Three Things....

Thing #1 -

My trip to California was SO magical. I LOVED Disneyland with all of my little girl heart. It was the best thing I've ever done for myself. It was grand. My friend Josh's fashion show was FANTASTIC. Here is a link to see his collection (set 1 and set 2). It's very high men's fashion...in fact there's a chunk of it I would never even consider putting on Soldier Boy, but that suit. oh man. I LOVE that suit. :o)

Thing #2 -

The Photo-A-Day meme was going so well for me....and then I went to California and didn't do it AT ALL. Seriously. AT ALL. And trying to make up 5, 6? days worth of pictures at this point? so not worth it. In fact, I'm trying to do other things for March right now that I think I'm just going to bag the month of March, call it good and do the month of April. (I am doing this for a Day Zero goal after all) Sound good? good. :o)

Thing #3 -

I have  the best Tender Mercy for you today! So...without further ado, Tender Mercy Tuesday 59th Edition

So last night Soldier Boy and I were reading scriptures together. We were in the Book of Mormon, specifically Mosiah 23 and 24

I was reading when I read verses 15 and 16 in Chapter 24 where it says:

15 And now it came to pass that the burdens which were laid upon Alma and his brethren were made light; yea, the Lord did strengthen them that they could bear up their burdens with ease, and they did submit cheerfully and with patience to all the will of the Lord.

 16 And it came to pass that so great was their faith and their patience that the voice of the Lord came unto them again, saying: Be of good comfort, for on the morrow I will deliver you out of bondage.

 I loved that. First, I loved that the people did submit cheerfully and with patience to all the will of the Lord. How hard must that have been? To be in the middle of so great a trial and yet to be willing to let the Lord be in control and to be HAPPY about it. and THEN verse sixteen then says that so great was their faith and their patience that the voice of the Lord..[said]..on the morrow I will deliver you out of bondage. So the Lord then blesses them for their faith AND patience.

I know the Lord always blesses us and that out of great trials come great blessings, but how often does he tell us WHEN the blessing will come and WHAT that blessing will be  for us? It's not very often. HOWEVER, I was comforted last night to know that it is POSSIBLE to be cheerful and patient in our trials and we will be blessed for it. It is not always the easiest thing to do, by any means, but it was comforting none-the-less. Trials always come. There's no way around them, they are the reason we are here on this earth - to be tried and tested and to come to an understanding before returning to live with our Father in Heaven. However, we're never given anything more than we can handle and we always have the opportunity to have the Holy Ghost, a comforter, to be with us. How grateful I am for these facts. I don't think I'd be able to live through some of my current (or past) trials with out these blessings from my loving Heavenly Father.  He really does loves us and want us to be happy and for that I will eternally be grateful.

Have a great day everyone!

a little bit of news and a request....

Dear Friends,

As many of you know and have heard me talk about time and time again - I have NEVER been to Disneyland. Which is so shocking considering my love for everything Disney - especially the princesses. I mean, even my car is named after a Disney character!!

That is going to change in less than 2 months.

*SQUEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!*

whew. Okay.

So yeah, I'm going to Disneyland. Well, really, I'm going to L.A. the 3rd weekend in March for my dear friend's runway show and while I'm there I'm going to go to Disneyland (as a birthday present to myself!). I'm so freakin' excited. Some of you know just exactly how excited I am - I get all giggly and excited and I turn into a little girl. It's quite the sight.

ANYWAYS

I need your help. I'm pretty sure that 90% of my readership has been to Disneyland at least once and I need your suggestions. I'm probably only going to have one day there - so what shouldn't I miss? Also, I like to be prepared for everything so any other tips or tricks would be great. The friends I'm going with (I'll post more about that later) already have connections for cheap tickets, place to stay etc so we're covered in that regard.

ALSO. I need your opinion. I know I'm going to want a bag or something of some sort to carry my ticket, any fast passes, chap stick (I'm addicted), water bottle (maybe?) and snacks. So....I figure I'll probably make one to cater my needs. The question is do I go with a sling type of bag like this one:

but possibly smaller in dimensions (I love all the pockets!!)

or something that attaches more firmly to myself (however hideous and tacky it may seem) like this one:

with really cute/fun fabric that expresses my personality....

Sigh. I just don't know. I might just have to make them both..... :o) (I really do have a VERY unhealthy obsession with bags. I love them oh so much!)

So, any suggestions, comments, well-wishes would be very welcome! I am so excited for this trip....it's going to take all of my (non-existent) patience to make it until the day I leave.....  :o)

Love Always,
Alishka Babushka