Guest Author Sunday Welcome Back Amy Mullins!

Guest Author Sunday

Welcome Back Amy Mullins - 40 Never looked so Good!

Disney Gals are thrilled to welcome back Amy Mullins as she takes us all along for part of her 40th Birthday celebration. I think we can all agree, turning 40 sure looks magical on Amy!

Part Two: Celebrating The Big 4 -0 Walt Disney World Style

 

Tick-tock, tick-tock… The day is fast approaching in which I will turn the BIG 4-0 and run my first ever half marathon, 50 days to be exact.  But I suppose if I “have” to turn 40 I want to be at Walt Disney World and want to make it memorable by running the Wine and Dine Half marathon.  Then I want to top it off by celebrating at EPCOT’s International Food and Wine festival.  Yup! That’s what I am going to do with some of my closest family and friends joining me in making this a birthday to remember. 

My motto throughout this whole adventure is, “It’s kind of fun to do the impossible!”  Now I would be lying to you if I said this has been fun the whole entire time.  Between the humidity and heat, blisters and sweat, longer and longer distance training, and maintaining work and family, my motto should really be, “It’s kind of challenging to do the impossible!”  My Wine and Dine Half Marathon running crew is made up of my two best friends Juli and Melissa and my brother and fabulous sister-n-law Adam and Kari.  Even though hundreds of miles separate us we manage to motivate each other to do our personal best through phone calls, social media, races and lots of pixie dust.  We will leave no runner behind on this 13.1 mile quest and will cross that finish line together.  Hmmmmm? What running costumes shall we wear?

 

Our training program is Jeff Galloway’s running plan, To Finish in the Upright Position.  I am not sure how I would have managed thus far without it.  I run to stay healthy and I run to set goals for myself to conquer, I do not consider myself a seasoned runner even though I have been running for a couple of years.  I still feel there is so much for me to learn and I am grateful when I find a running plan that helps better my technique and yields results.   And as the cooler weather of Fall blesses us with its presence I am pleasantly surprised as to how far and how long I can run.  Training in the Summer was tough, but it will always be and because I chose to continue to train in the nasty humidity and high temperatures I have trained my body in the worst conditions so now it is being pampered with the cooler weather.  My longest run to date is 9miles and I was shocked as to how well I did, luckily it was a cool morning and the weather was perfect.   I wrote in Part One of this blog series, “Out of curiosity, am I the only one training, who after finishing 3 miles starts thinking, I would have to run this course 3 more times to even come close to a 13.1 mile run.  AHHHHHHHHHH, what have I got myself into?!”  Now ALL I have to think about is 4.1 MORE MILES AND I DID IT!!!!!  I can almost see the finish line and can hardly wait to cross it and to do it on my 40^th birthday will make it that much more memorable. 

Along with training, I am also planning the rest of My 40^th Walt Disney World Birthday Bash vacation.  My Disney crew will arrive November 8^th and at the moment we are staying for the first time at Disney’s Swan hotel.  As soon as we settle in, we are off to the Wine and Dine Half Marathon expo for packet pickup and a little bit of prerace shopping.  Our day finishes out with a loooooooooong awaited and coveted ADR for California Grill.  I can hardly wait to peruse the new menu of delectable dishes and desserts and award winning wine selections and take in the newly renovated dining room and magical views from atop the 15^th floor of the Contemporary.  Our evening will finish off by watching the spectacular display of Wishes on the private viewing balcony of California Grill.   I can’t think of a grander way to say good-bye to 30 and watch out 40 because here I come!

November 9^th is my 40^th birthday and RACE DAY!!!  Nothing but relaxing by the pool and maybe a little bit of Downtown Disney is planned prerace.  And then off to the race we go for an adventure of a lifetime and a post party celebration into the wee hours of the morning.  I am sure there will be a story to write. 

Our last couple of days, if we can walk, has us exploring the culinary tastes of EPCOT’s International Food and Wine Festival.  This is one of my favorite special events of Walt Disney World and I highly recommend it as a MUST-DO if visiting Walt Disney World at this time.  Having the opportunity to try different foods and wines from countries I may never see makes it such a fun experience and to do it with my friends and family tops it off.  

Back in October of 2010 I attended my first French Regional Lunch hosted by Jorge Hernandez and enjoyed the experience and learned so much that I knew as soon as the reservations lines opened up this year I had to book another one.  So on November 10^th we are attending the final French Regional Lunch of this year’s festival in the newly renovated Monsier Paul.  If you have the opportunity to splurge on one special event at EPCOT’s International Food and Wine Festival this is the one.  This four-course lunch is a culinary experience like no other.  At the moment Laurent Sauvage from the Fortant Vineyard located in Languedoc, South of France will lead us through an unforgettable tapestry of food and wine pairing.  I can’t wait to tell you all about it.

The anticipation of my 40^th birthday just keeps building.  I remember thinking and dreading about this inevitable day, yes I am one of those not looking forward to those two numbers being put together.  But I have decided since there is no way of stopping the tick-tocking of time, I will make it a day of conquering new goals, being in a place that makes me happy and enjoying it with the people I love so much and hold so dear to my heart.  I love Walt Disney World for its endless imagination and dreams because it’s what keeps us (me) young.  


Looking for Part 1 of Amy's 40th Birthday journey? Just click Here