My Experience at Touch of Disney

 

I figured I needed to blog about this event at California Adventure called Touch of Disney sooner than later so I didn't forget any details. My friend Mari and I were able to go together which I was really happy about! We had limited days we could go but Thursday worked best for our schedules so I picked Mari up by 9:30 and we started the drive. It takes about 3 hours to get to Anaheim from Ridgecrest.  We stayed busy chatting pretty much the whole way. We did eat some beef jerky and I had some Pringles chips but didn't want to spoil my appetite for all the good food in the park.

Christmas in Color - Idaho Experience

 

I was able to go to Christmas in Color while Tony & I were here in Boise, Idaho and this was really my first time going to something like this. I know Utah and other states do it but I just never took the chance to go.

 

Day 2 - CES 2020

Hey Google! And hey, good morning from CES 2020 on a bright and cheery Tuesday. Woot! Was super excited to start the day out at the main Convention Center and see some new things.  Keep reading to see what cool stuff I got to see and experience.

Day 1 ~ CES 2020

Another year, another great time being able to attend CES. I drove to Vegas Monday night and stayed with my friend Emily. I picked up my friend Marie at the airport and everything worked out so perfectly with that which I was relieved about. Usually, the Las Vegas airport is pretty lowkey and easy to navigate through compared to other airports I've been to.  We dropped off our belongings at the resort - they were so kind to let us check in early! Summoned a Lyft ride and we were on our way to the Sands hotel to start our day.

Luminaria Experience at Thanksgiving Point

Heading in to Thanksgiving Point there was a huge light up board that said the tickets for Luminaria were sold out and I worried so hard that we didn't have a chance of seeing the lights after driving about 45 minutes from Kearns to get to Lehi. I had tried to buy tickets online but the link wasn't working or the page just kept refreshing. So odd.

The Forgotten Carols - Re-imagined!

I met my friend Christine at the high school in Murray to watch The Forgotten Carols. This year had a new spin and we were able to see the "Re-imagined" version! Our first time getting to see this and their first year doing it this way. I wish I had taken a picture with Christine - she's a fun friend and always down to do something interesting. 

Cool Utah Lights

After going to Luminaria we stopped by a cemetery on Redwood Road and got a picture of this amazing tree covered with lights. Kind of made up for not going to Draper to see the "Tree of Life" this time.

Death Valley Day Trip

On December 16th I drove to Barstow to the train station where I picked up 3 girls who were living in the USA , studying, all the way from Russia! Kate (kind of the leader for the group) found me on Couchsurfing a month or so in advance and that's how we got connected. I think we were all a little nervous but we soon warmed up to each other and after a bathroom break, we all got in my zippy car and headed out to Death Valley for the day.

Joshua Tree Tour Guide

We hosted 3 girls visiting and studying the USA from Russia. They live in Kansas and Kentucky I believe it was. They wanted to go to a couple National Parks while they were in Ridgecrest for a night so on their second day we went to Joshua Tree for the whole day. It was such a fun adventure!

Christmas House in Ridgecrest, CA

Tony & his wife live not too far away from us and do an amazing job decorating their yard as an interactive activity for families during the Christmas season. Keep reading to see some more of the ways they change their yard - it's a lot of work!

The Scenario Studio

The Scenerio Studio is located in Beverly Hills and my friend Heidi & I happened to be able to go check it out on our way to Disneyland. Pit stop - success! It's a really fun photo experience for selfies and group shots with 6 different backdrops. 

BlogHer Biz Event - LA

I finally made it off the waitlist (thank you Megan!) the day before this BlogHer event and so that changed mine and Tony's plans for the day and I ended up driving solo to L.A. One of my least favorite things to do but usually worth it.  The drive was not so bad until I got closer to Santa Monica.

What was worse? THE PARKING. The email from BlogHer gave 3 suggestions of parking garages but I struck out with a couple of them so I tried to find street parking. Had to send Tony some pictures because the signs are so confusing, at least to me. Luckily I had decided to message my friend Megan and she was arriving close to the same time I was and sent me the address for the parking garage she was parking in. PHEW! We were able to park and walk together to the event.

Five Ways to Be Kind

These ideas are not new or super genius but I think they get forgotten in our day to day lives and interactions with people. From Wikipedia, "s Day is an international observance on 13 November. It was introduced in 1998 by the World Kindness Movement, a coalition of nations' kindness NGOs. It is observed in many countries, including Canada, Japan, Australia, Nigeria and United Arab Emirates."

1. Compliment someone

I know that this is something that I could be better at doing. Whenever someone compliments me I get so happy! I feel like I have pretty good confidence but when people compliment my outfit, eyes or smile, it really makes my day.

2. Contact someone you haven't talked to in awhile

I have a couple thousand Facebook friends and I am sure quite a lot of them are just inactive accounts. I wonder sometimes about people when I don't see them in my news feed. Take a moment to send them a message or contact them a way other than Facebook to let them know you are thinking about them. See how they are doing and what's happening in their life. Could be an old friend from school, a friend in another state or a sibling that you might not talk to very often.

3. Send a random gift

I love when websites have free shipping and coupon codes. When that happens, I often think of friends who might like a boost to their day and since I have a stash of addresses from collecting them for Christmas cards, it's handy and I can use a friend's address to send them a surprise. Everyone likes happy mail!

4. Go out of your way

I believe that when you do good things for people, karma will come back around and you'll have good things done for you. Even when it's not easy or convenient, taking a moment to help someone with their groceries, a neighbor with their yard or an elderly neighbor get their mail, doing something 

5. Be kind online

I used to use my Twitter for venting and while I still do that on occasion, I've tried to turn it around and be more positive. I get anxiety when I see so many mean comments left on news stories, Facebook statuses or Twitter updates. Even Instagram posts can get nasty and super judgmental. If I feel myself getting this way, I have a sister that is great about letting me vent about it to her or I vent to my husband about the situations. It's so much better (and nicer) to do that vs. leaving someone a mean or negative comment.

Leave me a comment with a way you are being kind to someone today since it is World Kindness Day after all ;-) 

Grandma's Funeral Day

The funeral was October 15th in northern CA. Tony and I drove up on the 19th and got to Woodland kind of late but we were staying with Linda and she doesn't mind so much so it all worked out nicely.  My dad and 2 of my brothers were driving from Idaho on Sunday and staying at my grandparents home in Rocklin along with my Uncle Ron.

Love Letters Museum

My cousin Joey and I got tickets to go to Love Letters Museum at the Gateway mall in Salt Lake on the last day they were open! Ahh. I'm glad we could make it just in time. The Italian festival was going on right outside (and a concert at the arena) which made it a little crazy to find parking and wade through the crowds of people but we made it and had an absolute blast. It was nice to wander as fast or slow as we wanted and not be rushed.

TruReligion Restaurant Experience

Cool floor!

S'mores hot chocolate!

My friend Nessa and I met up for lunch on my way out of Utah on Monday. This restaurant looked to have a good selection on their menu online and when I called (I got a late start) and asked how quick their service was, I was told we could just tell our waiter we were in a bit of a hurry (school pick-up!) and they could put a rush on our food.

Fervent Coworking Space - Orem!

Last Friday after the CVX Live after party, I was able to stop by this new co-working space because they were having a launch party and I wanted to check it out, snap some pictures and share all about it! When I walked inside, I knew it would be pretty awesome. Keep reading to find out more all about this new space in Orem, Utah.

A WEEK at Disneyland?!

My sister and brother in law invited me to go to Disneyland with them a couple months ago but it meant upgrading my pass. I managed to work that out, Tony and I got home from a trip Saturday and I went to church Sunday morning, unpacked, repacked and drove to L.A. Sunday night. Phew. Such a turnaround!

We stayed at the Camelot Inn. It was good..and bad. Good because we were right across the street from the park. Bad because there is only valet parking and it is $15/car or $25 for the 2nd car. Youch. I guess that's the norm for hotels around Disneyland now sadly. Last time we met up at Disneyland, my sister and her family had an Airbnb by Downtown Disney and it was free to park in the spot I had there. So nice. I'd prefer to do Airbnb in the future only to save money on the parking. Anyways, good because we had a nice view of the fireworks at night if we weren't in the park. Housekeeping was nice. Pool was okay (3-1/2 ft. the whole way across) and the hot tub was tiny! But had fun there with my nieces a few nights later. Overall felt pretty safe and clean.

I have my Mouse4Life pin, ready to enter the park! 

Ready to start a fun fun day!

The waits in lines were honestly not bad. Very happy about that!

Our first day was mostly overcast and not too hot which I was grateful for.

My sister on the ride ahead of me

Gotta take a selfie on day 1 at the park

Everyone but Shawn rode the teacups later that day

Then we went over to Star Wars Land so everyone could ride Smuggler's Run. I dont care for the ride but I tried it again. I think I do best sitting in the back. I am not sure I want to try the front, maybe someday. The middle seats were boring last time only pressing one button but the back gives you a little more variety. I didn't appreciate one of the workers being rude to me though and telling me to hurry up and buckle in. That just made me want to go slow! I know you have a long line of people to get through but I had to buckle my 4 year old niece in. Who was going to do it if I didn't? Grr.

Some pictures in Star Wars Land.

Went back to the hotel for lunch after meeting Ariel and Cinderella and had some chill time.

  

I am not so much a fan of going on Star Tours anymore, sadly, made me feel sick last time! It's never done that before. So while I waited, I got pictures with Captain Hook and Tinkerbell.

  

Aubrey wanted to ride every ride with me. It was like this a few months ago when she saw me for the first time since she was 1'ish...so cute! Although I felt bad that my niece Hailey who is 10, barely got to do any rides with me. It was either all 3 of us or the only one Hailey and I could go on was the roller coaster in CA Adventure.

One of my favorite rides! It's a nice one to sit and rest your feet on and the wait in line is never very long.

Trying to take a selfie on the boat is not easy, esp when you don't have a selfie stick!

We got to eat at the Blue Bayou a couple days later.

Some Tiki Room fun! I haven't attended this performance for awhile. Another great place to sit and rest your feet. Plus it's nice and cool inside usually. Only complaint is limited seating outside before you go in but not too shabby.

Got this dole whip with mango and mandarain oranges and candied bacon (which tasted like regular bacon) and pocky sticks. Hailey was really excited to eat some.

You can find some yummy treats besides the regular Dole Whip booth at the Tropical Hideaway.

In the evening we got to go to Fantasmic!

  

It's so amazing how they can project the images on to...water? Like, whoever thought this up was pretty genius.

  

The show was SO well done. I haven't seen it ever, or else I just don't remember.

Ahh I just couldn't take my eyes way. 

Finale! Soo many of the Disney characters were on the Mark Twain boat. It was fun to wave back as they cruised by. Definitely a show worth catching if you haven't seen it or haven't seen it lately. Make sure you get tickets for it first thing in the morning because it does 'sell out'. They do 2 showtimes which is helpful, 9pm and 10:30pm.

As always, if you are looking for the best prices on tickets to Disneyland, use Get Away Today. (affiliate) They even price match! 

Stay tuned for what we did on day 2!