EWP group?

[jstmee]

Tulips, and flowering trees, and green grass, it is almost too much for me to bare looking at all the beautiful pictures. We got rid of all our snow, only to have some fall again today. Aargh. That's okay though, I will dream of the tulips in your front yard helenabear. I cannot believe the price you got on your dress! You'd love my mother. My brother is getting married soon and her two dresses cost about $20 a piece.....

Lisa, you looked beautiful at your bridal shower. I hope your eye is feeling and looking better. Don't worry you didn't scare me off. I wish I was here sooner to wish you well. Life got in the way and I haven't been in the 'net.

SG, a continuing congratulations on your stars!!!! Way to go, keep on going down, down, down. You will keep loving yourself more and more!

Angelina, when does school let out for your little ones? Ours go until June 14. I'm sure you are enjoying your warm weather. How did your party turn out with the "unspeaking" ones.?

Hellloooooooooo Bashful, good to see you again.

Okay! The reason I've been away. My son Kenny had to go to a pediatric neurologist for an eye palsy and some tongue twitching (fasticulation) and and Doc found some more irregularities. Some facial palsy and weakness of arms and legs, etc. He drew a picture of the brain stem and showed us where about five various nerves were working improperly and he needs to find out why they aren't working right. Remember, my DS had an MRI in November and it came back normal. The new Doc is getting a copy of it to review, then we'll go on and have an EMG, some sort of muscle, nerve test to see what's going on. The Doc asked us if there was Muscular Dystrophy in the family - which there is not. So send prayers and PD. My son is quiet worried, as I am. But, we'll just take it one day at a time and see what's going on.

As for me, I go to Boston again in two weeks, this time for a breast surgeon for evaluation, etc. I'm not too worried about this one, just a necessary thing to do - most probably biopsy, etc....but because of the area it will have to be a rather large incision..........SO,,,,,I might ask about a breast reduction at the same time......I'm sure it would be considered medically necessary. Great subject, huh, lol.

I can only dream about WDW now. How I'd love to be there.

I enjoyed all of your pictures sooo much. It's nice to have a peak in on your lives. Elaine, you have such a pretty neighborhood.

Oh, I almost forgot, how could I! I was taking a test for the mill job and my DH was putting in a ceiling fan in my sons room. He was going in the attic stairway and unscrewed the hinge that holds the stairs down. He forgot that it was springloaded and hit struck him in the head. He had ten stitches right on the bald spot of his head. I guess the bleeding was so bad that one son thought he cut off his fingers. The other son got a towel and they rushed to an outpatient clinic here in town, the clinic was going to get an ambulance, but a Doc there was able to stitch him up. I came home and there was blood everywhere. He got the stitches out yesterday and it still looks absolutely gruesome. At times like these a person realizes how fragile life is. Now, for the funny part of this whole thing. We were joking around the other night.....I got him hair color to cover is graying temples,,, I joked that I wanted a new man. So the night before his accident I colored his hair and it left some brown stain on his skin. I said he should wash it off the following morning. Well, since he was working around the house hadn't showered and the accident happened. So, as the old saying goes, don't go out with holy underwear in case you are in an accident. Don't color a man's hair for the fun of it, he just may have a head injury and need stitches. He was so embarrased! He is definately not the kind of man that would color his hair in a million years.

Also, I decided NOT to apply for the Rec Dir job. Even though I think that would be the job for me, it is salaried and I know it's a job that requires a lot of hours and I won't be justly compensated for the job. Also, the long hours and weekends would not be good for the kiddos. I took the test for the mill. Passed it, now I have a screening interview. I'm not sure if I would take it if I was offered it. I may just stay home with the kids. But, it would be nice to pay off some debt we have, etc. And it would possibly get my husband to seriously get a job here at home to be with us. It is getting harder by the day to be firm with my soon to be 14 year old twins. They are great kids and do excellent in school and not behaviour problems, but they don't have respect for me and run all over me. My DH puts a stop to that and helps me with this. But the mill job has had over 200 applicants and there are only 15 open positions. We'll see.

I have to put my DD to bed now, I'll stop in again soon.

 

[SlightlyGoofy]

(Peeking around the corner) Hello! Anybody home?

I guess when you have as much fun stuff to do as we do around here it is to be expected that no one would want to stay inside. Beautiful weather does not help much either. LOL

What a lovely dress and what a great and fantastic price. WTG Helenabear! I am looking forward to seeing pictures of you in it. The pictures give such a glimpse into your 'real world' and I do enjoy the peeks. Thank you for giving so much of your time to us. I am having a bit of a problem with my Ohio trip. It is still on but I am trying to figure out when we will be able to get together. We will leave here on May 7th and head for Athens for a couple of days to take care of some family business and take some special people out for a lunch visit. I always take my former Sunday School teacher out. She is one of the people responsible for making me what I am (the good parts). I have a bil who is having some severe health problems and is having to retire also. We should be in Columbus Friday the 10th and the wedding is Saturday afternoon. We will have to be up and out of town very early on Sunday as I accidentally made a lunch date in Indy on Sunday afternoon. It is all my fault. Since I started keeping my appts on the computer instead of my old paper standby I have messed up a couple of times. I was so wanting to come to your church and hear you and Luis perform. Wahhh!! Maybe I will be able to do so at the Columbus zoo meet. Not sure right now if we will be able to come though. Do you have a deadline for ressies and are people staying at a certain hotel/motel? If you have any suggestions for our get together please let me know. I am night blind and never drive after dark where I am not familar. My sister might have a suggestion also. Will email her tomorrow. She does not get on her home computer much so I have to contact her at home to make sure she reads my messages. LOL

Jstmee, were you hiding behind the door? When I looked around you were just going out. I am so sorry to have missed you. Your life just never gets boring does it? I can imagine your concern over your son. Much PD is being sent your way. I sincerely hope that the mill recognizes your superior talents and you get the job of your dreams. Your plan of having your hubby work nearby is a valid one. Teenagers, even good ones, need all the direction they can get and boys need a father around IMHO. How is your poor hubbies head? I think it is cute that he allowed you to dye his hair and believe me a lot of guys dye their hair nowadays and the things that doctors and emergency rooms see are far more bizarre than that little nothing. My DH was giving me a hard time one time before we left on vacation and teasing that he was going to take this red haired woman from work instead of me. I happen to know that he is not terribly fond of red hair. He came home from work (second shift) and I had everything all packed up in the car and ready for the next morning and was busy sawing logs as I do the driving and I wanted to be fresh. He DID take a red head on vacation BUT it was me. He was quite surprised when he woke up with a redhead the next morning. LOL

Dear Rider, none of the other jobs are panning out at your company? Maybe your absence will teach them that they cannot do without you. I have been seeing lots of stories on tv about the problems that the financial and investment companies are having nowadays and had been worried about your company. It is quite one thing to hear about a cooperate downsizing and quite another to be the person who is being downsized. With your education and experience I am sure that something wonderful is in store for you. Low impact exercises are a lot better for you than some of the rougher ones. Your joints will thank you in the future and maybe even sooner. I have read articles about how many calories you burn doing different activities and really some of the more moderate ones are not that much lower than the strenuous ones. One good thing about being my size is that I burn up a lot more calories just walking along than a smaller person would jogging and such. I had a bad week last week and actually gained a pound. I was shocked as my scales had shown a 2 pound loss and I was even hoping for a couple of more oz to make another star and to find I had a gain. I was heartbroken but knew I deserved it. Have been doing well since. Exercised 3 hours today to mitagate my guilt. The time is getting so close to your wedding. If I am excited I cannot imagine how you must feel. How is Frank coping or is he just getting nervous to get it all over with? I will send PD your way so that you get the room of your dreams. I know they will bend over backward to do it. What wonderful memories you will have!

Bashful, please come back in? I promise I will stop teasing you for your life's history. Just bring your smile and sit down and have a cool drink and visit for a bit.

Take care everyone and hope you are having a great weekend.

SG/Linda

 

[IASW Rider]

Hey Everyone!

How are you all doing, today? How are your weekends going?

Great to hear from you, Jstmee! So sorry to hear about your DS's health issues and your DH's accident, though. I can certainly understand your being concerned and frightened, but I'm sure that the new doctor will review the tests and order which ever additional ones might be needed and will give you some good options and hopefully some positive news, as well. Lots of prayers and PD coming your way! I hope that the findings are good and hopeful ones. Likewise, the findings of your upcoming tests. I'm sure that this is all very difficult to go through, but you are such a strong person and have such a great outlook that I know that you and your family will come through these experiences well and will deal with them with love and faith and togetherness. How is your DH feeling, now? That must have been such a scary thing to go through, as well! I hope that he is healing well and is not in pain. I can join you in attesting to the fact that many accidents that require emergency room visits do, indeed, occur in the home! At least you were able to find some humor in the situation - as with your DH's hair dye (Frank colors his hair regularly, by the way, so your DH shouldn't worry that he is the only man who does so!)! I hope that everything is all right, and I hope that your DH will be able to work closer to home in the near future, as well. I'm sure that your twins are just going through that "adolescent stage" where they are testing their boundaries as well as yours. I'm sure that it's not easy to experience - especially with all of these other things going on in your lives - but it would be wonderful if your DH was able to work closer to home and spend more time with all of you. I'm sorry to hear that it snowed again, up there! It's been much colder here this week, than last, as well. Hopefully it will warm up all over the country, within a few weeks! And I'm sure that you will make the best decision for yourself and your family, in terms of deciding whether or not to take the Mill position. You know that it's out there, if you want to take it, so that's a good thing. And even if you decide not to do so right now, you know that there will be other opportunities to do so in the future. Hope that all is well with you and your family! I'll be thinking of you and sending PD to you all, once again, from down here in the Garden State!

Great to see you, too, SG! Yes, I guess that everyone has been busy with springtime projects and events! I hope that you will be able to get together with Helenabear when you are in Ohio (I'm as excited about your meeting as you both are - hee hee!)! It sounds like you are going to have a very busy trip and have lots of things planned! But I hope that you are able to go to the Meet and see Helenabear when you are out there, too! Don't worry about that one pound gain - you know, sometimes those "gains" are not really gains at all - sometimes it's just a matter of water retention or even what you're wearing that day! Don't become discouraged! You'll have a ton more stars on your ribbon before you know it! I'll bet that you will have a several pound loss this week! I have basically stayed the same since last week - maybe I've hit a "plateau" after 60 pounds, or something. I hope that it's not because I've had to change my exercise routine. But you're right - I've also read that some lower impact activities have the same effect, if not a better one, than higher impact ones do. Using Frank's Life Cycle is fun, in a way, 'cause I can watch TV while I'm doing it and it goes pretty quickly. I'm just not used to sitting while exercising, so my behind is a bit sore, but I guess I'll get used to it! I just hope that I can drop a few more pounds before the wedding, without doing my higher impact cardio routine.

Well, we went to meet with our wedding band, yesterday, which was a lot of fun. They ran through the "schedule" of how our wedding day will "go" with us, and we gave them our special musical requests, told them what music we would like to use for the ceremony, our first dance, dances with our parents, etc. This Thursday, we're taking the day off from work (I'm sure that my boss will love that, as I've been out of work for the past week and a half with my injury) to apply for our marriage license and so that I can have a wedding gown fitting. Just 5 weeks from today!

Unfortunately, my job search efforts were sidelined this week, since I was out of work. I haven't even been able to bring myself to call in to my work voice mail to see if Human Resources has called about any of the jobs that I posted for, a few weeks ago. I'll resume my search tomorrow. I don't know how aggressive I want to be about it right now, since no matter what, I wouldn't be able to start a new job before the wedding, anyway (even if I am offered a position, I would have to "give 2 weeks' notice" to my current boss, and that brings it almost to the date of our wedding and honeymoon). Plus, I am not allowed to wear eye makeup for the next several weeks, and don't want to scare potential new bosses with my pale, un-made-up face and unhidden perennial bags and dark circles under my eyes! I'll see what I can do, in terms of sending out more "feelers", when I am back at work, tomorrow, I guess.

Hope that you're all having a nice weekend! Take care and I'll talk to you soon!

 

[SlightlyGoofy]

Dear Lisa

I think you are doing just fine. With all you have going on with the wedding and honeymoon and all this might turn out to be a great thing and with your great severance package you have a whole year to find something perfect. I am afraid that it is the line of work that you are in that is at risk but with your personality you would be a shoe in for another job IMHO. If ever there was a time when you had to trust your financial advisors this is it. I am so glad that I lucked out and other than the falling interest rates we were not affected by any of this. I bet you look a lot better than you think you do. Your kind of looks are the natural kind and are not easily hurt. You might be at, or very near, your ideal weight and that is why you are not losing much right now. I personally think people look a bit better about 10 pounds or so over the weight charts. I deserved the pound gain as I pigged out last Sunday. This Sunday I have spent a lot of time upstairs cleaning just to get away from the kitchen. LOL One thing I have noticed about exercycles is that the seat is so very tiny and very uncomfortable for the size of the people who need to use them. I have a treadmill but I don't like it much. I used to use it more but I feel self conscious doing it with DH sitting there watching me, especially when he has a big old bowl of ice cream he is shoveling into his mouth. (grrrrr)

I am headed out the door to listen to a band made up of many of my former 4-H kids. They are so very shy and barely talk at all but there they are, up on stage, singing their hearts out. They are so good!!!! My grandsons will be there too so that is an added bonus. The big guy just got back from a weekend with his other grandma and the little guy was here most of the day. He was 'playing' his guitar most of the time. He wants to learn how to play rock and roll and requested an electric guitar for Christmas! His parents would love that, not. His birthday is the 7th of this month and I bought him a lot of Batman stuff, clothes and toys. He is my 'super duper hero'.

Jstmee, Bashful, Helenabear and Angelina, you are in my t houghts and I hope you are having a wonderful weekend.

Your friend, SG/Linda

 

[Horizons16]

Can i join the EWP club?
Do i have to do some crazy initiation task????
LOL
~Steve

 

[helenabear]

Hi there everyone!! You all have been so chatty lately I hope I don’t miss anything while I was trying to listen to you all

Steve, so good to see you here!!! Glad to have you stop on in. You are more than welcome to join our group. We don’t turn anyone away and we love all the company we can get. If you look through this one, you will see we are just a chatty group who talk about all the goings on in our lives and just be there for each other if needed. I will have to say this is my favorite place on the CB I am not as good as our “founder” as describing this place, but it is where we go to get a way from it all. We have a “perfect view” of the EWP that goes by in our wonderful suite here. We have our own servers who cater to our every need. So basically we just go here to relax and chat No initiations as far as I know, nothing exciting either, just good times with good friends here

Rider, I hope your calls to WDW work for you. I know that the Poly tried to cater to our silly little desires and while we didn’t get our exact room number that a friend of mine had for their honeymoon, we had everything else we wanted and dreamed of! I am getting so excited for you and your upcoming wedding and honeymoon! How many days do you have left now? I hope your day back tomorrow goes well and that your face heals up nicely and quickly for you!

Jstmee, I will certainly keep Kenny in my prayers. That sounds like a scary experience for you all to go through. I hope they will have a good diagnosis for you all soon and that it will be completely treatable. I also am saying a prayer that all with your breast surgeon goes well. Don’t you worry about talking about a breast reduction. They can be considered a medical necessity and if you are having any back or neck pain the insurance may cover it as well. I admit (quietly) that I am considering this for me in the future as I have terrible back and neck pain most likely related to my chest. But since I haven’t had children yet, I want to wait to make sure nothing is damaged before them, if you know what I mean. I am sorry, but I had to laugh a little at the story with your DH. I can imagine his embarrassment and I am so glad to know that he is okay though… 10 stitches is an awful lot of stitches though. Was it a big gash on his head? You are right, it is times like this though that make you realize how fragile life really is!

SG, I sent you an e-mail about your upcoming trip to Ohio. I told you there as well that if you wanted to come to church it is at 10 am so I didn’t figure you’d be able to do that. As for the rest of the weekend, it doesn’t matter. If you have time Friday evening I will be around and if you have time Saturday morning or night I will be around. You can even let me know close to the date. I will have to e-mail you with my phone numbers (home and cell) so you can call me if you need to. I won’t make any plans for that weekend so what ever works for you is fine with me As for the Columbus meet, nope no ressies or the like and there isn’t a hotel I know of that people will be staying at. I think most are making it a day trip. I will be mentally working on that one as it gets closer to July and will be making regular posts on the CB about it after I get back from Chicago in June.

Angelina, I hope all is well with you and I hope you and bashful64 will stop by again soon (as some of our others who pop in here and there).

Well I feel like I have been chatting forever! I am so glad you all liked the dress and our flowers I cannot believe the dress was so cheap but that is the way a lot of the dresses there were priced. I am thrilled I have that mess over with. I will work on getting a decent picture of me in the dress where I am not squinting and shirking away from the bright light that was in my eyes Hopefully this week. But to wet your appetites, I have posted some pictures of my family at WDW as a kid http://www.geocities.com/helenabear/olddisneypics.html as well as very very few pictures of our wedding http://www.geocities.com/helenabear/wedding.html I am wanting to get more of us up, but they are so time consuming to scan as I cannot remove any of the pictures from the album. So I hope you all enjoy!

I had better head out for now! I will see you all later

 

[angelina]

Hi, everyone, it sounds like everyone's been keeping busy for the past week or two. We've had lots of baseball practice and games, along with a church picnic yesterday. It was close to 90 degrees here, and we all ended up with more sun than we needed. Dh and I were going over the calendar for May, and there's not a break for us the whole month, with 3-4 baseball games each week, and practice, too; first communion events for dd, birthday for dd#2, mother's day, birthday parties for other kids, sleepovers, and a couple big field trips (the all day kind,) and field day, which both kids qualified for .

Lisa, your weight loss is truly something to be proud of. You are going to be beautiful on your wedding day. The month of May is going to fly by for you, then it's off to WDW for a wonderful honeymoon! You have so much to look forward to.

SG, Keep up the good work. You will be earning more and more of those stars. I have noticed that my summer clothes from last year are a little snug, so this afternoon when I go to the store, I will stop by the farmer's market for some watermelon and cantaloupe, and also some strawberries. I bought some this weekend that were as large as the palm of my hand, and so juicy! They were gone in no time, since all of us like them. It's better than candy, though.

Jstme, you have your hand full, too. I hope Ds and dh are feeling better and that the news you get is only the good kind.

Welcome, Steve, it's always a pleasure to see new faces in our "suite." Make yourself at home, and have a tall glass of whatever cool concoction you prefer. I think this afternoon we may enjoy swimming in the pool, and just taking it easy.

Helenabear, your dress is beautiful. What a bargain! You're very lucky to find such a bargain, just in time for the wedding, too.

Hope everyone has a great afternoon.

 

[Horizons16]

Would love to join the pool party...

Can we go to Storm Along Bay???

 

[helenabear]

I have nothing important to say, except that I am game for Storm Along Bay!!! Great pool

 

[jstmee]

Storm Along Bay sounds mighty fine to me!! Even though we did have snow again here in the great North.

Now, I must tell you all something....Promise to keep a secret? My DH and I sent in an audition tape for Amazing Race III. It was such a hoot doing it. My friend taped us at our border crossing and we almost got the tape confiscated by the Border Patrol guy. Then we taped us near a railway train and security shooed us away from there. We had such fun taping it. Of course, we aren't expecting a call or anything....but oh what fun it would be.

Well, toodles all!

Howdy, Steve..........I was trieng to think up some whitty initiation for you. But, as you've heard already. Just a great big welcome from us to you.

Angelina you sure are busy. We start baseball just as soon as we can, that is if the snow will stop. Okay, SG and Rider, I am going to start again, to lose the "tonnage", big old jiggly laugh. You have definately inspired me. I am asking my children for help this time. To remind me.

helenabear, glad you popped in.

Did anyone see the movie The Rookie or High Crimes. I saw both and like both.

Toodles again. To much coffee for me tonight, hope I can sleep. Actually, I'm really tired, was up at 3:30am to take DH to airport, he's in Mexico again.

Hey Steve, I go to Boston pretty often. I see you are from around those parts.

 

[SlightlyGoofy]

Hey there Steve! Welcome to the suite. We are always in search of people who enjoy the good life and love to dish about all of life's trials, tribulations and temptations. Just put in your drink order and we will make sure that the guys put in an ample supply. No initiations are necessary as just the fact that you are interested in joining makes you eligible for joining this motely crew. LOL

Jstmee, imagine we might have real life television star amongst us. Even if you are not lucky enough to make the final cut you will have the memories of making the tape and that sounds like quite an adventure in and of itself. WTG!!! If you would like any help with diets and recipes I have collected quite a few in my adventure toward normalcy (physical as mental is out of the question). LOL

Angelina, thank you for the description of your next month's schedule. Just reading it wore off an extra pound or two. LOL I cannot imagine having to live it though. I vaugely remember the days of rushing from one activity to another. At one time I did not drive and had to run the mile from the high school to the grade school and back more than once. I was younger in those days.

Rider, are you back at work? I hope you went back and found some changes and all of them positive. Hopefully they missed you and found out how valuable you are and are on bended knee begging you to forgive them their tresspasses.

Helenabear, what lovely photos, especially the wedding ones. I enjoyed seeing the old pictures of DW also. We were there when MGM and Epcot were opened and it is sometimes hard to remember the days when the parks were just starting out. I am looking forward to seeing you next week and will send an email with all the details and wait for your response. Have had a long hard day and my mind is not working at its best so I may wait until morning unless I get a second wind. Mondays and Wednesdays are long full days for me and since I am not as young as the rest of you it takes quite a bit out of me.

The music was so great the other night at the church. I got to visit with some of my former 4-Hers and listening to their music was awesome. I wanted to give them a standing ovation. They write their own songs and one song was outstanding. I have the c/d and wonder if I can 'send' it to other people. Anyone know?

I am going to head for a bath and then maybe a bit of a rest on the veranda just in time to see the nightly fireworks. Iced water is my drink of 'choice' nowadays. Maybe I can stay up until you youngsters return from the parks and your evening adventures and hear what you got up to.

SG/Linda

 

[jstmee]

SG, I laughed at the Iced Water, sounds sooooo delicious, I will add a bit of lemon to mine thanks.

 

[SlightlyGoofy]

I am glad I could give you a smile Jstmee. LOL I do need to request a room reassignment. With all the water I am required to drink on this diet it is a necessity that I be right next to the bathroom. If anyone sees me going in that direction you might want to yield the right of way to prevent any possible accidents to our EWP embossed carpet. (grin) Heck, while we are it we should just order up seperate baths for each resident, complete with whirlpool and sauna. If you're gonna dream you might as well dream big!

I am off for a morning stroll around one or more of the AK trails. I enjoy walking more when there is something to see.

SG/Linda

 

[angelina]

Wendy, it's funny to read about your snow, here it's 90 dogrees with 90-100% humidity and no rain in sight. I was beginning to rethink going to WDW next month, I remembered how how hot it was last summer. But, then, just as I said then, might as well be hot and miserable in WDW as here.

My schedule got to me yesterday, too. I realized that I forgot to work the concession stand Saturday, so ds won't be able to play in the game Saturday. It just ruined my day, and I was depressed all day long. I sat the kids down and explained to them how difficult it is for me to keep everything straight, even with a calender, when they don't do their part. For instance, Saturday, dd had a 9:00 game, which meant be there by 8:30, after which, she called a friend and was invited to go to her house to play for the afternoon. I discouraged her, but she begged, so I let her go. They even came to pick her up. I went to a shop to look for a 1st communion gift for her, came home, fixed lunch, then picked her up so she could help me pick out the little porcelain girl she had seen, which meant going downtown to the convent. We then went to Target to get drinks for the game and picnic the next day, and made it home just in time to load up again and go to ds's game. Ten minutes before he was supposed to BE there, he realized he didn't have all the pieces of his uniform together as his father and I had BOTH told him to do the day before, so we had to stop everything and look for it. And I forgot all about working at the ball park, or even looking at my schedule.

Today is better, I'm getting an early start since my friend didn't come by for us to go for a walk. We're going to the farmer's market and Wal-Mart for groceries. I hope everyone stays cool/warm as needed, LOL. Have a great morning.

 

[IASW Rider]

Hey Everyone!

Whew - what a day! My head is spinning. So LOVELY to be back at work, you know. I can't wait till this day is over so that I can get out of here! Since it's too late to delve into a new project, I thought that I would spend my last 1/2 hour at work with all of you - far more pleasant than looking at the stuff strewn all over my desk!

Welcome, Steve! Great to see one of my trivia buddies in the Suite! And Storm Along Bay sounds great to me, too!

Thanks so much for posting the links to your great pictures, Helenabear - I was really excited to see them! I especially loved seeing your wedding photos - you both look so wonderful and happy in them! I sent the link over to Frank so that he could see them, too! And your dress and veil are just gorgeous - I'm so happy that we finally got to see what they look like, after your great descriptions of them! It was also really neat to see your "vintage" WDW pictures! I wish that I had a scanner so that I could upload some of my older WDW pictures, too. I hope that we will be able to get "our" room at the Poly. We think that we have a pretty good chance of getting it since it's not in a popular location, is on the third floor, and is a smoking room, so hopefully it won't already be assigned. We just love that Samoa building! And that room has sentimental meaning to us!

I can definitely relate to those charges to the restroom, SG! We'll be racing eachother to get there - maybe that should be our "gentlemen's" next project - building additional restroom facilities for us - complete with personal jacuzzi's, of course! So neat that you and Helenabear are going to meet in person, next week!!! Thanks for your encouragement about my charming work situation. It's yucky as ever - today they published and circulated the new organizational chart for our division......with my name conspicuously absent. Already, people have started to ask my assistant what my "deal" is. Oh well - I knew that "the masses" were going to find out, some time. I'm just plugging away, posting for other jobs and hoping that something will turn up as soon as possible, so that I can get out of here. Though I'll tell you, after being off for a week and a half, I could definitely get used to not working at all, if it came to September and I still didn't have a job......! I also agree with you about the seats of exercise bikes - my behind has been numb ever since I started using Frank's Life Cycle - I guess I'll have to get used to it, though, 'cause I don't want to chance doing anything higher impact until I know that my injury has completely healed. Bet you're having a great week - I'm sure that you will be in for a pleasant surprise on your ribbon, very soon!

That's so neat that you and your DH submitted that audition tape, Jstmee! Can't wait to hear how it goes - it sounds like it was a lot of fun to make, and who knows? We just might be watching you both on TV in the very near future! You'll have to keep us posted! And thanks for your kind words, as always!

Wow, Angelina - your schedule is PACKED! But at least it's packed with lots of happy and fun things and family celebrations! After all of those events have passed, you know what you will definitely need????...........A TRIP TO WDW!!!!!!! Don't worry about the heat - who cares about the heat when you're in WDW??!!! We can take it - we're WOMEN OF THE SUITE!!!! I will have to cheer you on and encourage you throughout the next month, to ensure that you and your family are down there at the beginning of June! COME TO WDW!!! COME TO WDW!!! COME TO WDW!!! I really hope that we will be there at the same time! In the mean time, hang in there! You are doing a far better job managing your own schedule, as well as those of your DH and children, than you are giving yourself credit for! Just mastering everything that you just mentioned is a feat, in and of itself, and you should be proud of how organized you are and how much you get done on a given day! And thank you for your kind words, as always, too!

Well, it's just about time to hit the road. Hope that there is not too much traffic, tonight - I did a little grocery shopping at lunch, and have kept the perishables in the office refridgerator. I hope that I get home quickly, since I'll have turkey and chicken in the car! I just hope that I get home quickly, period - I need to get out of here!

Have a great night, and I'll talk to you soon!

 

[SlightlyGoofy]

Angelina, I used to just love it when people would look at me and ask if I 'worked' or was 'just' a stay at home mom. IMHO most SAHM's work harder and more hours than many who work outside the home as well. It is not that the others are not good mothers, they sure are BUT the SAHM's have a lot of pressure to 'do it all' while the others know they can't and act accordingly, as they should. I just hate it when one group fights the other over who is the 'best'. They all are IMHO. I am so proud of how you handled the situation. You did not beat yourself up for not being 'perfect' and you expressed your feelings to your children in a way that they will be able to understand and maybe help out in the future. If I had a star I would pin on you myself. BTW, I need a nap after reading what all you did in one day. zzzzzz

Rider, it is good that the 'troops' know what is up. Among them might be one who knows someone who knows someone that might come up with some sort of solution for you. At the least they will have learned how the company treats their loyal employees and the smarter and better workers will know that they should be looking out for themselves and will jump ship to somewhere they trust more. It is very demoralizing for employees to see another being treated unfairly and disrespectfully and it will show in their work. You try a lot harder for someone who encourages and rewards rather than being inconsistent and arbitrary. I hope that the path to home was as easy as it could get. Instead of moving walkways we need moving roads in some areas. Think of all the work that could be done on the way to and from work if people could just drive onto a WR and get off at their exit?

I am thinking about bringing my apricot striped shirt and slacks for the meet with Helenabear. It would be easy for her to recognize me. LOL That and the Goofy on my purse might be a tip off. I am so terrible at remembering people but I think I would recognize her. I had an idea awhile back and since it is not evident that I cannot do it I will devulge all. I had an idea that it would have been a cool surprise to be at DW when Rider and Angelina were there and would not have been hard to find out where they were as everyone is so chatty about their plans and arrange to be there nearby and maybe drop some hints until they realized that SG was among their midsts! A girl can dream - - - - -

Hey, Steve, if you are gonna be a member you have to devulge some details about yourself so we can tailor some excursions just for you. Please?

Poor Wendy, still winter there? In the dead heat of summer we will envy you but not just this minute. (smile)

Was out and about most of the day and just got home so I had better see what needs to be done as I will be gone most of tomorrow also. Thank you all for your encouragement on the weight loss thing. Is going badly right now and I am struggling.

SG/Linda

 

[IASW Rider]

Oh, don't tease us, SG! It would have been such a great surprise to "run into you" at WDW! Who knows - maybe we will all be able to get together there, some time in the future! Are you and your DH still considering moving down there?

Well, I came in to work, today, to find an envelope on my desk marked "to be opened by addressee only" - LOVELY. I knew exactly what it was - it was my "see ya, sucker" package - the package explaining all of my lay off severence / benefits, etc. I have to say, the company is very generous when they kick people out the door - I have no complaints about what they are offering, in and of itself. I just still can't believe that they want me out of here. Oh well - no sense in sulking, I guess. I have to move on!

At least I'm off, tomorrow (between my bronchitis of last month, the spring holidays, my great eye accident, and now this day off, I've actually spent more time away from the office than in it, lately!). Frank and I are going to meet with the bakery about our wedding cake, pick up our WDW documents at the travel agent (yea!), I have a fitting for my dress, and we're going to apply for our marriage license. At least it will be a productive day!

I ordered us Mickey and Minnie bride and groom pins from pinstore.com, a few days ago, and they came in, yesterday. I'm going to surprise Frank with his (along with a Mickey Swiss Army watch - which I hope to have engraved - and a book called "I Marry You Because....." - with all sorts of quotes and anecdotes about marriage in it) the night before our wedding. I thought that wearing the pins every day when we are in WDW would be easier and more comfortable than wearing our bride and groom mouse ear hats (which our Keys to the Kingdom tour guide gave us last year, when we told him that we had just gotten engaged). I also didn't want the mouse ear hats to get crushed in our luggage, if we tried to bring them back to WDW with us. The pins are really nice! I'm not a Disney pin collector - only because I know that if I started, I would go crazy and spend millions of dollars on them - but it's nice to have a few special pins! I can't believe that we will be there a month from Friday!

Well, time to try to get some work done and "earn my keep", I guess. Hope that all is well with all of you! Talk to you later!

 

[IASW Rider]

Hey everyone!

How are you all doing, today? Guess I happened by the Suite at a time when no one is around - I guess you're all out at the parks, having fun!

Well, we had a very productive day off, yesterday! We did all the wedding planning things that I mentioned in my last post, so we felt really accomplished! We also had lunch with my father, who served as our witness when we applied for our marriage license. That was really nice, since my father so rarely gets to get out of his house, and rarely comes over to our house. We had a really nice afternoon with him.......but when we came home, my mother had left a message on our answering machine, asking for my father to call her back. So he did.....and would you believe she made him feel GUILTY for taking too much time away from her???? I was really pissed off when I saw how agitated my father was by whatever she was saying to him on the phone. He said that she was "worried" because she didn't think that he would be gone that long. It's total manipulation. Anyway, my father bolted out of our house and went home, the second that he hung up the phone with her. Oh well - at least he had a nice afternoon out, for awhile, anyway. But in general, it was a nice day.

Today is not such a nice day. My boss told me that they have hired my "replacement" and that he will be starting in 2 weeks (and I actually know him - he's someone I worked with back in my early days at ML, in the 80's). Whoopee. If they expect me to train this guy, they have another thing coming. It's like every day, a new source of humiliation is heaped on me. At least I'm becoming numb to it all, now, and sort of letting it roll off me. I thought that I would be much more upset about my replacement being hired than I actually am. I just think to myself "typical" and try to laugh it off, inside my head. I just can't deal with this place. 3 more hours till the weekend..........

But on to a more fun countdown - 1 MONTH TILL WDW!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Sorry to come in here and whine and complain.........I think that I will grab one of the cans of Diet Coke that our Suite staff has so thoughtfully left for us and run out to the monorail station. I think I need a quick ride on IASW to lift my spirits!

Have a nice day and a great weekend!

 

[IASW Rider]

Wow - I just keep picking times to come by when everyone is out for the day! So, I thought that I would leave you all a note to find, when you come back to the Suite after your day's activities! I'll just leave it here by our nice EWP juice and fruit bar.

It's been a nice weekend, here in the Garden State - sunny both days, and in the high 60's / low 70's. We went to see "Spiderman", yesterday, since Frank was dying to see it. It was a pretty good movie - I enjoyed seeing it! We hadn't been to a movie in the theaters in so long. Not too much else to report - just catching up on things around the house for the rest of the weekend. Frank went out back to pull some weeds, today, and saw that the infamous poison ivy of last summer has grown and is now very obvious to see, back there. I'm going to call our Homeowners Association tomorrow, to see if they can send someone over to get rid of it, so that I do not have any more unfortunate encounters with it, this year! I keep worrying that something else "bad" will happen before our wedding.....my face finally looks back to normal, after my "eye incident" - the last thing that I need right now is a case of poison ivy! Oh well - I'll try not to worry so much!

Hope that you're all having a nice weekend! Hopefully I'll catch one or 2 of you here, the next time I stop by! I'm going to head out to Downtown Disney to do a little shopping, now, and maybe have dinner at the House of Blues! See ya later!

 

[SlightlyGoofy]

I wish I could do this in person but I am sending a special {{{{{GBFH}}}}}} to our dear Lisa/Rider. I know that there is sunshine ahead for you but I know how hard it is for you to see that far ahead right now. You are doing wonderfully in holding your head high and not letting them see your hurt. They will rue the day. I do not know how many times they badgered someone out where my DH used to work and often found themselves having to hire the person back as a 'consultant' because the new people did not know what they were doing. Being the ornery person that I am I might 'suggest' that things be filed under letters that only you would understand and so on but I would never really do such a thing in real life, but it is nice to dream sometimes. LOL

I think I can understand how frustrating it must be for you not to get to spend more time with your dad. It is so lovely of you guys to include him in your plans and ceremony. I am sure it means the world to him. The more I hear about your Mom the more I feel she has a mental problem of some kind and needs some help. I have a dear friend who is afraid to travel, even a few miles and I have a fear of animals and I know how such things can limit your life and how it hurts your self esteem and causes so many misunderstandings with others from time to time. I know some people think I am reclusive or stuck up but I am just afraid and then not being able to hear well isolates me as well. On the computer you can deal with people one on one and since I am reading rather than hearing I can get things mostly right. LOL

Dear Elaine/Helenabear I cannot believe that I am going to be meeting you soon. I still have not heard from my sister as yet. One sister says she would love to come with us and I think the other will as well. I will email her at work tomorrow and try to get her to suggest somethings and will send you the info for you to choose. Since you have to travel the furtherest it is only fair IMHO. I am easy to get along with and will be happy any old place as long as I am with friends. (grin) Just be forewarned that I am just a plain, regular motherly type person albeit with a strange sense of humor and, I hope, a warm smile.

I am glad to hear that Spiderman was a good movie. I have invited my little guy to go with me when we return. He loves super heros. He sang at church this morning and was the loudest, by far. Even with my impairment I could hear him loud and clear. He came home with us after church while his parents arranged his party. It was held in the town square shelterhouse, just up the street from here. He gave the blessing before we ate and I was a bit bad and taped it. He got far more presents than he deserved and we all had a lovely time. My dear friend, Dorthea, came as well. She does not get out as much nowadays and I was worried that she might overdo.

I wish I had maintainace to call since I am the one to fight off the dreaded poison ivy and I have to make time tomorrow to install a new garage door lock as ours is on it's last legs. This in addition to packing, cleaning the car, house, yardwork etc. Sure glad I am not a 'working' woman! LOL

We will be leaving Tuesday, after we vote, so I will not be in touch for about a week but I have a feeling that HB will be in touch after our visit so I will not be too far from the suite.

Take care, Rider, Helenabear, Angelina, Jstmee, and Steve(wherever you are)!

SG/Linda