Day 1641: A Different Kind of Blog

There are days like today every so often, when I'm hopelessly drowning in blog posts and I get a little frustrated with the kind of blog I write. Not only am I a topic-specific blog, but I'm a daily topic-specific blog, and I've worked very hard over the past few years to avoid repeating myself over and over again. It's hard, especially when I get behind, to think of original ideas that fit within the guidelines I've created for myself, and even when I'm totally caught up and I only have to come up with one blog topic a day instead of twelve, it's still frequently difficult to find something I feel people might want to read about in relation to Disney. 

But then there's also the realization that Everyday Disney isn't even your typical Disney blog. Many Disney blogs out there focus on news or tips and tricks for your Disney vacation, and while I myself subscribe to many of those blogs, I find myself jealous of how easy it must be to come up with continuous content in those cases. Here, I post once a day, and only once a day. If it's 3pm and suddenly Disney announces that they're closing Epcot permanently, but I already had a blog post up at 11 am, we're waiting until tomorrow to talk about it. Here, I find little bits of Disney in the outside world and bring them to life through blog posts. The problem is, sometimes the outside world doesn't directly line up with the Disney universe. Here, I strive to make the ordinary feel a little less ordinary and a little more magical, but sometimes one has to accept that, perhaps, a reader won't be interested in hearing about how salt can be related to The Magic Kingdom. 

Not every post on Everyday Disney is a prime example of the Disney magic either. Some are more about me than the parks and films. Some take place at a Disney Park and others don't. Some fit right in with what the other blogs are talking about and some fall completely off the beaten path. In other words, and not to toot my own horn here, I'm not sure there's another blog out there quite like Everyday Disney. It's a personal blog and a news blog and a special interest blog and a daily blog and more all rolled into one. 

Everyday Disney, like the Disney Parks themselves, is always evolving, and as we get closer and closer to year 5, it's time to really see what we can do. I've covered the basics, we've gone in-depth on the traditional, and now it's time to dig a little deeper to see what it is we're missing. So with new series like DCP Wednesdays, A to Z Disney, 50 States, and Random Disney Things, let's get exploring and keep going, because Adventure is Out There, and now it's time to find it. 

Have a magical day! 

P.S. - Think of this blog post as a sort of new Mission Statement for Everyday Disney. With a list of 314 blog post topics to work on over the next few months, I was feeling a bit overwhelmed, and then I realized that it's time for a new mission in addition to a new look. So for the rest of 2017, the theme here at Everyday Disney is "Dig a Little Deeper," which is ironic considering it's same theme of the first blog post I wrote for the year, and it's time to find out who we are and what we're missing! 

Day 1561: Literary Parents

I was supposed to write this blog post for my Creative Writing seminar a week ago, but then life got in the way and it never happened. I did, on the other hand, think pretty deeply about the answer to the question we used as a prompt - Who are your literary parents? - and as I like to say, better late than never! 

Honestly though, I initially had no clue about how to answer the question at hand. While I've been an avid reader and writer my entire life, there isn't anyone in particular that's inspired me to the point where I'd single them out as a "literary parent." Well, I suppose, with the exception of Walt Disney and the writers behind some of our favorite animated films. And if we're citing Walt as a literary parent in regards to fairy tales, we really should be citing the writers of the original stories, and that's where things get deep. 

One could say that I don't know precisely who my literary parents are because it's unlikely anyone knows who they are. If the root of my literary background stems from fairy tales, my literary parents are sort of like those long-lost relatives someone might try and search out on the TV show Who Do You Think You Are? In the fairy tale tradition, many of the stories we know and love are simply transcriptions from oral fairy tales that were passed down through the centuries. Unfortunately, no one apparently found it important to write the names of the storytellers down, or dig up information as to where the tales came from before that, so much of the knowledge has been lost or destroyed. Aka, a tough break for those of us trying to figure out where our literary parents are. 

Of course, some of them are definitive. There are some fairy tales, many fairy tales actually, created by the author that's listed on the front cover, such as Hans Christian Anderson or modern day fairy tale writer Emma Donoghue. Plus, my writing style has certainly been impacted by the show Once Upon A Time, so you could also say that the creators, Edward Kitsis and Adam Horowitz, along with their army of writers, have earned a spot on my list of literary parents as well, but the point still stands. No on in particular jumps out as the literary parent, and here's an additional thought as to why that may be: 

Somewhere out there, there's a quote that talks about how we're influenced by every person we meet, even if it's only a small influence or, perhaps, no apparent influence at all. I'm not entirely sure it would be fair to say that if you'd never interacted or "randomly stood next to each other and didn't even notice each other that one time" that you entire life would change, but fate does seem to work in mysterious ways. Regardless, if you apply this theory to literature, you could say that every author I've ever read is one of my literary parents, because they've all impacted me in some way. Some may have made a major impact, like the authors of fairy tales, and some may play only a minor role, like the authors of the books I read but don't remember reading in middle school, but the important part is that they all, in one way or another, have influenced my writing. 

So who are my literary parents? I'd say everyone, and while that may seem a bit messed up biologically, this isn't a science class, so who cares? 

Have a magical day! 

Day 1512: A Significant Moment

It's time for another blog post focused on my Creative Writing Seminar, although since I haven't had a chance to write another blog post since the last piece focusing on the class, it's almost as though no time has passed at all. Regardless, this week we've been challenged to discuss an important moment in our writing history, and, for me at least, there are few moments that could top the stirrings of Everyday Disney back in late 2012.

Prior to January 2013, and really prior to later that year, blogging had never been my strong suit. The most I'd written in the blog post category could be found in the expectations section of any number of high school syllabi, and that meant that even the first few months of constant blogging were pretty rough, although that's not why starting Everyday Disney takes the cake on my list of significant writing moments.

Like many of my peers, I can definitely recall moments as a kid where I'd make little books out of blank paper and a few staples or where I'd seek out a spare notebook from the depths of my basement to scribble in. I'd typically write stories about dogs, probably from the dog's point of view, but what can I say? I watched a lot of Air Bud as a kid...and I really wanted a dog. I suppose one could suggest that these early days were important because it gave me an opportunity to explore my imagination, but in the overall scheme of things, that just wasn't the most significant part of my writing journey, and that's okay.

Fast forward to my high school years, where, amongst all that horrible blogging, I discovered not particularly that I liked writing as much as it just came naturally to me. I can still recall sitting in an Intro to Business class, of all places, happily typing away at a paper or letter we had to write for an assignment, and my friends, who sat on either side of me, commenting on just how quickly I was moving along. I figured they just meant my typing, because I've always been notoriously fast and loud at typing, but in reality they were talking about the actual writing I was doing. In a trend that would continue throughout the remainder of my high school years, where my peers would struggle with what to say on an in-class essay or any essay in general, I'd quite contently work my way down each page, writing, writing, and writing some more.

By the start of my senior year, I was locked in an internal debate about what I'd major in when I headed to college the following fall. I knew I was good at writing, and I knew I liked writing, but I also knew that music would be a good fit for me, and history was constantly knocking at the door as well. But trying to achieve a triple major sounded like a horrible idea, so I did the best I could and dropped the official major for History in favor of focusing on English and Music. That decision wouldn't have come, however, without Everyday Disney.

To this day, I'm not entirely sure what I was thinking in the last few weeks of 2012 that made me so eager to write a blog post a day for an entire year. It was a lot of work, I'd be going through a lot of changes, the internet at my house was slower than a turtle on a bad day, and I had no prior experience with blogging. Little did I know that there was one day to fix at least a few of those problems. Blogging every day was, at first, really difficult and taxing. It still is on some days, especially now as I head into the fifth year and frequently struggle with coming up with brand new topics that I have yet to cover, but the more I blogged, the easier it became. Because of the consistency of writing a daily blog, I was able to keep writing even when it seemed like my muse was floating away, and that's a lesson you can only learn through continuous writing. You have to push through it, and I wouldn't know that without my daily blog. In addition, I've gained writing experience, found a voice of my own, expanded my vocabulary, learned what it means to write professionally on a regular basis, meet deadlines, and continue to pump enthusiasm into posts even when you're writing them at 11 pm on a Monday night and all you want to do is go to bed.

Was Everyday Disney the only important moment in my writing journey? Goodness no, and to be honest it doesn't have all that much to do with creative writing specifically, because there are plenty of other elements at play there, but when it comes to my writing as a whole, I'm incredibly thankful that 17-year-old me decided to start a daily blog about Disney...even if I'm behind for what seems to be the hundredth time.

Until tomorrow...or the next Creative Writing Seminar blog post,

Have a magical day!

Day 1188: The Best Part

Yes, the above picture is of my setup in my college library not long ago, but that's beside the point. We're here to talk about blogging, and why, while usually drastically behind on my blog, I really love what I do. Between Everyday Disney and my YouTube videos, as well as being a full time college student, I keep myself busy in more ways than one, but the best part about being a Disney blogger, especially one that writes something like this, is that I not only have the freedom to do my work at my own pace and my own way, but I get to explore and participate in what I love while doing it.

I mean, where some of my fellow students spend their free time doing things they might have to do, or, let's be honest, just watching Netflix all day, I get to go to movies under the premise that it's so I can blog about them. When I'm in the Disney parks, my blog has forced me to explore new things, some of which I'd never even heard of, and some of which have become some of my new favorite activities while I'm there. I get to meet new people, see new sights, and am constantly taking pictures and improving my writing as we go. Plus, it's really great to have something on the side to devote my time to, just so I'm not spending all my time in classes and doing homework. It's almost like a break from the daily grind, and that's usually a huge relief during the busy semesters at college.

I love blogging, even when I get behind and end up writing 20 posts in one day to try and catch up, and I'm always excited to see where my blog will take me in the future.

Have a magical day!

Day 1184: Readjusting to Life

It's been about two months now since I made the decision to move to a new apartment and drastically change my life forever, and looking back at the past three months, it's obvious that I was challenged in ways that I never thought possible. That's just the bad news though, because the good news is that no matter how difficult it all seemed, I know I've been changed for the better.

For those of you that were around at the very beginning of the year, you'll know that I really wasn't doing too well. The first blog post of 2016 really outlines where my emotions were at, and those feelings continued to go on for the majority of January, even through a trip to Florida with Frank and my Mom. Since then it's felt like one blow after another, but regardless I'm happier than I think I have been at any point in college, and I thought that it was probably about time to give you a complete update on what that means.

The blog post detailing our new apartment isn't up yet (those other blows have really put me behind on blogging, but I'm slowly catching up), but we love living here a ridiculous amount, even if the building is scheduled to be torn down at the end of the year. We have another roommate, Erin, who we love and get along with super well. The corn in the picture above is part of a real meal, which I made myself for dinner, and is absolutely something that wouldn't have happened last semester. Eating healthier means I feel healthier, and that means I'm happier too.

While unfortunately I lost some friends over the past few months, my experiences have also brought me closer to new friends, and oddly enough, they're mostly people that have surrounded me for years. The best part though? They absolutely accept me for the really weird person that I obviously am. I think I've spent more time in the past two months in other dorms and trying new things that I ever have before, and even if I had to go through hell to make it to those experiences, I'm pretty grateful. I love and adore the people that I'm surrounded by now (not to say that I didn't love and adore those that I have lost, because I did, very much), and I'm sure you'll all be happy to hear that a smile on my face is once again a feature in my everyday life.

And, of course, as you already know, I'm looking forward to my next Disney trips! I've already introduced my "Choose My Adventure" idea, but here's a video on it as well that explains a bit more:

Videos and blog posts have definitely been spotty over the last few months, but even as I approach the end of the semester, I'm making an effort to keep on top of things as best I can and catch up on what I've missed. My goal is write at least two blog posts a day (one for the current date and then one other), which allows for all of you to read through at a more normal rate, and allows me to have enough time and energy to spend on each individual post. YouTube videos will continue to go up on Tuesdays with the possibility of a few surprise videos here and there! 

Overall though, I can't express how thankful I am for all of your support. Previous to the last number of months I thought I knew what suffering and pain felt like, but the challenges that were thrown my way were never something I could have anticipated or prepared for, but I'm so much happier now that I'm not sure it even matters anymore. Rafiki once said that we have to put the past behind us, and I think that now, finally, after a lot of thought, I'm ready to do just that, and start readjusting to the new life I'm building for myself as we speak. 

Have a magical day! 

Day 1134: Why I Love Mondays

Before you get on my case, let me tell you that I most certainly still am not a huge fan of the first day of the work week. Mondays bring a whole new start to what will probably end up being another never-ending week of classes, homework, and projects to work on, and that is probably unappealing to everyone, no matter who you are.

However, this semester, Mondays have a certain charm to them. It's one of two days a week where my evening is, usually, blissfully free of meetings and practicing and work, as I attempt to get my readings for the week out of the way on the weekend, and since I have a bit of time open, I've dubbed Monday nights more or less "Disney Nights." Since I'm frequently busy on the weekends, Everyday Disney will often get behind, and with my weekly YouTube videos now going up on Tuesdays, Monday nights work perfectly for finishing touches on vlogs and other videos as well as catching up on blogging.

The result is a night that is filled with Disney this and Disney that, whether it be catching up on blog posts from across the internet, writing for Everyday Disney, editing a new video, sorting through pictures, watching a bit of The American Adventure on my computer, or finally drinking out of my Animal Kingdom Starbucks mug for the first time. I did something similar in high school, where one of my study halls was basically dedicated time to working on Disney related projects, as that was back when Everyday Disney was just starting out. These days, time to dedicated specifically to Disney is harder to come by, so something tells me I'm going to treasure these Monday nights more than I ever have before.

Here's a fun game though! How many references to Disney can you find in the above picture? I'll tell you right now that if you really look closely, you can probably find at least 10, and that's just a little bit of my desk setup in my new apartment, which I really need to photograph one of these days to share with you!

If you had a free night to dedicate to Disney though, what would you spend that time doing? Catching up on a Disney related show (I'm looking at you Agent Carter)? Would you watch an old classic Disney movie (I've been dying to watch Hunchback for weeks now)? Maybe you'd start a Disney blog of your own...or, you know, you could go back and read some more of mine! Whatever catches your fancy, let me know in the comments below!

Have a magical day!

Day 1022: What Happened in October?

Trying to make up blog posts when I get really far behind is certainly one of the more difficult things in life, especially when those blog posts are from months ago. To be fair, if I don't have time to blog on a specific day I try to at least write down a blog post topic that I can come back to later, but more often than not, I'm so caught up in schoolwork and such that I don't even think much about it. My life is relatively ordinary and simple, and while I'm able to find Disney in pretty much anything and everything, I also can't ever seem to remember what happened in October when it's November.

If I'm trying to come up with blog posts from a date that far past, the first place I turn to is my Twitter, as I'm more active there than any other social media, and usually I'll have tweeted about something that makes a connection. The problem is, Twitter only allows me to go so far back sometimes, and since I tweet so much (thanks Once Upon A Time), it's sometimes hard to figure out what in the world might have gone on.

Regardless, I think someday I should show you how boring my everyday life really is. It usually starts with me quickly getting ready for the day before heading to hours of class, maybe a bit of food, and then into an evening that is often filled with meetings. From there, I throw in some practice and homework time before hopefully blogging, working on a video, or catching an episode of something on Netflix before again going to sleep.

See, not that interesting at all? And J-Term is probably even more boring, with days on end of random work on things that I didn't have the time to finish during the semester. Maybe someday I'll snapchat my entire day and then share it here, but that's an idea for another day...although I do wonder how Disney might still fit into a little video like that, because I'm more than certain it would.

Have a magical day!

(Note: This blog post was written on December 30).

Day 666: Bloggers Everywhere

As you already know, at least if you've been reading my blog for a while, I do have some sort of a line between my personal life and my professional (blogging) life. However, I feel like it's fuzzy line, and in the world of blogging, it's one that we all have to define for ourselves. For instance, we all have favorite actors and actresses, and when we choose our favorites, there's always a particular set of characteristics we have. For me, one of the absolute top things on my list is the ability to keep those lives separate. Colin O'Donoghue and Jennifer Morrison and Harrison Ford definitely all do a great job of this, and as much as I'm always curious as to what they're up to, I can seriously respect that. I would want to keep my life private if I had thousands of fans too.

Regardless, there are times when those two lives connect together, aside from the fact that I blog about my life every single day and how Disney plays a part in that. But I really don't go around talking about my blog constantly, although my roommates probably hear more about it than they really need to know (mostly my continuous attempts to catch up on the last few blog posts so I'm caught up). In fact, I know for a fact that I talk more about Captain Hook on a daily basis than I do about my blog. My friends all watch OUAT...and catch all my references, but that's a blog post for another day.

I just hit 30,000 views on this blog though. It's quite the milestone, and it's over a year and a half in the making. Honestly, it's almost ridiculous to think about the early days, when I'd be happy with 7 or 8 views in one day, and here I am with a total of 30,000 all time pageviews...a number that was barely at 10,000 a year ago. Blogging is a game of patience, and that's one of the things you can only understand as you slowly go through over a year and a half of blogging about the same thing every single day. But one thing I don't get very often, despite the fact that there's 30,000 pageviews on Everyday Disney, is feedback, and even less often do I actually meet a real, other, live blogger.

I think it's partially because the written and spoken word is becoming less and less popular as we go on in time. Just because I write however many words a day doesn't mean that someone's going to come along and read them. Even I have to admit that I don't have anywhere near as much time to read as I really want to or should. Granted, we're reading all the time, whether it be papers or instructions or television show titles, but we're not reading, and even less of us are sitting and writing something.

So when I do have the chance to meet a fellow blogger, it's a great experience, whether or not they blog about Disney as I do. Yesterday I found out that one of my college friends also writes a blog, although he's just starting out. I remember those days...trust me, I do. I wrote a post on them just last week. One of my best friends also writes a blog, and I can't say for sure, but I'm pretty sure I helped inspire her to write hers too. That's a great feeling, not only that there are people out there reading my blog, but that there are people out there writing their own blogs, even if I didn't inspire them at all.

What advice do I have to bloggers, especially after 22 months of work? Keep writing. When I tried to write a blog how many times over, the problem wasn't page views or interest or topic or even how I was writing. It was the ambition to write and the resolve to keep doing so. That's an incredibly hard thing to learn, especially when in college or school and your schedule is so full you don't know what to do with your life other than cry about the future debt you so carefully developed. All those other things will come in time, but to be honest, they're never going to come if you don't keep blogging. Like I said, it's a game of patience. And as I learned during Sunday's episode of Once Upon A Time, patience is a virtue, and most certainly worth it.

If you'd like to check out the blogs of my friends, you can do so through these links:

Life of a Music Education Major
My Life in a Nutshell

Have a magical day!

Day 639: How I Blog

Believe it or not, October 1 is the absolute LAST day I have to make up. That's right, this is the last post that has been randomly sitting on my document as not finished for the last how long. Every single post previous to it has been completed, whether the topic on that day is relevant to that particular moment in time or not. After I finish this post, I'll have officially completed the 669 blog posts that equal October 29 (as today's actual blog post won't be written until later tonight). I've been sitting at my computer since 10 this morning, with a short break here and there to eat or talk with a roommate. It's now almost 4 in the afternoon, and I've got other things going on this evening that mean I finished just in time.

Since I've spent the last how long working on the blog and I gave a bit of a glimpse into my process of making up these posts a while back, I figured I would go into a bit more detail, simply because I'm feeling really accomplished right now.

As I mentioned on a post a long while ago, I have a Google Document that lists every single day I've had to make up since April 18, 2014. Think about that for a second. It's the end of October. That's how long this has been going on. I took a "month off" in June, which I then made up later on in the year (such as just a few minutes ago actually). On that list, a blog post remains in bold lettering until it's completed, making it easier for me to see what day I'm working on, what date it's for and what the title is.

But before the post can even have a title and then be written, it needs a topic, which is a whole other story. I have an entire notebook set aside just for Disney stuff, and there's already been more than a few pages dedicated just to trying to come up with blog post topic ideas. Sometimes, such as right now, there are several blog post topics already lined up. I have topics ready to go for today, tomorrow (October 31) and the day after, meaning that although I won't actually sit and write those posts until later, they already have titles and topics associated with them. They stay in that bold format until I actually hit publish though! 

Once a blog post is published though, the title of the post gets added to a HUGE master list of all the titles I've ever used on any post. The point in this? It helps to make sure I only use each title once, therefore separating every single post from all the others. If I already used the title, I need to find another one that still fits. Luckily, the search feature makes it really easy to figure out if a title is already taken. 

The process of actually sitting down and writing the posts is actually the quick part most of the time. Once the topic and title and date are set, I just have to sit and type for a while. And once it's posted, it means it's time to hit the social media and share it all. Of course, lately that hasn't been an option because of how far behind I was, but with this last updated blog post, I am very excited about the fact that my social media presence for Everyday Disney cannot only continue, but expand. Thank goodness.

I can't believe I'm caught up. You literally don't know how excited that makes me. Hundreds of days, all completed. Finally. I guess there really is a little bit of Disney every single day, isn't there?!?

Have a magical day!

(Note: This blog post was written on October 30).

Day 594: Inspire and Be Inspired

I do love to blog.

I love the whole process. Coming up with new ideas, writing the actual posts, getting any sort of feedback. I think the entire thing is wonderful. I mean, I generally don't get comments or anything, but there's a significant number of views, especially when this thing is updated, and that's awesome. Just to sit and think "Hey, there really are people out there that are reading what I write."

I try to keep a variety of stuff on the blog, and while I am often times quite long winded, I try to keep each post focused around one particular thing. Sometimes it directly relates to a Disney Park or to a Movie or to something going on in my life, but I do always connect it back. What's different and weird for me is the idea that maybe I could inspire someone else to write a blog too.

About a year ago, over a year ago actually, my friend Ashley took it upon herself to start her own blog, and while sadly I don't have a ton of time for reading blogs lately (or even a year ago), I tried to read as often as possible, and now she lets me know by text message when there's a new post up so I can go to read it if I have a couple of minutes. In reality, I really should spend more time reading up on Disney news and other blogs because that's something I really had the ability to do when I first started Everyday Disney and I miss it.

But that's not the point here. Recently she began a new blog, like so many of us do. I can't even count the number of blogs I had before I landed myself here, and just going back and reading my journals makes me realize how many times I really did start over. That's kind of what you have to do though. It's a trial and error process for sure. You get going and then relax and forget about it, and then you remember that you had one but it's been six months since your last blog post and now it just seems ridiculous to continue so you start all over. It's the scenario I'm honestly trying to prevent right now by working my way back through the summer of blog posts that I missed. It's gonna take a hell of a lot of time and works to write all of this, but I'll get it done somehow.

On some level though, there's a bit of me that knows "I started her on that path to blogging!" and she tells me all the time about how much she really does enjoy it, even just a few blog posts into the new website. And she's right in saying that her writing gets better with every post because seriously, that's how these things work. It takes a long time to fit into a blog and a format that works for you. I mean, I can't even count the number of nights I spent trying to figure out exactly how this daily Disney blogging thing would work or how I would end the post or so on and so forth, and I continuously start the process over on new projects now that I'm comfortable here.

In all honesty though, I think it was this blog itself that gave me the courage to start on those other projects. They don't always get done, but hey, not everything works out, right? It's a matter of constantly coming up with new ideas to work on, just so we can improve our own skills and make progress. Because that's what we're all about. We keep moving forward.

Have a magical day!

(Note: This blog post was written on August 18, and if you want to check out my friend's blog, you can do so HERE!)

Day 557: Most Popular

In my search for what to write about in these last few posts I have to make up, I came across a lot of suggestions to go back and look at my most popular posts. It's sort of difficult to say which are the popular ones, simply because there isn't a surplus of comments or shares on this blog (now is the moment I'm staring you all down). I can, however, look through the posts and see which had the most views, which was quite the entertaining opportunity, and I'm pretty glad I did this.

The Most Popular: 

My most popular blog post of all time, based on views, was Day 42: Disneybound Day!

Why this is, I have absolutely no idea aside from the fact that Disneybounding is a HUGE thing right now, and I certainly hope it stays that way. The funny part is this blog post was soooo early on, probably helping it to get more views simply because it's been up longer. However, I see the pictures featured on that post just about every day, since they are right alongside my signature, which appears at the end of every blog post. I have to scroll past those very pictures to get to the one I need every time I write. Funny how life works that way.

And in case you were wondering, that post has over 500 views, compared to the average 200-300 views on the other popular posts featured here and the general 20 or so views I get on daily posts.

Popular Themes: 

Oddly enough, I feel like I talk about OUAT a lot. I mean, I really do, after all. It's my favorite television show, a go to subject at the dinner table and in car rides one way or the other from college and it's just plain a part of my life these days. It makes perfect sense that it weaves it's way into my blog then.

What I didn't expect when I went through the blot posts, however, was the extreme interest any time OUAT was brought up. Many of the highest view totals come from these posts, including the following:

Day 498: The Memes of OUAT
Day 391: Colin O'Donoghue
Day 448: The Tower
Day 336: Save Henry

Also, fun fact, this particular post - Day 335: Ship Names - has a lot of views for some reason or another. It's not the highest by any means, but it does have a significant number of views, and I had to comment on this fact because I happen to remember writing this post. It was really late and my roommate last year had already gone to bed. I'm a loud typer, so I moved to the hallway, where I sat on the floor and wrote about ship names. I decided my ship name was Lizney (Lizzie & Disney). It makes sense, even now.

Super Random Popular Things: 

Then there are the posts that are popular for no reason other than people are probably searching for something that happens to be a keyword on the post. After all, just because there's a pageview doesn't mean the person is actually reading what I'm writing. I won't blame anyone for skimming or skipping a post or not reading in general either though...I write a lot. I know that. I know that to the point where I don't proofread anymore. So please, ignore my small mistakes. They happen. Typos and all.

Such random popular posts include:

Day 316: Supersize Me
Day 259: Bulletin Boards
Day 171: Must Watch Movies
Day 339: Happy Birthday Walt!
Day 385: Frozen Appreciation

Weird, huh?

In general, it was quite interesting to look at what was the most popular based simply on pageviews. I can't control which ones people read in particular, but I simply hope that at some point there's something enjoyable for every Disney lover out there, even if I am really long winded.

Have a magical day!

(Note: This blog post was written on October 29).

Day 530: Blog Challenge

Writing a blog specifically about Disney and how it fits into my everyday life makes it a bit complicated to try and search for generic blog post ideas, and you can't really just write about something and NOT relate it at least a little bit to Disney (although I'm sure I stretch it enough from time to time). But I had a lot of blog posts to make up, so I tried to make some of the generic ones a little less generic...or at least reduce some of the ideas into one blog post.

So since (technically in the future) I've done some challenge posts, I figure I'll do one more...31 Days of Blog Posts, all in one day. Thank goodness this one is a little bit easier to do.

1. Introduction

I think this is a bit pointless at this rate, don't you? I'm Lizzie. I love Disney. I write a blog about it. End of Story.

2. 20 Facts about Me (My Addition: That you probably don't already know)

1. I have an obsession with Ritz crackers (I'm eating some right now).
2. I really love corgis and golden retrievers.
3. Post It Notes are like my Life Support.
4. My favorite kind of Snapple is Snapple Apple.
5. I tend to write a lot of stuff by hand and am OCD about my handwriting.
6. I go through pens like some people go through gallons of milk.
7. I don't like tea...unless it's chai or CaptainSwan tea.
8. I hate airplanes. HATE THEM.
9. I can't stand being too hot...I prefer being just a bit cold, but am not a fan of the cold either...
10. I don't really drink soda. I stopped drinking it about a year ago.
11. My desk at school is generally fairly clean, but my desk at home is a disaster.
12. Lotion is necessary in cold weather...but makes my hands feel super weird.
13. I'm actually seriously good with hairstyles.
14. Some people like shoes...I like jackets (especially leather ones).
15. I love making cupcakes, but very rarely actually eat them.
16. I'm not a huge fan of cookies.
17. Someday I'm going to own cats named Bunsen Honeydew and Beaker.
18. I literally could not live without my phone. I am that person.
19. I'm 100% terrified of going on Tower of Terror.
20. I go to bed at roughly the same time every night (ironic because tonight is not one of those nights!).

3. Meaning of my Business Name

Well, I don't have a business, but I do have Everyday Disney, which is a representation of the fact that Disney makes it's appearance in our daily lives, somewhere, somehow.

4. Earliest childhood memory

I remember a blue balloon outside of Mama Melrose's at MGM Studios. Literally, that's the earliest thing I remember. Unless that was on a trip after the time I stayed at the Grand Floridian. I remember that. Aside from Disney? I've got nothing until I'm a bit older.

5. My guilty pleasure

Spoilers. Can't live with them, can't live without them. During hiatus, I need them like air, and during the season I feel like a complete idiot for looking at them. It's a problem.

6. 3 Personality Traits I am Proud Of

Persistence: I'm not one to give up on something I really have my mind set on, no matter how impossible it may seem. If I'm going to write a daily blog about Disney, I'm going to write a daily blog about Disney.

Go-With-The-Flow Attitude: I'm a hyper person, but I'm also pretty calm. I go along with a lot of things, simply because I know that the small things won't matter in the long run anyway, no matter how big they seem in the moment.

Helpfulness: Although it's sometimes a bit frustrating that I seriously do not know how to say "no," I also feel like I'm a generally helpful person, and I like that about myself. Helping other people is one of my favorite things to do.

7. 10 Favorite Foods (in no particular order)

1. Right Now? Ritz Crackers
2. Zebra Domes
3. Cheese
4. Turkey Shwarma
5. Irish Nacho Bar (yes it's a thing...just go along with it)
6. Butterfinger Cupcakes
7. Ice Cream
8. Nacho Cheese
9. Bagels with Cream Cheese
10. Bacon

8. Old Photo of Me

9. Piercings and Tattoos? 

Nope, I've got nothing here.

10. First Celebrity Crush

Harrison Ford. I'm an old soul.

11. Most Proud Moment

Marching Down Main Street USA with my High School Band, for sure. I'm so absolutely proud of everything that group has accomplished and how far they've come since my Freshman year. I'm glad I got the chance to be a part of all of that.

12. If I won the lottery...

I would go to Disney World, and Steveston to watch OUAT film, pay off my college education and then give the rest to charity.

13. Favorite Quote

At the moment..."Life is made up of moments. Good ones; bad ones, but they're all worth living." - Prince Charming, Once Upon A Time

14. What is in my handbag? 

Oh gosh...running off of memory here: my wallet, money, Disney autograph book, keys, sunglasses, receipts, a pen probably, and aspirin for sure, although I'm sure there's something else in there.

15. Timeline of my Day

Depends on the day, but generally I get up, go to class, watch some Netflix, go to class, go to class, go to class, practice my instruments, come back to my dorm, do my homework, work on something or other on the internet and then go to bed. Oh, and eating is in there too. Lots of eating. Snacks are important.

16. Dream Job

Working for Disney...in any part of it. Imagineering would be spectacular, but I'd settle for literally anything that makes use of my talents. I'd also totally love to work as a writer on a television show or film, although something tells me I've got a long way to go before getting to that point.

17. Favorite Childhood Book

The Ghost Family Meets It's Match. I don't remember much else aside from the fact that it was about a family of ghosts that has to deal with the new family that just moved into their house...only to eventually find out that the new family is a family of warewolves. I borrowed it from the school library probably hundreds of times.

18. What am I afraid of? 

Planes, tornadoes, spiders, falling down stairs, you name it. But especially those first two.

19. My Worst Habits

I procrastinate like no other (I am, after all, writing a post from June in October...). That's probably my worst habit. I also tend to bite off more than I can chew, which can be a problem from time to time.

20. Where I Want to be in 10 years

Hopefully I'll be out in California with a job with Disney. That would be ideal. Other than that I don't really know. Life is weird like that. It changes all the time, so who knows where I could be.

21. Something I Miss

Right now? My cat. I miss her sitting on my lap while I work, even if I am allergic to her. I also really miss Disney, and I miss the friends I used to have, although I guess I can't really say that because maybe they were never really my true friends to begin with. And my brother a bit. College is weird, not seeing him everyday.

22. 10 Favorite Songs (In no particular order)

1. Promise/Illuminations
2. American Dream
3. Rude
4. Shake it Off
5. When Can I See You Again
6. Perfect Stranger
7. The Entire OUAT Soundtrack
8. On Top of the World
9. Don't Deserve You
10. Charley's Girl

23. Pet Peeves

I can't stand betrayal. I'm talking like you make it seem like you really care about someone and then just completely turn against you. That annoys me so much. Uh, road rage really gets on my nerves, as does swearing. I mean, go ahead and swear, I just don't do it personally. Oh, and totally when people feel the need to share every element of their relationship with the entirety of the internet. Keep your personal life you yourselves people.

24. A Difficult Time In My Life

The past year really. The transition to college is rough for a lot of people, but there were a lot of alternate factors that just made life pretty difficult for me. My friend group changed and there was a lot of stress and rumors and just...drama in general. So glad it's mostly over.

25. Best Physical Features

I've been told I have really great hair.

26. 5 Favorite Blogs

Oh man...I don't know. I don't think I can even choose some because I don't really read any of them regularly since my schedule is constantly changing. It's more of a "I read like 100 different blogs at completely random times and don't ever follow just one."

27. What Makes Me Feel Better, Always

Colin O'Donoghue. My roommates figured that one out. OUAT, but more than anything: Disney Music and Disney Parks anything. I also love driving around in my car.

28. Last Time I Cried

I cried while laughing last night. Does that count? Because if not I have no clue.

29. Top Things On My Bucket List

Visit Every Disney Park in the World
Meet Everyone on my "Famous People I want to Meet" List
Work for Disney
Move to California
Perfect the Art of Cupcake Making
Write a Book

30. Favorite Comfort Food

Hmmm...Ritz Crackers? Boy I'm just really loving the crackers today, aren't I?

31. Weird Quirk of Mine

I love driving. Like, if I'm in the car, 98% of the time I'm driving it. I just don't like riding in cars, so I drive everyone everywhere. I prefer it, and I love driving with no real destination but rather just sort of discovering new things. It's a great way to see the state I live in and it's super calming.

I honestly don't know how I could write about one of those things every day. I mean, I guess I could have had longer answers for some of them, but at the same time, there's no way I could make an entire post about some of that.

Then again...I'm pretty sure I could. After all, I've had some blog posts about some pretty darn ridiculous things.

Have magical day!

(Note: This blog post was written on October 29).

Day 476: What Happened In April?

As I discussed in a blog post from a previous day (but actually the one I just spent a few minutes writing), it's been a long time since April graced the land, and yet here I am writing blog posts that will technically appear on those days.

There's tons of reasons as to WHY I didn't blog on those actual days, but the problem is this. I have NO CLUE WHAT I WAS ACTUALLY DOING IN APRIL.

Alright, we can assume that I was actually sitting in the library or the music lobby on April 21. Actually, I KNOW I was in the music lobby, since it was a Monday. And every Monday I hurry to the lobby to download the newest episode of Once Upon A Time so I can rewatch it. Aside from that, it was just before finals, so therefore I was probably freaking out about that too.

So I guess on some level I DO know what was going on back on April 21, but other than the usual stuff I happen to do each and every week, it's difficult to know what was really going through my mind. And even more difficult to know what Disney sorts of thoughts I had on that particular day.

Granted, there are tons of things that I can talk about just about any time of the year, and things that really have nothing to do with the actual date. YouTube videos for instance work great as fillers for days I need to make up, as do quizzes. But there are sometimes things that are more time sensitive. Like the band trip that I will FINALLY blog about after how long (it's been over a month...although that blog post won't show up until the month of June).

I guess the main goal here is that this is still a blog about Disney in my everyday life, and while I do get behind, if I can make this up with stuff that's been going on over the past number of months, then that just proves that Disney IS in my everyday life. After all, if I couldn't make up all those posts, then it would mean I've run out of Disney things to talk about, and something tells me that that won't be happening for a very long time.

Then again, these 100 days to make up may have a different opinion.

Wish me luck & have a magical day!

(Note: This blog post was written on August 1). 

Day 288: 10,000

You know, it's been almost 300 days since I started this blog, and since I'm writing this post I probably wont't write one when I hit that number. But that's a long time. We're in the 10th month. Yes, that's right, for 9 and a half months I've been doing this blogging thing, and honestly, that feels like a lot even to me. I have no clue how I've gotten this far, but I'll reflect more on that in a couple of months.

At the moment though, Everyday Disney has met a grand milestone: 10,000 views. Now, honestly this doesn't seem like a ton in the grand perspective of things. Youtube videos get millions of views, sometimes within a day, and there are probably millions of Disney fans out there that could be reading this blog and are not, but I'm ok if they don't. I've said it time and time again, but I'm happy with just writing my blog. I don't really care how many views it gets in the long run because it offers me a good break from school work, it keeps me up to date with everything going on at Disney and it just, in general, makes me happy.

But that doesn't mean that I don't get a bit happy when my views jump up, and I've been waiting for this 10,000 view mark for a while now. Honestly, my blog has gotten more views this past month than I has really in any month previous, with the views up to almost 2,000. So whether that means a lot of random people are just looking at my blog or people are actually reading it, I don't know, but it's a step, right?

Truth be told, at the moment I just have a lot of homework. I spent about four hours working on a paper tonight that's due tomorrow...and it's not finished yet. I've just hit a bunch of writers block and have about four hours to finish it up tomorrow. It's mostly written, I just have to go through and make the last few ideas make sense, so I'm not super worried about it. I also have two midterms this week, so I really should get back to working, especially since the next (and last) thing I have to read this night has a super Disney connection! You'll hear about that in a day or two though!

Here's today's Disney History: 1971: LIFE Magazine presents a look at the newly opened Disney World in Florida. A color photo of 1,500 Disney employees, posing in front of Cinderella Castle, is featured on the cover. The issue also includes a pull-out poster of the new Magic Kingdom.

Have a magical day!

Day 208: Still Thinking

You know, over the past few weeks I've been really behind in my blog, but I'm not giving up. Whenever I miss a bunch of days I just go back and write them based on what happened on that day! So in other words, it's still that day's Disney, I just didn't write it until later.

But at the same time, this job requires a heck of a lot of thinking. I mean, to go back a number of weeks and think about "what happened today?" can take some time. Actually, what I do is make a list of all the days I missed and go through and write ideas, normally the title for each blog post, and then write them in order based on what happened. I use the dates and days of the week a lot to try and figure out when I did what, and it doesn't always work out exactly, but normally it's pretty close.

For instance, there are still a couple of posts I need to write from my trip to Disney, because I haven't gotten the daily video done for those days yet, and I don't want to post the blog for that day without the complete video! Of course, those videos take me about two-four hours to edit, and then another while to save to the computer, and then 10+ hours to upload to Youtube (yes, my internet is that slow. Sometimes I wish I could live at Google where you can upload in like minutes). It takes forever, and I mean, you can only edit so much in one day. I try to keep it to two videos per day, but I have a feeling that I'm going to have to double up soon because this is getting ridiculous.

And then there are the days that I have pictures that go along with it. I have an Instagram, which you can find on the left sidebar, and I do encourage you to follow me there because I do post a lot of Disney stuff, where I post pictures of a lot of the things I'm talking about. Or there's those days when I just randomly take a picture of something or another that goes along with a blog post for a specific day. If I miss that day, then I have to go back and find the picture that goes along with it, and even when I don't miss the day, that picture thing means sending it in an email from my phone to my Yahoo, saving the picture and then reuploading it to Blogger!

Honestly, the entire process of keeping this blog takes a little bit longer than I really should be spending...then again, if I did just blog each and every day like it's intended, then maybe I wouldn't have such a problem...still, it's a great addition to my hobbies, and I love this blog like no other! I'm pretty sure I couldn't live without it! But as I've said multiple times in the past few weeks, that's a story for the end of the year!

Here's today's Disney History: 2011: Jennings Osborne, the creator of the Osborne Family Spectacle of Dancing Lights, passes away at the age of 67 in Little Rock, Arkansas. Known as the man with the dazzling lights outside his home in Arkansas, and each year at Christmas time at Disney World, Osborne was a successful businessman and self-made millionaire who started a medical research facility with his wife in 1968. A holiday tradition at WDW, Osborne first lit up Residential Street at Disney-MGM Studios back in November 1995.

Have a magical day!

Day 200: Wow.

Now, originally I was going to talk about Saving Mr. Banks today, but I guess that can wait until tomorrow because today is a milestone...again.

200 days of Dinsey blogging. That's crazy, but I do know that I can't wait for the final post of 2013. I know already that this blog has really changed me, and very much for the better. I can't wait to see what's ahead of me, now that I'm certain that I want to head on a path that leads me directly to Disney. Things are going to be hard, I do know that, but I'll always have Disney movies to watch when I get down, and if Walt Disney taught me one thing, it's that you can't give up on your dreams.

But today isn't the day to get all sentimental. As I just said, we still have almost half a year before we do that! It is only July, after all. The next few months especially are going to be some of the most interesting months of my life, with starting college and all, and I know that all I can hope for is that I'll still have the time and effort left for this blog. It does worry me a little bit sometimes, with a full schedule like I have and everything.

Even in the mix of all that though, I'm sure there will be plenty of Disney left to go around more than a few times. I would like to thank my readers for sticking with me, and I really am glad that I have gotten over the "how many views do I have phase," because this is something I love doing, and it's something I hope I get to do for much longer. Blogging has become a regular thing for me, and it's much easier with this new laptop too, I have to say.

For the full experience, you're welcome to follow my social networks on the side there, and as I said a couple of days ago, watch out for the possible additions of new pages!

Here's today's Disney History: 1919: Dal McKennon - the voice of Benjamin Franklin in Disney's American Adventure (located at Epcot) and the narrator of the now-retired Disneyland attraction Mine Train thru Nature's Wonderland - is born in Oregon. He is best known for the famous Big Thunder Mountain Railroad Safety Announcement.

Have a magical day!

Day 198: What's Next?

Well, after I finish with the last week, which I'll be working on over the next week, I will be hopefully launching some new stuff. I can't wait for my next trip to Disney, and it seems like lightyear's away, but I guess there's plenty I can do until then, and I mean plenty. I have a lot of projects that I can't wait to share, and I didn't say it in any of the previous posts, but I'll be making a "Haul Video" as soon as the remainder of my purchases gets here from being shipped home. I can't wait to show you all what I all got, since there really was too much to just make a blog post about it. Plus, one of my new goals is to make more Youtube videos.

Also, soon you will see an addition to the websites on the side of the page, and in fact I may be updating all of them (since some of those social networks really do look different now!). I hope to be launching the Everyday Disney Facebook page soon, both to get the word out about my blog and for another way for people to follow. I'm not totally sure what I'll all have on there, but I can say that it will be appearing soon. I actually just created the page today and will be working on the graphics for it ASAP.

And finally, I am really debating starting a Disney Instagram of my own. Obviously I have enough pictures, and while several of those posted recently will then appear on that Instagram, it will be used solely for Disney while my epcotexpert account will still be my personal account. It would be under the title of Everyday Disney, so be sure to watch the sidebar for that addition to the Everyday Disney family too.

In general, I'm really excited about the future of Everyday Disney, and I can't wait to get started. =)

Here's today's Disney History: 1955: Television crews, Walt Disney, Art Linkletter, Ronald Reagan, Bob Cummings, The Mouseketeers, Thurl Ravenscroft, California Governor Goodwin J. Knight and over 28,000 guests witness the opening of Disneyland in Anaheim, California. Broadcast on ABC, it is the biggest live telecast to date.

Have a magical day!

Day 120: Forgetting

You know, I write a daily blog, and I still can't manage to write about everything?

You see, I tend to try and keep each blog post to be about just one thing (not including the daily Disney History). And every post has to have some sort of a relationship with something Disney, right? Well, you see, the problem with that is...I sometimes experience Disney things, decide to write a blog post about them, and then totally forget what I was going to write about!!!!

This has been an ongoing problem, and it's probably why every once and a while I miss a few days and have to go back and write them later. I mean, I suppose this is a fairly normal thing for writers, as for some it means writers block...and there's always easy ways to fix it...but that never seems to work for me either.

Everyone is always like, "carry a notebook with you!" and while I do, that doesn't mean it always works! I can carry a notebook around and never write a thing in it. Granted, I always have my phone, and the 29 tabs I have open in Google Chrome on it mean that I often leave things open to remind me of things later...not that it does.

I guess it's partly because I always have so many things going on. I mean, I have my blog, and I'm a writer in general. I have school, of course, and currently I have a Disney project (which I'll talk about soon), books to read, a physics class to keep up in (not that it's all that hard), I have a band concert coming up and there's always the Disney Performing Arts Marching Band Fiasco (in which I need to talk to my director about very soon). There's stuff I've been working on for my upcoming Disney trip in July (such as my challenge for the trip, the fact that my entire family is now going when it started out as just two of us, the vlogs I'll do and a countdown that I'll need to put up soon). Graduation is fast-approaching, and I'm not too happy about that, and the summer brings a wealth of new challenges and projects!

In the end, I really should always have something to talk about, but then there's the fact that some stuff I'm just waiting until a later date to discuss. My dorm room for next year, for instance, is a big one. Of course I'll be bringing a ton of Disney with me, but I haven't talked at all about how I plan to use some of my time this summer creating Disney things for in my dorm room. There's the continuation of my Disney Collection series, which there will be a new addition to soon. And then I have plenty of other things that I'm not going to even talk about as of right now, but are all very exciting...plus, we're just starting on the summer movie craze that is filled with Disney releases!

So maybe eventually I'll remember to write down what I wanted to discuss on this blog, or at least start using a notebook...but for now, I'm just going to keep writing and make up the couple of days I missed, because we all know that everyday really is a Disney day.

Here's today's Disney History: 1952: Mr. Potato Head is first widely introduced to the public when it becomes the first toy ever advertised on television. Over one million kits will be sold in the first year. In 1995 Mr. Potato Head made his Hollywood debut with a leading role in the Disney/Pixar animated feature, Toy Story.

Have a magical day!

Day 27: Daily Disney

I've been debating for a while if I want to include something on this blog, so starting February, I'll try it.

Everyday on my facebook page I post "Today in Disney History" and I happen to be recording my daily history for February. I have it all in one document so I can easily just copy and paste from GoogleDocs onto my Facebook, but I have to say, there are some really interesting pieces of Disney history each and every day.

So, as I said, starting February 1st, I'll be including a "This Day in Disney History" here on Blogger. I'm not sure how I'm going to do it yet, but it should be pretty interesting!

And since this is a shorter post, here's a great picture I found on Pinterest!

Have a magical day!