~~October 2016~~Sew, it was the greatest Stitch Experience ever!~~Final Update 3/19/2017!

[carlypaigesmom]

I love all of your trip reports

 

[3timesmom]

That is so exciting for her! My foster-parents take in exchange students, and they have told me many times, the first months they are there, until Christmas time is the hardest for the kids - as they really miss home and it seems to be the worst at Christmas time (obviously)... Then after Christmas, they open up, because Christmas tends to be approx the half-way point... So they have their "down hill" time after, and they tend to miss home less and focus more on enjoying their last months here. So, keeping that in mind - she will likely have a harder time at first. I have no idea how it is for the parents... From my own experience of having Allison gone for "only" 10 weeks - it was torture for me as a mom... Especially when every natural disaster there was seemed to follow and find her. There was never any greater relief for me, than to see her step off of that flight - sick as a dog no less - but man, I cried tears of relief that night. And now I get to do it all over again in a few months with V - I am not looking forward to it - at least I will have Allison here, who has experienced it all first hand, to keep me sane. Sending you GIANT hugs!!! And also... Get Skype on your phone - and any other apps she uses frequently (my girls use Snapchat a lot - I've become pretty adequate as using that particular app) - so you can keep up contact in any way you can. She will be fine though - and it sounds like she will be staying with a wonderful family!

My oldest son, Guilherme, spent 6 months in Winnipeg,Canada.It was really hard ( for me, not him LOL) specially at Christmas...but this time I think it will be even harder because Leila is my only daughter and we are really close, not to mention it will be ONE WHOLE YEAR!!
Thanks for your advice, I will download every single app to help me stay in touch with her...she has an youtube channel and she will post her experiences there so I think that will also help!
I love your pictures!!

 

[Born 2B a Princess]

I'm so glad you were able to see Myrthe -- how wonderful! And so sweet of her to bring favorite treats for all of you. I'm also glad you were able to see your Dad this weekend -- such precious time together and I am sure he treasures it as much as you do. (Sorry -- emotions are still a bit raw........)

I love the pictures from your past trips! So sweet!

Did your replacement Alex and Ani bracelet ever arrive?

I'm with you on Arby's -- I haven't eaten there in years -- it just doesn't agree with me. Neither does Wendy's, although my family loves Wendy's. I just can't stomach it.

I hope you feel better today -- enjoy some well-deserved relaxation!

 

[missjackiemcg]

Awwwwwwww!! I just loved looking at your girls' pictures growing up at Disney World!!! I am insanely jealous of the picture with Dopey!!! He is my absolute favorite and I wish I could see him without waiting for hours at a party event. The last time I was able to find him was in 2004 maybe?!

Such beautiful memories and sheer joy in every one!!

 

[branmuffin]

Such great then & now pics! I love those. It's amazing how much they have changed, but also how you can still see those little girls in the current pics . What year was it that y'all got to be in the parade at Animal Kingdom? I remember you talking about that on the sewing forum, I think. I have to say, I think you look younger now than in some of these pictures! I'm looking forward to seeing more memories!

Happy Valentine's Day!

 

[DMGeurts]

How great that you found a local restaurant to have lunch with your dad that was easy to get into and had good food.

I'm glad to hear your dad was in good spirits and that it was a good visit.

I'm so sorry to hear about you not feeling well after eating at Arby's.

Sounds like a good idea to visit your dad when you have a day off the following day.


The weather has been so nice the last week. It has been cold and no ice outside. Today it is raining and of course it's now ice outside. It's no problem driving on ice. The problem is walking on ice. They say it's going to rain all next week. I don't know if I told you but about 2 months ago a couple from the UK contacted me through geocaching.com telling me they were planning a trip to Tromsø to see the Aurora Borealis. They had some questions about Tromsø and geocaching in Tromsø. I told them all I knew about the things they were asking about. Well They are coming to Tromsø on Wednesday. We are having a geocaching event at a local pizza place. After they had booked everything they contacted me again and told me that the nearest cache from where they are staying is one of mine. When I heard where they are staying I had to smile and tell them that it's not that odd that the nearest cache is mine because they are staying right up the road from where I live through AirBnB. I do hope the weather gets better than the forecast predict so they get to see the Aurora Borealis.

Yes - it worked out well, I think we will be eating there more often!

How fun!!! And how neat that they are planning to look for your geo cache! I hope you enjoy your meet up tomorrow!

Thanks for sharing your old Disney pictures. it's fun seeing how the girls have grown and pictures of things that are no longer there. I loved the picture where Victoria is scowling about something. It just looks so real.
I'm glad you and Josh were able to drive up to see your dad. Lunch at a local place sounds nice. Arbies doesn't like me either. It much be so seasoning they use.
When I go to Aldi I rush by all the junk food by the door. It's hard to get by the people that stop right there. I buy yogurt, fruit and veggies and salad there(not the iceberg lettuce kind, though) . the produce aisle is always full of people which makes it interesting.
I got the Aztec bead bracelet at Alex and Ani. My daughter got one with a tie dyed peace symbol. I'm always overwhelmed when I go into one of there stores. There's just too much to choose from. I'm not too fond of the new Vera patterns either. The outlet sale usually has older patterns and a few that are only for the sale but you never know which ones will be there until you get there.
Enjoy you day
Liz

Yes - I love looking at old Disney pictures too.

Hahaha - I think I have one or two good pictures from each trip where V is scowling. LOL

Oh - I know - I am always trying to weave through those people who stop there too, and it does also get tight in our produce section. I usually stop my cart on the other side of the aisle and squeeze in between people to grab what I want.

Thanks Liz - same to you!

You have given me a to do item. Look through old photos to do then and nows.

My first trip of really doing "then n' nows" - I made a few collages of the pictures I wanted to recreate by park - so then I glanced at my trusty collage when we were there - so I could recreate as we went along. It worked out well that first time - now I just remember.

I love all of your trip reports

Awww - thank you - I am glad you are enjoying them!

My oldest son, Guilherme, spent 6 months in Winnipeg,Canada.It was really hard ( for me, not him LOL) specially at Christmas...but this time I think it will be even harder because Leila is my only daughter and we are really close, not to mention it will be ONE WHOLE YEAR!!
Thanks for your advice, I will download every single app to help me stay in touch with her...she has an youtube channel and she will post her experiences there so I think that will also help!
I love your pictures!!

I cannot even imagine - I get all nervous when I even think about it. You all will do fine though - and Leila will have a wonderful time! I am sure it will be very tough at first - thankfully there are MANY real-time ways to communicate now... I know that I Skyped Allison several times per week - it was always so reassuring to see her live!

Thanks - I am glad you are enjoying them!

I'm so glad you were able to see Myrthe -- how wonderful! And so sweet of her to bring favorite treats for all of you. I'm also glad you were able to see your Dad this weekend -- such precious time together and I am sure he treasures it as much as you do. (Sorry -- emotions are still a bit raw........)

I love the pictures from your past trips! So sweet!

Did your replacement Alex and Ani bracelet ever arrive?

I'm with you on Arby's -- I haven't eaten there in years -- it just doesn't agree with me. Neither does Wendy's, although my family loves Wendy's. I just can't stomach it.

I hope you feel better today -- enjoy some well-deserved relaxation!

I understand... You've been on my mind... Sending hugs!

Thanks - I am glad you are all enjoying them - I love wrapping up TRs like this, it's always fun to look back!

Yes - I forgot to post about it though - I received the replacement the week before last. I've already determined that I will only wear that one on special occasions - since I know that the beads are only painted on.

Yes - our meal at Arby's was a sad reminder that there are certain places that I just cannot eat.

Thanks - I was much better by the next morning. We had a nice day off on Sunday and back to the "grind" yesterday.

Awwwwwwww!! I just loved looking at your girls' pictures growing up at Disney World!!! I am insanely jealous of the picture with Dopey!!! He is my absolute favorite and I wish I could see him without waiting for hours at a party event. The last time I was able to find him was in 2004 maybe?!

Such beautiful memories and sheer joy in every one!!

That was a fun meet with Dopey - he took V's face mask and was walking up and down the line of waiting people, while the character handler was trying to reign him in. LOL I have more pictures - but they are not uploaded. It's a bummer that he can only be seen at party events now... I hate that they do that.

Thanks - I am glad you enjoyed seeing them!

Such great then & now pics! I love those. It's amazing how much they have changed, but also how you can still see those little girls in the current pics . What year was it that y'all got to be in the parade at Animal Kingdom? I remember you talking about that on the sewing forum, I think. I have to say, I think you look younger now than in some of these pictures! I'm looking forward to seeing more memories!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Thanks! It's so much fun sharing them! Ahhh - the parade was 2012 - so my next update will have a few parade pictures, I am sure.

Hahaha - I think I look younger now too... LOL I look back at my appearance while they girls were growing up and OY!!! YIKES!!! I had some very scary years there! LOL

Thank you - same to you!!!

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

And again - nothing else exciting to report... Working, sleeping, reading - that's about it. I hope you all have a marvelous week!

Prayers and Pixie Dust to all!

D~

 

[Terkina]

Yesterday I decided to try and use my electrical wheelchair at the mall. It went quite well. There wasn't a lot of people at the mall which made it easier to get around. I discovered that I need a little more tape on the floor in the car to get the electrical wheelchair a little easier out of the car.

I hope you have a great week

 

[kittylady1972]

Finally I'm caught up again and have read all the final chapters of your October trip. So sad to read those final days but you guys had some great experiences for sure. It's always nice to just take time to explore a resort and I agree the Poly is a great one for hanging out, especially because DOLE WHIPS! I think the Poly is going to be on our list for one of our return trips this year, just not sure which one yet. We have plans for 2-4 trips before the end of 2017 (gotta maximize that AP) but only one has been planned at this point. Actually it's like 1.5 since I have Vero Beach booked for August but am planning that as an after-Disney parks destination.

 

[missjackiemcg]

Going to try signing up the Walt Disney World Marathon Weekend 5K and 10K today when registration opens....send me some pixie dusted thoughts if you think of it!!

 

[IowaTater]

The CM pixie dusted her with a free one and sent her off with wishes to feel better.

Aww that was so sweet! I love Pixie Dust stories!

Departure days are always sad, no matter what you do during them. I know what you mean regarding the depleted energy. We felt it too. I don't know what the deal was.

 

[Texan]

Dorine! I was gone a little bit and bam so behind! D - you look amazing! I love the pic of you and your girls and Myrthe. What a nice visit and lunch. So glad ya'll got to see each other.

Glad you got a visit in with your Dad as well. Hope he is doing ok. Does he have daily caregivers who check on him?

Love the pics of the girls from before. I cannot believe how fast time flies. Look at the beautiful young women they are now. You have done good mama.

Love seeing your coffee from Allison. Looks like she is working hard and doing good with her path right now.

I love to read your daily reports D! Don't ever stop

Have a good rest of the week. I will check in more often, promise.

Hugs.

 

[DMGeurts]

Yesterday I decided to try and use my electrical wheelchair at the mall. It went quite well. There wasn't a lot of people at the mall which made it easier to get around. I discovered that I need a little more tape on the floor in the car to get the electrical wheelchair a little easier out of the car.

I hope you have a great week

I am glad to hear that it went well for you. And hopefully you are able to get more tape added to your car soon.

Thanks - same to you!

Finally I'm caught up again and have read all the final chapters of your October trip. So sad to read those final days but you guys had some great experiences for sure. It's always nice to just take time to explore a resort and I agree the Poly is a great one for hanging out, especially because DOLE WHIPS! I think the Poly is going to be on our list for one of our return trips this year, just not sure which one yet. We have plans for 2-4 trips before the end of 2017 (gotta maximize that AP) but only one has been planned at this point. Actually it's like 1.5 since I have Vero Beach booked for August but am planning that as an after-Disney parks destination.

Yah - the final days are always sad - however, it seems that after such a long trip, we are always ready to go back home.

I sure hope you get a chance to stay at the Poly - it's so lovely! I agree - maximizing your AP is necessary!

Have fun planning!

Going to try signing up the Walt Disney World Marathon Weekend 5K and 10K today when registration opens....send me some pixie dusted thoughts if you think of it!!

Super excited for you!!! So, which races are you doing?

It's supposed to be nice here today - so I am thinking of going out for a walk/run this afternoon.

Aww that was so sweet! I love Pixie Dust stories!

Departure days are always sad, no matter what you do during them. I know what you mean regarding the depleted energy. We felt it too. I don't know what the deal was.

True - it is always sad to leave... Though after such a long trip - you just really want to be home.

I am glad I am not the only one who felt it - I was honestly beginning to wonder if it was because it was my 3rd trip within a year - maybe I was just sick of it? I do know - I am entirely sick of the crowds and rude people... I honestly think that DIsney NEEDS a 5th main park... Those crowds need to be disbursed some how.... Too many resort rooms and not enough space to put all of those people in the parks. It's a good time for me to take some time away from Disney I think.

Dorine! I was gone a little bit and bam so behind! D - you look amazing! I love the pic of you and your girls and Myrthe. What a nice visit and lunch. So glad ya'll got to see each other.

Glad you got a visit in with your Dad as well. Hope he is doing ok. Does he have daily caregivers who check on him?

Love the pics of the girls from before. I cannot believe how fast time flies. Look at the beautiful young women they are now. You have done good mama.

Love seeing your coffee from Allison. Looks like she is working hard and doing good with her path right now.

I love to read your daily reports D! Don't ever stop

Have a good rest of the week. I will check in more often, promise.

Hugs.

No worries Carol - we are all busy these days!

It was such a nice surprise to see Myrthe! And we also had a great visit with my dad.

Hahha - yah, they are so grown up now... Those photos seem just like yesterday though... I miss them so much at those ages!

Allison is working very hard... She is starting to come down off of the "new job high" - so we'll see how things progress from here... Just giving her time right now...

I"ll try to keep up... It's really hard to do daily updates when I don't do anything anymore. LOL Get up, drink coffee, FB, Dis, work out, work, make dinner, go to bed. LOL Really nothing exciting to keep anyone interested these days. But I will always check in every few days. Thanks for cheering me on.

It's always great to see you Carol! I hope you and the family are well!

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

Hmmmm... I've had a pretty boring week here - nothing exciting and I am not exaggerating. LOL

Monday and Tuesday I worked out both days - Monday was Walk Away the Pounds and Tuesday was heavy lifting.

I also worked at home both days... I made good progress - which always makes me happy.

I took extended lunch breaks both days and took the opportunity to read... I am reading "The Millionaire Next Door" - an older book, which I read many years ago - but I enjoyed it very much and thought it worth the re-read. It's more about how people obtain wealth by working hard and being frugal, than inheriting it. It's an interesting read.

I also finished up the 4th book in the Outlander series (Drums of Autumn)... An excellent series that I am really enjoying a lot.

Yesterday, I worked at Target - it was a LONG shift for me, and the truck unload was incredibly exhausting with a TON of Easter transition... By the time we were done unloading - I literally spent huddle laying on the floor in soft lines - I was DONE and I still had 6 hours of my shift left at that point. LOL Sure makes for a long day! But it went well and I survived.

Today - I will work out... It was supposed to be a heavy lifting day for me, but I am still sore from dead lifts on Tuesday, plus the tough truck unload at Target yesterday - so I think I am going to switch today's work out with tomorrow's. It's also supposed to be a nice day today - so, I may take an extra long lunch and head out for a walk/run... Temps are supposed to be good - but I will see what the wind is like at that hour...

I will also be working upstairs all day... Trying to get a bit of extra work done up there, on top of my normal schedule - which means I need to be pretty dedicated to my scheduled hours. It's hard, sometimes, when I only have to be accountable to me. I've had a pretty good schedule since Christmas though - so that feels good.

Tonight, Josh and I are supposed to go out for dinner to celebrate Valentine's day... We didn't go out last weekend, and we didn't feel like going out on the actual day... So we'll see if we have the ambition tonight.

For those of you following my Dave Ramsey debt stuff... I am happy to inform you that we are now paying off debt. It took us a while to build our savings back up again after the truck - but now that we have it back where we are comfortable with it - we've started making a dent in what we owe. We made our first extra payment yesterday and we should have this one debt paid off next week - which will be awesome! Looking ahead at our budget - in the next 3 months, we will be able to pay off 2 of our vehicles, 1 loan and 3 credit cards! That will free up a HUGE amount of snowball to go towards other debt.

I hope by sharing this portion of our lives - I can inspire any one of you to take a look at your financial lives and make progress towards living a life without debt. I strongly encourage all of you to make up a monthly budget (for the fun of it) and see what it would look like if you had NO payments - just your monthly bills... It's incredibly empowering! This is what did it for me - seriously - once this debt is out of our lives - I *could* go to Disney 6 times per year and not even flinch at the cost. Side note: If any of you have interest in using our budget template (you need Microsoft office on your PC to run it) - I'd be happy to email it to you.

That's about all... Hopefully my boring life is a bit interesting for you all. I tried to make it worth writing about - though I prefer my non-drama life, and have no intention of seeking out any excitement for the benefit of writing about it. LOL

I hope you all have a wonderful remainder of your week... I'll be back over the weekend to do a few more updates. It's looking like the final wrap up of this TR will happen either this weekend or the following weekend.

Sending prayers and pixie dust out to all of you!

D~

 

[Born 2B a Princess]

Congratulations on paying off debt! That's fabulous! I'm trying to get brave enough to tackle our debt situation. It just seems so impossible. It's awful. Truly awful..... *Sigh*

Sounds like you definitely had a heavy day at Target!

Have a great day!

 

[Terkina]

Sounds like you got a lot of exercise at Target Yesterday. I'm glad to hear you survived your shift.

I hope you have a great night out for dinner with Josh celebrating Valentine's day.

How great that you are able to pay extra on your debt. It must feel great to know that you soon has payed off 2 of your vehicles. It's always nice to get rid of some debt.


It was a nice geocaching event last night. The couple from England was a really nice couple and we had a great time together. I think we ended up being 20 people at the event.
On our way home I showed them one of my geocaches. It was black dark outside by the time we were done at the event in town so we didn't bother to look for many geocaches.

Today I had to go to the mall and buy food. So I decided to practice driving my electrical wheelchair again. I still haven't got more tape on the floor of the car so it was a little difficult to get the chair out of the car. I will get more tape on the floor this weekend. So when I go to the store again on Monday or Tuesday it should be easier to get the electrical wheelchair out of the car.

 

[OregonMomToWDW]

I remember buying that book. I don't know where it went. It was on the Financial Peace reading list. I paid final bill on one medical debt. I have one more of those. My final payment to orthodontist is next month. Making small dents, I guess.

Have a great day!

 

[Ladyfish77]

Congratulations on making progress on your debt!!! It is such a wonderful thing to be debt free. DH and I have lived that way our entire married life. We are so glad that we were able to start out without debt and kept it that way. He had an ROTC scholarship in college and lived at home. I went to a community college for 2 years then University and lived at home. This allowed us to not have any college debt. The military paycheck allowed us to live frugally and my paycheck allowed us to save so we could buy used vehicles with cash. This allowed us to save so that later in life we could afford to pay cash for our vehicles. We keep our vehicles for at least 10 years, which allows up to save up for the next one. We have a mortgage on our home, but that is the only debt we have and we pay extra each month on our loan to pay it off early.

So far our kids are debt free also. DS1 had a full scholarship with ROTC. DS2 is living at home and going to community college with some Veteran's benefits. So we have been able to help them start their adult lives debt free. Unfortunately it is so easy to fall into the debt cycle. Most people don't understand just how much they pay monthly in interest which makes it so hard to pay off debt!

I have a good friend who I've tried to help out with budgeting, but they just insist on spending on things that DH and I see as luxuries (buying a new car vs a used car and replacing it every time it's paid off, eating out on a regular basis, etc) and so they just stay in debt. So I'm always so impressed when people can actually budget and find the way to get out of debt! You sound like you are close!!! So yes, Disney can be in your near future and still be debt free!!! Way to go!

 

[Iamthequeen]

We are also working to clear up our debt. With retirement looming, we want to be debt-free. Wee were able to buy both of our cars used, and paid cash, so most of our debt is mortgage and those damn credit cards, but we are working on them.

I found out on Saturday that Kate & Chris will be moving to New York City soon. Chris got a wonderful job offer, but has to be in NYC rather than Baltimore. I am sad, but this is a great opportunity with lots of advancement opportunities, which he does not have in his current job. NYC is only about 4 hours away and both of my daughters will be there. Just not 1/2 hour away......

Work is picking up and I've got a number of other activities happening. I will be giving a presentation on floodplains to first-time homebuyers in March - before and after my knee surgery. I'm also going on a quilt retreat in April - so looking forward to that!

 

[IowaTater]

It's a good time for me to take some time away from Disney I think.

I agree. I do get a little jealous of people that can take multiple trips a year or even go every weekend but I think I would get a little burnt out on it. To me, it makes it more special when we got every other year or so.

Congratulations on paying off on your debt! DH and I are trying to do the same, although we will have to get a new car soon. It's difficult not to just buy things on credit or take out a loan for something but we just remember how nice it is not to have that extra monthly payment on something.

Hope you and Josh had a lovely belated Valentine's Day!

 

[WDW2012]

OMG, I have been so behind for MONTHS and am now finally caught up. We got a puppy in October, I started a new job with later hours and more of a commute in December, so I have been a mess since then!! I knew a puppy would be hard work but oh my! Plus we're dealing with possible dog allergies that we're trying to figure out :-(

In any event, too much to even comment on but I have enjoyed following along with your trip report. I totally know what you mean about Disney food. In the past (and especially since our son went gluten free), we've done breakfast in the room, a light lunch and then tried a lot of signature restaurants for dinner. That seemed to work a little better on our bodies (not necessarily on our wallets though). But yeah, after 10 days I'd probably be glad to be home!! So glad Allison is on her way to figuring things out. And kudos to you and Josh for handling it well. I hate that young people have so much pressure to decide what they want to "be" when they haven't even lived yet!! Most adults I know don't know what they want to be when they grow up . Loved seeing all the growing up Disney pics. What great memories. If you don't scrapbook, you should consider at least two books, one for each girl of Disney memories. Your budget talk has been inspiring. I'm going to PM you a few questions, if you don't mind!

Keep up the daily or weekly updates, even though I fall behind, I still enjoy reading them and being inspired to eat better, work out and budget

 

[rdkeim]

Sorry to see your trip coming to an end but it sounds like you plan to do a couple more updates - yay! You're making quick work of your debt! You seem like the kind of person that can do anything you set your mind to. I feel like my DH and I have always lived below our means and kept debt to a minimum - only our mortgage and 1 car payment at a time. I save up ahead of time for trips - it's so nice to not feel like you're doing something you shouldn't. I try to strike a balance between being a saver and spending on the things we enjoy. No fun to be frugal ALL of the time. It's wonderful to have so many Disney memories when our boys were young. Now I'm looking forward to taking our new grandson when he's older. Love seeing your "then" Disney photos!