We're Back

I'm a little later getting back to the blog than I had meant to be. The day after we got home from the cruise, I got tonsilitis! YICK!! Anyway, I'm all better now. Since I'm so behind today, I'll just say that this cruise was just as wonderful as the last one! I'm ready to go again!! Here's a little slide show from our trip. More to come...

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What A Drive!!

We'll we're in our final destination, before we set sail on the cruise tomorrow afternoon. We left yesterday morning from home around 8:00 a.m. We got to Cordele, GA around 3:30 p.m. We checked into our hotel and took off for the 5 minute drive over to my sweet friend, Linda's house. We had a lovely time visiting and catching up. We all decided that we were hungry around 7:00 p.m. Linda is in a wheelchair, because of her MS. We got her all loaded up, and we took the short drive over to Cracker Barrel for dinner. Afterwards, around 8:30 p.m., we decided to call it a night. We knew we needed to rest, since we had a very long drive ahead of us today. So, we said our goodbyes and made our final trip back to the hotel for the night.

We were up with breakfast finished and on the road by 7:15 a.m. this morning. We made some really good time. We stopped in Daytona Beach for lunch. We also took a break for about an hour in Cocoa Beach. We stopped at the Ron Jon Surf Shop and looked around. It was really nice to get out and rest a bit. Our legs definitely appreciated the stretch. We made some really funny videos of our stops in both Daytona and Cocoa Beach. I'll post them up, as soon as I get them edited and have some WiFi access that doesn't cost $300.00 a minute!! We finished at Cocoa Beach and got back on the road for the final leg of the trip. We rolled into Ft. Lauderdale around 6:00 p.m. We got all checked in and then went to have a look around and explore town. We're finally back in the room now, exhausted. Luckily, we are only a mile from Port Everglades, so we can sleep in some tomorrow. I'm sure that I'll have no trouble sleeping tonight.

More tomorrow, before we board the ship...

Trip Update

Well as my mother says, "it's almost all over but the cryin' now". The long one and half year wait for this cruise is almost at end. We still have more than our fair share of the C-R-A-Z-Y at our house, but it is a bit more subdued today. I'm happy to report that I got the bulk of the packing done last night, including our passports. I still have a HUGE fear of forgetting those! In fact I packed SO well, that I didn't leave out anything to wear to work today. So, I look a bit like a slacker. Picture this: jean capris, 5K t-shirt, and my running shoes. I look like a bit like I've already left for vacation huh? All that's left to pack is our toiletries (which will be needed, before we leave tomorrow) and our formal wear. Everything else, including our shoes, swimsuits, and beach towels are ready to go! Canna get a big 'ol WOOT?!!! Up until our first cruise, Casey and I had been B-I-G trip procrastinators. In fact, we'd be packing our bags at the exact time we told everyone we'd be leaving the house!! So to say it nicely, we were a little unorganized. That changed with the cruise. We realized that there were no Wal-Marts in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean and paying a taxi on an island to get you to one was impractical. So in one trip, we became uber organized. We've stayed that way ever since.

On the agenda for today? Well, Casey has to pick up his suits that we've had altered. He's also going to look for some new dress shoes, since we discovered the cats had used the ones he had as scratching posts (damned clawed felines!). This afternoon, we are dropping the 3 puppies off at our friend's house, where they are staying while we're gone. She has a fenced yard, so they will get to romp and play, have extra treats, and generally be spoiled for the whole time!! Once I get over the tears from that, I'll be ready to proceed with the FUN!!! The older dogs always behave really well at home, and Mom will be dogsitting for us. I imagine that Jack will spend a lot of time at Grandma's and be SO fat when we get back, he'll just rock around on his belly with his legs sticking out. He adores his Grandma! I have a sneaking suspicion that the feeling is mutual.

Jack and his grandma.

After we get back from that, it's the last minute packing and prep. Casey and I have a big stack of papers about the beaches on the islands of Antigua and Tortola. We're trying to decide which beaches that we want to spend the day at. We are also trying to decide if we want to try our hand at snorkeling. Supposedly, Anigua is a great place to snorkel, since there are so many coral reefs there. SQUEEE!!! I'm so excited by just thinking about it all, that I can hardly sit still. Maybe it's a good thing that I wore my running shoes today. Maybe a good run this afternoon will help. I just hope that I can get a good night's sleep for the long drive tomorrow and Friday.

I'll be posting updates from the road and Ft. Lauderdale, before the cruise, so keep checking back!

The Crazy

Things are just insane at my house right now. Casey and I leave for our cruise in 2 days. I spent the weekend doing more laundry than any one person should have to do. We are going to be gone long enough, that I need to make sure that we have plenty of clean clothes to see us through. Luckily, its just mostly shorts, t-shirts, swimsuits, etc., but I do need to make sure I remember the clothes for our 2 formal nights on the ship. I've had a terrible feeling that I will forget something, so last night I sat down and wrote out a HUGE list! That made me feel a little better, at least. My biggest fear is getting to Florida without our passports!! I think I'll put those in my purse tonight!!! I still have just a little laundry left to do tonight, but nothing major. I'll start packing up the suitcases tonight too. The puppies will be dropped off for boarding late tomorrow afternoon. That's when the crying event will happen for me. I always cry, when I leave them for a trip. I know that they'll have a marvelous time, but I'll still miss them terribly.

Even with that said, I'm still excited for the vacation. Our cruise stops in 5 ports of call this time. We'll visit Puerto Rico, St. Thomas V.I., Tortolla and Antigua B.V.I, and Nassau Bahamas. It's going to be a much busier cruise than the last one. On the way down to Florida, we are going to stop in Cordele, Georgia and see my sweet friend, Linda. It's wonderful that she lives right on our way!!! We'll also get to see her on the way back home too. YAY!! I just hope that I have some time to rest a bit, during all the excitement. Maybe on the drive down, I'll get to rest. WHEW!

Funny Feet

As I was sitting on the couch last night, Indy decided to sit on my lap. At one point I looked down, and this is what I saw.

Too funny!!

Wordless Wednesday

Anniversary Wrap Up

We just had the best anniversary yesterday. The weather was PERFECT!! Casey drove me to work yesterday. We met up with some friends and had a great lunch at Jeff's Restaurant. They have the most AWESOME homecooking there! I had the baked chicken, macoroni and cheese, and lima beans. Casey and I split a piece of one of their four layer cakes! Those things are HUGE!!

After work, Casey picked me up and took me shopping. We are leaving on another cruise in 2 weeks, so we were picking up some last minute things. Casey suprised me by taking me to Fleet Feet to have me custom fitted for some new running shoes!! I got hooked up with some Addidas Supernova Glides! I am SO excited about them! I can't wait to take them out for their maiden run, later this morning.

Since we had eaten such a big lunch, we decided just to grab a quick dinner. So, we ended up at Five Guys Burger and Fries. After dinner, we walked over to Julia's Bakery to pick up some breakfast goodies for the weekend. That's the bakery that made the beautiful Cross Cake for Easter services last week.

We got our goodies and discovered that they also make homemade doggie treats too. Since we had left the puppies at home by themselves all day, we decided to get them some extra treats. We got them a little plate of spring goodies and a pupcake to split.

The puppies were VERY satisfied with their treats!! Imagine that? Anyway, it was a terrific anniversary, which we plan to continue on the ship!! I'm already starting the countdown!! Only 14 days to go!!!

12th Anniversary

Today, Casey and I have been married for 12 years! We've been together 19!! So as of this year, we have been together for half of our lives!! My mind can hardly wrap around that fact. I still feel the same way I did, when we started dating. Casey is still my rock, protector, and best friend! I wouldn't have it any other way. I'm not sure what I did to deserve such a wonderful husband, but I'm sure glad that I have him!!

Happy Anniversary Casey! I love you!

Scrapbooking design personalized with Smilebox

Sunny Day Walks

On Easter afternoon, Indiana and I went for a nice afternoon walk. There were LOTS of things in bloom, and it made for the most beautiful walk. Well, unless you count the next day, when I had revenge of the allergies. In spite of that, we really did enjoy ourselves!

Wordless Wednesday

Easter Wrapup

I'm happy to report that I made it completely through Lent without sipping one cup of coffee! I saved a lot of money, and I found out that I just didn't miss it all that much. We had the MOST wonderful Easter!! I was able to attend the Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, Easter Vigil, and Easter Sunday services. I'll have to say this is the first year that I've celebrated Easter this way, and I enjoyed it SO much more this year!! For Good Friday services, I picked up some fresh Hot Cross Buns from Julia's Bakery. They were a HUGE hit, and they were SOOOO yummy too! Casey made a very yummy breakfast for our entire church family to enjoy. I ran back to Julia's Bakery to pick up a beautiful cross cake to go with our breakfast. It was absolutely beautiful and soooo YUMMY too! Mom and I spent Saturday afternoon dyeing Easter eggs to carry for the egghunt on Sunday! It's been years, since I've done that. All in all, it was one of the best Easters I've had in a long, long time. Here are some shots of Easter at the Episcopal Church of the Redeemer. Egghunt Services

Happy Easter!

Holy Easter! The Lamb who was slain is the Lamb who is risen! Many Easter blessings to you and your family!

Almost Silent Holy Saturday

Were it not for the eyes of faith, we could never understand seeing glory in the cross.

Good Friday

By his stripes, we are healed. Isaiah 53:5

What A Busy Week!!

Last week was such an incredible blur!! Casey and I did LOTS of spring cleaning, weekend before last. I repainted the bathroom. Casey rearranged the kitchen. I shampooed the carpet, mopped all the floors, washed all the baseboards down, and cleaned windows. Then, we did all the regular stuff!! I was WORN OUT, when it was all said and done!

Last Saturday night, our friends, Larry and Sue, had a WONDERFUL St. Patrick's Day party! It was SOOOO much fun! Sue had an Irish meal buffet. We had Shepherd's Pie, Corned Beef and Cabbage, Green Beans, Mashed potatoes, Carrots, and LOTS of drinks and desserts! They live in an old house, and it was absolutely gorgeous.

On Sunday, we got up and went to sunday school and church. Afterwards, we came back home and continued our deep spring cleaning!!

On Monday, one of my very best friends in the ENTIRE WORLD, Barbara, came to visit. She was in for a week from Maine. We spent nearly all day together. It was so good to see her. We only get to see each other about once a year. She took me to a lovely lunch. We visited all afternoon and then ordered a bunch of pizza for dinner, before she left. I can't wait to see her again.

This week's going to be just as C-R-A-Z-Y!! Since it's Holy Week at church, there's a lot of things going on. Sunday, we had a beautiful Palm Sunday service with real palms and palm crosses!! On Sunday night, we joined with a neighbor church and had a Seder/Passover dinner. It was REALLY interesting. I learned a lot and had a lot of fun too! Here's some pics from the Seder Dinner.

Mom at the dinner.

We have Holy Week services at church on Thursday, Good Friday, the Easter Vigil service on Saturday, and Easter Sunday services. In between all that, I've got to go to swim practices to get ready for my swim meet in the next couple of weeks! Maybe I'll get to rest sometime! WHEW!!

Earth Hour 2010

I am really proud that Nashville is again participating in Earth Hour this year. Casey and I have participated in this event, since 2008. This year's date is March 27. The lights are going out at 8:30 C.S.T. They are going to turn green lights on several of the downtown buildings in Nashville, before the lights go out. To participate, you simply turn off your lights for an hour. Why don't you join us.

To learn more visit:

www.earthhour.org

Let's Go Swimming!

It seems like I'm going to be team swimming regularly for the next couple of months. Today, probably due to temporary insanity, I signed up for a swim meet that is two weeks from this coming Saturday!

YIKES!! I get to learn backstroke starts this afternoon!!! I figured that I could use the competition and the experience for the upcoming US Master's Short Course Nationals.

I'm hoping that the April swim meet will relieve some of my nerves over Nationals. Fingers crossed!

On June 25th, I'm participating in the World Swim Against Malaria. I've done this event before, and I really enjoyed it. It's open to anyone, you can swim anytime and especially on June 25th. The entry is a mere $5.00. It's also for a great cause.

Looks like I'm going to be waterlogged by the end of the year!

Wordless Wednesday: Paws for the Cause Edition

Happy St. Patrick's Day

I hope that everyone has a happy and safe St. Patrick's day!!! Watch out for all the blarney!!

What An Honor!!

I was so excited yesterday to receive an e-mail from Dogster.com The e-mail was to inform me that my dog blog, The Fiesty Three, had been picked as one of Dogster's recommended sites!! Dogster is HUGE, and I'm very honored to have been chosen as one of their top sites!! WOOT!!! 4 Paws up to Indiana, Shingo, and Molly!! Here's part of our congratulatory e-mail:

Dear Indiana Bones, Shingo, and Molly! (assuming you guys answer your own pee-mails!)

I was just stopping by your blog to say.......

CONGRATULATIONS!

On behalf of Dogster.com I have selected your site to be one of our top favorite sites! We love how informative and cute your site is : )

Here are the badges that are proudly displayed at The Fiesty Three.

Find more dog info here!

Find more dog training info here!

Team Practice

For the past two weeks, I've been going to the full Master's Swim Team practice. It feels so different to be doing the same workout as a lot of other folks. We have a GREAT coach, who manages to individualize our workouts, even though we are there as a group! I was really nervous the first week. Coach Chris was very nice and patient. There was still a lot of swim workout lingo that I didn't know. I REALLY enjoyed the practice and felt great afterwards. So last week, I went back. He'd decided that I need to build my endurance quickly, so he gave me pyramid workouts! I'm wise to his plan now. He's nice the first week, torture the rest, but that's o.k. Even though I'm hurting, I know that it will make me a MUCH better swimmer and competitor. I feel like I'm going to be so much more prepared for Nationals this way too! We'll see what this week holds.