~ Aug 2013~ Sew what... We've gotta find a way back! Part I!!

[babynala]

Lois - you are good at math! We kind of figured out the same thing. The math just didn't work for us since we usually stay at Value resorts. We usually bring my parents and cover most of their vacation costs. Paying for our trip plus their trip is pretty much the same as it would cost for us to stay at a higher end resort. We don't spend much time in the room and we always have a car so we don't have to worry about resort transportation.

I think I do remember the DVC people pointing out that when you use your DVC you don't have to pay tax on your "hotel" portion of your stay. That is a nice "savings" but the numbers still didn't work for us.

 

[babynala]

OK, I feel like I am hijacking your thread but I wanted to point out that I am not crazy! Remember how we were talking about the Richard Petty Driving experience at WDW and that I thought it was something else because I kept seeing adds on the DIS for something else. So it turns out they have another option where you can drive exotic cars on the track and that was the add I kept seeing on-line and on the fence during our last visit.

http://www.wdwinfo.com/recreation/exotic-driving-experience.htm#tickets

I admit that I am crazy but at least I wasn't totally losing my mind....

 

[cogero]

OK, I feel like I am hijacking your thread but I wanted to point out that I am not crazy! Remember how we were talking about the Richard Petty Driving experience at WDW and that I thought it was something else because I kept seeing adds on the DIS for something else. So it turns out they have another option where you can drive exotic cars on the track and that was the add I kept seeing on-line and on the fence during our last visit.

http://www.wdwinfo.com/recreation/exotic-driving-experience.htm#tickets

I admit that I am crazy but at least I wasn't totally losing my mind....

ooh I forgot about that one too I had received an email from DVC about that recently.

 

[NiniMorris]

I want to give MY thanks to everyone's input on DVC for D~... this is something I have been trying to convince hubby was a good idea for years...and never got very far in it.

This made me work the numbers for us...and gave me proof that it was not for us.

We have close friends that are DVC members and due to some economic issues are thinking about selling...even IF we bought from them, it doesn't make good financial sense for us.

We LOVE staying at moderates, so a DVC vacation will always be more expensive than staying at a moderate for us. But it was nice to force myself to make the comparison again.


Nini

 

[DMGeurts]

Well, we made it back from the lake safely last night. We were able to get the boat out, despite the lake being very low... Josh had to push it out while he was standing in the cold water, then hop in once he got deep enough. It was a bit nerve wracking for us. Josh's uncle also came up and he was there to help us remove the dock. We have an elderly neighbor - who has been our neighbor up there for decades longer than I've been around - so his family is like our family... We also took his dock out for him. Our dock is a lot of back breaking work - it's not exactly light, and it's a bit awkward to carry, and we have to carry it to the back yard behind the house... Needless to say - we were all exhausted. But everyone did their part to help. It's nice to be done with it. Josh still plans to go up for one more trip this year - with out us - so he can do some leaf removal.

Grrr... Photobucket is not cooperating for me at all today.

The girls and Maxy in front of the fireplace at the lake:

We had a gorgeous weekend:

The girls were way too happy to have to 'clean out the fridge'... Icecream for breakfast anyone?

Who is this Andrea character that you're talking about? Maybe Cheryl had something to do with her disappearance

I am not sure??? I haven't seen her in so long. Cheryl... Did you take off with Andrea again?

DVC sounds so exciting!

It is exciting - and I would love to have the extra funds to be able to make it work for us... Maybe someday - once the girls leave for college.

I'm so far behind because Curtis has been sick since Thursday. I thought he was better but no such luck. I think it is just the flu so I hope that he is better soon.

Oh no, I hope he is feeling better by now.

I LOVE the Stitch bag. The applique looks great. I was a bit surprised it was harder then some of your other ones since it is bigger but it makes sense when you say it was due to the stabilizer. In any case, it looks great. Such a fun applique.

Yah - wrangling that huge piece with that heavy stabilizer on there wasn't an easy task - I am so used to appliqeing on such small pieces, that are quilted - not stabilized - it was just very awkward and hard to get used to. Thank you though.

Oh, by the way, I don't think I was the one who helped you find that fabric. Must have been somebody else, but then again you know I am a bit crazy. I do remember showing you the vinyl stuff at Mary Jo's and then I got the cutest shopping partner and got to explore most of that huge store!

Hmmm... I wonder who it was? I know that Jessica and Nicole were helping me at one point... It could have been them? Or even Amber? Well, it was someone else - and if anyone remembers who it was, I would love to give them credit.

Sounds like you decided that DVC might not work for you guys at this point. We have come to the same conclusion. For our family the numbers just do not work. We love going to Disney and I would LOVE to stay at a Deluxe resort but I don't think we will ever spend that kind of money on a Disney vacation. Maybe on a splurge for one trip but I doubt we would do it on a regular basis. Especially now that my DD is in middle school and needs every second of instruction she can get (especially in Math!!!).

I agree - I think it could work for us in the future, but for right now, I just don't think I can make the numbers work for us. I hope to rent points for one of our trips - maybe our big one in 2014 - so that we can try out AKV. And even though I've showed the girls pictures of AKV (and I do love it) - they are a bit disappointed that they couldn't use DVC at POFQ... So, I think we will continue staying at POFQ for a while - I don't mind that at all.

Having to postpone your trip to October is a little bit of a bummer but if you get a trip with Josh as a trade off that is a good deal! Plus you still get to go in Oct and then you can recreate all those Halloween pictures with the girls. Is the week you would go the week that is traditionally not offered with free dining?

I don't really see it as a bummer... I see it as more time to save. LOL If we went in March - I would really have to kick it into high gear again, and that was just so tough on me last year - and the family too. This time, I can just continue saving... Besides - we LOVE WDW in the fall and really enjoy MNSSHP, I would really love to do that again.

So, I really need to crunch some numbers and talk to the girls, to see what they really want to do.

I am not sure about the historic FD offerings in Oct? I guess they must be listed somewhere? If anyone knows, I'd love a link. We would be going Oct 12-19th, 2013.

Okay, you're going to think I'm crazy, but I have worked out the cost of just renting points each year for vacay instead of buying into DVC. And before you get creeped out, I did it a while ago for DH and I to help decided if DVC was for us. (which we decided it was not!) So, here's what I came up with:

Cost of DVC over an 8 year period including initial cost and figuring maintenance fees with a 3% increase each year

AKV cost to buy: $22,066 or $2,758/year
AKV cost to rent (at $13/point): (and using a 6 night stay in October)
studio value - $780
reg view - $988
savannah - $1300

1 br value - $1768
std view - $2028
savannah - $2496

2br - value - $2392
std - $2574
sav - $3328

Beach Club cost to buy - $25,622 or $3,203/year
Cost to rent: studio - $1196
1 bd rm - $2366
2 bd rm - 3120

VWL cost to buy - $23,693 or $2,962/year
Cost to rent: studio - $1196
1 bd rm - $2444
2 bd rm - $3120

I so wanted to buy DVC, but my DH was against it. I did all these numbers and similar ones to the ones you did and it sort of proved he was right. I know it works wonderfully for some and they love it, but by far our favorite resort is FQ and it just doesn't make sense for us. NONE of our children are the least bit interested in Disney, (still don't know what we did wrong!!) so we won't have family joining us. It's such an individual decision. It just works for us to pay each year with whatever discount is available, either room discount or free dining.

BTW, loved the latest bag!! You have mad skills, my dear!!

Lois... I do not think you are crazy - not one bit! I sincerely appreciate you posting this information.

I agree - our favorite resort is also FQ and the girls were heartbroken that they could never stay there again. So, I think at this time, we are going to have to pass on the DVC dream - but I will definately look into it again once the girls are off to college and I need to spend some $$ elsewhere.

Lois - you are good at math! We kind of figured out the same thing. The math just didn't work for us since we usually stay at Value resorts. We usually bring my parents and cover most of their vacation costs. Paying for our trip plus their trip is pretty much the same as it would cost for us to stay at a higher end resort. We don't spend much time in the room and we always have a car so we don't have to worry about resort transportation.

I know and with FD, it's just such a great deal. Really. I wish the cost was a bit more economical... because I would love to own - I really would.

I definately want to schedule time to do a DVC tour on our next trip though.

I think I do remember the DVC people pointing out that when you use your DVC you don't have to pay tax on your "hotel" portion of your stay. That is a nice "savings" but the numbers still didn't work for us.

I agree - that is a nice savings... But even if I was interested in saving that, I could just go stay at Shades of Green - and to be honest with you, when we stayed there in 2008, it was a fantastic resort. The only part that really bothered me was the TONS of walking... Their busses park way out of the way - it's so much easier to hop on a Poly bus and walk from the Poly to SoG - but that's a really LONG walk at the end of a park day. If it ever came down to where I was planning to go to WDW (seriously had my plane tickets and everything) and there was no FD offered, I would stay at SoG for the savings in a heartbeat.

OK, I feel like I am hijacking your thread but I wanted to point out that I am not crazy! Remember how we were talking about the Richard Petty Driving experience at WDW and that I thought it was something else because I kept seeing adds on the DIS for something else. So it turns out they have another option where you can drive exotic cars on the track and that was the add I kept seeing on-line and on the fence during our last visit.

http://www.wdwinfo.com/recreation/exotic-driving-experience.htm#tickets

I admit that I am crazy but at least I wasn't totally losing my mind....

I am so glad you posted this! I need to check into it for Josh. And I am relieved that you still have your mind.

Well... I have an "easy" sewing week this week. The person I had scheduled changed their order and decided just to do a wallet/lanyard combo. This worked out very well for me. It give me more time to work on my Super Secret Project.

Also, there are a few of us at work the rented a lodge for this coming weekend. There is a big craft sale in Warrens, WI that we all wanted to go to. So, several months ago, we pooled our $$ and reserved a lodge Thurs-Sunday. We are all very excited! Here's the link to the lodge we rented: http://www.warrenslodging.com/lodges_HMlower.aspx It should be a lot of fun, and I hope to accomplish a bunch of my Christmas shopping.

Nothing else is new and exciting here... Except the girls were kind enough to give me their cold... So, now I am sniffly, congested and sneezy. Grrr... How annoying!

I hope you all have a fantastic day today!

D~

 

[NiniMorris]

If I remember correctly, parts of October have historically been part of the Free Dining promotion...for at least the past 4 years...(prior to that i never checked.)


Nini

 

[babynala]

Glad you guys got everything done at he lake house. That sounds like a lot of hard labor. Ice cream for breakfast sounds good to me. Are the girls off for a few days? I REALLY wish our district had a fall break, so we could go to Disney of course. Lots of schools in GA have them but instead we get the whole week of Thanksgiving off.

There is one week in October when free dining is not offered. There is a big technology (?) Conference at the swan and dolphin conference center and I think the attendees stay all over Disney so the rooms are filled and they don't need to offer free dining. The parks are not affected too much since most people actually go to the conference. The dates of your future trip might be the same as the conference. I can check with my DH to find out the name of the conference if you can't find it.

I am actually responding from the hospital. Curtis was was having trouble keeping anything in his tummy so I brought him to the children's hospital last night. He was dehydrated and they kept him on an IV overnight. I was hoping to go home today but we he might have to stay for another day. I think they just want to make sure he is able to eat and are being cautious. We have been watching Disney Junior all morning!

 

[cogero]

Liz I hope Curtis is feeling better.

 

[mommy2mrb]

Liz sorry to hear Curtis is in the hospital...hope the IV does the trick and he is home soon and feeling much better


sounds like a busy weekend D, sure you must be happy to have the boat and docks put up before the winter hits!

 

[lovethattink]

Taking care of the dock and boat is hard work. My in-laws have to do that every October at "their" lake with a small pontoon, small row boat and paddle boat. It's always kind of sad to see this time of year come around. Then Christmas season comes to make it all better!!

Sorry to hear he's in the hospital.

 

[Sweetly]

Love the new bag. I am so far behind. Everything has been so busy here. I too have looked into DVC. I ended up with a headache and never went back to research some more. Everyone has been helpful with the DVC advice.
I hope MM is doing better.

 

[DMGeurts]

I am actually responding from the hospital. Curtis was was having trouble keeping anything in his tummy so I brought him to the children's hospital last night. He was dehydrated and they kept him on an IV overnight. I was hoping to go home today but we he might have to stay for another day. I think they just want to make sure he is able to eat and are being cautious. We have been watching Disney Junior all morning!

Oh no Liz!!! I sure hope that Curtis is feeling better and he's released soon.

D~

 

[dianemom2]

Just a quick post because we're on the way out the door. I love the picture of the girls eating ice cream for breakfast! Sorry that getting the boat and the dock out of the water was such hard work. Your plans for this weekend coming up sound great!

 

[nannye]

Just have to say Yipeee. I am so excited D!

 

[DMGeurts]

If I remember correctly, parts of October have historically been part of the Free Dining promotion...for at least the past 4 years...(prior to that i never checked.)


Nini

I sure hope so... As time goes on - it's looking more and more like we are moving our trip to October, it just works out better with the other things we have going on... Possible anniversary trip for DH and I, WDW with the girls, D.C., and our big Oct 2014 bff trip, and South Dakota in there too somewhere.

Glad you guys got everything done at he lake house. That sounds like a lot of hard labor. Ice cream for breakfast sounds good to me. Are the girls off for a few days? I REALLY wish our district had a fall break, so we could go to Disney of course. Lots of schools in GA have them but instead we get the whole week of Thanksgiving off. :

That is sucky... TG is kind of a bad week to try and take vacations.

There is one week in October when free dining is not offered. There is a big technology (?) Conference at the swan and dolphin conference center and I think the attendees stay all over Disney so the rooms are filled and they don't need to offer free dining. The parks are not affected too much since most people actually go to the conference. The dates of your future trip might be the same as the conference. I can check with my DH to find out the name of the conference if you can't find it.

That would be awesome if you could find out that info for me. If we go, our dates will be Oct 12-19th.

I am actually responding from the hospital. Curtis was was having trouble keeping anything in his tummy so I brought him to the children's hospital last night. He was dehydrated and they kept him on an IV overnight. I was hoping to go home today but we he might have to stay for another day. I think they just want to make sure he is able to eat and are being cautious. We have been watching Disney Junior all morning!

I sure hope he is doing better by now, and you are all home.

Liz I hope Curtis is feeling better.

Me too!

Liz sorry to hear Curtis is in the hospital...hope the IV does the trick and he is home soon and feeling much better


sounds like a busy weekend D, sure you must be happy to have the boat and docks put up before the winter hits!

Yah - it's nice to have it all done, but it sucks knowing we have to put them all back in next spring. LOL

Taking care of the dock and boat is hard work. My in-laws have to do that every October at "their" lake with a small pontoon, small row boat and paddle boat. It's always kind of sad to see this time of year come around. Then Christmas season comes to make it all better!!

Sorry to hear he's in the hospital.

I agree... It is hard work, and I really dislike that winter is coming... But I love Halloween and Christmas - once New Years is over though, winter can be over too.

Love the new bag. I am so far behind. Everything has been so busy here. I too have looked into DVC. I ended up with a headache and never went back to research some more. Everyone has been helpful with the DVC advice.
I hope MM is doing better.

Yah- there is a lot to learn about it. At least I know now how it works, and if we can ever find a way to make it work with our budget, it would be very fun to have.

I will do a MM update at the bottom.

Just a quick post because we're on the way out the door. I love the picture of the girls eating ice cream for breakfast! Sorry that getting the boat and the dock out of the water was such hard work. Your plans for this weekend coming up sound great!

Thanks for stopping by Diane... Super happy for the good news for you yesterday.

Just have to say Yipeee. I am so excited D!

Whoot!!! Congratulations Erin!

MM update: Well, he seems to be back to his normal 7 y/o self. It was pretty rough at the lake, trying to keep him mellow, we discovered about 5 minutes into it - that just wasn't going to happen. Josh's uncle came up with his Springer Spaniel (Riley) - Max and Riley had a blast. He's the first dog that MM has ever met that didn't try to put him in his "place" - which was a relief for me, because Moms worry - ya know? He was limping a little bit on Saturday night, and favoring his leg slightly. But Sunday - after some good rest - he was ready to go again. He has been off of his medicine for 2 days now, and seems to be completely better.

D~ Update: Yesterday was a big day for me... I began to take bag orders again for the time frame of April 2013 - August 2013. I haven't been taking orders for several months now, because I was just booked so far out. Most people plan their trips 6-9 months in advance, and I was feeling badly that most people wouldn't even get the chance to have one of my bags. Anyways - I've decided to permanently keep my Etsy store on vacation, and do everything through Facebook. It seems to work better that way for me. I was a bit nervous, because I had very limited availability for this time frame... I didn't want to have the same thing that happened to me this last summer, happen again - so any week where I thought I would need some time off, I blocked it out on my calendar. Which left only 9 available slots, and 3 more if the girls and I move our trip from March to October. I posted on FB that I was officially taking orders, and when I refreshed the screen about 2 minutes later, I already had 20+ replies, and again when I refreshed my screen 2 more minutes later, I was up to 49 replies. I was extatic that I booked all of my slots in less than a minute! And I was incredibly flattered that so many people really want what a make. It's a great feeling!

I've been working extra hard on my Super Secret Project, I have a deadline to meet with it, and I know it is going to be very close! I have a few easy weeks coming up, and I hope to get a good portion of it done!

I have a wallet set I will be posting later today - I love how the applique came out - it's a really cute set!

Trip ramblings: As it gets closer and closer to where I really need to be booking for March, it makes me want to push this trip back to October... Especially now that the leaves are changing here, and fall is in full swing. Fall just always feels so "Disney" to me. Josh is totally OK with the girls and I going over Spring Break, but I know that he is a lot more OK with us going in the fall, just because it works out better with our schedules. The girls would miss the same amount of school either way. The only down side, is that we would not have the option of adding on to our trip at all, our dates are set in stone and we really can't swtich them around. The benefit is MNSSHP - we LOVE this event and cannot wait to see it again!

I hope everyone has a fantastic day! And thank you so much for always reading about my ramblings, I am always afraid that I just bore you all to death.

D~

 

[nowellsl]

I think October is a great choice! We avoid March/Spring Break like the plague We went a couple of weeks ago and it was still pretty hot and rained every day! It was fun, but October will be a lot cooler I'm sure!

 

[NiniMorris]

Liz...
The ONLY thing good about our school system... is we get 1 to 2 weeks out in October and the full week before Thanksgiving. Of course, we actually get a week just about every month! (and I still manage to take them out for Disney every year! LOL!)

Nini

 

[oopsiDAISY]

So glad to hear the Max is back to his rambunctious self again!
I just sat back and watched the orders stack up for you on FB yesterday morning....your work is amazing, and you are in high demand!!!

I, for one, am VERY, VERY excited to have you and the girls push your trip to October! That means I will get some D~, V and A time!!! I think our four girls will get along great!

 

[DMGeurts]

This customer gave me the choice... Donald, Dumbo or Tink... You know, you give me the choice, and Donald is on the list - I'm gonna pick Donald. This is the first Donald item I have ever made for anyone but myself - so it's a bit hard to "let him go"... but it turned out great and I hope that she will love him as much as I do.

She wanted him to be orientated, so when she was wearing the lanyard, he would be upwards. She also wanted a pocket on the back for FPs... Normally, I do the pocket the other direction, but since she is wearing this as a lanyard all the time, there is less chance of her losing her FPs, if the pocket is going the other way - so I moved it.



Back to my sewing room - must work some more on my Super Secret Project... I can only work up there until lunch today, I have some Caramel Rice Krispy treats to finish up, and some Caramel Rolls to make for my girls trip this weekend.

D~

 

[oopsiDAISY]

This customer gave me the choice... Donald, Dumbo or Tink... You know, you give me the choice, and Donald is on the list - I'm gonna pick Donald. This is the first Donald item I have ever made for anyone but myself - so it's a bit hard to "let him go"... but it turned out great and I hope that she will love him as much as I do.

She wanted him to be orientated, so when she was wearing the lanyard, he would be upwards. She also wanted a pocket on the back for FPs... Normally, I do the pocket the other direction, but since she is wearing this as a lanyard all the time, there is less chance of her losing her FPs, if the pocket is going the other way - so I moved it.

Back to my sewing room - must work some more on my Super Secret Project... I can only work up there until lunch today, I have some Caramel Rice Krispy treats to finish up, and some Caramel Rolls to make for my girls trip this weekend.

D~

LOVE that wallet!!! I love the way it is oriented! I had ruled out getting a wallet since I wear my cards on a lanyard as well. This has made me reconsider...

Would you mind sharing your Caramel Rice Crispy Treats and Caramel Rolls recipes??? I have been in a Fall baking frenzy lately...making apple cake, pumpkin cupcakes, apple crisp...caramel stuff sounds awesome!!! BTW~ can V eat them with braces on? I have to keep these things in mind for my DD13.