Tuesday, December 23, 2008

Home

We're home and settled back into real life. This is a very short post, as we have a ton of things to do, but I hope everyone has a wonderful Christmas!!!!

Wednesday, December 17, 2008

Loving This Vacation!

Hello everyone!!

I am going to make this pretty brief because they charge $.55/minute and their computers are so slow! I heard through the grapevine that I managed to miss the icy weather! Crazy! I am in Roatan, Honduras today and the weather is wonderful!! We took the island tour and did a jungle tour and saw lots of native fruits and veggis as well as beautiful trees and even a few small animals. People in Roatan are wonderful, and when the ship pulled into port this morning the natives were in costume dancing for us on the pier...very cool! We were in Cozumel yesterday and swam with the dolphins. What an amazing experience! Tomorrow we will be in Costa Maya for some beach time and snorkeling. I can't wait! I've been good and haven't sunburned yet, so I am hoping that stays the case for me. I must say that the food here is wonderful! We ate lunch at a restaurant in Cozumel yesterday and I loved it! Lots of authentic food that was very tasty! Food on the ship is excellent! I thought I would gain a ton of weight, but so far I am doing well...I haven't been able to be sedentary...we've been up and running a lot! I sang karaoke Monday night and made the cut to perform on Saturday evening, so who knew that would happen? It's so much fun and there is always something to do on board.

When we got to Galveston Saturday, we drove over to Bolivar and the devastation from Ike is horrifying. It's still a mess in some places in Galveston, but nothing like across the ferry. I'll post pictures when I come home...it's heartbreaking, and as I saw it all I found that I didn't even know how to express what I was feeling. There's almost nothing recognizeable there.

Enough about the sad stuff. It's beautiful weather here! Oh, and funny thing...as we got on the elevators to go down and disembark in Roatan, there was a very familiar couple on the elevator. It was Kevin Alexander's parents!!! What a hoot! It was great to see them and I hope we bump into them again!

It's ben hard adjusting to the rocking of the boat. No seasickness, I'm just walking like a drunk everywhere I go! (Yes I have had my share of the "drinks of the day", but I've been sober!!) It's funny on land when you have these odd sensations like you're still at sea even on land. I think I will have to reacclimate when I get home. We've taken tons of pics and I will post them when I get home. There's a good one of me with a parrot on my head and David next to me holding a HUGE iguana! Yeah, we party like animals!!

I think that's it for now. I don't know if I will post again until after I get home, but I'll try. Seriously, if you've never cruised before, do it! It rocks!

Friday, December 12, 2008

Twas The Night Before Cruisemas...

Tomorrow we head down to Galveston!! It's been a rush the last two days just getting everything done. I am finally getting packed tonight, and it's exciting! It's hard to pack...I always have a habit of bringing a little more than I need, so I am trying to pare down but that's not easy.

We had a lovely lunch today with David's parents. It's his father's 75th birthday so we took them to Maggiano's for lunch. YUM! Then we made the mistake of stopping at Williams-Sonoma afterwards. $65 later we left with cookie cutters, a snowflake shapped spatula, a hot chocolate pot with a frother, and a $10 donation to St. Jude's (probably the most worthwhile way to spend any of that money!). But we will make hot chocolate tonight to try our new pot out...it's way cool! And we do love the hot chocolate when the weather is cold! :)

So 48 hours from now we'll be on our way to Cozumel! Warmer weather, here I come! Check back during the week, as there is an internet cafe on the ship and I will try to blog at least once or twice!

Tuesday, December 09, 2008

Dean's List

I am posting late, as I just took my final in Adolescent Psych and I have made an A in the class! Couple that with my B in Dynamics of Mental Health and that equals the Dean's List for me!!!! I am a VERY excited girl!!

Now I can finally focus on getting ready for the cruise! Oh, and this means I also have no school until January 19th!! Woot!

One Down, One To Go

So I got my Dynamics of Mental Health exam out of the way now, and I think it went pretty well. (yay!) Now I have to spend my evening getting prepared for my Adolescent Psych exam tomorrow night. This is the class I take online, so my exam is online and I have until 10pm tomorrow night to take it. I just want to make sure I am as prepared as possible. If I feel ready, I may take it tonight but I doubt it.

I am off work beginning Thursday, and I don't have to come back until the 29th...this is exciting to me! I started pulling clothes out of the closet to try and figure out what to wear on the cruise, but I felt like I needed to keep my focus on school. I'll start really getting ready to go on Thursday. :) I am taking my friend Wendy to lunch on Thursday as a belated birthday treat. She is kind enough to be watching the kitties while we are away, and I know they'll be in good hands. (But they're going to be mad at us for leaving, that's for sure!) Friday we are taking David's parents to lunch to celebrate my FIL's 75th birthday. We head on out to Galveston on Saturday morning. I am eager to see how things look down there after the hurricane wiped everything out. We got word from our travel agent (insert shameless plug for Memory Maker Travel here) that the Port of Galveston is open and we're leaving from there, so we're happy about that. We have reservations at a hotel that finally has it's phone service back and is ready for guests, so everything is going according to the original plan. Yay!

With the shape of the the economy, we hadn't been planning for David to get his Christmas bonus this year, but they got word yesterday that they will be getting so we are VERY excited about that! We're going to chunk most of it into savings, but we'll be using some for fun! We've decided to issue a challenge to ourselves for 2009...we're going to try and live on just one income and sock the other away into savings. I think we can do it, we (translation: me) need to cool our spending as we've done our part to boost the economy lately. As long as gas prices stay down, I think we should do pretty well! It will be fun to see where we are at the end of next year!

That's it for today. Lots to do since tomorrow is my last day in the office until after Christmas. I hope everyone has a great Tuesday!

Monday, December 08, 2008

Final Exam #1

Tonight is my final in Dynamics of Mental Health. This class has been good, but a real challenge for me, so I am trying to make sure I get an A on the final. If I do, it will pretty much solidify a B for me, which I will be okay with. I am pretty sure I'll make an A in my Adolescent Psych class, so if I get an A and a B this semester, I will make the Dean's List which would make my day! Yeah, I'm a school nerd and I love it. :) I spent the day yesterday studying for my test tonight and I do feel ready. I just need a calm day at work and for nothing to distract me during my test.

I started trying to figure out what to take on the cruise last night. When I went to Paris, I way over packed and I am trying not to do that this time around. However, I think I am already on that track, so tonight I am going to sit down and actually put outfits together and see what really makes sense to take. I am getting excited, but I am having to stay grounded so I don't lose my focus on school. I can cut loose after Wednesday, though! I am off work beginning Thursday morning, and I am excited! I am taking Wendy for her birthday lunch, Shanna's girl's are coming over to make chocolate dipped marshmallows for her classmates, and I think Friday we may be taking David's father to lunch to celebrate his 75th birthday. We have a busy week this week! It should go quickly, but in a way I don't want it to...too much to get done!! But it's all good. :)

I think that's enough for today. I hope everyone has a wonderful Monday! (Is that possible?)

Monday, December 01, 2008

The Belated "What I Am Thankful For" Post

I try to do this and this year I just forgot! However, I still think it's important to list those things I am thankful for:

1. Family - Where would I be without you guys? I am a lucky girl to have the husband, parents, "cuz", grandfather, step-grandmother, aunts and unlces, etc. that I have. I love you all!

2. Friends - I am so grateful for you guys. It's been a trying year for me with school and stuff, and your patience is not only needed, but appreciated! I know I don't get out as much as I used to and I'm not available for ladies' nights these days, but I don't love you any less. You all mean the world to me.

3. Job - I am thankful to have a good job. There are days when I don't love it as much as other days, but I am happy to have a place to go and a good paycheck. :)

4. Cruisemas - Yes, this one is totally selfish. I am looking forward to our cruise in two weeks! Dave and I call it "Cruisemas" since it's the week before Christmas. Clever, right? Besides, it's coming the week that I finish my finals and I am going to need it!

5. School - Yes, as much work as it is, I am grateful to have the chance (and the desire!) to go back to school. I love it, even though I have no life anymore. :) But one day I will be done and I will be able to do something meaningful. I owe my chance to mom...thanks so much!! (I don't have to pay my tuition thanks to her!)

That's my top 5. I'm grateful for much more than that, but that's enough for now. I hope all of you had a chance to think about what you're grateful for!