Queen Ruby!

Queen Ruby came for a visit and excitement ensued!

Ruby is Marnie and Marnie's husband Dave's foster dog.  For the last 12 years they've looked after Ruby when her regular family is away.  Ruby is also Dave's other woman.  Ruby is adorable, entertaining, smart and sneaky.

Dave loves her with a passion. Ruby can do no wrong in his eyes.  Marnie isn't so blind.  But really, Ruby sets out to make Marnie's life stressful, so the devotion - not so much.

First off Ruby loves eating paper.  And she will find paper where there is no paper to be found.  She'll also sneak over and under gates, through mesh wire, unlatch doors and dig to satisfy her paper craving.  Marnie took Ruby for a walk and was horrified to see bits of chewed up check paper in Ruby's poop.  The worst part... Marnie's name was still legible on the paper!

Ruby's guilty face; caught in Marnie's studio where there is LOTS of paper

Ruby also hogs the bed.  It's Ruby's mission in life to make sure that Marnie has no room on their king size bed.

The dynamic duo after a long hard day

And this is not a big dog.  A precocious, attitude ridden dog yes, big no.  But you can't really blame Ruby.  She is treated like a princess.  Here's Dave drying her after a walk in the rain:

Such a mutual admiration society

This week's visit entailed much paper eating, some underwear chewing (this was new) and lots of Styrofoam ingesting. Marnie is still waiting for the ramifications to appear,  Really this week has boiled down to Marnie walking Ruby a lot so that Ruby can poop out everything she's eaten and Marnie can make sure it's all coming out.  Not fun.  Not fun at all.  But hilarious to hear about.  I love me a Ruby story.  The best comic relief ever!

A Golden Childhood

My fabulous friend and neighbor Karen took me to see Disney's Beauty and the Beast last night and I fell in love.  The whole movie was sumptuous and perfect.  Once I got home I stayed up late to find out everything I could about the movie, as one does when one falls in love.

Favorite moment: when Beast lifts Belle while they're dancing, Yum!

Today I was bound and determined to have more Disney magic, more of that sumptuousness; more of those incredible visuals and sweeping scores; more to die for production details, more, more, more.  So I blew off almost my entire to do list and rented Disney's Cinderella.  And I wasn't disappointed.  The details of the house, and the costumes, and the castle were superb!  I envy that so many talented and creative people got to work on such beautiful projects.  Can you imagine the energy?!

Mighty big heel for a slipper, but isn't it pretty?

This is a long winded backstory to get to my point.  At the end of Cinderella, while she was locked in the attic, she was twirling around and the narrator was describing how happy she was because she had these incredible memories of her parents, the prince and her golden childhood.

I love the expression "golden childhood".  That rang like a clarion bell for me.  My deepest admiration to whomever coined the term.

I had a golden childhood and I strive everyday to give my kids one too. Marnie had a golden childhood.  it's one of the things that bond us.  And she was able to foster this idea for every child she cared for in her 20 years as a nanny.   I believe a golden childhood is one where you get to be a child, where you are safe, where you are loved, where you have your own space, where you get to experience pleasurable things that inspire your adult likes and passions. Where people show you how to be kind, and silly, and enthusiastic.  Where people take the time to inquire about your interests and foster them.  It doesn't mean life was perfect as a kid, or that loss, sadness, betrayal or cruelty didn't enter the picture but rather as a child you had places and people and experiences that taught you joy.

So a giant thank you to all those who helped me create my golden childhood.  Thank you! Thank you!  The inspiration for my present is fueled by the fantastic memories created in my past. I am so lucky - so lucky - to have had all these golden moments and I look forward to creating many more.

Marnie's Mecca

I had the great good fortune to organize a trip to Disneyland for my family this winter.   It's one of Marnie's favourite places and Disney's influence and inspiration can be found throughout Marnie's life.  So being able to ask her for advice and bounce ideas off her was perfect.  Also it was fun to see what has her so jazzed.

The first night, we slipped over to the main gates to get our tickets.  The music they broadcast as you are walking towards the entrance is phenomenal and just adds to the excitement.

The next day we arrived just in time to meet with every other local Californian who wanted to come out and play after a month of rain.  There were a lot of people waiting for that rope to drop.

I've decided Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays are the best time to visit.  The above photo was taken on a Sunday morning at the end of January.

Our favourite rides were Star Tours, most of the rides at Bugs Land and all the rides at Cars Land. We also had a wonderful experience learning how to draw Disney cartoons.  And don't get me started on the Ghirardelli chocolate ice cream sundaes or the chili and lime corn on the cob.

I stole this beautiful photo from  https://www.pinterest.com/lizangelmarie/disneyland-food-bucket-list

 The first ride we rode was Star Tours.  So. Fun.

This little guy greeted us as we got in line

This was C3PO setting up the story for the actual ride

And you can't have C3PO without R2D2

These were some of the photos I was allowed to take as you wait to get into the ride.  Disney does a great job of keeping you entertained while you wait.  And we didn't have to wait for much even with the crowds because of the fantastic "Fast Pass".  I cannot recommend enough that you take advantage of this concept.  You can save hours not having to wait in line with a fast pass.

The next area that left a lasting impression was Disney California's A Bugs Land.

This was a fantastic 4D show that had me jumping out of my seat

These were so much fun and way faster than expected

These lady bugs were exactly like the spinning tea cups

And finally my eldest son and I left our hearts in Cars Land.

When my oldest was around 3 I introduced him to the Disney Pixar movie Cars and he and I have developed quite a healthy admiration for all things Cars, one might even call it an obsession.  So to be able to walk right into the movie left us both wonderstruck.  WONDERSTRUCK!

Cars land shows best at dusk and into the night when all the neon is glowing

Flo's V-8 cafe is the place to have dinner and if your lucky you can dance with DJ.

My absolute favourite place in all the of the Disney California Parks

 They had fantastic milkshakes at Flo's!

Youngest dancing with DJ

In my family's humble opinion the best ride in the park, in both parks, was Radiator Springs racers. The racing part was not my favourite but the lead up was so great, the racing was worth it.

This was one of the fountains in the line up.  So great!

The attention to detail was incredible.  The Disney imagineers truly outdid themselves.  You just have to go!

This is part of the race track

I mean, come on!, isn't this incredible?!

And I spent countless digital photos trying to capture the incredible landscape that looks exactly like the movie.  But none of my photos were as good as the one above.  Sadly I did not take this picture. This and several others were stock photography that Marnie bought when she was at Disneyland. I know, right?!

I could write 10 posts about all the wonderful details found at Disneyland.  And maybe I will.  For right now I'll leave you with our highlights.  And a recommendation.  We walked around Disneyland for five days, probably six to seven hours a day. I wore Sketchers go walk flex slip on walking shoes. And my feet never hurt; never hurt at all.

These bad boys kept my feet comfortable, blister free, and sans aches

We had so much fun.  According to Marn they pipe magic in the Main Street air and I have to agree; she just might be right.  The people who work at Disneyland Parks and the people who run Disneyland Parks are pretty special.  Everyone was so helpful, and everywhere we turned there was some form of entertainment.  It was magical!  Oh I forgot to tell you about the Band.  I loved the Disney Marching Band.  Ah well, another post for another time...