by Sarah | Feb 18, 2016 | All About Denver, All About Erik, All About Family, All About Kennedy, All About Me, All About Molly, All of Us, Disney, Make-A-Wish, Redefining Perfect
We once again had the mixed blessing of a Make-A-Wish trip to Disney and Universal. How it came about wasn’t intentional, in fact the wish was originally something much different.
When we had our first meeting with Make-A-Wish Denver thought he’d hate Disney, that Kennedy’s wish would be awful, and he’d be so bored. His wish was to meet Sir Patrick Stewart. We were warned that celebrity wishes were difficult and took a long time to fulfill. So we waited.
I planned Kennedy’s trip in the few months we had, and we ended up going in pretty blind.
We had an amazing trip, as I’ve documented here (and will continue to do so), and all too soon we returned home. Although Denver returned home a changed teen, we thought that was it.
A few months later I got the fateful email – Denver’s original wish to meet Sir Patrick Stewart would not be able to come to fruition. He was working 27 hour days on the set of his new show and they couldn’t make it happen. Did Denver want to change his second wish?
Boy, did he ever. He wasn’t sure Make-A-Wish could make it happen because we’d just been, but if we could, could we return to Disney?
Turns out, they could, and so we were going to return to Disney!
Denver wasn’t done there, though.
To top of the already magical wish of a Disney vacation – he wanted to invite his grandparents (only my mother went).
And then he wanted to take it a step further.
He wanted to completely surprise his sisters.
So for seven months we kept the secret, barely at times.
The story of the reveal is one for another day, but suffice it to say, it went over very well and we made the amazing return to Disney.
We did more, saw more. Had better times, and some not-so-great times. We went on every coaster, sometimes twice. We took chances, we met princesses and dined with them.
We met villains and Eeyore and Mad Hatters.
The return was a breathtaking celebration, the fate of our family as a Disney family sealed. The future goals of our son irrevocably changed.
Once again their is so much to tell. So much that will come out over the course of the next few months. I’ll continue our stories from the first year and add in those from the second.
Needless to say. If we weren’t before – we are a Disney family now.
by Sarah | Feb 16, 2016 | All About Me, All of Us, Blogging Life, Redefining Perfect
Last year I decided to commit myself to do some things, 30 days at a time. I have a long list of things to try, but I thought I’d do them one at time at first so I wouldn’t overwhelm myself. In October I thought I’d take on the challenge of doing my makeup for 30 days. Whether I worked or not, I would put on makeup every day.
There was a big problem with this.
I have never in my life been successful at makeup.
You’d think having grown up as a dancer and then in theater that I’d have some clue, but honestly I didn’t. I rarely wore it because any time I tried I looked like I had full-on cake. It wasn’t nice, or pretty or, well…it was a mess.
So I did what any first world girl would do.
I took to YouTube.
I looked up tutorials, suggested makeups, everything I could get my hands on.
I studied, I took a deep breath, picked up a handful of supplies, and dove in.
For 30 days straight, through work, home days, lazy days, and a trip to Disney I put on makeup.
Some days it was little more than concealer and mascara.
In the insanely hot days in Florida it was a light base, and some eye makeup. Simple, but enough to add a little oomph.
And what happened?
I loved it.
I actually took more selfies.
I was more confident.
I felt pretty.
I found that even a little effort in the morning helped boost my esteem and my mood.
Due to excuses I shouldn’t be making, I’ve fallen back out of the habit, but hope to get back into it.
I’ve been on the anti-makeup bandwagon for a long time…but I can’t say it was for any noble reason – because it was real laziness.
For me the makeup became about more than my 30 day project, and it was more about changing my appearance (I’ve seen those insanely drastic change videos and it’s insane, I couldn’t handle that). It was about covering up a few flaws (like genetically awful dark circles), and enhancing the good things. Adding a little life to my features, and taking care of my skin in between the applications.
I felt like a better version of myself.
And isn’t that what it’s all about?
by Sarah | Feb 15, 2016 | Books, Tuesday Tales, Writing
Welcome back to Tuesday Tales! This weeks prompt is Beat.
And I’m back with my little short story fantasy series. This week I’m going to return to the princesses most favored handmaiden, Zathe. Zathe has the unique trait of orange eyes, which are common in the royalty of the neighboring land, Ustrington, though Zathe is not of that lineage. Also, her ability to detect and nullify poisons makes her the top handmaiden in the castle.
Today she is going to see her brother, Dryn, off on his quest to gather this years plentiful crop of prapples from the hag. And so we meet Dryn through his sister’s eyes:
Zathe rushed through the corridors and down the stairs fast as she dared. To behave improperly would draw the ire of the Queen herself. Though Zathe herself might be safe from personal punishment due to her vital role in the safety of the princess, her family was not free from the impact of her actions.
After they’d had their morning meal, Zathe had been granted leave to see her brother off on his quest for the prapples. As the quest had never been undertaken by anyone she knew, she was curious what it would entail. All she did know was at best he would return with enough prapples to last a year.
At worst, his memory of the event would be wiped and he’d be injured. Such things had happened to men sent to the task, and she couldn’t help but fear for her brother.
She knew her mother would be granted no such leave to see off her son, so Zathe took the task ahead of her seriously. Perhaps on her way back into the castle she would slip through the kitchens to tell the all-too-brief tale of Dryn’s departure.
Zathe stepped into the bright sunlight of the courtyard, relishing in the warmth of the day after the cool halls of stone inside. She and her brother had always preferred the outdoors, though her life hadn’t lent to it, Dryn was blessed enough to work outside the castle.
Though he had no magic, his skill with horses had left him in charge of the stables at a young age. As such, he was more well-fed and clothed than a normal stable boy. More than that, he was granted his own private cabin on the edge of the grounds, and a horse of his choosing.
Truth be told, Zathe was a smidgeon jealous of her brothers freedom to roam about the grounds. Zathe was sentenced to a life at the princess’s side at all times, and though her skill was with plants, Ani hardly left the castle walls.
Zathe approached the large cart in front of her brother’s cabin hesitantly. She saw no sign of her brother about, but two large beasts were hooked to the cart in place of horses. Xorns were ugly creatures with large horns that could gore a man, but made good beasts of burden for crops and large loads if you could control them.
The creatures had always frightened her, so she made a wide berth around the cart. “Dryn? Are you inside?”
“There you are!” The familiar voice startled her from behind. When she turned, she found the matching orange-hued eyes of her brother alit with mischief. “I knew you’d break free today to see me off, sister.”
“I was granted permission, I did no such thing as break free.” She grinned despite her chiding and embraced him. In the six months since she’d seen him last, he’d filled out even more until he was larger than any Estarian male she’d met. “You’d do best to remember that ‘free’ is something we are not.”
“One day we will be.”
“Hush. If you are heard, you know there would be consequences. Not for us, but they would beat our mother to make us suffer. We are not free.” Her smile disappeared as she spoke. While a small piece of her wished for such a thing, she didn’t carry the hope her brother did. She blamed his freedom outside the castle walls for his carelessness. “You spend too much time in the air. You’d do well to remember your place.”
“I’m sorry, sister.” He kissed her forehead and folded her into his arms. “I always forget how you gained all the worry that I did not in the womb, and I gained all the bravado you shunned and continue to hide from.”
“Because for myself bravado is dangerous. You need them to deal with such things as those ugly Xorns.”
“They hear you. You wouldn’t fear them so much if you saw beyond your fear.” He clasped her hand and dragged her around the front of the cart. “Stop squirming.”
She tried to do as he said when one of the Xorn fixed its wild yellow eye on her. With her fists clenched tight as her stomach she stood rigid beside her twin.
“Relax. Give me your hand.” Dryn lifted her arm. With one swipe of his palm, her fist opened to lie flat above the animals nose. “He won’t hurt you, though you hurt his feelings. Gently now, rest your hand here.”
Before she could offer any protest over the lump of fear in her throat, her palm was on the Xorns large, flat nose. She gasped in surprise at the smooth, velvety surface. “Goodness. I had no idea their fur was so soft. It’s softer than a horse.”
“And a horse is only soft on the nose, the rest of the fur is tough and scratchy. The Xorn are like silk strands of a spider web, but tougher still. See? They aren’t so bad, perhaps you should apologize to Norf.”
“Norf? You named him Norf?” She cast a sideways glance his direction, but he merely shrugged in response.
“It’s his name. I didn’t say I named him.”
Zathe turned back to the creature and sighed. “Well, then I am sorry, Norf. Please forgive me, and take care of Dryn on your journey. He worries me with his brashness, and I would like to see him again.”
The Xorn bowed its head low enough for her to see a star shaped patch of green fur between his horns before he straightened again.
“I’ll not upset the hag, Zathe. I will do nothing to leave this place until I can take you with me. I promise you that much.”
“Dryn, you promised.” She continued to pet the animal’s nose, but her gaze automatically scanned the area for fear of someone overhearing them.
“Sorry.”
“How is it you know I insulted him? He is an animal.”
“That is something you shouldn’t ask if you fear beatings for our kin, Zathe.” He kissed her temple. “Now I must go. My journey is long, and circuitous. I am to leave it to Norf and Hef to guide me, and they say we will be gone days.”
“You don’t even know where you’re going?”
“No. In fact I am to sleep for part of the journey and leave it to the Xorn.”
“Then I will ask the Goddess to keep you safe, and trust the Xorn to help you stay that way.” Zathe hugged him tight. “Be careful, Dryn. Please be kind to the hag should you see her.”
“I promise. I will do nothing to cause myself or our kin harm on my journey.”
“Thank you. When you return we will know when the ball shall be. You’ll attend, won’t you?”
“Why? I am no more destined for a match than yourself.” Their unique skills left them both cursed to a life without a match.
“Beautiful women in finery to dance with. They don’t know you will never be their match when you are in a mask.”
“You do know how to tempt me.”
“Plus, it gives us an excuse to be able to see each other again without having to wait six months this time.”
“And you have won this argument.”
She grinned. “Good. Be safe, Dryn.”
“You do the same.”
*~*
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by Sarah | Feb 10, 2016 | All About Me, All of Us, I'm A Reader, Redefining Perfect
January is the time for resolutions and goals and all that sort of thing. I’m not a big resolution girl, but every year in January I set goals on Goodreads. Once again, I went for 50 books this year, and I’ve already got a start on it. So, I’m a little late this month (thanks sickness), but here’s what I read in January (into the first of February), and what I’m currently reading, or plan on reading. (Yes, I read a lot of books at the same time. shush)
What I’ve Read
Harry Potter and The Socerer’s Stone – What? Again? Yup. I’m still in the middle of reading the entire series aloud w/ my baby girl…but I wanted to sit down and just read them through fast, rather than a chapter a night. She’s decided to do the same too. We’ve also been watching them (again)…we might have a problem. Then again, if a Harry Potter obsession is wrong, I do not want to be right. As always, I enjoyed the first book, even on my fourth read-through. It’s a bit juvenile (I always found the first 2 that way), but it’s clearly geared toward that age and not an adult…but I still love it. I like to get lost in the magical world all over again. It just makes me happy 🙂
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You’re Never Weird on the Internet (Almost) – OMG, I want Felicia Day to be my best friend. We could just sit around and be weird together all day long. If you’ve been around these parts for any length of time, you know that I don’t do NF books…like ever. If I do, I almost always hate them. Not this one, not by a long shot. I have never been a “Gamer Girl”, but I have been a nerd, a geek, and insanely awkward and lacking in social skills. Everything about this book was relatable, and funny. A NF book I was so happy I took a chance on. I’d always enjoyed The Guild, and thought she was fun and quirky on facebook, so I took a gamble to borrow this from the library. Very happy Felicia didn’t disappoint. So lovely. 🙂
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Flunked – Well, it was a fractured fairy tale of sorts…a bit of a new world of classic Fairy Tales. It was fun, a quick read. Did it rock my world? Eh. Would I read book 2? Sure! Will I clear my TBR pile to do it? Probably not.
Illuminae – I have a bad habit of reading books that people I know RAVE about and not loving them. That was the case with this. It wasn’t horrible, I actually sort of enjoyed the storyline. I think a lot of my disappointment had to do with the format I read it in. Just about everyone says the hard cover is GORGEOUS and that’s what makes this book so astoundingly wonderful. I read it on Kindle (library borrow. I swore to stop spending so much on books this year). Apparently in Kindle it loses way too much. Beyond that, the format threw me off. It was all chat transcripts and military files, etc. I suppose in the “beautiful” layout of the hard cover print book it makes more sense. I might borrow it that way once I can just to see what all the fuss is about.
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What I’m Reading
Harry Potter & the Chamber of Secrets – In my fourth solo read of this one. Actually, almost done really, probably in the next day or two I’ll finish it up. I like this one, but it’s not my favorite. I like the next as the themes start to get a little darker and more intense. Still, it’s Harry Potter and I always enjoy the ride.
Harry Potter & the Order of the Phoenix – In my out loud reading with the little, we are at about 1/4 of the way through. Unfortunately, though we’d been off to a great start, things stalled with my laryngitis. Hopefully once I get my voice back we’ll get rolling again. This one is a LONG one, and I’ve always found it the most depressing (so. much. angst.) But, we’re working on it and we’ll get through. 🙂
Marked – I got this ages and ages ago on netgalley and never read it. Now that I’ve taken a peak inside I have to wonder what’s taken me so long. The world building is stunning, and I’m looking forward to seeing how it progresses.
Anna Dressed in Blood – A recommendation from my fabulous editor (who I always listen to). It’s been on my TBR for a while, but when I saw her review I snatched it up. Really enjoying it, but am afraid to read it at night so it’s going slooow. lol. I need to hurry up, though b/c it’s a library borrow and I need to return it!
The Last Place on Earth – This was a Goodreads First Reads win…and it’s actually an ARC, so I’m super excited to read it and hope I manage before the book releases at the end of the month. I’ve just started it and so far it’s okay…but I’m only 15 pages in so I don’t have so much in opinions yet. 🙂
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What I’m Reading Next
Red Rising – Another Goodreads First Reads win…I’ve been wanting to read it forever, though. I hope it doesn’t go the way of the other hugely popular books that I end up feeling ambivalent about. I’m really excited for it. I actually won this before The Last Place on Earth, but as the other is an ARC, I’m wanting to get it done. Fingers crossed it’s as good as everyone says it is!!
Let’s Pretend This Never Happened – Another NF. I have it on hold at the library. I’ve been a fan/FB-friend of Jenny for ever and a day, but never read this. Even though I don’t normally like NF books (see above), I’ve always enjoyed Jenny’s posts. There is a huge line for this one, so I’m waiting patiently.
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And that’s where I’m at for now. More books coming in the near-future I’m sure. Here’s hoping I get through them all quick. 😀
by Sarah | Jan 25, 2016 | All About Denver, All of Us, Redefining Perfect, The Teenager
This past week has been a momentous one. Denver turned 18, and got his driver’s license. I am so proud of the man he’s become, but before I extol on the virtues of the man he’s become…I wanted to bring back this oldie but goodie birthday post of the past, nice and loaded with pictures of the younger Denver..because what would a birthday be without a little look back to the past?
Time sometimes flies like a bird, sometimes crawls like a snail; but man is happiest when he does not even notice whether it passes swiftly or slowly.
~Ivan Turgeney
Eighteen years ago as I was in labor, I still thought he was a girl. The ultrasound said girl. Everyone said girl.
My dreams said boy.
My morning walk to induce labor I stopped not at the girls clothes rack, but at the tiny little suits, ooh-ing and ahh-ing over the teensy little ties.
After three false labors I was forced to sit in the hotel room my Mom had reserved until I “Finally” stopped screwing around and gave birth already. (For the record, Denver was only 1.5 hours “early” for his due date.) When my contractions were finally 3 minutes apart, my mom called my OB, who then demanded to know why we waited. She, in her dry and sarcastic glory informed him that she wasn’t about to take me in if I wasn’t going to actually have the baby.
And so Denver made me a parent. With his perfectly round head and surprise appendage that made him decidedly NOT a girl, & made me wonder how in hell I was going to raise a boy.
But he was perfect.
The gorgeous blue of his eyes made me fall in love in an instant.
Everything on time. Every milestone reached at JUST the right moment. Every clothing size changing right at it’s declared time (0-3 months? Gone at three months. 3-6? Gone at six…it was eerie).
He was happy. Smart. Playful. Loving.
He was my world.
He was my mom and dad’s world.
The first born grandchild. The first born great-grandchild.
The star.
Our family grew. It changed.
Not always in the best, most fair ways for him.
It never made him less loved.
In many ways, being the parent of a teen is infinitely harder than raising the young ones. He isn’t satisfied with easy answers. He sees the world around him in such a different light. He sees things that a younger child wouldn’t. He understands and absorbs everything. Things that I sometimes haven’t the slightest idea how to explain to him, to clarify.
In his heart – he is a good kid, nay, he’s an excellent adult. He is smart. He is loving.
He is annoyed with his parents. Embarrassed that his mother has a tattoo and plans more. He hates failure. He strives to do his best and no one is harder on him when he fails than himself. Interested in photography. Science. Math. Writing. Cross Country.
He dreams big dreams. Of working at Disney to bring joy to others. Of volunteering at Give Kids the World to spread the love and caring he received at that marvelous place.
He achieves big things. Advancements in Boy Scouts, Junior Honor Society.
He struggles to fit in.
He is 18.
In so many ways.
He is my baby.
In so many ways – he always will be.
Happy birthday to my oldest, my first born.
18 is a big number. But you’re just getting started.