DDA Chapter 5

[tinknme]

Good luck with your decision Lindsay! Sounds like she is putting you on the spot

I got an e-mail from my mother's best friend on Sunday, with "just a few questions" for me re: WDW. Well, she proceeded to ask about 50 questions in a stream of consciousness e-mail. Oy.

This is the woman who offered the idea to my mother that she would pay me to plan her first trip with her grandchildren. Then, after having already answered an e-mail like this from her before, I mentioned something about offering her assistance, but needing some $$ for my time (she doesn't want to do any of her own research at all). After that e-mail, she never sent a response, and it's been radio silence since then.

I don't know what to do. I feel like I'm being used, but don't know what to do, since my parents are BF's with her and her husband, they're good people and do a lot for my parents, etc. I've been thinking I should just help her out of respect for my parents, but at the same time it ticks me off!

 

[tinknme]

Yea for no mil coming along

Well, we found out yesterday that the MIL won't be able to make the cruise after all, , problem solved. Now I just have to pay the additional cost, I told my daughter she was spoiled, here we are paying more money to move down on the ship, kids!

 

[tinknme]

Good morning

 

[tinknme]

Oh for anyone that might be interested, I see the dates for MNSSHP & MVMCP have been released! Tickets go on sale May 1st.

Also the P&PP is now going to be called Mickey's Pirate & Princess Party.

 

[PNO4TE]

Elizabeth - I am hoping that DH's testing went well and he is in line for that promotion!

Theresa - I miss reading your posts in the mornings. I hope your life takes a very sharp upswing very soon.

Lindsay - Is this the same woman who really has no monetary restrictions for this trip? If so, I would answer a few questions, explain about your new promotion and suggest that she book Club Level rooms so that the concierge can assist! If she quibbles about the cost difference, explain that she is paying for the services she has requested from you.

 

[PNO4TE]

Good morning, DDA!

 

[yellowfish78]

Oh for anyone that might be interested, I see the dates for MNSSHP & MVMCP have been released! Tickets go on sale May 1st.

Also the P&PP is now going to be called Mickey's Pirate & Princess Party.

...really?!?

 

[Tammi67]

Oh for anyone that might be interested, I see the dates for MNSSHP & MVMCP have been released! Tickets go on sale May 1st.

Also the P&PP is now going to be called Mickey's Pirate & Princess Party.

Thanks Janet!

 

[Tammi67]

Lindsay - Is this the same woman who really has no monetary restrictions for this trip? If so, I would answer a few questions, explain about your new promotion and suggest that she book Club Level rooms so that the concierge can assist! If she quibbles about the cost difference, explain that she is paying for the services she has requested from you.

Excellent idea!

 

[Tammi67]

Well Janet, it's great that you found out the dates for MNSSHP and MVMCP, but I CAN'T! I've checked the DIS, allears and wdw websites and haven't seen them.

 

[mommykds]

Oh for anyone that might be interested, I see the dates for MNSSHP & MVMCP have been released! Tickets go on sale May 1st.

Also the P&PP is now going to be called Mickey's Pirate & Princess Party.

Were the P&PP dates for summer released too? Hoping for one in August.

 

[Tinkaroo]

Tammi - Good Luck to Nicholas, his board looked great!

Well, we found out yesterday that the MIL won't be able to make the cruise after all, , problem solved. Now I just have to pay the additional cost, I told my daughter she was spoiled, here we are paying more money to move down on the ship, kids!

Yay for no MIL! Look, there's something going right for you.

Thanks for the reminders, too - I meant to say last night...

Good luck to Nicholas!!!

Have fun in Colorado to Jen!!!

Oh for anyone that might be interested, I see the dates for MNSSHP & MVMCP have been released! Tickets go on sale May 1st.

Also the P&PP is now going to be called Mickey's Pirate & Princess Party.

Woo hoo! Where are the dates posted?

Although it will make me sad not to buy a MNSSHP ticket this year.

Lindsay - I don't know what to say about your parents' friends. If it is going to cause you to put in a lot of time I can see where you would want to be compensated for it.

Lindsay, I would e-mail her and answer a couple of her questions, but you just got a promotion and you are terribly busy with work so you can't possibly answer everything.

Lindsay, this is a great suggestion! Send her links to AllEars, MouseSavers, Intercot, Touring Plans, and the official site and tell her to have a nice day!

Lindsay - Is this the same woman who really has no monetary restrictions for this trip? If so, I would answer a few questions, explain about your new promotion and suggest that she book Club Level rooms so that the concierge can assist! If she quibbles about the cost difference, explain that she is paying for the services she has requested from you.

Thanks, guys, for the good advice. I read what I wrote last night, and on the surface it sounds kind of petty. Generally, I will help anyone and everyone plan a WDW vacation, but this woman is one of those people that asks for a "small favor" and then it ends up snowballing into about 20 gazillion things you were not anticipating having to deal with, and it somehow becomes YOUR responsibility (not ever hers - I don't know how that happens). I could just see how this would go, which was why if I was truly going to help her plan out her trip, I was going to need some compensation for my time, because I'm sure it would have been a hefty amount.

Unfortunately, she has booked her family into a BCV 2-br, so concierge is not an option. However, I like the idea of just responding to a couple of questions, giving her links for other sites, and telling her good luck. I don't think she could complain at that point, and certainly couldn't quibble to my parents about it. (My mom thinks she does no wrong EVER, so I can't have her run interference for me. )

 

[Tinkaroo]

Found the thread with the MVCMP and MNSSHP dates!

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1748949

Guess we didn't know about this because we've boycotted the Disney Moms site.

I do hope the first day for MNSSHP will be 9/5! If so, I might get to go after all, if we go on our Wonder cruise and stick around for an extra day or two.

 

[mommykds]

Found the thread with the MVCMP and MNSSHP dates!

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1748949

Guess we didn't know about this because we've boycotted the Disney Moms site. I do hope the first day for MNSSHP will be 9/5! If so, I might get to go after all, if we go on our Wonder cruise and stick around for an extra day or two.

 

[mommykds]

I am bursting not being able to tell the kids about April!!

I have religion classes tonight. Thankfully there are only 2 more classes & then I do not have to teach the boys anymore!

Daniel starts baseball practice this Saturday so I guess I am going to need some Saturdays off from work!

O.k. off to clean!!!

 

[Tammi67]

Wow it's slow today.

 

[jackskellingtonsgirl]

DS and I spent the morning at the mall.
We had breakfast at Chick Fil A. I bought DS a shirt at Macy's for $7. I bought DS a pair of Croclings (khaki with camo trim) for $10 at Dillard's. I bought DH a T-shirt for $12, and some chinos for $15 each (marked down from $75!) at Dillard's.

Gymboree had some nice shorts for DS marked 2 for $20 or $16.50 each. They had exactly ONE pair in his size. So we went to another mall, found 4 pairs, and find out that the first mall had the wrong sign up and the shorts are $15 each. Well, 4 pairs for $40 is very different than 4 pairs for $60 so we didn't buy any. I told the girl the other mall had a different sign, but she said the other mall was wrong, too bad.

 

[Glynis]

I have had a very productive morning. I went to the craft store and bought a large shadow box frame and some black velvet to do a display for Alan's Olympic pin collection.

Then, I went to Target and bought rash guard shirts for all the kids for swimming at the lake this summer (no more blistering for my fair babies), some Easter shirts for the girls, and Easter basket surprises.

Last stop was the Disney Store at the mall. I picked up a stuffed Dalmatian for Mary's birthday, and some Easter plushies for baskets. I also preordered Enchanted. Alan has requested that for his birthday, as he thinks he is in love with Amy Adams. Done!!!

Now all I have to do is go through all his pins (he has enough for 5 or 6 shadow boxes), make my selection, and put it all together. He works tomorrow morning, so I'll settle down to do that when he leaves for work, and all the kids are gone. Otherwise, they'll want to "help" and we all know how well that works, don't we?

I also need to clean the guest room out as my mother will be staying with us for 2 weeks while my Dad is in Turkey and Greece. I can't wait!!! It will be great to have her come up and visit us. I usually go to her house, since she hasn't wanted to leave her mother, but since Gram died in November, she doesn't have that excuse anymore. She tried to use her dialysis as an excuse, but we got her appointments at the local center that is 10 minutes away from my house. Dad has been worried about her since her mom died. She hasn't wanted to do anything, so he thinks this will be really good for her. She'll be surrounded by my kids, and my sister's kids, and we'll have some fun!

 

[yellowfish78]

This was last nights dinner. It was delish! Changes are at the bottom.

"Healthified" Chicken Tortilla Casserole
Smart ingredient changes keep the flavor but cut the fat by 11 grams per serving in this Mexican-inspired easy-mix oven bake. From eatbetteramerica.
Prep Time:20 min
Start to Finish:1 hr 15 min
makes:8 servings

1 can (10 3/4 oz) 98% fat free 45% less sodium condensed cream of chicken soup
1 can (4.5 oz) chopped green chiles
1 container (8 oz) fat-free sour cream
1/2 cup fat-free (skim) milk
2 1/2 cups shredded cooked chicken breast
8 yellow corn tortillas (6 or 7 inch), torn into bite-size pieces
1 medium green bell pepper, chopped (1 cup)
1 large tomato, chopped (1 cup)
1 1/2 cups shredded sharp Cheddar cheese or Mexican cheese blend (6 oz)

1. Heat oven to 350°F. Spray 13x9-inch (3-quart) glass baking dish with cooking spray. In large bowl, mix soup, chiles, sour cream and milk until blended. Stir in chicken, tortillas and bell pepper. Stir in tomato and 1 cup of the cheese. Spoon and spread mixture in baking dish.
2. Cover with foil. Bake 40 minutes. Uncover; sprinkle with remaining 1/2 cup cheese. Bake uncovered 5 to 10 minutes longer or until cheese is melted and mixture is bubbly. Let stand 5 minutes.
High Altitude (3500-6500 ft): Heat oven to 375°F.

Chanon's adjustments (which probably make this non-healthified in the long run. ):
Reviewers complained that there was no flavor - we added a taco seasoning packet.
Reviewers complained about the one tomato for some reason - we changed that to a standard can of diced tomatoes UNDRAINED and removed the 1/2 cup of milk to balance out the liquid.
We served this with a salad and a side of veggies - but next time we could add corn and black beans to this and make this more of a "one dish" meal.

Let me know if anyone tries this. We loved it!

 

[triplefigs]

I have an interview Monday at 10:30am for an Internship in the NICU at Northside Hospital. They deliver more babies than any other private hospital in the country (12,000 the years I was there), and it's where I worked post-partum and where the kids were born. It would be 3 12hr night shifts a week. It excites me, but it scares the living bejeezers out of me at the same time. The NICU is a tough place. I know I'd be great there, but it such a huge responsibility taking care of those tiny babies who are so ill.