This year, we decided to visit the place where it all began, Disneyland in
Anaheim California.

Disneyland is personally our favorite park.
It is the original, Walt‚’s
park.
There is just something special and charming about Disneyland.
Just
like last year, we decided to go during the holidays.

This year, the Holidays at the Disneyland Resort run from November 9, 2018-
January 6, 2019.
We went during the first weekend, and had a blast!
The Food
Disneyland Resort went all out with their special holiday food and even
prepared a Foodie Guide to 2018 Holidays at Disney Resort! I couldn‚’t believe my eyes when I saw all the options the resort was
offering in 2018.
They also have the Festival of Holidays at Disney
California Adventure and prepared yet another Foodie Guide to 2018 Festival of Holidays.
There was honestly no way for us to eat everything in two days, so we
just enjoyed a few.
Here‚’s a list of what we had:
Disneyland Park
Peppermint Holiday Sundae at Gibson Girl Ice Cream ParlorGingerbread Creme Brulee at Blue BayouChurro with crushed pretzel and peppermint at the churro cart near Big
Thunder MountainCandy Cane Beignets – Mint Julep BarLumps of Coal Beignets – Cafe Orleans
California Adventure
Peppermint Churro at the churro cart near the Redwood Creek Trail
Festival of Holidays
Reuben Potato Tots with Russian Dressing and Rye Toast at Favorite Things
Our ultimate favorites that we would definitely eat again are the
peppermint holiday sundae, gingerbread creme brulee, candy cane beignets,
and the peppermint churro.

The Decor
I‚’ve said it before and I‚’ll say it again‚Äö√Ѭ∂holidays plus Disney is the best
combination.
We simply can‚’t get enough.

I wish we had more time to take it all in.
Disney does it best! I mean just
look at how magical the castle and it‚’s a small world look.
The rest of the
park is decked out too!
If you can, try to visit the parks during the holiday season.
It can get
really crowded, but if you utilize MaxPass and take some time to relax or sit down for a meal, the crowds don‚’t seem
too bad.
Trust us, you won‚’t regret it!
I‚’ll do another post in the coming weeks that shows everything we did eachday! There‚’s simply nothing like walking down Main Street USA toward Sleeping
Beauty Castle during the holidays.
It might even snow on you!

The post Holidays At The Disneyland Resort 2018 appeared first on Aj in the Life.

Festive Preparations at Home At home, the Christmas tree is up, and I’ve noticed my pawrents bringing home intriguing boxes and packages. Naturally, I assume they’re filled with treats for me, their spoiled princess. I’ve been nosily investigating because, after all, Christmas is nearing!

Last Year’s Christmas Memories In anticipation of the upcoming celebrations, let me share what I got last Christmas. There was an attempt to dress me up as a reindeer – quite a mismatch, given that I’m a proud dog. Despite my lack of enthusiasm for the reindeer look, I played along for the sake of more gifts.

Gifts Galore I uncovered a festive collar, a cozy new nap blanket, and a fun toy from my gift bag. Nap blankets are my absolute favorite, especially for nibbling! Then came the posing session – I must say, I’m quite the professional.

Post-Reindeer Joy Once freed from the reindeer attire, I thoroughly enjoyed my gifts. My soft penguin blanket remains a favorite, and the reindeer toy survives in my toy box, albeit with one ear missing. As for the reindeer ears and collar, their whereabouts are unknown, and I hope they stay that way. But, with Christmas approaching, I’m bracing myself for their possible return. I’ll keep you all updated, friends!

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My daily routine is all thrown out of whack! Gone are my midmorning naps,
noon naps, and afternoon naps in peace.
I keep getting bothered with
snuggles.
What is happening? I am SO tired!
But, there are a few pawsitives to this situation‚

1.I get to enjoy the air conditioning all day long! Sometimes I just hang
out under Mom‚’s desk (aka the dining table).

I still go outside as I please, of course.

Mom & Dad are my personal door openers at my beck and
call.

2.I am now Dad‚’s supervisor.
I look over his work and make sure he is doing
everything properly.
I also realized that I enjoy being a lap dog!

3. I feel more attached to Mom & Dad than ever! Literally attached.
This way
if they move, I KNOW!

4. We are spending a lot of time in our backyard.
I‚’ve always loved yard
time and sunbathing and now we enjoy it several times a week!
Rolling in the grass is so satisfying!
I don‚’t mind posing for photoshoots as long as I can sunbathe.
Get all my
angles Mom!
Alright, telling Mom what to type is exhausting.
Time for me to take my nap.
Please don‚’t wake me up Dad!
I‚’ll try to keep my posts coming.
Keep bothering Mom to do my typing!
Until next time, friends!

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Our adventure started in the back of the shop, where we put on official
Chocole‚’a aprons, learned a bit more about Chocole‚’a and sipped on some
coffee accompanied with dark chocolate beans.

I was very excited to wear an official Chocole‚’a apron!
Then we made our way over to the kitchen where the real fun began.
The
kitchen is usually closed to the public, so if you want to go inside,
you‚’ll have to book a private workshop.
The first portion of the workshop was spent decorating our own chocolate
bars.
A full chocolate bar of Chocole‚’a chocolate? Am I dreaming?
You pick your toppings for your bar and then head over to the warm
chocolate station where you get to pour chocolate into the mold.

First, heat the mold.
Then ladle in the chocolate, and tap out any air bubbles.
Next, decorate your personal chocolate bar to your hearts content! Hurry!
You don‚’t have too much time before the chocolate starts to set.

My bar (left) has macadamia nuts & dried raspberry, marshmallows and
sprinkles and ginger candy & lavender.
Aaron who only has his upcoming
Ironman race on his mind, made a triathlon inspired bar with gummy bears
that are swimming, biking and running!
Once you‚’re done, your bars head to the refrigerator to set.

Time for the DIP portion of the workshop!
We each got our own large Chocole‚’a boxes to fill with our choice of items
to dip (or dunk) into chocolate.
Dip all your items into a personal cup of melted dark chocolate.

And lay them on a sheet to dry.
I also decorated a few of mine with
additional toppings because, why not?
After your tray of dipped goodies go into the refrigerator to set, you get
to indulge in more sweet treats! Hot chocolate! Yes, the seasonal treat
that is usually reserved for the holidays.
Yum!
In between sipping chocolate, you can also decorate your custom box label
if you wish.

Once everything is set, you package them up to take home and share (or not
share)!
We had a blast at Chocole‚’a Dip & Decorate workshop.
We were both smiling
ear to ear the entire time and had a lot of fun with our fellow chocolate
loving participants.

Before leaving Chocole‚’a I just had to get a limited Unicorn Pop! One of my
favorite things about Chocole‚’a is their speciality items! Isn‚’t it just so
cute?
If you‚’re looking for something fun and unique to do for a celebration,
special occasion or triple date night, check out Chocole‚’a Dip & Decorate
Workshop! The workshop will open to the public in May, so stay tuned to Chocole‚’a website and Instagram for more information and updates!

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For my family, it was filled with a roller coaster of uncertainty and emotions.

For my Dad, it was filled with withering away, a few hip replacement surgeries, and most recently, a few spinal surgeries. Yes, more than one. Not to mention the blood work, pre-surgery COVID tests (good thing he has big nostrils), colonoscopies, and EGDs. The man has done it all. If you are not caught up on the reason for all these things, make sure to check out the first two posts (part 1 and part 2).

Despite going through all the world went through, and then going through his own medical issues, he still was one of the happiest people around. Not everyday has been good. In fact, most days are very hard, but he still tries his best to be a Dad.

If we have learned anything collectively as a family in the last two years since his original diagnosis, it is that we are all stronger together than apart. We have all done our part to support him physically, emotionally, and spiritually as needed.

But things weren’t looking good. In fact, they still are far from great. His second spinal surgery sent him into a spiral of pain and discomfort. So much so, that it made living not fun. Imagine waking up one day with deep chronic pain in your back that won’t ever stop, and affects every other aspect of life. Oh, and you can’t eat much because your body is in such discomfort from the surgery and the fact that the celiac disease was diagnosed so late, that your stomach is not absorbing the food you eat. Every bite of food just makes you nauseous. But you have to eat or you die. This is his every day.

All of these non celiac disease medical issues were created because for years, his body stopped absorbing nutrients. The celiac disease went undetected in his body until it was so far gone, he was falling apart. Why is this important? Because right now, this can happen to anyone. Without proper funding from the government, celiac disease can go undiagnosed or misdiagnosed for years. Sometimes, a patient is young enough and their body can heal. Other times, they are not so lucky.

Celiac disease is also found to be hereditary on some level, and I am lucky enough (sarcasm) to have the two genes needed to get celiac disease. Yay me! What does this mean? Well for now, it means nothing. For now it means I am lucky enough to KNOW about celiac disease, the symptoms, and how to handle it.

One of the best things we have all found out in this process is that there are more and more gluten free food options in the market, and many taste just as good or better than their counterpart. We have spent majority of the past year eating GF, and it has been pretty good. Not perfect, as my favorite pizza and burger have gluten, but as I currently don’t have CD, I am clear to enjoy them for now. There are even gluten free beers that are beginning to taste better and better!

SGN

Now I don’t want to end the update without Some Good News.

I was able to postpone my NYC Marathon to 2022, which works out because my 2021 race calendar got filled with a few important races (Ironman World Championship in Kona).

More importantly than that however, is that Dad has started a new protocol of Total Parenteral Nutrition (TPN). Basically his heart is connected to an I.V. bag 24/7. While that sounds like a drag, the bag actually is filled with all the macronutrients and vitamins and minerals he needs, directly into his bloodstream! So he is finally getting nourished!

In the first few days since he started the TPN, he already sounded like a new man. I can’t tell you how happy that made me. Just the tone in his voice was so much better than a week before when he felt like he was circling the drain.

The process is a bit scary because there are a lot of things that can go wrong and don’t end well, but if things go well, this could be the first step toward the long long road to recovery. Science is amazing.

We can’t thank his doctors enough for continually searching for ways to heal him, even if the process is longer than we want. With all the additional stuff the medical staff have had to go through with COVID, they have been true heroes in keeping him alive, and possibly on the right side of this mess.

If you want to support the Celiac Disease Foundation, please donate to the team. I might not be running my race in 2020 or 2021, but I will forever support the cause behind this disease. Let me know in the comments if you have any questions!

The post NYC Marathon: Life Update appeared first on Aj in the Life.

I woke up today with a continued sense of purpose.
I had a great sleep,
with some weird dreams that included a dinosaur made out of a cloud that
screamed and then exploded into rain…glad I survived the dream.
On our morning walk, I paid close attention to some new aches and pains.

Mainly I had some tenderness from my trail run.
What a grand idea that was.

By the end of the walk, my body had woken up a bit and I was ready to go.
The weather was a few degrees warmer than yesterday with a little more
humidity.
I could feel it.
But this is Hawaii, so I just learn to deal with
it.
I got my Tailwind ready to go, and gulped down a SIS gel for good
measure.
If you haven‚’t had one of these gels, they are my personal
favorite, and what I use for all marathons.

I also brought out some new shoes.
It is important to cycle through shoes
when you are running long distances.
I rotate between 7-8 pairs.
It keeps
the foam cushion from getting compressed too much, so they last longer.
At
least that is what I tell Janell.

Music of choice today was Taylor Swift radio, starting with “Blank Space”.

With my headphones on, I was ready to go.
As mentioned, it was warmer today than on day 1.
So I had every intention
to take it easy.
But after doing a new activation drill from Purple Patch
(my new triathlon program), I actually started hot out the gates.
In fact,
I ran today‚’s 10 miles over 2 minutes faster than yesterday‚’s! Whoops.
I did take the same number of breaks, and my heart rate was only 1 bpm
higher on average, but my stride was a little longer (perhaps from the
activation drills).
I guess we will see how bad an idea it was tomorrow.
26 down.
74 to go.
For my second run of the day, I decided to stay on the road vice the
trails.
As much as I would have loved to be back in the mountains, my
ankles were a little stiff today from all the rock and rolls, so I gave
them a rest.
Despite the weather app saying it felt like 72 degrees, the humidity in the
afternoon made it feel like it was 85 degrees.
I got out another new pair
of shoes, or lightly used pair rather, and put on my cool kid glasses.
I
figured that if nothing else, at least I would be running in style.

Since I listened to only Tay Tay this morning, I switched it up with some
old school (for me) All out 90‚’s.
Nothing like running to the beat of “My
Heart Will Go On” by Celine Dion…
After another round of activation drills, I was on my way.
Surprisingly, my
legs weren‚’t heavy feeling at this point.
I was however still running a bit
quicker than I planned, so my walk breaks were important.

I was getting more and more drenched in sweat, and tried not to think about
the smells that were going to be ingrained in my shirt after this run.

Again my run was quicker than the previous day, granted, it was an “easier”
run with half the elevation gain.

32 down.
68 to go.
I made sure to have a post run recovery shake, treat, and hydration (Liquid
IV).
That GF banana bread was surely pushing me to finish today!
All in all, I was happy with another day completed.
With some aches from
day 1, it will be interesting how long I last tomorrow on my long 15 mile
run.
I think I will still wake up motivated, knowing that I will be half
way through once it is done.
However, I will probably start to feel the
previous 32 miles with each step.
Some of the tools I have been using for a while now for recovery include
the Hyperice Vyper vibrating roller and the Hyperice Hypervolt massager.

After a good 20 minute session with these bad boys, I am usually feeling a
lot better.
Time will tell.
Two days down.
Four more to go.

Thanks for reading!
PrefaceDay 1: Miles 0-16Day 3: Miles 33-47Day 4: Miles 48-63Day 5: Miles 64-73Day 6: Miles 74-100

The post My First 100 Mile Week Day 2 appeared first on Aj in the Life.

Compared to the summer time, today was great.
But compared to the last few
months of “cooler” weather, today got warm.

I got my belongings together, and chose my running vest today for some
extra storage of water and gels.
I use the UltrAspire Spry 2.5 vest which is perfect for 15-30 mile runs.
I also have a gel tube that can hold 5 gels at once, which makes it easy to consume when needed.
After a careful selection of my music, 5 Seconds of Summer radio again on
Spotify, I was out the door with “Good Girls” playing in my head.

My first few steps were refreshing because I didn‚’t feel the fatigue that I
was half expecting.
In my initial post about running 100 miles, I expected that today would be a hard day for me
physically.
However, to my surprise, I felt strong.

In fact, my moving pace for most of the run was quicker than I had
expected, and even with my 30 second walk breaks, my mile times were
comfortably within my goal time.

The views today were also pretty spectacular.
I love seeing the reflection
of the sky in the water!
Bright Suns! What I meant by that is once the sun rises, it is HOT.

Unfortunately, it is rising earlier and earlier too! I should have done
this in the winter time when it stays dark until 7:00 AM.
Next time.

I might have to start my marathon attempt at 4:00 AM on Saturday.
Yikes.
Things got dicey toward the end of the run, and in the last 4 miles my
heart rate started to climb.
It was partly due to the elevation gain back
to my starting point, and partly due to the temperature being 10 degrees
higher than when I started.

47 down.
53 to go.
I‚’ll be needing another ice bath and some food to replenish my soul after
this run.
I ordered a 12 pack of Red Bull from Target yesterday (curbside
pick up was great!) and have one chilling in the fridge.
This is one of my
favorite post race traditions.
Or in this case, post long run.

I also like to lie upside down for 5-10 minutes to flush the legs.
I think
it helps.
Who knows.
I definitely am happy with how I feel halfway through this.
With only three
days left, I am 100% confident I will finish this.
Ask me again how I feel
in the middle of my marathon in 3 days and we shall see if I change my
answer.
Thanks for following along!
PrefaceDay 1: Miles 0-16Day 2: Miles 17-32Day 4: Miles 48-63Day 5: Miles 64-73Day 6: Miles 74-100

The post My First 100 Mile Week Day 3 appeared first on Aj in the Life.

Mom and Dad are still home with me ALL the time. Not much has changed since my last pupdate, but we are having lots of nice backyard deck time.

The pawrents have been reading and lounging which means more sunbathing time for me!

Or bothering Dad while he tries to read.

But he’s not mad about it!

I’ve gotten used to spending so much time in the backyard that I give Mom a hard time when she calls me back inside the house.

I just want to stay here with my hair blowing in the breeze!

I try my best to stall by posing nicely because I know she loves taking photos of me! She thinks I’m being the goodest girl when really I’m just prolonging my time outside.

Heh heh heh. Gotcha Mom!

How are you doing friends? Let me know your best stalling technique!

Until next time!

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World of Color Dining Package Experience Last year, we enjoyed the Fantastic Dining Package at Blue Bayou, and this year, we opted for the World of Color dining package at Carthay Circle in Disney’s California Adventure Park. Since our visit was in early November, we were treated to the World of Color Season of Light Holiday Show.

Dining Package Options The World of Color Dining Package includes a multi-course meal and reserved viewing tickets for the show. The participating restaurants in 2019 were:

• Wine Country Trattoria (Lunch/Dinner: $50 for adults, $25 for children)
• Storyteller’s Cafe (Dinner: $50 for adults, $25 for children)
• Carthay Circle Restaurant (Lunch: $56 for adults, Dinner: $74 for adults, $25 for children for both)

We chose the lunch package at Carthay Circle Restaurant for its more affordable pricing and the early show reservation.

Reservations and Menu Reservations are highly recommended and can be made 60 days in advance. The 2019 lunch menu offered a selection of appetizers, entrees, and desserts. Our choices included Fairytale pumpkin soup, Baja White Shrimp, Carthay Salad, Pork Chop, and desserts like the Honey Crisp Apple Tart and Triple Chocolate Verrine.

A Relaxing Lunch The meal at Carthay Circle was both delicious and relaxing, providing a nice break during a busy day at the park. They also catered to dietary needs, offering gluten-free bread.

World of Color Viewing Experience For the World of Color Season of Light, we checked into our reserved area at 8:25 PM. Despite being early, we found the central area quite accessible. However, some stage equipment from the Festival of Holidays needed repositioning, slightly affecting our viewing location. Nonetheless, we enjoyed an unobstructed view of the show and got a bit wet due to the wind.

Overall Impressions The World of Color Season of Light show was delightful and definitely got us into the holiday spirit. Though we missed the original World of Color Show, this experience leaves us eager for a return visit. We’re curious to hear from others who’ve experienced the Carthay Circle Dining Package – where was your viewing area?

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