Taking A Break from Life with a Trip to My Happy Place - Page 44 - PassPorter - A Community of Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Disney Cruise Line, and General Travel Forums
As of January 1, 2019, we have closed our forums. This is a decision we did not come to lightly, but it is necessary. The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk. The server software itself must be updated, and it cannot be without removing the forums.
So it is with a heavy heart that we say goodbye to our long-running forums. They came online in 2000 and brought together so many wonderful Disney fans. We had friendships form, careers launch, couples marry, children born ... all because of this amazing community.
Thank you to each of you who were a part of this community. You made it possible.
And a very special thank you to our Guides (moderators), past and present, who kept our forums a happy place to be. You are the glue that held everything together, and we are forever grateful to you. Thank you aliceinwdw, Caldercup, MrsM, WillCAD, Fortissimo, GingerJ, HiddenMickey, CRCrazy, Eeyoresmom, disneyknut, disneydani, Cam22, chezp, WDWfan, Luvsun, KMB733, rescuesk, OhToodles!, Colexis Mom, lfredsbo, HiddenMickey, DrDolphin, DopeyGirl, duck addict, Disneybine, PixieMichele, Sandra Bostwick, Eeyore Tattoo, DyanKJ130, Suzy Q'Disney, LilMarcieMouse, AllisonG, Belle*, Chrissi, Brant, DawnDenise, Crystalloubear, Disneymom9092, FanOfMickey, Goofy4Goofy, GoofyMom, Home4us123, iamgrumpy, ilovedisney247, Jennifer2003, Jenny Pooh, KrisLuvsDisney, Ladyt, Laughaholic88, LauraBelle Hime, Lilianna, LizardCop, Loobyoxlip, lukeandbrooksmom, marisag, michnash, MickeyMAC, OffKilter_Lynn, PamelaK, Poor_Eeyore, ripkensnana, RobDVC, SHEANA1226, Shell of the South, snoozin, Statelady01, Tara O'Hara, tigger22, Tink and Co., Tinkerbelz, WDWJAMBA, wdwlovers, Wendyismyname, whoSEZ, WildforWD, and WvuGrrrl. You made the magic.
We want to personally thank Sara Varney, who coordinated our community for many years (among so many other things she did for us), and Cheryl Pendry, our Message Board Manager who helped train our Guides, and Ginger Jabour, who helped us with the PassPorter-specific forums and Live! Guides. Thank you for your time, energy, and enthusiasm. You made it all happen.
There are other changes as well.
Why? Well, the world has changed. And change with it, we must. The lyrics to "We Go On" for IllumiNations say it best:
We go on to the joy and through the tears
We go on to discover new frontiers
Moving on with the current of the years.
We go on
Moving forward now as one
Moving on with a spirit born to run
Ever on with each rising sun.
To a new day, we go on.
It's time to move on and move forward.
PassPorter is a small business, and for many years it supported our family. But the world changed, print books took a backseat to the Internet, and for a long time now it has been unable to make ends meet. We've had to find new ways to support our family, which means new careers and less and less time available to devote to our first baby, PassPorter.
But eventually, we must move on and move forward. It is the right thing to do.
So we are retiring this newsletter, as we simply cannot keep up with it. Many thanks to Mouse Fan Travel who supported it all these years, to All Ears and MousePlanet who helped us with news, to our many article contributors, and -- most importantly -- to Sara Varney who edited our newsletter so wonderfully for years and years.
And we are no longer charging for the Live Guides. If you have a subscription, it's yours to keep for the lifetime of the Live Guides at no additional cost. The Live Guides will stay online, barring server issues and technical problems, for all of 2019.
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Thank you, thank you, thank you for your amazing support over the years. Without you, there's no way us little guys could have made something like this happen and given the "big guys" a run for their money. PassPorter was consistently the #3 guidebook after the Unofficial and Official guides, which was really unheard of for such a small company to do. We ROCKED it thanks to you and your support and love!
If you miss us, you can still find some of us online. Sara started a new blog at DisneyParkPrincess.com -- I strongly urge you to visit and get on her mailing list. She IS the Disney park princess and knows Disney backward and forward. And I am blogging as well at JenniferMaker.com, which is a little craft blog I started a couple of years ago to make ends meet. You can see and hear me in my craft show at https://www.youtube.com/c/jennifermaker . Many PassPorter readers and fans are on Facebook, in groups they formed like the PassPorter Trip Reports and PassPorter Crafting Challenge (if you join, just let them know you read about it in the newsletter). And some of our most devoted community members started a forum of their own at Pixie Dust Lane and all are invited over.
So we encourage you to stay in touch with us and your fellow community members wherever works best for you!
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Thanks everyone! I'm beyond excited, and Kelly and I have already got some plans in the works.
And this weekend I took the photos of our first floor, but then I must have gotten extremely distracted, because I totally forgot I needed to upload them to the computer. This morning I woke up and realized I never did it. I promise it will get done tonight and I will post them tomorrow. I PROMISE!
Quote:
Originally Posted by KHarrod
Whew! All caught up...thank you for sharing your adventures with all of us. I really enjoyed reading! I'm sorry you had a rough end to your trip. I will be in your shoes somewhat within this next year with my parents as well. My dad retired from the police department December 2012 and my mom retires from SSA this June! My mom is my best friend and we work together. She's actually one floor below me in the same building! It will be hard when she retires because I won't have that "safe haven" to go to when I get stressed at work. Once she retires, my parents will do some updates to my childhood home and put it on the market as well. They already built their retirement home in WV, where we've vacationed with them for the past 4 years; once my childhood home sells, they will be out there permanently -- almost 2 hours away. Very different from the 30 minutes distance we have now. I guess what I'm trying to say is, while I'm not totally familiar with what you are going through, it's coming; then for sure, I will. But like your family, mine is very close...VERY close. No matter the distance between us, our relationships will stay strong because we put the effort in early to make them that way; to withstand whatever life throws at us. Sure I won't see my parents as often but I can still communicate with them every day. And when we are together; it just means that much more.
Now...on to more exciting things...CONGRATULATIONS ON YOUR CRUISE! How exciting!
Can't wait to see the pictures of your home...sounds like you've put a TON of work into it!
Thank you so much for sharing your story with me. I guess you know exactly how I'm feeling, which I'm so sorry for. For you though, my issue with a 30 minute difference is what you consider normal, and now they will be moving 2 hours away, which must be a total shock to the system. I hope you find the strength to get through the first few days, weeks, and months of the adjustment, which I know will take a toll on your heartstrings, and at least you know that you have someone out there who knows what you're going through, and will always lend an ear if you need one.
Quote:
Originally Posted by MayraLR
Hi again! I was MIA for 2 months. Had some major remodelling at my house and actually had to move out. But I'm back now.
What a great finish to your trip! How great that Hope was able to have that special moment with Belle. Congrats on your Disney Cruise!
Hey stranger! Glad you're back. I understand about house rennovations, although we didn't need to leave our house for them.
Quote:
Originally Posted by lindawdw
Hi Melissa I've read several of your previous Disney TR's that you wrote and have always enjoyed reading about your adventures together with your Mom and Hope. Sorry I didn't get to read this TR when you first started writing it but it sure sounds like you created lots of memories together. I was sad to read that your mom was selling your childhood home and moving by your brother but I do think you'll always keep that special bond that you have with your mom no matter how far she lives from you. I'm not as close with my mom as you are with yours but I do have two daughters who I have a close relationship with, and although they both lives about 40 minutes away from me, I still feel a close bond with them. It will all work out in the end I'm sure Love all the beautiful pictures that you took of Hope for your photography class! My favorite was the one of her holding the American Flag She really is so adorable. Glad you got to experience the new Fantasyland on your trip. My DD and I took a mother/daughter trip in March and we enjoyed experiencing the new rides. We also loved eating a counter service lunch in the Be Our Guest restaurant!
How wonderful that you were able to meet your Jersey PP friends in AC It must have been a blast taking a mini vacation together. Congratulations on booking your Disney Cruise. I'm sure you're going to love it. I will look forward to reading about that in the future
Hi! Thanks for joining in and for your kind words. I'm sure you're right, and the more I think about it, I know things will be okay. It's just the initial shock I'm not ready for, and the thought of not ever going back in the house where I grew up. That's the one that really makes me sad. Just the thought of it brings tears to my eyes.
But on a happier note, yes, we did get to experience some of the new FL expansion, and plan on exploring more of it when we go back in May. Hopefully it will look even better than it did this last time.
Ugh, the worst part of house renovations is the cleaning you have to do afterwards. That's when you realize how much junk you have. I thought I'd never finish cleaning. The reason we had to move out was because we re-did the whole floor. I have tiles and one day, while my husband was painting, he moved the island in the kitchen and the tiles just popped up. Since I knew we wouldn't find the same tiles and I didn't want to have different ones throughout the house, we decided to put them in all new. We moved into a small 2 bedroom apartment at my parent's house. Imagine that... And to top it all off, no internet or cable. But I'm here now so all is good.
Melissa, I finally had a chance to read your TR. At least this way I didn't have to wait long for updates! Anyway, for the situation with your family. And I'm glad that you enjoyed your girls trip. Sounds like everything went well and you accomplished a lot. I figured the dining plan wouldn't work out for you - it's so much food! But glad you had fun. And good for you, booking a cruise! And with Kelly, too! Y'all have fun together!
__________________
Mickey's so happy to see me back, he can barely contain himself!
Ugh, the worst part of house renovations is the cleaning you have to do afterwards. That's when you realize how much junk you have. I thought I'd never finish cleaning. The reason we had to move out was because we re-did the whole floor. I have tiles and one day, while my husband was painting, he moved the island in the kitchen and the tiles just popped up. Since I knew we wouldn't find the same tiles and I didn't want to have different ones throughout the house, we decided to put them in all new. We moved into a small 2 bedroom apartment at my parent's house. Imagine that... And to top it all off, no internet or cable. But I'm here now so all is good.
I definitely didn't have to deal with all of that. And it's sad to say, but if I was without cable while all of my shows were in the middle of their season, I'd be going crazy!
Quote:
Originally Posted by PrincessSharon
Melissa, I finally had a chance to read your TR. At least this way I didn't have to wait long for updates! Anyway, for the situation with your family. And I'm glad that you enjoyed your girls trip. Sounds like everything went well and you accomplished a lot. I figured the dining plan wouldn't work out for you - it's so much food! But glad you had fun. And good for you, booking a cruise! And with Kelly, too! Y'all have fun together!
Sharon! There you are! I've been wondering where you flew off too. Thanks for catching up. Linny told me the dining plan probably wouldn't be for me either, but like she said, how would I know unless I gave it a shot. Live and learn right?
Quote:
Originally Posted by poohbr2015
Doesn't it make you feel all warm and fuzzy knowing you have a trip in the works!! Can't wait to read the PTR and TR for the cruise!!
It definitely does. Puts a little bounce in your step.
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So as promised, here are some photos of the work we've been doing to our first floor. Keep in mind it's still not completely finished, and that I was also really lazy when taking these photos. They're not the best and I didn't even edit them before I uploaded them to shutterfly, so sorry for the crappy lighting.
Living Room Before
Living Room After...we also plan on putting a fireplace in, and moving the clock to another wall
Another Before
And Another After...here you can see where we knocked out that wall
Once again, sorry for the bad lighting, but here's one of my DIY's...I handmade the moss "B" in the frame.
Before of the Living Room/Kitchen
After...just pretend Hope isn't there
Kitchen Before
Kitchen After...I still need to paint the cabinets, which will probably be a white or off white
I plan on also painting the wood surrounding the ceiling light the same color as the cabinets
Hallway Leading to Front Door Before
Hallway After
My Gallery Wall (I made the star using a cereal box, and the LOVE sign with scrapbook paper)
This is Where the Dining Room Was Before
We Made it a Study for After (will be putting a round rug in there too)
This Was the "Fancy Room" or "Serve No Purpose Room" Before
It's Now Our Dining Room After
And there you have it. Our first floor so far. I honestly have no desire to start the cabinets and banister, but it has to get done eventually before I can say it's all finished. Plus I need to update the light fixture in the foyer and spray paint the hanging lights above our breakfast bar a bronze color like I did with all of our door knobs.
I got so far behind because of tax season.
Looked like such a fun trip.
I am sorry for the feelings you are having with your parents and the move. I know it has to be hard.
I am so, so, so excited for you to be going on a Disney cruise and to be going on the same one as Kelly. You guys will have so much fun!!!!
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I promise it will get done tonight and I will post them tomorrow. I PROMISE! 
They already built their retirement home in WV, where we've vacationed with them for the past 4 years; once my childhood home sells, they will be out there permanently -- almost 2 hours away. Very different from the 30 minutes distance we have now. I guess what I'm trying to say is, while I'm not totally familiar with what you are going through, it's coming; then for sure, I will. But like your family, mine is very close...VERY close. No matter the distance between us, our relationships will stay strong because we put the effort in early to make them that way; to withstand whatever life throws at us. Sure I won't see my parents as often but I can still communicate with them every day. And when we are together; it just means that much more. 
Glad you're back. I understand about house rennovations, although we didn't need to leave our house for them. 
for the situation with your family. And I'm glad that you enjoyed your girls trip. Sounds like everything went well and you accomplished a lot. I figured the dining plan wouldn't work out for you - it's so much food! But glad you had fun. And good for you, booking a cruise! And with Kelly, too! Y'all have fun together!
Teresa
Live and learn right? 
Liz 
PassPorter Guide Author
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