by Sarah | Apr 5, 2016 | All About Denver, All About Erik, All About Family, All About Home, All About Kennedy, All About Me, All About Molly, All of Us, Redefining Perfect
March was a sucktastic month, I’ve made no secret of that.
But it’s over now.
With some carnage around us, we are gathering the pieces together, and re-evaluating some things.
The teen is graduating soon and moving on to bigger and better (and warmer) things. He’s pulling up stakes and moving down south to pursue a dream.
Whether it’s me turning 40, hubby turning almost-50, the teen leaving home, or just the hell of a month we went through – we are starting to look at where we are ourselves vs. where we want to be.
We’ve begun to dream big.
Bigger than we’ve allowed ourselves to dream in a while.
Right now it’s all pipe dreams and wishes,
but as Walt Disney said – “All our dreams can come true if we have the courage to pursue them.”
Now all we have to do is muster some courage and pursue them all.
We needed a spark of hope, and we’ve given it to ourselves.
It’s kind of terrifying, and so very exciting.
I’d gotten in a rut, and sort of beat down.
It feels really good to dream again.
by Sarah | Mar 22, 2016 | All About Me, All of Us, Crap, Random, Redefining Perfect
I have about 5 posts sitting as drafts in my wordpress from the past two weeks. They are reflections on the depression I’ve been in. The despair I’ve felt as crap-storm after crap-storm hit us from all directions.
Leaking drains.
Lying doctors.
Stupid cars.
The brutality of the flu.
One thing after another.
After another.
After another.
Much of my facebook feed has been filled with the same.
I do not often fall into the pit of depression, but I sure did this time.
It’s been tough, and painful, and I am still not all the way out of it.
And I know it is nowhere near what others go through every single day of their lives (those like my husband), but that makes it no less valid.
However, little changes are happening, and big changes, too.
In the depths of this all I went out without knowing where I was going.
A little voice in the back of my mind was telling me to hop a plane anywhere.
Another little voice pointed out a less expensive option, and the tattoo parlor in my path. And thus, I got my feather. A symbol of a lot – of freedom, strength, dreams of flying away, and perhaps even a nod to my upcoming book series.
A couple of days later I got a surprise package in the mail filled with my favorite candies from Canada (thank goodness my childhood friend found me on facebook a few years back. 🙂 ).
There are still struggles abounding. Still construction that needs to be done.
But I am trying to claw my way back out.
I cleave to the moments of good.
The tokens of happy.
I’m trying to find the upside of down.
*Random Note – after I wrote down the title of this post it hit me…I once did a musical by that name. In musical I think. Can’t find any evidence of it on google…but damn, isn’t weird how those things hit you at weird times!
by Sarah | Mar 15, 2016 | All About Denver, All About Erik, All About Family, All About Kennedy, All About Me, Crap, Random, Redefining Perfect
It’s been a rough week and a half.
ROUGH.
And it’s not over yet.
As this is posting I’m going through a meeting I don’t wat to.
A meeting where I must get and use a backbone.
And I still have much to deal with in the fallout of last week.
So there is little left to do.
Except follow the immortal words of Dory…
“Just keep swimming, just keep swimming, swimming, swimming…”
by Sarah | Mar 11, 2016 | All About Home, All About Me, All of Us, Crap, Random, Redefining Perfect, WTF?
One leaking drain…in the wall.
One homeowners insurance claim.
One giant salamander in the backyard (for treatment of water damage).
Three different companies (so far) dealt with in repairs.
One doctor pissing me the *bleep* off.
One car deceptively decent attempting to bleed us dry.
One 100* home (due to aforementioned treatment for water damage).
One new extra PT job.
Five cranky household members.
One miserable pooch.
Zero capability to cook in an already over-baked home.
One teenager eager to flee the coop.
Two exhausted adulters ready to turn in their adult cards.
Can I go back to Disney?
And never ever leave?
~le sigh~
Done.
That is me.
Just done.
by Sarah | Mar 10, 2016 | All About Family, All About Me, All of Us, Blogging Life, Disney, Giveaway, Redefining Perfect
A big thank you to Jenn Naas for visiting today to discuss what she does as a Disney Vacation Planner! Â I haven’t had the pleasure of using her services yet, but I’ve certainly peppered her with questions since our introduction! Our most recent trips to Disney have made us addicts, so we’re already dreaming and planning. There is a giveaway at the bottom of the post so stay tuned!Â
My family LOVES Disney World. I’m not sure if I used that word strong enough so let me bold it- LOVES Disney World!! About eight years ago my husband had a work trip in Orlando so we decided that I would join him, we’d bring our (then) two kids along and try out Disney. Our love affair began then and has been in fast forward ever since.
There is this wonderful thing that happens when you take a Disney vacation with your kids, you cry tears of happiness seeing Disney through their eyes (it’s ok to admit it- we all do it). You leave all the cares of the real world behind while being transplanted into this magical, happy place you never want to leave. I am not kidding- If you don’t believe me, ask around, you’ll see.
(Parade time is a MUST for my family- I never watch the
parade though, I watch my kids watch the parade)
Many families love Disney vacations, yet with increasing costs, new technology, and the limitless amount of information available on the internet, planning a magical family vacation can be a bit overwhelming.
First time guests and seasoned Disney-goers can both benefit from the advice of a Disney expert. This is where a certified Disney Planner comes in! I love nothing more than creating perfect, magical vacations for families and adding my own pixie dust along the way. Best of all… my services are FREE! Yes, you read that right, my services cost you zip a dee do dah zilch!
Too good to be true? Not in this case! Disney pays planners like me so you don’t have to! I then get to work with you to find the best dates, resorts, and packages for your family within your budget. I take time to build an itinerary to include dinner with princesses or pirates, fastpasses to meet Anna and Elsa or for the new Seven Dwarfs Mine train coaster, and so much more. All of this is included in the packages and no surprises.
And it’s not only Disney parks. Disney Cruise Line takes you to magical locations like the Bahamas, the Caribbean, Hawaii and even the Mediterranean. Disney service at sea… it doesn’t get much better.
By now, you may be wondering about some of the benefits of using a Disney Planner. Let’s start with all the time-consuming, stressful parts. Like waking up at 6:00am to snag the perfect reservation at Cinderella’s castle for your little princess. Constantly worrying if there is a better deal available. You leave those things to me so you only have to worry about how many sets of Mickey ears you need to budget for. The questions are endless and I’m here to answer each and every one and I’m excited to work for you to ensure you have the most magical vacation.
When you call Disney directly to book your vacation, you will begin chatting with a wonderful Disney Cast member trained to book your trip and move on to the next phone call. Sometimes you won’t even speak with a Disney employee at all but rather a 3rd party costumer service rep. While these employees are wonderful people, they can’t give advice or opinions. I am lucky enough to be the personal side of Disney that can and will give opinions. Not to mention you will work with me the entire way not some new person each time you call. I get to know you on a personal level and can easily adjust your trip to best fit your needs.
For those seasoned Disney families that feel they don’t need any help- a good planner will allow you all the control you want, but take over the parts you don’t AND sprinkle a little extra pixie dust as a thank you for working with us! As a special bonus for cruisers, many planners are able to offer you onboard credits that you can spend while on the ship on just about anything! This is one big bonus you are unable to receive when booking yourself! Don’t forget Disney is ALWAYS changing and having someone on your side to let you know all the new and updated happenings is always a bonus!
Extensive knowledge of different Disney resorts, the theme parks, pricing trends, and crowd patterns makes Disney planners’ knowledge invaluable to our clients. This comes from experience, frequent trips to the Theme Parks and on Disney Cruises, and love for the product.
My favorite part of this job is getting to know each client and what will make their trip special. I want my clients to leave for their vacation knowing that they got the best price possible and feeling prepared for their experiences – whether they are at land or at sea.
If you have even been thinking about Disney – contact a planner. I promise you will say it’s one of the best decisions you made when planning your Disney trip!
Mention you saw this post to get a special gift upon travel with a
minimum of a three-night vacation package to Disney World, Disneyland,
Disney Cruise, Aulani, or Adventures by Disney vacation.
Who wants a giveaway?!?!
Jenn has been so great to not only tell us about what she does, but has provided a fun giveaway of some pretty awesome Disney stuff.
Leave a comment below about your Disney dreams to win this amazing prize package!
Who doesn’t want Mickey ears, an autograph book and a Disney picture frame? Â Shoot, if I could, I’d enter for the frame alone! It’s awesome!
Leave a comment below about your Disney dreams to win this amazing prize package!
*Disclaimer: Â Giveaway is open until 12noon Wednesday, March 16th, 2016. Â
by Sarah | Mar 6, 2016 | All About Me, All of Us, Photography, Redefining Perfect, Scavenger Hunt Sunday
So I checked as I did this – it’s been two years since I participated in Scavenger Hunt Sunday. Hard to believe it’s been that long. Life has been crazy, and my camera has been sorely neglected. I am hoping this is the start of more regular use again.
This week the hubby and I went on a nature hike at a local park. 3 of the five shots were from there. Another was on my drive to work, and the last when I re-discovered my cheap lens add-ons and was playing around.
All taken w/ Canon Rebel XS.
1. Up
Sometimes you must look down to look up.
2.Fruit
There was no fruit to be had in the cold weather, but there was plenty of sap to be had as they were hosting a learning activity involving sugaring.
3. Neighborhood
On my way out of the neighborhood, the foggy morning and sun shining through it all called for a picture.
4. Smile
On our trek we stumbled upon this log that looked like a smiling dragon.
5. Photographer’s Choice
As I was playing with my mock-macro lens, I managed a decent shot of my fish, Edgar Allan Poe’s scales.
Bonus Shot:
I was going to use this for up, but I liked the reflection shot too much…but as I loved this picture of the mourning dove (pigeon, really)…I’m throwing it in as well 🙂
 
March was a sucktastic month, I’ve made no secret of that.
We’ve begun to dream big.
