summer

An Evening with “Anna” and “Elsa”

/ emiliym / Leave a comment

I’ve been dreading July 3 since THE BIG MOVE, and earlier in the week had a few meltdowns about it’s impending doom. I decided to plan some fun things to keep myself busy. Most of my friends already had plans (Three Day Weekend/Holiday/Family time/etc) so I decided to take myself to Disneyland.

The highlight of my morning was when Peter Pan spotted me walking through Fantasyland, chased me down yelling “YOU HAVE MY SHADOW!”, and asked if I wanted to take a photo. He told me how to pose:
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He even noticed my Second Star to the Right tattoo behind my ear, and told me to keep it hidden else people would think I’m a pirate.

Then I had breakfast with Huey, Dewey, and Louie
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Had a Fun Wheel
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And enjoyed a concert from The World Famous Disneyland Band
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It was a great morning. I hadn’t seen the Paint the Night parade yet, nor the new fireworks, and I dithered about whether or not I wanted to stay. Parking at my new place at night is a challenge, it was a holiday weekend so it’s extra busy, and I was simply tired. I found a curb on Main Street, nestled between a bench and a pole, and figured no one would bother me there. I pulled out my kindle, and thought I’d spend the next couple of hours reading while I decided if I actually wanted to stay. Worst case, I’d watch the sunset over the castle and leave before it got too crazy.

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But soon, a little blonde girl dressed like Elsa, and her red-headed sister dressed like Anna sat next to me and asked me what I was reading. This began one of the best conversations I’ve ever had. I was live-tweeting some of the adorable things they said, but I wanted to put them here to keep everything together before they get buried in my Twitter feed.

***

Anna had Ninja Turtles on her shoes, I asked if she like turtles and her face lit up. I told her I had a pet turtle, and both girls thought I was the coolest thing ever.

***

Elsa: What’s your name?
Me: Emiliy
Elsa: Is that with an “E” or with an “M”?
Me: With an “E”
Elsa: MY NAME IS EMILY WITH AN E TOO!

(note: I didn’t mention the extra “i” because it’s confusing enough for adults. I later found out Elsa’s real name was Brooke, and she sometimes says her name is Emily because that’s her best friend’s name)

***

Elsa: What did you eat for dinner?
Me: Popcorn
Elsa: What did you eat for Lunch?
Me: Ice cream
Elsa: Well then what did you eat for breakfast?
Me: … a cookie…
Elsa: YOU CAN NOT EAT ALL OF THOSE THINGS FOR YOUR MEALS

I got schooled by a 6 year old dressed as Elsa.

Later:

Elsa: Mom, her name is Emiliy with an E not an M. She had a cookie for breakfast and popcorn for dinner!
Mom: That’s what you get to do when you’re an adult
Elsa: (jaw drops)

***

Elsa: So, it’s just you and your turtle?
Me: Yup.
Elsa: That sounds like the life.

***

Anna and Elsa’s dad brought pizzas. 
Elsa: This pizza is OK, but my dad stole all of my pepperoni.
Me: (laughs, looks up at her dad)
Dad: (shrugs) She stole my pizza. It’s fair.

(this began an argument between Elsa and her dad about pepperoni. Elsa is full of sass. I decide I like her)

Me, to Anna: Is your pizza good?
Anna: (sighs) It’s ok…
Me: Did your dad steal your pepperoni, too?
Anna: (eyes get really big) THERE WAS PEPPERONI!?

***

The girls climbed in to my lap and asked to see photos of Edgar.
Dad: Girls! No! Get off of her!
Me: It’s ok, I don’t mind. I have a pet turtle and they asked to see photos.
Dad: You have a pet turtle? Turtles are [Anna]’s favorite. It’s all she ever talks about.

***

A Cast Member came by and told the girls that the real Anna and Elsa would be in the parade. The girls nearly lost their shit. They were screaming and jumping and it was adorable.

***

Playing an iPhone trivia game to pass the time.
Me: In the Hunger Games, who was “The Girl on Fire”?
Elsa: I KNOW! It was Snow White!
Anna: NO! It was Olaf!

***

During the Parade, THE Anna waved at “Anna” and I thought she might faint.

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***

The girls asked me if I was going to watch the Fireworks “because tomorrow is the 4th of July and we need to watch the fireworks together”. During the Frozen/Let It Go scene, it started to snow on Main Street, the girls looked at me, then at each other with the most perfectly excited look filled with awe and wonder. I was able to catch a photo of it, and will be emailing it to their parents. I don’t want to post a photo of someone else’s child on the internet (I’m still essentially a stranger to them) but trust me when I say it was magic.

***

Despite all the somber and emotions that July 3 was meant to bring, this ended up being one of the best days I’ve had at the park. I dithered about staying all day, but I’m glad I did. From Peter Pan chasing me through Fantasyland all the way to my two little guardian angels in the evening, it truly was a day filled with Disney Magic.

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Second Star to the Right and Straight on ’til Morning. Jupiter and Venus watch over the Disneyland Fire Dept while Walt looks over the Park.

Arnold Mango Tango Pom-er

/ emiliym / Leave a comment

We’re still in the middle of summer, and I thought I’d share with you my current summer obsession: the Arnold Mango Tango Pom-er. Sometimes I’ll just call it the Mango Pom-er for short. When I’m feeling sassy I call it Mango Tango. Yes, silly names, but the most accurate description.

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Summer in a glass.

My take on the Arnold Palmer, it’s equal parts DavidsTea Pom Tango tea and Stew Leonard’s Mango Lemonade. Add some ice and an optional splash of mango-passion fruit vodka, and you’ve got summer in a glass. I prefer mine with the vodka, R prefers his without, but we’ve spent every Sunday since June sipping our Mango Pom-ers on the patio with a book.

I brew 4 teaspoons of tea with 4 cups of hot water. Using 1/2 cup tea and 1/2 cup lemonade, this gives me approximately 8 Mango Pom-ers.

If you’re not lucky enough to live near a Stew Leonard’s, then there are several recipes out there for mango lemonade, but the ingredients on the bottle of Stew’s version list simply lemons and mangoes. I saw an ad recently for a new Simply juice brand  mango lemonade, although I haven’t seen it in stores yet (I also haven’t been looking).

What really makes this drink is Pom Tango from DavidsTea. Unfortunately, it was one of DavidsTea’s spring teas, so unless you bought it a few months ago, you’re unlikely to find it in stores. However, the tea did recently show up on their website at 20% off, so if you’re fast you can probably grab some before it is completely out of stock (until, hopefully, next spring). It’s my favorite from DavidsTea, and I can vouch that it’s fantastic both hot and iced.

Last weekend, I wondered what would happen if I prepared the drink frozen. It was a complete game changer.

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Darth Vader approves of the Mango Pom-ers. (It was the only ice cube tray free)

I used both frozen tea cubes blended with the mango lemonade, and frozen mango lemonade cubes blended with the tea. I found the flavor of the frozen tea cubes to be smoother – almost creamy, but my blender had an easier time blending the frozen lemonade. Either way you prepare it, the frozen drink is delicious.

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Umbrella optional.

The best part about the Mango Pom-ers? It’s a feel-good guilt-free summer beverage. This tea has 5 calories per 1/2 cup, and with the lemonade and light vodka, you’ve got yourself a summer cocktail for around 100 calories*.

Whether you’re in the summer-ends-on-labor-day camp or you’re a summer-ends-on-the-autumnal-equinox fan, you still have plenty of time to enjoy a Mango Pom-er. What are you waiting for?

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PS This was not a sponsored post, even though this did end up sounding like a love letter to both DavidsTea and Stew Leonard’s.

*Estimation. Assuming 55 calories for the 1/2 cup of lemonade and 40 calories for a splash of Smirnoff Light Mango Passion Fruit Vodka. Stew’s doesn’t list their calories but Simply Lemonade with Mango has 110 calories per 8 oz.  Smirnoff Light Mango Passion Vodka is listed at 78 calories per 1.5 oz.