Lisa's Wish Journal - Now we have gone Dopey.

[toystoryduo]

The paid clicks being gone at Simple are bumming me out. I guess Fairytale Treasures site has them, but when I asked for more info about the site on the DIS Rewards Board, no one answered my questions. I may look into that site. I'm not sure yet.

It sounds like you have a busy weekend ahead of you. I hope it's a wonderful weekend for you and your family!

 

[lovinaz]

Sounds like your weekends are like mine - no rest at all!

Be glad your DS is actively participating in things like that. I need to light a fire under mine to do ANYTHING. What's your trick??

 

[eyor44]

Fairytale Treasures! That is the name of the site I was looking for. I had seen a reference to that site, but then couldn't remember the exact name when I went to look for it and couldn't find the post where it was mentioned. Thanks Tracy!

Amy, I not sure where I have gone right with DS. He can be very motivated at times. He loves soccer and was very excited when he found out he way finally old enough to be a ref. As for the fire department.....it's in his blood. There are many volunteer firemen in DH's family. and of course there is the whole big red trucks, lights, sirens, water hoses.....your basic male adrenline.

But I was a little irritated with them Saturday morning and was threatening to take away their scanners. Just before 10:00pm Friday night (I had just told DS to go to bed since he had to be up early) DS and DH go tearing out of here with their firegear. It was raining so I thought it was probably a car accident. (they work those also). I went to bed at 11:30 and thought I heard them come home at 1:00am. NO! They woke me up when they came in at .......4:00am Soccer clinic starts at 8:30 and they come strolling in at 4:00. I was not happy. They did go to a fire and wasn't able to save it. An old gym caught fire (odd since it had been closed for years) and it burned down so they had to stay to get all of the hot spots and such. But DS made it. He took a shower, got 3.5 hours sleep and dragged out of here. Goods news is DS passed the soccer certification. He can now work and start saving $$$.

DD and I went to our hair appts, stopped by home to change clothes and then made our way to Hattiesburg for the Jr. Miss competition. We really enjoyed the competition and our friend's DD won! We were very excited. DD was very excited about going and wanted to dress up, so I had my stylist curl and style her hair, she wore her special red dress and I let her use my dressy cape. She got a lot of compliments and one woman even said "you look just like Princess Belle in her red Christmas dress". DD was amazed over that as I had told her next year she could take the dress to wear at Disney for our Princess breakfast. She didn't think anyone would understand who she was suppose to be.

Today was just stay at home and get a few things done around here. It was warm out this afternoon, so I thought "spring was just around the corner", but when I went for a walk, the wind still had that winter, icy feel to it. So, no Spring yet.

Roo and I did get in about a two mile walk today and my foot and leg did not hurt. Then I did 25 minutes on the WII.

 

[Amy&Dan]

So glad you got a walk in and that you were pain free!

That is great your ds can referee now to save money. My ds is hoping to make lifeguard for summer of 2011 and I hope he makes it because extra money for college or whatever would be so nice!

That is awesome somebody commented on dd's outfit. I love that red Christmas outfit of Belle's. A few years ago at Disneyland during the holidays she had that on and dd and I were thrilled because its so pretty!

 

[toystoryduo]

I'm glad to hear that your leg and foot are feeling better. Great job getting your walk in!

That is so cool that your DD got the compliment that she looked like Belle! I bet that made her day.

Congrats to your DS on his soccer certification! Hope he is able to make some nice money this summer refereeing games!

Have a wonderful day, Lisa!

 

[lovinaz]

Congrats to DS! That's a great way to earn some extra $$.

Cute that DD still likes to wear dresses. Enjoy it while it lasts, my DD10 has been in tomboy-ish clothes for 2-3 years now!

Glad you are back to pain-free walking!

 

[toystoryduo]

Hi Lisa,

I hope you had a nice day yesterday.

If you sign up for Fairytale Treasures, please let me know how you like it. I've asked some questions about people's experience with the site on the DIS Rewards Board, but no answers yet.

Have a great day today!

 

[eyor44]

Thanks Ladies
Yesterday was a normal Monday. We were forecast to have 90% chance of rain all day yesterday and it finally started around lunch. Rain, wind and cold. It was miserable out last night.Poor Roo sat by the front door forever watching the rain. I could tell she was hoping for another walk. Didn't get any exercise in, not sure where the evening went. But will be back to it tonight.

I was doing laundry last night and found a note in DD's coat pocket. A classmate had drawn her a picture and wrote " I love you with my heart" (he drew a heart) and under neath that "will you go out with me" They are 7! but it was cute. I showed it to DH who then started ragging DS that he wasn't paying enough attention to DD on the bus. Turns out the kid is a classmate. DS told DD "tell him to stay away from you or I am going to kick his butt". DD was like "Okay, guess I need to tell Ryan that also" You should have seen DS' face. He was like So funny that he got so protective of her all of the sudden.

Tracy, I did sign up for Fairy Tale Treasures. I seemed to be very much like Simple, with all of the same things. There were only 10 daily clicks last night, but they were all .4. The company is only three years old and seems to be under new management. They let you cash out at $3. So I figure, sign up is free and I'll just cash out every so often. It goes into Paypal. Seems to be starting slow, but I hope as they get more members, things will pick up. I figure, it's free so why not.

Amy, DD does still like dresses. She wears jumpers and skirts to school mostly. Uniforms or she would be in dresses. She loves shorts also, so I never know what she is going to come out in.

 

[eyor44]

Now for some good news......really good news.....

I was suppose to go to training last Fall, but thanks to the budget not being passed, I didn't get to go. Thank you Washington. Then I found a similar one in June, but the dates were very iffy for me, plus the cost was kind of up there.

I found another training yesterday and while it isn't what I originally wanted, it is something that I really need and a little bit of the other thrown in. I work up a cost estimate (trip planning) and presented the package to my supervisor. Training is free, he would only have to pay for travel. I must have presented a really good agrument as he immediatly contacted his supervisor who immediately agreed that I should go. Only even though it was free, they decided to contact the training manager to make sure he didn't have a problem with them paying for my travel for FREE training. He came back with an immediate "yes, great idea and I'll even pay for it". I didn't hear that until this morning. Now, I'm not sure what is in the air around here, but I got my official request in quick and then registered with the training facility before they could come to their senses.

Oh, yes.....where is it you ask? Hmmmmmmmm, Florida.....Orlando to be exact.

YES, YES, YES I am taking my very first ever solo trip to Disney World!

I am going for training, first off and fore most, but with all of the wonderful deals Disney is offering right now, it is much cheaper for me to stay on site then at another hotel. I did after all promise to make it as cheap as possible. and I will have a rental car and I have an annual pass.......I am one happy person right now.

 

[Amy&Dan]

Lisa, that is great news about your "uh work trip"! Do you know which resort you'll stay at? I am envious of you, WDW on your own will be nice even though you will be working. You have earned this!

I hope your weather improved, poor Roo!

My dd13 still loves dresses and skirts, the problem is its hard as they get older to find one that doesn't look like a street walker should be wearing it! But you sew so that helps. I'm afraid I have no such skills.

 

[toystoryduo]

Woohoo!!! Great news that you'll get to go to Disney for work!!! Where are you staying?

If you want to send me a referral link for Fairytale, please go ahead and PM me. I may give it a try!

Hope you have a great day!

 

[eyor44]

older to find one that doesn't look like a street walker should be wearing it!

Have you looked at what they put out there for 5 & 6 year olds to wear? Not much better. Why do they do this to parents? Give me the simple, sweet linen church dresses any day. Okay, don't want to get on that rant. But oh could I......

Tracy, I will send you a PM tonight.

Now, where to stay. Maybe you all could help me decide. I promised to do this trip as cheap as possible, which means staying at a Value. I have no problem with that and love Pop, so my first inclination was to stay there. But the only Value I haven't been to is AS Music. I remember reading that ASMu has been refurbished recently (not sure how recently) although that doesn't really matter to me. I'm not one where everything has to be absolutely perfect or my trip is ruined. Although I guess if I was paying to GF, I would want everything to be as close to perfect as possible. Anyway, I'm thinking I will go back to the resort each evening and then take bus to whichever park I am going to that evening. I will have a rental, but I figure why not use the bus when I can and to each of the major parks, I figure they run regular. I do know that a lot of the time all 3 AS' share buses. Doesn't bother me to stand. For some reason I am leaning towards Pop, but not sure why.

Unless it is the lake behind Pop. When we stayed there we had a room facing the lake. Each time I walked in or out of the room, I would stand and look at it for a couple of minutes. It just seemed so peaceful, something you don't normally get at a Value. Now when we stayed at ASMo this past November, we had a very quiet room there. I just don't know which one to pick. I'm not making my reservations until Monday, so I have a few days to think about it and consider any and all suggestions I get.

 

[eyor44]

I wanted to share something from last night. One of my nieces is living with Gram right now. She was very sick about 1 and half years ago and came close to dying. Can't remember what is wrong with her, but something to do with her blood and oxygen and stuff. Anyway, she looks fine but has stamina issues. Always tired, gets headaches and colds easy. Gram and DN come over every Sunday and Wednesday for dinner. Last night they arrived while I was doing the WII. DN came in with a serious attitude and sat down to watch me. I tried to ask her about her favorite class and THAT was the wrong subject obviously. I normally don't take attitude from any of the kids, but I know that she has been dealing with some family issues (her immediate family) and am trying to figure out how to handle it. I knew by her attitude that tonight would be a short visit as when she is like that and gets bored, she doesn't want to stay.

When I was done with the WII, I handed her the remote and told her to play some. Amazingly all she needed was the invitation and off she went. She played until dinner and then more after dinner. She didn't do any strenuous, mainly balancing stuff and yoga, but she did try a couple of the more challenging activities. All in all she spent about 1.5 hours on the thing. When they left she was in a much better mood than when she arrived.

DN is overweight (5' 5" and 190lbs) and out of shape. I had tried to get her to walk with me in the past. She never would and would claim her illness as the reason. I think I may have found something to at least start with.

 

[toystoryduo]

Hi Lisa,

Thanks for the PM. I will check out Fairytale in the next day or so.

As far as resorts go, I think I would choose POP. Granted, I have never stayed at ASMU so I can't comment on that resort. However, I do love the location of POP, the fact that there is no bus sharing, the food court is AWESOME, and the cheesecake there is YUMMY!!!! The lake and the pools are added bonuses as well. Whatever resort you choose will be fine though because you'll be in Disney!!!

I'm glad that your DN enjoyed her time on the Wii. Now that she has tried it, maybe she will be more willing to workout on it when she and your Gram come over for dinner. That could lead to her wanting to walk with you too!

I hope you have a great Friday!

 

[eyor44]

Thanks Tracy. I do agree with you on the POP food court. It is definitely the best of the Value resorts and even better than some of the Deluxes. I am reviewing resort and room locations, but yes, the food court at POP is a definite plus.

I have hopes for my DN. We shall see, you just never know with her. But, I'm determined to help her if I can.

I did 54 minutes on the WII last night. I tried a bunch of new stuff and discovered I stink at balance games. I am completely uncoordinated and can trip walking bare foot on concrete, but I didn't realize that I had such serious balance issues. Oh well, I'll keep at it.

Food was good yesterday also.

 

[Amy&Dan]

Hi Lisa, maybe that Wii session will be the start of your DN getting on the road to be healthy!

I have stayed at all the values. Music and Pop are my favorite two. Did you know Pop is in the middle of a refurb? Check out allearsnet.com Scroll down to the pictures of the 70's rooms and you'll see the newly redone rooms. I think they will be done in the next two or three months. When is your trip?

Back to Music. I love that resort, we have stayed there three times in the past four years and always had a perfect stay. The main pool gets crowded from mid afternoon through the evening (they do movies at night, every night) and since the All Stars can pool share, lots of people from Movies and Sports come over. Although it does have a great quiet pool back in the back of the resort, and some rooms in Calypso are really close to the All Star Sports quiet pool I think. I might suggest you request a room back in Broadway, Rock Inn or Country Fair. They are further back and Country Fair in particular is very quiet. There is also a nice quiet pool back there. I also think Music has really pretty grounds. Music is laid out differently, rather than have the buildings sort of situated so that nothing is too far from the main area, the buildings line up one after the other. So Country Fair is about a 7-10 minute walk. But I like that and I can't see that being a problem with you. Also, the All Stars do not share a bus all the time. In fact, in all our stays there (three at music, two at Movies and one at Sports), we only shared a bus in the off times of day. Never at park closing or in the mornings at around park opening. Pop doesn't share but its so much bigger than the All Stars are individually its not really a fair comparison. And the route of sharing takes very little time, the three resorts are next to each and connected. The shared route takes less time than a moderate with multiple stops. The route is Sports, Music and Movies. So Music is in the middle. The food court is good, they had this salad station where you could have them build you a salad just the way you want it. The gift shop is separate from the food court which I like better in some ways. Its not as big as Pop's, but the resort isn't as big either. I don't think it has quite the selection as Pop's for sure. Hope that all helps a bit!

Here is my review for Music that I did back in June:
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2215899


I do enjoy the lake at Pop, its great for walking and its more centrally located. But I don't find the bit of extra bus riding to be a big deal or really even noticeable. And its very close to AK. I don't think you can go wroing with either and I am soooo glad Pop is getting a refurb, it needed it! I requested a refurb room, we'll see if I get it.

I hope that wasn't too long winded!

 

[eyor44]

Thanks Amy, and no, not long winded at all. Have you read some of my postings?

I loved your review on Music. You brought up a great point about the two resorts. Yes, POP has a bigger food court, but it is a way bigger resort. and I like the thought of made-my-way salad. I eat very light when I am by myself. I probably won't use the pool, but you never know. This is going to be a very different trip for me. I have wanted to stay at Music for a very long time, it just appeals to me. I am going to look at the maps one more time, but I think you have helped me make my decision. One thing I want is to be able to park by my building and I think that is a pro with Music.

Thank you both for your input, I really appreciate it.

Today was slow at work. well, it started off with problems, but I was able to handle them very quickly and it quieted down about mid morning. My supervisor is still telling me that one day he is going to take me to lunch for my birthday. Hello, that was three weeks ago!

We went out to dinner tonight. DH was not in a good mood, so I needed to get him out of the house. We had a very nice family dinner (with a great waiter) and then we came home and DH got into bed to read and watch tv. DD fell asleep early after asking if she could stay up late since it was the weekend. and now DS is in bed. I'll be heading there soon. After I DIS for a while. No exercise tonight, but

Looking forward to a quiet weekend. Hope it happens........

 

[toystoryduo]

ASMU sounds like a great place to stay! Great explanation and review, Amy!!! When we go to WDW in September, I think we'll check out ASMU and maybe have lunch at their food court.

You're going to have a great time, Lisa!

I hope you have a nice, relaxing weekend ahead!

 

[Amy&Dan]

Lisa, if you book Music and hate it, you can blame it on me!

I do think Music has better parking or rather more of it. The one time we rented a car at Pop Century, it was a challenge to park. I remember Dan having to drive around for quite awhile the night we checked in late to find a spot. We had to park in a different section's parking because we never could find a spot in our own. I don't know if that's the norm or not, because the other three times we have stayed at Pop, we have not had a car. Definitely check out the maps, and see if maybe you can find a map of the three All Stars together so you can see what you'd have near you at Sports depending on the section you get at Music.

Pop may very well have that build your own salad thing too. I'll be there in three weeks so I hope so!

Tracy: Your girls would love those games and movies at Music, I know my dd does and for nights or days when you aren't doing the parks, its nice to have something fun to do there. I wish all the resorts would do those because its a nice perk (we have had those at SSR and OKW too).

 

[eyor44]

Well, I did it! I made my reservation this morning and I went with........AS Music.

Thanks Amy for all of the info. and the parking is a big plus to me. I remember that also from when we stayed at POP. The parking wasn't that great due to the resort set up. And no, I won't blame you if I hate it which I sincerely doubt I will. I have wanted to stay there for a very long time, but wasn't sure how the kids would like it. Seemed the less kid friendly of all the AS' to me. But from what you have said about the activities I was so very wrong. I know it will be great. Hey, I'm at Disney, it will be great.

But you know what the clincher was? I checked prices again this morning and POP only had Preferred rooms left and the last night at POP would be double the price at Music. Music it is!

Thanks again for both of your inputs, I really appreciate it.

Goals for today.
Laundry
Clean DD's room
shopping
WII