10-year Anniversary Dream Surprise PTR -- Updated 04/15 -- FE Gifts

[Cari2109]

Table of Contents:
Welcome - You are here
Introductions
Quick Update
A Disney Project
Fish Extender!
100 Days!
FE Gifts

Hello there. Welcome to my PTR.

There are two reasons I have decided to do a PTR and TR. The first is that I want somewhere to keep track of my countdown. After all, planning is half the fun. The second reason I want to do this is because I have truly enjoyed reading all of your accounts. I have spent hours pouring over these boards and really come to love this tradition of sharing. Thank you to all the TR writers out there.

I will be updating this regularly with my various shenanigans over the next coming months as we prepare for the trip. I also plan on taking way too many pictures once I get on the boat.

Anyway, thanks for coming along on this ride with me. I appreciate you taking the time to read my account and I hope you enjoy it-- or at least get a laugh out of it. Here we go. ☺

A little background story:

1. This is the closest I have ever been to a Disney Cruise Ship.
   
   
   
2. I grew up South of LA as a Disneyland brat. I have so many memories of going to Disneyland as a little girl that have stayed with me all my life. Disney magic is the best type of magic.
3. At the time that I post this, it has been 603 day, 14 hours, and 35 minutes since the last time I set foot on Disney soil.
4. My boyfriend (Clint) and I will be celebrating our 10-year anniversary this summer.

Clint and I after our High School Graduation.

Clint realizing that he is only feeding my obsession on a trip that we recently took to Disneyland.

Anyway, back to the story. Several months ago, I realized that this July was going to be our 10-year anniversary. I told Clint that we should do something. Go on a trip somewhere. Do something special to celebrate. He said something along the lines of, “That sound like a fun plan.” And I didn’t think much of it after that.

Fast forward to Christmas Eve, I come home from visiting my family and notice that there is a small wrapped box under our tree. Clint gives me a smile and says, “I am 99% sure that you are going to love your present.”

I smile back at him. I am convinced that there is no way he will be able to top the gift I got him. You ready for this? Bacon. That’s right, a membership to the Bacon of the Month Club. Every month, bacon would show up on our doorstep. It would be the gift that just keeps on giving. With this in mind, I laugh at him and say, “Not as much as you are going to like your present.”

Little did I know.

Christmas morning rolls around. Clint opens his present first. Since the bacon was not scheduled to arrive for a few more days, I had wrapped a certificate that I printed off the Internet. His jaw drops and then says, “Is this an actual thing?!? THIS IS AWESOME!” Needless to say, I thought that I had come up with the best gift ever.

Clint hands me my present. I open the box. Taped to the bottom of it was a $25 American Eagle gift card.

First off, I’m not a big shopper. In fact, shopping is pretty far down the list of ways I want to spend my time (This does not apply to craft stores. I once made the mistake of going to Hobby Lobby after getting my paycheck, but that’s a different story).

I felt confused. I look up at Clint and he as a huge smile on his face, “Do you like it? I know it’s one of your favorite stores.” His reaction took me by complete surprise. He was really selling this gift card and seemed really excited to give it to me.

“Yes,” I answer, “this is one of my favorite stores.”

“I figure you could get yourself a new swimsuit, or maybe a coat,” Clint says, continuing to act like this gift card was the greatest thing he has ever thought of. I nod. A few seconds of silence pass. “And,” Clint says reaching into his pocket, “I recommend that you get a swimsuit.”

He pulls out a folded piece of paper and holds it in front of me. It takes me a few moments to register that he wants me to take it from him.

I slowly pull open one of the corners and see the logo.

I start bawling.

I’m crying for a good five minutes before I can finally pull myself together and regain enough composure to answer Clint’s repeated questions of “Are you oaky?” and “Do you like it?” This is probably the closest thing to my own reaction: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OOpOhlGiRTM

I had no idea that he had even been planning this. I was completely taken by surprise. Thrilled does not even begin to explain how I felt. Not only were we going on a Disney Cruise, we would be celebrating it on our 10-year anniversary.

Best. Christmas. Ever.

Now the countdown begins. Here we go!

Table of Contents:
Welcome - You are here
Introductions
Quick Update
A Disney Project
Fish Extender!
100 Days!
FE Gifts

[Cari2109]

Previous - Welcome
Next - A Quick Update

Okay, I’m back.

Cast of Characters:

Me: I’m a self-proclaimed Disney addict, Star Wars freak, renfest junkie, and chef extraordinaire (okay, that last one might be an exaggeration).

I’ve been to Disney World twice and Disneyland more times than I remember.
This will be my first Disney Cruise and second cruise ever. I remember begging my parents for years and years to go on a cruise when the Magic and Wonder set sail. Alas, I would have to wait over 15 years for that “Dream” to come true (haha – gotta love puns).

&

Clint: My boyfriend. I’m still learning the disboards lingo when it comes to all the acronyms, so I’m not sure what to call him. BF? DBF? TGWITMOADC (That guy who is taking me on a Disney Cruise)? Suggestions?

Clint has been on several cruises dating back to the Big Red Boat. He doesn’t live and breathe Disney (like several of us self admitted addicts here), but he enjoys the movies and had a great time on our trip to Disneyland.

A few year’s ago, Clint and I took a trip to Disneyland together. This was Clint’s first time there and our first Disney experience together. I was bouncing off the walls. Even though we had been together for 8 years, I knew that this would be the final test. If he could handle a trip to Disney and still love me when we got back home, this relationship was truly be meant to be. Lucky for me, I didn’t scare him away or turn him off of the idea of taking another Disney trip.

Cruise:

Now for some of the basic cruise details. We will be taking a four night Disney Dream Bahamian Cruse. We leave on the 4th of July. I’ve been searching the boards to see if Disney does anything special on the 4th. From what I’ve gathered, not much goes on. Anyone out there have experience with this?

The second day will be Nassau. Both Clint and I are SCUBA certified, so I think we will take the excursion to Stuart Cove. The Bahamas is known for its amazing SCUBA and with Atlantis not too far away, maybe we’ll catch a glimpse of a mermaid

The third day is our day at sea. I am looking forward to exploring every single inch of the Dream. Like I said in my previous post, I plan on taking way to many pictures. Not that anyone on these boards ever complains about a post having too many pictures.

Day four is extra special. Castaway Cay and – drum roll, please – our ten-year anniversary. I can’t imagine a better way to spend our last night on the Dream.


That’s it for now. Thanks for reading!

Previous - Welcome
Next - A Quick Update

[jedijill]

I'm in! You both give great Christmas presents!

Jill in CO

[Cari2109]

Originally Posted by jedijill

I'm in! You both give great Christmas presents!

Jill in CO

This is so exciting! Thank you!

[Cari2109]

Previous - Introductions
Next - Starting a Disney Project

Today I discovered Fish Extenders.
That is all.

[Cari2109]

Previous - Quick Update
Next - Fish Extenders!


128 days to go… Academy Awards Day!!!

Today is one of my favorite days of the year. Oscar Sunday. Here’s a picture of some of my college friends and I on the “red carpet” for an Academy Award viewing party several years ago.

The red carpet interviews are going on as I type. Love the dresses! And to make things even better, Billy Crystal is back!! With this in mind, my update is going to be pretty short so that I don’t miss the opening number.

Back to cruise planning. Last week I discovered Fish Extenders. After scouring the boards for more information, I knew that this was something I needed to get in on. Lucky for me, one of the other members of my cruise meet group asked if anyone in the group was interested in partaking.

After checking out a bunch of different designs that people have uploaded to the FE thread (many of which are absolutely amazing), I decided to go with something simple. My goal is to do something that can be completed in one day (two at the most). This way I will have more time over the next few months to work on my FE gifts.

I came up with a design that pays tribute to two of Clint and my favorite characters. Here are the material swatches that I will be using. Can you guess the two characters that served as my inspiration?

Here’s a draft of my FE design:

I’ll post pictures when I finish. Hopefully it comes out the way I picture it my head. ☺


Previous - Quick Update
Next - Fish Extenders!

[Cari2109]

Previous - A Disney Project
Next - 100 Days!

118 Days to go!!

FISH EXTENDERS!!!!

I now have my very own Fish Extender and am one step closer to being ready for my Disney Cruise. In my last post, I drew a digital mock up of an idea that I had. Over the past week, I have been hard at work collecting the supplies and figuring out just how to tackle this project.

The design is based on Clint and my favorite Disney characters. Clint has always had a fondness for the Genie from Aladdin. Me? I’m a Tinkerbell girl.

I have some experience with sewing projects. I’ve made my renaissance costume and past 5 Halloween costumes, so I have an idea of where to start. But that’s where it ends. With the help of the boards, I am able to put in a plan of action. Here are the steps I took to complete my Extender.

Here we go!

1. Cut the material. I cut the swatches to be 12 inches wide. My plan was to make the pockets a few inches wider than the final 8-inch Fish Extender so that I could pleat the pocket. This way it would be able to stretch to fit goodies.
2. The cummerbund. This was a pretty simple process. I simply scrunched the maternal and ran it though the sewing machine.
3. Attach the cummerbund to the “chest” and “pant” material swatches.
4. Line the inside of the pocket. The final pocket measured 10 x 12 inches.

The second pocket follows the same basic steps. I measured out the material for the “dress” portion and the cut the trademark jagged Tinkerbell pattern into it. On a whim, I grabbed some green tulle when I was at the fabric store. This is a little fairy touch that I added to make the dress special. Once everything is sewn together, I add a lining and hem the pocket to 10 X 12.

Since I want the final pocket to fit on the 9-inch Fish Extender, I go ahead and pin the pockets to reflect this. Now that I have my two pockets, I attach them to the Fish Extender backing.

Here is the final product and a few close ups of the pockets. To make the title at the top of the Extender, I bought some scrapbook letters at the store. My sewing machine doesn’t have any fancy embroidery settings and I don’t trust myself to write them out by hand. From what I can tell, these letters are going to stick just fine. Finally, I added several feet of ribbons to dress up the sides of the dowels.

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Next - 100 Days!

[Linda67]

OK sign me up for this one
I am loving your PTR so far
Congrats on 10 years and what a wonderful way to celebrate!
I am very impressed with your fish extender; I couldn't begin to make anything like that
Keep it coming!!

[Cari2109]

Originally Posted by Linda67

OK sign me up for this one
I am loving your PTR so far
Congrats on 10 years and what a wonderful way to celebrate!
I am very impressed with your fish extender; I couldn't begin to make anything like that
Keep it coming!!

Welcome abord! And thank you for the compliment. I think I got a little carried away with the ribbons, but I really enjoyed making it.

[giftcard]

Originally Posted by Cari2109

Today I discovered Fish Extenders.
That is all.

Loving this so far. And love your FE! It's awesome!!!!

[Cari2109]

Originally Posted by giftcard

Loving this so far. And love your FE! It's awesome!!!!

Thank you! I am thrilled to hear that you are enjoying my TR.

[trish.]

Girl - that is the BEST FE I have ever seen.

I'm in!

[Cari2109]

Previous - Fish Extenders
Next - FE Gifts

Today – 100 days to go!

We are officially in the Double Digits!!!

Sweet Disney torture has been popping up all around me lately. Now that the Magic is sailing out of Galveston, there has been no shortage of billboards, posters, and advertisements to constantly keep the cruise top of mind.

The days have been slowly trickling by on my calendar. I’m counting down to the 90-day mark where we will be able to book our excursions and such. It’s finally just around the corner. In other news, we recently receive our flight information from Disney (looks like we should be making it to Port Canaveral around 12:00) and a nice little media piece with information about the cruise.

I’ve been doing a bit of thinking as to what I’m going to make for my FE gifts. I’m probably going to make one packet per stateroom. I want to include something with a bit of a Texas vibe. Maybe a mini cookbook and some BBQ sauce. Thoughts?

Along with a “taste of Texas” I’ve assembled the materials to make a scrapbook per room. I really wanted to make something that families would be able to enjoy for years to come… and I love making scrapbooks. Here are a few spreads from the book I made when Clint and I went to Disneyland.

That's it for tonight. Stay tuned for more.

Previous - Fish Extenders
Next - FE Gifts

[Cari2109]

Originally Posted by trish.

Girl - that is the BEST FE I have ever seen.

I'm in!

Thank you so much!

[Disney9.9.10]

Hi! Just joining in

Your DBF is one thoughtful guy getting you a Christmas gift like that! And 10 years is a great milestone, congratulations to you both!

I look forward to reading more about your trip