La Luna

When I was younger I use to have a telescope and stare up into the night skies. There were many nights I would grab a blanket and gaze into the beauty of the heavens. It is the dreamer in me, you can often catch me day dreaming. I am so thankful our imaginations and the places it can take us. The moon for example, so far away yet it looks like we can reach up towards the sky and grab it. Right now I can think of so many classic songs which reference the moon and so many movie clips and/or commercials with moon references as well. This blog is dedicated to that big bright ball of cheese in the sky!

Andy Williams passed away recently his version of Moon River is actually in my top 10 favorite songs. It can make me stop in my tracks when I hear it. Simply beautiful.

I heart this scene from Its a Wonderful Life!

Oh who can forget Fievel singing Somewhere Out There?

Or the Classic McDonalds Moon Man from the 80's?

 

Hope you enjoyed this little tribute to the moon! Remember to say Goodnight Moon ♥

Waffles

I really like Waffles, I mean REALLY like them. They are the perfect little treat on the weekends during a beautiful Arizona morning. I wake up so happy on Saturday and Sundays, I am thankful for the weekends and the time I have to relax, do nothing or whatever else my little heart decides. Now I need to figure out how to capture that same level of exuberance I have on the weekends and bottle it up and use it for the weekdays! >>RANDOM ON<< I really have the urge to go to Disneyland right this second and ride the Pirates of the Caribbean! >>RANDOM OFF<< So back to the waffles, I have decided this morning that besides waffles I will be attempting something I saw on Pinterest! I know, that is a very dangerous phrase but you never know unless you try right? I will take pictures and if its ok than I will post an update to let you know how it went. Oh and even if I fail I will most pictures so others can learn from my mistakes BUT I don't plan on failing. Yep, my mind is currently all over the place. Let me tell you why. As I try to write this blog I am currently texting with two friends, on Facebook, making a mix on Spotify, singing along to all the songs on my mix while looking at Pinterest. You can't say I don't know how to multitask! OK again, back to Waffles, geeze in person I am not like this but apparently I am an ADD blog writer. I tend to struggle with what I want to write about and then I start writing and it turns into EPIC randomness!

How do you prefer your waffles? I am pretty simple, I like a nice Belgium style waffles with a little butter and syrup! Yummy! All this talk of Waffles and I am sitting here still typing! Time to move to the kitchen! I hope you enjoy whatever meal is headed your way next and if it happens to be WAFFLES....yay for you! ♥

Post musically inspired by:

Greensboro, North Carolina

Holy Smokes! Can you believe that it is almost the middle of August! Well where have I been? In July I traveled to the east coast to visit some dear friends of mine.  I enjoy traveling and seeing new places. I am actually due a Disney trip but I am holding off on that until my favorite time of year to visit. Any guess on what time of year that may be? Oh so close! Actually its Christmas time. I didn't think the happiest place on earth could become more magical! Sorry I always digress, back to my July trip!


Here of course is the "I'm Flying" picture, it really is amazing though how quickly we can travel from one place to another in such a short amount of time. Maybe not so short if you are sitting behind unruly kids whose parents have no idea  how to discipline but that is another story for another time.

 My travels took me to a town called Greensboro, NC. For my Arizona readers I would compare Greensboro to Prescott. It is in between Raleigh and Charlotte and a decent size. Crazy how green it is over there. I am a desert kind of girl so my mouth dropped with all the greenery.

This was a stop sign in my friends neighborhood, I had to take a picture! I loved it. Not necessarily a Journey reference but something we should all be reminded. Never stop believing, not matter what it is!

So one of the first things I wanted to do while I rode through crazy green land was have a Von Trapp moment! Yes, I wanted to run through the hills and twirl. What's an epic moment without a twirl right? So here is my shot of running through the hills and enjoying the moment! ♥

Moulin Rouge

All day long I have had a song stuck in my head.....can you guess what it is? No? Ok, fine I will tell you. It is Come What May by Ewan McGregor and Nicole Kidman. Random right? It was pouring out of me all day. I would start humming it or even blurt out the song in front of my co-worker. So I decided while watching Episode II Attack of the Clones tonight with Ewan playing Obi Wan Kenobi that I needed to find the video and watch the scene from the movie. Have you ever seen Moulin Rouge? Oh I still remember the first time I saw it and how weird it was! I didn't know what I had just seen but I knew I liked it. Here is the song that I have not been able to get out of my head. Its not the best video because of the ads but you can minimize them. I hope you allow this romantic song to get stuck in your head! Someday I will go to the city of lights and experience the magic of Paris. Until then I will keep singing the songs in my heart! ♥

All I Ask of You

I grew up watching musicals, I know the classics and I appreciate the new ones as well! I love when you add singing and dancing at random it just makes the world a happy place! This week I have been listening to a classic song from The Phantom of the Opera, All I Ask of You. It is one of my most cherished songs. The lyrics say every thing a woman wants to hear and say. Granted everyone is different but this woman agrees with every lyric of this song. I am listening to the song right now and I have to focus on what I am typing because I am consumed by all the emotion it stirs up. There is so much beauty in music, I could sit and listen to an orchestra all day. Oddly enough I have never been to the symphony but I will be adding that to my list this year.

I am very excited for tickets to go on sale for Les Misérables because I have never seen it and since the movie is coming out this winter I need to make sure I see it! Here is a clip from All I Ask of You which can be seen in the Phantom of the Opera the movie. I think the movie did a fine job but I encourage you to see the live version. The colors, the music, acting all of it on stage in front of you is amazing. I was 12 years old and saved up my money for the summer to go and see the Phantom with my aunt and we sat in the first few rows and I remember everything about it. Enjoy the arts people! Get out there and do it, do it! hehehehe ♥

Ok here is the song which I have been singing all week. What do you think?

Thank You For Being a Friend!

I love my friends....yes, I really do. My whole life I have been blessed by so many people and I am truly thankful for the group of friends I have right now. I think its true that the people in your life can inspire and motivate you! I have chosen people in my life who I know will do that just that for me! Uh oh its my sappy side coming out right now. I could give you all a big hug and tell you how much ya'll mean to me but I hope that I already do! Right now I am listening to my music and just thinking of a bunch of great memories which led me to this post. So many of you have been there for me and help me find my smile when I started to lose it, so many of you have made me laugh when I was down, so many of you have kicked me in the butt when I needed it and so many of you told me what I needed to hear even when you knew it might hurt. To that I say Thank You! I don't think we take enough time to tell the people in our life how much they have an affect on us. Life it brief so don't be afraid to share those thoughts with the people in your life!

I think of the television show the Golden Girls and hope that when I am old and gray I can say I had a group of friends who were family to me and I can thank them for being a friend! Tell your friends you love them, tell your friends they are special and if the words are hard to say then find some way to let them know that they mean a lot to you! Don't take the day for granted!

I decided to throw together a really quick slide show with some pics of my good friends and great memories!
The music didn't work right so I just added the music video so you can start the music but watch the slides! Enjoy!  ♥

The Glad Game

The Glad Game? Ever heard of it? In the movie Pollyanna, there is a young girl who did not have a favorable upbringing. Through everything she had gone through she realized that there was always something to be glad about. Call it the silver lining approach. I bring it up because I think it is a good perspective to have on life. You can always find something to complain about and its easy to get sucked into all the negtivity out there but maybe our society wouldn't be so bad if more people took the Glad Game approach. Yes, there I go again with the glass is half full perspective but its the hope instilled in me. The hope that things can get better!  So the next time you find yourself complaining take  a minute to find something good about your situation. It couldn't hurt right? My Bestie and I do this all the time, we call each other to vent and while every once in a while it turns into complaining , we have learned to make it stop as soon as possible because it is a slippery slope into the land of negativity. If you haven't caught on just yet, I am a very positive upbeat person, so I will be expressing a lot of the optimistic approach throughout my blog!! So I encourage you today to find something to be glad about! ♥
 

What makes you twirl?

twirl

v. twirled, twirl·ing, twirls

1. To rotate or revolve briskly; swing in a circle; spin

2. To twist or wind around

What is it that makes you twirl and by this I mean what is it that makes you jump or shout or whatever it is you do when something makes you so happy that you have to find some way to express it? Personally I smile all the time, I am naturally a happy individual and find smiling as a wonderful gift to pass on to others. Makes it even better when I can make some one who doesn't smile often to pick up the sides of their mouth and shoot one right back at me. So where does twirling come along. Normally its what I do when I am all by myself. Its that moment in a song, a moment when I hear some good news or when everything just seems right with the world. All at once, usually after a skip, I automatically begin to spin myself around until I complete several twirls. It is the way I express true happiness. So what is is that makes you twirl?

Below is a clip from one of my favorite movies. Enjoy!
Twirling

Fairy Tales and The Princess Concept

Once Upon a Time......wait hold the phone, is this blog really starting off this way? Well I can't read this, Fairy Tales are bad. I refuse to read the rest.

Is that how you started to read my blog? If so, then you might be in the category that does not believe in the magic of fairy tales. I on the other hand do believe in the magic of Fairy Tales.

Yes, I have a vibrant imagination, I love stories that involve fantasy, they take us away from reality. Now I am not saying reality is so bad, I have a thing for reality too. Did you know that Fairy Tales originally started as stories told to adults just as much as children? It was away to escape the mundane and give life to the imagination.

We live in a generation where media and marketing are in our faces all the time and they have taken these pure stories to use for their financial gain. I see it every day. Here is the thing, I am talking about the stories themselves. I know it may be hard to eliminate marketing for now but it is a story for next time.


"As the fairy tale Cinderella shows, sometimes things happen in a world that we have no control of," wrote Bettelheim. "Parents die unexpectedly. Remarriages occur. People can be cruel." These are the messages we can discuss with our children. Perhaps it is possible to use tales of fantasy, romance, and adventure to help our children gain an understanding of the behavior and events in our lives that, somehow, never seem to change. (Reference)

I love the passage above because it is so true, we learn lessons whether they are big or small through all aspects of our life. This includes stories/movies. Aren't movies just a dramatic version of the oral story telling which was passed down generation to generation to teach lessons? With that being said who is responsible to pass down those lessons?

So here it goes, my perspective. Parents should be the example and strongest influence in their child's life. You can't leave it up to the TV or anyone else to train the child in the way they should go. Nowadays its already happening and we are left with a group of children that feel "entilted." Oh and let me tell you that generation has some hard lessons to learn. Hopefully we don't continue to be so PC about evertyhing that we just roll over for any little thing that may make someone not feel so great. Suck it up cupcake, sometimes you have to learn the hard way! Ok, I digress, that is for another time and another blog.

Back to the magic of fairy tales, I had a friend of mine mention to me that they wouldn't take their little girls to Disneyland because of the Princess Concept. Again, it comes back to parenting. "Studies show that the strongest influence in a child's life is her (or his) parents." (Reference)

According to Dorothy Singer, professor of psychology at Yale University and co-author of The House of Make Believe: Children's Play and the Developing Imagination, children who actively use their imagination reap a host of benefits, such as playing cooperatively and being successful in school. (Reference)

Guess what folks? Part of  imagination is dressing up and pretending you are a princess. Yes, sorry to break it to you but it is true. Now I am sorry I don't have more perspective on boys and their imagination but it just so happens I am a girl so that is the side of the story you are going to get on this one.

You could also look at it two ways, as a realist or blissful thinker. I don't think either is bad, the fact that we are all different and not the same is a wonderful feature of the human race. A realist could take the stories and say it doesn't teach children anything they are just for entertainment and can pick through the stories to find any negatives. A blissful person sees the stories as entertainment and can find the positives! I think we all know what side of the fence I am on.

Unfortunately there are many articles on the harm of fairy tales and the wrong images they portray. I read several before writing this blog. I will be honest, there were a few times I could find myself getting irritated with the authors and the negatives they chose to point out. I had to take a step back (way back and breathe) and see their perspective. So I did....well this is my blog so I will say what I think. I think they are all unhappy. Every article was so negative, I was searching for one of them to say one positive thing and it was like I was looking for a needle in a haystack. Apparently their magic has already been stolen? I think if you are going to look at something you have to look at both perspectives. I didn't sit and write this blog with only my perspective. I took the time to read the opinions of others and chat with friends about it. For example, one author stated that the Stepmother in Cinderella promised Cinderella that if she performed her chores she could go to the ball. In the end the Stepmother changed her mind and didn't allow her to go. In the article the author states that the Stepmother"she just lied, portraying yet another bad image of women." So are you telling me that men don't lie? That someday you may have a boss promise you something for a task to be completed to only find out hey they lied and are not following through? So what do we end up doing? Well I guess that depends on what side you fall on. Again, you can spin anything to your perspective and what you believe but personally I found many of the undertones to these articles to be filled with sadness. I hate to see anyone unhappy especially when they find themselves in a position to have completely lost the "magic" themselves.

 Conclusion, don't lose the magic of fairy tales but be smart about it. Don't assume you can't find anything good or positive in a story. There is always something positive to be found. If you are reading a story with a child or a friend then you already have a positive. You have that memory of sharing a story! Be smart don't count on media to instill values, don't fall for the marketing that is our world today, so don't become bitter and lose all hope in your happy ending, once you lose the magic you will just end up like one of the villains in a fairy tale waiting to steal the joy and magic away from anyone else you encounter.

The End ♥

It's Always Back to You!

This story begins in 2008 when one of my best friends introduced me to a band by the name of O.A.R. I was given a couple CD's and I immediately fell in love with their music. I have been to 5 of there shows since then and every time has been amazing! I had so much fun at the show last night, the crowd and the band were great. I was bummed that my normal concert buddies could not attend but I made some new friends while I was there and when you all enjoy O.A.R how can you not become friends right? I wish I would have taken more pictures but instead I was to busy dancing, jumping and singing. I do have a small video from the night and some pictures to share but it was very dark.

My two favorite songs on their latest CD

Gotta Be Wrong Sometimes

Heaven

My buddy Roch joined me for the show!

 

Like I mentioned earlier I have some really great memories from their concerts. I won't lie, this time around I wondered what it was going to be like but it ended up being pretty great. Next time I can only hope the Goobs and the Charms can be there!

Crafty McCrafterson

This past Sunday I caught the "crafting" bug, I decided to make all the ideas I have been jotting down or pinning on Pinterest come to life. First if you are not sure what Pinterest is let me explain.

Pinterest (pronounced to rhyme with "interest") is a vision board-styled social photo sharing website and app where users can create and manage theme-based image collections.

So basically, I get to save images of great ideas and then when I have time I can try the projects for myself. There are a couple projects that are still in the works but I was able to get some of them done which was a nice feeling. I come from a very crafty family. My Nana was a painter, my Mother a Cake/Photographer, my Aunt a painter and my Uncle who is a director/visual animator. Needless to say the creative juices are always flowing. I use to share mine through events and party planning. I have been meaning to get back into it but until then I will start with the little craft projects first.

My first project was a keepsake, after Christmas I always was upset when I ended up throwing out old Christmas cards so now I am able to keep those cute picture cards that my friends send! I still have to decorate the front cover but what I did was hole punch all my cards and  purchase some rings from the craft store and created a memory book. I still need to write Christmas 2011 on the front but you can see the general idea.

I am a very visual person, if I don't have things written down in front of me, it can easily slip my mind. So I bought a picture frame, some pretty paper and a dry erase marker. I added some stickers and now have a cute To Do List for my kitchen counter, now I can write down my thoughts when they happen!

The last two items were simple but still crafty milestones in my eyes..hehehe
So if you take a toilet paper roll that is all used you can slide it on your wrapping paper and keep it from going all over the place. It made me happy!

Finally I decoarted my door with something other than Christmas/Thanksgiving related.

I hope you have enjoy my projects! It was nice to get some stuff completed and to let my creative juices flow!

This blog was brought to you by the O.A.R King Album! I get to see them tomorrow! Hooray!

And the winner is...Nana!

Something is in the air, can't you feel it. Tuxedos rented, jewelry handed out left and right, designers, make-up, envelopes, trophies and of course the red carpet! Yes, it is Award Season. The beginning of the new year brings the award shows for the previous years films and ends in late February with the Oscars. I am what you may say a movie buff so I typically enjoy everything that comes along with it. The Golden Globes were on tonight and I enjoyed watching as I always do. This time was slightly different, tonight I took a minute to evaluate where my love of these shows began. It took me a second and while thinking back to all the times I have sat down in front of the tv, usually with ice cream I was immediately taken back to a memory that  brought tears to my eyes. I was a little girl in my tweens (of course we didn't call it that back then) and I was sitting on the edge of my grandma's bed watching the Oscars with her. I had not thought of that memory in a very long time, it just came out of nowhere. I could describe her room, what she was wearing, what I was wearing. I remember my grandfather just going along with it just to hang out with us but knowing he really wasn't interested. I can hear her voice as she was talking about the movie stars and what they were wearing. It is a memory I cherish and never want to lose. I am keeping that one close!

My long hair, had it that way until 6th grade.

One thing you will learn about the way I work is the fact that my memories are very important to me. This one of my Grandma (my Nana as I call her) stirred up a lot of feelings tonight. I was named after my Nana and I always had a strong connection with her. She died while I was in high school and I miss her more and more every day but so thankful to have the memories that I do. I bring her up because this is my connection to award shows. I love the glitz and glamor of it all because I shared it with her. My Nana was enchanting herself and while she was super strong she was graceful.

I imagined tonight what she would think about the dresses, the speeches and myself asking her if she could do my hair just like actresses on the red carpet. She always did my hair as a kid and she was pretty great at it. I mean she had like a whole 4 feet to work with since I had hair like Rapunzel growing up!

So, why are award shows fun for me? They allow me to cherish my memories with someone who meant the world to me. I could care less about the personal agenda's of the actors, who believes what or how much money they make. I enjoy it because for those of us who don't live in Hollywood its another world, its dress up, its the imagination of the films and how they make you feel inside. For me, its all of that and my memories of my Nana ♥

My wonderful Nana and Tata

Sisters, Sisters

Before I begin let me start of with a little history. In the movie White Christmas (a classic movie you should watch) There is a scene with the Haynes Sisters and they sing a song called Sisters. I love this song and I have since I was a little girl. Growing up I would sing it to my little sister Julie. I was the loud one and believe it or not and I am pretty sure I still embarrass her to this day.  Anyways here is the clip.

Now that you have a little history let me introduce to you the reason for this blog. Julie, Alexis and Lauren. I am very blessed to have three sisters in my life. Julie my sister and when my Dad re-married I was blessed with two more. There are some years between Julie and I and Alexis and Lauren. Watching them grow up has been fun because they are just little versions of Julie and myself. I am sure they are all another reason that I stay young in heart. Since I am the oldest I know that at times they have might  have been annoyed with my "motherly over protecting" nature but it happens. You mess with them and you mess with me. If I don't tell them enough then I will again. Julie, Alexis and Lauren: I love you dearly! You are all amazing and talented and God has blessed me so much with you in my life. Again, I am so blessed by all their personalities and talents and have such wonderful memories. Here are a couple of my favorite pictures of all of us, well that I am allowed to post because if I posted the ones I really wanted to I am sure I would get a sister beat down! ♥

 

Obsessed with a Beauty and a Beast

Once upon a time in 1991 a young little girl by the name of Esther fell in love with Disney's Beauty and the Beast. I can tell you everything about the first time I saw this movie. There are only certain movies I can describe the moment I saw them and Beauty and the Beast tops them all. I was in 5th grade and my friend Melissa was having her birthday party. Her parents decided to take all of us to see a movie. We went to Camelview 5 in Scottsdale. It is still there today! Every time I drive be I immediately am taken away to the row I was sitting in and my mouth dropping from the Be Our Guest scene, it was some pretty spiffy graphics for Disney back then.

So what is it about this wonderful movie that I can watch at least once a month? Is it the last movie I saw with the excitement and view as a child or was it the story that captured my heart? Maybe it was a mixture of both, I had a lot of growing up shortly after 5th grade, ya know the whole parents split up and the joys of that and weird that I am writing about it now. Anyways back to the happy stuff. The movie had a little bit of everything. I mean come on it won an Oscar people so it did something right. 

 

CHARACTERS AND WHY I LOVE THEM

BELLE - In my eyes she was the first book smart princess, she didn't care what others thought. She could see who people really were inside and was genuine.

BEAST - Oh the Beast, he had issues but no matter how scary he was deep down he was kind and could change. No matter what life throws at you, you can't change until you make the decision too.

LUMIERE - He was French, enough said

GASTON - What can I say about this guy, the cocky good looking guy. We all have them in our lives right? I think the part I do love about Gaston is the fact that he was a jock. Oh and those arms...I have a thing for shoulders and arms. TMI? My bad...

There are many more characters but those are my favorites. If you haven't seen the movie you have to give it a chance. Yes, I am a grown women but do I sing along with every song, yes! Do I start to twirl, yes. It just happens. If you are happy and you know it why not do more then clap your hands? I twirl, skip, sing and smile! I digress, back to the movie. It is a classic watch it! It makes my heart happy every time I see it and now that it is being re-released in theaters I can not tell you how happy I am about it. So excited that I even took a half day from work so I can go and watch it! I will be that girl in the middle of the theater rocking back and fourth in my seat with excitement as I anxiously wait for the Disney Castle to appear and the story to begin!

PS. Belle was brunette, brunettes rock!