The Top Three Meet Dis-nee (CMO Contest, Part Three)

[Suz D]

Hi everyone! Looks like I found some of the "Fleagle" luck too!

Yesterday was just great......kids were swimming in our pool (chilly but beautiful)......I was even thinking about the people on this board and the challenges being faced........talked to my husband about it all and just took in our fortunate moment.

Then the rain came and came and came and came. Six inches of rain in a matter of a couple of hours. Drought schmout!

We came home after playing wicked rounds of Euchre with some life-long friends. In fact, due to the extensive rain, we drove an elderly couple home to make sure they got home safely.

Checked on my pool when we got home, and the liner was FLOATING IN THE POOL! FLOATING IN THE POOL!!! I was heartsick.

Got up this morning to what looked like a swamp and just was lost. That said, I also turned to my husband and said, this is not a terminal illness. This is simply a pool. Yes, I was and am completely bummed, but as we had neighbors here helping us with pumps and all......my next door neighbors also stopped by.

These neighbors have just lost their home. Foreclosure. Can I tell you how horrible it felt to see them in my backyard and offering ME support?! We have tried everyway we could to save their home for them but it still felt so wrong. Again, perspective really helps ground us.

Also, this week my daughter's lymph node was enlarged and painful to the touch.....googling is both a blessing and a curse.........it was on my mind and I was going to take her in on Monday if it didn't go down.....it did go down today! So see, the perspective was wonderful. I cried as I told my kids that the pool is just a pool and Karen's lymph node meant so much more to me than any pool!

Kinda puts a hold on our plans to build on to the house. We were going to add a bathroom with a shower and doors to the living room so there would be a bedroom on the first floor. I wanted to add this for my parents if they ever need to come here and stay with us.

But I just baked brownies and orange bars (Paula Deen's OH MY!) for the people who helped and realized although my luck was definitely not good today......it was an awesome day! A few good friends here to help, an awards ceremony for my children who BOTH won a state writing award and we took my parents and family out to eat afterwards!

And I talked about all of YOU too at dinner! The board, the contest, the winner (Yay Justin) and all of it! Oh, and my sister just got back from Disney World and gave me a Mickey pancake mold and Mickey ice cube tray.

So pool party at my house.....just not today, okay?

Ann, I'm so sorry to hear of your troubles, but really loved your "perspective" on things. Today DH and I were asked to speak in church. Jeff's topic was "Live by Faith, not by fear" and mine was "All things are possible to them that believe". I think you very much have that mindset. It's all about how we react to our troubles keeping them in perspective. You are right, it's just a pool. The thing you possibly don't realize is how your positive example influences other people. You are amazing!

Suz D

PS. Can I have the recipe for the orange bars? How many sticks of butter are called for in the recipe? Any mayo? LOL!

 

[AnnDisneyFan]

OH, Ann -- sorry to hear about the pool and so very glad to hear that your daughter's lymph node has gone down.

Marshay, thank YOU so much!

Everytime I see your crafts or pics of you playing with your girl, I think how blessed she is to have you. That little girl is going to grow up one day and say, "I had the very best childhood ever!" All because of what you do for her everyday! You are creating the memories of a lifetime!

Ann, I'm so sorry to hear of your troubles, but really loved your "perspective" on things. Today DH and I were asked to speak in church. Jeff's topic was "Live by Faith, not by fear" and mine was "All things are possible to them that believe". I think you very much have that mindset. It's all about how we react to our troubles keeping them in perspective. You are right, it's just a pool. The thing you possibly don't realize is how your positive example influences other people. You are amazing!

Suz D

PS. Can I have the recipe for the orange bars? How many sticks of butter are called for in the recipe? Any mayo? LOL!

Here I sat to just quickly check in and I am now very humbled and brought to tears!

Thank you so much Suz! I just know that people who heard you and your husband speak today were touched by your message! It really has been such a blessed day afterall!

Now, on to the other important issue (and from a confirmed chocoholic, these orange non-chocolate bars are surprisingly perfect):

Orange Brownies

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
4 eggs
2 teaspoons pure orange extract
1 teaspoon grated orange zest

Glaze:
1 cup confectioners' sugar
2 tablespoons orange juice
1 teaspoon grated orange zest
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.


Grease a 13 by 9 by 2-inch pan and set aside. In a mixing bowl, stir together flour, sugar, and salt. Add butter, eggs, orange extract, and orange zest and beat with a handheld electric mixer until well blended. Pour batter into prepared pan and bake for 30 minutes, or until light golden brown and set. [note from Ann....I always have to cook much longer, otherwise they almost seem raw] Remove from oven and pierce top of entire cake with a fork.

Glaze:

Combine all ingredients in a bowl, stirring until smooth. Pour glaze over cake. Cool cake and cut into squares.

Here's the link: [love to read the reviews on this site....they always let you know about the recipe and if it works or needs extra time, etc.]


http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes/recipe/0,1977,FOOD_9936_28321,00.html

Be prepared to step AWAY from the pan though! They are unreal good!

Have a great night's rest everyone! Hi to the late night crowd!

 

[madbrad76]

love disney

OK, what was this all about???

Hasn't vivian6 figured out by now that we ALL love Disney!!

 

[madbrad76]

YAY!!!! MORE ARTS AND CRAFTS!!!

Since we are a little slow this weekend (hope everyone is having good family time and getting lots of work done), here are my latest 2 crafts for our trip.

These are the LGMH (Lime Green Mickey Heads) I made for our stroller and my Baggalini (bag/purse) to identify myself as a DISer. One side says DIS and the other says Marshay.

And here is the Door Sign that I will tape to our BCV room door. The bottom left side is a pocket for folks to get a decorated note card and write a message (I'll attach a pen, too).

I did this last year and got a lot of great messages, including a pin from the Front Desk and a pin from Mousekeeping.

The note says, "Hello Disney Lovers. Write something sweet and fun for us to enjoy. May your dreams come true."

I totally love both the LGMH and the Door Sign!!! Although I won't be carrying a ?? Baggalini ?? with me, I could find many other places to hang the LGMH.

Can you hang these door signs at any resort? We'll be staying at WL in September and I would like to place one of these on our door for the kids. I'll have to show this picture to DW so her and DD can make one for our trip.

OK, my last post showing off our Disney crafts (or at least the last one for tonight!! )

Here are this year's tie dye shirts.

I really like them and all the colors and patterns that show up. We added the Mickey swirl this year with a bleach pen.

My critique: If we do this next time, we won't let the bleach sit so long since it really made our fuschia turn pink. Also, we put the swirls a little too close together. But no worries, we learn a little more each time we do these.

The front of the shirts:

The back of the shirts:

I really like the sunburst pattern around the back of my MH.

Believe it or not Marshay but I love the shirts too. Can you give some more detailed instructions on how to make these?

 

[Marshay]

YAY!!!! MORE ARTS AND CRAFTS!!!

I totally love both the LGMH and the Door Sign!!! Although I won't be carrying a ?? Baggalini ?? with me, I could find many other places to hang the LGMH.

Can you hang these door signs at any resort? We'll be staying at WL in September and I would like to place one of these on our door for the kids. I'll have to show this picture to DW so her and DD can make one for our trip.

Believe it or not Marshay but I love the shirts too. Can you give some more detailed instructions on how to make these?

The doors at BCV and AKV were inside doors (same as WL if I remember correctly) and I just put a lot of scotch tape on the back of the sign (I did not laminate the sign so the tape stuck better). Someone suggested magnets but I haven't tried that.

Here is the sign I made last year on the door at BCV.

And here are the t-shirts we made last year. We used the same method (but not the Mickey swirl) and as you can see they came out completely different. Instead of a typical rainbow twist shirt, I used the crystal dye method so it's more "splotchy" instead of a true twist of color.

I'll PM you directions on the shirts ... there is also a thread (surprise, surprise!) but it's quite lengthy on tie-dye shirts.

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1210609

 

[madbrad76]

AnnDisneyFan - It sure does seem that we have a lot of bad luck floating around the Dis-nee Family lately. Boy, we all could use some of Meggin's pixie dust!
I'm really sorry to hear about your pool. I'm glad in the end you were able to look at the situation in a different light. I myself tend to put a price and value on material things that don't really matter. You are absolutely right, it is just a pool. After all, it should be our families and their health that should be what is most important to us! I hope your daughter is OK.

The Orange Brownies really sound great. Since I'm not much of a cook either, you'll have to share some with us when we drop by your neck of the woods on our Virtual Road Trip.

 

[Marshay]

Forgot to say, the crystal method is talked about on page 17-20 of the tie dye thread.

 

[madbrad76]

Marshay - You have Martha Stuart beat!!

One question though, how do you ever have any time left to spend with your family?

 

[Marshay]

Marshay - You have Martha Stuart beat!!

One question though, how do you ever have any time left to spend with your family?

DH and I did the shirts together while DD was sleeping!

I mostly do my crafts while DD is napping -- thank God for naps or I wouldn't get anything done!

 

[HauntedMansionFan]

Wow -- how in the world did you guess the super secret password???

Welcome!

I thought it was "Walt sent me."?

Marshay.... is there anything you can't do? Those shirts are so cool! I was going to put up some pics of my Disney scrapbook, but now I'm not so sure....

 

[HauntedMansionFan]

Ann.... I'm sorry to hear about the pool and hope that your daughter is feeling better soon.

 

[KigerKat]

PS. Can I have the recipe for the orange bars? How many sticks of butter are called for in the recipe? Any mayo? LOL!

Don't forget to wrap them in bacon and deep fry them!!

 

[KigerKat]

Ann - I'm also so sorry to hear about your recent troubles. It's great to see that you can still be bright and positive and have such wonderful neighbors around you.

I hope things begin to look up for you soon!

 

[KigerKat]

Marshay - All I can say is "WOW!" I hope you guys have such a great time when you are at Disney (I'm sure you will!). And I know we can't wait to see all of your pictures when you get back!!

 

[Mrs. Fleagle]

Good Morning Family!

Wow, I take a night "off" and I actually had a couple of pages to get caught up on. Seems almost like the "old days"!

I was so happy to see that Ann posted and couldn't wait to read.......but then I was sad to hear of all your troubles. Big hug Ann! I am really sorry our luck seemed to make a road trip of its own and head to your house.
Your attitude is wonderful though, and inspiring.

MARSHAY - Love your shirts and crafty stuff.....I must remember the special LGMH tags for the stroller and bags! Great idea!

**just a note....we're getting closer and closer to the page max on this thread, although we're posting at a much slower rate than before, but I still think we'll hit it. So where do we go? We Be Trippin is for the road trip, but you more savvy people please let us know where to go. Please. **

 

[Mrs. Fleagle]

Hey...one more thing....

Something occurred to me the other day, yes, I did actually HAVE a thought! Yay for me! Let me know how you feel...

I would love to have some addresses for our family here. Not only would we love to add you all to our Christmas card list, but we would love a way to stay in contact. Maybe some of you feel the same?

I did have most everyone's addresses when you PM'd me for the CMO pins. I kept them for awhile, but then I deleted them feeling like it might be inappropriate for me to hang on to them. So, I would be happy to put together a contact list for anyone who is interested. I'm not sure of the etiquette about this, so if it's a big no no then never mind. Otherwise, you could contact me and give me whatever info you feel comfortable with.
Disname, real name, address, email address, phone.....any and all of it would be completely optional. I don't know, what do you think? Maybe? Maybe not?

 

[KigerKat]

Hey...one more thing....

Something occurred to me the other day, yes, I did actually HAVE a thought! Yay for me! Let me know how you feel...

I would love to have some addresses for our family here. Not only would we love to add you all to our Christmas card list, but we would love a way to stay in contact. Maybe some of you feel the same?

I did have most everyone' addresses when you PM'd me for the CMO pins. I kept them for awhile, but then I deleted them feeling like it might be inappropriate for me to hang on to them. So, I would be happy to put together a contact list for anyone who is interested. I'm not sure of the etiquette about this, so if it's a big no no then never mind. Otherwise, you could contact me and give me whatever info you feel comfortable with.
Disname, real name, address, email address, phone.....any and all of it would be completely optional. I don't know, what do you think? Maybe? Maybe not?

I love this idea! I don't think anyone here would have a problem with it, and if they did then they could choose not to participate - no hard feelings!

My PM is on it's way! Thanks for thinking of this!!

 

[Marshay]

I thought it was "Walt sent me."?

Marshay.... is there anything you can't do? Those shorts are so cool! I was going to put up some pics of my Disney scrapbook, but now I'm not so sure....

Oh, please do!!

The best thing about crafts is that they are personal and you make them and love them!!

 

[Marshay]

Hey...one more thing....

Something occurred to me the other day, yes, I did actually HAVE a thought! Yay for me! Let me know how you feel...

I would love to have some addresses for our family here. Not only would we love to add you all to our Christmas card list, but we would love a way to stay in contact. Maybe some of you feel the same?

I did have most everyone' addresses when you PM'd me for the CMO pins. I kept them for awhile, but then I deleted them feeling like it might be inappropriate for me to hang on to them. So, I would be happy to put together a contact list for anyone who is interested. I'm not sure of the etiquette about this, so if it's a big no no then never mind. Otherwise, you could contact me and give me whatever info you feel comfortable with.
Disname, real name, address, email address, phone.....any and all of it would be completely optional. I don't know, what do you think? Maybe? Maybe not?

Seriously great idea!!! I'll PM you.

 

[Justin M]

Seriously great idea!!! I'll PM you.

I agree! My PM is on the way as well. I'd love to have the list once you have it compiled so I can be sure to keep in touch with all of you!!!