The only way to have a friend is to be one." -- Ralph Waldo Emerson

[hellokitty86]

Hey girls! Happy Friday!

Lyzziesmom, good luck with the guy! I hope it's door number 1 too, but it doesn't hurt to be cautious!! The new smiley is cute but it's a sad story behind it. The little smiley is called "Noah" and it's to honor a little boy that passed away recently. There was a thread on the community board about it.

Amber, sooo glad you got your internet back! Were you having withdrawl?

Nicole, I hope we can see you in Disney! That would be great. Hopefully the flight benefits kick in soon!

Lin- How has school been so far?

Send us some good thoughts girls- we are having our tests done this Wednesday. Jeremiah is having his echocardiogram and I'm having an ultrasound on my thryoid. I don't even care about my test, I just want Jeremiah to be ok.

I'm trying to think good thoughts- in less than 3 weeks I will be in Disney!

 

[DisneyGirl4188]

Lyzziesmom, I'm glad the job is going well. I hope there isn't an issue with you leaving for vacation.

We do plan on coming over for the day. Pretty much any day is fine, so if you and Ashley coordinate schedules, just let me know when to show up.

Nicole, I hope you are able to come too! It stink that he needs to have his truck worked on more.

Ashley, I WAS having withdrawal! I know that sounds sad, but oh well.

I hope both your tests go well and you are both OK.

 

[Linzybrooke]

Hey ladies!

Lyzziemom, I agree with Nicole, go after that man!

Amber, glad you have your internet back, and that Mr. Spencer is feeling better!

Nicole, crossing my fingers that you get to go on your mini-trip!

Ashley, praying for your tests!!!!

This week was a week full of pointless inservice, where they tell us the same thing they told us last year, and the year before. I hate that we are given soooo little time to actually prepare for the school year. I will be working on stuff all weekend and still have syllabus' to write, lessons to plan and copies to make.

Chris is stuck in Oklahoma. He was supposed to be home around 6, but they didn't finish their stuff and haven't even left yet. At this rate he will be home around 9. We were supposed to go see a friends band play, but I think I'll just have to go with my parents!

Have a wonderful weekend guys!

 

[DisneyGirl4188]

Good Morning All!

Lin, that stink's Chris was stuck in OK, but hopefully you had a good time anyway.


We went to Olive Garden last night. It was good, but the service was bad. Apparently, the girl was new and just scatterbrained. She didn't write down our order (we got the never ending pasta) and mine was wrong. Mike sat for over 10 minutes without a drink, even though she said twice she would get it. She brought us the check before we were done and then had to take it back to add the second pasta. When we ordered the second pasta (both Mike and I got the same sauce, just different pasta) she asked three times what were ordered (she would go to the screen to place the order and then come back). She STILL had not gotten either of us refills. Finally, I had to ask another server for a drink. He came back right away and apologized. While we were speaking to him, our order came out. A few minutes later, the girl came back with the same stuff, but still no drinks. She had no idea how we got our order before she brought it. We ended up getting a free dessert due to the poor service.


I hope everyone is having a good weekend.

 

[Tinkerbell_Girl]

Ashley, I wish you and Jeremiah good luck on your tests, I know both of you will be just fine!

Amber, I'm sorry you had terrible service! Olive Garden is a hit or miss here. Lately we have been having decent service though.

Lyzziesmom, How is the new job going?

Lin, I hope school is going well for you!

 

[lyzziesmom]

Gah, stupid DIS keeps logging me out - I'm at work and don't want to set it to "remember me" but I didn't want it to forget that fast! Thank goodness for copy/paste. Anyway...

Ashley, I'm hoping for good results on your tests tomorrow!

I love Olive Garden. I've never had bad service at either of the 2 here, but last year we stopped at one on our way home from Omaha and it was awful. The food was fine, but our server took forever. It was getting late and I had mentioned right off the bat that we were on a road trip and in something of a hurry, and the meal took almost 2 hours! For one order of alfredo and a kids mac & cheese! I guess it really just depends on the server. There's one at our home OG who is fantastic, she brings a bunch of extra stuff for the kids when she finds out they like the salad & breadsticks -- individual salads with extra whatever they like (olives, tomatoes, etc.), a big plate of grated cheese for Emma, cups of dressing to dip the breadsticks, a bowl of just croutons when she sees Lyzzie eat them all first, etc. She always gets a much bigger tip than I usually leave.

Great, now I'm really craving some Olive Garden breadsticks.

Possible good news: I might actually be getting somewhere with my unemployment issues!! It's now been 13 weeks since my payments were suspended. Grrrrr!!! I still can't get anyone on the phone, I've tried everything. Even though I'm working, being temp it could end at any time and even if it lasts it will take me a long time to catch up on my bills. So I sent a nice long detailed fax to unemployment on Friday... nothing. Sent a quick handwritten fax yesterday... still nothing.

I found an article online written by my state Representative about how unemployment payments were delayed, but it was talking about extended benefits (which I don't get yet) and she talked about how regular benefits were not affected and how even though the office is busier than usual, extra employees have been hired and regular payments are on track. Yeah right!

So I sent an email to her and sent a copy to her personal email address (gotta love Google!) detailing what happened with the temp agency's mistake and how long I've been waiting. She emailed me back last night from her personal email and said she will personally deliver my email to the Secretary of the Department of Labor today and make sure that he calls me directly, and she will follow up with me to find out the results. I am hoping for good news -- cross your fingers for me!

Did school start yet, Lin? How is it going? I can't believe you have so little time to get everything ready. It must be exciting to be able to see all your hard work pay off though. I saw your fb pictures and I have to say, pregnancy really suits you! You look so cute. I looked like a big bloated potato when I was pregnant. Are you all ready to be a Mommy?

Ashley, Amber, & Nicole -- hope to see you all soon! :mickey:

 

[lyzziesmom]

More good news! I checked Southwest and was able to get a new flight home from WDW, so now instead of leaving first thing in the morning we will have an extra 1/2 day of Disney! I even got a refund of a whopping dollar per flight.

 

[HeWhoMustNotBeNamed]

More good news! I checked Southwest and was able to get a new flight home from WDW, so now instead of leaving first thing in the morning we will have an extra 1/2 day of Disney! I even got a refund of a whopping dollar per flight.

I highly suggest purchasing a lottery ticket with the dollar!

 

[hellokitty86]

Hey girls!!!

What's new? I can't believe it is 15 days until my Disney trip. We are very excited!

We are having those tests tomorrow morning- please keep sending the good thoughts. I really need them! I keep imagining the worst scenerios(you guys know how I am). Like I said before, I don't even care about my tests, I just want Jeremiah to be ok. I'm guessing we won't get the results back tomorrow because the doctor has to read the results, but hopefully we hear back soon.

Amber- sorry about your bad service at OG! (Side note- for some reason when we want to go to Olive Garden my Mom and I say "OG are you with me?" We are dorks.) We've had bad service there many many times. Haven't been in a while, now I'm hungry!! Is Spencer feeling any better?

Lyzziesmom- so glad you are making some progress with unemployment!!! How are the girls enjoying school so far? Any more visits from the cute neighbor?

Nicole- how is working at Jet Blue? I saw you posting on Facebook the other day late that you were at work, you must have some late hours!

Lin- hope you can making it through these next couple weeks without being too tired!

 

[Linzybrooke]

Hey ladies!

Lyzziesmom, hopefully you will get somewhere with that email! Good for you for being so proactive about the situation! And yippee for an extra half day at Disney!

Ashley, sending prayers and pixie dust for you and Jeremiah tomorrow!

Finished the second day of school today. Its going alright, I really enjoy my B day classes, I have only one first level course and then two advanced courses with my advanced kids. My A days might be the death of me! But, we will get through it! I'm always amazed at the number of students that are shocked when I say that they have to do monologue and scene performances every 6 weeks, and that they have to be memorized...um, you signed up for Theatre Arts, what did you expect?

Lyzziesmom, thanks for the comment about how I look! I feel like a big bloated seacow, so its nice to hear! I feel fine though, so I really have nothing to compain about. I keep waiting for something to go wrong because it has all been so easy so far!

I am not yet ready to be a mom, I have no idea what to do, but Chris is ready to be a dad, so I'll figure it out! I have never been one for babies...so I'm totally stressed out!

 

[Linzybrooke]

Ashley, are you watching Big Brother this season? Jeff seems to be getting tired of Jordan...

 

[hellokitty86]

Ashley, are you watching Big Brother this season? Jeff seems to be getting tired of Jordan...

Of course I'm watching. It seems that way on the show, and they do have their little spats, but they really do get along great. Unfortunately I'm obsessed with watching the live feeds! I think Jeff's been really stressed the last 2 weeks (I have no idea why, because he's been safe!)

I am disappointed that he put Russell up....I have a feeling he is getting voted out too. Hopefully it won't be Jeff's down fall, I really like him despite how he's been acting recently.

And you DO look gorgeous!!!

 

[lyzziesmom]

Oh Lin, don't worry. All your doubts will disappear when you hold that baby on the outside instead of the inside! Somehow it's different when it's your own. I know you'll be a great mom! Don't be afraid to ask the nurses for help at the hospital, that's what they are there for. They will show you how to change a diaper, how to swaddle, different ways to hold him, whatever you need. I'm so excited for you!

Sheesh, I think monologues & scenes every 6 weeks sounds pretty light for those kids. It's been a long time since I was in high school drama class, but I'm sure we did something every week, all memorized. We even had to - gasp! - write our own material sometimes. How did we ever survive?

Ashley, I'm hoping for good results on both of your tests. It will probably be a week or so before you get the results, try not to explode before then. And don't be surprised if they don't even call, often dr's will only call if there is a problem. When Emma had her GI tests recently, the nurse called and left me a voicemail saying I needed to call back to discuss her test results. When I called, they kept shuttling me around to different people and I was getting really freaked out! It turned out to be nothing, the one nurse was calling just to be nice to say everything was fine but she didn't tell the other nurses, and when I called back they couldn't figure out who had left me the message or why since everything was normal. Thanks for the stress, ladies!

No more cute neighbor visits. Of course I've barely been home so he very well may be walking the block every day & I'm just not out there. When I filed my unemployment claim this week I realized I worked almost 50 hours last week, plus had school finals! No wonder I'm falling asleep standing still lately. It seems so stupid to have to file the unemployment claim but if I don't and the temp assignment ends, then I will have to start the whole darn process over again with the paperwork, the interview, the review & all. No thank you! No phone call today about my claim but she didn't say the guy would call me today, just that she would give him my info today. I'll give it until the end of the week.

The girls are doing great in school. Emma says she isn't learning anything new in K, she already knows everything and is ready for maybe 9th or 10th grade.

Lyzzie's BFF is spending the night with her at my mom's house on Friday, and then helping run our garage sale on Saturday. Her mom is going to come by and drop off some of their stuff at our sale for us to sell too. I hope the sale goes well, but I don't even really care I just want all this junk GONE.

 

[lyzziesmom]

Great news!! I got the phone call this morning from the Dept. of Labor, my claim has been fixed! It turns out that all this time, the problem wasn't even the issue with the temp agency. It was school, of all things. The lady I spoke to during my interview back in June somehow didn't file the paperwork stating that my school is in the evenings and won't interfere with looking for work. The woman who called me this morning said she got my info from the Governor's office. Wow! Apparently I got in touch with the right people. I should have my payments by Friday. I'm so relieved!

I also realized this morning that I made a bonehead move. When I booked our flights, I only used my free SW credit for 1/2 the flight instead of the roundtrip flight I had earned. I just called and was able to have them change my paid portion to free! They couldn't credit the money back, but were able to put it into funds for future use which is fine - when I combine that with the credit I've earned from getting lower prices, I've got another "free" flight for next time. Yay!

It's been a good day so far. <--- I'm whispering so as not to tempt the fates.

Ashley, I hope you & Jeremiah are having good luck today too.


ETA: Wow. My state Representative who I had emailed originally just called me to follow up. I'm impressed. I always see where people have a problem and they say "write your state Rep" but I always assumed it wouldn't do any good. I stand corrected. Thanks guys for putting up with my whining about this for so long.

 

[lyzziesmom]

Ashley, are you back from the dr. yet? How did it go?

I did my online resort check-in today. It's really getting close now! (Before I forget... Ashley, PM me your itinerary or post it here, I'm still working on mine and I want to make sure we have some chances to get together!) During the online check-in there was an offer for $100 credit if you apply for a Disney Visa... I've been trying to get that darn card for years and for some reason keep getting denied (even though I have 3 other Chase Visa cards) . I finally got approved! It's pretty neat, they will have the card waiting for me at check-in and I can use it to charge to my room, plus I will get the $100 credited on the statement. Yay!

I do have to get serious for a moment. Normally I don't do this, but recently things have been bleak and now they are turning around I have to give credit where credit is due. Last week I sat down and prayed real hard for the first time in a long time. It's not that I'm an unbelieving heathen, I just haven't had more than a passing interest in religion since I was a kid. So I asked for guidance and courage to take better care of my family, and strength to get through the hard times - specifically, my unemployment issues. I never ask for anything to be given to me, but rather for the tools to help myself succeed.

It may be that articulating my needs helped motivate me to take the steps to get back on track, but whatever the method -- I really do believe my prayers were answered. I've never seen such a direct result of prayer as I have in the past week. It's more than my luck turning around, it's more than having a good couple of days. I just had to get that out there. Thanks for listening.

 

[hellokitty86]

Hey guys!

The doctors appt. went well! We were waiting for a long time because the tech was 40 minutes late. But she made up for it later. Jeremiah went first and when it was my turn I was like "So what's the verdict on him?" Sometimes the techs won't tell you their opinion and I was hoping she would. She said that his heart looks good to her and she didn't see anything unusual. I was like "You wouldn't lie to me, would you?" Of course the cardiologist has to tell us officially but I am choosing to believe she's good at her job simply for my mental health.

She did notice my thyroid is enlarged and she said it looks like it has a weird texture, whatever that means. But she said no nodules and didn't see anything that needed me to have a biopsy. So, now I can relax alittle and start looking forward to my Disney trip (2 weeks from today!)

Thanks for all your good wishes guys- I know they helped!

Lyzziesmom, I need help with my itinerary! I'm not sure what to do- I planned my ADRs around which park had EMH (which was dumb). I was just talking to my Grandma and she said the parks with EMH were absolutely packed last weekend! Of course my itinerary now completely goes against TGM's recommendations. ANYWAY- what should I do? I don't want to go about this the wrong way! Please advise.

Lyzziesmom, I'm so so so so so glad things are turning around for you! I knew they would, it was just a matter of time.

 

[Linzybrooke]

Lyzziesmom, I just want to reach out and give you a great big hug! Why is KC so far away. Prayers that things continue to turn around for you, you seem to be on the right path! Love ya girl!!!!

 

[Linzybrooke]

Hey Ashley! Good luck getting your itinerary figured out! We used TGM this last trip, and will probably always take his recs from now on, if that helps at all!

I am sooooo tired. I woke up last night a bit after midnight because the right side of my lower back down through my bum was just in excruciating pain. I guess Connor was laying on a nerve in just such a way as to pinch at it or something. Got up, Chris rubbed some Biofreeze on it, and I went back to bed, woke about an hour and a half later and it was worse. Got out our "pregnancy bible" to discover it was the nerve thing, and it recommeneded a heating pack, which helped a bit, but I still feel like I didn't sleep last night! It will be early to bed for me tonight!

 

[DisneyGirl4188]

Hello All!

Lyzziesmom, I am SO GLAD things are starting to go better for you!!! I believe in the power of prayer (even if you aren't praying to anyone in particular). I also believe that God (or whatever you believe in) works in weird ways. Perhaps, you had some bad months so that you could make changes (ie. going back to school). I hope things continue to go well. Oh, and send some of that good luck my way!

Ashley, I'm glad that the appointment went well; I hope the doctor confirms things are OK for you both.

If it were me, I would follow TGM's advice. I have been to the parks on non-green days and they are more crowded. However, he does advise getting there at rope drop and then going back to he resort to rest. So, if you would rather do EMH, then just know that it may be busier than normal.

When you and Lyzziesmom work out what days you will meet, let me know. Any day is fine with me.

Lin, I had the same pain and it was AWFUL! I was in so much pain the last month or two and didn't sleep much. It sucked trying to go to work after being up all night. I hope the pain goes away for you.

Hi Nicole!!!

 

[lyzziesmom]

Oh Lin, I feel for you girl. I am very familiar with that pain. Sciatica is a... well I can't say it here. That's actually the pain I had with both pregnancies (but on my left side), but after Emma was born it never went away. By the time anyone thought to do an xray & MRI, they discovered it was actually arthritis causing the sciatica (among other issues) but it was too late to do anything about it. So now I have that same pain constantly -- lower back on the side, down through the butt cheek, sometimes shoots down through the back of the knee and skips to the foot. I wouldn't wish it on anyone. Just know that there is an end in sight for you! Once you hold that baby, all this discomfort won't even seem important anymore. I think it's nature's way of preparing you for being up nights with a baby!

You're totally right Amber, everything does happen for a reason. It's just not always clear what that reason will be, and it's not always a reason we have to like. This year has made me so angry and frustrated, because I had a crappy life for a long time and it took me a long time to open my eyes and see that I was the one who needed to save myself, and I did. I relaxed and got comfortable in my "new" life -- and nearly lost it all. I'm not out of the woods yet, but there is a light at the end of the tunnel. (I hope it's not like that Metallica song, "And it comes to be that the soothing light at the end of the tunnel is just a freight train headed your way." )

Ashley, I've planned my meals around EMH before too. Honestly, it's not a big deal with the time of year we're going. Crowds drop dramatically after Labor Day so even the more crowded parks shouldn't be too bad. I do recommend going early in the morning. Are you planning on doing any EMH? I've found that the mornings aren't really worth it for us but the evenings can work well. I don't plan on them anymore but I leave the option open, such as if we have dinner in an EMH park we can stay if we want to, or just go back to the hotel. If it's an early dinner, we can still have time to park hop if it looks too crowded. Just be flexible! I just have to figure out what parks I aim to be in each day to make sure we get enough park time in each. I don't go back to rest because it eats up too much of my day, but we like to hop parks at some point (sometimes even more than once). We like the travel break in the middle, plus it seems like a few mini-days rather than one long marathon one.

I think our best tool for getting together will be our phones. It sounds like we all aren't that into the commando planning this time around, so we'll just have to call each other and see what's going on. It's going to be so much fun!

I finally got my parents' ME luggage tags in the mail today. Mine had come but my address was incomplete and we just happened to see the mailman that day, but their tags never came so I called last week. The agent was a little snotty about it because they said their system showed my address correct, but he resent the tickets anyway. I also confirmed all our ADRs and checked to see that they marked Lyzzie's birthday on them -- I had been having trouble getting it to show on the online system. I also wanted to mark my parents anniversary and my birthday, both a month early but that's when we'll celebrate (I figure since they ask you so many darn times, I was glad to have something to celebrate!). Since the occasions weren't showing up, I entered them again. Oops!.... Turns out it was in the system something like 6 times for each meal, for each of our 2 rooms!! I sheepishly asked the CM to take the extras off and he said he did, we had a good laugh about it. He even put mine in as "other" instead of "birthday" and he typed it as "14th anniversary of 21st birthday." Then when I checked online today, they are ALL showing up! It looks like we are celebrating a zillion things!! Oops again. I've turned into one of those people completely by accident!!