When You Wish Upon A Star

"A dream is a wish your heart makes..." - Cinderella

OK, I'm going to very carefully try to describe my sweet, loving, and eternal obsession with all things Disney. For me Disney neither beings nor ends with Disneyland, Walt Disney World, Epcot, or anything else in-between. Disney is a mind set, a way of life, a religious (not to be confused with religion) experience. The feeling that I get when I'm at one of the parks, or watching one of the movies, or even just writing about it is one of pure joy. In fact, I have been known to cry at the famous words of Walt,

To all who come to this happy place; welcome. Disneyland is your land. Here age relives fond memories of the past and here youth may savor the challenge and promise of the future. Disneyland is dedicated to the ideals, the dreams and the hard facts that have created America with the hope that it will be a source of joy and inspiration to all the world.
-Walt Disney July 17, 1955 (opening day at Disneyland)

Disneyland is my happy place and with my recent Disney discovery I feel untouchable. I was so excited I almost cried - I know, enough with the inappropriate emotional reactions to Disney things - when I learned about Kristie Kelly and Pascal Mouawad. To preface my explanation of who these two phenomenal people are I will explain a little about my childhood:

Every little girl watches Disney movies about true love where the characters just look at each other and their weddings are planned instantaneously. The magic and the love and the songs are a thrilling combination of everything we are raised to believe is real. OK, now, I know what I said earlier in my blog about being obsessed with wedding and not considering the marriage that follows, BUT, Disney can by-pass this and I am allowed to pour hours upon hours during my day into frivolous "I'm not getting married but wouldn't this be the coolest idea for a wedding" planning. There are other "freaks" like me out there dreaming about Prince Charming and what it will be like when he rides up on his horse (why is that guy always on a horse?) and at long last we can all rest assured that dreams really do come true. (Thanks, Cinderella)

So, now I can explain Ms. Kelly and Mr. Mouawad (modern day heroes if you ask me). Kristie Kelly is a designer; more specifically she is a wedding gown designer. And in Kristie's ingeniousness she decided to design a line of dresses made specifically for weirdos like ME!!! What does that mean? It means that this woman understand me better than anyone in the entire world. SHE MADE WEDDING DRESSES INSPIRED BY DISNEY'S PRINCESSES!!! I know, I know, I should probably calm down, it's only dresses, right? WRONG! This is so much more than dresses, this is dreams coming true and not only for me but for every little girl in the world who ever dreamed of utter perfection. As for Mr. Pascal Mouawad...

Pascal Mouawad is a jewelry designer to the stars. (He created the $12.5 million diamond bra for Victoria Secret, designed pieces for Heidi Klum, Seal, Nicole Richie, Kim Kardashian, and more). Continuing in the ingeniousness; Kristie and Pascal got together and now there is a Disney princess collection of engagement and wedding band rings! There is a ring for each princess and it's another dream come true.

So, I will end like this: every girl is a princess and deserves to be treated like one. Disney may have give us unrealistic expectations for our love lives, but who cares. Disney instilled the feeling of belonging, being beautiful, family, and if you really wish maybe someday your prince will come and you will know "True Love's Kiss".

We Coule Be Heroes Just For One Day

As a kid I always wanted a superpower. It would have satisfied me to no end even if I was just Mathilda powerful (i.e.: capable of moving things with my mind). Alas I grew up as average as the next Joe but that didn't keep me from dreaming about it. Now that I'm older I would still love a superpower but I think that my superpower would be the ability to read minds.

I guess I should re-phrase my wish. I wouldn't want to read all minds all the time; that would be too loud. I would be a selective mind reader. It would be so useful for getting the truth out of people or those difficult conversations where you just don't know what the other person is really thinking. I think that this would be especially helpful in talking to my boss. Imagine you're in a meeting asking for a promotion, a raise, or whatever you have finally mustered the courage to ask about; your boss is just sitting there in the chair across from you with a desk the size of kitchen island between you staring at you with an intensity that rivals Madame Tussaud's creations and you're sweating like a contender in the Kentucky Derby when you remember that you know what (s)he's thinking! Access granted! You're in! I mean, honestly, what a useful skill to have. And of course, "With great power comes great responsibility" so there must be a downside to this power, right?

The one downside that I could think of would be that I would know 100% without a doubt what that person is thinking. Well DUH! I would only be concerned because what if you found out something you didn't want to know? But sometimes you find things out about other people that you didn't want to know anyway, so I guess it's all the same. Everything in life has it's positive and negative attributes so I guess this would also fall into the same category.

What superpower would you have?

And One More Thing

Ooooops! Here's a world map. It might help some of you :)

Traveling Bucket List

I have decided, although not recently, that there are hundreds of places that I want to go before I die. So, what better place to write them all down and keep track than right here! (FYI: These are not in order and I have already been to some of these places)

1. New Zealand
2. Australia (specifically the South East)
3. The Netherlands
4. The Bahamas
5. Costa Rica
6. Brazil
7. Egypt
8. South Africa
9. Kenya
10. Jamaica
11. Spain
12. France
13. The UK
14. Germany
15. Sweden
16. Switzerland
17. Russia
18. India
19. Thailand
20. China
21. Japan
22. Indonesia
23. The Philippines
24. Alaska
25. New York
26. Tennessee
27. Michigan
28. Ohio
29. Texas
30. Georgia
31. North Carolina
32.Washington State
33. Oregon
34. Washington D.C.
35. Maine
36. Massachusetts
37. Connecticut
38. Ireland (I thought this was on there)
39. Fiji

Feel free to add to my list of places you think I should go OR more specific places contained within places on my list.

My Life in Song... By Ben Harper

Using only song names from one artist I have decided to answer the following questions... Feel free to re-post or comment...

Pick your artist:
Ben Harper

Are you a male or female?:
"The Woman In You"

Describe yourself:
"Forgiven"

How do you feel?
"Like A King"

Describe where you currently live:
"In The Lord's Arms"

If you could go anywhere, where would you go?
"So High So Low"

Your favorite form of transportation:
"Two Hands"

Your best friend is:
"Beloved One"

You and your best friends are:
"Faded"

What's the weather like?
"Not Fire Not Ice"

Favorite time of day:
"I'll Rise"

If your life was a TV show, what would it be called?
"Glory and Consequence"

What is life to you?
"Forever"

Your last relationship:
"Pleasure and Pain"

Your fear?
"Alone"

What is the best advice you have to give:
"Walk Away"

Thought for the day?
"Burn One Down"

How you would like to die:
"Having Wings"

Your soul's present condition:
"Younger Than Today"

Your motto:
"I Shall Not Walk Alone"

It's the End of the World As We Know It

I am absolutely convinced that technology is one of the creepiest and most detrimental things on the planet. Let's think about this for a minute...

I'm sitting here typing on a computer - something that I do everyday (Monday - Friday) all day long but today it seems different. Today when I sat down I realized that some rando out there could be reading this half way across the world. So I turn my iPod on and try not to think about it. Get it? Maybe it's hard for my generation to wrap their minds around the fact that at some point Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, and even Blogger did not exist. But if I think back on my childhood I don't remember sitting at a computer or in front of the TV playing video games and watching movies in HD on my parents Blu-Ray player. I didn't have an iPod Touch or a cell phone. We didn't even have a CD player or a cordless phone! What I do remember is playing with my friends, swimming in the summer, and being outside playing sports. And those are good, happy, healthy memories for kids to have.

So I guess my gripe about this new generation on kids who were raised with the entire world (literally) at their fingertips is this: They don't seem to fully appreciate anything unless it's the faster, newest, shiniest thing on the block. What happened to the days where kids wanted to play outside in the dirt and playgrounds were the coolest thing around? And "tag" wasn't "so super lame"? I feel like this new generation doesn't understand that it's the little things in life that are important. They need to learn that they aren't invincible. Personal interjection: Should my next line begin "Those whipper-snappers..."? But that's not the point. (What is?)

My point is that I think we should take time each day to fully appreciate what God has given each one of us. He blesses us in so many ways it's hard to remember them all, but it's definitely worth a shot. Take time to call your partner, your mom, your dad, your brother, your sister, your grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, and who ever else you deem important in your life and tell them how much you love them. Because in life time is not something that you can earn more of. So take everyday at face value, love those who love you, and don't waste your energy and life on those that hurt you and let you down.

First Comes Love...

... Then Comes Marriage... Then Comes a Screaming Little Person in a Stroller...

Alright, well maybe I'm being a little cynical about the last part; which to be completely honest, is a change, because I use to hate the first part. BUT that is not what this is about here. I'm here to be cynical about the turkey in the sandwich, the cream filling in my Twinkies, the raspberry jelly in my morning doughnut: MARRIAGE. (Dang! All those food references and now I'm hungry).

Don't get me wrong, I think marriage is a wonderful, beautiful, amazing thing - when it's done right; however, to the single girl, marriage might as well be a death sentence. I kid you not, I have friends who cry about being single, or not so much about being single but about being un-wed. As if not being married is the worst thing that could ever happen to a woman today.

Now, because my blog is about being completely candid, I am going to put things in perspective, I use to be one of these girls. (And to be totally personally revealing, my boyfriend would still consider me one). Yes, yours truly was that girl. I was obsessed with everything wedding-like. Please take note of how I did NOT say "marriage-like" and this is because I was not so concerned about the marriage as I was the wedding itself; and I don't think I'm the only one.

I believe, and don't you worry, I'm not alone, that the majority of women are a little - if not a lot - obsessed with weddings. I'm convinced there's something in the water (and no, V.V. Brown, it's not a shark). But whatever it is has its jaws of life clenched around us like a bad thriller film and after this past weekend I realize more than ever why. Weddings are fun for everyone (with the possibly exception of the bride). And who doesn't want to go to a party?

The wedding that I went to over the weekend was a blast. The vows were beautiful, the dress was amazing, the entire event was planned within an inch of its life. I kid you not, the bride put popsicle-sticks on the ground to mark where the wedding party should stand. So if a wedding is suppose to ultimately about marriage, why are we all so wrapped up in the party?

Spreading My Wings

Meeting new people. Interesting, right? Ehhhh, maybe. OK, yes... most of the time. Meeting new people who have no interest in meeting you, not so much.

So you meet someone new and you get to talking about all the "politically correct" topics - you know, those which are socially accepted that I usually can't stand - i.e.: job, spouse, family, work, etc. which seems to be going well all while I'm wondering when I'm actually going to get to start to know the person. (Personal interjection: I believe this is why some people would refer to me as "prying" or "nosey") And then, just because I've been trying to avoid the topic like I would Black Death, it back hands me like a pimp to a ho: Where did you grow up?

I would like to say that I'm from a small town but that may or may not be a lie. Here's how it works: I grew up in a town of approximately 90,000 people - this is today's current estimate. This is small to some people (myself clearly included) and exceedingly large to others; however, no matter the stance on this opinion (or fact) I feel like I am constantly receiving the same response from people which is as follows, "WHAT?!?!? What do you mean you've never moved?!?! You mean you've NEVER moved?". I guess I should have said that I still live in the town that I grew up in and no, I have NEVER moved. Well, I mean, I've moved houses but the furthest I've ever lived away from my childhood home is 15 minutes. Now my question is: Who the flip cares?

And the answer is, and I am a ever-so-slightly embarrassed to admit this, I think I just might be. Now, don't get me wrong, there is nothing wrong with my hometown or family - also, that might be an omission of truth - but I really have never experienced anything else. I am charmingly referred to a "Bubble Girl" which I honorably accept as nothing less than fabulous but cringe at the thought that there are things in the world that I am doe-eyed at the thought of. Prime example of this fact: sophomore year in college I thought my roommate was making up "The Projects". I kid you not, I thought that this group of government subsidized community housing was something that was made up for Law and Order SUV or music videos by TuPac. But that's not exactly my point. My point is this: as much as my parents and I hate to admit it, I have lived in a privileged style and I don't know a lot about life. I am open to suggestions about where I should move. Slap 'em down and let me know what you think.

The Beginning

OK, so all of a million years ago when blogging was a young, naive child I wrote to strangers online about my life. Hind-sight being at least 20-20 my parents should have monitored my internet usage more closely. Honestly, who let's their 12 year old daughter get on the internet and share intimate (as intimate as a 12 year old can be) details of her life? Well, apparently, mine. But that lasted all of maybe 5 posts because of course I got bored with it and left it in the dust with the multitude of McDonald's Happy Meal toys that I had acquired over the years.

Needless to say I've grown up since I was 12, about twice as much, and I find myself sitting at a computer again writing to strangers. But this time it's different. I sit here in my corner office with a view and my six-figure salary... Alright, not really. I live the Corporate America "cube life". I'm not going to glorify my job. I work in a call center with 8 people surrounding me on all sides answering phones all day. I'm surrounded by boobs - which is not a reference to the co-workers surrounding me, although it could be in some cases - but rather to the fact the I work for a world-wide, well-known, and sometimes respected company that manufactures and distributes breast implants (amongst many other products). And no, I know what some of you may be thinking, I do not endorse nor have I used, use, or will use the products. But that's neither here nor there. And while some of you are concerned and contemplating on whether or not I'm slowly poisoning my body with silicone gel, others of your may be questioning the very odd title of this blog...

Nomz, Deets, and Peaches. All three of these words hold a special meaning but I'm not going to tell you... Yet. I mean, if I tell you now you might never read again and then I will be therapeutically writing for myself - weird concept! And so the adventure continues (I would like to say begins but I've been living since before I started before this blog and chances are I will continue afterward as well).