~ Sew Sweet 16 ~I’m packing your angry eyes just in case~Aug 2014~ BFF' bag 8/20!!!!

[OregonMomToWDW]

I never really thought about not having park hoppers. Once California Adventure opened, we always bought them because the parks were so close. So, when we went to WDW, I got them. The only day I went to 2 parks was our AK day. Jacob, however, used it frequently. He loved going to a different park while the rest of us were resting or done for the day. So, I guess it was worth it for us.

 

[NiniMorris]

First time we went to Disney the tickets I purchased came with hoppers. (I really had no clue what I was doing and the trip was a reward from work so they pretty much handled everything.)

The hoppers came in handy because we hated MK (never even got off Main Street) and went back to AK, because that was the kids favorite!

So I have never been without hoppers. My favorite part is that I choose where I want to eat, and then go .... Most of our favorites are at Epcot and we hop over there for dinner and stay for the fireworks.

And then there was that crazy trip where we attempted to go to all 4 parks in one day...we only made it to 3...Miss B got heat exhaustion ...boooo...so we never made it to AK that day! LOL...


I love having the flexibility (even though I do get teased a lot about my schedules and plans... I have been told that I even plan the potty breaks...which is no longer true. We do not have a potty training child this visit! LOL)



Nini

 

[DMGeurts]

Have a wonderful day at Target. Can't wait to see your new bag.

Thanks Chiara!!! It was a pretty good day - we are starting to get very busy with holiday photo cards and stuff... many people browsing for Christmas ideas too. I am really getting into the holiday spriit myself.

Oh what the... I am first to SUBSCRIBE then my subscription is GONE! Poof!!!

I am back. i am caught up...

I am SO PROUD of you getting the PH!!!! your going to LOVE IT. the freedom to do whatever you want! the EMH!!!
awesome..
what do you think BFF will want to do for ressies???
you- and now Tess- with your SSP crap... drives me crazy here!!!!

I am not sure yet? I am certain we will keep our early breakfast must-do of Crystal palace... We have NEVER had a bad meal there yet, and I think they would both enjoy that one?

I am also pretty sure we will keep our early breakfast at Tusker House... Since we love getting into AK early.

Otherwise - I would like to try a few new places... In no particular order, I'd like to try the Plaza and Sleepy Hollow (I know, this is CS, but we usually have so many TS, that no room in our bellies for CS)...

Not sure about Epcot or DHS yet... We might go back to 50's because I think that is a restaurant that BFF and her dd would enjoy, and I must say that we missed it on this last trip.

Epcot always stumps me... There is just so much there that I can never decide.

as for the weight loss.. thanks for posting my fat you know what! Just kidding!!!!!!! you are doing a great job and i am so proud of you keep up that great work!!!

Of course all of you are constantly in my prayers. ALWAYS...

now that i am back and i hope to stay that way bring on the good stuff!!!

Thanks Mo! Happy to have you back. LOL

I am caught up! The girls weekend at Food and Wine Festival last weekend was awesome, but it put me behind on everything! I wouldn't trade it though!

Yay!!! Glad you had a great time! Are you doing a TR about it?

Hi D! I love your reports and your projects. You have inspired me to unpack my sewing machine and get to work for my June trip! My dd is 7 (will turn 8 mid trip) and loved all the outfits on other sites, so we are working on designing her outfits for her on our trip! And I'm gonna start a pre-trio report! Thanks for being an awesome inspiration!

Welcome!!! And YAY for unpacking your sewing machine! I am envious that your dd is the perfect age for customs - I totally missed out on that with my girls as I didn't know how to sew back then. You need to check out the Disboutiquers thread on The Dis (in the families section) - tons of great and wonderful inspiring people there! And they are fantastic about answering questions too.

Quick stop in to say

Work + kitten + dog = no real sewing (I did get an applique primed & found some material that I want to use for Christmas goodies)

Have fun in the exciting world of holiday ramp-up retail!

Back to excruciatingly boring but absolutely necessary work.

Hi Ruth! I know the feeling! The holiday fever is in full swing here! It's crazy! But I love this time of year! Thanks for stopping by!

I'm here too (I can't remember if I commented?!?). Glad to see you back and doing another great TR. We're entertaining an August trip, I think I might cry if I don't see Disney in 2014!

I'm with you on the weight loss. I've lost/gained the same weight over and over again. I just had my 2nd son in July and actually had lost weight after having him, but with being able to eat again (was SOOO sick during pregnancy), I've managed to gain that great jump start back. So, I'm with you on your journey, and no matter how slow progress is, it's progress... keep it up!

Welcome! I am not sure either if you've commented yet? LOL I can't keep track sometimes - so sad. I am glad you are here and how exciting that you may be planning an Aug trip - please let me know if you decide on dates.

It's so hard - it seems that weight loss is a constant battle for me - as it is for many. Every time I do it - I think "this is it!" Or "this time it's a lifestyle change" and every time, I fall back into my old patterns... It's so hard, so frustrating and so easy to get down on yourself about it. But this time... I hope this is it.

Sounds like a good day in the sewing room yesterday. Having to go to the gym to work out would probably make it easier to make an excuse not to go. Although I would come up with plenty of excuses for working out at home too so more kudos to you for doing your workout regularly.

Actually sewing something today - a little bag to hold a diaper and wipes for Curtis's teacher as she is going to have a new baby soon (also giving her a gift card to Babies R Us since she is registered there. Of course kids don't get the concept of gift cards and like to give something that the person can open so Curtis wanted to give her an actual gift.

Hahaha... I know that feeling all too well.

Awww... Sounds like you have a fun project to be working on! Love baby projects! I am sure she will love it!

I am not on the Aug 2014 Fbook group...I did not know such an animal existed! I will have to look for that!

I'll figure out how to send a PM on here and send our dates to see if they overlap! If my DH and kids don't want to do a Dismeet they can just go do something else for awhile, LOL!!

I sent you a PM with the link for the FB group. Hopefully you see it up there on the top right side of your screen... Then you can reply to me with your dates. LOL

Glad you had a productive day in your sewing room yesterday and I hope your work day goes quickly (mine could not end soon enough...I swear all the nuts are out in droves today...must be the rain).

Work out in front of your living room window? Oh my!

I did have a pretty good day at work... Thanks! I hope yours was over quickly.

LOL - yes, I am really not looking forward to that.

I'm thinking we will be doing park hoppers too!

Hi Erin! Have you picked out definite trip dates yet?

Glad you had a good day. Great job on your journey (weight and working out!!)

Hope today was a good day at Target! Can't wait to see the new bag also!

Prayers for everyone that needs them.

Thanks Sandra! It was an OK day at Target - it went fairly quickly - so that's good. I am excited to show you all my newest custom order - it's cool.

I never really thought about not having park hoppers. Once California Adventure opened, we always bought them because the parks were so close. So, when we went to WDW, I got them. The only day I went to 2 parks was our AK day. Jacob, however, used it frequently. He loved going to a different park while the rest of us were resting or done for the day. So, I guess it was worth it for us.

Well, so far, we have been able to to it with out parkhoppers - but if this trip is shorter, we may be forced to get them. I have not decided for sure yet.

First time we went to Disney the tickets I purchased came with hoppers. (I really had no clue what I was doing and the trip was a reward from work so they pretty much handled everything.)

The hoppers came in handy because we hated MK (never even got off Main Street) and went back to AK, because that was the kids favorite!

So I have never been without hoppers. My favorite part is that I choose where I want to eat, and then go .... Most of our favorites are at Epcot and we hop over there for dinner and stay for the fireworks.

And then there was that crazy trip where we attempted to go to all 4 parks in one day...we only made it to 3...Miss B got heat exhaustion ...boooo...so we never made it to AK that day! LOL...


I love having the flexibility (even though I do get teased a lot about my schedules and plans... I have been told that I even plan the potty breaks...which is no longer true. We do not have a potty training child this visit! LOL)



Nini

I am not certain - but I think we may have had PH on our very first trip in 2003? I want to say there was a day that we did DHS in the morning and Epcot in the evening? I am not 100% sure about this, but from the photos, the girls were wearing the same outfits in both parks, and I remember specifically having different outfits for different days. If we did have PH - we only used them that one day. BUt that was under the old tickets - so I can't remember how they worked?

**********************************************************

Yesterday was a good day at Target... I love this time of year there. It's so busy and I love seeing what everyone is buying for Christmas.

I came home and made Taco Bake for dinner - YUM!

Then the girls and I sat down and watched Extreme Couponers - or whatever it's called. I can never get deals like that - it's impossible around here.

Today - I will be in my sewing room all day. I hope to finish up this bag, and maybe work on the wallet applique this afternoon.

Thanks to my chat with Nini this morning - I am in the mood to clean/reorganize my sewing room... It's an awful mess right now - and it's driving me crazy.

But I NEED to get the stockings and the SSP done first.

I hope you all have a fantastic day today!!!

D~

 

[Chicago Mo]

See...

I am staying caught up... i need to know the SSP... just sayin... It's KILLING ME.

 

[cogero]

cleaning my sewing room is on my list for today too but I have a crazy day so who knows.

 

[lovedonaldduck]

I may do a trip report of the girls weekend at Food and Wine but you'd have to rely heavily on your imagination - I took 5 pictures in 3 days!

I am completely shocked that I just read you didn't sew when the girls were little! I always assumed that because I don't already know how to sew, I'd missed my window. Maybe not? Did you teach yourself? I am completely intrigued - I'd love to hear the whole story of how you went from a non-sewer to turning out this awesome creations!

 

[Clio]

I'm glad you had a fairly good day at Target. It's starting to get busy at work, too. We spent monday putting out Christmas movies. People are starting to make their Christmas photo cards, too.
My daughter and I were watching Extreme Couponeruying alls yesterday, too. She couldn't figure out what they were going to do with all that stuff or how buying all that was going to pay for a wedding in one show. She get go to work with $10 worth of coupons for things she needs to buy on the way out of work.
I was all set to start a project yesterday but had no really stiff interfacing so I'll have to get some at work today. It's really nice having a fabric department where I work but I normally don't buy fabric just averything else.
Liz

 

[nowellsl]

I am completely shocked that I just read you didn't sew when the girls were little! I always assumed that because I don't already know how to sew, I'd missed my window. Maybe not? Did you teach yourself? I am completely intrigued - I'd love to hear the whole story of how you went from a non-sewer to turning out this awesome creations!

You should read D's first PTR (link in her signature)! AWESOME! What an inspiration!

 

[ladylyons]

Glad your day went well. One of Jeremy's classmates grandma works at our local Target and she says the same things. Loves this time of year because her days just fly by!!

Hope you had a successful day in your sewing room today!

 

[DMGeurts]

See...

I am staying caught up... i need to know the SSP... just sayin... It's KILLING ME.

Hahaha... Glad you're staying caught up - PTRs are much easier than TRs. No leaks on the SSP, but soon - very soon.

cleaning my sewing room is on my list for today too but I have a crazy day so who knows.

Yah - thanks to Nini, it went on my to do list yesterday too...

I may do a trip report of the girls weekend at Food and Wine but you'd have to rely heavily on your imagination - I took 5 pictures in 3 days!

Hahaha... Well - maybe not the best idea then. LOL But I am super glad you had a great time!

I am completely shocked that I just read you didn't sew when the girls were little! I always assumed that because I don't already know how to sew, I'd missed my window. Maybe not? Did you teach yourself? I am completely intrigued - I'd love to hear the whole story of how you went from a non-sewer to turning out this awesome creations!

LOL Nope... I didn't learn to sew until 3 years ago... Fall of 2010. Crazy huh? I had the desire for quite some time, but due to some prior disasters in my jr. high/high school home-ec class, I assumed this hobby was not for me. I do actually have my story and how I learned written up in one of my previous PTRs... I will go find it and link to it in my comments below.

I'm glad you had a fairly good day at Target. It's starting to get busy at work, too. We spent monday putting out Christmas movies. People are starting to make their Christmas photo cards, too.
My daughter and I were watching Extreme Couponeruying alls yesterday, too. She couldn't figure out what they were going to do with all that stuff or how buying all that was going to pay for a wedding in one show. She get go to work with $10 worth of coupons for things she needs to buy on the way out of work.
I was all set to start a project yesterday but had no really stiff interfacing so I'll have to get some at work today. It's really nice having a fabric department where I work but I normally don't buy fabric just averything else.
Liz

I love it when the holiday items go up!!! There is just something about the twinkling lights!

LOL - yah some of those extreme couponing shows just baffle me... The one I watched, the woman purchased 27 (27!!!!) bricks of cream cheese! There is NO WAY I could use up all that cream cheese before it expired/molded. Maybe 3 or 4 bricks (which I would consider excessive), but 27? C'mon... LOL No way.

LOL Yah - I do go to Walmart occasionally for stabilizers and other items, it's the ONLY store that's semi-near to me with a decent sewing supply section - but half the time, when I go there, they are out of what I need. So, I always go with impending doom at the back of my head, knowing I may have to drive another 30 miles to get what I need. LOL

You should read D's first PTR (link in her signature)! AWESOME! What an inspiration!

Awww... THanks Stephanie! I sometimes forget that I haven't been sewing for very long - it's just become such a major part of my life - I can't imagine my life with out it. And thanks for reminding me that I already have my story typed up - you just saved me a few hours of typing and trying to remember all of it. LOL

Glad your day went well. One of Jeremy's classmates grandma works at our local Target and she says the same things. Loves this time of year because her days just fly by!!

Hope you had a successful day in your sewing room today!

Yah - I do love working there this time of year... The only thing I don't like about it - recently - is their extreme desire to make more $$ and open on Thansgiving Day... I do NOT like that at all.

I did have a great day in my sewing room - thank you!

**********************************************************

Yesterday was a very good day for me... I was able to accomplish so much!

I chatted with Nini on Facebook a little in the morning - and she gave me an intense urge to clean my sewing room... It was BAD!!!! It was so bad, that when I walked in there to grab something on Sunday night, I asked Victoria what she did in there - because it was trashed - and she said "Mom, I haven't been in there - that's your mess!" WHAT???? Seriously???? I guess - I just spend so much time in there, that I don't see it. My issue is all of my scraps.... I keep a TON of them for my appliques... Normally - I keep them in a clear over-the-door shoe organizer, so I can seperate by color... But lately - I've been lazy and I've just been putting them in a nice little box on my counter... Well, it just kept piling up and piling up - before I knew it, it was overtaking my sewing room. YIKES!

So, it was definatly time to clean in there...

I did not take a "before" photo - I probably should have... but I didn't even think of it... But it was bad, I promise!

Once I put all of my scraps away - I started reorgainzing my machines. I've been using my serger a little more lately because of the dress and SSP, and Victoria hasn't touched her machine in months - it was taking up precious counter space... It was time to make the best use of my little bit of counter space and justify each item there...

1) I put the cover on her machine and put it on the floor under the counter, so if she wants to use it, it's really easy to get out and set up.

2) I moved the computer (that I NEVER use) over to my packing counter.... It really just needs to go, but I need Josh to pull it apart... So, it will stay for now.

3) I put the borrowed embroidery machine on the counter where my computer was - so when I finally do get enough $$ saved up for the embroidery machine I am getting (soon), it will have it's own dedicated spot.

4) Which left a full counter for Mr. Rocket and my current projects to be laid out.

5) And Patience's counter is still all to herself - I never have to worry about her space getting cluttered, because I am always using her.

So, here's the reorganized space... I realize it's still a little messy... After I took the picture - I realized I had one of my SSPs sitting right out there for you all to see - and it's not ready to be seen yet - so I twirled it out. But if you look on my counter - you will see that "The Great Stocking Project" is in full swing... Honest - it's so nice to have it clean again. Phew!

When I was all done organizing - then I went back to work on what I was really supposed to be working on...

By the end of my work day - I had finished my current custom order bag... I plan to work on and finish the wallet this morning... So I should have pictures posted for you all sometime today.

Last night was kind of crazy... The girls had to stay after school for various activities... So, I picked them up at 5, then we went out to dinner... As Victoria and I had a meeting to attend for a weekend get-away she is doing with school in a few weeks...

So, we went to Applebees for dinner... While we were there - We sent Bradey (Suzi's DS) a "Happy Birthday" photo... We just LOVE little Bradey - he is so cute!

And then we all went to the meeting... That was an EXPENSIVE meeting - let me tell ya... These school trips are not cheap! And this is not something we normally let the girls do (tightwad, remember?) - but Victoria wanted to do it badly - in order to go, she had to pay for half of it herself. She did a great job and was able to save up her portion of the $$ by babysitting over the last month +... Which meant we had to fulfill our end of the bargain too. It will be a great trip for her and she will have a lot of fun!

Then we came home and went right to bed. It was a late night for us!

Today, I will be in my sewing room... I should have the wallet done before lunch - I hope... I did all of my prep work for it yesterday. Then I will either work on my SSP or The Great Stocking Project...

Normally, I grocery shop with BFF on Fridays - but she has other things going on today, so we are planning to do that tomorrow.

**********************************************************

Oh and one final thing... My story about how I learned to sew - it's kind of short (relatively)... LOL I wrote these 2 years ago as part of my very first PTR...

Learning to sew - my story

And my story about Patience - my 1952 Singer 15-91... My main sewing machine...

Patience!

Have a great day everyone! Thinking of all of you who need prayers... Kat... Jennifer... Everyone.

D~

 

[Nurse_Mommy4]

Good Morning D!

Oh how I love bag reveal days! I will be sure to check back in during my lunch.

School trips are EXPENSIVE aren't they. None of my kiddos have one this school year but next year will be a biggie!

Have a great Friday!

 

[DMGeurts]

I was able to talk to BFF very briefly about our trip yesterday...

I told her, by Christmas, we need to have our dining options ironed out.

So, she told me to send her an email of where the girls and I want to eat... Her and Olivia will go over them and give their opinions. I told her - there will be a couple that are non-negotiable. LOL However, I did say, if they have no interest in those places, I would be happy to help her make ADRs for elsewhere.

So, this is our tentative list...

Non-negotiable:

Crystal Palace, breakfast before the park opens
Tusker House, breakfast before the park opens

Other suggestions in no particular order:

The Plaza - Magic Kingdom (D~, we have never eaten here)
Liberty Tree Tavern - Magic Kingdom (D~, Lunch, this is normally a must-do meal for us)
Be Our Guest - Magic Kingdom (Victoria)

Akershus - Epcot (Victoria)

50's Prime time - Hollywood Studios (D~ & V, lunch or dinner)
Sci-Fi dine in - Hollywood Studios (Allison)
Hollywood Brown Derby - Hollywood Studios (Victoria - two meal credits)

1900 Park Fare - Grand Floridian (Victoria, breakfast)
'Ohana - Polyneisan (Allison & V, breakfast)
Chef Mickey's - Contemporary (D~, we have never eaten here)
Boma - Animal Kingdom Lodge (Allison, dinner)

Considering that we are most likely only going to be there for 7 nights - we will have to do some eliminating.

So, are we missing anything? Is there anything that is a must-do for you?

D~

 

[cogero]

OOH we get to see a new bag today YEAH.

I like your choices. We love the brown derby and have done both lunch and dinner. It is great because it is so quiet.

WE did the Plaza the last trip and it is nice.

We love Tusker House we do a late breakfast all the time.

Have a fabulous day I hope to get to play with my new toy today.

 

[Iamthequeen]

I don't have any non-negotiable restaurants, though I do have some favorites - Tony's Town Square - I know many people don't like it, but we've never had a bad meal there

Via Napoli in EPCOT was very good, and so was Nine Dragons, I also like Rose & Crown - and if you get there late enough you can sit and watch Illuminations.

Next trip (March) we are going only to EPCOT and I'm not sure if we are going to be able to get any dinner reservations, but I'd like to try Biergarten and Teppen Edo - though we have a Japanese steak house close to home.

When we go in September, Charlie wants to do Tusker House for breakfast again and also Cape May Café and Be Our Guest. Everything else is up to me.

I spent last Saturday cleaning up my sewing room too. And I guarantee it was much worse than yours. Its not finished yet, but I did manage to put most "stuff" away and my sewing spaces are clear. I also found a place for my serger so I can actually get to it to use it. Its been sitting in a corner for a while now.

I started searching for a "new" machine and found some Rocketeers on ebay for about $200. Not going to spend that much, so I'll keep looking.

Off to the doctor's for another sinus infection visit....wish me luck.

 

[Pluto0809]

I can't believe I've never gone back and read your sewing story before. Very inspiring! I don't know that I could every have the patience to learn something like that though.

I see you don't have too many restaurants for Epcot. My too favorites there are Coral Reef and Rose and Crown.

 

[lovedonaldduck]

I am completely blown away by the stories of how you started sewing, restoring your machine, and how far you've come in such a short time. Amazing!

It is good to know I definitely can do this if I ever decide to. I am so impressed D!

 

[Wood Nymph]

Considering that we are most likely only going to be there for 7 nights - we will have to do some eliminating.

So, are we missing anything? Is there anything that is a must-do for you?

D~

It looks like a very delicious list of restaurants. I think you will have to schedule another trip to get all that in.

Our one must-do restaurant has always been Cape May Cafe dinner buffet at the Beach Club. We will not go to WDW without eating dinner there. It just won't happen.

We have mostly eaten at counter service restaurants for years, decades in fact, and just started to eat at more table services. My DH never wanted to be tied down to any kind of a schedule. But I was getting extremely tired of burgers and fries, so I slowly started to add a few ADR's to our trip. It turned out that it was really nice to have something like an ADR to give our trip a little structure. So, in spite of traveling to WDW since 1973, we still have a lot of restaurants left to try. I really like having a nice sit down meal once a day. But it is so hard to just pick a few.

 

[DMGeurts]

This one is so cool - I just love working in grayscale, it's so much fun!

The coolest part about this bag - IMO - I was able to find grayscale printed fabric in the exact prints of the colors I used for the interior... So, the gray dotted main fabric is exactly the same print as the Red with white dots inside. Same with the gray fabric I used for the ruffle and to applique Mickey's shorts... I was able to find the exact same print in red, which I used for the bias trim on the interior quilted pocket... I was so super excited about this... It's the little things - right?

Anyways - here's the bag...

D~

 

[Pluto0809]

Yes I've been stalking your thread all morning.

Steamboat Willie is gorgeous! I love how the fabrics carry through the whole bag and how the bright inside contrasts with the grey exterior. You definitely have one of the best eye for details that I have every seen.

 

[Terkina]

Once again a great bag