Turning into a Gustav Report! - We're home!

[DisneyTiger]

I was so worried about you. Thank God you are all ok. I got home from Mississippi Wed. night. We got our power back on late yesterday afternoon. It was also scary in Miss. I have some stories to tell. We lost some big oak trees and the roof on the upstairs dormer in Courtney's room peeled off and it rained in her room. Her carpet is wet and her wall is warped a little. I had to throw away everything in the freezer and refridgerator yesterday. Poor little Grace was walking around in just a diaper and her shoes. She had to have her shoes. Her hair was soaking wet.
God was with you for those big beautiful trees not to fall on your house. Your little boy is so cute. I love the picture of him just chillin through a hurricane. I am going to post a little Gustav report. When I do I will add the link in my signature. I am glad you are ok.

Hey Laura. I am so happy to hear from you! It sounds like y'all had a rough time too. Did you have damage in your house in New Iberia? That makes me so sad, picturing Grace walking around in her diaper. I feel like I'm in a 3rd world country. We had to wait in line yesterday just to get into Walmart. So depressing. We are very lucky about our trees. I just can't get too excited with Ike looming over our heads. Anyway, I've just been really depressed and not in the mood much for posting. I will write more later. I'm just so happy to hear that you and your fam are ok.

DisneyTiger:

Oh my gosh. Where are you? Are things better? or are you still cleaning up from Gustav? Now they are saying that Ike is on his way. What are you going to do? Are you going to be able to make it to DisneyWorld? I sure hope so, but things are looking really crazy for you.

TexasBelle

I am here, still at my sister's. No power at my house. We were told it would be on this past Friday but still nothing. We are glued to the TV watching Ike. He seems to be going more West but we just really can't tell yet. It's a joke at this point. Our trip is 3 weeks from this past Friday and everything looks clear out in the tropics once Ike is gone. I am saying multiple prayers a day that we will be able to go. It's pretty much the only thing keeping me going.

Hi Talissa! Hope everything's OK. I mean, as OK as they can get right now. If Ike comes to Houston, we have ressies at the Westin in San Antonio from Fri to Sun. What are y'all's plans? PM me when you get the chance. Hugs to your entire family!
Jen

I hope you don't see too much of Ike, but I hope we don't either. I just wish it would disappear.

6 Weeks!!!


I hope its much sooner!

And thank you so much for the Boo!
I love it!!!

We get different times every day about when our power will be up. Our neighborhood was one of the worst hit so I really need to be grateful that our house is still standing. Who knows when we'll have power. If Ike comes, it's just going to go out again so oh well.

 

[DisneyTiger]

Hi everyone. I just want to apologize about my negative tone. I've just been a little down these past few days. Thanks so much for checking in with me. I have been thinking about all of you but couldnt' seem to get myself to the computer to post.

We are still at my sister's house - no power at our's. Our neighborhood looks horrible. After driving around some of the city, I know that it is definitely one of the worst hit. There is an area about a half block from my house that really looks like a tornado hit. There are trees down every house and one covered carport is twisted up into the air. I still don't know how we got spared. Not questioning that. We were told last week that our power should have been restored this past Friday but as of now, nothing. I call my house every hour praying to God that my answering machine picks up. We are the last of my siblings (I am the youngest of 7) to get power. Except for my brother who is a priest in one of the hardest hit parts of La. He doesn't even have water. We are moving to another sister's house tonight just to spread the love

As for our trip, my feelings have been so up and down. At first, I just couldn't bear the tought of having to pack for our magical vacation in a dark, smelly, hot house. Then I worried about what other storms are out there. Now that that looks ok, I am really looking forward to our trip. I mean, not many people in our situation have a wonderful vacation to look forward to. It's getting me through. I went to the Disney store today and got my fix. It was so nice.

Anyway, I really need to get off the computer. There is a line behind me. I promise I will post more soon and hopefully with a better attitude Thanks again for all the thoughts and prayers. I love you all

 

[coteau_chick]

I am so glad to hear from you. Hang in there. We got our power back on Thursday night. I am also watching IKE! I don't wish him on anyone else but we don't want him either.

Just spend your time thinking about your trip. I know it is hard staying away from home. You must just want your bed back. It is going to feel so good when you can get back home. This whole mess will be over with before you know it. THEN.................... your going to Disney World

Love Laura

 

[TexasBelle]

TexasBelle

 

[DisneyTiger]

I am so glad to hear from you. Hang in there. We got our power back on Thursday night. I am also watching IKE! I don't wish him on anyone else but we don't want him either.

Just spend your time thinking about your trip. I know it is hard staying away from home. You must just want your bed back. It is going to feel so good when you can get back home. This whole mess will be over with before you know it. THEN.................... your going to Disney World

Love Laura

Just read your Gustav report. What a time y'all had! I shouldn't be complaining! We have both been taken care of by some great people! Thanks for the well wishes. I do want my bed back soooooo badly. I just keep thinking, "So, you, your family, and your house have survived Hurricane Gustav. What are you going to do now???" Well, WE'RE GOING TO DISNEY WORLD!!! That's what

So glad to know that your okay. I can't imagine how hard this must be. My thoughts and prayers are with you still.

Ike is looking as though it might go more west which will be great for you and like Laura say's "One day at a time".

Keep your chin up and focus on the Positives

TexasBelle
Carolyn

Hi Carolyn,

Thanks I really do appreciate your encouraging words. I almost feel silly because there are so many other people in such worse situations than me. I just have to keep remembering that. One day at a time is right. It's really more like one hour at a time around here watching IKE!

 

[DisneyTiger]

Hi, it is I. I thought I would do another post tonight and show some pictures that I've taken over the last week. I figured that I need to stop dwelling on things and move on but I still wanted to show y'all some of the pics that I have taken. I am vowing that after this post, it will be all about our trip, and maybe a few power updates in between

I am now settled in my neice's bed at my other sister's house. They have something that I have been missing desperately - Wireless Internet!!!! I have not been able to use my laptop and it's been killing me. I couldn't get to my pictures or my favorites or pay bills since I have everything saved on it. I uploaded a bunch of pics from the storm onto photobucket so I'm going to post them now.

Like I said, I am trying to focus on more positive things but some of these pics, I just have to share. For those of you who haven't had the pleasure of living through a hurricane, maybe these pics can give you a bit of insight. It's no fun. I mean, losing your power for a few hours and having to "rough it" can be a little amusing, but it has been one week today since the storm and loss of power. I'm so over it! So here are some pics...

I will start with some of our house. This is a pic of our deck before the storm started...

And this is one about 10 minutes after the winds picked up. You can see it didn't take long to make a mess - one which I have yet to clean up I might add...

Here is one of the tree on the side of our house that broke down the middle. The first is a similar shot of the tree that I posted earlier. It is also a shot of our sidestreet. It was impassable for days. The second and third show the tree from our backyard.

These are a few shots from around our neighborhood...

My next door neighbor - 2 trees on the house, one crushed her car. Fortunately, her house was not too badly damaged...

This is across the street from my house. This huge tree fell away from their house into a vacant lot. What luck is that!!! Incidentally, I'm pretty sure this tree is one of the main reasons we don't have power. See the big black lines at the bottom of the pic? Yeah, those are power lines, ON THE GROUND.

Here are just a few random shots from our block...

Now this is just crazy, and you can see it all over town. These street lights were totally turned 180 degrees backwards. You really can't tell from the pic, but they are actually over the parking lot instead of over the street. Yay wrecks!

Now for a few fun pics...

Here are two of my sisters having mimosas sitting around the generator. Nice.

Some signs my sister put in the windows...

My kids getting settled on their air mattress before bed...PS- they have been SOOOOOO good throughout all of this. Sleeping wherever they have to...

Now maybe it's a little easier for you to understand why it's so depressing around here. It's destruction everywhere you look. But lately there are also tree trucks and energy guys everywhere you look. People handing out free meals and ice everywhere you look. People going to church with flashlights and candles. We are on the upswing and all will be well soon. And that's my two cents on Gustav. I can't promise that I won't mention him again, but i'm going to try my hardest to look forward instead of backwards.

Now, speaking of cents... I am off to find a cute M&M tube label for my pressed pennies. Good night all and more WDW tomorrow

 

[coteau_chick]

Hi, it is I. I thought I would do another post tonight and show some pictures that I've taken over the last week. I figured that I need to stop dwelling on things and move on but I still wanted to show y'all some of the pics that I have taken. I am vowing that after this post, it will be all about our trip, and maybe a few power updates in between

I am now settled in my neice's bed at my other sister's house. They have something that I have been missing desperately - Wireless Internet!!!! I have not been able to use my laptop and it's been killing me. I couldn't get to my pictures or my favorites or pay bills since I have everything saved on it. I uploaded a bunch of pics from the storm onto photobucket so I'm going to post them now.

Like I said, I am trying to focus on more positive things but some of these pics, I just have to share. For those of you who haven't had the pleasure of living through a hurricane, maybe these pics can give you a bit of insight. It's no fun. I mean, losing your power for a few hours and having to "rough it" can be a little amusing, but it has been one week today since the storm and loss of power. I'm so over it! So here are some pics...

I will start with some of our house. This is a pic of our deck before the storm started...

And this is one about 10 minutes after the winds picked up. You can see it didn't take long to make a mess - one which I have yet to clean up I might add...

Here is one of the tree on the side of our house that broke down the middle. The first is a similar shot of the tree that I posted earlier. It is also a shot of our sidestreet. It was impassable for days. The second and third show the tree from our backyard.

These are a few shots from around our neighborhood...

My next door neighbor - 2 trees on the house, one crushed her car. Fortunately, her house was not too badly damaged...

This is across the street from my house. This huge tree fell away from their house into a vacant lot. What luck is that!!! Incidentally, I'm pretty sure this tree is one of the main reasons we don't have power. See the big black lines at the bottom of the pic? Yeah, those are power lines, ON THE GROUND.

Here are just a few random shots from our block...

Now this is just crazy, and you can see it all over town. These street lights were totally turned 180 degrees backwards. You really can't tell from the pic, but they are actually over the parking lot instead of over the street. Yay wrecks!

Now for a few fun pics...

Here are two of my sisters having mimosas sitting around the generator. Nice.

Some signs my sister put in the windows...

My kids getting settled on their air mattress before bed...PS- they have been SOOOOOO good throughout all of this. Sleeping wherever they have to...

Now maybe it's a little easier for you to understand why it's so depressing around here. It's destruction everywhere you look. But lately there are also tree trucks and energy guys everywhere you look. People handing out free meals and ice everywhere you look. People going to church with flashlights and candles. We are on the upswing and all will be well soon. And that's my two cents on Gustav. I can't promise that I won't mention him again, but i'm going to try my hardest to look forward instead of backwards.

Now, speaking of cents... I am off to find a cute M&M tube label for my pressed pennies. Good night all and more WDW tomorrow

We have some big trees down too. The way the wind came in most of them fell in the sugar cane field. I bet the farmers will get their tractor and push them back in our yard. I really wouldn't be surprised. Your street sure had alot of damage. I am glad you didn't get a tree on your house. I don't know what we are going to do about Courtney's room. The wall is not as bad as she and I thought. Dh said it is not warped. He doesn't think the wall got wet. The carpet did and the roof is messed up by her dormer window. He is going to fix the hole in the roof tomorrow. He is finally going to get a day off tomorrow. The company is sending help from up north to relieve him so he can take care of our place. I guess we will call Stanley Steamer to clean the carpet in Courtney's room. If that doesn't work we will have to change it. Because it was a named storm I think we have to pay like $5,000 before the insurance will pay anything. We don't have $5,000 damage so we have to cover it out of pocket. It makes me so mad because our insurance went up $1,000 a year after Katrina and Rita. We pay so much for insurance and we have only made a claim on it twice. Once for Lilly and once for Rita. Both of those claims were around 1,500 dollars. That's nothing compared to what we pay a year for insurance.


Let me know if you find a cute M&M label for pressed pennies. I want some too. I am still not sure when we will go back to Disney World but I know I want some labels. I am now thinking maybe we can go in May and take the camper. I was reading on the dis camping board and it sounds fun. We usually go to Gulf Shores in June and take our camper. We might need to change that up a bit and head to Disney World instead. I want to go back so bad. We are going to Tennessee in Feb. durning Mardi Gras break. I really want to go to Disney World instead but dh is set on Tennessee.

 

[kathleen27]

You sure have a lot of trees down in your neighborhood.
I hope they can get your power back up soon. Then you can get to your own house, and start to get everything taken care of.

I know its upseting to see. I was traveling in northern Fla during hurricane Andrew with a friend from Miami. We returned to Miami a few days later. I was only there overnight, and in an area that wasn't as bad as most, but it was upsetting to see. My Dad lives in Ft. Lauderdale, so they have been through a few in the last couple of years.

I hope you find a nice m&m tube design. I actually filled my tube!!! 30 sets of QQPs. It is heavy!!! I am thinking of getting another tube and splitting them between the two because I don't think I want to carry the full one around. And I tried the vinegar, much easier!!!

I found a list of all the penny machines. So I am going to estimate how many we might like to make. I can't believe how many there are.
Here's one list
http://www.presscoins.com/Listings/WDWChecklist.pdf

I printed out the tips you linked to last week. I haven't had time to read them through yet, but what I saw looked really great.

 

[DisneyTiger]

Just a quick post to apologize....

Let me quote myself from a pp...

"Now maybe it's a little easier for you to understand why it's so depressing around here."

After re-reading this post, I realize that this sounds way defensive and may somehow imply that I didn't think people understood why I have been so upset. It just goes to show you the kind of mood I've been in. I hope that I did not offend anyone. Your thoughts, prayers, and encouraging words have meant more to me than you will ever know. I hope you all understand that.

There have been a lot of electric company trucks and tree trucks on my street today so hopefully power will be up soon. I will let you all know asap! Hopefullly my next post will come from my house!


Again, so sorry if I came off rude. It's so hard to convey feelings in writing sometimes. Uggggggg.

Love y'all

 

[DisneyTiger]

In my last post, I said that the next time I wrote, maybe it would be from my house. As I typed this, I just knew it wasn't possible. Well guess what...

WE'RE HOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

About an hour after my post, I got a call from my nephew. He had been calling me like 5 times a day and each time he would say the same thing, "Aunt Talissa, you don't have power yet." I finally had to tell him the rule now was to ONLY call me when we had power. Well, when I saw his name on my cell phone, I thought I was going to have to fuss at him. But then I heard the words that I've been waiting what seems like an eternity to hear..."Aunt Talissa, you have power"!!!!!! WHAT!!!!!!!!!!!!!! He told me that I screamed like someone had just told me I won a free year in Disney World! That pretty much describes it. Within minutes, I was at my house, cranking up the AC and cleaning all the musty smell out. I am now sitting on my couch, sipping a coctail, and about to put my kids down in real beds! No more air mattresses! Speaking of, they're exhausted so I need to go. I will be back later because I have Disney news to share! Yay!!!

PS- as soon as I hung up the phone with my nephew, the words, "We're going to Disney!" just came out of my mouth. It was never a question that we would not go. It just seems real now!!!!!!!

 

[kathleen27]

I'm so glad you're home!!!

 

[DisneyTiger]

Ok, so while I was sitting at my sister's, feeling sorry for myself, I decided to call Disney to make a few more ADR's. Why? Not sure. I was perfectly happy with my schedule but I just felt like seeing what was available. So here's what I did...

I had originally scheduled Play n' Dine Breakfast for 11:40 on Wednesday of our trip. I'm not sure why I did this so late. Guess to give us a day to sleep in. But then I realized that if I get to DHS this late, then we will probably not be able to do Toy Story Mania and I just can't have that happen. I called and they had a bunch of times available for early morning. I chose 8:35. Should give us enough time to eat and then run over to TSM. Yay! The I started thinking about all of the character breakfasts I've done and Ohana kept popping into my mind. I really loved this breakfast and think it's been my fav, even over Chef Mickey's. I asked, really jokingly, if they had any spots left and there were many for me to choose from!!! I chose 8:40 on Thursday. Woo hoo. So why not try another one that we've never done before - Tusker House at AK. Yep, again, plenty of times to choose from. I picked 8:40 on Friday, our last morning there. Now, I'm not sure if we will keep all of these ressies, but it's nice to have them on the books just in case. I will cancel them well in advance so that other people can use them if needed.

Another thing that I did while being a refugee at my sisters...

I made DD's birthday shirt!!! This was the last shirt I had to make and now feel like our wardrobe is complete! I love the graphic and how it came out on the green shirt

Alrighty, I think I am going to call it a night now and go get into my bed. I have missed it soooooo much. Nighty night all. I am so glad to be back on track

 

[accountingbabe08]

hey to my other fellow Louisiana DISers. I'm enjoying your pre trippie and your plans are great.

Belinda

 

[kathleen27]

The shirt is so cute!
I'm glad you got all yours finished!

We will not make it to DHS at opening, but hopefully not long after, hopefully before they run out of FPs for Toy Story Mania. Its sounds like so much fun!

I keep thinking about adding ADR's but so far I've resisted.

I think my DD would love your neice's room.

 

[DisneyTiger]

hey to my other fellow Louisiana DISers. I'm enjoying your pre trippie and your plans are great.

Belinda

Yay! Glad you posted I have family in Thibodeaux and my brother is a priest in Napoleonville. I love it down there. He just got power back yesterday - just like me!

 

[DisneyTiger]

The shirt is so cute!
I'm glad you got all yours finished!

We will not make it to DHS at opening, but hopefully not long after, hopefully before they run out of FPs for Toy Story Mania. Its sounds like so much fun!

I keep thinking about adding ADR's but so far I've resisted.

I think my DD would love your neice's room.

I say add ADR's until your heart is content! I was just so suprised to have so many options. I took that as a sign

I have heard that TSM is crazy. It's the most popular ride there right now. If we don't get to ride it, it's not the end of the world but I really want to. My DD loves Toy Story! I am also looking forward to the block party. It's all pixar characters. Monsters Inc is my fav movie!

I keep forgetting that we are getting there the same day! That's too cool. Have you started packing yet? I think I may start getting some things together tonight.

 

[DisneyTiger]

Good evening! I am sitting here, watching the weather channel, yet again. My thoughts are with all of the South Texas DISers out there. Ike is scarey. We are going to be feeling some of the storm here too. They are saying that we could get up to 70mph winds. We have decided to stay with my sister tomorrow night because of our trees. Guess we are paranoid but I don't want to risk it. Oh well, I guess we're getting in two good nights of sleep at home!

So, here's what I did tonight...

Yay ziplocks! I have never packed this way before but I really think it's going to save some space. My DH looked at me like I was crazy. He is so wonderful. Just going along with all of my craziness and not questioning me a bit.

I am almost to the under 2 week mark! I cannot wait to see that on my ticker. I still have a laundry list of things to do/buy. Question: Can anyone tell me what is moleskin and what is it used for. It seems to be on everyone's packing list and I'm wondering if I need to get some, whatever it is. Snacks for the parks, presents for DD's birthday. I'm going to forget something I know.

Oh, I have to show y'all this. Remember when I went to the Disney store the other day? I'm not sure if I already told this story so forgive me if I'm repeating. My sister put this beautiful white dress on DD (the one from Enchanted) and DD absolutely loved it. She was checking herself out in the mirror and thought she was hot stuff. I think my sister was contemplating buying it for DD until I pointed out the pricetag - $80 I told my sister to get that dress off of her asap before she got something on it. Well, you can imagine what happened next. She pitched the fit of all fits! My sister felt so bad that she bought her a nightgown to make up for it. It was on clearance and DD loves it just as much. We will def be bringing it on our trip. I managed to snap some pics on my phone of her checking herself out in the mirror. Too funny.

We had a good time. It was just what we needed. I also managed to buy a little Aristocats stuffed animal for her. She loves that movie. The little white kitty, can't remember her name right now but she loves her.

Alright, time for bed now. More tomorrow. Nighty night.

 

[kathleen27]

Oh she looks adorable.
They sure are expensive though.

The little white kitten is Marie.
We got a little Marie in Epcot. She is cute.
My DD is named Hannah Marie.
We watched that movie a lot before she was born.

Yay for packing!!! And for two weeks!!!

 

[DisneyTiger]

Just a quick post to say that I'm still here. My computer has been down since Ike. We lost power for a while and my modem got fried! All is well now. I am thinking about all of my Texas Disers. If you're out there and have power, let me know how you're doing!

More later

 

[wdwgirl03]

Hi DisneyTiger! I saw your post in another PTR and followed you on over here to check out your TR. I can't believe how close your trip is!

I see you are staying at the BCV. I know what you mean about not being able to sleep at night thinking about it. We're going to be staying there in December and I can hardly stand it. I just want it to be December now!

I'm going to go back and get myself all caught up now.