Girls Only Trip (old thread, link to new thread in first post)

[lulubelle]

My turn for a drive by.
I just can't keep up with you guys! Our company Christmas Party was Friday and it was a lot of work, but went well. Beth, I am so sorry for your dental woes, DH's brother is our dentist and only charges us what it costs him and it is still a lot of $$! I love all the cards I have received, thanks everyone.

I should have time to read up and post more tomorrow. Have a great night, everyone.

 

[mommaU4]

I had more wrapping to do today. Presents from grandparents, old friends from CA, my SIL, etc. in addition to the ones from "Santa".

After looking at the piles of presents, I was thinking that I really need to have the kids do some room/closet cleaning on this week sometime before Christmas. Otherwise I can see myself pulling my hair out over the STUFF that will be everywhere! I don't deal well with lots of stuff.

Well, we rented House Bunny, so I'm going to make some popcorn and chill with what will hopefully be some mindless entertainment.

 

[bigskyernurse]

Well, I hope you all have a better day then I think mine will be. I woke up with a toothache. Two of them to be exact. Top and bottom, back right side. They've been bothering me off and on for awhile now but I've managed to ignore it because I dread going to the dentist. But I think I've put it off as long as I can. The pain is more steady now so I guess I'd better call and see when I can get in.

Ugh, I hate this so much!! Last time I was at the dentist's office it was only for a cleaning and I almost had a panic attack in the waiting room. I wasn't even in the dentist's chair yet!

Not only do I dread the pain, I dread the bill.

Anyway, I guess I don't have a choice. Hopefully I can get in soon and get it over with!!

Have a good day everyone. TGIF!!

ooooooooohhh beth I'm so sorry.

I hate going to the dentist too, and really need to go. In fact, the whole darn family needs to go. We haven't gotten lined up with a dentist since we moved here. I need to go to the optometrist too.

I hope you feel better!

 

[bigskyernurse]

It's the last day of work before the holiday and I am trying hard to stay (or at least look) busy!

I'm so sorry to hear about your dental problems Beth! I hope that they can solve your issues quickly and relatively painlessly.

We leave in just over 26 hours--not that I'm counting. So, I'll probably check in later tonight, and then will be gone for about a week! I will definitely have at least a mini trip report and some pictures to post. Wish me luck, as it's our last shot at the Dream Suite!

I'll be crossing fingers, toes, arms, legs, and eyes...hoping you get a good visit from the dream squad!! Have a great time!

 

[bigskyernurse]

OKay, well now I am all caught up!

Thank you everyone for your well wishes for my tooth!
Actually it's teeth. I found out I have two teeth on my lower right, the two back ones, that had root canals done on them years ago, and have somehow become infected.

I have two options. One, talk to another dentist in the office who specializes in root canals and see if they can be retreated. That's the cheapest route at around $600 out of pocket expense. (still ouch!)

BUT if they can't be retreated, my only other option is to have them both pulled out, wait for that to heal, have a bone graft to replace any missing bone pulled out during the extraction, and then have implants. If I don't have implants put in, I'll be missing two major chewing teeth and the other teeth will start shifting.

The problem with the second option is not only is it more involved, (and sounds way more scary to me!!), but insurance doesn't cover the implants, so out of pocket we are looking at around $5,500!!!! That is simply not an option for me. I do not have an extra $5,000 bucks laying around. Never will, especially since Noelle still needs braces and we were going to start on that after the new year.

So needless to say it was not a good day. My only hope now is that this other doctor will say he can retreat them. I'll talk to him on Tuesday evening at 6 when I go back for a consultation.
In the meantime I a prescription for some antibiotics to help with the infection and also some prescription strength ibuprofen.

Sigh, talk about being a downer. LOL If you made it through all this rambling, thanks for letting me vent, and think good thoughts for me that he can just retreat them and it won't be too terrible.

I'm so sorry Beth! I was hoping it would be something minor.

 

[bigskyernurse]

Whew! I finally got through all of the pages I had missed.

This time of year is crazy for me, for the obvious reasons, then of course with winter here (and especially this weird vegas snow we've been having) everyone gets sick which makes my life crazier right when I need it to slow down so I can get ready for Christmas!!

I am still trying to finish up shopping. And trying to put together a plan for Christmas day. Our extended family usually gets together at one house, and its usually either here or at my brother and sister-in-laws, but they are expecting, and scheduled for a c-section Monday, so it will be just me as a hostess. She and I usually do most of the cooking and prep, so I am a little stressed. But I will figure it out.

On top of that, the 2 classes I am in are kicking my butt!! I don't know what I was thinking to double up right now.

The good news is the days are ticking by fast which means March and our trip (and Club 33!!) will be here before we know it. Can't wait!!! I will definitely need some away time by then.

Oh and I LOVE the "tree jail" pics. The first thing I thought was "what a great idea!" I have redecorated our tree so many times because the bottom half of the tree keeps getting stripped of ornaments (the area my youngest can reach of course). And then the other day I found all kinds of wonderful goodies tucked in the branches....an empty water bottle, furniture from her doll house, princess clothes from her dolls (the dolls were all naked under the tree)....and more. I guess she wanted to add her own "personal touch" to the tree. It was pretty cute.

Hope you are all trying to squeeze a little rest in on this busy pre-Holiday weekend. I'll try to check in this week, but in case I don't, Happy Holidays to everyone!!

 

[cheshiregirl]

I had more wrapping to do today. Presents from grandparents, old friends from CA, my SIL, etc. in addition to the ones from "Santa".

After looking at the piles of presents, I was thinking that I really need to have the kids do some room/closet cleaning on this week sometime before Christmas. Otherwise I can see myself pulling my hair out over the STUFF that will be everywhere! I don't deal well with lots of stuff.

Well, we rented House Bunny, so I'm going to make some popcorn and chill with what will hopefully be some mindless entertainment.

I watched HB on Saturday morning before we hit the road. It wasn't exactly brilliant filmmaking, but it was cute enough.

 

[cheshiregirl]

Good morning to everyone from Victorville, CA. We headed out around 12:30 yesterday when Ty was ready for a nap and got to Victorville around 3:30 just as he woke up! I have really found that he has just around a 3-3.5 hour tolerance for being in the car, and unfortunately it takes 4-4.5 to get to DLR from our place.

Anyhow, it is really, really cold here up in the high desert and I am looking forward to getting down into the OC this morning. The guys are both still asleep but sometime in the next half hour or so I will get them moving. We stayed at the Econo Lodge. I had found pretty decent reviews of it online and for the price it was great for one night. And, it has much better internet than Hojo

Once we get moving we are headed to Mimi's for breakfast (my favorite and our usual for Sunday brunch at home too) before heading to Knott's for at least part of the day. They don't appear to have too much that Ty can do, but Dave is a Peanuts guy the same way that I am a Disney girl, so it will be fun for him. And due to the Toys for Tots promotion, it's a great way to check out the park and decide whether or not to come back in the future.

Then tonight we are headed to DCA for DEP, assuming that it stays dry. We hardly ever go to DLR during peak summer, and last year it rained every day of our Christmas trip, so I have NEVER seen DEP. Dave remembers seeing it at the Magic Kingdom when he was 5 and is really looking forward to seeing it again.

Ty loves parades of every kind, so this should be a great family experience, and we have made it our top priority for the trip as far as evening entertainment goes. However, if all goes well we should be able to see the Christmas Fantasy parade at least twice, the fireworks and snow at least twice and F! at least once. We are skipping the Pixar Parade this trip as it will be too cold imho to get sprayed with water, although Ty has loved this parade during the past two trips, so we'll see. Maybe if tomorrow ends up being a wet day and the parade is running we'll go seeing as we'll already be wet!

Have a wonderful day and I'll try to update tonight or tomorrow!

 

[kelmac284]

Beth that sucks about Walmart. You are brave to go shopping this time of year. ESP there. I had to buy the girls ornaments for the GS party and everything was picked over or broken it was pretty bad.

I am feeling a little better today although for some reason when you have the flu you seem to feel better in the morning and then worse as the day goes on and the worst at night.

So far the only symptom I have is that all over achy feeling like I got hit by a truck. It started at my party on Friday along with my stomach bothering me. Not really nauseated just achy. Then yesterday I just didn't feel great and Shane took the girls with him about half way through the day to his side job because it is friends of ours and they have kids the girls age that they were able to play with. It was nice to get the house to myself to just sleep in peace. I slept from about 4 till this morning. It was good but I woke up with a terrible back ache and I got that nasty sinus type headache you get when you are sick but so far no sore throat or cough or anything. Plus I DID get a flu shot but I guess now they are saying they don't work. Figures.

But anyway hopefully this is just a temporary thing cuz I don't need to be sick during the holidays. Been there done that and it sucks! And thanks for asking about my ribs. It is still bugging but not NEARLY as bad. My doc had me taking the meloxicam but it is an anti-inflammatory and I am supposed to stop taking them 10 days out from my surgery which is coming up soon and since I personally don't feel like they are doing much good I stopped taking them. I have been on them 2 weeks as it is and I go back tomorrow anyway. I don't know why it is taking so dang long for this to go away but I guess it is just one of those things that take a long time to heal.

But thanks so much for asking.

Today we are skipping church because A I feel like crap and B it is raining and I don't want to go out in the cold and rain when I am already sick. So we are just going to stay in and stay warm and veg!

Hope everyone has a good day and catch yall later!

 

[kelmac284]

Shane just got back from the post office. Thanks to Stephanie and Courtyey! Loved the cards!

 

[bigskyernurse]

Good morning to everyone from Victorville, CA. We headed out around 12:30 yesterday when Ty was ready for a nap and got to Victorville around 3:30 just as he woke up! I have really found that he has just around a 3-3.5 hour tolerance for being in the car, and unfortunately it takes 4-4.5 to get to DLR from our place.

Anyhow, it is really, really cold here up in the high desert and I am looking forward to getting down into the OC this morning. The guys are both still asleep but sometime in the next half hour or so I will get them moving. We stayed at the Econo Lodge. I had found pretty decent reviews of it online and for the price it was great for one night. And, it has much better internet than Hojo

Once we get moving we are headed to Mimi's for breakfast (my favorite and our usual for Sunday brunch at home too) before heading to Knott's for at least part of the day. They don't appear to have too much that Ty can do, but Dave is a Peanuts guy the same way that I am a Disney girl, so it will be fun for him. And due to the Toys for Tots promotion, it's a great way to check out the park and decide whether or not to come back in the future.

Then tonight we are headed to DCA for DEP, assuming that it stays dry. We hardly ever go to DLR during peak summer, and last year it rained every day of our Christmas trip, so I have NEVER seen DEP. Dave remembers seeing it at the Magic Kingdom when he was 5 and is really looking forward to seeing it again.

Ty loves parades of every kind, so this should be a great family experience, and we have made it our top priority for the trip as far as evening entertainment goes. However, if all goes well we should be able to see the Christmas Fantasy parade at least twice, the fireworks and snow at least twice and F! at least once. We are skipping the Pixar Parade this trip as it will be too cold imho to get sprayed with water, although Ty has loved this parade during the past two trips, so we'll see. Maybe if tomorrow ends up being a wet day and the parade is running we'll go seeing as we'll already be wet!

Have a wonderful day and I'll try to update tonight or tomorrow!

I hope you have an amazing time Jane! I've never seen DL at Christmas. I bet its beautiful. The last time we went to WDW it was early January, so we caught the tail end of the Holiday decorations and it was soooo beautiful. And I would also love to see the DEP again. It's been years!! But it so reminds me of being little. Actually I'm pretty sure they had it at DCA right after it opened. I think I remember seeing it in 2002. But it wasn't the same as seeing it down main street.

Have a great time and keep us updated!!

Amy

 

[toocherie]

Hi everyone--I worked most of yesterday and then did some final shopping--including Bed Bath & Beyond where I found the popover pans I'd been looking for! so of course--this morning I had to try them out--my Mom drove in to share--can we all say it together --- yummmmmmm.

I used the Neiman Marcus Tea Room recipe and made the strawberry butter they made--they were SOOO good and huge!

Now I'm trying to get the rest of the house in order because tomorrow night I'll be able to do a few things and I have a party Tuesday night (starting with drinks with friends at 3:30 p.m. and then some girlfriends and I have an annual dinner where we do an ornament exchange. It just turns out that both events are at the same restaurant in Newport Beach (the Ritz) so I won't have to go from place to place!!! Then Wednesday the family is coming for prime rib dinner. I'm still stressing over what side dishes to have, but so far:

Prime Rib
Baked Potato Bar
Scalloped Corn
Fruit Salad (brought by cousin)
Green lettuce salad

and then one more "healthy" type veggie. I'm thinking either ratatouille or green beans sauteed in a little olive oil. My Mom is taking care of dessert. And then on Christmas I am just going to chill out!

 

[Stacerita]

Hope everyone is having a great weekend!

 

[wdwr]

Hey Beth,

Was going over our first page again, and realized that I'm not on the list for the pizza party. Guess I need to get added.

Thanks!

You could have been the Official Pizza Party Crasher that night. Now you girls will have to find someone else for the position.

...Then Wednesday the family is coming for prime rib dinner. I'm still stressing over what side dishes to have, but so far:

Prime Rib
Baked Potato Bar
Scalloped Corn
Fruit Salad (brought by cousin)
Green lettuce salad

and then one more "healthy" type veggie. I'm thinking either ratatouille or green beans sauteed in a little olive oil. My Mom is taking care of dessert. And then on Christmas I am just going to chill out!

I'll be over for the Prime Rib and Baked Potato. That's healthy enough for me.

Beth, I think you should skip the cookie part of that recipe and go straight to the Jack Daniels. You're not a big drinker, I figure a shot of JD and you'll be feeling NO PAIN.

 

[tinkermell]

Drive be here!

Well I finished the aprons!!!

I will try and post pictures tomorrow!

Hope everyone is feeling better. Especially Beth, Dawn,Kelly and Cristabel!! Did I forget anybody?

Take care!

 

[BillyFan]

Hi everyone--I worked most of yesterday and then did some final shopping--including Bed Bath & Beyond where I found the popover pans I'd been looking for! so of course--this morning I had to try them out--my Mom drove in to share--can we all say it together --- yummmmmmm.

I used the Neiman Marcus Tea Room recipe and made the strawberry butter they made--they were SOOO good and huge!

Now I'm trying to get the rest of the house in order because tomorrow night I'll be able to do a few things and I have a party Tuesday night (starting with drinks with friends at 3:30 p.m. and then some girlfriends and I have an annual dinner where we do an ornament exchange. It just turns out that both events are at the same restaurant in Newport Beach (the Ritz) so I won't have to go from place to place!!! Then Wednesday the family is coming for prime rib dinner. I'm still stressing over what side dishes to have, but so far:

Prime Rib
Baked Potato Bar
Scalloped Corn
Fruit Salad (brought by cousin)
Green lettuce salad

and then one more "healthy" type veggie. I'm thinking either ratatouille or green beans sauteed in a little olive oil. My Mom is taking care of dessert. And then on Christmas I am just going to chill out!

Cheryl, I've been making a lot of roasted asparagus lately, and it's been going over really well. I toss the washed, trimmed asparagus in a bit of olive oil, black pepper and garlic salt. Spray a rimmed cookie sheet with Pam and lay the asparagus in one even layer. Put in a 375-400 oven until cooked, but still al dente. Around 15-20 minutes, depending on the size of the asparagus. I like it when it is a big "fatter." You can eat it as-is, or drizzle with some balsamic vinegar. Very tastey!
And if you like cauliflower, steam it and then sautee it in a pan with olive oil, yellow onion adn garlic. Yum!!!!
And if you like brussel sprouts, Tyler Florence has a great recipe with bacon. I didn't think I liked them until I tried them at one of his demonstrations. You should be able to find that recipe on Foodnetwork's web site.

 

[disney-inspired]

Beth & Steph

If you still have Christmas shopping to do I strongly suggest you go first thing in the morning. Or if you're like me and have a 24 hour Wal-mart nearby, go there after 10pm...if you can stay awake I love my Wal-mart though.

Thankfully I'm done but my dad has just begun.

 

[mommaU4]

Our company Christmas Party was Friday and it was a lot of work, but went well.

I'm glad to hear the party went smoothly.

I hate going to the dentist too, and really need to go. In fact, the whole darn family needs to go. We haven't gotten lined up with a dentist since we moved here. I need to go to the optometrist too.

Ruben needs new glasses and neither of us have been to the doctor since we moved here. I always hear such scary stuff about the medical care out here, I'm kind of scared to!

Hope you are all trying to squeeze a little rest in on this busy pre-Holiday weekend. I'll try to check in this week, but in case I don't, Happy Holidays to everyone!!

That's too funny about all the items you found under the tree!!
Hope this week slows down some for you and you have a nice Christmas.

Good morning to everyone from Victorville, CA.

Thanks for checking in! Sounds like things are going ok so far, and you've got lots of fun things planned.

Today we are skipping church because A I feel like crap and B it is raining and I don't want to go out in the cold and rain when I am already sick. So we are just going to stay in and stay warm and veg!

That sounds like a nice plan. You deserve a little time to just chill out.

And then on Christmas I am just going to chill out!

I'm sure by then you'll be ready to do just that! LOL You sound so busy.

Hope everyone is having a great weekend!

You too!

Beth, I think you should skip the cookie part of that recipe and go straight to the Jack Daniels. You're not a big drinker, I figure a shot of JD and you'll be feeling NO PAIN.

I think that's a good idea! I'm going to keep that one in mind.

Well I finished the aprons!!!

I will try and post pictures tomorrow!

YAY for finishing! And I can't wait to see them!!!

 

[mommaU4]

Hi everyone! Another busy day here. I did have to go back out to the stores, but it wasn't as bad today. Thankfully!
Tonight we took the kids and did some Christmasy things like looking at Christmas lights, getting some hot chocolate, going to the Bellagio so they could see the decorations, etc. It was a nice day, but busy. Tomorrow I think I'm going to stay home and bake. We'll see. Right now I'm pooped and ready for bed.

 

[bigskyernurse]

Cheryl, I've been making a lot of roasted asparagus lately, and it's been going over really well. I toss the washed, trimmed asparagus in a bit of olive oil, black pepper and garlic salt. Spray a rimmed cookie sheet with Pam and lay the asparagus in one even layer. Put in a 375-400 oven until cooked, but still al dente. Around 15-20 minutes, depending on the size of the asparagus. I like it when it is a big "fatter." You can eat it as-is, or drizzle with some balsamic vinegar. Very tastey!
And if you like cauliflower, steam it and then sautee it in a pan with olive oil, yellow onion adn garlic. Yum!!!!
And if you like brussel sprouts, Tyler Florence has a great recipe with bacon. I didn't think I liked them until I tried them at one of his demonstrations. You should be able to find that recipe on Foodnetwork's web site.

yum! I LOVE asparagus! now I'm hungry. I make them just about the same way as far as prep but I have been sauteing. I'll have to try your way next. Maybe I need to run to the store and try it tomorrow!!