Birthday Vacation Part One: Anaheim

Wow! It has been such an incredible week! My parents and I just got back from our vacation; celebrating my 21st birthday, and it was a blast. We went to Disneyland and Las Vegas, and now we are finally home. To tell you the truth, as fun as traveling is, I don't know how musicians do it all the time when they're on tour. Although, I guess it makes it easier when you have a fancy little bus that's your "home away from home." Because we saw and did a lot, I'm going to break it into two sections. Anyway, I thought I'd share some pictures and stories from the week!

Tuesday: Disneyland

We left for Anaheim a little closer to 8, and made it there pretty good timing! I passed the time in the car by watching The Office and playing dj with my ipod, with my special playlist I had created for Disneyland. We didn't get there right when the doors were opening, but that was okay. We parked, took the shuttle, and met with our cast member friend at the gate! We headed down Main Street, then our friend walked us on Indiana Jones, which was seriously cool! I definitely felt like a VIP walking past everyone in line and taking the special entrance to get right on.
From there, we hit all of the main attractions we wanted to see and even several things that we don't normally get to, like Tarzan's Treehouse. It wasn't busy at all, which was great, because as much as I'm becoming more outgoing, I still don't care for big crowds; it makes my anxiety go way up and that's just not fun at all to be packed in like a bunch of sardine's. We hit a couple more rides, then decided to have lunch at the Blue Bayou, which usually books up as soon as the park opens. That day, we were able to get right in. My dad and I split the monte cristo sandwich, which was really good, but we were SO full from afterwards, which led to a bunch of laughing. Our waitress even brought me out a free dessert, since she saw my birthday pin! I have to say, I felt pretty special with that too!
From there, we squeezed in other rides like Matterhorn, Space Mountain (which we actually got to walk right on, thanks to our friend), Small World, and a lot of the kiddy rides that are usually hours of waiting in Fantasyland. I even saw Rapunzel and Flynn walk by, who are from Tangled, and that's pretty much my favorite thing right now. Flynn even had himself a few fangirls, which was...Well, weird.
I love that we were able to do a lot of different things that we can't usually do, since we went during the week, and the fact that it's sort of an off season right now. I forgot just how much I love Disneyland and miss going. It really doesn't matter what age you are, Disneyland is a truly magical place where you can still be a kid at heart.

Disneyland closed at 8 that night, which was a bummer, because we're used to midnight, so that meant we had to squeeze everything in a lot quicker than usual. But, it was FREEZING by that point, and I did not dress as warm as I should have. I was almost to the point of shaking, so I guess I am glad it closed at 8 this time around. When Disneyland closed, we were so hungry since we hadn't really eaten anything since earlier in the afternoon, so we had dinner at Buca Di Beppo down the street from the park, and it was delicious! My mom and I shared some Spicy Chicken Pasta thing and I felt like I could eat just about everything in sight. Our waitress was also really cool; they weren't busy, so she was free to talk to us more, and even brought up my birthday pin. Later on, since we had order Canolli's, her and a few other waiters sang happy birthday to me and brought out candles, which was really fun! Usually I feel so awkward, but this time, I just enjoyed the moment.
After dinner, I was pretty loopy from the day and I usually do after I eat, so I was laughing hysterically over every little thing. We went to Target to pick up a few things, then drove to our hotel to check in. It was pretty early, so we just relaxed around the area, getting ready for the next day so we would be all energized.

Wednesday: California Adventures

The park didn't open until 10, so we had some time to sleep in a little bit, which was nice after a busy day. We got up and got ready, then caught the shuttle over to California Adventures. We met up with our cast member friend again and off we went. We immediately got our fast passes for the new Cars ride, then walked around, as he told us a few stories about the new Carsland when they were building it, and pointing out a few things that we might not have noticed on our own. Then, we headed back up to the new Buena Vista street, which is incredible. With so many changes going on, I wasn't sure if I was going to like them, but Disney sure knows what they're doing and it's beautiful. It's just like the actual Buena Vista Street when Walt Disney got to town, taking place in the 20s, which I love. I even got a telegram from Mickey Mouse; one of the bike riders, Molly, delivered it to me for my birthday! ;) She was so in character and her dialect was awesome! It really had me thinking about how fun it would be to be one of those characters!
There isn't really too much to ride at C.A., but it does have a lot to see, like agriculture, structures, and shows, but we did go on a few things, then had lunch at Condor Flats, next to Soaring Over California. It was pretty good, then we walked back over to CarsLand! I am seriously impressed with the Cars ride; it's so much cooler than just your typical kids ride, I just wish it would have had more of the speedway, because that was awesome. It was basically where we spent most of our time, since it's the new thing to see and there are so many details to pay attention to. After a couple rides in that area, my friend, Laura, met up with us and I split off from my parents to ride Tower of Terror with her, since they didn't want to. It was really great catching up with her, since we haven't really hung out much since high school.
She's a huge Disney freak too, so she had a lot of helpful information as well, when it came to attractions and other trivia about the park. We walked around, then ended up riding the new Little Mermaid ride, which is probably one of the best things EVER! It's seriously adorable and there was no wait at all, so we walked right on...Oh, and afterwards I found 5$ laying on the ground outside! Successful day? I think so. We went over to the Paradise Pier area, where Laura was trying to talk me into riding California Screamin, which I really did want to, but didn't feel like waiting in line, and wasn't quite sure if I wanted to do a single rider quite yet, so she went and we rode Mickey's Fun Wheel. Then, played a few games on the boardwalk and my dad won me a Dumbo, which made me extremely excited!!! I was really drawn to Dumbo this time around..LOL.
We walked through the animation studio, watched a few of the videos playing, and checked out some of the other exhibits, which I hadn't been in since the park first opened, quite a few years ago now. After a little more exploring, we decided to have dinner at one of the little cafe's on Buena Vista Street, also connected to Starbucks! It was really good, and gave us a chance to just talk and hang out. After that, Laura decided to head over to Disneyland for a couple more hours and we had to get in line for the World of Color show! It was SO cold, especially being so close to the water! I was really wishing I had brought a jacket or at least a pair of gloves to keep warm, but tried not to think about it too much. We had to wait about an hour before the show started, but once it did, it was totally worth it! We had seen it once before when it first started, but hadn't been in a couple years, so it was really like seeing it for the first time again. I noticed they had added a few things that were more recent, but it blows me away how they can synchronize the water and the music together, and how it all just comes together perfectly. If you've never seen it, you definitely have to! Or at least watch this video on YouTube to see how enchanting it really is. This show pretty much sums up everything I love about Disney and how I can't wait to have kids to bring them back for beautiful memories together as a family, like my parents have given me over the years. It gives me butterflies just thinking about it. Anyway, it was the perfect ending to a wonderful day!

After that, we had to run to our shuttle stop to make sure we got there in time, and we did. We started talking to a couple that had been on the ride to the park earlier that morning! They were super nice! We got back to the hotel, had some dessert downstairs and my mom got stuff together for our flight the next day, then we headed up to the room to get ready for bed. It was a really fun time!!

I'm also checking into possibly doing an internship at Disney, so we'll see how things go! But, after this visit, it seems like an even better opportunity than before! You never know :) Besides, it is the place where dreams come true right?

That's all for now,
Shelby

P.S~ Stay tuned for part two!

Golden Globes Review

Last night, the Golden Globes were on, and because of my birthday festivities, I had to record the red carpet and the award show, which was almost better. That way I could fast forward through all of the boring stuff I didn't care much for.

I thought there were so many gorgeous dresses on the red carpet! Everyone always looks so stunning, and I always love seeing who shows up, because there are nominees and presenters, so that's always pretty thrilling; waiting in anticipation. I always watch the red carpet coverage on E! because I think the  hosts are much better on that one, and they always seem to get the biggest stars.

Like I said, there were so many beautiful people on the carpet, with so many different styles and colors, but these are my favorites:

Jennifer Garner: STUNNING! This is what a movie star is supposed to look like; graceful and elegant, simple, yet sophisticated. Plus, she was wearing one of my favorite red carpet colors. 

Zooey Deschanel: I just love her! I think she always carries herself so well. She remains quirky and has a lot of personality in whatever she wears, but she looks so "Hollywood ready" while she does it. 

Taylor Swift: I really love how Taylor's style has evolved over the years. Did it take a little of getting used to when she first started dressing a bit 'older'? Absolutely. She went from being a country cutie in cowboy boots to this sophisticated fashionista. To me, it's so cool that she can pull off both looks with such ease. I love the dress! I think it's a little more daring and drastic than what she's done before, but also not too crazy. She's nominated for a Golden Globe, and that's HUGE. I think she has every right to be a little more bold in her look. I do wish her hair would have been down or maybe in one of her "up-do's" and a little darker with the eye makeup, like she's done before, but I still think she looks gorgeous. 

Rachel Weisz: I think Rachel is so beautiful! She always just seems to command the red carpet like an old movie star would. She's kind of like an Audrey Hepburn. Looking back on this dress, I don't know if I'm that crazy about it, but the way she presents it is really what drew me in. I really love her hair and how simple the accessories are for wearing a bit of different kind of dress. She knew how to wear it well, and sometimes that's all that it's really about. 

Kate Hudson: Usually I'm not really into Kate Hudson's style, but this dress really made me think twice! I love that even though there are plenty of embellishments on the dress itself, it's simple enough and it gives an excuse to not wear jewelry. I also love the "fitted" look. Too many people were wearing dresses that looked a little too saggy in the top area and made it look a bit sloppy, but this looks incredible. Even though Kate was just a presenter, it's nice that she went a different route from everyone else and still looks fabulous. 

Honorable mention: 

Emily Blunt: I really love Emily Blunt! And this was before she was married to John Krasinski. I think she's gorgeous, and she seems like one of those rare gems that doesn't seem to know just how gorgeous she is. I also really love the fact that she has an accent and just seems absolutely charming. She looked really amazing on the red carpet last night. So much now, that I'm starting to wonder if maybe she should replace one of the others. WOW! 

The award show itself was actually more entertaining than usual. I'm not a Tina Fey fan, so I would've rather had just Amy Poehler up there by herself, but they worked off of each other well, of course. But, I have to say that their funniest moments were of them dressing up in random outfits and pretending to be one of the nominees! Genius. I think they spiced things up a bit, for a process that is usually really slow.

To be honest, the most boring parts of the last night were in the speeches. I get that it's a chance in a lifetime to have all of your dreams coming true, winning for something that you're extremely proud of and having the platform to say anything you want and thank anyone you want...But, after awhile, people start to tune out. Or maybe that's just me. I ended up fast forwarding through most of them just to get to the next award to see who won. I guess I could have just looked up a list online, but this was still a little more fun.
However, the best speeches were Ben Affleck, Jessica Chastain, and Hugh Jackman. You could really feel just how excited they were and how much it meant to them to be winning, rather than being just another award that they were up there accepting, as if it were old hat to them. They were really sincere, and that's what you love to see about a win like that; something that isn't expected or that they feel entitled to, just the reward they've been given because of the hard work, struggle, and energy they've put into a project.

Another highlight for me, obviously, was seeing John K as a presenter with Kristin Bell. I didn't realize he was presenting, so that was a pretty cool moment...

And last, but certainly not least...What was up with Jodie Foster's lifetime achievement speech? Everyone was in tears when they panned around the room, and I was trying to figure out what the heck she was saying. I mean, she was leaning more towards retirement I think, but some of the random lines and phrases she was using had me a bit puzzled. Especially about the line of her not being Honey Boo Boo...I think we knew that. But, the best part of this was when they got a close up of Mel Gibson's face. I think it pretty much speaks for itself. 

And the entire time these awards were on, I was wondering what kinds of conversations must be going on at those tables. I mean, you're surrounded by Hollywood's most elite actors and directors. Surely, there has to be some really juicy stuff around there. What I wouldn't give to be a fly on that fancy glass cup...It also had me thinking about who I would want to be seated next to if I ever ended up attending the awards. I'm thinking...George Clooney, Ben Affleck, Jennifer Garner, Zooey Deschanel, Taylor Swift...In a room of that caliber, I don't think I'd mind sitting next to anyone really.

All in all, it was a good show! Maybe I'll finally get around to seeing one of the movies on the list. We'll see, though.

That's all for now,
Shelby

Birthday Challenge #6

Tonight, our young adults group started back after the holiday break for the past month, I'd say. I hadn't been going for awhile before that, because I had just gotten lazy or busy with other things, then the Christmas choir started up and the schedule just wasn't normal, so I hadn't tried. After the first of the year, it was my goal to get into the swing of things once again, because I've been out for too long.
I want to start the new year off right by getting back into my relationships with everyone at church and just getting involved again, because I really miss that.

There wasn't a specific message tonight, it ended up just being us, talking about whatever our hearts called us to at that moment and we got a lot of wonderful things out of it. A lot of hearts were touched and healing was taking place. We talked about how God is the master, and we are merely just the managers of what He has given to us, and it's up to us of what we do with that. We also talked about how we've started to treasure technology more than we do relationships. There were so many things that resonated with me, that I was jotting away in the notebook I had brought.

It was really great just having a chance to be back with good friends and to be in a setting where God and faith are the main focus. I've slipped away from all of that for too long, and I forgot how good it feels to be connected to church and letting the Spirit work through me. It's a pretty wonderful thing. I hung around for a little while after we finished, just talking with a few of my friends about birthday stuff and just how they'd been, etc. It reminded me that things are starting to get back on track and it feels wonderful.

That's all for now,
Shelby