Easter Weekend Recap

Another holiday weekend is in the books for the Winstead's, and what a weekend it was!!

Max (our 8 year old Dachshund) hurt his back 2 weeks ago when he was staying with my parents. Last Saturday James took him to the vet and they gave him muscle relaxers and Tramadol. But by Friday, he was no better and had stopped eating (and subsequently pooping). This upset me because all the dogs that I have known to stop eating, have passed away a week later. So Friday was spent at the vet again. They took X-Rays and determined that he has "Intervertebral Disc Disease" where the discs in his spine have deteriorated to the point where his bones are rubbing together. Two hours later, we left there with refills on the previous meds, plus a nerve medicine, steroids, and a stool softener. I told James Saturday morning as we were preparing his numerous medications, that this was our practice before we have children!!

Max and I at the vet :(

Saturday I got up and went to Zumba! It was quite an accomplishment since I spent the whole hour I was awake before making up excuses not to go. But I bit the bullet and went...even got some free DVDs out of the deal. James' coworker got married Saturday afternoon so we spent the afternoon and evening there with friends. It was a beautiful wedding and a great time, made me miss it and want to do mine over again! :)

 The photographer and one of my best friends <3

The Happy Couple

Sunday, of course, was Easter. We went to the 9:45 am service at Horne Memorial United Methodist Church in Clayton. That was our 2nd time. I know I had thought I had found our church before, but James wasn't completely sold. James really likes the contemporary service and I like this church so we really may have found our church this time. We then headed to Roanoke Rapids for a big Easter lunch with my mom's family. As we all stood in a circle to say grace, I realized just how lucky I am. My family may be "Two Gallons of Crazy in a One Gallon Bucket"...but at the end of the day we all love each other and are there for each other. We took my little cousin back to Raleigh (NC State) then just hung out the rest of the night.

It was a super busy weekend and even though I am crazy tired today (and should have taken a day off of work), I wouldn't trade a bit of it.

PS: Max is feeling better with the steroids, which makes it impossible to keep him still. He has started eating a little bit now so he is on the road to recovery! :) <3

Planning Our Disney Vacation - Part 1

I have mentioned (if only briefly) that I am a HUGE Disney fan. I have been this way all my life. My husband, unfortunately is not. He has gotten better over our 4 years together, but to say that he is a fanatic would be lying.

I had always dreamed of a honeymoon at Disney World (as well as a proposal and wedding there, but I digress). But when you meet the love of your life and actually start planning a wedding and a honeymoon - you don't only just think of what you want (shocking I know). James really really wanted to go on a cruise, and as a compromise, we were going to take a Disney Cruise. Unfortunately the only one departing was on our wedding day...so that was out. Liking the idea of a cruise too, we settled on a Carnival Cruise (which was amazing don't get me wrong) and said Disney would be our 1 year anniversary trip.

So here we are. Six months away from our anniversary- planning a trip to Disney.

Now James doesn't really plan for anything, and I plan for everything (opposites attract, right?) But the one thing we knew was that we would not go into debt over this trip. Living the Dave Ramsey lifestyle is very important to us, so we booked the trip in January, to have plenty of time to pay before it was due in August.

Having gone with my aunts family 4 years ago, I knew (somewhat) how to plan this thing. I knew that we wanted to stay on-site and I knew that we wanted a meal plan.

Reasons:
*Convenience: we can park our car on Saturday, and not drive it again until Saturday. Also, we don't have to carry around any cash (when you stay at the park, you can pay for your purchases using your room key). We will still carry cash/debit cards in case of emergencies but that's it.
*Cheaper: I noticed this when I went in 2011, because it was $94 per person, per day for everything (food, tickets, room). However, it is cheaper per person per day the more people that are going. But it does save us money having a meal plan. I have been reading on the exact figures here, and what places to eat to make sure we get the most out of our money.
*Magic Park Hours: Staying on site you have an opportunity to go to the park earlier or stay later on certain days. It may be for only an hour or two, but it is still worth it in my opinion.

For the dining plan, I think the best value is the basic: 1 Table Service (sit down), 1 Quick Service (fast food), and 1 snack a day. There is no way we would eat as much food as the deluxe dining plan pays for, and we would want some sit down meals, so basic was the perfect choice. NOTE: Your meal plans start the morning of your check in and expire at midnight on your check out, so you get an extra day in there. Another reason the basic is really all you need (unless you are a total foodie, which we are not).

We also decided to stay at a value resort. There are three levels: value, moderate, and deluxe. We chose value because we will not be spending that much time at the resort, and even the value ones are nicer than some hotels we have stayed at. One day, we will stay at the Contemporary (deluxe resort) but for right now - value is fine with us!

We chose to only go to the parks for 4 days. With James not being a Disney fanatic and wanting to also go to Sea World one day - I figured 4 days was enough. In 2011, we did 7 days, and by the 7th we were all worn slam out!

So we had it all planned out: Staying on site, at a value resort, eating the basic meal plan, and heading to the parks for 4 days. I booked in January 2nd, and paying a little each pay period, we had it paid off March 13. So now the fun part begins...starting this Saturday, we will be able to see when the parks are open for Magic Park Hours, and I will be able to plan what parks we go to what day. We have to have this mapped out by April 13 because that is when we are able to start making reservations for the restaurants! (& somehow I left this very important event OFF my April goals! :))

Where have I been?! March Recap & April Goals...

Yes, I am still alive.

But seriously March was a whirlwind month, especially the last 2 weeks. But we made it through and enjoyed (almost) every minute of it.

I am not even sure I completed even ONE of my March Goals. That is exactly how crazy this month was. But instead of harping on things I did not get done...I am going to focus on the things I did do:

*Game Night with my former co-worker and her husband. It was a lot of fun. I cooked my dip specialties (which I will have to share in another post), we played games, and then watched the Carolina-Duke game. The outcome of that game was the only bad part about that night!
*Date Night seeing Cinderella in IMAX complete with dinner at Gravy in downtown Raleigh. It is my new favorite place! :)
*We visited a new church in Clayton and we LOVED it. We will be going to this church on Easter Sunday. It has the best of both worlds, it is Methodist which is similar to Presbyterian (the church I grew up in) but has a contemporary service that James likes as well.
*I began working out again (semi) regularly. I have been taking classes at Clayton fitness and for the past 2 weeks I have been going to the gym at work in the mornings. I am finally getting to my goal of getting fit in 2015
*My cousin, her husband, and my ADORABLE niece Evelyn came to visit our house for the first time. We bought the house in June but with the weddings and babies, this is the first time they were able to come over. It was a blast! (& fueled my baby fever ;))
*Pulled off an amazing party for my Aunt and Uncle's 25th wedding anniversary. My mom said it best when she said that they had amazing role models. My Grandma and Papa were married for 49 years before my Papa died. My moms brother and his wife have been married for 43, my parents are working on 35, and we just celebrated Michelle and Chris' 25th anniversary! We (my husband and I) are fortunate that we have these role models to pattern ourselves after!

So now on to April...

*Finish the Thank You Notes. Seriously. Someone kick me into gear with these.
*Replace Guest Bedroom Dresser
*Finalize items for massive Yard Sale happening on May 2nd
*Blog more..sheesh I was terrible at this in March
*Work out 4 of the 7 days of the week.
*Plan a cellphone free date night

April will be just as busy as March with a lot of events going on...there is Easter this weekend and a wedding for James' buddy. Then the Roanoke Valley Relay for Life is April 18 (celebrating my mama who is an 8 year breast cancer survivor!) and the girls' dance recital is the next weekend. My Birthday is also April 22 and I will definitely be doing some celebrating! :) So if I slip and do not blog as much in April, you will know why!