Weekend Wonderment

You'll never guess what I did!

Here, I'll give you a hint...

With my donation on Friday, I managed to log 101 Disney VoluntEAR hours already for the year! I am so over the moon proud of myself. I gave myself a goal of 100 hours this year. I had a lot going on and I wanted to challenge myself but thanks to some serious crafting during times when I didn't think I would able to, I was able to smash my goal with 5 months left in the year. All of my hours are from crafting and donating it all to the Disney BlanketEARS.

I'm feeling pretty dog gone good about myself right now.

What's Up?

Yes, I know... can we just skip the excuses and apologies, hug it out, and move on? Yes? Great! So, first things first... look at what I earned...

Do you see up there? No? Okay, I have to be quick though because we aren't supposed to have our phones out taking photos on the floor...

I know it's a tad blurry but I had to be quick about it. That is a medal - my own medal. My very first medal! This is the 35th Anniversary of the Disney VoluntEARS and if you earned at least 35 volunteer hours, you earned a medal. So far this year, I have 87 hours earned and I am going to turn in at least 8, possibly 12, more hours this month. My goal was 100 hours and I think I may make it!!

How did I get it? Oh, knitting things for charity. Yep, I am very proud member of the Disney Blanketeers. Did I mention that we were the VoluntEAR Team of the Year this year? No, well, there you go!

Tomorrow, I'll share what all I'm working on now. I hope y'all have a great (and magical) day!

Motivational Monday

I know I've been quiet lately but I promise, I'm soaring!

Wow, almost a month

Working 60 hours a week will do that to a person. I have my core hours of just 40 but then I pick up 20 hours a week of overtime... all but 5 of that is mandatory right now so with the way the schedules are done, it's just easier to tack it on to three days and be done with it. I've revamped my thoughts and instead of worrying about my weekends, I try to not have OT on the actual weekends when my family is home. At least this way I can remember what they look like now. Needless to say, I am constantly exhausted... and this isn't looking like it will change before Spring since we are fast approaching "Peak Season".

I have still be crafting though, so that's a good thing. Here are some of the things I have been up to lately...

Can you guess what is easiest to work with while you are on the phone? Some of those hats only took me a single shift to work... then again, when you are working 15 hour days, that is a nice chunk of knitting time because if you are talking, there is no reason why your hands can't be moving as well as your mouth. It was all mindless knitting... well, that cowl took a little bit of thought process and the tam in the upper right corner was not easy so that one was mostly on breaks and lunch. Let me rephrase that - the pattern was easy, if you can give it your full attention. It has a nice repeat but if you have someone yelling at you in your ear, you can't do it.

I have been crocheting too - and I have been teaching a friend from work how to do it! If you follow me on Instagram then you saw how awesomely I peopled yesterday. SO proud of me for that - and her for picking it up so quickly. She sent me a text later last night with a total of four grannies on it! She's going to have a blanket for Christmas if she keeps up that pace... and that is her goal. I have been working a Christmas present so I can show you bits of it but not the whole thing... well, I could show you the whole thing it isn't even a thing yet. Hang on, I'll snap a quick shot of it...

The top two and bottom left are all completed. I am almost done with the fourth set, the bottom right. I have 3.5 more to do on those which I hope to have done today. The fifth set is only 6 squares so that is my goal by Sunday night. The sixth set has 10 squares so I am giving myself until the next weekend to get those done - I will lose a crafting day on Friday because the recipient will be with me on my birthday and I can't work on it while she is here. Once the squares are all done, I'll need a few days to seam them together in the proper charted order and then it is on to the cuffs, button band, and collar! I have until the day after Christmas to finish it. I will need every second of it too.

Time to have some coffee before I toddle off to get service done on my SUV. Regular maintenance stuff but still takes time out of my day that I wish it didn't. Once I'm done, I need to come back here and clean, do laundry, etc because that is apparently what my weekends are for now. Not getting into that at the moment... that's a whole different post if I ever decided to go there.

Hope all of your Christmas crafting is going well. Do you have any super large projects that you are rushing to get done?

We're all fine here

There is a slight case of hysteria regarding this storm and while I understand why people were concerned for the island areas, by the time it reaches us here in central Florida it really won't be much of anything.

Granted, I have been saying this at work for some time now. Those of us in Guest Services who are queue cleaners are scheduled until 11:45 pm because the phones close at 11 pm. We haven't been getting out before 2 am this week due to excessive hold times because people are panicking.

I wish I could say "Look, it's going to rain on one day during your vacation. Nothing to see here. Nothing to worry about. We're all fine here now. See you soon." - just send that out in a massive email so things will get back to normal. As it stands, we are in *voluntear mode for extra hours and if people don't sign up, we'll go into voluntold mode and I don't like that so I'm on the books for 12 hour days until mid-October... joy.

Pray for the islands. Pray for the coastal region where she'll come in and make landfall. Those of us inland, we'll be just fine. Promise.

*Yes, I spelled it that way on purpose because at Disney, we do voluntEAR.

Why, hello there!

I knew things were going to get crazy around here. I did. I may have even mentioned it or I may have simply thought I mentioned it but either way - there was a thought that manifested itself in my brain about how time is going to be all off and things were going to get a bit weird... and did they ever!

I am down to my last two official days of training. All 10 weeks of classroom antics are behind me and the two weeks of shadowing are almost on the books. Things are finally going to start getting to normal, I hope. My schedule has been all over the place the past two weeks and I'm honestly just exhausted. I doubt it will get any better once I am on my night shift - 11:45 stop time which means crawling in the door close to 12:30 am, then having to get Hobbit up for school by 6 am is not my cup of tea. Even my 'weekend' is in the middle of the week so I'll never get to sleep in again... that isn't true but it feels true. There is rumor of a shift bid in September/October so we'll see what happens. I would honestly like to go back to an opening shift but a mid would be fine too. The reality is that I will continue to be on nights because we're just out on the floor and don't have seniority. It's fine. I like my job. I just wish a few things at home were just a bit different.

On the crafting front, I have completed quite a few projects. All during training, I was able to knit so I kicked out a ton of hats in those 7 weeks that covered resorts. I think my final tally was 12 hats completed. 2 went to coworkers, 1 went to Hobbit, and 9 went to charity. They were all originally made for charity but I have a hard time saying no... and honestly, the act of giving it away to make someone else happy is charitable so in essence, they all went to charity. OOOHH, and I finished my first knit adult sweater...

Overall, I do like how it came out but I think if I make another one, I will do it in a lighter weight yarn. The aran weight just feels a bit bulky but it will do it's job just fine. I really do love how the yarn worked up too. The sleeves are a bit to floppy for my liking but again, I read some tweaks that other people made - and there are suggestions in the pattern on how to avoid it as well.

I got to spend Monday with Peanut in the parks. It was a lot of fun. We haven't had the opportunity to do anything together - alone or with a group - in almost a decade! She has grown into such an amazing woman. I still can't believe she's mine some days but bust with pride that she is... so sweet, considerate, polite, creative, and just a dream of a human bean. I think this is our favorite picture of the day...

This is her favorite attraction and I had never seen a PhotoPass person there before so we hopped in and got our picture taken before we headed across the street for lunch at the Columbia Harbor House. We went during the eclipse and while it was overcast, there were still signs everywhere telling people not to look up. Naturally, this is us...

We are such rebels... hehehe. We strolled around our two favorite pavilions - United Kingdom and Japan. I bought her her first cider, which she loved. She also had lamb for the second time but this time it was good. Wherever she ate it at first just ruined it but she got a Shepherd's Pie and really liked it. After a full day of park hopping, we headed home so she could see Hobbit before having to head out on the road home. It was a great day and one I am so happy to have had with her. I missed spending time with her and it felt like after she graduated high school back in 2011, I never saw her again except for brief and fleeting holiday moments.

I think I'll have a donut before doing a few chores that need done prior to my heading out to work. I can't wait for my regular schedule to start so I won't have to keep functioning on such little sleep. One day, I will get to wake up whenever my body says it's time... one day.

Five days more...

Standard view/pose of tween in the 21st century

That's all I have left. Five days. Pokey says I count weird because I don't count the current day but the current day has already started so it doesn't need counting because it doesn't count. Totally makes sense, right? Right. Anywho, I simply need to power through five days more and when I get off work, my little Hobbit will be back from her travels with my folks. I miss her.

She's been gone the whole of July. I must admit, it was a bit by design though so that she wouldn't be spending the summer alone now that I am working outside of the house. I had such guilt knowing she was just left alone until Pokey got home from work. We had it pretty well worked out though. The first week I was off, the second and third week she was with my folks, the fourth week was Pokey's turn to be home. After that, she had a week alone. I felt horrible. Granted, I didn't go to work until the afternoon and Pokey came home in the early evening so it wasn't like she was abandoned from sun up until sun down - and let's add that she is 12-years-old so it isn't even like she's a baby... but she's my baby.

That week, we will have to do some school shopping. I'll see if she wants a first day of school outfit or if she is cool with what she has. Also need to get her a new school bag and the list of school supplies for 7th grade Cambridge Programme kids. I think Sam's will be the best place to get it all but I will leave it up to her since there are different options on her list. I think she is in the great "backpack vs cross body satchel" debate. Given how little she really has to carry, I would do the satchel but that is me. I did get the bus stop moved to the corner of our yard so I feel better about that bit. She has to be out there before 7 am and I would rather she be close to home and under a street light. The bus depot lady was a bit of a poop about it but it still got done and I gave her my best sing song 'thank you' that I could squeak out on the phone.

It will be a February Lady Sweater when it's done.

Time to work on those sleeves and play catch up on "Game of Thrones". I am just about to start season 3 and the only reason I'm watching is because a girl on my team really likes it and no one else in the class watched it so I started it so we could talk about it. Once I get caught up, I am sure we will natter forever on it but right now, she doesn't want to give me any spoilers so I've been sharing what I think as I watch... some even via text messages because they could not wait... vile little Joffrey. House Stark forever... with a little Lannister, in the form or Tyrion, thrown in for good measure.

This sleeve is nowhere near being done but it needs to be turned in no later than 31 July so I best get cracking - because this is the first sleeve, not the second! I only have 14 days to get it done which means a week per sleeve. I think I will go with the short sleeve option instead of elongating it all the way down the arm. It is a heavy sweater and I just really need it at my desk at work. My arms rarely get cold, just my shoulders. If my arms are completely covered, I get too hot. This will be the perfect compromise.

Charity

We are winding down the first segment of our training. All we have left is tomorrow and then next week, we will take a few calls. It will be a welcomed change for me. I miss talking to Guests. I am a little nervous but not a whole lot. It is like riding a bike. Plus, once we are done with next week, we move on to the brand new things so that has me doubly excited. So what have I been doing to stay engaged, you ask... knitting!!

I asked my trainer - who is the most amazing soul, I swear - and she said she did not have a challenge with me knitting during the class. I took it and ran with it! Look at what all I have made since the last time I was able to check in...

This last one, I cast on and off tonight during class. It was a fun hat to make and I will make another but first, I told a teammate that I would make her daughter a hat since she is afraid she will lose the yellow one I made her - a valid fear when her daughter said "ooooo, I'm going to take that!" To ease her fears, I asked her what color I should make for her. I'll cast it on tomorrow... which is technically today but I haven't slept yet so it's still today which is technically yesterday. Don't you love after midnight logic.

This brings my total donated hats since I started 6 weeks ago up to 7 - though I have made 8, but we have that whole teammate giveaway. My goal was one hat a week so I'm tickled for being ahead. I get an hour of voluntEAR time for each hat - even though they take me about 8 hours each. I am hoping to hit 10 hours before I leave training. That's three more hats so there is a good chance I will hit it.

Okay, it is time for me to hit the sack. I hope y'all are having a wonder summer. I would love to hear what you have been up to lately!

4 weeks past

It is so hard to believe that tomorrow I will be heading into my 4th week of being back at Disney. We have a tour day set up so that means an early day but at least they schedule it coming in from a 'weekend' so that isn't so bad.

I am starting to get settled into a groove, which is nice. Things should really start falling into place in the next week or so because life will be 'normal', as Hobbit was at my folks for the first two weeks I was at work and then Pokey was on vacation all last week. It was nice that she wasn't left home bored for the past month. She will visiting my folks again in July as well, which I know she's looking forward to because they always have a blast together.

If you follow my Instagram or Twitter feeds, this next bit isn't news but I am still excited about it. I found a charity, through the Disney VoluntEARs, where I can donate knit/crochet/sewn items! They take blankets, lapghans, hats, booties et al and donate them to soldiers, homeless shelters, and cancer/ill people. I have been on a hat rampage lately because it is in the round and requires little thought - or sight - on my part during training. I have made two ChemoCaps Eyelet Hats by JoAnne Turcotte. It is a pattern in my Knitting for Peace book that I just love - especially since the eyelets look like Mickeys.

I made this awesome green hat and another one in a beautiful grey. I think I will stick with cheerful colors going forward.

So I don't get pattern fatigue, I have changed gears and am currently working on a great pattern - Tutti Frutti Hat by Miriam Pike. I have made close to a half dozen of these hats over the past few months. I just love the mock cable banding and the cross at the top. Just look at these beauties...

This one I am making for the BlanketEARs, the Disney VoluntEARs charity group, is in a solid color and oh my word, that band just pops like you wouldn't believe. Look at how gorgeous it is in a completely plain color...

Okay, I should get started on my day. Granted, I just heard thunder rumbling in the distance so I may put off the outside errand running for a bit longer. We'll just have to see. I need to go to the grocery store. I could start the wash instead.. yeah, that sounds like a good plan. That way, I can start the sleeves of my sweater that I have been neglecting. I would like to have one on before the month is out.

No orders, please

Working on my DRC Shrug as fast as I can!

So I finished my first week back at Disney and it was fabulous! There were a few hiccups at the beginning but I have backtracked and recovered quickly, hopefully resetting expectations and moving forward with grace. Nothing too detrimental but enough that I was taken aback and decided that certain measures needed to be implemented going for forward. Just things that happen - some of my making, some of the making of others but everyone's perception is their own reality so you do what you can to shift it.

Anywho, I did have one thing happened yesterday that I had never have happen to me before - to my husband, yes, but never to me. People see that I make him stuff all the time and they ask if I will make something for them. His response is so sweet - "She made it because she loves me. She doesn't know you. I can ask but I have seen her list of things that she wants to make so it would be a while. There is a closet full of yarn in our house she has to work through first." He chuckles and people will either push the subject or just move on. If they push, he will usually pass the request on and I will honestly decide if I can or want to do it. Honestly though, in all my years of crafting, I have never been directly approached and I was taken aback by my knee jerk reaction to it. Here, let me set the scene for you...

Scene: Me knitting during a break. Fellow new hire cast member walks by and stops with a look a pure delight on her face.

CM: Ooooo, you knit?
Me: (raises face to CM and smiles while hands work feverishly) I do.
CM: Do you take orders? (eyebrows raised while mind races with ideas and requests).
Me: I do not (still smiling and feverishly knitting).
CM: What? Why not! (face no longer elated but suddenly cloudy and cross).
Me: It then becomes work and that takes the joy out of it. It becomes something that I "have" to do instead of something that I "want" to do. I do knit for people, out of love, but never for money.
CM: (flounces away, totally put out).
Me: (shrugs and continues to regain peace and shed anxiety through stitching).

End scene!

Yeah, I am not even embellishing. That is exactly what happened. I have never been asked by a stranger if I 'take orders'. Why would I take orders? If you bake, do you take orders? If you sew, do you take orders? If you draw, sing or play an instrument, do you take orders? Why does my hobby have to all of a sudden become a business - and what gives you the right to be upset when I say no?

This is what I do for my anxiety, for pleasure, for mindless activity - basically, just to live. I knit. I crochet. I do other things as well but they aren't as portable. It is something that I do that brings me joy. I have no idea where the mindset came that such things have to now turn a profit. I do it for the simple act of doing it. The act of doing it is what I love - and the fabulous pile of FOs that I create which I either keep, donate to charity, or gift to people I love.

If someone has a baby, I craft for them. If someone has a tragic event in their life, I craft for them. If someone gets married, I craft for them. It is such a personal experience and present that I don't ever do it for profit. That would tarnish, for me, what I find beautiful about it.

So no, I don't take orders... but I will teach you so you can make whatever idea you had swimming in your head. My lunch is at 7 pm, meet me in the break room... you'll be glad you did.

I can share my secret!!

Finally, I can share what I have been keeping secret - though rather badly, I admit. I quit my WAH job and went back to being a Disney cast member!! Today was my Traditions but I am finally home! I peopled so hard today - I even made a new friend!! Oh my gosh. I am exhausted but in a good way. I'm not peopled out like I thought I would be but peopling at Disney has never worn me out the way it does peopling in the world... I'm sure that probably doesn't make sense but it does to me so there we go.

So here is my day in pictures. I did my best to photograph the bits I could. I couldn't take anything in the Utilidors because that is grounds for instant termination but everywhere else I was allowed, I took pictures. My day started like this...

Disney University - where bigger dreams come true and people get perfectly pixie dusted.

Affectionately known as "DU" where I do have Mousesters and a Ducktorate but I am going to get new ones I think. When you walk in the door, you are greeted by Pluto...

Hey pal!

Yep, he's coming out of the ceiling and saying hey. Then, I walked down the hallway to my classroom and ran into Goofy...

Garsh! Be careful, Goof!!

Once there, we covered the boring bits of Safe-D first  and then, after our first break, we were told that we had mighty big ears to fill and the only way we could do that was...

I think I held myself together pretty well... well... I tried to anyway and that is what counts.

With our own set of ears! Naturally, I put mine on and wore them all day. I can neither confirm nor deny that they are still on my head right now. After a few more Disneyfied orientation bits, we broke for lunch. When had gotten back from our first break, we had to change seats to meet new people and that is when I met Barbara and Zuiy who are going to be at the DRC with me!

Barbara, me, and Zuiy - your Guest Service Specialists

Yes, I was stupid happy all day so ignore my scary over the top smile. I learned that Barbara was a cast member at the DRC the same time I was, we were just on different teams and in different segments. She was also morning part time and I was evenings full time but we had seen each other around. She was so much fun.

After lunch, we did our Utilidor tour and spent a little (very little) bit of time in the Magic Kingdom looking for "good show". My table even voted me to be the leader, which was strangely honorable to me. Then we came back, learned a few more Disney things and our boss came to visit to see how things were going...

Nothing beats having your boss applaud your work on your first day!

He was clapping because they asked a trivia question and I got it right (surprise, surprise right). He gave me a Minnie Mouse figurine. After that, he brought in a box which had the final piece to make us "officially" part of the family...

I'm back!

I am so stupid happy to be back home, I can't even explain it. Now, I'm at my home home and my fabulous husband is making my favorite supper - burgers and tots - which I don't have the heart to tell him that I had it for lunch but I can eat it every meal so I'm good. Today has been perfect. Now to put on my pjs and just stupid smile the rest of the day away.