My First Mickey Bar

My first Mickey bar!

My parents first took me to Walt Disney World in 1990, when I was two and a half years old. In doing so, they passed their love of all things Disney to me and gave me the first of what I hope to be a lifetime of Walt Disney World Memories. Having been only two my first Disney memories are a bit fuzzy, but a few very distinct ones come to mind, including my very first Mickey bar. It was purchased at Dinosaur Gertie’s at what was then MGM and enjoyed from my stroller, and as soon as I bit into one of the crisp, chocolate-y ears, I was hooked. Is there anything like the joy of the first bite of the ear of a Mickey-shaped food? The smile on my face in this photo suggests not. I remember the ice cream melting down my hands when I didn’t get to it fast enough-who knows how many wipes it took to clean it all off!  Still, the classic combination of cool vanilla ice cream and chocolate shell on a warm day in a Disney Park is about as good as it gets, as I learned on the trip when this photo was taken. The Mickey bar and I have both changed in the last 24 years, of course. I’ve gotten married, moved out of my parents’ home, and can now (usually) eat an ice cream bar without getting it all over my face. The iconic Mickey bar has replaced the chocolate ice cream face and is now totally covered in delicate, delicious chocolate. The excitement of that first bite, however, has remained as I’ve gotten older and the Mickey bar has evolved. For me, that is representative of Disney World as a whole-the parks change, those who visit grow, but the excitement and magic of a visit to Walt Disney World never goes away. In the nearly quarter of a century since this photo was taken my family has grown, but I know that every time I go back, the first bite of a Mickey bar will be just as special as it was for me when I was two. 

My husband's first Mickey bar!

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Meeting the Mouse Himself

As a child, my nursery was Mickey Mouse themed. My first birthday cake had Mickey on it. I had Mickey outfits, Mickey sunglasses, and a Mickey hat. I was raised with a love of the Mouse. In 1990, when I was two years old, my parents took me to Walt Disney World for the first time and took me to what was then his house in Toontown to meet Mickey in person. So exciting, right? Well, as the submitted picture shows, I froze, like so many young kids, in front of my favorite character, clinging to my mother for my very first picture with Mickey Mouse. The good news is that I froze from awe (and the sheer fact of being two years old) rather than fear, and I’ve continued to love Mickey and even take a successful photograph with him. In the years since this photograph, my family has grown, with the additions of my younger brother and my new husband. In February 2016, it will grow again when we have our first child. I’ve collected more Mickey items.  When I moved out of my parents’ home, and the room I’d grown up in, I took with me the light switch plate that had hung on the wall for over twenty years. It features baby Mickey and baby Minnie in their pajamas, playing with balloons.  I plan to place it in the WDW themed nursery I'm creating, the beginning, I hope, of their own love of Mickey Mouse and all things Disney. 

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I made this.

There are a lot of babies being born amongst my friends and family this year, so I've revisited an old foe, crocheting (which, it turns out, I did not have the patience for at 12) to make some gifts. In the process I've definitely fallen in love with crochet and anticipate many more projects to come.

Superhero capes for Ben's nephews, one 3 and one brand-new.

Color-blocked blanket and cat. 

Mittens and booties.

If both mom and dad are tattooed, these hats are only appropriate.

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Tesla the Biscuit Maker

Setting: The bed. Ben and I snuggle as Tesla purrs happily and walks from side to side, randomly making biscuits before moving on.

Ben: "He's looking for some batter. You know, to make some biscuits."

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Shenandoah

Ben loves Shenandoah National Park, and he specifically loves hiking Old Rag, described on the park's website thusly:

"Shenandoah's most popular and most dangerous hike. The number of blogs and websites about this hike attests to its popularity. The number of search and rescue missions each year attests to its danger. There's no doubt that the scramble is great fun and the views are spectacular. A day on Old Rag is one of Shenandoah's premier experiences."

So he was sorely disappointed when the weather prediction for the weekend we'd chosen to go hike the mountain and camp out in Shenandoah was rainy and cold. But wait! Friday of that weekend looked to be spectacular. So, being the loving wife I am, I took off Friday and we made a last minute change of plans.

As predicted, the hike was difficult, but mostly enjoyable. That is not to say that I did not get cranky when I thought we had gotten to the summit only to find out that no, there was still more to climb. I generally get cranky at least once during all of our outdoor camping/hiking activities so this is no surprise. As Ben said when we got home, "I'm just glad you didn't cry this time."

After the 4.5 hour round trip hike we drove further into Shenandoah and checked in at Big Meadows campground. It took several circuits of the area before Ben was able to select a camp site to his liking, but once set up we treated ourselves to a glorious shower in a trailer brought in during renovations of the camp's permanent showers (no complaints here as the water was hot!), bowls of lukewarm reheated spaghetti and s'mores with marshmallows roasted on sticks Ben whittled out of our $7/cord firewood. 

I did manage to sleep, though it required two pairs of socks, two pairs of pants, a long sleeved shirt, a sweatshirt, a fleece jacket, gloves, a hat and a sleeping bag to be comfortable enough to do so. I will say, not the worst night of sleep I've ever had in a tent. 

I did require a nap on Saturday to recover, but it was truly lovely to get outside, use our bodies, and just be together. Definitely something we should do more often.

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Stop it, Pinterest.

I'm admittedly at a point in my life where my hormones are like, let's have babies! But my brain and my husband are like, let's not. (Ok my brain is like maaaaybe and my husband is like absolutely fucking not.) And Pinterest isn't helping.

I searched things to crochet for my friend's impending baby like, once. And now every day is a deluge of Pinterest suggestions that have included childbirth tips, best types of bottle nipples, and of course, ovary-bustingly cute pictures of newborns. The internal war between head and heart is not helped by these unsolicited images. 

Case in point-I searched for some sort of kicky "damnit Pinterest!" image and the first two things to show up were crochet baby hat patterns. THOSE ARE NOT AT ALL RELATED YOUR ALGORITHM IS BROKEN.

Oh Pinterest...

Via

. 

Possibly related: today I've been popping peanut butter M&Ms like it's going out of style.

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At Christmastime. That was two months ago.

I pulled out the nativity that my parents got me way back in 1989 for the first time this year. Actually I think this is the first year that it's been in my possession since as soon as I purchased a house my mother showed up with boxes of stuff that "is yours," including all Christmas decor that was tangentially related to me. Anyway, when I opened it I found this:

A note from my mother, reading: "Where ever you may be when you next unpack this nativity set, remember all the Christmases we shared it together. In its new home it will make many more memories."

I texted my mother as follows:

Me: I opened the nativity :)

Mom: I know I put a message in it. But I have no idea what I wrote anymore.

Me: About remembering its memories and making new ones.

Mom: Oh, how nice of me!

I dunno if we broke the angel or it it didn't come with one but that's the angel we have, so there she is.

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