10:50 am, 04/18/05 is when it all began...

Here's a picture trip of the past two years... enjoy!

Earth Day - April 22nd

Hello all ~ Earth Day is April 22nd I wanted to let everyone have a "cast exclusive" desktop wallpaper for the day. There are four "flavors" so please click on the one you want, when it loads in the window you need to right click and then save as... all of these are 1280 x 1024, I thought it better to be safe than sorry. Your computer will make it fit!

Happy Earth Day and do your best not to be Environmentally challenged!!

Answer of All Answers

The following is an actual question given on a University of Liverpool chemistry final exam. The answer by one student was so "profound" that the professor shared it with colleagues via the Internet, which is why we now have the pleasure of enjoying it as well.

Question: Is Hell exothermic (gives off heat) or endothermic (absorbs heat)?

Most of the students wrote proofs of their beliefs using Boyle's law that gas cools when it expands and heats when it is compressed or some variant.One student, however, wrote the following:

First, we need to know how the mass of Hell is changing in time. So we need to know the rate at which souls are moving into Hell and the rate at which they are leaving. I think that we can safely assume that once a soul gets to Hell, it will not leave. Therefore, no souls are leaving.

As for how many souls are entering Hell, let's look at the different religions that exist in the world today. Most of these religions state that, if you are not a member of their religion, you will go to Hell. Since there is more than one of these religions and since people do not belong to more than one religion, we can project that all souls go toHell.

With birth and death rates as they are, we can expect the number ofsouls in Hell to increase exponentially.

Now, we look at the rate of change of the volume in Hell. Because Boyle's Law states that in order for the temperature and pressure in Hell to stay constant, the volume of Hell must expand proportionately as souls are added.

This gives two possibilities:
1. If Hell is expanding at a slower rate than the rate at which souls enter Hell, then the temperature and pressure in Hell will increase until all Hell breaks loose.
2. If Hell is expanding at a rate faster than the increase of souls in Hell, then the temperature and pressure will drop until Hell freezes over.

So which is it? If we accept the postulate given to me by Sandra during my freshman year, that "it will be a cold day in Hell before I sleep with you," and take into account the fact that I slept with her last night, then number 2 must be true, and thus I am sure that Hell is endothermic and has already frozen over.

The corollary of this theory is that since Hell has frozen over, it follows that it is not accepting any more souls and is extinct....leaving only Heaven, thereby proving the existence of a divine being - which explains why, last night, Sandra kept shouting "Oh my God."

THIS STUDENT RECEIVED THE ONLY "A"

Speed Racer

I was so proud of Dani today at her track meet. She runs the 110 meter hurdles and the 800 meter. She is constantly finishing fourth on the hurdles and does her best every time she goes out on the track. I have always told her from the start that as long as she gives 100% of her best then that is all I can ask. She comes back a little gloomy and I ask her, did you give your best. She'll say yeah and things are better.

She originally didn't want to run the 800 meter race and was a bit disappointed when Coach said that it was her event. The first week she ran the first lap and walked most of the second with a super burst of energy at the end giving her a time of 3.40. The next two meets were about the same but the walking became less, she learned to pace herself a little bit better and her times went down 10 seconds each time. I always told her I was proud of her ~ and I was because Lord knows if I did it then I would be dead on the field with my inhaler hanging out of my mouth!

Tonight she did her hurdles and owned her fourth spot. She is okay with that especially since she hit her ankle on the 2nd to last hurdle. Dani pulled through and never missed a bit. She came back and listened to my Disney mix stick and continued to stay warm. She ate her apple and drank her Gatorade. The 800 was called, she gave me a kiss, I told her I loved her and to do her best. She was in Lane 2 with the other 9 girls who run it for her school (there were around 30 girls total). The starting gun goes off and it's on from the beginning. Dani got to the front group of girls and she paced herself. First lap round I holler for her and tell her she's doing a good job. She went around the bend for the second lap and I was prepared for her to slow down but it never happened! She rounded all the corners and was still running ~ even got a burst of speed at the end and passed a couple girls!! Dani came in around 10th place with a time of 3.15 and I was so proud I could have cried.

She hugged her coaches and they all told her "Good girl, way to go" and she ran up the stands to hug me with the happiest smile I have ever seen. You would have thought we won gold in the Olympics! I told her I was so proud of her for doing such a great job but the best part was she was proud of herself. Her goal has always been to just beat her own time and do her best to get around and never stop but today she was on cloud 9.

My Mom Is Better!!

Yeah, I hate to say it but my mom is better than your mom. Yes, she can be fussy and condescending and manipulative ~ apparently it is a mother's right or something. BUT, she can also be very sweet and loving and understanding.

My mother is also very creative and talented. She made this quilt for me and simply entitled it "Amy's Quilt" so 100 years from now when it has been passed down through the years and ends up in a book somewhere, we will both get credit.

She made a traditional sampler quilt with little touches of me. I love that my mom can do this kind of stuff. Always have, even when I was little. I would have the special clothes that my mother made me. They were special for a ton of reasons but mostly because there wouldn't be another one like in the whole entire world. I would have little dresses with penifores, sweaters, shirts, skirts, bags.. anything at all. I would have pictures and ceramics and pillows that would be completely original to me because my mother made them.

Other kids would walk around bragging about their clothes and where they bought them. I would just smile. Sure, their parents cared so much they went out and bought something for them. Mine loved me more because they made me something. Kids would always ask where I got something and I always got to say that "my mom made it". Everyone, even teachers, would come over and check out my outfit and be amazed at my talented and gifted mother... actually, they still do.

I have a dress made of the green material on my quilt. I have only worn it once so far, on a bad date but that is besides the point, and even then I had strangers come and ask me where I got my dress because it was so pretty. I told them, just as I did as a little kid, that my mom made it for me. I still smile really big when I get to do it too. Yeah, I'm 34 years old but my mommy makes my clothes. My mommy makes my kids clothes, quilts, sweaters, bags and just about anything else you can imagine.

So yeah, my mom is better and the best part is... she's mine.

Happy 15th Birthday DLRP

When Disneyland Resort Paris premiered April 12, 1992, it was somewhat of a homecoming for Disney. France played an interesting role in Walt Disney’s life. His lineage can be traced back many centuries to that region of the world. His distant ancestors adopted the name of their hometown Isigny-sur-Mer in Normandy and became known as “d’Isigny” in French. Over the generations, this became “Disney.” Walt also spent several months in France as a teenager, driving ambulances for the Red Cross at the end of World War I. He returned to France several times throughout his life, and was inspired by the nation’s storytelling heritage to produce such classic animated features as Sleeping Beauty and Cinderella.

Today, as the No. 1 tourist destination in Europe, Disneyland Resort Paris continues to grow. Crush’s Coaster and Cars Quatre Roues Rallye, both based on hit Disney•Pixar films, will open this June. Early summer will also bring a new high-speed train line to the Resort’s Marne-la-Vallée station, making it more convenient than ever for residents of Eastern Europe to visit. And next year we’ll premiere The Twilight Zone™ Tower of Terror, sure to be as wildly popular with our European Guests as it is at every other park.

Friday the 13th Traditions

So every Friday the 13th there is a tradition at the Disney Reservation Centre to wear your ears. I do not know how it got started but I really like the idea. Before my cast members came in I had stopped by Company D and purchased 20 sets of ears, 10 Gold and 10 TieDyed. Each time one of my team showed up for their shift I would have them close their eyes and reach in the bag.

I do not normally work on Friday but because of Dani's track meets I have been working some strange times. Come to find out that only five of my team members work on Fridays so it was a very small group indeed! I took pictures of them all together and will have to email it home so I can post it because it was a lot of fun.

They actually requested that I save July 13th for them... now I have to come up with something cool to do. Any suggestions?

Disney Legends

I work in a place where legends are made. They do phenomenal things that no one ever thought would be possible. They were laughed at for the ideas and were told that they were "follies". People waited for us to fail, time and again we were told we would with complete conviction.


There are times when my position as a cast member simply becomes "a job" and I hate it when that happens. People come in without pixie dust and stupid things get in the way. I don't want to ever feel like what I do is "a job" because I know that no matter what happens in the future ~ I will never find "a job" that I love as much as this one.


All of my life I wanted to work at Walt Disney World. I used to joke around and tell my friends that I wanted to be Dopey when I grew up. People laughed at me and said that it wouldn't happen, at least not the way I was thinking. They said that I would never get to work at Disney because things like that just don't happen. Guess what, they do!


So the next time you watch one of my spots, or see one of my billboards, or hear one of my songs you can bet the I am pretty much swelled up with pride. Our Year of a Million Dreams celebration ad spots make me want to cry. They touch me and not just because they are really good but because I am a part of that magic.


I try to get on the phone every day so that I can continue to make magic. Do Leaders normally get on the phone ~ shoot no!! They avoid it all costs. I could probably count the number of Leaders (and Leaders of Leaders for that matter) who can still book a reservation on one hand and still do the Disney Point. They lose the Guest feel and excitement because they don't interact with them. When I go to the parks I always say hello to the princesses I pass (calling them by the name of the princess costume they are wearing), I give directions if I see a group huddled into a map, I take pictures for couples and families so at least one shot will have everyone in it, and I celebrate whatever button they have on that day.


Do they know I am a cast member ~ nope. Do they care that I am a cast member ~ probably not. Do they appreciate what I have done for them ~ yeah... Because I am the magic of Disney.

Johnny and the Sprites

Perks of being a Cast Member

We cast members have a site that we can log into from home to get to our work email and stay in touch with what is going on all over property. We also use it at work because it is just a great source of information regarding anything you could possibly want to know regarding us. It's called The Hub.

This magical, mystical website is only available to cast members and one of the other things we get is called The Disney Newsreel. It is a really cool online newspaper that is put out for us to see what is going on all over property (US, Hong Kong, Japan, Paris, etc).

Here are some of the really cool images that I was able to capture from different volumes of "the reel" and once you see them, you'll understand why I had to use some of my "magic" to keep them forever.

Be good poppets until next time.

Color Spash - David Bromstad

Okay, this man may be gay (not sure) but he is very hot and I have a slight crush on him. His eyes are beautiful, he dresses smart, his body is solid and he smiles like a child. Uh, how could you not want to just run up and squeeze him?

David came to fame from an HGTV show called HGTV DesignStar where he won and earned his own television show, Color Splash. He has a lot of interesting ideas, some are things you could use and others are way out there ~ makes you turn your head to the side like a puppy who heard the word "cookie".

One of the things that the Home and Garden Television website has is a Color Code! It describes your color personality. All you to do is mouse over your favorite color and it tells you all about your personality.

Mine is pink, right. So I moused over it and it says that "Pink is playful, innocent, flirty and fun. Romantics love pale pink hues while dynamic personalities go for shock value with hotter shades." I think that is a bit like me, what do you think? Either way, go here and try it.

Dulldrums

Do you ever go through a spell where you don't want to go to work? No matter how much you love your job, you would rather spend your time doing other things. Perhaps cooking, writing, reading, knitting or playing with your kids.


Take today for example. I ran up here to get cleaned up for work and do my daily post. I can hear Sami downstairs yelling at Mickey Mouse on the television. She really gets into her morning Playhouse Disney! MMCH is like her little soap opera... she laughes, she cries, it becomes a part of her. Who would want to leave that and go to work?

My mom is sitting downstairs with a beautiful new quilt that she is working on covering her lap. It is actually for me!! I'll post a picture when she is done but who would want to leave that when you could sit down with her and work on your knitting?


Dani will come home after school today with her "egg baby" to take care of, sharing stories of the days events before bounding off to her room to draw. Later on she will emerge to play with her sister... a 14 year old who actually plays with her 2 year old sister. Who would want to miss that and go to work?


I know when we move I will have enough time to sit and ponder all these things... the posts then will be probably about how I could never be a stay-at-home mother because it would drive me insane. Oh well, we always want we can't have I guess. All this rain has given me the dulldrums... sorry to share.



Off to get cleaned up and leave all this... for work.

Happy Monday

I think we should all grasp Mondays like my little Sami. Most people grumble and roll over, not wanting to get out of bed. Little Samantha wakes up, rolls over and then hollers at the top of her lungs "Mama, I wake". This of course is my queue to get out of bed and go fetch her so she can start her day.

On the way down the stairs she starts her morning salutations. "Hello, Nana", "Hello, Sissy", "Hello, PopPop" and of course "Hello, Abby oh so sweet". All of these are uttered in this order until each of the people have been seen, hugged and properly helloed for the morning.

We then proceed to get dressed and brush our hair to which we are constantly asked if we can "peas wear tutu" and I will always agree. She has about three tutus that are worn on a regular basis. Two just are skirts that can go over our outfit while the third is a full body suit tutu that we can wear when it's warm. Today was too cold but she really wanted to wear it ~ Mama got creative and it was a win-win for both of us.

So I think we should all use Sami's philosophy on how to start the day:

1. Let the world know you are up and ready for business


2. Say hello to everyone you meet and greet them warmly each day


3. Get dressed and neat for the day


4. Always wear the appropriate tutu because you never know when you may need to dance.