Fun Find: Super Nintendo World Videos

It's Super Mario Day!!!  Each year, fans of Mario and Luigi celebrate the popular video game on March 10th... MAR 10... MAR10... MARIO... get it?

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Since today also happens to be a Friday, I thought the best way to celebrate was to share a few videos from the newly opened Super Nintendo World at Universal Studios Hollywood!  It just opened back on February 17th, so it's not even a month old yet!

I know that I usually post Disney parks related news, but as you know I have been trying to branch out a bit.  And I think this new section of the park deserves to be celebrated.  Just like the Harry Potter sections of Universal parks, this new land is top notch.  It looks like you're walking through the actual video game.  Universal has really brought a lot to the table lately, and the Harry Potter and Nintendo portions of their parks feel very Disney in essence.  (Disney definitely needs to keep up!)

The most talked about part of the new section seems to be the Mario Kart dark ride.  I should start off by saying that I love Mario Kart.  I'm not really a video game person, but I've been known to get my go cart on occasionally.  Jeremy, Eliot and I love to play it together, and Eliot and I have also played it a a few times with Sara and Elissa.  I might not be very good at it, but it's still a lot of fun.   (And I do occasionally win!)  

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So when I heard about this ride, I had to know more about it.  I'm always so hesitant with Universal rides because there are so many I can't go on.  The video below shows a great comparison of the ride with and without the glasses.  I think it looks great without the glasses... and from that point of view, I might be able to ride it.  The images that the glasses create are amazing, but I'm afraid it might be too much for me.  I get motion sickness on rides pretty easily... so I'm not sure how I'd fare on this.  But it looks absolutely amazing!  It's like Test Track and Runaway Railroad had a Nintendo baby!

This entire addition looks incredible.  I'm so glad it's coming to Florida soon too!  I can't wait to go and take photos like I'm actually in the game.  I'm also going to have to try one of those burgers with the cute little hats.  And the MagicBand like wrist bands also look like a lot of fun.  I'm sure that I'll have a blast whether I can go on the rides or not.

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Plus, I know that Eliot and Jeremy would absolutely freak out seeing this!  The three of us used to brainstorm ideas for a Nintendo theme park years ago.  We used to talk about making a "Rainbow Road" ride... so it's cool to see it as a reality now!  We will definitely have to go together to see this someday!  Happy Super Mario Day!!!  °o°

#tbt Cake Decorating Class

I wasn't planning on posting today, but earlier today, I saw a Facebook memories post about my cake decorating class that I took 13 years ago.  I thought that I'd pop in for a super quick Throwback Thursday post to share my first attempts at decorating cakes!

In the spring of 2010, I decided to take a cake decorating class through the local adult education school.  Assebet Valley was only about 10-15 minuets from my house, and it had so many offerings that interested me.  (Boy, do I miss all of those class options!)  It seems like a lifetime ago now, but I took a bunch of adult eduction classes there.

I've always wanted to learn how to decorate cakes, so I jumped at this opportunity.  I wasn't great at it, but I also didn't practice much after class ended.  I have recently wanted to get back into it- whether I take another beginner class at our local Michael's or if I just try to re-learn it and practice on my own!

Anyways, the first cake that I ever decorated was a circle cake that I made a Star of David on.  Eliot's favorite color is teal, so I tried to mix my frosting in that color.  It ended up looking more like a snowflake- I think due to the lighter aqua color of the frosting and the shape of the "star" but practice makes perfect!

My second decorated cake was a Mickey Mouse cake!  When my instructor told us we were going to learn how to decorate characters, I knew I had to make my favorite mouse!  It's still not perfect, but this came out pretty good!  My edge piping was a lot better, and you can tell that it's Mickey Mouse.  I was so proud of this!

As class went on, we learned more complicated designs.  One of the hardest designs was the basketweave.  It really isn't a hard concept, but you had to get the lines just so in order for it to work.  I think my icing ended up being a little bit too runny, because mine looked a little drippy.  But it still tasted really good!

During our final classes, we learned how to make a bunch of royal icing flowers.  I wish that I'd taken photos and notes on how to make each design.  Our instructor made gorgeous flowers.  After they dried for a week, we used them to decorate small two tier "wedding cakes" in our final class.  This was the instructor's sample cake.

It's been a long time since then... but I'm pretty sure this was my attempt at it!  It's not gorgeous, but it's not too bad for a beginner!  I definitely learned a lot in class.

A few weeks after class ended, I made another two tier cake that I decorated.  I think it was for Eliot's birthday since it was in late June and the colors are pink and lime.  Well, pastel pink and lime anyways... gotta work on those darker colors!  (After that, I didn't find anymore photos so I'm not sure if I decorated more cakes or not!)

Looking back at these photos definitely makes me want to attempt it again.  It's been a long time since I got out my cake decorating stuff... and they've made so many new decorating products since then!  I would love to get back into it someday!  °o°

Still In The Twilight Zone

It's been 10 days since the Timo trade.  I have been through a gamut of emotions over the past week and a half.  At this point, it still hurts, but I've been feeling better about it.

The thing that has softened the blow the most is seeing how much New Jersey loves him.  We heard through the grapevines that Devils fans were literally chanting "We want Timo" during games before the trade happened.  And he organization also made it very clear that they wanted to be his trade destination.

Since the New Jersey Devils acquired Timo, I've become a part-time Devils fan.  (Just like when Joe Pavelski signed with the Dallas Stars.)  I even started following them on Facebook and Instagram.  Their social media loves him.  I swear every other post for the past ten days has been about Meier.  (Not that I'm complaining about it.)  They have photographed him at practice, interviewed him a few times, and made sure to include him in pretty much any and every post that they can.

It's nice to see how excited everyone is that they have him.  Sure, there are a few people who doubt how good he actually is.  And I can't say much; I'm still skeptical that we didn't completely blow this trade.  But most people are super pumped to have him.

It's been a weird transition since he's still been recovering from the upper body injury that's kept him out of the Sharks line up the later part of February.  Eliot and I were at least glad to see that he was injured.  Not that I wanted him to be hurt, but I would have been more upset if he was being "bubble wrapped" before the trade deadline.

Thankfully, he's finally recovered though.  He was able to participate in his first practice as a Devil on February 28th.  (But I think he was just doing individual drills in a no contact jersey at that point.)  Then, Timo made his debut with the New Jersey Devils in an away game against the Arizona Coyotes this past Sunday, March 5th.  It was so weird to see him skating for another team, but Eliot and I were excited to see him on the ice playing again.  And it didn't take long for him to bring "Timo Time" over to New Jersey.  He ended up scoring a goal on his third shift of the game!

The announcers spent most of the rest of that game talking about him.  We must have heard that he scored his first goal as a Devil in his first game as a New Jersey Devil about 15 times.  They also spent a good portion of the game with the camera on him- whether he was on the ice or the bench.  (Again, not complaining.)

But I have to imagine that all of this attention has put a lot of pressure on Timo.  He's never struck me as the type of guy who loves the limelight.  Now, he's got all of these people practically fawning over him and singing his praises.  And he deserves the praise because he's a great player.  But it must be a little bit nerve-wracking too.

And from watching him play, it's clear that he's going to have an adjustment period to get used to playing in their system.  He wasn't in his usual position on the wing, or on the power play.  It was really weird for us watching him play different positions.  I can only imagine how different it is to be the person playing in them.

It's been an adjustment for me and Eliot too... I won't lie, it is really weird to watch him in a red New Jersey Devils jersey, but at least he's in Swiss colors.  That's made it a lot less painful.  I keep reminding myself that it could have been worse... he could have been in Vegas Golden Knight colors, and that would have broken me.

Another adjustment is trying to track him out on the ice.  Not only has he been playing in different positions than what he (and us) are used to, but he's wearing 96 instead of 28.  (One of the other guys on the team already had his number.)  For both the San Jose Sharks and Switzerland, Timo has always been 28, so it's been weird for us to see him wearing that.  However, he used to be number 96 when he was playing in juniors for the Halifax Mooseheads, so it's like he's going back to his roots.

I think having him be in a different number has also softened the blow a little.  It's like his jersey number has been memorialized to me in way.  And ironically, the same thing actually happened when Joe Pavelski and Brent Burns both left the Sharks.  Pavelski is wearing number 16 in Dallas (instead of 8) and Burns is wearing number 8 (instead of 88).  It probably sounds weird, but that's taken the sting out of losing them all a little bit.  It's never easy to have your favorite players leave your team, but I'll always be crazy about my 8's... no matter the numbers or jersey colors they're now wearing.

I guess you could say that this new reality is sinking in, and I'm starting to be more ok with it.  So, we're still in the twilight zone... but at least I'm getting more used to it.  °o°

All photos from the New Jersey Devils Facebook page.

Spring 2023 Sewing Class Begins

Things have been heavy around here lately.  And today is another bittersweet day... 

Today, I had my first Spring 2023 Sewing Classes of this session.  This is always a day that I look forward to, but there was definitely a little bit of extra baggage today.  I won't lie, it was a bit emotional to go to sewing class after losing Nana.  She's the one who encouraged me to take a class to begin with.  She always said that I'd learn way more in a class than she could ever teach me.  Nana was always so proud when I showed her any of my projects that I was working on in class.  She loved my skirt, the pillow cases and valences that I made her and the tote bags that I've been working on.  She was especially impressed with my Beauty and the Beast tote bag.

So this session is going to be a little sad, but I'm still looking forward to it.

In fact, I registered all the way back on January 21st.  I usually wait until a few weeks before class, but I was afraid these classes would fill up.  That's right... classes.  No, there isn't an afternoon class this session.  But as I told you back in the fall, they're doing a night class!  As soon as registration opened, I signed up for my usual morning class.  Then, I also immediately signed both Eliot and myself up for the night class.

I'm really excited for Eliot to take the night classes with me.  He's never sewn anything before, but we've talked about getting into embroidering things.  I figure this will be a great way for him to become familiar with the machines and how they work.  Plus, he always joked about me making him a Hawaiian shirt someday... maybe we'll be able to make one together once we're both more comfortable with sewing stuff!

My morning class was good.  I think there are going to be five of us.  There were four of us today, but one lady had to leave for some reason.  All the other students are new, so hopefully a few of them will stick around.  It sounds like they're interested in learning more techniques, but that always seems to be the case, then they never come back.

Tonight, Eliot will come home from work early to meet up with me at the house before driving over to class together.  He's never actually been to the school before, so I'm excited to show him that, the small local grocery store where I get my breakfast, and the Walgreen's nearby.  My instructor Lori is excited to finally meet Eliot too.  She has certainly heard a lot about him during our classes over the past few years!

I have no idea what projects I'm going to be working on this session.  This morning, I started working on the final assembly of the bags I've been working on for years.  Now, the lining is sewn into my Ariel, Steamboat Willie and Princess bags!  During tonight's class, I'm going to work on turning them inside out.  Eliot and I weren't able to get another sewing machine yet, so I'm going to have him use mine tonight for the time being since I'm already very familiar with how it runs.  I figure that I can help him and the other students, and when I'm not doing that, I'll turn my three bags inside out!

After that, who knows what I'll work on!  If I can find the valance fabric that I already cut, I'd like to make the valences for our living room, dining room and kitchen.  I also might work on a table runner for the dining room.  (Joanns has a great new Disney snacks fabric that would be a lot of fun!)  I sent Lori some patterns for a knit skirt, knit cardigan and a knit Spirit Jersey style shirt... so we might try to tackle those at some point this spring or fall.  I've never sewn anything on a stretchy knit fabric, so that would definitely be a new challenge for us!  Whatever I end up doing, I'm sure that a I'll learn a lot and have fun doing it!  And I'm going to love having Eliot in the night class!

So, I'm one class down in my 16 morning and evening spring 2023 sewing classes.  It's probably going to be a little emotional, but I'm going to keep pushing forward and continuing to learn to honor my Nana.  I know she'd be proud of me and she would have gotten a kick out of Eliot taking class too!  This session is for you Nana!!!  °o°

Magical Merchandise: Hallmark Disney 100 Collection

The 100 Years of Wonder celebration is well underway and the merchandise for it has been springing up everywhere.  It's been hard to keep track of everything!

Recently, I've been trying to find some inspiration for my Magical Merchandise Monday posts.  There's never a lack of new merchandise, but I've been feeling a bit uninspired lately.  Thus, I've decided to make March all about items released for the Disney100 celebration!  Check back each Monday this month for some fun products.  And that's not to say that I won't write more posts about Disney100 products further down the road, I just thought it might be fun to focus on them this month!

I think the first non Shop Disney collection that I found out about was the merchandise from Hallmark.  They have had a lot of park focused merchandise lately, and I'm here for it.  Their collection is focused more on the iridescent and platinum colors, and much to my excitement... the items also have a lot of mint and aqua shades!  So let's dive in!

Hallmark is known for their Christmas ornaments so I wasn't too surprised to find this Mickey Ears Metal and Enamel Christmas Ornament.  It's really cute!

One of the most magical pieces in the entire collection is this Dream Wish Believe White Mug with Mickey Ears.  It's very unassuming at first glance, but when you take the lid off, the mug plays "When You Wish Upon a Star" and it will immediately take you back to the beginning of every Disney movie.  I've listened to it and it's amazing!

I'm also pretty impressed with this Set of Two Mickey Ears Glasses.  I don't really think that I'd use them as drinking glasses, but they would make great votive holders!

Speaking of candles, this Iridescent Mickey Ears Ceramic Jar Candle is really cute.  I love how shimmery the iridescent effect on it is!

This Mickey and Friends Iridescent Insulated Mug is also fun and sparkly.  (And we all know that I'm a sucker for anything iridescent and/or sparkly!!!)

Hallmark is also known for their nice collectible items.  I thought this Mickey and Friends Light Up Train Figure was really cute.  It lights up and has sound in it too!

I also like this Disney Mickey Mouse Silhouette Notebook.  It's perfect to journal in... it's been a long time since I wrote in a journal, but it would look great on my nightstand!

I'm a total sucker for plushies and this Gray and Iridescent Mickey Mouse Plush is no exception. I immediately wanted him as soon as I saw him!  He's adorable!

Naturally, I also need this matching Gray and Iridescent Minnie Mouse Plush!

This Iridescent Mickey Ears Ceramic Picture Frame would look great sitting on my vanity!  I love how it's simple, iridescent and has little pixie dust-like sparkles all over it.

Do you guys remember itty bittys?  I used to buy them all the time, but it's been a while since I got some.  These Mickey and Minnie itty bittys are a must have for me though!

I also love this Mickey and Friends Sparkling Plush Blanket.  I was immediately drawn to the shades of mint and aqua on it since it would match our bedroom.  It also looks like there are little metallic shimmers woven into it.  And it looks so soft!!!

I love Disney artwork; this Mickey Ears Layered Paper Framed Art is fun and simple.

Speaking of artwork, I didn't see these originally, but it looks like Hallmark has added an Assorted Box of Disney Character Blank Note Cards.  They're also known for their greeting cards, so this is no surprise.  I love how bright and fun they are!  They would be great for gift giving, sending a note to a friend or to use as artwork!

And last but not certainly least, I really love this simple and modern Mickey Mouse Ears Perpetual Calendar.  You can keep track of the day, but you can also use it to count down to your upcoming Disney trip!  I might have to get this too!

What do you think?  I absolutely love this collection and I think most of these products would look great in Eliot's and my black, white, gray and mint master bedroom.  I'm sure that a few of these items will eventually find their way to our house!  °o°

March Sadness

Tonight marks one week since Timo Meier got traded to the New Jersey Devils.  I wish I could say I'm over it and that I've moved on, but it's far from the truth.  

The past week has been painful... in more ways than one.  It started off with the Timo trade, and ended with what would have been Papa's 90th birthday... the first one that's happened since we also lost Nana.  So I've been in a depressive funk all week.  

And to top it off, I have a massive head cold that started setting in Thursday morning and has only manifested as complete misery this weekend.  What was going to be a productive weekend cleaning and organizing the house has turned into me sitting on the couch barely moving.  Severe runny nose, sneezing, coughing, major congestion... basically, the only bright side is that I've tested negative for COVID, twice.

I feel like I've completely wasted this weekend, even though there isn't much that I can do about it.  Eliot and I were in San Jose last weekend, and I had a million things I wanted to get done.  My parents were originally going to be visiting, but when they cancelled their trip due to the massive snowstorm we got yesterday, all I could think about was how much Eliot and I would be able to get accomplished.  Now here I sit... sick and not getting anything done.  Blah... 

My mood hasn't been great either.  I'm still salty about the Timo trade.  I absolutely hate the trade deadline.  The Sharks traded Mikey Eyssimont to the Tampa Bay Lightning mid-week.  He had showed promise the past 20 games with us- and had been playing on our top line.  Then, they traded Nick Bonino to the Pittsburg Penguins right after our Thursday night game.  (He was literally hugging Sharks goalie James Reimer out in the hallway- presumably right after he found out.)  Thankfully, those were the only other guys we lost before the trade deadline... but it still sucks.

Right now, about half the team are people we don't know.  Watching the Sharks the past few games has pretty much been a nightmare.  In the past two games, we've had a 2-0 lead... only to completely blow it in the 2nd and 3rd periods.  We just ended our longest home game stand with one win, five losses and one point from overtime (for the Chicago game Eliot and I went to in San Jose when we lost in the shoot out).  

It's depressing... and it's even more depressing that this is probably what things are going to look like for a while.  I'd be upset anyways about losing Timo, but by sending him elsewhere, it's like we're truly signing on to the rebuild.  As Sharks fans, we have been spoiled a lot over how much we've made the playoffs since we joined the league in 1991.  Now we are potentially looking at a multiyear rebuild.  Eliot and I are Sharks fans through and through... but I think this is going to be pretty painful. 

The only bright light on the horizon for the rest of today is that Timo might make his debut as a New Jersey Devil in their game against the Arizona Coyotes tonight at 7 PM.  As sad as I am that he's no longer in teal, I do feel happy that he's now on a playoff bound team.  Plus, the New Jersey Devils organization and the fans seem really happy to have him.  Eliot and I have watched two New Jersey games this week, hoping we'd see Timo, and they were ecstatic about it.  Apparently, Devil fans were literally chanting "We Want Timo" in the stands at a few of the games before the trade.

It still hurts that he is no longer a Shark, but I'm getting more accustomed to it.  During the first Devils game that Eliot and I watched the other day, they interviewed Timo during the 2nd intermission.  He seemed happy and excited to join their organization.  I also read an article about another interview where he said he was excited to get to work to help them on their way to the playoffs.  Seeing as the Sharks won't be in the playoffs for a while... this is a better position for him to be in.

Plus, the New Jersey Devils fans and their social media are absolutely thrilled to have Timo.  Seeing how welcoming they've been to him makes me feel better.  Truthfully, it's been nice to watch a team that's winning their hockey games.  The Devils are third in the entire league right now.  (Only behind Boston at #1 and Carolina at #2.)

So this is my life now.  It's weird... I feel like I'm suffering through painful Sharks games yet I'm excited to watch the New Jersey Devils.  It's twilight-zone like, but I guess this is what things are going to look like for a while now.  At least Eliot and I have plenty of former Sharks on playoff bound teams that we can root for!

Anyways, I guess you could say that my March isn't really off to a great start so far, but hopefully it will get better.  I'm hoping that my head cold goes away soon, so I can get off my butt and start actually getting some stuff done.  I think that will make me feel better once I can check some stuff off of my to do list.  I would really like to turn this March Sadness into March Cleaning and Organizing Madness!  °o°

Happy 90th Birthday Papa

Well, here we are... on a day that used to bring me such love and light.  I haven't been looking forward to it this year.  Not one bit.  Not at all actually... 

Today would have been my Papa's 90th birthday.

Today also marks the exact date that Nana's been gone for two months... 

So no, today isn't really something that I've been looking forward to.  It's been a dark mark on the calendar that we have slowly been marching towards.  But it's here now...

Man, this week has really sucked.  I keep trying to find the bright side of things, but my optimism is kind of failing me.  I just can't get out of the funk this week.  I keep trying to tell myself that at least Nana and Papa are together again.  But all that makes me think is that I wish they were together here with us.  Then I get sad, angry, and depressed... 

Then the cycle begins all over again.

Eliot and I still haven't seen my parents since Christmas.  So much has happened and we haven't even gotten that over with.  We've seen Eliot's family who lives in California twice in the time since we saw Mom and Dad.  Jeremy has been home twice already... so he's already gotten the whole seeing our parents and 'going home to the house without Nana in it anymore' thing over with... twice.  I feel like I'm sitting outside of this secret society just waiting for the moment when we'll have our time.

The moment when this is all real and not some horrible bad dream.  The moment when my heart is completely shattered into a million little pieces.

Yeah... super looking forward to that.  Not.

Grief hits everyone differently, and I know that I'm not immune.  For the most part, I have basically tried to repress any feelings that I've had.  It's probably not healthy, but I really don't know what else to do.  I can't change the fact that Nana isn't here with us anymore.  I'm comforted knowing she was almost 90 and that she lived a wonderful life.  I also feel proud that we did so much with her after Papa died.  She could have given up but instead she went to Walt Disney World again, twice.  We took her on not one, but two Disney Cruises.  We also drove with her to Virginia and back.

I'm ok with the fact that my 90 year old grandmother lived her life to the fullest and that it was her time to go.  But I'm struggling with other things that I probably shouldn't be.  

I'm definitely taking the Timo Meier trade harder than I should be.  And I know that it's misplaced grief, or whatever the fancy term for it is.  Eliot told me the other day that I've cried more about Timo being traded than I did about Nana dying... and that made me cry even more.  Because even though the two have absolutely nothing to do with each other, somehow, they're completely intertwined in my pile of grief.  Losing Timo from the Sharks isn't the end of the world... but when I was already feeling fragile to begin with, it was devastating.  And I can't seem to untangle it.

I'm trying to be kind to myself.  I cognitively know that grief is a rollercoaster that you just have to buckle up for.  It hits in waves that you won't see coming.

And the only small solace that I can find in this complete pile of hell, is that today used to be a day filled with joy.  My Nana and Papa were everything to me.  And although they are gone now, I have so many wonderful memories with them that I cherish.

Happy 90th Birthday Papa.  I hope you and Nana are celebrating together with lots of playful bickering, laughter and chocolate cake.  We miss you both terribly and wish you were here.  But I'm glad that you're at least together.  I love you.  °o°