Brain is still spinning...

SO this blog is just a spew of stuff, rambles of the mind, long tidbits I suppose?  Maybe it's because I'm currently reading Charles Bukowski.  Maybe it's because I get more forgetful and I want to remember.  Or just share - I mean you're reading it right?  Here we go!

I went and saw my friend Alexander in Caberet over at Stages a couple of weeks ago.  He was our Rosencrans in Slings and Arrows.  We ended up sitting at a Caberet Table right next to the stage so we ended up being a bit of part of the show.  I wasn't prepared for that so I found myself a bit uncomfortable trying to not slouch or look like a dork.  I'm not a huge musical fan but I do usually enjoy this one.  Here's me at our little table with my champagne:

Photo by Brenda

Brenda, Rick and I had gone to dinner earlier and shared a bottle of wine - well Rick and I shared it. Had a perfectly lovely evening with two of my favorite people.  Then we ran into Jill at the show who also sat at our little table.  So pretty much an S&A reunion!  I was pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed the show!  The last few productions I've seen over at Stages have not been that great so my expectations were a bit low.  Well Caberet exceeded them!  Our friend was just lovely as the Emcee - here is a shot from the show:

Great shot!

All the little kit kat girls were darling.  The cast was really great!  I did forget how sad the show actually is and was quite touched by the end.  But good job Stages Crew!

I tried again to do some crafting.  I'm attempting to play with photos on canvas and multi media type stuff but nothing is coming out to my liking.  I'm getting super frustrated.  I made a bunch more magnets since that's the only thing I can seem to actually craft but even they are getting all screwy.  The only good part was this adorable photo of Tweaks.  Everytime I set a new paper down she moved to sit on it.

Whut?

Let's talk tattoos.  So I already have one.  It was my 30th birthday present to me from my brother.  My brother is covered.  I like to call him a walking coloring board.  I had always wanted to get one, to see what it's like, to get something meaningful, etc.  Well 10 years ago I did just that.  I was really into astrological stuff back then so I wanted to get a small dragon holding a Pisces symbol.  I'm a Pisces Dragon if you didn't just get that.  One of Shane's artists drew up an original, much larger than I was planning but also much cooler.  He said this way it looked less like a tramp stamp! Ha! OK.  Let's do it!  I remember straddling a chair in the hot afternoon in the little parlor in Seal Beach.  Jason & Shane had shared a few beers (Me wondering if that was a good thing) and we began.  Slayer playing in the background.  I watched another guy getting tattooed in front of me and blood was dripping down his leg.  Yikes!  But Jason said I didn't bleed much at all.  He said I had the perfect skin to tattoo.  It took about 3 hours.  We took a break in between.  When we were all done they told me this type of tattoo is usually done in 2 sittings!  Shane had said I could handle it in one and not to tell me.  Well there ya go. 

It's a bit tough to take a picture of your back but here's what it looks like today:

After my 2012 death dance, I've been wanting to get a tattoo of a Phoenix to symbolize what I went through.  Problem is - Jason moved to Norway.  It will also be pretty expensive.  So - I've been just sort of thinking about it.  When my Papa passed in 2013 I wanted to do something special for him.  I thought a tribute tattoo would be perfect!  I had an idea after seeing the fire helmet on his headstone and started looking for an artist.  I figured if I found one who did the tribute tattoo well I'd go back to them for my eventual much more expensive, much more involved Phoenix.  I procrastinated like the best of them and finally said to myself  - DO IT!  I think it's also part of everything I'm going through (I'm trying to just do stuff and not think about doing it).  So  - Tisha Tattooing was who I landed on.  Jody had referred me to her and I come to find out she tats my brothers ex.  Shane agreed to go with me for support.  I had forgotten what it felt like since it's been so long.  Well - it don't feel good.  The best part of the day was chatting with Shane the whole time.  We rarely get to spend one on one bro sis time so that was rad.  He also took this picture and said he enjoyed watching me squirm.

The shading fucking hurts!

But I love it.  It came out beautiful and I'm so happy to have something now that means so much in honor of my Papa.  Everytime I look at it I think of him. 

Love and miss you every day!

Here's a picture I was trying to take to show the placement of my 2 tattoos.

Yes.  Me in my panties.

I really feel tattoos are a special unique way to express yourself.  I know a lot of people get them now, but I see them more for trendy reasons rather than meaningful ones.  I read a really interesting book called Skin Deep by Karol Griffin.  It's mainly about her life, but she's a tattoo artist and when she talks about tattooing it's so beautiful.  The art of trust that you as the artist and the person getting the tattoo share.  The creative artistry that comes with tattooing.  It's really fascinating.  I'm sure more are coming on this body, but it'll be a bit.

One of my dear friends got married a few weeks ago.  I couldn't be there since it was in Ohio and I can't fly, but some of my friends went and kept texting me pictures.  I love them.

This was the first one I got.  Said "We miss you!".  The groom to be is the angry bald guy on the end. 

They went to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and said they found my band

Pre-wedding photo.  Love these assholes.

Shot from the wedding

So wish I could have been there!

Speaking of weddings, last weekend was the weekend of getting hit with engagement announcements.  I went to lunch with Dad, Sumi and his daughter Kati.  Kati who I used to babysit.  I've already been to her older sisters wedding - well guess whose engaged.  Yup - Miss Kati.  That night I went to see my beautiful friend Shannon sing at The Olde Ship in Santa Ana.

Shan singing with South Coast Jazz Project - Awesome musicians!

Her and I have been trying to get together to catch up and it just hasn't happened.  I had yet to meet her live in boyfriend and finally met him that night.  Then about fell off my barstool when he referred to Shan as his fiance.  What?!  Both my dad and Amber who were there with me also were a bit thrown.  Leave it to Shan - no official announcement.  So stoked though!  Can't wait to get to know the guys better.  Then the next night I met up with my friend Lisa whom I traveled to Calistoga a few months ago with.  Guess who popped the question to her on his big 50th birthday party.  So there you have it!  Three more of my friends getting married off.  So happy for all three of them.    I'm also hitting up a baby shower later this month for this beauty:

Seriously like one of the most gorgeous couples I know. 

It's going to be Halloween Themed.  So very excited for that!

But of course, as happy as I am for these awesome friends it sure makes me feel like I'm becoming the odd man out.  Making plans with friends is getting harder and harder.  People have lives with their families and significant others.  I get cancelled on all the time with a "kid" emergency or a spouse screwing up a calendar.  Which I complexly understand. I try to plan months in advance with friends so we can fit me in amongst the hubby/boyfriend/fiance time, the soccer games, the school projects, etc etc.  I mean I totally get it. I do.  It just get's tough sometimes.

I'm at a very strange crossroads in my life right now it seems.  The problem is I have no idea which direction to go.  My creativity is stifled.  I'm not feeling motivated, inspired, anything.  I'm trying. I know it's good to just keep doing it no matter what, which I do, but more often than not I hate the outcome.  I don't feel "good" at anything.  I'm lonely.  It's true.  No I can't tell you if I indeed want a man in my life and/or a family because I just don't fucking know.  I go back and forth too much on yes I want a family and a man to no I like being alone and like my own space LIKE ALL THE TIME.  So I don't know.

I know I just need to ride it out.  I really hope that's all.  This funk seems to be lasting much longer than anything recent and I think that's what's also driving me a bit nuts.  But - I'm still meal prepping with T.  I'm still getting up an hour earlier to do my new morning ritual of journaling, stretching, etc.  I still work out regularly.  I'm still doing the crafts even if they suck.  I'm still trying to give myself little projects to do.  Even if they are as silly as my photo blog which I'm now doing a little 100 days of happiness thing.  You can find that here.  So I'm not hopeless.  I'm not not doing anything.  I'm just baffled.  In the meantime I'm going to just keep trying new shit.  Something will take right?  I will have my first epiphany right?

I almost didn't want to post this blog because I feel it's on the negative side, but I'm going to anyway.  Maybe it'll bring out some answers.  Maybe it'll help someone else not feel so alone.  Maybe no one reads my stuff anymore and I'm just typing out loud to cyberspace.  Hopefully soon my brain will focus and I will say "THAT'S IT!"  

For now I'm going to really try to stop worrying/over thinking/analyzing every goddamn thing.  Back to regular meditation.  Back to trying to teach myself to live in the moment.  I'll report back :)

Meal Preps Week 5 and 6...

Holy crap!

I can't believe we've been at this for 6 weeks already!

Terri and I have found we roll into a pretty natural routine now.  We find it thoroughly amusing that we know what's in each others fridge/pantries.  Example a text I received last week - "Pull the bacon out of your freezer, we'll use that for the Brussels recipe..  Is it weird I know what's in your kitchen?"

Hilarious.

Anywhoo - Week 4 was at T's house this week. Our recipes this week were:

 - Honey Garlic Meatballs.  We've done this before, but had some left over.  So I text T to pull them out of her freezer (again we know each others kitchen contents). And I would make half the recipe than last time.  That was my crockpot contribution.
 - Boiled chicken (thigh meat) then seasoned.  Terri then shredded the meat and we rolled up little wheat tortillas to make tacos and wrapped them separately!  (That's what the green cylinders are in the picture)
 - Turkey Meat Sliders.  Well - I made sliders - T just sticks with the patties.  We used Liquid Smoke to make these.  We figured it'd be fun to try and it was delicious!  Just ground turkey meat mixed with egg, breadcrumbs and the Liquid Smoke!
 - Pine Nut Couscous (From a box)
 - Mashed Sweet Potatos
 - Cucumber Salad I wouldn't recommend this again for meal prep.  It uses Greek Yogurt and it just wasn't good after like day one.
 - Apple Coleslaw Also - this one doesn't last as long, but I added it into my chicken tacos and onto my Turkey Sliders and it gave them some good flavor, but by mid week it wasn't that great anymore.
 - Soy Sauce Green Beans.  This was my suggestion.  I thought it would be a nice change up from our normal garlic and green beans.  Boy was it!  Delish!

I don't to seem to be getting better at not injuring myself.  I didn't realize Terri got a new peeler and I almost sliced my thumb off.  I need to make a mental note to always bring more band-aids to Terri's house.

I did pretty good this week with the food, but got burnt out.  I think it's because a couple of the things didn't keep.  I'm not going to lie - I may have found myself devouring an Arby's Roast Beef Sandwich one day because godammit I wanted something not healthy!  But don't worry - if I don't eat some of the food it doesn't go to waste.  It goes to my landlady who is thrilled.  I do eat most of my meals but once in a while a dinner or lunch plan pops up.  This is when Keri lucks out!

We also have been sticking to our smoothie breakfasts and hard boiled egg & grapes for snack.

We bag up greens for the smoothies.  Either Kale or Spinach.  This week was baby kale which actually went bad so I say stick to regular kale and spinach.

Terri likes to freeze her fruit then mix up with coconut water.  Personally I throw in some ice cubes and juice for mine.

I had a bit of a struggle this week.  I think it's partially due to the fact that I'm fighting food burn out.  I mentioned this in my 1st meal prep blog.  It's hard for me to commit to a diet.  I'm sticking to it though and not beating myself up if I have one week not as good as the others.  Terri is really enjoying it and says she notices the difference.  I don't notice a difference but it's certainly a time and money saver.  I also couldn't do my normal work outs (boxing classes) due to my new tattoo which you'll see in my next blog.  So that was part of it I'm sure.  Back on track this week though!!

So - week 5!

Back at my house.  Which is HOT AS BALLS!  I did another crockpot recipe which the link is below and I freaking LOVE IT!  It's so yummy!!!  I'm using it to make little sliders.  Last time I tried to do chicken in the crockpot it didn't really come out right, but this one totally did and it's soooooooooooooooooooooooooooo good!  Terri will stick to just the meat but Jami here is a carb girl so sliders for me!  This week:

 - Pulled Chicken
 - Italian Dressing Chicken
 - Sausage Stew - now, I'm not a huge stew fan but the Oregano in this is pretty damn good!
 - Brussel Sprouts
 - Garlic Couscous (from a box)
 - Cauliflower Mash
 - Corn/Bean Salad - this is my favorite!!!  So friggin good!!!  I didn't think I would like it because I'm not a huge bean fan but OMG.  This must be repeated.

I think I've mentioned this but we always go to Smart & Final to get all our crap.  We're in an out of there usually in about a half hour.  We're getting quite good and knowing what to get and where to find it.

The little meat tray on top is our usual go to to snack on while prepping.

This meal prep day actually did not go well even though we got some yummy foods.  We got a bit of a late start.  The f-ing weather was against us again.  And we had our first major fail.

For some reason I just could not get shit together.  I made the Cauliflower Mash but it didn't come out as good as it usually does.  I also thought we could make zucchini fritters.  Terri is getting smart and making me cook more.  If I pick something out she's pretty much like "you cook it!".  I'm like a little kid that doesn't want to learn, but she's right.  I need to do it and get used to it.  So she left me to my own devices for this damn fritter.  Let's just say I royally fucked it up.  I wasted an entire roll of paper towels trying to get the the water out, which I ended up doing wrong (FYI I'm told to purchase some cheese cloths for this type of chore).  Um - you're supposed to salt it and THEN do this water purge thing.  Did you people know this?  Salt brings out the water?  Sigh.  It was a mess.  Then you had to let it sit.  Then you had to refrigerate it.  Jesus why so many steps!!!  "Did you read the recipe?"  Terri asked me annoyed.  Of course I didn't.  I just assumed Terri read it and would make it.  Lesson learned.  She is trying to teach me.  I'm being the stubborn student and not wanting too.  Well it went from bad to worse.  I started trying to cook it - in a cast iron skillet mind you - with oil and I hate oil and it could burn you and FUCK!  So I put on a coat in the zillion degree weather to protect my arms.  Terri of course took a photo of my ridiculousness while laughing at me.

Fuck these fucking fritters!

 Then nothing was working.  My stove is uneven because my shack is sinking so it's already tricky to cook on the damn thing.  Well, they were getting stuck.  I need a metal spatuala.  Borrowed Keri's.  Still f-ed up.  It was horrible and I was getting madder and hotter.  Finally Terri tried to step in more and they just sucked.  I started yelling at them that they looked like shit and weren't cooking.  Terri came over and calmly picked one up and took a bite.  Not a good face.  I took a bite.  WTF?!  They tasted like a weird chemical or something.  I have no freaking clue what went wrong because there was nothing weird in the recipe.  It had zucchini, carrots, potatoes, wheat flour and baking powder.  Nothing weird right?!  But huge fail.  I threw it all out cursing it and deleting it from my Pinterest.  I was so pissed to spend that much time working on something that failed so hard.  Plus we wasted all that food and money (Which of course Terri pointed out teasingly - "Jami that's like $4")  Fuck that one.  I was not happy.

After some reassuring rubs from my cat (she knows when I'm not happy) and some gentle relax remarks from Terri I calmed down and we fell back into the rest. 

Delish!

Sausage Stew Thing

I have to admit - even though I may not be noticing much of a difference physically, I really do enjoy certain things.  Like when I make something in the crockpot that is really friggin good!  I mean this pulled chicken I made is really really good!

I made dis!! 

Plus - I'm lazy when it comes to cooking so having my fridge look like this every Sunday makes me happy.

OCD dream

So we're still at it!  Terri is making me cook more.  I'm learning lessons whether I like them or not.  I'm saving money and eating more balanced.  The best part of all if it is getting to see one of my besties at least once a week!  This Sunday was even lovelier because after the hot ass meal prep and slight meltdown from my cooking fail, we sat out on my deck with the breeze blowing around us softly cooling us down, drinking some fresh brewed iced tea and had some much needed deep conversation.

Meal Prep weeks 3 and 4...

Still at it!  Thought I'd drop in and give an update.

Week Three:

Back at T's place.

This time we decided (per a suggestion from Margaret - Thanks lady!) to each to a Crock Pot dish the day before our prep day.  This way we could get a couple of yummy dishes in the mix and save us from making 2 proteins!  T went for this recipe - Asian Chicken Lettuce Wraps.  I decided I'd be safe with meatballs since I haven't had a successful Crockpot dish yet.  I wanted to use fresh ground beef (or ground chix or turkey) but everyone told me to stick to frozen for my 1st attempt out.  Plus all the recipes I saw called for Frozen  - so - frozen it is.  Just found some with not other crap much added.  Here's the recipe I used - Honey Garlic Meatballs.

Sunday 8am there I was with giant bowl of meatballs!  I made a bit too many but I figured I'd just make the whole bag.

This weeks recipes along with our crockpot contraptions were:
 - Honey Garlic Chicken - I picked this out.  Do you see a pattern here with me?
 - Basic Teriyaki Chicken
 - Sauteed Spinach
 - Mashed Cauliflower
 - Vegetable Tian which looks like this:

 - White Rice
 - Zucchini Pesto Noodles

So. Terri bought a Spiralizer.  This thing is RAD!  You can take anything and make a noodle!  She used it to slice up the carrots for her Asian Chix dish and we used it to turn Zucchini into noodles which we lovingly called Zoodles!  Then we made our own Pesto sauce.  Just threw some stuff in a blender and BAM - Pesto.  It was delish!  This cooking day took a bit longer than we anticipated but we both think it was due to the fact that we had more recipe based stuff.  But I have to say - this was my favorite week so far food wise!  Check it out!

Everything was tasty!  I was also surprised how well stuff held up.  I swore the spinach would be nasty after a few days but nope!

We ended up taking a week off since T was traveling so the week off I decided to still make a couple of things for myself.  I have found that I love having food just ready to heat and eat.  So I decided to try this recipe - Slow Cooker Pork.  I also made some mashed cauliflower.  At 1st I didn't think the pork came out well because it didn't fall off the bone like I hoped but actually it tasted really good!  I made sliders for a couple meals but found myself just eating the meat and cauliflower for another and it was fantastic!  So yea me for my little mini meal prep!

And now we are currently on Week 4.  This week was back and my place and we are still having that godamn heat wave.  I have to say - this was the hottest week yet.  I was pouring with sweat.  I mean POURING.  It got so fucking hot in my house that the cats actually peaced out and stayed in the back part.  It was a bit brutal but we powered through!

Neither T or I came very prepared this time (just too much going on with both of us) so we got a bit of a late start since we spent some time figuring out what to make.  We opted for just chicken this week but would make three different recipes of it.  We did three of what we've done in the past so - this week:

 - Teriyaki Chicken
 - Italian Dressing Chicken
 - Honey Garlic Chicken
 - Sauteed Spinach
 - Mashed Cauliflower
 - Green Beans
 - Rice made with chicken broth
 - Zoodles 
 - Sweet Potato Noodles - Another one I had found that sounded pretty good!

I'm in love with the fact that we can make noodle things and I was assigned noodle maker this time.

Oodles of Sweet Potato Noodles

Again - T does most of the actually cooking.  I'm more the side kick.  We always do the same snack and breakfast.  Smoothie makings and the snack being an egg and grapes.  I always cut up the fruit!

Yummy Fruit Prep!

Now I thought I'd share a bit of the random things to expect when doing this.  If we're at my place I lack containers.  As you make all your stuff you need to have things to put them in before you separate.  So we get creative at my pad.  T got a huge kick out of our giant cup 'o chicken.

Tell me she is not adorable

Basically you make everything trying to be strategic, for example - make something that bakes in the oven while you can cook on the stove.  I'm usually cutting and preparing for the next upcoming cooking thing.  We're becoming a pretty good little team.  It's also a good idea (and necessary in my small space) to keep doing dishes as you go.  It's also handy to have more than a few dish towels around.   Once everything is made you pull out all the containers.

Here's just a few of our finished products!

Then we just start mixing and matching and deciding what should go where in 20 plastic containers.

What you can't see here is how drenched with sweat I am

And then you end up with this!

Or as in T's photo all artsy in the fridge:

If you notice the bagged spinach - that also goes in our smoothies.  We do the fruit and spinach (or Kale as we did in week 3).

I'm not as excited for the food this week and am worried I may get sick of chicken by tomorrow but we'll see.  I have to say the Sweet Potato Noodle dish is super yum though!!

So here we are part way through my 4th week and he's what I've learned.

 - I love having food ready to eat.  I throw together my lunch in seconds, make my smoothie in minutes and can eat dinner in a flash.
 - The afternoon snack helps me not be starving by dinner and gives me a bit more energy if I have a work out that night.  (Although make sure you get seedless grapes!  We goofed this week and it sucks!)
 - Unfortunately I'm not noticing much of a difference in my gut. A few have said it could be the fact that I didn't really eat all that unhealthy before.  Others have also mentioned that vegetables can get ya if you're not used to eating them (which I'm so not).  And it also may be the fact that the McCoy's just have temperamental tummies. 
 - I prefer the more flavorful dishes but better be prepared for more time in the kitchen.
 - I'm not burning out on this concept like I was worried I might.
 - Terri is noticing a huge difference.  She doesn't crash in the afternoons anymore and says she's feeling a lot better!
 - I totally love getting to see one of my besties once a week!
 - T and I make a pretty good team, but this comes as no surprise.  Team TJ is still in effect!

This picture was about the time Team TJ was formed

I plan on sticking to this as best I can.  Of course life may throw curve balls but right now this seems to be working out pretty well!  It's also a money saver!  This week T and I only spent a total of about $65 each!  That's meals for 5 days!  I easily will drop $100 or more at the grocery store when I'm shopping for myself.  That's huge for me.  I've got to start cutting where I can.

I think I'll post every few weeks or so with the recipes unless we don't change it up all that much.  I'm digging all the interest from other people!  I'm certainly finding this to be pretty cool so far!

That's what we're doing!

Disneyland on one of the hottest days of the year...

So, as you remember, I won 4 tickets to Disneyland at my work Christmas party last year.  I then promptly gave them to my mother because she is a huge Disnoid.  I mean this woman loooooooooooooooooves Disneyland.  I enjoy it, but I'm not big on the crowds and the masses of children and the corporate greed.  But hey - it's a fun place once in a while!  My highlight is watching my mom turn into a 6 year old the second the day she's going is nailed down.

We were told the week after Labor Day is a great time to go, so we opted for Friday September 11 since this was also the day that Disneyland turns into Halloween themed Disneyland and we both love us some Halloween.  Plus, Disney is doing it's 60th anniversary year so there's lots of other cool shit to check out.  Unfortunately this was also the day that it was supposed to be 97 degrees.  Awesome.  I packed my Nightmare Before Christmas giant purse (I mean when else am I actually going to use this thing) with sun block, deodorant, water, Aleve and brought my big floppy hat.  Mom was ready to go at 8am. 

We arrived and parked with no issues.  Trammed it in and took our 1st photo of the day!

8:30am and ready to conquer Disneyland!

We 1st grabbed a locker then headed straight over to Haunted Mansion to ride the Nightmare Before Christmas version.  I snapped a few shots along the way.  PS - this is still me figuring out my camera, so these pics may be a bit funky.  But no filter!

Squeeeaaaa!  I do love when the Mansion is done up this way!

This one actually does have a filter - it was my Twitter post and PS - some Disney obsessed Twitter people liked it immediately.  Hilarious.

I liked the sun streak!

Outside they have a fun little photo thing so of course:

After this mom wanted to go on the Winnie the Pooh ride

How cute is she in her hat!



A coworker recommended getting a Snickerdoodle at the bakery over here (Thanks Melissa!) so we grabbed one for later and browsed the little store.  Mom decided to buy the adorable hat you now see her in above.

By now our tummies were getting a bit rumbly so we grabbed our selves some brekkie at the Riverdale place near the Pirates ride.  They had a cute little 60th display that I promptly knocked over when I was checking out the stein.  Yup...everything fell crashing to the floor and I got quite the laughter from the surrounding patrons.

I sort of wanted to buy the stein because it was so interesting looking but really, what the hell am I going to do with that.  We got our food and I figured when in Rome:

By this time mom realized she should have worn socks with her sneakers so she needed to buy a pair.  Um - the only pair we found were $17 little socks! Lord.  But how cute is she right here:

We then hit up Pirates of the Caribbean.  Mainly because it was air conditioned.

We shopped around in the nearby stores.

I mean I know this isn't a store but it's pretty!

We then wandered over to Frontier Land and mom wanted to shoot things.  This woman is the modern day Annie Oakley!  She hit every damn target!  It was pretty amazing.  It was also fun to watch what each of the little things did when you hit them.  I've actually never paid much attention to this game so it was fun to check out.

Annie Oakley

I loved the display in the nearby Mexican Restaurant as well!  I wanted to come back and see it at night but we didn't get a chance.  Made me think of T-Mow!

We then wandered over to the Ranch thing in back of Thunder Mountain.  I was explaining to her that I'm pretty sure this is where some of the Star Wars land stuff will be.  It was all decked out for Halloween and I had never been back there so we wandered through. 

We then found ourselves in Fantasy Land and getting hot.  So time for some frozen lemonade!

One of my favorite pictures!

I read somewhere if you rub the apple outside of Snow White the witch laughs.  It's a lie.  I took a few shots while we wandered.

The queen peeks out sometimes!

The only Teacup mom and I can handle

It was hot.  We decided to check out the Sleeping Beauty Castle.  I hadn't been in since I was a kid and it was air conditioned. Win!

Wandered into the Mad Hatter store so I could see the Cheshire Cat appear in the mirror. (Also air conditioned)  Shopped and wandered.

Got to see the little time dance!

We then headed into Toon Town because I wanted to see the manhole covers that played music.  Super cute!

Here is where we hit a wall.  Too. Fucking. Hot.  We rested in the shade a while and decided to head more towards the front to check out some stores and get out of the heat. 

But first we had to play Buzz Lightyear!

Moms face though...

On the way:

We hit the locker so mom could change into sandals.  Then rested in the Starbucks (Did you know there is a friggin Starbucks in there?!) drank some Iced Tea with extra ice and ate our cookie.  We decided to eat since our dinner reservations weren't until 7 and we wouldn't make it that long.  We opted for The Californian Hotel.  On our way out we wandered into this place.  It's pretty cool!  (And air conditioned)  It's like an art gallery of Disney stuff.  Plus they had some cool little movie thing playing that talks about Disney throughout the years.  It was super neat to see some of the stuff from when I was a kid and when mom was a kid! Do you guys remember the People Mover!?

Disneyland in 1955

Off to Downtown Disney we go.  I took a few shots:

Love me some Tigger

This is a cake!!!

Then we got ourselves some drinks and snacks!  I even got mom to have a drink!  She got a Raspberry Mojito!  She drank half!  I was so proud. Ha!  I opted for a Sauvignon Blanc per the gals recommendation and it was delish! We got a couple sliders and this seafood thing that was awesome!

Best Seafood Cocktail thing ever!

Now into California Adventure!

We went on the Little Mermaid Ride

Played some games which mom pretty much won all of!

 Walked by this parade:

We then headed into the Animation Academy because it was air conditioned (do you see our pattern hear?). Neither of us had ever been in here.  We went downstairs and played the little game that tells you what character you are most like.  I got Belle and mom got Ursula!  (I mean she did choose the eat people for lunch option...)

She's so cute



We people watched for a while

This random employee asked if we wanted a sticker. Sure!

Adorable little be-bop band driving around and playing

Sky show

Then it was time for dinner.  We did the pre-fix dinner thing at the Wine Restaurant that also gets you preferred seating for the World of Color show.  Mom and I had never seen this and we finally decided this was the night!

The dinner was fantastic!  We started with a great little salad that had figs and walnuts then we chose different entrees.  Mom got a seafood pasta with a pomodoro sauce - Yum!!  I got the Filet Mignon that was delish!  The best part though was the dessert. Oh. My. God.  So friggin good!!!!  I had a couple glasses of wine (duh) and we were stuffed and happy!

SO GOOD!

We got our preferred viewing area then had to wait an hour.  That was a bit of a bummer. But we were right up front against the fence so seats (well where we stood) were perfect!  We got soaked when the show happened so I didn't take any pictures of it, but took a few before:

Playing with a filter on my phone

Mom bought me this Mickey Ears that light up.  And of course they're Halloween Themed!

The show was very cool but I actually was expecting something more impressive from what I had heard.  It was pretty much just like Fantasia Show.  But Neil Patrick Harris narrated and it was really fun!  Afterwards us and a trillion other people headed out.  Mom and I made a beeline back to Disneyland because we wanted to catch the Electric Parade.

The castle really was super pretty at night and all sparkly for the Anniversary!

Taylor had suggested we head all the back to Small World (Thanks Taylor!) because since the parade was at 10:45 most the peeps had left so there should be decent seating.  At first we thought we were SOL but then I saw some little white chairs set up in a Reserved area so I figured the parade did go this back this far.  I asked the gals that worked there and they said yes so we started trying to figure a place behind the VIP area.  Another couple was sort of with us.  The girls then came over and said "Are you a party of 4?  Would you like to sit in the Reserved area?"  UM YEAH!!  So check this out!

VIP Bitches!!

No one else sat there!  Other people asked to and the girls said no!  Ha!  We felt so special!  So we were front and center for the parade which was rad!  Some of the parade folks loved my blinking Mickey Halloween ears I bought and gave me shout outs.  So that was fun! The parade was really neat!  Loved it!

This thing was AWESOME!  Those are all separate strings of lights!

We thanked the girls profusely and headed out.  Mom wanted to have one last shopping trip in the big store in Downtown Disney so we did some more shopping.  We saddled up to the tram at 12:15pm.  I couldn't believe we were there that long!  My feet and back were sure barking!

What a great day!  It wasn't super crowded.  We didn't do too many rides, but rather window shopped a lot.  We also went in and out of random places we had never explored before.  It was hot as balls but we handled it well.  Lots of water and we didn't stay out in the sun a lot.  The highlight of my whole day was watching my mom's face light up constantly as we played around like a couple of little kids.  Some great memories were made and I have to say - I think I may have felt a little bit of the Disney Magic!

It was seriously the perfect day at Disneyland!