Happy September!

It's a new month! Time to start a-fresh and try new things.

Last month, I tried something new - doing all my grocery shopping and meal prep for the month over two different days. It was, dare I say it, AMAZING.

My freezer last month

Lasagna, chicken broccoli alfredo, chicken enchiladas, roast beef and on top of it all, I made ice cream this month too! Adam and I are really enjoying having meals all set and ready for us. It really decreases the eating out we used to do. With it all prepped, there's no excuse for me to dilly-dally about and swing by a McDonald's last minute for something to eat. On top of dinners and ice cream (which is almost gone - soooo good!), I also made breakfast sandwiches and overnight oats. The only thing left to worry about is lunches.

It feels so good to have everything set up like this, I'm going to try something new this month.

This month is getting back into running. I ran the Tower of Terror 10-Miler last year, and I haven't picked up my running shoes since. I miss the freedom running gave me, even if my personal time became oh-so-very limited. So no matter how many temptations Hulu provides me, I'm going for a run. Maybe someday you'll get to eat my dust!

Book Tuesday 8/27

I have a new release sitting on my Kindle waiting for me to devour the story and further my relationship with the characters.

but i have a problem. I'm not done with the two books i'm currently reading.

I know people who cycle through multiple books at a time, and others who must absorb every word of a series before they can read the next book. I fall into both camps. i need one long book and one fluff book at all times, and when a new installment is released in a series, I have to reread from the beginning so i can be reimersed into the world.

Back in June i made a decision that would ultimately affect my reading for the rest of the year. I decided to finish, and reread in the process, the entire Wheel of Time series by Robert Jordan. I adore the first three novels. the characters intrigue me and there's enough suspense that I keep wanting to read more. But now? I'm barely through the first book.

The problem is that I can't decide if this is my fluff book or my long book. The length of the book, and of the series (14!!! not counting prequels and prologues) should stick the book firmly in the long category. But my second selection places Eye of the World in the fluff category. Because my second book that i'm currently reading is The Warlord of Mars (aka the third Barsoom book in the John Carter chronicles).

As observers of my goodreads account will know, I've been making steady progress on Eye of the World, and not so much on Warlord of Mars. So I have no idea how in the world I'll squeeze in The Bitter Kingdom.

But that's the joy of reading - there's always another world to be explored, just behind another cover of another book.

TV Thursday

About a month ago, Adam and I cut cable. No DVR, no premium channels, just lightning speed internet. We already had Netflix as well as Amazon Prime, and I was subscribing to Hulu Plus for the capabilities to watch on my phone and TV. After crunching some numbers, it became clear to us that it was so much more affordable (and soooo much easier) to cut the cord already.

So what have I been watching? I've been keeping up with Warehouse 13 thanks to iTunes Season Pass, but the current binge watching is...

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I stopped watching PLL back during the Halloween flashback episode of Season 2. I just had so many shows that I was watching that it just fell off my radar. Well with Summer Season officially kicking off (aka basically nothing is on), it's the perfect time to play some catchup! And with Season 4 starting just a few days ago, it's definitely time for some blitzing to be on top of everything. This show is seriously addicting... and ridiculous. High school was not like this at all for me. Although to be fair, I wasn't what you'd call part of the popular crowd.

I'm going to try to make this something of a weekly posting - updates of what I'm watching, thoughts etc. I follow so many shows that this is the easiest way to keep a good pulse check on everything.

If you have a suggestion of what to watch next, I'm all ears!

trying to play catchup

It feels like we've been moving nonstop since the wedding. First Hawaii, then getting settled and sorted, and then we had to go to Salt Lake the first weekend in June only to come back and test MagicBands the following weekend.

Going back to Salt Lake was rough to say the least. It was last minute for my Great Aunt Beverly's funeral. The flight getting there was straight up ridiculous. We flew the hour from Orlando to Charlotte, then started the 4 hour flight from Charlotte to Salt Lake. Well en route, the toilets  stopped working, meaning we had an emergency landing in Chicago. We landed 9:55pm CT and didn't leave until 2am CT... at least we were able to go into the terminal and walk around some... Considering we were supposed to land at 10:40pm MT, just getting to Salt Lake was a blessing, even if it was at 4am. We were able to spend some much needed quality time with my family, and we even were able to get some time in seeing some friends.

Before we knew it, it was back to the grindstone at work where I've gotten more responsibility. Yay exciting! However it also means that Laura the Worrywart comes out more often. I've been stressing out over the little things again, which is just another reason why I NEED to get back to writing.

Last weekend we got to test out MagicBands, which is going to be the next big thing! And it was a blast!! We had FastPasses set up for Animal Kingdom, and we were able to change them up on the fly using the app. It was fantastic. I'm so excited to see how this new technology rolls out to the general public.

And now this weekend, we finally get a break! I'm trying to hunker down and write and pick the perfect picture for thank you cards for the wedding (only 2 months later!) as well as go through all 2000 of those pictures. So I swear Wedding and Honeymoon pictures are coming. But fair warning, it probably will be in July after our Disneyland Trip!

Thanks for sticking with me, folks!

Dance Floor on the Disney Weddings Blog

No, i'm not in the Real Couple Spotlight... yet...
But our reception dance floor was featured in yesterday's post - Making the Most of Your Dance Floor. (picture two and picture four)

I went into our planning session knowing two things:
1- Adam was in charge of the menu and it would be A-MAZ-ING
2- I wanted the reception to look like the point in Spaceship Earth when you are going backwards and down - just before you start playing with the screen

It required some YouTubeing to get the right look, but once the image of twinkle lights everywhere made sense, my wonderful wedding planner suggested the twinkle dance floor. We were sold the moment we set our eyes on it. We didn't even need to be convinced by the option of adjusting the speed of the twinkle to the music.

That floor was one of the highlights of the night. They kept it off while everyone was coming in so that it just looked like a plain white floor. But the moment that they lit it up during our first dance... we may not remember many details, but we remember the gasps of amazement that came from everyone in the room at that moment.

So for any brides currently planning and dreaming, don't forget your dance floor. There are some pretty awesome options out there.

post-wedding craze

we're now post-wedding. post-honeymoon. post-birthday!
and i plan to have updates once all the pictures start rolling in and i can make these posts more interesting than just words.

these will be BIG updates :) so keep an eye out. i'm writing things out already.

Just keep swimming

I want to blog. I want to write. I want to put creative juices back out into the world.

But I haven't. I don't.

In this attempt to keep running and losing weight, everything I hear/read is that if you don't keep at it, it won't get done. Also if you have no drive, no motivation, then you won't stick to it.

I used to be part of a VERY creative world. Granted I was the analytic side, but it was constant creativity, constant creation. And then I got sick. And everything changed.

Flash forward to 3 years after college, and I miss it. I fill the void with TV shows and Big Finish Doctor Who audio plays and needlework. But it's not the same...

I don't like it, so I'm going to change it. I don't know what you'll read here. Book reviews, tv recaps, running updates. I just have to remember that this is my space, where laii can make more appearances and be less professional.

So send me your support, your ideas, your laughter as I attempt to indulge in this thing called writing again.