Happy happy happy! trip story from Feb 2012

[bumbershoot]

I understand the feeling 100%!


I decided to join all the way, with their monthly fee plan. Pay up front, go to all the meetings you want to (though you only weigh once a week still), have access to all the online stuff, etc. It's probably what Robert will do, too, since otherwise he has to pay for missed meetings (when he goes on trips) OR hope they let him keep rejoining and hope as well that they have a "join for free" deal. With the monthly pass he can also see if the local area he travels to has meetings, and he can go to those for nothing extra. Yay!


I promise I'll get back to the story SOON.

 

[kaoden39]

I am thinking about rejoining Richard Simmons again. He helped me so much the first time. I am hoping for the same magic this time.

 

[bumbershoot]

I know you guys work out in LA when you get down there, but what would joining RS mean for your every day lives? Does he still have Anatomy Asylums elsewhere in the world?

 

[kaoden39]

No, he no longer has those. But, he helped me in a way that no one else could. He even called me while I was in the hospital for so long. I understand his food mover diet and it has always been easy to follow. And it is Richard, you know?

 

[bumbershoot]

I just found (not so hard, I just hadn't looked before) his website, it's fun!

 

[kaoden39]

It's bright and very inviting isn't it?

 

[bumbershoot]

Yes indeed. Then again, so is he!



Feb 5th continued, post PPH checkin process.


Once we were all back together, and once we'd had some breakfast at concierge, we headed on out to DCA.


The morning had *felt* so long already that we were *shocked* to find out we were there before official park opening!



As I piece this together, since I didn't take many/any notes again (so sorry), let me just write a bit more free-flow. Rather than do the usual chronological order? Hope that sounds OK. Don't let yourselves get confused as I jump back and forth; just know that I'm going to do that. The pictures will be in order, and some of the story will, but I'll also throw other things in as I go.

I hope it works out.



During the course of the trip, we rode Ariel's ride twice. Eamon wasn't enthused (sigh, my little princess-admiring boy is gone gone gone), but ultimately he basically liked the ride. We rode TSMM a couple times, and it was always good. We rode Soarin' once, and of course it was good! We even rode standby that time, can you imagine? Eh, it was only 10 minutes according to the sign (and we weren't interested in timing it), so since everything's all disjointed now we didn't want to come alllll the way back around.


At some point that day, however, we went to the Grizzly area. Not, of course, for Grizzly, but to find Russell and Doug. (Dug?) They have the neatest little hunt, and at the end of it you go to a ceremony. To be honest with you, we hadn't finished the last bit, but a ceremony was about to start, so we kinda jumped the gun on that. I *promise* we finished, though!

You get a pamphlet thing, and find the little clues. E got to track various animals, found some things, etc.

He also played a bit.

And just to compare....this is from June of 2009.

From the ceremony, which was pretty cute.

They did the pledge and all that, and got to line up to meet Russell and get a sticker to put on the back of their pamphlets.

Distractedly doing the Wilderness Explorer hand thing...

Being told something...

It was so cute that we forgot that we wanted to meet a certain dog.



So after that adorable ceremony, we walked behind the "theater" area to answer questions. They have statues of animals with a little legend written about each, then there's a line about an animal saying "which animal ate the moon" (or something like that), and you figure it out.

While we were back there, a door to backstage opened, and suddenly.....

As much as I like the civilized way of having lines for characters, I gotta admit that when you are one of the lucky ones to run across a character who isn't rushing off somewhere, it's pretty neat. And that's being said by someone who doesn't really care about the characters. (although I must confess...I was the FIRST to react to him...I might have said something like his line in the movie about just having met him but already loving him....maybe I said that....) (Doug/Dug was REALLY cute)


During the ceremony, Robert had gotten a text from PPH saying our room was ready. Woo! And since it was nicely after noon and we were ready for a break (even though I don't remember it all, we'd had a fairly full few hours, including some lunch), we headed back.

 

[kaoden39]

Oh gosh Dug/Doug is so cute!! I love moments like that. Normally I don't do the characters. This trip I did. I am not sure exactly why.

 

[Brady's Mom]

I love seeing Doug. My family teases me all the time about my habit of talking about one thing and then being distracted by another topic. "Squirrel!" Of course, I always get back to the original topic. I just tell them it's a girl thing. (they believe me - since I'm the only girl and they have no comparison!)

 

[bumbershoot]

I go on tangents, but I've often relied on the ability of others to bring me back to the original topic. So I go after the squirrel, chase it down, and then find a woodchuck, then find a raccoon, etc etc.


This is just grumbling...if I'd eat more carrots I'd be fine...stupid weight watchers, hate it! Harumph! It is stopping me from stuffing my face with cookies. Cookies would make me feel better. Why did I sign up for WW?

OK, grumbling's done. I'm just glad for those weekly extra allowance points everyone gets (49 extra points to be used each week), otherwise I'd be grumblier!

Oh and by the way, Fage nonfat plain Greek yogurt, when mixed with half a serving of Trader Joes raspberry yogurt, is to die for! Delish!!! Never would have tried it without WW, so that's a non-grumbly thing!


Shall get to trip report before the day is done...

 

[kaoden39]

I get grumbly too. I am feeling especially grumbly today.

 

[bumbershoot]

Giving you a pretty picture of pink sun through a curtain from our room at PPH.

I tell ya....(re)joining WW is like going through stages of grief. Realizing you really do need help, realizing you've been doing really stupid things with food (while thinking it's just age or some mysterious problem that isn't your fault (regardless of the fact that in MANY people that IS the reason...in my particular case, it's becoming very very obvious, that's NOT the reason), realizing you simply cannot (and never have been able to) eat whatever you want and not have problems. I wish eating like this were ingrained in me, innate...my sis in law eats like a little bird naturally, and my brother is HAPPY to eat properly. If he has a big dessert, he doesn't have a beer. If he wants a few beers, he doesn't eat dessert. (and he runs like someone's chasing him, every single morning) For me...not so natural. And despite the fact that it's been like this my whole life, I'm still not used to it.

Sorry, I won't continue like that...wrong place, after all.


Here's another picture.

 

[kaoden39]

Molly, I feel your pain.

 

[IndayMichelle]

Not to Bogart your TR, but ugh! Yes! Food is my friend and my enemy. Frenemy.

I have been with my dbf for four and a half years. I have gained more than 40 lbs in this relationship. I love sweets, but I also eat A LOT of fruit and veg. My dbf has lost 30 lbs in this relationship. He drinks three gallons of whole milk a week, and six containers of Trader Joes peanut buttercups a week. Life is not fair.

Back to the PPH...

 

[bumbershoot]

Inday, that's kind of funny about what you and your BF eat, and how you have gained and he has lost. I mean, not FUNNY, but...well, you know what I mean.


2 weigh-ins past joining, and I've lost 7.4 (would have been more if I'd weighed in on Friday, but then I worked out Fri evening and drank a ton of water, and I even felt blobbier Sat morning). Robert has lost almost 10. Yay us!

Of course it always starts off fast with me, it's the sticking with it that gets tiring. Robert, however, has never lost quickly (never lost "like a man") so is excited, but scared that it's all going to stop. He has SO MANY points (plus) to eat per day, but even with all of that food, it's working.

The initial weeks of WW is always so enlightening. I've realized just how much I cram in my face during breakfast and dessert time. And I also find out how Robert "diets" with proper food, but goes CRAZY with naughty food b/c he feels so deprived. Now that he's eating a lot more proper, good food, the urges for naughty foods has almost gone away.

He's on a work trip now, but I have faith that he's going to do just fine with the program.



by the way, sorry for the disappearing act, I haven't been able to think about anything real; solve other peoples' problems online sure, but think about my trip? no brain for it!

 

[bumbershoot]

Le Trip.



When I halted, I was feeling uncomfortable. Because we had two bits of lovely luck on this trip, and I was feeling...unworthy, maybe? It was causing such mental distress I couldn't figure out how to go forward. Robert and I have actually had discussions about it, it was bugging me so much!


Well, the first bit of luck can be seen in this picture.

Actually it could be seen in the last picture, with the table, but that's not as obvious as the couches that we were upgraded to a suite. Possibly the same suite we got in Dec '08 when we were the Big Kahuna family; I'll have to go back to my scrapbook to see.

Back then, it was such a short trip that we didn't feel that we had the time to devote to the room! This trip was longer, and we were already in "relax" mode b/c of Robert's choice to book concierge (that's another thing I felt uncomfortably lucky about, that we *could* book that), so we were actually able to enjoy the room more along the lines of how it should be enjoyed.


Backing up....we left DCA and walked over to PPH. Remember, DS and I knew that *something* was up, and we had decided to keep it from Robert. We have a "no lies" policy, and also a "no secrets" policy, but that last one is amorphous when it comes to gifts. Since this trip was timed to officially celebrate Robert's 40th, even though the actual birthday isn't until next week (and he's away from all family and friends for it, so we're GLAD that we did the trip and made such a big deal!), it could be considered a gift. I had a feeeling I knew what was happening with our room, but if I was wrong, or if something went awry, I didn't want to deal with EVERYONE being sad. So we held back the knowledge from Robert.

But as we walked along the 14th floor and remembered what those double doors along the hall meant....he got a inkling.

When we walked in, we were excited and so happy.



OK now I have to get back to the things I've been doing in between surfing breaks. Shortly after getting back home and working out what was left of the bonus (that paid for the trip), we found a couch that we loved, and bought it. It hasn't yet been delivered, but we've been decluttering and figuring out what to do with the old couch etc. Today E and I are scrubbing the floors. It's been a project on the list for well over a year now, and only a little has gotten done. Well just in one session today, working side by side, E and I doubled what has been done! I'm going to get back to that soon.

I'm also REALLY finishing up my belly cast from 2004, painting it some really fun glossy colors and personalizing it to me and E, it's going to be awesome and while I don't know what I'll do with it, it feels GREAT to be finishing it at long long last.

Also I'm clearing out more and more paperwork and stuff, I bought envelopes to send some things out and I need to mail a box of CDs to secondspin.com for extra money...

It's basically been busy busy recently! Time for brief bouts of surfing but nothing intense, ya know?

 

[kaoden39]

Molly,

I'm glad to see you back. Congratulations to you and Robert on the weight loss!! That is fantastic!!


How exciting to upgrade to a suite!! What luck too!!


How nice that E helps you to scrub the floor. Loren is like that, I really feel lucky that he wants to help me.

 

[bumbershoot]

It's fun to work with him.

Of course...if I recall correctly, there's a big Lego set that's been sort of promised once the whole floor has been cleaned. But it's still a pain in the rear job that we all avoid!


I had a whole thing typed out about the floor but it was making me feel ill, so I've erased it. It's just...not a fun job. Ick.

 

[kaoden39]

Oh so he is working for something. What a good guy!!

 

[bumbershoot]

Quick post. All the cleaning we were doing has started a nasty bout of allergies, which has started my lungs to acting up and I'm trying to relax (aka: reading the dis and short replies are fine, but longer things and *thinking* are not what I feel up to!). I also have a face-ache that hurts like a.... I really wish Robert were home, but he's been gone a week and it'll be another week until he gets home. Sigh.


So anyway, when we entered DCA that first day, we were able to snag FPs for World of Color. I made sure to ask a CM how it worked, since I hadn't really been able to understand it from posts, and when I went with Sherry and Laurie I didn't have to know (and then I didn't take advantage of the special seating anyway). It's "get FP, come back between x and y o'clock, pick your spot in a certain area, watch the show". Easy enough.


Not sure of if I mentioned times in my previous post, but I've just figured out that we were called back to the room decently early. And it turns out we didn't hang out in the room for ages, but instead actually went over for food at Tangaroa Terrace. Had the Flatbread cheese pizza (would have been better if I'd had it while it was hot*), one for me and Robert to share, and one for E, and the crispy tofu salad (very very VERY good!) for me and Robert. I went over to Trader Sam's (*the line was long so my part of the pizza was cold when I got back) and got a Tiki Tiki Tiki Tiki Rum. I refused to order it like that.

But it wasn't just a meal that we went there for; we had swimming plans, too. While I went to the changing room at the DLH pool (remember, the PPH was closed so we got to pool hop) Robert and Eamon (who wore their trunks over) were at the slide. For whatever reason (and I think it was the Tiki Rum...turns out if I have an adult beverage, that's all I can be doing; I can't drink and do stuff or I get really peevish...and yeah, that's not how it always was, and it's probably a sign of some metabolic change and yeah, I'm paying attention to it) I was just in a MOOD, and that put Robert into a mood too, and it just wasn't as fun as it could have been.

Honestly, Robert should have taken me up on one of my many offers that he (and even E) could head to the ESPN zone and see if they were playing the Superbowl, and I could have done something on my own, but he had no interest. Secretly I think he did, but he denied himself the ability to watch The Game, and maybe I wasn't the only one who caused the mood, LOL.

All I know was that there was a large group of women and their children in one cabana near where we were swimming, and the kids were wild ones and not so pleasant to be around. Also, the water was FREEZING. I mean, cold. We didn't last long, and that was a bummer. So finally we left.

Walked back to PPH, got dried off and warmed up, and hey, it was time to head over to WOC!

Those big globe lights change color during the show, and it's really neat.


Eamon got hungry so I left our semi-primo spots (on the bridge, but at the very very end on the Mermaid side) to snag him a kid's cheese burrito from the Cocina. [when you leave the area you got into using a FP, you go out through a CM-manned area, they hand you a FP (that you gave up when you entered), then you give it back to them when you get back...in case anyone cares]

I wish this picture of the Lucky Dragon neon had been in focus, but I personally think it's still cool, so deal with the blur.

I'll tell ya, WOC is way cooler from a proper viewing spot than from behind! For some reason, this surprised me. Don't as me how my brain works...

It also gets MUCH MUCH COLDER as soon as the water-spray starts! I mean, quite a bit cooler. By the very end of the show I was shaking from the cold, until we moved away from the area where all of that water had been. We weren't even getting sprayed, but it was like a wind chill. So bundle up!

My one picture.

Another hint for viewing...look around. They project things on the Screamin' loop, for one!


I don't recall doing anything else that evening, so we probably just headed back and passed out, LOL.