December 2009 - A Celebration of many things

[nic100308]

...to anyone who has an idea or suggestion. I'm trying to figure out how much I should budget for tips. We have free dining and we have 9 ADR's. We usually tip between 15%-20% depending on the service. Do you think a safe bet would be $20 per ADR? I'd rather be over than under, but should i really sit down and figure out the average price a a meal and then figure, let's say 18% of that? LOL am I just getting myself crazy about this for nothing!?!? So let me know your thoughts, thanks!!

 

[MadilynnsMomma]

...to anyone who has an idea or suggestion. I'm trying to figure out how much I should budget for tips. We have free dining and we have 9 ADR's. We usually tip between 15%-20% depending on the service. Do you think a safe bet would be $20 per ADR? I'd rather be over than under, but should i really sit down and figure out the average price a a meal and then figure, let's say 18% of that? LOL am I just getting myself crazy about this for nothing!?!? So let me know your thoughts, thanks!!

If you're crazy, then they need to strap me to a bed in a padded room! Guess what I just finished before hopping on the DIS? I just went through the 11 menus (on allears.net) with Shamus and we picked out appetizer, entree & dessert (we're on the DDxP). I totaled the meal, multiplied it by .065 (tax), came up with my "real total" and then multiplied that by .18 (18% tip) and then rounded that up to the next dollar amount. We will be spending $133 in tips if every things stays on course... only time will tell! My plan is to go to our "local" (and by local I man 45-75 minute drive) Disney Store and buy Disney Dollars in the denominations we need. Then I will have Madi decorate envelopes for each restaurant and we'll put in the "allotted" amount. We will of course have extra on us for when we decide to add a drink, or Madi needs a kids meal. Can you tell I keep coming up with tasks to keep me occupied and not counting the hours til Disney

Hope I was able to help... if nothing else, now you got another time-buster!

 

[nic100308]

So in other words $20 per ADR is a safe bet!?!?!? LOL I do appreciate the work that you put into it, and I seriously thought about doing the same, so your post was actually very helpful. I'm thinking that some places will be less and some will be more, but I am going to figure $200 for tips just to be safe.

Thanks again for doing the leg work!!

 

[MadilynnsMomma]

So in other words $20 per ADR is a safe bet!?!?!? LOL I do appreciate the work that you put into it, and I seriously thought about doing the same, so your post was actually very helpful. I'm thinking that some places will be less and some will be more, but I am going to figure $200 for tips just to be safe.

Thanks again for doing the leg work!!

Glad I could be of service. I came up with $133 if you include taxes in the tip, $124 if you go based on the food total only. We have 11 ADR's (2 adults) and of those 6 are buffet/all-you-care-to-eat meals - those were the easiest to get totals for!

 

[DONTMINDME]

The countdown tree is adorable and there should be a prize for the winner. We set aside $200 for tips and mousekeeping and we are doing 8 adr's plus a couple of oops,and any tolls we hit on the way down. I found some really cute thankyou notes for mousekeeping and I already have then filled out and packed. Couldn't help myself. Wish we were already there I even tried to talk Dh into a 4 /3free week in march he's thinking about it.

 

[disneyaddicted]

That is the greatest countdown I have ever seen. You are super crafty! Good job!!

I am a coupon cutter. I started getting into the habbit of buying something even if I didn't need it just because I had a coupon for it. So now I make 2 piles, a keep pile for me and a share it with friends and family pile.

I recycle. We don't even have trash pick up. We burn all paper. Recycle all plastic and glass. And all food scraps are tossed into the woods.

I am a firm believer in preserving what we can on earth and making the future better/cleaner for our kids.

 

[nic100308]

Hello all!! Greg and I had a wonderful anniversary (more on that to come) I'm totally bummed that tomorrow is Monday, but the good news is that we did start our countdown today. Tomorrow when I lay out the details of our dinner I will post the trivia questions and answers. Mine was the first question (about theme park trivia) and the score is 0 Greg, - me. (I get a dash because I haven't had a questions yet, but I'm totally convinced that tomorrow it will be 1-0 me)

The countdown tree is adorable and there should be a prize for the winner. We set aside $200 for tips and mousekeeping and we are doing 8 adr's plus a couple of oops,and any tolls we hit on the way down. I found some really cute thankyou notes for mousekeeping and I already have then filled out and packed. Couldn't help myself. Wish we were already there I even tried to talk Dh into a 4 /3free week in march he's thinking about it.

Thanks!! I actually love that little tree. I must tell you it look so cute with all the Mickey's all over them so I'm glad that the removal of them actually means something good or else I would just be sad it was getting bare!! I'm a nut, I totally know it!!

That is the greatest countdown I have ever seen. You are super crafty! Good job!!

I am a coupon cutter. I started getting into the habbit of buying something even if I didn't need it just because I had a coupon for it. So now I make 2 piles, a keep pile for me and a share it with friends and family pile.

I recycle. We don't even have trash pick up. We burn all paper. Recycle all plastic and glass. And all food scraps are tossed into the woods.

I am a firm believer in preserving what we can on earth and making the future better/cleaner for our kids.

I'm glad you like the countdown tree, it was one of my more brilliant crafty moments. And it was free too!! The whole countdown tree cost only $4!!

LOL Greg calls me granola. I was always into conservation and taking care of the planet, but then we went to see Earth on Earth Day and I just wanted to cry!!! It was a total eye opener. Needless to say that I went home and adopted a polar bear for Greg's birthday (I have an adopted penguin named Penny - she's from Argentina and every year for my birthday Greg renews the adoption) We have always been members of the WWF (World Wildlife Federation) As members we get to go to all the zoos and the aquarium for free!! But after Earth we became members of the Nature Conservancy.

 

[nic100308]

AHHHH!!! I just realized my ticker says 1 month 4 weeks!!!! So crazy to finally see a 1 in front on the "month" marker!!!!!

 

[DONTMINDME]

We are members of the National Aquarium in Baltimore and the Zoo as well. We always save shelter animals and save the rainforest we like to recycle and since our area has biweekly pickups it's fairly easy. I want there to be a healthy planet for my grandchildren and great grandchildren when I have them. I work for a company that is leading the way in sustainability and goin green.

 

[MadilynnsMomma]

AHHHH!!! I just realized my ticker says 1 month 4 weeks!!!! So crazy to finally see a 1 in front on the "month" marker!!!!!

WOOHOO for under 2 months!!!

 

[disneyaddicted]

AHHHH!!! I just realized my ticker says 1 month 4 weeks!!!! So crazy to finally see a 1 in front on the "month" marker!!!!!

Super exciting.

 

[JoJo1980]

AHHHH!!! I just realized my ticker says 1 month 4 weeks!!!! So crazy to finally see a 1 in front on the "month" marker!!!!!

YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY

Happy Anniversary aswell, hope you had a wonderful day, can't wait to hear all about it

 

[Elevationist]

AHHHH!!! I just realized my ticker says 1 month 4 weeks!!!! So crazy to finally see a 1 in front on the "month" marker!!!!!

I this EXACT same reaction the other day!

Hello! I wandered my way over here from a few of these other lovely ladies' PTRs. I'm buckling up, hope there's room for me!

 

[nic100308]

Saturday was our one-year anniversary!! I can’t even believe that it’s been a year already, and as most of you know it has been a crazy roller coaster ride. So that morning Greg brought me breakfast in bed!! Isn’t he the sweetest?!?!? Nothing special, egg whites, turkey bacon, and an English muffin and coffee, but it was the thought! I appreciate not having to get out of bed, not having to take the dog out for a walk, and having my coffee brought to me, followed by my breakfast. So after we finally dragged ourselves out of bed, we both had a few errands to run.

I went to the market to get our dinner supplies and Greg took Brynn (our furry daughter) to spend the night with Grandma and Grandpa. It was nice to not have to worry about taking her out, but I did miss that beast!! So we met back home at around 3 ish, popped the cork on the Champagne and had a little anti pasta lunch/nosh. We toasted “To a better second year than the first year” Greg came up with that one and it almost brought me to tears. We talked, relaxed and looked through our album and did the whole “remember when” stuff.
Link to our album proof:
http://homepage.mac.com/millimeterphoto/100308ar/index.html

So the anniversary gift to each other is Disney, we even plan to exchange cards then (at California Grill since that is the “celebration dinner”) but I had to have something for him. So or course I find this awesome gift that costs like nothing and it didn’t get delivered in time, so I had to wrap the picture.

We have a baseball/Yankees memorabilia shelf in our living room, so I ordered this to put on there. Only cost $1.99, it’s the first of 3 in a series and all I have to do after I get the Babe Ruth card I have to call Danbury Mint and cancel the other two, no obligations!! It was just a little something for him to open because I knew he would have something for me, and he did.

Does this guy know me or what!?!? Greg and I like to think that we have a special relationship with each other because we have a friendship. We married our best friend, and we enjoy being with each other, and doing things together. My parents never did anything together (they would vacation separately because they had such different interest), so when it came time to get serious and think about marrying someone I always wanted to make sure that that person was my best friend. Greg and I are good together because we are so similarly different. Similar in that we have the same interests, we like to do similar things, we could go to the mall and window shop/people watch a have a great time and we vacation well together because we have so much fun together. But we’re different in the way we compliment each other. The ying to my yang. Anyway that’s enough with the sappiness!

Okay, so dinner. At our wedding the appetizer was this amazing shrimp risotto, so I recreated it for our dinner. It was amazing, if I do say so myself. For our main course I made stuffed filet of sole (stuffed with a crabmeat mixture), we like fish! Anyway the risotto was so filling we decided to save the filet for dinner on Sunday, it also was delicious! Greg’s got plenty of lunch for this week, lots of left over risotto and crabmeat mixture (for a sandwich). For a dessert I made a flourless chocolate cake, it was to die for!!! We love chocolate cake, we had a chocolate wedding cake (filled with fresh strawberries and custard). We’re untraditional and ate the top of the cake after our honeymoon. Trust me there was no way that thing was going to be good to eat after a year in the freezer.

Okay so on to Disney stuff. I paid our balance today, and man was it upsetting to see the savings basically dwindled so quickly. No worries though, because according to my budget we’ll have plenty (LOL and plenty to mean also means keeping a set amount in our checking for any just in cases). Also, my in-laws (mother, father, brothers and sisters) were very nice and generous to us for our anniversary. We got a gift bag with Tinker Bell pictures all over it. When we opened it there were little pieces of paper all folded and tied with ribbon. We opened them and there were pictures of Mickey and Minnie and it said “Use this for something nice at Disney.” Also my mother in-law gave us her Disney Dream Rewards Dollars from her Disney Visa. I was so touched. There was enough cash to cover the $200 I figured for tips. So I put a paperclip on it and a post it that said “Disney Tips” so we don’t touch it. And between my mother in-laws and my Dream Dollars we have about $300.

Whenever I get down I think of all the blessings I have in life and I truly feel selfish when I get into those “poor me” moods. I have so much joy and happiness in my life, I have a wonderful husband, a wonderful family, I even have wonderful in-laws!! I have so much to be grateful for, when I look at the whole “loosing my job right after my wedding” business and I just say to myself, this is God’s test. He’s making me stronger and I’m getting a master’s degree in life!! Plus, the sweet is never as sweet without the sour.

Disney Trivia time (score is still 0-0 I should have gone with my instinct with my answer this morning, but I second guessed myself. In the future I will always go with my first guess, that’s test taking 101)

Day 60 – What Disney attraction is found in four different lands in four different parks?
Day 59 – What was the last Disney movie to use hand printed cells?
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answers below
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Day 60 – The Haunted Mansion
Day 59 – The Little Mermaid

Cheap Chic tip: Okay, since we are getting closer to Disney I am really going to aim at getting more “Savings in the World” tips. This week I have two.
1) I have not mentioned the joys of the refillable mug. This is really the greatest thing Disney offers. For $10 you get to refill your mug as many times a day you want to. Greg and I get coffee in them every morning (I’m a nightmare without my coffee, I do nothing without it, not even Disney) Greg is a dear and goes down every morning while I’m in the shower to get the coffee so we can drink it as we get ready. Then in the afternoon or night when we’re back in our room we’ll always need some kind of refreshment. If you figure a drink in the cafeteria is probably $2, and you refill your mug at least twice a day, you’ve got your moneys worth in 2.5 days. Plus you have a souvenir mug to take home. The mugs to get nasty, so I found this little tip on allears.net. Dawn makes these soap sheets that get soapy when you wet them. I have not been able to find these anywhere, if you do please tell me where. HOWEVER, you can make your own. Take some baby wipes, lay them flat and put some dish liquid on each of them. Let them dry and then you have your own home made soapy wipes. Put them in a ziplock bag until you need them.
2) Review your shopping cart before you check out. There is usually something in there that is not needed or was picked up on impulse. If I’m shopping without a list I can always find at least 2 or 3 things to take out. If you’re really efficient, stick to your list!

Have a magical day, everyone!!!

 

[JoJo1980]

I'm so glad you had a wonderful anniversary

Your DH truly knows you soooo well, that top is sooo cute

The meal sounds delicious and the money gifts that your family gave you were so kind

YAY for paying off your balance We need to do ours

You keep your chin up girl, I totaly understand all your heartache and upset but you will get through it all and you will be a stronger person for it.

I love your tip about evaluating your basket before you checkout - I'm going to try that because you know how crazy I am for shopping and I must admit I often pick things up in disney that I dont 100% want or have room for so I'm going to try your trick Will still be going shopping crazy, but for stuff I 100% love or 'need' rather than 50%

 

[MadilynnsMomma]

So much to touch on! The dinner sounds great! The sweatshirt is super cute! The baseball card... NOT SO MUCH... but that is just me. How nice of your in-laws, another thing you can check off your "to-do" list!

Thanks for the tips, as always! I am always throwing something extra in the cart for Madi, and then as I am waiting patiently in line I start rethinking. Thanks for pointing it out!

 

[nic100308]

I'm so glad you had a wonderful anniversary

Your DH truly knows you soooo well, that top is sooo cute

The meal sounds delicious and the money gifts that your family gave you were so kind

YAY for paying off your balance We need to do ours

You keep your chin up girl, I totaly understand all your heartache and upset but you will get through it all and you will be a stronger person for it.

I love your tip about evaluating your basket before you checkout - I'm going to try that because you know how crazy I am for shopping and I must admit I often pick things up in disney that I dont 100% want or have room for so I'm going to try your trick Will still be going shopping crazy, but for stuff I 100% love or 'need' rather than 50%

We did have a very lovely anniversary! And I am so super excited about having the balance paid off. Now at least I know what we save will be for the extras (lol shopping) I always try to put a positive spin on things, and I am very lucky so there really is no reason to invite the pity party in! For now I just tell myself "You have to do whatever you have to do" and "Things can only go up from here" I'm cool, I'm just chugging along!!

So much to touch on! The dinner sounds great! The sweatshirt is super cute! The baseball card... NOT SO MUCH... but that is just me. How nice of your in-laws, another thing you can check off your "to-do" list!

Thanks for the tips, as always! I am always throwing something extra in the cart for Madi, and then as I am waiting patiently in line I start rethinking. Thanks for pointing it out!

LOL I didn't think you'd be down with the gift, but we are Yankee fans. Also a lot of people forget that Babe Ruth started his career as a Red Sox (well actually the Orioles first then the Red Sox) and he was actually very successful with them! With Boston, he became one of the game's best pitchers, posting 29 consecutive scoreless innings in World Series play and that was the record for 42 years. He led the AL with a 1.75 ERA and nine shutouts in 1916, going 23-12 for the World Champion Red Sox, and won a career high 24 in 1917. Even as a pitcher for the Red Sox he had a career average of .304 and once he moved to the outfield he was a .325 hitter. In 1918 and 1919 he led the AL in homeruns and in 1919 led the ML with a record of 29!! LOL that's my little Babe Ruth baseball schpiel! We went to Cooperstown in May and it was like the high light of my summer!!

PS- I hear there is awesome "chowda" at Fenway? Yes, no?

I am guilty of the same bad habit, I'm totally an impulse buyer and then if there is a line at the register it's like a saving grace because then I start to say, well do I really need this??

 

[disneyaddicted]

Happy Anniversary, it's a little belated. I'm so happy you had a great day. The dinner sounds scrumptous! I love seafood, and the menu made my mouth water.

I love the Disney hoodie. It is super cute.

Your inlaws sound like a great bunch, that was such a thoughtful gift to give you all.

I went and looked at your wedding pictures. It gave me more of an idea about how you and your DH feel about eachother. Your emotions showed so clearly on your face.
In one of the pictures you looked like you were about to explose with excitement. Thanks for sharing those. They were lovely.

 

[nic100308]

Thanks a bunch, Ty!! I do have a very thoughtful family and I am very blessed to have such wonderful people in my life. That's why I try to look at things positively and just be thankful for what I have.

I actually included the pictures for that reason. LOL I guess we wear our emotions all over our faces, but I too thought it was a good depiction of us. And our cake cutting song was the song from the end of The Muppet's take Manhattan. You know the one when they're in the church and you have all the Muppets and Big Bird and his Sesame Street friends and they're singing "She'll make him happy, now and forever, until forever their love will grow..."

I already told Greg that we'll be seeing you on the ME and I told him to story about you and Marzi and how the two of you are meeting and your mom and Janis are meeting in MCO too!! He was like "That's a crazy story!" and I told him that if we see you (when we see you) I'll have to chat it up with you, within reason, I don't want to impose on your Marzi time!!

 

[LOVEMY3KIDDOS]

Gosh! I feel like I have missed about a month's worth of updates!
Your countdown is SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO cute! I love everything about it!
Your anniversary sounds like it was absolutely wonderful! Congrats on that one year! (And, we did save the top of the cake...you didn't miss anything! LOL)