48 days till Disneyland 2014!

The prompt today is "what are you looking forward to" - and I think we all know what I'm looking forward to most - my Disneyland trip in September!

So what better way to celebrate that by giving you the "Cast of Characters" that will be going on this trip.

Probably my favorite set of Mickey ears EVER! Maleficent!

Tonichelle - aka, ME! This will be my fifth trip to Disneyland and 11th trip to a Disney park. The last time I went to Disneyland was in 2012 right after Carsland opened (we were there during summer vacation. Oh. My. Word. Do not recommend!). I'm pretty familiar with getting around the parks, but still haven't seen and done everything.

I am the trip planner/coordinator (by default). It's actually one of my favorite parts of a Disney trip - the planning. As much as it's stressful when trying to make sure everyone's wants/hopes get met or at least acknowledged, I just love doing all of the booking and coordinating. Crazy, I know. I have spreadsheets, and folders, and notebooks filled with the plans. It's the most organized part of my life!

I've been a huge fan of Disney my entire life, that I've gotten to go to the parks as many times as I have over the last few years (I only went once as a child, and once as a teen, the rest has been in adulthood!) has been a blessing. I love the history and nostalgia far more than the new stuff, so Disneyland holds a special place in my heart (as previous blog posts have shared). That I'm walking in Walt's footsteps makes Disneyland that much more special and I can forgive that it's less inclusive than Walt Disney World.

I am the first of our group that will make it into SoCal. I get in several hours before check in for the hotel, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed that they'll have our room ready early, otherwise I'm going to be smelling like airplane in their very small lobby for hours.

Gotta admit, they are pretty adorable together. Disgusting.

Erin & Wess - My "beastie" and her boy. Back in 2010 on the Road Trip From Hell we decided that to celebrate our 30th birthdays we would do a Disney cruise. It was something neither of us had done yet, and so we wanted to try something new. We also decided that since we went to Disney World on my birthday (January 2009) that we'd go around Erin's birthday this time. Considering Erin does not do birthdays very well (think Joey in "The One Where They All Turn 30") I figured she'd have more fun with the Mouse and company. It'd take her mind off of it a bit.

But as time drew near for the trip, we began pricing it out and it we kept wanting the park experience again. Then Erin met a boy. *cue dramatic music* Things changed. The two quickly fell in love (disgusting) and before long there were wedding bells. I headed for Montana and watched my best friend marry her best friend. But, before their wedding day I made the announcement to Erin and Wess that I thought that instead of a girls only trip, that Wess should come along with us on the 30th birthday celebration. I think I shocked both of them as I had been pretty adamant that it needed to stay a girls only thing. But, the three of us were getting along, and Wess has never been to a Disney Park.

We need to fix that. So the two of them are coming, and Erin and I just laugh like crazy evil people because we know Wess has NO idea what he's getting into with the two of us at Disney. The poor man. He'll need a lot of prayer this September for his sanity. But I have a feeling he will have a great time.

Erin and I met our freshman year of high school and became fast friends. We still don't know how that happened exactly, but Erin says it's too late for me to ditch her now. They say if you remain friends after 10 years you will always be friends. This year marks our 15th year of friendship. We're stuck with each other. And I am SO glad we are. I can't wait to celebrate with her. It's been over a year since we last gave each other a hug and smacked each other, we've only a month and a half left to go... the countdown is going to take forEVER.

Wess and Erin get in late on the 14th (many hours after me) so I will hopefully get to nap while I wait for them to make it to the hotel and then WATCH OUT ANAHEIM!

We've been great friends for 10 years, and we'll finally "meet!"

Aimee - my beautiful friend from Buffalo! We met online during our days as massive Star Wars fangirls (okay, well, nerds). It was about 10 years ago and it was through our greatestjournal accounts. It's crazy to think how much we've grown and changed and our friendship is soooooo unlikely, but thanks to "social media" and the interwebs here we are. I've made some pretty great friendships over the years online, but Aimee holds a special place in my heart. She's definitely one of the people I trust with a lot, and she keeps me honest! Ha ha. She definitely keeps me laughing.

Aimee coming on this trip happened rather... quickly... back in December. I blogged about it back in May. Aime and Erin share the same birthday so they will be the birthday twins on this trip. It will be Aimee's first time to the West Coast. We'd joked for years that we'd no doubt end up meeting for the first time at a Disney Park and now it's HAPPENING! I think I'm more excited for THAT than actually GOING to Disney!

Aimee is just as big a Disney nerd as I am, so I want to make sure that Disneyland is a special event for her. I'm sure it will be, but I have a feeling Wess and Erin will judge our fangirliness on all things Mr. Disney ha ha. Aimee gets in the day after the rest of us, and is only spending a few days (she has something called a job, psh!) but they'll be jam packed with Disney as well as the beach and a little bit of Hollywood. Gotta make sure that if she comes all this way she gets to experience the Pacific!


So there you have it! 48 days till DISNEY and BIRTHDAYS and FRIENDS!!!!!!!

Don't mind just little ol' me.

The first day of the 31 day blog challenge has me introducing myself with a "recent photo". This was taken back in December, but I still consider it recent. Hair is longer now, and the bangs grew out... hoping to get that taken care of in a few weeks. Just in time for my Disney trip mid-September.

How do you introduce pure awesome? I don't know, but if I could... well... okay, honestly? I wouldn't consider myself awesome. I'm just your typical Alaskan Grown woman trying to live her dreams, and be the best version of herself possible.

I was born and raised in South Central Alaska and still live here. After living on my own for a time I am back living with the parental units. I'm slowly but surely becoming "an adult" as I near that "dreaded" (at least by most) milestone of 30. Just a few months now. I've never really feared it, I'm more that girl in 13 Going on 30... I'm waiting to embrace it. "Thirty, flirty, and thriving!"

I am a tv and film junkie. My heroes are Walt Disney and Steven Spielberg. At one time my dream was to become a film director, but life has a way of changing priorities. I'm a photographer - have been since I was seven - and that's how I choose to tell my stories. I love my craft and am always trying to better myself at it. After 20+ years I know I will never tire of learning.

I'm outspoken, I'm honest, and I value loyalty above all else. This can be a blessing and a curse as I definitely do not trust easy, but once I do trust there's nothing I won't do for a person. I don't see this as something that I need to work against, but one that I need to acknowledge and use to my advantage. But I can see where some people think I've an unhealthy view of life. I'm not depressed or a recluse, but I could live as a hermit quite easily in today's world of social media!

While I try to be guarded, I still wear my heart on my sleeve. I'm quicker to temper than I'd like to be, and I'm not good at hiding my feelings even when I do hold my tongue.

I've been hurt, I've been scarred. I've learned that trust must always be earned and not given. That blood and family mean everything, but can also be the biggest hurt. That working through that takes time, and means more hurting - and more changes - than you think possible. There's so much I have inside me that begs to be let out, but can't due to things beyond my control. There's so much within me that wants to talk about it, but to those that I can talk about it they don't want to hear...

All this to say I'm a walking contradiction. But by the grace of God I move forward and move on and am blessed beyond measure. I'm random, rambling, and quite dull (ha ha?).

Anyway, I'm not sure how good I am at introducing myself. I'm not super creative with these sorts of things (just see my bio). So I apologize if this is boring, or redundant, or just stupid. It happens. 

And, just because I can... Michael Raymond-James being adorable as
Britt Pollack in the short lived Terriers on FX.