Monday, January 14, 2019

Vacationing with Mickey and the Sharks

It's the final countdown!!!  Two days from right about now, Eliot and I will be at the airport getting ready to board our plane to Orlando!  I'm so excited to set off on this adventure!  It feels like forever, yet also just yesterday, since we visited Mickey.  In reality, we haven't seen Mickey in Florida since last April, and we last saw him in California in June/July at Pixar Fest last summer.  So it's been a few months, but it's gone by really quickly too!

I'm super excited about this trip.  This one feels extra special!  Not only are we going to Disney, but it's an extended trip and we get to see some hockey!!!  We leave this Wednesday and we'll be in Walt Disney World until the following Friday.  Then, we jet off across the country to California, where we'll be in Eliot's hometown of San Jose for the 2019 National Hockey League All-Star Game!!!

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But that's not all... we're going to see the Epcot Festival of the Arts on opening weekend!  I've wanted to attend the festival since it first started two years ago and we finally were able to go this year!  (Lucky number three!)  I'm so excited to see all of the art on display.  And I'm obsessed with Disney art so I'm sure we'll be bringing a few prints home with us!  Ahh, I can't wait!!!

We'll also be at Walt Disney World for the premiere of Mickey and Minnie's Surprise Celebration at the Magic Kingdom on January 18th!  Ever since I saw the photos of their fun, new outfits I've been totally obsessed.  In fact, we're bringing multiple pairs of ears for the occasion!  I ran out of time to complete my outfit, but you can bet it will be making an appearance on our next WDW trip!


And that's still not it!  While in Florida, we're also going to see two San Jose Sharks games!  When we decided to go to WDW for the art festival, we had two different weekends in mind.  I happened to check the Sharks schedule and they were in Florida over the second weekend we were looking into going.  At that moment, it was decided that we'd go this week so we could overlap with their games.  Next Saturday, we'll be at the Tampa Bay Lightning game and a week from today we'll be at their game versus the Florida Panthers!  Eliot's Dad Rick is even flying out to go to the games with us!

Finally, like I said above, we'll wrap up our trip in California.  The San Jose Sharks are hosting the NHL All-Star festivities this year.  They haven't hosted it since 1997 so this was a really big deal.  Three of our players have been selected to go, and my favorite player is included!  (I literally squealed with joy when Eliot told me he was on the final roster!)  I'm so excited to see the best hockey players in the world all in one place.  I think it'll be a really cool experience and I'm so excited to be going!

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I really can't wait.  After all the hard work and late nights Eliot and I put in to get all of our mouse ear orders out in time for Christmas, this is the fruit of all that labor.  And we're cashing in big time!  Here's to another magical vacation, visiting our favorite mice and cheering on our Sharks!!!  °o°

Thursday, January 10, 2019

2019 Disney Goals

Hello 2019.  It feels like I've been waiting forever for you.

I say this every year, but I'm so excited for this year.  Seriously though... this feels like a really brand new beginning.  Not just the start of another year, but it's the start of my first full year of self-employment!!!  I've got so many things I want to do, and this year, I might actually be able to tackle some of them!  I think this is the beginning of something truly wonderful.

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I'm picking up my tradition of posting my Disney goals.  At the end of this year, I'll write a recap where I see what I accomplished.  I've still never completed a full list, but I'm feeling good about making major progress this year.  I've been making goal lists for about 10 years now.  It's something that I genuinely look forward to.  (Here are my past goal posts: 2014 goals2014 recap2015 goals2015 recap, 2016 goals, 2016 recap, 2017 goals.)

As you can see, I never did a 2017 recap, or even posted any of my 2018 goals.  In early 2017, Happily Ever Hatter really took off and I haven't looked back since.  For 2018, I had the same goals as 2017 and I didn't even look at the list except for the first few days of the year.

So this year, I'm going back to basics.  I've already posted most of these but I'm going to again.  Hopefully this will be the year that I can finally cross some of them off the list!!!  

Bring it on 2019!!!

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Melissa's Blog and Disney Goals for 2019

1.)  Go to Walt Disney World- This is always my first goal of every new year.  Walt Disney World is my happy place, and it's always a goal to go back!

2.)  Go to Disneyland- Walt Disney World may be my home away from home, but Disneyland has stolen my heart.  I absolutely can't wait to go back this year!


3.) Go on a Disney Cruise- Ever since we did our first cruise in the fall of 2016 I've been dying to go on another one.  This time, we're doing a Christmas cruise!  I can't wait!!!

4.) Do the Princess RunDisney Races- This is coming up WAY faster then it needs to.  Eliot and I are signed up to do all of the races at Princess Half Marathon Weekend.  We haven't been training due to all of the work getting Christmas mouse ear orders completed and being away for the holiday.  Now, I'm cranking it into high gear!

5.)  Attend the D23 Expo- I can't wait to go back to this!  We went to the 2017 D23 Expo and it was so much fun.  Eliot and I learned a lot that year, and we're looking forward to using that knowledge to get the most of this year's expo!

6.) Go the the Epcot Festival of the Arts- I've been dreaming of going to this ever since Disney announced it a few years ago.  This is the third year of the festival and I made Eliot swear to me last year that we'd be going this year!  And I'm happy to announce that we'll be there for opening day, one week from tomorrow!

7.) Go to Disney at Christmas Time- This is another goal that I always have.  Disney is magical at the holidays.  In 2017, I was blessed to go to both Walt Disney World and Disneyland during the holiday season.  The decorations were incredible.  This year, we're planning to see Walt Disney World while we're down for our Disney Cruise in December!

8.) Make Disney Decor for the Holidays- I love making customized holiday decor!  I've got a list that's so long and keeps growing.  I'd like to cross a few of those ideas off this year! 

9.) Make Disney Accessories- I really enjoying creating accessories.  This year, I'd like to use my new knowledge of sewing to make a few infinity scarves.  I'd also like to work on some custom dresses, skirts, jewelry, hair accessories and handbags.  (More on that below!)

10.) Have Disney Movie Nights- There are certain Disney movies I've seen over and over again.  Others, I haven't seen in years.  This year, I want to watch as many as I can.  Not only do I enjoy them, but they give me inspiration for new product designs!

11.) Have Disney Board Game Nights- Eliot and I have so many board games.  I love playing them.  This year, I want to unpack them and break a few out to play!

12.) Disneybound/Themed Outfit Challenge- In the past, I've had a goal to wear 25 character or attraction Disneybound or themed outfits, and I'm going to do that again.  Last year, I didn't get to Disneybound as much as I wanted to, so I'm going to focus more on that this year!  I'd also like to incorporate more of my Disney clothes in everyday wear!

13.)  Have a Disney Themed Party- I love throwing parties.  This year, I'm hoping we'll get the house ready for our housewarming party!  After living here for over three years, it's time.

14.) Take an Online Class- This is one of those goals that keeps getting rolled into the next year.  I've been looking at online Storyboard, Watercolor or Handwriting classes.  I've already enrolled myself into a self-study watercolor class.  Now, I just need to make time to do it!

15.) Design an Imagineering Project- Eliot and I love brainstorming about new attractions, restaurants, stores, and hotel resorts.  This year, I'd like to actually start doing some design work on a fantasy Imagineering project, even if it's just a small one!

16.) Read Disney Books- I have so many wonderful books.  Santa also brought me a few new Disney books for Christmas!  I'd really like to take some time to read through my Imagineering books.  I also have art books, leadership books and more.

17.) Paint Disney Art- I have so many fun ideas!  This year, I'd like to make a few pieces, especially since we're trying to get our house organized!  I've got plans for artwork in our kitchen/living/dining room, bedrooms, and bathrooms.  Hopefully, I'll have plenty of pictures of my artwork in our house to share by the end of 2019!

18.) Decorate House with Disney Touches- Eliot's and my main goal (besides business goals) of 2019 is to (finally!) get settled in our house.  Along with the artwork and holiday decor, I'd like to add some little Disney touches throughout our house.  We've bought a bunch of items to display, and I've also got a few more handmade designs in mind.  Hopefully, we'll be able to get our house painted, everything unpacked and organized so I can work on this!

19.) Launch Clothing Line- As I stated above, I love making accessories.  This year, I'm officially launching my clothing and accessory line!  It's been a dream of mine for over three years now, and this year we're finally making it happen!  Stay tuned for more information!

20.) Launch Home Decor Business- This year, Eliot and I are also launching our new home decor line.  We've been talking about this for about a year now.  We'll be gearing up for our launch sometime this spring!  Stay tuned for more information on this business too!  

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That's quite the list, huh?  Just like every year, I've certainly got my work cut out for me.  But, like always, I am really excited about the possibilities!  I'm going to make 2019's word of the year CONQUER.  In the past, I've focused on creating, growth, blossoming, dreaming and imagination.  This year, I'm trying to conquer all of these goals and more.

So let's do this 2019.  Let this be the year that more of my dreams come true.  °o°

Tuesday, January 1, 2019

January 2019 Calendar

Happy New Year Everyone!!!  I can't believe it's already 2019!!!  I feel like we just started 2018.  As usual, we've been crazy busy.  I was barely able to complete my 2018 Year In Review, but thankfully I was able to do it.  I also sat down the other day and to write out both my personal and Disney goals for 2019.  I'll be sharing my Disney goals soon!  For now, here's my Mickey and Minnie calendars to kick off the new year!


I'm so humbled and honored to continue the tradition of posting my free printable calendars for other Disney fans to enjoy.  This is my 5th year!!!  I started making these back when I started my blog in 2014.  I first designed them as a way to track Eliot's and my RunDisney training and it's come so far!  I was so happy with how they turned out that I had to share them with everyone else.  To date, my printable calendars have been used for Disney 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 January 2019 PDF version of the printable.

Here's the link to download the Blank January 2019 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 2019.  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!  :-)