Disney Vacation on a Budget

I was thinking I could give this post the title “Disney, Take Two” since it was our second family vacation to Disney.  But we didn’t really take TWO, you see.  We took THREE.  Yep, all three kids.  I guess technically, we took all three kids the last time as well, but I was pregnant with the youngest, so he was easy to keep up with.

Somehow, we survived this trip with a preteen who has a tendency to be melodramatic (as I imagine most adolescent girls are), a happy-go-lucky girl who was ready to ride every roller coaster in the parks, and a wild, rambunctious 2-year-old.  And we did it without a stroller.  Yes, we’re a little nuts.  We made a pact that we would not spend 15 dollars per day on a stroller when we were already spending so much on tickets and the occasional snack inside the parks (the hassle of pushing a stroller around the miles we’d walk was not appealing).

Even without a stroller, the youngest was usually patient in lines.



The last time we went to Disney, we put the entire vacation on a credit card.  We had just found out we were expecting baby #3, and we figured our plans to go in 2008 were out the window with a newborn in tow.  So we bit the bullet, and put the entire thing on plastic.  We stayed on the Disney Resort, ate in all the parks with their meal plan option, and felt like royalty.  Our first trip to Disney was 4 days and 3 nights.  Of course, it took us many more months than that to pay off the credit card, but we didn’t regret it.  Disney does give you red carpet treatment, even in their value resorts.  We left wanting more, and we knew we’d return. 

This time we did things differently.  Being debt free now, we saved for several months to pay for the entire vacation with cash. We spent two days in Magic Kingdom, three at Hollywood Studios, and one at Animal Kingdom. We paid cash in advance for our tickets, stayed at a more luxurious 2-bedroom condo off the resort, and ate dinners mostly at restaurants outside of Disney, had sandwiches from our cooler for lunch (which we went back to the parking lot to eat on certain days), and ate one lunch in a Disney park.  We were able to stay a full 7 days this time (with two extra days at a different hotel both on the way to Orlando and on the way back).  Our vacation was double the time, with an extra kid, but our cost was not doubled at all.  Though I am not a fan of paying for the parking (which if we’d stayed on the Disney premises would have been waived), we still did not spend as much per day, even though we had an extra person.

Next time we go, we want to make sure of two things.  First, we’ll go later in the year, during the slow season for Disney.  And second, we will wait a few more years until the youngest grows one more foot. He was able at the age of 2 to ride Goofy’s Barnstormer rollercoaster and loved it, but I’m sure his sisters will be ready to get him on more thrill rides next time.

Cleaning My Inbox

I confess. I am an email hoarder.

I opened my Gmail account in 2007, and I have kept emails in it from as early as 2007, many even being newsletters to which I am no longer subscribed.  Some emails are so obsolete that I don't remember even getting them, or why I'd want to keep them.

I was looking at the bottom of my Gmail screen yesterday, and not that I don't have enough space in my Gmail account, but I noticed that I was using about 10% (around 800MB) of my allotted space.
This was my inbox this morning, after I'd deleted about I had already deleted about 1000 (yes, that is correct) emails from it.  I had been patting myself on the back about that one, but the space issue still was there. 

Now why would 153 messages take up 800MB of space??

Well, they don't. Most of these 153 messages had no attachments at all.  So I started reasoning.  One reason for my expanding account is that I do a lot of freelance editing that involves receiving large PDF files.  Another space-eater are pictures. Many of them I have kept in my Gmail account and not moved to my hard drive yet.  But even all those files didn't seem to add up to 800MB.

I started hunting.  I found this little link in the left sidebar under my personally-created labels.

I discovered another reason for my huge amount of accrued space is an automatic feature called "Archive" that I think Gmail did when I converted several of my messages into Mozilla Thunderbird.  Well, I won't go into how or why it happened.  I'll admit it, I'm geeky, but I don't even want to think about how or why it happened right now.

When I clicked on the "All Mail" link, I was shocked to see the number of emails on the top panel change from this

to THIS.

Yikes.  That will take a while.  I deleted 1000+ emails yesterday, and it took me about 30-45 minutes, but I figure if I can do that many every day, I'll be down to under 1000 TOTAL emails in no time.

After that I will tackle my Mozilla Thunderbird inbox, and my hard drive will thank me for it.

Christians Illuminating the Social Media

(Preface: I have been on an extended hiatus from my blog. I am going to try to do better, and hopefully have some direction in my ramblings in this and future posts.)

One of my favorite passages in the Bible is Ephesians 4:17-5:20 (NIV).  This is a long passage, so it takes a while to read, but there is such good advice there for Christians today, that I refrain from skipping any part of it (my additional thoughts follow).

Living as Children of Light

^17-19So I tell you this, and insist on it in the Lord, that you must no longer live as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their thinking. They are darkened in their understanding and separated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardening of their hearts. Having lost all sensitivity, they have given themselves over to sensuality so as to indulge in every kind of impurity, with a continual lust for more.

^20-24You, however, did not come to know Christ that way. Surely you heard of him and were taught in him in accordance with the truth that is in Jesus. You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.

^25-28Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to his neighbor, for we are all members of one body. "In your anger do not sin": Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, and do not give the devil a foothold. He who has been stealing must steal no longer, but must work, doing something useful with his own hands, that he may have something to share with those in need.

^29-32Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.

Ephesians 5

^1-2Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.

^3-7But among you there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity, or of greed, because these are improper for God's holy people. Nor should there be obscenity, foolish talk or coarse joking, which are out of place, but rather thanksgiving. For of this you can be sure: No immoral, impure or greedy person—such a man is an idolater—has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God. Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of such things God's wrath comes on those who are disobedient. Therefore do not be partners with them.

^8-14For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light (for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth) and find out what pleases the Lord. Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them. For it is shameful even to mention what the disobedient do in secret. But everything exposed by the light becomes visible, for it is light that makes everything visible. This is why it is said:

   "Wake up, O sleeper,

      rise from the dead,

   and Christ will shine on you."

^15-20Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord's will is. Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit. Speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Your Online Reputation Can Spread Quickly

As Christians, we should not only watch our walk in our day to day physical activities, but we should also be mindful of our online activities (and that includes staying away from the obvious sites which promote pornography or gambling).  It's not just about what media or messages we allow to be transmitted to our screens, but also what we messages we send out online in our language and activities.  As Christians, are we "living as children of light" online at our favorite social network hangouts? We need to remember that our status updates are read by potentially more people online than in our personal, physical lives.

Foul Language on Facebook

I am disappointed by what some people have the nerve to post on certain social networking sites, especially Facebook. The amount of profanity that pervades the vocabulary of some people is disheartening. I am certain that these offenders are more verbose than they are demonstrating. If a friend on Facebook consistently uses foul language, I have no apprehension in using the "Hide" function. 

The Ever-present "Like" button

Crass language even seeps into the many “like” applications that Facebook allows on its site. Here's my rule of thumb for "like" links: If I wouldn't want my children to read it, then I don't click it (not even if I agree with the general idea). If I click on a “like” with profanity in it, I may as well be condoning the statement, and I don't want the foul language showing up next to my name in someone's feed.

Taking it a step further, I try to refrain from clicking "like" on anything besides a person or business of some kind, though, so please don't judge me if I don't click "like" on a link saying that I love Jesus or any member of my family. Those statements go without telling the world, and I don't want to allow those dozens of generic applications to email me through Facebook.  The notification emails from these applications do nothing but take my time away from those whom I love, negating the purpose of clicking links that say, "I like the statement that I love my husband/daughter/son/mom/Jesus." (Just how many weeks in a row can it be "Daughter Week?")

As part of my effort to simplify all things around me, I have also blocked most games on Facebook, because I discovered how much time I could have been putting to better use.  My news feed is streamlined, revealing the more important items that people share (news, websites and tools). Even with all my efforts to hide and clean my Facebook feed, it is still not as clean as Twitter, due to the new game applications that come out each week on Facebook.

A New Appreciation for Twitter
I'm not knocking Facebook, but I find that with Twitter, I actually learn something. The resources I have discovered on Twitter would have taken me twice as long to find on Facebook.  External links on Twitter can be opened more easily with my mobile device, and I find people to follow in areas that interest me.  This blog post by Terry Whalin (whom I follow on Twitter) explains other benefits of using Twitter.  You can also read an interesting debate on using Twitter vs. Facebook which reflects some of my own thoughts.


After saying all this, I am not leaving Facebook. I sometimes have to click through a few pages in my news feed to see if there is anything important I may have missed in the last day. I limit my time more on Facebook now.  I try to check my page for a few short minutes a day, checking on pages of close friends and family and those who are on my prayer list. 


I welcome your comments. Have you found Twitter more satisfying, or have you yet to explore it? You can even follow my tweets!

Ch-ch-ch-CHANGES!!

What a difference just a few weeks can make! It's not only the look of my blog that has changed. Our summer is in full swing, and though we didn't have concrete plans, a job offer has landed us in a whirlwind of newness. Not only will my husband be starting a new job with huge potential, but we will be moving to the New Orleans area very soon. Luckily, we know a few people in the area, so we won't be totally lost. We are looking forward to the amazing food we have heard about, along with the rich history of the area.

My children have had a season of firsts.

The boy celebrated his first birthday in May (his birthday party was outside in a monsoon, luckily we had the shelter of the pavillion).


My oldest is jumping off the diving board of the neighbor's pool and swimming the length of the pool (a huge feat).


My youngest daughter is swimming across the width of the pool (not bad for a kid with no formal swimming lessons). I was truly amazed.


The oldest went on her first overnight camp with our church without her mom or dad to watch her every move.

Ok, so when did my kids get this big? Madelynne's stay under our roof is half over, and we still have so much to teach her!

Soon I will be setting an academic example for our kids, as I am planning on starting graduate school soon.

As I posted before, I will get pictures of the workboxes up very soon, before they become packed and shipped to NOLA! The next two weeks will be very exciting and stressful for us as we look for a safe and affordable place to live.

A Busy Summer

There isn't much with which to update my blog, but I could say that there is a lot of busyness going on this summer. I wish I could say that I have personally accomplished a lot, but alas, it is not the case. At least the kids are having a good time, and they have plenty of activities going on.

A recent move has catapulted our lives into limbo. In the meantime, our church is one stability our kids can seem to find. They are involved with the activities there. Madelynne just returned from her first summer camp away from mom and dad with the church group. This week we are attending a local VBS, and we are gearing up for our church's VBS next week.

Aside from church activities, we are swimming and playing tennis. Ally looks so cute in her tennis gear. Miss Maddy is finally going into the deep end of the pool without flotation help. That is a huge step for her. And the boy is running all over creation keeping us all on our toes.

Last week we signed up for the Summer Reading program at the library. Allyson is already 1/4 of the way through. Madelynne started on her list a little later because of church camp, but she is really speeding through her first book.

We are also doing schoolwork through the summer. I have discovered a system for the kids which I hope to implement into full swing for the fall. It will help keep me focused on what they need to be doing, as well as provide more structure for them. It's a system based on Sue Patrick's Workbox System. We are doing a modified version using one box per child with name tag holders and manila envelopes. Eventually, I would like to get different bags instead of using the envelopes, but for now, they work. Lucas even has his own box (where we put toys for the day). He has no numbers or system, but he knows it's his box. I will be posting pictures of these boxes later.