The time has arrived. We leave tomorrow for Walt Disney World for our vacation. I know it’s going to be beastly hot but we have a lovely one bedroom room at Old Key West. We’re DVC members and get to live it up in style. So when the heat gets to me at the parks I just scoot on to the bus and go back to the room for a nap or a swim in the pool.

Because of the heat I always go to the parks early in the morning and do as much as I can indoors. After a rest then dinner in our room we head back to the parks after the sun sets. We save money by eating breakfast in our room, taking a bagged lunch and only eating dinner out 2 times during our stay.

We’ll be doing some shopping too for our eBay store and for our never-ending Disney collection. Photos with Mickey are a must of course. And with our new digital camera we’ll be taking lots of photos of Peanut and Lady Ali.

Oh yeah, the most exciting thing for me is that I’ll be meeting up with some more eBay friends. We’re having a pot luck lunch which will be sure to keep us in stitches.

I hope to get hold of a lap top so I can blog, visit DOUA and check on my eBay bids. But with Disney World what more can a girl ask for?

OMGosh! The Disabled Online Users Association has lots of charity auctions up right now on eBay! This is so exciting for us as a not-for-profit group and as a family of people who need and want to see DOUA grow.

DOUA is part of the latest eBay Giving Works event�Spotlight on Empowerment through Entrepreneurship. All you need to do is click here to visit our charity auctions.

Go shopping and do something good at the same time. It’s fun and it will help out others too. Remember that DOUA is very unique group of people from all parts of the world that have joined together to bring the online world of business to YOU. DOUA was formed with the vision of giving the differently-abled a chance to expand their world via selling on the internet. DOUA does not charge for any of their services, ever!!! This is a volunteer based program and a not for profit organization. DOUA is all about giving people a hand up, not a hand out. (from DOUA website)

1. Everyone knows you by name even before you sign in (Hey that sounds like Cheers)
2. Your chart is so large they have it broken up into 10 others. The doctor gets the most recent and then asks for the older chart so he can look up some test you took only 6 months ago
3. You’ve read every old raggedy magazine in the waiting room and the exam rooms
4. You know all the medical diagrams on the walls by heart
5. The office staff asks you when you’re going to Disney next
6. You don’t write a check at the end of your visit (too many bills crossing in the mail)
7. Your prescriptions are pre-written so the doctor just signs them as you leave
8. The office staff and the doctor know your entire family and expect photos of your children after big events
9. One of the most expensive Christmas gift categories is all of your doctors’ offices
10. When you call you don’t have to say your name
11. When you’re scheduled for a procedure, test or exam the nurse knows what your likes/dislikes are and has everything ready in advance
12. If you miss an appointment they call you to see if you’re OK and don’t ever send missed appointment bills

My beloved second family – DOUA – Disabled Online Users Association has given me the honor of naming me the volunteer of the month. This group means the world to me. It has given me more than I can ever give back.

DOUA is about giving a hand up, not a hand out to people with disABILITIES who want to learn how to sell online, specifically on eBay. When I first joined my husband and I were already sellers but not doing well. I had already been diagnosed with Myasthenia Gravis as well as Ulcerative Colitis (way back when I was 22). No longer being able to work, racking up medial bills and having other bills from a two income family we were trying anything to get a little extra money coming in.

I really did very little on eBay at the time. There wasn’t much I could do then. I’d help hubby with the descriptions of the listings and try to do a little bit of listing if I felt able. Not only was I very sick but I felt like I could never learn something new in the state of mind/body I was in.

I learned about DOUA somehow (I can’t remember how) and joined. There I found people like me! I could ask questions without feeling stupid, get support about being unable to work, being sick and feeling depressed. I found a place to be myself and the courage to attempt to learn new things at my pace.

If you have any experience in selling online, in html, in promotion, in eBay, photography, etc, etc. consider becoming a volunteer. Just go here to sign up.