Walking on Sunshine : Celebrating Spring at Universal & SeaWorld - an April/May 2016 PTR

[dancin Disney style]

Live from WDW it's very windy with a side of dark clouds. Of course we're hanging at the pool today

 

[dancin Disney style]

Something slightly better was yesterday's surprise treat at the mall

Naturally, after we ate the luscious treats we realized we only took a pic of the outside of the box....not the inside

 

[Dynamoliz]

Something slightly better was yesterday's surprise treat at the mall
View attachment 156022
Naturally, after we ate the luscious treats we realized we only took a pic of the outside of the box....not the inside

I'm sorry, but you'll have to go back to Carlo's and repurchase your items and take photos to rectify your grievous oversight. After taking the pics, and posting them so we can all live vicariously and happily through you, then you may eat your purchase.

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

Live from WDW it's very windy with a side of dark clouds. Of course we're hanging at the pool today
View attachment 156021

I hope the skies cleared as the day went on, so you can Grumpy Cat could enjoy your pool day as scheduled .

Something slightly better was yesterday's surprise treat at the mall
View attachment 156022
Naturally, after we ate the luscious treats we realized we only took a pic of the outside of the box....not the inside

Mmmmmmmm.....yummy! What did you guys have? Was it as good as you'd hoped? Worth the price? Still super busy? (the lines when it opened were pretty awful)

Details, we need DETAILS!!! (and quite frankly, pictures would have been nice.....sheesh!)

I'm sorry, but you'll have to go back to Carlo's and repurchase your items and take photos to rectify your grievous oversight. After taking the pics, and posting them so we can all live vicariously and happily through you, then you may eat your purchase.

That is actually a splendiferous idea. Sorry @dancin Disney style , you're going to have to head back to the Florida Mall before you turn in your rental car. We're counting on you!

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

We have had some good news this weekend that I thought I would share with you all . Not at all trip related but still pretty awesome nonetheless.

Back before our Christmas vacation, a job opportunity arose at the company for which Steve works that caught his eye. We talked about it quite a bit at the time, and I knew he really wanted to apply for it.......it wasn't any more money, but the position itself was more the type of role that he wanted to focus his future in: more technically oriented than the mid-management position he's held for the last several years. As an added bonus....this job was straight days. After almost 22 years of being the wife of a shift worker (which is second only in awfulness to actually being the shift worker) this was music to my ears! He asked me if I thought he should apply for it and I told him I would wholeheartedly support him no matter what he decided. He pondered his options for a few days, then decided he wanted to go for it: nothing ventured, nothing gained (and if he didn't get the position, aside from being disappointed he would remain in the job he was currently working). I helped him to his resume and cover letter, and he submitted his formal application for consideration by the powers that be.

Then we waited. And waited.

Toward the end of January, the company sent him to their plant in Michigan for some specialized training courses within the specific focus area for the job he applied for. He was away for a week, then home for a week before they sent him back for a second (and more detailed) session. Over the next few weeks that followed, he took several tests and competed an assortment of evaluations based on the training sessions and practical application. We were optimistically hopeful.

Then....nothing . Cue the crickets.

Friday at noon, I am sitting at my desk when my cell phone rings and I see that its Steve calling. He was working that day, so getting a call from him on his personal phone (not from his work cell) had me a bit alarmed when I answered.....the last time he did that, he was calling to let me know he was on the way to the hospital. Despite my initial bout of panic, it turned out he had some good news to share:

HE GOT THE JOB!!!!!

Not only did he get the position he had so been hoping for, but it also came with a small raise in pay (which was totally unexpected....he was under the impression that it was a lateral move as far as that went).

I cannot tell you how happy this has made us.....it is an answer to our prayers in so many ways! Not only is this the career move he had been longing for, the fact that it is straight days AND at a slightly higher rate of pay were above and beyond what we could have hoped for.

I am so excited that we will be sleeping at the same time every night. Having dinner together every night. Be able to spend EVER SINGLE WEEKEND together too. A normal family life for the first time in more than two decades!

So, as of April 3rd, my Steve will officially be a Moulding Manufacturing Engineering Technician, and I will no longer be a Shift Work Wife . We wanted to do something to celebrate this weekend, but both Steve and Jake are working, so the party would just have been attended by myself and Sunshine . We'll have to defer the festivities until sometime later this week.

Our reasons to celebrate on this April trip just keep piling up....Sunshine's birthday, Jake's graduation, Steve & I's wedding anniversary, and now the big guy's promotion. Today, we are feeling very blessed .

 

[pigletto]

That is fantastic news Gina and I am so very happy for you guys!!!!! Having dinner together every night, being on the same schedule and having weekends together is priceless and I couldn't be more pleased for you! Congratulations.

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

That is fantastic news Gina and I am so very happy for you guys!!!!! Having dinner together every night, being on the same schedule and having weekends together is priceless and I couldn't be more pleased for you! Congratulations.

Thank you, my friend!!

 

[JaxDad]

Hi Gina! I popped back in just in time for your great news! Congratulations to Steve! I'm very happy for you all!

 

[ArwenMarie]

Yay! That's awesome. Congratulations to Steve and to you. I love love love when a job change improves your quality of life. That's what it's all about, even more than the money.

What do you mean by shift work? Like changing hours every week?

 

[sk8jdgca]

Amazing news!

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

Hi Gina! I popped back in just in time for your great news! Congratulations to Steve! I'm very happy for you all!

Yay! That's awesome. Congratulations to Steve and to you. I love love love when a job change improves your quality of life. That's what it's all about, even more than the money.

What do you mean by shift work? Like changing hours every week?

Amazing news!

Thank you all!

@ArwenMarie ... Yep, that’s exactly what it means. He is on what’s called the “continental shift” right now. Each shift is 12 hours (7 – 7) and goes back and forth between days (7 am to 7 pm) and nights (7 pm to 7 am). So his schedule looks like this:

Monday & Tuesday – 12 hour days
Wednesday & Thursday – off
Friday, Saturday, Sunday – 12 hour nights
Monday & Tuesday – off
Wednesday & Thursday – 12 hour days
Friday, Saturday & Sunday – off
Monday & Tuesday – 12 hour nights
Wednesday & Thursday – off
Friday, Saturday, Sunday – 12 hour days
Monday & Tuesday – off
Wednesday & Thursday – 12 hour nights
Friday, Saturday and Sunday – off

Then repeat .

I work 8:30 am – 4 pm, Monday to Friday......so our schedules rarely seem to jive.

 

[dsmom]

We have had some good news this weekend that I thought I would share with you all . Not at all trip related but still pretty awesome nonetheless.

Back before our Christmas vacation, a job opportunity arose at the company for which Steve works that caught his eye. We talked about it quite a bit at the time, and I knew he really wanted to apply for it.......it wasn't any more money, but the position itself was more the type of role that he wanted to focus his future in: more technically oriented than the mid-management position he's held for the last several years. As an added bonus....this job was straight days. After almost 22 years of being the wife of a shift worker (which is second only in awfulness to actually being the shift worker) this was music to my ears! He asked me if I thought he should apply for it and I told him I would wholeheartedly support him no matter what he decided. He pondered his options for a few days, then decided he wanted to go for it: nothing ventured, nothing gained (and if he didn't get the position, aside from being disappointed he would remain in the job he was currently working). I helped him to his resume and cover letter, and he submitted his formal application for consideration by the powers that be.

Then we waited. And waited.

Toward the end of January, the company sent him to their plant in Michigan for some specialized training courses within the specific focus area for the job he applied for. He was away for a week, then home for a week before they sent him back for a second (and more detailed) session. Over the next few weeks that followed, he took several tests and competed an assortment of evaluations based on the training sessions and practical application. We were optimistically hopeful.

Then....nothing . Cue the crickets.

Friday at noon, I am sitting at my desk when my cell phone rings and I see that its Steve calling. He was working that day, so getting a call from him on his personal phone (not from his work cell) had me a bit alarmed when I answered.....the last time he did that, he was calling to let me know he was on the way to the hospital. Despite my initial bout of panic, it turned out he had some good news to share:

HE GOT THE JOB!!!!!

Not only did he get the position he had so been hoping for, but it also came with a small raise in pay (which was totally unexpected....he was under the impression that it was a lateral move as far as that went).

I cannot tell you how happy this has made us.....it is an answer to our prayers in so many ways! Not only is this the career move he had been longing for, the fact that it is straight days AND at a slightly higher rate of pay were above and beyond what we could have hoped for.

I am so excited that we will be sleeping at the same time every night. Having dinner together every night. Be able to spend EVER SINGLE WEEKEND together too. A normal family life for the first time in more than two decades!

So, as of April 3rd, my Steve will officially be a Moulding Manufacturing Engineering Technician, and I will no longer be a Shift Work Wife . We wanted to do something to celebrate this weekend, but both Steve and Jake are working, so the party would just have been attended by myself and Sunshine . We'll have to defer the festivities until sometime later this week.

Our reasons to celebrate on this April trip just keep piling up....Sunshine's birthday, Jake's graduation, Steve & I's wedding anniversary, and now the big guy's promotion. Today, we are feeling very blessed .

I am so happy for you ! Could not have happened to more deserving people! Congratulations!

 

[ArwenMarie]

Oh wow that's rough. Just the sleep disruption along with the family time

So happy for you guys

 

[pepperandchips]

Congratulations, Bo-Binas! I know that will be a wonderful change in your family routines. It's hard enough to sync up even when you're both working days M-F!!! I'm sure this makes for a very upbeat weekend. Maybe @dancin Disney style can go get a second round of treats to celebrate in your honor

 

[Ritchielace]

Congratulations Gina! This is such great news for you and Steve. You must be just over the moon to know you are going to be spending so much more together time as a family and couple. Well deserved for all of you, all this good karma is heading back your way. Keep it coming

 

[dancin Disney style]

I'm sorry, but you'll have to go back to Carlo's and repurchase your items and take photos to rectify your grievous oversight. After taking the pics, and posting them so we can all live vicariously and happily through you, then you may eat your purchase.

I completely agree. There should be a do over. Unfortunately the rental car has gone home.

We opted to go with the two items talked about on the show as signature items. A lobster tail and cannoli....both TO DIE FOR

Big congrats to Steve-O. A new job is always exciting and challenging. You may actually find the change of schedule odd for a while.

 

[dancin Disney style]

So yesterday I had the chance to meet with @pattyw and her son.
We're at the same resort and she took a few minutes to stop at the pool to say hello. As the rules go it's not a Dis meet if there is no picture......

There is actually a picture but it won't upload. I keep getting an error message saying the file is too large. Ummm...all the pictures are coming from my fancy new phone so I'm not sure how that specific one is too large.

Anyway, thanks for stopping by Patty. Hope to see you again.

 

[pattyw]

So yesterday I had the chance to meet with @pattyw and her son.
We're at the same resort and she took a few minutes to stop at the pool to say hello. As the rules go it's not a Dis meet if there is no picture......

There is actually a picture but it won't upload. I keep getting an error message saying the file is too large. Ummm...all the pictures are coming from my fancy new phone so I'm not sure how that specific one is too large.

Anyway, thanks for stopping by Patty. Hope to see you again.

It was great to meet up with @dancin Disney style yesterday! She's super nice and we had a great chat! Have a great rest of your vaca dancin!! Funny that our picture won't upload! Hope I didn't break your camera! Gina thanks for making it possible for me to meet up with such great people through your trip reports!

And Gina as the wife of a 27 year shift worker who recently went straight days, congrats!! But I admit it was a little weird at first. I mean no more nights to myself of watching tv programs that I like with no guilt, no more sleeping without a snorer... but it is great!!

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

I am so happy for you ! Could not have happened to more deserving people! Congratulations!

Congratulations, Bo-Binas! I know that will be a wonderful change in your family routines. It's hard enough to sync up even when you're both working days M-F!!! I'm sure this makes for a very upbeat weekend. Maybe @dancin Disney style can go get a second round of treats to celebrate in your honor

Congratulations Gina! This is such great news for you and Steve. You must be just over the moon to know you are going to be spending so much more together time as a family and couple. Well deserved for all of you, all this good karma is heading back your way. Keep it coming

I completely agree. There should be a do over. Unfortunately the rental car has gone home.

We opted to go with the two items talked about on the show as signature items. A lobster tail and cannoli....both TO DIE FOR

Big congrats to Steve-O. A new job is always exciting and challenging. You may actually find the change of schedule odd for a while.

So yesterday I had the chance to meet with @pattyw and her son.
We're at the same resort and she took a few minutes to stop at the pool to say hello. As the rules go it's not a Dis meet if there is no picture......

There is actually a picture but it won't upload. I keep getting an error message saying the file is too large. Ummm...all the pictures are coming from my fancy new phone so I'm not sure how that specific one is too large.

Anyway, thanks for stopping by Patty. Hope to see you again.

It was great to meet up with @dancin Disney style yesterday! She's super nice and we had a great chat! Have a great rest of your vaca dancin!! Funny that our picture won't upload! Hope I didn't break your camera! Gina thanks for making it possible for me to meet up with such great people through your trip reports!

And Gina as the wife of a 27 year shift worker who recently went straight days, congrats!! But I admit it was a little weird at first. I mean no more nights to myself of watching tv programs that I like with no guilt, no more sleeping without a snorer... but it is great!!

Thank you everyone . The next couple of weeks are going to be l-o-n-g until he starts in his new position in April. But at least the end is in sight!

So happy that @dancin Disney style and @pattyw were able to meet up at the resort!! I have a couple of Dismeets planned for this year and I am super, SUPER excited to finally get to see some of my Disfriends in person. Some of you guys I feel I know so well, its often difficult to remember that you live across North America and not across town.

@dancin Disney style , give that phone to Grumpy Cat and see if she can work her magic on the photo upload. I'm betting her teenage techie skills will amaze and impress us. We all want to see that pic!!

@pattyw , congrats to your hubby for also wrestling free of shiftwork and into straight days . LOL, we have a ton of TV's in this house (4 TV's for 3 people!!) so I still can catch my girly shows while the guys watch their sports. Funny, but neither one is interested in Fixer Upper or Flip or Flop ... men are a mystery sometimes.

 

[Mrs Doubtfire]

Well done to Steve on the new job. Hope he enjoys the day shift