May 10, 2008 Ship of Thieves! Stealing the Magic..AGAIN!!! Panama Canal FL to CA!!! Part 9

[EllaEnchanted]

Is Marilyn back this weekend? I can't wait to hear her stories. I hope she gets back soon.

Still no word from Karen, I hope she's just very busy and everything is ok.

Monica, no word from Laura yet, that's not good. I'm sad to think what that could mean.

 

[HollyTyler]

We were pretty lucky....so far just a dusting that coated everything white, but it's less than an inch. I hope we don't get your ice storm. I hate those. Snow is much better.

Lots of errands to do today, the dog, Ray, Sandi and Joe, the tree....etc. It is after all, the Christmas season.....always busy busy!

Guess you'll be out doing errands too today before the ice hits.

Nope, no errands for me. It's been a relaxing week and will probably continue! Desperately need to clean my house so we can finish decorating. We both have a bad habit of coming home and dropping stuff wherever we want, so piles of clutter accumulate very quickly. Not good in a tiny house! I usually end up dumping stuff into big boxes and piling the boxes in my bedroom to deal with later. It's just hard to clean when there's no where to put stuff. Might go buy a few giant plastic storage totes today as a temporary fix.

 

[EllaEnchanted]

I just checked all my cruise reservations....STILL no assigned room number for this cruise. I got 6598 for Sept 08 cruise and just requested DU to change it to 5122 if available or close to it. I'm in 5122 for Sept 09. Wow....I have to book a year and a half in advance to get the room I want. Disney is a very popular cruise line!

 

[EllaEnchanted]

Nope, no errands for me. It's been a relaxing week and will probably continue! Desperately need to clean my house so we can finish decorating. We both have a bad habit of coming home and dropping stuff wherever we want, so piles of clutter accumulate very quickly. Not good in a tiny house! I usually end up dumping stuff into big boxes and piling the boxes in my bedroom to deal with later. It's just hard to clean when there's no where to put stuff. Might go buy a few giant plastic storage totes today as a temporary fix.

I could use a few of those giant storage totes....I still have mom's stuff all over the house. I thought we would get it cleaned up for Christmas dinner at our house, then John said....since Sandi and Joe and the boys are not going to be here....let's go out to eat. OK, cool, but that doesn't get the house cleaned up. It's too overwhelming for me to do it all by myself. I definitely need help. Well, there's always next year! HA HA....a few short weeks to go!

 

[HollyTyler]

I could use a few of those giant storage totes....I still have mom's stuff all over the house. I thought we would get it cleaned up for Christmas dinner at our house, then John said....since Sandi and Joe and the boys are not going to be here....let's go out to eat. OK, cool, but that doesn't get the house cleaned up. It's too overwhelming for me to do it all by myself. I definitely need help. Well, there's always next year! HA HA....a few short weeks to go!

Well, at least you don't have to worry about taking care of it right away, so that's a relief! What a great idea to go out for Christmas dinner.

 

[disneylover5]

Is Marilyn back this weekend? I can't wait to hear her stories. I hope she gets back soon.

Still no word from Karen, I hope she's just very busy and everything is ok.

Monica, no word from Laura yet, that's not good. I'm sad to think what that could mean.

I am sure Karen is just crazy busy...it is so hard to come home from vacation. Sometimes I think it is not worth it to go when you have to come back and kill yourself.....

I am worried about Laura as well. I hope there is some type of comminication sometime soon. All we can do for her now is pray for her,
Lisa

 

[Ginamarie]

All the leaves will be covered in snow...forget raking this weekend!

Actually, we avoided the snow! The skies cleared up last night and we're not expecting any today. Phew!

So what exciting plans do you have for the week-end?

Brent has a swim meet at 8am tomorrow. I don't know why they have to be so early! Then we are going to lunch and after for new shoes. We have dinner plans tomorrow night with the family across the street. Not that I really want to, but kinda have to a couple of times a year. Do not like their daughter! The only child that I have ever met that I can find nothing good to say about. And she's only 8. Almost feel sorry for her as none of the kids have anything to do with her. I blame the parents for most of it.

Ugh, I hate when they make things early like that. In high school, they used to schedule our hockey practices at 6:30 am on Saturday mornings. Yuck!
I feel bad for children like that too.

So I went on ebay to find V's nautical bag because I loved it so much. I found it but none were available. So I bought a different bag from the Bitten line. I love Bitten....it's Sara Jessica Parker's collection and everything is affordably priced. She's got some great casual, everyday clothes and accessories and ebay has lots of them listed. Oh boy. I could get in trouble now.

Oh don't tell me that! I'll be getting into trouble too. Aren't we all supposed to stay OFF ebay?

I usually use a Vera Bradley bag when traveling. They are very light and machine washable. Most of my purses are also Vera Bradley.

I love Vera bags! I don't own any though. I always talk myself out of spending the money right before ordering.

Thanks! But it's not as exciting as usual because I'm out of student loans and don't even have enough for next semester. So I'm sort of in limbo for a while. I had a few meetings with the financial aid advisor, my academic advisor, and the registrar to discuss my options on how I'm going to pay to finish. They're allowing me to take a one year leave of absence while I try to figure out how I'll come up with the remaining $50,000 I'll need to finish.

Oh Holly that stinks! I had the same kind of problem when I lost my law school scholarship. I wound up working a LOT more hours than we were allowed to do, missing a lot of classes, etc, but it all worked out in the end. I'll just be paying off the loans FOREVER!

Sure was nice to pay less than $3/gallon for gas! I paid $2.88 today....pleasant surprise!

Lucky!! We paid $3.19, and that was a good price around here. Over $70 to fill up my tank

My DFIL is hospitalized tonight. He has been short of breathe and they tested his heart today and it is not very good.

He will be in the hospital for about 2 week. He is bleeding in his small intestine and he needs open heart surgery and bypass.

Okay, I have a pretty big house BUT.....and right now I have my mom, 2 girls, 1 son coming home next week, an exchange student, 1 dog, 3 cats and a husband.....and soon my FIL will be living with us.....

I am not sure where everyone will sleep......maybe I will move to a hotel

I'm so sorry about your FIL. I hope everything goes smoothly for him. My grandfather needed open heart surgery a couple of years ago, and once they started they realized he needed a QUADRUPLE bypass instead of just a single. He recovered pretty smoothly though, so I hope your FIL does well too.



Well, we just took some pictures of Olivia by the tree, and are hoping to turn one of them into a CHristmas card. Then DH is going to have to start working on those leaves.
Nothing exciting going on with me either. I'm doing laundry and defrosting some chicken for diner. I just have to figure out what I want to DO with all that chicken.

 

[HollyTyler]

Nevermind! Dumb question erased!

 

[katypop]

I've been on vacation this week and can't believe I only have one more day off after today.I had hoped to get all of my Christmas shopping done but it has not happened, not even close My DD and SIL and I left London during a snowstorm on Monday evening to go to Frankenmuth, Michagan . We were lucky, about 30 min away from home the snow cleared right up, we only had a few flurries that didn't stay on the ground after that.I love going through all the little shops there, and the huge Christmas store.We came home late Tues, so not a long trip but nice to get away for a day. My back has been bothering me for almost 3 weeks now, although it is definately better than it was the 1st few days. Anyone else bothered by back pain? I don't even know what I did this time (unless it was the raking, scrubbing walls,packing boxes over the last few weeks). I finally went to the doctor and got better meds, but now I feel tired and have stomach pains, so I may not take them much longer.I hate that I never know when this will happen, sure hope it's not during this cruise

Kathe

 

[HollyTyler]

I've been on vacation this week and can't believe I only have one more day off after today.I had hoped to get all of my Christmas shopping done but it has not happened, not even close My DD and SIL and I left London during a snowstorm on Monday evening to go to Frankenmuth, Michagan . We were lucky, about 30 min away from home the snow cleared right up, we only had a few flurries that didn't stay on the ground after that.I love going through all the little shops there, and the huge Christmas store.We came home late Tues, so not a long trip but nice to get away for a day. My back has been bothering me for almost 3 weeks now, although it is definately better than it was the 1st few days. Anyone else bothered by back pain? I don't even know what I did this time (unless it was the raking, scrubbing walls,packing boxes over the last few weeks). I finally went to the doctor and got better meds, but now I feel tired and have stomach pains, so I may not take them much longer.I hate that I never know when this will happen, sure hope it's not during this cruise

Kathe

Sorry your vacation is almost over, but glad you had a good time in Frankenmuth!

I hope your back feels better soon. You must be miserable.

 

[HollyTyler]

We seriously have a Charlie Brown tree this year! Tyler picked it out, and I thought it looked pretty. We usually get the cheapest kind of tree, and have had no problems. But this time we got a blue spruce and it's very pretty and still smells great. HOWEVER, every so often, you can hear a little "tink, tink, tink" sound as a bunch of needles drops. Is this something about the type of tree? I've never had my cheapo trees do that!

 

[katypop]

Will you have a car to drive or will you be coming with us. We're renting a convertable and probably won't have room for all six of you. But Lisa and Darrell may be able to bring some of you in their car too. I think Kathe is also coming. We'll figure it out when we get there. I'm so glad you decided to come with us. We'll start our party early.

Hi Deb,
I think you may have mixed me up with someone else I really wish I could join you but I am staying at WDW and won't have a car, so I'm afraid this would not be possible for me. I plan to take the DME back to the airport on Sat morn so I can get to the port as soon as possible though
Kathe

My DFIL is hospitalized tonight. He has been short of breathe and they tested his heart today and it is not very good.

He will be in the hospital for about 2 week. He is bleeding in his small intestine and he needs open heart surgery and bypass.

Okay, I have a pretty big house BUT.....and right now I have my mom, 2 girls, 1 son coming home next week, an exchange student, 1 dog, 3 cats and a husband.....and soon my FIL will be living with us.....

I am not sure where everyone will sleep......maybe I will move to a hotel

Lisa, you've had so much to deal with this year, you will really NEED this cruise! So sorry to hear about your DFIL. Hope everything goes well, sending hugs and prayers
Kathe

 

[katypop]

Sorry your vacation is almost over, but glad you had a good time in Frankenmuth!

I hope your back feels better soon. You must be miserable.

Thanks Holly

 

[HollyTyler]

Gee, everybody must be busy today! Since there's nobody on here to talk to, I suppose I'll take a nap for a couple hours before it's time to pick Tyler up. I could be cleaning, but it's better when Tyler's here to help. And napping is something I definitely can't do when he's here, so that wins!

 

[gydell]

Well I am finally back. I need to go to the Dollar Tree but that will have to wait a while.

 

[katypop]

Gee, everybody must be busy today! Since there's nobody on here to talk to, I suppose I'll take a nap for a couple hours before it's time to pick Tyler up. I could be cleaning, but it's better when Tyler's here to help. And napping is something I definitely can't do when he's here, so that wins!

Have a good nap Holly I am going to push myself out to at least get to the bank, and hopefully on to at least a couple of stores. My daughter wants a specific wine rack that I have seen oodles of places, until now when I need to get one

Kathe

 

[Tigger1221]

Oh, I love it! And I see your cat likes it too! Very cute!

Thnaks, when we bring it out she gets really exctied and climbs all over it. She loves to explore. It is hanging outside now, I will have to take a pic of it all lit up.

I hope you figure out your school stuff soon. It can cost so much for classes.

 

[HollyTyler]

Have a good nap Holly I am going to push myself out to at least get to the bank, and hopefully on to at least a couple of stores. My daughter wants a specific wine rack that I have seen oodles of places, until now when I need to get one

Kathe

OH, it was a great nap! 2 hours.....felt like a whole night of sleep! Now a quick shower, then drop of my video, pick up Tyler, and we're headed to Wonderlights at the Zoo.

 

[HollyTyler]

Thnaks, when we bring it out she gets really exctied and climbs all over it. She loves to explore. It is hanging outside now, I will have to take a pic of it all lit up.

I hope you figure out your school stuff soon. It can cost so much for classes.

It cracks me up how curious cats are. My mom always had a few cats (but hasn't for about a year) and I love being around them.

You're right about school being expensive. It's a little over $900/credit hour, so the 3 classes I was registered for next semester (9 credits), is close to $9,000. And the same every semester. Well, I do have a 25% scholarship, so knock 25% off that $9,000 but it's still too much to come up with on my own.

 

[EllaEnchanted]

Sceen II Act I. Today is Sat and John and I were going to see Sandi and Joe and try to make amends before they left. Well first we had to move Ray from a shared room into a private room. Me, John, the kid, Sandi and the boys showed up to do the move. Joe stayed home. Sandi met us at Mrs. Bush's, where Ray is staying. She didn't want us going to meet her and Joe at their house.

We did the move, I stayed in and talked with Ray while John went outside and talked with Sandi. John extended any help and all his courtesy to her and to Joe. Sandi's reply was that Joe was ready to make amends with John and the kid, in small doses, but not with me. Sandi was standing by her man and following his lead. Meanwhile I have a 17 year relationship with her. She crashed my wedding and got married with me because she was already pregnant. She moved in with us when the boys were only 2 and 3 years old. We took care of her and the boys everytime she was in need. We just bought her a car that she needed for work. We just paid for a lavish and wonderful vacation with them. We have overextended ourselves just to get cut off and have Joe control who he sees and how much he sees us.

Scene II Act II. So on the ride home when John told me this I let him know that I'm way too old for high school drama and I will now cut myself off completely from Joe and Sandi too. I told John to continue his relationship with his daughter and do whatever he wanted to with Joe.

John and I got back to the house and talked it out. John has decided to take a stand against his daughter in support of me. He feels she drew the line in the sand and forced him to take a side. He feels that I don't warrant being treated that way by either one of them, especially Sandi.

So be it. I'm tired of playing the role of the wicked stepmother. The other night when she came over to pay us....John did all the talking. I kept my mouth shut. Yet Joe has decided to punish me and accept John and the kid. The kid has absolutely nothing to do with this and although I agreed with John I never said a word. I let it be a conversation between father and daughter.

I hope, for John's sake, someday Sandi can realize the damage she has done by supporting Joe in his madness.

Talk about a dramatic afternoon!

Since I turned 50 last year I decided to cut out all the drama and BS in my life and just live real. To be the best person that I could be everyday without compromising my values.....Yes, John1.....I still do totally agree with you the importance of truth, respect, integrity. Yet I was willing to lie so that my husband could keep his good relationship with his daughter. Just to see his daughter throw it all away for a putz!

The door is closed, the bridge is burned, there is no going back now. She made her bed, now she needs to lie in it!