Sounds like my family when I create, or find a new recipe to cook.....
Hahaha... Yes - why do they always doubt our abilities? LOL They should just trust us.
So interesting to see your budget breakdown. We love Disney World but it is soo expensive. It's nice to see that other people have to watch their pennies to get there.
Love the coral color! I debated painting our spare room a light coral color but was vetoed. I had to settle for light gray walls with coral and turquoise accents. My family ALWAYS gives me a hard time about my vision for a space to the point that I give up to appease them but in their defense there have been a few times I've had to repaint because the wall color was not what I had hoped.
I am glad you enjoyed seeing it - I didn't know if it was truly appropriate to show what I spend on my trips or not? Then I thought - well, everyone, in the end, spends some sort of ginormous amount... LOL We definitely watch our pennies to take these trips, and I definitely have to be creative with my budget to get it to fit within our family's budget... But I love doing it, and I love being able to go and not have to worry about $$ while we are there, because I've planned ahead.
I still don't love that it's sooooo expensive, but...
Thanks! It is much more coral than it appears in the picture, but I do love how it turned out. I still have no idea what I am going to use is for though.
I used to give in, for many years I did... Which is why Josh pretty much decorated our house... I finally said "no more" and I am doing it my way for once... No more Harley pictures... No more pheasant pictures... They will likely all go back up when we finish the office... but not in the living room.
Hahahaha... That's the nice thing about paint - you can always paint over it.
Thanks for sharing your budget plans! I also price out our vacations ahead of time and make sure I've saved enough to cover it before we leave home. So, it's interesting for me to see how someone else goes about it. If I didn't budget ahead of time, I think it would all feel very out of control LOL I do put most of it on my Disney Visa to get the Disney dollars but pay it off as soon as we get home. Your plans are coming together nicely. How wonderful you can take advantage of SOG. Even with some inconvenience, the savings is HUGE!
Rene'
You're welcome! I am glad you all enjoyed seeing them. It always reminds me that the little things add up... So, when I get to the point in my saving, where I am done with the airfare/resort/tickets/food... Then I remember that I still have the little things... Town car, baggage, tips, photopass, Disney nails... Oops - there goes $500 I forgot about... It all adds up fast! I would definitely feel out of control and I'd probably be having anxiety attacks all the time we were down there... I have issues being in control of $$. LOL I like to know where I am at, at all times - as far as budget and spending. I am weird... I am sure it comes from growing up very poor.
Thanks - yes, we are very fortunate to be able to use SoG... It is an amazing resort and the savings are huge!
My mom had one of those wood pedestal stands that you painted. She put the lovely fake fruit in it and it went on our dining table. You have to love the 70's!
Oh yes!!! I do remember those now! I think my Grandmother had something similar?
Well - I have NO idea what I am going to use mine for?
I love the way the pedestal stand turned out. Did you decide to go with wax or poly over the paint?
That fruit salad looks so good....yum.....
I know what you mean about wandering around the house looking for things to do. My problem is that my house is completely full of things that *need* to be done...but that I don't want to do. LOL!!!!
What is the theme for V's park bag for this trip?
Thanks! Well, I tried a little bit of wax on part of it - it was white wax - which totally turned it pink... So, I wiped it all off meticulously and I did poly. I still need to do another coat and decide what I am going to do with it.
It is delicious!!! I love having fruit salad around in the summer... Everyone digs into it all the time... I'd rather have them all go crazy on that, than other junk.
Hahaha... Yes - I do have things I really should be doing... Ahem, like cleaning my office... But it's just too overwhelming right now... I'll work on it soon though.
Hehehe... I can't reveal that quite yet... I will say that I am working on it though and hopefully I will be able to share pictures of one of her new bags very soon.
We decided yesterday, there will be more than one.
Which is good - it gives me something to do... I knew I wouldn't be idle in my sewing room for long.
The hand made wood pedestal thing looks great painted in coral.
Painting the interior doors black sounds like a good idea. The picture you found on Google looks really great. I can't wait to see your doors panted.
On Wednesday Ulf and I are flying to Manchester UK. We are going on a couple geocaching events in Wales and meeting some geocaching friends that is also attending the events. We are renting a car in Manchester and driving to Wales and then back to Manchester on Sunday to take a plane back home.
Then it's only 2 weeks left until I have to go and test my new car. The day after that is done Ulf and I are going to Spain for 1 1\2 week. First we are renting a car and driving around in northern Spain. On 1st September my parents and siblings are coming to Barcelona where we are celebrating my dad's 60th birthday. We are all staying in Barcelona until 4th September. Then my parents will go on a cruise. Everyone is wondering how that will go since my mother get really easy sea sick. When my parents leaves for the cruise the rest of us are going back home.
Thanks!!! I am excited to have it all come together.
Ooooh - this sounds like fun!!! I hope you have a great time!
Yay!!!! It will be so exciting for you to be more independent - I am sure you are so tired of waiting, as this has taken so much longer than anyone expected... but I am sure it will be worth the wait, in the end.
Your Spain trip sounds so fun too!!! I hope your mom doesn't get too sick on the cruise and is able to enjoy her time. What an exciting time for all of you... How many siblings do you have??? I am certain you've told me, but it's early in the morning and I can't remember.
Thanks for sharing your budget. I really need to do that with mine for sept 2017. Set it and work it into managable chunks.
On the gift cards from Target, you have to buy them on line to get the 5%? or can you get a discount bc you are an employee? Also, can you combine the amount into one card, or do you have to carry a bunch with you? I have seen threads on here about them, but it always seemed like a hassle to me or people had problems with cards ordered online not having money on them.
I think my mom has almost the exact same hutch as you were going to price. It came from my Aunt's house and would have been a set purchased in the 40s or 50s I think. If it is the same one, I can't believe they were selling it so cheap.
Best of luck on your continued search. Just think how satisfying it will be once you get "the one".
H
Yes - I usually plan ahead, and save for one thing at a time... Like do the resort... Then when that's done, I do airfare... Then tickets and so on... It makes it a bit easier. I try to do airfare as one of the first though, if I can - that way I have the $$ accessible if the prices drop.
You can buy the Target GCs in the store... I've never purchased them online before. They now sell them in $100 denominations, they used to only sell them as high as $50, which made paying off a $3000 chunk of $$ pretty tedious.
The 5% savings comes from purchasing the GCs with your Target Red card or Target Debit card... I use my debit card. I used to get 10% off as an employee, then I used to also get 5% from pharmacy rewards, then the Red card 5%... Which gave me almost an 18% savings on my trips... But then Target got smart and stopped allowing employee discounts and pharmacy rewards on GC purchases... So, now we only get the 5% Red card discounts, just like everyone else.
It's a bummer - compared to what it used to be - but still a savings worth taking advantage of, IMO.
If you go to disneygiftcard.com, a person has the ability to combine GCs... Back in the day (LOL) - this wasn't an option - so yes, I would have to carry a stack of GCs with me. Now, I keep track of all my GCs on there, and combine them into a bit bigger chunks... Usually about $200... And I only carry 1 with me at a time, so if I lose one, I am not out everything. I also carry a tiny Sharpie with me, and at the end of the day, I write the GC balance on the GC, so I know what's on it.
Again - a little tedious, but for me, it's worth it... I will take any and all savings I can get on these trips.
Only one time, have I ever went to enter in a card and it had a zero balance. Thankfully, I was able to bring it back to Target, and they exchanged it for me... I am just always VERY cautious about when I scratch off the numbers on the back - scratching off only what I need to make out the #s... If the back is fully scratched off - then Target can't take them back at all... even if it's only a little scratched off - it's at their discretion. I've been very lucky in the past - but it's always a worry of mine.
Yes - I was pretty surprised that it was so cheap too... Still a little bummed that I missed out on it - but I will find another one some day.
Thank you!
Im here reading along. I love all your DIY's!\
A on the small trampoline is awesome i love that and wish i could buy them that low to the ground!
wanna do my budget? PLEASE?
Thanks Mo...
The trampoline is actually just as tall as the regular ones (otherwise you wouldn't be able to jump as high) it's just dug into the ground... People here do that a lot, it's just so much safer, and it looks nicer in the yard too - plus it's a little more difficult for them to blow away in a storm.
Hehehe... I'd love to do your Disney budget - I bet it's a lot more fun to do than mine is.
My friends neighbor dug a hole the size of their trampoline and set the frame into it to make it low like that. Not sure if that one is like that or not.
Yup... That's exactly what they did too.
Your "visions" 
I love it!!
I loved the picture of the black doors. I love that chalkboard wall, too, even though it's not your house
Hehehe... Yes - they've banned me from even using the statement of "my vision" at home... Party poopers.
I know - I really love that whole room. LOL If only...
You should totally post the dining numbers from A's trip. How awesome you stayed within just $10?!
That fruit salad looks amazing. I love summertime fruit! Lately I have been eating my weight in grapes, cherries, and nectarines. So delicious.
Nice to have down times but I'm with you, sometimes I don't know what to do with myself. Lately I've been busy planning our 3 trips but I get overwhelmed and then start reading trip and dining reports and it's all over. Makes me want to change plans all around. Struggling with on or off property right now. Ugh!!
I will go upstairs and take pictures of it for you all and post them below... I was pretty impressed with myself.
I agree - I love fruit salad any time of the year... It's just so refreshing!
Hahaha... Yes - these Disney sites do that to you... I keep thinking I want to add on to V's trip... But then I tell myself "no" - we are doing enough fun and great stuff... Our bellies will be full enough as it is, so no more food... We have several fun and exciting things happening, so no more fun stuff either. LOL No more fun allowed! Hehehehe...
What are you struggling with for on vs. off property? Curious... I always think of staying on property as being best... but there are big benefits to staying off property, as well. I guess that's what i like so much about SoG - it's very much ON property, but it's still off... It's like the best of both worlds... So, I am curious what your take on it is.
*******************************************************************************************************
So, yesterday morning... I had some business stuff to attend to - the last of the madness for a while.
Then I worked out... I had every intention of doing my standard WATP and abs... but as I was sitting here, looking into the kitchen and seeing what a bright sunny and glorious day it looked to be outside... I decided to go for a walk instead. So, I got my gear on, and headed out... As I was walking - I got to thinking about how much I miss running... So even though I am carrying more weight than I would like to be, I decided to run anyways... It wasn't as hard as I thought it would be, and I very much remembered why I enjoyed it so much.
So, I am very proud of myself for getting out there and doing it because it's enjoyable to me, and not necessarily because I have to do it.
I came home, had some breakfast, Skyped with Allison for about 5 minutes... Then I went to work on this week's custom order. I was done with what I needed to get done a little earlier than I intended, so I started working on V's bag for this trip... I am pretty excited about it... It's going to be a fun bag for sure.
I am hoping to make a good dent in it - possibly finish it by the end of the weekend. We will see?
Then we had errands to run... Which took all afternoon.
We came home and played with the dogs... This wasn't intentional that they were on the other side of the gate... but SC kept reaching through to grab us with is paws, so we were playing with them from this side too...
I made home made curry chicken (one of my absolute favorites) for dinner last night, with plenty of leftovers.
Then V and I decided to make another dent in our Disney movies... Last night was Lion King... Love that music!!! Josh complained that he watched more of the movie than V and I did... But in our defense - we sang along to the entire thing plus we were on Pinterest planning our outfits for the trip... So, we were doing the best multi-tasking ever!
And then we went to bed.
Today, it's a heavy lifting day for me... My hips are a bit stiff and sore from my run yesterday - but I should be able to lift with out a problem.
Then I will be working upstairs all day - it's applique day... I will do my custom order applique and then I will switch over to V's bag if I have time.
And that's about it for today.
A couple of you mentioned Allison's food budget from her trip, and how close I came to what we actually spent... So, I took a picture of those pages for you... What is written in pencil is what I planned to spend. And what is written in marker is what I actually spent. You will see, the last 3 days, I did not track at all... At that point, I had one day at Univeral - which was all cash, and I knew I had enough of that - since that was the only day I was paying with cash... Then our last Disney day after that, which was the last of my GC $$ - so I knew I had enough and then some, to cover what I needed. And our flight was super early the 3rd day - which I had $$ tucked in a separate location for that. Essentially - I didn't need to track those last 3 days since I was right on track for the others. When I came home, my GCs had a $0 balance... My Universal cash was $0... And I used what I needed for the airport.
So, looking at my daily ending totals (if you can figure out which ones they are...) - it's...
-11
-1
-10
+20
+1
-10
-11
So, I came in at $11 under budget for food for our trip.
Close enough for me. LOL
The above is my trip journal, so this is what I write in at the end of each day - or on my breaks from the parks, so when I write my TRs, I can remember what happened. Through out the day - as I am walking on to a ride, I snap a photo either of the entrance or in line, so I can remember the sequence we rode the rides in - which helps me out later, when I am entering the info in my trip journal... I just flip through the photos on my phone.
So, if you are curious about how I write my TRs... Here's an excerpt from my journal - you can see my "Disney shorthand" - LOL... There is no way I could write a TR with out my journal... And I am not usually very detailed in my journals either - unless something notable happened... I just write down the basics to help me remember later. As it is, I spend about an hour + writing everything down through out the day... Which is more than enough time to spend on something like this during a vacation.
Anyways - I hope you enjoyed that little glimpse into my world of TR writing.
I hope you all have a great day - filled with oodles of Pixie Dust!
D~
I have a feeling that October is going to be a crowded month.
I used to do all of that stuff - but then I found that it became too overwhelming for me, I was too busy planning, carrying out "the plan" and recording the plan while I was supposed to be making memories, so I decided to keep it simple.... Ever since then, our trips are so much more enjoyable and we are able to just go with the flow. 
