going to disney&uni again! Sep 2011

[bumbershoot]

D'oh, math error, I'm already over $30.

I should say that we're 74 or 73 days away, as we leave on a Monday. Decided we'd have a relaxing weekend before the trip...would have left on the Sunday, actually, except that's the 11th and my superstitious heart just couldn't do that.

This scrapbook (the paper one) is exhausting. I couldn't have just jettisoned all of my wedding planning stuff, eh? Had to keep it? Had to decide to scrapbook it? Grr. But I'm more than halfway done, so that's good.


Need to figure out the ticket cost for Universal soon. They raised prices soon after Disney, and UnderCoverTourist is, I hear, still selling their old ones. I was just going to buy an AP for me or Robert, activate it, then go right back and buy the 15% discounted tickets for the other adult and for Eamon. Because that was less money than buying from UCT. But if I bought one adult and one kid ticket at the OLD prices, it might come in lower than 15% off gate price...


My cousins and aunt are going through huge, fabulous, somewhat scary upheavals, in that they just lucked into a house that will hold all 5 of them. It's a family-gift thing, so once cousins sell their current house, they will all be mortgage-free, which is a gift so amazing I can't even fathom it!

So let's think very good thoughts about them selling soon, and for as much as possible, so that it doesn't impact their coming along on our trip.

 

[kaoden39]

Oh Molly that would be wonderful for them. How exciting. I hope it all works in their favor.

 

[bumbershoot]

It really is amazing. My aunt is having a hard time with it, it's not sinking in. Basically, she cared for her mom for over 10 years, and then her one surviving aunt has needed help at least twice a year and has expected her to drop everything to drive states and states away and help. It's been all very thankless and difficult for her. She has her place stuffed to the rafters with furniture and just *stuff* from my grandma and great aunt...feels guilty about getting rid of any of it.

But all of a sudden her aunt basically said "let me buy you a house, oh and if you would like your daughter and her family to live with you, let me buy you a house big enough for everyone". And she DID.

So...not so thankless after all. One of those "live your life well and maybe you'll be pleasantly surprised later" things.

So now the cousin just has to get their current/old house SOLD, but they are under water so that prospect is daunting of course.

Can you imagine being able to live your life with no mortgage? Sure the taxes are going to be rough, but still. They already had taxes.

I wish I could go out and help, but auntie is resisting it. With her current place stuffed to the rafters, she's embarrassed (I imagine it looks a bit like the Hoarders show, though her's isn't on purpose or her "fault", not really), but she's also nearly 70 and needs some help. Guess I could just find the lowest airfare and just show up.



Finished *several* pages in the paper-scrapbook, finished up the two digitals and also found that my code for 30 free prints worked with all the other codes I had, yay!

FYI if you like shutterfly, whenever you create a new Share Site, and often when you simply add pictures to them, about a week or so later they send you a code for 30 free prints. It's pretty fabulous. I think I have about 10 different Share Sites so far...

 

[bumbershoot]

DS came up with a brilliant dress-up idea today, and we've finalized it that if we go to the Halloween party, that's what he'll dress as.

An agent of MIB. He even has the noisy cricket.

Sure, it's not Disney, but neither was the Harry Potter option.



Now...should Robert and I dress as aliens passing as humans? If so, how?

 

[kaoden39]

Oh that is a cute idea Molly. What about adding an extra appendage or something along those lines?

 

[bumbershoot]

I like the way you're thinking.

The other question is...how do I get E a black suit without breaking the bank for it? he said "you could sew it for me!" and I replied "ahhh bwa ha ha ha ha ha ha".



*********

Robert had a sleep study the other night. The tech said that while he didn't need to go so far as to give him oxygen, it was severe enough that the doctor will be contacting him far earlier than the 7 days it's supposed to take. The doc was supposed to contact him yesterday (the day after the sleep study) but a ball was dropped it seems. He's probably contacting him today.

 

[kaoden39]

Thrift stores can be your friend. Start hitting them, make regular visits. I have bought things like that more than once at thrift stores.



I can never figure out why doctors drag their feet sometimes. I have sleep Apnea but I am very claustrophobic so the mask is truly out for me. It isn't as bad as it used to be though.

 

[bumbershoot]

Thanks for the idea! Goodwill will become my friend.

If I had to wear any sort of mask I'd have a problem (though I hear they aren't full-face like maybe they used to be?), but Robert's pretty desperate so he's willing to do whatever it takes. His endo finally mentioned the sleep study possibility to him, and let him know that weight gain (or just lack of losing), memory problems (which he DEFINITELY has), and of course being tired all go along with it. At his first appointment they went over all the things that can change if you have it and get treated for it. And the tech doing his wire hookups told him all the changes he's seen in people. Robert wants those changes!

He's been so stuck on "a mask etc isn't sexy". Yeah, well, neither are the noises you make while sleeping, dude! And having to nudge you every so often so that you'll breathe, worrying that you'll die during the night, isn't sexy either!

Glad he finally heard the message...


Meanwhile I found a workout that is actually doing something for me. Michele your hubby will appreciate it to a certain extent, it's a stationary upright bicycle, with a videoscreen and various rides you can go on (including one that's like a videogame where you catch dragons), and it's seriously kicking my butt. I thought the elliptical would be better, as I'm standing, but I guess I just got too efficient at it or something, because it just wasn't doing anything. But the bike, oh yay for the bike.

While working out with it, I remembered that one of my peak fitness phases was when I was riding my bike in South Carolina.

 

[kaoden39]

My girls would buy all their clothes at the thrift store if I let them. There are several in our store and they have specials on different days and every couple of months I look. Salvation Army and Goodwill are the best but there is one in town that is run by hospital volunteers that often has good things.


No the masks aren't sexy but I do know they work. I just go into panic attack mode when I wear one. Oxygen masks do the same thing.



That bike sounds great. Scotty has ridden 108 miles in the last two days while he was off. Crazy man. The majority of miles were yesterday. In the heat and then he wonders why his legs hate him now. Dork. I think even I would like that bike. I bet they are expensive.

 

[bumbershoot]

How lucky is your budget, that your girls will buy at thrift stores? As a teen I was too embarrassed to even go shopping at Kmart with my mom (the argument that "if someone sees you there then you've seen them there too" just didn't cut it with me) How annoying of me.

108 miles omg. My butt can't think about that... The brand of the stationary bike is Expresso, and yes they look like they cost some serious money.

 

[kaoden39]

They used to go to dance every other week with a friend so they got the smart idea that they could supplement their wardrobes by sharing and accessorizing. They would go to the thrift store and get jackets and such. Smart girls.


Kody likes to dress up for Halloween so she really likes the thrift store because she knows she can get much more for her buck.



Now they are working on the place where he keeps his bike at work so he will be off of his bike for the next three days so he will probably hook one of his bikes up to the trainer and exercise that way.

 

[bumbershoot]

Speaking of fashion, I just found the plastic bin of mine filled with genuine (say it all drawled out with lots of syllables) 1980s earrings and even a jelly bracelet... Nice, huh?


Lots and lots of work around the place today, joined by an all-day allergy attack. Oh joy!

 

[kaoden39]

Now that is a fun discovery, my kids had hours of enjoyment out of stuff like that when they were E's age. Even Loren.

 

[bumbershoot]

want vacation nowwwwwwwwww.

want to visit brother. might have to make that happen. robert's about to go away for nearly 2 weeks...might as well.

 

[bumbershoot]

Look at how close this trip is. Crazy. And so it's crazier that I want to get away. But really it's to visit my brother and sis in law.

Robert has another sleep study tonight, the one where they attach him to hoses and things to find out what mixture, or whatever, works for him to help his breathing.

Because the MD told him that he has the worst case he's seen in 5 years. (now I normally would believe that as far as I can throw the doc, and the doc isn't a lightweight, as I don't trust statements like that...but in THIS case I tend towards believing it, b/c it's pretty bad!)

 

[kaoden39]

I understand how you feel. It's itchy feet, I get them. Usually a day trip will fill that need.


I hope they can fix that for Robert. That is a pretty scary statement from the doctor.

 

[Brady's Mom]

My dad went through the sleep studies and wears a cpap at night. It made a HUGE difference in his life. He used to fall asleep anytime he sat down and would snore and snort and wake himself up - even sitting up in a chair.

He felt soooo much better when he started the cpap. He slept better, didn't nod off as soon as he sat down, lost some weight and had more energy. I think his machine is the older fashioned kind - but it doesn't seem to bug him.

He even takes it camping with him. He brings a car battery, a power inverter and then hooks up to that and he can sleep. My mom really appreciates it. It took her a while to not wake up in the middle of the night to check and see if he was breathing.

I hope you get a chance to go see your brother and sis in law. I am sure E would like a chance to get away for a little while, too.

 

[bumbershoot]

He says he slept well last night and feels rested, yay! But they had to use the FULL face mask, augh.

Right now he's at an appointment to get the equipment. I think that after years of not thinking it was THAT big a deal (while, it turns out, he was keeping the truth from me about how exhausted he was ALL the time, uh, like I couldn't tell or something) he now feels like a ticking time bomb. He's going on this long trip and he wants to have it for his trip.

I might have to put a curtain over the bed to hang between our faces though, LOL, if he comes home with something covering his whole face!

 

[kaoden39]

Molly, how nice for him to get a full nights sleep. Imagine the energy he will have now.

 

[bumbershoot]

I know! Just that alone will be amazing. And since everyone involved in his sleep-care seems to be expecting miracles weight-wise, that's going to be exciting as well.


For the heck of it today I found a knitting video to watch, and just started trying it out. Hey, it's fun! Practiced "casting on" for 50 minutes and I'm wiped out, mentally. Using both sides of the brain isn't something I do very often.

But now it's time for library & workout/E's aikido...