2012? No Problem...but when?

[aboveH20]

Not a dull (or dry) moment for you since I've been "gone."

Hard to do proper planning when there are so many "moving parts." (That's my husband's new expression for things that are out of his control. As a former army guy, he very much likes to be in control).

Glad you are safe from the wild winds and hope when the figurative dust settles some of the other pieces of your planning will settle as well.

 

[babynala]

Planning on going on Saturday....I have to take Mr D since hubby is working and I don't leave him with people other than family... how about you?

Nini

Bummer, I can't make it on Saturday because my DD has a Girl Scout activity and I'm her co-leader. I think I might try and go tomorrow but maybe Friday. I have a few colors of Marathon thread I wanted to get so I hope they it so I don't have to pay for shipping.

I was really hoping to try and take some classes this year but I wasn't able to free up enough time.

 

[NiniMorris]

Bummer, I can't make it on Saturday because my DD has a Girl Scout activity and I'm her co-leader. I think I might try and go tomorrow but maybe Friday. I have a few colors of Marathon thread I wanted to get so I hope they it so I don't have to pay for shipping.

I was really hoping to try and take some classes this year but I wasn't able to free up enough time.

I KNOW!!! I get my Marathon stuff there too. Even though it costs me $10 to get in....I usually buy enough that it costs me more than that to ship it!

Every time it comes I say I want to take some classes... They always seem to plan it on my husband's weekend to work! Of course now it looks like I get to take TWO kids with me....my youngest daughter was supposed to go to a Youth Rally that weekend, but her ride is back in the hospital!

{The friend that is/was/might go to Disney with us ... trying to tell where to put the apostrophe ... anyway, her mother is in the hospital. In ICU with a kidney infection that has gone septic and is showing sudden signs of dementia.

They had moved her from ICU late yesterday afternoon, but rushed her back last night... This time last year she was in the hospital after a blotched knee replacement. She was in ICU for over 6 months...that is right...SIX MONTHS! After that she was in rehab hospital for another 2 months.

Anyway, Debbie, the grandmother now in the hospital, was my daughter's ride to the rally. Since she isn't going and no other parent will volunteer to chaperon, we are keeping my daughter home. She is only 11 (and a half) and I don't feel comfortable with the number of teens to adult ratio.... I know, way more info than you wanted or needed!}




I don't think I added the info here...but....I ordered another PE 770 this week from HSN. They sent me a 30% off coupon... so I really had no choice! LOL. It should be here next week.

I am still hard at work on the Main Street Boutiques launch in April. Yesterday was one of those crazy days where everything I touched went wrong! The bodice on my Steamboat Willie dress looked off.... Since it is a Frankenpattern, I had to double check my notes as to which bodice pattern I was using. Then, because I had modified the skirt again, the bodice pattern didn't work. Since my printer won't print I had to copy from the computer screen onto paper....after I finished THAT bodice...I discovered it was w a a a a a a y too big... Yup...the pattern was humongeous. I had the pdf pattern set to 169%. After I reset the pattern to 100%, measured to make sure it was right, retraced the pattern, appliqued my THIRD bodice....decided I didn't like the ruffles and redid them.

I still don't have the bodice on the skirt...but I am liking it a bit more.

I also played around with the Insa pattern a bit. I still have to do the hem and add the elastic to the waist...but it fits my grand Princess... and while trying it on her yesterday I realized I only have a week until her surgery!!! I still have not made her or her AG doll matching jammies and I still owe her some pants/shorts that will go over the cast! I also normally make her a new quilt each time she has a surgery.... I don't see that happening this time!

So, instead of down sewing...I'm on the computer...makes sense, right?







Nini

Going to get motivated now...PROMISE!

 

[NiniMorris]

A wee bit of family information that no one on here cares about...even though it does have a tiny Disney tie in...


Our newest member of the family now has a legal name! That's right Mr Max was finally registered last night! He is a few weeks shy of his 6 month birthday so we figured it was time.

His name is officially MAXIMILLIAN VON DOOFENSCHMIRTZ. (there was supposed to be a Baron in front of his name... but 'SOMEONE' pushed enter too soon. I'm sure he will not let us forget his royal status!)

And yes, it is not the 'official' Disney spelling. But, see, we lived in Germany for three years. Using the German 'sch' instead of the 'Americanized Disney' of 'sh' shows his German roots so much better!

So, with that bit of Disney tie in...I leave you to go back to work.

Nini

Of course, since his official naming, he has gotten 4 different offers of health/life insurance coverage! Plus offers from assorted pet stores across the nation. Plus numerous offers from the AKC for other pocketbook lightening offers!

Seriously...do people have email addresses for their pets? They are all addressed to HIM...not me!

 

[cogero]

Congrats on choosing Baron Max's name.

 

[babynala]

Love your puppy's official name. He will probably be getting credit card offers soon too.

Sorry to hear about your friend's mom. I can not imagine what it would be like to have a family member in ICU for 6 months.

Glad to see you got your pattern figured out and I can't wait to see you launch items. How exciting.

I made it over to the expo yesterday. They had some amazing quilts on display. They had an entire section of quilts that were from the Quilts of Valor program; seeing those beautiful quilts that were stitched with love for the men and women of our military was very heartwarming.

I did buy a few things at the Marathon booth but I was not able to buy any threads that were on my list. They did not bring any Rayon thread with them this year. Of course they said that I could have contacted them with my list a week ago and they would have brought it for me (which I think you may have mentioned before) but I figured they would have some colors. Oh well, guess I have to pay shipping. They did have a few Rayon threads but they were mostly verigated and they had a few jumbo spools of Red, White and Black. I was a bit bummed.

Hope you get a chance to enjoy the expo on Saturday.

 

[NiniMorris]

Love your puppy's official name. He will probably be getting credit card offers soon too.

Sorry to hear about your friend's mom. I can not imagine what it would be like to have a family member in ICU for 6 months.

Glad to see you got your pattern figured out and I can't wait to see you launch items. How exciting.

I made it over to the expo yesterday. They had some amazing quilts on display. They had an entire section of quilts that were from the Quilts of Valor program; seeing those beautiful quilts that were stitched with love for the men and women of our military was very heartwarming.

I did buy a few things at the Marathon booth but I was not able to buy any threads that were on my list. They did not bring any Rayon thread with them this year. Of course they said that I could have contacted them with my list a week ago and they would have brought it for me (which I think you may have mentioned before) but I figured they would have some colors. Oh well, guess I have to pay shipping. They did have a few Rayon threads but they were mostly verigated and they had a few jumbo spools of Red, White and Black. I was a bit bummed.

Hope you get a chance to enjoy the expo on Saturday.

Funny...I used to do quilts for the QOV...until somehow their database dropped me. When they finally contacted me to start up again I was going through my neck surgery. There was no way I could do anything then. Now I am so busy with other stuff...I used to do one each month.

I am hoping Marathon has all my stuff... I actually only need a few cones of thread, mainly I love their precut stabilizer! I had been hoarding my last few pieces.. and I love their pre-wound bobbins. Hmm...seems like my secret is out...I am lazy and don't have a problem purchasing things that are pre done!

I told my friend today I must be crazy...I'm going to the quilt and sewing expo with my three youngest kids! (of course, one is 29...)

I am bored out of y mind. I had been having a fairly productive day in the studio. Finished my SBW dress for the launch...had to redo the bodice yet again, and tweak the ruffles a bit more. Almost got the Grace SBW dress finished. Working with all that black and white is a pain. I worry about getting them dirty. Well, I am about 99% finished, when I realized I had pricked my finger...yup big ole blood spot on the back of the dress. Decided it was time to call it quits. (and the good news is I was able to get it all out!!!)

Mr D is taking a nap...and will be getting up right about the time I have to go get my grand daughter...so I have time to either finish cleaning the house (yuck...) or spend time on the computer...guess which one I chose! LOL!


Nini

 

[NiniMorris]

I just want to shamelessly ask for prayers and Pixie Dust for the coming week.

On Thursday, my 28 year old daughter will be having surgery on her wrist. She has a cyst growing between the bones in her wrist. As it grows, it breaks the bone...then it shrinks again. Then the cycle starts all over. There has already been some nerve damage to the wrist, so they have decided to remove the cyst. It will require a bone graft and much time in recovery unable to mover her arm.

Then, on Friday, my grand daughter gets her big surgery. She was born with club foot and spent the better part of her first year in casts. The first surgery she had was when she was 4 months old. They had to completely reshape her heel. It was on the top of her foot. Since then she has had 3 other surgeries to lengthen the tendons in her leg.

The surgeries did not 'take' so they had to wait until the bones in her ankles turned from cartlidge to bone so they could do the next surgery.

This is the way my daughter in law explained what they are doing:

"The doctor is going to go in and be working on her heel, the top of her foot, and the tibia bone will be broken and "reshaped". Alyssa will be in a full cast for 6-8 weeks (she will be in wheelchair because she will not be allowed to put any pressure on it AT ALL-I know right, LOL keep Alyssa down for 6-8 weeks, prayers please) and then a short cast for another 6-8 weeks. Shawn and I are optimistic but at the same time so worried."

Of course, the Princess has the idea that since she is getting her first AG doll as a 'present' everyone else should give her a present .... so I had to go to the Disney store yesterday to get her a cute Minnie gown...and now have to make her doll a matching gown and a few outfits! LOL!


Again...thank you for the prayers and Pixie Dust you can send our way!


Nini

 

[cogero]

Many prayers and well wishes being sent Nini.

 

[Lidian]

Praying for your family. Please keep us posted.

 

[babynala]

Hope everything goes well with your DD's wrist surgery. That sounds very painful but I hope the surgery is a long term fix to her issues.

Your DGD is a real trooper to have all those surgeries. I can only imagine how frightening that can be for a child and her family. She is going to have one well dressed dolly.

 

[denvergirl]

WOW! Big week! Prayer for you and all of your family for a quick full recovery!
Maybe sewing will help keep you occupied

 

[NiniMorris]

Ugggggh... I feel like the last few days have taken a month to get over...I am not patient when it comes to waiting for news about my kids!


Daughter's surgery went like clockwork! They said two hours for surgery...and one hour and 58 minutes after they took her back the surgeon was telling us how it went. They said 45 minutes to an hour of recovery and 45 minutes later we were leaving the hospital! THAT is the way I like it!

As it turned out, they did not think the cyst was causing the problems overall with her wrist. There was a lot of inflammation. The cyst was not in contact with any of the nerves in the bone, so it should not cause pain (except for when it broke the bone) He felt cleaning the inflammation would do the trick. Unfortunately, it seems she has her momma's problem with her joints. I have had to have more surgeries than I care to mention that the doctors thought was going to be more serious only to discover that a good cleaning of the inflammation did the trick! (has to do with the type of arthritis we have) Of course, my daughter does not feel that she needs to stay cooped up in the house and is already overdoing it! I was hoping she would be sensible and rest...seeing as how she plans on going to the beach on Monday for a week!

My grand daughter's surgery ended up being a bit more tricky. It took about an hour longer and took about an hour longer in recovery than they were expecting. I can't exactly wrap my head around the reasoning...something about having to put two pins in her ankle instead of one and having to put a longer rod in her leg than they thought...but it seems to me that wouldn't have made that much of a difference!

Anyway...she is having a bit of a problem resting. Of course, we knew that for the first 24 to 48 hours we were going to have a rough time. She is weepy, irritable, and MAD! She loves to wiggle her toes and the cast won't let her. She wants them to take it off... After the Caudle block wears off she should be able to move her leg a bit and start to feel a bit more comfortable. We do know that there has been at least some involuntary movement in her toes and they are nice and pink.

We now have another thing that we share...both of us can no longer go through airport security without setting off the alarms! We both have over the amount of metal in our bodies! Between my neck and her leg we are going to RULE THE WORLD!!!!

(ok it was much funnier in my mind!)


After 2 days of getting up at four to get to Atlanta to the hospital, I actually got to sleep in until 8 this morning. I feel like such a slacker now!

Of course, no one...I mean NO ONE thought about cleaning the house a bit for the past two days! In fact...hubby slept in yesterday and let Mr D make pancakes! Yes, Pancakes! My favorite (read expensive) pan is ruined! He had it on the big burner...the one that will boil a quart of water in 45 seconds! On high...and burnt the pan beyond recognition... at least beyond being able to tell it was ever a beautiful stainless steel pan...all nice and shinny...sniff, sniff! Hubby WILL be replacing it soon! (if he knows what is good for him!)


Nini

 

[DMGeurts]

I am sorry that I am so far behind Nini...

I am glad that both surgeries went well... Sorry that the Grand Princess is not liking the cast and everything that goes along with it - I can't imagine how hard this must be for her.

That really sucks about your pan too... I hate it when the girls make stuff and can't clean it up - they have yet to wreck anything (recently), but V LOVES to bake - and she also makes a gigantic mess and never cleans it up.

D~

 

[cogero]

oh I would be so annoyed about the pan.

I am glad the surgeries went well. Hope the Grand Princess is able to relax a bit but surgery in kiddos is no fun.

 

[babynala]

Glad that both of the surgeries are over. I hope your DD can take it easy so she doesn't over do it. Your DGD must be so frustrated with having a huge cast on. I can not imagine having to try and explain that to a small child. Good luck to you and your daughter-in-law with trying to keep her calm and still. I know that will not be easy.

Bummer about your pan and the mess!!

 

[NiniMorris]

Grand daughter is doing better...despite what DIL says or thinks! (those on FB have already seen my rant, so I will not go there...as my husband said, I have to play nice since it she is my only grand child! LOL!

I think I can start to get back to Disney planning now. I make our ADRs on Sunday morning, and getting those lat few decisions made were not easy! I thought I was going to have to hog tie my husband to get some ideas from him! I have my first choice and my plan B all ready...but since we are only doing one or two hard to gets...I don't really see too many problems!

I am a bit concerned about using Touring Plans though. I got an email today about changes to my trip. When a park goes from AVOID to best...and from BEST to avoid... it really messes with my plans! But since it looks like it we will be there during a slow period I'm not too concerned!

So, now I have a question...I know you can book more than one room using the Bounce Back .... at least I assume you can since if you have more than 2 kids you will need two rooms.... so I am going to have my son book an extra bounce back (if the offer is good enough) (like free dining)... As long as I give him the 200 to book it there shouldn't be a problem right? Has anyone ever done this before? I have given up hoping for a free dining announcement for late Nov/early Dec in time to take advantage of it, so if I can get there at that time next year I will be happy!


Today is the last day of Winter...we had temps at almost 90! For the past week each day has been above 80.... The only thing stopping us from hitting a record for the number of consecutive days of 80 degrees in March...is if it actually hits 90!!

Welcome to GA!


Nini

 

[NiniMorris]

GRRRR!

I go online every couple of weeks to see if Bio Dad is still incarcerated. As of this morning he is still showing on the GA sexual offender list as being incarcerated. SO...how come I get a notice from the state saying he will start sending child support? He can only send child support if he is out and has a paying job!

I get to look forward to approx $25 a month in child support from him...for two kids...starting in 4 to 6 weeks. Since it is always a condition for his probation... and it messes up the money (small as it is) from the state! If this time is anything like all the others, I will get about 3 payments. Then he will end up back in jail. But three months is long enough to mess with the state support. Good thing I don't rely on either for the actual support of the kids!


And if I hear one more person say I am in this for the money I will scream! I mean...giving up a job making $60,000 a year (7 years ago) for a measly $25 a month....seriously! They found me out! I'm in it for the money!


Rant over!


Proceed with Disney planning!


By this time Sunday morning I will have finished all my ADRs and start stressing over the Wishes Dessert Party and Fantasmic! Dining plans...I really wish they would release those dates at the 180 day mark! It would really make my life less complicated...not by much but a little! LOL!

Now, that home school is over and Mr D is taking a nap, I'll go quietly down to the studio and start working on the last two outfits for the launch on April 3...a diaper bag for the Big Give...and somehow find time to sneak a few shirts in for our trip...seeing as I am seriously behind on my plans to get them all done early this year!


Nini

 

[babynala]

I can't imagine how stressful it must be to have to deal with this situation with your little ones. I love how the computer system is on top of the status. Makes you wonder how reliable the sex offender registry is.

I hope you get all your ADRs setup. The Wishes dessert party sounds great. Do you make an ADR for that? I think I was under the impression that it was only available to certain groups.

 

[NiniMorris]

I can't imagine how stressful it must be to have to deal with this situation with your little ones. I love how the computer system is on top of the status. Makes you wonder how reliable the sex offender registry is.

I hope you get all your ADRs setup. The Wishes dessert party sounds great. Do you make an ADR for that? I think I was under the impression that it was only available to certain groups.

Well...we won't even go into the fact that he has threatened us and we are supposed to have advance notice of him getting out...


The Wishes Dessert party is by ADR...but they only release the dates a month or so ahead of time. If we do the Dessert party we will have our main meal at lunch, if not our main meal will be dinner...always have something to worry over! LOL! A stress free Disney trip will never happen! The closet we ever came to a stress free Disney trip was our first one...and we didn't know any better! Of course, there was that little detail about loosing my job because of a merger that messed up the last few days!

Nini