Oh, Snap!A Recession!Going anyway...May 09! **5/19-TR LINK!!!

[Lady Lallie]

All of your crafts are so great. The earrings are so adorable. The pillowcases turned out beautifully, they will induce Sweet Dreams, I am sure of it!

 

[autumnpalm]

Ahhh I missed so many updates!!

First of all, you are an AMAZING photographer. Those pictures of spring in your area are breathtaking and I am totally green with jealousy over here. Your parents look lovely and wow, congratulations to them on 52 years!

Your crafts are so, so great. The keychains are gorgeous and the pillows and visors are really cute! You are so creative. The earrings look great too. If we cross paths in the parks, I sure will recognize you with all your lime green on!

 

[scooby9932]

All of your crafts are so great. The earrings are so adorable. The pillowcases turned out beautifully, they will induce Sweet Dreams, I am sure of it!

Thank you! I agree, the pillowcases have some sort of magic to them. I sleep on the ones from past years & always have sweet dreams of Disney!

Ahhh I missed so many updates!!

First of all, you are an AMAZING photographer. Those pictures of spring in your area are breathtaking and I am totally green with jealousy over here. Your parents look lovely and wow, congratulations to them on 52 years!

Your crafts are so, so great. The keychains are gorgeous and the pillows and visors are really cute! You are so creative. The earrings look great too. If we cross paths in the parks, I sure will recognize you with all your lime green on!

Thanks so much! I try, but the real photographer is SP. That's her job, so she better be good! Actually, to supplement her freelance & wedding photography she just got hired at Woman's Hospital here to take the pictures of the newborn babies! She's ecstatic - her 2 favorite things combined - photography & babies. That girl has wanted to be a mother since she was a tiny babe herself. She just loves babies. She spends a good deal of time at Disney admiring everyone's sweeties.

Don't worry - you'll soon have green surroundings! (Love your pun!) And then you'll get other seasons, too. We pretty much just have warm, warmer, and HOT here. And don't forget you'll be in Disney during the Flower & Garden Festival. That's one of the reasons we go during this time of year - so many beautiful photo ops for SP! And I love the topiaries.

Yeah, my parents are an inspiration. They grew up together and were friends, but didn't date each other til after high school. They've basically been together their whole lives.

I love crafting! The funny thing is, I look just ghastly in lime green! I can't wear any lime green clothing as it makes my skin this sickly yellow/gray color. If only the DIS color was bright pink or yellow or blue. But, it had to be green. *sigh* SP laughs at all my attempts to get around this. She of course, looks great in the color. If you do see us, though, you'll definitely notice us! Here's what's on the back of my scooter:

 

[scooby9932]

So, I was playing around with my nail polish trying to organize my room a bit. Spring cleaning & all, ya know. And I got to thinking... What if I painted my toenails Disney style for our trip? So, I got to experimenting...

First, I tried various incarnations of the Mickey Head. While they were ok, I just didn't like it all that much. Didn't even snap a picture to post here. It was simple - white nail polish, lime green mickey head on big toe. Black nail polish, white mickey head on toe, and the like.

Then I hit on the style I liked! So, the following is what I call my Minnie Toes! Notice I'm wearing my new Croc Ithaca sandals. Hee!

I love sandal weather, don't you? You can dress up your toes to match your outfit, your mood, whatever. Everyone who's noticed my toes think they're really cute...well, the girls anyway. Men just shake their heads & laugh.

So, what do you think? Have I started a new trend?

 

[scooby9932]

So, every year, I buy SP an orchid (her favorite flower) plant for her birthday. Well, it's now in bloom. Here's a pic she took last night:

Isn't it beee - uuuu- ti- ful? The flowers are gorgeous & just remind both of us of all the orchids around Mexico in Epcot. They have so many beautiful tropical plants on the way in that SP & I spend about 20 minutes just looking at them all & snapping pics.

 

[Lady Lallie]

I love your Minnie toes!! I need to do something like that for my trip, I think it would be fun. I never even thought of doing something like that before I saw people here on the DIS with Disney Toes.

 

[autumnpalm]

Ahhhhh I love your Disney toes! SO cute!

Your daughter is an amazing photographer. Every picture you post that she's taken impresses me so much. I really don't know anything about photography, but her photos are just beautiful. They look SO professional and artistic!

 

[scooby9932]

I love your Minnie toes!! I need to do something like that for my trip, I think it would be fun. I never even thought of doing something like that before I saw people here on the DIS with Disney Toes.

The toes are so fun! You should definitely try it out. I think it's a cute touch for us grown-up princesses!

Ahhhhh I love your Disney toes! SO cute!

Your daughter is an amazing photographer. Every picture you post that she's taken impresses me so much. I really don't know anything about photography, but her photos are just beautiful. They look SO professional and artistic!

Aw, thanks! I'll be sure to pass the compliment on to her. I know she'll love hearing it. She has always had such a love of photography & I think ('course I might be a bit biased) she has always had an amazing innate talent for it.

Her first camera was when she was 3. We picked up a broken 35mm camera from the Goodwill shop & she went around "snapping" pictures for a year with that thing. She even slept with it. She later "upgraded" to the Fisher Price camera, then a Barbie 110 camera, and on & on. Now, of course, she's got thousands of $ worth of equipment she uses. Funny thing is, she still has that old beat up 35 mm camera as well as all the others in her box of old toys. It's just something she was born to do!



I don't have any new Disney updates today. As for other news...

Yesterday I picked up SP's new EPI pen prescription. She had to get doctor's releases for her new job when she commented that she had allergies to latex & some plants. They told her she had to go to an allergist before they'd release her for employment. Well, she went & they poked her 80 times. By the time they'd finished with the pokes, she had started reacting & went into anaphalactic (sp?) shock right there in under 2 minutes.

Now, it's not the 1st time she's had a bad reaction like that, but never so fast. If you've ever gone into shock like that, then you know how scary it is! The first time I did, I was 6 mo. pregnant with SP. I lived in a mother-in-law house on my parent's property at the time & was alone. It happened at 2a.m. & I didn't know what was happening until it was almost too late. My throat was closing, I couldn't feel my hands or feet, hives were everywhere, and I was turning blue. Luckily, I was able to crawl to the door & send my dog to my parents house where she barked up a storm & got help. I almost died that night. Very, very scary.

Anyhoo, on to SP's ordeal. The nurses were astounded at how quickly she reacted. They told her most people take up to an hour to react. Anyway, they had to administer emergency care & now she has to have an epi pen with her at all times. I'm glad that she was tested now & at the doctor's office where she had quick care.

Sadly, it turns out that one of her favorite things to eat - seafood - is now on the danger list. She can eat it if it's out of it's shell, but is advised not to. Poor SP! She doesn't eat meat, only seafood, and now has to give up crustaceans. I guess she'll be a full on vegetarian now except for the occasional non shellfish. We had suspected she might be a bit allergic, since she's had itchy throat & skin reactions soon after eating shrimp or crab that was still in it's shell. Now we know it wasn't our imagination!

We have ADR's at Captain Jack's & when I mentioned having to cancel, she told me I'd better not! She has been looking forward to that so much! I just don't want her to have a bad reaction while we're away from her doctors. Maybe I can convince her to change her mind & we can go somewhere else instead. Think positive thoughts - if SP is one thing, stubborn it is.

Last night we had the most horrible severe thunderstorms move through the area. At 1:30 a.m. this morning, we all had to get dressed & go to the center of the house (SP's bedroom - you know she loved that!) to wait out some passing tornadoes. Luckily, we didn't have any major damage. Some other areas were not so lucky.

SP & I are going to the salon today for haircuts. She needs a trim up on her layers & I am going to see what they can do with the hair that's grown out since chemo. I have SUPER DUPER quick growing hair. The problem is that it's all pretty much one length & has now gotten too long to style very easily. I want something cool, spiky, and easy care. I hope they can give me something I like. I usually cut my own hair, but decided to let it grow longer this time & see what someone else can do. We'll see.

That's pretty much it for now. I'm going to be working on getting our binder together tonight & hopefully have our t-shirts done this weekend.

 

[autumnpalm]

Oh my gosh, how scary. I can't believe it took her less than 2 minutes to go into shock!I know how frightening it is, my father has an Epi Pen (nut allergies) and has made many a trip to the ER! I'm glad she has the EP too keep her safe now.

Eek, the thunderstorm bit gave me chills. Even though we don't get tornadoes up here in Toronto, I've been terrified of them since I was a child. Sometimes when it was just raining quietly in the middle of the night I would get up and sleep in the basement just in case! I'm not that afraid of them anymore LOL but I would have been having a panic attack if I were you last night. Thank goodness you guys are all safe!

Good luck with the hair cuts today! I hope you'll post pictures so we can see your new 'do!

 

[scooby9932]

Oh my gosh, how scary. I can't believe it took her less than 2 minutes to go into shock!I know how frightening it is, my father has an Epi Pen (nut allergies) and has made many a trip to the ER! I'm glad she has the EP too keep her safe now.

Eek, the thunderstorm bit gave me chills. Even though we don't get tornadoes up here in Toronto, I've been terrified of them since I was a child. Sometimes when it was just raining quietly in the middle of the night I would get up and sleep in the basement just in case! I'm not that afraid of them anymore LOL but I would have been having a panic attack if I were you last night. Thank goodness you guys are all safe!

Good luck with the hair cuts today! I hope you'll post pictures so we can see your new 'do!

Yeah, her having an EPI pen is such a relief. I'm not always with her to let her use one of mine, so my mind will rest now.

Oh, no! If you don't like severe weather, don't move to the Deep South! We get regular thunderstorms, hail, high winds, tornado watches/warnings, and of course, Hurricanes! They are scary. I love a good rain storm, but as soon as the winds kick up, I get nervous. I'd love to live somewhere immune to those.

I'll be sure to get SP to take some pics of me tonight so I can post. She wants me to get my hair dyed as well. I've lost my hair about 7 times now, and each time it comes back it has more gray in it. Actually, the gray is more like silver. It sparkles like Christmas tree tinsel! I'm thinking I'll just do the hair cut right now, though. Gotta save some $ for Disney. Plus I don't want too much upkeep. Who knows when it'll all come out again anyway, ya know? I have the philosophy that I've really earned the gray!

 

[scooby9932]

Well, so I was thinking about our upcoming trip. Big shocker, I know! And I was mentally planning out our days in each park, obsessing over how much time I’ve allotted the various parks in my itinerary. And I thought it would be fun to list out my goals for each park. Our touring plan, so to speak. You’ll see, we’re not big commando tourists. We’re more the meandering, soak it all up tourists.

So, without further adieu…

Magic Kingdom

First things first, I will have to stand outside & take pictures in front of the Mickey Head flower arrangement & just soak in the magic. I always do this. I’m always as excited as a little kid & as hyper as a child on Mountain Dew when we head to the Happiest Place on Earth.

Next, we walk through & grab all the times guides, disability guides, etc. SP always has to hit Exposition Hall & get her pics with the cutouts done. Then we just sort of meander down Main Street soaking up the atmosphere, looking into the shop windows, taking deep breaths of the air redolent with the smells of the bakery, confectionery, and that indefinable “something” that is just Disney.

SP usually has to stop at the Main Street Bakery & get her yogurt with fruit & granola fix along with a blueberry muffin. I, being a good sport, partake of either the French Toast loaf or one of their delicious cinnamon buns.

Next, we’ll head to Adventureland.

Pirates of the Caribbean
I always ride this first. I have to walk the queue since I have to leave my scooter & SP can’t push me in the wheelchair. It’s best to get this one done first. Plus, I just love the smell of the water rides, KWIM?
Jungle Cruise – wonderful memories of “driving” the boat when I was 6 y.o.
Enchanted Tiki Room – SP loves this one. I like the air conditioning.

At some point, we’ll get a Dole Whip. It’s a MUST Do for me. SP prefers the citrus swirl.

We then take the shortcut through to Frontierland.

Depending on SP’s mood, I’ll try to see if I can convince her to get FPs for Splash Mountain. She rode this once 2 trips ago & was so scared she doesn’t even remember that there were any animatronics inside! Her head was in my lap the whole time. SP really doesn’t like drops!

Then,

Big Thunder Mountain Railroad
SP tried this again last time & found she liked it. She had bad memories of being scared when she was 8.

Country Bear Jamboree
I could skip this one, but SP says we skipped it last year & she was sorry we did. So, we’ll go see the show. Maybe they’ve refurbed since I was there last & it won’t look so musty & outdated?

It should be around lunch time & we’ll hit up Peco’s Bill’s again. Love their chicken wrap!

Next – we’ll wander around Liberty Square

Soak up some of the atmosphere. Maybe ride the riverboat. Maybe not. Visit the Christmas store & pick out this year’s ornaments.

Then, a definite MUST see: Haunted Mansion – LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this ride! We try to ride at least 3-4 time each trip!

Then we’ll make the perilous journey through the bottleneck of my nightmares – to Stroller Alley aka Fantasy Land.

Where we’ll take deep, cleansing breaths, put band-aids on all our scrapes & cuts, ice down the bruises, and then go on our favorite rides in this area.

You think I’m exaggerating? No, sirree. People don’t notice me on my scooter. I get that. I know I’m shorter than you. Trust me – my view of butts & armpits is no great thrill. But in this area of WDW especially, people seem to make it a high stakes game of “who can run in front of (jump on top of / push out of the way of / kick / hit the head of the driver of) the scooter.”

I’ve never made it through Fantasy Land without injury. NEVER. It’s bad enough that people can be rude & say offensive things. Those I ignore (mostly). But I can’t ignore when I’m physically beat up. The worst ever was the mother who told her tween (10-12 yo) daughter to “just step on the scooter & jump over it, we have to get in front.” Then, because I was trapped in a sea of people & strollers, and it happened so fast - I couldn’t stop her little darling as she did as she was told - she stepped on my foot on the footplate, leveraged her weight on my bad (braced!) knee and the steering wheel & then jumped over me, kicking me in my face on her way over. No apologies, nothing. Mother hugged her & said, “Good. Now she won’t be in our way.” See, I’m not exaggerating!

A CM from Peter Pan came over to see if I needed help & just couldn’t believe what he’d seen happen. I told him it happens all the time! He said he was so sorry & was really nice. SP was FUMING. She was in a bad mood for almost an hour & still talks about the mean witch who used her kid as a weapon against me.

I’ve approached FL from every angle, at all times, and it’s always resulted in injury. BUT, I love the rides here, so I persevere.

Peter Pan's Flight – SP’s favorite MK ride
It's a Small World – MY favorite MK ride
Mickey's Philharmagic
Snow White's Scary Adventure
The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh
Cinderella’s Carousel – SP so wants to ride this year. It was down for refurb last year & we somehow missed it the year before.

Then, we’ll make our way to TomorrowLand.

Where we’ll wave at Space Mountain & the TTA while keeping back tears. J/K…well, sort of. We really love the TTA. We'll at least give it a little as we pass by.

Carousel of Progress – It’s a great, big, beautiful Tomorrow!
Monsters Inc. Laugh Floor – maybe they’ll use one of my jokes again this year!

Then we’ll just see where the day takes us. I do want to try to ride the train all the way around the park. I haven’t ridden since I was a kid. I also want to see if they still have the penny movies up there. I think SP would love those!

At night, we’ll grab some dinner (probably from Terrace Noodle Station or the like) & scope out some good places to watch:

Wishes – MY ABSOLUTE FAVORITE THING ABOUT WDW!!!! Makes me cry every time.

Then we’ll get an ice cream or maybe just wander through the stores while the after fireworks crowds move out. This year, we’ll be in line for the Monorail or the Ferry Boat - JUST not the buses! WOO HOO!

Well, there you have it. Our “plan” for the MK day. We’ll prolly change things up a bit. But the rides/attractions will get done!

Ok, guess I have to get a little work done today before I out for my hair appointment!

 

[scooby9932]

So, yesterday afternoon, I went to get my hair cut. I'd been letting it grow out since chemo & it was all one length, no structure, & since it's super thick, it was starting to bother me. So, I got it cut in an easy-breezy style. SP met me there to provide moral support & to get a free dinner, I think! We went to Cafe Phoenicia afterwards & ate some yummy Greek/Lebanese food. Gotta love the hummus!

We went to the Dollar Tree next door to see if we could find any Disney/beach trip supplies. We were having a good time getting our shop on, when we we're interrupted!

While we are shopping at Dollar Tree, SP gets a text message that her new guy was waiting at the house to take her on a surprise date! So we paid quickly & then drove home. Then I was on my own for picture taking. So, being all worn out from our salon/dinner/quickie shopping trip, some pics are a bit fuzzy/bad lighting. Sorry!

Anyhoo, here's the new do:

The above-the-head shot:

The diva look:

Top o' the head:

While taking pics, I had a couple of friends wondering what I was doing instead of playing with them!

Hey, you, there! What's that thing on your face?

I must get that thing off your face!:lmao:

Jasper & Rufus were not very happy that I was spending time on anything other than playing with them. I think I've spoiled them. And Jasper's not even mine! SP should be taking care of him, but you know how it is... (Notice how poor Rufie lost all his hair? He's cooler & the knots are gone, but he is kinda funny looking right now. )

So, Rufus decided he needed to help with the modeling for our "What we got at the Store" pictures:
Hey, mom? Why is your glow thingy so big?

So I explain how I bought a package of 2 24" long glow sticks. I thought I'd put them on my scooter (kinda like a flag) to alert people to my presence while in the parks at night. At this point, Rufus just sighs in doggie disgust, and goes to bed.

Next up, the laundry bag (notice it's beautiful color):

And some hair bands for SP:

And an Ariel beach ball, 'cause, you know, we had to have it - it had a Disney Princess on it & we ARE going to the beach...

Then when I got home, I had some exciting mail!

In my Disney Movie Club package, they sent me a free Pinocchio bookmark:

And, now, I have a confession. Ahem............


I



am





a







Twilight fan!

I bought the 1st book for SP when it first came out. She's slow to read books normally, but she went through it in 1 night! So, of course, being a book lover, I had to see what the fuss was all about! Well, color me impressed! We were both fans right from the start.

Each year, we had to wait for the next installment...it was torture! Then while reading the final book, we find out they're making the movie of the 1st book! Of course, I was on chemo & restricted from movie theaters when it comes out. But SP saw it & kept telling me how great it was.

So, when Amazon started pre-selling the 2 disc special edition, I had to buy it. The worst thing is, we bought another copy at Wal Mart the day it came out b/c we couldn't wait for our movie to get here! Anyhoo, guess what came in the mail yesterday?

You guessed it. Our Special Edition Twilight Movie!

I watched the special features disc last night. It was great! I think I'll rewatch the movie this weekend. Hmmm...And maybe reread the books. Yep, I'm a TwiHard.

I'll prolly not post this weekend as I will be without a computer. But, I'll be back next week.

I'll leave you with this.....

ONLY


30


MORE


DAYS!!!!!!!!!!!​

​

​

 

[Lady Lallie]

I love your haircut! It is super cute!! You are stylin'!

I'm a *huge* Twilight fan. I even have a Twilight Keychain. I can not wait for the New Moon movie to come out!

 

[autumnpalm]

Your new haircut looks awesome!! You are so pretty.

Your puppies are SO cute and I have to admit, I am a Twilight fan too! Actually I think more accurately I am a huge Robert Pattinson fan but... you know.

Your MK plans look great!!

I love Wishes too. I think it might also be my favourite part of Disney. I get so swept up in it every time.

 

[scooby9932]

I love your haircut! It is super cute!! You are stylin'!

I'm a *huge* Twilight fan. I even have a Twilight Keychain. I can not wait for the New Moon movie to come out!

Thanks! I love my new style. So easy!

It's great to meet other Twilight fans. They're filming New Moon now, so hopefully we'll be able to see it by year end. In an interview, Rob Pattinson said they'd better film all the movies pretty soon as he's aging quickly and already looks 3 years older than he did last year!

Your new haircut looks awesome!! You are so pretty.

Your puppies are SO cute and I have to admit, I am a Twilight fan too! Actually I think more accurately I am a huge Robert Pattinson fan but... you know.

Your MK plans look great!!

I love Wishes too. I think it might also be my favourite part of Disney. I get so swept up in it every time.

Aw, thanks for the compliments!

I have to admit that I didn't think I'd like Rob Pattinson for the role of Edward, but after seeing the movie, he was the perfect fit! I guess I couldn't see him as anything but Cedric Diggory from Harry Potter - another book/movie series I love. I admit, he is a cutie-pie! If I wasn't (almost) old enough to be his mother...

Isn't Wishes just fantastic? I have Wishes as my cellphone ringtone. The part where the little girl sings "Star Light, Star Bright..." I admit I sometimes let it ring for a bit just to listen to the song before I pick up! I also have Disney songs set as my answer tones so people can enjoy a little Disney magic every time they call me!

 

[scooby9932]

So, on the Disney news front...I got my package booklet in the mail! The luggage tags are pretty, there's a 30 minute arcade card included, plus a new style tear-out booklet with all our room/ticket info & vouchers. I like it better than the plastic encased vouchers from previous years. Our vacation seems really official now! We've got under a month!!!

I also changed our hotel for the drive down. I found a Ramada for 1/2 the price of the Holiday Inn & it has free breakfast when the HI didn't. More $$ for souvies!

In other news, Mom was hospitalized again this morning. Her COPD is getting worse all the time & she had to be admitted for blood oxygen levels below 75! I'm on my way to visit her in a little while.

SP got her allergist report back yesterday. She's definitely allergic to crustaceans (shellfish like crabs, shrimp) and mollusks (clams, oysters), as well as grass, dust, dust mites, cat hair, dog fur, latex, and a few others I can't recall just now. She's on a daily allergy med & still has her Epi pens in case of shock. Other than that, she's fine.

I've still got my touring plans that I'm working on. Below is for our typical day at Epcot Future World.

Epcot Days

We split our days up & do Future World one day & World Showcase another 2 times. I’ll cover Future World in this touring “plan”. Of course we’ll spend a good deal of time just enjoying the Flower & Garden Festival topiaries & such. Our Epcot days are very laid back.

Future World Plan:

We always have to do Spaceship Earth first. No matter what. SP demands her some SSE first thing. We usually spend a while playing with all the games & what not in the Sieman’s area after the ride.

Then we’ll hit the following (in no particular order – we’ll use FP as appropriate):

Soarin’ – SP gets motion sick on this one, but it’s one of my faves. She’ll just use the chicken exit while I ride. I won’t force her on this year like I did last.

Living with the Land – I’m thinking about signing up for a last minute “Behind the Seeds” tour, too. I just love this ride & the Mickey Head Pumpkins!

Ellen’s Energy Adventure – SP boycotted this one due to some unfortunate incident from 2007, but I want to ride it this year. This used to be sponsored by my employer & we always got to be treated to the VIP room & direct to ride access. Now, it’s still fun, but I do miss the free sodas, cookies, and really clean bathrooms! LOL

Eat lunch at Sunshine Season’s – they have the best selection here for us non-meat eaters!

Test Track – we’ll end up riding this as many times as possible. I loves me some speed!

JIYI with Figment – SP’s favorite ride after SSE. She adores Figment.

Living with the Seas – we’ll skip Nemo & Crush, but definitely spend some time watching the manatees. We just love these guys!

Club Cool – An SP must do! She’s a Coke addict…that sounds bad, what I mean is she’s a Coca Cola addict. She must drink the VegiBeta drink from Japan several times every trip. We’ve tried finding it on the internet, but can’t. She’d drink this every day if she could.

Innoventions – we like playing with the technology & SP has to send an e-card from the centers here.

Mouse Gears – a must stop shopping adventure!

Repeat as necessary.

 

[scooby9932]

I have a few small Disney related items:

So....I bought myself some clothes today for our trip. I had a 30% off code that was just too good to pass up, so I bought:

A new one-piece swimsuit (cause I really liked it! and I have a 2 piece tankini set, but no one piece - how's that for justification?):

And a new coverup that has a hood:

A couple of new pairs of shorts: (showing brown, also bought white, black, navy, charcoal gray)

And a new short set (picture is red/white, but I got black/white):

A new black & white embroidered blouse - for our 1900 Park Fare dinner. I plan to wear with a pair of white capri pants & my black sandals:

And a couple of new t-shirts:

The order should get in by April 9. Adding those things with the other new shirts I made/bought and a couple of old pairs of shorts, I should be set to start packing soon!

I've placed our Garden Grocer order for snacks/breakfast items/bottled water. This worked out so well for us last year! The only way I can see it not being a good deal is if we by some miracle *cross my fingers, make a wish to the blue fairy* get upgraded to concierge level & have those snacks, etc. on hand. A girl can hope! Even if that happens, we'll just pack up the garden grocer stuff & take it with us to the beach to save some $$ there.

Mom's still in the hospital. When I went by last night she looked like she was getting better. They're getting her oxygen levels back up & working on her blood sugar as well. The doctor told her this morning that she was keeping her until Friday. Dad is staying with her all day & I've been popping in & out to bring him coffee - he's just not right without his brew!

That's it for news right now. I'm still working a lot of overtime at work, getting ready for a big audit in July. I'm just lucky that I scheduled my vacation for April/May - everyone else was told they had to cancel their vacations for Mid May to End of August! I'm so glad I prefer to take time off when the weather is cooler!

 

[scooby9932]

So, life has been hectic lately. Work has been super stressful & busy. I don't think I've taken a lunch break in about 5 weeks now. Mom's still in the hospital. They were going to let her come home today, but she got worse overnight, so they're keeping her. Dad stays with her all the time.

Meantime, my schedule has been way off kilter. I have to keep a pretty regular schedule most days to keep from getting sick. Every day I leave work, pick up some dinner for my Dad (the hospital cafeteria stops serving food at lunch), head to the hospital, stay until 9 or so, get home, clean the house/do chores, let the dogs run, feed the dogs, visit with SP (and her new BF) when they come in, and then after a quick shower, fall back into bed for a measly 4 hours of sleep before getting up & starting all over again. Needless to say, at this point I'm exhausted. I can usually ignore all of the usual problems (joint pain, breathing difficulty, etc.), but I feel so run down that they're all bothering me now.

I look forward to doing nothing but SLEEP this weekend. That is, when I'm not taking the dogs out, cooking, cleaning, doing laundry, and visiting at the hospital. *sigh* I'm usually such a stickler for my schedule that even my dog is showing signs of stress from the irregularity of his day! Plus, he's locked up in my room all day since there is no one home to watch him & let him out. Out of all the dogs, though, I feel sorriest for SP's little Yorkie, Jasper. He's in a small kennel all day. He's a chewer & digger, so he can't be trusted to just stay in a room. He's SO Happy when we get home to let him out! Poor babies - they're all used to constant attention, multiple trips outside to do their business, dinner at 6 p.m., to bed by 9 p.m.

On the positive side, SP is over the moon happy right now. Everything is falling into place for her - new job, new boyfriend, new friends, etc. Her "new" boyfriend is actually a guy she had dated very briefly back in her junior year of high school. Then he got together with another girl, she met her ex-fiancee, and now 4 years later, they're dating again. I really like him. He's so sweet to her & she seems really happy. Which makes my heart glad.

On the Disney front, I've been shopping a little to pick up incidentals - travel size toiletry containers, ziplock bags, cleaning supplies, beach towels, etc. I've also not been able to resist the cute spring clothes & SP now has a few more sun dresses & shorts outfits.

I'm almost to the point of being ready to pack. Once my new clothes come in, I'll start actually packing my suitcase. I've got 2 boxes filled with Disney stuff right now. I can't believe it's only 25 days away!

I'm off to work some more now. I just had to vent a bit & take a break. Have a magical weekend!

 

[autumnpalm]

Enjoy your rest weekend! You sure sound like you deserve it.

Lots of prayers for your mom. I hope she's home soon!

I love the bathing suit you picked out, especially the skirt bottom. It looks like it's cut really nicely. And the black shirt with the embroidery is absolutely gorgeous. You're going to look GREAT in it!!

Your Epcot day looks great. I really want to see the manatees at the Seas, we've never really explored much before but it's on our list for this trip.

Sorry for being so behind on your updates... I don't know how I've missed them!! I am getting so excited for you! 25 days is nothing. We are getting so close.

 

[Leleluvsdis]

Definetly get some rest the weekend, and maybe even go get pampered at the spa... I think rest is the best medicine and the last thing you want to do is be run down when you go to disney and sleep all week... take care