Ah, friends, it has been so long.  In the months since I've written, I've started a new job which brings me back to old stomping grounds, Arlington International Racecourse.  I missed the atmosphere and the people, and I'm now relishing the fact that I have a not-so-grown-up grown-up job.  I mean, seriously, who gets to work at a place that looks like this?

The more I get into my position (Guest Services & Expo Event Manager), the more I realize that it's a bit like Disney, which is just the way my bosses want it.  So, technically, I work for Disney.  Awesome sauce.

No, I'm not delusional.  I know that I don't actually work at Disney.  But, I'm getting a lot of advice from that amazing empire.  It started with web searches and has blossomed with this book from the Disney Institute.

Of course, Pinterest is helping greatly, too, as there are many resources there for customer service basics, team-building, and the much-needed workplace humor.  My Pinterest board strives to be a combination of them all!

I'm also falling back on my own experiences and the experiences of people around me.  So, I have to ask, what keeps you coming back to an entertainment venue again and again?  (love research!)

F this, I'm going to Hogwarts

Maybe you've seen this ^ tagline before, or maybe you haven't.  I have always really enjoyed it when I've seen it on T-shirts or Facebook memes, but it had extra weight when I was in Orlando last month for work.  Because Orlando, while it is lacking in many things, has become the recent home of Hogwarts.

Long story short, I have had a love affair with Harry Potter since I was 13 years old.  I still listen to the audiobooks when I clean some times, and I have mastered just about every Sporcle quiz there is on the topic.

So, when work was overwhelmingly crappy, I said, "F this, I'm going to Hogwarts," and that's exactly what I did.  The Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Universal was a dream come true.  I literally got to go to Hogwarts (secretly ask for the Castle Tour, and you will get to tour Hogwarts through the express lane, but you have to bypass the ride at the end).  I strolled through the quaint village of Hogsmeade and then switched over to the other park for some shopping in the wizards' mall, Diagon Alley.

Dream.  Come.  True.

On another--yet related--note, I recently decided to throw myself a spectacular 28th birthday party (this is a long-standing tradition) complete with Whirlyball and party bus.  It is basically a repeat of the birthday party I threw for Kevin when he turned 25.  So, how to differentiate the two?

This is where that somewhat related note comes into play.  I was having a much-needed drink with my friend Ann Voss the other day when we decided that a great time to finish our meagerly started Harry Potter movie marathon (we only got through 1 3/4 of the films) was early in the day before my party.

Ann suggested, “We could do Harry Potter all day and then your party at night.”

That’s when it happened: magic.  Those words sparked an amazing idea.  Why not make ALL day Harry Potter?  Why not make the 28 is Great birthday party into a Harry Potter party?

Now, I don’t want you to blame Ann.  She was responsible for sparking the idea, but she could not have anticipated the madness that would follow and to which all attendees would be subjected. 

No longer would we be playing Whirlyball; we would be playing Quidditch.  No longer would we be riding in a party bus; we would be hitching a ride on the Hogwarts Express. 

And so, I began scouring the internet for ideas, formulating a few of my own, and planning an all-out Harry Potter birthday party for a 28 year-old.  28.  Yes, I realize how ridiculous that is.

But, I also realize that this is a time when magic is a little harder to come by than it was when I was 13 and reading Harry by any light and at any time (my original books still bear food marks from when I read through dinner).  

And, really, we could all use a little magic in our lives. 

Favorite Folks

Hello all!  I have missed you!  It has been a crazy couple of weeks at work, and I am so glad that I have some time now to devote to my "happy space."

Today, I am introducing a segment I'm calling "Favorite Folks."  I am the kind of person who attaches to an artist and delves deeply into his or her work.  This applies mostly to my love of writers and singers, but it also applies to painters, actors, and more.

When I first started on Pinterest, I found this amazing cartoon that bascally describes me perfectly.

I showed it to my husband, who snorted at how appropriate it was.  Then, I clicked on the photo and found the original page (luckily, it took me to the cartoonist's page instead of a random tumblr account).

 

It was then that I discovered an amazing artist named Cathy Thorne, who runs Everyday People Cartoons.  These are not all laugh-out-loud funny, but they are entirely relatable.  I really enjoyed looking through them, and I hope you do, too. 

 

http://www.everydaypeoplecartoons.com/

 

Feel free to post the numbers of any that you think apply to me ;)

Year in Review

Hello, everyone, and happy New Year's Eve!  I truly hope that you are not working today and that you have some wonderful plans for this evening.  We are heading over to my in-laws' for what is sure to be a good time.  I have spent every NYE since high school with the same basic group of people, and I will see most of them tonight.

"The Group" circa 2003

New Year's is a time to reflect and enjoy year-end recaps provided by most major TV and radio stations (if you still do anything as traditional as watch network television and listen to non-satellite radio).  I am starting a new tradition this year (based on a pre-existing hobby) to help review my own year.  (This year was a bit of a milestone, what with binding myself to another and all)

I have made photo slideshows for years now.  I have made them for weddings and funerals, for my own honeymoon and vacations, and to highlight different friendships throughout the years.  I have always gotten positive response from these, but I mostly make them for my own personal pleasure.  I enjoy the process and, just as importantly, the resulting product.

So, this year, I am making a 2014 slideshow.  It will consist of songs I discovered in 2014, the ones that I will, for the rest of my life, link to this year.  I will put in my favorite pictures of the year and, just to be safe, scan in any memorabilia that might not have otherwise made it.

I can't wait to get started.

What about you?  

How do you celebrate a year that has passed?  My old boss used to journal, and she spent the day reading through her old journals of the year.  I'm a bit old school, so I also like looking through my old scrapbooks, but since they're about 3 years behind, they're not much help in remembering 2014.  Facebook (and presumably other social media channels I am not cool enough to be a part of) is a great way to review what you've been up to.  In fact, FB even has a built-in way to do it (although some people were not thrilled about it; read more on that ridiculousness here).

No matter how you celebrate your past year, make sure to look forward to the next one.  Whether 2014 rocked or sucked, there's always hope for 2015.  Just ask Pinterest--there are all sorts of great ideas for resolutions up there.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Ho Ho Holiday Movie Marathon

 

Merry Christmas!  Well, almost.  I'm sure you have noticed that the Christmas season is stretching ever longer, and that's actually great news because it gives us ample time to catch up on classic Christmas films.  A survey of some of my favorites follows below.

When I'm feeling like a kid:

Home Alone

It doesn't get much more cliche than this, but I adore this movie.  The sequel is almost as good (I mean, it's practically the same movie...), and I love that Marv's scream is just like my husband's when there's a spider around. 

How the Grinch Stole Christmas

I am a great lover of Dr. Seuss, and though I know he never wanted his books made into movies, I'm quite glad that his wishes were disregarded in this case.  How could you not love the amazingly adorable reindeer Max?

Other Childhood Favorites

L to R: Cabbage Patch Kids Christmas, Smurfs Christmas, A Charlie Brown Christmas, Alvin and the Chipmunks Christmas

If you can't identify all of these, don't fret.  They belonged to, as far as I can remember, a single, home-recorded VHS tape that we used to put on at Christmas (The Grinch may have also been on it).  This tape was 2 hours of Christmas goodness, which I'm sure was how my parents planned it.  One of my very favorite parts: Alvin's golden harmonica!

When I'm feeling like a grown-up:

The Family Stone

I actually didn't like this film the first time I saw it, but now it has become a yearly tradition.  A cross between funny, sad, and seriously awkward, it's a more realistic view of what we go through at the holidays every year.  Family dynamics (both good and bad) don't just disappear because it's Christmas.  I always like to remember that.

Love Actually

I adore the Brits.  They're a little off but seriously funny people.  This is such a great film because it, like The Family Stone, focuses on relationships as much as the holiday itself.  It's better because it has lots of overlapping story-lines and still manages not to lose any.  If you haven't seen it, this is my recommendation for the holiday season this year!

In Closing:

I realize that these are fairly lame and leave out many that other consider must-sees during the holidays.  I refuse to watch the updated Miracle on 34th Street because I'm convinced that Mara Wilson stole the lead role from me (I actually auditioned as a child and was quite traumatized when I did not get a call-back), and I don't care for National Lampoon.

I am, however, really hoping to convince my husband to watch It's a Wonderful Life on the 26th (the next three days are way too busy).  I have not seen this iconic Christmas film since I was really young, and it is one I think I would enjoy.

What are some of your holiday favorites?  (and feel free to chastise me for my lack of enthusiasm when it comes to National Lampoon...)

TGIF pt 2

In the same vein as my last TGIF post, here is another strange habit of mine that involves one half of my self helping the other half when things look grim.  Specifically, this is my creative self helping my uninspired self.

The idea is simple, and Pinterest has taken it to an extreme I never could have expected.  As a lover of songs and literature, I have long since been awestruck by great writing, be it poetry, prose, lyric, or screen-quote.  Many years ago, I began keeping a log of quotes that I found particularly remarkable.

This document has a generally different effect on me than the photos I mentioned last week because the goal is not to be happy, per se.  The goal is to be inspired, to be moved, to be stirred by someone else's brilliance.  The quotes are usually thought-provoking and can be sad and dark, unlike the photos I use to pick me up on a bad day.

I have only a few rules:
1. The quotes really need to mean something to me.  They have to strike a profound cord for me to take the time to possibly look them up and
2. I have to hear/read them first-hand as part of the full piece.  Pinterest is FANTASTIC for finding great, artistic renderings of quotes (my "Well Said" board is proof that I LOVE this aspect of Pinterest), but this process is much more meaningful when you are just going about your normal day and get completely slammed by genius.

Here's a sampling.  Enjoy, and Happy Friday!

When a woman who has much to say says nothing, her silence can be deafening.
--Anna & the King

Love, like blood, is pouring out of me 

--Counting Crows, “Margery”

Bravery, my neighbor, moved away, ‘cause I don’t need to be courageous today.
--O.A.R.

What greater thing is there for two human souls, than to feel that they are joined for life — to strengthen each other in all labour, to rest on each other in all sorrow, to minister to each other in all pain, to be one with each other in silent unspeakable memories at the moment of the last parting?
-- George Eliot, Adam Bede

Perhaps the crescent moon smiles in doubt
at being told that it is a fragment
awaiting perfection
--Rabindranath Tagore, Fireflies

In order to find his equal, an Irishman is forced to talk to God.

--Braveheart

An envious heart makes a treacherous ear
--Zora Neale Hurston

We can understand the sentiments you’re saying to us, oh but sensible selves would you kindly shut up?

--Sara Bareilles

Bliss was it in that dawn to be alive,

But to be young was very Heaven

--William Wordsworth

Home is the resort of love, of joy, of peace and plenty, where, supporting and supported, polished friends and dear relations mingle into bliss.

--James Thomson

Armchair warriors often fail, and we’ve been poisoned by these fairy tales

--Don Henley, “The End of the Innocence”

A book is a portable kind of magic

--Stephen King

Not all those who wander are lost

--J.R.R. Tolkien

Isn't it what we wait for? To meet someone... and they're, they're like a lens and suddenly you're looking through them and everything changes and nothing can ever be the same again.

--Michael Clayton

When life gives you lemons, you paint that shit gold

--Atmosphere

It's not just about living forever, Jackie. The trick is living with yourself forever.

--Pirates of the Caribbean

Love is a woman’s special province—she has, or has had, or will have, power there.  Man might take, and absolutely appropriate, monopolize and exclude her from money-making, from politics and from many other pursuits, made difficult to her by man’s tyranny, man’s hindrances, man’s objections—but in the realms of love he is not the absolute dictator, not the master.

--Maria Amparo Ruiz de Barton, The Squatter and the Don

In a house where regret is a carousel ride, we are spinning and spinning and spinning

-- Counting Crows, “St. Robinson and His Cadillac Dream”

Every man dies.  Not every man truly lives

--Braveheart

It is always surprising how small a part of life is taken up by meaningful moments. Most often they're over before they start, even though they cast a light on the future and make the person who originated them unforgettable.

-Anna & the King

And you of tender years

Can't know the fears

That your elders grew by     

--Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young, Teach Your Children Well

Youth cannot know how age thinks and feels, but old men are guilty if they forget what it was to be young.

--J.K. Rowling

You have no soul, so how can you understand the emptiness that seeks a soul mate?

--Shakespeare in Love

You see this couple here? He's having an affair with the babysitter, and she can eat a pound cake in under a minute

--Practical Magic

Or we can paint the administration building with the word 'assholes', in various colors.

--Freedom Writers

Maybe it’s my face.  Maybe I look like a doormat today.  

--Jeanette Winters, Written on the Body

I love myself when I am laughing…and then again when I am looking mean and impressive.

--Zora Neale Hurston

See my heart, I decorate it like a grave.

--Alice in Chains, “Down in a Hole”

There’s a bold, unbridled lie where my soul once stood

--The Damwells, “Golden Days”

Crafts & Champagne: Follow-up

Friday night marked another fantastic Crafts & Champagne party.  As expected, we drank too much, crafted too little, and laughed until it hurt.  And that equals C&C success.

Here’s what we came up with compared to what Pinterest promised:

L to R: Paint Sample Christmas Tree; Curled Paper Glass Ornaments; Tea Light Christmas Globes; Snowflake Popsicle Ornament 

A few things to note:

1. The most versatile craft here is clearly the tea light wine glass because the contents can be changed out every season (or more frequently, depending upon how on top of it you are).  If you follow the link in the caption, you will see just a few of the possibilities.  The directions stated that the “tea light drops” are only available in certain areas.  Apparently, ours is not one.  Interestingly enough, the world wide web is also not one of those certain areas… So, we made the holders ourselves.  I scoffed at my mom’s suggestion to use the champagne bottle wire (that comes around the cork), but that’s what everyone ended up using.  And this is when my mother’s constant refrain “I’m always right” comes into play.
2. I realize it’s a bit difficult to see what we actually came up with.  I will take better photos in future
3. The most fun was probably the paint sample trees (which we did second).  Not only were we all hitting our drunk, but they are so simple that anyone can do them (gimme craft), and everyone could have done multiples if they wanted.  The particularly crafty can go above and beyond what the rest can and still find it satisfying.  I give you, as proof, the show-off three-tree below.  Thank you, Sarah!

   

   Sarah's Fancy-Pants Trees

4. You may notice that the popsicle stick snowflakes are no more than a bunch of painted sticks sitting on a drying rack.  This brings me to two points:

• You may not get to everything.  Don’t panic!  There is always time to finish afterward or put the supplies away for next time.
• Read the instructions (or at least look at the pictures!).  If I had paid more attention, I would have realized that the sticks don’t get painted first.  They get painted after they are assembled into snowflakes.  (I also might have noticed that the strips in the glass ornaments are supposed to be 6” long instead of 12”.  This is something I also apparently ignored when Bri suggested it to me at the party (did I mention we did those third, and I was really getting my drunk on?)).

 Anyway, we had a complete blast.  Again, I suggest all ladies get together to do this.  We agreed that we have so much fun, we are going to do it twice a year instead of once.  And so I give you- Crafts & Champagne:Spring 2015 on Pinterest.  Enjoy!