Royal Wedding

The Royal Wedding is all over the news. It’s almost impossible to avoid. Why are so many girls obsessed with this wedding? With all of this talk about Kate’s dress, the food, the flowers, the wedding bands, how cute they look together etc...you know it’s an obsession with a fairytale wedding. Every little girl grows up wanting to be a princess and dreaming of their wedding day. A few years ago I had everything picked out, from my wedding dress, to the flowers all the way down to the cake topper, all before I was ever even engaged. I share this because I know I’m not alone. A lot of girls fantasize about these things and they also fantasize about the man they will marry. Some girls start fantasizing about their wedding on a first date.


I’m going out on a limb here and risk being criticized for this...but I’m going to say it anyways. I’ve had a change of heart and I think this fantasizing is wrong. It is rushing God’s timing for us. For those dating or in relationships, fantasizing about a wedding before an engagement is focusing on a future potential of a relationship rather than the growing of a present relationship. And for those who are single like myself, instead of planning your wedding day you should be spending your time carefully thinking about the kind of person you want to marry. And don’t hunt for them but wait for God to deliver them to you. I myself struggle with this so I’ve spent the past few days declining princess party invitations to watch the royal wedding and thinking about what I want in my “prince charming” and in a relationship. And not so shocking...what I want now is NOT what I wanted even a year ago.

A year ago, it was all about me. I wanted to be the center of attention...when in a relationship I wanted everything the guy did to be done for me. Not only did I want him to be cute, funny, and nice I wanted him to do anything I said the moment I said it. My parents always told me it’d take a very special guy to be with me. I preferred that the guys I dated not work so when I wanted to hang out he’d be free. It makes my stomach churn writing about it, but it’s true, that’s how I worked. I don’t think I could have been anymore selfish. Well that was the old me, as mentioned in a previous post (Pearl Necklace) I have confessed I was selfish and have asked for forgiveness and now the new me is headed in the opposite direction. I’m raising my standards.

So what does my “prince” look like? Well I don’t know I haven’t met him yet. But I can tell you what I want his inside to look like. These aren’t in any particular order...I’m just rambling them out.

1. Jesus should be number one in his life. I am not the top priority nor do I want to be. And I want to be able to see that Jesus comes first without asking.

2. He won’t rush God’s timing. If I’m going to wait, he should wait to..its the right way to develop a healthy relationship. He won’t be impulsive but patient.

3. Understands emotions and feelings. I am a super emotional girl and I want a guy who can be gentle, kind, compassionate, and sensitive.

4. Avoids temptations and morally sound. I want to do the right thing, and want him to want the same.

5. He should be willing to talk about faith with me. I like talking and have more to talk about than how my day went and current events

6. Want to have a job.... hahaha I know my mom is shouting “finally!” I don’t want to be on top of the guy I date anymore. I need my own quiet time and so does he.

I am complete in Jesus therefore do not need a guy to complete me but to complement me.

I told you I was raising my standards :) It almost seems like this guy couldn’t possibly exist. But I know in my heart God has a perfect plan for me.  I might have to wait 10 years but that is ok because while single I have more time for devotion.  Along with joy, family brings chaos.

I shouldn’t think of my wedding day until I am engaged, not before. For me, the one who bought a million books on weddings and used to be obsessed with everything wedding; not dreaming of my wedding day and the man I’ll marry is a difficult challenge. At this point in time I think watching the royal wedding will only hurt my efforts, so I’ll avoid it for now.

If it is in His plan, I’ll one day have a royal wedding of my own. Until then I’m raising my standards, guarding my heart, and leaving the rest to God :)



Pearl Necklace

As I sit down to write this it is just turning midnight...4 hours from now and I’ll have been up 24 hours. I’m sleepy but not as tired as you’d think I’d be. I woke up this morning at 4am from a restless sleep. With nothing better to do I began to read. I didn’t have to work today so all I did was read and write, read and write...all day long...My friends are studying for finals right now and today I felt like I was studying as well. But studying the Bible? Huh? Rewind to a year ago and I would have told you, you were crazy to think such a thing. Haha well around 10 am I took a break and came across this Poem about a pearl. This poem has sat with me all day so I feel like I’m supposed to share it with you all so I can finally get some sleep!

The Pearl

In every oyster there lies the ability

to produce something rare.

Truth like a grain of sand

will produce

the pearl that is hidden there.

Young woman you are often mocked

and scorned.

And told you never should have

been born.

You want to run away, to hide your hurt.

Your heart is wounded, bleeding

and torn.

God makes not mistakes

every life is special,

every life is planned.

Seeds can sprout in sand.

Open yourselves up to the Spirit

of God

Grow in grace and maturity

Be what He wants you to be

Your beauty your strength lies deep

within you.

Young woman, young girl,

open yourselves up to God.

Allow Him to reveal your pearl.

 

Sylvia Hannah

So application time. I’ve had help with this one so I cannot take all of the credit but here is what I have to share. Ladies the pearl represents our virtue, our godly character. I personally love pearls, probably more than diamonds...future husband if you are reading this take note..haha I have several pearl necklaces...some are real and some are just imitations. I like them all but the imitation pearl necklaces can be frustrating because that have to be replaced every so often. The fake pearls are merely beads with a pearl appearance and overtime they become dull as the paint rubs off. Real pearls do not do this, they keep their flawless pearl luster for a very long time. One pearl necklace of mine was passed down to me from my Great-grandmother and it still looks great :) Back to the application now...

Lets say that we all have our own pearl necklace to string. The real pearls represent godly characteristics that make us virtuous. Characteristics in this category are ones like love, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness...etc. And the imitation pearls represent ungodly characteristics such as immorality, impurity, self-centeredness, jealousy, anger, envy...etc. Which pearls do you want on your necklace? The real ones right? Yeah me too!

However, if you’re like me your necklace probably doesn’t have just the real thing it’s probably a mixture of pearls and beads. I know I currently have more beads than I’d like to on my necklace. But it isn’t the end of the world, there is still hope. God is hope. With his help we can restring our necklaces one pearl at a time. We simply have to remove the unwanted bead, confess the sin that created the ungodly characteristic we want to be rid of and ask for forgiveness. God will forgive us. “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” 1 John 1:9.

Once the bead is removed we can replace it with a pearl, a godly characteristic. However, virtue comes with time, we have to work hard for it but God will help. Take it one bead at a time. I am personally working on removing my self-centeredness bead. In the past I have been guilty of thinking of only myself. I am now working on putting others before me. For example, while my sister was here she wanted to dye Easter eggs. I personally have the attention span of a 2 year old when it comes to things like decorating a Christmas tree or dying eggs. I’ll hang one ornament or dye one egg and then I’m bored and done with it. My sister had left her money in the car while we were walking around downtown but I could tell she wanted to dye eggs. If it was up to me I would have seen it as sign we didn’t need to dye eggs and just save the money. However, thinking of her before myself, we walked to the store and I purchased the stuff to dye eggs for her. Thoughtful right?

Well don’t applaud me just yet. Haha because not even 10 minutes later we walked across the street to Starbucks and there I ordered a drink and didn’t even think to ask her if she wanted anything until after I handed the clerk my money. Not so thoughtful. I did tell her I’d buy her a drink if she wanted one but she politely declined so we left. Even though I offered to buy her a drink afterwards I still thought of myself first...you see it’s a struggle. I know this example seems very trivial but it’s about the baby steps. With baby steps and God’s guidance I’ll get there and will be able to replace that bead with a shiny pearl :) I want to be a lady of virtue so I’m restringing my pearl necklace one pearl at a time; are you?

The Perfect Easter--Baptism

Looking back a post, I was so anxious for Easter this year. I was afraid of being alone and that it wouldn’t be the same as in years past. But the day I feared that would be upsetting turned out to be the best day of my life! Today I was baptized...and here is my story.


My sister came to Chapel Hill Saturday night to stay with me so she could go to church with me today Easter morning. I was super excited she could make time to take the trip as I was eager to take her to the church I worship in here in Chapel Hill. I was also thankful and relieved that I wouldn’t have to spend Easter alone this year. Today, I woke up with a smile on my face. I just knew it was going to be a great day, why wouldn’t it be?! Christ has risen, it’s time to rejoice!

The weather was absolutely perfect today, mid 80’s, sun shining, and a slight breeze. So the plan was to go to the 11 am service, grab lunch and then head out to the Old Well on UNC’s campus to take some Easter pictures...oh yeah and dye eggs! Before church the morning went as planned..we got ready, boiled some eggs for later and then lounged around waiting for it to be time to go to church. We ended up leaving pretty early because I was so eager to get there and show my sister where I’ve been spending quite a bit of time. When we arrived there were a lot of people hanging around outside, I thought that they were just socializing waiting for the service to start so I rushed us inside to grab a good seat. I had no idea that a mass baptism was taking place outside.

Today Pastor J.D spoke out of the book of Luke, what a moving sermon it was. He talked about the importance of God’s invitation to his Kingdom and the reasons people miss it. Recently I have been thinking a lot about what it means to become baptized and whether or not I was ready for it. I knew that in my heart I have accepted Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior but I hadn’t professed it publically and needed to do it. But when? Before the service today I was sure that I’d be eventually baptized in my church back home with all of my family in attendance probably around summertime. But boy was I proven wrong today.

Some people miss the invitation to God’s kingdom because they fail to recognize the importance of the invitation. An invitation from God is more important than anything else...receiving His invitation is the most important decision you’ll make in your lifetime. Any excuse we could give not to receive God’s invitation into His Kingdom is a lame one. Throughout the service I couldn’t help but think about what were my excuses for not publically declaring Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior today.

1. I wasn’t at my home church.

2. None of my family were in attendance with the exception of my sister

3. I had promised my sister we’d grab lunch and take Easter pictures...that would be difficult if I were all wet..( I had no change of clothes)

LAME EXCUSES, LAME EXCUSES, LAME EXCUSES...did you hear me? LAME EXCUSES

But I was still bothered by them..especially with the one about my family (who I knew would want to be there) not being there. I feared my mother would be upset—I didn’t want to hurt her feelings but my love for Jesus is greater. Jesus said “If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters—yes, even his own life—he cannot be my disciple” Luke 14:26. He isn’t saying hate your family but love him more. To be a follower your love for Jesus should be so great that even the love for your closest loved ones should seem like hate.

During the closing prayer I prayed that God give me guidance and He did. At the end of the prayer all who wanted to make their public profession in baptism were invited to the front of the church at the start of the closing worship. As the music began I turned to my sister with tears in my eyes and told her that I needed to go, I had to go. It was time to stop the lame excuses, today was the day I was going to be baptized, I was ready. I knew that my church back home is having a mass baptism next week but I couldn’t wait that long. When God says go, you obey and go!

I spoke with a counselor to prepare myself for what was about to happen but I knew I was ready. As I was standing in line waiting for my turn I began to feel anxious my fingertips went numb and my toes tingled. I scanned the crowd for my sister but I didn’t see her. I closed my eyes said a short prayer and when I opened my eyes the numbness was gone. I was next in line when one of the men helping with the baptism approached me and asked me if I was nervous. I looked him in the eye and said “not anymore”, with that I climbed up into the tub of warm water, it was my turn. In that tub I was asked (in fancier words) if I accepted Jesus Christ into my heart as my Lord and Savior and if I would agree to follow him wherever he lead me...with a huge grin on my face I said yes and was then dunked :) I can’t begin to explain to you all the emotions running through me at that time...other than what great joy. It was perfect, it was done, I was baptized :D

After church I was still able to do everything that I had planned to with my sister just at a later time. And to put a perfect ending to a perfect day it was brought to my attention that Pastor Jason, my pastor from my home church quoted and summarized my “More Like Falling in Love” blog to the congregation last week in church. Unfortunately, I wasn’t in attendance because I was in Chapel Hill. But thank God for podcasts :) I follow the podcast but I’m a few weeks behind because I also follow the podcast for the services I miss at the Summit. I’m thankful it was brought to my attention. Pastor Jason was speaking on God’s love and said the post was incredible and that I GOT it! Real love is Jesus! I'm thrilled he shared my thoughts with the church family.  I knew in my heart that I got it but its always nice to hear it from others especially from someone who inspires you like your pastor :)

SUPER LONG POST but now I am finished :)

It was a perfect day...definitely the best day in my life thus far. Happy Easter Everyone!

Sorry You'll have to turn your head sideways because I couldn't get them to rotate!

Today I was baptized! Praise God!

Listening

I’m not sure how to start this post and to be honest with you I don’t even feel like writing right now but I feel like I need to get this out.


Lately I have been feeling alone. I know that I am not alone but I feel alone. I enjoy going to church so I go but more often than not I go alone. Most times this doesn’t bother me but with Easter right around the corner it’s really getting to me. I want to be able to celebrate Christ’s resurrection with friends and family but this year I’m afraid it might not be happening. I’m scheduled to work Sunday afternoon making it difficult to get home to go to church with my family and here in Chapel Hill most of my friends either are going home or don’t seem interested. This makes me a little sad but this isn’t what this post is about. That’s just the background story of what I really want to talk about...which is listening.

So as you know from what I’ve said above I was feeling a little down and I thought I’d feel a little better if I just talk to someone about it. But you wouldn’t believe how difficult it was to find someone willing to give me their listening ear for 30 minutes, or maybe you can, I don’t know. Well it might have been a little easier if I wasn’t so selective on who I was willing to talk to but that’s a different story. Out of the handful of people I wanted to talk to I finally did get one person to listen. However, I didn’t get this person’s attention until after I persistently asked for their time. It got to the point to where I felt like they only gave in and listened because they thought I was being impudent and giving in and listening would be the only way to get me to go away. Despite that, I’m grateful for the time this person provided me, as I did feel slightly better afterwards. But I don’t think I reaped the real benefits of our conversation until today.

For those of you who know me well you know that I am an extremely bold, forward and persistent young lady. If I want something I’m going to go after it and won’t give up until I’ve tried my hardest at whatever I’m trying to accomplish. Unfortunately, this can come across as annoying when it comes to relationships with people. If I want to talk to someone or get their attention I will call them or text them as much as it takes to get them to answer and the first two things out of my mouth are “are you mad at me?” and “are you annoyed with me?” hahahah. They’re really rhetorical questions as I’m pretty sure I know the answer. It’s just my way of saying please don’t be annoyed I’m just a very forward and persistent person by nature :)

Anyways I’m getting off track...So during our conversation we talked about prayer and how it changes things. I might not be able to see the changes right away but it does work and will help my situation. So today as I was getting ready to pray about my situation I thought I’d do a little reading on prayer from the Bible first. Here is the point of the post...are you ready for it? God answers prayers.

Less than 10% of Christians have a vibrant active prayer life. This is sad because prayer changes things and God answers prayers. He might not answer right away but if our prayers are bold and persistent they will be answered. Unlike my excessive texting and calling (sorry!), no matter how much I pray or knock at God’s door I will never be seen as being impudent. God is always willing to listen especially when it feels like no one else will. He will never be annoyed with our prayers. He loves us and encourages the persistence. Prayer should come naturally like breathing.

Now keep in mind just because you aren’t getting exactly what you are praying for doesn’t mean He isn’t answering your prayers. God is good. He knows more than we do and what we think is best for us may not be what He KNOWS is best for us.

Prayer works! You won’t be annoying...so do it!

Thank you again to the person who took the time to listen, you helped more than you probably realize :)

Victoria Secret Intervention

If you were to look into my underwear drawers you’d find 59 panties 48 of which are from Victoria Secret and 19 bras 10 being Victoria Secret. !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!????????!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I knew I had a lot of underwear but didn’t realize just how much. Most girls have 5 or 6 bras they wear and only 2 or 3 nice ones...I have 19!! It’s like I’m never satisfied with my underwear. Thats enough bras and panties to last me two months without doing laundry. I don’t know about you but I end up having to do laundry every other week for other things anyways. This is a problem that I need to fix. Now you might be wondering what made me examine my underwear drawers so closely...I was questioning if I am indeed a material girl.


People do not want to be labeled as materialistic because materialism has a negative connotation. Which it rightly should as being materialistic is sinful. I was reading in the book of Joshua about Achan’s sin. I don’t want to lose you hear so I’ll sum it up briefly. Achan coveted and took some treasure that was sacred to the LORD. He was stoned for his actions. Achan succumbed to the impulse and desire for possessions that he did not need and were not his.

The Webster Dictionary definition of materialistic is focusing on material things—“concerned with material wealth and possessions at the expense of spiritual or intellectual values”. Achan was materialistic, he cared more about taking the treasure than obeying the LORD.

Now back to me...after reading this I wanted to see if I’m materialistic. Well after looking into my underwear drawer I don’t think I could say with a straight face that I haven’t given in to materialism at some point. There is no reason to have so many undergarments, especially ones that are so expensive. No one but me even sees them...so why am I concerned with having so many pairs of nice panties and bras? I need a Victoria Secret intervention. I need to stop buying so much of something I don’t need. Its just a label. I’ve already made 2 purchases from VS this month and its only the 15th! I was going to be making a third purchase this weekend with the reward card I earned from the previous purchases but after reading this excerpt I will not let myself succumb to materialism. Sorry Angel Card, no more reward points this month....I am going to try my best not to make unnecessary purchases. And buying a bra that’s straps perfectly match my current favorite sundress does not constitute a necessary purchase (darn!)

I don’t think I’ll be stoned for being a little materialistic but I do think God will discipline me in other ways. Take my recent experience for example, I made those 2 unnecessary purchases at the beginning of the month and then just a few days ago my computer breaks and an unexpected $60 expense occurs. If I hadn’t wasted $75 on a swimsuit (I already have 2) and panties I didn’t need, I’d have the extra padding that would make $60 less stressful to my budget. NO MORE panties SAMANTHA!!

So yes I just did write an entire blog post on bras and panties but please don’t let that distract you from God’s message...materialism is sinful. Have you looked in your closet lately?

Technology Hates Me

As promised this one will be short

I’m convinced technology hates me. Two nights ago my laptop decided to fail on me just as it did in Florida back in September. So once again I’m without a laptop :( But its not just my laptop..all computers hate me..
The day after my laptop broke the computer I use to develop pictures froze on me and then the office computer refused to process and print the signs I needed. That is 3 computers in 36hrs that stopped working for me!! I’m positive if I had a watch on it would have stopped ticking! I sure hope this computer I’m using now doesn’t stop working because it isn’t mine..So yes technology hates me. But that’s not what this post is about…I want to address the response to my last post.


I was thrilled to see how many people actually read my blog and listened to what I had to say. I can see in the stats of my blog that the views nearly tripled and to think I thought no one would be interested in reading what I had to write. I am blessed to have so many new readers. Now that I know you are out there and listening , I want to share someone else’s blog with you. You may ask why persuade all of your new followers to follow another blog?…well the author blog inspires me and has touched my life. His name is Josh, he is a 22yr old recent grad just as I am. I met him in Orlando and knew from the very first time I spoke to him that he was someone I needed in my life. I knew there was something to be learned from this kid. Read his blog and you’ll know exactly what I’m talking about. I encourage you not only to read his blog but follow it! God speaks loud and clear through his posts.

You’ll probably need to make an account to follow his as he doesn’t have an email link like I do but its real easy and free to set up an account so take the 5 minutes and sign up please. With an account it’ll be much easier to comment as well so you won’t have to mess with facebook or email anymore. I enjoy hearing your comments and I’m sure he will too.

Read his blog here:

http://buffsktr.blogspot.com/

Let me know what you think

More Like Falling in Love

“Give me rules, I will break them
Show me lines, I will cross them

I need more than a truth to believe

Give me words, I’ll misuse them
Obligations, I’ll misplace them
‘Cause all religion ever made of me
Was just a sinner with a stone tied to my feet
It never set me free. It’s gotta be

More like falling in love than something to believe in
More like losing my heart than giving my allegiance
Caught up, called out, come take a look at me now
It’s like I’m falling in love”



I LOVE this song by Jason Gray because I can relate. I grew up going to church every Sunday but to be honest with you it felt more like a chore than anything else. I remember just wanting to go for the breakfast my mom would buy me afterwards. It felt like a chore because I never really listened. I remember poking and pinching my sister throughout the service and using the worship guide as a doodle book. After Sunday passed I tried to ignore God until the next Sunday or the occasional Wednesday night bible study. I know; I was awful! I was spoon-fed what was right and what was wrong..how to be a good Christian and what made a bad Christian. I never got into any trouble growing up. I had religion but I wasn’t holding hands with Jesus.



It wasn’t until my early college years did I really start listening and enjoying going to church. But even then I didn’t go or worship God as often as I wish I would have. I don’t know what my deal was...I was either too lazy or too scared to find a church to worship in at UNC. When I did go to the occasional service back home I’d cry through the majority of it because I didn’t understand how I could be good enough for such a great God. I didn’t feel like I deserved to be there. I liked going to church but it was painful. I prayed and prayed for it to get easier and guess what?



It got easier. This past year I fell in love with God and I’m only falling deeper and deeper in love with each given day. I don’t know how to explain it to you other than to say when I catch myself falling in love with a guy, I want nothing more than to spend all my free time with him and I don’t want to let go..especially if I think he’s a keeper. Well I’m currently in this situation with God but the only difference is I know he’ll never let go of me. There truly is no greater love. I still cry often in church but its not for the same reason. I now realize that I am deserving of such a great God and he doesn’t expect me to be perfect. Before Jesus died on the cross he said “Tetelestai” meaning “it is finished.” What Jesus did on the Cross bought and paid for my sin. Because of him I am fully forgiven and fully accepted. I am deserving. So if you look over and see me crying in church do not feel bad and do not worry because these are tears of joy. I am beyond grateful and just praising God and his son Jesus Christ. I’m currently the happiest I’ve been in a long time. A load has risen from my chest and my steps are lighter as I walk holding hands with God. I have a lot to look forward to in the near future with a new chapter in my book of life. I can’t wait to be back in school, meet new people and face the challenges God has in store for me head on.



Like I said earlier I am falling deeper and deeper in love with God and am acting as a sponge in church and everyday life...soaking it all in...I can’t get enough. However, a sponge can only take it so much before it has to ring itself out. I don’t have many friends that I talk about this stuff with so I’ve decided I’ll write about it occasionally. You my readers, whoever you are, can take from it what you’d like but I think this is more for me. This will be my outlet to let it all ring out :)

Today I know I’m blessed.

Sorry for another long one...I'll try to make the next one short.

My Whirlwind Florida Adventure

Last weekend I made the trip back to Orlando. At first I didn’t think I was meant to go because my flight was delayed 3 hours due to the tornados and soon after I stepped off the plane I missed all my Disney friends who are no longer there. But I was wrong, it turned out to be a great weekend :) It was super busy and exhausting but definitely worth it.


Before I go into all the details of my weekend I’m going to tell you the first part of a few jokes I acquired over the weekend. You’ll have to read through this ridiculously long blog to get the punch lines. Its like a reward for making it to the end?? Haha

1. What did Snow White say while waiting to pick up her pictures?

2. Why did Goofy wear two pairs of pants to go golfing?

3. Why is Cinderella so horrible at playing Soccer?

Thursday night I didn’t do much because I didn’t make it into Orlando until close to 7pm. I had dinner with Alyssa at Sweet Tomatoes (I’ve missed that place. I wish we had one here in Chapel Hill). We then went back to her apartment and stayed up pretty late catching up and watching TV. I woke up early on Friday morning to drive to Gainesville so that I could see the campus and meet the professors of the Audiology program in person. I loved the campus! I liked walking through their quad looking at all of the palm trees! And everyone was so nice...those of you who know me well no that I am directionally challenged...even with a map I’m horrible. I once took a trip to NYC with my ex fiancé, best friend ad sister; I had us going in circles in the city because I couldn’t figure out how to find one corner that we were supposed to park on. It turned out I had the map upside down and was telling Matt all the wrong directions, talk about frustrating. Anyways, as soon as I parked I walked to the Welcome Center and got a map and then directly called my mother to tell her I was lost haha. I had to of stopped 4 or 5 times to ask if I was going the right way before I got to the correct building. Everyone was super helpful and one girl even walked with me for a short distance. In between meeting with the professors I had the opportunity to talk with some students and they all seemed to love the program. I’m 98% sure I will be attending the University of Florida in the Fall :) Go Gators!—I’ll always be a Carolina Girl and bleed Tar Heel blue, but I can show support for my Graduate school too.

Friday afternoon I drove back to Orlando and went straight to Access Control on Disney property to get my new ID. That was much less painful than I was anticipating. I’ve heard that it can be a pretty long wait, similar to the DMV to give you an idea. But I only ended up waiting about 20 minutes..not bad at all. I then went through the tunnels in the Magic Kingdom to find the new location that Mickey and Minnie were playing in. I didn’t get but maybe 20 feet into the tunnel before someone I recognized ran up to give me a hug. It was so nice to have such a warm welcome back. I missed my Disney friends and they missed me too. After that it didn’t even feel like I really left. That night I got to hang out with Minnie Mouse in the new Theatre. The Theatre’s grand opening was that day so everything was brand new and everyone was so excited. If you ever find yourself in the Magic Kingdom make sure you stop in to see Mickey and Minnie because their room is pretty amazing...especially to all of you Hidden Mickey hunters (their room is full of them!). Also, be sure to ask Mickey to show you his disappearing bird trick..he’s become quite the Magician since leaving Toon Town. During my breaks from work I enjoyed playing Princess Checkers (Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty serve as the checkers and they get crowned when they become Queen). I also played Disney Trivia with some fellow Cast members. That game is so much more fun when the people you are playing with actually know Disney facts like you do. Working for Disney is like not working at all...we have too much fun for it to be considered work :)

I spent the whole day Saturday in the parks with Alyssa. I made it a mission to make it through all 4 parks in one day! And guess what? We were successful! I of course didn’t see everything but I got to see everything I planned to. We visited Epcot first so that I could see all of the plants for the flower and garden festival. Those landscapers are very talented..I have no idea how they do it, all of the flowers and bushes were amazing! While we were there we stopped off at Pixie Hollow so I could see Tinkerbell and Terrence. However, we didn’t get to go up and meet them because the line was closing and I just realized I lost my camera case that had some cash and my credit card in it. We immediately went to Guest Services to report it lost...I didn’t expect for it to show up but just in case I thought I’d let someone know. I had my mom call and cancel the credit card and just cut my losses with the cash. I wasn’t going to let a lost camera case with a few dollars ruin my Disney day!

Alyssa and I then went to the Animal Kingdom. I wanted to ride Mount Everest since I never got a chance to ride it while I was living there in the fall. While we were in line waiting I received a call from Guest Services saying they found my camera case. It had only been 3 hours since I reported it missing and you know whats the best part? Everything was still in it...even the cash! Only in Disney are people so honest...haha no but it was pretty magical. God was looking out for me I’m sure. After playing in the Animal Kingdom we went to Hollywood Studios to watch the Beauty and the Beast show and ride the big kid rides. We ended up getting on the Tower of Terror twice, back to back! The lines were not bad at all for a Saturday.

Our 4 park whirlwind adventure ended at the Magic Kingdom where we met up with Amy my roomie from the college program. I wanted to go visit with Mickey and Minnie as a guest so we did that and then headed to the Castle to take pictures and wait for the Electrical parade and Wishes. Unfortunately we didn’t make it to those because I was super exhausted, starving and my feet hurt from the blisters my rainbows rubbed into my feet (note to self: do not wear new rainbows to an all day trip to Disney). Now this is where the cheesy Disney jokes come in...at Disney almost all Cast Members look like they love their jobs no matter how dull you think their job may be. For example, on our Tram ride back to the car the Cast member who stands at the back of the Tram telling people when to board, watch their heads, and when it’s safe to exit made the ride a little more interesting by telling these extremely corny jokes. She even admitted they were bad jokes but it made her job more enjoyable and guests smile after a tiring day in the park. So... What did Snow White say while waiting to pick up her pictures? “Someday my prints will come” (in her singsong voice). Why did Goofy wear two pairs of pants to go golfing? In case he got a hole-in-one. And, Why is Cinderella so horrible at playing Soccer? She loses her shoe, runs away from the Ball and has a pumpkin for a coach...haha I hope one of these made you smile.

I ended my weekend trip with a nice Dinner at Chevys with Amy and Alyssa. It was a great weekend and I can’t wait to go back in May or June for Graduate school Orientation and if that doesn’t work out, I’ll definitely be back in August for a reunion trip with some fellow College Program kids.



Thanks for reading!

ºoº .•:*¨¨*:•.Samantha.•:*¨¨*:•. ºoº

Minnie and Mickey in the Theatre