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Trying something new. Well, new for your eyes. I keep a journal and every night (or when I remember) and I write down my peak, pit, praise, and prayer for the day. It forces me to find the good in what appeared to be a really crappy day and really makes me think about the day I had. Rather than do this for everyday in week 4 and 5 ill just sum up both weeks. Week 4 Peak: One of Dad's work friends was in FL and took me out to lunch. Not someone that I personally am close with but being around people who I know for just a few hours was better than lunch in the apartment alone. A familiar face, and that Chicago accent, made for a great afternoon! Pit: Valentine's Day. Need I say more? Worked all day, listened to coworkers complain about what they did/didn't get from their Valentine, and was surrounded by families and their loved ones. It was quite disgusting. Praise: I was (and still am) employed by one of the greatest companies. Everyday I am blessed to be apart of pe...

There is one question I dread more than anything from other cast members.... "why are you here?". Seems simple, what made you decide to come to DCP is really all they are asking. Someone who appears to have it all together just up and left Chicago to come work for Disney? For some, a simple "the experience" is a good enough answer. Others, its like they can see straight through the smile on my face and want to know more. So, here it is. In August my brother passed away a week before my third college preseason. I waited a few days to report for preseason so I could be with my family. I went back to school/soccer because I needed that back in my life. My world was turned upside down and soccer was something I thought would be stable. I was wrong. I heard every excuse in the book, even as far as to blame my not playing on the death of my brother (you can imagine my anger for that comment) except an actual answer while I sat the bench for an entire season. Bitter? Yes....

Being an older sister/older cousin/full time nanny it never surprises me what comes out of a kid's mouth. Well, sometimes it does. During Turtle Talk there are questions you can expect from kids almost every show; do you have a girlfriend? how old are you? why do you have a shell? where's Nemo? And then sometimes Crush will pick a kid who will ask something no one in the room is expecting like.... "where do turtles poop?". The room exploded with laughter and the parents of said kid were easy to pick out as they looked absolutely mortified.  The long pause from Crush told me that he muted his mic to have a long laugh before continuing with the show. Crush finally answered with "where do you poop when your in the ocean?" and then proceeded to excuse himself behind the reef. Use your imagination people.  This is just one of the many stories that make me smile at the end of a long shift. And then you get days where it seems as though there is something weird i...

No matter who I talk to at home I get the same question... "What do you actually do all day?!" Before I left all anyone knew was that I was working at an attraction, which seems self explanatory. You would think that saying "I work at The Seas with Nemo and Friends would be a sufficient answer, that someone would piece together that there is a ride there and that I help to operate the ride all day long. But, it isn't that simple. Bear with me here, all my "Nemo terms" are going to have to be explained so this post could end up being rather lengthy, which is not my intention. Here we go, a day in the life.... (my first official day, on my own) Woke up at 7am to be ready for a 7:40 bus. Should I have been up earlier? Yes. Did the previous days 5:15am wake up call keep me in bed longer than I wanted? Yes. But, made the bus. Take the bus to Epcot Cast Center (backstage Epcot - anything that guests can see is considered on stage, so everything you cant see/ge...

I've been here for almost two weeks now and have a new meaning to the word exhausted. Exhausted as a Disney guest and exhausted as a Disney cast member are two totally different things. Exhausted taking on a whole new meaning today. This week I had training all week for The Seas with Nemo and Friends. I cannot tell you how ecstatic I was to learn that I would be working in The Seas. I am a huge Nemo fan, so to spend my days with Nemo, Crush and Dory is just prime. My favorite part, so far, of working The Seas is working Turtle Talk with Crush. If you haven't seen this show I highly recommend it! Its an interactive show with non other than Crush the turtle. Its very adorable, and so much fun. Seeing little kids faces when they get the chance to ask Crush a question is just priceless. Definitely my favorite part of the day. Other than that I work the ride. Don't ya feel safe? Ride ops is in MY control :) Its a blast and I work with some pretty awesome people. Not...

(Sometimes the right song playing in the background sparks really cool, and interesting writing for me and today I just can't find that song... so go with me here.) Well ladies and gents... It's official. I work for Walt Disney World! As of Thursday (1-23-14) I was welcomed into the Disney family through a program called traditions. Its (for my group at least) a very early morning that includes learning all things Disney and receiving your name tag and id. It was a very cool experience and unlike most blogs I will spare you the details just incase a future CP happens to find this post. It really is more exciting when you don't know what is going to happen. I had read numerous blogs and had a pretty good idea on what to expect, it didn't take away from the magic of it, but I do wish I didn't know about certain parts of the day. After that you were free to play in the parks if you received your id, a good portion of us did not because the number of CP's that...

Because I refer to him often and use #doitforCJ daily, it's only appropriate to explain who CJ is and what the hash tag is. In August of 2013 my Mom delivered the most beautiful baby boy I have ever seen. His chubby cheeks and adorable button nose, all 3lbs 10oz of him were perfect. Except... Christian was still born. He never took a breath but instead was given his angel wings earlier than expected. I will never forget holding my little man in my arms. He was simply perfect and will always hold a place in my heart. I will never love a man the way I love my little brother. I am forever grateful that I had the opportunity to hold and whisper secrets to him. That's a moment that no one will ever be able to take away from me. I spoke about the things that Christian taught me at his funeral. Let that sink in for a moment. I, his older sister, spoke about the things he taught me and he never even took a breath. He taught me to be patient, waiting for his arrival was driving me ...