A spectacular festival pageant of nighttime magic and imagination in thousands of sparkling lights and electro-syntho-magnetic sounds

Okay all you "stalkers" out there (aka Amy and Aubry :-D), here's my new blog...

On Sunday afternoon, John and I headed over to the Disneyland Resort hoping it wouldn't be too crowded - and we lucked out! It was busy, but nothing unbearable. We wanted to see at least one of the advertised "Summer Nightastic" shows and decided that it would be the Electrical Parade in California Adventure because I really wanted to see it - after seeing the farewell parade 13 years ago!

We got our seats near Paradise Pier at the beginning of the route around 7:45. We sat down with our dessert - I had a chocolate covered banana (those are SOO good!) and John had a Cookie Ice Cream Sandwich - and waited for the parade to start. It's a good thing we had our iPhones to keep us entertained! I can't remember what we used to do before portable electronics?!?! (Oh, and I apologize ahead of time for the quality of the photos - they were taken with my iPhone)

A view of Paradise Pier as the sun sets

It finally got dark and the parade began with a snythetic voice over the speakers, "Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, Disney proudly presents our spectacular festival pageant of nighttime magic and imagination in thousands of sparkling lights and electro-syntho-magnetic sounds. Disney's Electrical Parade." I know you can just hear it in your head now...well, at least the version that says "Main Street Electrical Parade."

For the most part, the parade is pretty much the same as the old one, though the lights look more like Christmas lights instead of the larger bulbs they used to have. I read that they're now LED lights and everything is battery operated.

The beginning of the parade is also different, with Tinkerbell and her fairy friends leading instead of the Blue Fairy from Pinocchio. I understand Tinkerbell, but I just don't get the whole "fairy" fascination. I guess they're trying to create a similar following as the Disney Princesses. I guess I'm just a Classic Disney person - stick to what has worked!

After the new Tinkerbell float is the Casey, Jr. Train, engineered by Goofy.
The "title" float in the parade - It switches between "Disnye's Electrical Parade" and "Brought to you by Sylvania" or something to that effect. Gotta love sponsorships!

The next part of the parade is probably my favorite. I love the snails, turtles, bumble bees, etc. that spin around in circles throughout the Alice in Wonderland Unit. I had fun getting these shots of them spinning...

Alice and the Cheshire Cat (he goes dark except for his smile)

Ahhh...another Disney classic and perhaps the most "classic" fairytale of them all - Cinderella. What girl doesn't dream of being Cinderella - a rags to riches story? If you think about it, this is original princess who didn't start out as a princess, but became one, giving hope to millions of girls that they, too, could someday become royalty. Belle and Mulan followed many years later, but she was the original.

And what fairy tale is complete without Prince Charming?

Peter Pan, Hook and Smee follow behind Cinderella in a 2-boat unit. Sorry, no pictures of Smee.

Dopey leads another of my favorites - Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs! I think Dopey was posing for this photo!

One of the first floats that come to mind when thinking of the Electrical Parade - Pete's Dragon. Elliott actually goes completely "invisible" when the audience yells a few words (can't remember what they are right now) at Pete's command.

The finale of the parade - same as it was back in 1996, pays tribute to America with the longest float in the parade.

And that's it! The fun started when we tried to get out of the park. We decided that it would be easier to follow the parade instead of going around by Roaring Rapids and Soaring over California. I don't think that's the case...right when you get to Sunshine Plaza at the end of the route, they start funneling everyone who is following the parade around the outside edge and it totally bottlenecks! I think it took us like 15 minutes to get out of the park! But, we made it just in time to enjoy the fireworks from the plaza area between the parks and we didn't have to wait in a huge line to get into Disneyland!

John and I try to go to Disneyland at least once a month, and we always have a good time, but for some reason, this time seemed to be one of the better ones - maybe due to the viewing of the parade that brought back memories from before high school (don't I sound so old!) of watching the farewell season of "Disneyland's Main Street Electrical Parade."

99 Days To Go

It's finally arrived! The day our wedding countdown entered the double digits. I can't believe how fast the past 4 months have gone!

It's also a bit scary to think that I only have 99 days left (well, almost 98 now) and a lot left to do. I keep thinking of things that have to get done and jobs that need to be done on the wedding day - and people to do them. And the worst part is that all the fun stuff I want to do now, like making favors or doing the escort cards, I can't do yet. It's all stuff that can't really be done until at least a month before the wedding. For now, it's going to be a week of many hours trimming, gluing, punching and tying to create invitations so they can be mailed out on July 6.

I know in the end, everything will work out, even it means I'm totally crazy for a month before the wedding - plus I'm marrying John, which is really the only important thing!

Fruits and Veggies

My mom and sister introduced me to a GREAT produce store in Anaheim. It used to be Tom's Farms and apparently changed hands recently and is now called "Euclid Farmer's Market."

I went there for the first time today on my way home from doing laundry and spent $7.00 - for 2 grapefruit, 5 oranges, 2 baskets of strawberries, 4 ears of corn, green beans, a watermelon, and a 10-pound bag of potatoes!

I'm now waiting until I'm visiting my parents to purchase produce. It should save me a ton of money on groceries!

If you're in the area of Euclid and Katella/Cerritos (near Loara High School), check it out!

Monogram: Gina & Casey

Gina contacted me in need of a monogram for her "black-tie optional" wedding programs and menus after being disappointed with two designs she had done by another designer. I hadn't planned on this being part of the business on its own, but knew that I could help her out. She asked for a script font and something more traditional because of the formality of the affair. I gave her four different designs she selected from the original 16 I designed - she and her fiance could choose to use any combination of them for their wedding stationery.

This first one is my personal favorite.

And this was the groom's favorite...

Engagement Photos by Theresa Walsh

I was so excited to get our engagement photos from Theresa, one of my bridesmaids. She is just getting started with engagement/wedding photography and we had such a blast with her all over Palos Verdes - Malaga Cove, Waferer's Chapel and Abalone Cove!

Here are some of our favorites from the day:

Check out more of Theresa's work at www.flickr/photos/theresawalshphotography

Generic Cards

Both my grandfather and John's mom had birthdays at the end of May and rather than buy cards, I decided to make some "generic" cards that would allow us to write a note on the inside.

Since my grandfather loves to fish, I chose to make a card using a fish patterned paper and mixed it up a bit by cutting it up and adding a space between them.

On the inside, I used the patterned paper again to link it to the front, but still left plenty of room for a heart-felt note.

John actually chose the colors and papers for his mom's card, though I added the purple I had on hand after I got some sort of mark on the actual paper! (Ooops!)

Again, I utilized the same pattern paper on the inside and left room for a note.

These cards could have been used for any type of event or even just a "thinking of you" note sent between friends.

Reflections on Living with Less: Day 1

Here it is, nearing the end of day one of my living with less challenge.

Until today, I never realized how much time I wasted watching TV and surfing the Internet. I was so productive today! I cleaned my room and part of the kitchen, addressed, signed and stuffed 50 APU yearbook letters, and I have all but the RSVP cards and envelopes printed for my invitations and all but one set of green cards cut. There’s still along way to go on those, but I made HUGE progress today and it’s made me excited about all the DIY stuff I’m doing for the wedding because I’m actually making it a priority now instead of procrastinating and dreading how long it’s going to all take at the last minute. I just wish I had more I could do early!

As far as “distractions” from the electronics, I spent 15 minutes on Facebook and an hour watching a show John had recorded while we ate dinner (though since we fast forwarded through commercials, it wasn’t actually a full hour).

Most of the day, I had no lights on at all. I just opened up the blinds and even though the sun has been reluctant to break through the clouds, it was bright enough to do pretty much everything I need to do today. However, now that night's come and I still only have one light on at my desk, it seems so dark! I'm sure I'll get used to it though!

I actually took a 5-minute shower today! I didn’t think I could do it. Granted, I did not wash my hair today, so tomorrow will be a little bit more of a challenge – and I have yet to figure out the whole leg shaving thing. I’m thinking I’ll have to turn the water off while I do that and then back on to finish my shower.

I’d rate today a GREAT day. It feel so good to have gotten so much done and it’s not 3:00 a.m.! Maybe I will learn how to not procrastinate, which would be a HUGE accomplishment for me! And who knows, maybe by the end of this, I won’t be watching TV anymore and I can finally part with cable and not be paying a fortune to a company who is way over priced!

I’m excited about what the next month – and beyond – will bring!

Live with Less Challenge

Since it seems that I have insomnia, I decided to watch an episode of Oprah I had recorded from last week. I don't normally watch Oprah, but caught the last minute or two of this particular episode and ended up recording the rerun in the middle of the night.

The show was about two families she challenged to "Live with Less" because they were so wasteful - of things, resources, and money - and their family relationships were suffering because of it.

At the beginning of the show, when they explained what the challenge was (TV for 1 hour a day, no computer, no video games, no eating out, 5 minute showers, etc.), I thought to myself, "Yeah, right!" There's no way I'm trying that.

However, as the show progressed, I began to realize how wasteful I have become and how much money I might be able to save by implementing revised versions of these "rules."

I'm notorious for having multiple electronics on at the same time, leaving lights on in several rooms, leaving my printer, shredder and computer on, and taking really long showers. I also tend to buy things I THINK I need, when I really just want it.

So, I decided that I'm going to start living with less...(which, if you know me, is going to be extremely difficult, especially since I'm not working right now and spend most of my day at home!)

• Turn off lights and fans when I leave a room - and keep fan use to a minimum - open windows instead, especially in the evening
• Unplug/turn off laptop and other electronics when not in use
• Take 5 minute showers
• One hour of TV or internet each day (I can't really give up my computer since my business and advising job involve the required use of the programs)
• No eating out and no fast food (this should help with the weight loss too!)
• Don't buy anything except food, necessary household items, and stuff for the wedding
• Run all errands in one day, once a week
• Exercise at least three times a week outside (I threw this in since I'm supposed to be working on losing weight and I can get outside and get some fresh air and not use those dumb equipment machines I don't really like anyway)

There's the list! I have a feeling I'm going to be finding myself much more productive and having more quality time to spend with John (instead of just watching TV or movies with him).

I'm trying my challenge for 30 days - June 15 through July 15. From the experiences the families had on the show, I have a feeling it will continue on longer than that, but that's my goal.

I will try to write about my experiences at least every other day, though my goal will be once a day (and I'll write first in Word, then copy and paste once I'm online, so I don't break my rules!).

Wish me luck and feel free to ask me how it's going too! I need accountability!