Once a mouseketeer...

I feel like I will always want to work for Disney. No matter how many times I go, get homesick, & come home I end up missing the magic. I honestly only came home for my mom & my best friend. But sometimes I wonder if I left a good thing. Sure, the pay is awful, but I can work my way up eventually. Plus the job search over here is basically not happening. I'm not good enough for anyone I suppose (shows you what they know ;) ). It's been on my mind lately more & more & especially because I went to Universal after Christmas...which is the point of this post :)

The Wizarding World of Harry Potter is just as magical as Disney World. I miss ya butterbeer!

That one time it was Christmas...

1. My bestest pals & I got together to help Courtney put up some of her Christmas decorations. We had inappropriate conversations & we named our little "group". Good times.

2. You know you're in the south when....

3-5. Just your average self timer shots.

One night I wanted to try out bookeh pictures so Eric & I went to downtown Baton Rouge to play. I didn't have a tripod, it was super dark, & I was on manual with a lens that only drop to an f-stop of like 3.8 or 3.5 (one day I will be a proud owner of 50mm)...so I'm proud of them.

Happy late Christmas!

Resolutions

I've never been one to have resolutions because I feel as though I put too much pressure on myself. I'm goal oriented, but some goals I set are too high or too far fetched to actual achieve. So this year I'm making a few big goals for myself & then set smaller ones each month (and maybe weekly) to help accomplish the big goals.

The BIG goals:
1. Get another job.
2. Save money to go to NYC in May & maybe for NYE.
3. Move into an apartment.
4. Better my photography.
5. Loose weight.
6. Blog more.
7. Eat out less.
8. Read more.
9. Become more relational-- that includes Jesus, friends, etc.
10. Be happy & forgive.

I'll set small goals each month for each of these big goals & blog about how it's going. I'm hoping this will keep me accountable even if I'm the only one reading :)

Self Reliance

The pastor at my parent's church started his sermon today with a statement that shook me... 

"We weren't made to rely on ourselves." Obviously, he meant that without Jesus on our side we can't really do anything. But I spent the next next 45 minutes (because pastors really like to talk...) thinking about how it made me feel.

I'm a weird 23 year old young woman. It seems like every one in my small southern town has one goal in life: to get married before 25. It's like girls start dating boys just to have security...to know that they'll get married, they'll have kids, they'll have someone to take care of them. 

I don't want this. I have no desire to get married any time in the near future. I have no desire for a big house covered in wedding pictures. Settling down is not on my mind. My only goal is to be self reliant.

I want to know that I'm earning everything myself, that I can be independent, that I can do things on my own. I have friends who think this way, but then their parents hand over money, rent, food, etc. I'm not saying that my parents don't help me out, because they do, but I want to make it on my own feet. I don't need a husband to take care of me. I was given my body, my spirit, & my brain. I can take care of them myself.

I am a 23 year old young woman. I am independent. I am strong. That is all I have to remember.

“Trust thyself: every heart vibrates to that iron string.” 
― Ralph Waldo Emerson, Self-Reliance

Goals

When I turned 23, I wrote a few goals down for the year. I like to feel like I accomplished something as I break down each year when I realize how old I am.

23 before 24

1.   Find a job

2.   Move into an apartment

3.   Get down to 120-130 pounds

4.   Buy more vintage clothing

5.   Determine a style

6.   Save money/create a budget

7.   Be more active/get outside more

8.   Collect more music

9.   See more shows

10. Paint my nails more

11. Spend time with more friends

12. Read more

13. Be creative- more DIY projects

14. Cook/bake more

15. Journal daily- even a sentence

16. Take more pictures/bring camera(s) to places more often

17. Become more outgoing

18. Drink less soda

19. Find a church

20. Read the Bible daily

21. Upload pictures from my phone DAILY

22. Blog more

23. Be happy!

Uneventful

Let's talk about today.

It was super uneventful. I woke up super early (okay 7:00am is moderately early) & brought my bestest friend to the New Orleans airport. It was a nice drive & we ate lunch together at Subway...I know so charming!

After that I kind of just came home, cleaned my room up a bit, ran some, ate some, & read some.

This is said best friend, Eric. He watches House Hunters with me, so he's awesome in my books :)

He also buys me sunflowers.

These lamps line the road leaving the NOLA airport. I like them.

That is a scary cloud eating a pretty sky. Sad.

I looked over & saw that Harry Potter was giving me a disapproving look. Sorry, Harry.

PS: Just a heads up, most of my pictures will be iPhone/instagram pictures. Super lame, I know, but the only camera I have is a Nikon D80 & I don't really tote that around on my adventures to Walmart.

Life as of Lately: Take 2

Let's try this again.

I'm back from Disney. Surprise, surprise...I can't stay in one place for too long. That's probably not a great quality to have, but WHATEVZ. I've been frantically searching for a job for 2 months & I finally found a little part-time work. Hopefully it will turn into a full time job with benefits and etc. I learned a life lesson from this though, MY CHILDREN WILL HAVE A LEGIT MAJOR. They'll thank me.

So how about a picture dump from the past 6 months? 

My beautiful friend got married in June!

My best friend is Cinderella & she is a beautiful princess :)

That's the door dedicated to cast members on Main Street in the Magic Kingdom. It's great being a Photopass Photographer because you're friends with them all & they'll take whatever pictures you ask them to :)

I turned 23 & made funny faces all night.

I FINALLY met the Tremaines. 

I got to kiss Donald Duck :)

I made some pretty fantastic friends in Disney, but Disney just wasn't for me. I'll always love it & I will always vacation there & brag about how I worked there, but there's a time for everything...a time to enjoy something & a time to let it go. You just have to know when to say goodbye :)