Back to School Hop-It's Time For A Giveaway!

It's that time of year!

Welcome to the Back to School HOP!

To celebrate the start of a new school year some really awesome blogs and authors are giving away a lot of prizes! There are 121 pages participating so make so to enter them all for more chances to win! 

Master LIST here-->https://www.facebook.com/1morepage 
or here --> https://www.facebook.com/wickedwomenbookblog

Here at Making it Happen, I'm giving away three prizes since I'm also celebrating hitting the 1000 post mark!

A $5.00 Amazon gift card

An Amazon e-book up to $2.99

An Amazon e-book up to $1.99

Enter the giveaway in the Rafflecopter below, then head on over to the next stop in the hop, Rock Out With Sweet Reads! Have fun on the hop, and good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Keeping busy and other ramblings plus a giveaway on my FB page

Let me tell you...keeping up with a website, 2 blogs (yes, I know I've been on my Disney one a lot more than this one, apologies and that'll be changing soon), multiple Facebook pages, Twitter...plus trainings for my TA business (travel agent)...in addition to regular life stuff like my regular Mon-Fri job...I get sleepy just thinking about all that.  There's a lot of behind-the-scenes stuff that goes on for all the web and social media stuff-not just the tech things, but learning how to do the tech things too.  It can make your brain spin.  But I'm learning a lot for sure ;-)

The weight loss is going slow.  Like turtle through quicksand slow.  The last several weeks it's been down 0.2, down 0.2, down 0.2.  At this rate I might meet my goal by the time I retire.  I'm hoping as I add back in my workouts as my marathon training starts to pick up that it'll kick start something.  See, that huge 4.2 lb loss at the beginning was just a tease--I must have freaked my body out or something.  I'm thinking I might add hill training at a local park once a week to help change things up.  But at least the trend is still downward...much better than the alternative.

Before I forget ('cuz ya know, if I don't write things down they just totally fly out of my mind), my TA Facebook page is co-sponsoring a $100 Disney Gift Card giveaway with a bunch of other Disney-themed pages, so if you're interested (of course you are, who doesn't love free Disney money???), head over my Facebook page and check out the giveaway tab...liking my page will get you 2 entries to the giveaway--just make sure after liking my page that you log your entry on the Rafflecopter form on the giveaway tab.

And to celebrate my one-year anniversary as a TA, I'll be doing a separate giveaway on my other blog, The Disney World Files starting next week...it'll be a good one with several fun items going to the winner, so keep an eye out for it-I'll post it here once the giveaway is live.

That's it for now...be back in a couple days, I promise :-)

Memorial Day Weekend Sanibel Trip 2013

Just a heads up, many pics in this post :-)

You may remember last year for Memorial Day weekend I headed over to Sanibel Island, FL for some beach time with my mom.  This year, did the same thing except my brother also joined us (due to various reasons none of our spouses could make the trip).  I got out of work early from my “day” job on Friday so I made sure my bags were already packed so I could just toss them in the car and go.  

Mom had gotten the same condo unit we were in last year at Sanibel Arms West again and my brother already had dinner going when I arrived (thanks Ran, it was yummy!).  Went for a walk on the beach after dinner and a little relaxing while the sun went down.  

Lots of people had been writing things in the sand...one person had even drawn a HUGE floorplan of a house (you could tell by the things he drew in the rooms like furniture and appliances).  It was low tide and there were plenty of shells, though I only wound up picking up one--tiny, but it’s a stunner:

I was exhausted after a busy week at work (prepping for our annual open enrollment for benefits) so once the sun went down I crashed on the couch to relax and catch up on email and other computer stuff.  I wound up sleeping about 9 hours straight that night so I missed the sunrise Saturday morning, but I really needed the rest.  We went off the island Saturday to do some outlet shopping and have lunch.  Once we came back we stopped at a popular ice cream shop on the island called Pinocchio’s (located of course inside Geppetto’s market) where I came across their totally YUMMY “Dirty Sand Dollar” flavor.  Couldn’t pass it up--caramel, malted milk balls and chocolate chunks in a vanilla-based ice cream, sooooo good!  Oh, and every creation they serve comes topped with an animal cracker :-)

Yummy!

Got to bed at a decent hour so was able to catch the sunrise Sunday morning:

Sunrise to the left

Moonset to the right

And got two fun pics of me and mom on the beach (sadly, my brother had to leave that morning since he had to get back to do prep work for his cafe for the following week):

With the sunrise behind us...

Came across some more fund sand stuff:

Highlight of the morning?  Dolphins!  They were swimming in really close to shore (probably for the little bait fish that swim close in), I took these pics without the zoom from right at the water line:

It was nice to see many people running/jogging/powerwalking on the beach.  Me?  No.  This mini-vacation was for me to relax, relax, relax.  No work, no exercise, no nothing-I even forgot to bring a book to read so just sat in my comfy chair under my canopy tent (which I put up all by myself) and watched the water and the people...and the dolphins of course.  No thinking, no stressing.  Perfect.

After seven hours on the beach (!) we relaxed in the condo before heading out to dinner at Jacaranda.  I had gotten a $25 certificate from restaurant.com before the trip so we had a really great meal for a great price:

Mmm...filet medallions...

The only downside to Sunday?  Since I had put my tent up and wasn’t planning on being out in the direct sun, I didn’t put any sunscreen on my legs.  Normally they almost never burn, never tan-really, even as pale as I am, don’t know why...I mean, it takes me ages to even get a sock tan when race training.  You can probably see where this is heading, right?  Well, my tent isn’t a heavy canvas, it’s a more airy, breathable fabric...and apparently doesn’t block the sun’s rays very well as this is what I wound up with:

No lectures necessary, I already know.  It’s much better now, though I’m dreading the peeling part.  And even though the pic of the tent I posted shows the sun getting under it, that pic was from early morning when the sun was coming from the side-didn't take long for it to get high enough so the tent was casting shade on my legs.  So remember folks, even if you’re going to be under a tent, PUT THE SUNSCREEN ON.  Seriously.

Anyway, Monday dawned a bit cloudy so that made leaving to go back home to reality a bit easier.  It was a nice weekend spending time with my mom and brother, something I don’t do very often.  I’ll leave you with my favorite sand writing from the weekend (which I also texted to DH the night I took the pic):

What did you do to relax over the holiday weekend?

PS-Don't forget to hop over to my other blog, The Disney World Files...I'm doing a fun giveaway for a Vinylmation figure!  Please also share with friends and family-the giveaway goes until June 28th so you have plenty of time to enter (and many ways to get entries) and help me spread the word for my WDW blog :-)  I'll be giving away a Vinylmation figure once a month for the next couple of months!  Good luck!

And my favorite blogger is..........

April Blogger Challenge #8 (days 22-24...yes, I know it's behind)-your favorite blogger and why

You all know how much I love Disney, especially Walt Disney World.  I’m always reading up on new things happening at the resort, checking out different online forums for trip planning, park tips and so on.  Plus I usually visit anywhere from 4-6 times a year.  So it should probably come as no surprise to you that my favorite blogger is someone who writes about WDW.  Some of you may already be aware of the site-it’s Josh over at easyWDW.com.  

First off, he’s in the parks ALL the time.  He provides insanely accurate crowd calendars (I have never gone wrong using them to choose which parks to visit on which days), in-depth analysis of events and has just the right amount of snark and sarcasm to make everything he writes a really fun read.  Those of you who like a more straight-laced, serious approach might not like that but for me, I get a kick out of his comments and it makes for very entertaining reading material.  He’s always got great photographs too.  He interacts with his readers when they leave comments which I think is great.  If you’re looking for a really good WDW resource, be sure to check out easyWDW.com...even if you’re not into the snark, the calendars and information are extremely useful and thorough.

I do have about 40 different blogs I to which I’m subscribed-I use the Reeder app on my Mac to pull in all the posts for me so I don’t miss anything.  Maybe somewhere between 15-20 of them post regularly.  You can see some of my favorites here on my blog in the sidebar (“My Favorite Blogs”).  Most of them are running friends (hi guys!)...I try to rotate the list every so often so when some people aren’t posting so much-or at all- for a while, I’ll rotate someone else in, I just don’t want the list there to be too long.  

Just half of my list...

...and the other half

Oh, and my runners-up for favorite blogger?  Dana over at The Dragyn’s Lair, Heather at Through Heather’s Looking Glass, Megan at Elbowglitter, Amy at The point one will getcha! and Jess at Run with Jess.  But I like all the blogs I’m subscribed to-after all, if I didn’t I wouldn’t have subscribed to them-but these are some that just pop for me.

Who's your favorite blogger?  Are you a blogger yourself? 

Remembering Determination and the Importance of Support

Yes, I know I haven't posted for a couple of weeks but I'll address that in a different post.  I wanted to get back to the blogger challenge and catch up a bit.  I'm skipping the day 13-15 topic...I did two posts for the day 10-12 topic so in my mind, that makes up for the skip ;-)

So the next topic was to pick any picture from your Facebook or Instagram pics and write about it.  You can see the pic I chose above; I actually didn't take the photo (obviously, I'm the one the red hat!).

This photo was taken by a ROTE friend during the 2011 Disney full Marathon as I was making my way from World Showcase in Epcot toward Future World.  I would guess this around mile 25.5, maybe a bit farther, and by that point my feet were killing me, my back was sore and all I was thinking was "just keep walking, don't stop, one foot in front of the other".  I was focused straight ahead when I heard one of the ROTErs, Joey shouting at me, "You're doing it Carra!"  I saw him walking with someone else-I can't for the life of me remember who-toward World Showcase and waved.  He is the one who actually posted this picture on Facebook and tagged me in it (thank you Joey!), and was the last ROTEr I saw before I crossed the finish line.

Even though my body was overwhelmingly sore, tired and ready to just collapse by that point, hearing and seeing people I knew cheering for me continued to lift my spirits and drive me on.  I didn't stop-even though I really wanted to have the Photopass photographer take my picture when I got by the fountains in Future World-I knew if I stopped I'd never get going again and I just wasn't going to let that happen with the finish line so close.  I was DETERMINED to get my Mickey medal!

My point in choosing this particular picture?  The importance of support.  When I first started my journey into the running world, I happened to come across an online forum of people who were runners who loved Disney and running Disney races.  I've made a lot of friends from that forum and having them online for support, advice and friendship before and after races and especially along the course cheering me and everyone else on is invaluable and tremendously motivating.  I can tell you without any doubt in my mind that I would have never been able to finish that race if it wasn't for my ROTEr friends-especially those I saw from the point of exiting Animal Kingdom through the end of the race.  They helped spur me on and get me going enough to leave those sweepers in the dust.

I gave shout outs to them in my 2011 Disney Full Marathon Race Report post, but I just wanted to recognize and thank them again-Joey (of course-you're always there with such kind and supportive words before and after races), Erica (super big hugs!), Tracy, and especially Colleen and Dawn-if you two hadn't of been there outside of Animal Kingdom, I would never have been able to dig so deep and start running to get away from the sweepers that were closing in-seriously.

Don't ever underestimate the power of your support crew-whether they are there so you can just hand off a jacket, grab a drink, pass you some Twizzlers or just clap/cheer/ring a cowbell/hold a sign...or scream your name, jump up and down or honk their horn as they're driving by you on the course.  They'll help keep you going and give you that push you need to make it across that finish line.

And if you're looking for a group that will do all that for you-and so much more-be sure to check out Running of the Ears.  I know you'll be glad you did.  Here's some pics of the group:

This pic is from the Monday after the 2010 Marathon Weekend (my first half marathon)

A bunch of ROTErs at Downtown Disney at the start of race weekend 2010

A bunch of us volunteering at the mile 13 water stop at the 2010 Disney full marathon (see our red hats?)

Group shot before the 2012 Princess Half Marathon

Group shot before the 2012 Tower of Terror 10-Miler

Do you have a support group for your running/walking/racing?

Ya Gotta Have a Goal Part 2

So I’ve been doing this running thing since the Fall of 2008.  I’ve done 8 5Ks, a 10K, a Half Marathon relay, 8 Half Marathons, 1 Marathon relay (basically another half marathon since we each did 13.1 miles)...and one full Marathon.  Now before you go jumping to conclusions, I can tell you that NO, my other current goal is NOT anything longer than a full marathon.  And those of you who are my smartypants friends don’t go :poke: :poke: at me to consider it...it won’t work.  No, my goal is the Disney full marathon in January 2014.  

“Wait a minute”, you say, “you’ve already done a full marathon, how is that a goal?”   

I did my marathon in January of 2011.  I wasn’t in peak condition for it; My peak condition was Winter 2009/Spring 2010.  At that time, I had lost 45 pounds and was easily keeping a 15 minute per mile pace for the half marathons I was running and even got into the 14 minute mile range for my 5Ks.  For the marathon a year later, I had gained back about 20 of the pounds I had lost and finished in 6:59:09, a 15:59 pace...just barely making the pace cutoff (while trying to keep away from the sweepers...you can read about that in my race report if you’d like).  It was hard.  Probably the hardest thing I’ve ever undertaken and completed.

Me after my first half marathon-this was after losing 45 pounds

So why is it a goal again?  As I mentioned in my “Starting Over” post, I gained back almost all the weight I’d lost.  I’m basically starting from scratch again.  Almost worse than scratch since instead of regularly walking or even semi-regularly, I went almost all the way back to doing nothing after being swept at the Tower of Terror 10-miler.  Workouts and miles here and there...but no “real” training.  Plus I have that wonderful added bonus of all this extra weight back on again.

And so, this is going to be just like training for my first marathon...again.  I’ve already mapped out my training calendar through the rest of the year.  It is fairly straightforward through the end of August with no really long mileage until the marathon training portion starts so it’s more like a general exercise program until the end of summer...that way I can concentrate on the losing weight part, though I’ll still be doing miles at least 3 days per week the whole time.  As many of you know, trying to lose weight while training for a marathon can be difficult so I’m trying to get a head start on that part before the longer miles begin. 

I’d love to be at my goal weight before the time comes for the race, but that would mean losing about 80 pounds between now and then.  Just that part alone would be a HUGE accomplishment.  But with the long miles in the Fall and early Winter, I’ll be initially shooting for at least 60 pounds by race time.  The overall goal?  Finishing faster than my first marathon.  My more ambitious goal?  Finishing in 6:50:00 or less.  But as long as I finish without having to take a sweeper bus ride, I will consider my goal attained.  Again.

If you’re out there about to undertake your first full marathon journey, feel free to contact me...virtual training partners are always welcome.  Or if you’re just trying to lose a lot of weight like me...same thing.  Most of this for me is done on my own for various reasons which is really hard.  It’s so much easier to stick to a plan when there are others around that you don’t want to make excuses to.  If anyone out there wants to join up so we can all be accountable to each other (for losing weight or race training-virtual or otherwise), you can use the Contact Me page to get in touch.

What are some goals that you have?  

My goal?  This picture in 2014!

Ya Gotta Have a Goal Part 1

I’m addicted to Disney.  Most of you already know this...after all, my blog description up there at the top of the page does mention my “Disney obsession”.  One of my favorite things to do is plan my next trip to Walt Disney World.  I’ve even start planning (and booking and paying deposits on) trips that come after ones I haven’t even taken yet.  Many of those trips have been for runDisney events (8 events, 7 trips to run them with two more coming up); even more-LOTS more-have been just to go have fun in the parks.  I’ve been going to Walt Disney World for 35 years now, usually several times a year since I’ve been an adult.  Being at WDW just makes me happy-whether I’m riding the rides or just wandering around the parks people-watching; the whole Disney atmosphere just draws me in.

I love the planning and booking so much, I’ve started an additional career centered around it.  In case you missed it in a previous post, I became an independent travel agent, specializing in Disney destinations.  I can actually book any kind of travel (and have), but Disney is my main concentration.  Do what you love, right?  And lately I’ve been laying the groundwork to start really growing that business...more on that in a bit.

I also love doing Disney races (that fact I’m positive you already figured out...you have, right?  Well, unless this is the first post of mine you’re reading).  Races in general are fun for me and I’m one of those people who loves the bling.  But being able to do races at my favorite place in the world?  That makes it a thousand times better.  But Disney races don’t come cheap and certainly aren’t going to start going down in price.  I know there are many people out there that are thinking twice about them due to how costly they are becoming.  I may eventually become one of those people if the prices go too high, but that’s a decision for the future...hopefully far in the future.  Though even if the cost of the races themselves get to high, I’d still go to volunteer (my new favorite thing to do at Disney races when I’m not running one) and to cheer my friends on with my sparkly Running of the Ears sign.

GO ROTE!

A ROTE friend who was running snapped this one of me (thanks Gina!)

Anyway, the point is one of the reasons I went into business for myself was to help earn money to pay for my Disney (and Disney race) obsession...among other things.  And that’s where the growing-my-business part comes in to play.

So that is my goal right now-growing my business.  I’m working on a few things regarding marketing.  And I want to create a tie with my other blog, The Disney World Files as well--I believe that my blog and my business complement each other and each can help the other thrive.  It takes a lot of time to do the behind-the-scenes stuff; but for me it is so very worth it.  If you have the time and inclination, I’m always looking for feedback on my website, www.enchanteddreamvacations.com as well as my blog at www.thedisneyworldfiles.com (don’t worry, as long as you’re offering constructive criticism you won’t hurt my feelings-I know there are things I can do better).

And while this is an important goal for me, it’s not the only one I have-hence the “part 1” in the title of this post.  Part 2 will be coming shortly...stay tuned friends...

PURPLE!

Another just for fun entry :-)

So today’s topic for the April Blogger Challenge I’m doing is “favorite color and why”.  And I LOVE purple.  Any shade from the palest lilac to the deepest violet.  I even painted my office a lovely pale violet shade at one of our previous homes.

Yes, I am aware there is a difference in “purple” and “violet”.  I usually lean more toward the violet since it has more blue in it than purple.  If you want to read about the difference between purple and violet, click here for purple and here for violet to see the Wikipedia entries.

For me, the violet hues just feel relaxing and comfortable while the purple ones just make me feel happy...I can’t explain it better than that.

I also am a fan of red, especially the deep crimson shades...but purple/violet is and will probably always be my #1.  

What's your favorite color and why?

While you're here poking around, please don't forget to check out my fun test giveaway with a real prize located here.  It's a small but cute prize of a Disney Parks Growth Chart...I'm using this giveaway as a test for myself to try out the Rafflecopter widget (so far I'm really liking it, very easy to use).  I'm going to be growing both this blog and my Disney blog (The Disney World Files) and one of the things I want to do is host giveaways on both blogs so I'd love it if everyone would try it out.  Any and all feedback is appreciated!

10 Words That Describe My Blog-April Blogger Challenge #2

1-Disney-my biggest addiction!  Especially Walt Disney World...I can never get enough of WDW :-) 

2-Running-or, okay, walk/running...but still, I’m out there moving! 

3-Pictures-I like to include pictures with my blog entries, I think it makes them more interesting
4-Recaps-as in race recaps, I try to recap all of my races-not just because others may be interested in them, but as a way for me to be able to look back and remember all the fun (and not-so-fun) times.  Interesting tidbit?  My Expedition Everest recaps are my most viewed posts and continue to get views every week!

5-Lighthearted-most of the time anyway.  I prefer to have people smile when they read than have to break out a box of tissues
6-Honest-I don’t put fake stuff out there
7-Free-that’s right peeps, you don’t pay a cent for any of this content!  Okay, you had to buy that computer...and get internet service...but hey, you didn’t just get that to read my blog, right?
8-Friendly-I welcome everyone to come read.  Even if you don’t agree with something I say, as long as any comments you post or emails you send me aren’t nasty, derogatory or the like, everyone is welcome here :-)
9-Personal-yes, I am writing about my own life, experiences and opinions.  Not too personal of course (that’s reserved for only my DH) 

10-Growing-my audience has grown and is still doing so.  I’m looking at ways to expand pages within my blog, connect with other blogs and sites and just keep things interesting here.  After all, if there’s nothing to bring others here, it’ll just be me all by my lonesome...and that’s no fun, everything’s more fun with friends :-)

If you have a blog, what 10 words would you use to describe it?

Don't forget to check out my post from yesterday with my test giveaway.  I'm giving away a fun Disney Parks Growth Chart...just something simple to test out the Rafflecopter widget (my first time using it) to prepare myself for future giveaways on my Disney World Files blog.  I know the growth chart is not a big, fancy prize, but I'm just using it as a way to learn the Rafflecopter stuff.  Please try it out.  If you win and really don't want the chart (though you could give it to a friend or family member who might use it), I can treat you to a drink during any race weekend we're both at instead. Deal?

10 Things My Readers Don’t Know About Me

April Blogger Challenge #1

1. I collect full-sized swords and daggers.  I started at the first Florida Renaissance Festival that I went to and normally pick one (or more) up every time I go.  I’ve also picked up a couple at Epcot (one each from the Japan and China pavilions).  I’ve got some pretty cool ones, including these babies:  
   
   
   
   
2. I’m addicted to paranormal romance books (mostly Young Adult).  And there are a ton of them available for FREE in Amazon’s Kindle bookstore.  How addicted you ask?  At last count I have over 550 of them.  I think I need serious help (and no, I haven’t read them all yet but still check Amazon almost every day to see if there are any I don’t have yet). 
   
3. I can’t stand seafood...well, except for tuna fish sandwiches (but only solid or chunk white tuna, can’t stand that “chunk light” stuff-yuck!).  Can’t stand the smell, though I tolerate it when others are eating.  Funny thing is, when I was a kid I ate nova, lox and whitefish.  Now?  No way, no how, nuh-uh.  Good thing is, my BFF is exactly like me when it comes to seafood, so I’m not alone.
4. I have a horrible short-term memory.  If I don’t write something down when I think it or log it in my phone, I’ll forget.  Classic example?  DH and I stopped at a grocery store for a few things (I can’t remember what, it was many years ago).  He didn’t want to go inside and asked me-right before I stepped out of the car to enter the store-to also pick up a can of ravioli.  And yes, as you may have expected, that was the ONE thing I forgot...even though he had JUST told me a few minutes before.  And he has never, ever let me live that down.
5. I can fall asleep anywhere, anytime under any condition just...like...zzzzzzzzzzzzz
6. I’m actually shy in person.  I tend to stay on the fringes unless I’m with family or a group of close friends.
7. When I get in a mood, I can sit for hours on end watching through complete seasons of my favorite shows.  I usually start at the very beginning of a series and keep going until the series finale.  Of course this can take days, weeks or longer since I still have to work and do other life stuff.  And yes, I can watch my favorites again and again.  My faves? Buffy, Angel, Charmed, Firefly, Stargate SG-1, Stargate Atlantis and SG-U. 
   
8. I used to be a pretty good bowler.  I had an average in the low-190’s, a high game of 289 (darn 10-pin!) and two 700 series.  And then Hurricane Wilma decided to blow thru South Florida causing enough damage to the center I bowled in for it to close down...and I wasn’t going to drive any farther somewhere else so I pretty much stopped bowling altogether.  I tried to get back into it a few years ago, but my average never got above 165 or so (using my bowling balls from 5 years prior that had been sitting in a hot garage may have had something to do with that).  I don’t bowl anymore except for parties that might be held at a bowling center.
9. I don’t need much to keep me occupied.  I can curl up on a couch with my blanket and just start out the window and be content.  Or just sit reading for hours on end (do you get why I’m addicted to the Amazon Kindle bookstore?).  I don’t constantly need new books, shows or activities either-if it’s something I really like, I can read, watch or do it over and over again.
10. I never, ever thought I would become a blogger.  I’m just not the writer type.  Voracious reader and watcher, sure, but writer and blogger are never words I would have expected to be used when describing me.  Then I decided to lose weight, get in shape and chronicle my journey and it kind of snowballed from there.  Now I have 2 blogs that I try to keep up with.  So ladies and gents, never say never about anything...it might actually happen when you least expect it.

So, what don’t your readers (if you are a blogger) or your friends (if you’re not) know about you?  Were you surprised by any of the things I listed about myself today?