October 20th 2007 Western Magic Part 3

[dizneycrazy4]

We came through the storm fine! Like Victoria said they really hyped it up for this area but there were areas of the state that had near baseball sized hail. I moved my new car into the parking strucure at work when I heard this. I was at work when the storm came through and the ultrasound dept. is pretty much in the middle of the hospital no where near any windows or doors but I was still able to hear a couple claps of thunder so I new it must have been rumbling pretty good out there.

We came through the storm fine, though town close by (20-30 min) got baseball size hail and some initial flooding. We didn't have any tornadoes, thank goodness.

 

[Cheryl N. WI]

a couple of questions from the kids:

- can we find out in advance what movies will be playing on teh ship?
- does the swimming pools ever close?

In the past we have called DCL about a week before the cruise and they have been able to give us a pretty accurate list of movies that would be playing on the ship.

The pools do close. From looking at our Navigators from lats Oct. the Mickey pool was open at least a couple nigts until 10pm but the slide closed at 5:30 and Goofy's pool closed some nights at 10pm some at midnight. The Quiet Cove pool (adults only) was open until midnight.

Cheryl

 

[Cheryl N. WI]

Speaking of space shuttles, STS-117 is taking off tomorrow, anyone in the area?
You can check out the launch online here:
http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/main/index.html

Lets all pray for a safe launch of Atlantis tomorrow and their safe return

It went off safely!!!! Praying they stay safe and have a safe return!

 

[MinnMick01]

Carrie I'm sure Rachel will spend time with Kelsey even if she can't get in the club. Last year she and the friends she made went to movies together and the pool (with a parent) and just hung out together not in the kids club. A number of DIS families went to the same beach in Cozumel and we all hung out together there and then at Castaway Cay a bunch of us set up by each other so we could all hang out together there too. We just ask that Rachel always communicate with us as to where she will be and whom she is with. Once when we got back to our cabin we must have had near a dozen voice mails from her on the phone saying now I'm going........ with...... But we were glad she was letting us know what she was doing! So don't worry even if they don't let Kelsey in the teen club I'm sure it will be OK

Cheryl

I must admit that I did not even think of them not doing things in the clubs, that is all the kids talk about so I just thought that is where they would be most of the time, but you are right if they make friends outside of the clubs there is still plenty for them to do.

We have the same rules for Kelsey, we were going to sit down every morning and look at the paper to see what she wanted to do and where it was, then she had to report in everytime she changes location. Odd question, the girls can call our room phone and leave voicemails to update us? If I read that right then our we charged for the phone use?

 

[MinnMick01]

Carrie glad to hear Mike is out of the ICU. That is progress! Things like this do sometimes take a long time but it does sound like he is at least making some improvements. Thanks for keeping us updated. I'll continue to keep him in my prayers.

How is your mom doing? Any more improvement for her? I continue to keep her in my prayers too

Cheryl

Thank you for praying for everyone. I have forgotten to update on my mother because i am really not sure what is going on with her. I would like to say she is doing 100% better base off her activity level, but then when I tell her how good she is doing, she tells me that she still naps all the time and she feels miserable. The past 2 weekends and this weekend her and my father have gone out of town. The first weekend was just a day trip, that she went to some art show and walked around that. This past weekend they went to our cabin and she did say the altitude and the stairs really bothered her, but she did some minor cleaning and moving furniture. Now tomorrow they are going for another day trip to an art show and dinner with some friends. They did not travel this much all in one time before she got sick. She still has Kelsey cleaning for her and me running erronds for her. But my van died and is at the shop so I went to borrow her car (since she is not driving) She tells me that she just got back from the store by herself. She bought 4 items and walked the whole store, drove there and back in dads car (that automatic). She said when I return her car maybe she will try to drive it. There is still some memory issues. For example when I went over yesterday Mackenzie had a tattoo on her stomache she showed it to my mom and my mom that it was bugs (real bugs), it was 2 daisy's with the wording barbie. I think by the cruise she will be doing just fine.

 

[MinnMick01]

It is taking forever to upload pictures to photobucket with dail up internet. I am having to do them 3 at a time, at that rate I will not make the 50 free by Sunday.

 

[MinnMick01]

19 photo upload in just over an hour. Yuck.

 

[MinnMick01]

Who was it that was telling us about the 50 free prints from Photobucket?

The coupon code that I have is saying it is invalid could you please give it to me again maybe I wrote it down wrong.

 

[MinnMick01]

Just and FYI

I did some price compair for photos. I belong to both Photobucket and Snapfish. So I was seeing who was cheaper. For dail up uploads Snapfish is a whole lot quicker. Also Snapfish is 12 cents a photo for standard size and photobucket is 15 cents. Also shipping is cheaper through snapfish. It is based on a teir system but I have never paid more then $3.00 for shipping usually less and I will do about 30 pics at a time.

Now Snapfish does not offer that great of free offers. Right now they offer new people 20 free prints but that is the only offer I have had and I have been with them over a year.

Just thought you all might want to know.

 

[Karen Mouse]

Just an update on Mike. He is out of ICU and has been moved to a rehab center. He is talking but not very conherent (sp). There are times that he makes since and times that he does not. His short term memory is gone, and they are not sure about long term. They feel he could be in rehab for a year. He has very little strength, and they are teaching him how to walk again.

Brilliant news - his Mom must be so pleased after what those nurses said initially.

Who was it that was telling us about the 50 free prints from Photobucket?

The coupon code that I have is saying it is invalid could you please give it to me again maybe I wrote it down wrong.

Sorry, you got it a bit wrong - I said photobox for the uk'ers - its a uk based company. I hope you havent wasted all your time
My photos turned up yesterday - only took a day from upload to receipt.

 

[Karen Mouse]

Good morning folks, I've been up since stupid o clock again

It feels like lunchtime already and its only 06.38am

Oh well, at least I have time to do the housework now before ferrying Ellis to footie training and then a party.

 

[Karen Mouse]

Just been on the Dibb - a man on there went to see yesterdays launch - took him nealry 5 hours to get back home to his villa afterwards

 

[cntkg1]

Thanks for the info Paige.

The problem is not really for Jesse, Kristin, or Stacy. They all have receipts that say their passports are being processed. The problem is for Tony who's status comes up with "No record found". Which means there was no passport number issued for him so we can't print out his receipt for proof. I do believe however, that he has the receipt from the Post Office that proves he applied in March.

Another problem is that the Passport office has all their Birth Certificates too. I do have the originals issued when my kids were born here. They'll be fine without the passport if need be. Jesse had to buy a certified copy for $15.00 because his original didn't make the cut. Now the Milwaukee County Courthouse decided to up the price of buying copies to $29.00 each. So Jesse not only paid $15.00 for the first one, but may have to shell out another $29.00 plus the cost of his missing passport.

NOT FAIR!!!

Now all the "Johnny come lately's" are rushing out to get theirs and paying for expedited service which is only prolonging those who applied well enough in advance for theirs.

Here's a post I received from someone else who's app came up missing. Good thing I read it or I would've just let it go for awhile longer.

Sorry this post is so long...I'm a bit frustrated at our government.

IMPORTANT FOR cntkg1 and DRCAVIN:

I also got the "Unfortunately, we are unable to find your application" message when I searched online for my passport (I sent in my renewal in March). Worrisome because DH, DS, and DD's had all been trackable in the system for a couple of months.

After doing several e-mail searches as reccommended by the NPIC (to no avail), I decided to call the state dept., even though they very firmly tell you several times not to call if your travel date is not within two weeks. (Our cruise is in Oct., but DH and I are flying to Grand Cayman in July.) I figure I can handle being chewed out better than the stress of having no passport while I pack my suitcase.

I probably dialed the number 150 times before I was able to get through to be put on hold for 20 minutes - however, I DID get through! The agent I spoke to told me it was a "good thing I'd called" because 1. my birthdate had been input wrong, and 2. my mailing address was misspelled (incoherent).
So even if I would have received the passport at my home (doubtful), it would have been useless because of the wrong birthdate.

So I verified all of my information while "Nancy" made all the necessary corrections and she told me to call back in one week to make sure the correct information is in the system! I definely got the impression that it is chaos at the Passport Office!!

Additional tidbit of info - She told me that passports are being processed in the order that they are needed, not neccessarily the order that they are received. She also eluded to the fact that if you did not put a specific travel date on your application, it was just laying there!

So, I called back today to verify. Again, a very long process. I spoke to an agent who verified everything was input correctly and the had actually processed (printed?) my passport on 6/6. Whew! He also told me that was the first "good news" he'd had for anyone today

So my advice: CALL!!

Don't assume they are not updating their website. Your application may just be in a pile of "problems" on some overworked agent's desk and your phone call may be what it takes to dig it out.

By the way, both agents I spoke to were very friendly and helpful - they truly are trying their best to help.

 

[cntkg1]

How is everyone in WI doing? I heard that there were some tornados last night. Everyone ok.

We're ok too Carrie. Thanks for asking.

Well, I for one was disappointed--my roof is still intact so I will have to pay for a new one myself It was a little like winter around here--they hype any storm so much and then they usually end up being nothing. Most of us are in the Southeastern corner of the state and we did get some rain, but no damage. I think there was a tornado up north, but I didn't hear all the details. We only had some branches down. Thanks for asking.

Victoria, we had hail damage in March and April this year and because of it we are getting a new roof next month. Five of our neighbors had theirs replaced already and one had over $30.000 in damage to the roof, gutters, and siding. We're just waiting for the insurance check to arrive.

Hmmm...seems like we are at the mercy of the Post Office lately. Waiting for 4 passports and two insurance checks.

Karen how awful! I hope the child is OK! I'll keep him in my prayers.

Cheryl

Karen, that is just terrible. Any news on the child?

 

[goofyfreak]

Good morning all. Harrison and I are sitting here catching up in between cleaning bathrooms. He just wants to bang on the keys!

 

[AverysMommy]

Thank you for praying for everyone. I have forgotten to update on my mother because i am really not sure what is going on with her. I would like to say she is doing 100% better base off her activity level, but then when I tell her how good she is doing, she tells me that she still naps all the time and she feels miserable. The past 2 weekends and this weekend her and my father have gone out of town. The first weekend was just a day trip, that she went to some art show and walked around that. This past weekend they went to our cabin and she did say the altitude and the stairs really bothered her, but she did some minor cleaning and moving furniture. Now tomorrow they are going for another day trip to an art show and dinner with some friends. They did not travel this much all in one time before she got sick. She still has Kelsey cleaning for her and me running erronds for her. But my van died and is at the shop so I went to borrow her car (since she is not driving) She tells me that she just got back from the store by herself. She bought 4 items and walked the whole store, drove there and back in dads car (that automatic). She said when I return her car maybe she will try to drive it. There is still some memory issues. For example when I went over yesterday Mackenzie had a tattoo on her stomache she showed it to my mom and my mom that it was bugs (real bugs), it was 2 daisy's with the wording barbie. I think by the cruise she will be doing just fine.

Good for her that she is coming along so well....I am sure there is a part of her that is pretty scared about the whole thing. She has a few more months to recover before the cruise.

 

[Dyerneeds]

Robin, sustaining a week in a long term weight loss is fine. So is going up a pound every once and a while. You need to look at it like a stock/investment, you will have some great weeks, you will have some not so great weeks. As long as you are heading in the right direction overall, there is nothing to panic over. Good luck next week.

Jeff,

Thanks for the support. I read the other day... because our numbers fluctuate due to water weight... it's better to write down your weight every day for the week and average it at the end. (that way I won't be freaking every time the number goes up )

I am firming up though... gaining muscle , so the lbs may not drop so much initially.

Robn

 

[Dyerneeds]

What's everyone doing this weekend? DD4 (Julia) is going to an overnight camp with my mother tonight. She was so excited!!!! I pick her up tomorrow afternoon. Then off to a graduation party for my friends son. Then nothing!!! I should clean house. We'll see.

Speaking of camping trips... Our dd, Cassie is on a camping trip at Red River Gorge (Daniel Boone Forest) in Kentucky. An organization is sponsoring an "Amazing Race" type contest where contestants have to find their way around and perform tasks. It started thursday.

Cassie is taking pics for it, thus running ahead of the group. Well, they have to camp out. (This kid has never been camping, so I thought... this is going to be halarious. I was right. She keeps calling me on her cell (when she can get a signal). It stormed the first night, they're tent is leaking, everything is wet and they're not allowed to sleep in their car. She's hanging in there though.

In addition, she said there was only an outhouse. She had to go... went in and it was pitch dark, so she ran to her car & got a flashlight. She said she was peeing with her shirt over her nose and holding a flashlight.

I checked the weather on line this morning and they're suppose to get sun and 83 today. Maybe everything will dry out. Tomorrow is the last day.

"She said I never want to go camping again."

Robin

 

[goofyfreak]

Speaking of camping trips... Our dd, Cassie is on a camping trip at Red River Gorge (Daniel Boone Forest) in Kentucky. An organization is sponsoring an "Amazing Race" type contest where contestants have to find their way around and perform tasks. It started thursday.

Cassie is taking pics for it, thus running ahead of the group. Well, they have to camp out. (This kid has never been camping, so I thought... this is going to be halarious. I was right. She keeps calling me on her cell (when she can get a signal). It stormed the first night, they're tent is leaking, everything is wet and they're not allowed to sleep in their car. She's hanging in there though.

I checked the weather on line this morning and they're suppose to get sun and 83 today. Maybe everything will dry out. Tomorrow is the last day.

"She said I never want to go camping again."

Robin

I'm with her on the camping out thing!! I prefer beds and showers!!!!!

 

[Karen Mouse]

Not much more news on the child yet - it was a child from Nursery - age 3-4 years. His mum picked him up but there was a lot of blood from his face



On a totally different topic - I emailed my sister yet again today asking to answer me this time cos I was getting worried about her and this was my 6th or so email....and she answered! - She says she didnt get any of my emails - my server has been playing up a bit and some of my mail didnt get through but I dont think they'd have all gone missing, but anyway, she answered me this time. She's not doing too good, no details just not too good. Still has a bit more treatment to go but no news on whether she found a match on the register - I did ask her but she didnt answer that bit.
I just thought you'd like an update as you've all been so kind and thoughtful about her.



Another totally different topic - my cruise pack arived today - bedtime reading - makes it more exciting