We've FALLen for WDW...An October 2010 PTR! New 10/14 TR Link Added

[DisneyCrafter]

Well, for those of you that may happen to check this without me posting as an update...I wanted to share my excitement with you! I have a phone interview to work from home. I believe it is temporarily for their upcoming busy season but it would be amazing to earn some extra money for bills and even some "fun" money! Keep your fingers crossed for me that it actually works out. I have a really good feeling about it!

 

[Stefy]

Good Luck

 

[DisneyCrafter]

I need to think about things besides Disney! ​

I really am having a hard time lately letting my mind wander to things other than our trip in October, I am just SO excited!

So I thought I would make a list of things to look forward to in the coming months to help get me excited for those so our Disney World trip doesn't consume me!

still to look forward to in April:

1. DBIL and future DSIL's Wedding Shower. (I am making her a do-it-yourself scrapbook kit for their honeymoon (which is to Santorini, Greece and Paris, France btw...)
2. DDad's 50th Birthday Party. I get to make all sorts of fun food!

May:

3. Our First Anniversary. We are staying the night in a hotel, going to a Cub's game, and having dinner at the Signature Room at the top of the John Hancock building (this is where we got engaged).

June:

4. Future DSIL's Bachelorette Party. We are going to a cooking class!

5. DBIL's and future DSIL's Wedding!

6. DBrother and DSister's high school graduation parties! I will also get to make fun food for them! Also, DSIL is graduating from College so there will be a party for that, too!

7. Vegas! My first time.

July:

8. Taste of Chicago

9. DH's cousin is getting married in WI and we are spending the weekend at a B&B owned by DH's parent's friends!

August:

10. DH's Birthday. I'm not sure what I will plan for this. I'm thinking I will cook his favorite dinner and give him his presents on his actual birthday. Maybe a Cub's game.

I'm not sure when these will fall into place but:

A. Going to the beach to lay out and read a good book!
B. Going swimming with my cousin and sister at my Grandma's pool.
C. Going to a Cubs v. White Sox game. (This will be in June, just not sure of the exact date.)
D. Going to a White Sox game.
E. There is a chance we will be spending a weekend in August (the weekend before DH's birthday) in St.Louis with some college friends for a Cubs v. Cards
game. If we do, we will go to the STL Zoo as I am in love with the Penguin Exhibit here!
F. Taking the train to the city and doing "touristy" things with my BFF even though we've lived here our entire lives!
G. Going to my DBrother's baseball games. I love to cheer for him and it's a great way to spend time with my DDad.

I'm sure more things will come up between now and our trip but I say that is a pretty good list of things to be excited for!

Those of you that have a trip in the future, what things are you excited for BESIDES your trip?

 

[KatMark]

I need to think about things besides Disney! ​

I really am having a hard time lately letting my mind wander to things other than our trip in October, I am just SO excited!



May:

3. Our First Anniversary. We are staying the night in a hotel, going to a Cub's game, and having dinner at the Signature Room at the top of the John Hancock building (this is where we got engaged). I sure hope the Cubs start playing better by then (pathetic the first two series

June:


7. Vegas! My first time.

LOVE Las Vegas -- you'll have a great time.

July:

8. Taste of Chicago

Do you know that Mark and I have never been to Taste of Chicago. A lot of it has to do with my working downtown for 34+ years and I don't want to spend my weekends down here.


[
I'm not sure when these will fall into place but:


C. Going to a Cubs v. White Sox game. (This will be in June, just not sure of the exact date.) GO CUBS (I can never cheer for the Sox, not even when they won the WS).

E. There is a chance we will be spending a weekend in August (the weekend before DH's birthday) in St.Louis with some college friends for a Cubs v. Cards
game. If we do, we will go to the STL Zoo as I am in love with the Penguin Exhibit here! Again, Go Cubs (cheering for the Cardinals would be just about as bad as cheering for the White Sox.

G. Going to my DBrother's baseball games. I love to cheer for him and it's a great way to spend time with my DDad. These are the best kinds of games.

Comments in red...you have a packed summer.

 

[DisneyCrafter]

Comments in red...you have a packed summer.

I am a WHITE SOX fan...I should have said...hahaha. My DH is the Cub's fan. GO WHITE SOX! It's okay we can still be friends.

 

[KatMark]

I am a WHITE SOX fan...I should have said...hahaha. My DH is the Cub's fan. GO WHITE SOX! It's okay we can still be friends.

Yes, we can (although I must admit I don't have many White Sox fans for friends ).

 

[swwake]

Wow! You are gonna be one busy girl! What a great idea for a wedding gift - the do-it-yourself scrapbook.

We almost booked a trip to Santorini this year. I hope to get there sometime.

 

[Stefy]

Sounds like you have got lots to keep you busy until October

Have you started the scrapbook kit yet?

 

[wdwgirl03]

Wow, looks like you have lots to look forward to! The next time we are probably going to go is December (unless my sister gets into the CP) but we like going to baseball games too. We have a 9-game plan for the Brewers so we go to quite a few games!

PS, I am glad you are a White Sox fan and not a Cubs fan.

 

[DisneyCrafter]

Yes, we can (although I must admit I don't have many White Sox fans for friends ).

I don't have many CUBS fans for friends but I must say that I can name a big handful of family members that are! I don't know why? Just kidding...

Wow! You are gonna be one busy girl! What a great idea for a wedding gift - the do-it-yourself scrapbook.

We almost booked a trip to Santorini this year. I hope to get there sometime.

This summer looks to be just as busy as our last summer. I think we had two "free" weekends last summer. This summer I'll be working full time, though. Last summer I only worked 3 days a week. Oh well, I love the summer but when the end of it comes I am grateful for some wind down time before the holidays! Our Disney vacation is coming at the perfect time.

Sounds like you have got lots to keep you busy until October

Have you started the scrapbook kit yet?

I am almost done with the kit. I just want to use my Cricut machine a little more to cut out some images, I already made all of the words last night. I also want to make them some journaling pieces with my stamps so they can write on it and paste it on the page. I will post pictures!

Wow, looks like you have lots to look forward to! The next time we are probably going to go is December (unless my sister gets into the CP) but we like going to baseball games too. We have a 9-game plan for the Brewers so we go to quite a few games!

PS, I am glad you are a White Sox fan and not a Cubs fan.

I really enjoy having things to look forward to! My sister has been bugging my mom to go to Disney and I think my mom finally caved and said that she would pay for my sister and I to go together. We were briefly talking about the week between Christmas and New Year's as I would have a break from babysitting and she would have a break from school. We'll see, it's all up in the air still. It would be awesome but I don't even want to think about how crowded it would be!

My cousin got into the CP and will be going down in August, that is the reason behind us going back to Disney so soon (we went twice in '09-June and December) as we are very close and can't imagine going 5 months without seeing each other! Plus, it should be a slower time so she can take a couple days off to spend with us! There will be no 2011 WDW trips...unless somehow DH gets an amazing job that gives us enough money to take two big trips. That's doubtful...

PS, I'm glad I'm not a Cubs fan either!

 

[DisneyCrafter]

Just a quick post to let everyone know what I've been up to lately.

I finally completed the last survey I needed to participate in so I had enough credits in my Sunshine Rewards account to redeem a $25.00 Gift Card for Disney! I was so into it when I first found out about it and it has since fallen to the wayside as it does eat up an hour of my day to complete all three surveys and I found that if I don't get them completed in the AM that I pretty much don't qualify for any of them. I hope to make at least another $25.00 if not $50.00 before we leave so I need to get motivated again but getting a $25.00 Disney Gift Card for free is pretty good motivation! It makes great souvenir $$!

The temporary job I was hoping to get didn't work out because I needed to be available for training for two weeks from 1pm-5pm. I babysit each day until 4pm. That's a bummer b/c it would have been nice to make all of the extra money we needed for Vegas!

Now, I'm off to Michaels to pick up one last thing for my future DSIL's scrapbook kit. (It's a fine point glue pen to glue on the little letters I used the Cricut to cut out.) Then I want to head over to Target (which is next door) to pick up a pocket calendar as the one I have now is great, but I totall screwed it up and my organization skills aren't having the mess that it has become!

Hope everyone's day is going great!

 

[DisMomAmy]

Sorry to hear the temporary job didn't work out... it sounded like a good opportunity, but you wouldn't have had a spare minute to yourself! Things work out the way they do for a reason.

 

[Stefy]

Sorry the temp job didn't work out, but congrats on completing some of the surveys

 

[DisneyCrafter]

Sorry to hear the temporary job didn't work out... it sounded like a good opportunity, but you wouldn't have had a spare minute to yourself! Things work out the way they do for a reason.

Thanks! I also believe that things work out the way they do for a reason! We aren't struggling for money so I'm not worried.

Sorry the temp job didn't work out, but congrats on completing some of the surveys

That's okay! I get to keep all the time I have to myself now.

 

[SOUTHERNtinkerBELLE]

Hi there! I followed you over from my TR and I'm excited to read all about your plans! I've got a lot of catching up to do! I'm so jealous you're going to Disney in October. I so want to go during that time - Food & Wine, MNSSHP - sounds like a great time to go! Maybe one day...

It sounds like we have a lot in common! I too love scrapbooking, cooking, baking, and I used to be a nanny up until about a year ago.

 

[DisneyCrafter]

Hi there! I followed you over from my TR and I'm excited to read all about your plans! I've got a lot of catching up to do! I'm so jealous you're going to Disney in October. I so want to go during that time - Food & Wine, MNSSHP - sounds like a great time to go! Maybe one day...

It sounds like we have a lot in common! I too love scrapbooking, cooking, baking, and I used to be a nanny up until about a year ago.

I'm so glad to stopped on by. I am looking forward to our trip in October. This summer I will be picking up more hours with the family I babysit for and it will be nice to have something to look forward to! We probably won't do MNSSHP but we'll see.

What do you do now instead of nannying? I don't even know what I want to do with the rest of my career life...

I checked out many cookbooks this week and I am actually planning on heading over to the library this morning to make some copies. I found a great gnocchi recipe and a buttermilk waffle recipe that I want to try!

 

[SOUTHERNtinkerBELLE]

I'm so glad to stopped on by. I am looking forward to our trip in October. This summer I will be picking up more hours with the family I babysit for and it will be nice to have something to look forward to! We probably won't do MNSSHP but we'll see.

What do you do now instead of nannying? I don't even know what I want to do with the rest of my career life...

I checked out many cookbooks this week and I am actually planning on heading over to the library this morning to make some copies. I found a great gnocchi recipe and a buttermilk waffle recipe that I want to try!

Well before I nannied I worked part time as an admin. assistant at a law firm, so I went back to doing that after the nanny job ended (the little girl went off to preschool and I wasn't really needed anymore). I'm looking for something full time now, probably still at a law firm and I'm hoping in their accounting department. I'm like you though, I really don't know what I want to do - I just know I need to do something!

Ooohhh, gnocchi, that sounds difficult but yummy!

 

[DisneyCrafter]

Taking it Back: Our Christmas Time 2009 Trip​

PS: I apologize for the very LARGE photos! I didn't realize they were this large until I previewed this post and I don't want to go back and resize them all because that would take FORevvvvvvvvvER!

I have been meaning to post this mini TR a while ago but then, well I don't really have a good reason but I'm doing it now and that's what is important!

This trip was definitely planned last minute! Originally, I had a cruise booked for the week between Christmas and NYE (you would NOT believe the deal I had and I actually want to kick myself now for not keeping it, but that's besides the point).

The reason for booking this trip last minute? When I resigned from my teaching position it took me a long time to get out of the funk that I was in and a Disney trip was just the way to celebrate feeling like myself again! Plus, $56 a night for the value resorts was a great deal! So I cancelled the cruise and booked WDW. Do I regret it? NOPE!

When did we go, you ask? December 13-18, 2009

We spent our first evening at DHS because they had EMH until 11. It was PACKED!!!!! You could not even WALK through the Streets of America. It was definitely a bad idea to visit the Spectacle of Lights that night, we should have done it later in the week. We did decide to wait in line for TSM (45min.) this night so we didn't have to get up early on our DHS day to make rope drop.

Despite the crowds, "walking" through the spectacle of lights was probably one of my favorite moments of the trip b/c DH was a little picture happy. It made me think he may actually be falling for WDW.

SIDE NOTE: We didn't make very many ADR's for this trip as I had a very hard time making them with only about 6 weeks to plan. We did manage to snag Chef Mickeys, Boma, and 1900 Park Fare. We also were able to get in and sit down for lunch at Nine Dragons.

Chef Mickey's was on Monday, our MK day. It was warm this day! The crowds were okay with the average wait time for an attraction being between 20-30 minutes.

This is my favorite picture from Chef Mickeys (which only had mediocre food for dinner BTW-breakfast is much better-IMO). DH loves this photo.

The next day was spent at Epcot and this was definitely a day of indecisiveness. I made a lot of bad choices as far as our itinerary and it cause us to do a lot of walking. We did ride Soarin' for the first time...after waiting in line for almost an hour. We met a nice family in line, however, and got to talking which made the line go by quicker. Can I just say that I LOVE Soarin'! It is definitely one of my favorite rides in WDW. Another part of this day that I really remember is having a pastry from the Boulangerie Patisserie. Those of you who have stopped here know what I'm talking about, those that don't: RUN there! It is amazing!!!!! YUM. I cannot wait to get back there and I want to buy extra to take home.

I love this picture, I only wish I had a better camera.

I must share this picture because this is what DH's face looked like after trying Beverly.

Wednesday was spent at DHS and DTD. It was a lot colder than the previous day. I even got a hot chocolate. I also froze in shorts waiting for Fantasmic to begin!

That night we went to DTD for dinner and...

The fudge was so gritty, I expect fudge to be smooth. DH loved it though and he ate most of it.

The next day was our last day and it was spent at 1900 PF in the AM for breakfast and let's just say I fell in LOVE with their breakfast. The pecan rolls and strawberry soup make my mouth water!

You can tell I loved the soup as I have two bowls in this picture.

We then headed over to...

We rode quite a few rides before heading back to our room to take a nap and pack before heading back to MK in the evening for MVMCP!

It was quite crowded and waiting in line for the parade was uncomfortable as we had zero space to move around and were standing like statues! The parade really was great, though. The floats stopped frequently to give you a chance to take pictures.

Our last day we had an ADR at Boma early and I almost cancelled it b/c I was feeling so sick. I'm glad I didn't as I really love this place! After breakfast I went back to the room and slept and I woke up feeling much better. It was then time to board the ME. Our trip was over!

Coming soon: When I fell in LOVE with Disney!

 

[swwake]

I love the Christmas update. Someday I'd love to get to WDW at Christmastime. I am surprised how crowded DHS was that night. Isn't it supposed to be one of the best times of year to go?

BTW, I like the bigger pictures! I can see more in them.

 

[DisneyCrafter]

I love the Christmas update. Someday I'd love to get to WDW at Christmastime. I am surprised how crowded DHS was that night. Isn't it supposed to be one of the best times of year to go?

BTW, I like the bigger pictures! I can see more in them.

That's what I thought, too! I don't even remember it being that crowded in December when I went back in 2006. Compared to those crowd levels early June was EMPTY!