~ Sew Sweet 16 ~I’m packing your angry eyes just in case~Aug 2014~ BFF' bag 8/20!!!!

[Terkina]

Happy Birtday

 

[mblc14]

Happy Birthday!! Can't wait to read all about Chicago from Mo, looked like you guys had a blast.

 

[DMGeurts]

Good morning everyone! I am home... It feels good to be home, but let me tell ya... I miss everyone.

We took one last "selfie" before we parted ways in the airport yesterday...

And my view from my seat... I was by the window and we had no middle seat person, so it was a nice flight.

The last 20 minutes of the flight, I said a few prayers, as we were flying into storms in MN and it was quite bumpy... I was very happy to be on the ground.

Josh was waiting for me at baggage claim...

Once we got home, I was starving... So, he made us leftover tacos... They were very good... He also had a pork roast on the smoker for dinner. Num.

I took a 3 hour nap in my recliner...

Ate dinner...

Read a book...

Went to bed.

Today... Well... I *should* be lifting... Not sure I feel like it... We did a TON of walking every day we were there, and I am still really tired. I kind of feel like having a REAL day off. LOL

I have a HUGE bag order this week... I am praying I have enough time to get started on Auction bag #9... I am a little nervous that I am behind, and I really want to have this auction in *ahem* 3 weeks... It takes a long time to take all of the pictures and write the auctions - I really need 2 weeks to do it... So, I am not sure I will get to all 10 bags? This really upsets me.

Anyways... I better get a move on my day!

It feels good to be home... Now, I am in full-on Disney trip planning/sewing/packing mode.

I hope you all have a wonderful day! Sending prayers and Pixie Dust to all in need.

D~

 

[Terkina]

Welcome home
I hope you get a lot done in your sewing room today

 

[sweetpeaandevie]

Glad you are home! I think you deserve a day "off". I always need a day after a vacation to ease back into regular life!!!

Don't stress yourself out if you only have 9 out of 10 bags....I'm sure your auction will be a huge success and you won't need to worry!

 

[MPWife153]

Welcome home! Can't wait to read Mo's TR! just from the few pics you posted you can tell you gals had a Fantastic time!

 

[lovedonaldduck]

Welcome home! Glad you had such a good trip, can't wait to read all about it!

I'm sure you'll be able to finish all 10 bags, you'll make sure you do

Good luck getting back into the groove after vacation!

 

[OregonMomToWDW]

Happy Birthday. Your trip sounded like tons of fun. Hope you have a great day.

 

[Pluto0809]

Hi D~ ! I'm finally back on the DIS after an insanely crazy May. I had 30+ budget meetings but they are all done now, the budget is balanced and on to the Board of Commissioners for their review. I will still have to put together a 300 page budget book in August but that will be a piece of cake compared to dealing with all of the personalities in the meetings.

I have been checking in with your PTR once in a while but I know I missed a ton. I'm not sure if I will get a chance to go back and get caught up, I'm almost two months behind on most people's threads so it's going to take forever for me to get caught up. I hope I don't get behind like that again.

I need to head over to Mo's PTR and get caught up so I don't miss the epic Chicago TR!

Oh and Happy Birthday! Hope you have a wonderful day.

 

[nowellsl]

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!! I hope your day was GREAT!

The trip looks like so much fun! I wish Chicago wasn't so far away I would love to go to one!

 

[sewmess]

Happy Birthday!!

Enjoyed your FB (and here) photos from Chicago.

It's been a HooHaa of a day - Summer Camps started - it's end of month - it's Monday and on the home front, Cale has a sinus infection! (but I did get some sewing in this weekend - hurray!!)

Here's hoping your day wasn't half a crazy!

 

[Hardheadedwoman]

Welcome home! You look fantastic!

We are seeing Maleficent this week and I can't wait! Everyone has told me it's fantastic.

Lissette

 

[DMGeurts]

Good morning! Somebody is older today........YOU!

I already "sang to you" on Facebook, but I wanted to stop by here too. Hope you have a fabulous birthday and another great year! Back to reality today after our wonderful weekend at Mo's. So sad, but your birthday makes it bearable

Hahahaha... And guess what? Someone is older TODAY... YOU!!!!!!!!!! Happy Birthday my dear friend... So happy I was able to spend time with you this weekend... So sad that we have to wait another year to do it again. Much love to you today and every day!

Good Morning and Happy Birthday!

Nini

Hi Nini! Thank you!

Happy Birtday

Thank you Lillian!

Happy Birthday!! Can't wait to read all about Chicago from Mo, looked like you guys had a blast.

Thanks Mike! We had an amazing time... Good food, good friends - there's nothing better!

Welcome home
I hope you get a lot done in your sewing room today

Thanks Lillian! I was able to get quite a bit done in my sewing room yesterday - which made me very happy!

Glad you are home! I think you deserve a day "off". I always need a day after a vacation to ease back into regular life!!!

Don't stress yourself out if you only have 9 out of 10 bags....I'm sure your auction will be a huge success and you won't need to worry!

LOL I probably deserve a day off - but I don't think I am going to get one for quite some time... I still plan to push for that 10th bag though... I must try.

Welcome home! Can't wait to read Mo's TR! just from the few pics you posted you can tell you gals had a Fantastic time!

Thank you! Yes, I am so excited to read about the trip too... It was so much fun! Cannot wait to do it again!

Welcome home! Glad you had such a good trip, can't wait to read all about it!

I'm sure you'll be able to finish all 10 bags, you'll make sure you do

Good luck getting back into the groove after vacation!

Thanks Jennifer! I cannot wait to read all about it again too.

Hahaha... I hope so - I'm gonna try, that's for sure!

Thanks... I made good progress yesterday - so I think I am doing OK.

Happy Birthday. Your trip sounded like tons of fun. Hope you have a great day.

Thanks Shannon! We did have a lot of fun... I really look forward to these trips!

Hi D~! I'm finally back on the DIS after an insanely crazy May. I had 30+ budget meetings but they are all done now, the budget is balanced and on to the Board of Commissioners for their review. I will still have to put together a 300 page budget book in August but that will be a piece of cake compared to dealing with all of the personalities in the meetings.

Ariana! Very happy to see you here and back on The Dis... No worries about catching up here, anything good that's happened is linked in my Table of Contents. Glad you survived May... Hopefully the rest is much easier.

I have been checking in with your PTR once in a while but I know I missed a ton. I'm not sure if I will get a chance to go back and get caught up, I'm almost two months behind on most people's threads so it's going to take forever for me to get caught up. I hope I don't get behind like that again.

Absolutely no worries... We all know I've fallen hopelessly behind on your PTR/TR a time of two...

I need to head over to Mo's PTR and get caught up so I don't miss the epic Chicago TR!

I don't think she has started it yet? When she does, I will be sure to post a link to it here too.

Oh and Happy Birthday! Hope you have a wonderful day.

Thank you - I did.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!! I hope your day was GREAT!

The trip looks like so much fun! I wish Chicago wasn't so far away I would love to go to one!

Thanks Stephanie! I did have a great birthday! We did have so much fun in Chicago - I hope to go back one day and see more of it.

Happy Birthday!!

Enjoyed your FB (and here) photos from Chicago.

It's been a HooHaa of a day - Summer Camps started - it's end of month - it's Monday and on the home front, Cale has a sinus infection! (but I did get some sewing in this weekend - hurray!!)

Here's hoping your day wasn't half a crazy!

Hi Ruth! THank you! I am glad you enjoyed our trip pictures - we had so much fun! We are kind of a crazy fun bunch.

Life sounds crazy for you! I hope it goes smoothly and well. And I hope Cale feels better soon.

Welcome home! You look fantastic!

We are seeing Maleficent this week and I can't wait! Everyone has told me it's fantastic.

Lissette

Thanks Lissette! Yes, Maleficent was an excellent show - highly recommend!

**********************************************************

So, yesterday was "back to the grind" for me, despite it being my birthday.

I did lift in the morning - but I only did half my sets... it was a nice compromise.

Then, I went straight to work cutting out and quilting my next auction bag (#9) while I was waiting for my custom order fabric to wash/dry (forgot to do that last week... Oops). After lunch - I cut out and was able to quilt most of it... I still have a little left to do this morning. I am very happy with my progress.

I had to run to town to pick up Alli... Yesterday was her last day to turn in any make-up work, and of course, she needed to get some work turned in.

I threw some sloppy joes into the crock pot for dinner... It's really difficult to eat sloppy joes with out the bun - LOL, but they tasted good, so I was happy with that.

Both Josh and I had Planning Commission last night... We are at the tail end of rewriting our Continuity Book - just in time to finish up by the end of the year and begin the whole process all over again next year. I've pretty much decided that I am not running for City Council again (I can still change my mind), but I am just finishing up my 3rd term, and I am not sure I want to continue... Although, I am a bit nervous about who will fill the seats if some of us don't run. So, it's possible I could be talked into another term at the last minute... We'll see.

Otherwise, it was a pretty normal day for a birthday. My gift was my trip to Chicago, so I didn't expect anything yesterday - which is totally fine. I had the perfect birthday celebration with my friends.

Today, I am in my sewing room again... I need to finish quilting my custom order, then I will start the applique... I also hope to start the applique for my auction bag. We'll see how time goes.

I did want to do a quick update on my Dad... I talked to him yesterday... He seems to be doing much better. He definitely sounded much better... His laughter was back, so I take that as a good sign. I had planned to go up there this Friday, but I need to switch it to next Friday... I'd forgotten that I committed to staying with BFF on Friday night - as she is having surgery, and needs someone with her for 24 hours after.

Also, and update on my uncle... Sadly, he is not doing well and they believe he had another stroke in the last few days. We will continue to ask for your prayers, but the family is preparing for the worst.

**********************************************************

Disney stuff:

Now that I am home from Chicago, I am in full-on Disney planning mode... I am very close to be doing my FP+ selections... I think I have a plan? V has decided that she wants the coveted Anna/Elsa FP+... Sigh... So, I guess I will be trying for that one. Of course - we will want the SDMT too... Splash... Space... Yah - too many FP+ wants in MK and not enough FPs to go around. I wish Disney would increase this, it's really annoying.

Also, while I was in Chicago, our flights changed. Our arrival flight stayed the same... but they bumped up our departure flight by 2 hours... We were cutting it close, as it was, because we have an 'Ohana breakfast ADR for our departure day... So, we were able to switch it to a much later flight (which is better than an earlier flight)... I really hate storing my luggage with the resort - I know lots of people do it, and we've done it... I just get so anxious on travel day. Anyways... I was able to switch our 'Ohana adr for the last breakfast ADR of the day, so we don't have to be there so early... And rather than go into a park that day, we've decided to do DTD, since we won't have a chance to any other time in our trip. I think that is a good choice.

We are now (a lot) under 100 days, and I am getting very excited. Especially now that we have airfare, that is always such a relief to me.

Anyways... I hope you all have a fabulous day! Sending out prayers and good thoughts out to all of you!

D~

 

[DMGeurts]

I forgot to post these last week before I left... I just love working with Pixar characters, and I really love how this bag turned out.

D~

 

[DMGeurts]

I updated my weight loss post at the beginning of this PTR, but I wanted to post this here too...

I posted 2 comparison pictures, one from last year's Epic Dismeet and one from this year's... The only editing I did of this year's picture, is I made a miror image of it - so I am standing at almost the same angle.

Now, I don't think the difference is profound or anything, but I feel like there is a difference, so I wanted to share it here.

It amazes me, one year ago I was pretty deep into my lifestyle change and I had made huge progress at that point.. Yet the changes I made back then were a foundation to where I am now... It's made me realize that everyone has a starting point and you have to start somewhere to succeed. I still don't see myself as a "Success story", but I see myself as someone who continues to fight for my own health and the version of health that I want to achieve.

I know that sometimes I get wrapped up in "my way being the best way" and I realize I need to step back and let others decide which way is best for them... It's just that I get so excited because this has been very easy for me to adapt to. It's not often that I struggle, and I've been able to make things work for me.

I feel like, in this process, I have found the person inside of myself who was hiding from the world, and along with the physical changes, there is a mental confidence I never thought I would find again - partially because I didn't know I had lost it...

I do have to add, over the course of the weekend in Chicago... I did opt to eat a few things that I haven't eaten in months... Honestly - there was NO way I was going to Chicago and not eat a "real" Chicago hot dog... And I certainly wasn't going to pass up the opportunity to have "real" Chicago deep dish pizza either... I don't feel like these things were a "cheat" for me... They were "allowing myself to enjoy the moment", and I feel like, if I can't enjoy my life, then there is no point to this journey in the first place. I will admit, my stomach was quite irritated at the end of the weekend - and it was SUPER bloated yesterday... but overall... I was very happy with myself and how I handled the weekend eating wise.

Now that I am home, I am back into my routine and normal eating habits... It feels great to come away from a fun weekend like that, knowing I didn't allow it to derail me. I know that our Disney trip will be handled much the same way I handled Chicago... There will be foods/meals I go there to eat which I know ahead of time are outside the realm of what I normally eat, and I will eat them... It's not as if it's something I do on a daily basis... and other times, I will adhere strictly to my adjusted eating habits... And that's OK. I do need to be careful though, as I don't want too many stomach problems on our trip. Learning how to deal with situations like this are all part of the journey, and if I can't come away from it and learn something, then I am really not changing anything and there is no way I could truly be successful long-term.

Anyways... Sorry to ramble on... I just thought the comparison pictures were worth posting within my PTR, not just on my weight loss post.

D~

 

[Pluto0809]

I love the Dug bag! He's one of my favorites because he reminds me so much of my Alex. All we have to do is say "squirrel" in our house and all four are headed to the back window to look out. Well, not Eddie so much since he can't see but he still lifts his head up at the word.

Your before and after pictures look wonderful! I am very impressed with everything you have done to change your lifestyle.

As for the MK FP+ dilemma, Jim and I had no problem stopping at the kiosks and adding a 4th and then a 5th FP+ when we were there last month. There are plenty of kiosks in MK and we never waited more than 5 minutes. And the park was fairly crowded that Sunday, probably not as crowded as it gets in August but we saw 70 minutes waits for Space and Splash Mountains. I would say get the "hard" ones like Anna/Elsa, Mine Train and either Splash or SM for the morning and then add some of the "easier" ones like Jungle Cruise or Haunted Mansion for the afternoon.

Another trick I read about but haven't tried is to "walk" your FP+ reservations if possible. When you make them initially, they cannot overlap so for example you would have to do 9 am - 10 am, 10 am - 11 am, 11 am - 12 pm for the first three. But if you have a smart phone, as soon as you use the 9 am one, you can log on to MDE and change the second one to an earlier time, say 9:15 - 10:15. And once you use the second one, you can change the third. Potentially this could have you using all three of your FP+ before 10 am! Of course I don't think this would work with Anna/Elsa or Mine Train because there probably won't be any availability to move the FP+.

And one last thing that you probably already know but thought I would mention just in case you didn't. You do know that FP+ load at Midnight EST right? Not 6 am like the ADRs. If you want Anna/Elsa I would be waiting at midnight to get that one.

 

[disneychic2]

Hi D~ and welcome home!! And belated Happy Birthday!! You share a birthday with Suzi?

Thanks for the pictures of your weekend. I'm anxious to read all about your fun times in Mo's report!

Loved the latest bag. The colors just pop off the page!! I'm glad you got back to your sewing room and made good progress yesterday. I know you'll make your goal of 10 bags for your auction. You don't know any other way to roll. You are one determined and disciplined young lady!

The before and after pics are fantastic! And I think the difference IS profound. You did really well in Chicago and I'm glad the slight deviations in your diet didn't have really bad effects. Good for you.

I wish you could get more FP + for MK especially. I know that now you can add them after you've used your initial 3, but by then there likely won't be anything you really want anyway. The good news is, going when you are, most everything will be walk-on anyway. At least it is in September. Of course Anna and Elsa will be hard to get no matter what. I think you'll be glad you did that one. I like the idea of your last day being a DTD day. I'm glad you worked everything out to get a later flight. Sounds like a nice relaxing ending for your trip.

Don't worry about talking about your lifestyle changes. We are all interested and want to encourage and support you on your journey! Hope you have a great day either at Target or in your sewing room. Glad you're back!

 

[disneychic2]

I just read Ariana's post and will tell you that we did exactly what she describes with our FP+ in February. We changed the times after we used one. It worked out great!

 

[Chicago Mo]

Hi!

I am getting there i promise.. But i need PICTURES!!! you guys have more pictures of the first two days i didn't take out the woobie until Friday...


As for the EPIC DIS MEET Update I promise to write this.. PROMISE! But being off since last week Tuesday i have to play catch up on this dang report! Stay tuned!!!

 

[nikki7680]

It was so great meeting you guys Friday! I was honored to be able to be part of the Epic Dis Meet - Chicago Edition! Wish I could have spent more time with you guys but I still only get 2 weeks of vacation and of course one of those weeks will be in Disney!!

Congrats also on your weight loss achievements. I love seeing others succeed and it helps give me the boost I need to work harder so that hopefully one day soon I can share my success story too!