Toystoryduo's Journal....Moving Forward From Here

[toystoryduo]

Thanks Lisa and Julie.

TOM is doing a number on me this month. Lot of pain, bloating, and fatigue. Spent most of today reading books we got from the library on Sunday. I'm hoping to get out for a walk with my family this evening.

My DH bought me a Disney gift card today which means I can pay more down on our package balance!

Still no park hours yet. I'm glad that I still have 13 days until we make our ADRs...Otherwise, I'd be seriously ticked off right now!

Nothing else to report....Hope everyone has a great evening!

 

[eyor44]

on the gift card! What a sweet guy.

I hear you about the park calendars. Last year the November calendars were real late coming out. I had to make all of my ADRS without them. Only one dinner was effective by the calendars not being out and once the times were released, I was able to change it. The ADR CMs were frustrated by the times not being out also, as they knew there would be a lot more changes than normal once the times were posted.

I hope you feel better today.

 

[toystoryduo]

Thanks Lisa.

The park hours for September still aren't out. I saw that someone posted the hours that were listed on the Disney Travel Agent site yesterday and if those hours are correct, we may have some tweaking to do. We're trying to go to DHS on a non-Fantasmic day so we can avoid the crowds and we're trying to go to the MK on a non EMH day due to the crowds. According to the Disney Travel Agent site's hours, our DHS day is a Fantasmic Day and our MK day is an EMH/evening day. Argh!!! Glad I still have 11 days to figure this all out.

I got my workout in this morning...FIRM Burn and Shape (40 mins.)...Great workout!

Today's Plan:

* SR
* Work for DH
* Walk
* Chill and relax

Our last FPU class was last night and it was a good one about giving. If you ever have a chance to take Financial Peace University, it is a wonderful way to learn (or re-learn) about how to handle money. We still haven't gotten FPU Jr. yet for our girls, but we will soon. We don't want them to make the same financial mistakes that we have.

I would appreciate your good thoughts/prayers for my DH...We are dealing with non paying contractors again. Very frustrating for me, but especially for him since he did the work. Please pray that these contractors would see a need for integrity here and pay my DH soon. Both companies' payment are well past 30 days overdue. Thanks!

That's about all from here.. Have a great day ahead!

 

[eyor44]

I would appreciate your good thoughts/prayers for my DH...We are dealing with non paying contractors again. Very frustrating for me, but especially for him since he did the work. Please pray that these contractors would see a need for integrity here and pay my DH soon. Both companies' payment are well past 30 days overdue. Thanks!

Definite prayers are being said. I wonder how the contractors would feel if the customers didn't pay them on time?

 

[traceycooper]

hope the contracters pay up soon - can you start adding a late payment fee to bookings???

hope the ADR'd are out soon - i know on the Dis uk boards their was loads wanting Aug hours & they were late - a lot of unhappy people!!

I need to do FPU - (read my journal )
hope Tom is going soon

 

[Amy&Dan]

Tracy,

I cannot believe your dh runs into this time and again with contractors. I can never understand why people can't do the right thing? I mean they know he has a family and doesn't do this work for a hobby! Just makes me mad for you and him. I will say a prayer they do the right thing and do it quickly!

It is so aggravating to have these park hours like they are (as far as being released). I feel sorry for people who have to make ADR's for early September flying blind. I wish they'd release hours at 4 months so that people would have ample time to plan!

I am so proud of you for completeing FPU and putting that time and effort into it. I know your girls will learn by your example!

Congrats on the loss, hope TOM is about to leave the scene of the crime and give you a break for 28 days!!!

 

[momof2minnies]

Hi Tracy,
Hope everything is working it's way out.

Have a great weekend- congrats on the loss, it may be small but like you said it is better than going the other way

Linda

 

[lovinaz]

I hope everything works out with the contractors! That is really frustrating, I'm sure.

Did you get the park hours straightened out yet? Hopefully you will get the schedule you want!

 

[toystoryduo]

Thanks ladies.

It was a good day until I came down with a headache. This thing keeps getting worse and worse. My allergies are acting up too. Blah!

Not sure what the plan will be for the evening...We may take a walk and then watch a few movies or we may just stay home and chill out. Not sure yet. My DH is deejaying which means he won't be home until late, but it also means that we will be paying more down on our WDW vacation this weekend! :

That's about all from here...Have a great evening!

 

[toystoryduo]

Today looks to be a quiet day here. My DH has to work and then will pick up his uncle at the airport. After that, we'll be calling around for prices on tires for our car and possibly getting those replaced.

I'm going to have the girls work on spelling and phonics a bit today. Nothing formal...Just a few things here and there.

A week from today, we'll be up early to make our ADRs.

That's about all from here...Have a great day everyone!

 

[Amy&Dan]

Hi Tracy, that's too funny, we also need new tires. Our lives always seem to be on the same wavelenght!

Hope today was a good one, I can't believe your trip is 97 days away! So what ADR's are you hoping to get???

 

[traceycooper]

ohh i LOVE planning & making ADR's - lucky you

 

[toystoryduo]

Thanks ladies.

Today has been a good day so far. I made $13 this morning for 40 minutes worth of work! I took two surveys that were quick and easy. I managed to get a workout in as well and read some trip reports on the DIS.

Amy, you asked about ADRs...This is what we are hoping for:

* Kona Cafe
* Chef Mickeys
* Boma
* Turf Club (thanks for the suggestion!)
* Sci Fi
* Cape May Cafe
* Crystal Palace
* Tutto Italia and Le Cellier (lunch and dinner)

I'm getting kind of nervous about making the ADRs. I kind of have my heart set on these and I actually don't have a Plan B. We're only planning on being in the parks 3/9 days so our trip is really kind of revolving around the dining. If anyone has any spare ADR , please feel free to send it our way!

Not sure what our plans are for the evening. My DH is working until about 6:30 p.m. so I guess we'll see what's going on when he gets home.

Have a wonderful day!

P.S. I am listening to Illuminations on Project Playlist right now. How cool is that?!??!?!

 

[toystoryduo]

Good morning friends,

Today looks to be a busy day. We'll be heading out to PA soon with my DH for work and then we're taking the girls out to eat at TGIFridays. (We've got a coupon!) After that, we'll head to the Disney Store for our gift card to pay our WDW package off! Only 5 more days until ADRS!

Workout Yesterday: 30 minutes weights and abs; 20 minute walk

Food:
B: chips and dip (great breakfast, huh?)
S: brown sugar and cinnamon pop tarts
L: baked potato w/ ranch dressing and cheese
D; cheeseburger, 1 spoon of potato salad, 1 spoon of macaroni salad
S; brown sugar and cinnamon pop tarts

Tons of carbs and unhealthy food yesterday. At least I got a workout in! Moving on....

That's about all from here. Have a wonderful day WISHers!

 

[keenercam]

Hey, sweetie! I am thinking so much of your husband and the non-paying contractors. It's a shame he can't demand a retainer before he starts work. I hope all of those overdue payments come in soon.
Oh, and I REALLY hope the park hours come out in plenty of time for you to finalize ADR plans and a plan B before you have to call.
I love hearing about how you pay down your vacations. It is so impressive that you don't run it all up on a credit card and then have that hanging over your head. You have always seemed so financially smart and responsible to me, but I am glad you felt that FPU was helpful.
Your workouts look great. Keep it up, sweetie!

 

[traceycooper]

The ADR's look great - i hope you get them all
Is the turf club at a golf course??

 

[Amy&Dan]

I have eaten at all of those but Tutto and can honestly say, I love them all! I hope you like Turf Club and that I didn't build it up too much! Get the chocolate molten cake (I think that's what its called). Very tasty.

What's wrong with chip and dip for breakfast? I see nothing wrong with that! Good thing you got that poptart in for a snack, that way you got your breakfast base covered.

Call at 7:00 for those ADR's! I didn't and didn't get Le Cellier. Of course 7:00 for me is actually 5:00. But I won't make that mistake again!

 

[toystoryduo]

Thanks ladies!

We paid off our vacation yesterday!!!! Okay, we paid off the package portion of our vacation yesterday! I still have to save money for gas, the rental car, and miscellaneous things like Mousekeeping and tips and such. I'll work on those numbers today and get a plan in place.

ADRs in 4 days! Not that I'm counting or anything!

We had a good meal at TGIFridays yesterday.I had prime rib stroganoff and my DH had the petite filet with gourmet mac and cheese. YUMMY! The kids had pizza and chicken and they said their meals were good as well.

Food was okay, not great, but I had a lot more protein than the previous day!

B: Brown sugar and cinnamon Pop tarts
L: Prime Rib Stroganoff + some of DH's gourmet mac and cheese
D: 1 Crunch Wrap, 2 Burritos, 1 Taco (TACO BELL)

It was better than the day before when all I ate was carbs, carbs, carbs.

Exercise: 40 minute walk

Today's Plan:

* Work on Disney budget
* Straighten the house up ( babysitting my niece and nephew this weekend)
* Walk (weather permitting)

That's about all from here for now...Have a great day, everyone!

 

[Amy&Dan]

Ohh, prime rib stroganauff. Now that sounds tasty!

Hope today is a good one Wish sis, I'll try to check in when I am gone, for one thing I am dying to know if you get your ADR's! I am keeping my fingers crossed for that!

Thanks for the well wishes for my trip And congrats on paying off that package! That is always a very good feeling!

 

[toystoryduo]

Thanks Amy! Have a wonderful vacation!

We have a busy weekend ahead of us, but I'm not really focused too much on that because Monday is ADR day!!!! Tonight, we'll finalize our plans and maybe have a Plan B in place just in case something doesn't work out.

I did some number crunching last night and we still need about $750 for our trip. My DH is getting a small bonus from one of the jobs he worked on and will be deejaying 3 (maybe 4) more times before we leave for Florida. Plus, we have SR, our change jar, and eBay or Craigslist to help add money to the Disney fund as well. After this weekend, I'll start working on some other ways to try and earn money as well as find more work for my DH. We need to get our Emergency Fund back up to $1000 before we add money to the Disney Fund so this is motivating me to get it done.

I weighed in this morning and am not at all surprised that I am up 2 pounds. Food has not been good this week at all.

Yesterday's Food:
B: Pop tarts
L: Fettuccine and Spinach Noodles
S: Pop Tarts
D: Pierogis (6), Baked Beans, Corn

Everything I had was starchy, starchy, starchy. I need to work on finding ways to balance our meals out more.

Well, that's about all from here...Hope everyone has a wonderful day and a wonderful weekend ahead!