Disney Every Day - Update 10/21 – 1, 2, 3! We’re Leaving for Orlando Tomorrow!

[Tink-erin-belle]

Hey, guys! FYI there is a quick update on the previous page in the replies. I know I haven’t been updating much, so I don’t want you all to miss it when I do! I’m going to finish up Playlist Live with the next three posts right now. After that, I will try my absolute best to update regularly! We are going to be in Orlando in 55 days I will also follow up on the cliffhanger I gave you at the end of the replies!

On to the end of this Mini-TR!!!

After the kids and I had a nice time at Playlist Live, we headed back to the resort. True was excited to get to the pool, and Coy wanted a little computer time He is an introvert like me, so he definitely needed a little down time after dealing with the crowds at the convention. I needed some, too, but my downtime was destined to also be pool time! It was about 4 or 5 by the time True and I were ready for the pool, so I was concerned that it would be a little cold, but she and I got our suits on and headed down. But first, we had to take a #selfie!



Do you have the song #selfie stuck in your head now? Good! We heard that song a million times on that trip! Anyway, I was right: it was cold! The pool was a little warmer than the night before because the sun heated it up somewhat, but the breeze made it feel pretty chilly for any body parts we stuck out of the water! True and I kept everything but our heads underwater and we were fine. We had a nice, relaxing swim and also worked on True’s stroke. She got much better at swimming in Florida! She was feeling confident and I was very proud of her

When we got out of the pool, I was absolutely freezing cold! The wind was whipping off of the pool and I was chilled to the bone! True was having too much fun to be cold, so she bravely walked back to our room with the towel draped casually around her. I had my towel wrapped tight around me! I asked True to hop in the shower, but she was nice and said that I could go first because I was so cold. What a sweetie! After a nice hot shower, I was good to go again! True took her shower and washed out her bathing suit so that we could go swimming again the next day. Ugh! Just kidding! I was glad she loved the Hippy Dippy Pool so much!

The kids and I were starving, so we went to the food court for dinner. The place was packed, but the line moved fairly quickly. It’s been over four months since we went there, so I am a little fuzzy on if we were in the same line for all of our meals, but I think so! Sorry! I need to finish up this mini TR before I forget what happened! Good thing I took so many pictures! Did I mention that I am definitely doing a trip journal next time, because I want to be able to remember what actually happened! Or maybe I will create a Mind Palace like Sherlock Tangent! Sorry again! I’m also sorry that there aren’t any food pics. The kids and I were hungry! Plus, the kids didn’t like their food very much I liked mine, though! Coy got the Everything Fried Rice - pork, shrimp, chicken, egg, peas, onions, and rice. True got the Poppin Nachos Supreme - house-made chips topped with beef chili, chicken chili, or vegetable chili (she chose chicken) and your favorite toppings. I got the Pot Roast - roast beef with vegetables, potatoes and gravy. Mine was pretty tasty! It reminded me of my grandma’s cooking! I can’t remember if I tried any of Coy’s fried rice. If I did, I didn’t like it. He was barely able to choke it all down! I do remember trying True’s nachos. They were just OK. I thought it was a little weird to have them on top of potato chips, and I thought it would have been better on tortilla chips. True just plain didn’t like it and ate the chicken chili and toppings separate from the chips. But only the dry chips! She didn’t like the chips that had the chili soaked on them! Since the kids didn’t like their meals, I let them fill up by getting dessert! Coy got a strawberry milkshake that he loved! I can’t remember what True got, but I want to say it was a sundae. She loved her dessert, too. I got the Tie Dye Cheesecake. Meh. It was OK. I heard that the cheesecake used to be better. Plus, it used to be a slice instead of the weird little cup-o-cheesecake. Tried it once, I so I don’t have to order it again

This whole post is basically about food, and only one picture! I will have to remedy that in the next post!

 

[Tink-erin-belle]

Before dinner, I told the kids that I had a surprise for them. We were going to go someplace pretty cool! They kept asking me where and I refused to tell them So, after we finished our dinner around 8pm, the kids asked me if we were still going to the surprise. I told them that we were going to a really cool museum! They gave me this look that showed that they still didn’t know quite what to expect. We go to museums in DC all of the time, so I wondered if they thought we were going to do the same old thing that we do at home. I know they were willing to go, but probably weren’t too excited about it

We drove to Ripley’s Believe it or Not and the kids seemed to get more excited when they saw the lopsided building! We went inside and we could tell that this was going to be an interesting experience! I’ll let the pictures speak for themselves because there were so many cool things there that I could write WAY too much about our visit!

This was carved out of a phone book!:



Here’s Zoltan! I’m glad neither of the kids wished to be “Big”!



Sorry for the blurry pics, but this was Coy’s reaction after sticking his hand in the hole to try to grab the jewel:































I know I took more pictures than this, but I can’t seem to find them! Maybe I took them on the one of the kids’ phones? Oh well! Just an excuse to go back one day! The kids really enjoyed themselves there and I had fun, too! I would definitely recommend going. It’s a kitschy and weird place… and we loved it! There were strange animals, shrunken heads (so eerie!) and very interesting pieces of art. For some people, this might be a one and done type of place, but the kids have said that they would like to go back on this upcoming trip. The tickets were less than $20 each and it was fun to do something that is almost on the opposite side of the spectrum from typical Disney activities.

The kids and I brought a few souvenirs - I have a mug at work so that I can always remember this part of our trip:



After shopping for a little bit, we headed back to the resort. It was sometime after 11pm, and this was the night that I realized that I hated parking at Pop. The lots were so full that I couldn’t find a spot anywhere near our room. We had to park at Art of Animation and walk from there! It wasn’t a bad walk, but it was just very inconvenient. I’ll have to remember that for this trip so that we can anticipate a long walk if we get back to the resort late.

Up next – the last day of Playlist Live, finally meeting Ann, and the last evening of our trip!

 

[Tink-erin-belle]

It was Sunday and our last full day in Orlando was finally here. The kids and I had plans to go meet Joey Graceffa! Well, I’ll let you know right now that it didn’t happen :no: We got to the convention center two hours before he was going to have his meet and greet, but when we got to his line it was closed! I asked a security guard and he said that people were lining up to meet him since 8 in the morning! They had to close the line at 9:30 am! True was incredibly disappointed. Joey Graceffa was the person she wanted to see the most and now she wasn’t going to be able to meet him I thought we were going to be OK getting there two hours early! After that disappointment, True didn’t want to see any other YouTubers. Coy didn’t have any others that he really wanted to meet, either, so we just walked around for a bit to see who else we might run into. During that time, Ann and I were texting back and forth and I finally got to meet her in person!



It was so great to meet someone in person who I have only ever talked to online! I’m sure that if we had the chance, we would have talked for hours, but we only talked for a few minutes since the kids still wanted to walk around. For Playlist 2015, I definitely have to have those poolside drinks with Ann and Karen! So, the kids and I went off to wander around some more. Coy saw someone filming as we walked by and he said that he thought we might have been in the background of a prank video! It turns out that we were! SoFloAntonio posted a video Subscriber Digger Prank at Playlist Live and if you click on that link, you can see me, Coy and True walking by starting at the 25 second mark! Too funny! After that, the kids realized that they saw everyone they could see that day, so they decided they were ready to leave.

It was only about 2pm at that point, so we had the whole day ahead of us. We were hungry, so I thought we should go back to DTD and get something to eat. I wanted to go to Wolfgang Puck, but the kids wanted to see a movie. What? Spending time in a movie theater when we had all of DTD to explore?!? Yup. The kids saw that there was a Fork & Screen option for the AMC theater, so they begged to do that! We ended up getting tickets for Non-Stop and we were directed to go to the movie theater that was all of the way at the other end of DTD! We passed by so many places where I wanted to shop, but we needed to get to the theater! I didn’t realize that it was assigned seating, so we just sat where we wanted… until a family came up with the usher to let us know that we were in the wrong seats! It wasn’t a big deal at all, but it didn’t stop me from feeling embarrassed! The attendant who sold us the tickets didn’t say anything about assigned seating! I would think that we would have the option of choosing our own seats at the time of purchase. Luckily, our seats were almost directly across the aisle from where we sat originally, so we still basically got the seats we wanted.

The waiter came up to us and took our drink orders and showed us how to use the call button. The kids and I took a few minutes to choose what to order. True decided on the Wings and Things Sampler: Our spicy buffalo chicken wings and golden cheese sticks partnered with onion loops and house-made potato chips, with ketchup, blue cheese and marinara sauce for dipping. I got the Loaded Potato Skins: Crispy potato skins covered in melted Cheddar and Jack cheese, topped with hickory bacon, sour cream and green onions. Coy was the only one of us who didn’t get an appetizer as a meal. He decided on the Thai Bang Shrimp Tacos: White corn tortillas layered together with southwest sauce and Cheddar Jack cheese, then topped with sweet and sour slaw and crunchy breaded shrimp drizzled with Thai bang sauce. Served with fresh tortilla chips and house-made salsa. The food was very good! I had to help True finish her onion loops and I think she may have taken one of my potato skins. Coy didn’t share his shrimp tacos with us but he said they were very good! It was interesting having a meal in a movie theater, but I didn’t like it that much. I am a very visual person when it comes to food, so I didn’t like that I couldn’t really see what I was eating. I feel like food tastes better when it looks good. I know, I am weird!

After the movie, we headed back to the resort, and True wanted to go to the pool again. It was our last night there, so I agreed. I think we got to the pool earlier on Sunday than we did on Saturday, but it was WAY colder on Sunday! True and I still had fun, but we were both freezing after we got out of the pool that time! She and I took showers and got dressed as Coy squeezed in more computer time! We were able to pull him off of the computer with promises of dinner!

I knew exactly what I wanted to do that night. I wanted to watch Wishes from the beach at the Poly! We drove up to Poly and there was construction going on in the parking lot, so we couldn’t find a place to park! No worries! I realized we could just park at a different resort and do the Monorail Loop! We ended up parking at the Contemporary and we walked in to the main building. Oh, I love that resort. One day, I will stay there again! The kids asked if we could stay there on the next trip… Maybe one day… We hopped on the Monorail and made our way to the TTC. I was so sad that we couldn’t get off at the TTC and go to Magic Kingdom! I don’t think I will ever go to Orlando again without going to Disney World too! The next stop was the Polynesian, so we got off of the Monorail. We strolled around for a few minutes, but then we went to Captain Cooks and ordered our meals. I got the Aloha Pork Sandwich, Coy got the Pulled Pork Nachos and True got the Chicken Caesar Salad. True was the only one who liked her food. Mine was OK, but not great. Coy barely touched his food. I’m getting ahead of myself though, because I should mention that we took our food outside to eat at one of the tables on the beach. So, even though Coy and I didn’t really like our food, all three of us loved sitting out on the beach to watch the fireworks as we ate! I’ll wrap up this post with a few mediocre pictures of the fireworks







After Wishes, the kids and I completed the Monorail Loop to get back to the car at the Contemporary. We drove back to Pop and went to bed since we had to leave for home the next day. I really need a trip journal because I can’t remember the next morning at all! I know we packed and we went to get a few souvenirs from the gift shop. We had a lot of fun on that trip and I can’t wait to do it again next year! Although I really REALLY missed going to the parks, it was very cool to do things that weren’t Disney related. I definitely want to explore the other Orlando area attractions more with my kids on our next trip. The kids and I had a wonderful time over the long weekend trip and we can’t wait to go to Playlist Live again in February!

 

[Victoriasmom98]

First of all, while I love this update (after all, I’M in it!!) I noticed you have yet to reveal the cliffhanger. Now, I believe that this kind of information is necessary and that even though you’ve done a nice long update, in three parts, no less, you must reveal the cliffhanger!!! Again, I’m waiting!!!!

I really don’t enjoy swimming in a cold pool. Even my home pool at 75 degrees is freaking cold to me, although I’ve made a conscious effort in the last few weeks to use our pool as Peter’s put so much work into it. I’m definitely going to buy a solar pool heater for next year. Yes, Peter made a “redneck” version but really, it doesn’t make a huge difference. We didn’t even swim one day in the HDpool. I did swim at the Caribe, though. I’m really going to miss that hotel next year. I love the whole “suite” thing, but it’ll be ok. I need to give this hotel a chance. It was very considerate of True to let you take a hot shower first. She’s such a good kid! That’s awesome news about her swimming skill. Good for her!! I did not like the POP food court at all. Maybe it was Victoria’s attitude or something, but I just did not enjoy POP. I had been so excited before we stayed there and ended up being disappointed.

Oh Erin, please, please, please can we go to Ripley’s one night in February!!! I love freaking stuff like that, and since you are driving, this would be awesome!!! PPPLLLEEEAAAASSSEEEEE!!!! Hey, is there any ghost stuff there we could visit? Oh man!! That would be AWESOME!! I know you’re not busy at work, so go ahead and do some research to see if you can find something!! Ok, I’ve got to ask….did you touch the fertility statue? C’mon, let us know the real truth!!!

Yep, we would have talked so much! We all need to definitely have a margarita by the pool in February! It was so awesome to meet you! I tell you I feel closer to some of my Disfriends than I do with real life friends I see everyday! A movie theater when you are in DTD?? Are you nuts?? But hey, if that’s what the kids wanted, then so be it. I like to see what I’m eating, too, so I don’t know if I’d be comfortable eating at a theater. Weird. We now have assigned seats at our local theater. I don’t like that. I want to sit where I want to sit and not have to decide until I see where those seats are going to be. Lucky you got to watch Wishes from Poly! I’ve always wanted to do that but have yet to do so. Maybe in February??? We may even try to do that in 2 weeks!! That’s right, I said TWO WEEKS!!! I can’t wait!!!!

 

[Tink-erin-belle]

Ok, spill about the new man, Erin!!! You simply cannot leave off like that and not come back for weeks!!! Hello!!! I'm waiting! So, have you done your online check-in? Let us know about the fast passes!! Geez, you sure do make us wait for info, don't you!! Ok, well, I'll be waiting!!!!

First of all, while I love this update (after all, I’M in it!!) I noticed you have yet to reveal the cliffhanger. Now, I believe that this kind of information is necessary and that even though you’ve done a nice long update, in three parts, no less, you must reveal the cliffhanger!!! Again, I’m waiting!!!!

Ann! Now that I am finally done with Playlist Live, I will finally be able to update about the upcoming trip and the new man I’m going to try to write it up today because I need to update you all on what I have done so far. And I think that I realized that the reason that I haven’t done a lot of planning for this trip is because I haven’t been writing much on the PTR! It goes hand in hand! If I am writing more frequently, I have to plan more so that I have something to write about! It’s a vicious cycle!

But no, Ann, no new man update yet!

I’ll see if I can at least write up a little something about him and post before I leave work today, but I’m not making any promises!

 

[Twoboysnmygirl]

So did you get your Playlist tickets yet?!?!?

It's too bad that the lines were so bad, they SAY they have a new system for 2015 that will fix that, but we'll see...

I'm freaking out about money right now, but we did get our tickets and have our room reserved! My friend, Mary Alice, is going to drive down with us. She's one of the girl's moms and we decided we just couldn't pull off the price of airfare, so driving it is! So it will be me, my friend, and the three girls. They are pretty excited and already have their favorites and ideas of who they want to see first and people they can live without seeing. I really hope they fix the issues from last year though, if Savannah doesn't get to meet Tyler Oakley (really the ONLY person on her MUST meet list) she's going to be so upset. He's really the whole reason she's going, I think she would pass on the trip all together if he weren't going, and he's so popular, I hope we can find a way for her to meet him!

 

[Victoriasmom98]

:I’ll see if I can at least write up a little something about him and post before I leave work today, but I’m not making any promises!

Oh, lookie here......it's 3:50pm and Erin hasn't updated even a "little bit" of something about the new man......YOU PROMISED!!!!

 

[Tink-erin-belle]

So did you get your Playlist tickets yet?!?!?

It's too bad that the lines were so bad, they SAY they have a new system for 2015 that will fix that, but we'll see...

I'm freaking out about money right now, but we did get our tickets and have our room reserved! My friend, Mary Alice, is going to drive down with us. She's one of the girl's moms and we decided we just couldn't pull off the price of airfare, so driving it is! So it will be me, my friend, and the three girls. They are pretty excited and already have their favorites and ideas of who they want to see first and people they can live without seeing. I really hope they fix the issues from last year though, if Savannah doesn't get to meet Tyler Oakley (really the ONLY person on her MUST meet list) she's going to be so upset. He's really the whole reason she's going, I think she would pass on the trip all together if he weren't going, and he's so popular, I hope we can find a way for her to meet him!

I haven't gotten the Playlist tickets yet, because I'm still paying off this trip. I have, however, made the ADRs for the Disney trip we're taking immediately after Playlist! I have my priorities together! I really hope they do have a better line system this year. I saw that they aren't doing the line passes for 2015. True was upset she couldn't meet Tyler Oakley, but at least they got to sort of see his interview. If she doesn't get too see Joey Graceffa this time, I think she'll lose it! We had way more success meeting people while just walking around. The lines were the worst!

Oh, lookie here......it's 3:50pm and Erin hasn't updated even a "little bit" of something about the new man......YOU PROMISED!!!!

I worked on the update yesterday at work and I should have something to post by the afternoon, OK? Just kidding! I'm excited to tell you all about him

 

[Tink-erin-belle]

WARNING: This is a little long, but I have a lot to say! I should be back to the regular scheduled PTR updates this weekend! I have so much to tell you guys about our plans!

So, you want to hear about the new man, huh? Well, technically, he is an old man. As in “The Old Man”. At least, that was what I called him in a previous trip report. Yep, we got back together! In case you are new to my PTRs or in case you can’t remember what happened three years ago when I was first with him, I’ll tell the story again.

This isn’t the first time the Old Man and I have gotten back together. He was my first real boyfriend when I was in high school. I was 18 and he was 21 and we met at a mutual friend’s birthday party. We dated all spring and he went to my prom with me. We dated all summer, but then I went away to college. After I was gone for about a month, he proposed to me. I was young, dumb and romantic, so I said yes! Unfortunately, I wasn’t faithful to him when I was away at college and he found out, so we broke up. I felt horrible! At the same time, I was 18. I didn’t realize that I barely knew myself at that time and that I had no business marrying someone. I think he was being young, dumb and romantic, too, because he was crazy for proposing to me! That doesn’t excuse me from cheating on him, but neither of us were at a point where we could be in a committed relationship.

The Old Man and I kept in touch over the years and we remained friends. We never dated again, but we always had chemistry. When I lived in Atlanta, he was stationed in Savannah, and I went to his Military Ball with him. He visited me in Atlanta a few times, too. Nothing came of it, though. Then I moved back to Virginia and ended up with my now ex-husband. After he left the Army, he moved back to Virginia, too. We saw each other here and there as friends, but nothing ever happened. He ended up getting married to someone else and I ended up getting married. We had kids and lost touch with each other. Although, it is funny because we still had mutual friends and one day my friend and I took my two year old son and his three year old daughter to the aquarium! That was weird!

So, about five or six years ago, he friended me on Facebook and we went out to lunch. I was seeing someone else at the time, so nothing happened between us. I think he was dating someone at that point, too. I can’t remember, but what I do remember is that we talked and felt so comfortable around each other. After that lunch, I really wanted to make sure that we were always friends because he meant so much to me. We kept in touch over Facebook and we kept inviting each other to things like our birthday parties, but the timing was never right. It seemed like the timing wasn’t right for us for over twenty years! He was able to make it to my birthday party about four years ago, and we had so much fun! That was the first time he had seen my brothers and sisters since the early 90’s, so he was feeling pretty old seeing that they were all over 21 at that point! One of our mutual friends (who is our age) was hitting on my sister! She’s 12 years younger than me, dude! Eww! I thought I would have to put a stop on my friend hitting on my baby sister, but she shut him down! We all went to Denny’s after the birthday party and we just sat around talking and eating bacon

Anyway, the birthday party was a lot of fun, but the Old Man and I didn’t see each other again until almost two years later when he asked me out to dinner. This was October of 2011. We dated ever since then, and I bragged on the boards about how great it was to finally date a single full-time parent because he actually understood a lot of things that I was going through. I was so happy because things were going so smoothly and we fell into a nice rhythm with each other. We always had something to talk about. We always had fun together – even if we were just watching TV on the couch. We spent whole weekends with each other and even went on a little weekend getaway to a cabin in Southwest Virginia. I wrote a mini TR about it in my last PTR, if anyone is interested. Anyway, he treated me nicely and respectfully… until he didn’t. OK, I can laugh about it now, but I was pretty upset about it back then.

It was the beginning of February, and even though we had been dating for five months, we never made it official. I wasn’t seeing anyone else and he wasn’t seeing anyone else, but we never labeled each other Boyfriend and Girlfriend. We hadn’t introduced each other to the kids (even though I technically knew his daughter when she was three ) and I usually only went over to his house when his kids weren’t there. One night, his daughter came home and he and I were watching TV, so he introduced us. Later, he said that he didn’t want to introduce me yet and he wished that he didn’t! What?!? I was SO PISSED!!! But I didn’t go off on him like a crazy person – as much as I wanted to – and I just asked him why. So he went into this long explanation about how he enjoyed being with me but it was hard for him to let go of the fact that I cheated on him in college. OK, obviously the man has the right to feel his feelings, but jeez louise! That was when I was a kid! There’s no way to say this without making it sound like I think it was OK that I cheated on him, because it wasn’t, and I know that he had every right to have trust issues with me. But I thought that we were past that because we had been friends for so long and we were dating again. On the other hand, I have trust issues in general, so I can understand that those feelings can linger if the person who betrayed your trust is the one you have to try to trust again. We had a long talk and I tried to make him understand that I wasn’t the same person I was when I was a teenager.

Well, the issue kept coming up over the next few weeks and he developed a little bit of a bad attitude. He used to get attitudes when we were younger, too, and it seemed like he was headed back in that direction. See? I can’t let things go, either! Seriously, though, he used to get really impatient when we first dated, but I never saw that again as we grew into adults. So, it wasn’t impatience that I was seeing, but just a funky mood. He would get a little snippy, and that annoyed the crap out of me! It all came to a head by the end of February and I had to end it. He was moody and he wouldn’t tell me why. We weren’t fighting, but we weren’t having fun either. I think we could have worked things out if we could have just talked about it, but for some reason he was unwilling to talk. I was heartbroken because I lost the man in my life and I lost a friend. He tried to get back in contact with me a few months later, but I was still angry and sad about how things didn’t work out, so I kind of told him off Really, there was no “kind of” about it! I went off on him. Over text. It wasn’t pretty

I went on a couple of terrible first dates with other guys, but I didn’t have a relationship again until that fiasco with Captain America! Then I ended that and started dating the man-child, Squanto. That didn’t work out, either, but that is a whole other novel-long update that I won’t make you all suffer through! I can sum it up in two words: Mommy Issues. I dated a guy who was a lot of fun, but we just didn’t have any chemistry, so it fizzled out after a few weeks.

I was happy just living my single life. After all, I have an awesome time with my kids when I am at home and I have a fulfilling job that keeps me busy… and I have Netflix Then the Old Man texts me out of the blue in early June, “Hello, Erin. How are you? Hope all is well. I know you hate me, but I just wanted to say hello.” What??? After two years??? I can’t say that I wasn’t happy to hear from him, though, because I was. I texted him back that I could never hate him and that he would always have a special place in my heart. We texted back and forth that night – asking about each other’s kids and catching up on a few things – then he apologized to me. I wasn’t expecting that at all! He said he was sorry about how he treated me when we were together. He said he was so excited to have me in his life back then, and that he was getting into a settling down mode with me… and that scared him. I knew it! I even wrote in my old PTR that I thought he was scared because we were getting so close so fast! I love being right! Anyway, he then said that he was sure that some lucky man had me now and that he hoped that man was treating me better than he did. Aww! I am such a sucker, because that made my heart melt! I told him that I appreciated that he apologized and I recognized that we might have been moving fast when we dated two years ago. It’s hard not to move fast when you have known someone for half of your life! So then he asked me if I was seeing someone. I said no, but I didn’t know if I could deal with being heartbroken over him again. He didn’t reply back that night, but early the next morning he texted back that he fell asleep. Maybe he did, but I think he was just composing the perfect text in his head! He said that he wanted to let go of the past and start off with trust. Boy, he might be mad at me if he knew I was telling you guys all of this! Talk about trust issues! But I thought these texts were sweet – even if I wasn’t willing to give him another chance. I told him that I was afraid to start something back up with him again. He said that he had been thinking about me all of this time, but he was afraid to reach out to me because he thought I hated him. I said that maybe we could go to dinner or something one night and just see what happened.

We texted back and forth for a few weeks, but I kept putting off going out with him. I was really nervous. But we were having such great conversations over text that I finally decided that I was ready to have a conversation in person. My company allows us to take every other Friday off in the summer, so one Friday at the end of June I asked him if he wanted to have lunch. We met at a place near his job and it was almost as if the last two years melted away. As usual, we connected instantly. We had a nice lunch and an even better conversation. Lunch was over all too soon, so he walked me to my car and he noticed that I was driving the same type of car he had. I totally forgot the type of car he had! That was so weird! He pointed his car out in the parking lot and they looked almost exactly alike – except for the paint color – because my car is a year older than his. No, I didn’t subconsciously buy the Old Man’s car! I got that car because a friend of mine was selling his car when I needed a car. But the coincidence was so strange! So we ended up talking about that for a few minutes. He ended up being almost late to work! Why did we spend so much time talking about cars? Because we were in that awkward moment when we didn’t know if we were going to kiss goodbye or what. The tension was definitely there. I didn’t want to make the first move because I was still hesitant about starting a relationship with him again. After a lull in the conversation, he opened his arms to me and we hugged each other a little too long We finally let go and went about our days. He texted me later in the day and told me how much he enjoyed seeing me. We texted back and forth for two more weeks until I had another day off to have lunch with him. Same routine: great lunch date, awkward but nice conversation by the car, and a long hug! Later, he texted me that he wanted to kiss me! I asked him why he didn’t, and he said it was because he was trying to be respectful of taking things slow.

A funny story that he told me on that date was that he and our mutual friends used to be attracted to my mom! Believe me, he wasn’t the first man to tell me that they were attracted to my mom! I have always had mostly male friends and almost all of them admitted to having the hots for her! I even had one friend who was really excited when he found out that my mom and dad were having problems, because he thought he had a shot at her! It was too funny! May parents worked it out, so I never had to call my friend “step-dad” Anyway, I told my mom what the Old Man said and she got a kick out of it! I realized that back when the Old Man and I dated the first time, she was the age that I am now! Time flies. Anyway, I joked around with him about thinking my mom was pretty, and he said that my mom may be beautiful, but he chose me! Aww! Then he said that he wanted us to be in a relationship again because he chose me to be with for the rest of his life! What??? I was stunned that he was being so forthcoming with his feelings when he had been so reserved about talking about that when we were dating two years ago. I still wasn’t ready for all of that yet because I was still being cautious with him.

We decided to go on a real date the next weekend, so we went to the movies and had dinner after. At dinner, we talked and we were very honest with each other about where we stood. He apologized again for how things went two years ago and he said that he wished we could have worked it out back then, but he was so nervous about how close we had gotten in just a few months. He realized that he made a huge mistake. I could go on and on about what he was saying. It was just a very eye-opening conversation and it made me change my mind about dating him again. I wanted to give us another chance. We made plans to see each other again the following weekend and – the thing that really sealed the deal for me – he wanted me to come with him and his kids to the county fair. He wanted me to actually be around his kids and spend the day with them, which was a complete 180 from when he didn’t even want me to meet his kids! So, that meant a lot to me because I knew he was serious about making this relationship work. Oh, and I finally got my kiss goodnight, and that was all I could think about on my drive home!

A few days later, he said that he wanted to make our relationship official. Not just dating – he wanted us to be boyfriend and girlfriend. Gosh, that sounds silly when I write it out like that! Anyway, I was shocked because I just wanted to date him and see where things took us. I was still a little hesitant because I didn’t want things to move as fast as they did two years ago. But the romantic side of me said that I just needed to go for it! This was a man that I have had in my life in one way or another for 23 years. Our friendship has always been there and we have always had a great connection. The timing just was never right. I think we could have been together since two years ago if he hadn’t messed up and if I had given him a chance to apologize when he reached back out to me. But, things happen for a reason and maybe this happened so that he could appreciate what he had in me and so that he could be ready to be in a real relationship with me. He said that he would always be honest with me and respectful of me, and he asked that I let him know if I was ever unhappy. He truly wants to make this work. I was so nervous – and I still am nervous – but I said yes! We have been officially together now for a little over a month! He and I have been having so much fun and we have been so happy. I have spent a lot of time getting to know his kids and they are really great people. Since I have spent time with him and his kids, I have been able to see his parenting style, too, and he truly is a good dad. He hasn’t had a chance to spend time with my kids yet, but I am hoping to do something with all of them next weekend. I think his kids and my kids will get along very well.

The Old Man even said that he wished that he and I had a chance to have kids together. Now, that doesn’t necessarily mean that he wants to have more kids and that was an issue when we dated before, but I am 41 now and the chances of me having more kids is probably pretty slim anyway. But, Ann, to answer at least one of the questions that you asked above: YES! Yes I did rub the fertility statues! So, he and I are taking things slow and just enjoying being with each other. Who knows what the future will bring? I’ll end this post with a recycled picture of us when we went to the cabin in South West Virginia. I am recycling a man, so I can recycle a picture, too, right?

 

[Victoriasmom98]

Oh, I remember him and that mini trip report!!! Well, not that you’ve asked for my advice, but I’ll give it anyways (I know, I’m a giver!!). Protect your heart, but be open to the experience. Like you said, you’ve known this guy for 23 years already, so I don’t think he’s suddenly going to surprise you with something you can’t handle. Your kids come first and he must realize that. It’s a mighty fine line to walk between your children and your man who is not their father. Ask me, I can tell you that one. But I got very, very lucky with Peter and it sounds as though you are on the road to being very, very happy, too. I don’t remember you telling us that you were actually engaged to him at one time. Did you tell us that?? Hmmmmm…….And I agree…..we are all different people than we were at 18years old. Let me just say it now, my 18 year old self was a bit of a “less than faithful to one person” person myself. Just putting it out there!
Yes, bacon does make everything better, doesn’t it??!! Especially at Denny’s. Good choice. I totally agree about Netflix. Oh, how much happiness is wrapped up in $8 per month!!! Yep!!! Netflix introduced me to Doctor Who and I am forever grateful!! As for trust issues, nope Erin, I believe you are the only one who has those!! HA!!!!! It took at least 2 years AFTER Peter and I were married for me to trust that he wasn’t going to leave and there are days I still don’t know if he will. Crazy, I know. Awwweeee you two are now going steady!! How cute!! No, really, I think it’s wonderful!!!
OMG YOU RUBBED THE FERTILITY STATUE!!! ERIN!!!! OMG!!!!
Ok, well thank you so much for that update. It was worth all that waiting I did!!!!

 

[Twoboysnmygirl]

OMG, I really loved reading that whole thing Erin!!! I'm so happy for you and I completely remember him! I'm so excited for you!

 

[ardent2]

Wow, sounds like you've been having a great time! And the pictures you took are wonderful, including your selfies .

I joined this board 4 years ago and have been lurking, but saw that you are a fan of the song selfie so thought I'd chime in. It's such a great song!! I had the hardest time figuring out what that song meant, until I saw this hilarious video explaining what the selfie song means - thought you might enjoy it.

As for the Old Man - it's great that something positive is happening! Hopefully things will go awesome. It's a great picture

Anyway, keep rocking Disney and take lots more #selfies!

 

[Tink-erin-belle]

It’s about time for an update, huh? We are 44 days away from the Universal part of the trip and 46 days away from Disney! On Saturday, I finished paying off the Cabana Bay package. To recap, we are arriving on Wednesday night, going to the parks on Thursday, and checking out on Friday. I’ve been doing a lot of research for the Universal parks because it is practically brand new to me. I haven’t been to Universal in over 20 years! So, after I paid off that portion of the trip, I decided to make a change to the Disney portion since I had a little left over in my budget. We are still going to Art of Animation for Friday and Saturday nights, but I changed our reservation from Pop on Sunday!

Where are we going? I’ll give you a hint! The theme of this resort is “Laissez les bons temps rouler!” Yes, we are going to Port Orleans French Quarter! According to Google Translate, Laissez les bons temps rouler means, “Let the good times roll!” I took Spanish in high school, not French, so I had to double check I am so excited to go to a resort where we have never been! I was fine with going back to Pop since we really liked it there, but I like trying new things, too, so I was glad that I had the opportunity to book French Quarter. I’m looking forward to going to Sassagoula Floatworks and trying beignets! Do you know I have never had one? Neither have the kids! I got True a Princess and the Frog cookbook a few years ago, but we never tried that recipe. I can’t wait to try a beignet!

I can’t wait to try a lot of new food! Between the ADRs that I made, and the cool food booths at F&W, I think the kids and I are going be honest to goodness Foodies when we get back home! True and I already started making a list of food that we want to try when we get there – and that isn’t even including the F&W stuff! We will probably just get one of each thing at a food booth and split it between the three of us. That way, if one of us doesn’t like something, it isn’t wasted because the other two can finish it. Or if we do like something, we can always go back for more. We only have two dinner ADRs on our park days, so that leaves five of our evenings open to hop over to EPCOT to go to F&W for a smorgasbord dinner if we like! I think realistically, we will only hop to EP three times for F&W. The kids and I love food, but not as much as we like touring the parks We’ll see. All of this food talk is making me hungry! Thank goodness it is just about lunch time…

 

[Tink-erin-belle]

I really don’t enjoy swimming in a cold pool. Even my home pool at 75 degrees is freaking cold to me, although I’ve made a conscious effort in the last few weeks to use our pool as Peter’s put so much work into it. I’m definitely going to buy a solar pool heater for next year. Yes, Peter made a “redneck” version but really, it doesn’t make a huge difference. We didn’t even swim one day in the HDpool. I did swim at the Caribe, though. I’m really going to miss that hotel next year. I love the whole “suite” thing, but it’ll be ok. I need to give this hotel a chance. It was very considerate of True to let you take a hot shower first. She’s such a good kid! That’s awesome news about her swimming skill. Good for her!! I did not like the POP food court at all. Maybe it was Victoria’s attitude or something, but I just did not enjoy POP. I had been so excited before we stayed there and ended up being disappointed.

I liked the selection that they had at the Pop food court, but looking back on it, I guess the food was pretty hit or miss. I'm looking forward to trying the AoA food court on this trip. But I did like Pop as a whole and I loved having a preferred room! Being so close to the pool was awesome. I wish I had a pool in my backyard like you!

Oh Erin, please, please, please can we go to Ripley’s one night in February!!! I love freaking stuff like that, and since you are driving, this would be awesome!!! PPPLLLEEEAAAASSSEEEEE!!!! Hey, is there any ghost stuff there we could visit? Oh man!! That would be AWESOME!! I know you’re not busy at work, so go ahead and do some research to see if you can find something!! Ok, I’ve got to ask….did you touch the fertility statue? C’mon, let us know the real truth!!!

Yes! Let's do Ripley's! It'll be so much fun! I did a little research about haunted stuff in Orlando, but I couldn't find anything cool yet. I'll keep looking!

Yep, we would have talked so much! We all need to definitely have a margarita by the pool in February! It was so awesome to meet you! I tell you I feel closer to some of my Disfriends than I do with real life friends I see everyday! A movie theater when you are in DTD?? Are you nuts?? But hey, if that’s what the kids wanted, then so be it. I like to see what I’m eating, too, so I don’t know if I’d be comfortable eating at a theater. Weird. We now have assigned seats at our local theater. I don’t like that. I want to sit where I want to sit and not have to decide until I see where those seats are going to be. Lucky you got to watch Wishes from Poly! I’ve always wanted to do that but have yet to do so. Maybe in February??? We may even try to do that in 2 weeks!! That’s right, I said TWO WEEKS!!! I can’t wait!!!!

I can't wait until February! I definitely feel closer to some DISers than some people I know IRL, too! I guess it's because we have so much in common and we can share our love of all things Disney! Coy asked me if we could go back to the movie theater on our next trip, but I really don't want to use our downtime by sitting on front of a screen. We do enough of that at home! We have a few of those fork and screen theaters in the area, anyway, so we can do that some other time. It's weird picking out your seats in advance, isn't it? And it's kind of disorienting for me to eat in the dark. I don't like it. Even though we did eat in the dark when we watched Wishes at the Poly. The view was really awesome! I hope you can do it on this trip! I'm so excited for you because you're about to be in the World soon!

Oh, I remember him and that mini trip report!!! Well, not that you’ve asked for my advice, but I’ll give it anyways (I know, I’m a giver!!). Protect your heart, but be open to the experience. Like you said, you’ve known this guy for 23 years already, so I don’t think he’s suddenly going to surprise you with something you can’t handle. Your kids come first and he must realize that. It’s a mighty fine line to walk between your children and your man who is not their father. Ask me, I can tell you that one. But I got very, very lucky with Peter and it sounds as though you are on the road to being very, very happy, too. I don’t remember you telling us that you were actually engaged to him at one time. Did you tell us that?? Hmmmmm…….And I agree…..we are all different people than we were at 18years old. Let me just say it now, my 18 year old self was a bit of a “less than faithful to one person” person myself. Just putting it out there!

Thanks for the advice, Ann. I'm not sure if I mentioned that we were engaged when I was 18. I might have left that tidbit out before because it was so crazy! I'm doing my best to just enjoy this experience and see where it takes us. On the one hand, I'm a romantic and I have a tendency to get caught up in the excitement of it all. On the other hand, I can imagine all of the ways we can go down in flames! In the meantime, I’ll just keep pinning to my wedding Pinterest board!

Yes, bacon does make everything better, doesn’t it??!! Especially at Denny’s. Good choice. I totally agree about Netflix. Oh, how much happiness is wrapped up in $8 per month!!! Yep!!! Netflix introduced me to Doctor Who and I am forever grateful!! As for trust issues, nope Erin, I believe you are the only one who has those!! HA!!!!! It took at least 2 years AFTER Peter and I were married for me to trust that he wasn’t going to leave and there are days I still don’t know if he will. Crazy, I know. Awwweeee you two are now going steady!! How cute!! No, really, I think it’s wonderful!!!

Netflix is the best! Second only to bacon! I love Netflix for the British TV! Doctor Who is so cool and I love that my kids are into it, too. I’m trying to get the Old Man into that, and he has gotten me into Arrow. Do you watch that? I am still on season one. Anyway, if he and I do make it in the long run, I think I will probably be like you and still wonder for a long time if we will actually make it. Hopefully, we will be as lucky as you and Peter are

OMG YOU RUBBED THE FERTILITY STATUE!!! ERIN!!!! OMG!!!!
Ok, well thank you so much for that update. It was worth all that waiting I did!!!!

I totally rubbed the fertility statue!!!

OMG, I really loved reading that whole thing Erin!!! I'm so happy for you and I completely remember him! I'm so excited for you!

Thanks, Karen! I’m glad you liked reading my novel! I’m pretty excited, too! I am even talking to him about going back to the cabin this fall

Wow, sounds like you've been having a great time! And the pictures you took are wonderful, including your selfies .
I joined this board 4 years ago and have been lurking, but saw that you are a fan of the song selfie so thought I'd chime in. It's such a great song!! I had the hardest time figuring out what that song meant, until I saw this hilarious video explaining what the selfie song means - thought you might enjoy it.
As for the Old Man - it's great that something positive is happening! Hopefully things will go awesome. It's a great picture
Anyway, keep rocking Disney and take lots more #selfies!

Isn’t #selfie a fun song? That video is funny! Thanks for the complements on the pictures! My kids and I do have a lot of fun and we can’t wait to go on this trip

 

[Tink-erin-belle]

We are 30 days out! The kids and I are so excited! I don’t have anything to update right now because I have just been so busy with work and life in general, but I just wanted to celebrate being so close to our trip!

I did get my first bit of pixie dust, though! Ann – my DIS friend who turned into a real life friend – sent me this adorable diary to use as my trip journal!



I love it! It was so thoughtful because I had such a hard time remembering what the kids and I did during our Playlist Live trip that I said I was going to have to do a trip journal this time. I also like that it has a lock and key, just like my diaries from when I was little! And Ann wrote a little note for me inside. Thank you, Ann!

I just realized that being 30 days out means that I have only 20 days to pack our box of clothes and goodies to ship to AoA! I have to make a list of everything I need to pack and everything that needs to go on our personal bags for our flight. I haven’t even done our touring plan for UO. This trip is really sneaking up on me because I just have no time to do all of the obsessive planning I normally do! I know it’ll all come together in the next couple of weeks though! OK, let me get back to work so that maybe I can do some actual trip planning later this afternoon…

 

[Twoboysnmygirl]

Whoohooo! 30 days!!!!!!! That journal is adorable! How sweet!

 

[Victoriasmom98]

You are very, very welcomed for the diary. It was just a little something so you can remember your trip better. Would you believe I didn't keep one at all this trip?! I just never found the time to do so. There was so little down time and we were either at the parks, at dinner, or in the hot tub. I do have over 1071 pictures (including Photopass) that will help me remember. I have a scrap day on Saturday but there is no way I will be able to get the pics developed by then. I'll just have to work on daily life stuff. That was so nice of you to say I turned into a real life friend. Aweeee....I'm excited to tell you guys all about my trip, but I've got so much to catch up on right now. I did get the laundry all done and suitcases all emptied, but Cutie came home with fleas, so we are dealing with that and she misses the dogs she was with. I'm still on that vacation high, though. It's such a nice feeling!!!!

 

[Victoriasmom98]

Whoohooo! 30 days!!!!!!! That journal is adorable! How sweet!

I am, aren't I!!!!

 

[Tink-erin-belle]

Did you guys see my post before this one?!? I think it got overlooked because it was on the previous page. Big update!!!

Whoohooo! 30 days!!!!!!! That journal is adorable! How sweet!

I’m so excited! Isn’t the journal cute? True is so jealous of me

You are very, very welcomed for the diary. It was just a little something so you can remember your trip better. Would you believe I didn't keep one at all this trip?! I just never found the time to do so. There was so little down time and we were either at the parks, at dinner, or in the hot tub. I do have over 1071 pictures (including Photopass) that will help me remember. I have a scrap day on Saturday but there is no way I will be able to get the pics developed by then. I'll just have to work on daily life stuff. That was so nice of you to say I turned into a real life friend. Aweeee....I'm excited to tell you guys all about my trip, but I've got so much to catch up on right now. I did get the laundry all done and suitcases all emptied, but Cutie came home with fleas, so we are dealing with that and she misses the dogs she was with. I'm still on that vacation high, though. It's such a nice feeling!!!!

It’s a good thing you took so many pictures! That is the only way I remember things, too, if I don’t write them down! It sounds like you had a fun and busy trip! Fleas, though? Oh no! I hope Cutie doesn’t have to deal with that for too long! Since you are dealing with that, and still getting settled in from your trip, I won’t bug you for a TR…yet!!!

 

[Victoriasmom98]

It’s about time for an update, huh? We are 44 days away from the Universal part of the trip and 46 days away from Disney! On Saturday, I finished paying off the Cabana Bay package. To recap, we are arriving on Wednesday night, going to the parks on Thursday, and checking out on Friday. I’ve been doing a lot of research for the Universal parks because it is practically brand new to me. I haven’t been to Universal in over 20 years! So, after I paid off that portion of the trip, I decided to make a change to the Disney portion since I had a little left over in my budget. We are still going to Art of Animation for Friday and Saturday nights, but I changed our reservation from Pop on Sunday!

Where are we going? I’ll give you a hint! The theme of this resort is “Laissez les bons temps rouler!” Yes, we are going to Port Orleans French Quarter! According to Google Translate, Laissez les bons temps rouler means, “Let the good times roll!” I took Spanish in high school, not French, so I had to double check I am so excited to go to a resort where we have never been! I was fine with going back to Pop since we really liked it there, but I like trying new things, too, so I was glad that I had the opportunity to book French Quarter. I’m looking forward to going to Sassagoula Floatworks and trying beignets! Do you know I have never had one? Neither have the kids! I got True a Princess and the Frog cookbook a few years ago, but we never tried that recipe. I can’t wait to try a beignet!

I can’t wait to try a lot of new food! Between the ADRs that I made, and the cool food booths at F&W, I think the kids and I are going be honest to goodness Foodies when we get back home! True and I already started making a list of food that we want to try when we get there – and that isn’t even including the F&W stuff! We will probably just get one of each thing at a food booth and split it between the three of us. That way, if one of us doesn’t like something, it isn’t wasted because the other two can finish it. Or if we do like something, we can always go back for more. We only have two dinner ADRs on our park days, so that leaves five of our evenings open to hop over to EPCOT to go to F&W for a smorgasbord dinner if we like! I think realistically, we will only hop to EP three times for F&W. The kids and I love food, but not as much as we like touring the parks We’ll see. All of this food talk is making me hungry! Thank goodness it is just about lunch time…

Hey Erin:

I am sooooo sorry I didn’t respond to this update. I actually read it when I was in Disney and I just don’t type more than one or two lines on my phone, so I apologize. You must have been bummed when none of us responded. I feel like a frog now! (Get it?? the Princess and the Frog reference?? I crack myself up!!) So, yes, this is fantastic news!! How come I never have any extra in my budget??!! We liked the French Quarter when we stayed there. It’s very compact and that’s a bonus to walk anywhere on the resort and you can even walk to Riverside, too. The pool was cute with the alligators! No, not real ones – just the statues! We loved the hot tub!! Even though we stayed there, I never got around to trying the beignets! I know, I know….how lame am I?? Would you do me a favor and lay out your plans? I can’t wrap my brain around where you are going to be and when. So, if I’m correct there’s now 3 resorts you are staying at?? That’s pretty cool, but I don’t think I could do it….I like staying put and not pack and unpack! Speaking of packing, I did some restocking of items needed for trips (new lipsticks, foundation, toothbrushes, etc.) for our trip to PlayList. I’m just keeping the suitcase under my bureau (I put risers under my bureau) since it will be February when I will take them out again. Why put the suitcase up in the closet when it’s only 5 short months away??!! OMG!!! It’s only 5 months away!! AND WE ARE GOING TO RIPLEYS!!! YOU PROMISED!!!! I really have to start squirrelling away the money now. Until we sell that danged house in Starks, I’m the one who is making the payments on DVC. It’s not bad, though. It’s $208 per month which I can afford, but it doesn’t leave much wiggle room for anything else. I may go down to a lower data plan from Verizon so I have more wiggle room. I’ll be paying off Kohl’s and Amazon credit card with this next paycheck (on Wednesday) and that will give me another $75 I can use to save up for Playlist and plane tickets. I’ve been toying with the idea “did we do the right thing” by signing up for DVC, but I know we did. I figure $208 per month (that includes the maintenance fees) x 12 months is $2496 and we spend more than that each year staying at moderates when we can now stay in a villa. Granted, I won’t be able to take advantage of Free Dining and my tickets aren’t included, but I can buy park tickets through Undercover Tourist and there’s a special rate for DVC’ers to pay for the DDP. So, even with those additional costs, I still think I’m breaking about even and have the ability to stay in a villa. And after 10 years the DVC is paid for and we still get 100 points added to our balance every year for 45 years. I know I made the right choice in the long run, but being this tight with the budget is freaking me out a bit.

Wow…..I just took over your PTR……sorry. I guess I just had to share this morning.