EWP group?

[helenabear]

Hi everyone... we are still not up and working... they claim they are up but we are still getting errors out the wazoo. So I decided to go and see you guys and see how you all are doing.

Angelina, have faith. Try not to worry, I know it is hard, but what good will it do? Just try to save up money in the mean time and I am sure it will all work out. I hope that your DH will get to keep his job or hopefully transferred to a job close by so you all don't have to move! I hope your trip helped relax you even for a moment and when you start to worry, close your eyes and envision the best part of your trip and hold that feeling inside of yourself... easier said than done but always try it. Also I hear excersizing is a good way to relieve stress as well

I really think you both have the key point to weight. It is about feel comfortable and as healthy as possible! Some people have more to overcome to stay and feel healthy but if you can feel as good as you can then you are doing it right! I just want to feel as good as possible as well and I want my arm strength back. I used to be stronger than most guys I know, and I didn't need to ask for help when it comes to moving large objects. Now I do and if I can I want to get back to the way I was before. That is my goal and if I get smaller along with it so be it. If not then that is fine too. It is neat to hear about other's weight gain because I know I am not the only one who knows how it happened. For me I had to take meds and I know that made me gain weight which in turn helped hurt my ablitity to be active which here I am now, not as strong as I used to be. But that can hopefully be fixed so I can feel more confidant than I do now.

I swear I am about to kill someone because I keep checking our systems and I still can't get in and I really NEED to!!!! I leave at four and I do not plan on staying late because our idiots can fix anything here. So I think I am going to restart my computer to see if that helps. I hope you all have a wonderful day!!!

 

[SlightlyGoofy]

Good afternoon ladies

You know nobody is perfect and we all have 'things' we have to work on so we should not beat ourselves up over our trials and tribulations. I am 5'8 and if I lost 150 pounds I would still be larger than I should be. I gained 100 pounds the first few years of my marriage and I were not skinny then either. I went from living in the city to living out in the middle of no where and did not know how to drive or anything. I went to the grocery store once every 2 weeks and that was my only view of the outside world. I could not even get books to read. I was miserable. It took me 6 years to convince my DH I HAD to move to town. I am very good with money however. Just don't ask to look at the inside of my oven. I am awful at that also. LOL

I use the Money program to control our spending since we retired. It is harder to plan your spending when you do not get all your money in regular spurts IMHO. I sit down the first of the year and figure out about how much money we will have coming in (on the low side) and then allot certain sums for each spending category (on the high side). With the program you can check with a click how you are doing in any category and see if you money to spend or should cut back. I plan for emergencies in the budget also, very necessary. At the end of the year we have money left over as we might not use all the funds designated for medical, car repairs etc. and then we can either keep it in savings or spend some of it on a special Christmas present or trip. There is such a freedom when you do not owe anything. It took us 3 years of severe cutting back to get totally out of debt. Even to this day I consider carefully if we really need or want something before I buy. Shopping yardsales satisfies my need to shop quite nicely and most of those things can be used for a period of time and then resold at another yardsale for close to the same amount I paid and sometimes even more! Different things work for different people. Angelina, you have already made the most important first step in acknowledging you have the problem. You are on the way to success. BTW, I like Susie Ormands financial tips. She is very down to earth and her stuff works for real people as opposed to those millionaires that are often written for.

I will saying extra prayers for you and your family as I would hate to see you have to uproot from such a wonderful situation as you have. I am glad that you had a wonderful, although a bit chilly, time at DW. Those memories will stand you in good stead if you should have to cut back severely. Bomba's was our favorite restaurant this last time. Only possible complaint was how loud it was but then most of the restuarants at DW are that way. Did you request any recipes? I have the url to send if you would like it.

Rider, WTG!!!! 35 pounds!! What is your goal to lose? I am going back to WW next spring. It is so expensive but it is the only thing that works for me. Having to get on the scale each week is the only thing that puts the fear of God into me. I will never be skinny but even losing a bit can make a big difference in things. Consider an overflowing glass. The extra couple of ounces is what causes the problems. Jennifer Anniston is not ugly by any means but I think you are much prettier IMHO. Since I am dark haired also I am partial to brunettes. LOL

Helenabear, the dresses sound wonderful and what a great idea to choose black since it will most likely be able to be worn over and over again. I have some of the same problem as you do with the top area. Have you ever seen the minimizer bras? They might help to get into the dress of your dreams without scrunching you too much. You could also get a lower cut dress and let your 'cup overflow". (grin) Of course the bride might not be so happy at you stealing all the attention.

I read where the 'search' function was down cause it was too overloaded and was not expected to be back up for a week or two.

My DH does not play boardgames so I do not get to play mine often. I have several computer trivia and quiz games that I play when I get a chance..

I got all the shelves of the fiction books at the library all straightened up today. Feels good to accomplish something. It won't last long as the kids really throw things around. It is so scary to see some of these children. There is one 5th grade girl who comes in dressed like a tacky Britteny Spears (and that takes some doing). She seems kind of sweet and in need of attention (the right kind). One girl was taking out "Anna Karienna" My kind of gal. I am enjoying this so much. I am seeing a slight attitude change in my DH also as he seems to miss me and be a bit nicer when I get home.

Wonder if Angelina is going to post a trip report. Hope she does better at it than I did. (grin)

My oldest grandson is due any minute so I had beter log off and unlock the door so he can get in here for me to abuse him with more education.

Slightly Goofy

 

[helenabear]

We are still unable to get into our databases the way we need to. We can only "read" and not "write" and of course what do I need to do? WRITE of course Oh well my day is almost over and I think I am giving up on getting nearly anything done today!!!

The only nice thing at work is I got a chance to chat with co-workers that I haven't had a chance to talk with recently. Other than that, not much else has been going on. I keep looking at the pictures of the dresses but I am not sure what I can do. I was thinking maybe I could try to lift weights so my pec muscles get bigger and hopefully that would make my chest smaller (like the body builders) but with my luck I will just get bigger I have tried the minimizer bras and I was actually wearing one when I went trying on the dresses. I will have to hunt up on of my best ones and see if it helps any more at all. Sometimes different bra shapes can make my chest shaped differently and would fit better. I really am such a cheap skate though and I could just suck it up and get the larger size & fork out the money to get the waist, hips & anywhere else needed taken in. I was just hoping not to have to do that. But the only good news is that I was told the wedding will probably take place in 2003 (around May would be my guess) so maybe the chest fairies will come and take some of my 34 DD chest and give it to some deserving A cup gal I am glad I am looking now though as my sister is very particular. For instance, she doesn't like buttons going down the back and I am not sure how particular she will be with dresses in her own wedding and whatever she wants, I will comply. A part of me keeps hoping she will change to silver as I have a great silver dress that I could wear As soon as I find the style that I think is best on me I will post a picture. Then I will definitely let you guys know what I pick. Acutally I can see myself going with a digital camera & taking pictures of me all dressed up and getting your opinions of what I should wear. In all reality I am glad she is picking such a classic color. I think dark colors produce a beautiful wedding & they are very wearable again and black NEVER goes out of style! One of my friends thinks it is odd to have black in a wedding because supposedly it is a bad sign. I always laugh that one off because most of the time the men are seen in black so I guess all marriages are doomed from the beginning if that were the case

I can't wait to go back to WDW as I would love to check out AKL. Bomba sounds wonderful and I would love to eat there. I am hoping for a late 2003 to 2005 trip so in a few years hopefully I will be lucky enough to get to eat there. Of course I am sure that we will have a few more things to choose from then too Well I really see no point in trying to go back to work, but I think I will try yet again. I will see you all this evening!

 

[angelina]

No, SG, I don't think I'll post a trip report this time, but I'll be happy to share with all of you. I do have a couple of complaints, though. This is the 3rd time in 4 yrs we've been to WDW, and all 3 times I've had to wrangle with them over my bill. This time they overcharged $212 on our room, and charged $16 for a stroller instead of $8. Last trip, in the summer, we were charged twice for a dinner at Tony's.

I didn't ask for any recipes from Boma, I can't even remember the names of the things I ate, and they didn't have a copy of the menu that i could bring home. I loved the fou-fou, though, and the seafood chowder/soup with mussels, shrimp, fish and scallops. It was all so good, though. Especially the desserts. Didn't you love they way it was presented? I did request the recipe for the caesar dressing at LeCellier, though. They said they would e-mail it to me.

We have a money program on our computer, too, and I tried to use it a couple of years ago, but got too depressed, so I quit, LOL. I have a friend who was an accounting major, and every January she does a budget for the year, down to their grocery alotment, takes annual salary, divides by 52, the whole nine yards. My jaws dropped when I heard that. I can't even manage to balance my checkbook! You are very lucky to be so good with money.

 

[helenabear]

Hello everyone!!!

Angelina, I am so sorry that you have been over charged everytime you have been in the last four years. I do hope that they remedy the situation for you quickly. That is the one good thing about the billing though, you can see exactly what you are being charged for and can check over everything before you leave. Fortunately so far we haven't had a problem with being overcharged. I can only imagine how it would be if you just saw your grand total and had no idea where it all came from!!!

I too once tried a money program and hated seeing how little money I actually had. Hopefully soon we will get back into a groove of things so I can keep track of the money a little better. But I intentionally didn't watch it while we were buying some Christmas presents. I will check out our financial situation come about February when I won't be so depressed. Don't get me wrong, I didn't go blindly into spending and I had an idea of how much was spent but I just didn't want to see it in writing so to speak

Our database systems finally came up at about 3:30 today so I did not get too much done at work today. It was nice at first to be able to "goof off" but we felt the stress of it all by the end of the day. But I have already decided that I will not let that make me stay late tomorrow as I am enjoying my evenings at home with just me and Luis. I loved having all my family over but something about being together is nice.

Well my FOX shows are on now so I will see you all later. Anyone have any good ideas for lunch? All this talk about Bomba makes me want to go to a nice place for lunch!

 

[helenabear]

Hi there everyone, just popping in to say hi to you all and I hope all is well with everyone! Really not much has happened here, but I had to share a cute story about my baby. It is rather silly but it just warmed my heart this morning. I woke up and my shoulder hurt. I looked and there was my baby sleeping on me It was absolutely adorable! She laid on top of me for an hour and I couldn't bear to kick her off since she is such an angel and she hardly cuddles up near me. So we just laid in bed and I pet her the whole time. She finally let me go back to sleep at about 5 ish (an hour before I have to get up in the morning). But it was just so precious I had to share

 

[helenabear]

Hi everyone! Here we are a few posts shorter but most importantly, we are here I missed not being able to see you all these past few days. So how is life with everyone? Life is fine here and I have so many little stories I will have to catch up on later

 

[SlightlyGoofy]

Whew!!! I was getting worried. Was having cold chills for the lack of your warm smiles. Headaches from withdrawal and the shakes in fear that we would never get together again. I feel all better now.

Do you suppose they closed the DIS down on purpose so we would miss them and be properly grateful for the forum they give us? If so - - - - - - TY< TY< TY< Oh Great One in charge of the DIS. We are properly humbled and will promise to be humbly grateful to your all seeing, all knowing presence. (bowing and scraping all the way backward in awe at your great power).

My house has never been cleaner though. I spent the day taking apart the library shelves in the LR and there is not a speck of dust on the shelves or anything that resides there. The blinding cleanliness is causing me to see other spots that need some attention also. I had better take off my glasses and wait until the feeling passes. LOL

I have asked the fellers to come up with a splendid repast for this evening so we can sit around and tell of our adventures these past few days. Hope everyone can join us this evening. There will be a double length display of fireworks followed by the EWP in front of the suite this evening to make up for the panic we have endured since the board went down.

Slightly Goofy/Linda

 

[IASW Rider]

WE'RE BACK!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!! YEA!!!!!!

I was also getting worried - this is the longest that the Boards have been down since I joined! Thank God they're back - I really missed them, and more important, I really missed all of YOU! How are you all doing? Hope that you've all been having a nice week!

I return to you slightly older, as I hit the "big 3-5" yesterday! (or should I not be smiling? Now it seems that every time I turn on the TV, I am inundated by a barrage of commercials that have warnings including "....women over 35 should do this or shouldn't do that......" UGH!) I had a very nice birthday! At midnight Tuesday night / Wednesday morning, Frank surprised me with a bottle of champagne (he said that it was a gift from our cats!). Then, we woke up to the doorbell ringing, yesterday morning - with a beautiful basket of flowers and balloons from Frank! We just had a quiet day at home - cooking, watching movies, sitting by the fire - that's exactly what I wanted to do! I wish that we could have more quiet days like that!

I'm actually off from work until next Tuesday - a nice little vacation - I feel so much more relaxed when I'm not there!

Can't wait until the "RETURN OF THE BOARDS CELEBRATION" in the Suite, this evening! We definitely deserve it - I was going into withdrawal without the Boards, these past few days! I'm with SG - THANK YOU, OH GREAT MASTER OF THE DIS for bringing back our Boards and our friends!

Hope that all is well with all of you! Talk to you soon!

 

[SlightlyGoofy]

Just dropping in for a minute to let you all know about something I just found. www.disneystore.com is haing a sale, up to 75% off all kinds of things. Saw some great clothes for you gals.

Rider, trust me life gets better after 30 and 35 is even better. IMHO you don't know who you are until you get a bit older and have some experiences. Until you know who you are you cannot judge what or who you need to make yourself happy. If you ain't happy you aren't gonna make anyone else happy. Congratulations again and it sounds as if Frank is a bright man and he knows what you want. Wonderful, Can't wait to hear about your 25th anniversary celebration. (grin)

SG/Linda

 

[IASW Rider]

Thanks very much, SG! That is very kind of you (as always!)! And I agree with you - I feel like I know myself much better and know what I want much more now than I did 5 or 10 years ago! It's a good age!

And thanks for the link, too! I promised myself to calm down with my TDS shopping......but sometimes, you just have to treat yourself! I will have to take a look at those sales!

 

[SlightlyGoofy]

I was scanning the boards when they came back up and found a thread that reminded me of Rider. A man told of his proposal at DW. He told his girlfriend that he wanted to look closely at the murals in the castle. After pointing out several details he stopped in front of where the prince is kneeling in from of Cinderella. He then dropped to his knees and proposed. He mentioned that the people in the area were respectful of what was going on and when he was done and they were embracing and older lady called out"Is that a yes?" What wonderful memories.

I have to finish cleaning the floor so I can move the furniture back before I fix dinner. See you all later and am looking forward to hearing how you all coped.

SG/Linda

 

[IASW Rider]

Oooh - I love hearing stories like that, SG! I am subscribed to a thread on the Weddings Board where people tell about their WDW proposal experiences and often men come on to the thread looking for advice about how and where to propose to their girlfriends at WDW! I get all choked up reading those stories! Heck, I get choked up when I see couples getting engaged on TV sitcoms, and that's not even real! In fact, when I am done catching up on the Boards, I am going to watch one of my new favorite shows, "A Wedding Story" on The Learning Channel. I happened across it one day, several months ago, when I was off from work (as it is only on during the day), and now I try not to miss it when I am lucky enough to be home on a week day. (I also like "A Baby Story", which usually is on just before it!) Thanks for posting that story, SG! I also love hearing about the creative ways that men think to propose at WDW - there are so many neat places in which to do it! I am happy that Frank proposed to me at the Poly - it's sort of like "home away from home" to us! Plus, it was the perfect way to end our first day back at WDW! I probably already showed you this, but here is Frank, about 2 seconds after he proposed to me (no pictures of me from that night - I was too dazed to be photographed!)

Hope that you're all having a nice day!

 

[IASW Rider]

Hey Everyone!

Just wanted to say that I hope that you're all having a nice weekend!

We had a great time in NYC yesterday (even though it started snowing while we were there - we had about 5 inches on the ground when we woke up, this morning!)! "Aida" was wonderful! The music and dancing sort of reminded me of the music and dancing in "The Lion King" Broadway show. It was really beautiful. And it was nice to see my friend, too - we all went out to brunch before the show. Unfortunately, we couldn't spend too much time in the city after the show, 'cause we wanted to get home as quickly as possible and make sure that the trains weren't delayed because of the weather.

Frank is getting ready to go out and shovel, now, so maybe I should help him.

Hope that you're all having a nice day!

 

[SlightlyGoofy]

I was not able to get the picture of Frank yesterday but he came through just fine today. He may be a little shy? I had thought he had proposed at the restaurant from some other pictures you had posted. (The one with YOU kneeling). What a shame you did not get a picture of the both of you. Do you have a timer on y our camera?

Rider sent me pictures of her excursion to NYC yesterday. Not quite as good as being there but very sweet and thoughtful, just the sort of thing she does. It makes my dreams easier to dream when I have such details to work from.

Dalton and I had a good evening yesterday and snuggled up for a good night's sleep. I hated to wake him up this morning. I got up extra early and had blueberry pancakes for everyone before church. Dalotn loves the color blue and loves blue food. I am running out of ideas for more blue food. Can anyone out there come up with some new ideas?

Helenabear, Angelina, Jstmee, everyone? We miss you all!!

SG/Linda

 

[jstmee]

I'm here, really I am. I must have posted just before the crash, bash, boom, because I was here, and come to find out I'm not. THEN I couldn't find you all, I was running all around DIS board black holes and couldn't find the "lights" EWP lights that is. Whew, so glad to be back. I have been preoccupied with "losing some tonnage", heee heee. I really want to be a healthier me this year.

My four kids and myself have also been extremely sick. My little one and I still aren't over it. He missed at least 7 days of school so far and the rest all lost 3-5 days each. It was a fever, bronchial thingy, all viral so antibiotics didn't do a thing...I'm still fighting with the cough, if I had a dungeon in the house I'd sleep there, because I'm keeping everyone up at night, especially MYSELF! I'm so tired, I even asked my DH if he stilled loved me. Must be delusions.

A tragedy happened in our little town. My boys friend and his father got botulism. They are in a hospital 3 hours from here, hooked up to ventilators and they are paralyzed for now. They cannot even open their eyelids. The boy is 13 years old and he was thin to begin with, he's also over six feet tall, so he has a loooong way to go. The docs they flew up from NY said that it could take months to years to recuperate. It's soo sad.

Oh, how I've missed you all, I will definately be in the suite to catch up with everyone tonight.

Helenabear, your cat sounds so cute sleeping next to you. My cat doesn't cuddle too much either.

Rider, how wonderful you got to see Aida.....yes, I'm turning green with envy, lol....

SG, stop cleaning, you are putting us all to shame. Take a break, put your feet up, relax a little.

Angelina, how is your granmother doing? That is so difficult. We went through a lot with our grandmother, grandfather and my Great Aunt.....The last time I saw my grandfather he was in an assisted living center and I offered to have them come live with my family...Well, that never happened, he died shortly thereafter, and when I told my husband of my offer, he said no anyway. But, the sparkle in my grandfather's eyes at the offer was worth a million bucks, even if it didn't happen. I know that's not the same experience you are going through, but hearing about your grandmother brings back memories of mine. They are both gone now. My Aunt is still ticking away and she'll be in here home until her last breath. We have a visiting nurse come in and meals on wheels, etc.


My brothers wedding is PA in June and I'd like to look better than I am. Also, if I reach my goal weight my DH promised me a cruise. heee, little does he know it will be a Disney cruise and include the entire family.

Ta Ta for now. Meet ya in the jacuzzi. Wendy

 

[angelina]

Jstme, how scary that must be. My littlest girl (the 2 year old) has some sort of blisters popping up on and around her left eye. At first, I thought she may have bumped her eye, but it's in the crease of her upper eyelid. As far as I know, she didn't do anything to injure it, but by Friday, it had begun to form a blister-like sore. Yesterday morning when she woke up, both her upper and lower eyelids were swollen and purplish, and I took her to the doctor . He thought it may be a stye, but later in the afternoon a second one had formed around her lower lash line, and this afternoon, four more small red spots popped up around the same eye, but nowhere else. She's had the chicken pox vaccine, and I don't think styes come in clusters, so I'm at a loss. My sister took her 3 year old to the dr.'s today about a cough, and found out she has bronchialitis (is that different from bronchitis?) and since she was exposed to RSV he's treating it as such. She was wheezing today, and he said it may be more than two days before she shows any signs of improvement.

My grandmother is ok, thanks for asking. I made copes of the check written to the people (she let THEM write the check out, can you believe that?) and a copy of the work order and took it to the police station to the detective I spoke with earlier in the week. He still strongly suggested that we have an plumbing inspector come out to check, but the "other side of the family" talked her out of it. I already made a deposit to her account to cover the cost of the stop- check order that failed, so she's only out $200.00. The detective did run the driver's license number the woman wrote on the back of the check, and she was in their data base, so that meant she had a record of some sort, but nothing to indicate she had done that in the past. At least, as it stands, if they do come back, the police will know where to start looking, and I'm comfortable leaving it at that. I was very ugly the other day, though, and hung up on my uncle when he called to harangue me some more about the subject. No one has called me since, and the detective said that my shortened Christmas card list would be worth it if it protected my grandmother. Enough said.

I actually booked Coronado springs for 6 nights in June, but cancelled because it went through the Travel Company, and their cancellation policy is not as lenient as CRO. I would love to go back, but we'll see. After all, I'm being greedy to want to go back for the 3rd time this year, even though we're getting the hang of the $500 Disney Vacation.


I decided to give up all diet drinks and things sweetened with aspartame and haven't had any since Jan 6. As addicted as I am to diet Coke, I thought it would be hard, but I feel so much better! I am also glad to report that my checkbook is still balanced! Now, I just have to get back to the gym. I love to walk, but I can't push my two babies (at least 60# combined) around the neighborhood anymore.

My niece is spending the night with us tonight, so I have to go bathe them now. Goodbye.

Angie

 

[helenabear]

Hi everyone! I tried to get into here earlier today but they were so busy "cleaning up" I couldn't get in and I am sorry I didn't get a chance to come in this weekend. I was on a mission. I hate buying shoes but my pair that I wear constantly to work were so old I was wearing a hole in them. So I was on a mission to find a nice pair of cheap, simple shoes... easier said than done So two days and $20 later I found a nice pair at Target. They were even real leather

angelina, I think you have done a good job with your grandmother so far. It is really tough. That was mean of your uncle to harrass you about the subject though. What is funny is that in my family, the children don't really know what to make of my grandmother. There are times to worry and then there are times you shouldn't and they don't seem to know which is when. The grandkids on the other hand seem to know how to handle her much better. We know when a hug boulder of salt should be taken and when to take her seriously. I too have cut soda of sorts out of my life... at least I try. I know caffeine is not good for me so I try to cut out caffinated sodas & chocolate (I don't drink coffee so that isn't a problem). I feel so much better and water is so much cheaper Also if you want to go to Coronado Springs I'd be more than happy to join you It was a great resort!

Jstmee, that is so scary what happened to your boy's friend. Botulism is basically unheard of now and I had no idea it could be so harmful to a body. I will always be sure to check my cans before I eat them, especially now!!! I did happen to see your post before the crash and just as I was about to say hi to you then... gone... We were getting a little worried about you since we hadn't seen you in a while!

SG & Rider, as always it is great to hear your stories. I am sorry I haven't had much time this weekend to drop in and say hi. My sister and her boyfriend went shopping for rings this weekend. She has a diamond from her boyfriend's mother's first marriage and they are getting it set in platinum with sapphire accent stones. They are also getting the wedding bands made for a tune of $2500... I kept adding all the figures in my head and I came out saying "That's a trip to WDW!!!" Luis just smiled when I said that to him. They aren't officially engaged yet because she doesn't have the ring, but they are already going to book the place they want to get married at this week if they can. I won't even begin to try to understand them.

Well dinner is almost ready but I had to stop by to say hi. I hope all is well with everyone!

 

[SlightlyGoofy]

Hail, hail, the gang is almost all here!!! I love it. I am taking a break from cleaning. This is just my annual spring cleaning time. I am too busy putting in gardens and doing outside maintance in the spring to do any cleaning.

Helenabear, sure wish I could buy a pair of $20 shoes. I bet they look great too. I would pay a $100 or more for another pair of my favorite shoes. I bought them on sale and did not wear them for about a year cause they did not look so very comfortable. They are so great that it is almost as good as going barefoot, almost. I never wear shoes unless I absolutely must. It is the hillbilly in me. LOL It sounds as if your sister and her boyfriend are not as grounded as you and Luis but things may work out well anyway. I like the idea of using his mom's old diamond but it sure is expensive. My first wedding ring was a $2 one that was picked up at Stuckey cause DH forgot to get a ring. He did buy a new car and a house tho so it was not bad at all. I am not a diamond type person. My next ring was a $13 simple gold band (long time ago) and on our 29th DH insisted I get a diamond ring. I bought a $200 closenne (sp?) with tiny diamond chips. I do a lot of manual labor and do not want to be worrying about losing anything precious. I would rather have power tools than diamonds. (I know I am odd)

Angelina, I love what the detective told you. Those poor people see so much bad all the time that they truly know what is important and what is not. I bet the other side of the family does not do half of what you do for her and they are just feeling guilty and maybe a big jealous cause your grandma loves you bunches, as she should. It does sound good that the girl gave a real driver's license number on the check (or did she have to to get it cashed?) Just be extra vigilant as those kind of people love to brag about the things they get away with and if they brag to the wrong person your grandma may have more visitors and they might no be so benign. I am proud of you giving up sodas. It must be hard though. I rarely drink soda, maybe a couple of times a year and then not more than a sip or two but I am addicted to iced tea. WTG on the checkbook balancing. It is a very hard to do when you have such a large and young family. Life seems to know when you have an extra dollar or two put away. Please be careful about the styes. That is how my DD's eyes started out. It seems as if it was caused by a Herpes virus, NOT the one kind of Herpes but the cold sore type. It is very easy to get infected. This was only discovered a couple of years ago, they did not know what caused it when she was little. I was told she was allergic to something in the air. I will be home all day Wednesday near the phone waiting to hear about how her operation went. Please give details on your $500 Disney vacation. I am cheap but have never accomplished that one! I bow to the queen of cheap- - - -.

Jstmee, you poor girl. Everyone is sick including you and you have to take care of it all. Life is not fair. You must have been in a weakened condition to ask your DH if he still loved you. I have been married enough times and for a long enough to time to offer this advice. Never ask them if they love you, make them wonder if you still love them. (grin) It is amazing the things that are romantic after you have been married many years. Picking up your own dirly underwear from the bathroom floor ranks right up there with a moonlight gondola ride after about 20 years. Our dentures sharing the same cup is something I am saving for our 50th when I will be too old to care anymore!!! (grin) See what you all have to look forward to? No mass exodus to the divorce courts pleeeese? Jstmee/Wendy, how is your health doing now? Are you still taking treatments? I am a bit curious, did you DH step up to the plate when asked The Question and hit a homerun or did he bunt? Hum, he is going to take you on a cruise when you reach your target weight? And what does he have to do to get to go with you? Little old troublemaker, that is me.

Going shopping tomorrow to get some goodies for my boys while they live with grandma for a day or a few. The 4 year old has requested to have me steal him from daycare one day. He had better be in a better mood than he was this evening or I will take him over and let them deal with it. I love him to pieces but when he does not get enough sleep he is a grizzly. The big boy made the honor roll this term. His name was in the paper and he wasa so proud. His reading has improved and I am hoping to have him up to grade level by the end of this next summer.

I have a doctor's appointment tomorrow morning and will get some good drugs to get me through this next week. I already feel better. I would cancel but then I would relapse. Works that way doesn't it?

I took out my pictures from Broadway to look at again today. I cannot believe that Rider took the time to do such a thing. Frank is one lucky guy. If she does that for someone she has never met, outside the suite, what in the world does she do for the man she loves? I mean that in the nicest possible way.

Jucuzzi for me also tonight but would love to go over to Kona's and try the Koko Puffs. You all have to go with me cause I can only eat a bite or two and need someone else to take up the slack. Any takers?

Slightly Goofy

 

[IASW Rider]

Hey Everyone!

I'll join you at the Kona Cafe, SG - that's one of my all-time favorite restaurants in all of WDW! Great food - great service! If any of you are ever physically there, ask for a waiter named Kevin - he's a real person, but he's exactly like any of our gentlemen in the Suite! Frank and I met him when we were there in 2000 and saw him again last year. Very nice guy and an excellent waiter - very service oriented! And he has great stories to tell about his experience moving to Florida and working for WDW. He even let me cry on his shoulder (literally) on our last day there, last year - he understands, because he always felt that way on his last days of vacation at WDW and then finally "snapped" and decided to move there from NY!

Thanks so much for your kind words, SG! I'm sending you a few more NY pictures in the "regular mail" and will take better ones the next time I'm there! Nope - Frank proposed to me right in our hotel room, after our long and perfect first day at the Poly, last year! That's why we're requesting the exact same room for our honeymoon! That's so nice that the boys are coming to stay with you again! And congratulations on your older grandson's making the honor roll! And I'm sure that the little guy will be in a much better mood when you see him next! Blue food??? Hmmm......aside from artificially colored stuff (YUCK) blueberries are the only things that I can think of! Eggplant is kinda purple.......as is rhubarb......as are grapes.....but I can't think of any other blue foods! Blueberries are great, though!

Hope that you and your family are feeling much better, Jstmee! That's horrible, when the whole family gets sick at once. Especially those things that just hang on.....and on......and on....I hope that you're all feeling completely back to normal, soon! That's an awful story about your son's friend and his father. Very scary and upsetting. I hope that they are recuperating well. And I'm sure that you look wonderful and are very healthy! Cruise or no cruise (though that Disney Cruise is supposed to be a lot of fun, from what I hear!), I'm sure that you'll do a great job!

How are your daughter and niece feeling, Angelina? I hope that everything is all right - that must be very frightening. Maybe it is some sort of virus? Or allergic reaction? Maybe the doctor will have a more definitive diagnosis, if you take her back, and he sees how the sores have progressed. Or hopefully, they will just go away by themselves. I hope that she (and your niece) is feeling much better, soon! And ditto everything that Helenabear and SG said - you are doing a wonderful job looking out for your Grandmother! I'm glad to hear that that matter has basically been settled and that the proper authorities have been notified. And you did the absolute right thing by standing by your convictions with your Uncle. I'm sure that she appreciates all that you have done and are doing for her! That's amazing that you gave up caffeine and aspartame! That is a great accomplishment! I am so addicted to Diet Coke that I don't know if I could ever do that! It's great that you can feel the difference, though - that's inspiring to me! But Diet Coke is one of my (few?!) "bad habits", and I don't know if I'm ready to give it up!

And that's great that you are also cutting down on caffeine, Helenabear! I'll tell you, I wish that I could do it, but I just can't right now! I'm not a big coffee person, though I do enjoy a cup on the weekends (and I will never give up Kona coffee at the Poly!), but that soda is just too "meaningful" to me! (hee hee!) Thanks for keeping us posted about your sister's wedding plans! It sounds like she and her fiance are definitely organized and know what they want and are getting things underway! Forgive me if I forgot, but have they officially set a date? You reminded me that I really should buy some new shoes for work, too. I always wear inexpensive flats with rubber soles in the car (I call them "parking lot shoes", 'cause I don't want to scratch up my heels by walking from my car to my office in them, so I wear flats!), but they are so comfortable that I often don't take them off and just wear my "parking lot shoes" all day! I'm just not a "shoe person". Like SG, I really prefer to go barefoot whenever I can (though DF has trained me to wear slippers - pretty much the same as going barefoot, anyway!), and I'm not a big shoe shopper. Oh well - I guess I'll buy some new work shoes, one of these years!

Speaking of which, I have to go back to work for the first time in a week, tomorrow. *SIGH* - having this time off has been so nice and peaceful and relaxing! I wish that I didn't have to go back. 20 mile trek in rush hour traffic.......long boring days.......UGH. Oh well, I guess that it's those days that make us appreciate "vacations" all the more! Speaking of which, it occurred to me tonight that the next time that we'll have that many days off in a row will be before and after our wedding - yipee! 132 more days till our wedding......and just 133 till WDW! Come on down in June, Angelina - maybe we'll see you there!

OK - I'll stop rambling, now. Have a great night, Everyone!