EWP group?

[twinscandc]

Hello everyone!!

I just wanted to post to make sure everyone knew that I am still alive!!

Most days I feel like I'm just keeping my head above water!! I am so glad that school is out this week. Both my girls had several year end projects. Although they love doing these projects, it takes a lot of work and they want everything PERFECT!

Carson (14 months!!) is doing great!!! He has suffered with so many ear infections this past winter and into the Spring. They finally agreed to do tubes. He had the surgery last about two weeks ago. It seems to have really helped. It's suprising that neither one of the girls have ever had an ear infection.

I hope all is well with everyone!! Rider....congratulations!!! I know it takes a lot of hard work!! Now, like you said....the real work begins!! Have fun!!

Well....must get back to work!!

Everyone have a magical day!

Becki

 

[SlightlyGoofy]

Is everyone sighing a sigh of relief for all the milestones that we have all accomplished lately?

I imagine that Lisa is sighing the hardest with having all the pomp and ceremony over with and ready to start her new life. Great pictures and so nice of you to share. I know you had to be tired with all that has been going on in your life. Fun can be awfully hard work but well worth it for such wonderful occasions!

Becki, gal!! I have been so worried about you. When I do not hear I always assume bad news rather than good news. I am so sorry to hear about Carson's ears. Having suffered from ear problems when I was a kid I know how it can hurt so and being a mom watching it is almost as painful. I was so disappointed that the girls were not on the entertainment agenda yesterday. I asked specially. I had a lapful of Lauren. She is such a sweet girl. I have offered to help her with her reading at bowling during the summer. She has so much enthusiasm. She asked me if I were Caitlynn and Courtney's grandma. I told her no but that I had met her.

Colleen, we did not make the deadline for meeting before summer so it is not likely to happen unless we can get together after we return from DW in the fall and even then we have a mere few weeks before we return in December. You will just have to plan a trip for when we are there and we will meet on the beach at the Poly.

Hi to everyone else who is dropping by!! Hope Mother's Day was good to you all and that you are prepared for a busy summer. Dalton came today for his first day and completed a list of ten things he wants to learn. Algebra is the only thing on the list that is giving me pause. His mother's BD is today and I will see her at the ball field when I take him out for his game. He is on the All Star Team again this year.

I turned the a/c on last night for the first time. With the high energy costs I have been putting it off as long as possible. We have not had much rain and I am carrying buckets of water morning and night. Must be good for me as I whittled another 3.75#'s off and those are all NEW pounds so I am pleased. Hope they stay lost. That is the hardest part of it all. I am down another size. It is my dream to just be LARGE instead of any X's figured into the equation. BTW, my estimation what the clothing industry considers large is greatly skewed. They are crazy!!!

Happy Memorial Day, a bit late and hope you all have a nice watermelon chilling in your fridge so you can have something good later this evening. I have started growing mine but it will be a long time until they make it to my fridge.

Love, Linda Lou

 

[IASW Rider]

Here's wishing Colleen and her family a WONDERFUL, MAGICAL, SPECIAL, AND FUN vacation!!!

Cold drinks, fun snacks, and a HUGE Birthday cake for Erin will be awaiting us in the Suite, this evening, as we wish Colleen and her family well on their journey! Come one, come all!

 

[IASW Rider]

Hi Everyone!

Hi Becki!

Great to hear from you! CONGRATULATIONS to your little ladies on another successfully completed school year! I'm sure that their final projects came out wonderfully! And so glad to hear that Carson is well and that his procedure was a success........and that you can put it - and those ear infections - behind all of you, now! How has everything else been going? Any special plans for summer? Hope that all is well with you and your family! Thanks so much for your kind words!

Hi Linda!

CONGRATULATIONS on getting rid of those NEW POUNDS! That is wonderful news!! Another great accomplishment! And I'm sure that you'll be rid of those "X's" in no time........if you haven't gotten rid of them all, already! You should (CONTINUE TO BE!) very proud of your efforts - you're doing a great job and I know that you look wonderful, as always!

CONGRATULATIONS to Dalton on making the All Star Team, this year! Hope that he has a great season! And hope that Jackie had a very Happy Birthday, too! And hope that all is well with you and Tom!

Hi Everyone else! Hope that all is well with all of you and hope that everyone has a great weekend!

Everything is fine, here! Finally calming down after a month of celebrating! First my father's and my joint Birthday party, then my graduation, and last weekend was Frank's and my 5th wedding anniversary! We treated ourselves to dinner at the "Victoria and Albert's of Central New Jersey" - a very fancy-schmancy restaurant - and it was wonderful! My father and uncle took us out to celebrate the following night, and guess what? I wore the very funky / poofy dress that I mentioned in my post below! Since I couldn't wear it to my grad school graduation for old time's sake (for fear of looking like an inverted mushroom, again! ), I promised myself that I would wear it on some other occasion around this time.........so I did! I'm just thrilled that I can fit into it again (it's 19 years old!) and that the style is kinda back in style, this season (or so say the recent magazines, anyway! ). So that's my little "recent accomplishment"!

Quiet, low-key weekend ahead - just BBQ'ing on our deck and going to see our local minor league baseball team play, which is always a blast!

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

 

[colleen costello]

By the time I get back north everyone in the Suite may be skinnier than ever! Just wanted to send a hello and I guess a goodbye before I make the big road trip and try out being a Florida residents for 6 weeks. We will be at the Wilderness Lodge Villas for the first week, then the kids and I will be at Mom's place in the Villages. I hope to do lots of reading, walking, swimming and golf cart riding, not to mention visiting Orlando -- gotta make those Annual Passes worth it!

Linda, by the time I get back you will not quite be leaving so maybe we can meet then... Sooner or later our paths will cross IN FLORIDA, although perhaps it won't happen until my kids are out of school. I will check in here with EMail a couple of times.

Best wishes for a great summer to everyone here

Colleen

 

[angelina]

Hi, everyone. I just wanted to pop in and tell you that after 5 LONGGGGGG years, we are finally going back to Disney. We will be going July 23rd or 24th through the 30th. Thanks to AP discounts, we're staying at the Beach Club. I think everyone's getting excited, and hopefully we'll have a fun trip.

Angie

 

[SlightlyGoofy]

Man the Suite is really the center of a lot of action lately. Seems as if there is always someone in our small group either on our way TO Disney World or coming back home FROM. I just wish our paths were crossing more often. What a blast. Gotta happen sometime!!!

Lisa, how in the world do you manage to keep your weight down and attend all those parties and eat out so much? I sit and drink tea if I MUST eat with folks a few days before weigh in. We have got to see you in that poofy dress!! Imagine being able to wear something that you wore nearly 20 years ago?? That is an awesome achievement. I bet you looked fantastic.

Colleen, hope you got a good night's sleep last night so that you were up and raring to go for all the fun stuff today. Did you drive by yourself with the kids? That would terrify me. Erin is growing up far too fast. If she would just stop having so many birthdays we might slow her down a bit. Works for ME. Dalton seems to have moved in for the summer and we leave for DW right after school starts so unless I find a time when they go to SC for a week in July getting to see you is going to be tough, not impossible though. Where there is a will there is a way and I have plenty of will. Maybe you might be coming to the Outlet Mall sometime? Let us know if you find any new things to do or places to eat on this trip, with 24 days I have plenty of time to fill as well as laundry to do.

Angie!!! How wonderful. I was just thinking of you yesterday as I was transferring some Bellingrath footage to DVD and remembering how lovely that part of the country was on that trip. You will be spending my BD at DW. A little birdie told me that if you happen to walk down by where the Illuminations Cruises are and they are not booked you just MIGHT get a magical wish and go on a private cruise for free. Think of us as you chow down on a No Way Jose. Yummmm!!! My favorite is the Liquid Sunshine and I make my own version here and the gkids love 'em.

My one friend got out of the nursing home but it was because her 100 days were up rather than the fact that she is able to be out. I know she is glad to be home though. My other friend finally had his other leg amputated which might be considered bad news but the only reason they had not done it was he was too frail but now that the deed is done he is improving. I guess all of this comes with the territory as you get older and the fact that I have always had older friends does not help either. I did make a new friend though, a little girl who moved in across the street. I have been telling her stories about the two little girls who used to live in the house. They were elderly when we moved here and are now gone but I know many stories about the house. I helped one of them plant a tree, growing in the yard now, when they were in their 90's. I thought that was a generous act and still do.

Love to all you Suite Ladies, Linda

 

[angelina]

Hi, everyone.

Linda, I called to book an illuminations cruise, but it was filled. I would love to go on one. I thought I'd check in the afternoons to see if they were full, just in cast. I think that now that you are required to put a credit card hold, and must have a 24 hour cancellation, or something like that, that there aren't too many no shows. I really wanted to do that for my 15 year old, Nick. He loves the fireworks and is our own pyromaniac at home. He just finished his freshman year of high school in a pre-engineering program, so I have started grooming him early to be an Imagineer. . He loved the sigment on the History Channel about WDW, and all the behind the scenes stuff, especially Illuminations.

Lisa, I read back a few pages, and see that you graduated! Congratulations--what a fantastic accomplishment. I am very proud of you. Did you and Frank go back for your anniversary?

I have a lot of catching up to do, so I have been trying to read some of your posts. It has been a long, long time since I even looked at any of the boards, it was too depressing. I'm hoping that the Haunted Mansion will be up and running by the time we're there. One note I saw said July 31st, so maybe, just maybe it will open up before we leave.

Hugs to all.

Angie

 

[SlightlyGoofy]

Angie, did you know that there is a thread on here that matches up folks who have Illuminations Cruise ressies with others so that they can share the expense? We did that last trip and met the most delightful and wonderful people.

I am glad we did it once but doubt we would do it again. If that fails let me know as I have some info on how you go over to WL eat and then by following a certain time line you can see the EWP and Wishes from the boat back over to MK without charge. It is on our list for this trip.

I wanna do Bus Bingo sometime too. I read it on the Boards, naturally. You leave wherever and just get on the first bus you come to, explore and then replicate until you get tired. Might take us to new experiences that we might not have otherwise considered.

I keep hoping that my Dalton might consider a job at Disney as well. Maybe our dear ones will some day work together and we can meet with all our free privileges??

Dalton has drawn up his idea of a dream house and MY room is next to the library on one side and he has his kid's rooms on the other side. He did tell me that he would give me a key so I could lock myself in if need be. Bet I can make the kids lock THEMSELVES in.

Back to work for me. Much to do and I am so slow.

Hugs and Pixie Dust, Linda/SG

 

[IASW Rider]

Hi Everyone!

Sorry that I didn't post sooner, but I guess I haven't been receiving the little update e-mails that inform us when new posts have been made!

Great to see you back here, Angie!!!! And so thrilled to hear about your upcoming trip to WDW! That is wonderful and exciting news!!! And so exciting that you will be staying at Beach Club! We had the wonderful opportunity to stay there in the Villas (thank you, Magic Pixie! ) for my
40th Birthday in January (we went then instead of for our anniversary, this year - thanks so much for remembering! ) and it was just fantastic! You all are going to have an amazing time, I'm sure! And thanks so much for your kind congratulations, too! How is it possible that Nick is 15 YEARS OLD??!!! Where do the years go???? Your children are really growing up - very exciting times in all of your lives!

Hi Linda! Thank you for YOUR kind words, as always! I loved your account of telling your new little neighbor about the people who used to live in her house - that is so sweet! And I think it's wonderful that the tree that you helped them plant lives on in their honor and memory! So glad to hear that your friends are doing well, despite their medical setbacks. The important thing is that they are here and that they are doing all right. And - as always - I'm sure that YOUR friendship and support has a lot to do with keeping them well and in good spirits!

Wish that I had something interesting to report, but I don't! Very quiet, here, which is fine! I do have someone else's news to report, however - spoke to Colleen, this morning, and she and her family made it to THE PROMISED LAND safely and are now happily ensconced in a wonderfully located room in VWL! They were to meet up with her parents and grandmother, this afternoon, and hopefully spend some time at the pool, too, since it's apparently VERY HOT down there, now! Colleen sounded great, as always, and of course is thrilled to be spending an exciting vacation on the banks of Bay Lake!

Hope that all is well with all of you and hope that you're all having a great day!

 

[IASW Rider]

Hi all!

Just wanted to stop in and say that I hope that you're all having a great week!

Not too much to report, here! We're slowly starting to get ready for our cruise, next month, trying to catch up on things that people who've taken the Mediterranean cruises have posted on the DCL boards as well as other fan sites, to see if we can get any "tips" or reviews of the excursions that we've chosen.

Aside from that, all is pretty quiet in the North East! Hope that all is well with all of you!

P.S. Saw some pictures from WDW that Colleen posted - looks like they're having a wonderful time at the Lodge and have visited the MK and Poly already, too! Three of my favorite places! The Lodge looks beautiful, and so does the Poly, of course, and Colleen and her family look wonderful and happy!!!!!

 

[SlightlyGoofy]

Hi ya Lisa!!

I have read some of the threads on the Disney Cruise to get an idea if I would enjoy it or not. Some days I think I would and others not. I have not really liked my other cruises, except one. Maybe I will change my mind one day. I can see you and Frank in deck chairs watching the sea and resting up for all those shore excursions though. You could even wear your poofy dress to dinner one night, at the Captain's Table. I just know that you will end up there at some point.

Dalton is waiting to get beat at another game of Tetris. He still has not caught onto the fact that just cause it is new to him it might not be to this OLD woman.

Love, Linda Lou and Dalton, too

 

[IASW Rider]

What "OLD" woman?? I don't see any "OLD" women around here...........!!!!!

Congratulations on your successful Tetris outing, yesterday! You'll teach the new generation how to play it........just like your very successful history with "Millionaire"!

We sure will need to rest up before those shore excursions! They are back-to-back and most of them will be 8 - 10 hours long, in the hot Mediterranean sun, with lots of walking and hours of riding buses from the ports to the excursion cities. I suspect that it's going to be EXHAUSTING, but certainly worth it! At least we have a full day at sea on the first and last days......to rest up in the beginning and to recuperate at the end!

I don't think that I will be bringing the poofy dress along on the cruise......because we have limited space in our luggage (and need to pack 2 weeks' worth of clothes)......and the skirt would probably take up too much room.......or get crushed in transit! I think that I will be concentrating on bringing very FLAT clothes that can be "condensed" very easily! (We use those vacuum-packed packing bags to flatten out our clothes as much as possible.)

It's funny that you mentioned the Captain's table - I happened to catch the DCL "Behind the Scenes" program on the Travel Channel, a few nights ago, and the Captain who was featured and interviewed (and whom they demonstrated operating the ship's controls, etc.) happened to be one of our Wonder Captains whom we've met (we met the other one, too)!

Hope that you're all having a great week, out there! Not too much to report from the Garden State! Talk to you soon, Everyone!

 

[SlightlyGoofy]

Lisa, of course you already know the captain. Probably exchange Christmas cards too! I know how you are.

My sister who just came back from a European trip told me that this OLD lady could not have done it and it is true. I can barely do the bare minimum on a good day. My mom always referred to herself as "The Old Lady" and I have inherited the title.

The baseball game was rained out last night. I have to confess I was happy on a couple of accounts, one cause I was tired and glad of a quiet evening relaxing. I would have been even happier if it had rained more than ten minutes though. We are in the midst of a moderate drought. They have banned watering the lawn and that I can deal with but if they get to the point where they say no showers I will be foregoing flushing or something less important as I am NOT going without a shower. When I had my last surgery I took a half dozen or more showers a day. It did me more good than all my medications.

Those space saving bags really work??? Are the suitcases extremely heavy with all the clothes that are crammed into there? I do not like to do laundry on vacation and am always hunting for ways to avoid it. I used to love buying Le Chute clothes as they are so light weight, unwrinkable and the next best thing to going nekkid. I have not seen much in that material lately though except on the little old ladies at casinos and such. It is a shame.

I have your agenda and plan to check it each day so that I can imagine where you are and what you are doing. Not the same as being there but the best this OLD lady can do.

BTW, Dalton has started a campaign for me and he to fly down to DW by ourselves for a vacation. He would prefer to go during Free Dining for the 'gourmet' food though. Picky child. He knows grandma would not pay for those kinds of meals out of HER pocket.

Took some of our gourmet brownies to the next door neighbors who are having a birthday and trying to get up enough energy to hit the yard and do some work. I am edging the sidewalks, manually. It looks great when it gets done and I would rather do that than walk on the treadmill. Not much bores me but that does. Amazon has offered me a great deal on lots of Broadway musicals so I am going to go check out which ones I want to order. Might have to ask YOUR advice on some. Will keep me walking this winter, maybe.

Hugs and grins to everyone! SG/Linda

 

[SlightlyGoofy]

Hi ya all!!

I have been busy with my boys. The older one still needs driven from here to there and the younger one is still living with me. He goes home tonight. Tom went to visit his brother for 3 days so I had a whole 3 hours between him leaving and me picking up Dalton. I took myself out to eat and then shopping. Fast liver I.

I have some friends headed Angelina's way. I have told them to go through Fairhope and take lots of pictures.

Colleen is having far too much fun on her summer vacation to check in here. I do not blame her one bit. Wonder if her parents want to adopt the rest of us??

I have not heard from Becki in awhile and am a bit worried about her but figure she is like me, summers are for running kids here, there and everywhere.

Dalton has another ballgame tonight and then it is county fair time. After that he starts his All Star games and will be playing (gasp) 3-4 games a day each Friday, Saturday and Sunday!!! I am not sure I can handle that much sitting but I will try. I carry my cane on the way in and depend on it to get out afterward.

It is getting down to a mere two months before we leave for our big trip of the year. I cannot believe that there are so few Spectromagic parades scheduled at that time and absolutely no nights with two. I am hoping that will change though.

I am daydreaming about all the pictures we will get of Frank and Lisa's European Adventure. The next best thing to being their yourself is seeing pics of folks you love there.

Just found out that (good news) my bil is bringing Tom home tomorrow instead of me driving down there (other news) and I am fixing lunch for them all.

No rest for the wicked is so true. Dalton comes back Sunday night. Yard to mow Sunday.

The best news is that I lost another 2 pounds for the month of June. Slowly, slowly BUT in the right direction!!

Hope you all are getting rain if you need it and not if you do not.

Hugs and grins, Linda

 

[IASW Rider]

Hi Everyone!

Just wanted to check in before we blast off for Barcelona on Monday! So sorry that I have not been around in awhile. I had to submit a draft of the first 2 sections of my Fieldwork project (Masters thesis) to my Advisors by this past Monday, so I was trying to get that done, along with getting ready for our trip!

Can't believe that it's almost here!

We'll be back on the 29th and will stop by the Suite as soon as I can, after that date!

Here is our itinerary if anyone would like to see:

Monday, July 16th:

Fly to Barcelona

Tuesday, July 17th:

Arrive in Barcelona, Spain and spend the night

(Touring on our own)

Wednesday, July 18th:

Board the ship - leave port at 10:00 PM

Thursday, July 19th:

Day at sea

Friday, July 20th:

Palermo , Sicily

Saturday, July 21st:

Pompeii, Sorrento, and Capri , Italy

Sunday, July 22nd:

Olbia, Sardinia

Monday, July 23rd:

Civitavecchia (Rome !) , Italy

Tuesday, July 24th:

Florence , Italy

Wednesday, July 25th:

Nice and Monaco (France and Monte Carlo, specifically)

Thursday, July 26th:

Marseilles, France

Friday, July 27th:

Day at sea

Saturday, July 28th:

Debark the ship and spend the day / night in Barcelona

Sunday, July 29th:

Fly home!


In the mean time, hope that you all have a wonderful 2 weeks - ENJOY! We'll be thinking of you all!

Love,
Lisa

 

[IASW Rider]

Just wanted to wish all of you, here in the Suite, a very HAPPY 6TH ANNIVERSARY!

If you'll notice, this very thread commenced exactly 6 years ago on July 16th (although our original Suite was "born" about 2 months beforehand.......)!

I'm sorry that I won't be here for our gala celebration.........but we'll celebrate "belatedly" upon Colleen's and my returns!

In the mean time, hope that you all have a wonderful celebration!

Here's to many more years of fun and friendship in the EWP Suite!

Love,
Lisa

 

[IASW Rider]

And speaking of celebrations............ I just wanted to take this early opportunity to wish Linda a VERY HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!!

Although her REAL special day is later this month, it will be another Suite celebration that I will have to miss because we'll still be away.........so we'll just have to have a SECOND Birthday extravaganza for Linda, when we get back! Meet you all on the shores of the Seven Seas Lagoon!

Hope that you have a wonderful, special, and MAGICAL Birthday, Linda!

Lots of love,
Lisa (and Frank!)

 

[SlightlyGoofy]

Happy Anniversary to us! Six years?? Time flies when you are having fun. I had it on my reminder calendar to post this very special day. We have had so many special celebrations through the years that it would be impossible for me to top some of the ideas folks have had.

Angelina was there in June (?). Colleen is there now, Frank and Lisa are on their way, a month later I follow. Love of the Mouse is the glue that holds us together. It is a given that such people are special, loving, caring and a bit different from the regular run of the mill folks and it is so here.

When I think back over the years I contemplate whether Helanabear ever got her rose covered trellis and how her home remodeling came out? Who can ever forget Janet2K's immortal anniversary celebration? It will live in DIS history. LauraLee with her Tarisms and serving tales have really added some leavity to my life. Jstmee, who is ever so much more, and her life and how she handles it all with such grace, faith and love is an inspiration to us all. Becki who lives close enough for us to run into each other in most unexpected ways, what a delight! Lisa, who is the founder and spark plug of the group, whether she admits it or not. What an inspiration she is in all that she does and accomplishes.

There are so many others who have dropped by for a short time. Can never forget those youngsters who felt comfortable in our presence for a time. What life they led to the Suite. As they persue their youthful lives and graduate and become full fledged PAYING Disney lovers maybe they will come back and join us again in making plans for future attractions and additions.

For whomever I have forgotten to name, please forgive me and understand that it is not YOU whom I have forgotten but your names. When you get older you will understand.

I have survived fair week and even the weekend of ballgames although I had to admit that I skipped one day. I was so tired and it was so far away and risking my life is one thing but driving while impaired and risking others lives is not something I am willing to do. I still have my ballplayer and one of his friends here today. They spent the night. The boy used to be one of my readers and just moved in down the street. He is the youngest of 4, soon to be 5 and I think he just wants some quiet time. He and Dalton play together nicely so it is not a problem.

This weekends ballgames are only about 20 miles away so that is not so bad. Too much sitting is causing me pain though. Maybe the boys will let me run bases for a bit?

Lisa, I coped your itinerary and plan to check each day to see where you are and what you are doing. I cannot think of a better way to celebrate my birthday than for you guys to be doing something like this. I love that you can!!

I have lunch to get ready and some housework too. How does the house get dirtier when we are not home????

Love and Happy Anniversay you Suite Ladies! Linda

 

[angelina]

Six years?!?!? It's hard to believe, but that's when we went to WDW and had the most wonderful vacation at the Poly! And that's when I found all of you on this thread. So much has happened since then, hasn't it?

We're leaving Monday for our firsttrip in five years, and our first trip to the BC. I am hoping that it will be fun. I had a little bit of magic happen just a moment ago--I was looking through a drawer for a bracelet. The drawer is full of baby teeth (each one labeled and dated for the appropriate child ,old coins, costume jewelry, etc., and I found an envelope that looked suspiciously like the ones they give you at the Disney store for your dollars, and it was! I had $50 worth of dollars from a long ago trip that I didn't remember having. WooHoo! Anyway, it was a nice bit of unexpected magic.

Hope everyone is having a terrific summer, wherever you may be.

Angelina