For the Love of a Princess

I look at this blog, and I feel intimidated.  Kind of funny, really - it's a blog about Disney and Star Wars, and I look at it and go, "I don't want to write in that.  It'll take too long.  I'll sound stupid.  There's too much to say, and I don't have the time to care about it."

It's all a lot of excuses because I feel like I need to talk about something.  But the truth is, I don't need to talk about anything.  I ran my first half marathon, and I feel like I need to write up this big, long post about everything that happened.  But I don't need to do anything.  I don't owe the world anything.  I only owe it to myself to remember that it was amazing.  I smiled the entire time I ran.  I ran 13.1 miles with a freakin' chest cold, and I was never more grateful for hot weather and 90% humidity in my life.  I could breathe because of that weather, and I believe it contributed to me getting through.  My homemade Rapunzel-esque costume worked perfectly.  I got pictures with princesses before the race started.  They had fireworks going when I was running into Magic Kingdom.  They played "Back in the Saddle Again" when I crossed into Frontierland, and I thought of my Mom and Dad and all of the years we've spent together in Florida building memories.  That made me smile even more.

And I got through.  I'm officially a Disney Half Marathon princess now.  Pascal and I made our way through all of those miles to cross the finish line with a smile on our faces, and it was worth every moment of training that I put into it last year.  I found my nerd husband (who was having a good health morning that morning), and he met me with a single, bright red rose.  He was so proud of me.  He was beaming.  He took my picture, and he showed me video of me in the home stretch.  He was cheering loudly on the video.  I never got the chance to see him even though I looked, but he was here, and he was so, so proud.  It made me feel amazing.

Would I do it again?  Yes, I would.  But I think I'm going to wait for Star Wars because I'm assuming that at some point in the future, that half marathon course will run through Star Wars Land...and I'm not missing out on that.

It's back to real life now - at least for a little bit.  It sort of stunned me when I looked at the calendar just a bit ago and realized we're only a little more than a month away from our trip for Star Wars Celebration in Chicago.  That's insane!  With everything going on in life (and believe me, behind the scenes, there's a LOT of crap going on), I kind of forgot all about it.  Which means I also forgot all about all of my grand plans for costuming and starting early and whatnot. 

Right now, I'm sitting here thinking I might not even bring a costume.  That feels odd considering I've at least had one costume at every convention I've attended.  So I'm still thinking it through and deciding how I feel as time passes by.  Honestly, my attentions are elsewhere in life right now, and costuming or sewing or creation of anything just feels like work.  I have enough on my plate, and the last thing I want to do it accumulate more work and/or heartache for myself.  Add on to that the fact that I actually gained weight while training for this half marathon (oops), and I don't want to make myself feel bad about the fact that some things just might not fit.  I accept that because, hey, I was able to run a half marathon and finish strongly.  I don't need to get ahead of myself and undermine my accomplishment.  I'll get back to where I was, but I don't want to subject myself to the pain of feeling bad because such-and-such pants don't fit, and omgtheworldisgoingtoendbecausei'mfat.

So I'm over here kind of in limbo - looking at costume upgrade and changes I could make to existing costumes, not wanting to spend the money because of personal challenges we're facing at the moment, wondering if taking this trip is a good idea, but knowing that ultimately it is a good idea, curious about how long it'll take me to get back into a shape I'm 100% comfortable with, debating whether or not I should eat another girl scout cookie because they're too darned good, hoping our friends aren't annoyed that we haven't reached out to make plans with them, and wishing I could just sit and rest and not have this insane run-on sentence of worries flow through my head 24/7.

The paragraph about is why I don't write here (or anywhere) hardly at all.  I feel obligated or concerned, and I don't write with reckless abandon like I used to.  But this entire post was recklessly written with abandon (and then a little editing at the end), so maybe this is what I need to do.  Maybe it's just like training for that half marathon.  Take your time.  Make yourself strong.  Remember it's okay to fail.  Remember it's okay to amend your plans.  Remember that life doesn't always work the way you want it to, but it does work, and you can work within it.  That's what I want to strive to do.  I want to strive to keep moving, keep working, and keep pushing forward.

At a particularly rough patch this winter, I wrote a note on a purple post-it and attached it to my monitor at work.  Dated January 16, 2019, it reads: "I have the strength to keep going - mentally and physically.  I've proven it time and time again."

As Han would say, "It's true.  All of it." 

A Girl Against the Universe - a Running Story

So a few years ago I picked up something I never thought I would - running.

I was always the little chubby kid in gym class.  The one that got picked last for teams.  The one that couldn't finish running "the mile" test.  The one that liked literature, music, and art way more than physical activity.  Then, a few years back, I was trying to think of something I had never done before.  I wanted a new goal - something brand new and shiny to work on achieving.  Something I never thought I'd ever be able to accomplish.  So I set out with a Couch to 5k app and a goal to run my first 5K.

I did it.  And from there I ran a couple more 5Ks.  Then the Nerd Husband and I trained for the Inaugural Star Wars Dark Side 10K at Walt Disney World.  It was freaking amazing.

Then our world blew up.  The Nerd Husband's grandfather grew sicker until he was finally diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.  He passed away quickly after a hellish fight.  Then my biological mother had a stroke while we were in Florida, and there I was - worrying for my family until I could get back home.  Then - most recently - we had an ice storm, and the Nerd Husband fell in our driveway and broke his left hip.  We lived with my parents for a month until he could come home and do the stairs (slowly and only once a day in the beginning).

Needless to say, we haven't been home much.  Our house has suffered for it.  We have suffered for it - physically and mentally.  It's been trying.  Running fell to the wayside.  Making it through to the next day was really the only goal.

During this last trial - the Nerd Husband's accident - I came up with my next plan.  In between sitting in the hospital with my husband and doing the drives back and forth from our house to gather things, take a shower or feed our kitty, it dawned on me that I wanted to show the universe it wouldn't break me.  It wouldn't throw all of this at me and see me back down without a fight.  I remember saying out loud, "No.  I refuse to feel like this, and I won't let you tear me down."  Plus, I was doing all of this to help someone else.  And I'd been helping other people for so long.  I needed to do something purely for me.

I vowed to figure out something I had never done before and make me feel badass, strong, and rebellious against the universe.  I thought about a tattoo or dyeing my hair another color.  But then my brain rested upon one thought...

I'll run a half marathon.

Not sure that was a normal train of thought.  But then again, I've never claimed to be normal.

I've always been interested in the runDisney half marathons.  I remember being there right after Princess weekend and seeing all of the people on the buses and in the parks with their medals.  It was really inspiring because there were people of all shapes, sizes, and walks of life.  It looked like a goal that anyone could obtain with training and tenacity.  I honestly wasn't sure if I'd ever be one of those people, but I wanted to be one of those people.  Plus, how wonderful would it be to run through the place that holds so many wonderful family memories for me.  Family and friends and people I don't have with me anymore.  They're all still there, in that place, in those moments.

The details are fuzzy on how it all came about, and it was a while before I put my mind to a permanent decision on when this would all go down.  I recall asking my virtual running group for advice, signing up for a local 10K (for experience and a time to submit), writing out a training schedule, and then eventually marking my vacation time in my work calendar for "February 2019".

Princess Half Marathon 2019 had been decided.

Now I have a little Disney Princess dry erase board from the Dollar Tree sitting in my cubicle at work, counting down the days to registration.  I have nerves floating around in my gut because the registration process got changed this year, and they pushed the dates further away than originally planned.  I have a countdown on my phone, and I'm debating where the best place to stay is and how to make this all work.

Best of all, I have a goal, and I'm nervous as hell about it - but it's mine.  And that is so stinking exciting that I can't even begin to explain to you how exciting it is.  This is mine, and no one can take it from me.  I know that bad things can happen, and chances are they totally will.  Who even knows what will/could happen when I'm away next February?  But bad stuff is going to happen no matter where you are, who you're with, or what you try to do to prevent it.  You can't prevent life.  Life finds a way.  The best you can do is live your life for you.  Do the things you can do while you can do them.  Share your strength and love with others.  And remember to be kind to you.  Always.  In all things.

Now, if you'll excuse me, this princess has a half marathon training schedule to contemplate.

How a "Planner" Became a "Pantser"

There's an event that happens around the world in November called NaNoWriMo.  To quote their description on Google, "NaNoWriMo is an annual (November) novel writing project that brings together professional and amateur writers from all over the world."  I've participated in Nano (as I'm going to call it for short) a few times in the past, as well as some of their smaller Camp NaNoWriMo events that they hold in April and July.  I have only completed my goal of 50,000 words once and that was in November 2013 (which Facebook kindly reminded me today with my "WINNER" picture I took).  All of my other attempts at fallen pitifully short of my goal, but that's okay - and I'm okay with it.  The point is that I tried, and I did my best to enjoy my writing while I was writing it.

Now you might be saying, "Hey, Shada," (which is my nickname, if you've forgotten).  "What's this writing business?  This doesn't have to do with Star Wars or Disney.  Isn't that what you said this blog was about?"

And I would say to you, "Now, you hold on to your horses just a gosh dern minute there, whippersnapper."  (My Nano novel that I "won" with as a western of sorts; I'm sorry.)  "You give me some time here, and I'm gonna learn you at thing or two about a'plannin' and a'pantsin'."

That just...sounds weird.  I am so sorry.  Moving on.


The terms "planner" and "pantser" are things that I learned about in the Nano writing community.  There were some people who carefully spent the month of October (or earlier) planning out their novel piece by piece.  Writing up character sheets.  Gathering research and information.  They were the "planner" group.  Then you have the people who sat down on November 1st with a blank slate.  Maybe a rough idea of where they wanted to go.  No solid leads or characters.  These are the people who are writing by the "seat of their pants" - the "pantser" group.

There are parts of me that have always been a planner.  I loved my little schedule/planner in high school that they gave us for free every year.  I'd get my different color pens out and color coordinate everything so I knew what was homework, what was personal, what was extracurricular.  When our Star Wars Celebration group prepares to go to a convention, I like to have group discussions, make hand-outs, discuss plan of attack and what we'd like to see.  I like to know what will be there when I'm going to a certain place.  I don't need to know exactly where I'm going to be at 2:15pm, but I like to know the things that are available to me, what times they're open, and what my "must dos" are.  And I like to have some things very planned - flight times, pick-up times, dinner dates and times, etc.  Things like that need planning.  You can't just show up at the airport and go, "Hello, sir, put me on an airplane.  I want to go to Florida."  That doesn't work.  I haven't tried it, but I'm assuming it doesn't work.

While I have usually considered myself a planner in my lifetime, I also know that I have a bit of a pantser in me, as well.  This goes back to the idea of I don't know where exactly I'm going to be at 2:15pm.  I hate hour-by-hour, minute-by-minute schedules.  I hate to feel like I've tied myself into a work-day schedule when I'm really just trying to have a weekend off or a vacation day.  That drives me batty and makes me more stressed because what happens if I don't obey my schedule?  What happens if I fail?  See?  Not fun for me.  When it comes to Nano, I'm also a "pantser".  Characters and writing need to flow.  If I force myself into the research element of it without really having purpose or care behind it, then I'll just feel stressed and bored and I won't want to write anymore.  Not really a productive attitude when you have 50,000 words to write.  

These two paragraphs only describe me and my style of writing and vacations and life.  Not everyone is the same, and that's okay!  It makes life uber-interesting when we're not all carbon-copy cookie-cutouts of each other.  We are not the Emperor's Clone Army!  (Which, really, is a bad example because even the clones prove that they aren't carbon-copies of each other despite having the same genetic structure...but I digress.)

What I'm really trying to say here is that my planner lifestyle has had to make a huge shift into the pantser lifestyle just because life (and myself) made it that way.  I learned that I can't be rigid in my plans and still expect myself to roll with the punches.  If there's an issue with one way of doing things, I can't keep doing things that way and not change to something else so I can get a different outcome.  I encountered a lot of crap over the years that bucked up against my planning abilities and threw me totally out of whack, so I finally learned to just say, "Fine.  You win.  We're wingin' this one."  And I learned that that's okay.  You can be a planner and a pantser, and there's nothing wrong with either of them.  

For me, a bit of both suits me just fine, and that's the attitude I'm trying to take toward my planning of our next Walt Disney World trip in December.  We've been dealing with so much this year - from personal illness, to family illness, to sudden losses and death, to depression and anxiety, to just living the day-to-day.  I didn't plan any of that, and if I'd clung so desperately to a personal plan during all of this craziness, I think I'd be a lot more insane than I currently am.  I had to let it go - all of it.  I could do what I could do only in that moment I could do it, and that was okay.  

I'm keeping that in mind as I'm looking at all of this Christmassy stuff at Disney and reading blogs and gathering information.  Some of it makes me really nervous because it's the typical things we hear when we read about Disney.  All of the websites tell me to plan - I need a plan.  I need to know which park I'm going to go to on which days.  I need to make advances dining reservations.  I don't have any FastPasses.  I don't have a Dining Plan, but it says I should have a Dining Plan.  I can't eat that much.  Omg.  What if we don't make it to blah?  What if we can't walk it?  What if we're sick?  What if it rains? 

I hate all of that.  All of it.  I understand that having a Disney vacation means you have to plan, yes.  But I personally believe in not making myself physically ill while planning the gosh dern thing (there's that old Nano novel coming back around again).  So when I've been doing my reading and researching, what I've been attempting to do is just make a list.  Make a list in my head of things I'd like to see, where they are, when they're available.  I have quite the list thanks to lots of different websites, including Disney Tourist Blog.  I found their articles to be quite helpful, including the self-tour of all of the decorations at the Disney resorts.  This was a big thing on the Nerd Husband's and my list, so it was helpful to find a bit of a guide to get us where we wanted to be.

Also, to allow us a bit more freedom in our time schedule and exploration, we decided to rent ourselves a car for this trip.  We have a lot of things we'd like to go outside of the Disney parks, and it can sometimes be rather trying to resort hop using Disney transportation.  So we chalked up the extra bit of money (which isn't bad, really), and we're going to test this out to see how we like having our own vehicle while on property.  I'm kind of excited to get to drive down there again; it's been a while.

Sitting back and reading all of this again, it sounds a little rambly - but the point I'm trying to make is that maybe you can take a step back from the uber-planning.  Even if you just take one day and leave it completely open, maybe that would help.  Just a day to say, "Hey, where do you want to go?  Let's go play."  Because really, that's what it's about, right?  Playing and creating memories with your family and friends and loved ones.  At least that's what it's always been about for me, and I need to remember that.  That should always come first when I sit down and come up with a plan by the seat of my pants.

"Boo to You" - Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party

Almost a month to the day, I'm posting my blog about attending Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party.  Don't judge, dude.  It's hard to write blogs when you're busy.  You end up making outlines, writing them in chunks, getting sidetracked and learning html when you don't really have to, etc.  You know how it goes.  So let's move on...

 Perhaps the smartest thing we did in preparation for the Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party was take it easy that day.  The Nerd Husband wasn't feeling quite up to par that morning, and I was pretty tired, as well.  We slept in for a long while, and then we hopped a bus to Epcot to get some lunch at the Food and Wine Festival booths.  Altogether, we were in the park about an hour and a half.  We knew that rain was coming anyway, so we headed on back to the hotel to just chill out and relax.  That turned into fall asleep watching TV for three hours while listening to the rain pound on the ground outside - so relaxing, actually.  We eventually woke up around 6:00 or so, quickly got ready, and then head out to the Magic Kingdom with no idea what to expect.

I will preface this by saying we had no agenda for our party except to take advantage of the special offerings for the evening - parades, shows, fireworks, trick-or-treating, and one trip on the Haunted Mansion.  We didn't want to ride any other rides or visit any characters, so that limited our focus for the evening which was fine for us.  Therefore, our schedule wouldn't work for everyone, but it certainly worked for us.

We walked up to the Magic Kingdom and went through security only to be placed in sort of a "holding" tank in front of the entrance.  They were holding back the party folks until the rest of the park was empty, which was fine.  There was enough room that I didn't feel overly crowded or anything, and the people leaving the park were amused by our costumes.  Nick Wilde and Judy Hopps were quite the hit, but Nick just took the cake, I think.  A couple of little girls went by with their dad and they pointed and squeed as they walked by.  I laughed a bit, but I really had to laugh when the dad came back to us, pushing against the crowd with his stroller.

"They wanted to say hi to Nick Wilde," the dad explained with a grin.  I giggled as two little girls waved up at NH and carried on with their excited chatter as NH waved back.  It was too freakin' adorable.  After they left, we chatted it up with the family of three next to us, and then finally the line started moving forward.  We received a wrist band from a cast member tasked with standing at the front of this mass of moving people (thank you to that person and their patience), and then we were off to the races!

Walking onto Main Street was pretty amazing - with the pumpkin decorations lit up and the characters our and the general atmosphere of fall and Halloween.  I had to admit that I was pretty lost, though - which is such a weird feeling when you've been in a place thousands of times and yet you have no idea where to begin.  We walked forward just a bit, not actually hitting the main part of Main Street, when I saw that a gate that is typically closed was wide open off to my right.  What's this? I thought.  I've got to ask someone where to go.  I'm totally lost.

I found a cast member standing right there, and I actually admitted, "I've never been to this before.  I'm lost.  Where do I begin?"

She very nicely started to tell me about the park, and I laughed a little and said I'm sorry.  "No no.  I've been here, but never to the party.  What's off this way?"  I pointed to the newly opened door which usually hides the "backstage" area.

"Oh, that's where you can start off your Trick or Treating!  If you go that way, they'll give you the bags that you can use as you explore the rest of the park."  Lady, you just said magical words to a 33-year-old adult who still longs for those awesome moments of kid-dom where you just dress up in a costume, say some words with a smile, and people give you candy.  For free.  Because they have to.

So NH and I headed into the backstage area, which felt kind of awesome and forbidden and off-limits because I've never seen this part of the park before.  There was a little courtyard with statues of all of the main Disney characters dressed in Halloween costumes.  There were quite a few PhotoPass photographers, so we took advantage of the shortest line we could find in front of Jester Goofy.  They had us do a magic shot, and I wasn't at all certain what we'd end up with.  It ended up being one of my favorite pictures of the whole night.

Seriously.  Epic love for this picture.

We got our Trick or Treat bags (which - I'll admit - felt a little silly but also kind of satisfying), and we headed out of the little area where it dumped us back out at the very end of Main Street.

Now, here is where we were rebels, people.  We completely went against every website, blog, and article we had read about MNSSHP.  And you know what?  It didn't hurt us one bit.  Not one little tiny bit.

We figured that the crowd wasn't too big there on Main Street near the castle.  And there was a nice little spot near a fence line on the Tomorrowland side of the street.  So we parked ourselves and waited for the first Mickey's "Boo-to-You" Halloween Parade.  All of the things we read said this wasn't the way to go - watch the second parade, they said.  It would be much less crowded.  But hey, we were here and we were now, so why the heck not?

The parade was awesome.  Freaking awesome.  The floats and costumes and characters were all amazing, and I love getting to see the villains really shine.  This was a huge highlight for me, and I felt like a little kid watching the ghost dancers twirl in their Haunted Mansion ballgowns.  And the ghost butlers with their little shovels dancing and dragging them on the ground.  So much fun.

After the parade, we figured - hey, we're kind of comfy here, and you know what?  The Hocus Pocus Villain Spectacular is going to happen right over there.  Sure, we're not close enough to see facial expressions, but I've got a good look at the castle stage.  You good?  I'm good.

So we stayed and rebelled against the internet once again.  This show was a lot of fun, with great characterization and a chance to see of many of the characters that we normally don't get to see!  I loved seeing Rapunzel and Flynn and the entire Viking hoard.  And Tiana, Naveen, and Louis from The Princess and the Frog were a lot of fun.  Plus, as much as I am not a Nightmare Before Christmas fan, I have got to admit that Oogie Boogie is one of the best costumes I have ever seen dance around like a crazy person ghoul on stage.  This show was a ton of fun, and I'm glad we took the time to enjoy it.

From there, we decided to head out and just look at things, finding trick-or-treat stops along the way and just enjoying the costumes, the people, and the atmosphere.  The one thing on NH's list of "eats" was a pumpkin spice cupcake from Gaston's Tavern, so we headed on back there for a late dinner.  We weren't horribly hungry that day, so we actually opted for some snack items from Gaston's which suited us perfectly.  I would definitely get these things again without hesitation.  We had some apple slices and caramel and some hummas and pretzel chips.  Which left a perfectly pleasant spot in our stomachs for that cupcake...which was amazing.  So worth it.

We hit a few more trick-or-treat stops as we made our way around the park, through Fantasyland and into Liberty Square.  It was getting close to Celebrate the Magic and Happy Hallowishes fireworks time, so I headed us back up toward the castle.  We found a little spot tucked close to the Christmas Shop there in Liberty Square where they typically draw portraits.  I figured we might be blocked by some trees or something, but that never bothers me much for fireworks.

Celebrate the Magic was perfect from where we were standing.  As long as you can see the castle, you're pretty well set for that show.  When Happy Hallowishes first started, though, my heart sank a little.  While I could definitely see fireworks, they were hidden more by the building's roof that stood directly in front of me.  The lower fireworks were hard to view, and we could have benefited from a different vantage point...

...and then the fireworks went off all around me.  All the freaking way around.  I had never seen anything like that before.  I saw fireworks from back in Liberty Square and maybe even back to Frontierland, and then it curved in an arc behind the castle and all the way over to the edges of Tomorrowland.  It might have even stretched in a complete circle; I have no idea.  But it was amazing, and I grinned like an idiot.  I was okay with my spot from then on out.  Plus, the soundtrack was fun.  So, so much fun.

I'm honestly trying to remember where we went after the fireworks, but I can't quite recall.  I think we were just having fun, laughing, enjoying the evening.  We stopped at a few photopass photographers, got some pictures, got more candy, looked in some shops at special merchandise, made some selections to pick up later, and finally - somewhere in the evening - we ended up in front of Space Mountain where I saw a 5 minute wait time.

Now, I haven't been on Space Mountain in years.  The last time I rode the thing I might have been 14.  So we're talking...almost 20 years.  I figured, now is the best time to ride it as an adult - just to see if it's worth doing in the future.  The NH wasn't feeling up to giving this mystery ride a shot, so I said, "I'll do this alone.  5 minutes.  It won't take long."  The 5 minute wait honestly might have been how long it took me to walk through the queue because when I got to the loading area, there were maybe 15 people ahead of me.  I walked right onto the ride.

Once it started, I wanted to walk promptly off of it.  I was folded into a little car that I honestly don't know how I bent my knees far enough to fit in it with a little safety bar thing that rested between my legs.  Then I was plunged into darkness, jerked this way and that way without any warning, trying to steel my body for the coming right turn only to be forced left.  I grunted and groaned like an old person.  The bar between my legs thunked against my skin, threatening to leave bruises.  I got off that ride more messed up in the head than when I walk off Star Tours.

I learned that night that I am too old for Space Mountain.

When I walked up to NH, I said simply, "Never again."  We moved on to get more candy and make our way to the other side of the park.  The night was drawing to a close, and we had one more thing on our list: the Haunted Mansion.

We were the only ones moving through the queue when we got there.  It felt so odd to be so alone, and there was no one to greet us when we got to the double doors.  The doors creaked open, and we were then welcomed by a cast member - all normal stuff.  But the make-up job on this cast member and the creepiness factor was definitely kicked up a notch.  Chalk it up to the Halloween party, it being close to closing time, or anything you want...but she was perfect.  Her make-up had a very zombie/ghostly feel, and it was definitely on-point.

We actually ended up in a group of maybe 6 other people, so 8 of us kindly stepped into the dead center of the stretching room.  There was no turning back now...  She even pulled the joke that I'd been hoping to see - standing behind a guest and staring at them when the lights go down in the stretching room.  And when the lights come back up...instant screams.  It was brilliant.

When the doors from the stretching room opened into the indoor cue, we walked out and saw the little "exit" doorway in front of us.  Typical, right.  But what wasn't typical was the four cast members who had strewn themselves in various places in the doorway.  One was stretched out on the floor, her feet slightly propped up, her head hanging limp as a the dead, staring at us.  A couple more languidly settled against the door frame, while a fourth hung in the back, chin down, staring.  Unmoving.  All of them.  Again, brilliant.  Someone needs to do this all the time.

The ride was fun - just super fun realizing we were there celebrating Halloween.  It didn't matter that we could quote the thing line for line by now.  What mattered was being together, having a celebration, and having fun with all of it.  We walked out of the Haunted Mansion chatting about the cast members and how cool they'd been, and then we saw the PhotoPass people.  This was the one I knew we needed.  I knew what this one was, but I wasn't sure exactly how they framed it.

We stood in line for a while but it wasn't too long of a wait, and it was amusing to see what was going on.  They would put the group of people in front of the horseless carriage, and they'd have them smile.  Then another cast member would run over to the side, hold up a wood ghost on a stick (very unscary ghost, I might add), and say, "Now look at the ghost!  Be scared!"  Seriously, it was done so hilariously that I never thought it would look as awesome as it did.

It was our turn.  We did our thing.  We looked ridiculous, I was sure.  But when we got the picture...

Okay, we still look ridiculous (I mean, for goodness sake, look at the ears), but how freaking awesome is that?!

After our fright of the night, we took off back toward Main Street.  We did a little shopping and picked up a few things, and then we headed out for the night.  Despite the fact that we'd napped earlier in the day, I think we fell asleep pretty soon after getting back to our hotel.  It was such a fun night.  I loved everything about it, and I'd love to go back someday.

This new experience is going on the list as a "win" for me.  I'll definitely be back for more not-so-scary frights...and candy.  Because...well, candy.

A Bit of Food and Wine

So the Nerd Husband and I took a little trip down to Disney World for a four day weekend at very beginning of October where we attended two new-to-us events: the International Food and Wine Festival at Epcot and Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party at Magic Kingdom.  We both did quite a bit of research and reading up to the point of our trip.  NH took the Food and Wine festival because he's the resident foodie in our house (aside from our kitty who miraculously munched her way into and through an entire sample bag of treats while we were away - that's another story).  I researched the Mickey's No...ok, let's abbreviate this thing: MNSSHP.  That's what all the hip-Disners are calling it.

For the sake of me rambling on and on and on and...yeah...I think we'll just split these two events up into two separate posts.  So I'll start you off with a bit of Food and Wine.

Epcot's International Food and Wine Festival
A bit of background on my Nerd Husband.  NH loves his menus.  Loves them.  I introduced him once to TripAdvisor a few years ago, and he's hooked.  His Disney website of choice is AllEars.net, and he frequently looks up new restaurant videos and reviews.  There have been nights before our trips that I'll be lying on the couch, and he'll sit there reading Les Chefs de France menu to me.  This is who he is, and this is how we are.  I love it.  Even our friends ask now, "Where is NH picking for us to eat on the next trip?"  Knowing all of this, you can get a better idea of why NH was so excited for this trip and the opportunity to visit all of the many Food and Wine booths that graced Epcot.

At least part of each day of our four day trip was spent at Epcot.  Eating.  I don't think we even tried that many food items at the Flower and Garden (and food) Festival in April.  The number of booths and choices was just insane and oh so yummy.  There were only a few things that I'd cross of my list for the next time (surprisingly, not a fan of cheese bread).  But here's a run-down of all of our delectable tastes:

Australia
1. Grilled Sweet and Spicy Bush Berry Shrimp with Pineapple, Pepper, Onion and Snap Peas (Amazing!)

Belgium
1. Beer-braised Beef served with Smoked Gouda Mashed Potatoes (so yummy)
2. Belgian Waffle with Berry Compote and Whipped Cream (how could this ever be a bad thing?)
3. Stella Artois Hard Cidre (very crisp and fresh, similar to the taste of an Angry Orchard Crisp)

Brazil
1. Pão de Queijo: Brazilian cheese bread (not a favorite; I ended up not finishing it.  The texture just put me off)

Canada
1. Canadian cheddar cheese soup served with a pretzel roll (um...yes; so much yes)
2.“Le Cellier” Wild Mushroom Beef Filet Mignon with Truffle-Butter Sauce (again with the yesses)

China
1. Black Pepper Shrimp with Garlic Noodles (good, but nothing special here)
2. Happy Peach with Dekuyper Peach Liqueur and Myers’s Dark Rum (amazingly wonderful)

Farm Fresh
1. Loaded Mac ‘n’ Cheese with Nueske’s® Pepper Bacon, Cheddar Cheese, Peppers and Green Onions (probably one of my favorite things here)
2. Woodchuck Raspberry Hard Cider (so crisp and cool; I'll be hunting for this in stores)

France
1. Boeuf Bourguignon: Cabernet Sauvignon-braised Short Ribs with Mashed Potatoes (France FTW - this was wonderful)

Germany
1. Schinkennudeln: Pasta Gratin with Ham and Cheese (this was good, but a bit on the heavy side for me; not a win in my book)
2. Apple Strudel with Vanilla Sauce (but this was a win)

Ireland
1. Twinings® Pumpkin Chai Tea Frozen Cocktail with Caramel Vodka (this...choked me at first with Vodka - lol - it was good, but whoa...)

Japan
1. Grilled Spicy Edamame tossed with Sesame Oil, Soy Sauce and Chili Powder (so good and fresh, and we felt silly when we both took a bite and then promptly remembered you do not eat the outside of the edamame pod...oops)
2. Garlic Shrimp: Marinated Shrimp sautéed with Garlic and Butter and served over Rice (amazingly wonderful and simple)

Mexico
1. Taco de Camarón: Battered Shrimp served over a Flour Tortilla with Crispy Purple Cabbage and Chipotle Mayonnaise (I adored this one, and I'm not usually a fan of purple cabbage or mayonnaise)

Patagonia
1. Grilled Beef Skewer with Chimichurri Sauce and Boniato Purée (so so wonderful and tender - loved this)

Scotland
1. The Tipsy Laird: Whiskey-soaked Cake with Lemon Cream and Toasted Oats (I wanted to make this...and eat it every day)

South Korea
1. Korean-style BBQ Beef with Steamed Rice and Cucumber Kimchi (I didn't expect to like this one as much as I did because I hate cucumber, but this was amazing - one of my favorites of the festival)

Wine and Dine Studio
1. Seared Scallop, Truffled Celery Root Purée, Brussels Sprouts and Wild Mushrooms featuring Melissa’s Produce (the first thing we tried...and I almost cried because I loved this scallop...and who knew we liked brussel spourts and celery root?)

Refreshment Port
1. Pineapple Dole Whip Soft-Serve Ice Cream (because...how do you not?)

You'll notice that we're lacking in the "wine" aspect of the list, really.  We aren't big drinkers, so that part of this festival didn't really appeal much to us.  And the research that NH found that said that Epcot can turn into a frat-party as the weekend evenings roll around...well, that's pretty much true.  There is no shortage of "Drinking around the world" shirts with all of the various puns using "wine" and "beer".  That's not so bad...but the obnoxiousness that can come along with too much alcohol can start to become a bit much.  So we actually started to avoid the place as the evening wore on, and we would take off for other parks or back to the hotel.  That was truly a good tip that we got in our research.

One nice perk that we encountered at Epcot during the Festival was the Chase Cardholder Lounge at the American Adventure.  All you had to do was show that you held a Chase credit card of any type, and you were admitted into the Lounge.  The lounge was located on the private third floor of the American Adventure building, so that was a treat to get to see a "private" space on Disney property.  They provided air conditioning (bonus!), 3 freestyle Coca-Cola machines, coffee, a cash bar, and ample charging stations for cell phones.  It was great to take a break and just cool down in the lounge.

Speaking of cooling down, I have to admit that I think this trip was hotter than the one we took in July, and NH agrees with me.  I'm not sure if it has to do with the placement of the sun in the sky or what it is.  The temperature definitely wasn't hotter, but it felt hotter.  The intensity of that sun was just crazy.  So we definitely utilized the "duck into the shade and/or air conditioning when you can" strategy to this trip.  Forcing ourselves to rest and stay out the heat definitely made this entire trip more laid-back and relaxing, too, so it wasn't such a bad thing.  We didn't have too much of an agenda aside from attending the Food and Wine Festival and MNSSHP, so we didn't feel too bad about it.

Speaking of MNSSHP...that's up next...

Star Wars Dark Side 10K - Part 2

We woke up Saturday morning while it was still dark outside (again).  I think the alarm was set for 2:45 AM or so.  We dressed quickly and headed out to the bus stop to be there by 3:30 AM.  I'd finished the Asajj Ventress costume, and I was pretty darned proud of it.  It was time to take it out and show it off and be Sithly!  There was a line at the bus stop at our hotel, but it wasn't too bad of a wait and the bus pulled up quickly.  We hopped on, and we were off to the races.

It was awesome driving on the property in the dark.  Pulling into the Epcot parking lot where it's just a barren wasteland of parking spaces but you can see Spaceship Earth in the distance - that was just cool.  We pulled up to the drop off area, and we kind of blindly followed the crowds as we walked...and walked...and walked to the main area.  It was kind of a ridiculous walk, honestly.  There were a few volunteers, some people checking bags.  We didn't have to worry about any of that, so we figured we'd have plenty of time to maybe get a picture or two with some characters or some schemes.

When we got to the main area, it looked like the party had been in full swing for hours to be honest.  If busses didn't start running until 3:30 (and we were on that bus), where did all of these people come from?  The lines for the characters and photo scenes were outrageous, and they were already announcing the fact that they were closing the lines in 15 minutes because it was almost time to get people to their corrals.  Weird.  But maybe it's always like this.  I have no idea; it's my first event.

So we enjoy the DJ silliness and fan crazies - DJ Elliott was providing some entertainment, and it honestly felt like being "home" at a Star Wars Celebration.  So that part was pretty neat, and we decided not to worry about the pictures.  It's not like we couldn't grab those at a convention later on.  I saw one other Asajj Ventress costumed runner, but other than that, Asajj wasn't anywhere to be seen!  That kind of made me sad considering all of the time she got on Star Wars: The Clone Wars, but oh well.  About 20-30 minutes went by or so, and then they announced they were moving people to the corrals.  So we follow the herd (literally) to our corrals, find corral E, get in place and get ready.

Get ready to be smushed in with a bunch of other people for about an hour and a half, unable to sit, unable to stretch, unable to do anything but stand and watch Star Wars trailers and have conversations with the people around you.  And freeze.  It was pretty darned cold that early in the morning, and we just kept having to think warm thoughts and huddle together.  I guess that was one good thing about being packed in so tightly.  But the wind was just brutal at times.

The Nerd Husband and I spent time pointing out costumes in the sea of people who just kept flooding into the corral section.  It was seriously never-ending, and they kept packing us in tighter and tighter.  I knew right then there was going to be no way I could run this thing.  Not in the slightest.  Even if I had a hope of breaking through in some way, I had a feeling it was going to be like this most of the 6ish miles we had to go.

They released each corral with a length of 10-15 minutes in between.  Something like that.  I didn't time it; it would have annoyed me far too much, I think.  But I spent my time in a pleasant mood instead - watching the fireworks and cheering for the corrals as they were released.  Patiently waiting to move up, and finally...it was our turn.  Corral E.  The "Evil" Corral as we then referred to ourselves.  It's the Dark Side 10K, after all.

We got our on your mark, get set, gooooooooooo - FIREWORKS!  I filmed it on my phone, we walked until we go to about the start line, and then jogged lightly over the start - because c'mon, you kind of have to start off a run at least kind of running.  I think I gave a thumbs up to the camera guy, but who knows if it was broadcasted on the screens to corral F (the only folks left waiting to start the race).

We did our running through the Epcot parking lot and met up with a high school band who was playing Star Wars music.  That was a great pump-up, and it made me so excited to be outside running(?) at Epcot.  We managed to do a few run/walk intervals, but it was proving to be difficult to keep up with our interval timer on my phone.  Even this early on, we were kind of bottle necking in places - especially as we moved our way into Epcot.  It was then that we decided that we would do what we could with our intervals, keep up with the folks that were close to us in the corral, and speed up when necessary to not get swept.  Honestly, this was the best decision of the race - the decision to not make it a "race". 

I never even saw the mile marker for the first mile - who knows what I was gawking at.  It could have been the backstage view of Epcot, trying to figure out what the buildings were for and what they housed in them.  Or waving at the cast members who were cheering for us.  Or checking out the back gate that was open into Mexico as we rounded the corners to Star Wars music playing.  The lights on the Mexican pavilion as we made our way into the park and up the pathway toward the entrance to the World Showcase.  Or looking at the giant screen playing Star Wars movie clips.  Of course, then there was Spaceship Earth - that ball never ceases to amaze me.  Somewhere in there I think I saw Artoo and Vader, and I just kept staring at it all and smiling and walking quickly or jogging a bit when I could find a place to break through.

We rounded into Canada and the UK, and then the path took the bridge toward the "back door" of Epcot with the intent of moving on to the Boardwalk area using a little bridge.  It was kind of a narrow little pain-in-the-butt pathway, let me tell you.  But again, we treated it like a walk-fest when we couldn't do our intervals.  No big deal until you see the balloon ladies, right?  (The balloon ladies, by the way, are women who do Disney races and walk at the back of the pack at the correct official pace time.  It's my understanding that they carry balloons so you can see them, and you don't want to fall behind them because then you will be swept.  I am proud to say we never saw the balloon ladies.)

The best thing about this little narrow path was a lady at the end of it who was cheering people on.  She had a sign that said sometime like "Good job, Random Stranger.  You can do this!"  It literally made me laugh of loud, and I said, "Thank you, Random Stranger!  That's awesome."

The Boardwalk was just a nightmare to run on with all of those people - lol.  So we walked it.  And then we walked quite a bit of the pathway from the Boardwalk to Hollywood Studios, doing little jog spurts when we could get into a good groove and not get in the way.  I was starting to worry around this time that it was going to rain on us; we felt a few little misty drops, but that was about it.  We ran under a little bridge down by the river that they had bathed in deep red lights and Darth Vader's breathing was playing on a loop.  It was pretty cool, but that was about the only thing we saw until we got to Hollywood Studios.

I honestly don't recall what characters or stops or anything were in Hollywood Studios.  It was just neat seeing the whole place in the early dawn light.  The lights were still on, and the cast members just seemed genuinely thrilled that we were up and out this early in the morning being stupid.

From here on out, the pathway is kind of a blur to me, and I'd have to sit down with a map to really show you were we were.  I remember seeing an alligator in a little bog-like thing off of a main road.  That was a fun little pit stop.  I think my favorite part of this last bit of the run, though, was running down this little dirt/gravel access road.  We were surrounded by trees and everything, and it felt a bit like running through Endor.  I loved that.

The homestretch was back at ESPN Wide World of Sports, complete with dozens of costumed Rebel Legion and 501st folks.  I stopped long enough to ask a stormtrooper if I could take a selfie with him, and he obliged.  And then...

FINISH LINE!

I filmed going across the finish line, too.  They were calling out names of people as they crossed, but I don't remember hearing my name.  Not a big deal.  I finished.  I got my medal placed around my neck, and I was given a box of goodies.  There was really no place to sit down except on the pavement which was weird, so we just took our box of goodies and our awesome medals and decided to head back to the bus.  There were huge lines waiting for the bus, and we were all very hot and tired and still standing and waiting.  That was just...hard.  Really hard.  We got in a conversation with teh couple in front of us, and it helped pass the time.

Back at the hotel, I prompted pulled off my shoes.  Wearing new socks was a bad idea, and my feet were swollen.  That never happened during any of my training sessions, so it was a new one.  I let my feet rest and I gobbled through some of my goodies.  Then the Nerd Husband took a nap, and I drew up a hot bath and relaxed.  Who needs a hot tub when you've got a bath tub?  Yay, value resorts!

After our rest, we decided to head out to actually get to enjoy the Epcot Flower and Garden festival, and we spent the rest of the day on our feet.  My phone told me at the end of the day that it was my "most active day ever" - clocking in at a crazy 18.25 miles.  Holy.  Mother.  Of pearls.

So as a conclusion regarding the Dark Side 10K race - all-in-all, I had a pretty good time with it.  Did I have some gripes?  Yep.  Did I have some nerdy geek moments?  Yep.

Let's start with the complaining first.  ;)

Gripes

• The walk from the bus pick-up/drop-off to the Expo and the Finish Line.
• This was just hard.  Normally, it wouldn't have bothered me, but I was trying to prep for a race.  And then afterward, I was trying to recover from a race.  I felt like all of that walking just tacked another 5K onto my distance, to be honest.  Can we just move the bus area closer to wherever it is we need to be?
• Expo merchandise
• There was nothing left that was worth getting, and we were there very early on the 2nd day of the Expo.  My guess from reading message boards and other blogs is that local eBayers come out, purchase a bunch of merchandise, and then resell at crazy prices on eBay.  Sure enough, I did some searches, and that's what happened.  I hate this.  Please, there are some people who this is their first race.  Maybe just having a magnet to put on our cars would make us feel kind of cool, you know?
• Narrow pathways and too many people - not able to "race"
• I understand that part of this is because I was in the next-to-the-last corral, but surely something could have been done.  Maybe even split up the last couple of corrals.  I don't know, but it was kind of upsetting to not be able to do what I'd trained to do.  I accepted that fact early on, though, and it made life easier.  Next time, I know - submit a proof of time and get in an earlier corral.
• More entertainment in some places
• There were times when there was just...nothing.  Not a lot of times, but I know there's that stretch of road from Hollywood Studios until the access road where my greatest entertainment was the girl who complimented my Asajj hat (without realizing what it was) and the alligator I saw in the bog.  I didn't need much, really.  Maybe even just some music or a random Star Wars character holding a sign.  Nothing big.  But there were times it just seemed quiet.
•  Fix the Race Day photo weirdness
• If you're on the first bus at 3:30, but by the time you get to the Race all of the photo ops are closing...something is wrong.  Severely wrong.  If you need to start busses earlier, that's fine.  If you need to start the festivities later, then that's okay, too.  But it doesn't seem okay that for some reason those of us who stayed on property got left out of the photo op fun.
• Fix the Race Day walk to the corrals
• Did we really have to trek that far to our corrals?  lol  Holy cow.  I mean, I really don't care in the long run - what does it matter?  But that just seemed a bit of a stretch to me.
• Seating at the Finish line - benches, maybe
• I'm not sure how to fix this one, but I saw so many people sitting in the sun on the pavement trying to eat their banana.  It was hot and uncomfortable, and there they sat.  It didn't seem quite fair, and I think that's why we just opted to go to the busses.  Maybe a tent?  Some bench seating or something?  
• Buses
• More of them, maybe?  Or just shaded areas to wait for them?  

And now for some nerdy geek moments...

Fangirl Squee-worthy Moments

• 501st and Rebel Legion volunteers
• I was so glad to see all of those costumers out there supporting the runners and walkers.  That truly made my morning because there were so many of them and so easily accessible to everyone for pictures and whatnot.  Those of us who couldn't afford to wait in official character lines got a chance to take a picture with these folks, and that was just awesome.  I really appreciated them being there.
• Epcot backstage
• Why this made me as happy as it did, I have no idea.  There isn't much back there, but it still felt like I was getting away with something by being somewhere I'm traditionally not allowed to be.  
• Epcot in the early morning
• What more can I say?  Epic.
• High school band playing Star Wars music
• This pumped me up quite a bit, and I needed it after standing in the wind for about an hour and a half.  Thank you, bandies!
• Random Conversations with strangers
• I'm weird; I know.  But this is the part of a convention that always means quite a bit to me - getting into random conversations with random people that you'll never meet otherwise.  You meet these people right now - in that moment - because you're sharing something cool.  You're sharing fandom.  And yes, I'm a natural-born introvert, but I still love interactions like this.
• Getting to wear my medal to the park
• You get into all sorts of conversations with people.  You exchanges congratulations with other racers.  You get congratulated by cast members, and some of them even stop to admire your medal.  It was just another way to meet more smiling people; I liked that.

So it was a mixed bag of good and bad - as most things are, really.  I don't want to knock this event completely in a hole and cover it up for dead because it's just starting, and I think it could be a really great thing.  I'd love to attend next year's race, but due to the timing of it (the weekend immediately after Star Wars Celebration), I just can't make it work.  Perhaps next time...

Star Wars Dark Side 10K - Part 1

I realize that I flake out on writing when I have to write about something huge - like the Star Wars Dark Side 10K race in April.  Yep.  April.  Like over a month ago now.  I've ignored it that long.  It just always seems so intimidating, and I ask myself all of these questions.  What if you leave something out?  What if you ramble on too long?  Do you really want to talk about how your bank closed down your credit card when you tried to buy your annual passes?  Do you only talk about the good things?  My word, how many blog posts will this take?  No one really reads it anyway, so why are you doing this?  

And the list goes on.

So first, I apologize to myself for being a slacker.  Secondly, we're going to go back in time just a little and talk about a few things regarding the race weekend.  Things I liked and things that need a bit more help in my book.

This was my first runDisney race, so I realize that this was all new to me.  I have no idea how past events have been, so none of that clouded my thoughts on how the weekend went.  That being said - all in all - I had a great time, and I'll definitely be attending a future runDisney event at some point.  I think the Star Wars race is a great concept, full of fun people and fans, but I think it requires some tweaking to make it a truly great event.

So let's see if I can actually write up some sort of trip report here based on what I can remember...

First day we arrived in Florida, we took an ungodly flight time (had to get up at 2:40 AM) and landed in Florida around 8 AM.  We hopped the Disney Magical Express to All Star Sports, checked in and linked our credit card to our Magic Bands (first time we've tried this, and there's more on this to come), dropped off some bags with luggage services, and we took a bus to Epcot.

This year, the Nerd Husband and I celebrate our 5th wedding anniversary, so we figured our big gift to ourselves would be annual passes to Disney World.  One of our favorite parks is Epcot, so we figured we'd head on over there and purchase our passes first thing our first morning.  No problem.  Until our credit card company flipped out at the amount we'd just charged in another state, and they put a block on our account.  So we then get out of line, go to call the bank, fix the problem, get back in line, get the same Customer Service Cast Member, and finally get our card to run and get our tickets in our hot little hands.  We get a nifty little Annual Passholder booklet, and we feel kind of special.

It's a pretty early morning, so crowds are low and the weather is feeling pretty darned good.  We know that future world is open, but we're not exploring just yet because we have other plans.  We walk on back to France to Les Halles Boulangerie-Patisserie.  This is seriously one of our favorite (if not favorite) places to eat in all of Epcot.  We picked up a croissant and a cold ham/cheese sandwich to split for breakfast.  Good times, let me tell you.

After breakfast, we head on out the back door of Epcot because we figure the next thing on our list to get done in the runDisney Expo.  We exit the park and walk on toward the Beach Club resort where we picked up a bus to the Expo.  No problems there; it worked like a charm.

The bus dropped us off at the Expo...or at least a mile or two from the Expo.  Seriously, it was a hike from the bus drop-off to the actual Expo buildings.  It was a little ridiculous, to be honest - especially if you had a race/races to be attending that weekend on top of theme park walking.  Oy.  But we made it with no problems, and the grounds of the ESPN Wide World of Sports are kind of interesting.  Nothing hugely special, but kind of neat to finally see it.  We picked up our bibs with no problem at check-in, and I got my pre-ordered 10K pin.  We then headed out to check out the merchandise.

This is where the disappointment kind of sets in.  The Expo was pretty easy to navigate but also a little strangely set up.  There were at least two places to purchase official merchandise, and neither one of them was remotely close to one another.  The Expo opened Thursday morning, the day before we go there.  We were there around 10:30 AM on Friday...and seriously there was almost nothing worth getting.  I picked up one shirt because this was my first event, so I felt I had to have something.  There were lots of pins left, but there were no car magnets.  No hats.  We found one cool shirt I would have loved to purchase for the NH, but it wasn't his size and it was the only one left.  We later found out they only had that one because it had been returned.  The Dooney and Bourke handbags that had looked so neat on the internet looked...well, not great in person.  That was disappointing as well.  So I got my shirt (and remember my newly acquired annual pass discount), and we just sort of wandered around for the rest of the Expo. 

It was then that we figure we'd grab a quick drink while at ESPN and figure out our next move before heading out.  We went to the little food court there, ordered two drinks, and scanned our magic band.  Nothing.  Actually, something - it said we were "over our charge limit".  *sigh*  More credit card bank issues - yay.  So I finally just use my debit card to get the drinks, the NH spends a good portion of time on the phone with the credit card company, and we finally get everything worked out eventually.  Our credit limit is fine - company isn't sure why the error read that way, and they assure us we're okay.  No block on the account.

From ESPN, we take a bus back to our resort to drop off our stuff, and we decide to just spend a bit of time at Magic Kingdom.  Why not?  We have annual passes, right?  Let's use 'em!  So we bus on over and hit a couple of our favorite rides.  The only ride I remember right now is the People Mover which is kind of sad because it's the People Mover - lol - but seriously, how do you skip that one?!  I love it!  We tried to purchase a drink in the Magic Kingdom using our Magic Bands - again - with more errors.  Finally, someone told us that it could be an issue with how the card was linked to our bands originally, and we could get our front desk to fix it.  Honestly, I gave up and just used my card.  So much easier than the headache of the silly band.

We left the Magic Kingdom early because we knew we needed to get some dinner and hit the hay early for the race the next day.  We decided to grab a bite at Earl of Sandwich at Disney Springs, which suited us just fine.  But man, that line gets longer and longer every year; soon we'll need two locations!  By then, it was nearing bedtime, so we bussed on back to the All Star Sports, got ready for bed, and hit the hay early.

I am so glad we did...because two days of waking up at 2:40 AM will just about kill you.  But when you're running on adrenaline and geekery, you're probably going to be okay.

Next time: the actual "race"

Oh, She's Not Dead. Not Yet.

I've been putting off posting because I have too much to say and just not enough time (or brain power) to sit down and say it.  So I decided a while ago that I should wait, collect my thoughts, and then type it all out for the blog.  Then the brain went "OMG SO MANY MUCH THOUGHTS", and it flipped out.  So I haven't written a thing until now.

It doesn't really hurt anyone but myself when I don't write about stuff, so really - I'm not out much.  lol  But I really want to make an effort to keep this blog going and up to date because it's a pretty good source of hope and inspiration for me.  All too often, we deal with the negative things in life and have to wade our way through the crap of work, mean people, personal issues, and interpersonal relationships.  But here, I'm doing my best to focus on two over-arching things that bring me joy - Star Wars and Disney.  That's a lot of happy stuff right there, so I don't want that die out.

Right now, though, my brain is tired.  I need to still gather up my mental and physical resources to come back here and type out something that makes some sense.  Maybe there's just too much going on in my brain, and I can't fit it all in one post.  So what I'll do is make myself a little list of ideas - things I've been wanting to talk about but not having the time.

• Recap of the Disney trip in April - complete with Dark Side 10K race details (short story - we finished, we got medals, we looked awesomely geeky, my feet hurt)
• Costume ideas for Disney trip in October for Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party
• Announcement of Star Wars Celebration in Orlando next April 2017
• Which leads to...costume ideas for Star Wars Celebration next year

I'm sure there are other things, but that's kind of where I'm sitting with it all right now.  I might come back and adjust this list or just leave it as is because it's still kind of overwhelming to look at on an early Monday morning.

Bags Are Packed!

We completed our last scheduled run at the Community Center last night in preparation for the Star Wars Dark Side 10K at Walt Disney World this Saturday.  I figured it was fitting to choose locker #77 for my last run (Star Wars 1977...made sense to me).  We did an easy 2 miles of run/walk, no timer, but we kept up our regular 30/60 interval.  Aside from just feeling horribly tired in general, we both felt pretty good after this run.  Last night and the long run this past weekend have made both the Nerd Husband and me feel pretty good about this coming weekend. 

I think we can do this.

It's been fun perusing the Disboards, watching everyone get excited for the upcoming races.  People are posting pictures of their costumes - which always makes me happy to see what people come up with.  There are folks making dinner plans, discussing options on what to do regarding injuries, and people just generally fanboy and girl squeeing all over the place.  It reminds me of my old message board days on StarWars.com, and that makes me rather happy.  I need that right now, I think - just a bit of old fashioned happiness.

Our bag is packed and ready to go, aside from those "get ready" items that you kind of need to - you know - get ready.  Toothbrush, stuff like that.  That will get tossed in the suitcase early on Friday morning, and we'll head on out to the airport to start this year of Disney craziness off right.  I have a few things I still need to take care of - just have to work on getting my carry-on put together, and then I think I'm golden.  That will be my job this evening.

I had so many projects I wanted to complete for this trip.  My brain went into overdrive on creativity, but I had to nix those due to time and stress.  I didn't want to stress.  It wasn't worth it.  So I set those things off to the side for "later".  I'd like to come back to them, eventually.

For now, that's what I've got to share.  It's not much, but we're getting closer...

Training and Costuming - A Dark Side Update

There's quite a few things to be updated on in terms of the upcoming runDisney Star Wars Dark Side 10K race.  I keep watching my little race ticker count down the days, and it's so hard to believe that the Nerd Husband and I will be on a plane to Florida in just nine days.  9 days.  9.  When you write is as a numeral it just seems scary because it's just one digit.  Not two.  1 not 2.  Yep - see?  Scarier.

I am not proud to report where the NH and I are on our training, but I am proud to report where we are on our training based on the craptucular winter we've had here in the lovely midwest of blah.  We have battled stomach illness, colds, fevers, bronchitis, muscle aches, ankle pain, foot pain plus vacation time and weekend-long visits with family.  But through all of this, we are sitting here looking at 51% of our total training sessions completed since December 16th.  That's...not a great number, but given everything we've dealt with and the extreme length of this training (which is crazy, now that I think about it), I'm happy with it.

I realize that if I were running this thing alone, I would have gone about this differently.  I think both NH and I are in the same boat when it comes to that.  We both realized not too long ago that we walk/run differently when the other person isn't with us.  For some reason, we both compensate for the other being there by slowly down (even when it's not necessary).  I think if we were both doing this as single runners, with no intent of staying together, we would be in a vastly different place than we are now.

However, our intent was to do this thing together.  So that's what we're doing, and we've both had to adjust for the other's illnesses and battles these past few months.  It's been a lesson in patience for me, and I'm sure he's had to adjust to some things as well.  It's so different to train with someone, and it doesn't always make it easy.  But this is something we both love, and I can't imagine not sharing it with my best friend.  That just doesn't make any sense to me, so onward and upward we go!

I've fixed up our training schedule for these last few days, and it goes a little something like this:

• Thu 4/7: 2.5 mile walk/run
• Sat 4/9: 5 mile walk/run (or as far as we can get)
• Mon 4/11: 30 min walk/run
• Wed 4/13: either a 30 min walk/run or a 30 min cross-training
• Fri 4/15: (in Florida) light walking at theme parks
• Sat 4/16: Race Day

So...this is the moment of truth time.  Right now I know we're capable of staying under the 16 minute/mile pace requirement, and that might be all we really need right now.  I know us.  We might not be runners, but we are finishers.  We're pretty fit for the most part, and we're definitely capable of walking this distance with no problems.  So I think that plus all of the course entertainment and the characters and the costumes and everything will carry us through to finish this with no problem.  That's what I'm holding on to - hope.  Because hope is a good thing and no good thing ever dies (thank you, Andy Dufresne).

In other fun Star Wars runDisney related news, I finished the daggone costume, yo!  Seriously, the Asajj Ventress Clone Wars inspired running costume is complete, and I - for the most part - am happy with it.  I ran into some issues, though, and I learned some things that I want to try and keep in mind for costumes in the future...

I'll share some pictures here, but I'll put all my process and notes under a cut.  So y'all don't get too bored if you don't want to be...  ;)

(clickable thumbnails)

Flowers and Gardens and Vader - Oh My!

In exactly one month, the runDisney Star Wars Dark Side race weekend kicks off with the 5K race on Friday morning.  That very same morning, the Nerd Husband and I will be on what I like to call the "butt crack of dawn" flight to Florida.  We will arrive at 7:35 AM.

Yes.  You read that right.  And yes.  We are crazy.

This trip is kind of an exciting one for both of us because it's incorporating so many awesome and wonderful things.

First, the inaugural runDisney Star Wars Dark Side races.  As I've mentioned before, we'll be participating in the 10K race on Saturday morning.  This is the first time either one of us has raced this distance, and I consider this a personal fitness goal.  This is also the first time either one of us has raced at Disney.  I've thought about it in the past.  Then I talked about it in the past.  Then it happened now.  So while this might be Walt Disney World's inaugural Dark Side race, this is our inaugural Disney Dark Side 10K race on all levels.  That's pretty special in my book of awesome.

Second, this trip falls right at the time of the NH's birthday.  The day after the race, we'll get to celebrate his birthday on his actual birthday at Disney.  That might sound kind of simple, but it feels kind of awesome.  I asked the NH if there was anything he wanted to do for his birthday or anywhere special he'd like to eat.  He chose Be Our Guest restaurant for dinner at Magic Kingdom, so that's our one major plan for the day.  We have a couple of FastPasses for that day, as well, and we'll just come and go as we please.  I might also have a surprise or two up my sleeve, but those are still in the works.  More to come on that later.  Much later.

Third, this trip marks the beginning of our "Year of Disney to Celebrate Five Years of Marriage".  That was my title I just now came up with it.  It's not great.  Actually, it's pretty bad.  I have a headache, and you'll have to forgive me.  The good title vibes are not yet flowing through my brain.  But this year marks our fifth wedding anniversary, and we decided that we were going to visit Florida at different times throughout the year, buy annual passes to the parks, and just spend our vacation time down there.  He's pretty excited about it (every time I turn around, he's looking up another dining menu), and I have to admit that I am, too.  I think it will be a great year.

Fourth, this trip falls during an event we have never been to - the Epcot Flower and Garden Festival.  We are garden people.  We have two garden boxes in our backyard which ususally contain tomatoes, green pepper, red peppers, jalapenos, any other kind of cool pepper we like, green beans, green onions, lettuce, herbs, and - on occasion - corn.  (I'm still learning on the corn.  It's been an experiment the last two years, and I've had...yeah, basically no success.  But we got half an ear last year!  So that's...something.)  We also love flowers, though we honestly don't take the time to do them around our own home.  We have a rose bush, a big old rose "tree" in the back yard, and I have some perennial phlox that I planted a while back.  When I do plant annuals, they tend to revisit a year or so later - like the rogue snapdragons that decided to nicely invade the walkway up to our front door.  Never planted them there.  Never even planted them in the ground.  Planted them near there - in a freaking pot.  Weird plants.  Anyway, Flower and Garden Festival - we're excied.

Fifth...well - the Epcot Flower and Garden Festival.  But this time, we're coming for the food, baby!  I saw this article on the Edible Gardens which will feature some of the fruits and veggies being used at the outdoor kitchens around EPCOT.  It made me super excited - like a little kid excited.  I obviously know what some of things look like, but I can honestly say I've never seen how pineapples, coconuts and mangos grow.  I think it will be really cool - food for our bellies and our brains.

Now we just have to wait.  And wait some more.  That's always the hard part.

April Planning - FastPass+ Reservations

This 10K trip in April is starting to feel so real.   We were supposed to get out today and do another 30 minute run session, but we lazied it and stayed in due to the weather.  I know that we've been running inside at the community center, but it just felt like too much effort to leave the house today.  (Granted, I left later anyway to go to JoAnn Fabric's for the President's Day sale, but that's...different.  I did walk around the store for two hours, so I'm gonna count that as training...yeah...)

We found out we could make our FastPass+ reservation for our April trip today when I logged in and realized today was two months from our check-in date (holy cow)!  So we sat down and looked at our schedule for the April weekend and what we'd like to do.  The Nerd Husband and I have been cooking up plans for the 2016 year anyway considering we'll be celebrating our 5th wedding anniversary in May.  So for our anniversary gifts to ourselves we figured we'd do a Year of Disney.  The plan is currently to purchase annual passes when we go to do the race in April, and then we'll book a series of mini-trips during the year, as well as our usual annual winter trip next year in 2017.

All of this annual pass talk aside, NH and I sat down tonight to look at our FastPass+ choices, and we picked out a few things for each day that we'll be there.  Force only knows how our feet will feel after the 10K on Saturday morning, but I have a feeling we'll be okay.  (Our last trip to Disney was a week long and we totaled somewhere over 48 miles of walking.)  We really hate to uber-plan our days because we never know what we're going to get tied up in.  When it comes to FastPass+ selections, we just follow a couple of basic rules that work for us:

1. Make your selections for earlier in the day - usually first thing in the morning of early afternoon (after lunch time).  This allows us to go back and get another FastPass+ selection later if we choose to.

2. FastPass the things that make sense.  We debated on the Wishes Fireworks FastPass this time around as well as the Indiana Jones Stunt Show.  And then realized we've never had a problem seeing either of these things in the past.

3. Pick what you want now, but don't be afraid to change them later.  We realize that our plans are completely fluid and that we might get caught up in the Flower and Garden Festival at EPCOT (something we've never had a chance to experience and we're both super excited about because we have a garden at home).  If we can't follow our FastPass+ schedule, we don't freak out.  We just change it.  Easy as pie thanks to the MyDisneyExperience app!

For us, we made the following choices for the FastPass+ reservations:

• The Seas with Nemo & Friends (might not need FastPass)
• Disney & Pixar Short Film Festival (might not need FastPass)
• Test Track
• Jungle Cruise
• Seven Dwarfs Mine Ride
• Peter Pan's Flight
• Toy Story Midway Mania
• Star Tours (we have two FastPasses for this, even though the NH can't usually ride it due to motion issues)
• Kilimanjaro Safaris
• Festival of the Lion King
• Expedition Everest

We have only one Advanced Dining Reservation (ADR) made for this trip - mostly because we're planning on sampling so many things at the EPCOT festival that we might just end up there every day!  However, since this trip falls on the birthday weekend for the NH, then I asked him where he wanted to go to dinner.  So one night will be a nice dinner for us both at Be Our Guest restaurant (one of our favorites).  Other than that, the sky is the limit when it comes to food!

I just looked at the clock because I knew it was time to wrap this all up, and it said it was 11:38pm.  And I got a little excited because...you know...1138.  Star Wars.  Yep.  Nerd.  Yay!

Memories and the Meaning of Play

My folks had always traveled (they raised four children before I came along and went all over the United States with them in a travel trailer they hauled around).  So we got a travel trailer.  We had a pick up truck.  And off we went.  

I've been told that all of this started before I started kindergarten - so probably around 4ish, I would imagine.  I have little to no memories during this time, which is unfortunate, but I'm sure they were lovely.  I've been told we went all over Disney World because it was affordable to just go and buy a ticket and the spend the day when you felt like it.  My folks always loved Epcot, so I'm sure we were there, as well.  

As for where we stayed - there were a variety of places.  I do remember that we stayed at Yogi Bear Jellystone Park RV Resort one year somewhere outside of Kissimmee.  While the original resort is no longer there, a quick internet search led me to realize the franchise is still in existence - which makes me happy, actually.  There was another RV Park at Route 4 and Route 27, right where they intersected.  It was across the street from the old Baseball City Stadium (which has an interesting history, and I totally remember it being there).  If you turned south on Frontage Road, you'd hit the Fort Summit KOA first.  We stayed here maybe once before turning to a cheaper (and better for us option) which was right next door.

This place, however, has no name in my memory.  I can draw you a layout of it.  I can mark where the main hall was, draw the interior of the store, the community center room, mark where the large hill started and ended down by the mulch-covered play ground.  I can even pinpoint where our trailer was parked in certain spots over the years.  I can remember singing with a duo of folksy singers/guitarists who provided entertainment at some point (and I still remember the words to "You're Bound to Look Like a Monkey When You Grow Old).  I remember hopping on the school bus and driving back to my "second home" the winter I was in 2nd grade.  I can draw for you where the Bob Evan was on the corner, where I tried to eat dinner with my folks but we had to leave because I was bleeding too much thanks to the Gettys on the coast.

All of these stories.  I could go into details on some of them later on (and probably will).  But the point is - this one place holds so many memories and yet has no name.  It's amazing what our brains hold onto and what we lose over the years.

Most of my memories were made on these road trips.  But there's a different type of trip that has its own set of memories.  I can pinpoint this one to 1989, and that's only because I remember what McDonald's Happy Meal toy I was playing with in the hotel bathtub.  Mac Tonight.  Maybe one of the weirdest marketing campaigns ever, but there it is.

I've been told what prompted this family trip was sort of unexpected and unusual.  My parents had decided they were going to take a trip by themselves to get away for a bit, and my aunt was going to watch over me while they were away.  They bought plane tickets (I still don't know why they chose this route, but they did), and they were all set to go.  But the night before they were scheduled to leave, they were hit with a pang of guilt (which cracks me up; I have no idea why).  They realized they would feel awful if they went to Florida without me, and so they decided to carry my little butt along.

They bought a plane ticket for me (the night before/day of a flight - can you believe it?!  Our modern brains cannot comprehend the 1980s. ;)  lol)  So my first plane flight!  How exciting is that?  It was also my Mom and Dad's first flight, too.  And my Dad's last - I think he discovered he hates to fly, but he's reluctant to admit it.  I didn't get to fly again until I was in college, but I don't think I ever really forgot the feeling of it.  Since then, I was fascinated with the Air Force Museum and airplanes, and the only super power I ever wanted was to be able to fly.

I remember arriving at the hotel when we got to Florida.  We stayed in the what-used-to-be Travelodge hotel in Lake Buena Vista.  I know the original building is still there, and it appears to be a Best Western now.  Walking into that lobby at the rip ol' age of 7ish, I thought I was walking into the ritziest place I'd ever laid eyes on.  There was a chandelier hanging in the center of the lobby (or whatever my definition of a chandelier was at the time).  They had these golden luggage carts that bell hops were pushing around.  Golden luggage carts, people!  We have arrived in Ritzville...7 year old Ritzville, but nonetheless.

I remember we could see Epcot from our room, which I thought was awesome.  And I had a whole big bed to myself.  I laid there one night, and my parents turned all the lights off in the room so we could watch the fireworks.  It was amazingly awesome and downright - should I say it? - magical.  Seriously.  I laid there hugging a stuffed animal, watching fireworks at Disney outside my hotel window.

That's what my 7-year-old brain took away from that trip.  No big, humongous, crazy adventures or waiting in lines or not getting to do what I wanted to do.  What mattered was my family and the fireworks and all these little things that just made my day brighter.

I think those trips defined how I "do" Disney World.  The attitude that my parents brought to the table regarding family and what that means shapes how I view this wondrous place all these years later.  It's why I can still watch "Wishes", feel like a five year old, remember holding my Dad's hand, and I cry.  A grown adult.  Each and every time.  There is something awesome in that kind of memory, in that kind of place.  It has a true power to captivate us and change us for the better if we let it.

With this view in mind, I want to be able to share my tips and my opinions regarding planning and getting there and what to do and where to go.  But I told all of this back story so you've got an idea of what you're going to read here.  I don't go big, and I don't go (usually) expensive.  I try to keep it simple, and I maximize my fun as much as possible.  

There are people who are superb planners, having everything laid out down to the very last detail.  I am not like that when it comes to Disney.  I have a plan, but I keep it loose - because that's where the real magic starts to happen, in my opinion.  If I plan it all out, I leave no room for the fun, the interesting, the amazing.  

So when I do share my experiences or my opinions, I'm going to reach out to those people who really just want to "play", to be a child at heart again for a little while, because that's the type of Disney person I am.  I met a lady on the Magical Express once who was going to Disney for the first time with her three children and her husband.  Upon finding out I'd been multiple times, she asked me, "What's are the things we definitely need to do?"

"Go play," I answered her with a smile.  "Go find the first thing you want to play on.  And if you can't play on it right then at the moment, go play on something else.  Just go play."

She looked at me like I was crazy, and I had to laugh a little at myself.  It wasn't your typical response.  No "you have to ride the haunted mansion" or "if you don't try a Dole Whip, you'll just die".  Just a simple request: play.

So let's just play, kids.  Because we don't get many opportunities in this life to just kick back, relax, and let the magic happen.

Dramatis Personae and Normal-ishness

Once upon a time there was a young mother-to-be who was in a horrible car accident when she was six months pregnant.  The young woman hid her pregnancy as long as she could until that fateful day in the hospital - when the doctor accidentally outed her by talking to the parents and saying that both the "mother and the baby" were fine.  The parents - naturally - blanched white and froze, and the doctor frantically started asking the nurses around him if he had the right family.  The outcome of the baby's life, however, was uncertain at the time.  There was talk of brain damage or crippling disfigurement or just plain old not being born.  The mother suffered multiple injuries, including a fractured neck and probably lots of emotional scarring given the entire situation she'd been facing the last six months.

So three months later, baby was born - healthy.  Perfect (or so I'm told - I don't like to toot my own horn).  No brain damage.  No injury.  No disfigurement.  Just a baby born to a mama - who was still horribly injured and really unable to even hold her newborn very well.  So baby and mama went off to live with the mama's parents so they both could be cared for while they healed and grew.  Over time, mama realized that she was unable to adequately care for baby (both physically and emotionally at the time), and ultimately it was decided that mama's parents would adopt the baby.

Thus I have summed up the first 2.5 years of my life in two paragraphs.  Hi.  *waves*  I am the baby who was born just healthy and fine.  Managed to scrape through for about, oh, 33 years now, and I guess for the most part I'm pretty normal-ish.  I wanted to share this story because when I started to talk about life (which also includes Disney and Star Wars), you'll hear me use certain terms.  So I wanted to lay this out as a glossary.  No!  A Dramatis Personae - because that makes it sound like my life is an epic drama (which it isn't).  But don't we all want to be epic dramateers? Or...something like that.

Okay, so here we go:

DRAMATIS PERSONAE
Shada = Me
Mom = maternal grandmother, adopted mom
Dad = maternal grandfather, adopted dad
Mommy = biological mother

It's really a pretty simple list when I look at it.  Not confusing.  But sometimes it helps to have it in writing.  But the true purpose of this post was to start out explaining where my love of Disney (and Disney World) originated.

Being adopted by my grandparents came with the advantage that they were older and more "set" in their lives when I came along.  My Dad was a truck driver with a successful company, making good money.  My Mom stayed at home and watched over me.  However - like life does - a wrench was thrown into the works, and my Dad suffered a severe back injury due to his work.  When I was just about 3ish, he had to undergo severe back surgery and quit his job on the road.  My Mom took up the torch and went to work during this time, and Dad took his turn in watching over me. 

These are all very early memories, so things can get pretty fuzzy.  My folks remember the details, but I remember things like rolling down the hill outside of Dad's hospital room.  Or trying to figure out how to tie a bike to my Mom's car so I could follow her to work.  Or playing "cowboys" and listening to my Dad tell me stories on his knee.  So my timing on things is off when I tell stories from this era because - honestly - it's a jumble of memories.

But somewhere in all of this, Dad eventually healed up enough to start working again, and he took on a role at his brother's landscaping business.  Mom was able to quit her full time job, and things went back to normal.  Ish.  Because my life is always normal-ish.


The landscaping business mostly dealt with sod (growing grass, cutting big hunks of grass, laying those hunks of grass down elsewhere, watching grass grow).  In the midwest, however, grass does not grow in the winter.  Instead, we grow snow ("it comes up out of the ground, like grass, and the wind blows it around so it looks like it's falling").  So my parents had this bright idea.

Go where it's warm.  Because it's freaking cold up north.

Thus started my yearly trips to Florida.  And since this post is getting long, I'll end it there and pick up with more fun things later on down the line...which just means we're gonna talk Disney.  ;)