Okay, so my Mickey sketch looks a lot like this.

Can you draw? Whenever anyone ever asked me that I always said, no. I told them I couldn’t even draw good stick figures. I wasn’t being modest. I thought it was true. I was terrible at drawing. So imagine my surprise when I learned to sketch at The Magic of Disney Animation at Disney’s Hollywood Studios. While it was true that my Mickey Mouse wasn’t perfect, it wasn’t horrible either. I learned that I may not be able to draw, but I could sketch something that made me happy.

In honor of Mickey Mouse’s birthday, he is 85 years old today, I encourage everyone to try sketching Mickey Mouse. To help you do this well click on this video from spoonful.com and get a lesson from the experts. The nice part about learning from a video instead of being there in person is you can watch the animator over and over until you understand what he is doing. The goal here is not to draw the best looking Mickey Mouse ever. It is to sketch a Mickey Mouse face that makes you happy. I think if you are being creative but you are not happy then you are doing it wrong. And Mickey’s birthday is definitely a day to be happy. Happiness squared.

Goofy Craft: Once you have sketched Mickey Mouse don’t put your creation in a drawer. Turn it into a birthday card, or a place mat, or put it in your Disney scrapbook. If you see it a lot you’ll be encouraged to do more, and the more you sketch the better you’ll get. Remember this, if I, a non-drawer, can sketch, than you can do it, too.

So, grab some crayons, colored pencils, markers, or highlighters, anything that puts color on a piece of paper. You may be tempted to use your computer but I don’t recommend it. I want you to color like when you were a child and that means by hand. If you want to you can print out a picture to color from your computer, but then step away from the keyboard.

Now that you have paper and crayons start coloring. I like to color pictures from coloring books because I am not very good at drawing, however, if all you have is a blank piece of paper, don’t stress. Remember, this is supposed to be fun. Draw a pumpkin. Anyone can do that. There is no such thing as a wrong-looking pumpkin. Then draw a jack-’o-lantern face on it. Once that is done color in your pumpkin. You’ll notice that as you color your mood will change. It’s tough to be unhappy and color.

Once you are done display your art where you can see it. Now when you are stressed you can look at your pumpkin and relax. It may be Wednesday, but the weekend will be here soon enough. Then you’ll have lots of time to color. Happiness squared.

Goofy Tip: If you happen to be at Disneyland and you want to color something, head over to the Halloween Carnival at the Big Thunder Ranch Jamboree. They have tables set up so Guests of all ages can color a Halloween mask. I colored a bat and Mickey Mouse himself told me I was doing a great job.

Image from Wikipedia

The Brave Little Tailor, an adventurous Mickey Mouse cartoon, came out September 23, 1938. I don’t know how many times I have seen this short, but I use the phrase, “seven in one blow” pretty often so this cartoon must be ingrained in me. It is really fun so I encourage you to watch this eight minute film. It can improve any Monday. Happiness squared.

Brave Little Tailor

Goofy Trivia: Walt Disney did the voice of Mickey Mouse in the Brave Little Tailor. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film but lost of Ferdinand the Bull, another Walt Disney cartoon (I like the story of the Brave Little Tailor better but the animation for Ferdinand is pretty amazing.)

Image from Disney Parks Blog

One of my favorite memories from my last trip to Disneyland was meeting Mickey Mouse at his house in Mickey’s Toontown. We had entered the park early and were in Mickey’s Toontown just as the park opened for the general public. Mickey was standing on his porch waving at Guests. There was no line and we got a lot of great pictures. It was a magical way to start the day.

I had not had my picture taken with Mickey Mouse for many years because I didn’t want to stand in line. I mean there are other characters around, right? Well, yes and no. There are other characters who might have a shorter line, but here is only one Mickey Mouse. I look forward to visiting him again.

Mickey and Minnie have a fun new spot to greet Guests at Disney’s Animal Kingdom. At the Adventurers Outpost you can get your picture with both of them against a postcard backdrop. This sounds like a great memory making opportunity. The line and the meet and greet are all inside so you can be cool while you wait. There are fun items to look at in line, plus there is a Fastpass option if you want to skip the line. And last it sounds like you get to spend time with the famous duo before your picture is taken. That is how great memories are made.

My favorite part of this new meet and greet is that Disney’s Animal Kingdom is a slower park so I won’t mind taking the time to see Mickey and Minnie. I can’t wait to visit and add more great pictures to my scrapbook. Happiness squared.

Goofy Joke:

Q: How did Mickey feel when he first saw Minnie?

A: It was glove at first sight.

Saying something is Mickey Mouse has not always been a complement. It has been thought of as cheap, or shoddy, or small in importance. When I think of Mickey Mouse I think optimistic, dream catcher, and go-getter. As Walt Disney said, “…it was all started with a mouse.” Could my goal planning start with a mouse, too?

I was reading a great book on self-motivation called 100 Ways to Motivate Yourself by Steve Chandler. Sometimes a book with 100 ideas only has 2 or 3 really useful ones, but this book has almost 100 great ideas that are easy to use. Number 67 introduces the circle game, a way to plan a goal in 4 minutes. I have modified it into the Mickey Mouse goal game. Here is how it works.

Draw a simple Mickey Mouse face. We all know how to do this. Draw one large circle for his face and two smaller (not too small) circles for his ears. They don’t have to be perfect. Just make sure you have three circles.

Above the left ear write, “This year.” Above the right ear write, “This month.” Below the face write, “Today.” Okay, now you have your Mickey Mouse goal planner. You may want a calculator also. Let’s have some fun.

Pick a goal you are working on. It could be weight loss, or saving money, or paying a debt. Just pick one thing. My goal is to go to Disneyland this year. I need to save $1200 to do that. So my goal is “Save $1200 for Disneyland trip.” I write that in the left ear labeled “This year.”

Wow, that sounds hard to do. How am I ever going to save $1200? Well, if I want to go to Disneyland in December then I have six months (May through November) to save $1200. So I divide $1200 by 6 and I get $200. That sounds better. I write that number in the right ear labeled “This month.”

$200 is still a chunk of change. Let’s divide it again. When I divide $200 by 30 days I get $6.66 a day. I write that number in the face circle above “Today.” Wow. All I have to do is save $6.66 each day and I will be able to go to Disneyland in December? I can do that. That is a Mickey Mouse goal. Plus, it is fool proof. If I meet my daily Mickey Mouse goal I am guaranteed to meet my monthly goal and if I meet my monthly goal I am guaranteed to meet my yearly goal. Disneyland here I come!

Try this out yourself. Below I provide a few more examples. Some goals may be multi-year goals, like paying off a mortgage or student loan. Decide what you want to do in 2013 and worry about the rest later. The beauty of this goal planner is it focuses on what you can do today and usually it is very doable. You don’t have to wonder about next month or next year. Just reach your daily Mickey Mouse goal, mark it off your list, and get on with your day. Happiness squared.

5 Mickey Mouse Goals

1) Read the unread books on my shelf. 30 books  a year, 4.2 books a month, 1/6 a book each day

2) Pay off a $600 debt to a friend. $600 a year, $86 a month, save $3 a day

3) Lose 30 pounds. 30 pounds a year, 4.2 pounds a month, 1/6 pound a day or a deficit of 600 calories a day

4) Write a 300 page book. 300 pages a year, 43 pages a month, 1.5 pages a day

5) Complete 5 scrapbooks (each scrapbook has 40 pages.) 200 pages a year, 28 pages a month, 1 page a day

Goofy Quote: (I love this quote. I think it goes great with Mickey Mouse goal planning. Perhaps you could write it below your face to remind yourself to focus on the “Today” circle, and not worry about the month or the year.)

“Why worry? If you’ve done the very best you can, worrying won’t make it any better.” Walt Disney

Image from www.amazon.com

In a world filled with violence and bad news, Tiny Tim’s message is more important than ever. My gift to you is a slice of happiness in every post I write for A Goofy Idea. May you have a merry Christmas filled with the warmth of family and friends. Happiness squared.

Goofy Tip: If you want to watch a wonderful version of Dickens’ classic then gather the family around and enjoy Mickey’s Christmas Carol. This animated short stars Mickey Mouse as Bob Cratchet and Scrooge McDuck as, who else, Ebenezer Scrooge. When I was a child I owned the audio on LP and I wore it out.

Image from www.spoonful.com

When I was a kid I was never bored as long as I had paper, crayons, scissors, and tape. I loved to look through craft books from the library, but since those ideas usually needed supplies I didn’t have, I made up my own designs. I can’t tell you the number of “polar bears in a snow storm” pictures I hung on the wall. I thought they were hilarious.

The one craft I remember best was the year I made a life-sized Santa. I taped a bunch of typing paper together to make a big sheet of paper. Then I laid the paper on the tile and laid myself down on it. I drew around myself and then turned my outline into Santa Claus. (I wore my red crayon down to a nub.) It hung by the fireplace until Christmas day so Santa was sure to see it.

I wish spoonful.com had been around when I was a kid. I would have had a blast making all the fun paper crafts they come up with. I guess I am still a kid because I’ve been printing out a lot of these and decorating the house with great Disney Christmas decorations.

The Christmas printables from spoonful.com can be found here. There are crafts ranging from whimsical, to fun, to elegant. These ideas would be a perfect activity for a kid’s Christmas party, or as an antidote to the rainy day boredoms.

Along with crafts there are a selection of recipes. If you are looking for something fun to do with your kids, why not make some of these wonderful treats together in the kitchen? My favorite is the Mickey and Minnie Peppermint Swirl Cookies. They just look so festive and would be a wonderful gift for a teacher or neighbor. Why not make lasting memories with the kids in your life by baking together? I cherish the memories of making fudge with my mom after school.

From fancy decorations, to delicious Christmas cookies, to great gift ideas, you’ll find something special for everyone with these ideas from spoonful.com. Happiness Squared.

Goofy Craft: Need something quick to occupy a child? Click here and print out a fun Christmas coloring page. It has everyone’s favorite Disney characters and a charming snow scene.

My best friend Rhonda took this wonderful photo

5 fun facts about the Partners statue:

1) The statue was sculpted by Disney Legend Blaine Gibson. Mr. Gibson started working at the Walt Disney Studios in 1939 and retired in 1989. To design the statue many people who had worked for decades with Walt Disney were consulted.

2) The Partners statue is found at the Hub in front of Sleeping Beauty Castle. Walt is holding Mickey’s hand and showing him everything that “started with a mouse.” They face Main Street U.S.A.  to welcome Guests to the various lands.

3) The statue is made of bronze. Unlike the new Walt Disney and Mickey Mouse statue that is found at Disney California Adventure the Partners statue is larger than life.

4) There is a Partners statue at various Disney Magic Kingdoms around the world. The statues all stand in front of the individual park’s castle at the end of Main Street. I think it would be fun to photograph each one and put them in a collage frame. I’ll add that to my bucket list.

5) There is a plaque on the front of the statue. It reads, “I think most of all what I want Disneyland to be is a happy place…Where parents and children can have fun, together. – Walt Disney.”

This is one of my favorite objects to photograph at Disneyland and I love that Walt’s vision lives on through his parks and his movies. Thanks to this statue the man will be remembered along with his vision. Happiness Squared.

Goofy Trivia: Mickey Mouse debuted in Steamboat Willy, which is still one of the most fun Mickey Mouse cartoons ever made. Did you know that Walt Disney did the voice of Mickey Mouse from 1928 to 1947? I find that remarkable considering how busy he was creating animated movies and other projects. I think he loved Mickey so much that he wanted the voice to be as he envisioned it. If you haven’t seen this fun cartoon set to Turkey in the Straw in a while then take time to watch it here in honor of Mickey Mouse’s 84th birthday.

Judy got one picture with Mickey

Last September I visited the Disneyland Resort with my best friend, Rhonda, my parents, my Aunt Patti, and my runDisney partner, Judy. Most of us had cameras because we all like to scrapbook. Judy’s camera had been acting up for a couple days and her pictures tended to be dark. On our last day in the parks, while waiting for World of Color to start, she decided to try and fix the problem. As she tried to discover the solution, the camera deleted all her photos without the standard warning. Every picture was lost.

Now, as I said, most of us had cameras so she would have pictures to put in her scrapbook, but this mishap was regrettable on two levels.  One, we’ll never know what pictures she took and she might have had some great ones. And two, the only picture of Judy with Mickey Mouse was on her camera. It was remarkable that we even saw Mickey Mouse and losing that picture was a great disappointment.

All this is water under the bridge, but I share this story with you in the hope that it never happens with your photos. You may think that your camera will never malfunction, but other things could happen to it, such as it getting stolen, lost, broken, or soaked on Splash Mountain. Here are four ways to save your photos so that a camera malfunction does not erase all of your treasured pictures.

4 ways to keep your photos safe while at the Disney parks:

1) Transfer your photos each night. If you have an iPad or other tablet you can transfer the photos in your camera to your device with an SD card adapter. This is a great way to instantly share pictures and back up your camera. If you took photos with your smart phone you can save them in a variety of apps, or create an album on Facebook. One other option is to email the pictures to yourself. Whichever format you choose, by backing up your photos each night you can only lose a day’s worth of photos should your camera malfunction.

2) Use a different SD card each day. Perhaps you are like me and don’t have a tablet or a smart phone. You can easily protect your photos by using a new SD card each day. SD cards are fairly inexpensive nowadays and if you keep them in a small baggie then you won’t lose them. Just make sure you label them so you know which one was used on which day.

3) Have everyone take the same pictures. I usually follow this rule, but apparently this time I didn’t. If you have multiple people with cameras have them all take pictures of the really special shots, like visiting Mickey Mouse. Then the loss of one camera will not be as tragic.

4) Use Photopass photographers whenever possible. Photopass photographers are awesome and can often be found at picturesque places in the park and at character meet and greets. They are more than willing to take pictures with your camera, but be sure to have them take your picture with theirs, also. It is free unless you buy the picture and you’ll have a copy of the photo safe at the Photopass website if something should happen to your camera.

Nothing spoils a vacation like losing much loved photos of your trip. With these four tips you can avoid the stress and disappointment and focus more on spending time with your family and friends. Happiness squared.

Goofy Tip: If you are at the parks and you need camera supplies or a place to charge your camera then head the camera shop at each park. The shop will be listed on the map brochure. Most of the parks have a place where you can buy what you need and even get your camera charged. This is also where you can buy albums and picture frames so you’ll have a great place to store and display your memories.

Image from Disney Parks Blog

Oswald the Rabbit turned 85 years old this week. What? You don’t know who Oswald is? That’s okay. He is one of Walt Disney’s original characters and if it wasn’t for him Mickey Mouse would have never existed.

Walt Disney created Oswald the Lucky Rabbit in 1927 and did a lot of cartoons staring this crazy rabbit with the big ears. He went back east to renegotiate his contract with the distributors of his cartoons and found out that he didn’t own Oswald, they did. Walt left Manhattan without his star, but by the time he got to California he had created a new star, a mouse named Mickey. And the rest is history.

But good things never really disappear. The Disney Company got the rights to Oswald back in 2006. He made his new debut in the Epic Mickey video game and now he is appearing at the Disney parks on shirts, hats and Vinylmation. Who knows how far this rabbit can go? Walt said that it started with a mouse, but if it hadn’t been for the loss of a certain rabbit there might never have been a mouse.

Goofy Quote: “It is good to have a failure while you’re young because it teaches you so much. For one thing it makes you aware that such a thing can happen to anybody, and once you’ve lived through the worst, you’re never quite as vulnerable afterward.”  - Walt Disney.