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.