The flawed product of a deranged mind II

[Tinkerbellarella]

Why do we continue to go to WDW?

There's something in the water.

And apparently good feelings lead to babies, because we picked up our little souvenir, our son, on that first trip.

Mental note if I'm ever scheduling a Disney cruise with the BF. The souvenirs are EXPENSIVE.

I frequently can be spotted in my office, carrying my purple Tinkerbelle coffee mug

Freaky. I too have a purple Tinkerbell(arella) mug. Though I don't think it's the same one you have. Because I think I know which one you're talking about. Which is even freakier.

I think we need a bigger boat.

 

[JKMJ441724]

There's something in the water.

I kinda thought it was a ginormous magnet, honed in on the magnetic strip of my credit card.

Mental note if I'm ever scheduling a Disney cruise with the BF. The souvenirs are EXPENSIVE.

You have NO idea. When we walk down an aisle at Toys R Us, there are a grand total of two things that he does NOT want.
Plus, there's the tuition.

Freaky. I too have a purple Tinkerbell(arella) mug. Though I don't think it's the same one you have. Because I think I know which one you're talking about. Which is even freakier.

Holds about a gallon of coffee???

I think we need a bigger boat.

Used in all thirty-six Jaws films. Nice.

Another good one: I've got a bad feeling about this.

 

[JKMJ441724]

I felt the earth shake. Did you? Wow. That is just another reminder that I serve an awsome God. He controls the World and the whole world (in His hands).

Sermon over. Please pass the collection plate to your left.

Update soon about our ADRs.

 

[Tinkerbellarella]

I felt the earth shake. Did you? Wow. That is just another reminder that I serve an awsome God. He controls the World and the whole world (in His hands).

I didn't. But your post inspired me to sing about feeling the earth move. Under my feet. I felt the sky tumbling down. Tumbling down.

 

[JKMJ441724]

I didn't. But your post inspired me to sing about feeling the earth move. Under my feet. I felt the sky tumbling down. Tumbling down.

In my brain, where the sidewalk ends, I KNEW that there was song about the earth moving. It was right there on the tip of my cerebellum. Yet, I came up short.

 

[JKMJ441724]

Last night I dreamed that I got into trouble by OhMari for posting too many pictures on my pre-trip report. She told me "This is a DisneyWorld discussion board. You should be using WORDS, not PICTURES."

So, this is for you OhMari.

My first picture post.

That's Babe and me on the infamous trip without the kids. Just this morning, I was once again in trouble for that trip from my daughter. She was on the verge of tears pondering why we did not take her with us. She said "you know how much I love Disney World." She said, "I can't wait until we get to go this year. It's a million days before we get to go." She exaggerates just a wee bit.

 

[JKMJ441724]

We (my DisSis and I) have been (im)patiently waiting for TGM to post his least crowded parks/days for October on his website. There is still nothing.

We were lamenting this situation on our way to work the other morning. Have I mentioned that we car-pool? That’s why we vacation together. We simply don’t see enough of each other.

We decided that we can not wait any longer for TGM to post his best guess forecast on park attendance and we were going to have to take matters into our own hands. We had been discussing the pros and cons of the Fantasmic Dinner Package. I was finally able to see Fantasmic! when Babe and I went last May.

I have raved about it so much, that my DisSis is convinced that it is a must-do for her family. I would love to see it again, and be able to share the experience with my children. So even though I am not in love with our restaurant choices for the package, I believe that that the priority seating will be worth the trade off for the meal.

As we are discussing the menus and whether or not the men in our life would prefer to eat Italian or a buffet, I see the lady in the slow lane try to get over in front of me. No big deal, but the guy in the monster truck on my left is also trying to get in front of me. I yell, “Oh my gosh. They are going to crash, they are going to crash!!” Of course, neither of them had on a blinker. Thankfully, the lady swerved back into her slow lane. The monster truck guy NEVER even slowed down. Whew. That will wake you up in the morning.

My DisSis was full on commando with getting some plans on paper. She called me before lunch and to discuss the menus for the Fantasmic package. I told her that I was pretty busy. To which she replied, “OK. I’ll talk fast.”

My boss was in my office when we hung up. He said that he thought we should eat at Beirgarten. Just then my husband called and I brought him up to date on the dining dilemma. I told him that my boss thought we should eat at the German place. Babe said, “where’s that?” In Germany. Oh, I forgot to mention to him that we were specifically talking about Epcot.

Most of the people in my office routinely eat lunch together. We really should get up and leave the building in the middle of the day. But instead, we send our runner to fetch us some lunch and then we sit in the conference room together and watch “The Office.” We began with Sex and The City, then Las Vegas, then part of Desperate Housewives, and now we are on Season 3 of the office.

I’m in mid-episode, with a full mouth of potato soup bread bowl and she calls again. She wants to know where I want to eat on our Epcot day. I told her that I was leaning towards Mexico. But I did not know if Babe’s constitution would be okay with that. She mentioned Coral Reef. OOOhhhh. Good call. Momma likes her some crab legs. Either way, we think the kids will be entertained. At coral reef, they can watch the fish in the aquarium. Or, if we decide to eat in Mexico, they can watch the boats sail by.

 

[stagemomx3]

Coral Reef is good!

Um could you possibly be any more random?

 

[JKMJ441724]

Um could you possibly be any more random?

Why else would this thing be called the flawed product of a deranged mind? I can't turn my brain off - it's always going. Sometimes down roads I would rather it not take.

Glad you are still here.

 

[tiggerbell]

I just read you other "flawed" report (ok, that sounded better in my head) and loved it!

I'm IN!!!

 

[JKMJ441724]

I just read you other "flawed" report (ok, that sounded better in my head) and loved it!

I'm IN!!!

I'm glad you enjoyed my other report. And I'm so glad that you have decided to come over here. Welcome. Help yourself to a drink from the fridge.

Are all those trip reports in your siggie??? I'm going to have to read some of those. Although my husband can't understand why I sit and laugh at my computer all the time.

 

[Tinkerbellarella]

As we are discussing the menus and whether or not the men in our life would prefer to eat Italian or a buffet, I see the lady in the slow lane try to get over in front of me. No big deal, but the guy in the monster truck on my left is also trying to get in front of me. I yell, “Oh my gosh. They are going to crash, they are going to crash!!” Of course, neither of them had on a blinker. Thankfully, the lady swerved back into her slow lane. The monster truck guy NEVER even slowed down. Whew. That will wake you up in the morning.

And this is why I now take back roads to the train and the train to work. I abhor the morning commute.

I told her that I was pretty busy. To which she replied, “OK. I’ll talk fast.”

Ah, the heart of a commando.

My boss was in my office when we hung up. He said that he thought we should eat at Beirgarten.

THIS was hysterical.

I told her that I was leaning towards Mexico.

We're eating here. The dim setting, the fuming volcano, the margaritas...

Or, if we decide to eat in Mexico, they can watch the boats sail by.

And don't forget, you can always pelt boat-goers with nachos if the food's no good. Built-in entertainment.

Kidding, I'm kidding. There will be no nacho-throwing.

Nachooooooo!
(No, I've never seen the movie. Jack Black or not, Nacho Libre is not something for me. Much like Napolean Dynomite. I simply refuse.)

 

[Tinkerbellarella]

Whoooooo misses you? Who-who? Who-who?

I really wanna know!

Sorry. Too much CSI.

 

[JKMJ441724]

Sooooooo much has happened since I last posted, indeed, since I have last visited the DisBoards. I have wrapped up my intensive work project involving a potential settlement for 38 clients against a multinational pharmaceutical corporation.

Babe and I had planned to take our kids to Hilton Head for a long weekend before school started but two days before our scheduled trip, my DisSis and I were coming home from work in the pouring down rain. I was driving very carefully. I turned off the radio just so I could be even more careful. Babe called me on my cell phone to tell me to be careful and I said that I can be even more careful when I have both hands on the wheel, so goodbye. I even contemplated pulling over and waiting for the rain to let up a little bit.

Always listen to that still, small voice. That’s a lesson that I am still learning.

A few years ago, I heard that same voice talking to me as we were coming home from our last trip to WDW with the kids. We had stopped at McDonald’s on our drive home. We ate and the kids went wild while they had the chance to be out of their car seats. We were eating outside on the playground. Naturally, as soon as I got my food, the girl told me that she had to pee.

I took her hand and led her in the direction of the restroom. In the corner of the store I noticed an old, lanky man. He was counting coins on the table. I heard the voice telling me to buy his supper. But the girl has to pee, I reasoned with the voice, and my purse is all the way out on the playground.

So off to pee we went. By the time we exited the bathroom, another family was buying him a very large supper from McDonald’s. I believe they even bought him some gift certificates for later. It was an irrecoverable moment. Learning to listen to the voice is a life-long lesson. God had opened the door and I walked away. When you hear the call of God, you know it. What you do with it is your choice. I have regretted not buying his supper ever since. And it’s going on three years.

I did not listen to the voice that day, nor did I listen to it that day in the rain a few months ago. We made our way out of the downtown area, we got onto the interstate, we merged with traffic, we eased our way over to the slow lane and were just about ¼ mile from our exit when out of nowhere - BANG!

We were spinning. Round, round baby, right round like a record.

When we stopped, we were sideways with four lanes of interstate traffic coming right for us! Somehow, I was able to keep my wits about me and get us to the shoulder of the road without further incident.

It seems that the guy in the truck was attempting to change lanes from the slow lane and hit some standing water. He hydroplaned and began spinning. His driver’s side door slammed into my driver’s side door.

He was spinning. We were spinning. There were LOTS of cars on the road, but we were the only two involved in the wreck. The other guys insurance company wanted to total out my car, but it’s paid for and I really did not want another car payment. We had just paid off Babe’s car two weeks before the wreck. And thank goodness, it was all cosmetic damage only. It cost almost $5,000 to fix my car and it was in the shop for 30 days.

I moped around work for a week and finally my boss said that I HAD to go see a doctor. He called one of his friends and I was able to see the physician’s assistant to an orthopedic doctor that afternoon.

He ordered an MRI just to see if I had any significant injuries. I didn’t. Not from the wreck at least. I did have some muscle strains and soft tissue injuries which required twelve visits of physical therapy.

The MRI did show a spot on my liver. A spot which really should be checked our with an ultrasound. An ultrasound which necessitated further blood work-up, which led to a very expensive RBC scan. That’s where they take out some of my blood, which for the first time ever almost caused me to pass out, mix it with nuclear gunk and then put it back into my body. I then have to lie in a machine much like an MRI machine. The whole test took about five hours. All that to find out that it was a birth defect which requires no immediate attention. I’ll just get an ultrasound every year and go from there.

Even when you think something is a bad situation, there is some good to come out of it.

Wow. I've rambled on like an old man at Denny's.

That’s what I’ve been doing. So, how’ve you been?

 

[JKMJ441724]

This post is just to see if I'm uploading my pictures the right way and to make sure they are sized correctly.

Also, it's the creature from wence this trip report gets its name.

 

[JKMJ441724]

This is what I would have posted had I not been so miserably distracted by doctor’s appointments, legal proceedings and insurance adjusters.



Careless. I am wreckless.

I’m a wrong-way-traveling, slowly-unraveling shell of a girl.

Burnt out.

I’m so numb now that the fire’s just an ember way down in the corner of my cold, cold heart.

Those are lyrics from a song by the best band in the universe. But they really fit my mood in the days and weeks immediately before my trip.

That’s why I desperately needed a vacation. I was feeling like life was just getting in the way. I did not stop to enjoy the little things. I was snapping at people I work with, and the people I love in my home. I needed a break. And it just wasn’t coming soon enough. We had 80 days.


Around the World in 80 days…

I consider myself to be a fairly practical person. I don’t wear high-heals or thong undies to WDW. I have no problem giving someone diapers for a baby-shower gift. I have a retirement account because I believe social security will be completely exhausted before I am old enough to draw out my share.

I refuse to live above my means and have a personal goal of being completely debt free before I’m 45 years old. We have also decided that we want to be able to take our kids on at least one, if not two, vacations each year. We feel that the memories we create and that time together is more important than buying new cars every three years or getting a bigger house, even though we have outgrown the house we are in.

We have to spend our time working, cleaning, bathing, voting, registering our kids for school. That’s why our leisure time is so valuable. Our time to re-connect ourselves to our family is so important and that’s why I look forward to said time with such eagerness. I have gotten myself completely psyched for this vacation. Every so often, the travel channel will spotlight Disney and have up to six hours of shows on everything Disney. Well, I thought it was everything but one. I have wanted for years to see them do a show on Disney dining. Now I hear the Food Network has done show, but I have yet to see it. I check out Bartlett-Sloan all the time to see if I can catch it. I have recorded those shows to a DVD and we watch them all the time. I will show our girl the spot on Dinosaur and ask her if she is going to ride it with me. I will show the boy the part about Test Track and tell him that if he wants to ride it, he has to make sure and eat all of his lunch so he will grow enough. It’s a regular Saturday morning ritual. You eat your biscuits and gravy and watch shows about WDW.

Six months ago, I measured the height of both my children. Each one needed to grow an inch and a half in order to reach the next tier of rides. If I put on their magic growing shoes, it would only be half of an inch. I measured them again the other day. Without their shoes, they still have half an inch to go. With their shoes - duh, duh ta da - they are over the limit!!! Isn’t it crazy that I long for the memories that I haven’t made? That I can’t wait to meet old friends for the first time?

As I’m sure all of you have done, I ordered my vacation planning DVD. I have waited anxiously for its arrival for weeks. Then, the other day I opened my mailbox and found this -

I thought it had finally arrived. I rushed inside and tore open the envelope.

OK. I did not really tear it - I scrapbook for crying out loud and that little baby was a keeper. Man. I was so disappointed. I reached over and smacked Babe. I’m not sure exactly how - but I was certain that, somehow, it was his fault that I got the wrong movie from Disney in the mail.

It was only Disney schlepping for me to do some advertising on their behalf - as if I don’t do enough anyway. I wear their shirts, talk about their parks and try to convince everyone I know that they should spend their hard earned ducks in Orlando. They were wanting me to pass our their cards to my friends (and loan out the DVD they sent) to get people to call about becoming DVC members.

Where was my planning DVD? I wanted to plan. This could get ugly. I hate it when things get ugly.

Oh, well.

Fast forward 24 hours and I got this little baby in the mail

That’s what I’m talking about. I ran into the house and tore open the envelope (really - I didn’t tear this one either) and put it in the player. I didn’t even bother to sit down. I stood there with my breath heald as the movie started. I was so excited to see what was in store for my family this year.

But I have to admit that this year’s DVD, like last year’s, left me disappointed, dissatisfied, and three other words that mean the same thing. It was almost as bad as the time I went to KFC, ordered a two piece original recipe meal, got all the way back to my office only to discover they had left out the chicken. The essence was missing.

I miss Erin, Dave, Stacy and Luke. They brought the energy of the parks to the DVD. I get where Disney is going with the new DVDs. The new discs are supposed to be dreamy - you know - the three years of a million dreams. But they are just too slow moving. I feel like I’m watching an infomercial. Which really is what it is. There are just too many testimonials. So, I pull out my old Disney planning DVDs and watch them instead.

And here we are - only 80 days to go.

 

[JKMJ441724]

In the time since we last talked, we had tackled that formidable task of scheduling our ADRs. That was definitely the hardest part of planning our trip. As you know, I work in a law office. We handle car wrecks, workers’ compensation, premises liability incidents, medical malpractice cases. I scheduled meetings with defense counsel, judges, physicians and clients. I draft pleadings, discovery and letters. But the hardest part of my job is deciding what we are going to order for lunch every day. That is hard work.

But back to our ADRs. My DisSis had scheduled us for a lunch at Garden Grill but I noticed on allearsnet that beginning the week before I travel, Garden Grill will no longer be serving lunch. I had my DisSis call and reschedule us for supper there the same day. It is more like lupper. Or the early bird special. We are eating dinner so EARLY we should get a senior-citizen’s discount. Gracious, even my grandparents don’t eat this early. I think our ressies are for about 4:30 or so.

I had so wanted to try some eateries that I have not tried before. But with such a large group, many of whom have distinct eating DISlikes, we had to go with your mainstream restaurants. Most of our men, wanted to return to the tried and true sustenance establishments. So, we have booked LTT for supper one day, Cape Mae Café for a character breakfast, the children absolutely HAD to go back to Chef Mickey’s, Le Cellier was on the top of our list. It turns out that the only new place is the Garden Grill. And if I weren’t such a Disney Freak, we would have lost it. Because my sister said they did not even have us down for our original ADR - thus no way to contact us (Like they would have anyway) to let us know that our ADR was canceled. My sister had the cast member check all of our other ADRs to make sure they were still in the computer. They were. Whew.

We also scheduled our hotel (offsite) for the first Friday and Saturday night of our stay. Like I previously stated, the number of points required for a Friday and Saturday night stay is double (nearly triple) the number needed for Sunday through Thursday. Once it is just my household members traveling, that will not bother me. When I make my reservation, I will laugh when they tell me the total because it will be “free.” In theory. Mind you, it’s only in theory. Think of all the theories that did not pan out - the big bang, the atom was the smallest particle in the universe, evolution, equal pay for equal jobs, don’t ask don’t tell, just to name a few. I will not look at it on a day by day points usage. I will look at it in terms of points used for the week and see if that seems reasonable. I don’t intend to change hotels in the middle of my trip - after this stay, of course.

We also tossed around the idea of checking out of Disney on Friday morning and hopping over to the beach for a couple of days. My mom thought that my step-dad and brother-in-law would like to have some wave time. Babe and I talked about this and we decided that no matter what the others in our group chose to do, we (and by “we” I mean Babe and Me, NOT Babe and his dad) would be staying at Disney. We reasoned that we could stay those extra days at Disney for virtually no extra cost. Sure, we would have to have the hotel at Disney, but we would have to have a hotel at the beach so those costs canceled out. Sure we would have to eat at Disney, but ditto for the beach. We could play at Disney for about a total of $12 per day for our total family. If we went to the beach who knew how much money we could wind up spending. Disney wins. Again.

 

[tiggerbell]

I really do like the way you think!

 

[JKMJ441724]

I really do like the way you think!

Thanks!! I'm so glad to see you.

Do you have a deranged mind, too?

Please, oh please, tell me about your avatar!!

 

[tiggerbell]

Thanks!! I'm so glad to see you.

Do you have a deranged mind, too?

Please, oh please, tell me about your avatar!!

Do I have a deranged mind... hmmm.. well, you tell me:

The avatar is a picture of Jack, Jack, and Stan - 3 McDonald's Happy Meal toys - dressed up for 2007's Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party. They are Snow White, Cinderella, and Tinkerbell.

And yes, I carried them around during the party.

So, do I qualify?