Can't We Just Travel by Map? Oct 2013 PTR

[Pluto0809]

Friends, please pray for my Grandma again, her name in Martha. My mom and aunt got a call from the nursing home last night that she was having seizures. After taking her to the emergency room at the small local hospital, doctors think it was a heart attack. My mom and aunt made the decision to have her taken by ambulance to a larger town an hour away. They are on their way there now.

Oh no! Prayers headed your way.

I love your new Iphone case. I want to get one for my phone next week when I'm at the parks. Hoping to find something with Pluto but if I can't find one, the Castle might be an option.

 

[cogero]

Praying for your grandma.

 

[DMGeurts]

Suzi, please don't feel bad! We all have IRL stuff we have to deal with, and it tends to get in the way of our Disboard activity at times. I am just so happy to see you back on here!

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And for some Disney related news that is completely RANDOM: I got an I-phone last week, so I just HAD to have a Disney cover for it...and it makes me smile every time I look at it:

Love your cover! I've been so depressed that Disney doesn't make covers for my phone (Samsung Galaxy SII)... But... When I was at work the other day, I noticed this new thing Target is doing. Custom covers for phones (my phone included) from photos. So, I am thinking of taking one of my Donald photos from our trip and making it into a cover. Darn it, if Disney isn't going to make me a Donald Duck cover - I will find a way.

As you all know by now my parents will be joining us for this trip. They won't spend as much time in the parks as we do, but they have many other things to keep them busy for the entire week. We have family that live in Orlando. My parents pastored a church in Central FL for years, and still have friends in the area that they visit each time they are in Orlando as well.

Mom and Dad own a timeshare, not through Disney but another company. Well, I was on the phone with Mom a few weeks ago, and was surprised to find out that the company they own through has access to rooms in some of the DVC resorts! She began naming the resorts to me that were listed in their timeshare "catalog". This is what lead me to the title for this installment of my PTR, Wouldn't It Be Great If... Mom and Dad stayed at:

Wilderness Lodge
Old Key West
Boardwalk
Yacht Club or
Saratoga Springs?

Seriously? Wouldn't it be FANTASTIC if they got to stay on property? Do I seriously think this will happen? Unfortunately not. She says she will TRY to get one of these places, but she and I both know the chances are slim to none. It sure was nice to dream about it though.

They have every intention of getting a two bedroom wherever they choose to stay so that the kids could stay with them for a night or two if they wanted to. And Mom said that she and Dad will take care of the kids one night while we are all there so that Brian and I can have a date night at the Food and Wine Festival!!!!! So even if they have to stay off property, it will still be great to have them there!

This would be so awesome if your parents could be closer.

Friends, please pray for my Grandma again, her name in Martha. My mom and aunt got a call from the nursing home last night that she was having seizures. After taking her to the emergency room at the small local hospital, doctors think it was a heart attack. My mom and aunt made the decision to have her taken by ambulance to a larger town an hour away. They are on their way there now.

Oh no... I just talked to you the other night. My prayers continue and big (((Hugs))) for you and the family.

D~

 

[oopsiDAISY]

Love the new iphone cover! The only thing that makes me want to get an iphone is the cool accessories....nothing cool like that for my phone Love that view of the castle.

That would be awesome if by some luck your folks do get to stay on property! I'll keep my fingers crossed. Having a date night would be wonderful!

I <3 my phone cover. It really does bring a smile to my face when I look at it.

Oh, I will be so stinking giddy if they get one of those rooms! Pooltime will be sooooo fun in one of those deluxe pools!

I'm assuming your parents own through RCI.

What's their home resort? If it's in Orlando, then they won't let you access the DVC resorts. In fact, I think if your home resort has their corporate headquarters in Orlando, then they won't let you access the DVC resorts. Over in the Wyndham Bonnet Creek thread, there's a horror story about a family who wanted to stay at a DVC resort, but couldn't because the parent company of their timeshare was in Orlando. Even though their timeshare was in Colorado. So be careful.

If they want to stay at DVC, I would do a continuous search now. Keep in mind, it takes a little more "TPUs" to get DVC over one of the other Orlando timeshares. I think the DVC inventory will open up sometime in February or March. However, they get snapped up almost immediately.

A good alternative might be Wyndham Bonnet Creek. It's surrounded on three sides by Disney grounds, and it's closer to the parks than some of the DVC timeshares. That's where we are looking to stay next year. We own two timeshares. One of them is Wyndham, so we should be able to use our Wyndham points to get into WBC.

How horrible. She, and your family, are in our prayers.

They own through Interval Interntational. Not sure where the headquarters are or if WBC is on the list of places they could book. I will definitely give her a heads up about all this next time we talk about it. Thanks for letting me know!

See below for an update on my Grandma! Good news...

Oh no! Prayers headed your way.

I love your new Iphone case. I want to get one for my phone next week when I'm at the parks. Hoping to find something with Pluto but if I can't find one, the Castle might be an option.

See below for Grandma update...she is doing MUCH better!

If you don't find a Pluto case at the parks, you may try Amazon. That is where I got my case and there are literally hundreds of various designs to choose from on there! I do remember one with Mickey and Pluto that said Friends on it. It was actually on my list of favorites before I made my final choice.

Praying for your grandma.

Thank you!!! See below for a wonderful update!

Love your cover! I've been so depressed that Disney doesn't make covers for my phone (Samsung Galaxy SII)... But... When I was at work the other day, I noticed this new thing Target is doing. Custom covers for phones (my phone included) from photos. So, I am thinking of taking one of my Donald photos from our trip and making it into a cover. Darn it, if Disney isn't going to make me a Donald Duck cover - I will find a way.

This would be so awesome if your parents could be closer.

Oh no... I just talked to you the other night. My prayers continue and big (((Hugs))) for you and the family.

D~

So, I saw on FB that you actually were NOT able to get a custom phone case for your phone. So sorry! That has to be so frustrating.

Well, we may need some extra to get one of those rooms, especially if what LadyBebop said is true. We will just have to wait and see.

Grandma is doing better, full update below...


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First of all a big giant THANK YOU to all of you for the kind words and prayers for my Grandma. It was determined that she did indeed suffer a heart attack. Mom and Aunt Sharon had her transported to a bigger, better hospital on Friday afternoon, and they are so glad they did. A sonogram will determine where the blockage is in her heart and it will be treated with medicine. Mom and Aunt Sharon had already decided that they would NOT have any sort of surgery done on her. Saturday morning Mom went to see Grandma again and 1) she was eating again 2) she knew who Mom was AND 3) she remembered my brother and I when Mom told her we were coming to see her for Thanksgiving. She has had a hard time remembering anyone but immediate family members for a while, so this was VERY encouraging!!!

We will have so much to be thankful for this weekend!

 

[LadyBeBop]

So glad to see your grandma doing better.

Now for the bad news. I don't think you can get DVC or WBC.

RCI and Interval International are competing timeshare traders. You can only trade into an II resort, while I can only trade into an RCI resort. There are more RCI resorts; however the II resorts are nicer.

At one time, DVC belonged to II. However, they now belong to RCI. And I don't think WBC was ever a part of II.

Check with your parents; they may belong to both RCI and II. A few (not many) resorts do.

 

[Pluto0809]

Glad your Grandma is doing better!

 

[DMGeurts]

I am so very glad to hear about your grandmother... I will continue my prayers.

D~

 

[oopsiDAISY]

So glad to see your grandma doing better.

Now for the bad news. I don't think you can get DVC or WBC.

RCI and Interval International are competing timeshare traders. You can only trade into an II resort, while I can only trade into an RCI resort. There are more RCI resorts; however the II resorts are nicer.

At one time, DVC belonged to II. However, they now belong to RCI. And I don't think WBC was ever a part of II.

Check with your parents; they may belong to both RCI and II. A few (not many) resorts do.

I will be sure to have Mom thoroughly check into all of this when she gets ready to book. Thanks for passing on the information.

We are going to love having them there no matter where they end up staying. We will make wonderful memories while sharing our favorite happy place with them!

Glad your Grandma is doing better!

Thank you Ariana!

I am so very glad to hear about your grandmother... I will continue my prayers.

D~

Thanks, D~

Mom says Grandma is still doing very well. She is going to be moving to a new and better nursing home this week. The nursing home she was staying at in her own "hometown" was an hour away from Mom in one direction and an hour away from my Aunt in another direction. She is moving to a home just two miles from my Aunt's house. This will be a MUCH better situation for everyone!

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Thanksgiving is almost upon us. I have enjoyed reading about everyone's shopping and preparations. I haven't really had much to do in the way of preparation as none of the festivities will be at my house. I usually end up with Christmas festivities at my house rather than Thanksgiving.

Tomorrow night the kids will be spending the night with Brian's parents. This makes me sad. That means I will be doing the cooking and baking without my girls there to help AND I will have to watch the Macy's parade alone. Brian will watch it, but he doesn't enjoy it like the kids and I do. It's just not going to be the same without them there, but I know they will enjoy spending time with their grandparents.

We are having Thanksgiving lunch with the in-laws as well. I am bringing:

Green Bean Casserole (a new recipe with no "soups" or french fried onions)
Homemade Mashed Potatoes
Rolls
Pumpkin Cake

I will make the cake Wednesday night, then do the other things while I watch the parade Thursday morning. We will probably just hang out at the in-laws' house the rest of the afternoon and evening after lunch. We will most likely spend that time watching football, playing board and card games and nibbling on leftovers all evening...

On "Black Friday" you won't find us in the stores! Nope, we will be making the seven hour trip down to Alabama to visit with extended family all weekend.

Friday night will be yet another Thanksgiving dinner with my Mom's side of the family: aunts, uncles, cousins, nieces, nephews, second cousins, great nieces and great nephews...well, you get the picture. For this I am making:

Green Bean Casserole (the classic version since the ingredients are non-perishable and will travel well until I get there to actually make it)
Rolls

Saturday morning we will get up and head another hour south to a "BBQ" lunch with my Dad's side of the family: aunts, uncles, cousins, yada, yada, yada. For this I will probably just stop at a market somewhere to pick up a tub of potato salad or something of the sort. This one is always a very fun get together. We are having it at the city park. There will be games of Bingo, with prizes provided by all the business owners, CEO's, CFO's and the sort of the family. We will also have a volleyball game. Then there are the sack races...Oh the sack races. EVERYONE participates in the sack races (children of ALL ages). This is always a hoot to watch. We have some great videos of sack races in days gone by. In one video you can see my 30 something year old brother shoving a 10 yr old cousin onto the ground to get ahead of him! There is no mercy shown in the sack races, it's every man for themselves! Saturday night will be just laid back. We are staying with an Aunt, so we will probably just hang out maybe watch a movie or something.

Sunday morning we will have breakfast with my aunt and then go see Grandma before pulling out of town to head back home. Sunday night will be grocery shopping, laundry, and TRYING to rest up before real life catches up to us Monday morning.

I hope you all have a WONDERFUL Thanksgiving surrounded by all you many blessings!

 

[solana131]

Oh oopsi, your plans sound great. Very hectic, but that's the way it is supposed to be. Always crazy in my family because we are constantly hurrying around to see everybody. And I wouldn't have it any other way. The Holidays are all about family and since I am one of the younger generations, that means I do the travelling. Someday it will be my turn to be the grandma and have the festivities at my house.

 

[LadyBeBop]

Someday it will be my turn to be the grandma and have the festivities at my house.

I'm Grandma, and I'm still 250 miles away from home (at Great Grandma's).

Now, with family scattered every which way, I still think many of my holidays will be on the road. And that's the way I like it. Besides, I'm a lousy cook anyway.

 

[Pluto0809]

It sounds like you are going to have a wonderful, busy holiday! Enjoy the time with your family. I don't think I will make it onto the DIS tomrorow so...

Happy Thanksgiving!

 

[MrsBearcat]

Wow I want to take a nap just reading your weekend plans! I on the other hand have a mass strategy for Thursday and Friday shopping and I dare anyone to ask me if I'm getting out of my jammies Saturday

 

[disny_luvr]

I'm glad to hear your Grandma is doing better.

It sounds like you have lots of fun things planned over the next few days. We aren't doing anything too exciting. We plan on putting up our Christmas tree and outside decorations. Maybe I'll be brave and try to get some shopping done. We'll see...

 

[DMGeurts]

I am just so relieved that your Grandma is doing better. Will you get to see her for the holiday?

Your plans sound crazy and wonderful - that's what the holidays are all about. Even though our Thanksgiving is low-key, our Christmas is sounding to be a huge event - which we are all so excited for!

I hope you have safe travels this weekend my friend, and enjoy all the wonderfulness that the holday brings.

Happy Thanksgiving!

D~

 

[Pixiedust530]

Happy Thanksgiving! Your plans sound hectic but also absolutely wonderful! It's wonderful that you are able to visit with all your extended family! Wishing you lots of fun and safe travels!

 

[oopsiDAISY]

Oh oopsi, your plans sound great. Very hectic, but that's the way it is supposed to be. Always crazy in my family because we are constantly hurrying around to see everybody. And I wouldn't have it any other way. The Holidays are all about family and since I am one of the younger generations, that means I do the travelling. Someday it will be my turn to be the grandma and have the festivities at my house.

Both my brother and his family and my family and I made it to the family reunions this year. This is the first time in several years that we have both been there. Last year he was stationed in Kuwait. My mom was so happy to have her whole "brood" there.

I'm Grandma, and I'm still 250 miles away from home (at Great Grandma's).

Now, with family scattered every which way, I still think many of my holidays will be on the road. And that's the way I like it. Besides, I'm a lousy cook anyway.

BeBop, you made me do this when I read this statement: "Besides, I'm a lousy cook anyway." From reading your PTR, I saw that you got some exciting news over your Thanksgiving weekend. Congrats on DD24's engagement!

It sounds like you are going to have a wonderful, busy holiday! Enjoy the time with your family. I don't think I will make it onto the DIS tomrorow so...

Happy Thanksgiving!

Well, you are in our happy place right now....HOPE YOU ARE HAVING A BLAST!!!!

Wow I want to take a nap just reading your weekend plans! I on the other hand have a mass strategy for Thursday and Friday shopping and I dare anyone to ask me if I'm getting out of my jammies Saturday

I am such a fuddy-dud when it comes to Black Friday, I just hate the crowds. Did you get some great deals? Do tell!

I'm glad to hear your Grandma is doing better.

It sounds like you have lots of fun things planned over the next few days. We aren't doing anything too exciting. We plan on putting up our Christmas tree and outside decorations. Maybe I'll be brave and try to get some shopping done. We'll see...

We had a great weekend. Did you get any shopping done? I don't do Black Friday, don't like to get up early and don't like crowds. We will be putting our Christmas tree and decorations out next weekend. We did pull our Advent wreath out of the attic last night and started that. I just love doing that every Sunday night during the Christmas season.

I am just so relieved that your Grandma is doing better. Will you get to see her for the holiday?

Your plans sound crazy and wonderful - that's what the holidays are all about. Even though our Thanksgiving is low-key, our Christmas is sounding to be a huge event - which we are all so excited for!

I hope you have safe travels this weekend my friend, and enjoy all the wonderfulness that the holday brings.

Happy Thanksgiving!

D~

We had a wonderful weekend. It was great to see everyone. I did get to see Grandma. She didn't know who I was, but she knew Mom was "my daughter." I was glad to spend time with her regardless, and I sang her favorite hymn Amazing Grace to her. It was kind of sad, because every time I see her now could very well be the last. I try to make the very most of it.

Happy Thanksgiving! Your plans sound hectic but also absolutely wonderful! It's wonderful that you are able to visit with all your extended family! Wishing you lots of fun and safe travels!

Our weekend went great. We got to see some cousins we hadn't seen in three or four years. We all just appreciate the time we DO see each other so much more now. We are all getting older and are beginning to understand the importance of family so much more.

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Well, I haven't given a savings update in the last couple of weeks. Since we had a movie night, and then Thanksgiving I just really didn't have anything to put in the Mickey jar. I am hoping to do better for the next couple of weeks until Christmas arrives...

Saved this week: $10
New Balance: $106

I am in the Christmas spirit now!!!! We pulled out our Advent wreath last night and got it started. The girls made some chocolate drop shortbread cookies, and we watched Home Alone on ABC Family. It was a nice, relaxing evening after such a busy weekend.

I am already listening to Christmas music at my work computer. We will put up the rest of our decorations and our tree next Saturday. Elf comes on ABC Family Saturday night. That will be a great movie to top off our day of decorating. Does anyone have any ideas for a snack or drink that would be fun to have while we watch Elf?

Brian and I are about to wrap up our gift shopping. We need to figure out what we have spent on each child to get the last few gifts for them. We have a set amount of $$$ we spend on each of them. Let's just say that Gabe is going to have A LOT MORE gifts under the tree this year. The girls had some pretty pricey items on their wish list this year. I can imagine that will be the norm from now on. It's going to be a great Christmas, and I am ready for it!!!

 

[Pixiedust530]

I am struggling on the savings end too. If I can just get Christmas paid for I will be alright. I do still have quite a bit to buy though!

I am definitely in the Christmas spirit too. We put our tree up yesterday and all the in-house decorations. Still haven't managed to get the outside lights up...that might not happen after all!

I have mostly finished shopping for my son, Caden...just a few little items to pick up. As usual, he is being spoiled rotten...but on the bright side, I got somme really good deals on a lot of his gifts. For me, the best part of Christmas is seeing it through the eyes of my child. He's 5 and is totally into the magic of Christmas this year. I'm enjoying it while I can because I know it wont last.

 

[MrsBearcat]

We buy all the Christmas for one of our neices and one of our nephews so the buy one get one free shoes at Kmart Thursday and the 40% off clothes were a big chunk. I got for each: 6 outfits, snow boots, tennis shoes, dress shoes, slippers and pajamas for $150 total. Thankfully since they are 3 & 5 they are more than happy with anything Princess, Toy Story, etc. The other big deal was the $10 Vreader games at Big Lots.

 

[oopsiDAISY]

I am struggling on the savings end too. If I can just get Christmas paid for I will be alright. I do still have quite a bit to buy though!

I am definitely in the Christmas spirit too. We put our tree up yesterday and all the in-house decorations. Still haven't managed to get the outside lights up...that might not happen after all!

I have mostly finished shopping for my son, Caden...just a few little items to pick up. As usual, he is being spoiled rotten...but on the bright side, I got somme really good deals on a lot of his gifts. For me, the best part of Christmas is seeing it through the eyes of my child. He's 5 and is totally into the magic of Christmas this year. I'm enjoying it while I can because I know it wont last.

Grocery bill should be lighter for a while now...a friend killed a deer for us over the weekend! That means I will not have to buy beef for a few months. That will be a blessing. More $$$ for !!!

I am excited to say that we are now almost finished with out Christmas shopping!!! The kids are completely finished other than stocking stuffers. Our parents are finished as well. I have only teachers, two nephews, a niece and my boss left to buy for!

We buy all the Christmas for one of our neices and one of our nephews so the buy one get one free shoes at Kmart Thursday and the 40% off clothes were a big chunk. I got for each: 6 outfits, snow boots, tennis shoes, dress shoes, slippers and pajamas for $150 total. Thankfully since they are 3 & 5 they are more than happy with anything Princess, Toy Story, etc. The other big deal was the $10 Vreader games at Big Lots.

Sounds like you got some really great deal! We ended up finishing our shopping for our children on Cyber Monday. We saved quite a bit just by getting free shipping on a bulk of it.

 

[oopsiDAISY]

Last night I was looking through a Christmas Advent book that I have, and I started making plans that I am so excited about I decided to share!

I actually pulled our wall calendar down, and started "scheduling" things I want to do every Saturday and Sunday night starting this Saturday. Here is what I have planned...

Saturday, DEC 1: Decorate Tree, read "The Legend of the Christmas Tree", watch Elf on ABC Family

Sunday, DEC 2: Make White Chocolate Pretzels, Week 2 of Advent Wreath, watch A Charlie Brown Christmas

Saturday, DEC 8: Fill out and address Christmas cards, read "Christmas Cards" (history of the tradition) from Christmas Advent book

Sunday, DEC 9: Make Chocolate Drop Shortbread Cookies, Week 3 of Advent Wreath, watch The Mistle-Tones on ABC Family

Saturday, DEC 15: Read "The Legend of the Candy Cane", make Chocolate Dipped Peppermint Sticks to give as gifts to friends and teachers

Sunday, DEC 16: Make "special recipe" Hot Cocoa, Week 4 of Advent Wreath, watch Polar Express

Saturday, DEC 22: Read "12 Days of Christmas" (scriptural comparisons) from Christmas Advent book, make popcorn and hot cocoa "to go", go see Christmas lights at the Fairgrounds and around town

Sunday, DEC 23: Make kid's choice of cookies or candy, Week 5 of the Advent Wreath, watch The Nativity Story

What do you think? Do any of you have special things planned? Traditions that are unique to your family? I am just really excited about Christmas this year, and want to make it as special as possible for our children.