~~October 2016~~Sew, it was the greatest Stitch Experience ever!~~Final Update 3/19/2017!

[mymainmouse]

I am way behind on your trip report. I have been having issues with the DIS. Every time I try to post something it acts up. Seems to be working today so I figured I would quickly wish you Merry Christmas and have a Happy New Year!

 

[xlsm]

Just back from a trip last week and popped by to see if you'd updated...I'm so glad you had backed up your pictures!! Losing my phone stuff like that is a huge fear of mine. I switched to an iphone last April, much to my own dismay. I was an android person, too, and I loved my samsung galaxy phones.

(here's a secret...i switched for more disney phone case options! Shh...don't tell, LOL!!)

I do like that our entire family has the phones linked, and when my 13 year old left his iphone on Haunted Mansion last week, we were able to track it easily with the "find my phone" feature.

Hope you had a Merry Christmas, and I love all the puppy pictures!!

 

[rdkeim]

Your puppies are adorable - makes me want another dog. You sure look better than I do when baking The cookies look good!

 

[Ladyfish77]

Sorry to hear about the phone (saw it on FB too). That is the worst. It's amazing how much we have on those little devices! Good luck with IOS after android! We are an android family. DS needed a new phone so he was briefly thinking about an Iphone, but stayed android. The good thing (I hope) is that there were a lot of phone sales just before Christmas, so hopefully you got a deal. I know the phones we got on the 24th were discounted, and that sale disappeared on the 25th!

 

[DMGeurts]

Sorry for my disappearance... I've been enjoying my time with the girls and Josh and not having to work.

So sorry to hear it was tough and stressful getting your dad in and out of the car. I'm so glad to hear it wasn't too cold outside on Thursday when you went shopping with your dad.
2 lock-down shootings within the last 6 months at the Target store you visited doesn't sound good.
I'm glad to hear you had a great day and that your dad was in good spirits.

I'm so sorry to hear your phone crashed How great that you had backed up your pictures. I have Dropbox that takes backup of my pictures everytime I'm connected to WiFi which I am when ever I'm at home.

I can't believe you got an iPhone. I can totally understand Josh not wanting to give you support on it. LG G5 looks like a nice phone.

My plan is with the Christmas Lego is to tear the whole thing down so I can rebuild it again next year, if Ulf doesn't convince me not to tear it down and put it a way as it is.


Merry Christmas to you and you family

Yes - all in all it was a great day with dad, logistically though, it was difficult. I need to keep that in mind for next time.

I am still quite bummed about my phone- I am adjusting - though there are many things I truly miss about my phone. I really wanted the LG G5, since that would be the next logical upgrade from my G3... However - the reviews I found were not that great... There was another LG, which had decent reviews - however it was $750... By the time I paid for that, I might as well get the Iphone for the same price with excellent reviews. Gah!!! No matter which way a person slices it - I was NOT prepared to buy a new phone 2 days before Christmas - financially or otherwise.

I think they turned out great - I really like them... I am debating on just wrapping my tree and putting it away decorated. LOL That sure would make life so much easier next year - as I love this tree so much... I have not decided for sure yet or not though.

Thank you! I hope you had a Merry Christmas Lillian!

Merry Christmas to you and your family!

I've had an iPhone for several years now, and I love it (probably too much ) Hopefully, you will love yours, too.

Thank you - I hope you had a Merry Christmas as well!

I hope so... There are still a few nuisances that I don't like about it... Some of the navigational buttons... The keyboard... And the ability to switch from ringer to vibrate isn't as easy to figure out... Otherwise - It seems to work well and it's pretty intuitive.

Today we head to my sister's in Harris (40 miles). I think the weather will be ok. My brother-in-law has added more snowmobiles for a total of 7, so the grandkids are hoping to ride them today. Last year there was no snow. Tomorrow is just my kids and grandkids for dinner and opening gifts. I was so ready for everything this year which is unlike me, except for making some O'Henry bars for today. So I was able to just relax and watch some Christmas shows, including my favorite It's a Wonderful Life.

Sorry it was not fun shopping, but at least you saw your dad and got his shopping done. I don't think I would have known there were sizes of wheelchairs either. Next time I would just stop by the door and get him in his chair. I don't think people would mind going around you. My dad is 87 and still lives at home. He now uses a walker, but his friend does most of his grocery shopping for him and comes over and shovels. I've told her many times she is a godsend. He took her in when her husband died and she had no money and owed for hospital bills. She feels she owes him, but she's paid him back many times. Luckily she lives very close by.

Congrats on the new phone. I think you will love it. I think I told you my grandkids are getting them for Christmas. I was teasing them that I was getting one because the iphone 6 was getting cheaper now. I really have no plans to do this, and we joke we have dumb phones. Anyway the youngest told me I couldn't get them before they did, lol. I know they are going to be thrilled.

I wish you and your family a Merry Christmas!

It sounds like you had a wonderful Christmas! I am glad you were prepared and you were able to enjoy the time with your family!

Yes... It was definitely a learning curve for me... I am terrible with this sort of thing. LOL How nice that you have someone local to help with your dad... That is one thing that makes life difficult, is that I am solely responsible for everything for him, and I live so far away... It's getting to the point where I need to consider getting him closer to me, despite my brother living there. This is such a difficult position to be in.

Thanks - I sure hope I learn to love it... So far, I am tolerating it... There are definite things I love about it and definite things that are annoying to me. LOL I hope your Grands are enjoying their new Iphones??? I am sure they are - actually, LOL.

Thank you - same to you!

I'm glad you got to take your dad shopping. Sorry it was such an ordeal. At least he got it done.
I'm sorry your phone crashed. It's a good thing you had all your pictures backed up. That's one of the reason I still use my camera, I've
had too many problems with phones crashing. My first smart phone was an Iphone, then I switched to an android and have had androids ever since. My daughter and her husband just went back to Iphones and have been happy with them.
I hope you have a Merry Christmas
Liz

Yes - it's definitely an ordeal... I think, next year - we will stay away from the mall and just go to a few of the non-busier stores in the area, I think it will go much smoother then. It's always fun to spend time with him though and something I look forward to doing.

Yes - I was so lucky for that! I would have been so upset had I not had them backed up - and as it turns out - I also had them backed up on my micro-SD card (which I was unaware of) - thanks to Josh - he was able to get them transferred to our computer too.

There's a few things about the phone that I am not liking all that much... On my LG keyboard - it used to allow me to hold my letters down a bit longer and use the corresponding punctuation mark without switching the keyboard from letters to numbers all the time... Does that make sense? On the Iphone, I have not figured out if this is possible or not - I don't think it is, as I cannot find it anywhere in the settings... So, things like that are annoying to me. LOL Otherwise - the phone works as it should and I am slowly building my address book again.... Which reminds me - I need to do another post on FB to remind people to send me their #s.

Thanks Liz - I hope you had a Merry Christmas too!

Sorry about your phone. I would be lost without mine. I wish I didn't depend on it so much. I really appreciate your trip reports and life reports and I'm grateful that you keep us updated. I don't know you, but I appreciate your positive energy and comments. Merry Christmas, stay warm and stay safe with the winter driving.

Thanks - it sure was a bummer, especially 2 days before Christmas...

Awww... Thank you! I really appreciate that everyone continues to come back and read about my (mostly) boring life... LOL I sure hope you had a Merry Christmas and were able to spend it with those you love!

Hi D! It sounds like the shopping trip was quite an adventure! I am sure your Dad appreciated it and loved spending time with you. That sucks hard about your phone. I am in constant fear that I will lose all the pics in my phone! I will have to check out this google account- I never knew about it. I'll be hanging around anticipating more updates- pictures or not, Lol!

We had a good Christmas here. We were able to FaceTime with my parents so that they could watch the girls open the gifts they sent to them. Thank God for technology! I enjoyed the FB slideshow of your family- so many happy smiles. I hope you are enjoying your family this week.

It was definitely an adventure and one that it getting more difficult as time goes on... I think the hardest part, for me, is that dad doesn't realize that he doesn't have the stamina/ability to be out shopping all day long anymore... So, by the time we are almost done - I am fighting to keep him awake enough to get him back in the car and home again. LOL

Definitely check the Google photos thing - I am so relieved I had it - even though, I didn't know it at the time, all of my photos were also backed up on my mini-SD card in my phone... Josh was able to transfer them to our computer as well - so now that phone is double backed up - even though I still don't have all of my contacts. Oh well - it could be worse!

I am so happy that you were able to face time your parents!!! That is wonderful!!! We were able to Skype BMTL for quite a while on Christmas morning - which is always fun to see the kids enjoying their gifts from us (and everyone else too)... I agree - modern technology is a great thing in these instances! I know that I wouldn't have been able to survive last summer with Allison in Europe without it.

I hope you had a Merry Christmas Brandi!!!

Hi Dee - I hope you had a wonderful Christmas. I'm sorry to hear that you lost your phone and all your contacts, etc. I agree that the iPhone has a huge learning curve and I don't blame Josh for not wanting to be involved in it. I had a lot of help from my daughter who had an iPhone and a coworker who bought the same phone that I did at about the same time. But it did take me a long time to learn to use it.

The most important thing you can do to protect your iPhone from data loss is to set up your iCloud account and make sure that your new phone backs up to it. The default setting is to back up automatically when you charge the phone but you might want to make sure. When you go into your iCloud account you will see all your contacts, your Notes, your photos (up to 5G's or something like that), etc. It is a lot easier to add contacts in the iCloud using your computer than to type them all in using the phone. I just went into my iCloud account to make sure that my most recent notes and photos were there, and they are. My husband switched to an iPhone after his Blackberry was stolen. He lost a lot of important data from his job. But now he has it all secured in his iCloud account.

Our kitchen and bathroom remodeling is supposed to be finished by the end of this week. It was a little crazy trying to have a Christmas party at our house without the full use of the kitchen. The appliances are there but nothing has been moved into it since they aren't finished yet. But we managed and had a great time. The one thing I was most happy to get back again was a kitchen sink. I hated washing dishes in the bathtub. I will be glad to move out of the "bedroom kitchen" and into the real kitchen again.

Thanks Sue! I am surprised that the learning curve between the Iphone and the androids is as seamless as it acutally is - it hasn't been as hard to get used to as I thought it would be. However - there are some aspects of my old phone that I truly miss...

I have my ICloud all synced with my phone - however, I still need to sync it with Allison's Ipad - so if I ever lose my phone, I have a way to track it easily. I should try to do that today! It's incredible how much of our lives are in our phones!

Yay!!! That is so exciting!!! It's gone quickly - at least for me as a spectator.... I am sure that living in it has been less than so? I am so glad you were able to manage though and have a good Christmas holiday despite the lack of kitchen... Oh I agree - I also think the worst part about not having a functional kitchen (for me) was also not having a kitchen sink... That was the last item to come out and the first to go in... I think - in the end - we were only without a sink for 2 days... But it was TOUGH! I hope your share pictures of your finished kitchen - I cannot wait to see it!

Hi! I hope your Christmas was wonderful. So sorry about your phone! Love the gift Allison gave you -- so beautiful, well done, and just fabulous. We enjoyed having my parents here (they left last night) and now it's just the four of us and we're in wedding planning and cleaning/dejunking mode. My husband gave me a one month subscription to the Real Plans menu planning subscription service so I can try that out for a month when we restart W30 -- I'm very excited about it. Have a wonderful day!

Thank you - same to you!

I know, my phone was a true bummer so close to Christmas - not something I was expecting to have to replace so quickly!

Thanks!!! That was actually a gift from Brian, Myrthe and the kids - Allison just did it all... So, I guess it was a collaborative effort. Regardless - I truly love it! I've already planned another line to go on it... Significant people in our lives that were missed - I love that it's so easy to add to it! Such a FUN gift!

Eeeep - sounds so exciting! I am so happy for you that you were able to have so much family around this year for the holiday! I bet it was wonderful!

I've never heard of Real Plans before... I may have to go investigate! I know that I am working on de-cluttering and de-junking too - I have been for several months - however it isn't going well. LOL

I hope you had a wonderful Christmas!!!! Thanks for checking in!

That is awful about your phone. Hopefully, you are able to get the majority of your contacts back. iPhone, I am not sure I could do that. I might after this Samsung.

Hope you had a great Christmas.

Thanks Shannon - I've been able to get most of them - I think, I hope. I am sure that more will trickle in as time goes on.

So far the Mac/Android interface has been going well - I am able to fumble around and figure things out... However, there are definite functions of my old phone that I truly miss... There's a learning curve for sure - but not as bad as I thought it would be.

I hope you had a great Christmas too!!! How did the kids do... Marissa??? Did her Christmas go OK?

I also hope your birthday was great!

Thats awful about your phone. Guess i should go back up my phone to the cloud before something happens. My family had a great Christmas hope your did to.

Yes - go back up your photos before you forget! My phone gave absolutely NO inkling that it was going to crash - it just did it... So it can happen without any warning.

I am so happy to hear that you had a great Christmas! Thanks for checking in!

I'm behind, but thankfully not too bad.

I love the new pics of the pups being lazy!

I have an iphone. I've never owned an android, and probably never will. My son switched over to an android and is anxious to get back to an apple product. Once you figure it out (it really isn't hard), I think you'll really like it. My husband's android phone is way over my head.

Hahaha... I am behind too. LOL

Hehehe.... They are having fun destroying all of their new Christmas toys... Some of them didn't survive an hour. This year, though, I tried hard to get them hard rubber/plastic toys, vs. the "indestructible" sewn fabric toys - as those cannot survive Cooper. LOL

That is good to hear... We will see how it goes... There are things that I like about it and things that I don't. I am learning fast though and it isn't as hard as I thought it would be. My issue is going to come when something goes wrong with the phone and Josh won't be able to/won't want to help me fix it... I am sure - at that point, I will come to my senses and go back to Android. We'll see though...

I hope you had a great Christmas!

Merry Christmas D hope you and your new phone are getting along!

Hope your Dad is doing well and had a great time with him too.

Merry Christmas to you too! Hahaha... We are trying! It's definitely different than my old phone, but I am managing... And thankfully, between the girls and I, we are able to figure things out quite easily.... As both of them have had Apple products all along - so they are pretty knowledgeable about the phones.

Thanks - he is doing as well as can be expected... We had a good time.

I am way behind on your trip report. I have been having issues with the DIS. Every time I try to post something it acts up. Seems to be working today so I figured I would quickly wish you Merry Christmas and have a Happy New Year!

No worries! I am having issues on The Dis too when I try to post from my new phone - it definitely doesn't like when I try to type more then 3 sentences here... Which won't go well when I am traveling... Oh well - I totally understand... Thanks so much for checking in while you were able to!

I hope you had a Merry Christmas - wishing you a Happy New Year as well!

Just back from a trip last week and popped by to see if you'd updated...I'm so glad you had backed up your pictures!! Losing my phone stuff like that is a huge fear of mine. I switched to an iphone last April, much to my own dismay. I was an android person, too, and I loved my samsung galaxy phones.

(here's a secret...i switched for more disney phone case options! Shh...don't tell, LOL!!)

I do like that our entire family has the phones linked, and when my 13 year old left his iphone on Haunted Mansion last week, we were able to track it easily with the "find my phone" feature.

Hope you had a Merry Christmas, and I love all the puppy pictures!!

Yay!!! I hope your trip was great!

I agree - I do miss my Samsung - however, my Samsung - though it was by my side for so many years - it was definitely buggy... My LG, I LOVED - a LOT! I dunno - I may end up going back to the LG sooner rather than later... There are just some functions with their phones that I truly loved and were very intuitive to me... The Iphone isn't nearly as intuitive.

Hahaha... I admit - I have been looking at the Disney phone cases, I haven't splurged though... I'd love to get one from Photopass - however - my issue with that, is that I don't have any photos over the last 3 trips which has both girls and I together... Since all trips were done individually - I'd have to choose one girl over the other - or go with really old pictures... We'll see... And as of now - there are no Donald cases for the Iphone 7plus... Hopefully they will start to produce more...

That's really a nice feature! I need to do that with ours! I know that V is saving hard for an IPhone 7plus (rose gold flavor) - we'll see how long it takes her to save... Then the 3 of us will all have Iphones and Josh will be off the hook for tech support. LOL

Thanks - I hope you had a wonderful trip and a wonderful Christmas!!!

Your puppies are adorable - makes me want another dog. You sure look better than I do when baking The cookies look good!

Awww... Thanks! I love them so much! The girls and I were laughing the other day... When V and I were in Disney - we discovered that MM's personality is JUST like Eeyore... And SC's personality is JUST like Tigger... So, we were telling Allison about this comparison - and we were all laughing, because it is sooooo true! They are both nuts and we love them so!

LOL - thanks!!! I don't ever bake much anymore - firstly, the girls do it for me... And secondly - I can't keep my hands out of the goodies when they are done... So, I try not to bake.

I hope you had a Merry Christmas!

Sorry to hear about the phone (saw it on FB too). That is the worst. It's amazing how much we have on those little devices! Good luck with IOS after android! We are an android family. DS needed a new phone so he was briefly thinking about an Iphone, but stayed android. The good thing (I hope) is that there were a lot of phone sales just before Christmas, so hopefully you got a deal. I know the phones we got on the 24th were discounted, and that sale disappeared on the 25th!

Yes - it was such a bummer! It is scary how much we keep on our phones... And then I think about backing up my photos - and I am SURE big brother monitors those - I hope he enjoys my endless Disney vacation photos. LOL

So far, it's going good - the IOS differences aren't that great... It's more getting used to where everything it located on the different phones - which I'd likely have to do regardless... There are other nuisances that I have to get used to though - and I am not sure I want to... So, I may end up going back to an Android as soon as possible... We will see... So far - it isn't terrible tough.

That was my biggest fear - if I didn't get it before Christmas, that I would pay SO MUCH more after Christmas... So that's the main reason why I frantically purchased and almost did it blindly, as I wanted the best deal I could get. I haven't had the nerve yet to see if prices are any different now than they were then... Honestly, I am a bit afraid to look. LOL

I hope you had a Merry Christmas!

*********************************************************************************************************

Sorry for being so far behind here! We have been busy and just enjoying our time together.

Sadly - due to weather, we did not make it back to Dad's for Christmas... I am suffering terrible guilt from leaving him alone on Christmas... I think I would have been better off braving the weather and just going, regardless of the danger involved - as I feel like my Dad didn't understand. It's not easy sometimes... Weather was good here, though making my best educated guess as to what weather was like there, by watching the news and road conditions, talking with extended family in the area - it would have been a tough trip, at it's best. Many of my other family members cancelled their Christmas celebrations in that area as well - so that was really my deciding factor... I knew if others that lived there, didn't want their loved ones traveling into that area - then maybe it might be best to follow their lead. Sigh. I am trying to release myself from this guilt and it just isn't going well... It really put a damper on my holiday. We've rescheduled to celebrate Christmas this coming weekend... Weather and travel looks to be much better.

Anyways...

So, per our own tradition - we celebrated Christmas Eve here... It was definitely low key compared to Christmas' past... There weren't as many gifts under the tree and the meal wasn't as elaborate... However - I continued to remind myself - it wasn't about the gifts, it was about us being able to gather together - which is the most important... (and here comes the guilt again, about leaving my dad alone on Christmas...) It was a tough holiday.

Puppies waiting around and napping on Christmas Eve...

Us... Minus Allison...

I made home made Cream of Potato soup - which will become a regular meal rotation - it was delicious! V found the recipe and pinned it on Pinterest (for those that follow me there, I pinned it too!)...

We gave from our hearts though, as did the rest of my family and we all enjoyed our time and traditions together... We opened only the gifts to us/from us on Christmas Eve - like we always do... Saving stockings, gifts from other family members and friends for Christmas morning... Now that we don't do "Santa" gifts anymore - this gives us something to open that morning too.

V gave me the most amazing cuddly blanket ever - I love it!

And also the cutest red plaid flannel PJ pants... Which I put on immediately...

Allison gave Josh and I a gift card to Outback Steakhouse - which we are super excited about - that is one of our favorite places to eat!

Josh gave me 2 Alex and Ani bracelets to add to my "stack" - a diamond birthstone for Allison and an emerald birthstone for Victoria... (also shown is my new Starbucks ornament from Bernadette - which I accidentally opened on Christmas Eve... Thanks Bernadette! I love it!)

The girls received a few other gifts that they asked for... But these were probably the most meaningful from Josh and I... The "Love" AnA wrap was from Josh (V's is silver and Allison's is gold), and the charm is from me - probably most meaningful this year over any other - it reads "A mother's love is true north, always leading the way home"... V received silver and Allison received gold. After having Allison gone this entire summer, missing home so much - I saw this bracelet and knew that it was the perfect gift for them!

On Christmas morning, we opened all of the other gifts under our tree... From family and friends...

I received a beautiful and thoughtful calendar from Lillian in Norway - the entire calendar is written in Norwegian, and she meticulously went through it and translated it for me - really an incredible gift!

I also received 2 new Starbucks "you are here" mugs from my Inlaws... They took 2 big trips this year - one to Washington state and one to Hawaii... Super excited to add these to my growing collection!

They also gave Josh and I matching Twins sweatshirts - with Josh's grandfather's logo on them... We love the Twins, and even more so - we love anything with this logo on it, as it's a very important part of Josh's family history.

And quite possibly the most meaningful gift came from BMTL - also involving a collaboration with Allison... Brian and Myrthe have these wonderful collages hanging on the walls in their home - I've always loved them, because they are just so candid and neat... Myrthe remembered how much I loved them, and asked Allison to go through all of our pictures to create a collage for me... So, Allison spent hours sitting here - digging through endless files of pictures - not only that, but she had to take each one and make it black and white... A super meaningful and quite honestly - emotional - gift... Highlighting decades of family memories, including the people and the animals who mean the most to us. As I opened it - I cried like a baby, flipping through these photos was just incredibly overwhelming... Immediately - we put the collage together to hang it in our upstairs hallway... It measures 6ft x 4ft... It's massive - and I think that is part of it's charm and meaning... It's indescribable!

Laying it out on the living room floor to assemble it...

Hanging it on the wall upstairs...

If you have any interest in ordering one of these for yourself - they are pretty cool - super easy to make & quite inexpensive considering the size... The name of the company is IXXI - you can google for the website - it's a European website, but they do take paypal and they do ship to the US. I know this, because there were a few people that were missed on our collage - so I already have another line in the queue to add to the bottom of ours. I love that you can add to it - take away - the options are endless!

And the girls all ready for Christmas day - in their matching shawls from BMTL... This was before we decided not to make the trip to Dad's.

And for fun - I goofy picture of Cooper yesterday on V's lap... LOL He is such a nut!

Otherwise - I've been enjoying my time off with the girls...

Allison started to take her first clients this week - so she has been busy at school, and working after...

V has just been enjoying no school and no work. LOL

Josh had his yearly back procedure yesterday - where they go in and burn off the nerves down his spine, so he is able to live a normal life without pain... This is his 4th year doing this - and the relief it brings is worth the pain of having it done for him. Initially - when he started doing these, the Drs were hopeful that after a few times, the nerves would get the hint and stop growing back... This has yet to happen - so this may be something he has to do for his entire life. Yesterday's procedure was "the best one yet" according to Josh - if there is such a thing - as the pain of doing it was very minimal and he was home and moving around the entire day - which is a good sign. He is off of work the remainder of the week with me.

And that's about all. I hope all of you had a wonderful Christmas and wishing you a Happy New year... After I do my heavy lifting this morning - I'll try to get back here to do a trip update.

Prayers and Pixie Dust to all!

D~

 

[Clio]

I'm glad you had a good Christmas with your family. Sorry you couldn't go to visit your dad but it's not worth risking your lives to get out there. My mom was the opposite. If there was snow on the roads, she would tell us to stay home and yell at us if we didn't.
We had a nice Christmas at my daughter's house. My brothers, sister and most of my nieces and nephews were there. We just sat around talking and watching the Cav's game. My daughter got me a new AnA bracelet. It's the one that's a paw. I'm not sure if it's a cat or dog but either way I like it.
I ended up with the stomach flu and was sick the past 3 days. I'd like to get through one Christmas when I don't get sick.
I hope Josh's back stays pain free.
Have a good day
Liz

 

[Wood Nymph]

I'm sorry that the weather prevented you from seeing your Dad. I hope you can get to see him soon. I would think that would make him happy.

I preferred the keyboard on my Blackberry phone. It had a feature where you could capitalize a letter by holding it down a moment. It had a better way to punctuate sentences, too. And typing on the Dis forums is annoying because it is so hard to edit.

Josh's pain treatment for his back sounds very interesting. My son in law has terrible back pain from a deteriorating disk. I wonder if that would be an option for him.

It looks like you had a wonderful Christmas. I love the collage. That was so thoughtful of Myrthe to think of it for you. Did Allison hunt through pictures while she was visiting them or after she got home?

 

[anniebean]

Looks like y'all had a wonderful Christmas!

I hope you don't fret too much about missing it with your dad. It's not like Jesus was actually born on December 25th, it's just when we celebrate His birth so the day you are able to safely travel and celebrate with your dad, it'll still be Christmas. I know one year we had to celebrate with my parents about a week early to accommodate my brother's work schedule....and it still felt like/was Christmas.

I absolutely love the collage, and your daughters' bracelets. I actually just ordered my very first Alex and Ani bracelet. My parents and aunt gave me Disney gift cards for Christmas so I splurged on a couple of Star Wars ones.

Annie Bean got a new fancy food and water bowl for Christmas, bones, and 1 toy. She has her "babies" scattered around the house so she really didn't need a new one, but she likes it.....and so far it's still intact.

I hope Josh's treatments work! I can't imagine having that done every year! Anything with the word "nerve ending" sounds unbelievably painful! Bless his heart!

Oh, and the Starbucks mugs....are those at all the Starbucks? (I'm not a coffee drinker, but my kids are addicts) If so, if you don't have a TN one, I can pick you one up. We now have 2 Starbucks within 5 miles of our house which seems crazy to me because we live in a small town.

 

[Ladyfish77]

You can tell by this post that I'm off work for the week and have some time to catch up!

Sigh. I am trying to release myself from this guilt and it just isn't going well..

It's difficult, but know that you spend a lot of time with your Dad and I'm sure he appreciates it.

I made home made Cream of Potato soup

Yum, looks wonderful.

We gave from our hearts though

I've noticed as the boys have grown up (how did that happen?) that the gifts are harder to shop for, but we work to find what is important to each person.

And also the cutest red plaid flannel PJ pants... Which I put on immediately.

Love the PJ's. Our family tradition is to open gifts on Christmas Day. When the boys were young they had friends who got to open something on Christmas Eve, so I started the PJ tradition--everyone gets Christmas PJ's to open on Christmas Eve. Even though they are grown, they still enjoy the tradition. I included DS's GF this year (got them matching Disney PJ's since we took them to WDW this past summer). I wasn't sure how the GF would react, but she was excited and thrilled that they "matched"!

I saw this bracelet and knew that it was the perfect gift for them!

Perfect!

Twins sweatshirts - with Josh's grandfather's logo on them

Did his grandfather design the logo? What a great history!

Highlighting decades of family memories, including the people and the animals who mean the most to us.

That is seriously awesome! What a wonderful gift.

where they go in and burn off the nerves down his spine

Sounds awful, but happy that it works for him!

Did I mention that I think I'm going to go crazy and buy an AP? I will probably activate it next fall and then I'll just be forced to schedule at least one more trip before it expires. With the 13 month special, I couldn't resist.

And to include just a bit more Disney--did you see that they are offering Memory Maker this year for Military at a great discount? I think $89 (don't quote me but it's around that price). You have to buy it at WDW but it activates immediately, so it's a great bargain!

Happy New Year to you and your family. I hope the weather cooperates so you can visit your Dad. Being military, we've rarely lived close enough to drive to visit family, which is so hard only getting to see everyone once a year or so.

 

[Terkina]

I'm so sad to hear you weren't able to go to your dad for Christmas. Crossing my fingers that you are able to go this weekend.

You got a lot of great gifts for Christmas. The collage looks great on your wall.

I said to my mom that I think it's strange that the Tromsø calendar is written in Norwegian only because I image that most people that want to buy the calendar are tourists or people from Tromsø that want to buy it to friends who lives out in the big world. It was a little challenging to translate some of the words and sentences so I hope the translation gives meaning.

I'm glad to hear Josh's back procedure went well. How great that they are able to give him this back procedure so he can go without pain for a year.


I had a nice Christmas with family. On the 26th of December Ulf and I was invited to my parents for dinner to have turkey. We are also invited to my parents for New Years Eve.
I have also been following World Championship Rapid and Blitz Chess on TV. This time it's on TV during daytime so it's easier to follow it on TV. The World Championship in Chess that was held in New York in November this year was mostly on TV during the night because of the time difference between USA and Norway so I didn't watch the matches that much then.

Before Christmas I bought a mini doughnut iron. I bought it because I like doughnuts, but I hate to fry them in a cooking pot with very hot oil which easily gets on fire. The mini doughnuts was easy to make with the iron and turn out delicious.

Ulf and I made homemade vanilla ice cream earlier this week. With the leftover egg whites from the ice cream making the plan is to bake macaroons. Neither Ulf or I have made macaroons before. So I'm wondering how they will turn out.

 

[Iamthequeen]

I've been missing in action here, but honestly it was a pain to try to write anything. The Dis was being a big pain. I'm glad you had a good family Christmas and try not to feel too badly that you couldn't make it up to see your Dad. I don't think trying to travel when the conditions are that bad is a really good idea. We had a good Christmas here - our big meal is on Christmas Eve and it was nice spending time with the kids. I didn't get any pictures, but we had 6 doggies here to spend the holiday with us - our 3, my son Steve's dog, Shannon's dog Ringo, and Kate and Chris brought their Jack Russell puppy, Dugan. Lots of chaos - it was wonderful.

Regarding your SW voucher - you can call and ask to have the deadline to use it extended. I think they will extend it for 6 months.

Some stuff going on here - my son Steven and his wife separated this summer and he moved in with us - and his dog Cally too. I can't remember if I told you this or not.

Sorry about your phone. I love my iPhone - I've had 3 so far, but have not upgraded to the 7.

Hope you enjoy your trip up to see your Dad this weekend. Happy New Year!

 

[branmuffin]

What a joyous Christmas! I love all the pictures. I am sorry your plans to see your Dad got cancelled. Hopefully, you will feel better about things once you are able to celebrate with him this weekend. The picture of the girls together is really good. They are both so pretty. I hope you are getting used to your phone. I am on my 2nd iPhone. I had a 4s for almost 4 1/2 years. I had a lifeproof case on it and it was nearly like new physically when I turned it back in. I have a 6s now, and have a lifeproof case on it as well. I definitely recommend those cases. They are kind of on the pricey side, but I am a totally klutz, and I know that iPhone screens are really fragile. I have used this one to take underwater pics and videos without any damage.

So my plans this weekend are to really try to prepare for the Whole30 that I want to start. My goal is to start on Jan 3. I am not so much worried about finding foods to eat, it's the spices and sauces that I am worried about. Looking through my spice cabinet, I have found a lot of my spices have an anti-caking agent in them. I am going to the commissary tonight or tomorrow to really spend some time and do research on labels to see what I can find. The problem is that is my only option because all the other stores are Japanese and have ingredients listed in Kanji which I don't know how to read. I have a feeling I may have to restart a time or two but I'm going to give it my best shot. I have really been glued to that FB group you added me to, so that has been super helpful with ideas.

Otherwise, they are supposed to be showing Moana on base tomorrow, so Emma and I are super-excited for that. I imagine everyone on base with kids will be there! It is a huge theater, though, so I am not worried about not getting tickets. I really hope you are enjoying your family time and have a great visit with your Dad this weekend.

 

[Born 2B a Princess]

I'm sorry you weren't able to spend Christmas with your Dad -- but you're right -- when even the locals don't feel it's safe to drive in the weather, you're better off staying home. I hope you're able to see him soon. It looks like you had a lovely Christmas, though. I love the girls A&A bracelets -- so meaningful! I'm glad Josh's back procedure went well. Yea!

We're plugging away at wedding plans and I'm getting really stressed about Alyssa's dress. We finally found lace that we like but it's $97 per yard. Not going to happen. I would really like her to just let us buy the dress instead of having her friend make it (she's a theatrical costume design major getting ready to graduate and her work is absolutely incredible -- long story but I really do have faith in her abilities...I just want Alyssa's dress to be perfect and don't want her to have regrets that she "settled" for something...I don't know if that makes sense).... So that's stressing me out. But we have the food for the reception planned out and have started on some of the reception decorations, so we're making progress. So much to do...

Have a great day!

 

[Mrs. Bradbury]

You guys! My daughter had to work Christmas Eve and day so we just celebrated our Christmas yesterday, and her gift to me is we're going to WDW this February!

I'll be back because I have questions, but I wanted to share the happy news!

 

[DMGeurts]

I'm glad you had a good Christmas with your family. Sorry you couldn't go to visit your dad but it's not worth risking your lives to get out there. My mom was the opposite. If there was snow on the roads, she would tell us to stay home and yell at us if we didn't.
We had a nice Christmas at my daughter's house. My brothers, sister and most of my nieces and nephews were there. We just sat around talking and watching the Cav's game. My daughter got me a new AnA bracelet. It's the one that's a paw. I'm not sure if it's a cat or dog but either way I like it.
I ended up with the stomach flu and was sick the past 3 days. I'd like to get through one Christmas when I don't get sick.
I hope Josh's back stays pain free.
Have a good day
Liz

Yes - despite not seeing Dad, we had a very nice Christmas.

It sounds like you also had a very nice Christmas... I know the exact AnA bracelet - that one is so cute... And you're right - I think it could be either a cat or a dog.

Oh no! I hope you are feeling better by now!

Josh is doing well - he went to the mall with us yesterday - he was a little sore, but as he said - he needed to get out and move around.

Have a great New Years Liz!

I'm sorry that the weather prevented you from seeing your Dad. I hope you can get to see him soon. I would think that would make him happy.

I preferred the keyboard on my Blackberry phone. It had a feature where you could capitalize a letter by holding it down a moment. It had a better way to punctuate sentences, too. And typing on the Dis forums is annoying because it is so hard to edit.

Josh's pain treatment for his back sounds very interesting. My son in law has terrible back pain from a deteriorating disk. I wonder if that would be an option for him.

It looks like you had a wonderful Christmas. I love the collage. That was so thoughtful of Myrthe to think of it for you. Did Allison hunt through pictures while she was visiting them or after she got home?

It was tough - and it was hard to get through Christmas. We are headed up today - regardless of weather.

Yes!! That is very similar to how my LG was - the keyboard was so easy for texting - I sure do miss that... There are several things I miss - and I wish I could control on this phone... For instance, on my old phone - I had my phone set to "vibrate" at almost all times - but I had my Fitbit's Bluetooth enabled, so even though my phone wouldn't ring, all of my calls would still come through on my fitbit... I need to figure out that feature... or even if it's possible.

It is possible? I do know that Josh had to fight for this specific plan - it's not a common one (although it is getting to be more so) - and when he first started doing this 4 years ago, it was a fairly new treatment. I cannot remember what Josh's specific diagnosis is, however - I do know that if ever he decides not to do this or if it stops working, his only other option is a quite risky surgery and his odds of coming out of that surgery without paralysis are quite low... Essentially - he is trying to put off surgery for as long as possible and buy himself some time, using the surgery as a very last resort. I'll try to remember to ask Josh what this procedure is called.

Thanks - yes - it was a super wonderful gift, one that I treasure immensely. Well, from what I understand - Myrthe talked to Allison about doing it for her while she was over there (I guess Myrthe has wanted to do this for me for quite some time? She just didn't have a way to get her hands on that many pictures for the project)... Then when Allison came home - Myrthe gave Allison access to her account... Allison did all of the editing here, and uploaded to Myrthe's account - then Myrthe logged in, purchased what Allison created and shipped it. They did a great job... The joint effort and thoughtfulness truly touched me.

So - it's the end of the week... Anxiously waiting to hear if you have your kitchen back and if it's fully functioning.

Looks like y'all had a wonderful Christmas!

I hope you don't fret too much about missing it with your dad. It's not like Jesus was actually born on December 25th, it's just when we celebrate His birth so the day you are able to safely travel and celebrate with your dad, it'll still be Christmas. I know one year we had to celebrate with my parents about a week early to accommodate my brother's work schedule....and it still felt like/was Christmas.

I absolutely love the collage, and your daughters' bracelets. I actually just ordered my very first Alex and Ani bracelet. My parents and aunt gave me Disney gift cards for Christmas so I splurged on a couple of Star Wars ones.

Annie Bean got a new fancy food and water bowl for Christmas, bones, and 1 toy. She has her "babies" scattered around the house so she really didn't need a new one, but she likes it.....and so far it's still intact.

I hope Josh's treatments work! I can't imagine having that done every year! Anything with the word "nerve ending" sounds unbelievably painful! Bless his heart!

Oh, and the Starbucks mugs....are those at all the Starbucks? (I'm not a coffee drinker, but my kids are addicts) If so, if you don't have a TN one, I can pick you one up. We now have 2 Starbucks within 5 miles of our house which seems crazy to me because we live in a small town.

We did - thank you.

This is very true... It's just the guilt of being forced to have my Dad so far away in the first place, and then to leave him alone on Christmas - it's just incredibly hard and I feel like it's hurtful to him... I hope he understands, but I am unsure if he truly does? We are going up today to celebrate with him... I hope I can finally release myself from some of the guilt after today, it's been a tough week over this.

Thanks - all of my gifts this year are truly treasured!

for your first AnA bracelets!!! Exciting! I just love them so much! I love the detail in the Star Wars ones - though I don't own any myself... I love Star Wars - but I am not a huge fan.

It's a tough procedure, for sure... Although - this one, the recovery from it has been the best yet. And like he says - if one day of a painful procedure gives him a year + of living a normal life, then it's worth it. So, I guess we will continue to do this until it no longer works, and then pray there is something else out there which can give him relief without surgery.

Well, I am glad that Annie Bean's new toys are still intact... SC demolished all of the toys, with exception to the plastic ones - new rule in our house - no more rope toys... SC completely shreds them and then eats the strings... He was acting so strangely last night, eating anything and everything he could find (my shoe laces for my Dot Vans are no more) - which isn't normal for him... And about and hour later - he threw up an entire large toy of string... So, from here out - it's durable plastic toys or nothing...

I am not sure if all Starbucks carry them? I do know, when we were in Kansas in November, we specifically hunted down the Starbucks, and we were told then, that they don't even make a Kansas mug... I was so disappointed! You are welcome to look, if you ever made it to a Starbucks - but please do not feel like you have to by any means... I do hope to make it back to Tennessee some day soon... My in-laws winter there, and we still hope to make it down for Christmas one year, it looks so beautiful there!

You can tell by this post that I'm off work for the week and have some time to catch up!

It's difficult, but know that you spend a lot of time with your Dad and I'm sure he appreciates it.

Yum, looks wonderful.

I've noticed as the boys have grown up (how did that happen?) that the gifts are harder to shop for, but we work to find what is important to each person.

Love the PJ's. Our family tradition is to open gifts on Christmas Day. When the boys were young they had friends who got to open something on Christmas Eve, so I started the PJ tradition--everyone gets Christmas PJ's to open on Christmas Eve. Even though they are grown, they still enjoy the tradition. I included DS's GF this year (got them matching Disney PJ's since we took them to WDW this past summer). I wasn't sure how the GF would react, but she was excited and thrilled that they "matched"!

Perfect!

Did his grandfather design the logo? What a great history!

That is seriously awesome! What a wonderful gift.

Sounds awful, but happy that it works for him!

Did I mention that I think I'm going to go crazy and buy an AP? I will probably activate it next fall and then I'll just be forced to schedule at least one more trip before it expires. With the 13 month special, I couldn't resist.

And to include just a bit more Disney--did you see that they are offering Memory Maker this year for Military at a great discount? I think $89 (don't quote me but it's around that price). You have to buy it at WDW but it activates immediately, so it's a great bargain!

Happy New Year to you and your family. I hope the weather cooperates so you can visit your Dad. Being military, we've rarely lived close enough to drive to visit family, which is so hard only getting to see everyone once a year or so.

Wow!!! Look at you go!!! LOL Give you a few days off, and you put me to shame.

Now, let's see if I can manage to remember what all of your replies are in reference to - since I can't see them in the reply section.

I wish I lived close enough to Dad to spend more time with him... I'd love it if he was near enough, where I could just go pick him up a few nights per week to have dinner with our family - or to go out shopping or even coffee... But having him live so close to me, leaves him living far away from my brother - and I don't know if that's a sacrifice he is willing to make? It's entirely possible, if a move like that was done - he may only see my brother on VERY rare occasions... It's a tough decision, and I don't think it is one I am ready to make.

The cream of potato soup was delicious... If I make it again though - I will peel the potatoes, LOL - I forgot to do it this time until I was 2/3 of the way done - so I just left all of the peels on... I would also make the potato chunks a bit smaller. Otherwise it was delicious - V was fighting for the leftovers until they were gone, which is entirely abnormal for her - as she usually doesn't go for leftovers. LOL So, that should give the recipe some merit! LOL

What a FUN PJ tradition! I always wanted to do that for us - but I never really made it happen. Maybe one day when I have Grands?

Yes, Josh's (maternal) grandfather designed the logo... I will see if I can go find the news article on it - since I am not sure I could recite the exact dates of the entire story correctly... Cool - it wasn't that hard to find in a Google search... http://www.twincities.com/2010/04/2...wins-target-field-remember-artist-ray-barton/ And here's a picture of all of us in front of the "Larger than Life" tribute at Target Field when BMT (no L yet) visited MN in 2014 (awww... bummer - the logo is a little cut off...)

Oooh - how exciting to be getting an AP... I soooo badly wanted to renew mine, sadly with other financial obligations this year - I just don't foresee a way to go back to Disney in 2017. It's OK though - we have many other exciting new things going on this year, and I hope to at least start planning a 2018 trip some time soon. Congrats to you though!!!

I did not see that!!! Thanks for letting me know - that is super exciting! Now, hopefully it's something that they continue for a while. LOL

I hope you have a wonderful New Year!!!

I'm so sad to hear you weren't able to go to your dad for Christmas. Crossing my fingers that you are able to go this weekend.

You got a lot of great gifts for Christmas. The collage looks great on your wall.

I said to my mom that I think it's strange that the Tromsø calendar is written in Norwegian only because I image that most people that want to buy the calendar are tourists or people from Tromsø that want to buy it to friends who lives out in the big world. It was a little challenging to translate some of the words and sentences so I hope the translation gives meaning.

I'm glad to hear Josh's back procedure went well. How great that they are able to give him this back procedure so he can go without pain for a year.


I had a nice Christmas with family. On the 26th of December Ulf and I was invited to my parents for dinner to have turkey. We are also invited to my parents for New Years Eve.
I have also been following World Championship Rapid and Blitz Chess on TV. This time it's on TV during daytime so it's easier to follow it on TV. The World Championship in Chess that was held in New York in November this year was mostly on TV during the night because of the time difference between USA and Norway so I didn't watch the matches that much then.

Before Christmas I bought a mini doughnut iron. I bought it because I like doughnuts, but I hate to fry them in a cooking pot with very hot oil which easily gets on fire. The mini doughnuts was easy to make with the iron and turn out delicious.

Ulf and I made homemade vanilla ice cream earlier this week. With the leftover egg whites from the ice cream making the plan is to bake macaroons. Neither Ulf or I have made macaroons before. So I'm wondering how they will turn out.

We are headed up to Dad's today, regardless of weather. I am looking forward to it!

I didn't give it much thought - but you are right - that is a little strange that the calendar is written in Norwegian... I hung it on my sewing room wall yesterday - every time I turn my head, I smile... It's really a cool gift, and I cannot wait to flip every month to read what you wrote, it will be like Christmas on every 1st. LOL

Yes - it is a relief to him, as long as it continues to work, I fear the day that it no longer does, and we will have to find other options for him.

It sounds like you had a very nice Christmas and a nice New Years planned tonight.

Interesting about the chess... That is not a game I learned to play - so I am not sure I would find myself watching it on TV... It sounds like something you enjoy though - so that is awesome that it's more convenient for you to watch this time around.

I totally understand about frying the donuts in oil... Josh and I had a grease fire once in my kitchen before we were married - it was SCARY! Ever since, I won't let anyone fry anything in oil inside the house - so all oil frying must be done outdoors and during the warmer months - on top of that, I don't like the grease smell that permeates inside - so it's better to do it outside anyways. The donut iron sounds interesting and super happy to hear that the donuts are tasty!

Mmmm - I remember when you and Ulf made ice cream last year, and you said it was delicious! It sounds like it is... And the macaroons sound tasty too! I hope they turn out for you guys!

I've been missing in action here, but honestly it was a pain to try to write anything. The Dis was being a big pain. I'm glad you had a good family Christmas and try not to feel too badly that you couldn't make it up to see your Dad. I don't think trying to travel when the conditions are that bad is a really good idea. We had a good Christmas here - our big meal is on Christmas Eve and it was nice spending time with the kids. I didn't get any pictures, but we had 6 doggies here to spend the holiday with us - our 3, my son Steve's dog, Shannon's dog Ringo, and Kate and Chris brought their Jack Russell puppy, Dugan. Lots of chaos - it was wonderful.

Regarding your SW voucher - you can call and ask to have the deadline to use it extended. I think they will extend it for 6 months.

Some stuff going on here - my son Steven and his wife separated this summer and he moved in with us - and his dog Cally too. I can't remember if I told you this or not.

Sorry about your phone. I love my iPhone - I've had 3 so far, but have not upgraded to the 7.

Hope you enjoy your trip up to see your Dad this weekend. Happy New Year!

Tess!!! It's wonderful to see you here! I've missed you - so happy we can keep up on FB though!

I am glad that you had such a nice Christmas! And the chaos sounds absolutely marvelous - I miss the chaos of the girls' younger years... So sad I didn't realize back then just how precious those years would be to me... I look back on those memories and treasure them all. I am so happy to hear that you had a full house and a full heart for Christmas! I dream of those days for myself!

Ooooh - now there is an idea! I think I will do that after the holidays... With V being gone the entire summer, I just don't see any way we could travel anywhere before July - but if they extended it for 6 months - that would put us into January of 2018 - which is a definite probability for a trip. Thanks for this info!!!

No - I don't believe you told me about Steven... I am sad for them about their marriage - that is never an easy thing to go through (so I am told)... However, it must be sort-of nice to have one of your kids back home? If it were me - I think I would enjoy that a lot?

So far the Iphone is OK - there are some definite features of my old phone that I am missing... I did change some settings this morning - we'll see if that does anything different for me?

We are headed to dad's this morning... We are going to stop and pick up take-out at our favorite Chinese restaurant, which we haven't been to in at least 8 years... Then we will celebrate Christmas at his house with my brother. Since we will be in no rush to come home, we'll probably hang out there longer than usual today. Hopefully that puts my dad in better spirits about missing Christmas. I just want to be home before it's too late, as I don't want to be on the roads tonight at all.

Happy New Year to you and yours Tess!!!

What a joyous Christmas! I love all the pictures. I am sorry your plans to see your Dad got cancelled. Hopefully, you will feel better about things once you are able to celebrate with him this weekend. The picture of the girls together is really good. They are both so pretty. I hope you are getting used to your phone. I am on my 2nd iPhone. I had a 4s for almost 4 1/2 years. I had a lifeproof case on it and it was nearly like new physically when I turned it back in. I have a 6s now, and have a lifeproof case on it as well. I definitely recommend those cases. They are kind of on the pricey side, but I am a totally klutz, and I know that iPhone screens are really fragile. I have used this one to take underwater pics and videos without any damage.

So my plans this weekend are to really try to prepare for the Whole30 that I want to start. My goal is to start on Jan 3. I am not so much worried about finding foods to eat, it's the spices and sauces that I am worried about. Looking through my spice cabinet, I have found a lot of my spices have an anti-caking agent in them. I am going to the commissary tonight or tomorrow to really spend some time and do research on labels to see what I can find. The problem is that is my only option because all the other stores are Japanese and have ingredients listed in Kanji which I don't know how to read. I have a feeling I may have to restart a time or two but I'm going to give it my best shot. I have really been glued to that FB group you added me to, so that has been super helpful with ideas.

Otherwise, they are supposed to be showing Moana on base tomorrow, so Emma and I are super-excited for that. I imagine everyone on base with kids will be there! It is a huge theater, though, so I am not worried about not getting tickets. I really hope you are enjoying your family time and have a great visit with your Dad this weekend.

Thanks! It was a nice Christmas!

We are headed to Dad's house today - so hopefully he and I will feel much better about the holiday once we are able to celebrate together.

I do have a case on my Iphone now - it's not a life proof case though - I have seen those and I am considering investing in one... I have dropped my previous phones a few times... Thanks for the recommendation!

I might be doing a Whole30 type reset with you... I need to do something after the holidays. Sadly - since I've already done 1 SUPER STRICT W30, all of my subsequent tries have been about 95% compliant - since I don't have any allergies or issues, I don't feel like I need to be as strict as someone who really needs to have these items cut out. So... I don't make ghee all of the time... And there are a few other things I don't do as religiously as I did the first time... So, according to the 1st timers group - I am not doing a W30 at all - LOL... But I find the basic principle behind it is super helpful to reset myself, so I incorporate as much into my daily life as I can. That FB group - even though they are STRICT and mostly unforgiving about the rules and recommendations - they are SUPER knowledgeable and a definite example to follow, which is why I send so many people there, there is so much to learn from them! Considering your situation - and maybe ask there what they'd recommend - but my recommendation is to do the absolute best you can with what you have available to you... Their opinion may differ from mine though - so I'd definitely ask there. Who knows, maybe there might have been someone in your similar situation already who can give you some great pointers? It's a HUGE group - so you never know. Good luck! And you'll probably be seeing me get more active in that group over the next few days as I prepare to follow your lead.

Enjoy Moana!!! It was a great movie - V was particularly impressed with the animation in it - according to her, water is the absolute hardest thing to animate.

Have a Happy New Year my friend - here's to an amazing 2017!

I'm sorry you weren't able to spend Christmas with your Dad -- but you're right -- when even the locals don't feel it's safe to drive in the weather, you're better off staying home. I hope you're able to see him soon. It looks like you had a lovely Christmas, though. I love the girls A&A bracelets -- so meaningful! I'm glad Josh's back procedure went well. Yea!

We're plugging away at wedding plans and I'm getting really stressed about Alyssa's dress. We finally found lace that we like but it's $97 per yard. Not going to happen. I would really like her to just let us buy the dress instead of having her friend make it (she's a theatrical costume design major getting ready to graduate and her work is absolutely incredible -- long story but I really do have faith in her abilities...I just want Alyssa's dress to be perfect and don't want her to have regrets that she "settled" for something...I don't know if that makes sense).... So that's stressing me out. But we have the food for the reception planned out and have started on some of the reception decorations, so we're making progress. So much to do...

Have a great day!

I know - I keep telling myself that... I am hoping, after spending today with him, that I will be able to release myself from some of that guilt - it's been a tough week!

The wedding plans sound amazing!!! Such an exciting time! There is NO way I could bring myself to pay $97/yard for anything, LOL - and you'd need several yards, I imagine? Yikes! Such a hard decision about her dress - however, do you feel like she is settling? Or do you feel like this is what she really wants? I know that the custom dress world is an amazing place - and many people would love the opportunity to have something custom made for them... I guess - in the end - if it's a regrettable decision, it's her's and not yours - so hopefully you won't have to bear much of that regret. I hope that made sense? I am not saying that to be rude - only to maybe release you from a burden that may not be yours to bear? Gosh... Sending you a huge hug - I know that the stress of planning a wedding is so huge, I planned my own, but I cannot imagine planning the girls' yet. I am certain that Alyssa's wedding will be beautiful and spectacular - and I hope you will share pictures of it somewhere!

Happy New Year to you my friend!!! Here's to a wonderful 2017!

You guys! My daughter had to work Christmas Eve and day so we just celebrated our Christmas yesterday, and her gift to me is we're going to WDW this February!

I'll be back because I have questions, but I wanted to share the happy news!

Eeeek!!! How exciting! I'd definitely work Christmas Eve and Day if that meant I could go to WDW! LOL What a great consolation prize! I cannot wait to hear all about your trip and your plans!

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Wow!!! Replies took forever this morning... And then about 2/3 of the way through - my browser crashed. Thank God it recovered all of my replies - or I think I would have given up for the day. LOL

Not much news here....

I've gone back to work a little early - trying to get some side projects gathered for spring time... So, I guess - technically - my Christmas break is over - though I am trying hard to still go at a slow pace until I officially go back to work on Tuesday.

Let's see - the IPhone is chugging along... I am learning and adjusting. Still a lot I am missing about my LG, I am adapting and getting better about it. I've managed to recover many of my contacts - however - I am still missing a considerable amount... Again - if any of you have me in your contacts, could you please text me... I can think of a few of you off the top of my head that I am missing...

Victoria has been saving like a crazy girl, ever since Allison got her Iphone a few weeks ago... Yesterday - she concluded that she had enough for her own IPhone... so, there you have it... We now have 3 Iphones in our house. She is a happy girl - as I guess - she has wanted one "forever"... She ended up with a Silver one just like mine... She really wanted a rose gold one - however, they were completely out of stock in the entire metro - and she wasn't willing to wait... Personally - I wish she would have, it is my belief, if you are going to pay THAT MUCH for something, you better get exactly what you want...

Let's see - I went grocery shopping yesterday... I went with a specific list in my hands, as I had organized our pantry the other day and I needed to restock a lot. I was able to get almost everything I needed and more, plus I stayed in budget - which is also good.

As I have said - our budget is tight this year... Part of the reason behind that, is that Josh just discovered that he has a pretty major oil leak in his truck... So, now we are temporarily down a vehicle, plus we need to fix his truck... With 4 people working... 2 going to school full-time... It's going to be utter chaos here until we save up enough to fix Josh's truck. Ahhhh - the joys of being an adult. It is what it is... So, for the time being - we have buckled down and we are chucking as much into savings as we possibly can... As you all know me - cash is king, and I detest putting anything on credit (Dave Ramsey anyone?)... Sometimes I feel like tightening our belts like this is a reminder to stay diligent at all times - if that makes sense.... So, we've all hiked up our big-girl panties and hopefully it will only take us a few weeks to save up the thousands I fear we need.

Anyways... What else is new??? Oh - Allison started to take her first clients this week... Josh was in need of a hair cut - so we ambushed him into her chair... She didn't do his cut actually - her instructor did, Josh wasn't ready for Allison yet - LOL.... But she did watch and hopefully learn...

And that's it - we are headed to my Dad's to celebrate Christmas... I better run actually - as no one is awake and I wanted to be on the road in about an hour...

Happy New Year to you all... I am still working on my TR updates... All of my pictures uploaded sideways - so I have to rotate each one individually... Grrr....

Prayers and Pixie Dust to all of you!

D~

 

[Ladyfish77]

Yes, Josh's (maternal) grandfather designed the logo... I will see if I can go find the news article on it

That is such a great history. I imagine he was not pleased when he was making a simple cartoon for a beverage cup and they decided to use it as the Team Logo! I'm sure he would have done all kinds of things differently. But, sometimes simple is best, and it's a great logo!

Enjoy visiting your Dad.

 

[Clio]

Happy New Year have a safe trip up to visit your dad.d
I'm feeling much better, thanks. It's been quiet around here the snow storm they were predicting never showed up, thank goodness.
I'm working a a small project for a friend. Her dog tried to eat a afghan that. belongs to her son's GF. I've been patching it and sewing it back together. The poor girl was heartbroken. I'm almost done.
Have a good weekend
Liz

 

[Terkina]

I agree with you on V's new iphone. She should have waited to get the phone she really wanted since it costs that much money. Oh, well, it's her choice not to wait so I hope she is happy with the phone she got.

How great that you got everything on your needed at the grocery store and stayed in budget. A specially now when you need to save money to repair Josh's car.

How exciting that Allison has started taking her first clients at school. I can totally understand Josh not being ready for Allison to cut his hair.

I hope the drive to your dad goes OK. I hope you have a great celebration with him with both celebrating Christmas and New Years.

Happy New Year to you and your family


Ulf has made ice cream many times during the year. The ice cream has been delicious every time.

Sadly the macaroons didn't turn out as they should. For some reason I don't understand the mixture/dough turned out MUCH thicker than it should. So we weren't able to make the macaroonns as thin as they should be. We ended up with some sort of almond dough that we decided to cook as if we were making macaroons. The almonds cakes tasted good even if we won't male it to macaroons. Oh well, better luck next time. I think we will try a different recipe next time we make ice cream and get left over egg whites

 

[sharksfinatic17]

Yes!! That is very similar to how my LG was - the keyboard was so easy for texting - I sure do miss that... There are several things I miss - and I wish I could control on this phone... For instance, on my old phone - I had my phone set to "vibrate" at almost all times - but I had my Fitbit's Bluetooth enabled, so even though my phone wouldn't ring, all of my calls would still come through on my fitbit... I need to figure out that feature... or even if it's possible.

I was waiting to see if one your regulars replied to your frustration with the keyboard. I didn't see anyone give the suggestion of a 3rd party keyboard. There are two that I use - Gboard (by Google) and SwiftKey. I mostly use the Google one. This allows you to just slide your fingers along the keyboard much like androids. Also your FitBit can vibrate upon calls, texts and calendar notifications. Go into your account, go to notifications and choose what you want sent to your fitbit. Good luck!

 

[Mrs. Bradbury]

Thanks Dorine, I'm SO EXCITED!

We're going the week of Valentine's Day and staying at Pop.

Living in GA, we've been to WDW many times but not since the new Fastpass system began. We've been trying to figure out what to get FPs for, and so far we hate this new system! Hopefully it will be better in action.

Grace snagged a breakfast BOG reservation for a "ticketed event" - does that mean it will cost extra to get in? It begins at 7:45 and our breakfast is for 8:40. Can we be inside the park at 7:45 or can we not get in until our meal time? We may need to cancel that because I don't want her to pay extra for anything, if it costs extra.

Background info: my daughter is 25 and finished her BSN, RN 2 years ago and is a trauma ICU nurse at a level one trauma center in GA. She had a VERY difficult adolescence, and I'm so very proud of her.

I know I'll have more questions but right now my 15 month old grandson (my oldest son's son) is visiting and he's a handful! Grace and I want to take him with us, but my son says no, he wants to be the first one to take him down Main Street. Since he can't talk, Grace and I think if we could just "borrow" him for a few days, the 'rents won't be any the wiser - except I bet he would come back saying "bloon!" LOL