The Great Leap into Running and DVC Ownership.

[eandesmom]

It had a half cast that was wrapped then. I can't remember how long I had to wear it. 4 weeks seems likely..but it may have been 6.

It may have been 4. They could have done 4 but we agreed with Evan..boy..all that...6 was safer. And sure enough he totally bit the dust around week 5. Of course we were having him ride a mountain bike, on a dirt/gravel trail, in Whistler and there was a hill...not the best combo in a cast. BAD parents. Dang good thing he was in the cast.

I am so afraid to drop my phone running too! I have it in an armband....and can tip it. Seems to work well for me except for the fact my band needs to be replaced. I got a new one..but it chaffs. My old one had lost the velcro on one side so I am actually using a safety pin to secure it. It is so comfy and stretchy... I haven't been able to find one like it that I liked so I keep falling back to my safety pinned one.

I have a band that is ok but 1) I am allergic to it so minimize the use and 2) on it's tightest setting it is still a little too big. Ok in the gym but running, it slides. My sister got the nastiest "burn" from hers chafing on her Napa to Sonoma 1/2. Awful! So instead I wear shorts with a back zip pocket and the phone goes in there. It barely fits but it's zipped in and secure and my arms are free. I can pull it out if I need to but it works a ton better for me. Even if I wasn't allergic to the material, I'd still have the slippage issue.

That is CRAZY! I mean... I know people do it. However...for "general fitness"?

Exactly. That was the line that really burned me.

What about coconut water? I LOVE something I get in a can at Safeway called "real coconut" ( at least that is what I think it is) It is kinda near the soda... but where the bottled teas and such are. Usually top shelf. in a green can. It use to come in a bottle and there was the option of having pulp in it...don't get that kind. I won't say what the pulp reminds me of in consistency...but suffice it to say the flavor is fine, but the sudden "thick" parts of the drink are just enough to make you gag. I wonder if other people thought the same since I am seeing less and less of the "with pulp" on the shelves. Short of having protein in it.. it is the perfect electrolye drink. Nothing added. I try to only have that after a REALLY long run (like over 7 miles) because it does have natural sugars.

That I could probably do. I will check into it. I LOVE coconut. I've seen it around but have never tried it. I would gag on pulp though. I'm less worried about finding something to drink at home after a 7 mile + run than I am about the concept of having to drink something during the run that isn't just water for the half. Same issue with sugars with Lemonade. In the summer though, when it's that hot, after the 6 mile runs it tasted awesome. Only time I've done it but it was a good fit.

I haven't seen what the direct flight cost is today. Yesterday was just over $400 for one way. I do think I am trashing the san fran idea. Everything you mentioned... we will have to be up early... not really time for that favorite breakfast. (Dotty's true blue... very good. You have to get there early and line up before they open and that line can take hours)

Alaska jumped up yesterday for our dates. Check on Tuesday, hopefully it will go down. Our red eye which has been at $363 for at least 3 months and no movement, jumped to $404. I really hope it goes down so my sister can be on it, she's not buying till late next week/early next.

No, if it is an 8am flight then we can sleep a bit more. We would need to leave the house by 5am for that 8am flight. Get up an hour earlier... and it is 4am we need to be up by. (like for my flight next month)

5am makes sense, 3 am seemed a bit nutty. LOL!

LOVE Dotties. We went there in December on our Anniversary getaway. YUM! They did move, not sure if you have been there since then...not the best part of town but only a few blocks off. We were at the Serrano so it was nice and close.

 

[annmarieda]

It may have been 4. They could have done 4 but we agreed with Evan..boy..all that...6 was safer. And sure enough he totally bit the dust around week 5. Of course we were having him ride a mountain bike, on a dirt/gravel trail, in Whistler and there was a hill...not the best combo in a cast. BAD parents. Dang good thing he was in the cast.

Not bad parents! Just things boys do!!

I have a band that is ok but 1) I am allergic to it so minimize the use and 2) on it's tightest setting it is still a little too big. Ok in the gym but running, it slides. My sister got the nastiest "burn" from hers chafing on her Napa to Sonoma 1/2. Awful! So instead I wear shorts with a back zip pocket and the phone goes in there. It barely fits but it's zipped in and secure and my arms are free. I can pull it out if I need to but it works a ton better for me. Even if I wasn't allergic to the material, I'd still have the slippage issue.

I wondered how a band would affect you and your allergy. I suspected they don't work. I wonder how well they actually work for anyone. I too have had one that slipped...even when it was tight. Another issue I had was tightening it would pinch...but slip if I didn't tighten. This one that I pin is perfect... yet I can't find another one just like it.

That I could probably do. I will check into it. I LOVE coconut. I've seen it around but have never tried it. I would gag on pulp though. I'm less worried about finding something to drink at home after a 7 mile + run than I am about the concept of having to drink something during the run that isn't just water for the half. Same issue with sugars with Lemonade. In the summer though, when it's that hot, after the 6 mile runs it tasted awesome. Only time I've done it but it was a good fit.

I can't drink all coconut water. Just this one brand. It is just sweet enough and just nutty enough. Others remind me too much of aloe. I don't drink anything-even during the half, that was not water. I do eat a chew or bean each mile. It works for me. Some people don't need to build glycogen stores until an hour... maybe it is the fact I am not drinking an electrolyte replenisher that that little bean helps me. Or mabye it helps my blood sugar/insulin levels... OR it could be as simple as it give me something to look forward to. I am food motivated I guess... so there is my carrot that I am running toward and each mile I get to have it.

Alaska jumped up yesterday for our dates. Check on Tuesday, hopefully it will go down. Our red eye which has been at $363 for at least 3 months and no movement, jumped to $404. I really hope it goes down so my sister can be on it, she's not buying till late next week/early next.

I will keep watching. Direct on alaska would be best, but $404 for one way is just a bit crazy. SW has only two flights to MCO that day and neither of them are good fits. So I will keep watching and hoping for either the direct to come down or for SW to add another flight. (I am not sure I have ever seen only 2 flights out of Seattle to MCO in a day... but that seems to be the schedule each day during that time frame.)

5am makes sense, 3 am seemed a bit nutty. LOL!

We never would leave at 3 am... I may have to be up at 3am if we have a 6am flight. Hour drive to seatac... then two hours before departure..... such a pain.

LOVE Dotties. We went there in December on our Anniversary getaway. YUM! They did move, not sure if you have been there since then...not the best part of town but only a few blocks off. We were at the Serrano so it was nice and close.

I was not aware they moved! Steve goes there each time he is in Sanfran...but hasn't been in at least a year. I have only been there twice. Each time we had to walk through a interesting area.

 

[annmarieda]

Well, since we are arriving a day early... this day will change! I will post a link to the updated version of my day here (once I have it)

I didn't realize I had neglected to even start sharing some of my plans on here. I guess since I haven't nailed down my flights, it makes it hard for me to say exactly what the plan is... without knowing when we are actually arriving.

However, I should make some tentative plans.

Our hope is to arrive on 1/9. Looking at the schedule on Alaska and Southwest, I can get an idea of what our day is likely to involve.

First, it will mean an early rise. If we fly alaska, it is very likely to be a flight that leaves at 6:15. (if we are lucky, 8am) Since it takes us approximately an hour to get to the airport, we like to plan to leave about 3 hours before our flight. A 6:15am flight will require what time to leave? Yep, 3:15. That will mean getting up no later than 2am. maybe it would be best to just stay up in that case? Yes, I definitely think the 8am would be a better flight. It would mean not leaving til 5am. Up by 4am? Yep, I can handle that. (been up to work at 4 am this week) It may kill Steve though. If we were to fly Southwest, it would mean we would definitely fly at 8am. However doing that, we would likely cut our stay short and fly back on the night of 1/17 rather than the night of 1/18.

Other considerations... As things sit with fares, it would be $742 for two of us on Alaska and $835 on Southwest. BUT there are no bag fees on SW. So two of us with a bag each would end up being adding $80 to that $742...making it very close to southwest. Alaska would win though since it is direct travel. I just see SW going down in cost and Alaska not. I have never seen fares on SW be this high. I think we paid $700... maybe $750 for three of us in February.

However bottom line we will arrive to MCO in the early evening. It just depends on when. My best guess at this point will be some time between 4:30 and 6pm. Since we will for sure be coming in early enough, we will be utilizing DME and their luggage service.

Straight onto the motor coach once we have left the plane, I hope to arrive early enough that we can get checked in and with minimal clean up head to dinner.

Now, I have made two ADRs. One will be cancelled once I have a better idea of time of arrival. As our dates get closer I am sure there would be no way for me to get a reservation to this place, so I felt it better to hold on to two.

So I have an 8pm and an 9pm dinner ADR at Ohana. This is Steve's absolute favorite restaurant. He is in it for the meat. Me... I am all about the



Assuming things go as planned, Kira will be there and we will have to watch her since last time she had no self control with the


I won't be drinking a lapu lapu cause the race is just days away and as much as I would love to hit a park or even stay up late to watch fireworks from the beach at the Poly... after such a long travel day we (especially Steve) will need to get some rest.

 

[eandesmom]

Other considerations... As things sit with fares, it would be $742 for two of us on Alaska and $835 on Southwest. BUT there are no bag fees on SW. So two of us with a bag each would end up being adding $80 to that $742...making it very close to southwest. Alaska would win though since it is direct travel. I just see SW going down in cost and Alaska not. I have never seen fares on SW be this high. I think we paid $700... maybe $750 for three of us in February.

I hear you. I miss the $208-$225 I used to be able to consistently get. Now that seems good for a leg! Neither of those rates sound awful all things considered and both will give you credits if they go down. You never know with Alaska...I've got $58 worht of credits with them right now, but it's all due to Yapta notifying me, it's a bunch of $5 and $8-10 credits that are slowly adding up. We booked our SWreturn (1/7) what, 6 weeks ago now, and it hasn't dropped a penny. It's gone up, and come back down but that's it.

So I have an 8pm and an 9pm dinner ADR at Ohana. This is Steve's absolute favorite restaurant. He is in it for the meat. Me... I am all about the



I won't be drinking a lapu lapu cause the race is just days away and as much as I would love to hit a park or even stay up late to watch fireworks from the beach at the Poly... after such a long travel day we (especially Steve) will need to get some rest.

I am all about those noodles and that broccoli too! Though honestly, the broccoli might cause me just as much of an issue as would a lapu lapu (or more) especially if the race was days away. Next day I can see but one...a few nights before....hmmnnn. I'll have a lapu. Then again there is a reason you are significantly faster than I am. LOL!

Which I need to work on, we are officially registered for a 10K in Oct and then it looks like possibly 2 5k's in Nov. One total fluff one for work and well, the Turkey Trot is a definite maybe for the siblings. Only one I care about (time wise) is the 10K which will be interesting as Jeff thinks he wants to just run with me and I'm not so sure that's a good idea. We will see.

 

[KatMark]

I'm glad to see that nothing has changed...always flight drama.

Your plans, based on really not knowing anything yet, are good for the first day. We ate at Ohana this trip, but you'll have to wait to see what we thought of it when I get to that part of my TR.

 

[annmarieda]

I hear you. I miss the $208-$225 I used to be able to consistently get. Now that seems good for a leg! Neither of those rates sound awful all things considered and both will give you credits if they go down. You never know with Alaska...I've got $58 worht of credits with them right now, but it's all due to Yapta notifying me, it's a bunch of $5 and $8-10 credits that are slowly adding up. We booked our SWreturn (1/7) what, 6 weeks ago now, and it hasn't dropped a penny. It's gone up, and come back down but that's it.

I do so miss those fares... and in the grand scheme if I am a couple hundred higher than what I thought I would be for all 4 of us.. it really isn't the end of the world. I am getting closer to booking.... sw did add some flights. So who knows what I will end up doing.

I am all about those noodles and that broccoli too! Though honestly, the broccoli might cause me just as much of an issue as would a lapu lapu (or more) especially if the race was days away. Next day I can see but one...a few nights before....hmmnnn. I'll have a lapu. Then again there is a reason you are significantly faster than I am. LOL!

Ugh... I had not thought about the how the veggies might affect us. I know just as a matter of course for Steve he won't eat them. (veggies...especially broccoli are not his friend) I will maybe not eat a ton.... maybe that will be ok.

As for significantly faster? Ba! I would not say that at all!!! I am seeing how fast you run!!

Which I need to work on, we are officially registered for a 10K in Oct and then it looks like possibly 2 5k's in Nov. One total fluff one for work and well, the Turkey Trot is a definite maybe for the siblings. Only one I care about (time wise) is the 10K which will be interesting as Jeff thinks he wants to just run with me and I'm not so sure that's a good idea. We will see.

What 10k? Steve needs to do one before November 1 for POT. I have just started to look for one for him.

I'm glad to see that nothing has changed...always flight drama.

Your plans, based on really not knowing anything yet, are good for the first day. We ate at Ohana this trip, but you'll have to wait to see what we thought of it when I get to that part of my TR.

Yes, flight drama. I am not sure why I fixate so much on it. Maybe because I don't feel like I can make solid plans until I get the flights secured. I don't know...

 

[eandesmom]

I do so miss those fares... and in the grand scheme if I am a couple hundred higher than what I thought I would be for all 4 of us.. it really isn't the end of the world. I am getting closer to booking.... sw did add some flights. So who knows what I will end up doing.

Ugh... I had not thought about the how the veggies might affect us. I know just as a matter of course for Steve he won't eat them. (veggies...especially broccoli are not his friend) I will maybe not eat a ton.... maybe that will be ok.

As for significantly faster? Ba! I would not say that at all!!! I am seeing how fast you run!!

What 10k? Steve needs to do one before November 1 for POT. I have just started to look for one for him.

Yes, flight drama. I am not sure why I fixate so much on it. Maybe because I don't feel like I can make solid plans until I get the flights secured. I don't know...

We are doing the Snohomish River Run, bit of a drive for you guys but it looks good, and nice and flat lol! The flight thing is frustrating, my brother keeps waffling on my nephew and those rates keep going up which could then turn into a reason why he doesn't send him

 

[drlaurafsu]

Clock is definitely ticking for the Oct tickets! We are at the 3 week mark. Mateo and I counted down to the mickey head on our calendar this morning!

I need to get cracking on the shorter training runs. One more long one next weekend.

 

[annmarieda]

We are doing the Snohomish River Run, bit of a drive for you guys but it looks good, and nice and flat lol! The flight thing is frustrating, my brother keeps waffling on my nephew and those rates keep going up which could then turn into a reason why he doesn't send him

I was actually looking at that one. I am kinda surprised that there are so few 10ks over the next month.

I hope your brother will stop waffling! That has to be frustrating considering he may not send your nephew if fares go up. With me- if I continue to waffle the worst consequence is a higher fare or changing dates.... But we WILL go no matter what!

 

[dizneeat]

Ann, all caught up here too! Love your plans so far and there is always room for a little airfare up and down.
Can't wait for more.

BTW - we had a blast on vacation. Hope you are along for the TR, which I hope to start this weekend.

 

[annmarieda]

Ann, all caught up here too! Love your plans so far and there is always room for a little airfare up and down.
Can't wait for more.

BTW - we had a blast on vacation. Hope you are along for the TR, which I hope to start this weekend.

I am so glad you had a good time! I can't wait to read all about it!!! So of course I will be subbin to your report!

 

[annmarieda]

Clock is definitely ticking for the Oct tickets! We are at the 3 week mark. Mateo and I counted down to the mickey head on our calendar this morning!

I need to get cracking on the shorter training runs. One more long one next weekend.

I would be so nervous to not have October tickets (we are talking airfare, right?) I feel anxious not having the January flights...

I can't believe that the ToT is 3 weeks from now. I was very excited because I leave in just 2 weeks. I thought this meant that I was done with my long runs.. Nope, I too have one more long one next weekend. Although I think I will just do 8 rather than 9

 

[MEK]

Hi Ann! How's everything? I hope that Zoe is recuperating from her surgery.

Have you made any decisions on your flights yet? That is a bit pricey for two people to fly, but what are you gonna do?

I have to admit - I absolutely love the wings, broccoli, and noodles at Ohana. I could make a meal on that alone. If they would just give me some shrimp with that, I would be perfectly happy. I had a mai tai there in June (I think its the same ingredients as the lapu lapu without the hefty pineapple) and it was delish.

 

[annmarieda]

Hi Ann! How's everything? I hope that Zoe is recuperating from her surgery.

Things are hectic... but we are surviving. Zoe had surgery last friday (9/13) It did not go as planned and the 1 1/2 hour long surgery turned into 3. (there were some complications and more incisions were needed) We had thought we would be on our way home between noon and 1pm... and even recovery took longer and she was not discharged until 5pm (normally, post op they don't dose her with morphine...but the pain was pretty bad and despite the block that she had during surgery she was in pain...and being given a dose of narcotic meant longer monitoring in recovery). Zoe is a strong little girl but she has been pretty uncomfortable. I ended up picking her up from school early on friday. The foley she has in place is a bit problematic. If it is sitting well...she feels pretty normal and is her normal cheerful self who bounces around. A couple spasms will cause it to get into a bad place and BAM, she can't move she has so much pain...not to mention drainage stops. Add in that the surgery site got very angry and was oozing and bleeding...and they wanted to see her in the ER. Bad mom that I was, decided to try some of my own tricks (after all...what more are they going to do but tricks...and mine are only those I have learned from them over the years) So I got all over the tagaderm off of her belly...cleaned her up good and applied bacitracin every couple of hours. I also changed the strategy with the foley. Low and behold... much better. Now, that foley is still fighting us...but we just have to make it to friday. Then I will remove the whole darn thing.

Have you made any decisions on your flights yet? That is a bit pricey for two people to fly, but what are you gonna do?

No decision on flights. I have been watching. I even noticed that alaska had a sale that would have been great had we been able to use the companion fare on it. But..since we couldn't it was still not worth getting just yet. I figure once I get back from WDW, I can really get down to business with the flights for january.

I have to admit - I absolutely love the wings, broccoli, and noodles at Ohana. I could make a meal on that alone. If they would just give me some shrimp with that, I would be perfectly happy. I had a mai tai there in June (I think its the same ingredients as the lapu lapu without the hefty pineapple) and it was delish.

I am with you... I don't need the other meats...but yes, maybe some shrimp. But what I need most... that bread pudding!!!

Just a quick hello

So for those of you who skim and don't read responses to other people... I gave a bit of an update on Zoe in my response to Mary Ellen.

Also, just wanted to say I haven't forgot about this PTR. I promise once I get back from WDW (I will be there a week from now) I will really get down to business and start planning. Life has been so hectic this summer. I am not sure how not only the summer went by so fast, but now where has September gone?????

 

[dizneeat]

Ann, I am soooooo sorry to hear about Zoe! I did read (somewhere) that she was having surgery again, but did not realize it was so serious.
I hope things get MUCH better really soon.

 

[annmarieda]

Ann, I am soooooo sorry to hear about Zoe! I did read (somewhere) that she was having surgery again, but did not realize it was so serious.
I hope things get MUCH better really soon.

Thank you so much, Karin. Zoe is such a trooper. It really isn't so serious. It was meant to be just a revision...but for one reason or another it became a little bit more involved. (if it were not for how much I adore and respect her care team, I might say that I have a sinking suspicion that the new fellow was a bit..too new. )

Having an indwelling tube is never an easy thing. It always causes irritation. The sooner that can come out..the better she will feel. It is just necessary to stay in while her surgical site heals. I just hope and pray that once it is out is is easy sailing...cause, I will be in florida....and it will be up to Steve to deal with. When I scheduled this... I didn't worry because of how routine it was suppose to be. I should have known nothing is truly routine....

 

[MEK]

Poor Zoe. I can only imagine how uncomfortable the bladder spasm must be. So, she only has the foley until this Friday? I so hope removing it will cause them to decrease dramatically. She is a tough little girl and I hope this surgery puts her one step closer to a full recovery. Does she have any more surgeries on the horizon?

Hugs to all of you!

 

[annmarieda]

Poor Zoe. I can only imagine how uncomfortable the bladder spasm must be. So, she only has the foley until this Friday? I so hope removing it will cause them to decrease dramatically. She is a tough little girl and I hope this surgery puts her one step closer to a full recovery. Does she have any more surgeries on the horizon?

Hugs to all of you!

Yup, two weeks with the foley in total. She will still have the spasms..but not having the foreign object sitting in her bladder aggravating things will make them much more manageable.

If this revision has done the trick, then she won't have anything for a while. If it doesn't, then she will likely need to have a new stoma placed in a less inconspicuous place. Long term, her surgeon hopes for a transplant. They are just not quite there yet in terms of it being a viable option. He suspects sometime when she is a teen...maybe young adult. If/when she has children they will all be surgical births.... So those are the big ones. Little revisions here or there are likely... but not necessarily a sure thing.

 

[eandesmom]

I am glad to read your tricks helped and don't think that makes you a bad mom at all! It makes you a smart mom who has been paying attention to her care and knows what to do. I hope this week is manageable for all of you and the removal goes well.

 

[drlaurafsu]

Such a strong and brave little girl. Sounds like she has been through a lot in such a short period of time. Hope everything else goes ok and they are able control the situation better going forward. It seems when we thing something will be easy...life has a way of throwing complications our way.