decisions, decisions

I'm back with another post about the Disney College Program. One of the bigger decisions that you have to make once you have been accepted and paid your acceptance fee is what your plans are for housing during the program. There are three options that you have as a DCP participant...Chatham, Patterson and Vista Way. Since I haven't actually done the program yet, I'm definitely not an expert but I have done a lot of research so here is what I know so far...

Option #1: Vista Way

I know that I don't want to live here. Apartments can range from 1 bedroom to 4 bedroom (I think). Oldest complex. Cheapest complex. Has a reputation. Separated from the other two. Check-in location. Has it's own bus stop.

Option #2: Chatham Square

Cute. Where I want to live. Apartments range from 1 bedroom to 4 bedroom (again, I think). Not the oldest, not the newest. Shares a bus stop with Patterson. Next door to Patterson and Mickey's Retreat. It has green carpet (ewwww). Happy medium.

Option #3: Patterson Court

Very cute. Newest. Apartments can range from 1 bedroom to 4 bedroom (again, I think). Most expensive. Next door to Chatham Square and Mickey's Retreat. Reputation of being too quiet.

You wont know where you are living until you check in. As far as roommates go, there is a roommate notification system that Disney has set up...you don't have to sign up for it but you can if you would like. To my undesrtanding, the point of signing up is to have the possibility of knowning your actual roommate before heading down to Orlando. If you have already decided to live with somebody (they have to have the same arrival and departure date as you!) you can put their information in the Roomate Notification System and that should make sure that you are placed together. Now, if you have anther pair of people that you want to live with, you can't request that through the system but you can stand in line together at check-in and I guess that usually allows you to all live together!

Other random facts about housing that I have read...

Rent is paid weekly and is automatically deducted from your paycheck.

The internet is slow (and not wireless!) so bring a router if you want to have decent and wireless internet in your apartment.

You need to have a laundry card to do your laundry, they aren't coin operated. The initial cost for the card is $5.00 but $3.00 of that goes onto the card upon purchase.

Each occupant will get a bed, nightstand, locker and half of a dresser.

The apartment comes furnished with a couch, dining table and chairs, and kitchen items including silverware and dishes.

The closets look pretty big which is good :)

Check out some apartment tours on youtube!

xoxo,

Natasha

jason mraz

If you didn't already know, Alex is awesome! Towards the end of the summer he surprised me with tickets for us to go see Jason Mraz at the Santa Barbara Bowl :)

Before the concert we ate at this little Mexican place near the venue.

The concert was SO much fun. We had really good seats and the Santa Barbara Bowl is gorgeous!

Mr. Mraz puts on a really good show. So if you ever have the chance to see him live -- DO IT!

It was such a good night <3

On the way home we stopped at Carl's and shared an Oreo shake! mmmmm

xoxo,

Natasha

happy birthday boyfriend

Today is a special day -- Alex turns 23!

I feel so lucky to have him in my life.

Babe, I wish you another year full of happiness, laughter and love. You inspire me in so many ways. Thanks for being born :D

I can't get over how cute you were as a baby :)

xoxo,

Natasha

escape artist

Rocco and Houdini....

...see the resemblance? No? I do.

In the past two weeks Rocco has escaped twice. Both times on a Saturday, apparently its his thing :) He hasn't escaped from our house, it only happens when he is away from home. Let's hope that this Saturday he stays put! (or we are going to owe a lot of people beers!)

xoxo,

Natasha

PS...In case you didn't know, his name tag lists:

his name (duh)

my phone number

"IOU 1 beer"

:D

menu for this week

I always wanted to have a cooking blog.

A few years ago I even started one :) But, I was still living in the dorms and since I didn't have my own kitchen it wasn't as easy/fun to cook as it is now! I'm totally obsessed with reading other people's food blogs (I'll post some links to some of my favorites soon!) and I love to get inspiration for meals from them.

I don't think my meals are exciting enough to devote a whole blog to but I will post some cooking related things here from time to time. After all, it is my blog and I can do what I please with it :)

So this is what you will find in my kitchen this week....

Monday (tonight): Homemade Personal Pizzas and Side Salads

Tuesday: Shrimp Enchiladas and Mexican Rice

Wednesday: Fried Rice and Potstickers

Thursday: Chicken & Wild Rice Casserole

Friday: Chicken/Bacon/Cheddar Paninis with Sunchips

Saturday and Sunday are still TBD :)

The oven is beeping at me now...pizza must be done!

xoxo,

Natasha

everyone's got a laughing place...

One day (a few weeks ago) I got off at 12 instead of my usual 3PM so what did I do? Went to Disneyland of course!! This time I went with my cousins Addie, Lily, and Emily, my aunt Regina and Addie's friend Taryn. I know I say this everytime but it was SUCH a great day!!

we started off by grabbing some Chipotle for lunch on the ride there...me and Lily had a picnic in the back of the van :)

Some of the Halloween decorations were up which was so exciting! I loooove Disneyland at Halloween and Christmas...and every other time of the year haha. Just like when I went with my mom the other day, there were basically no lines and we got to go on a ton of rides!

When we were in Fantasyland we stopped at the Mad Hatter shop and saw Kevin Jonas and his wife...this is Lily's reaction (haha)...

Later on that night we were taking some pictures in front of the castle when we noticed this guy proposing to his girlfriend!! It was SOO cute :)

We watched the street celebration, danced for a little while and then headed out of the park. On the way home we met Emily and Taryn's aunt for dinner at Red Robin which was a lot of fun :)

Disneyland twice in one week?! I love my life <3

interviews

I'm back for another DCP post! Even though I have been accepted already, I'm going to back track a little bit and go over the whole application process. I know in the months leading up to the actual application date, I did a lot of research online and so I want to post as much info as I can to help other people who are doing their research for upcoming programs!!

So applications went up on August 18th which was a Wednesday. There had been a lot of speculation as to when they would go up...people on the Facebook group were throwing out a bunch of random dates and the DCP website said that they would be up in September so it was a total surprise when they did go live!! That morning I woke up, turned on my computer, and my Skype started going CRAZY with messages...everybody was freaking out and letting everybody else know that apps were up!!

As much as I wanted to fill it out right away, I slowed myself down and made sure I was fully awake before starting anything. After finishing the application portion you are instructed to take the web-based interview. When doing my research I had heard horror stories about the web interview so I was a little bit nervous. My advice is to just take your time, be honest, and make sure to think of yourself in a work setting when answering the questions! Towards the end of the web interview you get a series of questions that have time limits -- I think it was 50 seconds per question which is more than enough time. I know that some people instantly freak when they see that they are being timed but just take a deep breath and relax :)

I was almost too afraid to look at the screen when I completed the web interview...I had waited for this chance for so long and I would have been pretty upset if my journey was ending so quickly. Luckily, I passed!!! Right away it tells you that you are a "strong candidate" and gives you a number to call to schedule your phone interview. I called RIGHT away and scheduled my interview for the next morning :)

My interview was scheduled for 8AM so I got up at 7 to make sure that I had enough time to wake up and prepare a little. Some people recommended getting dressed up for the interview but I just stayed in my PJs :) My recruiter called at exactly 8AM which was awesome!! I thought it went pretty well...we didn't make too much small talk because she was very straight to the point which I appreciate :) BUT I did get nervous once I started hearing about other people's interviews where they were joking around with each other and stuff. The interview lasted 16 minutes and at the end she told me that I should expect to hear in 3-4 weeks!!

xoxo,

Natasha

dog park

On Saturdays Alex and I like to take Rocco to the dog park. When we take him for walks he loves introducing himself to all of the other dogs so we knew he would love the dog park too!

At first, he was a little bit nervous which we thought was strange because he is always so outgoing but after a few dogs came up to him he snapped out of it and had a great time! It was so much fun to watch him with the other dogs and it was a nice, relaxing way to spend part of our Saturday afternoon. I'm already looking forward to going back next weekend!

We are having so much fun with Rocco, I'm so glad that we are both dog people <3

xoxo,

Natasha

5k

I'm training for a 5k.

Now, I have never been much of a runner so this is totally new for me. If I stay on track with my training schedule I will probably run in a Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving morning.

I definitely know that I will be doing the Royal Family 5K at Disney World in February. It looks like so much fun! You actually get to race in Epcot around the World Showcase. A lot of the participants dress up like princesses and I guess that there are a bunch of Disney characters along the course cheering you on :)

Here are some pictures of the Disney 5K last year...

Looks like fun right?

xoxo,

Natasha

make new friends, but keep the old...

I mentioned in an earlier post that I would talk about Skype and Facebook related to the DCP. Both have been SO helpful to me throughout this whole process. There is a facebook group dedicated to the Spring/Spring Advantage 2011 applicants... it was a great way to meet a bunch of people, get answers to some of my questions and talk to other people who are obsessing over the program as much as you are! I met a great group of people in the group that I also talk to on Skype (shoutout to Kristina, Brittany, Alek, Tyler, Kaitlyn, Brenda and Jordan!!)

If you are thinking about applying -- go check if there is a group already on facebook and join it!! If there isn't one, CREATE IT -- people will join :)

I do want to caution you though...in the time from when you apply to when people start getting their emails/folders it gets pretty addicting (at least it did for me). As sad as it is, I was completely obsessed with checking the group for any news about pending letters/rejections/ acceptances! It's very easy to lose track of time when you are looking at all that stuff. Thankfully, Alex brought it to my attention one day and I realized that I was spending a little too much time on Facebook :) (thanks babe!!) Everything in moderation, right? :D

xoxo,

Natasha

PS...I don't like that I didn't include a picture in this post so here is a random picture of my new boss! ;)