Planning our Wilderness Lodge Adventure! Nov 8-15 ~ We are back!

[Camster0307]

Hey Brook!

Just want to know: what will you be doing 21 DAYS from this EXACT moment?

 

[Flossbolna]

I am thinking I want to get a little something for my co-workers son too...they (the son and his mom) were just at Disney and I thought it would be neat to get Mickey to write a "I miss you and hope to see you real soon!" note to him...is that even possible to ask Mickey to do that sort of thing? I would wait until we were at a park and have stood in a line to see him rather than at Chef Mickey's. Or maybe I could just send him a special postcard of some sort and bring him back a little toy of some sort...hmmm...any ideas?

Just try Guest Relations at a park. When we were on the Key to the Kingdom tour our guide said that they have pretty good connections to the characters there and if you really need someone's autograph, they will try to help.

 

[brookelizabeth]

Hey Brook!

Just want to know: what will you be doing 21 DAYS from this EXACT moment?

If had I seen your note yesterday, I would have said riding the ME to Pop Century!!!!!!!

Since I saw it a day later...in 21 days at 2:02 pm Eastern, I'll be EATING AROUND THE WORLD!!!!!!!

Just try Guest Relations at a park. When we were on the Key to the Kingdom tour our guide said that they have pretty good connections to the characters there and if you really need someone's autograph, they will try to help.

What a great tip! Thank you Flossbolna!

 

[brookelizabeth]

10-19-2008 - A Perfect Night: Dinner with my Love and new shoes!


For the past week or so Henry has had a nasty cold - coughing, sneezing, sore throat - the whole deal. As you all know, Joe and I are celebrating our anniversary on our trip; however, we also decided to have a early anniversary celebration together / date night (without Henry). Guess who woke up feeling like crud yesterday?

BOTH OF US!

Now, not only is Henry miserable, Joe and I are as well.

We didn't allow a cold to stop us from our once-in-a-blue-moon date night, so off to dinner we went, only to feel worse and worse as the night went on. We had fun anyway though and ate at a fantastic pasta place in Minneapolis. (we took pictures of our food , I'll share them soon)

Before we went to dinner we hit the Mall of America to do some gift shopping for relatives and we also picked ourselves up some Crocs! I have been a Croc-Hater (sorry to ya'll who love them!) from day one; however, I have seen some styles I like lately and with all the rage over how great they are for the parks, I had to check them out.

I now have to say, I TOTALLY understand why people love these shoes! I am really enjoying my new pair and so is Joe. I can't remember the style I got, but it's slimmer fitting to the foot, sort of like the Mary Jane, but without the strap over the foot. I'll take a pic sometime soon and share it.

My To Do list is shrinking...
Budget-done
Park Shoes-purchased
Several buttons on my new shorts needed to be put on better-done
Disney called-verified room requests, also found the Disney Visa code is not a better deal than what we already have
GardenGrocer.com order-done
Packing Lists-reviewed and re-reviewed
and I know there are a bunch of other things I got done recently...mind is still foggy from the cold...

I still have to call Private Dining at the WL back and find out the types of cookies in the one ammenity, and then decide and order it. I'm really excited about this, Joe will be so surprised!!!

And I want to make a "Park Bag List" so either Joe and I can quickly pack it each morning and I won't have list off every single item to him that needs to go in there every morning! I swear, no matter how many times he packs the diaper bag, he always has to ask me what needs to go in there! I think it's a male thing...

Hopefully I won't run out of things to do for the trip...that would just make these last 20 days come to a crawl. I'm sure there are about 20 more things that will pop up though!

Tomorrow we are officially in the TEENS. Joe and I are both giddy every time we realize how close it's getting!!!!

 

[2xcited2sleep]

You're in the teens!!!!

Sounds like you are in good shape in terms of the to-do list. Sorry you guys aren't feeling so hot. At least you have plenty of time to knock that cold out of the way before you hit WDW!

 

[Charleston Princess]

Happy Teens Dancing!!!

You have been able to check quite a bit off of your list!

I hope you and Joe feel better soon!

 

[MeMom]

It's not yesterday any more!

It's today,

and that means

you are in the teens!

Since the bananas and sun-glassed smiley guys have been taken,
I'll do the spinning trio and the cheerleader!



I hope today finds everyone feeling a little better. Go ahead and get all that sickness over with before the trip!!!

 

[Camster0307]

Another giddy DISer here -- 19 DAYS!!!!!!!!

Isn't it amazing how your attitude completely changes when you know you've got a Disney trip coming up?

Sorry you're all feeling under the weather. Look at this way, at least you got sick now so you should all be good to go by the time you leave!

And I'm curious to hear your opinions on the Crocs. I, too, have resisted buying them - just never liked the look of them and I HATE having my toes covered! I usually wear Teva flipflops and, while they are very comfortable, they don't offer much support. I'm STILL looking for an alternate shoe to take with me! I have no idea what to get!

 

[brookelizabeth]

You're in the teens!!!!

Sounds like you are in good shape in terms of the to-do list. Sorry you guys aren't feeling so hot. At least you have plenty of time to knock that cold out of the way before you hit WDW!

Happy Teens Dancing!!!

You have been able to check quite a bit off of your list!

I hope you and Joe feel better soon!

It's not yesterday any more!

It's today,

and that means

you are in the teens!

Since the bananas and sun-glassed smiley guys have been taken,
I'll do the spinning trio and the cheerleader!



I hope today finds everyone feeling a little better. Go ahead and get all that sickness over with before the trip!!!

Another giddy DISer here -- 19 DAYS!!!!!!!!

Isn't it amazing how your attitude completely changes when you know you've got a Disney trip coming up?

Sorry you're all feeling under the weather. Look at this way, at least you got sick now so you should all be good to go by the time you leave!

And I'm curious to hear your opinions on the Crocs. I, too, have resisted buying them - just never liked the look of them and I HATE having my toes covered! I usually wear Teva flipflops and, while they are very comfortable, they don't offer much support. I'm STILL looking for an alternate shoe to take with me! I have no idea what to get!

YES! HELLO TEENS!!

Last night was a rough night of sleep - not only because of the lovely cold, but I'm also on call for work and one of our largest clients had a situation that took about an hour and a half to troubleshoot. Joe works at the same place, and was also on called, and also required, so we are both feeling just peachy today.

Due to the fog over my brain, when I pulled up my iGoogle homepage, where my personal Disney countdown is, my eyes sorta did this: 19 days! 19 days!

Did we miss any dancing people? How about this scary one? and these guys are cute:

Thank you to all for the "get well wishes"! I better be better in 19 days!

Last night in my inablity to sleep I realized I still need to make my LGMH and buy my trip journal (we were THISCLOSE to buying one at the Disney Store on Saturday, but the line was soooo long for a $5.50 notebook!). Still need to empty off the camera, laptop and video camera too. Might need to buy a few odds and ends as well.

I don't think I'll run out of stuff to do!



Cammie-Crocs Review....
The Crocs are really, really, really nice! My "test drive" was grocery shopping with them yesterday. My feet were not tired at all when I was done. I plan to keep test driving them until the trip. If I do find they won't work, I'll be sure to post it here. Right now, I'm very confident they were the perfect buy!

The style I got, the Malindi, is covering the toes, but I almost got their flip flops, which were equally as comfortable. Unfortunatly, I needed a half size in that style, which they don't sell for some reason... They do have quite a few styles now-a sandal type with two straps over the foot, the flip flop style, and one that is a bit like an open toed mule.

I very much wanted open toes because my Keens are closed toe, but despite the Mall of America having two stores completely devoted to socks, one completely to magnets, several to swimsuits, and at least one to cheese - there were only 2 small Crocs stands with very limited choices.

I was given these links to check out the Crocs on another TR...with my foggy mind I cannot remember who's it was...

Try shoebuy.com, shoes.com or zappos.com. And you have to try the great site LL told us
about retailmenot.com where you can get coupon codes!

I wear a size 8.5. The flip flops were too small at a 9 and too large at a 10. The Malindi was just right at a 8. So, I recommend trying a few pairs on before buying online. Also, the price quoted on shoebuy.com for the Malinidi is the same I paid at the kiosk.


Alright, I'm supposed to be leaving the house right now for work, and I haven't even showered. I better call and tell them I'm going to be late. I woke up just a teensy bit late...

 

[Mocharilla]

And I want to make a "Park Bag List" so either Joe and I can quickly pack it each morning and I won't have list off every single item to him that needs to go in there every morning! I swear, no matter how many times he packs the diaper bag, he always has to ask me what needs to go in there! I think it's a male thing...

I think it's just a non-mother-of-the-child thing. Both DF and FMIL are always like "What needs to go in here?", even though they've both packed it hundreds of times! It's like, the same freaking stuff as every other time! Diapers, food, change of clothes, toys!

 

[tiggrbaby]

Frequently you can get a discount on the shoebuy site. I've found 20% off on weekends on the msn homepage a few times. And they ship quickly (order on Sunday, receive by Thursday). They just don't always have all styles/sizes. But if it doesn't fit, the return shipping through UPS is free!

 

[brookelizabeth]

I think it's just a non-mother-of-the-child thing. Both DF and FMIL are always like "What needs to go in here?", even though they've both packed it hundreds of times! It's like, the same freaking stuff as every other time! Diapers, food, change of clothes, toys!

I'm so glad someone else "feels my pain!" I have been meaning to make a "Diaper Bag Checklist" so DH doesn't have to ask, but never have...I think the "Park Bag Checklist" will be very helpful and make for easier mornings.

Frequently you can get a discount on the shoebuy site. I've found 20% off on weekends on the msn homepage a few times. And they ship quickly (order on Sunday, receive by Thursday). They just don't always have all styles/sizes. But if it doesn't fit, the return shipping through UPS is free!

Great tip! I am loving my Crocs so much I might buy a second pair in a sandal style this coming summer too.

 

[Mocharilla]

I'm so glad someone else "feels my pain!" I have been meaning to make a "Diaper Bag Checklist" so DH doesn't have to ask, but never have...I think the "Park Bag Checklist" will be very helpful and make for easier mornings.



Great tip! I am loving my Crocs so much I might buy a second pair in a sandal style this coming summer too.

Oh yeah. I DID make a checklist, and I still get asked!

The Park Bag Checklist was VERY helpful for us. I taped it to the door, and made sure we had everything before I left. The only time I forgot something was before I put the checklist up, and I was charging the camera battery, and forgot it. And I remembered right after my dad dropped us off at POR for our carriage ride! But he ran back and dropped it off to us.

 

[brookelizabeth]

Oh yeah. I DID make a checklist, and I still get asked!

If the same thing happened on my trip, it wouldn't surprise me a bit!

The Park Bag Checklist was VERY helpful for us. I taped it to the door, and made sure we had everything before I left. The only time I forgot something was before I put the checklist up, and I was charging the camera battery, and forgot it. And I remembered right after my dad dropped us off at POR for our carriage ride! But he ran back and dropped it off to us.

That was so nice of your dad! Whew!!!
That is a great idea about taping it to the door! I was going to put it in my PassPorter but I can already hear DH saying "Hon, where's the PassPorter?" I'm so taping it to the door...now if he asks me where the door is, then we have REAL issues!

 

[tiggrbaby]

If the same thing happened on my trip, it wouldn't surprise me a bit!



That was so nice of your dad! Whew!!!
That is a great idea about taping it to the door! I was going to put it in my PassPorter but I can already hear DH saying "Hon, where's the PassPorter?" I'm so taping it to the door...now if he asks me where the door is, then we have REAL issues!

Are the doors metal like cruise ship doors? Then go to Michaels and buy one of those photo magnet holders for an 8 x 10 photo. You can put the list on the door and it won't come loose!

 

[brookelizabeth]

Are the doors metal like cruise ship doors? Then go to Michaels and buy one of those photo magnet holders for an 8 x 10 photo. You can put the list on the door and it won't come loose!

Then there is ZERO room for excuse!!!

 

[brookelizabeth]

10-22-2008 - Pictures and a countdown update

Here are a few happenings in the life of me:

1) Pictures from our date night:
The atmosphere:

Moi!

Bread, yummmm

Appetizer, Bruschetta. So very good!

And our entrees...



We both had the chicken and mozeralla ravioli. They were very tasty...

Tiramisu for DH. He needs to learn to take better food pics. This seriously does not do this wonder of a tirmisu justice! It was the best tiramisu I've ever had! (Yes, this was DH's...I stole some bites!)

And Creme Brulee for me...delish!!!!!

Regular coffee for DH, we enjoyed their sugar lumps.

And a Chai Latte for me.

On our walk back to our car we noticed this light pole. I surely hope no one ever hits it because I do believe half of the city of Minneapolis would be without power!

2) Pictures of my new Crocs...for goodness sake, you can see my sock lines! :

3) I am feeling better, so is DH and Henry. I think the worst part of the nasty cold has swept through our household and is on it's way OUT.

4) Yesterday was our anniversary. We didn't do much, since we are celebrating at Disney, had our date night, and we were both sick, but DH did surprise me with a beautiful jewelery box a few days ago, and Trans Siberian Orchestra tickets for when they are here in December! Here is the jewlery box, the top opens and has a nice large mirror and the sides open and hold 20 necklaces each! The best part of all this is...he got it for less than 1/3 of the list price!!! Way to go DH!

5) DH joined the DIS! He has made a grand total of ONE post on a thread about the shuttle launch. I told him we could do a joint TR then, I just got an eye roll in response.

6) And a countdown update!

Mom, can I take off another?

Yea!!!

Tonight's goal - make my LGMHs. I've been meaning to do that for about a week now...

 

[thewesterberg]

Man, I'm so far behind here....

Let's see, feel better/glad your better. (crying out loud, I missed a whole illness! So sorry about that!)

You're in the TEENS!!!!!

You"ve fallen under the spell of Crocs... Fancy Crocs, at that!

You're looking to add more Crocs to your collection already!? Too funny!

Happy Anniversary! Love your present!

Dinner looked good... You looked awesome...The light pole looked scary!

DH is getting sucked in! Is he staying away from your PTR or is he going to find out about the "you-know-what"... and gotta laugh about his reaction to doing a TR together.... just you wait!!

Henry is still looking might cute pulling those Mickey heads off!

Okay, that's what I remember! As always, so fun to read your updates!

 

[brookelizabeth]

Man, I'm so far behind here....

Let's see, feel better/glad your better. (crying out loud, I missed a whole illness! So sorry about that!)

You're in the TEENS!!!!!

You"ve fallen under the spell of Crocs... Fancy Crocs, at that!

You're looking to add more Crocs to your collection already!? Too funny!

Yep! Yep! and Yep! I am really loving my Crocs, they are soooo comfy.

Happy Anniversary! Love your present!

Now all my cheap Target jewelery has a beautiful home. And I have tons of room for more!

Dinner looked good... You looked awesome...The light pole looked scary!

Thank you! Dinner was very good, and the light pole was scary! You would think that sort of thing is illegal?!

DH is getting sucked in! Is he staying away from your PTR or is he going to find out about the "you-know-what"... and gotta laugh about his reaction to doing a TR together.... just you wait!!

I keep telling him to look at the "Food Pictures Thread", that one is good for sucking a person in...

Henry is still looking might cute pulling those Mickey heads off!

Thanks! He gets sooooo excited every time we bring him near the countdown. I guess we'll just have to start planning another trip when we get back so Henry has more Mickey Heads to take off!

 

[Charleston Princess]

What a beautiful restaurant! I think I would like tiramasu and coffee for breakfast!

The crocs are super cute! The color is great!

Henry is too cute taking off the countdown numbers!