May 10, 2008 Ship of Thieves! Stealing the Magic..AGAIN!!! Panama Canal FL to CA!!! Part 2

[LisaG520]

I have a confession to make.

The last two months of my life have been pretty much living H*LL. My mom has moved in (August) and then had surgery....4 weeks recovery. She pretty much tells me everything I do is wrong...from the way I do laundry, to the way I am raising my children, to the way I cook. She loves me, but she is so old and set in her ways....I have found so much patience.

I was pretty much getting used to living this way...then Frank got sick. For the last 2 months, I have been going form hospital to hospital.....worried sick about him.

Then there is my 2 girls.....I have never been too sure I could leave them for these 16 days.

And then I started thinking about Vanessa. She will leave us just a few weeks after I get back.

I was really thinking about cancelling. Daniel told me to do whatever I thought was best.

With the final payment due soon, I thought long and hard today and I made a decision .... I am GOING.

I floated the idea by my mom (she never knew I was even thinking about this cruise) and she called me wasteful and selfish. :-( She is supposed to be spending some time with each of my brothers....so maybe I can get her to spend some time with them while I am gone.

My DH is awesome...he is like just go and I will take care of everybody while you are gone....

Holly, I think you saying about your tax refund really made me decide I had to decide.

So anyway, that is a very long story to tell you that I need help making the rest of my plans. I have been checking flights and hotels.

I will post what I have found and anyone with ideas....please help me.

I am thinking I might have a nervous breakdown My DH most likely just wants to get rid of me

Had me worried you were going to say you cancelled. I think you need this trip because of all you have had going on this year. Without doing something for you - you can't be all that for everyone else.

 

[gydell]

I have a confession to make.

The last two months of my life have been pretty much living H*LL. My mom has moved in (August) and then had surgery....4 weeks recovery. She pretty much tells me everything I do is wrong...from the way I do laundry, to the way I am raising my children, to the way I cook. She loves me, but she is so old and set in her ways....I have found so much patience.

I was pretty much getting used to living this way...then Frank got sick. For the last 2 months, I have been going form hospital to hospital.....worried sick about him.

Then there is my 2 girls.....I have never been too sure I could leave them for these 16 days.

And then I started thinking about Vanessa. She will leave us just a few weeks after I get back.

I was really thinking about cancelling. Daniel told me to do whatever I thought was best.

With the final payment due soon, I thought long and hard today and I made a decision .... I am GOING.

I floated the idea by my mom (she never knew I was even thinking about this cruise) and she called me wasteful and selfish. :-( She is supposed to be spending some time with each of my brothers....so maybe I can get her to spend some time with them while I am gone.

My DH is awesome...he is like just go and I will take care of everybody while you are gone....

Holly, I think you saying about your tax refund really made me decide I had to decide.

So anyway, that is a very long story to tell you that I need help making the rest of my plans. I have been checking flights and hotels.

I will post what I have found and anyone with ideas....please help me.

I am thinking I might have a nervous breakdown My DH most likely just wants to get rid of me

How are you surviving??? I was going crazy just trying to keep up reading what is going on! Glad you decided to go. Airtran and Delta are having a special so check them out.

 

[katypop]

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JOHN!!!




Hope it was AB FAB!!!

XO,

Karen, Ted and Alex[/COLOR]

and now the after...


Who is that person in the second picture!!

Talk about a big change!! You are very brave! Did you donate the cut hair?

Looks totally cute!!

As for cuff links...

I saw some on the ship and in MGM at the shop that is on the right side opposite of where Sunset boulevard starts. There are lots of mens items in the back of the shop.

Let me know if they are still there!

Karen[/COLOR]

Re my hair....

I'd been growing it out for the last year + after I heard about Locks for Love. It is an organization that accepts donated hair and then transforms that hair into wigs for kids who have lost their hair due to cancer or another illness.

If you donate under 10 inches they will sell your hair and use the $. If you donate 10 inches or more, they will use your hair for the wigs.

I figured it's only hair, and if I don't like it this short, it'll grow back. I've actually had my hair this short before, but it's been years! It will take some getting used to again!

It will be weird to wash it and have so much less to wash, and the drying! It'll take no time now!

Thanks so much! It's still questionable whether I can get his dad to agree to meds. I'm all for trying anything and everything. Things are definitely looking up and I'm so glad I convinced him to get things started. He was so much in denial that anything was going on until now. It's nice to be on the right path finally.

[


OK.....I can't stand my internet withdrawals ANY MORE! I just signed up for AT&T basic phone (the cheapest plan available because I'll never use it) and DSL internet (again, the cheapest they offer) and I'm still saving money over cable. My cable tv and cable internet bill was about $60/month. The AT&T phone & DSL internet will be $29.58/month. So even though I'm having to pay for a phone line that I won't make calls on (won't even bother connecting a phone--I like only having my cell - makes things easier), I'll still save money! AND even better, I don't have to go through internet withdrawals much longer. My connection date is only 5 days from now.

Oh my gosh, I've only missed reading for a couple of days and I'm SO far behind

JOHN-Sorry I missed wishing you a happy birthday Sounds like you had a great day and you received some pretty neat gifts

MONICA- LOVE the new you! My son had very long hair and last May had it cut off the day before his sister's wedding, he donated his to a charity too that makes wigs for cancer patients, certainly a worthwhile cause...good for you

HOLLY- I'm so glad that you are getting some answers and solutions to help Tyler, you must be feeling so much relief I'm behind...but I still miss reading your daily posts...so glad you were able to find a financial solution so you'll be back on-line more

LISA- Sorry Frank is still having health issues and that you are getting so worn out, try to take some time for yourself to relax Glad you are able to still have a few minutes to keep in touch with everyone here.

Not sure what else I've missed...still trying to catch up, but to everyone who needs them.

Kathe

 

[pjpoohbear]

lisa, for flights do a search on www.kayak.com it will show all flights that are avaliable, you can sort by time, cost etc. It then takes you to the providers website to book. It is just a search engine, you can book with who makes you comfortable.

Pj

 

[EllaEnchanted]

I have a confession to make.

The last two months of my life have been pretty much living H*LL. My mom has moved in (August) and then had surgery....4 weeks recovery. She pretty much tells me everything I do is wrong...from the way I do laundry, to the way I am raising my children, to the way I cook. She loves me, but she is so old and set in her ways....I have found so much patience.

I was pretty much getting used to living this way...then Frank got sick. For the last 2 months, I have been going form hospital to hospital.....worried sick about him.

Then there is my 2 girls.....I have never been too sure I could leave them for these 16 days.

And then I started thinking about Vanessa. She will leave us just a few weeks after I get back.

I was really thinking about cancelling. Daniel told me to do whatever I thought was best.

With the final payment due soon, I thought long and hard today and I made a decision .... I am GOING.

I floated the idea by my mom (she never knew I was even thinking about this cruise) and she called me wasteful and selfish. :-( She is supposed to be spending some time with each of my brothers....so maybe I can get her to spend some time with them while I am gone.

My DH is awesome...he is like just go and I will take care of everybody while you are gone....

Holly, I think you saying about your tax refund really made me decide I had to decide.

So anyway, that is a very long story to tell you that I need help making the rest of my plans. I have been checking flights and hotels.

I will post what I have found and anyone with ideas....please help me.

I am thinking I might have a nervous breakdown My DH most likely just wants to get rid of me

Lisa, you HAVE to go....you have spent so much of your time taking care of everyone except you....you HAVE to go for your own peace of mind. You still have 4 months to spend with the girls and Vanessa and to get your brothers to look after your mom and for Frank to improve. I'm with Don on this one, just go and he'll take care of everyone for a change. In the meantime.....you MUST learn to pace yourself. My mom was in the hospital 8 times in the last 8 months of her life. I just could not keep going long term if I had to be there with her every day. She understood that and we agreed that I would take a day off every week or every couple of days so that I could sit and do nothing because I was such a vegetable by then. You need to do the same thing. Frank will understand. You must allow yourself time to rest or you will have that nervous breakdown and you won't be any good to anyone. Please fit some time off into your schedule. You really need to for everyone's sake.

 

[EllaEnchanted]

Sorry Kaylee....but they played a great game.

Now the Jags and Pats are on......GO JAGS.

 

[pjpoohbear]

Ok Lisa, lets get planning.

When are you heading to MCO and when are you heading back from LA?
Which airport do you like to fly out of/into, in VA?
Do you want to visit DL at the end of the cruise?
Are staying at WDW, MCO or Cocoa Beach before the cruise?
Do you need transfers, MCO to PC, Port to Airport/DL, DL to Airport?

What else can we help on, lol?

Pj

 

[Making_Memories]

We did that too for our last cruise and it worked really well!!!

Sounds good! Might be easiest just to plan indoor and then we don't need to worry about shadows and such...just a thought.

Ok, I've done some work on the Fish Teams. If anyone sees their name and it isn't in the right spot, or if you know for sure someone is not sailing now, can you let me know? I think three of them are no longer sailing but didn't want to remove them until I got firm confirmation. This will be fun! As you can see, there are 5 open days so if anyone else wants to be apart of a team, please PM me. Also, if you have decided on your gift and haven't let me know, you might want to PM as well so I can help eliminate duplicate gifts. Thanks!

May 10 DAY 1
TEAM LEADER: TxSleepingBeauty
AuntyBrat
NotSoLittleMermaid
PrincessTToo – STILL SAILING??
Brooklyn

May 11 – DAY 2
team leader: Txaggie94gigem
DebWills
EllaEnchanted
Tigger1221
OKraysLoveDisney
LisaG520

May 12 – Day 3
Team Name: In Vino Veritas
TEAM LEADER: Birkner
Mishoe01
fourmcds
been2marceline

May 13 – Day 4
Mrs Mork
Jhalkias
Geek team

May 14 – Day 5
TEAM LEADER: Pahrumpgirl
clynne
tink1963
ibouncetoo
Threebritts
grlzmom
granmaz
Lakadaisy

May 15 – Day 6
OPEN

May 16 – Day 7
TEAM LEADER: Calmom
disneylover5
mom_of_2_princesses
nskjerven
Amesmom

May 17 – Day 8
OPEN

May 18 – Day 9
OPEN

May 19 - Day 10
seaulater
Mom323
ulittletinker
disneycruising – NO LONGER SAILING?

May 20 – Day 11
OPEN

May 21 – Day 12
OPEN

May 22 – Day 13
TEAM LEADER: cdnmickeylover
willoughbyclan
tl2864
wldwcnwmn
UKANGEL – NO LONGER SAILING?
Mexican-mouseketeers
yKmma

May 23 – Day 14
OPEN

I sent you a PM! I wanna play so you can add me.

 

[nskjerven]

Oh Lisa:

I hear you my friend. Sometimes when we take a small moment to give ourselves a break it seems somewhat selfish. BUT IT ISN'T.

With all you are doing for all in your family you need to give yourself some peace and rest.

With your DH's encouranging you to do it, THEN DO IT!!!!

I'm so glad to hear that you have decided to stay on board, I'm so looking forward to meeting and having fun with you.

I've also been feeling like it's too much to take off from my mom and us being self employeed I'm stressed about leaving potential work, but DH and I have talked and talked this to death over the last few months and we have decided that we need the family ALONE time. While we love our extended family it is a heavy cost in our daily lives to support our parents needs.

I've not posted what has been going on with Paul and his mom, as I've been in a major funk over it, but I will tell you that we have had one heck of a time since 12/30 involving his mom and her drinking issues. A late night call from the hospital and then many days of trying to re-connect with her at the hospital. Due to the nature of the event she was in a lock down facility and it was very trying for Paul to have to deal with his brother and father with them finally openly talking about his mom's drinking problem. His mom and dad have been denying it to us for the last 2-3 years and it has caused a great deal of bad feelings (duh, we can tell if someone is drunk....) we had basically pulled away but for rare occassions for the kids to see their Grandparents(never without us there) ok, I can't keep going into this as I'm starting to get funked out again, so I'm going to pause for now and refocus back to....

I'M SO GLAD YOU ARE GOING LISA and we all need to take time to give ourselves vacation every now and then.

Nan

 

[katypop]

I have a confession to make.

The last two months of my life have been pretty much living H*LL. My mom has moved in (August) and then had surgery....4 weeks recovery. She pretty much tells me everything I do is wrong...from the way I do laundry, to the way I am raising my children, to the way I cook. She loves me, but she is so old and set in her ways....I have found so much patience.

I was pretty much getting used to living this way...then Frank got sick. For the last 2 months, I have been going form hospital to hospital.....worried sick about him.

Then there is my 2 girls.....I have never been too sure I could leave them for these 16 days.

And then I started thinking about Vanessa. She will leave us just a few weeks after I get back.

I was really thinking about cancelling. Daniel told me to do whatever I thought was best.

With the final payment due soon, I thought long and hard today and I made a decision .... I am GOING.

I floated the idea by my mom (she never knew I was even thinking about this cruise) and she called me wasteful and selfish. :-( She is supposed to be spending some time with each of my brothers....so maybe I can get her to spend some time with them while I am gone.

My DH is awesome...he is like just go and I will take care of everybody while you are gone....

Holly, I think you saying about your tax refund really made me decide I had to decide.

So anyway, that is a very long story to tell you that I need help making the rest of my plans. I have been checking flights and hotels.

I will post what I have found and anyone with ideas....please help me.

I am thinking I might have a nervous breakdown My DH most likely just wants to get rid of me

Lisa I just posted about the same time as you and missed seeing this first. You have had so much to deal with in such a short time, I am truely in awe of your strength...you don't need to apologize, of course you must be exhausted and I can understand how you would start to doubt and second guess what you should do. You sound like you have a wonderful family, your DH and son obviously love and respect you enough that they just want you to be happy. I am so glad you have decided to still take this cruise Frank will be well taken care of and so will your mother, and your daughters sound like they are pretty busy at school and all and have things at home that they don't want to miss. This cruise will be perfect timing for you, you really need and deserve a break I am honoured to be sharing meals with you this cruise. We would all understand if you did cancel this cruise, but I really do believe that you need this time away
Kathe

 

[LisaG520]

So far I have as possible questions... please add if you want to ask anything else...

Location for the Photo... Deck 7? Can we get a back up location for rain (iene of the theaters or the atrium)?

Shutters Photog? What time do they suggest? (will ask for an afternoon on the first sea day)

Can they do a picture with borders on it for everyone?

Can we get the Big Cheese to show up???


Any other suggestions???

Here are parts of the picture they took for us last time -

Caption on bottom of photo -

Magic logo in top left corner of picture -

I have no idea who organized this for the last cruise - we had a note in our fish the day before giving us the time and location so I don't know if they arranged tihs before or after we boarded.

 

[Tink rules]

I think we're all cruising with a pretty awsome group!!! Hugs all around and we will take care of each other - you need to take care of yourself most of all...

 

[woody73]

Ok, so I'm thinking about planning another Southern Cal DISmeet. I've been busy with work (I work out of my house) so I would love help with suggestions as to where to have it at. Last time we all met at Storyteller's, which was a blast but expensive ($28/pp) because with our group size (38 adults and kids) they would only do the brunch. I'm fine with wherever...and DTD is fine also, if that's centrally located for all.

So, please PM me with your location suggestions and also if you'd want to come, how many would be in your group.

Great idea for another SoCal DIS meet. I sent you a PM. Count us in!

Woody

 

[Tink rules]

Here are parts of the picture they took for us last time -

Caption on bottom of photo -

Magic logo in top left corner of picture -

I have no idea who organized this for the last cruise - we had a note in our fish the day before giving us the time and location so I don't know if they arranged tihs before or after we boarded.

Those are cool pics for ideas... where did they take the photo?

 

[krdisneybound]

just as information for those who might not be aware:

if you have park hoppers from WDW, you can use those at DL and DCA. They just have to call over to WDW and confirm your tickets. Even tho I have an AP from WDW, I always keep park hoppers for my visits to DL.

For those planning to visit Disneyland after the cruise, I priced tickets at our local Costco. A four-day single park pass is $139. It is not a park-hopper. You can go to either DL or DCA on a given day. If you want to go to both on one day, you have to use two days of the pass.

Woody

 

[pjpoohbear]

I am using a park hopper from WDW, so I will get hoppers at DL for each day that I do the exchange, correct?

Pj

 

[LisaG520]

Those are cool pics for ideas... where did they take the photo?

these are from pics taken on the Deck 7 aft secret deck.

 

[pjpoohbear]

I really like the photo add-ons they used, I would buy one of those. And I have only bought five photos in four cruises.

Pj

 

[Making_Memories]

I like both, I'm easy!

The Atrium would give us stairwells and and aerial shot both to work with.

That is good thinking! The Atrium sounds like a good idea!

 

[Tink rules]

I'll ask about them all...