The Disney Playlist

Apparently some of you out there actually dug my obsessiveness over Disney and wanted to hear my playlist. So, I'm gonna give it to you, just not in list form. 

If you follow me on Twitter, then you know how obsessive I was over this playlist. It HAD to be perfect. Because it was going to be my only friend for almost 3 hours--I totally had conversations with the singers and may or may not have yelled and sung lyrics under my breath. Apologies to you if you were running next to me at those points. 

The Black Eyed Peas had a feelin'-- they wanted me to live it up, and jump out that sofa and get it crunk. DMB would've dug a hole all the way to China, unless of course they were there, then they would dig their way home because I am their Dreamgirl. I wasn't settlin' for less than everything with Sugarland. Beyonce and myself were up in da club, just broke up, and doing our own little thang because we are Single Ladies. (Not really, but that's how the song goes.) Rihanna taught me that I may be bad but I'm perfectly good at it. She's a little too into the S&M for me. AC/DC wanted me to get Thunderstruck. Bruno Mars told me to just say run, run, runaway, runaway baby-which I did. Lady GaGa was quite inspirational-- she told me there was nothing wrong with lovin' who I was, 'cause I am beautiful the way I am, 'cause God makes no mistakes- I was just Born This Way. Glee was quite inspirational is Disney-- they do love me, River Deep, Mountain High. Glee told me to run for my mother, run for my father, run for my sister, for my children and my brother because the Dog Days Are Over. They also told me that I needed some TLC cause I was a P.Y.T. They wanted me to Forget You cause the change in my pocket wasn't enough, but I just couldn't do it. My love was Ke$ha's drug. Tom Petty rescued me with You Wreck Me and informed me to Run Down My Dream that never would come to me. Pink wanted me to Raise my Glass 'cause we're gonna lose our minds tonight. Miranda Lambert was giving up on love, cause love's giving up on her. Eminem wanted to know if I had one shot to seize everything that I ever wanted in one moment, would I capture it? Yes, I will, just don't Lose Yourself, Marshall! I will be Bulletproof next time, just for you La Roux!! I should have Evacuated the Dancefloor, Cascada style, 'cause I was infected by the sound. I had that glitter on my eyes, stockings ripped up the side- Ke$ha style. Carrie wanted me to know about a good time Cowboy Casanova and wanted me to Undo It. I also needed to Pump It because BEP be reppin' it. Flo Rida was spinnin' my head right round- from the top of pole, he had me throwin' my money around. Taio Cruz came to dance, hit the floor cuz that his plans, and wearing all his favorite brands-- only because he is Dynamite. B.o.B. wanted me to pretend that the airplanes in the night sky are like shooting stars, because they could really use a wish right now. Jay-Z and crew told me that victories are within the mile... Life's a game and it's not fair, but Rihanna breaks the rules, so she doesn't care- Who's Gonna Run This Town Tonight?? I pulled out a Forrest Gump favorite, whenever I was Running On Empty- Jackson Browne style. Stevie Wonder was wondering about the writing on the wall, because he's very Superstitious. Jason Mraz wanted me to throw away any work to be done and let the music play on because we are going to party All Night Long.  And let us not forget that Eminem is who got me across that finish line. cause sometimes you feel weak, and you gotta look in you and find that inner strength. You know, til the roof comes off, til the lights go out, til my legs give out, can't check my mouth, cause I'm gone rip this **** til my bones come out. 

Yes I realize that was weird. I pulled my favorite lines out of each song. Here is real playlist. 

1. I Gotta Feeling --BEP

2. Dreamgirl-- Dave Matthews

3. Settlin'--Sugarland

4. Single Ladies- Beyonce

5. S&M- Rihanna

6. Thunderstruck-- AC/DV

7. Runaway Baby-- Bruno Mars

8. Born This Way- Lady GaGa

9. River Deep, Mountain High-- Glee

10. Your Love is My Drug- Ke$ha

11. You Wreck Me-Tom Petty

12. Raise Your Glass- Pink

13. Kerosene- Miranda Lambert

14. Lose Yourself- Eminem

15. Bulletproof- La Roux

16. Evacuate the Dancefloor--Cascada

17. We R Who We R-Ke$ha

18. Undo It- Carrie Underwood

19. Pump It- BEP

20. Cowboy Casanova- Carrie Underwood

21. Right Round- Flo Ride

22. Dynamite- Taio Cruz

23. Airplanes- B.o.B.

24. Dog Days Are Over- Glee

25. 'Till I Collapse- Eminem

26. Run This Town- Jay-Z, Rihanna, Kayne

27. P.Y.T.- Glee

28. Running Down a Dream- Tom Petty

29. Running on Empty-Jackson Browne

30. Superstition- Stevie Wonder

31. Forget You- Glee

32. All Night Long- Jason Mraz

Disney 2011

Hey, remember that time I went to Disney and then I couldn't stop talking about it and bombarding the blog with thousands of pictures? Yeah.. me neither.

Hey, remember that time I went to Disney and forgot a Compact Flash card for my camera? Yeah. Me neither. Luckily, my mother in law brought an extra card. Let's keep in mind that I shoot RAW normally. Let's also keep in mind that the spare card was 512MB. Normally my cards are 4GB, and that evens out to about 200 RAW pictures. So.. I had to shoot in JPEG. Which I am not used to. And I also had to be careful with what I took pictures of. There was no room on the card for bad pictures. Which, in the end, I was thought, "Hey, I can only take around 100 pictures, which cuts down on editing time!" But then.. I forgot I came with my step-dad. Who is a paparazzi. And doesn't delete pictures. And who burned me a disc and turned my 89 pictures into over 1,000 pictures. Insert panic attack over editing here. 

Moving on...

So, we went to the Magic Kingdom on Wednesday afternoon after we got to Orlando. I had visions of a wonderful family picture in front of the park.. yeah. That didn't happen. Addison didn't want to take a picture with me.

The park wasn't that busy, but everything we wanted to do, we couldn't, it seemed like. Rapunzel? The line was 2 hours long. Princess Tiana? Wasn't out taking pictures. So, off the teacups, it was!

My step-dad, Bill and myself, ready for the teacups!

Addison looking into the wishing well outside the castle

We ate dinner at Tony's and then rode the train around the park. 

We watched a little bit of the Electrical Parade.. Super cool stuff!

We ended the night late with both girls passed out from exhaustion. But, the next morning, we were having breakfast at the castle!! 

You walk into the castle and Cinderella was there to greet us. Watching Claire was adorable. She was so excited! She just kept touching Cinderella's dress and when it was time for us to go upstairs to eat, she just kept staring at Cinderella.

We saw Snow White, Sleeping Beauty, Belle, and Jasmine at breakfast. The food was really good and it was definitely worth the price tag to see my little girls. Claire wanted to follow Sleeping Beauty around. 

Once we got outside, The Fairy Godmother was outside the castle! Claire was so excited to see her too! But when The Fairy Godmother took her autograph book, C sat down and screamed, "NO!" Only my daughter would tell her Fairy Godmother "No."

I promise Addison was more excited than this picture shows

We tried to go see Rapunzel again, but her line was an hour and a half at 9:30, so we sent John to stand in line for Princess Tiana. Score! We were third person in line when they got there. 

The princesses loved them! Claire gave Prince Navine a kiss on the cheek and just kept hugging them. 

They were probably one of my favorites. Navine sounded JUST like in the movie and they stayed in character and kind of bantered back and forth!

We left the Magic Kingdom and went to Epcot for the day. We rode the Nemo ride, did Turtle Talk with Crush and tried to go find Alice and Mary Poppins for the girls... they weren't around when they were supposed to be, and hadn't been out all day. Don't know what was up with that. 

While we waited for Turtle Talk, Addison wanted to sing a duet.. "Fire"-- the Glee version 

They had these amazing topiaries out of the characters all around the park. 

I visited the UK.. and got in a phone booth- I've always wanted to do that! Yes, I am super cheesy. 

We ate lunch in Japan and then headed over to the Mickey and Friends line.. Claire hated waiting in line, but once she saw Mickey, she was sold. She would run to the characters and even cut in line. It was funny to watch the difference in how Addison was petrified of them and Claire runs over people to get to them. 

Giving Donald a kiss


John, Mom, Bill and I rode Soarin'... Wow. Everyone must ride that ride! So awesome! 

We called it an early day at the park and headed over the Downtown Disney to shop and eat at the Rainforest Cafe. The girls hated the animals and the rain storms that happen about every 30 minutes.

Friday, MeMac and Poppy and the girls went to the pool while the rest of us went to Universal Studios. 

We talked Mom into riding The Hulk rollercoaster.. she loved it!!! 

Of course we were there for one thing.. The Wizarding World of Harry Potter. 

Oh, I was in nerdy nerdy Heaven.  

The Hogwarts Express

They did a fantastic job with everything. I honestly wanted my Hogwarts robes and my wand and wanted to go to Potions class or something. 

Honeydukes!!! They really had Chocolate Frogs and Bertie's Box of Beans! 

"I wanna go to Hogwarts" 

We waited in an extremely long line for the "Forbidden Journey" but MAN OH MAN, was it worth it!! That ride is fabulous! It's inside the castle and the line wraps through the greenhouse, the dungeons, past the Fat Lady-- and the pictures really talk and move! And finally, we got to go through Dumbledore's office. Seriously awesome. 

After the ride, we headed down the another long line for a butterbeer! Y'all.. seriously delicious!! Definitely worth the $11 it cost per butterbeer. Yes, you read that right. $11. 

We did the Hippogriff ride and it was fun! Then we headed out of the park through the Dr Seuss area. 

We ate lunch at Bubba Gump and it was SO GOOD!! Seriously. 

Hi. I'm weird and don't know how to pose for pictures. 

Saturday we headed to Hollywood Studios. I, of course, donned a crown. My Princess race was the next day.. I had to get in character! 

Claire was excited and ready to go! 

We talked Mom into riding the Aerosmith Rockin Rollercoaster.. I wish I could ride it right now. :( 

I love Fantasia! 

No one rode the Tower of Terror.. they had scaffolding all around it.. No thanks. 

We rode the Backlot Tour and Addison didn't care for it. 

We ate lunch at the 50's Prime Time Diner and it was delicious but I had to cut my time short so I could go meet the Princess Media Group. 

I really love Disney. I wish I could live there. I promise not to talk about it anymore. Unless, perhaps, you might want to see my playlist for the race? 

Disney Princess Media Event Re-cap

Sometimes, while I am over tweeting about my life, something magical falls right into my lap because of it. (Hello? Flash Mob anyone??) The same is true for the Disney Princess Media Event. I was contacted through Twitter about this amazing event. At the time, I had no idea what it was, that it was for the Princess runners, and since I triple puffy heart Disney, I may or may not have done a happy dance about being a part of anything Disney related.

Let me tell you, Disney did NOT disappoint. Since my plans involved my family and staying at a different resort from the rest of the group, I was picked up and taken to meet everyone at the Polynesian Resort. Wow. Oh wow. I've never been inside of this hotel, but it was like stepping into another world. Beautiful lobby, complete with ladies handing out lais at the door. 

I was introduced to everyone and quickly realized that I was in the presence of some of my running blog idols. To say I was starstruck, was the absolute least. 

We boarded our own bus, which had all kinds of yummy snacks and water and were taken to ESPN's Wide World of Sports for a private tour and a little shopping at the Expo. 

We had a welcome dinner with Ethan Zohn and Jenna Morasca from Survivor. Then, we received a pep talk from the amazing Jeff Galloway. He is super nice and answered questions from us. 

We also had a special guest join us... Minnie Mouse! 

We were taken to a wonderful dinner at Mama Melrose's at Hollywood Studios.. and man, oh man, was it delicious. The conversation was awesome, as well. I also realized that Selfish Mom and myself had sat across from each other at Blissdom too-- how awesome is that??

I was dropped off back my hotel and found a wonderful surprise from one the most awesome friends in the world. 

If you don't know about Sherri's Berries.. you are missing out!! They were delicious pre-race and post race. Thanks Becca!!! 

The Media tent didn't disappoint for race day either.. private bathrooms, danishes, prime seating for the finish line-- you can't get much better treatment than that. After the race, there was a brunch and lots of great conversation! 

I had to part ways early to catch my flight, but I am sad to say that I missed out on an awesome Sunday afternoon. The rest of the crew watched the Braves vs Mets game then went over to Disney's Palm Golf Course and had a golf lesson followed by a presentation by Chef Gary Jones. They ended the night with a special dinner at Bistro de Paris in Epcot and watched the Illuminations Fireworks Show. I mean, I don't think it can get much better than that. 

Well played, Disney, well played. I am not sure if I can go back to being a regular Disney runner now. I am spoiled. 

I stole this picture from AskWifey

Do you see the running greatness?? Ask Wifey, Long Legs on the Loose, Run Faster Mommy, Running with Babes, CutieBootyCakes

I seriously had an amazing time. Thank you so much for including me in this awesome bunch! 

2011 Disney Princess Half Marathon Re-Cap

I decided to go ahead and just do the actual Race Re-cap before I went through the entire trip.. I must warn you, if you hate pictures, running, or Disney then you will hate this post.

Disney really does a race right. Except for the fact they start so dang early. The alarm went off at 3:00. I was on a bus by 3:30, and made it to the Media tent- which was awesome. We stayed there for a little bit, and I got to use a line-free bathroom! Win! Snapped a pic of the outfit before hand- had to wear the flash mob gloves and ended up adding a houndstooth ribbon to the pony since Natalie couldn't believe I didn't have anything Bama in my outfit. 

This is the video I took... iMovie was hating me this morning and wouldn't let me add pictures, so there are no pictures.. sorry. Kind of makes it a crappy video. 

Mile Marker 1.. yes, every mile is marked with these.. no I didn't take pictures of every one of them. Just most. 

 The Princes'.. didn't want to wait in that line.

 Running through the toll area of the Magic Kingdom

 The Nascar Experience- didn't stop there either.

 

I'm proud to say, I ran up this hill.. but it was about the only one. 

 Beautiful sunrise!!!! This is also where I tripped up some girl by accident.. sorry lady. Yes, I did hear you complaining about me to your friend. Get over it.

 Ahh... yes! This is was so crowded.. you couldn't even run.

 What up, Buzz???

 Yes, I waited in a long line for Alice.. and I paused my Garmin while I did it.

 

 Also waited in line for Jesse.. and look like I am doing the pee pee dance.

 

 

My Fairy Godmothers.. You better believe I stood in this line!

Golf Course... took this just for Pa Bill!

 I would like to say, that the first half of this race was incredible. I was running, only walking to take a picture or wait in line. Coming through the Magic Kingdom was an amazing feeling to still feel so freaking good. It started to go downhill on the backside of the course. It was crowded and we were down to one lane of runners. It was difficult to pass people and I was pretty much at the mercy of the runner in front of me. My hips started feeling achy and I tried to stop and stretch them, but honestly couldn't figure out a good stretch for them, as they don't normally hurt. 

Fire Fighters... just for me!

Twizzler.. also just for me. It happens to be my favorite candy. 

I feel bad for the randoms in all my mile marker pictures.. but, what are you gonna do?

  

 

 Goofy!

 Not sure if you can see the sea of woman running down the two line. Just glad all those women are behind me!

 Coming up the entrance ramp and the incline and curve really made my knee starting talking to me. It started cramping on the backside, not really hamstring or calf, but somewhere in between, and that minicus area started hurting pretty bad. Like, I was hobbling at points through the race.

Victories within the mile...

 John, Addison and Claire met me before the entrance of Epcot to give me a kiss and it was a great mental boost and what probably helped contribute to me not collapsing.

 As we started out of Epcot, I honestly thought I was going to collapse. That my legs were just going to give out on me and I would end up on the ground. I just hoped that I wouldn't break my phone if it happened. The band singing GaGa didn't help me. Nor did the Gospel Choir, which I was looking forward to. I turned up my music to drown out all sounds and concentrated on the words. I found it very fitting that my last song was "Til I Collapse" by Eminem. As I rounded the last corner and saw the finish line, I gave it everything I had in me. I sprinted. Not a fast paced run. I was hauling a** across the finish line, weaving in and out of people. My chest started hurting but I didn't care, the faster I ran, the sooner I could get to the medical tent. I was so out of it after I crossed the finish line, I almost forget my freaking medal.

Luckily, my MIL snapped some pics of me crossing... I am in some serious freaking pain and I think you can tell. 

 After getting my knees wrapped in ice and telling John I was headed to medical, which I think kind of freaked him out, I headed back to the Media tent... a nice Mimosa was what greeted me. Probably not the best first drink after 13.1 miles, but I definitely thought I deserved it.

 I stopped and chatted with my fellow Princess Media runners, but split so I could head back to the room to lay down and try to rest my body. I was done. I could hardly celebrate with the fam. I was exhausted, mentally and physically.

 I haven't ever felt like I did Sunday after a race. Like I couldn't have taken another step if my life depended on it. And, I was mad, people. I tried to conserve my energy for the back half of the course so I took it easy in the beginning. Which, hindsight- I would've pushed myself more in the beginning, because my body started falling apart on me on the back half and wouldn't go any faster. I was slightly depressed Sunday afternoon. I couldn't be happy about crossing the finish line. I had to analyze what I did and what I could do to improve it.

Anyway, I am better today. But I am looking at another half at the end of April.. I gotta get a redemption race in! This race just doesn't settle with me and I have got to erase it. It ticks me off to have a horrible second half of a race in a magical place like Disney. I guess I have officially been sucked into competition with myself.

I cannot say enough about how organized and generally awesome Disney is with their races. This is my second one and they really pull out some stops. It didn't hurt to be a part of the Media group and get some special treatment, but I will tell you more about that later-- trust me, you will be jealous!