Friday, August 24, 2018

Oops... I Did It Again

Two weeks ago, I registered for the 2019 Princess Half Marathon Weekend!!!  And that's not all.  Although, I swore I'd never do it again... I signed up for a half marathon.

Photo Source

Long story short, I had every intention to sign up for the 5K and 10K.  Eliot and his sisters were going to do the challenge together.  Eliot's dad was going to do the half and his mother was going to do the 5K and 10K as well.  We all went into registration day with a solid plan of who was signing each person up, and what order to do it in.

When it came time to sign up for everything, I took on a monster load when Eliot couldn't get in.  I signed myself up for my 5K, then did Elissa's challenge, then Eliot's when he was still locked out.  By the time I went to get my 10K (which Eliot was supposed to do first) it had sold out and Eliot never got into the sign up.

I left the house to head into work devastated that I didn't get into my top choice.  After a very tearful car ride... I'd decided to dive in head first.  When I arrived at work, I sat out in the car long enough to complete insanity.  I signed up for the challenge.

Photo Source

The event takes place at Walt Disney World February 21st to 24th.  The 5K is that Friday.  Then, the Fairy Tale Challenge (previously the Glass Slipper Challenge) consists of the Enchanted 10K Saturday and the Princess Half Marathon Sunday.  So for those of you counting, that's 22.4 miles total in three days.  (Again, I plead insanity.)

I haven't had much luck with runDisney events in the past.  But, I have finished two 10Ks at this point.  I've always dreamed of finishing a half marathon and of completing a challenge.  In fact, what finally tipped the scale to me deciding to do it, was looking at my 30 Things to do in my 30's list a few days before registration.  Knowing that I'd have more time after leaving my job, I recently went back through my list to gain some perspective on my future.  That's when I stumbled across #12 Complete a Disney Half Marathon and #18 Complete a Disney Race Challenge.

So, here I sit, signed up for the 5K, 10K and the half marathon.  Thankfully, I ended up roping Eliot into the 5K with me too.  We're both doing all three races together.  And I've officially hit the crazy level.  I don't even like running.  Not even a little bit.

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But, what's most crazy, is that I'm actually excited about it.  I decided that training would start as soon as I was done with work.  Since yesterday was my last day in the office with patients, training will start any day now.  I'm not sure how many hours I'll be at work tying up loose ends next week, but I'm hoping to get a few workouts in.  I have a goal to finalize my training plan this weekend.  Then, hello Mr. Treadmill!

Today marks exactly 26 weeks until the 5K.  It's 180 days- or about half a year.  That's plenty of time to properly train and prepare for this event.  Right?  I can do this.

Right now, I'm feeling optimistic about this one.  I've never truly taken the time to train for a race.  And I've never stuck to the training plan.  I haven't put in much effort in the past.  Now, I don't have time as an excuse.  I can make my own schedule and I can plan my day around my work outs.  My gut tells me it's now or never.  So, let's do this.

Here's to another runDisney adventure!!!  Hopefully this one has a happy ending!  °o°

Thursday, August 23, 2018

The Next Chapter Begins...

Hello Everyone!  I have very exciting news to share with you!  After much deliberation, Eliot and I have decided that it's time for me to begin a new chapter in our lives.  I am leaving my job and I will be running Happily Ever Hatter (and our new businesses!) full time!  This has not been an easy decision, and it's been one that I've been struggling with for some time now.  We finally made the decision back in June, and I've been dying to make the announcement here on my blog.


Yesterday, I went into work for my last official day seeing our patients.  I still have to go in a few days next week (while the office is closed for vacation) to tie up loose ends, finish training my replacement, and to clean out my stuff... then, I'll be home full time.  

I have absolutely loved working at the chiropractic office these last four years.  The doctors I have worked with are all an inspiration.  Their passion for chiropractic and our patients never ceases to amaze me.  Working with them has been a privilege.  And what can I say about our patients other than that they're incredible.  It's been really hard saying goodbye to everyone.  I've gotten a lot of hugs and tons of well wishes and it's so encouraging to hear how proud they are of me to be going after my dreams.


To be totally honest, the past few weeks have been a bit of a rollercoaster of emotions for me.  I'm so excited about this new chapter in my life, but I'm also terrified at the same time.  Being fully self-employed can be freeing, but it's also a little overwhelming.

This feels right though.  I always knew that I wanted to run my creative businesses full time.  My parents run their own accounting business, and both sets of my grandparents ran their own businesses too.  I've always said that running my own business(es) is in my blood.  I've never pictured myself doing anything else long term.  This has always been my eventual goal.  It just came a lot sooner than I ever imagined.

It's been a year and a half since 3D printed ears became a big business and our shop, Happily Ever Hatter, has kept us so busy.  Eliot and I have barely had time to stop and smell the roses.  We've been trying to take more time for ourselves, and we did more this summer than we did last year.  But, we still spend a good part of our weekends working on ears and we spend most of the evening working on them as well.  I'm hoping that with me home full time, I can get most of it done during the day while he's at work.  We're looking forward to having more of a social life once we're caught up!


The future looks bright.  We've got plans to do some traveling over the next year and we're looking forward to seeing friends and family we haven't seen in a while.  We're hoping to get to a few UNE hockey games and to spend time with Elissa.  Portland has a new ECHL hockey team, the Maine Mariners, so we're planning to go to a few of those games.  In addition, we're actually going to see our San Jose Sharks a few times this season!  I'm also hoping to get a lot of progress done on our house.  We still have so much to do, but finishing it doesn't seem so far off now.  Of course, we're looking forward to visiting Mickey Mouse a few times too!

With more time to focus on it, Happily Ever Hatter will continue to grow.  Eliot and I have so. many. ideas... I literally have lists of lists of them.  I'm excited to have more time to work on samples along with orders.  Plus, Eliot should have more design time now!  I'm really excited to see what we can accomplish in the next few months!

What I'm most excited about is that I'm going to have time to focus on our new businesses. I've been talking about these forever... and now I'm finally going to have time to work on them.  Eliot and I are planning to move forward quickly.  We're hoping to launch two of them in the next few months so they'll be ready for holiday orders!


Finally, I will actually have time to work on my blog!  I've decided to re-name and re-brand it, so I probably won't be diving in head first right away.  I'm hoping to get some behind the scenes stuff done before I get back into the swing of things.  But I'm really excited that it could be closer to it's potential soon!

So, today is the first day of the next chapter of my life.  I'm sure it will be an adventure but I'm ready for it.  And I think the universe is too.  Last night, when I left work, there was a small rainbow over the road as I drove away from my past and forward into the unknown of full-time self-employment.  I think it's a sign that I made the right decision. 

"Have faith in your dreams and someday, your rainbow will come smiling through."  °o°

Friday, August 17, 2018

10 Years Ago... I was a GraduWIT

Exactly ten years ago today, I graduated from Wentworth Institute of Technology.  I can't believe it's been 10 years!  Happy Anniversary WIT Class of 2008!!!  


I have many wonderful memories from college.  I had so much fun with my yearbook friends, my student leadership friends and my interior design girlfriends.  I have memories of us exploring the city of Boston, laughing our heads off, spending late nights in studio, playing intense games of mafia at retreats, going to New York city for yearbook conferences, going out dancing and making waffles on the weekend in my apartment.  I wish I was able to see everyone more often.  However, I am excited that I'll be able to celebrate this milestone with my WIT interior design girlfriends this weekend during Stacy's bachelorette party.


Of course, Wentworth was also where I met my future husband, Eliot.  I actually gave Eliot his campus tour when he and his mother came out to look at schools.  (I must have given him a great tour because he was a student the next fall!)  It wasn't until after we had already been dating for about 2 weeks that we discovered it.  Eliot and I met a second time while training as tour guides and we became good friends.  We didn't start dating until my last two semesters at school, but we had a lot of fun in the time that we were both students there.  Then, I came back to Wentworth often to visit while he finished his degree!


Five years ago, I also wrote a post about my college graduation and how it related to my passion for Disney.  I went to school for interior design, and when I graduated I had big dreams of becoming an Interior Designer for Disney Imagineering.


Obviously, not much has changed in regards to my passion for all things Disney.  I decided becoming an Imagineer for Disney wasn't the right path for me.  Instead, I've been able to use the techniques I learned at WIT to create designs for Happily Ever Hatter.  It's opened the window for the two new businesses Eliot and I plan to launch soon!  And, our house is very Disney inspired, so I'm an Imagineer of my own life.


I looked through my photos earlier today, and the most meaningful one is still my photo of me and my dog Lucky.  He was 13 when he went to my graduation.  I wanted a photo with him and it wasn't until I put the pictures on my laptop that I noticed a familiar outline hidden in the sunlight.  (Can you find the Hidden Mickey?)


We lost Lucky a little over a year after this photo was taken.  It's still my absolute favorite picture of the two of us.  I've always believed that someone was trying to send me a message on my graduation day- I may not become an Imagineer for Disney, but the possibilities are endless, and that someday I'll find the right path for me.  

Now, 10 years later, I think I've finally found my path.  I think I've always known it.  I love creating things and making magic.  This milestone comes at a perfect time as the next chapter is about to begin.  After all "if you can dream it, you can do it."  °o°

Wednesday, August 1, 2018

August 2018 Calendar

Happy August everyone!  Well, I've tried to get back to posting regularly... and I've failed miserably.  But, some good news... after being late with posting these calendars for the past two months, I've gone ahead and scheduled all of them for the rest of the year!  Woo-hoo!  Here are my Mickey and Minnie calendars for August!


I'm honored to continue the tradition of posting these free printable calendars for other Disney fans to enjoy.  I've been doing this since I started my blog back in 2014.  Since then, my calendars have been used for trip countdowns, Disney themed classrooms, training calendars for runDisney events and to surprise kids with a Disney vacation!

Here's the link to download the August 2018 PDF version of the printable.

Here's the link to download the Blank August 2018 PDF version of the printable.

Feel free to link this post up to Pinterest or Facebook so your friends and family can have a fun Mickey and Minnie calendar too!  Let's spread the Disney Magic!!!  °o°

Note: I've made calendars through 2018.  I don't post the PDF links on my blog until the beginning of each month.  If you're looking for a particular month and would like me to email it to you ahead of my post going live, you can send my blog an email at mydisneylifeblog[at]gmail.com.  I'll send you the PDFs directly as soon as I can!  :-)