~~~~~~ Oops SEW we did it again! ~~~~~~ June 2019 ~~~~~~ BAG & OUTFIT UPDATE 5/19/2019!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

DMGeurts

Never open texts with the "Hand Sewn Button" attac
Joined
Feb 25, 2008
Cast
Welcome! For those of you that don’t know me – I am Dorine - but I go by "D~" on The Dis... I subsidize all of our trips to Disney with my sewing of custom items, I love what I do, and I love that I am able to add magic to many trips to WDW - including our own.

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Most of my days are spent here - in my sewing room... Everything I make and do is done by vintage machine - the newest sewing machine I own is from 1963... I am very adamant about keeping all of my items One Of A Kind (OOAK) – I love that I do, and I love that it adds magic to so many lives! :lovestruc

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My girls and I are well known for our “girls trips” to Disney, they have "grown up" here on The Dis. I am very proud of both of them for the wonderful young adults that they have become. I enjoy spending my time with them, and I believe it shows in every post I write and every photo we take. They are my entire world, their smiles and laughter brighten every single day, I am so very lucky!

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My DH is Josh… He normally doesn’t play a role in our trips, other than me finding ways to get his blessing for another girls trip… :lmao:

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Then there is Max (the red head)… Often referred to in my TRs/PTRs as “MM” which stands for many things… Maxy-Moo-Moo, Maxy-Moose, or Maxy-Moosie… He comes to all of those names – which is sad and sometimes funny. He is a “crazy man” – he is often told, and has definitely earned that title… He does some of the craziest things! But we all love him, and our family wouldn’t be nearly as interesting without him in it.

And the newest addition to our family - Cooper... Or Sooper Cooper, if you prefer. When a friend of mine from HS had a litter of puppies in the Spring of 2015, I jumped on it and begged her to let us have one of them... She chose us to be one of the lucky new puppy parents. Our family waited anxiously for Cooper Adam to grow up enough so we could take him home - It was a LONG 8 weeks! But, finally, Cooper came home to live with us. He loves his big brother and picks on him constantly... His big brother loves him and allows him to do this. It's been wonderful for our family to add Cooper... and he is just the most adorable boy. :lovestruc

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So, this trip just sort of “snuck up on us” - again… As far as we knew, we would not be going back to WDW as a trio, and definitely not any time before 2020.

This trip is a very happy accident… The last time the 3 of us were in WDW together was in January of 2018, and it wasn’t a very happy trip – as most of you know, V came down with Influenza B while we were there, and I came down with it the day we got home.

I’ve been wanting to go back… But with a few other big trips on the horizon, I didn’t think it would happen until our BIG family trip in the Spring of 2020.

Josh has now nick-named me an “impulse traveler”…

A good friend of mine, and fellow Diser (Suzi) is going to WDW for her Birthday – I’ve been wanting to surprise her since she booked the trip – but sadly airfare has been ridiculous…

Then, yesterday, on a whim – I checked again and it was quite low. I was planning to just go by myself for a few days, but then V overheard me… And we Facetimed Allison… And the rest is history. We are now in full-on WDW planning mode again!!! Can you believe it? I am a little shocked myself. ::yes::

And now we are going to Disney… In June… I will be there for my 44th birthday! I’ve NEVER been in WDW for my birthday before! :woohoo:

For 7 nights/6 days… We land early and we leave early-ish, but not as early as many other trips. I am quite happy with our flight times, actually. Although – I am not as happy with the new baggage policies… We get one checked bag (which we had to pay for) and 1 personal item. :eek: My only saving grace (as you all know how I pack) is that it’s summer, and shorts/tank tops don’t take up much room… My UPBs and Ears are another story… :rolleyes:

So, here’s the scoop…

This is the second time I am planning a trip after purchasing airfare, but having nothing else in place…

Typically, airfare is the LAST thing I purchase – not the first…

We did our trip budget this morning… All 3 of us will be paying cash for this trip and splitting everything 3 ways. ::yes::

We have no idea where we are staying, as of yet… We have a few options available to us… The most promising – at the moment – is our favorite Disney/non-Disney resort, Shades of Green. :lovestruc But we do have other options we are pursuing too. :scratchin I’ll update on that when I know more.

We will have park tickets… At this time, we are planning to purchase the 4 day PH from SoG… Though again, we have other options we are looking into for this too… ::yes::

Which leaves us 1 day off to eat at our favorite restaurant… And hopefully a trip to FQ for beignets… after all, no trip is complete without those!

I can almost guarantee that there will be NO waterparks this trip. :sad:

All I can really say to sum up this trip… I can honestly say – I never, ever thought or dared to imagine that we would get the opportunity to do one more “Epic Girls Trip” at this stage in the girls’ lives. And I am beyond grateful and thankful for this opportunity to spend this time with BOTH of them together, in a place that is near and dear to our hearts – again creating magical memories. :lovestruc As you all know – these girls are my world – and as this last year + has passed, some of the relationship difficulty they have had in the past has been overcome – and they are more like the friends I have always wished for them to be… It’s not fairy tale perfect… but they have come a long way. We’ll see how that ends after another 6 days squished in a hotel room… :lmao:

So, join us again, as we bring you along on another bittersweet and Epic adventure, as we share our lives, our joys, our triumphs and most importantly – our magical memories, and plans to make them with all of you!

Thanks for following along. :lovestruc
D~
 
Healthy living updates…


Ahhh – it just wouldn’t be the same if I didn’t talk about the food I eat and the work outs I do… ::yes::


This has been such a long and winding path for me. I am not going to go through it all with you – as I know that most of you have already read it (and heard me agonize over it) a bazillion times over. I will give a brief synopsis though, for any new readers I may have… If you really want an in-depth look, you can read the links in my siggy.


In March of 2012, I had just returned from our first girls Disney trip… I was miserable that entire trip – none of my clothes fit me, and I could barely walk the necessary steps needed to tackle the parks. I knew something needed to change, and I gave it my all for several months – eventually giving up and gaining back more than I had lost.

It wasn’t until Spring of 2013, right after I’d had my gallbladder removed, and my recovery was terrible. I knew this was solely due to my lethargic lifestyle, and my terrible diet. Once again, in my life, I was sick and tired of being sick and tired… and this time was different. I concentrated on one change at a time, working hard – though never over working myself… Slowing giving up things in my life that were bad for me, and eventually evolving into a Paleo (and occasionally dipping into Primal) lifestyle… It felt good. I felt good. Suddenly – all of my ailments, things I just assumed were due to age, were just gone. And my health was the best it had ever been – including when I was in my teens and 20’s! It was shocking! Also, in the fall of 2013, I started my Olympic weight lifting – which I still do to this day.

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Last year… Life got the best of me. Everything I had worked so hard for just wasn’t as important as it once was. Suddenly, I found myself in the midst of a kitchen remodel… My oldest child was graduating and leaving home for 10 weeks abroad… My youngest child was starting her Senior year of high school… And many other things were going on – most of which are too personal to share here. What this resulted in is me taking a back seat to life… And even though I continued to “try” – the oomph wasn’t there… My heart wasn’t in it… And I was tired. And I felt like a failure – as all of the size I had lost came creeping back. Plain and simple, I was lost.

Finally – May 2017 – The mirror and I had a “come to Jesus moment”… Oh yah – we had it out. Like, it was brutal. And I won.


I told myself that I just needed to start over… I had to stop looking at how far I had come – which resulted in me looking at how far I had slid. Instead – I ignored the path I had once followed and just started from where I was. I committed to changing one thing at a time… No cheating myself… Again – I tend to be a perfectionist, an “all or nothing” type person – sometimes I am chomping so hard at the bitt, I just have to breathe and slow myself down – this is often harder than the actual task at hand. One thing at a time – not as slowly as I had done it before – but still, just one change every few days… And here I am, 3 months later – very close to my smallest size. Had you asked me, 4 months ago, I never would have imagined that I could start this journey again. I had almost, almost given up. For any of you who know me – you know that this is not me. I don’t give up.

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So, any of you who followed my journey before – you know that I never officially made it to my goal. I was very close – but just didn’t get there. This time… Well – as I said above, I don’t give up.

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D~​
 


Yea! Looking forward to the fun! Congrats on another "girls" trip. We just did a pre-Christmas family trip with both boys and one fiance! It was fun!
 
Congratulations with this girls trip pixiedust:
It's great to see you here in the forums again. I've missed your updates, so I can't wait to follow this PTR.
 


I'm here, I'm here, I'm here! This is so exciting Dorine, another girls trip with your beautiful daughters. And a birthday trip for you. I cannot wait to follow along, and you know June is right around the corner? I love your impulse trips, this is going to be awesome!!!
 
I'm here...and still working on the man to see if I can join you...even for just a few days. :)
 
I'm here! I'm here! I'm so excited for you and the girls that you get another go at a girls' trip! Did you know they have added a 5 day military park hopper option this year? We have some DVC points we need to use this year, so we are looking into going maybe in late summer/early fall. We can't make too many plans yet because we don't even know where we will be living at that time, Lol. But, the 5 day tickets would be a great option because 4 days barely gives you enough time in each park. I'm so glad you're back doing a trip report; thanks for the heads up. I'm along for the ride!! :donald:
 
Yay! I am so happy you and your girls are going back this year party:

I am in Florida and I was just thinking of you and Suzi the other day :beach:

Happily following along!
Monica
 
Yea! Looking forward to the fun! Congrats on another "girls" trip. We just did a pre-Christmas family trip with both boys and one fiance! It was fun!

That is awesome! I am so glad you got that time with your family, what great memories!

I'm here! Can't wait to read all about your plans.

Thanks - I am excited to share them!

Congratulations with this girls trip pixiedust:
It's great to see you here in the forums again. I've missed your updates, so I can't wait to follow this PTR.

Welcome Lillian! I'll do my best to keep up here, it has been so long and not part of my routine anymore. I am super happy to be back, I've missed everyone so much!

I'm here. I can't wait to read all about your plans.

Wahoo! Welcome!

I’m here! I’m so excited that you get to do this trip!!!!

Yay - so happy to see you here!

I'm here, I'm here, I'm here! This is so exciting Dorine, another girls trip with your beautiful daughters. And a birthday trip for you. I cannot wait to follow along, and you know June is right around the corner? I love your impulse trips, this is going to be awesome!!!

Hi Carol!!! Welcome! Yes - we are very excited ... And very nervous... This definitely wasn't a planned trip. :eek:

Randomly I was thinking of your TRs the other day, and here is a new one. Awesome.

Awwwh - so happy to have you here! I am looking forward to reconnecting with all of my Dis friends!

Whoo hoo!!!!!

Yay!!! Welcome!

I'm here...and still working on the man to see if I can join you...even for just a few days.

Woohoo!!! LOL LMK if you can talk DJ into it or not! :)

I'm here! I'm here! I'm so excited for you and the girls that you get another go at a girls' trip! Did you know they have added a 5 day military park hopper option this year? We have some DVC points we need to use this year, so we are looking into going maybe in late summer/early fall. We can't make too many plans yet because we don't even know where we will be living at that time, Lol. But, the 5 day tickets would be a great option because 4 days barely gives you enough time in each park. I'm so glad you're back doing a trip report; thanks for the heads up. I'm along for the ride!! :donald:

That would be awesome if you could get a trip in, once life settles down for you. I am so happy to have you here Brandi!

Yay! I am so happy you and your girls are going back this year party:

I am in Florida and I was just thinking of you and Suzi the other day :beach:

Happily following along!
Monica

Jealous that you are in Florida!!! I can't wait for some warmer weather myself! Glad to have you here Monica!

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Well, I've been gone so long from The Dis - I don't even know where to start...

Where have I been and what have we been up to?

Ummmm... Well, I'll start with the girls...

I think I left off where Allison was getting ready to move out? Well, she is officially on her own now. Her and Gus found a nice little apartment nearby - so I see her as often as her schedule allows. She is a very busy girl and I find it hard to nail her down. LOL She started college in the fall, she just finished her first semester with a 4.0 - I am super proud of her for this! She is still working full-time at the Assisted Care Facility - however, she was promoted to the Activities Department a few months ago - she LOVES it, although she isn't making as much $$ as she was before. She was given a nice raise with her promotion, but she lost the ability to pick up bonus shifts - and those bonus shifts were very good to her income... So, while she is making enough to live, and loves her job - she is struggling with not being able to put as much into savings as she would like. She is a little stressed about this trip - and decided yesterday to pick up a temporary job at the local coffee shop... On one hand a feel a little guilty about her having to get a 2nd job to fund this trip - but on the other hand, I am proud that she wants to work extra to pay for it - rather than using her savings or a CC. Allison also still does a lot with her photography, and seems to enjoy that a lot on the side. She has 3 weeks before she goes back to school, so I am hoping to spend a little more time with her. I am just super proud of the independent and responsible woman she has become.

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Victoria is living at home and still working at the daycare full-time, she continues to pick up shifts at the pizza shop for extra $$. I love that she can do this - it's such a great way for her to boost her funds! She is enrolled to start her first semester of college in a few weeks - she will be attending the same college as Allison does... I am so proud of them both! V is currently "collecting" stuff for her eventual move out - but she has yet to make a decision for when that will be... However - she is rarely here, so it's *almost* like an empty nest for us. V is still dating Carter and that seems to be going well. :) She is VERY excited to be going back to WDW - if it wasn't for her standing over my shoulder - I probably wouldn't have pulled the trigger on the airfare. :beach: Some of you may have seen on FB - thanks to my good friend Cindy - V finally received her beloved Stitch for Christmas this year - she was soooo excited!

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Josh has been keeping busy... At the end of 2018, he received a nice promotion at work - something that was a long time coming. Um, sadly, we also had to buy him a newer truck at the end of 2018 - we knew it was coming, as his truck wasn't doing well - we were hoping to push the purchase off until spring, but that's not the way it worked out. So, we added a truck payment to our lives - and put the truck into our snowball. We are still working and making progress on being debt free.

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I have also been keeping Josh busy with house projects this year... I am certain I posted pictures of our finished deck and guest room? After that, I put him to work on our master bedroom - which was a pretty large (and fun) project to do - this included our master bathroom, master closet and our master bedroom, complete with new furniture and flooring. (We paid cash for the entire project) It was so FUN to be able to do something totally selfish and just for us!

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As you can see - it was a massive project - but I am so happy with how it turned out! My favorite part has to be our new closet - it's so organized and bright - and I love that I now have my giant standing mirror in there (though I am not always happy with the reflection I see - sigh). I also love our bed - not sure if any of the pictures show, but we have drawers in our foot board - and they are awesome for blankets and sheets!

Dad is doing well, and so is Jonathan... They were both able to spend the holidays with us - and it was so nice. I love having the guest room for Jonathan to stay in - it makes his stays here so much easier and nicer for him.

Max and Cooper are also doing well - such good dogs!

Then there is me... Still doing everything I always did before. I am still working out every morning, and lifting heavy weights. I put on about 1 size and 20 lbs after all of our trips last year, recently I've been very committed to taking off some of that size - I've managed to lose most of it over the holidays and I am almost back to what I was last spring - which is a relief! I am still hoping to make it to my goal one day. :scratchin: Quite honestly... Right before Thanksgiving - Josh brought home matching t-shirts from a restaurant near his Dad's lake house - The 4 of us (Josh's Dad, his step-mom, Josh and I) are supposed to wear them for a family picture in Aruba in a few weeks... They are really cute t shirts - but Josh got mine is a size medium. :eek: I typically wear a size Large t shirt - and after my gain last summer - I was borderline out of larges... So, ever since he brought home that shirt - I have been busting my rear to be able to wear it in Aruba. ::yes:: It would look very odd if I was the only one not wearing that shirt. Anyways - I have been *super* committed to get this extra weight off - and so far, so good. :)

Um - what else? Work is going well. I am still as busy as ever! And still loving it as much as I always have. My schedule is full and I couldn't be more thankful!

Oh - this is not public (ahem, family) knowledge yet... but we are going back to Europe, as well, this fall... Yes - I know - 3 big trips in one year... I am having a LOT of guilt over it. We were hoping to go back for Lara's birthday - and a good friend of mine posted about an airfare sale... We were able to get non-stop roundtrip airfare to Amsterdam for $438 - over Lara's birthday week! :eek: How can we not go????

Rest assured... All 3 trips - Aruba (already saved for), WDW (already partially paid for) and Europe will all be paid for with cash! It should be a fun and busy year for us! Not to mention we have the BIG family WDW trip in the spring of 2020! :woohoo:

Anyways - I am super happy to be back on The Dis and planning a trip again - even though this will be a comparatively *short* trip for us - I think it will be just right. We typically come home - sick of WDW, the food and the people - after our long trips, so I think this may be just what we need? :scratchin

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As a side note... We did book our resort yesterday. As a family on a cash-based budget, we can't really turn down the opportunity to stay at Shades of Green, it is so economical (comparatively) and you can't beat the location. ::yes::

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I am looking so forward to reconnecting with all of you! It has been too long and I've missed you all immensely! :lovestruc

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D~
 
How exciting that you are heading off on anther adventure with your girls! I am sure you will have an incredible time and I can't wait to hear all about your plans!:)
 
Wow! First of all, can we start calling you Joanna? Your remodels are fantastic! I love what you did with your room & closet. It's great to hear both girls are doing so well. You have a lot to be proud of. Your trips sound so exciting. You have worked and saved and sacrificed over the years; you all deserve to enjoy as much of life as you can! Yay for booking the resort! Sounds like the girls' trip is coming together. Have a great weekend!
 
So excited to see you are headed to Aruba! You will love it. I've not been there, but have been to Bonaire and Curacao and they are such wonderful islands. Hope you get to do some snorkeling because their reefs are amazing! Another trip to Europe is amazing too!

I have to confess to some decadent WDW. We bought AP's for myself, DH and younger DS because of the planned trip next August with the grands. Well, that AP is burning a hole in DS's pocket. He is on winter break. So we have just booked a last minute trip for 4 days & 3 nights next week! :scared1::cool1: Mother/son last minute trip! We were able to find RT airfare for $125 each and DS had Hilton points to pay for the hotel! Woot. We need to break it to DH, who will be like "What???". Hotel has free breakfast, free shuttle to parks, and weeknight happy hour with appetizers if we get back in time (which I doubt). Makes for a really inexpensive splurge! I really can't believe we're headed back so soon, but he wanted company and I'm game!
 
How exciting that you are heading off on anther adventure with your girls! I am sure you will have an incredible time and I can't wait to hear all about your plans!:)

Welcome - happy to have you here!

We are very excited! We have plans to do things a little bit differently this time - we'll see if we can stick to it? LOL :scratchin

Wow! First of all, can we start calling you Joanna? Your remodels are fantastic! I love what you did with your room & closet. It's great to hear both girls are doing so well. You have a lot to be proud of. Your trips sound so exciting. You have worked and saved and sacrificed over the years; you all deserve to enjoy as much of life as you can! Yay for booking the resort! Sounds like the girls' trip is coming together. Have a great weekend!

Hahahaha - honestly - I stole all of these ideas from Joanna, soooooo... LOL We are very happy with how it turned out, and I am so happy that I should never have to organize or clean my closet much again (unless I am donating) - everything has a place.

Yes - I am so proud of the girls... I see so many people their age struggling with life, and I still wonder to myself how I got so lucky? They are good and respectful adults - who work hard. ::yes::

And thank you - I am trying not to feel too guilty about all of these trips... Josh is even happy that we are taking this trip - which is almost a first. I think he knows how much it means to me to spend this time with them - it won't be long now and they'll be married with families of their own (potentially) and this won't happen anymore - breaks my heart... but then I'll just start taking grandchildren. LOL

How about you Brandi??? How are you and how is the family? I think of your girls often, and wonder how they are doing. :)

So excited to see you are headed to Aruba! You will love it. I've not been there, but have been to Bonaire and Curacao and they are such wonderful islands. Hope you get to do some snorkeling because their reefs are amazing! Another trip to Europe is amazing too!

I have to confess to some decadent WDW. We bought AP's for myself, DH and younger DS because of the planned trip next August with the grands. Well, that AP is burning a hole in DS's pocket. He is on winter break. So we have just booked a last minute trip for 4 days & 3 nights next week! :scared1::cool1: Mother/son last minute trip! We were able to find RT airfare for $125 each and DS had Hilton points to pay for the hotel! Woot. We need to break it to DH, who will be like "What???". Hotel has free breakfast, free shuttle to parks, and weeknight happy hour with appetizers if we get back in time (which I doubt). Makes for a really inexpensive splurge! I really can't believe we're headed back so soon, but he wanted company and I'm game!

Well - if I am to be totally honest - I have never once snorkeled in my life. :eek: I am not even sure I could figure it out? LOL I am not a fantastic swimmer (Josh is - or was - in high school)... I am just super excited to go sit on a beach in the middle of winter (in MN). I know that Josh and his dad are going out fishing one day... And I know that we rented a boat for a "3 hour tour" :lmao: ::yes:: ~~~~ The weather started getting rough, the tiny ship was sunk....~~~~ Kidding, kidding... but if I don't come back.... :scratchin Anyways - if you have any pointers - I'd love to give it a try. ::yes::

Awwwwh - I think that sounds like a great trip! And a great airfare price! I am dabbling with getting an AP for this upcoming trip - just because of all the discounts, and I know we will be back in April. It's so hard now to make that decision though - because of the Salute tickets - they are nice and the cost difference between those and an AP - it takes a bit longer to "break even". ::yes:: Enjoy your time with DS - it will be a great trip! I love that you are doing this with him - it gives me hope that I'll be able to take trips with my girls when they are more grown. :lovestruc

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It's strange to be back here and updating about my life - though I did it for years - I feel like it's just the same ol' same ol' and quite boring.

I had my business taxes done (mostly) yesterday - this is something I dread doing every year - and even though I keep pretty organized records, I'd much rather be sewing... I am just waiting for my December numbers to come in and then we will be done. It's a HUGE relief to have them finished so early in the year. It was my goal to have them done before we left for Aruba, so I could enjoy our time there and not worry about it. :)

Then I met up with the girls at Target... Allison was off of work yesterday because this is her weekend to work, and V got off work early and had to go in to the college to get some things ironed out... So, after, we met up for Starbucks and a loop around the store. This is probably my "next" favorite store - after my store closed last year - as this is where many of my former co-workers transferred to... Different building - many of the same people. :lovestruc

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Anyways - the point to the above, is that we were able to hash out a few more Disney trip plans...

As soon as we booked our airfare - like first thing... We don't book our resort... Noooooooo.... We book our dining plans. :lmao: Immediately, on Thursday night, I went on MDE and booked everything we could possibly want (I was suprised at how much was open). While we were sitting in Starbucks yesterday - we were able to have a nice Disney trip meeting. First and foremost - the girls are very concerned about the trip budget. The both want to keep this trip as economical as possible - even moreso than in past years. We've decided - as a group, we want to do this trip a little differently - many of our "must do" ADRs are changing, or getting the axe completely. ::yes:: :eek: Here's the run down...

Crystal Palace - PPO breakfast - axed :eek:
Tusker House - PPO breakfast - this will just be Allison and I.
'Ohana - breakfast - this will just be V and I

The Wave - breakfast - this will be the 3 of us + Cindy... It's my birthday after all. :lovestruc
Via Napoli - lunch - Ahhh - we love this so much and it's actually pretty economical split 3 ways if we only order water. :lmao:

And that's it! Can you believe it? Allison decided that she really doesn't "love" 'Ohana enough to pay for it - and V loves it... So, I am kinda excited to have a 1 on 1 meal with V.
The same thing happened with Tusker House... V doesn't love it enough to pay for it... I am excited to have a 1 on 1 meal with A.

We've never done anything like this during our trips - and I think it will be a good break for the girls to be apart for a bit. Considering they no longer live together - they do get along much better these days anyways. ::yes::

We are also very excited to not have so many ADRs this time. In all of our previous trips - we always have a PPO CP breakfast - and we walk out of there SO STUFFED for the remainder of the day... We miss out on so many fun snacks and other (food) things we want to eat, but we just can't. We are pretty excited to be able to try out some great snacks and counter service places that we've never been able to try before. ::yes::

If you are so inclined - I would LOVE to hear some of your favorite snacks and counter service restaurants from around WDW. :scratchin ::yes::

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After our mini-Disney meeting, V and I came home...

Now that Josh and I are *almost* empty nesters - we plan our meals a little bit differently... We've been buying a few more meals "pre-packaged"... Like those salads that come with all the stuff in one bag and you just mix them up... They work out SO NICELY for us. We are only two people and we can only eat so much. Well, once a week (or so) - I also splurge and buy a meal that is a little more than what I normally make - last night we had eggplant parmesan... It was delicious and just something different. For dessert - I got us 2 slices of turtle cheesecake - just two slices and not a whole cake - then I can't overeat it. It was a really nice and super RARE treat. ::yes::

(Warning: really long healthy living paragraphs ahead) I should talk a little bit about my latest eating strategy as of late... Because - as you see above - I am eating a bit differently these days. While I still try to be VERY mindful of what I put into my body... I have rediscovered Intermittent Fasting. I did it pretty religiously back in 2014 (a 16/8 pattern = 16 hours fasted, with an 8 hour eating window) - when I'd made my biggest strides in size loss. Once I found Whole 30 (at the beginning of 2015) - I kinda forgot about IF and started eating the W30 way (3 meals per day - B, L, D - plus a mini-meal or two, if necessary), and though I didn't realize it at the time - it was causing me to overeat. Then, in 2017 - I recommitted - and again started weaving IF into my eating style - again at a 16/8 - and this worked really well for me - mingled with my Primal style eating ways - I lost size nicely... And I maintained that loss nicely for a while. But after all of our trips this year - I started this terrible snacking during my open eating window... It became almost a "binge eating" session... I'd stand at the back corner of our kitchen and just eat whatever I could find - maybe not quite that drastic, but almost. Sugar is my enemy - I know this - and once I have it for the day, it's very difficult for me to stop. And that time, between 2 and 4 was just crazy - I was starting to gain size so rapidly. In November, I discovered "clean fasting" - though I've done IF for years - it was never a "clean fast" - I didn't even know what that was. I read a book (Delay Don't Deny) and it made so much sense to me - it really did. It's exactly what it says it is, basically, have what you want, but delay it until your eating window... Well, that's what I was doing - but it wasn't working well for me at all. I had to adjust my window, make it smaller, because I was out of control. Easily - without thinking - I can go to 12:30 - 1pm every day and not be hungry... I wonder what would happen if I pushed my window back to about 2-3pm??? I could open my window with a healthy meal, then have dinner with the family (Josh), and dessert later - if I chose - or a snack. I told myself I'd try it for a week or two, to see how I did and if it worked for me. And it did - it was amazing!!!! I switched to a perfectly clean fast (the only allowed items are strictly black coffee, black or green tea, plain water or plain sparkling water... No additives to any of these - not stevia, not a lemon squeezed in... nada, zero, zilch) - and you all know me... I used to have coffee with honey and half n' half every morning, 2 to 3 cups of it... and flavored sparkling water. During my clean fast - I have NONE of that. I have been drinking my coffee black for a couple months now (and I didn't die) and have plain sparkling water during the day. When I open my window - almost always with a nice sized salad (with ALL the fixings) and a side of 2 boiled eggs or cheese or something like that, at that time I also have my flavored sparkling water (my new rule - I am NOT ALLOWED to eat anything in the back corner of the kitchen, I must sit down at the table to eat)... I have a normal dinner with Josh - these days, I do allow myself to have a small amount of bread, noodles or rice with this meal (it's so nice to be able to have some of the things I've denied myself for years!!!!), and then a little later I have a snack - most often it's a yogurt with nuts, but sometimes I'll have a bowl of fruit with half n' half, or last night - I had a piece of turtle cheesecake. My window now is more like a 19/5 - and it's totally helped me control my overeating in those afternoon hours - I really LOVE it a lot. And because I am "clean fasting" - I don't get that ravenous hunger pain that I used to get when I'd be eating 3 meals a day + snacks. Love, love, love IF and the fact that I truly can eat anything I want during my window! I also love that my life isn't consumed by food prepping all day long, and cooking all day long, and cleaning up all day long... It really is awesome! :lovestruc

Side note... If you want any more information, please read Delay Don't Deny by Gin Stevens or The Obesity Code by Dr. Jason Fung... :) The whole "breakfast is the most important meal in your day" and "your metabolism will combust if you don't eat 3 meals + 2 snacks every day" and "your body will go into starvation mode if you don't eat every 2 hours" was just a ploy by our food manufacturing companies to get us to eat more (aka, make them profitable)... Think back 100 or 200 years ago and beyond... Do you really think our ancestors ate 6 times per day??? Momma would never leave the kitchen, if that were the case... No, they had maybe 1 or 2 large meals... They couldn't run to the grocery store to get endless snacks in convenient serving sizes... Thought provoking right?

OK - done with that for today. :)

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Josh and I have also discovered "binge-watching Netflix series" - over the summer (we started it in Europe) we watched Reign (highly recommend)... and now we are watching Frontier - it's a bit gruesome in spots (I literally have to turn away from the screen - so does Josh), but it's an interesting show... 3 seasons, but only 6 - 1 hour episodes, so we've been able to move through it pretty quickly. And Declan Harp isn't bad to look at either. :lmao: So, that's what we did last night.

Wishing you all a wonderful weekend!!!!

D~
 
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