February 7, 2009 Western early check in!

[JRandAJsMom]

Dissydebb-- my thoughts and prayers are with you. Take care of yourself and soon you can go on a cruise to celebrate your recovery :hugs:

I've never done anything like this, so I've kind of been a little shy on the board. I don't know much about the fish extenders, but they sound fun and I'm interested I thought I'd take a stab at the questions

1. What are your favorite TV shows? Is there one that you CANNOT miss a single episode? LOVE House and ER I am loving that USA is showing House almost every day-- I was in heaven on Thanksgiving

2. What's the weather like at your house today? GROSS!!! It's cold and wet. I figure if it's going to be cold, we might as well get some pretty snow out of it, but it's slushing outside

3. What kind of hobbies do you enjoy? I'm working 2 part time jobs right now, so I'm not left much time for hobbies after that-- especially with 2 young boys. I love being a mom and spending time doing whatever I can with them so I try to make my schedules around their school times. I'm a kids soccer coach and class mom. And I'm sure that it goes without saying that I am a Disney addict

4. What was the last book you read? Sad, I know, but I'm a Harry Potter nut. I'm reading Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince... Started it so I could read it again before the movie came out before they pushed the opening to summer

5. With Thanksgiving this week, what are your holiday plans (if any)? We were supposed to go to my grandmother-in-law's house, but everyone ended up sick with the flu (and one with pinkeye) so we were quarantined... It was actually kind of nice to get a quiet day to ourselves... And we did get a doggy bag on our doorstep

 

[SoCalDCLfan]

OK, my turn

excursions - we booked the semi-sub/snorkel in Grand Cayman (DH really wanted the full 90 foot diving sub but was nice enough to agree to the one that doesn't submerge), cozumel beach break (really wanted to see the Tulum ruins, but for a family of 5 it was too much $$ for us), and DH and DS are doing the bottom fishing at CC

flights - yep, we're booked. coming in from LA. thrilled to be on non-stop. last time we took Southwest to get great rate, and between plane changes and layovers it took us 17 hours to get home. never again!

fish extenders - never done it, but would love to join in

1. What are your favorite TV shows? Is there one that you CANNOT miss a single episode? we love House, Three and a Half Men, Daily Show with Jon Stewart and Colbert Report. I try to catch Samantha Brown on the travel channel. and the elections made me somewhat of a CNN junkie. trying to wean myself off of that

2. What's the weather like at your house today? it's beautiful. supposed to be 80 degrees. sunny, clear skies

3. What kind of hobbies do you enjoy? i love horseback riding. not doing much of it lately as the kids are keeping me super busy. and of course, researching and planning for all our future Disney trips. just ordered a stack of Rick Steves books on London, France and Spain for our 2010 Disney cruise. can't wait to dig in

4. What was the last book you read?
Secret Life of Bees. thoroughly enjoyed it, and a quick read. currently reading Barack Obama's Audacity of Hope

5. With Thanksgiving this week, what are your holiday plans (if any)?Thanksgiving was great. now on to Christmas. House is decorated, lights are up. We'll get the tree this weekend. and i'm done with almost all my shopping!!

So excited we passed the 10 week mark for the cruise. It'll be here before we know it!

 

[pgsahm2]

67 DAYS!!

Can you believe that January is NEXT month? I hate thinking about the month of January. For me it means, Christmas is over, cold weather is here, and there's nothing to do except sit inside and wish for spring. EXCEPT this January when I'll be wishing the month away just so our cruise will hurry up and start!

I've been watching the "fuel surcharge" thread on the cruise board with excitement. I really hope we are credited for our fuel surcharge. It really adds up! A nice little (or not so little depending on your number of passengers!) onboard credit would be SOOOO nice.

How much cash does everyone bring? (I swear that question is not meant to sound rude and imposing... lol ) I want to make sure we have enough to pay for taxis and drinks/food while in the ports. And then the tips for room services, etc. I can't remember what we brought with us last time for our 3 night.

As for packing, who's started? lol I haven't started packing per se, but I have been eyeing my summer clothes and considering what I will be taking with me. I've picked up a few things on sale and also been to Goodwill a bunch of times and found some decent dresses to wear on the cruise. I love Goodwill!

 

[brinalyn530]

I've been keeping an eye on those fuel surcharge threads also, to the point that I priced out our cruise to see if they were still charging the fuel surcharge on the website - they are not. I am really hoping for that extra onboard credit as well - it does add up!

I read through the 2008 DCL Passporter last week and I am getting super excited, but I wish the 2009 version was being released earlier than 2/1/09 - I am running out of things to read and I want to save something for the cruise!

I am officially finished Christmas shopping! I did most of it online this year (gotta love free shipping!) and I'm just waiting for one more delivery then I can finish wrapping everything and relax until baking day on the 21st! It helps that my big present to my parents was the cruise so I just had to pick up a few little things for them. My brother was definitely the hardest this year - last year my gift to him was the land and sea vacation so it was easy peasy - this year he doesn't even know what he wants! How can you not know what you want for Christmas ? I start on my list right after my birthday !

I am totally a jeans and tshirts/sweatshirts girl so I hit Kohls on Black Friday (afternoon - I'm not crazy enough to venture out in the morning on that day ) and picked up some dress pants and tops for the cruise. All of those clothes are together with a few other "cruise outfits" in my closet - same thing with my son's "cruise clothes", they are separated in his closet. So we're not really packed, but are getting prepared. I have also been picking up other little things for the cruise and have been sticking those in our suitcases, so I guess technically I have started packing ! Hey, they don't call me OCD for nothing !

I still would like to get some of the kids to start chatting before the cruise - I'm just not sure how to go about doing so. Any ideas?

I am also starting to look for FE surprises! I know we still have a while, but should we do some sort of roll call for the FE so we can get an idea of how many people/staterooms we're looking at?

 

[Michellepooh]

I've been trying to get ideas for the FE, too!

So, who's in for FE? I definitely am. It's me, DH, DS4, and DS4months.

 

[pgsahm2]

Yay! Another early "packer"! LOL Good for you!

I would like to do FE but I'm new to it. So if someone else wants to head up the list that'd be great! Add us! Me, dh, inlaws, DS's 2, 7, and 9.

Oh, and based on the other cruise meets on this board I'm really feeling like we need a name. LOL Some of the names of the cruise meets are hysterical! Any ideas?

 

[deedeedubbs]

I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday! I was so filled with joy to see my mom and see that she is well again and will be home for Christmas! Her surviving her health emergency is nothing less than a miracle.

Someone asked what kind of car did we buy when our 2000 Honda Odyssey died...well, we got a 2008 Honda Odyssey LX (not the fancy one but much nicer than my 2000 that's for sure!)

I looked back through our discussion and these are the families I found that mentioned either interest or a definite yes to FE's.

So we can keep the list growing and update/correct it let's copy the list from the most current message and then paste it into our reply so we can edit and just add the next name to the list.

That should work, right?

Brinalyn530 - self, DS8, DMom, and DDad
Michellepooh – self, DH, DS4, and DS4months
Cdnstitchfan – 4 families This family 2 adults ds18 ds14 and 6 adults and 6 kids from 1.5-13
Deedeedubbs – self, DH, DD9, DS6
Pgsahm2 – self, dh, inlaws, DS's 2, 7, and 9
MyLove4Disney – 1 adult and DD 24 adult
SoCalDCLfan - 2 adults ds13 dd11 dd8

For those of you who have done FE's before...do you set limits or ranges on the gifts? Do we need to establish some basic groundrules or am I being too much of a mom? I'm knew to FE's.

 

[SoCalDCLfan]

yay! I'm excited the fish extenders are a go. I just bought one off of ebay and was hoping to put it to good use!

 

[pgsahm2]

Deedee, thanks for putting together the FE list.

SoCal, how much was your fish extender from ebay? I guess if we're going to do this I'd better be on the look out for one!

BTW I don't remember if I've mentioned my name before on this thread, but it's Amanda. I don't have a signature for a handful of reasons that I'd rather not go into... So for those that have a good memory that's my name! lol

Is anyone else staying at Country Inn and Suites the night before? We're booked there but I'm trying to see about getting a better rate through priceline or hotwire. We need two rooms so it's rather pricey.

 

[deedeedubbs]

Hi Everyone,

I just did some quick peeks on ebay and Disboards for FE info. Here's a link to a discussion all about FE's, how to make your own, where to buy, ideas of how to use, etc...

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1219607

I'm sure there is another way to reference this but I'm not very saavy yet to all of this.

 

[SoCalDCLfan]

SoCal, how much was your fish extender from ebay? I guess if we're going to do this I'd better be on the look out for one!

There were 10 or so on ebay. all were listed as "buy it now", not auction. I paid $30. and it's very cute!

 

[cdnstitchfan]

Brinalyn530 - self, DS8, DMom, and DDad
Michellepooh – self, DH, DS4, and DS4months
Cdnstitchfan – self, DH, DS18, DS15 cabins 2098 and 2100
Deedeedubbs – self, DH, DD9, DS6
Pgsahm2 – self, dh, inlaws, DS's 2, 7, and 9
MyLove4Disney – 1 adult and DD 24 adult
SoCalDCLfan - 2 adults ds13 dd11 dd8

Thanks Deedeedubbs for doing the list, we didn’t do this on our first cruise, sounds like alot of fun.
I would expect we need to add the cabin numbers so we can find everyone. We have the kids in one cabin and us in another right beside them. I haven’t decided if I am going to put do one FE and have it hang from by one of the doors or if I should have two one for the boys and one for us. Hopefully soon I will decide!! I updated ours, to include my family, the rest of my group doesn’t keep an eye on the board, so they won’t be as prepared as me. Yes, I too am a planner and has to have everything planned and organized. Though I haven’t really started packing, I have been definitely been packing mentally!!

Pgsahm2, I see you keep bringing up the fact we should have a name for our group. I like the idea of having a name too, some of the names others have come up really are pretty good aren’t they. I am just not creative enough to come up with one for our group. Oh yea, we are staying at the Radisson, I found a good deal for them awhile ago, as we needed 2 rooms too. We are arriving late on the Wednesday night. Wanted to make sure we got there in time to get on the boat. You just never know what could happen with the weather in Feb.

It is very cold here today, can hardly wait until I can be sitting near a pool, with sunshine and a drink

 

[SoCalDCLfan]

Brinalyn530 - self, DS8, DMom, and DDad
Michellepooh – self, DH, DS4, and DS4months
Cdnstitchfan – self, DH, DS18, DS15 cabins 2098 and 2100
Deedeedubbs – self, DH, DD9, DS6
Pgsahm2 – self, dh, inlaws, DS's 2, 7, and 9
MyLove4Disney – 1 adult and DD 24 adult
SoCalDCLfan - 2 adults ds13 dd11 dd8, cabin 8068

I added our cabin number

 

[Michellepooh]

I'm so excited to see more activity on our thread!! I can't believe the cruise is only about 2 months away!!! I haven't started packing yet, but I do have things pulled aside. The baby already has a whole new wardrobe of "cruise wear". I just kept buying and buying at the summer clearances. Even if he changed clothes 3 times a day, he would still have too many! Guess I went a little overboard (no pun intended)!

Even though this will be my 10th Disney Cruise, I've only ever done the FE exchange on my most recent cruise in June. I bought my FE from a DISer who sells them on ebay. It is so cute, and well worth what I paid for it (maybe $30?). On my last cruise we didn't set a price limit on gifts. Some obviously ended up being fancier than others, but it was still a lot of fun to get surprises. DS loved returning to our room to see if he got any "fish mail".

As for a group name, I can't think of anything clever. Maybe since the cruise ends on Valentine's Day we could do something about that?

 

[pgsahm2]

More FE stuff:

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1976200

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1774643

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1980639

 

[pgsahm2]

I've added both of our cabin numbers but more than likely we'll have just one FE. I've been contemplating the whole FE since last night. I'm going to look at JoAnn Fabrics (hopefully this afternoon) and see what I can come up with. I can't wait! Little things excite me!

Brinalyn530 - self, DS8, DMom, and DDad
Michellepooh – self, DH, DS4, and DS4months
Cdnstitchfan – self, DH, DS18, DS15 cabins 2098 and 2100
Deedeedubbs – self, DH, DD9, DS6
Pgsahm2 – self, dh, inlaws, DS's 2, 7, and 9, cabins 5022 and 5024
MyLove4Disney – 1 adult and DD 24 adult
SoCalDCLfan - 2 adults ds13 dd11 dd8, cabin 8068

 

[pgsahm2]

Name time. I'm racking my brain and cannot seem to find any real creative juices this morning. Here are some ideas.

Western Wackiness
Bringing Back Cupid from the Caribbean
Caribbean Crazies
Wintertime Western


Oh, we're on the boat for Friday the 13th! Maybe we could go with that theme? Hmmm...

Yep, I'm drawing a blank... lol

 

[brinalyn530]

I like it! Let's see if I can think of anything...

Sailors of Fortune
The Lucky Thirteens
No Black Cats Cruise

I hope no one sailing with us is named Jason !

Or how about (for Valentine's Day)...

The Love Boat
Cupid's Cruise
Cupid's Western (or Caribbean) Getaway
Cupid's "Magic"al Voyage

Ok, I know they're silly, but I'm having fun with this !

 

[brinalyn530]

It would be great if we could get everyone involved - it doesn't have to be an expensive activity. I have seen a lot of posts where people had made their FE gifts (photo mats or frames, door magnets, small things like that), if you have kids that would be a great way to get them involved and excited about the cruise and the exchange. If you're not crafty or don't have much free time, dollar stores carry a lot of cute little things that are Disney or cruise/water related. I didn't have much time (or extra money) before our cruise earlier this year so I ended up going the dollar store route - just some cute little things for the kids mostly. Also, I thought some of the neatest ideas from some of the previous FE posts were the local items - like magnets, candies, or something else small - from each person's home state or town. Dollar stores near touristy areas probably have a lot of stuff like this also. I don't know that we need to put a price limit on the exchange gifts, but it is important for everyone to only spend what is comfortable for them.

Also, it will be necessary for everyone to post their cabin numbers - or else how will we find you to give you your presents ! I added our cabin numbers below.

Brinalyn530 - self, DS8, Cabin 7628 & DMom and DDad Cabin 7631
Michellepooh – self, DH, DS4, and DS4months
Cdnstitchfan – self, DH, DS18, DS15 cabins 2098 and 2100
Deedeedubbs – self, DH, DD9, DS6
Pgsahm2 – self, dh, inlaws, DS's 2, 7, and 9
MyLove4Disney – 1 adult and DD 24 adult
SoCalDCLfan - 2 adults ds13 dd11 dd8, cabin 8068

Now that we have that started... (Thanks Deedeedubbs !) any suggestions for time and place for our DISmeet? I was thinking sometime around 3 or 3:30 - maybe Deck 4 overlooking the atrium? Covered space just in case the weather's yucky and not a highly traveled space (at least not that I remember - but I could be wrong). I just threw that out there - if anyone else has a suggestion I am completely open to different ideas !

Oh, and on Amanda's cue - my name is Sabrina. Nice to meet you! Sorry for my novellas ...

 

[cdnstitchfan]

How funny is that, so far none of us are on the same deck.
This could be a new way to exercise on the ship, handing out FE gifts!!!

Brinalyn530 - self, DS8, Cabin 7628 & DMom and DDad Cabin 7631
Michellepooh – self, DH, DS4, and DS4months
Cdnstitchfan – self, DH, DS18, DS15 cabins 2098 and 2100
Deedeedubbs – self, DH, DD9, DS6
Pgsahm2 – self, dh, inlaws, DS's 2, 7, and 9 cabins 5022 and 5024
MyLove4Disney – 1 adult and DD 24 adult
SoCalDCLfan - 2 adults ds13 dd11 dd8, cabin 8068

Amanda, I noticed your cabin numbers seem to have disappear from the list, I added them back in for you.

Sabrina, I hate to be the bear of bad news, but someone in my group is named Jason!!

As for a suggestion for the Dismeet, being a place that is covered is a great idea, we could also meet near one of the pools. The kids could hang out in the pool if they like.
As for group name I really like the name Caribbean Crazies.
As for a suggestion, I really like Caribbean Sunseekers. These days we don’t have very many hours of sun.

Keeping with the theme of introducing ourselves....Hello my name is Pam and I love all things Disney!! :