Thursday, August 2, 2018

Goofin' Off During a Crazy Summer

I can't believe how fast this year has been going by. I have so many things on my plate and am always missing my blogging friends. I know at some point things will calm down, but it will be bittersweet. As always, working on my quilting and cross stitching is my sanity saver.

I'll give a few updates on my projects before I let you in on what's been going on with the Goofin' Offs.

First up is updates on my large Disney Cross Stitch project:


Mickey and Pirate Friends as of 02/23/2018
Mickey and Pirate Friends as of 08/02/2018

Back in May I started a new quilting project for Project Linus. Although it doesn't use any Disney fabrics, I have changed the original pattern to use up some blue scraps. I honestly thought I had taken more photos of this project, but I guess I was mistaken. It's assembled with black, white, and assorted blue scraps.

To start with, here is a picture of all the black fabric cut out.

Black Fabric Pieces All Cut Out
Below are the first sub-units starting to be assembled. Notice the beautiful glass rose from Beauty and the Best in the background? My nephews gave it to me for Mother's Day this year. We just so happened to be at Disneyland at the time, so it has a lot of extra special meaning for me. 

48 Sub-Units:  A+E (and a beautiful glass rose)

48 Sub-Units:  B+A+E
24 Sub-Units:  (G+D+D+F) combined with 24-Sub-units (B+A+E)

To do a quick catch-up on what's been going on the past six months with the Goofin' Offs:

I have been busy working my transcription job and starting work as a travel consultant. As I continue to find what I enjoy and don't enjoy about being a travel consultant, I think I may at some point change from a travel consultant to a travel planning blogger. I do finally have a website up and running. So far the most-visited page is the page where I keep a list of major sweepstakes that are free to enter and offer grand prizes of travel.  You can find it here.  After all, who wouldn't want to win a free vacation from likes of Disney or Coca Cola.

In March the Goofin' Off family used our cruise credit from our cruise that was canceled last fall. It was a 7-day Caribbean cruise aboard the Oasis of the Seas ship. We enjoyed all the activities this ship has to offer. You can see Mr. Goofin' Off certainly took time to enjoy them all.

Mr. Goofin' Off on the Zip Line on the Oasis of the Seas
Mr. Goofin' Off Climbing One of the Rock Climbing Walls on the Back of the Ship
Mr. Goofin' Off Taking a Nap on the Balcony
We purposely chose a cruise leaving from Port Canaveral so that we could sneak in a few days at Disney World. We had a few days left on our annual passes and really wanted to show Goofin' Off Jr. the new Pandora area. It was a whirlwind few days. 

Goofin' Off Jr. and Mr. Goofin' Off Waiting for the Bus at the Resort
To Take Us to Disney's Animal Kingdom - Pandora, World of Avatar
Disney's Animal Kingdom:  Pandora, World of Avatar
April came and went and was uneventful but extremely busy. I was working and putting together the basics of my website. I'm not sure on some things, but I'm definitely getting better at web design. 

May came with a trip to Disneyland.  Mr. Goofin' Off, myself, and my two nephews went for a quick trip. For the record, my nephews are in their mid- to late-20's, so no little ones on this trip. We had a great time and indulged ourselves in a few dozen (yes, that really is dozen) Mickey Mouse beignets and a number of churros. It was actually a bit chilly for the time of year in Southern California. We didn't mind because it made waiting in lines much more bearable. 

Churro at Disneyland with Cocoa Powder and Chocolate-Spiced Dipping Sauce
May came and my dad had to have a hernia operation. My mother had been having stomach problems and the test results came back while my dad was still in the hospital.  It was stage IV pancreatic cancer. She has chosen not to do chemo because of the side effects and the fact that it would only prolong her life a few months. 

June was a month of adjusting to a new normal. Mr. Goofin' Off and I go over to my parents' house every Tuesday for dinner time with them. We let my parents choose what they want to do. The first month, my mother wanted to go out to eat. At this point, we are bringing dinner over to them every Tuesday and just enjoying time with them. 

July started out with Mr. Goofin' Off coming down with pneumonia...just three days before he was to leave for India. His company has him helping set up a new office in India. The doctor put him on some strong antibiotics and gave him the clearance to travel, so he was off to India for a week. As you can imagine, I was really worried about him while he was gone. Luckily, he came home much healthier than he left. The end of June had lots of extended family come up and spend time with my parents. We had a great time catching up. I had two nephews stay with us during that time and really enjoyed having teenage boys around the house again. I have some pretty awesome family! 

August is here and so much going on. I try to attend at least one appointment every week with my mother's hospice workers. She is really slowing down and sleeping a lot. It's hard to leave my parents sometimes when it's time to go. Mr. Goofin' Off and I are headed out to a conference next week. It was all scheduled before we got the news of the cancer. I am grateful that I have a sister coming up from Salt Lake City for a few days followed by my brother coming up to help at the end of the week. I can rest a little more easily while I'll be gone.

Enough of my ramblings. You are now caught up. Even though things are crazy busy at times, I am grateful for each and every moment of it. I'm looking forward to catching up with all my blogging friends. You all bring such a positive energy into my life.

Linking Up With:



17 comments:

  1. Keeping you all in my thoughts.

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  2. Wow so much going on. First off though I'm so sorry to hear about your mother. Cancer sure robs us of some wonderful people. I'm glad you have family love to be surrounded by in this time. Your Disney stitching WIP has really grown. It's beautiful as always. Take care of yourself.

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    1. Thanks for stopping by and leaving me a comment. This weekend has been particularly difficult. I've been catching up on your blog. Sounds like you've been very busy. Andrea

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  3. So nice to have you back. Awesome progress on Goofy. I am so jealous of your Disney adventures (but happy for you). I haven't been to Disney since 2001 and never to Florida. Your cruise looked like a blast. Sorry to hear about your Mom.

    Linda

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    1. Thank you for your nice comment, Linda. It's been nice catching up with my blogging friends. We do enjoy our Disney here at our house. Andrea

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  4. Such a lot of news. Glad to see you back and that you have a new endeavor - good luck with it. So sorry about your Mom - it is such a difficult time - wishing you both strength and peace as you travel this journey together.

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    1. Thank you for the nice comment and stopping by. I always enjoy catching up with my blogging friends. This cancer with my mother has been difficult to watch. We take it one day at a time. Andrea

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  5. I am so sorry to hear about your Mom's diagnosis. Praying that she doesn't suffer to much or to long.

    You certainly have had a busy summer and managed to get in lots of time at Disney! Looks like Mr. Goofin Off got in lots of relaxation time. Great progress on Mickey and Pirate Friends!

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    1. Thanks for your sweet comments, Faith. This weekend has been particularly rough for my mother. I think she has zero desire to eat any more, so we'll see what happens from here. It's nice to be back with my blogging friends. I am determined to stay more connected. Thanks for leaving a note. Andrea

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  6. Lots of sewing and fun things going on. Your cross-stitch progress is great. I am very jealous of your Disney adventures (as well as Linda) - I have only been to Disneyland Paris years ago. Sending lots of good thoughts to your mum and the rest of your family x

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    1. Bethan, Thanks for the good thoughts to my mum. This has been a rough weekend for her. I don't think we have a lot of weeks left. We've never been to Disneyland Paris, but it's definitely on our Goofin' Off bucket list. Thanks for leaving a comment. Andrea

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  7. oh no i am so sad to hear that your mum has cancer,i am so sorry .Glad to hear your hubby had a lovely trip.Sending big hugs to you and your mum xx

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  8. Andrea, I feel like we're in some of the same boats together. Love your Disneyland projects, but I'm so sorry to hear about your mom. I do love what she's doing, though. I have a friend and a co-worker who opted for the chemo after the same diagnosis, and it's so hard to watch what the chemo is doing to them, their families and their lives. I'm glad you get to spend special time with her. That will mean everything.

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  9. Andrea I'm so happy to see you back but my heart is so saddened to hear about your Mom. I know how hard this is. You and your family will be in my thoughts and prayers.

    Your stitching is coming along great. Keep enjoying your Disney adventures. RJ@stitchingfriendsforever

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  10. I'm starting to see the flag! A cruise and Disney sound wonderful, what a great time.
    I am so very sorry to hear about your Mom, but it sounds like you live near them so that's good. And even better that your siblings are able to come too. Prayers for your Mom and family.

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  11. My deepest sympathy to you and your family over your mom's illness. Praying for you all.

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