Guys, I’m REALLY excited that it’s Monday! Why? Because it’s supposed to get up to 60 degrees outside today!! I think Spring might finally be on her way, and I, for one, could not be more happy to see her! It’s been a crazy long winter here in Virginia and I am ready for warm weather. I love that winter gives you the excuse to stay in and cuddle up, but walking two dogs one a morning when its so cold that your breath freezes on your scarf is just plain miserable. This morning, I only had to wear a sweatshirt + light jacket outside! NO GLOVES! Life is good :).

I’m pretty sure Lily is actually a cat. Why? you might ask. She certainly looks like a dog, albeit a funny-looking one, but a dog all the same? My reasons for thinking she’s actually a cat, dear readers, is because she’s been sitting here under my chair for the last 15 minutes groom Sirius by licking his face nonstop. And this is a regular occurrence for her. She also regularly sits and licks at her paws in a very cat-like way. She snarls [hisses] at Sirius when he hops on the bed or couch to near to her liking, and in general, behaves like a total princess. So I think I might start calling her “kitty.” But in the same voice that Boo from Monsters Inc. uses. Like “KITTY!” Know what I mean?

As always, lessons learned/events that transpired over the past week:

• Real talk: people at amusement parks have NO spatial awareness. None at all. I lost track of how many people walked straight into me because they weren’t paying attention to where they were walking. I mean, it’s sort of understandable, what with how MUCH there is to look at in Diagon Alley, but seriously: PUT THE CAMERA DOWN and watch where you’re going, at least a little bit?]
• And there I go sounding like a crotchety old man again. Sorry about that.
• Fun new project that the Springmanns (that’s Matt & I) will be working on: we just ordered about 10,000 honeybees! My dad raised bees with my brothers and I growing up, so Matt & I are trying our hand at it. And before you ask, no, we’re not keeping the bees at our town house. Matt’s aunt has property out in rural Virginia where our hives will be located. So that’ll either be a great success or a tremendous tragedy. Stay tuned to see which it is!
• The Wizarding World of Harry Potter is even better when you’re with your best friend in the world. Seriously- having your best girlfriend to geek out alongside about the littlest details in Hogsmeade is the best! I can’t wait to share our vacation photos on the blog this week!

Here’s an iPhone snap from this morning of Lily being a cat, giving Sirius a tongue bath. And don’t be fooled by Sirius’ startled expression; he loves it.

And HERE is a selfie with Rapunzel, because she is the CUTEST Disney Princess of all time!! And yep, I was #Disneybounding as Cinderella :). More on that in my vacation post later this week!

I think one reason I love Monday Mash-Up is because it just feels like a conversation! No pretense, no fluff, just giving it to you straight. Like publicly admitting that I dressed up like a Disney character. Maybe that’s why it’s often my most-read blog post of the week!