by Sarah | Jan 17, 2019 | All About Family, All of Us, Blogging Life, Disney, DisneyTips, Redefining Perfect, Universal
I haven’t been to Disney hundreds of times (yet. Give me a couple years), but I’ve been my fair share.
I’ve done it with crazy intensity, and in a casual jaunt.
I’ve done Disneyland (finally), and Disney World.
I’ve picked up a few tips along the way. And while there re blogs across the web, I wanted to hand out my own Disney advice I’ve learned along the way, and tips I’ll be learning as I begin to go more frequently.
My first tip is – Don’t Overschedule.
There is a LOT to do at Disney. So much, you could go every day of the year and not get it all done.
Once more for the people in the back…
You cannot get everything done at Disney in one trip.
Seriously.
My BEST trips have been when we didn’t have a ton of stuff planned. We had vague ideas of what we wanted to see, key points we wanted to hit…but there wasn’t “THE LIST” or reservations or anything like that.
Do your research, sure.
Make A reservation (maybe 2) of places you really want to eat. Don’t scatter your trip with reservations every day that you have to make it to by a certain time because there are so many variables like wait times and travel time and crowd levels and potty breaks. Though there’s flexibility in your arrival times…it’s still undue pressure you don’t need.
There are so many places at Disney that are counter service and don’t require a reservation and many of them are GOOD (and many also now offer mobile pickup, which we’ll cover another time because YAY). They’re scattered along your route in the park and easy to drop in, grab and get back on the route.
This is MOST key, I think, if this is your first ever trip – ESPECIALLY on your first ever trip with your kids.
Be flexible. Be open. On your research, take note of the restaurants in the areas you plan to be in so you don’t get a bad one (we did our first trip. We still joke about the awfulness…yes, it does happen).
OR…don’t plan.
AT.ALL.
Our first trip with the kids I had vague notes of things I really wanted us to hit, but otherwise it was a free-for-all. The good (and bad) parts of the trip are still ALL good memories. We joke about the bad food, we joke about the painful seats on Molly’s first roller coaster (in an area we had NO designs on going in originally). Nothing we did on that trip was planned. It was amazeballs (and not just because of the Genie pass).
Year 2 was still great…but much more stressful because we had PLANS. We spent 7 months researching and planning and making meal reservations (only 1 of which was worth it…and it wasn’t a character dining…and they were all $$$)…and I was so stressed about “having” to be here or there that I didn’t have as much…FUN.
I experienced the same thing when we went last year with actual passes. The first time we went, hubby and I were able to just take things casual. We spent a lot of time at our resort pool. When the power went out, we headed to the boardwalk for ice cream. Our days in the park were cool and casual, very little ‘planned’ along the way. Unfortunately, later that same year when I took the girls my son decided he had to schedule us fast passes for everything under the sun which led to a lot of flurry of activity that was stressful, especially in the high crowds of Christmas week.
I don’t make this tip lightly, I promise. I come from a long line of planners. My dad loves to plan out vacations to the minute. I was super excited for that second Disney year because Denver and I had planned so much…but the planning robs the spontaneity and fun out of Disney.
Definitely, do your research. Think hard about how long you’re going and the crowd predictions and think about your “must-do’s”. Make some general plans…what park(s) what day…what key things to hit. Make a reservation or two (I’ve got some suggestions in later posts)…sketch out days lightly, don’t set them in stone with Sharpie’s…
Because at Disney – the fun is in the spontaneous and unpredictable.
Let yourself get pulled off course – that is where the fun is.
by Sarah | Jan 4, 2019 | 50 before 50, All About Denver, All About Erik, All About Family, All About Home, All About Kennedy, All About Me, All About Molly, All of Us, Bucket List, Community, Florida Dreaming, Oola, Personal, Redefining Perfect, Story of Me
Several years ago we decided that we wanted to leave the land of the midwest and journey south to Florida. Our son moved down two years ago, and his move rather cemented the idea in my head – and with a bit of nudging (or years, you know…potato/potahto), the husband was on board as well.
In 2017 we made actual plans to tackle our debt, get things in order to move in five years. 2022 seemed a good year. The girls would be nearly grown, and we could make our way down much more financially settled .
Eyes on the prize, we dug in. Lapses occurred, things bounced forward thanks to my new job, then went back again. You know, life. We did what we could.
Then, 2018 happened.
2018 brought about trigger points for many changes in our lives – and our future.
We found Oola in late 2017 and used it in 2018 to refocus our goals.
A slimy, underhanded, jerk of a man bought land on our quiet street and plans to build as many rentals as he can.
We were told in no uncertain terms to go for it.
Relationships in our life took turns.
Most of all – we got tired of waiting to chase our goal, and decided to make a mad grab for it.
In June we sat down and had a good long talk and decided we didn’t want to stay here any longer. We decided we were done waiting for our life to happen. We decided to go for broke and make the leap.
With a target date of mid-2019, we’ve set things in motion to move. In some ways we still don’t know how. Finding a job in another state, in a low level position is NOT easy. I’ve been at it six months, so I know. I took the holidays off, but come next week I’ll be back at it hard, with two letters of reference in hand to help boost my resume. I’m going in full bore. The husband is going in full bore.
This is going to happen one way or the other.
2019 is the year of redefining so many things in my life…but the biggest is how we’re going to redefine our future by no longer staying where we’re comfortable. We’re breaking out of our comfort zone. It’s terrifyingly exciting.
by Sarah | Jan 1, 2019 | All About Family, All About Home, All About Me, All of Us, Florida Dreaming, Oola, Personal, Redefining Perfect, Story of Me
Happy new year! Welcome to 2019, the year of possibility, of joy, of redefining so much.
2019 I went full on with another unusual word – yet not so much when you look at this blog.
REDEFINING.
2019 I’m going to redefine so much. Our lives, our family, our future.
I’ve struggled with many things in the past couple of years.
The meaning of friendship.
The meaning of peace.
Depression.
Balance.
Too much, vs. too little.
Oola.
My faith.
Being true to myself in every area.
Avoiding the world.
Trying to dive into the world.
My job changing.
My writing (or lack thereof).
My weight.
Myself.
As 2018 began to wind down much faster than it began, I’ve been digging in, holing up, searching myself and my heart.
I’ve found that I can look at all the inspirational memes I want in the world. I can echo mildly in my head their words and sentiments. I can cheer on others as they take steps or find new meaning.
But what good does any of that do if I don’t GO ALL IN.
This year I’m redefining myself. I’m going all in. I’m baring my soul, my true heart. I’m probably going to lose friends, but I’m probably going to gain friends, too. I’m going to be open, honest, wholehearted, unflinchingly myself – even when it’s uncomfortable to do so.
The only way to make true change is to make yourself uncomfortable. To step outside of the comfort zone.
To document this – I hope to keep this blog going, to keep myself in check, to see the changes as they come.
So, come on 2019 – let’s do this. I’m ready to be redefined.
by Sarah | Dec 31, 2018 | 50 before 50, All About Family, All About Indiana, All About Me, All of Us, Bucket List, Florida Dreaming, Redefining Perfect
Honestly, until last year, I’ve never picked a word for the year before. Not for lack of trying, but being the verbose nut that I am…coming up with just one word for a whole year seemed impossible.
Then, last year at the end of 2017 – a pretty darn good year where I kicked a few bucket list items out of the park, after I’d planned for some big things in 2018…I kept hearing this one word in my head.
MOMENTUM.
I thought that’s just too weird a word for an annual selection.
Still, the word kept coming back to me…and so, I ran with it.
A friend of mine does word art for year words and so I requested she make me some art with this crazy off-the-wall word.
And boy…what a YEAR it has been! There’s been ups and downs, all with such high intensity.
Books were released and re-released.
Friendships were ended.
Friendships were deepened.
We decided to make a HUGE change in our lives and are now planning to move to Florida to be near our son – and we’re working on it. Hard.
Our washer went out.
Erik had some pretty hefty health concerns.
I took big steps to further my career and learning.
I took a step back from writing.
My momentum crashed somewhere around September…and sort of went in reverse for a while.
I bordered on depression, but didn’t feel tipped over the edge.
I got to see my son 3 times – but didn’t get to see Florida once (~sigh~)
I found a great challenge near the end of the year to help me deepen my faith.
I quit smoking.
I failed to quit pop.
I’ve begun to refocus on my Oola again.
I’ve been up beyond ups….and pretty damn down at some times. This year passed by like it was on warp factor 9.9 with no time to breathe sometimes. I overworked myself, and then underworked myself. I struggled to find happy mediums, but happily spent some time in peace and quiet.
It’s been time to pick my word for 2019 again for a little while – and I did so about a month ago. It’s another weird one…but it has me pretty darn excited for what’s going to come in the new year.
You’ll see…pretty soon. 😉
by Sarah | Dec 21, 2017 | All About Erik, All About Family, Disney, Redefining Perfect
My husband has a big crush.
I suppose I should be jealous.
I mean, she’s super cute, sweet, clever, and talented.
It’s Tinkerbell.
I can’t compete with that…
except she’s a fairy.
So I can, a wee bit.
After all, he can’t forever live where they shrink you down to fairy size.
Right?
Right?
by Sarah | Dec 16, 2017 | All About Family, All About Kennedy, All About Me, All About Molly, All of Us, Blogging Life, Day Trippin', Redefining Perfect
Last year, I decided to take inspiration from Heather, and take my girls on a Day Trip. The boys were out of town on the voluntourism trip, I had a discount at a nearby aquarium thanks to work, and so I just did a last minute, “We’re doing this!!”
I took the girls out of school (*shock* *gasp* Oh, hush. It was an educational day, so I don’t care)…loaded them into the car, and off we went to the Newport Aquarium. A place I didn’t realize existed, had never been to, but it’s only a few hours away!
I learned that my girls are awful for more than a couple of hours in the car, because they are SO BORED.
I learned that I haven’t done this enough because my girls have NO idea about car games, how to play them, or what they are. I spent my childhood playing car games on our many jaunts.
I learned that my girls LOVE the aquarium.
I learned that we have GOT to do this more often.
Speaking of, why haven’t I done this since? I need to get on that…
Anyway…I won’t bore you with a recounting of our day, I’ll just flash some pictures your way of the fun we had.
Not shown here…the two-story Barnes & Noble that I could have spent all day in. The grilled cheese shop that turned out to be fantastic. The candy shop my girls could have spent all day in. But what I can show you to wrap this up, is this gorgeous pic of the Cincinnati skyline that we were lucky enough to start out and finish our day by seeing.
I haven’t been to Disney hundreds of times (yet. Give me a couple years), but I’ve been my fair share.
