Dropout

Yesterday was the 5k I so enjoyed challenging myself on year after year ─ Mission Inn Run/Walk.

According to last year’s stats (if they were correct, which I still doubt I did that well), I finished 49th out of 481 in the male and female all ages category and, breaking it down to just women all ages, I was reported as 39th out of 348.

Since then, there’s not been a lot of training, due to the endless heat and lack of motivation. So, knowing I was not in shape for that course, I did not register this year.

Trainer kept encouraging me, said he thought I could do it, but the words of Dirty Harry were ringing in my ears, with a slight modification ... "A woman’s got to know her limitations".

It’s Trainer’s job to encourage, instill confidence so, to prove to me I could do it, a week or so ago, he set the treadmill at a steep incline for four minutes.

I almost died.

When I left the studio that day, my left ankle and right hip felt out of kilter, and I'd only lasted 2 minutes out of the 4.

I always snap back pretty quick and did, after a good soak in Epsom salt and a day to rest before the next training session.

So that particular 5k was a definite no for this year.

Maybe next year.

In other news, I asked around about the Community Meeting and learned it had been cancelled.

Hmmmmm????

I’m having buyer’s remorse over these Mitts, purchased at Disneyland.

I don’t know what I was thinking, as they don’t go with my Minnie Mouse Halloween costume.

They're cute though, so I'll pass them on to the great grandbabies to play with or use as pillows.

These Nightmare Before Christmas ears also don't go with my costume, but I love the half Halloween half Christmas ears — a Disney gift from the kids, and maybe I can build a costume around them in the future.

They're reversable.

14,115 Steps and Missed Opportunity

Me at Disneyland, August 1980, with my girls (Twin 1 and Twin 2).

Twin 1 on the left, Twin 2 on the right would have been 12 years old at the time.

Me at Disneyland, October 17, 2024 with Twin 1's baby girl (my granddaughter), granddaughter's husband (GrandSIL), granddaughter's babies (the great grands to me), and a Great Granddaughter I never knew I had until recently (long story ……… progeny of a family member on a long prodigal journey through life, and the reason I put myself on Ancestry, so children of that prodigal granddaughter can find their people when they grow up and go looking).

With all the walking and picture taking (over 100 pics), I didn’t think to recreate the 1980 photo — arm around granddaughter as I did with her mom, until I was on the road headed home.

Missed Opportunity there.

Walking down Main Street, we caught the band marching in to perform.

I could have listened to the band forever, but GrandSIL wanted to head for Fantasyland, so the babies could see Small World.

Small World was my favorite as well back in the day, and I just so happened to have a photo of me, circa 1980, looking mesmerized by the singing dolls.

Small World is still a favorite, so I was looking forward to revisiting.

We made it to Fantasyland, but unfortunately found Small World to be closed/under repairs, so we let the great grandson burn off some energy in the Play Yard, where I heard the tent set up for the kids calling to me.

I convinced my new relative to camp out with me and though it wasn't easy to get down on the ground, crawl my big arse in, turn around to pose, I managed to do so, then crawled out and got out on my own. Call it the magic of CrossFit, three times a week for four years.

"That's not Goofy", I was informed by granddaughter when I said, "Oh look, there's Goofy".

"No grandma, that's his son Max".

"I didn't know Goofy had a son. Didn't know he was married", said I.

"He's a single dad", said she.

Who knew?

I loved Star Wars Land, where first great grandbaby girl somehow got in trouble with a Stormtrooper, and then I and my new relative saved the world by joining in the battle against the First Order in Rise of the Resistance ……… took positions as Engineers on the Millennium Falcon.

As the pilots careened through space, and the gunners fired, my job (and new relative's job) as Engineers was to ……… when the ship was hit and something was broken, fix what was broken.

We saved the world, and landed safely.

You're welcome.

But then there was a flurry of activity, Chewbacca the Wookie showed up, began running around and we heard it was because ……… now I don't know if it was the Pilots who messed up or the Engineers, but whoever it was, in one of the ships that followed, caused their ship to crash.

Oh well, we did our job.

After Chewbacca sorted out the responsible parties, he gathered men from the crowd to participate in a "Who can make the best Wookie sound".

GrandSIL was selected ……… probably because of his beard, and got robbed.

He clearly made the better sound, but the other guy had more family members rooting for him.

I call foul, but GrandSIL did later get a photo with Chewbacca, so that was a win.

The girls (granddaughter and new relative) were anxious to find a character they kept referring to as Tiana.

Do you know who that is? I didn't, but was informed Tiana is from the animated film The Princess and the Frog AND is Disney's First Black Princess.

Again ……… who knew?

Fortunately, we walked right up on her and she was uber gracious. Took time to address individually the baby, granddaughter and my new relative.

The girls were thrilled, and meeting the First Black Princess was so emotional for granddaughter that she cried after.

I gave her a hug and said, "If you get this emotional over Disney's First Black Princess, how are you going to handle the First Female President being Black?"

What we did after that was a blur of lunch, more walking, not being able to get into Dumbo because the lines were long, same when I wanted to ride one of the merry-go-round horses, so on and so forth ……… the waits were 45 minutes to an hour on everything. The only reason we made it onto the Millennium Falcon, was because we signed up as single riders and were matched with groups who'd been waiting in long lines and needed us to fill the crew.

So anyway, no amount of CrossFit could stop the bottom of my feet from aching from so much walking. So, a little after 4:00, I tapped out, headed for the hotel, checked in, relaxed, while the others did the park until dark.

Upon checking out this morning, we made sure to take photos at the Great Mickey Mouse Pumpkin.

And there you have my fun but exhausting adventure with the kids.

My step count was off the chart, but I survived to tell the tale.

It’s All About the Shimmer

Yesterday’s rain wasn’t long, but it was hard.

I’d manage to get my hair done, shop for the money birthday card – with no luck, pick up Christmas lights for the patio and was on the freeway headed back to the complex when the rain hit. And what hit was like a storm, drops coming down fast, hard, hitting the windshield with a thud that had me thinking it was hail; and there was wind, wind as equally aggressive as the hail sounding rain drops.

Awake at 2:30 this morning, for no good reason except that’s how it’s been (anywhere from 2:15 to 4:30) since the time change, I was anxious to get the day started but was thwarted first by having to wait until the rest of the world decided to get up and get going, and secondly unable to map out the day because everything is dependent upon whether today will be more rain or not.

Christmas lights having been purchased, I’m anxious to violate my lease agreement by attaching them to the patio railing and get the Christmas decorations out-of-my inside space.

That’s not gonna happen if it rains.

I also need to return a Timer to Lowe’s and do more searching for the money birthday card.

That too will not happen if it rains.

About those lights … I very nearly got out of Lowe’s with perfectly reasonably priced string lights that I could loop and drape on the railing to look like string lights, but dilly dallied around window shopping in the Christmas department and walked up on these …

Oh why not, thought I. It’s twice as much as I planned to pay for lights, but they’re pretty and as close to Disney as I’ll get before I leave this earth, because I refuse to pay $100 to stand in lines so long I don’t get to experience my money's worth of attractions.

Would you believe, in one of the memory albums, there are souvenirs from my last visit ... 19 years ago?

I spent all my time going through Small World over and over and over, and the Michael Jackson exhibit.

At any rate, while at the checkout stand, two girls from neighboring checkouts, having a lull in customers, sauntered over to converse with my cashier. One of the girls picked up the box, looked it over, said, “Hmmm. I wonder what makes it Disney?” (Because there no mouse ears and the lights look so similar to all the other lights in Lowe's).

“The price”, said I.

There was laughter all around, and a “Right, huh”.

Then my cashier picked up the box, examined more closely, said, “They shimmer. You’re paying for the shimmer honey.”

I didn’t even notice the lights are to shimmer, whatever shimmer is. I was hypnotized by the way they draped, got caught up in the moment, spent way too much and now am anxious to get them in place to determine if the shimmer is worth it enough not to exercise my option to return.

If it doesn't rain.