Christmas Cruise 2005!!!

[FletcherMem0rial]

Sometimes I think I'm the stalker

... I have an index card on everyone on this thread ...

I couldn't keep up with all that we share, so I wrote down the basics;
and these are what have been shared here on the thread...

cabin/deck
family
where from
some likes/dislikes
etc...

There are about 15 families that have visited this thread that are going on the Christmas Eastern. Many, many people...two sets from England, I believe the rest reside in the US. Representing the West Coast, I believe are three...Nebraska, California and Arizona, the remainder are northern east coast...and this is from memory, my cards are upstairs

 

[trinibjill]

Yes, there are 5 regulars. 4 are more regular. I am an occasional. Yet, I still read all of the posts.

I am a Corrections Officer (Prison Guard) at New Jersey State Prison in Trenton, NJ. It used to be called Trenton State Prison.

It is a Maximum State Prison. I work in the old side of the jail. it was built in 1835. It looks similar to Alcatraz. There are 4 tiers in my wing & 134 inmates (single lock cells) There are 2 SCO's in this unit.

Skating helps get rid of any stress that may accumulate in my system after dealing with the Inmates.

Jill




Hi Colleen

 

[FletcherMem0rial]

I guess I should talk about me then...

I'm a 30something mom of two, 16yo DD and 19yo DS. I am 3 weeks older than my wonderful DH [size=-2]and he reminds me of that age difference for 3 weeks out of every year [/size]

I am an administrator for a national trucking company for the operations dept. I am there for our drivers, whatever they need that applies to themselves. Payroll, uniforms, cell phones, etc.

On this cruise with me and TBJ will be my daughter and her best friend. Both will be 17, they've been together since they were three. Went to catholic grade school together, still do girl scouts together and are becoming ladies together. They'll both be in 12th grade next year, are both practicing driving to get their licenses, both just went to prom, I could go on...but I won't

Great girls! Know how to enjoy themselves and stay out of trouble

My FIL separated from his wife a little over a year ago...TMI-no details necessary-and he now lives with us. My dog has adopted him as her own He is loved and is thriving in our home, so it's all good.

 

[trinibjill]

My DD Tiggerwannabe (Colleen) was born 9 months to the day after Walt Disney Died.

I extremely proud of both of my DD & all of their families. (you'll see what I'm saying)

And, I enjoy this thread.



Jill

 

[trinibjill]

My DD Tiggerwannabe (Colleen) was born 9 months to the day after Walt Disney Died.

I am extremely proud of both of my DD & all of their families. (you'll see what I'm saying)

And, I enjoy this thread.



Jill

 

[FletcherMem0rial]

Mom, Britt says, Hey! Pretty Lady!!!

My DD Tiggerwannabe (Colleen) was born 9 months to the day after Walt Disney Died.

Sometimes I wonder, if I am Walt reincarnated...it's kind of scary how much I connect with Walt and his dreams and ideas...

 

[trinibjill]

Hi Britt

sorry that got posted twice but I guess that's cause I was too impatient & hit the button twice.

Nothing wrong with being Walt re-incarnated. It's a good thing. The day I heard he died I was devastated. I was on my way to California & had to pull over to the side of the road & cry.

OK - off to sleep now.

 

[FletcherMem0rial]

I'm off soon too...

G'night!!!!!!

 

[nskjerven]

Ok, I'm the one from California, you all know that. I'm 4(gulp)1 so is DH, we tell everyone we met in a museum, but we met in a biker bar (like that Jill?) called the Black Watch. We’ve been together for 14 years. We have 2 kids, Molly 7.5 Wilson 5, 2 dogs, Border Collies, one turtle (4 guppies, until they are eaten by their turtle) and a rabbit. DH is Norwegian, I’m just married into that crazy nationality.

We’re both CA natives. I was born and raised in San Jose and now we own the house that I grew up in....Sounds good, but, really who wants to live in their mother's house? Naw, it's a nice house, just not our style...too "ranchey" we're "cottagey" people, but in Silicon Valley when you have a house that was owned in the 70's (pre-prop 13 we call it) you keep it. Property taxes are outrageous here, so we enjoy the fact that we pay what my parents paid back in the '70s ($900 per year vs $8.75K). I just realized that could pay for my next cruise!!! I studied Political Science in college, planned on going to law school, married a lawyer instead. I work from home as a CFO for hire for start up software companies. Had quite a few clients go public or get bought in the Tech bubble, but was stupid and didn't have stock. Now of course I get the stock upfront. DH works in tech too. He is also working from home too as he was part of the burst Tech bubble and was laid off going on 4 years ago now...He has a nice handful of clients and is panicked about what will happen when we take the cruise. (I suspect he’ll check email daily and even try to make cell calls) I guess we look like the average Silicon Valley family, yeah right, that doesn't exist here too much diversity. Our kids go to a charter Dual Immersion School. They work half day in English and half day in Spanish. I hope next year to learn Spanish with my little guy when he starts kindergarten. When I’m not working, I spend the rest of my day volunteering for school or girl scouts or little league. I’m known as the mom with the big mouth who always has an opinion (and the one with the really nice husband). Did I say I talk a lot????? Can you tell?

How are we going to have fun on the cruise together? We’ll all want to talk talk talk. Okay, I’ll drink and the rest of you can talk, ha ha ha I crack myself up!!!

DH tells me that my laptop is fixed, so I’m signing off from my desk and going to sit on my throne (aka the green recliner in front of the tv) to continue in my chatting for the night. I'll look for my email in the house tigg.

p.s. thanks for the advice about using word, now I can spell check my posts!!!

 

[Aisling]

Hi Girls,
Sadly I have to say I've found a couple of difference in me from the rest of you. First, I'm 43, so I'm the old woman in out group. Well, I think Jill beats me by a year , but with all her activities, she's 10 years my junior!!
And second, my nickname for my DH is LB, which stands for Lazy Bum. He's a good guy, but he thinks sitting at a computer all day in his office is like laying bricks. He's too tired after work to take out the garbage, but not too tired to run out the door to play 3 hours of tennis when his buds call. I love him to death, he's a good man, but if the LB shoe fits, then he's wearing it!

Now to recap about my family:
I'm 43, Mel is 44 in July. We've been married 23 years, and were college sweethearts. He's a manufacturing engineer, working on Computer Aided Design (CAD-CAM) for metal manufacturing companies, including the government. I do music therapy in a psychiatric nursing home, and I teach religion in a Catholic school one day a week. I only work from 9 am until 1:30 pm, so that I can be home to pick Jesse up from school.
Chad (Wick here on the Dis) is my firstborn, and he's a 19 year old college kid studying political science and then law, aspiring to become president of the U.S. He's VERY politically inclined, and loves to debate liberals. Then comes my baby Jesse (Aladdin's Clone), age 13. He's in 7th grade, and lives and breathes video games. He has a Monty Python wit, and is a very good boy.
Mel was born in the Philippines, his mom and dad are MDs, and they moved here when he was 12, so he feels no ties to his old country. He's American as apple pie now.
My Mom is from Norway and my Dad is from Istanbul, I know what a combo! I definitely look more like my mom, but I have my dad's mediterranean zest for life. They're divorced now, but get along well, as long as they live apart.
I've lived in New York ity my whole life, except for 8 mnonths when my family moved to upstate NY. I was a fish out of water, so at age 18 I moved right back down to the city and got a 14th floor apartment overlooking the Brooklyn Bridge. I know I've mentioned this before, but I just loved that apartment so much. I had a roomate from Nigeria, and we got along so well. I lucked out because this girl's father was an ambassador to the UN, and he always gave her tons of money, so she bought all the extras in our apartment. She had no problem with the fact that I was a broke college student.
Anyway, me, Mel, and our 2 kids still live in NYC, have been to WDW 4 times, to Universal twice, cross-country to South Dakota once, have never been on a cruise and spend our summer days mostly at the parks, where there is so much to do and see and to just relax. We live close enough to walk to the park, and no matter what you may hear on tv, Central Park is safe and lovely, thanks to former Mayor Giuliani.
Chad works part-time in our church rectory doing office work, and Jesse works full-time playing video games.
We all love Disney so much, well except for LB, but he tolerates it for our sakes, whatta guy! A few of Chad's friends are CPs, and many others go to WDW regularly whenever they can, so he's surrounded by Disneyphiles.

I'll get a recent photo of my family to post, so you'll know us when you see us at thr port.

OMG it's 11:30 pm already!

 

[3xthecharm]

Hey I've been gone for a while.(new job) Some of you may not even know me.

I know I've been delinquent in my posting, and I beg your forgivness.

We booked our flights for the trip with worldperks through NW out of Philly. We have only 41 minutes to make our connecting flight on 12/23 in Memphis. Oy! I'm praying for no snow in Philly this Christmas. Any airport delay is a bad delay.
If we miss our flight we get priority on a 7pm flight that puts us in Orlando at around 9. Fortunately, we are staying at the Hyatt that night.

Can you tell I'm nervous?

 

[nskjerven]

Aisling : I need the help of your youngest to give me some "santa" advise. I'm planning on getting DS 5 a video game for Xmas, but giving it to him before we get on the plane for this cruise/trip. Here's the question what on earth is a good system to get for travel like this, and what games would be good for my 5 year? Perhaps he can offer some consulting services to my DS on the cruise, extra $$$ for his game habit, and freedom for me & DH to enjoy ourselves not trying to figure out how a dumb video game works

Tigg : Sounds so fun a girly cruise. I think I'd miss DH too much to plan one like this with out him and of course our kids are so little it wouldn't make any sense not to have them with us. Perhaps when we sail when they are older, girls cruise, the boys can go drive their cars somewhere off road, most likely.

and to answer your question no I really didn't get much work done Monday...to hard to focus, weather turned nice, lots to do outside hmmmmmm, anywhere is better than paying bills and payroll, which is why I have to say bye bye for now, must get back to my books....



Nan

 

[3xthecharm]

Aisling : I need the help of your youngest to give me some "santa" advise. I'm planning on getting DS 5 a video game for Xmas, but giving it to him before we get on the plane for this cruise/trip. Here's the question what on earth is a good system to get for travel like this, and what games would be good for my 5 year? Perhaps he can offer some consulting services to my DS on the cruise, extra $$$ for his game habit, and freedom for me & DH to enjoy ourselves not trying to figure out how a dumb video game works

I have two DS that are into video games. I recommend a Gameboy SP. There is a more updated version that is called a DS, but it probably has too many bells and whistles for a 5 year old. A SP is straight forward to use. You can find many used games from video stores. It is a great deal cheaper, $80, than the $150 DS.

 

[KKB]

Tig--I think I'm going to create a little database, too--I appreciate everyone's autobios, especially since I remembered a bit when I read them...but there was more I didn't know! Are YOU the youngest one? I'm BARELY 30something anymore...but 10 more months I am!
Funny, never thought of myself as a West-coast gal...
Jill--I consider you a regular! I do remember you working in the prison, skating & cycling--all worlds I don't know well, so am intrigued!
Nan--(2 peas...scrapbookers, DD7 DS5)yup, Gameboy is the way to go. We have an old color one, and the SP (not the new new one, but original version). Marcus says Pokemon is a bit tough for 5 year old (even though Jack LOVES Pokemon). He thinks Mario would be a good one, there are several Disney games, like Monsters Inc. Trust me, once he gets hooked, you will have difficulty pulling him away...but they are PERFECT for long plane rides--he will need little else to occupy him!
COOL your kids go to a bilingual school! I took 4 years of French--LOVED it, useful for a trip to France 25 years ago, not much since!
Wow, do I need a quick bio...
DH (Dan) 42 (43 ct--cruise time), me 39, Marcus 9 (10ct), Hailey 7, Jack(son)
4 (5ct)...married 11 years. Met at middle school workshops. I teach fifth grade in middle class school, he teaches 7th grade Social Studies in as close to inner city middle school as we get (not that close--but feels closer each day!). I grew up in Lincoln(pop 225000), very regular middle class upbringing. Dan grew up in Hastings, (pop.15000), his dad left when he was 13 (now close again), pretty regular lower class small town upbringing. We both went to UNL, both had short-lived first marriages, and feel so lucky to have found each other. We love sports, traveling, gambling (yes...we were married in Vegas! But don't get to go too often anymore!), but kids' activities beginning to run us ragged--and that's OK! I will finish my Master's degree in Math next summer--it eats up 4 weeks this summer, and 5 next, but a grant is paying all tuition PLUS cash for my summer time...that's part of what keeps me going! Boys into football, basketball & baseball, dabble in golf, tennis & soccer. Hailey is a dance girl, with a new love of volleyball...would like to try soccer, but time is tight! I love to scrapbook (owned a store from 1999-2002--glad to have closed & gotten my life back!). So, me, in a nutshell.
OK, boys....bios, please!
(Tig--or you could just post your index cards! )
Well, kids are yelling--American Idol final! Thank goodness for Tivo! Gotta go!
Kristin

 

[Aisling]

Fortunately, we are staying at the Hyatt that night.

So are we!!

 

[3xthecharm]

We decided to fly in on 12/22. My husband was not too keen on flying on 12/23 since it was the friday before Christmas. I was nervous about getting a delay on our first flight, so I think I feel better now.

We will still stay at the Hyatt since we are meeting the rest of the crew (14 others) there to go to the port.

We I smell my dinner so I had better go.

By the way, I've lost over 10lbs.

 

[tiggerwannabe]

Hi All!



You have been so chatty the last couple days I had to print what you wrote to keep up



~I like to read and answer everything written~

sooooooooo, I'll be doing some reading for homework tonight and will report back tomorrow...

Gotta go get DD to her girl scout meeting,

~TTFN Christmas Cruisers~

cj.

 

[KKB]

gotta love that Tivo!
3x--10lbs. + I am so jealous! What is your strategy? I lost 5, but PMS (and DMS>>>) has gotten the best of me this week! RATS! Summer will help--too hot to eat & generally a lot more active! But if you have any tips....(OK, I suppose the first thing you are going to suggest is give up Wed. night dinners of wings (nachos, beer, dessert...) at BW3S! GEEES!
Gotta go see AI finale--Bo or Carrie??!! I can't decide! Bet they already know!
BYE!
Kristin

 

[grimgrinnin]

Has everyone ordered their free Disney Cruise Planning Video ?




grim

 

[3xthecharm]

I joined Curves. I have been able to stick with it three times a week. We have one only about 5 min. away. It is all women that range from Pooh size to average weight. No skinny Minnies. One splurge a week won't kill you.

Well back to watching AI.