Your car repairman is a gem. Victoria is really lucky that he gave her so much service for such a reasonable price.
Your plaid shirt is really cute. It goes really well with the new bag. I like the shade of blue that you used for it.
We've had quite a bit of drama over our upcoming stay at Port Orleans Riverside. We received an email from Disney last weekend telling us that our resort was now a dog friendly resort. This was something like ten days notice and I was livid. How dare they change the rules with such short notice! So I fired off an email about my husband's dog allergy and how I don't want to be put in a room that is dog friendly and I don't want to be disturbed by barking dogs. I received a call from guest services telling me that they would order a VIP cleaning for our resort room and they would add a note that we wanted to be away from the dog area - but it was not a guarantee. I was still not happy about Disney's response but I figured with the size of the resort, over 2,000 rooms, I had a good chance of getting what I wanted.
There has been a lot of drama about the dog announcement on the discussion thread in the resort section. The Disney execs did not expect the uproar they have received over the dog friendly policy. The initial announcement said that dogs could be put in any resort room and that they were not going to designate dog friendly areas. They also said that dogs could be left unattended in the rooms for up to seven hours. Those were three of the aspects that people were most upset about. In addition to that you had guests that were furious that the announcement was made without adequate warning and guests like us were unable to change to other resorts because there wasn't any availability.
Disney has listened to the guests and has now announced that there will be designated sections of a resort that are dog friendly and any guest who requests to be in a canine free area will have their request honored. They also removed the verbiage about allowing dogs to be unattended for up to seven hours. This dog trial is supposed to last for one year, from Oct 16, 2017 to Oct, 2018 - but they removed the end date from the website, so we'll see what happens. Right now the only dog friendly resorts are the Yacht Club, POR, AoA and the cabins at FW. We'll see how it all rolls out but the unhappy people seem to outnumber the happy people and that is not a good thing from a PR standpoint,
Anyway, I am now looking forward to our trip next week without any fear of barking dogs in the room next door.
I agree! I am very thankful for our mechanic this week!
Thanks!!! I am really happy with how that shirt goes with my Donald items... I didn't plan it that way - I was just standing in my closet one day and thinking "hmmm..." LOL
I haven't been following the dog situation very much, considering that we are staying at SoG - which is NOT a dog friendly resort - so this decision by Disney does not affect us at all. However, I will add my opinion - as a dog owner - I would never even consider bringing our dogs on vacation, not only are they LARGE dogs, but they would not be happy being cooped up in a hotel room for any length of time - and to be honest, we aren't in our room enough to properly care for them.
Personally, I think the "dog friendly" decision was a big mistake... Not sure who thought it was OK to allow them. I see no good that can come of it - for the dogs or for the guests.
I sure hope that you are in an area that has no dogs at all - I am certain there is ample room to accommodate you - it sounds like they have set aside specific buildings? I thought I saw on the Port Orleans fan page on FB that only 4 "dog specific" bookings are currently booked at POR - and the author thought those may be just bloggers testing out how it all works so they can write about it??? Like I said - I haven't been following, so I could be very wrong.
Sounds like you had a good day yesterday.
How great that your mechanic was able to fix so much on V's car even if you had to kick in $111
Your outfit for your Donald bag looks great
How great that your dad seems so much happier now.
Last night it has been temperatures below freezing point here. So this morning it was ice on the roads and the police warned everyone to drive safe and have all their windows on the car free from ice.
At 1pm it was 35.6ºF outside. I'm so relieved that I have winter tires on so I can use my car this weekend.
Today I have to use the webasto (engine and interior heater) for the first time this season since I can't reach up to the windows to get them ice free. It's so nice to be able to go into a warm car when it's cold outside
My engine and interior heater goes on fuel so I can use it where ever I am which is good because then I never have to worry about having ice and snow on the windows.
I did!
And it's so nice that V has her car now.
Thanks! I am really happy with that specific outfit.
I think he is, he is doing so much better.
Yikes!!! Sounds like winter is definitely coming quickly for you! I am not looking forward to it myself... Typically we have snow before mid-Nov, so it's coming... Sigh.
We didn't make it to ROL in July but we have a Tusker House breakfast with ROL seating in November. I'll let you know how we like it. I've read that it's a nice show but not very exciting and story line is lacking. The floats are beautiful. Honestly my family will most likely like it. Brynn, my dd5, likes pretty things and loves animals so it sounds like the perfect show for her.
The Donald butt bag is so cute! I like your plaid shirt and it goes perfectly.
I'm hoping to go through our clothes and figure out some outfits for our trip this weekend. Enjoy your weekend!
I will be VERY interested to hear your thoughts on this. My thought is, our odds of getting anything related to FoP FPs is probably nothing - I will try, obviously, but I am really not even holding a glimmer of hope. LOL But, I would like the option to try *something* new in AK... So, this might be it? LOL
Thank you - I am pretty excited about it. I figured, when I am cold, I can leave the sleeves down and if it warms up during the day, I can roll the sleeves up?
I am just hoping that it isn't too cold.
Have fun!!! I love planning my outfits!
He's a keeper! So glad you have someone you can trust with your vehicles!
We all love the Duck Butt Bag! I can't imagine you not taking it with you!
Great shirt! Goes so well with the outfit.
I personally did not get the fashionista gene. I'm lucky if things match! I love cute shoes but they do not love me. I get blisters with anything with a cute factor. No amount of breaking in or bandaids can alleviate the shoe issue--I've given up fighting it. I have seriously narrow heals and skinny, bony feet that rub in anything other than tevas or sneakers. No vans for me--they don't fit.
I've been watching the dog debates also. I just don't understand why someone who loves their dog would want to lock them up in a strange, small room all day while they are at the parks. Just not fair to the dog or the other guests.
And because we knew it wasn't over--the evil one has filed another court document. Lucky for us this one will help prove harassment so we hope to get the courts to acknowledge it and make them pay all court costs!
Yes - I am feeling especially fortunate after this week and all the work done on V's car.
Thanks!!! I love that bag too!
I shouldn't laugh - I can't say that I am a "fashionista" either... I just know that I wear a lot of coordinated accessories - and when I am lining up for endless Photopass photos, they turn out better if my clothes aren't clashing with my accessories... So, I do my best to coordinate as well as I can.
I suffered from Plantar Fascitis (sp?) for many years - so for a long time I had to spend a fortune on shoes... I did manage to heal it eventually, and in recent years, I've been able to wear good shoes - but not cheap shoes... My Vans have been perfect - as they are go with most of my wardrobe and they are comfy.
And they come in so many colors - currently, I just have the basics... Black, Navy and my dots... However, I do have a pair of red ones on my Christmas wish list.
I gave my dog opinion above in my reply to Sue.
Grrrr... So frustrating.
It saddens me to think that this person may not go away for a while. Sending you hugs! It's sad and sick that you have to continually deal with this situation instead of being allowed to grieve.
We did go to ROL when we were there in Feb. when it first opened. We thought it was beautiful. We were able to fastpass it but I don't really think we needed it. We got there as soon as they started letting people in. We figured it would be packed but it wasn't. People were still coming in for quite a while. I don't really think there are any bad seats either as you had a good view from everywhere. I don't think I'd pay extra for a lunch package though.
You have an amazing mechanic to do all that work and not charge her for the front end work. I would hang on to him too. My brother-in-law works on cars since he retired and has a small garage. So we've had him do some work for us. He lives a little ways from us though and takes his time getting things done. So it's 2 trips with 2 cars so we can leave one. He saves us a little money though and we know he is honest about what needs to be done.
I love the Donald butt bag and your whole outfit. I think it is one of your cutest ones. I think I just really like the whole color scheme. And the bag is so cute and unique. When you mentioned washing your bags takes out some of the crispness, I was wondering if you ever tried spray starch. I can remember my mom using it when she ironed my dad's shirts. I've never used it and don't know how good it would be for your bags though, but thought I'd mention it.
That is good to know... Hmmm...
Well, the girls and I will look over our budget and see if we want to keep this ADR or not... We LOVE Tusker House breakfast... We did a late breakfast one year that overlapped with the lunch selections - we tried a few lunch items and were not impressed, so we've done exclusively breakfasts for the last several years and trips... We are definitely considering dropping it... And since it's January and not too busy there - you are right, it's probably not even necessary?
I just got caught up in the whole "better get it while I can" mentality.
It's so nice to have a trustworthy mechanic... And they can be hard to find. When we lived back home - my uncle had a shop, and he did all of our vehicle work... He never gave us any deals at all - but he never sabotaged our vehicles and he did good work... It took us almost 10 years to find a mechanic here - and we are so thankful to have him!
Thank you! I do love my Donald outfits the most - typically. I do have a bottle of starch (not the spray starch), but now that we have a front loading machine, I'll have to reread the bottle and see how I go about adding that? I miss my regular washing machine so much!
Isn't it wonderful to have a good, reliable, trustworthy mechanic???!!! Worth their weight in gold! So glad V's car is now safe -- and very glad he fixed that exhaust issue! And I know you're happy to have your car back to yourself -- that makes life so much easier. And I'm sure V is very grateful you were able to pay the additional $111. It's worth it to know the car is safe.
One of the things I really miss about Virginia is that there is no Aldi here in Utah. I was SO surprised by that -- and disappointed. I bought as much of our produce there as possible, as well as eggs, cheese, bread, and cooking oils. We do like their sweet potato chips -- I believe they're just sweet potatoes, coconut oil, and salt. Yummy!
As for the Donald bag you don't really love -- I remember when you first used it you weren't sure you were going to like it, and you didn't. I vote for leaving that one at home. Or maybe sell it. If it causes second thoughts about whether you want to take/use it or not, that's a vote for no. Your Donald Duck butt bag is adorable. I love that one! Your Donald outfit is really cute, too.
I've been watching the dog debates. Honestly, as much as I love my dogs, I know that taking them on vacation to Disney with us would not be the best thing for them. We spend pretty much all day, every day (other than a brief resort break in the afternoons) in the parks, leaving early and getting back late. I know that there is no way my dogs would be quiet -- they bark like crazy any time someone approaches the house (they stop the moment we open the door, LOL) and they wouldn't be quiet in a resort room. It wouldn't be relaxing for us because we would be worried all the time about how much noise they might be making. We used all pet friendly pets on our move out to Utah and I was pleasantly surprised at how clean the rooms were at each hotel, but even so -- it wouldn't be relaxing for me if I'm constantly worried about the dogs back at the resort. We had friends in Virginia that we swapped dog-sitting with and that worked out very well. When we lived in Georgia my parents kept the dogs when we went out of town, and now that we're here in Utah, I imagine someone in my husband's family will keep the dogs if we go out of town. I haven't ever boarded my dogs at a kennel or anything and prefer not to do that. I think Disney *has to* have separate, designated dog-friendly rooms, so I'm glad they're making that change. Interesting that they've taken off the seven hour limit -- what did they change it to? It's going to be interesting to see how this all goes. The other thing is the cost -- the dog fee is steep... But, then again, if someone doesn't spend all day/night in the parks and spends a lot of time at the resort and can be with their pet, then that's a different matter. It will be interesting to see how this turns out.
Have a wonderful weekend!
Yes - it's so nice and such a relief to have a good mechanic... Especially now that my girls are car owners themselves - to have someone that looks out for them - he is A+++++ in my book!
No Aldi????
Oh no!!!!! I am not sure what I would do??? I would be lost! I am so grateful every time I walk out of there with a cart FULL of groceries for $100... The same groceries would cost me double anywhere else. Is there anything comparable near you at all? They have so many stores all over, I just assumed they were everywhere by now.
Yes - I did debate on selling it... But in the end, I was so uncertain - I figured I better hang on to it, just in case... But you are right - I am 99% sure that bag is staying home on this trip... I started on one of my own bags last night - sometimes I just get in a "mood" and I can't pull myself away from it... So - yah...
I gave my dog opinion above in my reply to Sue... It is much the same as yours.
Thanks Stephanie! Same to you!
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Ahhh... So, I had a busy and productive day yesterday...
I had some business stuff I had to take care of in the morning...
And then V and I headed out to do some shopping.
I had to go to the mall... I wanted to get a shirt I've been holding off on getting at Old Navy... And then I had to go to Bath and Body Works to stock up on my Moonlight Path shower gel - I've been nursing my last bottle along for months - holding out for a good sale and coupons.
I was a bit disappointed in myself at Old Navy, as not only did I get the one shirt I'd wanted (it was 50% off + my 10% military discount), I also got a second shirt (same shirt, different pattern) and another long sleeved black tee shirt (I wear these all the time in the winter!)... In the end, I spent $31 - when I could have just spent $12 if I would have only purchased the one shirt I went in there for. I justified it though, because well - we had $$ just sitting in our "clothing fund" - so it's not as if I couldn't afford it.
But then - they were giving away "super cash" or something like that... So, V combined her purchase with mine, then we could earn more...
Yup - you guessed it... Now we
have to go back today to spend our "super cash"... Sigh. I've decided that when we go back - I won't be buying anything for myself - this trip will have to be spent on Christmas gifts, so it comes out of that fund and not the clothing fund.
And then, I did make it to BBW... Moonlight path was buy 2 get 1 free, or buy 3 get 2 free... I stuck with the buy 2 get 1... Plus I had a coupon for an additional 25% off my entire purchase... I did OK here. No guilt - I've literally been making my last bottle last for months.
V and I had lunch at Chipotle... It's been a while since I've eaten there.
Then I grocery shopped at Aldi.
I came home, dropped off groceries and V... Then I went back to town to get what I needed on my list from Target.
After - I came home and started working on one of my own trip bags until the wee hours of the night... I have 2 ideas of what I am going to applique on it - but I have not made a final decision yet... I may end up with 2 bags out of the deal?
Today... I was supposed to go out of town for the weekend, but plans changed unexpectedly yesterday, so now I am staying home. I plan to finish up some work upstairs... and then I plan to work on my own trip bag.
Depending on my progress there, I might read a little too?
Oh and I have to go spend my super cash... LOL Maybe?
I think I will post another outfit, just because I can.
I love my Goofy stuff... It's probably another of my favorite outfits to coordinate with. For this outfit - I am feeling VERY optimistic, I have lime green J Crew chino shorts with a black tee shirt and a black fleece jacket - plus all of my accessories - ears, magic band, sunglasses, bag and black Vans. If it happens to be cold out this day - I will wear jeans with a lime green (or orange) tee shirt.
Not nearly as fun as lime green shorts - but I am hoping for ONE warm day while we are there.
I hope you all have a wonderful weekend! Prayers and pixie dust to all!
D~