Cruisin' the Caribbean

Rob and I just got back from our Caribbean cruise and it was a BLAST! Here's a quick rundown of the ups and downs of our travels.

Itinerary: seven day cruise to the western Caribbean, including ports to Grand Cayman, Cozumel, Roatan, and Costa Maya.

Cruise Specifics: Celebrity Solstice, Celebrity Cruises

Weather: high 80s during the day, 70s at night

Planned Excursions: Stingray encounter, Caving, and Catamaran Sail & Snorkling

Most Anticipated Activity: besides relaxing? Probably exploring the cave in Cozumel

Cruise Highlight: the Hot Glass Show onboard where they made awesome blown glass pieces into vases, bowls, and decorative goblets.

Cruise Downer: a screaming baby in the stateroom next door every morning, noon, and night for the first two days (the thing never slept or ate...only cried like someone was torturing it...the parents looked kinda sketchy, so it's possible).

Best Souvenir Bought: Cool scraps of trash metal made into butterfly designs (in Roatan).

Scariest Moment: snorkeling in Roatan when something bumped up against me. On a scared scale, I went from 0 to 10 thinking it was a shark. I even peed on the oblivious snorkeler I was so terrified...Ooops.

Best Moment: Spending a care-free week with my fiance :) and robbing the casino blind!! Cash money baby!!

Worst Moment(s): Missing our kitties at home

Funniest Moment: seeing Rob's face as he interacted with the stingrays for the first time. Priceless!

Best show onboard: Aside from the Hot Glass Show, there was a really funny comedian/magician who did everything wrong and just had me laughing the whole time.

Best Money Spent: the caving tour was AWESOME! The deep tissue spa massage was fabulous ;-) and $5 in Cozumel to play with monkeys

Worst Money Spent: $40 for "professional" photos of our stingray encounter. I got way better photos than the photographer.

Love me some monkeys :)

Fabulous cruise line

Snorkeling off the coast of Roatan

Catamaran sail in rough waters

Spelunking in Cozumel

Too much fun!

Absolutely amazing experience!

His face is PRICELESS!

Overall, the cruise was an absolute success and I highly recommend all of these excursions if you visit these ports. And, definitely see a Hot Glass Show if you sail with Celebrity cruises!

What I'm Loving Wednesday

It's hump day, and I can't convey how excited I am the week is almost over. Let's discuss what I'm loving this Wednesday:

This past weekend, I attended the Pink Bridal Show in Knoxville to get some ideas for my upcoming wedding (275 days peeps!). While perusing the various tables, I came across Things Remembered booth and they were engraving these personalized silver keychains. By far, the coolest thing being given away at the show and something I'm very proud to be carrying around.

Our wedding date!

I'm also loving this book I finished yesterday called Hunger Games. It's phenomenal, and a definite hard-to-put-down kind of book. It's the first in a series of three stories surrounding post-apocalyptic North America and Olympic-type "games" to the death broadcast for all the inhabitants to watch. I won't give anything away for others who might want to read this story, but never have I been so intrigued with a book before. Read it!



And now I'm onto the second book :)



I'm really loving the new 3D Vizio TV Rob picked up last night for the soon-to-be man cave. Last night, I got to sample Saw 2 in 3D (GROSS!), and Call of Duty on the PS3 (AWESOME!) with those snazzy glasses. Definitely interesting. The first movie I could think of I wanted to see in 3D was Finding Nemo. Weird? I think not.



I wonder what porn would look like ;)



Lastly, I'm loving the fact that in less than 10 days I'll be cruising the Caribbean with Rob taking a mental break from reality. I'll be lounging so much I hope the most my brain has to worry about is what room service or tropical drink to order. YAY for vacations with Rob!

The gorgeous Celebrity Solstice

So, what are you loving this Wednesday?

New Rules for the New Year

Happy New Year everyone!! With the new year comes new resolutions, and for someone who doesn't like to make or keep resolutions, I've decided instead to commit to some new 2012 goals.

Goal #1: Count Your Blessings

Starting now, I hope to wake up feeling refreshed and fall soundly asleep knowing how blessed I am. What's not to be thankful for? I have an amazing fiance, I have two wonderful families who love me (Rob's and mine), I have my health, the health of my families, I have friends, I have a wonderful home, a fantastic job, and all the materialistic items in between (a great car, plenty of clothes, and the list is never ending). I guess my point is I'm not left wanting of anything. I'm completely content with my life, and I need to be thanking my lucky stars (and God!) on a daily basis for how blessed my life has been. All the following goals go hand in hand with realization of being a blessed individual.

Goal #2: Leave the Stress Behind

Last year had it's ups and downs, but from here on out the drama stays in 2011. I have enough going on in my life (HELLO! Planning a wedding in less than 9 1/2 months. AHH!) that I don't need any additional bumps in the road. December was pretty chaotic in all aspects for me, and I've decided I'm done with the worrying, I'm done with the stress, and I'm done with anyone that wants to cause it. See ya, Bah-bye! This goal goes hand in hand with Goal #1. Leave the stress behind because in the end does it even really matter?

Goal #3: Push Yourself to New Heights

So far, I've been able to complete any goal I've set and this makes me very proud of all I've accomplished thus far:

*Educational goals? A bachelors degree, CHECK!

*Financial goals? To be debt free (minus the car), CHECK!

*Career goals? Certified at an awesome job, CHECK!

*Relationship goals? I got Rob ;), DOUBLE CHECK!

I guess my point again refers to Goal #1. Look at all I have to be thankful for! Life is Good! For 2012 I'm striving to push myself to new heights, and I want to make an athletic goal to run a 5K. Nothing huge or impossible, but a goal still the same. Enough of this redundant 'jalking' (that's code for intervals of jogging/walking), time to get serious and run some distance. I may even blog about my experiences, and how big boobs, asthma, and just being plain out of shape are holding me back.

This is what I look like in my dreams :)

Goal #4: Continually Challenge your Brain

This goal is an easy one for someone who likes to read, but I like to read fiction. Like, as Rob calls them, Vampire Smut books. HAHA! I can't help it they're so entertaining, and I don't ever plan to give up reading my Kresley Cole books. It's bubble gum for the brain!But, I plan to do a lot more non-fiction reading, you know, books that matter (like New York Times bestsellers) that will keep my brain awake and focused on important subjects or literature. I usually only read two "serious" books a year, because they take so much out of me. Last year, I read Jodi Piccolt's House Rules and My Sister's Keeper, and Alice Sebold's The Lovely Bones. Anyone who has read this books would agree the topics are so serious, so depressing, and so agonizing you would want to spread them apart as much as possible. Late last year, I joined the Zeta Book Worm club and have already started reading Kathryn Stockett's The Help and Marilyn Monroe's Fragments: Poems, Intimate Notes, Letters. Next, I'll read Suzanne Collin's Hunger Games, which I'm really excited about. So, goal #4 is to wake your brain up, try something new...something that matters, even if it's small like reading material.

The gorgeous and intelligent, Marilyn



Goal #5: Be a Better Person

This is a no-brainer. What goes around comes around. Treat others how you wish to be treated. I continually strive to be a better person, always dynamic and everchanging. This is a goal that can never be fully reached or completed, but that's ok. To always be in a process of being a better person means you will always be the best you can be at the time.

So what are your 2012 resolutions or goals? Feel free to share!