FROM: Because I Stinkin' Love Disney World Published Thursdays

Disney Store T-Shirt Tracker

Ashley is in Guatemala. Her Disney T-shirt was made in Honduras, see, and she's tracking it. Well, no, she's in Guatemala for different reasons, but she IS tracking her Disney T-shirt, just as you can track yours using the DisneyStore's Track My T app.

- by Ashley Metz, August 4, 2011

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Have you ever had one of those inclinations that something was going to turn out right? In your head, you hear angels playing harps in bright summer sunshine as whatever you want to do blossoms into perfect fruition.

Today, friends, is not that day for me. Here's the deal.

I'm writing this column a week in advance because, at this very moment, I'm likely dog-tired but uber-energized in Guatemala. I'm not doing touristy things; I'm here as part of a mission trip. We're working with children, preparing a newly purchased church for worship, and helping feed people who need a helping hand.

That part of my story is good. No matter what! So why is this relevant?

I wrote above that "something was going to turn out so right". Guatemala plays into why this column played out not so true to my dreams.

It was supposed to be a a glorious piece about the Disney Store's Track My T-Shirt app. I had a shirt, made in Guatemala, and I was going to track that sucker. Only one small problem. Said shirt was not made in Guatemala, as I thought, but in nearby Honduras. Say what? Honduras. I could have sworn that tag read "Made in Guatemala", but no matter how often I look at it, I get HONDURAS, every stinkin' time.

So, in the process of packing everything from mosquito spray to rainwear, I decided to find that shirt. You know, the one with "Made in Guatemala" on the tag. I'm happy to say that after piling about a bajillion T-shirts on the floor... WE HAVE A SHIRT!

But again, a problem. It's not one of the trackable shirts. Figures. Oh, well, I am doing Track My T-Shirt, no matter what.

Keep me in your thoughts and prayers while I'm in Guatemala. Who knows, maybe I'll find a Disney "something" there to bring home!

In the meamtime, if you have an official trackable T-shirt, then you should try out the Disney Store app. It's really cool. And to be totally honest, you can also track a "random shirt", so you don't even need your own tracking code! Give it a shot:

• Browse to the Track My T app on the DisneyStore.com site.
• Enter your name.
• Enter the tracking number from your T-shirt, if you have it, or else track a random T-shirt. You'll find the tracking code on a label at the bottom hem of the shirt.
• Follow the journey of your shirt from cotton seed to finished product.

This site is visually appealing with tons of interactive elements. You can go at your own pace and click to your heart's content. I like the pictures, such as the one of the family farm where the cotton seeds were grown and harvested. It's great to see all the steps that go into making a T-shirt, especially when most of us these days don't pause and give thought to where our "stuff" comes from.

In addition to tracking your shirt, you'll be able to read historical facts and see the faces of the people who harvest and create the raw materials that go into the finished product.

I give the Track My T-Shirt app thumbs-up for coolness and usefulness. We aren't alone on this world, and it's really neat to see the interaction across the globe. This site makes all that folding fiasco with the non-Guatemalan - rather, Honduran - T-shirt worth it.

See ya' next week back on home soil!

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