DonnaBeeGood
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Aug 3, 2014
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Last edited:
But what will Ariel say?
I sure do! It's SO. MUCH. WORK! But so worth it in the end I've been out of school now for a year and some nights I still think "Ugh, how much homework do I have tonight?" Again, a HUGE CONGRATS!!!!!!!Thank you so much, Tracy!! I know you understand exactly how good it feels when all the hard work pays off!
Thank you! I'm definitely proud, and feeling very relieved to have it done!
Today, however, was probably the most fun I'd ever had with Merida
Stitch "licked" my face with a slurpy sound, and I told him I'd never wash it again
In her thick-as-pea-soup southern drawl, she proclaimed: "When I went...it was all lights (laaa-eeets,) and music (meeeyooooo-sic,) and Mickey doin' his magic (maayuh-gic)!!"
I reached down into my shorts pocket for my nearly-dead cell phone to double check whether we were in our Splash Mountain FP window...and my hand came up empty!!!
Suddenly, a break in the case! N's phone began to ring!
Before leaving for any trips, I had always changed my phone's lock screen to include a message that if it was found to call N's phone number. (I've since updated that message to say that it should be returned to an employee, or lost and found! Much more efficient! But, I digress.)
I was feeling warm, dehydrated, and a bit nauseas from the heat and the panic.
the absolute hero of this story. That man's name is Jim At Guest Relations. And he saved my life that day.
Crisis averted!
And didn't lose second or first breakfast!
Maybe I should make a point of seeing her next time.
Certainly not shy, is he.
Awww... but with the accent, I kinda want to laugh, too.
Oh! Smart.
Maybe do both things? Have N's phone and instructions to bring to a CM?
No, it's not just a thing. I mean, of course it is, but... think of losing your wedding photos. Or your home in a fire. Just things? Yes. But some of those things will be irreplaceable.
Ohhhh... I'd love to do this some day. I've wanted to for decades.
mmmm!! Love BOG French onion soup! Only reason (no. really. only reason) to go there.
Giant tadpole? What the heck is that?
But what will Ariel say?
I sure do! It's SO. MUCH. WORK! But so worth it in the end I've been out of school now for a year and some nights I still think "Ugh, how much homework do I have tonight?" Again, a HUGE CONGRATS!!!!!!!
Hi Meghan!
Nice to see you updating again.
Congrats on the Masters degree. I can only imagine how much hard work went into it. I have to confess I had no interest in going back to university after my Bachelors degree.
I really like the idea of doing early morning magic. My family enjoys breakfast so I feel like we could get our money’s worth out of it.
I loved my meet with her as well. Not any discussion so much as I just love the photo.
That is so great!! I love to hear people's enthusiasm with things like this! Especially to Newbies.
1000% have done this EXACT. SAME. THING. 1st ride of our 2016 trip.... TT. Worse feeling EVER!!!
This is an insanely great tip. Totally going to do this!
I bet!He has a very strong stomach! I'm envious!
I gots my chick and my side-chick.I recommend it. Though you may have to tread carefully since I know you have a special relationship with a different redheaded princess.
Stitch is many things, but shy doesn't seem to be one of them!
Technically I actually have done both. I have instructions to return to a CM ("employee," really, as I've decided to leave this photo up full time, not just at Disney anymore,) and then also list emergency contacts below, including Nathan and another family member who doesn't usually travel with us. I figure it covers my bases in case anything were to ever happen when someone would need to know who to call, etc.
I'd really like to.I know it's hard to pull oneself away from the parks, but I'd say that it's really worth doing sometime when you have time! I hope you can fit it into your plans at some point.
Big chunk of octopus? That'd probably be a bit too much for me.It looks like it! Octopus...close enough.
Now that all that's said...let's see if I can actually get this TR wrapped up before the end of this monstrosity of a year called 2020...
Yeah you're back!!!!!!!!!!! Now you better not go doing a disappearing act again.
I was so happy to log in and see your update! How fun to relive pre-pandemic memories!
Congrats on your new career! I am a 2nd grade teacher, and love our schedule!
Ahh Meghan so nice to hear about all your new life and career adventures,
I hope we can meet up again someday at our Happy Place!
Good luck with your new position, so happy for you!
I miss the dessert parties in MK
The font is familiar, but I can't place the face...*yawns* hmmmmmmaaaaaaawwwhhhh! Morning, folks! How's everybody doing?....
427 days....Jeez...I feel like I've been hit by a truck...How long was I out for?
*takes a moment to look at my track record of coming back to write updates on this report with any kind of consistency...*
...yeah, no, that tracks. Never mind.
No! Anything but that!had to go digging in that scary bottom drawer of my desk. *shudder*
Surely to god I can finish TWO MORE UPDATES before I crap out on you all again. Right? ....right?!?!
I do recall.So last I left off, I had finished my master's degree in human communication disorders and had just become a full-fledged speech-language pathologist!
Of that I am quite sure.let me tell you...last year was A TIME to start working in schools for the very first time!
I'm glad to hear that.But I really enjoyed my job and developed some relationships with some incredibly special kids.
Congratulations!this fall I'll be starting a brand new position with my school district that was designed to be filled by SLPs called "ASD (autism spectrum disorder) Early Intervention Communication Specialist!"
You already were.It's a VERRRY long title, so that must mean that I'm a VERRRY important person, right!? RIGHT!
Look at you! You're hair is so long! Totally suits you. Love it.
I thought that was the original hue.Oh, also I dyed my hair back and grew it back out.
I would think so.N continues to paint commissions, both in spray paint and acrylic, but to say that the pandemic didn't affect his business would be a lie.
And... I can totally see that.N is a hard worker and very likeable, so he landed himself a couple of customer-support-type jobs right away doing phone support. This wasn't cutting it for him though, and he felt like his soul was being slowly sucked from his body.
But good for him!He started in a casual position, but proved himself quickly and actually managed to move into a permanent full-time gig before I (the person with the master's degree!) did, which he thinks is hilarious.
Aww, what a cutie patootie.
Hey! And do you like it? (Or tolerate it?)(N taught me to fish!)
Very nice!and even bought a second-hand canoe.
Beautiful shots.
I'd love to go some day. I've been to Nova Scotia, but that's it.Last weekend we also took an overnight trip to Prince Edward Island, which is one of my favourite places to visit.
mmmmmmm... yes please.
I've kept in touch with many of the DIS folks I know more personally through social media, but there are still many folks on here who I haven't heard from or reached out to in a loooooooonnnggg time.
Nope! Same one. Believe you're caught up on it. I still need to put up another chapter, but I've been busy working.let me know if you have a new trip report going that I should follow!
Love your wedding photos.And so I include a few of my favourite wedding trip photos again here because they make me smile.
Oh, sure. I totally remember that.My last update left off after a dinner at Be Our Guest restaurant,
Just saw the movie a couple nights ago. Have you seen it?Our first stop was the Jungle Cruise,
"The family that sits together sticks together...it's called humidity! Welcome to Florida!
It's a place where dreams come true and pennies cost fifty-one cents!"
But of course.(stopping to photograph mini-Haynnk on the way, of course.)
This surprises... no one.N loves looking at the art in the store across Main St
Last row!See if you can locate us on the boat!
Poor N fell asleep. You must've beat him handily!
...and then I tried to get some pressed pennies outside the ride. (I guess that comment about the 51-cent pennies was like advertising for my brain? )
We stopped for a photopass photographer on our way back to the hub, and let me tell you, she was enthusiastic! I was just looking for a shot or two before dark, but this lady was ready to have some fun!
Really like this one.
Never seen that one either.We even got this cute little Jack-Jack magic shot that I hadn't seen elsewhere:
Interesting.I'd read reviews and had friends who'd done both, and the consensus was that the "after" party was nice because you could stake out a good viewing spot in advance, watch the fireworks, and then enjoy your dessert in a very quiet park as everyone else was leaving.
Of course, two "shoulder kids" ended up plunking themselves directly in front of me with a few minutes to go before the fireworks started.
Thanks for posting. You got some good ones!I never did get around to going back and editing most of my fireworks photos, but I'll post some here anyway.
Oh, I hear you. And who knows when we'll get back again!I'm beginning to recognize even more so now how valuable these photos are to me now that it's been ~20 months since we've been able to take a Disney trip.
I never really got the chance to decide if I liked it or not. I did see it a couple times, but... not enough to make a decision. Ah well, I'll never see it again, so shan't dwell on it.I really like Happily Ever After. It's grown on me since it first was introduced shortly before our wedding trip. I love the music, and I think it's got some really great moments.
So soon? It feels like the first chapter was just the other day!Alright, folks. This is it. The last update.
Ice cream?!?!? They had ice cream?!?!
Not bad!And I was offered this massive plate of fruits, gluten free loaf slices, cookies, and mini cupcakes from Erin McKenna's NYC Bakery.
Sounds... not great. But I guess it couldn't have been that bad if you don't remember it.I have a note that it seems we were under some kind of air vent that kept dripping water on the chairs and tables? I have no memory of this now whatsoever, but I'm sure it wasn't the best part of the night.
I get that.I remember feeling like the clock was ticking on our last moments of our trip, which made it hard not to feel sad.
I actually felt I was paying for a nice place to sit, not be jostled and have a nice view of the show. The dessert was a perk.For the cost of the dessert party, we felt like we had to stuff ourselves with sugar to make it "worth it."
But it offered us a great non-crowded location to view the fireworks
It's also possible that I'm remembering this incorrectly after *ahem THREE YEARS ahem*
Ah! There it is.
I KNOW!!!!I hate packing when it means that the trip is over!
At the time I thought this was an insane number of pins. If I could have imagined how my pin collection would grow over the three years that followed, I would have been shocked!
If anyone is still here, thanks for sticking it out and coming back to read more whenever I found my way back for another update.
Wow! Blast from the past. Hard to believe it's been 4 years since you and N got married. Congratulations! Also hard to believe it's been almost 3 since I moved down here. I don't do social media, so update for me isn't special...*yawns* hmmmmmmaaaaaaawwwhhhh! Morning, folks! How's everybody doing?....
....oh wait...you guys look different...
...Jeez...I feel like I've been hit by a truck...How long was I out for?
*crickets*
...wait? A YEAR??!?!!!?! It's been A WHOLE YEAR?!?!?!
I HAVEN'T BEEN HERE IN A WHOLE YEEEEEEEAARRRR???!?!?!
How in tarnation did THAT happen???
*takes a moment to look at my track record of coming back to write updates on this report with any kind of consistency...*
...yeah, no, that tracks. Never mind.
I mean, not like any of us saw this coming or anything. I did have high hopes...
Hah!
HAAAHH!
Whoops! Sorry folks! It's been so long that I don't even remember what font/colours I was using. (Hopefully this will be close!) It's been so long that I had to give myself a crash course on how to multi-quote. It's been so long that I misplaced the external hard drive with the trip photos on it and had to go digging in that scary bottom drawer of my desk. *shudder* Hmmm...how do I insert photos again??....what photo hosting site was it that I used to use...hmmm..... But it's okay because I'm here now! And surely! Surely to god I can finish TWO MORE UPDATES before I crap out on you all again. Right? ....right?!?!
So since it's been a YEAR (oh gosh, I'm so sorry folks...) since I was here last...(I mean, technically it's actually been over a year, but I digress...) in case there's anyone still out there, I'll give a life update! I always used to do that in the blue text right? Gosh, I don't remember...it's been so long...gotta get back in the groove...
So last I left off, I had finished my master's degree in human communication disorders and had just become a full-fledged speech-language pathologist! Last summer I interviewed for a job, got one, lost it to the pandemic before the contract was sent out, and then interviewed for another job, then got it, and was hired on as a school speech-language pathologist. I did that all last year, which...let me tell you...last year was A TIME to start working in schools for the very first time! Oh boy! If you want to steepen the learning curve of your very first big-girl job, start working during a global pandemic!! But I really enjoyed my job and developed some relationships with some incredibly special kids. I still think about them all the time. My job last year was a term, however, so I needed to find something for this fall as well. My schools/team/boss seemed to like me alright though, so when interviews came around again this year, I was hopeful that I'd be able to secure something that would allow me to stick with the same school district. And lo and behold, this fall I'll be starting a brand new position with my school district that was designed to be filled by SLPs called "ASD (autism spectrum disorder) Early Intervention Communication Specialist!" It's a VERRRY long title, so that must mean that I'm a VERRRY important person, right!? RIGHT! It's also a full-time job—my last one was 70%—and I believe that it has the potential to turn into something permanent—my last one was only a 1-year term—and it's a 10-month position—my last one was 12-month—(meaning that I work a teacher's schedule now and will have summers off and have my 10 months of pay divided up over the 12 months of the year,) so I'm moving on up in the world!
<
Oh, also I dyed my hair back and grew it back out. Obviously. No more fun colours for me. At least...for now.
Since I GUESSSSSS this report is also about dear sweet N, I'll also update you a little on him as well. N continues to paint commissions, both in spray paint and acrylic, but to say that the pandemic didn't affect his business would be a lie. More important than the financial hit, he also misses doing events and shows terribly, and he loved travelling and painting from one city to the next. Just this summer, for the first time, small local events have started to pop back up again with restrictions in place, and he's been able to finally get a taste of live painting for an actual in-person audience again, and this has made him happy. In all the free time that the pandemic so kindly opened up for him, however, we both felt the need for him to get a "real job." N is a hard worker and very likeable, so he landed himself a couple of customer-support-type jobs right away doing phone support. This wasn't cutting it for him though, and he felt like his soul was being slowly sucked from his body. He's done a lot of this type of work over the years, but it's not really something he enjoys, so he was hoping to find something different. He kept looking and ended up landing a position before too long as an IT Support Specialist with my school district. They love him (because he's awesome.) He started in a casual position, but proved himself quickly and actually managed to move into a permanent full-time gig before I (the person with the master's degree!) did, which he thinks is hilarious. He'll always paint in some capacity, of this we're sure. Whether he will return to painting full-time again in future is yet to be seen. For the meantime, we're working, we're healthy, and we're both okay.
Oh! And Stacey! Well...let's see...Stacey J. Aswad is still a cat. She continues be to sassy. I still love her. That's all.
We actually attempted to rescue a second cat back in the winter. His name was Marty, (as in Martin A. Sklar,) and he was a serious sweetie. But Stacey absolutely wouldn't have it. We worried about both of their safety and happiness. After trying to carefully and systematically introduce them and make it work for about 2 months, we had to have the shelter find a different home for him. Stacey is a very dominant one-cat-home kinda girl, and we sadly needed to respect this. So it's still just the three of us, a girl, her husband, and their sassy Disney cat.
My niece ("I") will turn four this fall. She's becoming more and more photogenic for her "Auntie Mimi" every day!
On N's side of the family, our pandemic-baby nephew is somehow now 16 months old!? And we've just been informed that we've got another niece or nephew on the way! (My vote is for niece! Someone needs to keep all those three boys my sister-in-laws have birthed in line! )
Pandemic life has also meant that we've spent a lot more time appreciating our local area, rather than travelling longer distances. We've spent more time in nature, doing more walking, and frequenting local lakes and rivers (N taught me to fish!) and even bought a second-hand canoe. We've barbecued, enjoyed our family more, and tried to make the most of the fun things to do in our area and the provinces nearest us on the east coast.
Last weekend we also took an overnight trip to Prince Edward Island, which is one of my favourite places to visit. We enjoyed the beach, good food, and a slower pace for a couple of days. I attempted to "vlog" our trip, but was terrible at it. I might edit the videos at some point anyway and share them, but we'll see. I know how it goes when I try to commit to any kind of vacation/trip reporting these days! But PEI was beautiful and we had a wonderful weekend away.
I've kept in touch with many of the DIS folks I know more personally through social media, but there are still many folks on here who I haven't heard from or reached out to in a loooooooonnnggg time. If that's you, and we haven't been in touch much since my mysterious disappearance from the DIS (or even if it's not, I guess!) then please comment or reach out and let me know what you've been up to! Sometimes it's been hard to think about Disney trips over the last year, and I haven't had the urge to be here the way I used to in a long time, but regardless I've still been missing my sweet DIS friends. Also, feel free to post here and let me know if you have a new trip report going that I should follow! I'll do my best to check for some links in people's signatures and check in on what you've been up to, but if you want to make sure I don't miss you, then give me a shout! Since I've been struggling to DIS-it-up consistently over the last couple of years, and since I'm about to move into a full-time job in a few short days, I may not be a consistent follower and commenter. I'm hopeful, however, that I'll be able to at least lurk when I'm able. You may not "see" me much, but when I can be, I'll be there.
Finally, N and I celebrated our 4-year (4 "ear") wedding anniversary this week. And so I include a few of my favourite wedding trip photos again here because they make me smile.
And my astonishment that it had somehow been 4 years since we got married quickly gave way to my bewilderment that that meant it had also been 3 years since our 1st anniversary trip...and that I'd somehow STILL never finished that report...and so here I am...and the show must go on...or perhaps more appropriately, the show must conclude. I mean, it's time. It's really time.
And so without further ado...the final updates...