will finish my classes and then hopefully be able to come back to Orlando once i graduate. At least that's the plan. Knowing that there is the option to come back makes this decision so much easier. It isn't all or nothing. I still need to find an internship back home, and that will be my mission this week (that and getting my christmas presents wrapped and shipped and my cards mailed- oh boy...). Coming home will help me though because i'll be able to save up some money, work on getting a car (anyone care to help me with that?) and get my debt paid off from the irresponsibleness of being young with a credit card (again, if anyone wants to help with that, I'm not too proud!). If i can get my debt paid off, which is going to be tough but i can do it, then I can move back to Orlando with only my student loan debt. I'm so glad to know that i can come back.

Home is going to be different though. Be forwarned: I am not the girl that left in August. I have become much more outspoken (believe it or not). i feel more comfortable in my own skin, which makes a huge difference. Don't expect to talk to the same passive Calli that just takes whatever people through at her and doesn't say anything back. I'm not her. i've learned to stand up for myself and say what i mean. I'm not going to be walked over anymore. I'm learning that "no" is a complete sentence. i feel like I'm more fun too, more willing to just go and do whatever, be silly. I hope that you can see the differences in me when i come home.

I'm not really looking forward to the next couple weeks. Christmas without my family will be hard. Saying goodbye to this place will be even harder. In the mean time, I'm going to enjoy this short time i have left to the fullest. i have to! Disney wasn't coined "the happiest place on earth" for no reason afterall.

For these, I am truly thankful

This thanksgiving, i have so much to be thankful for. i almost don't even know where to start!
1. I am thankful for my mom and brother who have been so supportive of me and moving to Florida. They supported me even when everyone else thought I was crazy.
2. i am thankful for my family. It's so weird not being with them this thanksgiving, and i will definitely miss family dinner and all our interesting, and completely inappropriate, dinner conversations.
3. i am thankful for my wonderful job that i enjoy doing every day and that has led to more opportunities than I thought possible with the magical moments team I was put on.
4. i am thankful for my managers who are simply the best. i got really lucky.
5. i am thankful for my amazing fellow cast members who i love to see every day at work and who make me laugh all the time. Again, I got really lucky.
6. i am thankful to live in Florida and being able to go to Disneyworld whenever i want. :)
7. i am thankful to have 4 amazing roommates who all get along and who I want to hang out with. Not everyone likes their roommates and mine have become my family here.
8. i am thankful for my friends back home who have been supportive of my move here.
9. i am thankful for my professor who has been so patient with me and getting my assignments turned in much later than the original due dates. :)
10. i am thankful for the chance to prove people wrong. i know that one sounds kind of mean, but i know some people who read this blog who were not supportive of me when i first applied to this program and who didn't think I would stay. I am glad that i was strong enough to prove those people wrong.

I could probably go on and on of things i am thankful for today, but those are my top choices.
I hope everyone has a wonderful thanksgiving and enjoys the time spent with friends and family.

we interrupt this broadcast...

I know I've been slacking on blogging lately, but things are crazy busy here in good old Orlando.

I promise to catch up soon.

Mickey's very merry christmas party

So, last night I went to Mickey's Very Merry Christmas party at the Magic Kingdom. Holy Cow! It was so amazing! i had the absolute best time ever. I think the pictures do most of the talking here, so i won't add many words. i have them all posted on my facebook, so either friend me or check them out if we're already friends. (and if we aren't, what the heck are you waiting for? :) )

Dopey went MIA for some reason during some photos- feel free to call me the 8th dwarf- Clumsy. :)

Yay! I finally got my picture with Minnie and Mickey!

Isn't it gorgeous?! and it's a thousand times prettier than even the pictures show.

This is my friend Julie who was visiting for a week who i went to the party with. She was a CP as well, and still works for Disney.

Bet you can't guess what will probably happen with this picture. :)

Brilliant!

Christmas is in the air- can you feel it?

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

Sorry for a short and sweet post today, but I'm having a bad pain day and just not feeling that great. However, I am super excited because Christmas is in full swing here at Disney. Tomorrow night i am going to Mickey's Christmas party with a friend from school who is here visiting and i cannot wait! Trust me, there will be tons more pictures in the next few days!

Comments

So, aparently there are a lot of people reading my blog that i had no idea about.

Thanks for reading this! I'm so glad you're here!

I know that there has been issues with leaving comments, but I think i may have fixed it. Feel free to give it a try and see if it works. i sure hope it does- I don't think I've ever had a comment on my blog! I'd love to hear who is reading this and what you think. i really haven't heard from anyone much since I've been in Florida. Start sending cards people! Just kidding- unless you want to. i love getting mail too! :)

Soul surfer

So, this blog has nothing to do with Disney, but I feel like i have to say something.
I'm sitting in my apartment right now watching Soul Surfer with my roommates, waiting for my phone interview with Disney for my professional internship. We're about half way through the movie, and I've had tears in my eyes for at least the last 20 minutes.

It's very strange to watch this movie, and i know that my experiences are not in any way the sames as Bethany Hamilton's, but i can't help but feel so much of what she's feeling. There's a scene in the movie where she is at the grocery store and there is a little girl in a cart with her mom and she says, "mommy, what happened to that girls arm?" I completely lost it there and when she asks Carrie Underwood's character how her loosing her arm is a part of God's plan. I had many kids ask their parents the same question about my legs and asked that same question countless times to my family, my friends at church, and God. I'm watching this almost feeling like I'm watching myself and it hurts.

People have told me throughout my ordeal and continue to tell me how strong i am, but i am not nearly as strong as Bethany Hamilton is portrayed in this movie. I know that she had hard days too, and that this movie is not showing everything, because the truth is, any handicap is so much more than what can be put in just a couple hours by a movie director. Everything she says has been something that I've said numerous times. She kept her faith stronger than i ever did. Part of me wishes this movie had come out while i was dealing with my ordeal. Maybe i wouldn't hurt as much as i still do now, inside.

If you ever had a moment where you wondered what i felt like, watch this movie. This is my story too, even if i wasn't attacked by a shark while surfing and i still have my limbs. The story is the same, the pain is the same, and the emotions are the same. Soul Surfer is an incredible movie that i would highly recommend to everyone I meet. If you know someone with a disability or who has dealt with a handicap, this movie will be very enlightening for you.

pumpkin cheesecake recipe

Yep, two posts in one day! I had to share this recipe that i found for pumpkin cheesecake. It is so yummy and it will make your kitchen smell A-MAZ-ING!!!

Preheat oven to 350. Crush up vanilla wafers and melted butter (you can also combine ground pecans, but with my allergies i can't). I originally used 45 wafers and 1 stick butter, but ended up using more. Press cookie mixture into bottom of cupcake liners, or directly into bottom of a pan.

blend 2 pounds of cream cheese (cut up and softened) until smooth. Add 1 cup packed light brown sugar to cream cheese and blend until combined.

Add 6 eggs, one at at time, until incorporated, then blend in 1/2 cup heavy cream. Add 1/2 cup flour, a pinch of salt, and 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon.

add pure vanilla extract (recipe says 1 teaspoon, but if you're like me, the 2 ingredients I don't ever measure are peanut butter and vanilla).

pour filling over cookie crust. bake until cheesecake is set, at least 45 minutes for cupcakes and 1 hour 15 minutes for whole cake.

I tend to be messy in the kitchen as you can see. :)

Bam! Pumpkin cheesecake! (Yes, it's an Emeril recipe.) Enjoy the cheesecake and especially the smell. Enjoy! Let me know if you make it and what you think.

I'm a 10

So, one of my goals down here at Disney was to loose weight. I've never been a small girl, and really don't have any intentions of being a size 2. I'd look funny being that small. i have a more athletic build that I've always been proud of. I didn't really have body issues like many teen girls have. When i had to stop playing sports because of my knees, i gained weight. Let's face it, when you have no choice but to sit on your butt for months on end because you are in an immobilizer, you naturally gain weight. i had tried to loose weight before but never had much luck. Twice before when I was on vacation i did loose weight however. I wondered if maybe because i wasn't in my normal environment that would help me loose some extra pounds. i also knew that each apartment complex had fitness centers and i had every intention of utilizing it when i got here.

Cut to today- i have yet to set foot in the fitness center. Oops. The truth is that I just don't have time. I don't like working in a gym with other people watching me. Plus it makes me feel like i am back in physical therapy again and it gives me panic attacks. (sorry scott, you know I love ya but physical therapy is not fun!) I had already noticed though that i was loosing weight. After I did the 5k walk a couple of weeks ago, I started walking most mornings. I got a pedometer at the walk and wore it around on my first walk to see how far it was. Turned out to be about 2 miles. Great! I can handle that.

That night i wore the pedometer to work. Mind you, i work in the resort, not the park. i work in a small store. Nothing is that far away and i don't the shops are relatively small. Imagine my surprise when I got home and realized that the walk from my apartment to the bus stop, walking at work, and walking back home from the bus stop was over 5 miles! For real? Yes, for real. No wonder i was loosing weight. I was walking so much at work, especially compared to sitting at a desk at my job back home, plus, i don't know if you know this or not, but Florida gets really hot in the summer. Hot like, you will see the salt from your sweat on your skin. i was literally sweating off inches.

I have had to get a new costume at work 3 times. This is exciting. But i didn't know how that would translate into normal clothes. i love Disney, but no matter who you are, those costumes will give you a complex about your size and weight. i wasn't sure how my weight loss would translate outside of my costume. I mean, i knew my shorts weren't fitting (they were starting to fall of literally) but I wasn't sure exactly what size i was anymore.

I walked over the outlet malls by my apartment (i have no car, so i can only walk anywhere, whole other issue that i won't get into) because the temperature has been getting much more comfortable here lately. i thought I'd try on some jeans since i needed some anyway.

Imagine how excited i was when I tried these on and saw that i looked like that in the mirror!!! I Couldn't believe it! i really am looking pretty good! i fit into a size 10! Now, honestly speaking, i have never been a size 10. Even when i was in middle and high school i was at least a 12. Most women don't want to say what size they wear, but whatever. i don't really care that much. I've always been bigger, but i dressed in my size so I never looked as big as I was, if that makes sense. i dressed for my body, not the body i wished that i had.

I am so happy to show you my jeans and the size tag. i can't believe that i've managed to loose that much weight. i am so excited and proud of myself for this. I think it's been a combination of getting out of my old environment that i had been in for 24 years and that also reminded me on a daily basis of all my knee problems, having a job where i am on my feet all day, getting out and walking, eating better since i don't have a car to get fast food all the time, and having to walk anywhere i need to go. When you get into the parks at Disney for free and you can't go anywhere else, you walk a lot. It's been amazing. I am just so happy and excited! Who thought I'd ever be able to say i was a 10! :)

pictures

I thought I'd add just a couple of pictures that go from a few blogs I've already done but didn't have the pictures from. I really should be working on one of the ten million projects that i have to do (ok, I'm exagerating just a little bit there) but sharing pictures is so much more fun.

This is the group picture from the Orlando heartwalk. These are the other CP's (college program) that did the walk. We also had a ton of VoluntEARS that work for Disney there, but we got a group picture of just those of us here on the college program too. I'm on the right hand side in the second row.

This is me and one of my roommates, Sara. We did the walk together. We took this picture about 6:30 am, before we actually started the walk. We even got Duffy Bears. We are that cool. :)

Last but not least, we actually have a group picture of all my roommates! A couple weeks ago we all had the same day off so we decided to go to Blizzard Beach, one of the water parks at Disney. I'd like it pointed out that I did almost all of the rides, and if you know me, you know I don't really like rides that much. I was proud, especially when i did the double dipper- an enclosed slide that drops straight down twice. Yes, i did it.

from front to back, and left to right is Melissa, Amanda, Lindsey, me, Sara, and Raelynn.

That's all I've got for today. I'm so far behind on other projects right now, so i need to get off my blog and off facebook and start working. We'll catch up again soon!

A-tisket, a-tasket

Yes, I'm a total Ella Fitzgerald fan. i love jazz music, especially from the 20's and 30's. I wonder sometimes if i was born in the wrong era, because all that jazz from 1920's and 30's absolutely intrigues me. I certainly could do without the great depression, but we could argue I've lived through that too in 2010 and 11, but that's a whole other story. I just thought that song would make a great blog title today because I've got lots of different things to share that don't really go together. So here's a little bit of this and a little bit of that, and some of my pictures too.

Ever since I did the heart walk last week, i have been walking each day. I laid out a path to walk around the apartments, and used my new pedometer to measure it, and it's about two miles. i figure that's pretty good. I actually wore that pedometer on monday to work, just out of curiosity- I worked 4.5 miles at work alone! It's no wonder I'm loosing weight! By the way, i don't think I shared this yet, but i have dropped two costume sizes at work since i've been here. None of the shorts that I brought with me fit anymore. Its very exciting for me. :)

I think today i am getting my first case of home sickness, but it's probably not what you think it is. All over facebook people are talking about how much cooler it is getting back home. I see commercials about it being fall, and today is obviously the first day of fall. i've been following football back home (come on GV, what gives? two losses in a row?) and hearing about people wanting to go to pumpkin patches and apple orchards, and it makes me sad. It's still in the 90's around here. I'm feeling a little bummed out that I'm missing fall. i always love that kind of thing, carving pumpkins and drinking hot cocoa and wearing jeans and hoodies, but that's not happening here. It makes me miss home just a little bit. Plus it's artprize again, and i have to miss it. Someone take lots of pictures of this stuff for me and put it on facebook so I can see it. I really do miss it.

Big news here! i hadn't had a chance to share this one yet, but it's big news. I was chosen to be put on a team at work to develop new Magical Moments at the resort. At Disney, each location has what we call Magical Moments, which are things that each place does that are something unique to that location. They aren't big things but just something special. About two weeks ago i found out I was put on this team. i was hand chosen by my managers to be part of this 4 person team. So exciting right? Well, I later found out that the reason we have this team is because our General Manager of the resort wanted it done. The resort gets lots of feedback about housekeeping and food and front desk, but they rarely hear anything about merchandise. She passed it on to our area manager who passed it my managers who picked me and 3 other people to come up with new ideas to implement. I've been here one month and was chosen for this. I'm so excited about it. We've got so many ideas. It's definitely a lot more work for me on top of being in school, but this could be a huge opening for me. With my name on some of these projects, i could be asked to stay and work. I could end up doing all kinds of things at Disney just because i did this as a CP. It's such an honor to know that my managers think I'm good enough for this. They picked me. Can you believe it?! i can't wait to see if our ideas are accepted and how people respond to them. i have a really great group that I'm working with and so far management seems really happy with our ideas. I'll have to keep you all posted as to what happens next.

I knew Disney was a magical place, but I didn't expect all of this to happen. My dreams are literally coming true. I am in this amazing place and having the most amazing experiences. I didn't think all this would happen, especially in just 6 weeks. i'm curious to see what happens in the next 6 weeks, and the next. Who knows, this could be just the beginning!

Orlando Heart Walk

Today I did something that i honestly never thought I'd do. Today i participated in my very first 5K walk here in Orlando. I had an opportunity through Disney VoluntEARS to participate in a 3 mile walk/run in greater Orlando to raise money for heart disease and stroke. My grandpa died of heart attack nearly 20 years ago and my step-grandpa survived a heart attack this past year. Heart disease runs in my family, so I knew this was going to be a great opportunity to do something that means a lot to me and that hits close to home. Given my medical history however, i thought all hope was lost in ever participating in any kind of walk/race. I wasn't sure if I should even do this walk, but I also thought why not? Why not give it a try? I knew i wouldn't have to run, and I do like to walk, so it seemed like a great opportunity. Besides, I had to do some volunteering for one of my classes and one of my roommates wanted to do the walk as well.

I had so much fun today! I actually did something that i never thought I'd be able to accomplish. It felt so good to participate in something meaningful and not have anyone question whether or not I was okay, whether or not my knees hurt, are you sure you should be doing this, aren't you scared of getting hurt...

I did it. i finished. I feel so good about myself tonight. i even went for another walk tonight! I've always wanted to participate in different events like the breast cancer walk or the american cancer society walk, but I never thought I'd be able to. Now i know i can. For a girl who never should have been able to walk, i think that speaks volumes.

all ready to walk!

just some of the Disney VoluntEARS that were there today.

We had over 15,000 people walking today, and over 1.1 million dollars was raised.

I even got a Duffy the Disney Bear and a flag, among other things today. I can't wait to do my next walk. It feels so good to know that i can do it.