Doing WDW on my own again, a February 2012 PTR

[PhoenixStrength]

Those kittens are so adorable! I love the dress also. My friends wedding colors were cornflower blue from Davids Bridal and I loved it!

Aren't they? I'll be sad when they leave tomorrow, but glad they have great homes. The Cornflower blue is gorgeous. That was the first color she picked, then she decided on the Horizon for my gown.

OMG- those kittens are SOOOO cute!!!!
I really like the dresses & the colors. I can't believe you lost 20 pounds! Congratulations!
I love Dave & Buster's! You guys will have so much fun there.
Sounds like the whole weekend leading up to & including the wedding will be awesome. That is fantastic that they won their Honeymoon vacation!! I hope they have a wonderful time.

Thanks! I have actually lost a total of 28 lbs so far, but 8 of those were before I bought the dress. I'm trying to lose another 10-20 lbs still.

They were shocked to win the honeymoon cruise! They had been talking about taking one for their honeymoon before they won it, so it worked out perfectly.

 

[PittypatBR]

Awesome updates! What a great family you have. It sounds like everyone really pulls together and there is a lot of love. The shower was great, and how nice that you really pulled off the surprise. Y'all worked very hard!
Those are precious kittens, and that was a great stroke of luck to find them families so quickly.
Hope everything goes just as well for the bachelorette party and the wedding. Having your gown taken in is a pretty nice problem to have, after all! And it is pretty refreshing to hear of a bachelorette party that doesn't involve alcohol and male strippers. Sounds like much more fun your way.

 

[PhoenixStrength]

Awesome updates! What a great family you have. It sounds like everyone really pulls together and there is a lot of love. The shower was great, and how nice that you really pulled off the surprise. Y'all worked very hard!
Those are precious kittens, and that was a great stroke of luck to find them families so quickly.
Hope everything goes just as well for the bachelorette party and the wedding. Having your gown taken in is a pretty nice problem to have, after all! And it is pretty refreshing to hear of a bachelorette party that doesn't involve alcohol and male strippers. Sounds like much more fun your way.

Thanks! I am still shocked we kept it a surprise and it went off so well. And the kittens are precious!

I think the Bachelorette party will definitely be more fun than just a bar or strip club. Not really any of our style anyway.

 

[PhoenixStrength]

So, an actual Disney update this time! I said before that I am doing a Disney Planning Binder. I found the idea on this Dis thread:


[url='http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2115381]http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2115381[/url]


It serves two purposes really. It will help me keep everything organized while I'm at Disney, and it gives me something to do until then so I'm not going crazy waiting for February! Oh, and a third one, it will be a nice souvenir too!

I went to Staples and found a cute, red, half-size binder that will work perfectly. I wanted half-size so I can take it in my bag to the parks while I'm there. It is semi-flexible too, not rigid like most binders, which is also a plus. Lastly, the front and side had insert spaces so I could personalize it, which sold me. Here are a couple of pics of the front and the side, with the customization I did.

I got the image for the front insert, as well as a lot of the stuff inside, from Google Images. I also got Disney stickers to decorate inside, and Disney card paper, from Micheal's. Here is the inside when you first open it.

I like the clear pocket on the inside cover, and there is also one on the back cover. I have a map of Walt Disney World (also from Google Images) up front, then my dividers. My dividers are Travel Info, Budget, Dining, Resort, Tips and Info, Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Hollywood Studios, Animal Kingdom, Downtown Disney, Daily Itinerary, Mousecellaneous, and Trip Report. Here is the divider for Travel Info:

And a table for my Budget section:

Each of the sections has it's own pocket made from the Disney card stock that I got from Micheal's. It is not large, but can hold small things that I need for that section, like receipts or other pieces of paper I might need. Here's one of them:

As you see I decorated them further with some of the Disney stickers.

Each of the park sections, as well as DTD, have a map of the park, and an outline I made of the park hours, parade schedule and other info. Here is the one I made for Magic Kingdom.

I left a space at the end for the crowd level estimate from Touring Plans later.

Trip Reports has a lot of paper I lined so that when I'm taking a break, eating, waiting for a parade/ride/show/etc I can write down things that happen. That way I can't forget anything when I get back and start my TR!

Lastly, I created little cards from some of the leftover Disney card stock to give to Guest Relations whenever I run into a helpful CM. I made little stickers I put on one side with my information and the other side has lines to write who the CM was and what they did. I have several of them in the pockets for each park and DTD.

It's still a work in progress, and I have a lot more I want/need to do with it, but I though I would share it now since I have the basic stuff down. If anyone else wants to start one check out that thread, or feel free to ask me anything if I can help!

Hope everyone is having a good weekend!

 

[newmommy_2010]

I love your binder. I am making a full size one. Do you happen to have your sheets you used for park maps and things saved? I am looking for something like this to use for mine.

 

[PhoenixStrength]

I love your binder. I am making a full size one. Do you happen to have your sheets you used for park maps and things saved? I am looking for something like this to use for mine.

Thanks, glad to hear you are making one too! I have some of the things saved. Which specific things do you want, and I can send them to you if I still have them.

 

[newmommy_2010]

The park ones especially if you have them

 

[teekathepony]

Love the binder! I'm way too scatterbrained to make something like that work for me, I'm jealous of your organizational skills.

 

[PhoenixStrength]

The park ones especially if you have them

I have the images still, if you mean the maps. Do you want just them, or anything else too? PM me your email address and I can email them to you.

Love the binder! I'm way too scatterbrained to make something like that work for me, I'm jealous of your organizational skills.

Thanks. I am very organized, but it has it's downfall, as I feel the compulsion to organize everything!

 

[aprilisis]

I LOVE your binder! That is such an awesome idea!!

 

[PhoenixStrength]

I LOVE your binder! That is such an awesome idea!!

I wish I could take credit for the idea, but it is only because of that thread that I thought to make one! I'm making one for my trip to Utah/Best Friends too.

 

[PhoenixStrength]

Just wanted to say I hope everyone on the East Coast is okay after the earthquake. I am only 2 hours from the epicenter, and it was pretty scary here at my office. Thankfully no damage to my office, home or any of my family's home. There is a lot of damage to the high school I went to, the ceiling collapsed, and several buildings in the area.

 

[teekathepony]

FONT="Verdana"]Just wanted to say I hope everyone on the East Coast is okay after the earthquake. I am only 2 hours from the epicenter, and it was pretty scary here at my office. Thankfully no damage to my office, home or any of my family's home. There is a lot of damage to the high school I went to, the ceiling collapsed, and several buildings in the area.



[/FONT]

Scary stuff! I live under a rock and I get my news from the Dis so I'm off to google it now. Glad you and your loved ones are ok!

 

[mickeystoontown]

First off, glad to hear that you and your family are okay. I'd been scared to death had I been you.

Second, your binder is the cutest thing ever and I'm sure you're going to be putting it to good use.

 

[PhoenixStrength]

Scary stuff! I live under a rock and I get my news from the Dis so I'm off to google it now. Glad you and your loved ones are ok!

Thanks, it was a little crazy. The epicenter was in Virginia, but it was felt from North Carolina all the way north to Quebec!

First off, glad to hear that you and your family are okay. I'd been scared to death had I been you.

Second, your binder is the cutest thing ever and I'm sure you're going to be putting it to good use.

It was definitely scary, but it wasn't a really bad earthquake. It was mainly scary because A. We don't have earthquakes around here. Last one of this magnitude was in 1897! and B. Cell and Landline phones were down for a while afterward, so I had trouble making sure my family was ok. I think not knowing how everyone else was, was scarier than the actual earthquake.

I love my binder! It will definitely be used during my trip, and will make a nice souvenir for myself to look back on later.

 

[PhoenixStrength]

So, a quick cute update, and a Disney update.

First, I still have the 3 kittens that were left two weeks ago. Their homes are still going to take them, but they wound up having severe ear mites and needed to stay together for the moment for medication so they will be going home early next week. They are doing great though and are so much bigger already! I will try to get updates pictures of them, but they are so playful they won't stay still long enough for them!

In the meantime, I got 2 more kittens this afternoon. Our neighbor's boyfriend's co-worker found them in her backyard, apparently abandoned by their mother, since they haven't seen her for days now. They fed them for a few days, but couldn't keep them so I got them. They are 2 boys, about 4 weeks old, and I am calling them Itty and Bitty, as they are SMALL! Here is a picture of them. It is not very good, it was taken with my cell and Itty wouldn't stop moving, so it's a little blurry.

The smaller white and orange at the bottom is Bitty, and mostly orange at the top of the pic is Itty. They are doing well now, after they got baths. They were filthy and smelly, but are good now. My neighbor is trying to talk her grandmother into keeping them, but she is hesitant as they just lost their cat about 2 weeks ago to old age. I have a feeling they will take them though, but they will be here until then.

Now, onto the Disney news! I saw in a thread here on the Dis this afternoon that Disney released new dates for the Free Dining, and that it now starts a day earlier into my trip. I called and changed my reservations so I get Free QS Dining for 7 of the 10 nights now instead of just 6! So I have a 3 night reservation where I will pay out of pocket for food, and then 7 nights with the Free QS Dining Plan.

Hope everyone is having a good week. Everyone on the East Coast with me, stay safe this weekend with Irene here! I'm already dreading the foot or more of rain we are supposed to get, especially since we flooded 4 of the 7 days last week and the ground is still saturated. I know we will get bad flooding, but thankfully my parents have a generator and an RV, so even if we lose power, they will have some for us!

Oh, and is anyone else as excited as I am that Lion King is being re-released into theaters, and in 3D? I cannot wait to see it in a few weeks!

 

[teekathepony]

Awww, poor kitties. Glad you're looking after them now! They look adorable!

Good news on the Disney Dining front! 7 free days is better than 6!

 

[mickeystoontown]

Thanks for the update on the kittens and the new kitties. Sounds like they are all in good hands. I am such an animal freak and would have animals all around the house if I had any say in the matter.

I'm so happy that you were able to get the free dining for even more days! That's absolutely wonderful!

I will be thinking about you this weekend and hope that your family doesn't get hit too badly by Irene. Many hugs coming your way.

 

[PhoenixStrength]

Awww, poor kitties. Glad you're looking after them now! They look adorable!

Good news on the Disney Dining front! 7 free days is better than 6!

They are adorable! They haven't learned to eat on their own yet, so they have to be syringe fed 3 times a day, but are trying to learn how to eat watered down wet food.

And 7 days of free food is definitely better than 6. Every day I don't have to pay for food saves me money.

Thanks for the update on the kittens and the new kitties. Sounds like they are all in good hands. I am such an animal freak and would have animals all around the house if I had any say in the matter.

I'm so happy that you were able to get the free dining for even more days! That's absolutely wonderful!

I will be thinking about you this weekend and hope that your family doesn't get hit too badly by Irene. Many hugs coming your way.

I/We have fostered well over 200 cats and kittens at this point, and I know that we have to find homes for the ones we have now in order to have room for the next ones that need help. Otherwise I would keep them all too! Unfortunately we found out this afternoon that the guy who was supposed to take the two girls from the first group no longer can, so we have to find a home for them now too. But thankfully kittens usually don't take too long to find homes for. At least I hope not!

Thank you very much. Thankfully I have no where I have to go and nothing I have to do this weekend, so I will be in my house the whole time, riding it out. The only issue at all will be that I have to let my dog out for potty breaks, but at least my back yard is fenced so I can just let him out for breaks when it is not so bad out. I heard we are supposed to get it starting around 6pm on Saturday and it will last for about 24 hours. The cities on the Eastern Shore of MD right on the Atlantic have already had mandatory evacuations, and we have a voluntary, but won't be leaving since we aren't in too much danger. Our biggest problem will be flooding and power loss, which I have survived before and will again, I'm sure.

 

[PhoenixStrength]

Hope everyone is doing well, especially those who are on the East Coast with me! As of now we are still just getting steady rain and some wind, but nothing bad yet. It will be worse tonight and overnight.

Since there is nothing else to do I got some good pictures of the fosters I wanted to put up!

Just as a comparison, here are the older 3 kittens when I first got them 2.5 weeks ago:

Here they are now:

Singe, tailless female:

And playing wit a toy snake:

Twister (has her tail):

Believe it or not we clean that crate out every day, and they wreck it again within minutes!

Fireball, the tailless male:

Twister and Fireball hanging out together:

And then here are the 2 younger ones.

Bitty:

And Itty:

And here, for a size comparison, is Itty laying on my foot. He doesn't even cover half of it!

I also got some good pictures of my pets

Phoenix

Turk

Jag and Sweetie

Jynx

They all look pretty calm, but don't let it fool you! They are all following me from room to room.

I'm also taking pictures of what it is like outside, but I will wait and put those up either tomorrow night or Monday so I can document the whole progression.

Stay safe everyone, and those not in Irene's path, have a great weekend as well!