The 5oz Foodie

Today marked the official end to the cleanse and I feel like I have learned quite a bit, but I know there is still much to learn... I finally got to have chicken tonight and it was delicious... Now we just have to keep moving forward and not back... With all that being said, I have to mention something that I was disappointed about and that is they announced the winners of the Walt Disney Legacy Award and I didn't get it. Of course their is always a little disappointment when people have said they nominated you and then you didn't get it but then something truly magical happened this week... I received a envelope from a dear friend of mine and inside was the nomination she had submitted for me for Legacy... You don't know truly how someone views you until you read it in their own words... It brought tears to my eyes... I have heard people tell me how great I am with guests and that I am a good trainer but to read those sentiments made my heart swell... That meant more to ...

What a day...It began way too early, 4am Eastern Time early, a mere 5 hours after going to bed. I sprang to work finishing packing and getting ready to leave on my adventure that would bring me to St. Louis. I had the perfect experience getting through OIA, the TSA agent even thought she had seen me earlier in the week. I told her I hadn't been in a plane in a few months, it must have been my doppelganger. We both laughed and I moved onto the Que where I was escorted to the shortest line and was through within minutes. The train quickly arrived and whisked me to my terminal. I love the A Terminal, they have cushy chairs that have plugs so you can charge your electronics so as I watched the horrific news of the shooting in Colorado over and over again on HLN, I was also able to play games on my phone and text everyone in my address book, whether they were awake or not. Once we were called to board, B33, the lines went quickly and efficiently. I found a seat o...

I love the training days when I get to see my fellow trainers with their new Cast Members. It's fun to get to meet the new cast that will be working over the next months and year. Four members of our Team were able to meet with our trainees for lunch and when we were there so were most of our World Show Case trainers as well. At one point I was over talking with our Mexico trainers when I heard giggling and laughter coming from behind me, only to turn around and see it was coming from my team. As I turned to come back one of them mocked me and pointed to a random table and said, "Why don't you go talk to that table too?" I said that the other table were attraction cast members that I didn't know, his response was something about you didn't know all of our trainees but you talked to them and I replied I didn't want to talk to them. We all started laughing and I sat back down. After a few minutes we decided it was time to head back to our respective areas an...

I love training the new trainers one on one because you really get to share with them the stories from your craziest stories working for the company; or your most moving stories as well. I often wonder if true life work stories would appeal to anyone else besides people that work at that place. But like everything else I am sure it's all in how it is written and what it stirs in it's readers to draw them to it time and again. If I were to write my Disney stories or as I like to call them, adventures, I would have to write them just like I lived them, full out not holding back anything! Something I have definitely learned in the past almost five years is to let loose and have fun and not care who is watching. I have belted out Birthday songs at the top of my lungs, had shoot outs with tiny pirates, bowed grandly to princesses and threw temper tantrums in front of long lined attractions and haven't regretted or worried what other thought of me and still don't. I am he...

Trying to get my magic back. My BFF is worried about me, he wants me to be happy and I want to be happy to, but my problem is I am so afraid of going backwards to go forwards. I am hoping the bully situation fixes itself but at the same time I am afraid it will only get worse. I know I am too old to be having so much fear but I know what I want to do next at WDW but the problem is that it's a waiting game. So back to today. My BFF decided today would be a good day to take me to the Magic capital of the World to see the newest addition to the kingdom. When we pulled into the lot I was informed that because of where we were parking we should expect major crows, this just sunk my already depressed mind. Being a people pleaser though I just forced a smile and parked the car. We took the parking lot tram to the boat and crossed over to this kingdom of magic. I am still feeling the instinct to run, I don't really want to be here. The moment we step out from beneath the...

Magic is sometimes found in the smallest of places, when you least expect it. Ask almost anyone what their dream is and it could be anything huge or small. I have a wish list or dream list of what I would like to do while working for the mouse. Several of those dreams have come true. One was singing with CCM Artist Steven Curtis Chapman, another was to watch the Fireworks from a place normal people don't get to go, the top of the building on Main Street USA, but my most recent one happened tonight. At the end of each night there are official wavers that stand on the stage by the dancing fountain in front of Spaceship Earth and wave goodnight. I have always dreamed about getting to do such a thing and tonight it happened. I had taken my trainee to view Illuminations and was walking back to our area when I saw a co-trainer of mine waving goodnight from the stage. I ran over and asked how we could come up too. She directed me over to another one of the trainers and he let us up and th...

So very often I have people ask me where I get my energy. The truth is, the energy I have at work comes from my love of my job. I work for a company that allows me to do things I couldn't do at any other job I have ever had, and that is to make peoples dreams come true. To help them escape reality if even for a few hours and to become a kid again. How amazing is that?  As my trainees, one of my other fellow trainers and I were waving goodbye to our departing guests tonight, one of the trainees turned to me and said, "can I keep you next to me for the rest of my program?" He was having so much fun he didn't want it to end. But that is how my job is everyday. I make sure that I have fun no matter what I am doing. When you stop having fun. it becomes work and then it just gets to be like any other job.  If you love what you do then you will never work a day in your life. If you don't love what you are doing. find something else to do that you love.  Love, peace an...