I wear two sets of Mouse Ear Hats at my house: my part time lawyer and full time mom to two active kiddos. You could call me a Southern “Belle”, writer/blogger, youth leader, fiddle player, singer, running enthusiast, and Francophile. Yes, I studied French in school, even minored in it in college, and I hope to regain some fluency with the help of my good friend Rosetta Stone!
3 things you need to know about me:
I LOVE travel:
It doesn’t matter where-if it involves travel, I’m there! Some of my most cherished memories are of cathedrals where I played the Orange Blossom Special on a blue electric violin in high school; a summer abroad during college in Tours, France (and also broke my ankle in the first week but hobbled around chateaux and Paris); and watching my kids learn to walk in Paris and London. Sounds glamorous–but I haven’t been back to Europe since! It’s definitely on my travel bucket list! But I can’t forget the Caribbean islands for they hold a special place in my heart for 2 big reasons: 1) My Prince Charming and I got engaged in Jamaica, and 2) we said “I do” at a destination wedding in St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands. Fast forward 20 years, we still love making Caribbean memories, now with our kids, while snorkeling with rays and hanging out with iguanas at Turks and Caicos or sailing away on the Disney Dream!
Disney is in my Blood:
I have been a Disney FAN-atic since my 8 year old eyes first caught my first glimpse of Cinderella Castle and my first meet-up with the Big Cheese onboard the Empress Lilly. 30 something years later (we will leave the exact number out), I have amazing memories ranging from a child, teen, college student, newlywed, expectant mom, mother, girls’ weekend and couples-only traveler. Some of my fondest and most pixie-dusted experiences were the Keys to the Kingdom tour and our anniversary upgrade to the Grand Villa at Bay Lake Tower! Shh-don’t tell the kids!
Whether it is sailing the Caribbean blue seas aboard the Disney Dream or running as Belle in the Princess Half Marathon, I have embraced Ellie’s mantra (from the Disney movie Up) that “adventure is out there!” My Disney bucket list includes Disneyland Paris (ooh la la), a Coast-to-Coast runDisney medal, and a sneak peek (or dare I say, a stay) in the Cinderella Castle Suite.
This blog is my outlet and source of great joy and challenges:
I originally started blogging for 2 reasons: I needed to write about my life to stay sane and also stay in touch with my creative, grown up side. Being a mom was dominating my time, and I took on new hobbies and blogging to regain some balance in my life. What a blessing it has truly become. Although not a source of income for our family (yet), I do hope that my musings on travel, motherhood, health, home, family and living life debt free will be beneficial to you and you will share, comment and interact with me. That would be this blogger’s fairytale dream come true!
3 Quotes that Pretty Much Sum It Up:
People are often unreasonable, illogical, and self-centered.
Forgive them anyway.
If you are kind,
people may accuse you of selfish ulterior motives.
Be kind anyway.
If you are successful,
you will win some false friends and some true enemies.
Succeed anyway.
If you are honest and frank,
people may cheat you.
Be honest and frank anyway.
What you spend years building,
someone could destroy overnight.
Build anyway.
If you find serenity and happiness,
they may be jealous.
Be happy anyway.
The good you do today,
people will often forget tomorrow.
Do good anyway.
Give the world the best you have,
and it may never be enough.
Give the best you’ve got anyway.
You see,
in the final analysis it is between you and God;
it was never between you and them anyway.–Mother Teresa
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“Life is either a daring adventure or nothing” –Helen Keller
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“I think God’s hope and plan for us is pretty simple to figure out. For those who resonate with formulas, here it is: add your whole life, your loves, your passions, and your interests together with what God said He wants us to be about, and that’s your answer.” –Bob Goff
