As fully grown adults, there are few things in life that allow you to revert to childhood and pure unadulterated enjoyment - but Disneyland is one of them.
We loved Disneyland.
We spent 15 hours in Disneyland.
We can't wait to go again!
It's hard to explain why our day in Disneyland was so amazing - there were the parades that filled the streets, the wonderful rides and the amazing hosts - but for me it was more than that. I have a feeling that it was because it was a dream come true. It was getting to do something that I had dreamed about, wished for and ultimately wanted to do for what felt like forever.
We were in tears driving up, we were uncontrollably excited queuing in the car park and while on the escalators heading to the train to get us to the park this picture says it all.
I'm so glad that I married someone who indulges in every moment, who made us buy glittery Disney ears, who made sure we were kitted out in Disney gear and who queued with enthusiasm. My Laura doesn't stand in line with a sour look - this lady takes selfies, chats to people and gets excited about the rides to come. She is without a doubt the best person to go to a theme park with.
Our to-do list was formed of ride recommendations and guide book advice, we rode 19 rides, we saw Mickey's Soundsational Parade, Paint the Night and Disneyland Forever firework show, we went to the Tiki Tiki show and ate Mickey shaped beignets - it was all incredible.
It was 36 degrees Celsius most of the time and shade was hard to come by, but in all honesty we were enjoying ourselves too much to notice the sunburn. No queue was longer than 40 minutes - turns out a Tuesday while schools are in is the perfect time to go.
Laura also got us badges, mine was a first time one and hers a happy birthday - if you go - get them at the information desk by the entrance - they are free and really added to the experience! All the hosts wished Laura a happy birthday and I was asked numerous times how I was enjoying my first time - it added something special. It also gave Jeff a reason to talk to us. Jeff was a personal highlight for me, He approached us while we queued for the Matterhorn and proceeded to tell us Disney joke after Disney joke for 10 minutes. It was Dad joke extraordinaire and we loved it.
I spent the whole day in awe of how amazing everything was; the details and the thought that went into everything certainly made it an incredible place to wander round. And the fact that they kept extending the closing time meant we definitely had enough time to see EVERYTHING. Personal favourites had to be:
Finding Nemo ride - even though L screamed louder than the kids when it crashed (she's easily startled)
The Matterhorn - old school but awesome
Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters - you are in a computer game shooting at targets - AMAZING fun
Big Thunder Mountain - my kinda rollercoaster
Indiana Jones Adventure - although I had to hold tight to L
Peter pan's Flight - made London look sooooo romantic
Splash Mountain - the soaking was appreciated in the heat
We also loved that there were hosts available to take your pictures - as they banned selfie sticks in the park, it was needed :)
The only slight blight on what was one of the best days ever was the fact that our camera went missing - it was left on the side in the toilets at the very end of the day and when we ran back to get it it had gone :( We were hopeful it would turn up in lost property but sadly no such luck so our whole days photos (and all the ones from LA) have been lost. Thankfully we have a few taken on my phone, and the memories we have are enough to last a life time. Oh and we managed to get this one from our photo pass:
We have been busy bees lately!! Thought it would slow down in the lead up to IdaHOME in September, but alas!
This last Saturday, we took a last minute trip down to sunny Brighton to attend Brighton Pride (our other fav Pride in the UK!). We dressed in our brand new Wake Up Call Girl T-Shirts, and headed down from London a bit late, as usual. We listened to Britney Spears the whole way down, so needless to say had pretty awesome car dancing parties along the way.
Loving our new Wake Up Call Girls Tees!
By the time we arrived, the parade had already started, but luckily we took our places with Sarah's friend Wally right as the first floats came by.
It was fantastic weather, and the theme was 'icons' so we saw a LOT of Dorothy's and Freddie Mercury's! If we'd had known the theme in advance we would have recycled our princess costumes!
I don't think we're in Kansas anymore...
There was a big anti-Russian government theme as well, its always important to bring as much awareness to those around the world suffering and being mistreated because they are LGBT, so we can do whatever we can to help, and also to remind us just how lucky we are to live in Britain.
We always love Brighton Pride, among other reasons because it is even more 'out there' than London. It's alternative, colourful, and everyone just has an amazing time! We love that everyone there means to be there - no excess of tourists accidentally happening upon the parade, just a whole lotta gays!
After the parade, we headed to the seaside to have a drink and cheesy chips, and walk along the beach. Such a gorgeous day!
We checked out Choccywoccydoodah, which smelled delicious, but was just way too expensive for chocolate, at least in our current wedding-planning financial state!
We couldn't stay for the evening party, as we had Sarah's mum coming up to stay over for a spa day Sunday (I know!) but will definitely explore more in future years.
We are unashamedly in love with Whole Foods. Visiting
numerous times with my parents in Boise, I was shocked to find out there are
two locations in London! (Old news, I’ve been told, but new news to us!)
Us enjoying a WF lunch in Boise, and the much less impressive London entrance on the right. Cheese thrown in for effect.
So naturally, the brand-loyal foodies we are, we are going
to take our besties Sarah & Lauren there for lunch when they come down to
London this weekend. We’ll take them to the High Street Kensington location,
which is apparently the biggest in the whole world! (woah.)
I find that every single time I go to lunch at WF I go
through what can only be described as a full-on emotional journey. For those of
you who have yet to experience the ready foods section at WF, it’s an entire
floor of the most delicious foods ever, with a great variety – you pick up a
plastic tub and put whatever you’d like in it. Simple enough, right?
Not for me (and I daresay everyone else!) – lunch at WF goes
like this in my head.
Every. Single. Time.
‘OHmygod this is the best place on earth. I actually feel
like crying, that’s how much I love it. I think this’d be what heaven was like,
if there was one.’
I grab a tub and walk around the entire floor with it,
trying to figure out my next move.
‘Oooh I want yellow Thai curry, ooh butternut squash stew
sounds nice, oh my god Chinese food! Italian meatballs? YUM!’
All of a sudden my joy turns to panic.
‘I can’t just pick one! I want all of it, what do I get? Do
I get rice with the curry, what goes with squash? Am I just wasting room in my
tub if I go for filler foods? What if it all mixes together?!?! This isn’t
heaven, this is hell – American consumer hell – too many choices, I am not good
at choices - I CAN’T HANDLE THE PRESSURE!!!!’
I’ve lost it at this point, and decide to get a bit of
everything I wanted, but no filler foods like rices or potatoes. It’s all in
nice lines in the tub until I drop a meatball in there, at which point it kind
of all mixes together to make a kind of Italian butternut squash curry.
I’ve shoved as much as I can physically fit into the tub in
an effort to outsmart WF by getting more for the price of the tub.
….and then I remember that it’s measured by weight, not size
of box.
‘DAMN YOU, WHOLE FOODS!!!!!’
I weigh my lunch on the scale which helpfully tells you how
much of your hard earned wages you’ll be giving them today. £9?!?!?
Panicked, I look around me to see if anyone will notice if I
put some of my food back. But as it’s all a bit mixed, I decide it’d be much
too embarrassing to attempt, and if they’re smart enough to overwhelm me with
choice, they’ll no doubt have security cameras everywhere. In my fragile state,
I couldn’t deal with having to explain why there are green sauced mini corns in
the yellow curry in the WF holding cell (I’m just assuming that exists at this
point).
So I sulk over to the checkout counter, but the person at
the till is so nice, and seemingly excited for me to enjoy my amazing lunch,
that I feel a bit better about my food purchases. I know they’ll be delicious,
after all, and perhaps I deserve to treat myself?
By the time I sit down to eat, I’m back to loving Whole Foods
again – and by the second bite, I’m loving my odd mix of foods so much, I
resolve to come back again next week.
Whole Foods, you’ve done it again.
Have you been through this roller coaster of delicious
choice emotions, or am I just crazy and indecisive?
We thought we'd pick up on something that made the front pages here in the UK and obviously it made the news states-side....Michelle Obama's speech at the Democratic National Convention (DNC)! It gave us even more reason to base this week's What We Love Wednesday on the woman herself.
For those of you who have read our Powerful Women post you will see that the First Lady has been featured in our blog before, and for very good reasons!
But this post is to say THANK YOU, Michelle, for such an inspirational speech. We have long admired Mrs. Obama, who is just as able to speaking positively, touchingly and inspiring those who take the time to listen as her husband. We took 28 minutes out of our evening to watch the full speech, because it's worth it.
It is no secret that when Laura votes using an absentee ballot later this year, she will be voting for Obama! We have struggled with the Republican's campaigns - their anti-gay, pro-gun, pro-life at conception, 'your body stops genuine rape babies', wealthy 1%, out-of-touch tripe that has been filling our internet streams and being mocked on the social networks we follow. We don't understand how women can publicly or privately support Republicans, whether they support Obama or not, there is no logical reason we can see to support their campaign.
On the other-hand, listening to Michelle speak so passionately about every American having the same opportunities no matter who they are, where they're from, what they look like or who they love, how can you not applaud?! Here in the UK we are discussing gay-marriage, in Scotland they are moving towards it; in fact, all over Europe the laws are changing for the better - is it not the right time for America to do the same?
When Michelle talks about Barack still being the man she fell in love with 23 years ago, you can't fail to be touched. The Obama we see in the media is a projection of his party, but we are damn sure if we met him we'd really like him!
Michelle is so genuine, and has a way of speaking that engages you so that you find yourself agreeing with her - Laura and I both said 'so true' out loud numerous times in her speech! If you haven't got time to watch the whole speech check out these highlights!!!
We first voiced our liking for Michelle after watching her dancing with kids in a school field for her get fit campaign 'Lets move' - if you prefer to see the campaign in action see it here, with Beyonce:
We loved her taking on Ellen in a press-up competition and talking to Jon Stewart on the Daily Show (LOVE that show by the way!!!), when she was on Letterman, and hung out with the ladies on The View!
Instead of spending $$$ on lots of designer clothes and brands, Michelle wears a lot of H&M and high street brands - she is a REAL woman, with a budget, and seems to understand that there are more important things to spend he money on than labels - especially when you're in government.
But why else do we LOVE Michelle Obama? Well while other First Ladies (excusing Hilary Clinton) generally sit around not saying much, this Lady does the opposite - she has an opinion and she brings it 100% - just check this out.....
Ultimately, the First Lady is so damn good at EVERYTHING - including skipping rope, apparently!
And we LOVE her for it!!!
Thanks Michelle, for being such a positive role model - for kids, for women, mums, and everyone else. Thanks for being such a strong character, and for coming out in support of marriage equality.
Please remember to vote, as every vote does count - if you are living out of your home county, like Laura is, apply online for an absentee ballot form!!
Bring on another term of Barack and Michelle Obama!!
It's been awhile since our last What We Love Wednesday- in fact it's been awhile since our last post but we are back and trying to get back in the habit of sharing our inner most thoughts via the medium of blogging. We miss it when we don't do it and yet the longer the gap the harder it is to get back to it! To the post.....
This week we are getting back into the spirit of the Olympics, or should that be Paralympics. It's been 3 wet weeks since the closing ceremony that signaled the end of Britain's most successful Olympics and in that time the country and especially London has felt a sense of bereavement. Getting to work on Monday morning after the ceremony there was a somber feeling and no-one was quite ready to say goodbye. Living in London has its upsides though, as one event finishes we have just enough time to catch our breath before we have the chance to get all excited again.
Laura and I were lucky enough to get tickets for paralympics- we will be witnessing Athletic finals at the Olympic Stadium on the 7th of September and we CAN'T WAIT!!!
The adverts around London have been helping to build the anticipation, we can only imagine the effort that the athletes put in to compete in the Olympics, but David Cameron, Britain's Prime Minister, put it best 'the Olympic athletes did extraordinary things, but the Paralympic athletes overcome disadvantages and then go on to do really amazing things'. As Channel 4 have been saying, they are indeed 'SUPERHUMANS'!
We love being part of the city that is welcoming these superhumans, not just because it is changing perceptions of what people are capable of, but because it is also highlighting that being different is not a bad thing. Of course at this point we could say that helps the LGBT cause that is so relevant for us, but we do think any opportunity to increase tolerance and learn more about others is a good thing. We feel touched by the stories, in awe of the individuals who not only found ways to deal with their disabilities but overcome them and in the process make us feel like we want to join in. Wheelchair basketball looks AWESOME & there are no surprises that it is one of the most popular events to get tickets to.
While the modern Olympics were launched back in 1894 the Paralympics are a fairly new addition starting in 1948 but called the 'International Wheelchair games'. It wasn't until Seoul in 1988 that the games were officially termed 'paralympics'. The title 'paralympic' being derived from the Greek for 'beside' or 'alongside' referring to the fact that they are held in parallel to the Olympic games - in case you were wondering :) We had discussed our theory on where the name came from and thought it may be something to do with 'paraplegic' or 'paralysed', which in hindsight doesn't make to much sense so this research was as much for us!! :)
This year is by far the biggest Paralympics in history - not only has the Opening Ceremony sold all 90,000 tickets but almost all events are sold out - a first! We discovered just how lucky we were to get tickets when we came from holiday to this front page:
The motto of the Paralympics is 'Spirit in Motion' and the flag has 3 colours - red, blue and green - which are the colours most commonly used in the flags of the nations competing. The shapes are each in the shape of an Agito (which is Latin for "I move"). The three Agitos circle a central point, which is a symbol for the athletes congregating from all points of the globe. - thank you wikipedia!!! We will keep you updated with what we seeing going on and what's happening around London - the flags are stilling flying, the motto 'inspire a generation' is still up in every station and on prominent roads the locations- let the party continue!!! After all WE LOVE LONDON!!!
As more states recognize same-sex marriage, extreme Christians are increasing their crusade to preserve what they define as traditional marriage between a man and a woman. But, as we find them stepping out of the church and into the limelight, it is becoming clear that they are on the wrong side of history, and are no longer 'preaching to the choir'.
In England, the main opponent to allow gay couples to marry instead of becoming civil-partners is the church and the senior, prominent church members who wish to defend 'traditional' marriage.
Thankfully, and being half Scottish, Sarah can say this, the Scots have seen sense and as of today they have legailised gay marriage! This morning the Scottish Government put Scotland on the road to being one of the most progressive countries in the world when it comes to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) equality. They have gone further than the Westminister government proposes - allowing both civil and religious & humanist marriage in Scotland (for those religions that wish to conduct same-sex marriages). This is the most progressive option, allowing for equality and religious freedom. It’s not 100% there yet - the legislation still needs to be drafted, and passed by the Scottish Parliament. This will happen in the coming months, and with majority support in the Scottish Parliament, it is expected that the first same-sex weddings to happen will be in 2014.
Such great news and after a Pride March in London that had Google leading the way with the slogan ‘Legalise Love’ lets hope England is next!!! With Google employees located in offices around the world, they have policies focused on non-discrimination that are universal throughout the company. Their part in pride parades were deliberately to show they are proud to be recognised as a leader in LGBT inclusion and equality efforts! Legalise Love is their drive to ensure that all of their employees have the same inclusive experience outside of the office as they do at work.
We have all seen the news:
Yet those of us in committed homosexual relationships are banned from such a constitution because of a religion and so-called quotes in the bible that aren't even relevant anymore - see a great article explaining on our friends Sarah & Lauren's blog HERE!
In America, the battle to allow gay marriage is happening in states across the US but it was Chick-fil-A, an American fast food chain, president Dan Cathy's comments in the Baptist Press, that brought it back into National headlines! In the article he pleads "guilty as charged" for his company's advocacy of 'traditional' marriage based on biblical principles:
‘We are very much supportive of the family -- the biblical definition of the family unit. We are a family-owned business, a family-led business, and we are married to our first wives. We give God thanks for that. We operate as a family business ... our restaurants are typically led by families; some are single. We want to do anything we possibly can to strengthen families. We are very much committed to that.’
To support this, the fast-food chain has made the commitment of donating millions of dollars to anti-gay groups and causes, including the Marriage & Family Foundation and the Family Research Council. The company's WinShape Foundation also has refused to admit gay couples to marriage counseling. Last year, Chick-fil-A cosponsored a marriage conference with the Pennsylvania Family Institute, which lobbied against a state effort to ban discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity. In another interview on the Ken Coleman Show, Cathy suggested that the nation could face God's wrath for supporting gay marriage!!!!
On a side note, another ignorant and ridiculous part of that quote is 'and we are married to our first wives.' Surely Chick-fil-A doesn't discriminate against heterosexual employees whose partners have died, so they've remarried, or who have divorced? We agree the divorce rate is much too high the world over, but it is just plain ignorant and dis-inclusive to include a statement like that. What about people who divorced out of abusive relationships? Are they no longer worthy to work at Chick-fil-A? This guy needs to be taught a lesson.
It is well reported that Chick-fil-A is a successful, private business that trains its employees "to focus on values rooted in the Bible." It stays closed on Sundays. It has over 1,608 restaurants nationwide and uses its sales to support sports stadiums, as well as at major sporting events, such as the Chick-fil-A Bowl in the company's hometown of Atlanta.
Don’t get us wrong - the president of Chick-fil-A is entitled to his opinion, and to run his business by his standards but when that involves casting public judgment over a part of society already discriminated against, then in our opinion that over steps the mark.
With that in mind, what we are loving this Wednesday is the backlash this homophobic, ignorant company is FINALLY receiving!
Mayor of Boston, Massachusetts, Thomas M. Menino is vowing to block Chick-fil-A from bringing its Southern-fried fast-food empire to Boston — possibly to a popular tourist spot just steps from City Hall, where the first same-sex couples in the country got married — after the family-owned firm’s president suggested gay marriage is “inviting God’s judgment on our nation.”
“Chick-fil-A doesn’t belong in Boston. You can’t have a business in the city of Boston that discriminates against a population. We’re an open city, we’re a city that’s at the forefront of inclusion,” Menino told the Herald.
“That’s the Freedom Trail. That’s where it all started right here. And we’re not going to have a company, Chick-fil-A or whatever the hell the name is, on our Freedom Trail.'’ Yay to the Mayor of Boston!!! We love the thought of having someone in government so open-minded and inclusive!
Read the Mayor's entire letter to Dan Cathy here!
A Chicago alderman also wants to kill Chick-fil-A's plans to build a restaurant in his increasingly trendy Northwest Side ward because the fast-food chain's top executive vocally opposes gay marriage.
Everyone’s favourite childhood puppets are even taking a stand for gay marriage. The Jim Henson Company—creator of the Muppets—announced recently that it would no longer do business with Chick-Fil-A following recent anti-gay marriage comments made by Dan Cathy.
“The Jim Henson Company has celebrated and embraced diversity and inclusiveness for over fifty years and we have notified Chick-Fil-A that we do not wish to partner with them on any future endeavors,” wrote the organization on its Facebook page. “Lisa Henson, our CEO is personally a strong supporter of gay marriage and has directed us to donate the payment we received from Chick-Fil-A to GLAAD,” the post concludes.
As if all that wasn't enough, thousands of people have vowed to boycott the chain - there have been protests and demonstrations, Universities voting to oust the chain from their campuses, spoof videos, and there is even a same-sex 'kiss in' planned. The backlash from his comments no doubt surprised Dan Cathy, but obviously made enough of an impression that the company issued a statement - not apologising, but committing to staying out of politics in future. They very obviously know they are on the wrong side of history with this one - and the damage has been done. Their reputation will no longer be of great chicken, funny ad campaigns (Eat mor chikin) or 'family values' - but bigotry and hatred.
We hope that the tale of Chick-fil-A is a cautionary one to any other companies who want to spread homophobia and ignorance. What we love this Wednesday is not that Chick-fil-A royally put their foot in their mouth, but that people are coming together to defend the LGBT community, and we think this controversy has sparked support even from those who didn't have a strong opinion on the subject before.
Love always (& remember to give your hard earned money to companies who appreciate ALL of their customers),
I am a lucky lady, of that I have no doubt, but at this time - my birthday to be precise, I find myself alone more often than I like. Here's the thing - you know we spend EVERY moment we can together so I appreciate that it might be a little hard to plan anything but when L disappears and I am essentially left alone it feels odd! The fact that there are rarely secrets between us also means that the time around my birthday always feels odd.
So rather than trying to sneak-a-peek through the bedroom door I thought I would use the opportunity to reminisce on birthdays past, at the grand old age of soon to be 29, there have been a few :) but since being with Laura birthdays in my world have stepped up and been AMAZING!!!
The first birthday we celebrated together was my 26th and we celebrated with a trip to St. Malo in France. Laura had been given ferry tickets from a gentleman at work, due to some wonderful customer service, and we were able to book a room at a gorgeous hotel, so made a long weekend of it.
On the ferry over we had been allocated reclining seats as it was an overnight journey, we snuggled up under covers and got a few hours sleep. Our arrival into St. Malo was an early one, as we were off the ferry by 8am, but we were able to leave our luggage at the hotel and set about exploring the fortified island. With it's glorious beaches, beautiful castles and streets filled with restaurants it was a perfect place for a mini-break.
The best bit was that it was just us and the presents Laura had bought me were perfect, and just what I wanted.
My 27th was also spent out of the country but that was because we were living in Australia. I actually screwed up L's birthday surprise without even knowing it. July in the UK is summertime, my birthday has, hopefully including this year, always been in the sun - its synonymous for me. L's grandparents had thrown me a mini-birthday celebration and I spoke to my parents over Skype but it didn't feel like my birthday. Being in Australia where July is winter it was weird for me, the TV programmes are all winter related and people are wrapped up warmly and it all seems a bit too much like Christmas. We were watching Australia's Funniest Home Videos - Yuletide Edition at L's grandparents when I may have stated 'There's nothing worse than Christmas in July.'- what I didn't realise was Laura left the room in floods of tears!
The reason was, my birthday surprise was a weekend away to the Blue Mountains- about 2 hours outside of Sydney, for Christmas in July. Villages in the Blue Mountains literally decorate themselves as if it's Christmas. Hotels put up Christmas trees and in our hotel Santa came to visit. Not many people with birthdays in July can say they got Happy Birthday sung to them by Santa!!
As with every surprise organised by Laura it was AMAZING! From the long walks to see spectacular waterfalls to the four course Christmas dinner, it was an amazing getaway. The hotel was so cute and cosy, the people we met were brilliant and even though I spent my birthday singing carols, I couldn't have been happier!
On arrival back in Manly we went to a pub quiz with our Aussie friends and I was gifted diet coke and a coat that has saved me from more than a few soaking this summer thanks to Kate, what I wasn't aware was that my darling girlfriend had set me up:
This happened in our local pub quiz! Check it out, you'll learn a few things about me you may not know!!!
My 28th birthday was the first we celebrated back on UK soil and once again L surpassed herself. If I was to list things I love (and where better to do that than on a WWLW post) it would include: massages, cookie dough, theatre, Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing, David Tennant and Catherine Tate - and she managed to get them ALL into one birthday! It helped that David & Catherine were starring in Much Ado About Nothing in the West End, but I had heard that it had been SOLD OUT ages before I had even seen it was on!
The day started with a cooked breakfast and then a massage - what better way to start ANY day, but especially my birthday!
The cookie dough featured because my wonderful girlfriend had made me a bag - yep a re-sealable sandwich bag- of COOKIE DOUGH!!!!! Instead of a cake I was able to spoon out cookie dough!!! AMAZING!!! My main memory of that evening was crying with happiness after an amazing meal at Prix Fix (a really lovely restaurant in Soho) and being given the cookie dough and tickets. There were other beautiful gifts from my lovely lady too but it's hard to top tickets to a sold out play - EXCEPT she topped it by getting us 12 rows back!!!! I tell you I am with the most AMAZING, WONDERFUL, INCREDIBLE girl who knows me better than I know myself.
So as I sit watching programmes I recorded that I know she'll be glad she doesn't have to sit through (who doesn't want to know about the history of London streets?!) I know whatever is being organised /created/ planned in the other room will put a smile on my face that only she know how to put there! See i'm one of those awkward people who says things like 'I just want time with you', for me birthdays are never about the presents (although they're great too) they are about the feeling you get knowing that someone has taken time out their day to think of you. And L does that oh so well!
Therefore what do I love this Wednesday? Simple my lovely Laura organising something for my birthday! In fact, if all I got this birthday was an hour of hugging L it would be the best birthday yet!
