~~~~ Sew, help me... A bittersweet "Epic Girls Trip"... January 2018! ~~~~ UPDATE 1/7!!~~

I'm glad to hear it went well with your Dad in the end with the ice outside Arby's. It must have been a scary experience for you all. Here they aren't good at keeping the Handicap Parking maintained during winter so they are usable. They also often have their snow depot on the Handicap parking spaces. It's so frustrating.
 
I am really behind on trip reports. It seems like every time I sit down to read them I never have time to do the replies.

I wanted to do a little update... BIG thanks to @kittylady1972, I was able to book all of my FPs yesterday! I even managed to get a FoP FP!!! :woohoo: I am so incredibly happy about this... I had intentionally planned our AK day to avoid Pandora all together, and just enjoy the rest of what we love about AK... Now we can throw that into the mix and I am pretty excited about it. :woohoo:
I must admit that I am super surprised that you could get FoP. That is impossible for people to get at 60 days out, and you are less than that. I am also thrilled that you did get it, since it is not to be missed. And it has the longest standby lines ever. Maybe the availability of the fp 's means that the parks won't be crowded.

So, we will get to sleep in a little later today, as our breakfast ADR at 'Ohana isn't until 9:30...
I hope an earlier time opens up for you. We often are able to get really good ADR's a few days ahead of time. I don't even stress out about them anymore, unless, of course, we are traveling with family and we don't want to leave anything to chance. ;)

We will head right out the door of TH and on to Kilimanjaro Safari, we don't have a FP for this - but it's typically not needed right at park opening... Everyone will be at FoP anyways... ::yes::
You are right about the crowds all being at FoP first thing in the morning. I've never seen such a short standby line at the safari ride as we did in July.

I plan to stay out of the way of all the Pandora chaos as much as possible - but once we are done with our FP, I think we will want to explore a little bit, if we can? I will also see what standby is like for NRJ... It might not be unbearable at this time of year? Otherwise - if we have time, we may even check standby for this ride right after the safari at opening... We'll see? :scratchin
You might be able to get a 4th fp for Na'vi River journey. I've seen some long standby lines for it and if you are only going to AK once this trip than you'll want to ride it.

I am hoping we can make it back to AK for an evening sometime during our trip - we were there once in the evening - it was during our March 2012 trip - and it was SPECTACULAR... I'd love to see RoL, and just enjoy all of the lights! This is just an incredible park at any time of the day!
I love AK at night. We would often eat dinner at Yak & Yeti and it would be dark when we got out. The park at night makes you feel like you aren't in Disney anymore. It is really cool. You'll have to check out Pandora at night. It is very pretty.

Epcot - well, I can honestly take it or leave it - yet a trip wouldn't be the same if it wasn't included. LOL I guess I like all of the parks for different reasons.
The Festival of the Arts will be going on in January and it might be interesting to check out. I always enjoy finding new things to do at WDW.

V texted this to me the other day... Cracked me up - so I thought I would share... Captioned "Before Dave Ramsey and After"
Whoa - that is a huge pile of presents! :)

Minky lined interior cuffs and pockets, zippered pockets, a heavier weight coat (though the down fill is the same in both)... Not having the extra minky lined cuffs is a huge thing - as it allows the wind to go up your sleeves.
I love - love love the minky lined pockets and the minky lined cuffs in my Eddie Bauer parka. I've worn that coat to work every day this week and it was great at keeping me warm. I love that coat. :)

And to be honest - the girls and I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the town car experience - I am not sure if we would go back to ME? It's just so nice that they whisk you away from under the airport and take you directly to your resort - and when they bring you back, they drop you right outside your airline ticketing window/curbside check in... Can't beat that. ::yes::
Now that the Magical Express picks up four hours early instead of three hours, the town car is looking even better. ;)

We had a wonderful time in Disney. We were there from Nov 25th to Dec 1st, which was a longer trip than usual, and we loved all the Christmas stuff. I think it is now my favorite time to go to Disney. :)
 
I do have Microsoft

Our FP Day was Wednesday and I was due to give report to dayshift during the 7am window lol. Luckily the nurse I was handing off to is a Disney lover too and she gave me a few minutes to jump on MDE and look for FOP. I ended up have to switch 2 of my park days around but I was able to get A FOP which was on everyone must ride list.

Adulting def is not what it’s made out to be. I keep telling my son not to grow up too fast. He’s12.

Keto does seem to be all the rage and your right, people come up with some doozy things to be able to eat. I think I I could paleo low carb. We eat a lot of veggies, fruits and meats. The hardest part is working night shift bc my eating time is screwed up.

We are 61 Days out of our Disney trip and it’s on my mind more than Christmas lol.
 
I'm glad to hear it went well with your Dad in the end with the ice outside Arby's. It must have been a scary experience for you all. Here they aren't good at keeping the Handicap Parking maintained during winter so they are usable. They also often have their snow depot on the Handicap parking spaces. It's so frustrating.

That is just terrible! It is truly something that I never even thought of until Friday when we were trying to get dad out of the car.

I am really behind on trip reports. It seems like every time I sit down to read them I never have time to do the replies.


I must admit that I am super surprised that you could get FoP. That is impossible for people to get at 60 days out, and you are less than that. I am also thrilled that you did get it, since it is not to be missed. And it has the longest standby lines ever. Maybe the availability of the fp 's means that the parks won't be crowded.

I hope an earlier time opens up for you. We often are able to get really good ADR's a few days ahead of time. I don't even stress out about them anymore, unless, of course, we are traveling with family and we don't want to leave anything to chance.

You are right about the crowds all being at FoP first thing in the morning. I've never seen such a short standby line at the safari ride as we did in July.

You might be able to get a 4th fp for Na'vi River journey. I've seen some long standby lines for it and if you are only going to AK once this trip than you'll want to ride it.

I love AK at night. We would often eat dinner at Yak & Yeti and it would be dark when we got out. The park at night makes you feel like you aren't in Disney anymore. It is really cool. You'll have to check out Pandora at night. It is very pretty.

The Festival of the Arts will be going on in January and it might be interesting to check out. I always enjoy finding new things to do at WDW.

Whoa - that is a huge pile of presents!

I love - love love the minky lined pockets and the minky lined cuffs in my Eddie Bauer parka. I've worn that coat to work every day this week and it was great at keeping me warm. I love that coat.

Now that the Magical Express picks up four hours early instead of three hours, the town car is looking even better.

We had a wonderful time in Disney. We were there from Nov 25th to Dec 1st, which was a longer trip than usual, and we loved all the Christmas stuff. I think it is now my favorite time to go to Disney.

Wow Sue! Thank you for doing so many replies! That must have taken you a long time! :lovestruc

My thought on FoP... I truly had UNLIMITED time options for every single day of our trip - somehow, I think they may have "saved some" for us? I'd been reading on one of my trip groups that people were not finding anything and having to rearrange days - not here - I don't think my FoP PF times started until about 11 am, but after that, every time slot was available. ::yes::

I think we are keeping the 'Ohana ADR time - we are in no real hurry to get to DHS, and it will do V some good to sleep in a bit later. ::yes:: And it sure will be nice just to walk over to the Poly to have breakfast... I still LOVE SoG's location so much!

That's awesome! Typically when we tour the way we do - we literally step out of Tusker House within minutes of park opening, and we end up on the first vehicles leaving the Safari - so that works really well for us... I also love the location of TH to this ride - it makes this strategy nice. :)

I am definitely going to try for a 4th FP for NRJ... I am hoping to get back to AK for some of the night time stuff - but I am still unsure of which day we will do that?

I've heard good things about the festival of arts - I admittedly haven't done ANY research on it at all, and i really should - I am sure that V would love it! I think I will add that to my day today. ::yes::

Hahahaa - it is, I probably should have captioned that picture to say that it wasn't my tree - LOL... It was just a random picture that V found on Pinterest. :lmao:

See??? I was starting to think I was nuts that the minky cuffs/pockets were so great! LOL I've had extra cuffs and lined pockets in my jackets before - but NEVER with minky, it just makes me want to stick my hands in my pockets all the time. LOL! I am loving my shorter jacket for sure... And I definitely know that the white is not good for every occasion... Quite honestly - I think I want it in black too... Next year. I've spent enough on jackets this year. ::yes::

Typically - I have the town car pick us up about 2.5 hours before our flight... I've been watching the MCO app every morning, around the time we'd get there for our flight, and the security lines are averaging about 25-40 minutes at that time of day... So, I think if we were to get there exactly 2 hours before our flight, we'd be OK??? So, I think I will have the town car pick us up about 3 hours before our flight?

I am so happy to hear that you had a great trip Sue!!! Personally - Halloween is my favorite time to go - but I honestly wouldn't turn down a trip at any time of the year. LOL

Thanks for stopping by - it was great to see you! :)

I do have Microsoft

Our FP Day was Wednesday and I was due to give report to dayshift during the 7am window lol. Luckily the nurse I was handing off to is a Disney lover too and she gave me a few minutes to jump on MDE and look for FOP. I ended up have to switch 2 of my park days around but I was able to get A FOP which was on everyone must ride list.

Adulting def is not what it’s made out to be. I keep telling my son not to grow up too fast. He’s12.

Keto does seem to be all the rage and your right, people come up with some doozy things to be able to eat. I think I I could paleo low carb. We eat a lot of veggies, fruits and meats. The hardest part is working night shift bc my eating time is screwed up.

We are 61 Days out of our Disney trip and it’s on my mind more than Christmas lol.

Awesome! If you are interested in the blank budget document, I can email it to you - just PM me your email address. :)

Yay!!! Glad you were able to get FoP... That is what a lot of people are saying - that there isn't a lot of availability at 60 days... That's why I was shocked when I got on last week - I was well under 60 days and I had almost wide open time slots on every day of my trip for it... Some how, I think Disney sectioned some off for us??? I am not sure? I just found that strange. I am so happy to hear that you were able to get your must do though! :woohoo:

Hahaha - that is true! It's not always easy to be an adult!

That is pretty much what I do... Paleo/Primal low carb - though I do still eat potatoes and bananas in moderation, and I also throw a lot of Intermittent Fasting in there too. ::yes:: I cannot imagine working during the night like that - it would mess up your eating clock big time. :eek:

Wahoo!!! That's how we are too! The girls and I are so excited about Christmas - but then we are like "ooooh Disney"... Hehehehe... I keep telling them that I will be so sad to come home without a trip to plan, and then they remind me that I have Europe in the spring - though I am not sure that planning for that will be quite as fun? :scratchin

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I had a really nice day yesterday... I did absolutely nothing, other than work on my own trip stuff. :woohoo:

I was upstairs by 7am, despite my family all still sleeping up there... I was quiet. ::yes::

I had my applique all ready to go, so it was just a matter of getting everything put together. I managed to finish the bag after lunch and my ears after dinner - I am so happy with how SBW II turned out! :)

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And some detail pictures for you all... It's kind of hard to tell in pictures, but the fabric for SBW kind of gives the bag a 3D effect, it's pretty cool. :)

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V found this shirt at Target... Ahhhh... I almost told her to get it for me - as it would be so cute with my SBW set... but in the end - I talked myself out of it... I have a bazillion tops in black/gray/white that would coordinate perfectly with it - I do NOT need another shirt. ::yes:: Phew! That was a close one! LOL

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So, that was my final set for the trip... If you are keeping track - I have 5 new bag sets for this trip, when I wasn't going to have any. LOL I have the Aqua Mickey * Pluto, Dumbo, Carl & Ellie, Toy Story and SBW... We will be there for 7 full days... I will also be bringing my Red Mickey & Pluto bag set, so I can either leave it at that and carry one bag set twice on one of our days off - or I can bring with one of my others? I was thinking Goofy? I"ll see what the luggage situation looks like - as it is, it's not looking good at all. LOL

I finished V's first bag request the other day, but I am waiting for her to finish her Ears before I post it. ::yes:: Then I have one more bag to make for her, and I am done with our own bags. :woohoo: Though I am still tempted to make myself a new Donald bag - I've had that on a perpetual back burner for several trips now. ::yes::

Today - I am doing nothing. I haven't had a legit day off in weeks... I plan to clean the house a little and relax. I'll probably get bored at some point and end up working anyways. That's usually how my days off go. ::yes::

I hope you all have a nice weekend! Sending prayers and pixie dust out to all! :hug:

D~
 
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So, I think if we were to get there exactly 2 hours before our flight, we'd be OK??? So, I think I will have the town car pick us up about 3 hours before our flight?
If you allow 2 hours to go through TSA and then get to your gate, then you should be alright.

I had my applique all ready to go, so it was just a matter of getting everything put together. I managed to finish the bag after lunch and my ears after dinner - I am so happy with how SBW II turned out! :)
It looks great! I bet it looks even better in person. :)

It's kind of hard to tell in pictures, but the fabric for SBW kind of gives the bag a 3D effect, it's pretty cool.
It looks like Mickey is standing above the surface of the bag. :)

We are going Christmas shopping this morning - early - before it gets crowded. I don't have Christmas lists from everyone yet, which makes shopping a little frustrating. But we'll do our best.
 
Your Steamboat Willy bag and ears looks great. You are so talented :hug:

I hope you will fit everything in your luggage that you want to bring with you to WDW.

I can't wait to see V's bag and ears.

I hope you enjoy your day off today. :hug:
 
Seriously I am freaking in love with that bag!!! The Black, The White...AMAZING. You made your own pattern didn't you? Because I would love to learn it. My mom is an amazing sewer, me not so much lol. I can craft and bake, like no ones business, but so far with sewing I can make ears and some small things!!
 


the nice part about nights is I eat what I bring, there are no food options here, unless we order out, so I have been bringing salads and soon when I go to the actual grocery store I will have a better selection of other things lol.

I think I could of gotten FOP for anytime tuesday on, my Animal Kingdom day was set for Monday and everyone had snagged them up I figure. We had a tusker reservation that I am bummed about as it is one of our favorite meals and I may try to get it on another day, my husband LOVES Donald Duck (I tell him they have matching personalities lol), but there were and still are many times available on other days, I am sure when the 30 day window comes that will change, but I'm going to keep my fingers crossed we can find one when we are there too. #Dreamer
 
The Steamboat Willie bag looks so great! Can’t wait to see your outfits. Makes my themed tees looks so underwhelming. ;)

Back to AK — yes! You can definitely do EE multiple time. I rope dropped it, it then just cycled through the Single Rider line In the afternoon. I do not get sick on rides, but I was really lightheaded after FoP, but it felt more like my blood sugar bottomless out than anything. I just hopped over to Sa’tuli cavern and got a kids meal, which was delicious and needed.

I can’t decide if I’m going to try to beat my ten rides in a day when I go in 5 days!
 
If you allow 2 hours to go through TSA and then get to your gate, then you should be alright.

It looks great! I bet it looks even better in person.

It looks like Mickey is standing above the surface of the bag.

We are going Christmas shopping this morning - early - before it gets crowded. I don't have Christmas lists from everyone yet, which makes shopping a little frustrating. But we'll do our best.

I am hoping so - I dread waking V to leave as it is. LOL

Thank you - Mickey does really pop off of the bag, it's kind of cool.

Have fun!!! Enjoy your day - I hope you were able to get gifts for everyone on your list. ::yes::

Your Steamboat Willy bag and ears looks great. You are so talented

I hope you will fit everything in your luggage that you want to bring with you to WDW.

I can't wait to see V's bag and ears.

I hope you enjoy your day off today.

THank you - I am so excited about it! If only I had a park to wear it in... LOL

I hope so... I may have to bring Josh's suitcase this time? Otherwise, I have 2 large rolling duffels from the girls' summer camp days - I may try to see if that works better too? I have a few options... ::yes::

Thanks - they turned out great too - I can't wait to share them! :woohoo:

Thank you - I did. :)

Seriously I am freaking in love with that bag!!! The Black, The White...AMAZING. You made your own pattern didn't you? Because I would love to learn it. My mom is an amazing sewer, me not so much lol. I can craft and bake, like no ones business, but so far with sewing I can make ears and some small things!!

Thank you, yes, it's my own pattern. :)

the nice part about nights is I eat what I bring, there are no food options here, unless we order out, so I have been bringing salads and soon when I go to the actual grocery store I will have a better selection of other things lol.

I think I could of gotten FOP for anytime tuesday on, my Animal Kingdom day was set for Monday and everyone had snagged them up I figure. We had a tusker reservation that I am bummed about as it is one of our favorite meals and I may try to get it on another day, my husband LOVES Donald Duck (I tell him they have matching personalities lol), but there were and still are many times available on other days, I am sure when the 30 day window comes that will change, but I'm going to keep my fingers crossed we can find one when we are there too. #Dreamer

That makes sense - and I am sure it helps too - that there really isn't anywhere to order from during the night. ::yes::

I hope you are able to get TH again... It is a must do for us, and I just love doing it. :)

The Steamboat Willie bag looks so great! Can’t wait to see your outfits. Makes my themed tees looks so underwhelming.

Back to AK — yes! You can definitely do EE multiple time. I rope dropped it, it then just cycled through the Single Rider line In the afternoon. I do not get sick on rides, but I was really lightheaded after FoP, but it felt more like my blood sugar bottomless out than anything. I just hopped over to Sa’tuli cavern and got a kids meal, which was delicious and needed.

I can’t decide if I’m going to try to beat my ten rides in a day when I go in 5 days!

Thanks... Packing is becoming an issue though - my bags take up A LOT of space! :scratchin Not to mention all the clothes I need to bring for each season and weather possibility... That is one advantage to going in August... Tank tops and tee shirts - that's it. And they take up NO space in my luggage. :woohoo: LOL

That's usually what we do... We ride single-rider until our FP comes up, then we ride together... Then we go back through single-rider again if we need more. :woohoo:

I've been doing a little bit of reading about FoP - I am a little nervous about that! :eek:

Enjoy!!! 10 rides!!! :eek: I don't think I have ever made 10... 5-7 yes, but not 10... I bow to you! ::yes:: Have a great trip!!! :woohoo:

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I had a nice relaxing day yesterday...

First thing I had the ambition to do, was to haul all of my bags and accessories down stairs to lay them out on the table... :eek: That was interesting... And I am 99% sure, I will need to either use Josh's luggage or one of the girls' rolling duffels from their summer camp days - as all these things won't fit in my luggage with all of my clothes. :eek:

I am so in love with every set here! I think I've finally found my ultimate accessories - all of my most favorite themes are represented, and I have a feeling I will be dragging these sets on many more trips, as I have no idea what else I'd want to make? ::yes:: I can't even pick a favorite. LOL

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I was lazy the entire remainder of the day and I did nothing... Eventually I took a nap because I couldn't stand not doing anything anymore. LOL

We had leftover steaks for dinner - so I didn't even have to plan dinner last night.

Then Allison and I took the pictures of the dogs we've been meaning to take for weeks... MM was NOT thrilled at all. LOL And Cooper was afraid to move with the antlers on. LOL

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Today, I have to run to town to have that conference call with Dad for Jonathan... I have to grab 2 things at the store, I hope to be home before lunch time...

Today and tomorrow are the only full days I can dedicate in my sewing room... I'll be able to sneak up there for an hour or two here n' there, but it's gonna be a little hectic this week. ::yes::

Wednesday, I work at Target (Wow! I know!) and it's also our 20th wedding anniversary - so we are going out for dinner. Josh says it's my choice, and I just have no idea where to go. $$ isn't even a factor this time - we've been saving for this dinner. :woohoo: And now I have no special ideas. LOL Figures. :scratchin

Thursday - Allison and I are taking grandpa out to do his Christmas shopping - I am sure that will be an all day event. ::yes::

Friday - Josh is having a procedure done on his back, so I will be at the hospital with him for most of the morning...

A pretty crazy week here. ::yes::

OK - gotta run... I need to get my work out done early today, so I can get upstairs and get some work done this morning before I have to leave. ::yes::

I"ll check back when I can, prayers and pixie dust to all! :grouphug:

D~
 
Wow you’ve been a very busy lady! Sorry I’ve been so absent- life has been a little crazy but I’ve finally gotten all caught up :)
I’m loving all your bags and matching ears. You really are very talented. :)
Your love for AK definitely comes across in your update/ plans for the day and the change in your shape is simply amazing. You’ve definitely anti-aged lol.
You’ve inspired me to find out more about Dave Ramsey so I can start the new year with a new budget. I’m to become a grandmother this coming March and I’d like to be able to help my daughter and son-in-law with things they’ll need for the new baby among other things. :)
Scary that your dad almost took a tumble and well done to your quick-thinking daughter. Doesn’t beat thinking about what could have happened! Glad all turned out ok. So happy for you all that you’re getting to spend some quality family time together :)
 
Happy early Anniversary :love:. 20 years :worship:

We love to go to The Melting Pot (well I do, Chris goes for me lol).

Love all the bags lined up like that. You need a small bag just for them.

I totally had my count wrong the other day lol. 54 Days and I cannot wait. I do a lot of my research, planning and board reading during the downtime we have from like 2am-4am. Everyone at work is probably ready for me to be done with Disney. Like that will ever happen lol.
 
Your bag collection is impressive. :worship:

I hope the shopping trip with your dad goes well.
 
However, in all of the excitement - I somehow lost our PPO CP breakfast at MK... So I am now on the hunt for that one again. :scratchin

Darn it!!! Hopefully you're able to scoop something up--I know you'll track one down!!!

Thank you for always cheering me on! :lovestruc

Of course :)

Scary close call with your Dad! So glad for Allison's quick thinking/acting. Glad he ended up being OK.

Your bags, ears, and accessories are all TOO cute!!! I didn't realize when I saw it on FB that you had Magicbands tucked in with some of those outfits and those cute little gloves--to die for!!! Love it all, as always!
 
Do you happen to know which trail it is??? There are so many, I can't keep track of what is on which... LOL

Yep, it's the Maharajah Jungle Trek which is the one near the entrance to Kali River Rapids and the Yak and Yeti Restaurant.

when Dad stepped out, he couldn't get his grip and we nearly lost him

Wow, that's scary! My aunt (Mom's sister) tripped over a curb last week and fell and broke her shoulder. It doesn't take much!

I am so happy with how SBW II turned out!

Me too! I love all the patterns and how they all complement each other.

I"ll see what the luggage situation looks like - as it is, it's not looking good at all.

:rotfl:That's why I decided to limit myself to 4 bags in January. We are flying Delta and although we do get one checked bag free thanks to Jim's credit card, I'm still used to being able to check two. My second checked bag is usually filled with my bags!

I can't even pick a favorite. LOL

They are all beautiful but I definitely can pick a favorite, the red and black Mickey/Pluto!

Then Allison and I took the pictures of the dogs we've been meaning to take for weeks

:rotfl2:This made me laugh so hard. The looks on their faces is priceless.

it's also our 20th wedding anniversary -

Happy Anniversary! Jim and I hit 20 next year. We've been talking about a short semi local trip to celebrate but haven't figured out where we want to go yet.

Josh is having a procedure done on his back, so I will be at the hospital with him for most of the morning...

Pixie Dust that this goes off without a hitch. pixiedust:
 
All of the bags look great! I think the Up bag is adorable but then I also think Dumbo, Toy Story, SBWII, and the rest are adorable too. I can see why it’s hard for you to pick a favorite.

I read your AK park plans & wanted to let you know that we saw Rivers Of Lights a couple of weeks ago & really enjoyed it. I think your family would really like it too since you enjoy AK so much. It’s a peaceful, beautiful show. It doesn’t have the big wow factor of the other shows but we all really liked it. After we went to Pandora to ride FOP one more time. It’s an incredible ride. We also were able to ride Navi which said 15 minute wait but was more like 5 minutes. Pandora was really cool at night.
 
I love how all your bags look. I can't really pick a favorite.
I'm wondering if you're over thinking your packing. Watch the weather and see what they're saying. Of course, I tend to over pack all the time.
My jacket looks much better. You really have to look to see where the grease is.
It sounds like it was a really close call with your dad. They tend to pile snow in the handicapped parking spots here. I had a close call Friday. As I was walking to my car I slipped on the ice. Luckily my car was close enough to grab onto or I would have been under it.
The picture of the boys is so cute. Max has that look like he's thinking Why just why?
Have a good day
Liz
 
Wow that's a lot of bags to take, especially with all the accessories. I think I would just take the new ones you made and maybe leave a couple at home. They are all so great though I know it would be hard to leave any. I can't believe you didn't get that Minnie shirt. It would be so perfect with your SBW bag.

Love the dog's picture. We had St. Bernards when I was younger and we dressed them up too. It was so hard getting 2 dogs not to shake something off. We were laughing so hard it wasn't easy getting a good picture but we did it. We only did it one year though but sent it out as our Christmas card.

I don't know why handicapped spots aren't the cleanest. You'd think they'd realize that. My dad has balance issues already and doesn't like to go out of the house in the winter. When we bring him here we always drive him into the garage so we know it's safe for him to walk. The other day he told me he went out to try and sweep his steps. I told him he doesn't need another fall and his good friend will come over and shovel after work. He wanted it clean for the mailman! Hopefully your shopping with your dad will go smoothly.

I finally finished my shopping today. I've had a terrible cold that left me so tired to do anything so I did a lot more shopping online this year. I'm so relieved to be done and just have a few more packages to wrap now when they come. I laughed at the tree with all the presents. That looked a lot like mine when the grandkids were young. Now they don't get all the big toys so everything is smaller and easy to wrap.

Congrats on your anniversary. I told my husband when we finally get to Disney in 2019 we're getting anniversary buttons. Our trip will be a few months past our 45th anniversary then but we will wear them anyway. We went down for our 40th and got so many nice comments. So many people would ask the secret to 40 years. My husband would quickly reply "Yes dear". LOL
 
Happy Anniversary! Hope you had a great dinner and evening out. I am so far behind here, I don't even know where to start. Love your bags and ears - all of them. We had a great trip to Disney, but as much as I love going at Christmas, we will not be going next year. We left the day after Thanksgiving and I kept thinking of how much I needed to do at home. Charlie agrees that we will "only" do 2 trips next year. We had Thanksgiving dinner at Cracker Barrel this year because the girls and Andrew were not coming home, and Steve had dinner at friends. I couldn't justify making a big dinner for just the 2 of us, especially since we would be gone for a week. No black Friday shopping for me... its not as much fun without the girls along.

Still very far behind on decorating. The tree is up and the wreath is on the front door. Couldn't put lights up on Saturday because it was snowing - we ended up getting about 6 inches.

On top of all this, I've been having pains in my right arm and shoulder for a few months. I went to the dr in July and got a cortisone shot, but it really did not relieve the pain. Went back, finally, last Monday and dr sent me for an MRI. Turns out I have a tear in the rotator cuff and will have to have surgery in January. As a result, I'm not sure I'm going to be doing much more decorating since I won't be able to put it away until sometime in February.

Also, read today that the tiger cubs are out for viewing! When I asked 2 weeks ago, they said sometime in the spring, but they are already out!

You would love Hoop de do!
 
Happy anniversary!!! It sounds like you had a lovely (and delicious) anniversary dinner. I'm glad.

I love seeing your physical fitness/wellbeing photos and seeing how much progress you've made. I've said it before and I'll say it again -- your dedication is so inspiring! Thank you for being so open and honest with us about your journey. I appreciate it.

We're looking into going paleo...my health has definitely suffered while living with my MIL and something has to change. This has been a rough week.

We're getting closer, I think, on the house. I went to look at appliances last night and realized that I can still get my double oven without having to enlarge the kitchen...the appliance package will be more expensive, but we'll still save several thousand dollars by going with an all-in-one range/double oven vs the double oven wall units with the separate cook top. It will save on appliances, square footage, cabinetry, granite, etc. So we're going to go that route. We've almost got the price to where we want it. A little part of me still thinks perhaps we should just suck it up and get something that we don't love but is less money so we have more wiggle room in our budget to work on debt....but at the same time, neither Mark nor I want to spend money on a house that we hate and we definitely don't want to move into a house that we're going to need to spend money on for updates, significant repairs, renovations, etc., in the next five years. So I'm a bit torn. But at least we're making progress. Our goal is to have a contract signed by the end of this month.

I laughed at the "before/after Dave Ramsey" pictures!

All of your park bags look great -- I love them!

Have a great weekend!
 

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