Sunday, July 29, 2012

The Happiest Place on Earth

I know what you're thinking by the title of this post. 
And you're right.
It's Disneyland!
And instead of just day dreaming about it all day long, I actually got to go visit it! Nate and I and my parents made the trip over to the happiest place on earth a couple weekends ago, and I must say...it was pretty happy...with the exception of my feet, my feet weren't actually too happy with all the walking I made them do.

It had only been two years since I was last at Disneyland, but for some reason it definitely felt longer than two years. Probably because it's Disneyland, and Disneyland is the happiest place on earth, and your life just doesn't feel quite as happy without Disneyland in it; thus, making your time without it...seem really long. 
I feel bad for my parents who had to go like, 15 years without Disneyland in their life up until a couple weekends ago. 
True story.
They didn't even know about California Adventure Land.
Geez, and I thought my two years were rough. 
We made the trip out on a Friday and had to come back Monday, and our Disneyland pass was for three days...so if you do the math, that's a whole-lotta Disneyland crammed into a few days.
Which is just the way I like it.
Except for all the walking. I don't like all the walking.

We got to the Park early afternoon on Friday, and since my parents hadn't been to California Adventure we spent the rest of the day there.
I felt a little as if I was cheating on Disneyland, being within walking distance but spending my time at another park.
Forgive me Mickey.
The new Cars Land is totally amazeballs! It truly feels like your IN Radiator Springs! The only bummer is that we didn't get to ride the Cars ride. The first day it was closed and every other time we checked, it was always about a 2 hour wait...and I'm not waiting in a line for 2 hours just for one ride...no offense Mr. McQueen, Mr. Mater, but I got places to go and people to see (Namely Disneyland and Mickey Mouse). 

Saturday I was finally able to march my tush into the Happiest Place on Earth, and lemme tell ya...I was pretty happy.
Here's what we learned about Disneyland during our time there:
-There is a line for everything.
This includes, but is not limited to: rides, shows, the bathroom, shops, a measly popcorn cart, and
of course - the exit
-Mom gets nauseous on the following rides: Space Mountain, Thunder Mountain, and the Matterhorn; so in other words...all the fun ones. Muahahaha!! =)
-Dad hasn't been to Disneyland in 15 years and is surprised that everything looks different
Muahahaha!! =)
-Claiming your "spot"on the sidewalk for a parade is not for the weak. Prepare a wide stance, just say no to creepers, and if necessary, use them 'bows; you gotta commit if you want the optimal view of Mickey's Soundsational Parade.
-After walking 1290432434909.2 miles all day, the Nemo ride will put you to sleep after sitting in a dark submarine for 15 minutes.
-When it comes to Dole Whips, double fisting it is the only way to go: Dole Whip float in one hand and a pineapple spear in the other
...side note: don't you just love when your food matches your shirt?!
 
 

And the most important thing I learned of all is that it is physically possible to walk your feet off.
Really.
We walked so much over the course of three days that I literally walked right out of them. Left them smack dab in the middle of Main Street.
It wasn't as bloody as you might think.
And then I grew new feet on the way home.
Just like a lizard.
...wait, a lizard grows a tail?

Anyway, I was sad to leave Disneyland and CA Adventure to head back home. I was not sad, however, to finally have the Pirates theme song out of my head.
And It's a Small World.
And Zip-a-dee Doo Da.

You can thank me later for now having gotten those songs stuck in your head.

Until next time Disneyland!!!





Wednesday, July 25, 2012

Victory

So tonight Nate and I had this exchange via Facebook...while we were sitting next to each other on the couch:
I'm pretty sure this is what you'd call a win.

Rissa: 1
Nate: 0

Friday, July 20, 2012

Liebster Award

I just want to start out this post by thanking the Academy...

Just kidding.

But I do wanna thank a bunch of bloggers for nominating me for the Liebster Blog Award! Would you believe me if I told you I was nominated three times this week by three different people?! 
Believe it.
Cause it happened.
And I'm feeling pretty special right now.
Originally, way back in like, April, Amanda over at My Love for Lyla nominated me for this award...and I was a bad blogger friend and totally didn't do the post to go with it. And then Amanda over at It's a Powell Life nominated me too and I again was a bad blogger friend and didn't do the post to go with it.
I'm so lame.

So then, this week, Mosby from The Life of a Milligan College Student, Ashley over at Dashing Tales, and Ali from Stories of a Girl all nominated me for the Liebster award.
So thanks everybody for the blog love!!...and Amanda squared, forgive me for being so tardy on your ever-so-gracious nominations!! 

So what's the Liebster Award you ask?
"The Liebster award is given to upcoming bloggers who have less than 200 followers. The meaning: Liebster is German and means sweetest, kindest, nicest, dearest, beloved, lovely, kind, pleasant, valued, cute, endearing and welcome."- Adrian

I've seen a few different versions of the "rules" for the Liebster award; while they're all similar, these are the ones we're going to go with...why? Well because it's my blog. 
And I said so. 
And I don't have any kids to use that line on...
1.) Answer the questions that the tagger set for you plus create 11 questions for the people you've tagged to answer.
2.) Choose 11 people and link them in your post
3.) Go to their page and tell them.
4.) No tag backs!
Since a few different people nominated me there's a few different sets of questions to answer, so I decided to answer a few from each!
Because it's my blog.
And I said so.

1.) Why did you start blogging?
I started blogging because I often found myself reading other blogs and some of them were just so funny and witty and entertaining, that I thought it would be fun to start one of my own. I enjoy writing and creativity, and wanted to be able to entertain people and make people laugh with my writing.




2.) How did you decide on your blog name?
Simple: cause T is for Townsend. And Townsend is my last name.
Don't they teach you that in first grade anymore? A is for Apple, B is for boy and T is for Townsend.

3.) Do you have pets? Tell me more!
YES! I have two dogs! Maycee is a black lab. And Gunther is a yellow lab. And they are the best labs ever created. ...except for their tails; their tails are like freakin' weapons and knock things over and wap my legs and it really hurts sometimes. 
But other than that they are totally the best labs ever created.
Read more about them here

4.) What is your best talent?
Easy: eating.
I can eat a lot. Mostly Desserts. I can eat large quantities at a high frequency rate. I can eat even when I'm not hungry.
Ooooh I also have good jokes.
Oh and I can spit water really far in between the gap in my two front teeth.
And I can memorize the rap part in every pop song. 
Oh and I can play a mean air guitar.
Dang, I'm more talented than I thought I was...


5.) What are your pet peeves?
-Wasting my left turn arrow
-Women who carry their cell phones in their bras
-Pointing out to me that I'm really sunburned when I'm really sunburned
-Reporters who ask stupid questions (i.e. "how much does this win mean to you tonight?")



6.) What personal item could you not live without?
Easy: my thumbs
and chapstick.

7.) Biggest obstacle in blogging?
Finding the time.
We all know that you can't just sit down and blog if you're not in the mood, or if you don't have your bloggy mojo going...or have a gazillion papers to write for school instead.


8.) What is your happiest memory?
Geez. Talk about a loaded question.
My happiest memory I think is my wedding day. Cause I finally go to marry my 4th grade crush and it was pretty dang cool.
And plus we had one heck of a party.
An overwhelmingly happy memory was also when Nate came back from Iraq.
Alive.
And in one piece.
I was pretty dang happy that day too.


9.) What is your biggest fear and why?
My biggest fear is my husband dying before me.


10.) What do you do for a living?
Right now I am working at the State in the Department of Economic Security. I'm interning as an analyst and totally loving my first big girl job!


11.) Who is your best friend and why?
Besides Gunther? I was gonna say Gunther cause he's so cute and furry, and is a world class snuggler, doesn't argue with me, or spend all of our money. But since Gunny's a dog I'm not sure if he counts. So if we're talking about humans, I suppose the right answer to this question is my husband; since I married him and all that good stuff. If we're talking, however, about best friends besides the people you're married to, and since Nate isn't very chatty, like women tend to be, my best friend would be Charlene. She's much more chatty than Nathan. And she sings all the rap parts of pop songs with me.
You can read more about her here. 


So since this Liebster thing doesn't allow you to tag back the people who nominated you, I'm not sure I have another 11 peole to nominate and pay it forward, since a lot of my favorite bloggers are the ones who nominated me!
So here are my other favorites I choose for this award:
Erin @ Hopeful Heart

And here are my questions:
1.) Why did you start blogging?
2.) How did you decide on your blog name?
3.) Where do you live? Tell me more!
4.) MAC or PC?
5.) What personal item could you not live without?
6.) Do you have pets? Tell me more!
7.) What is your favorite hobby?
8.) What's your guilty pleasure(s)?
9.) If you were an animal what would you be?
10.) Tell me a good joke
11.) What's your most embarrassing moment?

Wednesday, July 11, 2012

Pressing Issues

Because I just know that it's something on everyone's mind:

Things to do when you're waiting for your self-tanning lotion to dry and can't get dressed because it'll smear your new glow all over the place:

-Swallow your multi-vitamin
-Wander around your house looking for things to take pictures of with your new iphone to then upload to Instagram
-Pace back and forth stepping only on odd numbered tiles
-Have a staring contest with your dog
-See how long you can balance on one foot
-Play Words with Friends (*cough *cough my username is TisforTownsend *cough *cough)
-Count how many empty water bottles are sitting on your kitchen table
-Check your refrigerator to see if anything magically appeared that wasn't there 20 minutes ago (like, maybe a good cheesecake or something)
-See if your husband is still awake and tell him a good joke
-Alphabetize your DVDs
-Flip your couch cushions
-Light a candle
-Think about something good to blog about (like maybe how it's really boring when you're waiting for your self-tanning lotion to dry and can't do or touch anything or get dressed because it'll smear your new glow all over the place)

And there you have it. 


Saturday, July 7, 2012

Updates

Every now and then a bunch of things pile up that I don't blog about on time. They end up being compiled into one, slightly unorganized, teeny bit random blog post.
Like this one. Or this one. Or this one.

So here we go:

-First and foremost...I totally got an iphone today.
I can safely say...it's been love at first sight.
The first thing I did was download Instagram because I've had total Instagram envy for like, the last...well, since Instagram was invented. So forgive me if I go a little Instagram happy and post like, a million pictures in a 24 hour period. Also, I'm not really sure what Instagram protocol is as far as hash-tagging things sooooo, I don't really know what's hash-tag appropriate and what's not. So I may go a little hash-tag crazy too.
#Instagramlove
#iphonelove
#imakeupmyownhashtagrules 
Follow me at missriss0409

-I finished my first round of summer classes and lived to tell the tale. I don't wanna brag or anything, but I ended up doing ok. Like, first-letter-of-the-alphabet ok. But I mean, I don't wanna brag or anything...
 Round two of classes have already commenced and I can already think of a heap of stuff to complain about. ...but I'll spare you.

-I'm totally diggin' working right across the street from the State Capital. Last week the other interns and I went to the Capital Museum during lunch and on Friday we went to both the House and Senate Galleries. Since the legislative session is over we didn't get to see any action, but nonetheless it was cool!
I tried to track down Governor Brewer in her office just to say "hayyy guuurl" but security wasn't really down for that.

-In a matter of 1 week we had an 80 degree day in July, Steve Nash was traded to the Lakers and the D-backs said they would consider trading Justin Upton should they get a good offer.
I feel like I'm living in the Twilight zone.
This is still Arizona isn't it?!


I got some serious pool/puppy time in with Tyah, over at Humble Haro Abode, a couple weekends ago. Her and her hubs (and the pup) were in town and I'm so glad we were able to find time to see each other!
We taught Hurley how to swim and I must say, it was hilarious!!
 He did so good though, and wasn't afraid of anything!!...even Maycee and Gunther! Hah!

Now that I think we're (for the most part) caught up...I'm gonna go play with my iphone.


Friday, July 6, 2012

Happy 4th of July

"It will be celebrated by succeeding generations as the great anniversary festival. It out to be commemorated as the day of deliverance, by solemn acts of devotion to God almighty. It ought to be solemnized with pomp and parade, with shows, games, sports, guns, bells, bonfires, and illuminations from one end of this continent to the other, from this time forward forever more" -John Adams, after the Independence resolution passed on July 2nd. 

Well shoot. 
My favorite holiday has come and gone already!
The 4th of July is my favorite time of year and I'm having mixed feelings about it this year. Mostly because I certainly had fun bbq-ing and hanging out with the whole fam-dam-ly...BUT this marks the first year since 2005 that we haven't also spent it with our dear friends the Haro's.
Check out Tyah's blog here
and check out all our pics over the years here
A Townsend-Haro 4th of July is tradition and I'm really kinda mad that this whole growing-up-and-having-responsibilities is getting in the way of our fun!...Right Tyah?! =)

Additionally...since these little pesky things called summer classes keep getting in my way this summer, I totally didn't have time to make any festive decorations or recipes this year. I couldn't even hang my banner up from last year (see above link) cause it rained on the 4th. ...That's right folks, I said rain in Arizona. They say it was the coolest 4th of July Arizona has seen in 100 years.
Holy crap on a cracker.

But lastly and most importantly...the 4th of July this year, is the day that I will refer to now and forevermore, as... the day the music died.
Steve Nash was traded.
To the Lakers.
TO. THE. LAKERS.
How very, and so totally UN-American.
...then again he is Canadian sooo...
Regardless. I'm so mad. ANY team Steve, but the Lakers?? I feel so betrayed.
Utterly betrayed.
 I'm still grieving and I can't decide Steve, weather I still love you or hate your stinkin' guts.

I start my therapy on Monday.

ANYWAY...happy thoughts...
happy thoughts...
happy thoughts...

My 4th of July got started a day early this year thanks to my friend and former co-worker, the lovely and talented Tanya O'Malley. We went (accompanied by our ever-enthusiastic husbands) to the Miranda Lambert concert...and it was fab!
If ever I were to have a "girl crush" on someone, it would totally be Ms. Lambert. 
She's gorgeous, fierce, sassy, tough, has an amazing voice, and totally rocks her live shows!
Did I mention she's totally gorgeous?!
Darius Rucker and Eden's Edge were along for the ride and weren't too shabby either!
Ms. Tanya

Always rockin' that pink guitar and pink microphone in true Miranda fashion
If it looks like she's pointing at us...she totally is. She's like, "You girls way back there in the bleachers, meet me after the show and we'll be friends and hang out and have sleepovers and be BFF's and stuff!"
...true story.

After the show was the fireworks spectacular.
It was pretty spectacular.
Fireworks and country music is indeed, pretty spectacular.
  


For the actual 4th, we spent the day at my parents house swimming and bbq-ing...even though it was raining. Cause that's what you do on the 4th of July. You swim and you bbq.
The day before, I texted my mom and asked if she and my dad had plans yet (for the 4th). When she replied with "no" I invited us all over to party it up.
Sorry mom and dad, but that's the price you pay when you own the home with the pool.
Muahahaha!
We put together a few matches of pool volleyball. ...until Nate went all Freshman year on me and smacked the ball right into my face. ...but that's neither here nor there...
My dad, myself, and our good friend Kenny won all the matches. Which means Nate didn't win any.
Serves him right.
Muahaha!
The boys got a little inventive and came up with some alternative methods of volleyballing...



So with the exception of the Haro's being MIA and Steve Nash high-tailin' it to...ahem...I can't even say it...the 4th of July this year was a definite success!! 

"America has surmounted a greater variety and combination of difficulties than, I believe, ever fell to the share of any one people, in the same space of time, and has replenished the world with more useful knowledge and sounder maxims of civil government than were ever produced in any age before. Had it not been for America there had been no such thing as freedom left throughout the whole universe" -Thomas Paine 1778