November Thanks Day 21 - Internet Radio Days

My thanks today is for a hobby that covered a two year span in my life. From 2010-2012 I was fortunate to be part of two very successful internet radio teams who covered all things Disney. Prior to 2010, I was simply a fan who would chat on forums about Disney, planning Disney trips, talking about how to keep the magic alive at home (yes, I am a Disney nerd. It's okay), among many other things. After a few years of being a normal commenter, I moved on to write a few articles for them about my experience in the Disney College Program. Then, I became a moderator and officially joined the team. We all kept things from exploding between other members, and kept all chat rated PG.

Soon after I became a moderator, I was laid off from my actual job (something I talked about here), and after talking to some of the other staff, it was suggested I would be a guest on some of the radio shows they had. Let me just say, at first it was absolutely terrifying knowing that thousands and thousands of people would hear me talk, hear what I had to say, and hear if I made a complete idiot of myself. I decided to just go with it, though, and not look back. After a few months, I ended up being the voice to one of their commercials, and my daughter lent her voice as well in saying the stations name. Next up, being on a show with one of my best friends. She had, had a show of her own for a while, guested on other shows, and was now looking for a new approach to things where we would discuss our time together in the college program. We had a lot of fun, made lots of connections, and learned a lot.

My partner, Krystal, as we played around
with making some Kitchen Sinks

After a year or so, an opportunity presented itself to make a healthier move to a brand new station, be part of the team to get it running before the actual first web banner had been made. It was exciting to see and learn how to generate interest in something so new, and turn it into a station that actually won an award on Live365. We continued our show about our lives with Disney, and also branched off, blogging on our own about our own specialties. Mine led me to Disney baking with my own blog that was called Bibbidi Bobbidi Bake with Mia (I did well enough to get a shout out from the Jazz Kitchen!), and hers led her to use Partners Behind the Mouse and blog about crafts, work, children, savings, and more all related to Disney. We also combined with another team member to blog about cooking a Disney meal from the parks, magazines, anything from Disney actually, and explaining how to do it. We were doing so well, in fact, that another blog asked us to guest write for them a few times a month. It was a blast! Our team was strong, solid, and very passionate about what we were doing. The only problem was that I had started working again, and between work, kids, husband, and trying to pursue school, there really wasn't time anymore to be part of this venture.  In late 2012, I bowed out completely to pursue my other activities as the team went on to do great things, and be incredibly successful in their own rights (my old partner, Krystal, has quite the blog and YouTube channel, and is doing amazing things with it).

Chocolate dipped Mickey's

D23 Sugar Cookies

Ralph Brennan Jazz Kitchen Beignets

I have been very thankful for that venture in my life. I learned so much, made many mistakes along the way (like botching Hootsuite for our twitter account that I was in charge of for the entire station), and got to meet some people who are the image that comes to mind whenever the words persistence, passion, and drive come up.