Njoy life

A Truly Fabulous Birthday Present

2011-12-23T21:47:00.002-05:00

It all started earlier this year when I saw an adorable, pink Eiffel tower for sale in the France pavilion at EPCOT. Though I haven't been there I love the thought of Paris with all it's fashion and glamour and poodles. The Eiffel tower encompasses these things to me and I loved that little pink one. I didn't buy it because I was going visit Vegas soon and thought I could get one there at the Paris hotel that I was so looking forward to visiting. I wanted it to have more meaning and a memory to go with it. When I visited the Paris hotel there was no pink Eiffel tower to be bought. I still wanted to add a bit of glamour to my room in Eiffel tower fashion..

[Fast forward to a few weeks ago]

I very much love Impressions de France, the scenic and audibly pleasing movie in EPCOT's France pavilion. My favorite part is when all the balloons are released and fly away into the sky. I drew a whimsical sketch a few weeks ago inspired by that scene and an old Christian Dior perfume ad I was charmed by. I loved the image so much I told my stepdad, who is a very creative welder, that I wanted it made into wall art for my birthday present. I cherish all the things he makes me so I knew that would make it extra special.

He gave it to me today and I LOVE it! I plan on painting the balloons but haven't decided what color yet. I call it "Fly Away Paris". I imagine travel by balloon would be quite lovely.

Stepdaddy with his creation :)

Justin Bieber at Magic Kingdom

2011-12-03T18:12:00.005-05:00

Yes I took these pics today..

I'm just going to put this out there.. I like Justin Bieber. He has catchy music and sings and dances well. I went this morning to watch him perform at the Magic Kingdom. This will be part of the Disney Christmas parade along with performances by Cee Lo Green, Jennifer Hudson and Scotty McCreery. Here's some video I took of his medley.

Attitude of Gratitude 3 Minute Challenge

2011-11-23T14:03:00.004-05:00

This has been the best year of my life. I LOVE YOU 2011! I honor of Thanksgiving I am going to set my timer for 3 minutes and type as many things that I am thankful for as I can.

Serious, superficial, silly- I'm typing whatever comes to mind...

GO!

The never-ending love & forgiveness of God

My family-stepdaddy especially

Suzannah Scott Charles - every true & good friend I have

Twitter! Meeting friends due to common interest

Disneyland!

Red Wagon corndogs!

Sparkles

being unique

MAC.. the makeup AND my laptop

my iPhone

that my nana still remembers my name

the Bible!

D23 events

the ability to get inspiration from anything

dance

teaching dance

choreographing dance

did I say dance?

my health

creativity

living-

TIME IS UP!

That last one was going to be "living in Orlando" but just living is pretty awesome too. LOL. You should try this 3 minute challenge and see what comes to mind under pressure =)

Happy Thanksgiving <3

Do you know Mindy Gledhill?

2011-11-22T14:41:00.002-05:00

Do you know musical artist Mindy Gledhill? If not I suggest you get to know her extremely lovable, unique music. It's soothing and uplifting with such positive, artsy, whimsical vibes. She's fantastic. "Anchor" is my favorite tune of hers with "Hourglass" in a close second. Check her out.

Muppetational

2011-11-17T23:06:00.004-05:00

Who else is giddily excited for the new muppets movie? I remember those lovable characters from my childhood and I'm happy to see them back for a new generation. Mostly because of Henson's message of love and happiness that comes across in the muppets songs and stories. I've been jamming to The Green Album and I'm obsessed! You can really wrap your heart around these fun new versions of classic muppet songs. Some of my favorite lyrics:

"Movin' right along in search of good times and good news with good friends you can't lose."

"I'm green and I think it's beautiful so that's all I wanna be."

"Our world says welcome stranger, everybody's a friend."

I've been looking forward to picking up some of the sparkletastic OPI Muppets collection as well. Today I finally got Rainbow Connection, shown on nail below, Fresh Frog of Bel Air, green, and Designer..De Better! Rainbow Connection is so sparkly and pretty!

I can't wait to see a pre-screen of the movie this weekend with my good friend Suzannah.

Keep an eye out for a review of some sort!

Also..how CUTE are these Muppet cake pops? I found them on Bakerella and am thinking about making them at an upcoming cake pop party I want to host. I know that sounds random but I wanted to have a get together and do something crafty and tasty.

Have you been to Menchie's?

2011-11-17T09:31:00.003-05:00

Because it's delicious. Me and my good friend Andrew, seen in this collage accidentally taking a picture of himself, went last night for the first time. I've been on somewhat of a frozen yogurt kick lately and this place is high on the list. The yogurt flavors were so tasty! I had blueberry and cake batter. They also had 76 million toppings! Ok maybe a few less than that but the most I've ever seen at a topping bar and with some interesting selections. Andrew got these interesting little bursts of fruit flavor but they looked like fish eggs so that's what we called them. I really like having fruit toppings. It's much better for you than the typical frozen treat topping a la chocolate fudge, whipped cream, etcetera though Menchie's still had those options. I think this frozen yogurt craze is really fun with the whole "make your own dessert and we'll weigh it and charge you for it" theme they've got going.

What's your favorite place to get frozen yogurt?

Quotable: Recipe of Success

2011-11-15T10:37:00.003-05:00

"I am determined to always succeed in everything that I do. I'm willing to do anything to obtain the things I want and I will always strive to go above and beyond. I'm not shackled by fear, insecurity or doubt. I am motivated by accomplishment, not pride. If I fall, I will get back up. If I am beaten, I will return. I will never stop getting better. I will never give up, ever."

My friend Stephanie Catalano posted this as her FB status this a.m. and I loved it. I feel the same way and I hope you do too. Excellent affirmation.

Make a wonderful day, friends.

Gingerbread Run 5k

2011-11-05T13:28:00.008-04:00

This morning I participated in the Give Kids the World Village annual Gingerbread Run 5k. It benefits the village and $49,827 was raised overall. This was the best 5k I have ever run. Usually 5Ks are no biggie but I cherished every moment of this race and everything that went into it. The Village has a special space in my heart since I've started volunteering there. I felt right at home running there and felt so involved in this race because I will see the funds go right into action. I fundraised $307 total, my highest amount yet, and hope to contribute more in the future. I know how special this place is. I know how thankful the families are. And from getting to know this wonderful place, I know "happiness inspires hope."

Nickelodeon Suites Resort provided entertainment, such as Dora and Spongebob. They also DJed and hosted the event with games and some slime action! Let me just tell you how special it was to see someone get slimed live in person. I was a Nickelodeon channel watching kid, we didn't get Disney on cable, and LOVED seeing some slime challenges happen right in front of my eyes at this event! I was so impressed with all Nickelodeon did and how much of a help they were.

The bunny is Mayor Clayton, the mayor of Give Kids the World Village. The gingerbread man is Murphy, another Village character, who was the man of the hour as he was the mascot of this event.

This gentlemen inspires me to no end. He lead the orientation I attended at the village and I've seen him around a few times since. He is funny and positive and I can tell from the few times we've met that he has a beautiful heart.

Some pictures of the most magical place on earth..

No Gingerbread Run would be complete without these guys! Yum.

In addition to having an excellent beneficiary this race has a fantastic course (through the village), was reasonably priced and had the CUTEST shirts ever! I would highly recommend this race to other runners. This is a great time of year to visit Orlando as crowds are low. Why not plan to visit and run this next year?

I didn't do too bad time-wise either. This was my second fastest 5K coming in at 31:31.

A friend of mine has a huge fundraiser going on for this place. You can donate and provide more families with the opportunity to make memories that will last forever HERE.

Giving is Living

2011-10-28T12:48:00.006-04:00

Tuesday night I volunteered for the second time at Give Kids the World Village. I continued on my quest to learn how to do many jobs there, this time spending the evening in the castle. This is the fun looking place with the mushroom that is featured on their logo. It may be the most special job an Angel can do there as it allows you to assist giving two very significant items..

Each wish child receives a gold, mirrored star that they write their name on and give to the star fairy. This is done with the assistance of an Angel and a special chest that the star fairy comes and takes their star from. It disappears before their eyes as they feel the star fairy remove it from the chest. That night the star fairy places their star on the roof of the castle, or now in the new *Star Tower*, and the child leaves their legacy of their GKTW visit forever. Families can come back any time to view the star and photos taken during their stay at the Village.

[Star photo from cfnews13.com]

Every child that stays at the village, including siblings, receives a special pillow. This is given to the child through the help of an Angel and the sleepy owl, Hermes, who lives in a magical tree and only comes awake to help them form the pillow through love and a wish. Their pillow(s) then appears magically into a nearby tree stump for the children to have and cherish forever. It is hard to convey via text how remarkable both of these experiences really are. The technology used to create these special moments is fantastic and must be especially memorable for families.

I've made a few friends while volunteering at the Village. This week was no exception as I met a lovely, older couple who have a beautiful passion for life and were truly an inspiration to me. Every choice we make in life has a consequence. Though this word has a negative connotation I can assure you that not all consequences are bad. Meeting people with hearts of gold, is one lovely consequence of being an Angel. Others include feeling truly alive through giving and spreading that contagious facial expression we know as.. the smile. :)

In addition to donating my time, I've chosen to fundraise for this spectacular place. Give Kids the World Village has a 5K running race coming up next week and I'm running it and made a goal to raise $250. I would appreciate any donation you can make to help support the most magical place in the world.

Click HERE to donate.

My first night at Give Kids the World

2011-10-19T09:04:00.003-04:00

Last night was my first night as an *angel*. That's what Give Kids the World

calls their volunteers. I signed up to work in Twinkle Hope's La Ti Da Spa.

It is My Little Pony themed and so. so. SO cute. It's bright, cheery and colorful.

GKTW Twinkle Hope's La-Ti-Da Spa, a photo by tannerochel on Flickr.

It has a lobby area with a throne and movies playing and then a circular room

that's made to look like a festive tent which is the actual spa part. The spa

has lots of mirrors and little stations to glam our guests. Kids come in to get

air brush tattoos, nails or face painted, make-up done and/or a hand massage. We

also have fun, classic Disney music playing in the spa which the kids love. We

have prizes for them too. Girls get a My Little Pony lunch box and boys get a

race car.

I was truly honored to meet some of the amazing families staying and playing

at GKTW. The strength and love the parents have is tangible when they walk

through the door. I painted a lot of nails and did a few air brush tattoos but I

most enjoyed talking to our guests and hearing about the fabulous times they

were having as they shared memories or plans that were part of their trip. Many

of the kids had been to Disney World already but for most, being at GKTW was the

highlight.

I experienced a few especially heart warming scenarios. One was a

father who took a picture of his little girl about every 30 seconds. She would

groan sometimes and say no more pictures but it was in a playful way and I knew where dad was coming from. Another was a boy who wasn't very talkative but when I gave him his air brush

tattoo he looked up and gave me a smile that will be eternally imprinted in my

memory. Seeing how much happiness that provided him was so special to me. There was a

magical moment to be had with every guest.

The slogan for the village is "Where Happiness Inspires hope." I reflect

this in everything I do there remembering my main goal is to provide smiles and

kindness to families. I also discovered a verse recently that I am relating to

my time here. Luke 12:48 says "From everyone who has been given much, much will

be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will

be asked." I have been overly blessed my whole life and it is my pleasure to pay

it forward by donating my time and spreading happiness.

I'm looking forward to making many more memories there. I used to think the

Magic Kingdom was the most magical place on earth. After spending one night at

Give Kids the World I quickly changed my mind.

All Our Wishes

2011-10-10T09:04:00.002-04:00

Last night I had a photoshoot with the Magic Kingdom firework show, Wishes. Fireworks are like sparkles in the sky and one of my favorite things to photograph. I put 'em through the ol' InstaGrammer. Have a looksy..

WDW Treat Up

2011-09-30T08:59:00.004-04:00

Last night I attended a ghoulish yet fabulous event after hours at the Magic Kingdom. The event was put on by the wonderful team of the Disney Parks Blog. If I say this was a dress-up party with spooky characters, yummy treats, Imagineers, and lots of fun, free goodies it would give you a synopsis but never convey the awesomeness of the event.

My friend James and I dressed up as the Haunted Mansion stretch room portrait ballerina and the clever crocodile who waits underneath her tight rope.

Here's the portrait we were imitating

My best pals Scott & Suzannah attended too :)

I thought my friends @PlazaAndMainSt from Twitter had a super unique costume

The Disney Parks Blog thought I had a super unique costume and I won a 9" glow in the dark vinyl! It was really team work right James? Thanks to Thomas Smith (Indy) of the Disney Parks Blog and Marissa May (Boo<--what a cute costume!)

Some people don't need costumes to be a character.

Jason Surrell spoke at the event and was super funny as usual.

It was fun to see different characters out like Dr. Facilier. And yes, my friends, that's me on pointe in Liberty Square. Worth the pain I'm feeling today.. please forgive me, little footies.

I thought Steven Miller had a fab costume. Check out that TRONesque glow! Cue light cycle..

With my friend Lea, this would be the treat part of the treat-up.

The Mansion characters were out in full force.

Yes I was picture happy at this evening but I am a sucker for getting dressed up! Here with my friends Glenn, James Leah & Andrew (they looked super cute) and Lou. Scott took that last pic to make a point that my pointe shoes had been replaced by my sparkly Toms at this point in the night. I can't believe I managed to wear them all around the Magic Kingdom that night!

I'm going with the *save the best for last* theme on this one. I am a huge fan of the new interactive Haunted Mansion queue. I wrote a rhyming riddle article this Summer about part of it on the WDW Fan Zone, a Disney fan site I contribute to. To me, this embellished queue represents the attraction we all love in a touchable way. It extends the story of the mansion and includes nuances hinting to the details we know, like the bride, with a ring in the concrete. Tributes are made throughout the queue to people to contributed to the mansion's brilliance... really I could go on and on but I'll get to the good part.

In attendance at the event and giving tours of the queue were two of it's creators, Imagineers, Eric Goodman and Pete Carsillo. I watched a funny video on the Disney Parks blog a while ago that they filmed about their work. They were entertaining and informative and I was instantly a fan. What a pleasure to meet them and tell them how much I adore their work.

So very thankful that I got to attend this event. I also got a signed poster of an awesome hitchhiking ghost image! Events like these make Walt Disney World feel more like Disneyland in a local appreciation sense. Though locals only comprise 30% of the guests at WDW, events like these allow us to.. "come out and socialize" .. heh heh .. and enjoy the parks on a more intimate level.

Miracle Miles 15K

2011-09-25T00:25:00.001-04:00

I ran the 13th annual Miracle Miles 15k on Saturday. The highlight was not during the race but the fact that I made a goal to raise $100 for the beneficiary and with the help of my kind-hearted friends I raised $250. In only one week too! Time-wise I stunk. I came in at 1:53:24 pacing at 12:10..my slowest ever..but that's ok! Like 5 minutes slower than I ran this race last year too but oh well. I'm just happy I got out there and it's a great training run for the Wine & Dine Half I'm doing at Disney next weekend. Unfortunately I've been having some pains in my right hip again. I guess it's expected from being so active with dancing and running. Let the self diagnosing begin!

Wordless Wednesday: Tinky Dancer

2011-09-21T08:43:00.001-04:00

Avatar in Disney's Animal Kingdom

2011-09-20T17:47:00.007-04:00

It's been around the interwebs today that there will be an Avatar land with multiple attractions built in Animal Kingdom in Walt Disney World. You can read more about it HERE.

I think it's such a smart idea. As soon as I heard this info I searched around the net and found, according to IMDB, the majority of this film's fanbase (by a long shot) are males ages 18-29. I feel like this is an audience that could use more entertaining on their trip to Disney. In addition to that demographic, Avatar has fans like me and my stepdaddy--such different entertainment taste palates yet we both adore the movie about the blue people for the spectacular visuals and thrill filled plot.

It pushes an eco friendly message, which fits right into Animal Kingdom, along with a love story, action scenes, and a lovely score--all things that can be incorporated into the world at the park :)

This movie holds a special place in my heart as the most visually appealing movie I've ever seen. I can't wait to visit Pandora <3

Typhoon Lagoon

2011-09-19T19:02:00.001-04:00

Today I went to Typhoon Lagoon for the first time since I was 8. It was all new to me. The theming there is fantastic and I loved the Crush n Gusher water coasters. Swimming with little sharkies was fun too. As usual my buddy Scott was great company.

Gypsy

2011-09-18T12:32:00.003-04:00

Gypsy, n. One inclined to a nomadic, unconventional way of life.

2011 has been the best year of my life. My eight month, post college, travel hiatus was.. there are no words. I didn't know how much I needed to travel until I did it. I learned lessons you can't go to school to learn and would never know you needed. I saw amazing things for the first time like our nation's capital which tangibly echoed our heritage. Another highlight was my first visit to the magical, Western counterpart of the place where I spend the majority of my time. [Sleeping beauty castle has a place in my heart and I appropriately nicknamed it "Little Pinky"]

I don't really know what the goal of my travels was.. Maybe to take a break, to "find" myself, to experience new things, to have fun.. Whatever it was--mission accomplished. Along the way, special friendships grew and flourished like beautiful vines.

I'm now in a new town, just far enough from home where I can be my own person but voyage home if I need stepdaddy's breakfast one weekend. I'm extremely blessed and humbled by the life I live and graciously accepting this next chapter of life.. whatever it may be..

Money for Miracle Miles

2011-09-17T16:54:00.003-04:00

Hi friends :)

I don't ask for much but.. I'm running the Miracle Miles 15K next weekend and would love it if you'd contribute to my fundraising efforts! Funds from the event benefit the Alexander Center for Neonatology at Winnie Palmer Hospital for Women & Babies. Since I signed up with only a weeks notice I pledged to raise $100. A kind twitter friend of mine donated $10 already so only $90 to go! Who will be next?

Click HERE to donate.

Another day in paradise

2011-09-16T12:50:00.001-04:00

I recently moved back to Orlando and I love it here. Every day is a magical adventure. I have great friends that I love spending time with. Looking forward to Fall and all the whimsical traits it entails: wearing hoodies, pumpkin spice lattes, dressing up for Halloween, and more. Here's a picture of an adorable popcorn bucket from the Magic Kingdom this morning. Hope life is treating you well bloggy friends!

Thanks Dad

2011-06-19T09:37:00.002-04:00

I wanted to write a tweet this morning crediting my dad for my impeccable dental hygiene, my over-acheiver mentality, and my love for music, sunsets, rainbows, and God. Then I realized there were so many other things I want to thank him for.. For teaching me to always be humble, to be the bigger person, to be active. The importance of family, to love art, and to root for the Yankees and Seminoles. By his actions he showed me that I should always forgive, live life adventurously and always help others. There are so many values I can thank my dad for instilling in me as a child.

Thanks Dad.

I am blessed to have another guy in my life who has been like a father to me. My stepdaddy is my rock and I wouldn't have gotten through the past few years without his help and guidance. I joked in his Father's day card and said I wouldn't be half the woman I am without him in my life..then I said actually yes I would because you buy me too many goodies. Bobby has taught me so many things but the most valuable has been this quote that helped me get through a lot with out stressing.: "Lots to think about, nothin' to worry about."

Thanks Bobby.

Happy Father's Day

I'm all signed up uh huh huh

2011-06-17T18:06:00.006-04:00

Did you see what I did there with the Elvis song in the title? No, people, the bad jokes never end. :)

I finally signed up for the races I've been planning!

The Disney Wine & Dine half marathon is in October and is my very favorite race of the year. I am a night runner so I love that it starts at 10pm. I also love the food theming, the medal, and the weather during that time of year. Despite being crowded with long lines for food I still really enjoyed the post-race party last because like 30 of my friends showed up and surprised me at the finish line. I felt so loved. I tweeted pics while I ran this race and had a blast. I wanted to sub 2:30 and finished in...2:30:48! I've since reached my sub 2:30 half goal and will take it up a notch for this race this year.

[After my glorious finish with the Granny iPhone..RIP GIP]

I also singed up for.. The Goofy Challenge! This is one of the most hard core running events out there. It includes doing a half on Saturday and a full marathon on Sunday. But wait there's more! My crazy friends and I have decided to add the 5K on Friday to the mix totaling 42.4 miles in 3 days. All of us doing these 3 races are referring to it as.. The Dopey. We must be a little dopey for taking this on!

Most Listened to Songs on iTunes

2011-06-07T09:35:00.006-04:00

When I turned on my PC to listen to my old iTunes music, which I rarely use anymore thanks to my MacBook, it was interesting to see what my most played songs were. An eclectic mix I would say!

#15-90 plays Taylor Swift-Love Story

#14-93 plays Taylor Swift-You Belong With Me

#13-95 plays Kina Grannis-Message From Your Heart

#12-95 plays Adele-First Love

#11-98 plays Muse-Starlight

#10-101 Michael Jackson-Beat It

#9-107 plays Drake-Houstatlantavegas

#8-107 plays Lady GaGa-Paparazzi

#7-116 plays Jonas Brothers-Much Better

#6-117 plays Miley Cyrus & Billy Ray Cyrus-Butterfly Fly Away

#5-122 plays The-Dream-Falsetto

#4-128 plays Adele-Daydreamer

#3-133 plays Ashley Tisdale-Hot Mess

#2-143 plays Lady GaGa-Poker Face

#1-169 plays J. Holiday-Suffocate

This is so fascinating to me because I can listen to some of these songs and remember why I listened to them on repeat, the situation I was going through that made that music comfort me and feelings of that time rush back. For example when I was going away to school I listened to Butterfly Fly Away all the time. I related to it so much because I knew how much I was going to miss my stepdad. Suffocate was a song that helped me through the time when my boyfriend broke up with me. (That's only happened once so it was rooouuugh.) The songs Starlight, Beat It and Paparazzi were ones that I did choreography to in college so I played them over and over. And over. I also went through a Taylor Swift phase so that explains her songs. Really the whole Fearless album was the only way I got through going away to school at UCF one semester. I was so homesick. As for Houstatlantavegas, Much Better, Message From Your Heart, and some of the others they were just songs that got me. The artists accomplished what they set out to do.

I'm challenging you to do a post like this and link it as a comment. I would love to see your top songs and some reasoning! It's quite fun, actually.

“Music is what feelings sound like.”

Tough Love

2011-06-03T07:27:00.003-04:00

So a friend of mine posted this on Facebook this a.m:

"BREAKING NEWS: The Pity Train has just derailed at the intersection of Suck It Up & Move On, and crashed into We All Have Problems, before coming to a complete stop at Get Over It. Any complaints about how we operate can be forwarded to 1-800-waa-waaa. This is Dr. Sniffle Reporting LIVE from Quitchur B****in'."

Let's just say I needed to see it really bad. Tough love. It's good for you and I have friends that know and remind me of that. haha. Rough patches make us stronger. Can't wait to get out of this one.

I will return to my bubbly self soon.

I'm going to Disneyland

2011-05-30T12:04:00.005-04:00

[photo by Lynnette]

It's my first time! The farthest West I have been is Nevada. This time I'm going all. the. WAY! I was going to wait until the construction was done and go to Disneyland in 2012 but after going to Destination D here in Orlando this month I can't miss the D23 Expo in August. I will have lots of friends there and am really looking forward to this event.

So here's where you come in!!

I need tips. I know Walt Disney World inside out but I know nothing about Disneyland. I need travel, accommodation and restaurant suggestions.

Here's what I know and what I want to know:

I want to go for the expo

I want to stay at a Disney resort for at least part of the time. Which is better? Pros & cons?

I want to see World of Color.. Should I make arrangements of some sort?

What is the best airport to fly into and best way to get to my hotel?

I want to go to Club 33!! Any connections would be greatly appreciated..

What are somethings I can't miss?

What are some things I should know?

How far is LA and is it easy to take a day trip over there?

Anything else you can suggest or reccomend would be great! I want to get as much stuff in as possible and make my first trip to Disneyland phenom. Being well informed will help me do that!

x0,

Vegas trip part 1

2011-05-29T11:53:00.009-04:00

Got off to a rough start when our flight was cancelled. I'm still mad at you Delta. We had to fly to Phoenix for the night and catch a Vegas flight the next am.

[This was in order after the hassle]

[Mountains in Arizona]

[me & stepdaddy on the AZ to NV flight]

[it worked out because my sister flew in that a.m. too so we met up with her at the airport]

[finally made it to our hotel Planet Hollwood! Awesome location]

[The strip in the morning. We got there SO early]

[We happened to have some family members in town too so we met up with them at the Monte Carlo. Stepdaddy's first gamble this trip!]

[Aunt Karen, Tara, Stepdaddy, Uncle Stan]

[Stepdaddy & my sister Tara in front of New York New York]

[NY NY casino]

[Huge slot machine]

[great theming here]

[we ate lunch at America in NY NY. Excellent food & service]

[Then we checked in to our room. Our phenomenal view of Bellagio fountains]

[ready for the night!]

[cosmos were my official drink of the trip]

[love my sister so much]

[the Extra Lounge at Planet Hollywood was our hangout spot]

[leave it to me to find something Disney to take a pic with in Vegas]

[in front of Paris]

[view from walkway over strip]

This night we saw the Beatles Cirque show LOVE at the Mirage. Fantastic! I was so happy my stepdad loved it.

[pretty lights on the strip]

[Caesars I think..]

That night my sister and I went out at Gallery, the new club in Planet Hollywood.

[sign at the Pussycat Dolls lounge]

We got off to an amazing start in Vegas once we got there. I loved the showiness of the decor and the awesome customer service everywhere. Vegas made me feel like a princess! I rarely get to go out with my sister so I really enjoyed partying with her in Vegas. We made some fun new friends and had a dazzling first night out.

[paparazzi photo at Gallery]

Have you been to any of the places I mentioned?

What did you think?

Disney Dream Cruise Day 4

2011-05-29T11:50:00.000-04:00

My fourth and final installment of my WDW Radio Dream Cruise adventures.

Glee Project Season 1 Done!

2011-05-28T00:08:00.002-04:00

For those of you who don't know I started watching Glee from the beginning and vlogged after each episode. I have watched all of season one now as of tonight [woo!] and loved it. My last 2 vlogs have a cameo from my good friend Erica. You can see all the vlogs here on my YouTube channel--> http://www.youtube.com/user/nsiscaretti

Quotastical: Walt Disney

2011-05-26T15:54:00.001-04:00

Texas trip day 4

2011-05-23T16:08:00.012-04:00

Texas trip day 4

It was Easter Sunday so we set out to church in the am and then to a restaurant that was featured on Man Vs. Food. It was called Lou Lou's and they have a 3 pound cinnamon bun we were dying to try!

[Jim was the most excited]

[My new Easter dress]

[Jim with the bun we were about to destroy]

[oh heyyy 3 pounds of goodness]

It took 5 of us to finish this bad boy off and it was excellent! The service here was wonderful and our server said that the cinnamon bun was "made with love." It was great to see a mom and pop type place recognized for great food. They deserved it!

Next we walked around downtown San Antonio and I was taken away by the river walk. It is so. beautiful. This is something everyone must see in their life. It's just restaurants and shops and nightlife but the way the river literally runs through it with beautiful trees and plants makes it simply breath taking. I would LOVE to go on a date there someday. *Writes on bucket list*

[Le river walk]

We visited the Alamo because it's a must do when you're in San Antonio. I enjoyed this museum and learned how important the Alamo was to the establishment of our country. It led to the Mexican cession which gave us a huge area of land to the North West of Texas. I loved learning about the Catholic missions the Mexicans in this community led. It's rumored to be really haunted all around this area. I can't confirm that but I can say it's very old, historic and beautiful.

[The Alamo]

We made our way to the mall, this group loves shopping, and of course the Disney store. We also had fun in this store called Del Sol where you can buy almost anything that changes colors in the sun. I got nail polish that is silver inside but pink & sparkly outside. Then we headed to Fogo De Chao, another highlight of our trip. Did i mention we are foodies? This is a Brazilian steakhouse that brings meat around on skewers. There were so many kinds and you let them know if you wanted more or not by this card that was green on one side and red on the other. You put our card on green and guys would rush over and offer you hot delicious goodness. Put it on red when you're taking a break. It. Was. Awesome.

[More please]

[Dessert. Creme brulee is my absolute favorite <3 ]

[Riverwalk in my dress tehe]

[Pulling a Marilyn]

[More river walk]

It was the beginning of the end when some friends left to go home from here. We hung out but made it an early night because us visitors were headed home early.

[This face always makes early mornings easier]

[Reflecting in the airport I realized I DID get cowgirl boots in TX!]

[30,000 up]

I had a great time in Texas. Beautiful state. Lots of culture. Tex-Mex. Shopping. And more importantly, people that are so special to me.

Friends are the family we choose.

Texas Trip Day 3

2011-05-23T15:41:00.005-04:00

Texas Trip Day 3

We got up early to head to Six Flags FIesta Texas and I was ordered to ride the the 'girls car.' I was in high demand on this trip-hehe-these girlies were so fun and I feel like they are my little nieces.

[Riley,Kim,Me]

You already know I go to Disney like it's my job but I had never been to a Six Flags and had no clue what to expect. The standards are definitely lower than the mouse's but I still had a GREAT time here and rode some awesome new roller coasters!

[Roller coaster exhibit A]

[Ruh Roh]

[Soaked after a water ride. Soaked!]

[Rick came too-the dance teacher I hung out with the day before. He's a blast]

[Jim Charles Ryan Riley Speedy (hehe) Jack Lea Me Vanessa Rick]

[Rollercoaster exhibit B; Superman!]

[Saw this drawing there.. LMBO!]

[Obligatory picture with Tweety Bird]

[Got a great view from up here]

[the view]

[got to sit to this little cutie on the way home]

[That night we celebrated the birthday of 2 of our friends]

[I really enjoyed the VIP treatment I got at the Robinson's. Thanks Riley! lol]

Six Flags was a blast. Next time I go I want to try and get more rides done.

Have you ever been to a Six Flags?

Which one?

What did you think?

Texas trip day 2

2011-05-10T10:14:00.004-04:00

Texas trip day 2

The next day I woke up and got ready in Disneyfied fashion

[this family is pixie dusted]

and we went to a bakery downtown for breakfast. The cookies and cream cupcake I had was delish. We headed back to the school but a different campus this time. I hung out with our friend who is the dance teacher there and we watched highlights of So You Think You Can Dance. It was great! I love viewing art with other artists.

Then we went to Mimi's cafe or lunch which I had been dying to try! Yummo. The outlets were calling our name so shopping was in order and I scored some cute stuff on the cheap. I got a great dress for Easter too! (Pics in later post..)

Later that day we headed to San Antonio to meet up with the other families we would be spending the weekend with. It was great to be reunited with some of the greatest friends I have: Lea & Ryan and Jim & Tracey and all their wonderful kiddos.

[Little Jack! <3]

We enjoyed dinner at the Alamo Cafe, despite less than fabulous service.

[Charles playing with Jack while Vanessa supervises]

[The whole gang minus me]

I love spending time with this group of friends because when we get together it's always a blast just to sit and chat. We have so many memories and stories and inside jokes and it's always a hoot to relive them. Wait--did I just refer to something as "a hoot"? Man, I'm getting old. Anywho it was early to bed to get a goodnight sleep for Six Flags Fiesta Texas!!!

Texas trip day 1

2011-05-09T14:56:00.007-04:00

It started like any other trip...

[On a plane]

But when I arrived in Texas I was picked up in a whimsical transportation device by my best friend, Charles.

[Self explanatory]

We drove around through places that looked like this..

[Mooo]

..till we came to my friends school. He's a principal. I got to tour the beautiful new facilities..

[Center stage-my favorite place to be]

..and ended up in the dance classroom observing the students routines. The content of their class was much different than the dance I know and I enjoyed being exposed to a new type of curriculum for dance students. They did jazz but they also did a pom routine and a military routine which I hadn't seen before.

We went back to my friends house and I was so happy to see another wonderful friend of mine, Charles wife, Vanessa. I feel like their two boys are part of my family too.

[love these kiddos]

They are one of the most awesome couples on the planet. They had invited their friends over that evening, who I have gotten to know and love through different trips they've all taken to Disney.

[they are so fun-Amanda, Me, a Texas shaped chip & Rick]

[Rick's doggy <3 ]

We had a Tex-Mex night in and watched YouTube videos on Apple tv.

[Me & baby Gio on Apple tv]

It was such a great night with friends! We laughed so hard at this video-->

[Sexy Saxman]

It's funny how some of the best friends are the ones that live the farthest away.

Stay tuned for day 2!

My bags are packed..

2011-04-28T14:35:00.003-04:00

I'm ready to go!! :)

I'm in between trips right now. Texas was amazing! Heading to Vegas tonight and will have lots of trip posts from both places when I get back!

Also a running giveaway coming up!

Hope you are well bloggy buddies :)

Scrapbook giveaway winner!

2011-04-18T19:19:00.005-04:00

Thank you ALL for participating. I thoroughly enjoyed your responses! Keep checking in because I love to do giveaways. I'm happy to announce the winner (picked by my stepdaddy) is..

MrsZ2b of http://makingmyfairytale.blogspot.com/

Email me at nsiscaretti @ gmail with where you want your package sent!

Thanks again everyone and happy scrapping!

Help me plan my Vegas trip

2011-04-17T23:00:00.000-04:00

Stepdaddy's 60th birthday Vegas bash planning is in full swing! We get in late on a Thursday night and leave on a red-eye flight on Sunday. I bought tickets for the Beatles Cirque show Love and Peepshow starring Holly Madison. Now I need some help to fill in the rest of the time!

Here's where you people who know and love Vegas come in..

What restaurants do you recommend?

What are your must sees?

Favorite nightlife venues?

Any other Vegas tips would be fantastic..

Keep in mind I'm going with my stepdad and sister. We want to live it up!

Dancer Fit

2011-04-14T07:50:00.005-04:00

"Dancers are both artists & athletes"

In addition to eating only healthy stuff lately, besides the occasional milano cookie, I have been switching up my fitness routine like crazy. I stopped going to the gym a few years ago and have since gotten my workout on through running and dancing. I now also have my own little collection of workout stuff in my room that I use too.

{Workout ball, jump rope, skip it, 5 lb weights, yoga mat, and a stretch rope}

I've been trying to throw my body curve balls everyday. My running workouts have included a regular 5K, then a mile with weights then a walk/sprint mile. I've done Denise Austin workout videos [love her] and jumped rope. For abs I usually do a whole song of crunches & and ab work nonstop. And I'm really feeling it today. /hello hammies/ It feels so good to be shaping up again. I see my arms getting sculpted and my waisted getting tighter. The scale, however, is hanging out in the same region. I know if I keep it up it will eventually go down a bit.

My main focus at this point is to be toning and conditioning to dance again. It was fantastic to have a bit of a break for my body but I'm ready now. I start my new jazz class tonight at a performing arts studio. It's adult jazz and it should be interesting to see the style and intensity of the instructor. I start my class at the college on 5/9.

{Some of my current workout inspirations}

Rambling about life

2011-04-13T18:38:00.003-04:00

As I type this blog I'm simultaneously cooking a stir-fry and drinking a glass of wine. I like my blog posts to come across as if I were talking to an old friend so I thought I'd just ramble a bit.

--stirs stir fry--

Life is really good right now. I'm an extreme over-achiever, at least I can admit it, and like I predicted I have already abandoned my "post-college break." I said I was taking 6 months after graduation to relax, travel, go through my stuff and down-size, think about what I wanted to with my life, etc. I'm on month four and I'm already making work plans. I've researched and been in contact about a couple of different jobs and even went to an acting audition. [Some break.] But now I really went and did it..

--sips wine--

I signed up for a class at my old junior college today. Yep. A dance one. I couldn't help it. I have been dying a little bit inside from not dancing. The thing I've missed the most is the space. I mean a studio. Choreographing, or Coleographing as I made up today, is such an important part of my life and while I'm constantly doing it in my head I really needed to start in real life again.

--lowers burner to low heat--

The next month is going to be absolutely cray cray. This weekend I'm going to Disney and have a jam packed weekend of stuff to do and people to see and am SO amped to go celebrate an aMaZiNg friend of mine's birthday. Her name is Shelley. The next weekend, Easter weekend, I go to visit some of the most special people God has put in my life in Texas. The weekend after that stepdaddy, my sister & me take on Vegas to celebrate stepdaddy's 60th birthday. We're catching a red-eye home and then staying at the Grand Floridian. SQUEEEE for that. :) Then the weekend after that I am running the Everest 5K at (go figure) Disney. So what? The majority of my social life is at the happiest place on earth. I'm owning and loving it.

--gets plates out for dinner--

I can't believe I wrote stage directions in this blog post.. anyway just wanted to share that life is great. I'm really inspired to be dancing again. Will be looking for jobs and like I planned to do -- traveling.

Thanks for stopping by and I want to leave you with this quote by my friend in hopes of inspiring you:

"The biggest thing in your way is you and not learning from your failures."

--Shelley Caran

x0,

Mom's Disney Birthday Adventure

2011-04-09T11:35:00.006-04:00

So in case you haven't picked it up already (it's just wrong if you haven't) I'm a huge Disney fan. I have an annual pass. I go all the time. Not as much as when I lived in Orlando [80+ times in 2010] but a lot. My mom is a Disney lover as well and when I asked her what she wanted to do for her birthday she said go to the Magic Kingdom... Okay what she really said was "oh, honey, save your money. I don't want you to spend it on me." She turned 50 and I wanted to do something nice for her so I kept pestering until I got some kind of answer to go off of.

She only goes once or twice a year and always with me so it was nice to take her. We have our best memories here.

The new interactive queue for the Haunted Mansion is open now and it's AMAZING. (Think new Winnie the Pooh queue but in a creepy, adult fashion) I love it so much. The best part is these cool bookshelves that when you try to push a book in, others come out. Push those in and others come out. It reminded me of the library that you see on the ride. Oh wait the best part is actually this musician's crypt thing that has carvings of instruments on the side and when you touch the instrument it plays the Haunted Mansion song in the sound of that instrument. Cool right?

I love when this happens..

So we hung at the Magic Kingdom for a few hours then mom wanted a break so we went back to the resort I surprised her with as her gift, the Polynesian. She has always wanted to stay there, it's her favorite.

Duffy likes the Polynesian too!

We went to the Kona Cafe at the Polynesian for dinner. Gah, I love the bread there. I tried the Pan-Asian noodle dish instead of getting the coconut almond chicken like I always do. It was good but not something I would get again.

We headed back to the Kingdom around 8, did some rides, caught the castle projection show, The Magic, The Memories & You, and then Wishes fireworks. *Sigh* Who doesn't love Wishes?

I actually got my mom to stay til about midnight! [This is a feat. Trust me.]

The next day we spent hanging at the resort. We had these little guests that kept coming back. Ducks. They were cute but ruthless! They pecked on the door and kept coming up to my mom when she was sitting outside. I had to chase after them, clapping, to get them to go away. MAN, do I wish I had THAT recorded. I probably looked like such a tool. They were fun to watch until one pooped on our porch..then sat in it. Really pal? Ugh. You should have seen my face go from adoring nature at it's finest to--disgust. He just pooped. And sat in it! What the?!

Let me just tell you how amazing it was to enjoy the pool there. I have stayed there before and LOVE this pool. The beach, the hammocks, the view of the castle, Grand Floridian and Contemporary, the boat horns going off--it's paradise to me. And the slide!! Boy, oh, boy do I love that slide. I love pool slides in general but this is a good one.

I have more I want to share about this adventure. I'm actually saving some of the good stuff for something I'm putting together for the site I write for, WDWFanZone.com. I'll post a link to it when it comes out.

I'm going back to Disney next weekend. Woot. The next time I stay there at a resort, though, will be when I go with my stepdaddy as part of his 60th birthday celebration. AND.. we're staying at..wait for it..The Grand Floridian! I've never stayed there and I'm so dang excited. I'm glad my first memory of staying there will be something special like this.

Have a magical day!

The glee project vlog - Season 1 Episode 15

2011-04-08T22:33:00.000-04:00

The glee project vlog - Season 1 Episode 14

2011-04-08T22:32:00.000-04:00

Scrapbooking & Cricut Giveaway!

2011-04-08T16:36:00.006-04:00

I've been doing some Spring cleaning lately and organized and went through my scrapbooking stuff. I wanted to down-size and only keep the stuff I really plan to use. Also.. I got the purpley Cricut Expression as a graduation gift so I don't have a need for the little one anymore. So I've decided to give it all away!

The giveaway bundle includes:

-Cricut machine

-2 adhesive Cricut mats

-1 Cricut machine marker

-Assorted new and scrap papers

-Black scrapbooking stuff storage tote

-stamp pads

-highlighters, assorted craft pens

-Quote books

-stickers

-rub-ons

-other random doodads

here have a look for yourself..

Please note: the majority of this stuff has been used. I was going with the "one woman's trash is another woman's treasure" theory and hoping someone else could use what I'm not going to. The Cricut is in good working order but sometimes it freezes if it's overloaded. Just turn it off and turn it back on and get back to business :) I'm not including any Cricut cartridges but you can purchase used ones on Ebay for el cheapo!

TO ENTER LEAVE ONE COMMENT FOR EACH OF THE FOLLOWING THAT YOU DO. ONE COMMENT = ONE ENTRY. THE MORE YOU DO THE MORE ENTRIES YOU GET.

-tell me if you are a veteran scrapbooker or a newby or if this entry is for a friend

-tell me your must have scrapbook tool

-tell me your favorite type of embellishment

-follow my blog

-link this giveaway or blog about this on your blog

-Like my Facebook page (HERE)

-Follow me on the twitter (HERE)

-donate any amount of money to any charity (share which one)

-do something nice for someone else (tell me what you did)

We're going on the honor system here people! I trust you.

The winner will be announced Monday April, 18th!

Good luck!

The glee project vlog - Season 1 Episode 13

2011-04-08T09:32:00.000-04:00

The glee project vlog - Season 1 Episode 12

2011-04-06T08:00:00.000-04:00

DC trip part:4

2011-04-05T12:00:00.001-04:00

Then next morning I met up with my wonderful friends Jenn and Rob Whitney. They are such awesome people and always so fun to be with. We had a delicious breakfast at a buffet where I proudly 'killed two pieces of cake' and felt I deserved it after the half.

I headed back to DC from VA on the Metro, which I mastered on this trip by the way, and met my cousin at the National Archives. I didn't care for this place at first because of the set up. They took a lot of things they had to show and made facsimiles, copies, or even less real replicas to display. I thought that was odd because if I wanted to see a replica of something I would just look it up online. The awesome part of this place was the Constitution, Declaration of Independence and Bill of Rights. Yes. The real ones. In this building. On display. It felt unreal and I couldn't believe how big the actual documents were. Very fascinating that I stood in front of a piece of parchment that Benjamin Franklin and George Washington touched. Crazy. Another really cool thing was the display where you could listen to phone conversations presidents had. I listened to this awesome one between JFK and the governor of Mississippi when the first African American student was attending a college there. So cool.

We then ventured off to get something to eat. On the way we passed the Ford's Theatre where president Lincoln was assassinated. When the chocolate place, Co Co, we wanted to eat at was closed we made our way to the Hard Rock restaurant. Delish.
Last but not least, of course, we headed to the Executive Mansion to get a peek from the outside.
It was SO. UNREAL! I couldn't believe this was the house that I had seen on tv so many times, where every president besides Washington lived, and where so many decisions about our country are made. Unbelievable.
Here's a pic of the Metro map. So easy to use. I would recommend this totally for any tourist!
The next morning I headed to Reagan National airport and boarded for West Palm Beach. This was SUCH a great trip to be one of my first on this *worldtour2011* as I'm calling it. It helped me grasp my roots, become more patriotic and be truly thankful for where I live. God bless America!

DC trip part:3

2011-04-04T12:00:00.004-04:00

After the National Half, and a much needed nap and relaxation time, we headed out the the National Mall again to see more. March is a fantastic time to visit DC because the Cherry Blossoms bloom. The Cherry Blossom festival alone is a reason to visit. Here are some pics of them:

We planned on going on one of the Lantern lit tours that the state park people led. We chose the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial tour since we hadn't seen it yet. Here is the Jefferson Memorial from across the Tidal Basin as we passed it on the way.

The FDR Memorial was the most beautiful by far. It was a large area paved with stones with stone walls with tons of statues and quotes by this fabulous president. He did so many amazing things for our country.

Next we walked, quite far when your legs are sore from a hilly half, to the Jefferson Memorial. The premise of this memorial was very similar to that of the Lincoln. It had a large statue of Thomas Jefferson with his most memorable or moving quotes on the walls.

It also had an indoor exhibit with history, timelines and movies about him. Here are some quotes from that.

I really loved learning about the people who helped to shape our country. Amazing, breath taking and too deep to express via words in a blog.
This is a random pic of an embassy we saw on the way home. It reminded me of the Haunted Mansion haha.

I'm at the Magic Kingdom..

2011-04-03T10:00:00.005-04:00

No, really. I'm at the Magic Kingdom. I took my mom as part of her 50th birthday celebration and set this post up in advance. We're staying at the Polynesian tonight and enjoying the pool there tomorrow. Here's a picture from my mom's birthday at the Magic Kingdom last year. I think this is my favorite place in the world. I have the best memories with my mom here.

See ya real soon!

Disney Dream Cruise Day 3

2011-04-02T14:34:00.000-04:00

A bunny on my runny

2011-04-02T09:15:00.002-04:00

This morning I went for a run. An easy 5K. I ran a mile then walked the rest. The highlight was definitely this bunny. He got me excited for Easter as he hopped along with his bunny friend. Funny, too, because we're going to see the movie about the Easter bunny, Hop, today.

If you had to give this bunny a caption what would he be saying?

The glee project vlog - Season 1 Episode 11

2011-04-01T17:01:00.000-04:00

National Half Race Recap

2011-03-30T11:36:00.010-04:00

Woohoo!! I love destination races!! I'm going to try and do at least one every year forever. The National Half with it's course around DC was really different. I've been working for a year to run a sub 2:30 half and even though this was a rough course I still did 2:28:10!!!

Here is what I thought about this race.

Pros

-course sites include the Capitol, Washington Monument and White House. Also it goes through old historical neighborhoods.

-LOTS of runners so you never feel "alone" on the course. Sometimes courses get spread out and you feel like your jogging in your neighborhood by yourself. Not this one.

-never had to weave. They did a good job at having the 16,000 runners of this race spread evenly.

-Challenging course! Very hilly, for this FL girl at least, and I felt very accomplished after completing it. Still was able to PR!

Cons

-There were only two spots of on course entertainment and it was only people playing loud music and dancing around cheering. I don't think they were even organized by the race but nonetheless they were great morale lifters.

-The absolute WORST thing about this race was the mile markers. I felt like there were none! I also saw 5 and 10 and they were very small. Mile marker 12 was written on the course road in chalk? Really?? I felt this was unprofessional and cheapened the race. It can be dangerous or upsetting for runners who use these markers to pace themselves.

Before the race in our corral
Me and my beautiful cousin. I tell her my running addiction is all her fault! It really is. :) But it's a good thing.
The Capitol building on the course.
The White House from the back.
The bling! The back says "I ran through history." Very cool medal.

Overall I would do this race again because of it's location. The course was not terribly exciting but I love this city so that alone would bring me back.

DC trip part:2

2011-03-30T11:17:00.006-04:00

We continued our day on Friday by making our way down the National Mall. What a fabulous area. I was really looking forward to seeing the Reflection Pond between the Washington Monument and the Lincoln Memorial but it was under construction and looked more like the Reflection Puddle. haha.

Washington Monument. I definitely want to reserve a time to go inside to the top next time.

Lincoln Memorial. I was familiar with this from Night at The Museum 2 I think.

What an amazing place to visit! I loved the quotes of Abe on the walls.

Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his I Have a Dream speech on these steps out front. How monumental. [pun intended]

The next morning was the race so we headed home early, got set up and attempted to watch the movie Mr. Smith Goes to Washington with Jimmy Stewart. Of course I fell asleep a few minutes in..

DC trip part:1

2011-03-30T10:41:00.006-04:00

After college I decided that I wanted to take time and travel and enjoy life for a bit while I decide what I want to do, where I want to live, etc. Thus far I've spent a 10 days at Walt Disney World while there running my first marathon, gone on the Disney Dream cruise and now I've been to Washington D.C. I have a cousin who lives there that wanted me to come visit and run a race there with her. This was a fantastic trip and I would recommend that every American makr their way there at some point in life.

I flew up on 3/24 and got in in the late after noon.

My cousin and I caught up and then went to a beautiful Thai restaurant for dinner. I love Chicken Pad Thai!

Friday our first stop was the National Half race expo. It was really crowded! Not one of my favorite expos but as long as I can get my Gu I'm good. Mint chocolate of course ;)

Then we made our way to the Capitol building. I had arranged a tour through my congressman. I would recommend doing this because it saves time while you're there. This tour was amazing. Before it starts they show you an inspiring video. Just the thought of all the decisions that have been made for our country there made it such a special place. This has been there since almost the beginning of our government. The architecture was so beautiful inside and out.

Next stop was the Museum of American History. It is one of the many buildings that are part of the Smithsonian. Here we saw some great things from pop culture like this Dumbo from Disneyland...

...Dorothy's Ruby Red Slippers...

...Some original Muppets...

...Nastia Liukin's 2008 Beijing leotard. Which reminds me: it's almost 2012!! Who else is obsessed with the Summer Olympics? :D...

...Michelle Obama's Inauguration gown...

...C3PO and an old Mousketeer Hat.

The BEST thing I saw here, and possibly the coolest thing I saw in DC, was the Star Spangled Banner. Yes, the one Francis Scott Key saw and was inspired to write our National Anthem by. It. Was. HUGE! It was in the shape of more of a square now though due to it's deteriorating and the family that owns it giving pieces of it away long ago.

Wordless Wednesday: The White House

2011-03-30T10:40:00.002-04:00

The glee project vlog - Season 1 Episode 10

2011-03-30T10:22:00.001-04:00

The glee project vlog - Season 1 Episode 9

2011-03-30T10:22:00.000-04:00

Leavin on a jet plane. DC bound!

2011-03-24T12:09:00.002-04:00

Hello from my ride to the airport!! My mother loathes driving on the highway so this hour long endeavor has been quiet trip..hence me writing this blogpost. I charged my portable DVD player last night so I could watch some Glee (my newest obsession) on the plane today. Unfortunately I realized I didn't have the player in charge mode and got no juice--boooo. I'll survive I guess.

Excited for this trip for a few reasons.. I haven't seen this cousin in a while. She is one of the only family members I still keep in touch with on my dads side. She's so special to me and I love that we have these weekends together at least once a year. She's my running pal! She's the one that got my started on being a runner and you know how big it is in my life now.

The National half marathon! We're running it Saturday. I've never been to DC so I'll get to see all the sites there for the first time on the race course! Yippee :) We run past the White House!! I can't get over it. Reeeaaalllyyy hoping for this sub 2:30 to happen. Pretty confident!

Alright we're almost to the airport.

Xo
Nicole

The glee project vlog - Season 1 Episode 8

2011-03-23T16:19:00.000-04:00

Teal Smokey Eye

2011-03-22T18:44:00.004-04:00

I did a teal smokey eye using the MAC colors Steamy, Electric Eel, Deep Truth and Dazzlelight. It came out really fun so I wanted to share for my fellow makeup girls out there. I put Steamy thinly on the lid, Electric Eel all along the crease and then Deep Truth in the crease near the outsides of my eyes. I put Dazzlelight as the highlighter under the brow and then blended til my heart was content. This is great for green eyes. :)

The glee project vlog - Season 1 Episode 7

2011-03-22T16:42:00.000-04:00

Writing for a new site..

2011-03-21T13:40:00.004-04:00

hey everyone

Just wanted to drop a note and let you know I'm writing for a new Disney fan site in addition to my personal blog. It's a fun site made by great people so if you like Disney you should check it out!

Here's my first article..

WDW Fan Zone Running Disney

Disney Dream Cruise Day 2

2011-03-20T12:29:00.001-04:00

The glee project vlog - Season 1 Episode 6

2011-03-20T12:28:00.000-04:00

FAST

2011-03-19T22:04:00.004-04:00

FAST. I'm going to use this term lightly but that's how I feel right now. I ran the fastest for the longest that I ever have. I did 8 miles tonight in 1:24:06. My pace was 10:29. That pace is a minute faster than my average long distance pace.

I'M SO HAPPY

I think all it really took was a little push. I'm great at giving running advice and I finally took some of my own. I actually got in my head and coached myself. I motivated myself. I cheered for me and an awesome thing happened. I am thankful to God, not only today but for everyday, that I am able to walk and be healthy let alone run and challenge myself physically.

Truly a blessing

The need for this major push is my next half marathon which is quickly approaching. On 3/26 I'll run the National half marathon. The course is AwEsOmE and goes around all the cool stuff in DC. I've never been there and the first time I see The White House will probably be while I'm running passed it during this race. How amazing. The National half has a 2:30 pace requirement and while that has been a goal I've been chasing for a while, I haven't hit it yet. The closest I've gotten was 2:30:48 at the Wine & Dine half marathon in October, 2010. I haven't trained as much as I wanted but it's not seeming to matter and tonight's run was phenom. Hoping to keep this up, get a 10 mile run in this week and rock the National half.

DC HERE I COME!

The glee project vlog - Season 1 Episode 5

2011-03-19T17:34:00.000-04:00

The glee project vlog - Season 1 Episode 4

2011-03-18T08:55:00.000-04:00

Huge Vinylmation Giveaway!

2011-03-13T19:01:00.002-04:00

My friend Dana is having an awesome giveaway of vinylmations!! There are LOTS of chances to win one. Click below for the official rules..

Vinylmation Giveaway

The glee project vlog - Season 1 Episode 3

2011-03-13T18:40:00.000-04:00

The glee project vlog - Season 1 Episode 2

2011-03-12T14:55:00.001-05:00

Cuteness On a Stick

2011-03-12T12:30:00.002-05:00

I'm pretty much infatuated with these. I saw them on E! news and fell in love all over again. I saw Britney Spears carrying one of these around a while ago but now she, Kim Kardashian, Nicole Scherzinger, Mel B and Holly Madison ALL have their own collection?! What's a girl to do! I am SO excited to get one when I go to Vegas in May. A Sugar Factory, candy store, opened at Paris Las Vegas in the Fall of 2010. You can order them online at SugarFactory.com too but I'd rather shop at the store. You get to choose what flavor lollipop goes in the holder. I'm assuming you can buy back up lollipops too for when you finish the first one. They are $25.oo which is ridiculous for a lollipop but let's be real..you're buying it because it's a damn cute accessory.

There is a Vegas collection too which I might end up getting because I don't know if I could decide between those ladies. They are some of my favorite people!

Hello Kitty also has a collection which is so. cute. I. can't. take. it.

What do you think about these?

Disney Dream Cruise Day 1

2011-03-11T12:39:00.000-05:00

I recently set sail on the Disney Dream Cruise with a group that WDW Radio put together. I had an AMAZING time and would recommend it anyone! I captured video footage to compile into a type of vacation documentary so here's my footage from day 1!

The glee project vlog - Season 1 Episode 1

2011-03-09T22:12:00.000-05:00

The glee project and giveaway

2011-03-09T15:51:00.005-05:00

The glee project

My good friend on twitter @markymarc70 told me, like many others, that I should start watching glee. I've never seen an episode. I heard a few of the songs from my friend Charles collection but that's it. This comes as a surprise to most because I dance and sing and love entertainment. With inspiration from Marc I have decided to watch the show and vlog after each episode. I'm inviting you to watch with us from the beginning and chat about it using twitter with the hashtag #gleeproject or as a response to the vlogs I will post on my YouTube channel. I think it will be more fun for me to experience the show with friends to talk about it with. There is no schedule or time requirements. Just start from the beginning and go at your own pace. Even if you're already a fan and not re-watching the series come join the conversation.

The giveaway part

I'm heading out in a bit to pick up season one. When I'm done watching all the seasons I will give them away! I haven't decided if I will give the complete collection to one person or each season to a different person. I'll let the participants decide that. :)

VLOGs will be here --> youtube.com/user/nsiscaretti

CHAT ON TWITTER here --> twitter.com/njoysiscaretti

Starting from the beginning today!!

Let's see if I become a gleek...

"I do it for the t-shirt"

2011-02-21T10:41:00.004-05:00

Have you ever heard that phrase about being a runner? My cousin told me about that quote when we were on the way to my first race and explained how it's a joke among runners. I can't deny that I was excited to have a shirt to wear to share my accomplishment. It seems really cool when you first start running to get the "I Did It" or the "Spring Chicken 5k" t-shirt. When you have a lot of races under your Spi-belt it doesn't phase you as much but it's always a perk. My athletic drawer is now overflowing with these race shirts but each one holds a memory of the time I received it.

The new running attire that I covet is a pair of these little beauties..

Being the epitome of a girly girl, I absolutely love diva-ing up my workout outfits. When I saw other runners wearing things like these Little Mismatched socks and Running Skirts on their blog, I knew they were something I could get used to. I also love Bondi Bands and the thinner headband type elastics that you can get at any drugstore or Walmart. In the picture below I'm wearing a snazzy one that says "<3>

So tell me this..

What is your must have (or want to have) athletic accessory?

A great start

2011-02-18T12:20:00.004-05:00

What? You're telling me we are almost into the third month of 2011? WOW! Well this year is off to an amazing start and I wanted to share what I've been blessed with this year so far..

Walt Disney World Marathon week 2011-- It was my first marathon and I truly did it in style. The friends I spent it with were definitely the best part! I loved the race, took lots of pics and beside the lil dehydration episode 2 days post race I would consider it all a success. I had a great time around the parks that week and sang in the American Idol Experience at Disney's Hollywood Studios. I wrote all about it in a post on StudiosCentral.com <--click there to read.

Other plusses this year so far

getting my college diploma in the mail
living back home and loving family time
planning trips that I'm taking the first half of this year. I've decided to take some time to travel and explore what I'd like to do as my career.

Here are some pics of my adventures so far :)

[Here I am ready to rock the stage]

[This is a pic I took running my first 26.2]

[The bling]

Nicole's first Running to Raise Virtual Race

2010-11-16T11:06:00.005-05:00

Nicole's first *Running to Raise* Virtual Race

A virtual running race is one where participants run at home in their own neighborhood, gym, running trail, etc. Then share their experience with their friends virtually. I've wanted to host one for a while and when I heard Tim Weston was fundraising for Team In Training I thought that would be an excellent beneficiary. All the money goes to The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.

The cost of the race is $5 to enter and then $1 per mile. [For example if you want run 5 miles the race would cost $10 total. If you want to do a 5k the race is $8, etc] You choose how many miles you want to run or walk. Choose a date to complete your race between November 23rd-27th.

To enter the race go to Tim's TNT fundraising website at http://pages.teamintraining.org/ncfl/wdw11/twestoncjg

On the right, click donate now. Donate the amount of money necessary for the number of miles you are doing. IMPORTANT: While donating, click on the bottom of the page where it says 'add comment' and in the message box include your name, how many miles you are running or walking, and your twitter handle if you have one. This will help Tim to form a roster of all the runners.

Now to the fun part. Every race has to have some sort of prize! We want to see an entertaining picture of you either in your running gear, running the race, before or after the race, themed in some sort of Thanksgiving or Team In Training fashion, or whatever you think will win you MOST CREATIVE picture. (Humor is always entertaining.) The pics will be judged and we will pick a winner who will receive a $25 DISNEY GIFT CARD! Don't spend it all in one place ;) Upload your picture to our Photobucket site. Go to Photobucket.com, sign in with the username RunningToRaise and the password runner. Then upload your picture and write a caption if you want. Only one photo per entrant please. This is an optional part of the race but only people who do this will be eligible to win the gift card.

Overall, this is to raise money for Tim's fundraising efforts and for you to have fun. As of me posting this Tim needs $755 to reach his fundraising goal. My goal is for us to raise at least $300 for him. If you're a runner you can easily consider one of your regular runs this race. Even if you're not a runner go out and walk a mile and donate. If you don't care to run or walk you can always just make a donation if you wish. I'm sure the pictures will be great and fun will be had by all. Invite your friends!

For more information contact Nicole at lilsaint27@aol.com or Tim at Tim@tim-weston.com

Thanks in advance to all who will participate :)

Spotlight: Carousel

2010-10-26T13:43:00.003-04:00

This semester I'm taking a class titled Musical Theatre Repertoire where each week we are assigned different shows that we have to do mock auditions for. Monday our show is Carousel. I've had this movie in a Rogers and Hammerstein 6-pack collection for a while but haven't watched it. I viewed it this morning in prep for class and had to review it for you as it quickly became a new favorite of mine..

Our story begins in the heavens with the dapper Billy Bigelow shining stars. This is portrayed as his resting place. Someone in charge there tells him that there is trouble with his family on Earth. His life story unfolds as he explains what happened when he lived. Billy was the barker, as he calls it, of the carousel. I would refer to it as eye candy who summons midway patrons to ride the carousel with his good looks and charm. Think "step right up and have a shot" as is commonly yelled at carnivals but Billy does is in a suave way. He meets the darling of a blonde who becomes his wife. He tells more of his life story, including how he died, and is permitted by the guy in charge to visit earth in hopes to help his family. This is a somber story but really captured my heart. The main theme song of this show is ever so catchy and is still circling my brain like a unicorn on a carousel. The most intriguing element of this movie is the dancing. The strong balletic numbers danced on sets and props are very clever and visually appealing. One cake taker is the song about June, where men jump off of a roof, somersault, and then jump onto a waist high handrail and balance with one leg extended. Amaaazing. The number where Billy's daughter envisions her father working on the carousel is fantastic. Couples circle around with the ballerinas holding double attitudes on the hip of the male dancer that is holding them. This brilliant staging gives the illusion that the girls are horses on a--you guessed it carousel. If you enjoy old musical movies, dancing or love stories then this movie is for you!

For my audition I plan to sing the "loving that man of mine" song from South Pacific or something from State Fair if I can find it. Both of these musicals are by Rogers and Hammerstein also and have similar sounds and roles. I'm looking forward to the dance portion of this audition very much as it is all BALLET (yay!) and we're having a surprise guest come teach it..

Sunday at home

2010-10-24T11:49:00.005-04:00

I came home this weekend from college to spend the weekend with my family (stepdad and Nana who lives next door to us) and relax. I make this 2 hour drive often because I'm a big family person and would rather spend my time with them than participating in regular college student festivities.

My weekend has been a little like this.. Friday I got in around 8 and decided to go to bed early. I had a lot of things on my mind and needed to rest.

Saturday morning Stepdaddy got bagels for us. I had an awesome everything bagel with and a chocolate milk. Mmm. Perfection. Then I went out for 10.3 mile training run. The weather is so nice and I really enjoyed the run. No world record time here but felt like I had a nice final long run before my half next weekend. :) I went to the Jensen Alehouse last night with Stepdaddy and we sat at the bar..odd. There were no tables available immediately so we sat at a bar together for the first time. Then we saw The Town and WOO can that Ben Affleck act himself silly. I was so impressed with this film which rang familiar with The Departed, a favorite of mine. Though it was saturated with violence I would absolutely recommend this movie because of it's beautiful love story and because it makes you genuinely empathize with a villain which is rare.

Sunday. Today. I woke up and got the bagels this morning. :) It has been great to watch the Kardashians for hoursss! My roommates in Orlando decided they didn't want cable and I have missed my Kardash sisters so. And Dancing With The Stars but that's besides the point. I painted my nails with "Mean & Green" from the Maleficent section of the MAC Venomous Villain collection and now I'm about to adventure into the kitchen for the chocolate muffin I picked up this morning ;) (You can't see the beauty of the color in this pic but...)

This week is not so crazy as far as school goes but I do need to use this time wisely and prepare for the fierce weeks ahead. I need to pick songs to sing in my Musical Theatre Repertoire class next week and a Shakespeare scene that I'm going to direct for my Directing class among other things.

Next weekend I have the Halloween Half Marathon here in South Florida.

I'm feeling ready and wanted to sub 2:30 but I won't push myself. I'm just going to enjoy the miles and the beachy scenery. Some of the race festivities include:

Chip timing
Long-sleeve t-shirt
Finishers' medals

we have added a deejay to get us pumped up at the start and provide entertainment for the finish line party, breakfast sandwiches from HoneyBaked Ham, and free massages.

Sounds fun!

Since I've gotten more involved with Twitter I've really neglected my blog. I've decided to take a break from Twitter for a while to make sure I'm being productive and using my time wisely. I'm hoping as I take this break I can get back into the swing of things with my blog and figure out how split my social media time evenly between here and Twitter when I'm ready to go back.

Until next time,

N.Joy

Soul Food

2010-10-12T15:34:00.002-04:00

I have a really inspiring professor this semester that has a fantastic outlook on life. Basically-I want to be him when I grow up. He shared this quote with us from a Nelson Mandela speech written by Marianne Williamson:

"Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are younot to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others."

So beautiful.

Here is a quote from a theatre for social change project I finished up today. This is a sensitive subject for me.

"Hatred, judgment, selfishness and exclusion seem to be all too popular in our society today. The social issue I would like to tackle is acceptance. We see it really take over in high school and it continues on later in life in college, the work place and other social gatherings. Learning to love people for their differences is a learned skill but is priceless when acquired. Imagine how much more peaceful our world could be if we honestly accepted people for who they are."

Also--if you have never heard of them please check out the Vitamin String Quartet. They are a fabulous instrumental group that covers mainstream music. Def worth a listen.. click HERE to hear my favorite song from them.

Have a blessed day

N. Joy

#EpicOctober2010 Name tags!

2010-09-24T18:46:00.002-04:00

Hello there,

This message is for everyone attending the festivities at Walt Disney World next weekend, October 1-3. I am excited for so many great events such as the Be Our Guest Podcast Treehouse meet, WDW Radio Walkabout, WDW Foodie Fest, 5k and half marathon races, Mickey's Not-So-Scary Halloween party, etc etc. There will be a WHOLE lot of awesome people there that I do not want to miss out on meeting! When we all get together in these big groups, sometimes it is hard to recognize everyone from their avatars and such. In the past when attending Disney tweetups my friends and I have worn the "I'm celebrating button" with our twitter name on it. Below is a pic of the Disneyland button but the Disney World one is similar. Instead of saying Disneyland it has a blank space. These buttons can be found at guest relations at any park and cast members provide Sharpie markers to borrow as well.

My plan is to write my twitter name and then my real name below that. If everyone does that we will all be able to recognize each other easily and be a big happy Disney twitter family! :o)

Safe travels to all of you.

It's going to be the BEST. WEEKEND. EVER!

Run Court Run Raffle

2010-09-19T20:05:00.003-04:00

Hey runners,

Just wanted to let you know there's a SWEET raffle going on over at runcourtrun.com. Courtney is a sweet, wonderful person and is fundraising for TnT! Check it out and see it you are interested!

CLICK HERE :)

Nicole

11-11 make a wish

2010-09-19T19:19:00.004-04:00

hey bloggy world :) I've missed you!

I only have 13 days left until the Walt Disney World Wine & Dine race weekend! I've said this before but as a refresher, on October 3rd I'm running Mickey's 5k in the morning and the Wine & Dine half marathon at night. Yes 2 races in one day. I'm thinking of it as a 16 mile training run for my first full (at Disney) in January.

Now that that's cleared up, time is ticking away for this race. I planned on doing an 11 mile training run yesterday. I have been extremely overwhelmed lately and I had a bit of a breakdown yesterday. I set out for those 11 miles and...did 1. I had my iPhone bopping in my back pocket because my stepdad said I should carry it. This is because last time I ran around here a guy got out of his car and started walking with and talking to me. Harmless but creepy. Then I couldn't figure out the water situation. I couldn't carry enough water with me and my route had no fountains. Like 10 other things caused me to cut the run short.

I woke up this morning feeling better and didn't pressure myself but decided happily that I would do my 11 today. The miles went like this:

Mile 1 - run

Mile 2 - run

Mile 3 - run 1st half, walk 2nd half

Mile 4 - run

Mile 5 - walk

Mile 6 - run

Mile 7 - walk

Mile 8 - run

Mile 9 - walk

Mile 10 - run

Mile 11 - walk/run so I would finish in the time I wanted..

which was... 2:30:29! I wanted to do it in under 2:30 but I ran in the house to get water during this run and that had to take at least a minute so I basically did. I know I can do a sub 2:30 half for sure now because it was 90 degrees out (weatherchannel.com said it felt like 96) and that definitely slows me down quite a bit. I've read about it and it's scientifically proven that is slows you down. Running in the heat is the hardest way to run in my opinion. I drank 6 bottles of water through out this run! I couldn't believe it. I put them in my mailbox and would scoop one every few miles when I looped around only to finish it in seconds.

In conclusion, this run taught me what running has time and time again. You have to push yourself. No one else will. You decide whether you will run or not. You decide how you do based on your attitude. Just like life :) and that's why I love running. Oh! And the killer tush it gives you ;)

Family Summer Disney Trip

2010-09-15T14:59:00.008-04:00

Short & sweet. That's usually how we keep our Disney trips when my nephews come to visit. It is always the six of us: Stepdaddy, Tara (my sis), Joe (my bro-in-law), Casper & Clayton (the nephews) and yours truly. *Wink* We stayed at the Polynesian last year and loved it but wanted to explore roomier options which led us to The Cabins at Fort Wilderness. Our cabin had a bedroom with a queen bed and a bunk bed, a kitchen and a living room with a murphy bed. There was room for 6 to sleep. This resort has a really countryfied feel. We played at the pool the first day and by 'we' I mean all of us. I LOVE pool slides so I played too on the grownup slide of course. The boys absolutely adored the play area for kids there and spent all day squirting each other and going down the slides. hehe. Later on I hit the running trail with my friend Jared. It goes all the way to Wilderness Lodge and is exquisitely scenic. The family barbecued at the cabin that night. It's a nice option to have in the Summer especially when all little boys want to do is play with their water shooters outside anyway. :)

The next day we woke up early to venture to the Magic Kingdom. We took the boat over from The Cabins. This is a bit of a lengthy commute. You have to operate around the resort on buses to make it to the dock and then it's a 20 minute ride. Very pretty views but can be an inconvenience for those in a rush to get to the park. We got on every attraction we wanted though my 6 year-old nephew would barely get on any rides. Maybe next time. Besides the brief, sporadic fits thrown by the nephews (what do you expect from hot, cranky kids) it was a perfect family day. We even got a visit from my great friend John on twitter. I wanted my family to meet so many of the wonderful friends I have made this Summer but didn't want to take away from family time. John joining us at MK for the evening was the perfect balance and the fam adored him including the kiddos. He would fake cry when they said we weren't going to go on a ride he wanted and the kids ate it up!

The next day we were off to down town Disney to shop and eat and we did plenty of both. We ate at Earl of Sandwich and the boys had $50 each to spend wherever they please from pop-pop. :) My sister and I did some damage in Basin, the store that sells soaps and bath & shower stuff. Loved it. We loaded up our Suburban with bags and bags..and bags and headed home.

Nicole

Where I've been! My sister is in town..

2010-07-22T13:19:00.028-04:00

Every Summer my stepsister comes to visit with my 2 awesome nephews and her crazy funny husband. This his been quite the eventful trip so far...

We've had a lot of pool time..

I bought them these fun walrus floats. They are extremely hard to balance on and us 'grown-ups' have been using them as water bulls and have been having 8 second competitions! LOL. I was able to stay on mine for like 13 seconds once!

Now you see me..

Now you don't!

The beach has been a big part of our family time too.

We go to this kid-friendly beach that has a reef with lots of fishies..hence the snorkle gear. I'm P. Sherman!! (Can someone please tell me if they get that joke..)

Finding Nemo..

Sister and Stepdaddy :)

Then we went to this neat place where they had little touch tanks with sea animals and you could feed stingrays!

Me checking out the hermit crab
Touch tank!

Ew I cant believe I touched this and fed it to a stingray

One of my nephews as a stingray...and the other

We took a drive to Jupiter and went to a rocky beach. We got to pass Celine Dion, Tiger Woods, and Greg Normand's house on the way.

Then we headed off to the main event..

Here I am on top of the Jupiter lighthouse!

We went for my nephews but one was too little and one was too scared..

So me and my broinlaw were the only 2 who climbed the 105 steps to the top!

Adorable

When the kids go to bed we have grown-up time and play Apples to Apples.

also my sister and I had a nail party :)

Not too many colors to choose from haha. I have a whole row of just pinks.

We did Mickey & Minnie designs because our Disney vacation was the next day :) Mine are the pink toes of course

and the Disney vacay post is coming soon!

Hope you all are having a wonderful Summer too!

x0x0

Getting better all the time..

2010-07-10T08:32:00.002-04:00

3.1 mile run in 36:47

I took some advice from @the4orce22 and ran the first mile slower with the intention of speeding up gradually. Well I didn't speed up but I was able to run 2 consecutive miles! (This is not really a big feat, for me it's just been a while since I've done it.) My hip was still bothering me after the first 2 miles but I'll keep icing and taking it easy. I hope it's not from my new shoes! I've been working on my speed so much that I forgot how much ground you actually cover going at a decent pace without stopping. I've been doing so much run/walk/run lately and have been discouraged but going back to a slower pace reminded me that I'm actually good at long distance..when I take my time. I'm still working on my goal of a sub :30 5k in October and then the same night I want my half to be sub 2:15. Both are dooable since I've been smarter about training this time around. Today before my run I did the 7 minute warm up on page 80 of the July Runner's World. I want to continue to work on my core and do exercises good for runners instead of just pounding the pavement day after day. I've also been better with nutrition and know I'm a better runner when I weigh less. Everything is tightening up and that makes me a happy girl!

I wore my running skirt again today and was MUCH happier this time around. :-D I took my iPod nano and that fit in the pocket and didn't bob around at all. I didn't wear my spibelt today but I'll figure that out another day. I think i just can't wear the 2 together-has anyone been able to do that successfully?

I ate a Chocolate Gu before the run because Tonia said she liked that one and WOW I LOVE that one! It tastes like brownie batter!

I'm feeling really happy about today's run just because my morale is high. Lately when I've finished my run I've been down and bashing myself with stuff like "Why am I so tired?" "Why am I so slow?" "Is this an injury coming on?" Today it felt good to go slow, be me and enjoy the run and sometimes you just need a "me" run like that.

53 Random things about me

2010-07-07T11:35:00.002-04:00

I wanted to do this post when I got to 50 followers but since I'm at 53 I raised the # of facts a bit. Thank you so much for following my blog and reading my posts! I'm a lucky girl :)

To make it more interesting I took random pictures from my photobucket account which I've had since 2006. A lot of these pics are from high school and my junior college. These are from a time when I didn't blog so it will be new to you. So, in no order, here goes....

1.I LOVE photoshoots!

2. I lived with my best friend Bonnie when I first went away to UCF.
3.We only lasted 1 semester..some friends are not meant to live together!
4.My grandpa died in 2007. He was really special to me and I still don't think it has set in..
5. I lost my daddy in 2003. He was my WORLD! (Us at Yankee stadium the Summer before he passed on.)
6.I've taught MANY dance classes in my life. This was one of my first at my junior college I taught little kids ballet :)
7.I became a huge Jesus fan in college by my own doing.
8.I can navigate around NYC solo..and often do. I usally visit 2-3 times a year when all is well.
9. I didn't really like college and still don't but did have some fun times..
10. A dear friend from high school works at Disney and I adore watching her in shows and parades.
11.This sweet friend is one who helped bring me to Christ <3.
12. I take classes at the Broadway Dance Center in NYC and Chio is tied for my first fave teacher along with Leslie Feliciano.
13. I have 2 nephews who come to visit from TX every Summer with my stepsis.
14. I wish I kept in better touch with my dad's sisters..
15. I went to Chicago to audition for So You Think You Can Dance and auditioned for Nigel and Shane Sparks. Didn't make it but had a blast!
16. I still keep in touch with this friend from kindergarten.
17. I've only had 3 serious boyfriends in my life..here's on of them. Sweet guy :)
18. Here's another. He was a dancer too.
19. I danced on pointe at my junior college and HATED EVERY SECOND OF IT! I whined every class and my teacher hated me. hehe.
20. I had the best high school grad party in town with a huge rented tent with the ceiling filled with balloons,a dance floor, dj, cotton candy machine,people from every school in the county, decorations galorrrre and oh yea--this "red carpet and paparazzi" when you walked in :)
21. I love outdoorsy stuff...where I don't get dirty
22. My high school superlatives were "most likely to be remembered" and "most school spirit" and I was the cheerleading captain and spray painted all our signs for sporting events...like this one..
23.Here's that other boyfriend I was talking about. We dated for 6 years.
24. Idk I just liked this random NYC pic.

25. A friend of mine from high school, Larry Sanders, got drafted #15 into the NBA this year. Go Bucks!

26. I had a great high school experience.

27. And went out with a bang by spray painting and decorating the campus with school spirited type class of 2006 stuff. I wrote my initials everywhere and no i didnt get in trouble :)
28. Here's me and my mom before senior prom. I went to all four proms when I was in high school.29. I was voted home coming court princess all for years but didn't win queen.

30. I started dancing when I was 14.

31. My stepdad is my favorite person in the world and we do everything together.

32.I've had a huge Disney obsession my whole life but it didn't get this bad until college.

33. My birthday is December 27th 1987.

34. My middle name is Joy because I was almost a Christmas baby.

35.I LOVE scrapbooking and have way too many for my age,

36. I have no clue what I am going to do with my life after college.

37. I love reading and wish I had more time for it.

38. PINK is a serious obsession I have.

39. and the same goes for glitter.

40. I am German, Irish, Italian, Czechoslovakian, and Norwegian.

41. I am still best friends with my first friend from kindergarten and was the maid of honor at her wedding 2 years ago.

42. Chicken Alfredo from Olive Garden is my weak spot.

43. I am an extreme high maintenance girly-girl..in a good way.

44. I'm a twitter junkie! (@njoysiscaretti)

45. I've had my iPhone for 3 years..yes it's a first generation.

46. Speaking of first generation, I have ALL my beanie babies still. Thousands.

47. In 2011 I am traveling the United States and soul searching.

48. I want to be a better cook.

49. I want to eat healthier.

50. I want to marry an athletic, positive, snuggly, brown-haired, brown-eyed, Disney loving, Christian guy who dresses well. lol.

51. I go to Disney all.the.time.

52. I love to pray.

53. It makes me happy thinking that someone may read this after all the time I've spent on it!

Gadget run gone wrong

2010-07-07T11:17:00.002-04:00

In my last post I talked about how excited I was about all my new running gear. In this one I will talk about how annoying it all was..

I set out early in hopes of doing a 10k wearing my new Brooks Adrenaline, Running Skirt and tech top, Spibelt with water bottle attached, and had Gu Chomps in my spibelt pocket and my iPhone for timing and music.

The first annoying thing was that my feet and calves were hurting from getting used to my new shoes. Then my headband kept slipping. Then the shorts under my running skirt were riding up. Then my legs were rubbing together. Then my Spibelt was bopping because the water had slid to the front. Then other things started to bug me (mother nature related.)

I'M TRYING TO RUN HERE!

I knew I was going to have to get used to all this stuff but--no, it's not for me. So I went around my 5k neighborhood route once and knew I would need to stop and readjust for the second lap. I noticed when I got home that my running skirt (note:this is my first time wearing it) had already started to get pulls in it. It is that thin, bathing suit material and from wearing the Spibelt it had already gotten worn out. Guess these things aren't durable. :-/

The Brooks Adrenaline shoes are very different from my other running shoes. I got a much larger size in these than normal because I thought it felt right but now I don't know. They felt big, bulky and hard when I was running, not like my old Nike Equalons. I liked the Equalons a lot but the guy at Track Shack said the way they wore on the bottom showed they might not be the best shoe for me.

So I fixed everything as best I could (tightened Spibelt, got more water, went potty, fixed headband) and headed out for round 2. I really wanted all this stuff to work because I had been looking so forward to it.

Round 2 was a little better but the running skirt and spibelt are not a good combo--too slippery. I refuse to put anything in the running skirt pockets btw. I had my iPhone in there for 5 seconds and it kept hitting my leg annoyingly and my skirt started to slip down..

*SIGH* Hopefully all this stuff will work out better once I figure out how it works best for me. I didn't let it get the best of me though-I felt tired and discouraged but still went out for my last 3 miles even though I had to walk most of it.

Overall I'm happy because it's been a while since I've done a 10k (Since right after the Princess half I think) and I'm excited to work up my mileage and get ready for the halfs I have coming up in October.

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