The Night Before

I’m posting this a little early tonight because I really just want to sit, read, and relax tonight. Some of my new friends are already in Miami. Some are on their way as I type this. Others will be arriving over the next 36 hours or so. Miami is going to be swarming with Blockheads and I couldn’t be happier about it!!! I just can’t wait to get there myself.

Today, I unpacked (mostly) and repacked my bag. I also took pictures that I’m now going to share with you. I started with a standard-sized carry-on bag. It is 21 x 14 x 7. Let’s begin with odds and ends…

This first image includes my various assorted things. My beach bag, extra camera batteries, charger, flip flops, disposable camera, and other things, all found their way into those two pockets. I have chapstick, chewing gum, bobby pins, and plastic bags. There’s masking tape for my door decorations. I have tissues because, well, you never know. Also because you never know, I have some thread and two sewing needles. I’m sure there’s other things in there, but I can’t remember what all I threw in there. (my list is in my bedroom)

Here’s what I packed, mostly all laid out. I have shirts, shorts, shoes, under garments, etc, all laid out there. Already in my bag are my theme outfits.

Here’s my theme night stuff with my shoes for Retro Red Carpet and possibly the meet and greet. Inside the shoes, I shoved my cotton shorts. Space is at a premium, so I tried to use every available centimeter of space I could.

After my shoes were in, I started with my shirts, sundresses, and cover-ups. Pressed on top are the bras I’m bringing with me. Between the toes of my shoes is one of my bikini’s that I’m bringing. I’m also packing a small purse for deck parties…but whether I use it or not is yet to be seen. In it, I rolled up my underwear, put in my socks, and managed to fit my two other bikinis!!!

See??? After I filled my purse and situated it in my bag, I added my comfy flip flops and tied everything down. In the front pockets I placed my door decor, a few odds and ends, and the requisite 3-1-1 bag. Inside the suitcase, I have three or four gallon sized Ziplock bags that I intend on using like Space Bags. Even without that, though, there’s still some room for souvenirs. You wanna see???

I printed my boarding passes for my flights down. I’m all checked in. I have my boarding pass for the boat, too!!! (It was just that one page, right? That and the luggage tag???) The only things I still need to grab in the morning are my phone, charger, and my prescription medication. My kindle is charged and in my purse with its charger. My passport is in my purse. I think I’m ready to go! I’ll get up in the morning, attempt to eat breakfast, and see my big kids off on the school bus. Then I’ll relax with my youngest for a few minutes while I drink my coffee before getting a shower and straightening my hair.

It still doesn’t feel like I’m leaving in the morning. It feels like it’s happening to someone else and when I wake up in the morning, it’s all going to be a dream. I’m not sure how many of my regulars are even reading this right now as I prepare for the cruise, or how many are reading it after we all get home from the trip. I don’t know if I’ll update this blog at all before Wednesday night, but I’ll try to. To those traveling, I hope your flights are safe and you all make it to Miami in one piece and with all your luggage intact! I hope you all have an amazing time on that boat!!! I hope to meet you all!!! If you see me about the boat, stop me and say hi!!!

Here’s to an amazing trip!!!

One Day

I have one more day at home before I head out to Miami. ONE DAY MORE!!! One day more to revolution. We will nip it in the bud. We’ll be ready for these schoolboys. They will wet themselves with blood!

Oh sorry… Wrong platform. This is a blog, not a musical. Back on track.

I woke up this morning and hated my hair. So, in a moment of complete spontaneity, I decided to go for a haircut today. I love having long(er) hair, but I’ve reached a point in my life where I just don’t think I look very good with long(er) hair. Sure, I’ll have to take a few minutes to straighten my hair a bit before leaving my cabin, but it’s worth it. My hair looks MUCH better now.

Had choir practice tonight. We’re performing a few of our numbers with a group called Touch of Brass. Guess what kind of instruments they play??? Well, where I was seated was just about eight feet from where the brass was set up and they were LOUD! In order to even hear MYSELF sing, I had to sing louder than I would generally like to. By the end of the second song, I was ready to be done singing for the night. We practiced for almost two full hours tonight, but it was fun.

Earlier on today, I rewrote my lists of things I need to pack. I shared the lists with a fellow cruiser and she said all looked good. Of course, this is AFTER she pulled a fast one on me, paying me back for a joke I played on her a few months back.

It was before the final payment was due. I was in a joking mood and told her that I wasn’t going to be able to sail because a tree had fallen on the roof of my home, smashing into my newly remodeled kitchen. Of course that didn’t actually happen, but I had her going for a few minutes. She got me back GOOD today…

She’s flying standby from her hometown to Miami. Well, today she texted me and said that the flights were all full and she was being bumped back to Friday, with her final flight not arriving in Miami until 1:45pm on Saturday. At this point, I’m driving, having just picked my niece up from school. I was taking her to get a new cell phone (long story) and there she was reading my messages to me while I was driving. So there I am, completely freaking out because after everything that we’ve been through, after everything that’s happened, it looked like she might miss the boat. My mind was going a million miles a second and I thought that if I could just talk to her, we could figure out a way to get her to Miami before Saturday. I texted her, asking if I could call her… You know what she wrote back?

“Ya, just let me pull the tree outta my kitchen room first!!! lol”

When my niece read that to me, I was like “OMGYOUBITCHYOUGOTME!!!” Then, of course, I had to make sure she was messing with me, which she was. Well played, my friend. Well played. It was a joke that I totally deserved and it was absolutely brilliant!

This is what I need right now, things like this. A little bit of levity is a good thing because every time I think about what I have in front of me on Friday, my stomach tightens, my head spins, and I either want to pass out or be sick. Then again, there is a rather large part of me that is so excited I almost can’t control myself. Unfortunately, that part of me has no control over my anxiety over traveling. I’ve gotten some really good advice that I’ll be taking, but still. The nerves from the travel, the nerves from the unexpected, the fact that my hormones are ALL OVER the place…

Have I mentioned lately how much I seriously dislike being a woman sometimes??? You know why… I’m bloated, prone to crying for no reason, and I’m breaking out like a teenager, but not on my face. No. I break out on my upper back and no amount of cleansers or anything can help it. So, I’m going to look disgusting on the boat AND deal with my least favorite aunt. I hate being a woman sometimes…

This time tomorrow, I’ll hopefully be in bed. I intend on resting and relaxing tomorrow (Thursday) so that I can go, go, go on Friday. At this time two days from now, I’ll be in Miami. Three days from now, I’ll be on the boat. It doesn’t seem possible, but it’s happening. I can’t wait!!!

Two Days

Two more days before I get on a plane. I’m not even going to get into how strange that is, how foreign it seems, how unlikely…

I had a dream last night, in the few hours I was asleep, that the members of my church choir were all working on our director’s mom’s house. (director is like 85 years old…just FYI) I was up on a porch roof when the whole thing gave way and I fell to the ground from twenty feet up. Then I was told the director had passed away and we all needed to go practice a song to sing at her funeral. When we got there, she was there to conduct us. It was strange.

My alarm went off at 6:30am to the tune of Miami by Will Smith. I snoozed it once. Second time it went off, I got up with it. My older son was still asleep, a rarity for this house. He’s usually the first one up but as soon as he heard me making coffee, he was there behind me asking for breakfast. Took my youngest to the dentist this morning for an 8am appointment. We left here at 7:30, the hospital he’s seen at is roughly 10 minutes away, we were STILL late!!! There was only one shuttle running and when we finally made it to the fifth floor, there was one receptionist and she was checking people in AND out! AND there was a line to check in… AND she took people to check out who budged in line!!! I was LIVID.

Had my spa appointment at 11am. Apparently I’m exceedingly cooperative during the waxing process. Can you believe that there are actually people who get waxed and STOP in the middle of the process to take a break? In the words of Danny Wood, what the flying fuck?!?! Why would you want to stop and then restart!? Just relax as best you can and get it over with as quickly as possible!!! Leg waxing really doesn’t hurt that much, and when compared to a bikini wax, it’s NOTHING! Besides, I was in there for less than a half hour and that included touch-ups and clean up. It is a small price to pay for being smooth.

Took my older son for his 7 year well check. He turned 7 in December, but the doc doesn’t care. She just likes to see kids once a year to be sure they’re growing fine. He’s growing perfectly, no problems, and after the appointment he and I went to Walmart to get a few things. Dinner tonight was sausage and pancakes… So much for cruise control. At this point, I really don’t think it matters too much. I’m done caring. How I look is how I look and I have no one to impress on that boat. Would I like to be thinner? Sure! Would I like to be more toned? Absolutely! Am I going to lose sleep over my squidgy belly? Hell no! I am who I am.

Wednesday is NOT a busy day for me. I’m taking my niece to get a new cell phone after she’s done with school. In fact, I’m picking her up FROM school! Then I’m making meatloaf and mashed potatoes for dinner… YUMMY!!! Then I have a Bicentennial Choir practice. We’re practicing with Touch of Brass, who will be playing on a few of our selections this year. I can’t wait to see how it sounds!

Thursday should be a restful day. I’m mostly packed, but I need to finish up my lists to ensure I’ve gotten everything I need for the trip. Then I’m going to unpack my suitcase and repack it properly, pulling out what I really don’t need and hopefully freeing up some more space. I’ve already pulled out a couple of things, but since I know we’re getting a gift bag and I’m hoping to get a cruise sweatshirt. No idea if I’m going to get anything else, but better to have too much room than not enough.

Friday morning I’m off! Two days.

Three Days

HOLY HELL!!! Three days??? Really??? Is it possible?

Yes it is.

Today I took my mom to a few doctor’s appointments. We were there for about four hours or so. She’s fine, but she had a lot of appointments today. While I was there with her, I stopped by and saw my dad. Two birds, one stone. It was all good. Also while I was there, I got the most amazing email!!!

ITINERARY!!!

You got it too, didn’t you? I saw it and I have to admit that it took me a few seconds to realize that I had to click a link to see the actual itinerary. Yup… In my excitement-addled mind, it just didn’t occur to me that I would have to look elsewhere for the list. Sigh. So let’s discuss this, shall we?

Day One: GAME SHOW!!! I’m so excited for this, I can’t even begin to tell you. What I’m not really looking forward to is the deck party that goes from midnight until 3am. REALLY?!?!?! Seriously? I might not make it that late… Granted, I see 3am on a LOT of nights, but usually it is when I’m waking up long enough to move my youngest either back into his own bed or from my left side (the edge of the bed) to my right. The idea of being awake UNTIL that hour? HA!

Day Two: Half Moon Cay!!! Games on the beach, but I expected that. Tendering starting at 10am? Not so much. I have a 10:30am shore excursion. I’ve been told that they won’t make me miss it, but I’m still nervous. That’s cutting it a little too close for my own personal comfort. I’ll have to make sure I check at the hospitality desk as soon as I can. A day on the beach… I can’t wait! Mystery event? I wonder what that could be??? Another deck party until 3am??? I’m getting tired just thinking about it.

Day Three: Nassau!!! I have to admit that I just might sleep in a little bit on this day. I’ll get off the boat to do a little shopping and have a bite to eat, but I’m thinking that this will be a rest and recuperate kind of day. BBQ Wood sounds interesting… I wonder if he’s going to cook for us all? Wouldn’t that be amazing??? And then!!! CONCERT!!!!! I can’t wait! Especially since I’m not going to the Package Tour this summer. This is my chance to see them perform some of the new music!

Day Four: Meet And Greet!!! I FINALLY get to meet them all! I’m not in the poker tournament, and I’m OK with that. I signed up but wasn’t chosen. It’s alright. Since there really isn’t that much else going on that day, I plan on sleeping a bit, laying in the sun, swimming, hanging out with all my new friends. I’ll get my picture taken and then chill out in the Caribbean sun! I’m also curious about the Duets at Dusk thing and how it will work. I wonder if he’s chosen his singers yet? I wonder what they will sing? I wonder if he actually watched all the videos that were submitted? The final deck party is slated to run until sun up, so resting during the day is going to be a VERY wise decision. I REALLY want to stay up all night the last night and not miss a moment of my final hours with my friends and NKOTB.

Day Five: Debark. Not looking forward to this one. I plan on packing before I go to the final deck party. When it’s time to leave, I’m going to change into travel clothes before getting off the boat. I also intend to carry my own bag off the boat so that I don’t have to wait. I’m willing to share a cab to the Miami airport, or if anyone is reserving a shuttle, let me know if you need another person to bring down the individual price. I’m crazy, but not BSC. I can also almost guarantee that I’ll be a little delirious with fatigue and adrenaline, so it’s sure to be entertaining.

This cruise is really happening. I know I’ve been saying that a lot, but I still don’t believe it. To me, this is like when my dad got me Disney World tickets for Christmas in 1991. We were supposed to go early January 1992, but he’d promised so many times to take us that I didn’t believe we were actually going until I set foot in the Orlando airport. (then we went to MGM Studios Themepark and I had a moment at that gas station from the Wildest Dreams special. HA! Yep… I totally sat there and said, “Look! I’m sorry!!!”)

We’re almost there! Some of you are already in Miami! Some of you are leaving today. I’m going for my wax at 11am, after I take my youngest to the dentist (routine) and before I take my oldest son to the pediatrician. (also routine) Should be a fun day!

No strange dreams that I remember last night, but it WAS snowing today… I was NOT a happy camper walking in the snow shower, or pumping gas without gloves on. I just kept thinking: Four day… Four days… Now that is three days. Three more days!!!

Four Days

Four days… The countdown continues.

This morning, my oldest son woke me up at 7:23 to get him breakfast. On Mother’s Day… I told him to ask his father. I got up, started the coffee, fed the kids…in that order. Ha! Some things are important and coffee is definitely important to my happiness and well-being. We got around and went to church then Walmart, then home for lunch. I spent the afternoon folding laundry and watching Les Miserables, the movie version. When the only clothes left to put away were mine, I decided that there was no time like the present to pack.

Four days. That’s not too soon to pack, is it? I packed my theme outfits first. Then I added my bottoms. (read as: shorts) Tank tops and my shoes followed. My sundresses and coverups, bikini’s and undergarments followed. I shoved in my beach bag and OTC medications along with PJ’s. I still have my electronics to pack, chargers and the like…

The problem is that partially through the packing of my bad, my mouth started to get dry. My heart was racing a bit… Then I started seeing stars in my peripheral. Not too long after, my vision started tunneling and I had to sit down and take a LONG swig of water. As soon as I realized what it was, I got up and walked away from packing.

I hate dealing with anxiety. It really does suck. Not only does it take effect when I’m actively preparing for this trip, I’m so close to traveling that it’s affecting me when I even think about the trip! My stomach gets in knots, my mouth gets dry…I feel like I’m going to be sick. My dreams are also wreaking havoc on me; last night I dreamed I got to the port just as the ship was leaving. I was in the shower this morning and the mere thought of the cruise made me heave a little. Not the cruise itself, just the change to my routine.

I know that I’m forgetting to pack something. I don’t know what it is, but I just know I’m forgetting something. I’m so nervous about leaving something important behind and having to pay a huge amount of money to replace it in Miami. My stomach is a mess…but my sweatpants are clean! WOO! This means I can get changed and go to bed!!!

…and eventually I WILL print my cruise docs, and maybe even figure out what else I need to pack. Four days!!!

Five Days

Five more days until I’m on my way. I started this countdown at two hundred and forty five days and now we’re at five. It seems like it flew by, but when I really think about it, it took forever.

I never really thought I would get to this point. I fully expected something to happen that would prevent me from making a payment. I’m not there yet, as there’s still time…and that’s the problem: I keep waiting for something to happen!

It seems like a dream, this cruise. Like when you’re a kid and you pretend that you’re going on some fabulous journey, or going to a show, performing on stage, spending time with your favorite musician(s). It doesn’t happen in real life! If someone would have told me twenty years ago that this would be happening, I would have laughed at them and said they were nuts. Stuff like this doesn’t happen!!!

I have five more nights of blogging before my internet silence. A comment was left on my post from yesterday in regards to the future of this blog. Well, here’s the answer: I’m planning on continuing it. When I get home, the first few posts will be cruise recap. After that, it will be about my life. The cruise will be over, but I’ve really become addicted to blogging (almost) every night. It’s therapeutic for me. Even if no one reads it, I’m going to keep going.

I don’t remember any of my dreams last night. I went to bed just before midnight last night and had to chase my youngest back into his own bed in the process. My husband got home around 1:30 and I saw him long enough to say hi, give him a hug, and go back to sleep. Then I got to sleep in a little bit, as my older son cuddled with me until around 8am.

Today was boring. We sat around, had lunch, went grocery shopping… My daughter had a couple HUGE fits today… NO IDEA where they are coming from. She’s nine going on sixteen. Now I’m having a beer. Hubby and I were going to play Mario Kart on the Wii, but the sound wasn’t working for some reason. Then we decided to play Gran Tourismo 5 on the PS3…the updates have been running for almost a half hour now…and we’re on update five of seventeen. I don’t think we’re playing a video game tonight.

Allergies suck. So do migraines.

A week from now, I’ll be getting ready for Retro Red Carpet night!!! I can’t wait!!! …but first I have to pack.

Six Days

My husband is currently on his way home from a work week out in Kansas City. This trip that he’s on now was originally supposed to be next week, but he told them that I was leaving, so they moved it up. Now he’s coming home and I can FINALLY start packing!!!

I was working on my door decoration today. Got most of the hard work finished and then I had to jump up. Apparently the markers were dry; they smeared. This is what I get for not just spending the damn money and getting Sharpies. I even looked at them at the store today and said to myself, “Self, you should buy these.” …but I didn’t. My daughter has markers, I thought. I can just use them! Well, I used them…and they don’t work. I’m off to Walmart again in the next day or so to get Sharpies… Lesson Learned.

My kids had me up at 6am this morning. My daughter had a field trip to Penns Caves today and she was SO excited that she got up and dressed at 5am. Then she woke up my older son at 5:30. I guess I should be grateful that they waited until six to come and bother me, but at the same time, my alarm was set for 7:15 and NOT six. Needless to say, my coffee couldn’t brew fast enough.

I had a dream last night that even though I’ve cleaned MOST of the house while hubby’s been gone, he yelled at me for not having all the laundry folded. The house was spotless, but the laundry was still in the baskets, clean but unfolded. He was pissed and he told me that unless I folded all the laundry, I couldn’t go on the cruise. So, I started with one basket…and it never ended. I stood in my bedroom for weeks folding laundry. It was a TERRIBLE dream, not because of the argument and not because of missing the cruise, but because I HATE folding laundry. More specifically, I HATE pairing socks. I was in hell in that dream. The socks just kept coming.

So, as of tomorrow morning, I can start packing. Do you think that’s too soon? I mean, I still have almost a week before I’m leaving. I COULD very well leave it for Thursday. Part of me thinks that I just need to leave it go for a few days, that if I pack too early, I’ll pack wrong. I don’t want to forget anything, I don’t want to pack too much, I want it to be perfect. I’m paranoid that I’ll leave something ultra important here at home.

That reminds me: I need to make copies of my passport…

I’m a mess. A week from now, I’ll be at my friends house. I think we might make banana bread. YUMMY!!! I’m super excited, and yet terribly scared. It’ll work out and I’ll be fine. The kids will be ok. The house will still be here when I get home. I’m still nervous…and I still haven’t printed my docs.

Seven Days

Seven days until I’m loading up my car and heading to Miami. Seven days (and fifteen hours from now) I’ll be getting on a plane. Seven days…

Not possible.

I deep cleaned the kitchen and dining rooms today. I started a deep clean on the living room. We keep the place picked up, but every now and then you need to get on your hands and knees and clean the shit out of your place. My arms ache from all the scrubbing, but the house is getting clean. You see, I hate going away and coming home to a dirty house. Granted, my husband will be here, but I’ll sleep better knowing that the shelves and drawers of the refrigerator were taken out and cleaned.

Tonight was the last choir practice until the fall for the choirs at my church. My kids sing this weekend for Mother’s Day and then they’re done until fall. The Sanctuary Choir still has about a month left, but our rehearsals are finished. Another milestone done. No more choir rehearsals until September. …well, except for my Bicentennial Choir. That keep going until June 9th. I’ll miss it; I always do. I love to sing and will keep doing so in my house, but it’s nice to have new music to learn and work on and perform. Oh well. I’ll live. Ha!

I have a migraine. It started earlier today and has only gotten worse. I suspect that this weekend might be just a touch hellish for me. Better this weekend than next weekend, though. While I hate dealing with these things, it’s nice to know I’m getting it over with now.

On the dream front, I dreamed last night that it was time to go to the meet and greet. They had up lined up in some very narrow halls with stark white walls and we weren’t allowed to talk. When it was time to go into the room, we were told to walk across without saying a word and to go where we were told. The guys were very standoffish, sitting in chairs and loudly complaining to each other about how boring these photo sessions were. I was placed next to Donnie, who refused to get up, and told that I was supposed to just sit on the floor by his feet for the picture. Apparently I didn’t follow directions well enough because before they even took a picture, Danny was yelling about where I was and I was kicked out. It was nuts…

Seven days. I’m not packed. I’ve still not printed my cruise docs. I started working on my door decorations, but when I went outside to get my kids off the bus, my youngest took a pen to my poster board. It’ll get done. I still have seven days.

Another Night Off

Yeah, so I took last night off from blogging. I was up late chatting on skype with Jenn in Vancouver. It was awesome, as it’s always great to talk to her. I can’t wait to finally meet her face to face and give a huge hug!!!

I can’t wait to get to the port and get on the boat. I imagine that there will be a LOT of hugging going around. I know, personally, there is a list of women that I am so excited to actually see face to face. There is going to be so much love in Miami that morning!!!

Yesterday afternoon I booked a shore excursion. If you’ve been following my blog since the beginning, you’ll know that I’ve gone back and forth over the whole excursion thing. It’s funny, at least to me, but I ended up going with my initial choice: I’m going parasailing!!! I booked the 10:30am time slot so that I can hopefully get off the boat in time. I’d imagine that Carnival would be accommodating to those with excursions booked early, but just in case… I bought a disposable waterproof camera to take up with me. I’m so excited! I can’t wait!!!

Today while I was helping my big kids with their homework, I got a text on my phone that was actually an alert that someone had tweeted me. The tweet in question was asking if I was going to enter the singing contest. I had no idea what it was all about, but as soon as I checked my email, I knew. I had to enter this contest. I mean, a chance to sing with Joey McIntyre??? OH HELL YES!

Then reality hit.

What would I sing? OK. We all know that Joey likes Frank Sinatra. I’m willing to bet a few of the submissions will be women crooning away to some Old Blue Eyes. We also all know that Joe was in Wicked. There are certain to be a few songs from that show in the queue for him as well. I wanted something different. My fallback is always Les Miserables, but since they came out with the movie, it’s become seriously mainstream and people who’d never heard of it are suddenly singing the (movie versions of the) songs like they’ve known them forever. This created a problem for me.

Part of me REALLY wanted to sing something in my upper range, but realistically that isn’t possible. While I know that I can do it now, I’m not sure which night this duet thing will be happening, and after all the fresh, sea air, and yelling a bit in excitement, I seriously doubt I’ll be able to hit anything higher than an A. Then I got to thinking about possible duet songs, but everything was too long. It’s hard to whittle it down to just thirty seconds!!!

In the end, I did come up with a few songs, and I think I’ve chosen one to submit. It feels right. It almost feels like this contest was made for me! I mean, hell! I’m karaokevixen!!! I sing! How many times have I mentioned singing in this blog? I even posted a video of me singing a few months ago! It’s kismet.

…but what if it isn’t?

I’m entering this contest, but I know I won’t win. I know I won’t be chosen. I know I’ll be upset and a little bitter. I know that I’ll sit there and mentally tear apart all five of the singers that Joey does pick. As bad as it sounds, especially since I’m a Joey girl, if it’s an event that I could avoid, I might just do it in order to avoid the bitter taste of defeat. It really is petty and childish of me, and I KNOW that I don’t have the greatest voice in the world, but I do love to sing and I know I’m not terrible at it. I’ll be happy for the BH’s who are chosen, but realistically, I know my chances are slim. I’m still going to enter, but be prepared for the “I didn’t win” blog post sometime in the next week. HA!

My countdown hit single digits today. Nine days until I leave for Miami! Unbelievable! We’re really doing this!!! I still haven’t packed. I still haven’t printed my cruise docs. I’m nervous as all hell. We’re going, though! A week from now, some of you will be in Miami. Didn’t we just book??? See you on the boat!

My Weekend

I wish I could say that I had a fabulously amazing weekend. It was alright. The fact remains that the next week and a half are going to be NOTHING compared to Miami and the boat.

Saturday was the grocery store and hanging out around the house doing household things… I really don’t remember what else we did. Today (Sunday) was church and then home for lunch before hitting the local amusement park.

For the first time this year, I was on a roller coaster! WOO! My husband took our boys while my daughter and I went off on our own. The first thing she and I did was to ride the Twister. It was fun!!! Then we went on the Cosmotron, an indoor Himalaya ride with loud music and a light show. The song they played for our ride was Separate Ways by Journey and I was exceedingly pleased and proud to look over and see my daughter jamming out and singing along to every word! I was fine when we went on the Phoenix (roller coaster) as well as when we went on the Log Flume. I was NOT fine when she decided she wanted to go on the Paratroopers.

I used to LOVE rides. All rides. Any ride!!! High, low, spinning, swinging, you name it. When I was younger, my mom would go on the Paratrooper with me and while I’d me yelling and having a great time, she always looked a little green around the gills.

Now I understand why.

I hate to admit that I’m not as young as I used to be! This ride which you can see here starts out nice and level on the platform. Then it starts going around in a circle. THEN, while spinning, part of it goes up in the air. I did NOT feel good after that ride.

When I finally found my land legs again, my daughter and I met back up with the boys and we let the kids on a few more rides. Then it was the requisite train ride before heading back out to the parking lot, and the home.

We had a good time today, but man oh man am I tired!!! It was warm out and I was wearing jeans. Why, you ask? Well, I have an appointment in a week for a wax. If you’ve never waxed, it really is the best and worst thing you can do for yourself. It doesn’t hurt, at least not really. It pulls. There are only two or three places on my legs where it was “OW!” and then fine. And not even a loud ow… Just…well, anyway. It took about 45 minutes last time I had it done, so I’m expecting about the same this time. After the wax, I won’t have to shave my legs for about a month! That’s the good part. The bad part is that you have to let the hair grow for two weeks before you have the wax done…and I’m a shave every other day kinda girl in the warm weather. If would be one thing if this was the winter and I didn’t have to worry about it…

Anywho, I’m done talking about waxing. It’s going to be a busy week for me. I have a LOT to accomplish in the next 10 days before I can relax and start really panicking about this trip. Ha! It still doesn’t seem real to me that I’m going, but I’m pretty sure I’ve said all along that I’m not going to believe it until it’s happening. Even then I’m quite certain I’ll be constantly pinching myself.

It’s really happening, though, kids!!! Two weeks from now, we’ll be on the boat! Eleven days until I’m leaving on that plane. Twelve days until I’m sipping fruity drinks on the Lido deck!!! Time she is a’flyin!

Also, on the dream front, I’ve dreamed that this cruise was a ploy to kidnap us all and turn us into slave labor, and that we got to the port only to discover that Carnival Victory was actually the RMS Titanic. Yup… Strange dreams abound.