A Dream is a Wish.....

I've been blogging on here for awhile now, and I suddenly realized that I haven't spent any time talking about the Disney portion of my life.  It's way past time to do just that!

I don't remember how my love for Disney got started.  I've heard the stories.  My aunt took me on my first trip back in 1979.  I was a year old.  We only lived an hour or so from Orlando, and I had siblings who were in their teens, so chances are good that we made a few trips before moving away from the Sunshine State in 1980.  But I don't remember anything about any trip prior to 1983.  That year, my parents took my younger brother and me to the newly opened EPCOT center.  I remember only one thing.  It looked like this:

My brother and I were fascinated.  "It's a giant golfball!"  Memory over.

The next few memories are also simple snapshots in my mind.  Slathering on Hawaiian Tropics sunscreen in a hotel room.  Slathering on Hawaiian Tropics sunscreen in the livingroom of my grandma's house in St. Pete, FL.  Slathering on Hawaiian Tropics....yes, to this day, that is the only sunscreen I will use.  The coconut smell will always be associated with Disney.
I remember going back to EPCOT with my parents, younger brother, and one of my older brothers.

Mama, Gerald, me, Leonard - Daddy must have been takiing the photo

That same trip, my older brother convinced our mom to ride Space Mountain with him.  I wish I had a picture of THAT event!
Other trips are more real in my mind, yet there are always those certain snapshots that stand out the most.  First trip to MGM.  First trip to Animal Kingdom.  The horrid birthday cake Cinderella Castle.  The even more horrid wand for the millenium at Epcot.  First (and only) trip to Disneyland, the year after I graduated high school, and almost breaking into tears at my first glimpse of the original Main Street.  Eating baklava in World Showcase.  Eating a napoleon in World Showcase.  Watching Brandon gobble down a turkey leg (with all the appropriate sound effects) in World Showcase.  Fighting with Gerald to see who could spot the monorail colors first.  Arguing with the monorail driver over which color monorail was approaching us as we sped along the track (he said coral, I said orange.  I won).  Sitting by the big picture window in Pinocchio's Village Haus, overlooking the interior of It's A Small World.  Seeing the original It's A Small World at Disneyland.  First time we stayed on property.  The first time I camped out at Fort Wilderness.  The summer of the horrible fires near Kissimmee, and walking out of the Art of Animation at MGM into a park completely overrun with smoke.  The first trip back after Daddy died, taking Mama to Animal Kingdom for her first time.  The first girl's trip with Mama and Carol, spending the day at Epcot, and dropping over $200 at Biergarten on my birthday.

Then there were the two guys with the awesome Mickey tattoos that we followed around World Showcase, until I got up the nerve to approach them and ask to get a closer look.  There was that first trip to Disney's Wide World of Sports, to watch my hometown boys in some Spring Training.  Can you get better than watching the Atlanta Braves play at Disney?!!?

Disney is, and has always been, a part of my life.  I worked as a Cast Member at the Disney Store one holiday season.  I wish I'd been able to stay on after the holiday season ended.  I wish there was still a Disney Store in the area; I'd go back into retail for a chance to work there again.

I have two trips to the World planned for this year.  The first week of November, I am taking my mom back to the Magic Kingdom.  It's been awhile since we've been back to that park.  We're highly looking forward to being kids again!  Then, over Thanksgiving, my younger brother and I are going Disney's WWOS to enjoy a 3-day college basketball tournament.  College basketball and Disney ranks right up there with the Atlanta Braves and Disney!

Next year's trips aren't planned out yet, but I truly hope that one of them includes a Disney 5K.

Another New (and Hopeful) Beginning

Exercising over the course of the last 9 months has been a lesson in futility.  It seems as if, no matter how much I want to do something, the world is out to stop me.  Between extra work at the office, photo shoots popping up out of nowhere, injuries and illness, and the crazy weather we've had here in GA, my exercise schedule has been nonexistent.

More than anything, the biggest detriment to my routine has been my feet.  More and more, I'm having intense pain in the arch and heel of my right foot anytime I do an excessive amount of walking/running/hiking/standing.  Years ago, I was diagnosed with plantar faschitis, but even during the most intense flairup, it didn't hurt anything like this!

I decided to approach my normal go-to guy for advice (my chiropractor).  He is familiary with my history, and we've talked about the fact that many years ago, my orthopedic surgeon informed me that I really needed orthotics for my shoes.  Doc G agreed with the previous diagnosis, and made arrangements to do a fancy measurement of my feet.  The fancy machine agreed with both doctors.  Of the three main arches in each foot, one of them (the lateral arch) is collapsed in both of my feet, with the right foot being the worst.

Last week, I made an appointment with a podiatrist.  In two weeks, I go in to have him look at my feet, do some one his own tests and measurements, and most likely, will walk out of the office with a new set of orthotics.

My biggest hope is that my walking becomes less painful.  As the weather is getting cooler, I'm starting to make plans with people to hike on the weekends.  I also have plans to start back on the Couch-to-5K program.  To be successful with either of these programs, I need to be able to walk/run with feeling like I'm running barefoot over sharp, bruising rocks.

This time, my mother is not allowed to start the program with me.  The last time I started the C25K, my mom sprained her knee 2 laps in.  She is no longer allowed to run - a command given by both me and her doctor!

This time, I have a new phone to take with me, with a handy-dandy little app on it that will tell me when it's time to warm up/walk/run/walk/run/cool doown.  For me, this is a big deal.  I do much better when I am not watching the clock during any kind of routine.  I need to be able to just go, until someone/something tells me to stop.

So, overall, I think that things will start improving by the first week of October.  We'll see.  I'll keep you updated.