TxRabbit
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Feb 19, 2007
Once upon a time ago, last October 2009 to be exact, DH and his entire contract/department was brought into a room and informed about how the layoffs would begin in November. Being the new kid on the block due to a mid-career career change, DH started looking and applying in anticipation of needing to be "relocated."
Fast forward to early Spring 2010. The relationship DH has with his NASA client has brought in so much new work...that and volunteer force reductions...there have been no layoffs in his department. HOWEVER, two family members that work on the Constellation project, thanks to Obama and budget cuts, will be out of a job come September, when the fiscal year ends.
These family members get new jobs in Georgia. They move in May.
Now let's set the stage...Two years ago DH got this great new job. We have a history of moving to where DH's work is. At this time though, since we had purchased a project house, we were smack in the middle of major home reno. There were two wall cabinets still hanging in the kitchen and a huge gapping hole in the ceiling where we had taken down the soffit and cabinets that separated the kitchen from the eating and family rooms. And the kitchen and all the bathrooms had war zone walls where the wall paper had been removed, but nothing else accomplished.
So even though this great new job was 60+ miles away...we couldn't move closer to it.
Enter the economy.
Now. Two years later, the house is pretty close to done. And we are thinking we might move closer to DH's work. I mean seriously. The 120+ miles driven daily for commuting is getting OLD. Not to mention the traffic, which, try as he might to avoid, is nearly impossible in Houston.
BUT...the family just moved away from the area.
DH applied in GA too. Even got an interview. Get this. The hiring department paid for his travel expenses. His current department paid for his time. How cool is that?
What isn't cool is that we still haven't heard anything even though we were supposed to hear something within two weeks. He interviewed in April...
An opportunity in England came up. We were VERY excited about this. We are HUGE football (soccer) fans. The thought of seeing the premier league LIVE?!?! OMG!! And just the experience...two year commitment. DS will just be starting 4th grade. So 4th and 5th grade abroad? Before middle school? Older elementary? How perfect is that?
DH was told he was perfect for the job. And then they changed the job request. And he wasn't perfect anymore.
DH and I discussed the situation. The deal is that we have never lived in our home without it feeling like a construction zone. We really want to enjoy the summer. Our neighborhood is great. Tennis. Pools. Great community. AWESOME elementary schools. With a new middle school opening during DS's 5th grade year. Maybe we give living here just a little while more...
So we put off the moving decision until next spring.
And since we have been saving for a move...
Got a security deposit...first month's rent...
"DW...DH...after months of wondering what in the world was going to happen, NOTHING has happened, and you've decided to do NOTHING different...what are you going to do?"
WE'RE GOING TO DISNEY WORLD!!!!!
DH and I are growing in financial maturity. It's a work in progress.
In the past, we've decided how much to spend on vacation. And tried our darndest to get the money saved before 45 days before. That would turn into the following 6 months, thanks to Disney Visa 0% for 6 months!! And then, months later, we would still be paying on that balance.
We decided to do things a little differently this time. OMG. We ACTUALLY looked at how much money we HAD and decided how to spend it. WHAT A CONCEPT.
We have opted to not spend all the money we saved. We have opted to do a very budget minded trip.
Here's the plan:
Staying at a value for the first time! I'm actually really excited about this. I love new experiences. The only value available at the time I booked was All Star Sports. No problem. It was the one that DS was hoping for.
Sunday August 15 to Friday August 20
Free dining baby!!
Yes. It's the QSDP, but considering how late in the game we are doing this? Not a problem. Tips don't fall into a budget vacation anyway. We are looking forward to this aspect of the trip also. Our last trip, we did DxDDP. It was a very scheduled trip. We are looking forward to a more go with the flow vacation.
I lied to Disney! I told them my DS9 was 10!! He will be 10 in January... I just don't want to deal with the kids menus. At all. Especially since we are just doing CS. Only cost $24 more to do this, since dining is free and I bought the minimum 2-day ticket.
We have left over non-expiring tickets that will take care of the parks and the Water and More.
We'll be driving. Straight through. Drove before. We stayed overnight outbound, but drove straight homebound. Not too bad. We'll save the cost of the hotel and the time.
The cost to stay longer is so minimal. BUT, Meet the Teacher is Friday night. We plan to leave early and get home in time for it. This will also give us the weekend to get ready for school starting on Monday.
All in all, we are totally looking forward to our vacation!
The big question is...what is a Disney planning freak to do to plan for the go with the flow QSDP vacation? THAT is what this PTR is all about. My plan is to research a few likely possibilities for each day, or part thereof. We'll be able to gauge our energy level and interest and make the actual decisions onsite. I will have all the pertinent details worked out beforehand though!
Please join me. Comments are welcome. Especially as I research and narrow down the best options for a somewhat more relaxed approach to a Disney vacation. This is our 4th trip. I'm finally getting into that groove of having favorites, taking time to really enjoy what we do, and chilling out on not doing everything every trip. I feel confident that we will be going again.
Thanks for reading!
Fast forward to early Spring 2010. The relationship DH has with his NASA client has brought in so much new work...that and volunteer force reductions...there have been no layoffs in his department. HOWEVER, two family members that work on the Constellation project, thanks to Obama and budget cuts, will be out of a job come September, when the fiscal year ends.
These family members get new jobs in Georgia. They move in May.
Now let's set the stage...Two years ago DH got this great new job. We have a history of moving to where DH's work is. At this time though, since we had purchased a project house, we were smack in the middle of major home reno. There were two wall cabinets still hanging in the kitchen and a huge gapping hole in the ceiling where we had taken down the soffit and cabinets that separated the kitchen from the eating and family rooms. And the kitchen and all the bathrooms had war zone walls where the wall paper had been removed, but nothing else accomplished.
So even though this great new job was 60+ miles away...we couldn't move closer to it.
Enter the economy.
Now. Two years later, the house is pretty close to done. And we are thinking we might move closer to DH's work. I mean seriously. The 120+ miles driven daily for commuting is getting OLD. Not to mention the traffic, which, try as he might to avoid, is nearly impossible in Houston.
BUT...the family just moved away from the area.
DH applied in GA too. Even got an interview. Get this. The hiring department paid for his travel expenses. His current department paid for his time. How cool is that?
What isn't cool is that we still haven't heard anything even though we were supposed to hear something within two weeks. He interviewed in April...
An opportunity in England came up. We were VERY excited about this. We are HUGE football (soccer) fans. The thought of seeing the premier league LIVE?!?! OMG!! And just the experience...two year commitment. DS will just be starting 4th grade. So 4th and 5th grade abroad? Before middle school? Older elementary? How perfect is that?
DH was told he was perfect for the job. And then they changed the job request. And he wasn't perfect anymore.
DH and I discussed the situation. The deal is that we have never lived in our home without it feeling like a construction zone. We really want to enjoy the summer. Our neighborhood is great. Tennis. Pools. Great community. AWESOME elementary schools. With a new middle school opening during DS's 5th grade year. Maybe we give living here just a little while more...
So we put off the moving decision until next spring.
And since we have been saving for a move...
Got a security deposit...first month's rent...
"DW...DH...after months of wondering what in the world was going to happen, NOTHING has happened, and you've decided to do NOTHING different...what are you going to do?"
WE'RE GOING TO DISNEY WORLD!!!!!
DH and I are growing in financial maturity. It's a work in progress.
In the past, we've decided how much to spend on vacation. And tried our darndest to get the money saved before 45 days before. That would turn into the following 6 months, thanks to Disney Visa 0% for 6 months!! And then, months later, we would still be paying on that balance.
We decided to do things a little differently this time. OMG. We ACTUALLY looked at how much money we HAD and decided how to spend it. WHAT A CONCEPT.
We have opted to not spend all the money we saved. We have opted to do a very budget minded trip.
Here's the plan:
Staying at a value for the first time! I'm actually really excited about this. I love new experiences. The only value available at the time I booked was All Star Sports. No problem. It was the one that DS was hoping for.
Sunday August 15 to Friday August 20
Free dining baby!!
Yes. It's the QSDP, but considering how late in the game we are doing this? Not a problem. Tips don't fall into a budget vacation anyway. We are looking forward to this aspect of the trip also. Our last trip, we did DxDDP. It was a very scheduled trip. We are looking forward to a more go with the flow vacation.
I lied to Disney! I told them my DS9 was 10!! He will be 10 in January... I just don't want to deal with the kids menus. At all. Especially since we are just doing CS. Only cost $24 more to do this, since dining is free and I bought the minimum 2-day ticket.
We have left over non-expiring tickets that will take care of the parks and the Water and More.
We'll be driving. Straight through. Drove before. We stayed overnight outbound, but drove straight homebound. Not too bad. We'll save the cost of the hotel and the time.
The cost to stay longer is so minimal. BUT, Meet the Teacher is Friday night. We plan to leave early and get home in time for it. This will also give us the weekend to get ready for school starting on Monday.
All in all, we are totally looking forward to our vacation!
The big question is...what is a Disney planning freak to do to plan for the go with the flow QSDP vacation? THAT is what this PTR is all about. My plan is to research a few likely possibilities for each day, or part thereof. We'll be able to gauge our energy level and interest and make the actual decisions onsite. I will have all the pertinent details worked out beforehand though!
Please join me. Comments are welcome. Especially as I research and narrow down the best options for a somewhat more relaxed approach to a Disney vacation. This is our 4th trip. I'm finally getting into that groove of having favorites, taking time to really enjoy what we do, and chilling out on not doing everything every trip. I feel confident that we will be going again.
Thanks for reading!
