Weekend Review {9/14}

FRIDAY

Teh German's last day at his CHS company and my last day of having the house to myself.  Because of house selling woes, no workout in the AM, but I did get up at 0415 since my brain wouldn't STFU.  I tried to nap during lunchtime and again, with the nonstop brain noise.  Unfortunate since our evening would be spent driving.

My runDisney virtual race medals arrived.  I have already completed 2 of 3 5ks to earn these medals, and I would have completed the 3rd one had we not gone out of town for the weekend.  Oh well, I've been told there's cool weather on the horizon for next weekend and if I don't knock it out before then, I'll definitely get it done by next weekend.

I'm taking it easy on myself because there's a lot going on and I need to stop wrapping myself up in everything.

Are there things cuter than this Floofernoodle with her crazy hairs?  I think NOT!

We couldn't leave for our weekend getaway until FedEx delivered Teh German's new job equipment.  I guess it worked out that Teh German didn't get home until 4 on his last day because FedEx didn't deliver until after 6:30 and I had been harassing Teh German to call FedEx and validate that his shit would definitely be coming so we weren't just waiting around for nothing (and me missing Teh NY Chef's bday dinner at Halls).

We were pretty much ready to leave after FedEx delivered.  I just had to switch on all the lights and pull the dog beds to the garage since we were having an open house on Saturday.  Teh German and I had a huge blowup as we were trying to load up the dogs so that definitely fits our Friday evening standard.  Ugh.

We managed to get on the road by 7, stopped at Chickfila for dinner (my peace offering to Teh German), and made it to the AirBnB shortly after 10.

Once we got the dogs settled, we had a beer and then it was bedtime.

SATURDAY

We spent most of the day on the screened-in porch since it was raining all.day.loooong.  Meri was on high alert the entire day looking for squirrels and critters in the trees.  Pax and Sandy were also curious, but they did at least settle while we had coffee and screen time.

For lunch, we decided to drive into Greenville (SC) and grab bbq from Moe's BBQ and visit Liability, the brewery next door.  We had Moe's when we were in Steamboat Springs and I kept mentally willing us to be back in CO, but it didn't work.  Oh well, SC it is for a little while longer.

We had a few beers at Liability, Teh German finally talked to me about his aggravations (which always helps soothe things between us, even if I get butt-hurt about whatever he says at first) regarding my stress and house selling, and then decided to go back to the house and be lazy/productive.  I planned for a nap, Teh German planned on accomplishing his onboarding tasks.

Shuffles wouldn't settle until a bed was brought into the bedroom for her to be within umbilical cord distance of her Mahm.

After my nap, Teh German and I took the break in the rain as an opportunity to walk down to the lake.  If it hadn't rained all day, I'd have considered taking the canoe out on the lake, buttt alas.  I didn't even bother to get my feet wet, but the property was super cool.

Thirsty bitches, lol

We opted to order Mexican for dinner and I went out to pick it up.  Then we spent the evening on the porch listening to music/the rain and scrolling.  So much scrolling.  /shrug.

Eventually it was bedtime.

SUNDAY

Checkout time was at 11 on Sunday.  I tried to get late checkout, but the host had already agreed to let the next person check in early (which I feel is kinda crappy, but I'm selfish, kthx).  We left right at 11 and headed to Eggs Up Grill, since the local place I'd wanted to check out was, of course, closed on Sundays.  Because there seemed to be a lot of people inside, I ordered online and went inside and picked up our order when it was ready.  We ate in the vehicles since we didn't want to leave the children unsupervised in the cars and it's still too hot to leave them in the car without the air being on.

After we ate, we gassed up, then headed back to Charleston. 

When we got home, we moved back in and turned off all the lights.  We also moved the First Child Room bed, now Teh German's Office, outside to the front porch for porch pick up.  I used Teh German's FB acct to post on the neighborhood page that the mattress/box spring/frame was available for FREE and if it didn't disappear it'd be going to the dumpster.  Thankfully, the mattress/box spring were gone by the time we went to bed.  The frame is still on the curb, but I imagine the scrap medal scavengers will probably pick it up before the trash truck comes and if not, it will be relocated to the construction dumpster.

We had early dinner and then finished Community.  Did I cry at the actual emotional parts of the final episode?  Yes.  Was the emotion ruined by whatever what shit was at the end?  Yep.

Eventually it was bedtime, since some of us had to work on Monday... but not Teh German as he is unemployed until Tuesday, lol.

______________________________________________

While being out of town for the weekend was good, it was also a flop for the root reason.  No one came to the Saturday open house and only one person scheduled a viewing after the open house.  Because I'm an asshole, I semi-forced an open house on Sunday as well, where we only had 1 showing.  Siiiigh. 

Here's the Megan reality.
The realtor made me feel put out of my own home, which is why we left for the weekend and why I was a twat when there were ZERO people at our open house on Saturday and forced the Sunday open house.  She had been confident about raising the price of the house last Tuesday and.. she's the professional, so we went along with that.  I had doubts because of statistics another realtor had shown us about pricing compared to viewings, but I let greed rule and the realtor seemed confident about raising the asking price, so we agreed.  She had made me feel like our house would be constantly occupied by strangers all weekend long and kept asking me, "what will you do during showings?" 

Sunday, while she was here for the open house, she sent me a screenshot about a deadline for offers from Redfin and how that was a good indicator that we were priced right.  Then, this morning (Monday) she messaged me about lowering the price because she had been anticipating more interest over the weekend.  Let me just say, this roller coaster is NOT for me.  I told Teh German that I feel like she's experimenting with our sale and the price because she wants to sell something at that figure.

Either way, Teh German and I agreed to wait until next week to make a determination about lowering the price since we're not in a hurry to sell and it would look sketchy AF to lower the price less than week of listing it.  So all those dream stories of a house selling in 12 hours?? I should have known better to put stock in something that happens so commonly actually happening to us/me (the crack fall-er-through-er).

So that's disappointing, but part of our chat at the brewery was about me not being psycho about selling the house and me letting it go and just letting it happen (and the irony of who that came from was something I had to stifle my laughter on).  It also really helps that Teh German will now be home during the day and everything will not fall on me to take care of (also part of our chat). 

Speaking of Teh German being home.  He set up his office (RIP First Child Room, lol) this morning.  He will purchase a chair and chair mat today and maybe some other accessories and pick up the Sam's order.  One less thing for me to do!  YAY!  I had actually considered taking First Child Room as my office, but all my medal and diplomas are on the walls in the downstairs office, so I stayed where I was.

Teh German's Office with a view.

First visitors!

So that's where we are...
Now for me to actually get to do some work, that'd be great!  My workmates don't seem to be in a hurry for me to pick up responsibilities which is nice and infuriating because I want to do things but at the same time, it's nice being able to handle all this personal crap (as I've said before). 

Thoughts and prayers are probably needed for my realtor because I'm ready to throttle her, but I'm trying to be cool, and I'm 100% very much NOT cool.  Also, Teh German and I both being home all day.. definite thoughts and prayers for that.  I'm curious to see how it will wash out and what our new schedule is going to be.  I'm giving it another week or so for things to really set up.  I've already been warned there will probably be a pot of coffee always on during the day.. because Teh German drinks that much coffee!  /horror emoji lol 

Onward to new situations!

Five on Friday #125

EINS

This week's shit:

-My chemistry teacher seems to have a bad habit of having homework due dates posted and then AFTER they are due, she announces that they are not going to be due then.  She gets ONE more time of doing this before I call her out in front of the class.  Something to the effect of, "If this is going to be a regular occurrence, do you think you could start changing the due dates well ahead of time so I can stop having anxiety attacks while doing 4+ hours of chemistry homework that isn't due for another few days?"

-After Brit posted about perfectionism this week, I realized maybe I need to be better about letting myself off the hook a little bit.  That means accepting my test grades mostly. 

-A quick grade round up as an update:

• German test: all 95+'s.  Ain't no thang.  2 years of Duolingo may finally be amounting to something.  Who knew.  Additionally, we've had several vocab and essay tests to this point and I don't even discuss them since they definitely do not stress me out.
• Computer Science test: 94.  I expected a little lower honestly.  Some of the points I missed was because math.  Seriously, I said 3^2=6.  It's 9.  #Meganfail
• Math test: I got a 78.  I missed 5 points because I didn't put T/F on a group of questions, so I probably could have gotten at least an 80 if I had read the directions.  This was the test that I said, "I either confidently failed or passed."  I knew I wasn't going to do that well, but that doesn't mean I wasn't disappointed with this grade.  I was an A/B student all through high school and apparently those expectations never go away.  No matter how difficult the subject matter.  #Meganproblems
• Chemistry test: I got an 80.  I felt like I had done a little better than this, but it is what it is.  An 80 is still a B and that's an acceptable grade in my head.  79 would have been a disappointment.  

-My leg crack HS bump/BJB has been on high alert since school started, but this last week it has been extra miserable.  I was just enduring it and it wasn't going well.  It was difficult to walk and sit and mostly do everything.  Part of the reason I was enduring it was because I needed to do some lady-scaping because I knew that putting a bandaid on when the forest was at it's worst could only lead to even more pain.  I finally took care of the grooming situation on Thursday morning and applied a bandaid.  IT WAS LIKE A CHRISTMAS FUCKING MIRACLE.  No more pain every time I moved!  CRRRRAAAZZYYY!!  Like I had purchased those bandaids specifically for that purpose (truth).  FYI, I probably lost at least a quarter of a pound from my ladyscaping + shaving my legs.  Ya'll it was bad... let's just say, I'm glad Teh German is European. Ha.

-It's been shark week around these parts and it absolutely wiped me out.  I had to take afternoon naps after getting home because I couldn't stay awake.  I would wake up tired and then still fall right to sleep at bedtime.  It was rough.  I was also taking naps in my car before class since I usually have an hour to burn since I get to campus so early to avoid traffic.  At the same time, I bumped up my anxiety meds from 5mg to 10mg and it was too much.  I cut back to 5mg just in case.  I may try to bump back up on a week that isn't girl week and see what happens.  If I go back to my exhausted state, then 5mg is my magic number and I'll stick with that.

-Speaking of anxiety meds.  I believe they are working.  Shit that would be the end of the world, no longer is.  It's nice to feel level headed about life again and not always on the edge.  One of my coworkers said to me, "Oh, I thought you were all talk about the anxiety meds," after I said I had started them and I thought they were working.  Uhh, really?  Do you know me?  I finally explained to her that I'm not suicidal, but I know that my anxiety levels were constantly elevated.  When you are operating with high levels all the time, the smallest thing will set you over the edge, very much like what was going on with me.  Someone being slightly late for an appointment would set me over the edge.  The rage would overwhelm me and then I'd be exhausted from the overwhelming rage since I was already on high about everything else.

-Pinterest has a way for you to make ads go away, which I usually do.  I noticed a new option this week: "I just don't like ads."  ME!  THAT'S ME!  This is convenient since FB recently refreshed their algorithms recently and I spent 2 days hiding ads.  Now if FB would give me that option, I'd be set.  But seriously, just because I have a wedding board doesn't mean I need baby shit on my wall.  #ByeFelicia

ZWEI

Things I spent money on:

• Groceries.. and beer (which I will not be buying for another month).
• Teh German informed me that I would definitely be buying beer again in October since we will be having guests coming.  I completely blanked on his family being in SC for the wedding and he definitely gave me crap for "forgetting".  It's not forgetting, it's knowing that I'm barely around as it is.  He can take care of all that.
• Coffee x3 (if this is my new vice, then I'm just going to accept it.  It was girl week and I was dragging ass all week.)
• Shipping to send my wedding band back.
• Wedding bills: catering, flowers, plates/etc, unity thing.
• Walmart things (laundry soap, halloween candy, etc things)
• Lunch at Codfather...

DREI

From my phone:

Chem lab selfies while my experiment boiled.
Do you like my super awesome paper towel vent so my goggles don't fog up?  #hightech

The money I spent on this bad boy was TOTALLY worth it and all I want to do is flip through the book over and over and over.  It helped that there was a code for free extra pages.  I paid about $45 for a $150 book.  #likeaboss

If you like apple Jolly Ranchers, you'll like these.
If you're like me and do not like artificial apple flavor, pass.

Parks and Rec Easter Egg during the DoD Cyber Awareness training.
Of course Andy would call while I'm in the SCIF.
PS.  Do not judge my score.  It was my 2nd time this year doing that training and I was annoyed.

How Meri spent her 4th birthday:
Eating our Krispy Kreme while we were at work.
It's good she's so damn cute.

To finish off her day, we watched Mad Men on the upstairs TV so we could give her some extra birthday snuggles.
She didn't even complain a little bit.

 Teh Running Bestie is going to be so pleased to see this.
We're finally purging some of the mismatched dishes.

We received a set of dinnerware from our registry and I told Teh German that these were going to go.

I kept one set of the mismatches dishes until we receive the 2nd set I ordered (to have a total of 8 pieces each) or after the wedding when we buy the 2nd set.

How does a rancher keep track of his cattle?
A cow-culator

I forgot to selfie with the first joke of the week.  It was:
Why do cows wear bells?
Because their horns are broken.

It was cow week.  Next week I finally get to start incorporating some Halloween jokes.  YYYaaaassss..

VIER

From the internet:

It's definitely a click-bait site, but I thought these were hilarious. << Guys thoughts about menstruation.

FÜNF

10 things that made me happy this week:

1. Riding Bagheera to school.
2. Walmart Grocery Pickup.  Not going in the store is really a treat.
3. Passing my chem test with a B and passing my CS test with an A.
4. Scheduling my hair/makeup appointment for the wedding.
5. Receiving our first wedding gift (dishes, woot!).
6. A light homework week.
7. Starting Mad Men with Teh German.
8. Eating Marshmallow Fruity Pebbles for dinner.
9. Having survived my first full month of College Round 2.
10. Being able to write simple Java code with minimal frustration.

Happy it-almost-ain't-September-no-mo-Friday, Gentle Readers.

Confessions {4/12}

-When parts of songs only play in one earbud or the other, it freaks me out.  Like, are my earbuds broken?  Wait, there's singing in one ear and music in the other.  Interesting effect.  Was that on purpose?

-I finally posted our engagement pics on FB.  I still can't pick a favorite.  We're going to have a MegMo shrine in the living room.  I just know it.  #notsorry That's why I'm paying this guy so much money.  #SelfShrine  I wish they had watermarks, butttt it's fine.  Our engagement photos were taken by Nicholas Gore.  Full album here.

-I know I could have posted all the engagement pics here, butttt that seems like something that should have it's own post and I didn't feel like that is necessary.  #atthistime

-Doing 1 wedding thing last week helped me feel better about not accomplishing invite things, so now I'm good for another few weeks, at least.  #countingdown

-I've started buying milk based on when it expires.  Not just like selecting which one I want (whole, 2%, 1%, skim, etc) then the date, no no.. I check all of the them for the furthest date and that's the type of milk we have.  #efficiency

-Pretty sure this is one of my more epic FB statuses:

On the scale of professionalism from very to not, where would "Took an Uber home after utilizing vodka and children's juice boxes from work fridge to numb the pain," fall?

-My brain has been struggling with the proper use of passed and past.  I second-guess myself every time I use either.  #grammarnazilife

-I took a lot of shit this weekend for shooting so many flower/tulip photos.  After seeing some of the gems on my camera, #NOTSORRY #NOTSORRY #NOTSORRY  I might not be great at animal or people photography, but daaaaaaayyyyuuummmm I can shoot flower pics #likeaboss.

-I've had the desire recently to go "walk around" Target.  I know we need some supplies (toilet paper), but "walking around" generally results in me buying things, which I like to avoid doing.  It's complicated.

-Last year RunDisney did a virtual run event.  Essentially, they send you medals for "running"..  IMO, this is a cop out.  It's a cheap way for them to make some money because people collect medals, especially Disney medals.  In fact, it took about 3 virtual runs for me to realize that I didn't "earn" those medals.  That isn't actually true, but it is.  I did the run, but it wasn't like I showed up for a race.  I usually just counted one of my normal or training runs as the virtual run, which is NOT the same at all.  Anyways, RunDisney is doing another virtual run event this summer and I want to punch someone.

-This whole United thing..  I've not really read into it at all, but my question is, how many times has this happened before and it wasn't documented because cell phones didn't exist.  These passengers and however many people are pissed off and upset that it happened, but he claimed he was a doctor and not any of those other passengers volunteered to take his place as tribute.  So thumbs up to the asshole who recorded the video (I assume knowing exactly what they would do with it), maybe before it got to that, someone should have just volunteered?  People will always find a reason to find fault with everyone but themselves.  #Ihateeveryone

-When Teh Running Bestie and I attended the Flowertown Festival thing I finally found a vendor for a Japanese Maple for the front yard.  They were super awesome and explained the differences in trees to me and listened to me inaccurately describe what I wanted and they were able to show me what would best work for me and let me pick.  Because I was out of town last weekend, I couldn't meet them at the Farmer's Market to pick it up, but I am planning on taking care of that this coming weekend and I'm pumped!

-Pretty sure my bra was crying from being overworked and being tired and relief when I took it off on Monday night.  I wore that poor bra Friday, Saturday, Sunday, and Monday.  It wasn't even one of my favorites... so that extra sucked.  Things I've forgotten in the past and won't forget again: pajamas, socks, underwear, toothbrush, and now.. BRAS.  #gross

-I'm a spaz.  When Teh PT Wife tossed one of my Cadbury eggs into the trash that fell out of a bag that was laying on the top of the fridge (she thought it was just laying on the top of the fridge), you'd have thought that someone had been stabbed.  I scanned the garbage for it, but I wasn't digging through the trash for a mini Cadbury egg (only because I knew I had 3 more stashed away).  #MyPrecious

-Teh Dental Hygienist and I bought towels for this weekend since there weren't enough.  She tossed her in the garbage on Monday morning and I'm like, NOPE.  That's a perfect dog towel.  I did pick it off the top of the garbage and put it in it's own grocery bag for the ride home.  #MegantheCheapo

-I haven't been back to the Chiro since I officially started physical therapy.  I struggle paying the Chiro $25 when Teh PT Husband and pop my back and I'm already seeing him for my hip AND paying him $25, which actually goes towards my in-network insurance.

-Teh German gave me a back rub last night.  I bribed him (with things from Asheville) and then had to beg him to actually do it.  Super relaxing......

-Why is Sean Spicer still associated with the US government?  That said, why are soooo many people in leadership roles in the US government still associated with the US government?  I'm embarrassed and I can't figure out how these people remain in their positions.  #Idontknowyou

Disney World vs Disneyland

Are you tired of hearing about Disney yet?  Never?  Cool, me either.

I went to Disneyland thinking I was going to be someone that was partial to both parks.  I had read that you can't really compare Disney World (WDW or DW) to Disneyland Resort (DL) for various reasons, but compare I did.

For the first half of this post, I'll just compare the parks.  The 2nd half I will compare the runs.

I have zero experience with any of the Disney parks that are not in the US, so if you're looking for info on Disney in Paris, Tokyo, Hong Kong, or Shanghai, you're in the wrong place.

The Parks

At WDW, there are 4 main parks:

• Magic Kingdom (where the castle is)
• Epcot (where the pretty ball is)
• Hollywood Studios (where Star Wars is)
• Animal Kingdom (exactly what it sounds like)

At DL, there are 2 main parks:

• Disneyland
• California Adventure

At both parks there are also various Disney hotels/resorts to stay "on-property", significantly more at DW than DL, but this is logical because DW is HUGE compared to DL.

All the parks require at least 1 full day to enjoy them, but more is better if you can handle it.  There is no way to do everything in a single park in a single day at any park, it's just not possible.

Insider trick: How to tell the difference between DL and WDW castles?  Sleeping Beauty's castle (DL) has a moat around it, so it has a drawbridge. Cinderella's castle does NOT have a drawbridge.  Cinderella's castle is what you see on the Disney logo when you see a Disney movie.

WALT DISNEY WORLD

DW is a HUGE place and you can completely immerse yourself in all things Disney and not have to deal with the real world at all if you are staying on-premises.  This is good and bad.  Shit is expensive at Disney.  Don't deny it.  Yet there are perks to staying on-premises at DW.

• Transportation from the hotels to the parks and from park to park.  Buses, monorail, boats (no kidding).  You don't have to pay to park during the day.
• Disney magic 24/7.  
• Magic Bands (also available to annual pass holders)
• gives early access to Fast Passes for rides to schedule Fast Passes in advance instead of at the park the day of
• stores credit card info so you don't have to carry your wallet with you, just swipe your band at check out and it automatically charges to your account (awesome and dangerous)
• act as the key to your hotel room

If you are afraid you're going to run out of things to do on vacation, DW is the place for you.  There is no shortage of activities in the park, at your (Disney) hotel, or even in Orlando if you want to visit the "real world."  You can even visit other hotels and participate in their activities!

DW is the home of Cinderella's castle.  It's massive and magical and looks like the Disney logo you remember as a kid.  You can actually meet Princesses inside the castle if you make reservations for the character dinner that takes place there.  Word on the street is there's also a suite in the castle that you can pay approximately a mabillionty dollhairs to stay in.  Probably something I'll never personally validate.

Magic Kingdom (MK)

First and foremost, there are LOTS of children here.  This is THE park to go to at DW.  It is essentially the DL of DW.  Also, this park is DRY.  I repeat, there are a lot of children here and you CANNOT buy alcohol at this park.

MK is very much like DL in that it has different "lands" within the park and some of the same rides are at both parks (not all inclusive): Thunder Mountain, Space Mountain, Soarin' (even though this is actually in CA Adventure), it's a small world, Pirates of the Caribbean, tea cups, etc.  Despite having the "same" rides, often the rides aren't exactly the same.  The lines can sometimes differ (you'll find more covered lines in FL due to the weather) and sometimes even the rides can differ.  There were actual Disney characters at the DL it's a small world.  The course of Pirates of the Caribbean at DL was different than MK.

Main Street is similar at both DL and MK.  Shops, tracks you might twist your ankle on, perfect view of the castle. 

Epcot

You CAN buy alcohol here!  THIS is the place to get that Dole Whip.  Make it a float with rum or vodka, you're welcome.  You can't get the liquor float if you get a Dole Whip at any other park.  Take advantage of this perk while you can.

Epcot is the host of the Food and Wine Festival in the fall and the Flower and Garden Festival in the spring.  Having been to the Flower Festival, I was impressed.  Let's just say, I'll never be a gardener at DW.  I've only heard good things about the Food and Wine Festival and I know regulars who attend.  This festival also coincides with a runDisney event, Dine and Dash series.

The most awesome ride at Epcot: Spaceship Earth (inside that big white ball) or Soarin' (the CA version)
The coolest thing about Epcot: You can literally "walk around the world".

Epcot is laid out in a circle around a lake/fountain/contained water thing and around the circle are different countries (Mexico, Norway, China, Germany, Italy, the United States, Japan, Morocco, France, United Kingdom, and Canada).  Each country features Cast Members from those actual countries and you can see shows that would be taking place in those countries, which is pretty cool.

Teh Sister and I did our Princess meal in Norway and it was worth it to help avoid some of the children, as much as you can at DW.  Epcot is considered the most "adult" of the parks, and there are very few actual rides at Epcot, so keep that in mind.

Hollywood Studios (HS)

Home of the live-action movie attractions and some awesome character spotting opportunities.

There's a HUGEEEE AT-AT at the Star Tours ride, DL doesn't have that.  The Fantastmic boat/light/water show is pretty awesome.

Also, there's a Villians shop here.

Animal Kingdom (AK)

 If you get there early enough, you can "go on a safari" and actually see the animals awake and moving since it's their breakfast time.  This park is 98% about the animals.  Another park with a lot of children.  There are a few rides here, Everest and the tree and the railway, but mostly you're there to smell look at the animals and dodge small children with juice mustaches dressed up as Princesses.

Other parks/places at DW:

• ESPN Wide World of Sports, for those sports fanatics.  Sometimes they even have actual sporting events going on.
• Water parks (I'd rather ride the wet rides than soak myself in stranger's urine)
• There's also a NASCAR track thing right beside ESPN, but I don't think they are Disney affiliated, nonetheless, reminds me of my childhood.
• Disney hotels/resorts

Etc notes:
Having stayed at a DW hotel, it was super magical.  We stayed at the All Star Movies Resort.  I'd do it again.

DISNEYLAND RESORT

DL is wayyyy smaller than DW.  Butttttt, it is the original Disney park.  Walt was there, a lot.  If that's not enough magic for you, then you're a magic snob.  With only 2 parks, there is still no shortage of activities.  Additionally, you're pretty much in LA/Hollywood, so if you're willing to tolerate the "real world" there are even more options for activities.

Of the 2 parks, I think we enjoyed California Adventure a little more than Disneyland.  The park is more adult oriented, so that probably helped.  Additionally, they serve liquor, where DL is a dry park, which made for a very disappointing Dole Whip float, imo.

There aren't nearly as many character dining options at DL as there are at WDW.  I believe part of this is due to the size differences between WDW and DL.  With 4 parks and more than a handful of resort hotels, there are plenty of spaces to host character dining experiences.

The biggest difference that really was a buzz kill for me that DL doesn't have that WDW has?  MAGIC BANDS.  Magic bands are dangerous little devices of convenience.  Even worse?  We were given a PAPER tickets.  After 3 days, those poor tickets were sad from being in sweaty pockets for way too many hours.  At WDW, even if you don't qualify for a Magic Band, you get a plastic ticket (like a credit card).  I get it, "original Disney park", but some times, things change for the better.  The Photo Pass cards were plastic, so I was dumbfounded why the tickets weren't plastic.

Disneyland

• Many similar rides as you'd find at WDW.
• You'll find more children here than at CA Adventure
• There is a castle.  It's small, but it's there.  You can walk under the castle, but don't have WDW expectations.
• Home of the elusive Club 33 (and if it's not elusive to you, can we be friends?)
• Has Star Wars rides

I did notice that wait times for rides at DL were shorter than at DW. We were at DL during a high traffic weekend, so I was surprised to see this.  That said, often time the wait times went down because the ride would break and people would leave the line, but it wasn't really a shorter wait.  I don't recall rides breaking very frequently at DW.

The magic at DL isn't as magical as it is as WDW.  Maybe it's that California attitude seeping into the magic, but I had some questionable interactions with more Cast Members at DL than WDW, like the Cast Member who essentially made fun of us and made us wait to ride because we stopped to take a selfie (there was no one behind us).  Uhhh, rude.

As I said about MK, DL is very similar to MK.  Some similar rides, but potentially better since they have more Disney to them.  For instance, it's a small world has Disney characters throughout the ride that you can find, this isn't true at WDW.

California Adventure (CAA)

CAA would be like if MK and Epcot had a hippy love child that lived in California.  CAA is geared more towards adults, being the home of Tower of Terror, California Screamin', the ferris wheel, the super awesome Cars/Test Track ride, plus alcohol, with the landscape setting of California.  Cars Land and Bug's Life Land and some areas of the Boardwalk are kiddy rides, but they aren't too bad for adults who avoid high-thrill rides.

Most importantly, this park serves alcohol and has a Ghirardelli shop right across from a place that makes sour dough bread from a mother loaf from the early 1900's.

I really appreciated all the California tributes.  From Grizzly Springs to San Francisco's piers to the desert area represented by Cars Land to the Hollywood area and Buena Vista Street.  Maybe Bugs Land was a tribute to the National Parks?

Additionally, CAA has Soarin' Around the World, which is an awesome ride.  Granted, I loved Soarin' (over California) better because the orange and tree smells, but I'll take what I can get.  Neuschawnstein Castle is featured in Soarin' Around the World, and that holds a special place in my heart, so I'm biased for different reasons towards both.

Characters at CAA aren't as hidden as they are at DL and WDW, which is nice for this character hunter.

Final Thoughts?

Disney World is still my fave.  I wanted to be partial and like both parks for what they offered, but the convenience of the Magic Band really swayed me at the end of the day, especially since the parks have similar offerings.  Also, it helps that I'm only a 6 hour drive from Disney World, whereas I'm a 6 hour plane ride away from Disneyland.

runDisney

Having run a runDisney event on both the east and west coast, I feel validated to talk about the differences.  Truthfully, it was a tie for me on which was better.  I really can't decide.  That said, I'm not committed to doing more runDisney events. 

Disney World runs:

 

Pros:

• Running only on Disney property.  You get to see behind the scenes.  This is only bad when you are still running and you start to smell bacon cooking.
• Buses to bring you to the race start (from Disney hotels)
• Characters before and after the race to get photos with 
• Running through Magic Kingdom and Epcot
• Entertainment along the course
• Fireworks for each corral start

Cons

• Running only on Disney property.  This means those boring highways for long stretches.
• Getting up at last call to get ready, catch a bus, and be at the start area way early.
• Only running through 2 of 4 parks.
• Price
• Inconsistent weather (will it be cold?  will it be warm?  No one knows.)
• Bottleneck areas
• Cheerleaders/onlookers only allowed in certain, limited, areas.

Disneyland runs:

 

Pros:

• Getting up "early" for the run, but not nearly as early as DW
• Being able to walk to the start area/corrals from off-property hotels
• Running through Disneyland and California Adventure AND Anaheim and the Angel Stadium.
• Reliable weather (that CA perfection)
• More cheerleaders along the course

Cons:

• Reflectors in the middle of the street!!!!  So many people were taken down by those little bastards.
• No character photos before/after the race
• Running through the parks didn't last very long
• Entertainment along the course (classic cars did nothing to distract me from the never-ending miles I'd committed to running for a piece of overpriced medal.  More drumlines/music please!) 
• No fireworks at the start or with any corrals. 
• Bottleneck areas
• Price

For just myself, for JUST the races, I paid $770!
Princess Weekend:
5k: $65
Glass Slipper Challenge (10k+1/2 marathon): $305
Processing fees: $25

Dumbo Weekend:
Dumbo Double Dare Challenge (10k+1/2 marathon): $355
Processing fees: $20

That doesn't include travel (gas/plane tickets/rental car) or lodging (Disney resort/hotel) or food/snacks or the park tickets we had for Disneyland.

To say I potentially spent up to $1500 on runDisney events in 2016 is completely valid.  Ouch.


Suffice to say, the #disneylife is an expensive life.
It would take a seriously strong motivator to get me to do more runDisney events.  I would like to volunteer for an event, but I'm just not sure that the price is worth what you end up with (medals, pride, awesome photos, an excuse to dress up as Disney characters, and sore pieces). 

Top 6 of 2016

Nadine posted yesterday about her top 5 moments of 2016 and I had to jump on the bandwagon since 2016 has been such an outstanding year for me.  Although, I made it the top 6 because 2016.  Don't judge me and the OCD problem I don't have.  If this was 2017, I'd be doing 7 things.

PS.  These are in date order, not order of awesomeness since I can't do a single line of 6 photos and fit on the screen.

ONE 

I got glasses for my birthday because #old.

But not these glasses.

TWO

I ran survived 22.4 miles at Disney World for the Princess 1/2 Marathon weekend with my running bestie, Teh MD-AR.

SO MUCH EXCITEMENT!!!

THREE

We closed on the house we built together!

 

Squinty eyes and gums = Super happy Megan

FOUR

Teh German and I went to Germany where I met his family and we did some exploring, to include visiting Schloss Neuschwanstein, aka the castle that Walt Disney based Cinderella's castle on and the Disney castle from the logo.

PS.  I half-hopedthought that maybe Teh German would propose while we were there.

FIVE

Celebrated 1 year together with Teh German.

Awwwwww

SIX

Ran 19.3 miles at Disneyland with Teh MD-AR and Teh German.

LOVE.

Because the year is not over yet, I would probably need to revise this list by the end of the year.  We have several activities planned for the next few months.  This includes, the start of hockey seasons, Goo Goo Dolls, Teh MD-AR's visits, holidays, Disney World, and visits from German relatives.