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...

And the Winner is...

So my first giveaway came to a close and that means it was time to pick a winner!  Congratulations to...................... Amy, my first giveaway winner!

And thank you so much to those who participated...while there were not a ton of entries (probably due to the simple prize I put up since this was a test run), I was able to see exactly how the Rafflecopter widget worked, figure out how to customize some things and so forth.  It was so simple to use and I love how you could see all the information from the entries in one nice spreadsheet.  And picking a winner is simple-just click the button.  So if anyone out there is looking for an easy way to run an online giveaway, yes I do recommend Rafflecopter (in case you hadn't figured it out yet).

Now that I am familiar with the widget, I'll be planning other giveaways for this blog and my other blog, The Disney World Files.  Of course the giveaways over there will be Disney-related...I hope my readers over here will check out my Disney blog...feel free to suggest topics or offer any feedback.  I'm working on expanding that blog with more frequent posts, adding informational pages, adding the giveaways, possibly guest posts and so on.  I've already changed the domain name from a blogspot one to www.thedisneyworldfiles.com to make it more official/professional (big thanks to my DH for helping me out...he's my computer guru!).

Now back to my regular scheduled blogging program...

ONLY the Marathon

I already knew I’d be doing the full marathon at Walt Disney World for January 2014.  Once they made the announcement about adding a 10K and Dopey (doing the 5K, 10K, Half Marathon and full Marathon), I was also thinking I would add on the 10K since it’s on Friday and the Marathon isn’t until Sunday...what’s another 6.2 miles, right?  Well, now I can rest easy knowing I’ve saved $100...the 10K has already sold out.  And that leads me to the title of my post...I’m ONLY doing the Marathon.  Betcha never thought you’d hear that phrase coming from me, huh?  That’s right, I’ll JUST be doing 26.2 miles for the weekend.  Ha!

Well, I’ll be getting 26.2 miles of fun on the same course from the 20th anniversary year.    Apparently there will be a new marathon medal for 2014 so at least I’ll get one different from the one I got back in 2011.  I’m planning on volunteering again, probably one or two shifts at the expo as well as the 5K and 10K.  I’m planning on cheering for the half again as well...need to be there on Main Street with my glittery ROTE sign!

Should be another fantastic trip...who’s coming along with me?

Oh, and don’t forget, if you’re headed to Marathon Weekend too, I can help you book your trip...just drop me line ;-)

Here's some memories from 2011:

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!

Is The Indulgence Worth It?

Losing weight is hard.  Well, for most people anyway.  It gets harder when you get those sugar cravings, those I’ve-got-to-have-something-sweet-where’s-the-darn-chocolate type of cravings, know what I mean?  And you know how the elusive “they” tell you not to deprive yourself, just have a small portion of that craving every so often so you don’t go overboard by doing something crazy like eating a whole gallon of ice cream or an entire cake because you haven’t had any sweets in forever?  I do totally agree with that philosophy...I mean, if you’ve been having something all the time in large quantities and you stop eating/drinking it cold turkey, sooner or later the dam will break and you’ll find yourself sitting on the floor surrounded by empty containers of those old favorites.  And you’ll feel miserable about it to boot.

I was in Publix the other day picking up a few things and I was having one of those cravings.  Yes, bad timing for the craving to be going on while in a grocery store (especially while in Publix with their heavenly bakery cakes).  Anyway, I came across these little mini-cups of Ben & Jerry’s ice cream.  They’re very small, you can see by this pic where I have it next to an 8-oz can of tomato sauce how small it is.

 The serving size is right about a half cup--which is normally what a serving size of ice cream is considered.  Pretty inexpensive-only $1.15.  It came with a tiny spoon in the lid, too.  Maybe they think the tiny spoon will make the ice cream last longer so you’ll feel more satisfied eating the little portion.  I say “little portion” because, even though a half cup is considered a serving size, who really only eats a half a cup?  Measure yourself out a true half cup of ice cream and you’ll see what I mean...even when you get ice cream at a scoop shop, a single scoop is more than a half cup.

So back to the title question-is the indulgence worth it?  Well, it depends.  This particular indulgence-a half cup of B&J’s Cookie Dough ice cream-will set you back 250 calories.  Yes, you read that right.  250 calories.  So for me, I would need to do at least 2 miles just to work this tiny half-cup of indulgence back off.  And honestly, even with the tiny spoon making the eating of the ice cream take longer...still not terribly satisfying.  Did it taste good?  Heck yeah!  But overall--not worth it...not at all.  Especially since the portion size is so small.

What to have instead when I crave something like this?  My go-to desserts are by Healthy Choice-their Pomegranate Blueberry Frozen Yogurt Bars (90 calories, 1 gram of fat) or even better, their Fudge Bars (80 calories, 1.5 grams of fat, 4 grams of fiber).  Both are much more satisfying.  Another choice I like is making Jell-O sugar-free pudding, especially butterscotch or chocolate flavored, and topping it with a small dollop of Cool Whip Free or Cool Whip Light.  All of these are less than half the calories of that mini-cup of ice cream and are also more filling.

Now, I’m not always a good girl and I do sometimes cave and get the “bad” stuff.  But it happens, I shake my head afterward and move on.  I’m working on it...a work in progress...and like I said, losing weight is hard.  I just have to make the right choices.

Do you have a sweet tooth?  What are your go-to treats that fit into your eating plan? Yes...I am looking for ideas LOL.