Holy crap!!! When does the world slow down? I really think it is spinning out of control. March is crazy, and it looks like April is going to be worse. I need a personal assistant. I am now accepting applications. Yet, I do not see anyone submitting.
So let me catch you up to speed on what has been going on. As people know, we finally sold the townhouse. That is AWESOME!!! But with it, comes so much work. The biggest challenge is all of the packing, moving, and figuring out where things are going to. Chad is moving from the townhouse into my house AND into a storage locker. I already have a storage locker in the same facility. So we have been doing a lot of schlepping back and forth of things to be stored and thrown. We have also been doing a lot of re-organizing. The good thing... I have thrown out a HUGE amount of crap. All of this continues well into April as closing is not until the 23rd. Lots more packing, cleaning, schlepping, loading, unloading, and plenty of schvitzing!!!
In addition to that, we are currently getting ready for Passover. If you know me, you know that it is not my favorite holiday. I enjoy Seder, but that is pretty much where it ends. Having 26 people over for dinner and being constipated for 8 days is not my idea of a good time.
To add to all of this, we are now on a kick to get Chad a new car. Granted, I am TOTALLY in favor of this, but it is just more back-and-forth and something else to do. That said, it looks like he has narrowed it down to one car, but I won't give it away until the deal is done.
Tonight is Paxton's 10th birthday party, so my aunt is having people over for that. It is just one thing after another. I feel like things will never get done. The good news is, I know they will and at the end of the month, we are relaxing.
As I said, we close on the 23rd. On the 24th we are getting massages. I love a good massage. That night we are going to the Melting Pot for dinner to celebrate our birthdays (his on April 18 and mine on May 9). The next week, April 30 - May 2 we are going to the Wisconsin Dells for a mini-vacation. We both love to travel, so we decided that for our presents to each other this year for our birthdays, we are going to go on a quick trip to the Dells. We got a great deal as we certainly need to save money.
Money could be a whole different blog. We have to sell this townhouse, eventually buy our own new house, pay for the wedding, and on and on. If anyone knows a good money tree, please let me know.
But... lots of fun to look forward... in June we are going to New Orleans. We are going up to Herzl for the weekend of the 4th of July. Our wedding is 10-10-10. At the end of that week, we are doing a mini-moon in the Wisconsin Dells (a different resort than the place we are staying in April). And finally, next January is the honeymoon... a 14-night cruise to Hawaii!!!
Needless to say... we have a shit load going on, but it is all good things, and things we are super excited for. Now the only question is... where should we go after the honeymoon?
Check back often for more Random Ramblings!
Saturday, March 27, 2010
Friday, March 19, 2010
No Family?
I was recently reminded of a guy several years ago that I went on a date with. We had a nice time, but certainly nothing special. After our date, we were talking on the phone and started discussing family. Obviously, to anyone who knows me, family means the world to me. That's when he told me the funniest thing I had ever heard in my life. "If you want to have a relationship with me, you need to forget your family. I want to be in a relationship with you, not your family." After falling on the ground, I picked myself up, and politely told the guy to FUCK OFF.
Seriously... that is the funniest, dumbest, lamest, rudest, and most ridiculous thing I have ever heard. Let's see how many things we can find wrong with this:
1. My family means the world to me. You think I am seriously going to give them up?
2. I had one date with you... you think I would pick you over my family?
3. I am pretty sure no one tells me what to do... certainly not something like that.
4. That proves what a low self-esteem this guy has because he does not see room for a family and a partner.
And the list could go on. The reason this came back to me is I recently became friends with someone on Facebook, who happens to be dating the guy. It is even more funny because how involved he is the this other person's family, as demonstrated by the pictures.
In any case, I would never have considered dating anyone that said something so ridiculous to me. Thankfully, I have the greatest person in the world as my partner who not only loves me, but my family as well. And of course, I love his too.
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Seriously... that is the funniest, dumbest, lamest, rudest, and most ridiculous thing I have ever heard. Let's see how many things we can find wrong with this:
1. My family means the world to me. You think I am seriously going to give them up?
2. I had one date with you... you think I would pick you over my family?
3. I am pretty sure no one tells me what to do... certainly not something like that.
4. That proves what a low self-esteem this guy has because he does not see room for a family and a partner.
And the list could go on. The reason this came back to me is I recently became friends with someone on Facebook, who happens to be dating the guy. It is even more funny because how involved he is the this other person's family, as demonstrated by the pictures.
In any case, I would never have considered dating anyone that said something so ridiculous to me. Thankfully, I have the greatest person in the world as my partner who not only loves me, but my family as well. And of course, I love his too.
Check back often for more Random Ramblings!
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
It Feels So Real
As all of you know, my wedding date is quickly approaching. When Chad and I officially decided on 10-10-10 as our date, it felt so far in the distance. Part of that is we have already been engaged for over a year, so it really was far away. But man, how time flies. Before we know it, 10-10-10 will be here and we will be happily marching down that aisle.
What got me realizing how "real" it is... our invitations arrived last night!!! They look so good, and Chad and I love them. We also now have our rings, which are beautiful as well. Don't forget the Ketubah (thanks, Mom), thank-you notes, and of course all of our vendors. It is amazing how real it feels, and yet, I am so excited. Finding Chad is the best thing that ever happened to me, and I am so excited to spend the rest of our lives together.
Now, before the wedding, we have quite the list of things going on... Chad's conversion (which will hopefully be official within the next week), Passover, closing on the townhouse, moving, a trip to the Dells for our birthdays, a Shabbat at Herzl, and at least a million other things we have going on. Keeping busy always makes time fly by. And this time, I am excited it is flying because as soon as we blink, 10-10-10 will be here, and we will not only get to commit to each other, but we will get to celebrate with all of our loved ones. And of course, then we get to go on our 14-night Hawaiian cruise. Damn I love vacations.... especially on a ship in the ocean!
Check back often for more Random Ramblings!
What got me realizing how "real" it is... our invitations arrived last night!!! They look so good, and Chad and I love them. We also now have our rings, which are beautiful as well. Don't forget the Ketubah (thanks, Mom), thank-you notes, and of course all of our vendors. It is amazing how real it feels, and yet, I am so excited. Finding Chad is the best thing that ever happened to me, and I am so excited to spend the rest of our lives together.
Now, before the wedding, we have quite the list of things going on... Chad's conversion (which will hopefully be official within the next week), Passover, closing on the townhouse, moving, a trip to the Dells for our birthdays, a Shabbat at Herzl, and at least a million other things we have going on. Keeping busy always makes time fly by. And this time, I am excited it is flying because as soon as we blink, 10-10-10 will be here, and we will not only get to commit to each other, but we will get to celebrate with all of our loved ones. And of course, then we get to go on our 14-night Hawaiian cruise. Damn I love vacations.... especially on a ship in the ocean!
Check back often for more Random Ramblings!
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Another One Bites the Dust
Hey, Hollywood... lay off the drugs. Once again, we find another washed up star dead from an overdose. This time it is 80's movie star Corey Haim. What is it about Hollywood that they all get so hooked on drugs?
Don't we see a pattern? People get hooked on drugs and die. If you are taking drugs, don't you want to get help. Even you are not blind to the fact that others around you are dieing. Do you want the same thing to happen to you? I guess it is the "I am invincible" attitude, and the fact that they think they are in control, and "it would never happen to me." But it is sad.
I guess those of us that are not into drugs and do not have an addiction do not understand. I am on the outside looking in, and it is easy to judge them. But when it comes down to it, it is just sad. Stars are using drugs to escape. They don't know what it is doing to them until it is too late, and they RARELY get help on their own.
I wish we had a generation in Hollywood that would forget the drugs and become good role models for kids/teens today. But it looks like it is already too late for this generation thanks to people like Lindsey Lohan. Perhaps the next generation will wake-up and realize what they are doing to themselves and to society.
Until then... just say no!
Check back often for more Random Ramblings!
Don't we see a pattern? People get hooked on drugs and die. If you are taking drugs, don't you want to get help. Even you are not blind to the fact that others around you are dieing. Do you want the same thing to happen to you? I guess it is the "I am invincible" attitude, and the fact that they think they are in control, and "it would never happen to me." But it is sad.
I guess those of us that are not into drugs and do not have an addiction do not understand. I am on the outside looking in, and it is easy to judge them. But when it comes down to it, it is just sad. Stars are using drugs to escape. They don't know what it is doing to them until it is too late, and they RARELY get help on their own.
I wish we had a generation in Hollywood that would forget the drugs and become good role models for kids/teens today. But it looks like it is already too late for this generation thanks to people like Lindsey Lohan. Perhaps the next generation will wake-up and realize what they are doing to themselves and to society.
Until then... just say no!
Check back often for more Random Ramblings!
Friday, March 5, 2010
How Do I Love Thee?
Chad decided last night that I need to write a blog about the reasons I love him. Given I have no other topics, here goes...
1. He is my heart and soul (our wedding bands even say it).
2. We have more fun together than two people should be allowed to have.
3. We have so many of the same interests.
4. We totally "get" each other.
5. He's cute.
6. I am treated like a king every day.
7. We are both ready to live somewhere tropical and "beachy."
8. He loves Charley like his own.
9. He is part of my family, and I am part of his.
10. He is my B'sheret (intended).
11. I am happier than I ever knew I could be.
12. We keep each other laughing.
13. We listen and give each other advice.
14. We are equal partners.
15. We make sacrifices for each other.
16. He accepts my faults.
17. We would give anything for each other.
18. He is the love of my life.
There are hundreds and thousands of more reasons, but I had to cap the list somewhere. So, I left it at magic #18 (life) to represent the long, happy, and healthy life we will live together for many years to come.
Check back often for more Random Ramblings!
1. He is my heart and soul (our wedding bands even say it).
2. We have more fun together than two people should be allowed to have.
3. We have so many of the same interests.
4. We totally "get" each other.
5. He's cute.
6. I am treated like a king every day.
7. We are both ready to live somewhere tropical and "beachy."
8. He loves Charley like his own.
9. He is part of my family, and I am part of his.
10. He is my B'sheret (intended).
11. I am happier than I ever knew I could be.
12. We keep each other laughing.
13. We listen and give each other advice.
14. We are equal partners.
15. We make sacrifices for each other.
16. He accepts my faults.
17. We would give anything for each other.
18. He is the love of my life.
There are hundreds and thousands of more reasons, but I had to cap the list somewhere. So, I left it at magic #18 (life) to represent the long, happy, and healthy life we will live together for many years to come.
Check back often for more Random Ramblings!
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
Bling for Ms. Thing
Congratulations to Simon Cowell and his fiance, Mezghan Hussainy (however the hell you pronounce that). I am very happy for both of you. Now comes the scolding...
A ring that costs $750,000?!?!?! Are you kidding me?!?!?! I understand that celebrities have a lot of money, and most often do not know what to use it on. But a fucking ring that costs $750,000 and will likely end in divorce anyway? That is ridiculous!! Send some more money to Haiti or Chile, help the homeless, hell.... pay for my wedding. But a ring?!?! Most of us will never even see that kind of money in our lifetime, and they drop it on a ring.
I'm sorry... I am just baffled by this. It seems like such a careless use of money, power, and fame. I will keep this short and end my tirade now. But seriously... almost $1 million on a ring? Someone needs a reality check.
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A ring that costs $750,000?!?!?! Are you kidding me?!?!?! I understand that celebrities have a lot of money, and most often do not know what to use it on. But a fucking ring that costs $750,000 and will likely end in divorce anyway? That is ridiculous!! Send some more money to Haiti or Chile, help the homeless, hell.... pay for my wedding. But a ring?!?! Most of us will never even see that kind of money in our lifetime, and they drop it on a ring.
I'm sorry... I am just baffled by this. It seems like such a careless use of money, power, and fame. I will keep this short and end my tirade now. But seriously... almost $1 million on a ring? Someone needs a reality check.
Check back often for more Random Ramblings!
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
Cruise in Review
Well, I cannot say that I like going from 80 degree weather back to the 20's, but it is always nice being home... especially after sleeping in your own bed. Chad and I had an AMAZING cruise. We loved it and would not mind being back in the Caribbean right now. Next cruise leaves January 29, 2011. That is our 14-night honeymoon cruise to Hawaii on the Sapphire Princess. Less than a year away, but who is counting?
For this blog, I have decided to do a daily re-cap instead of by sections (i.e. food, entertainment, ports, etc.). Okay... now on to the cruise in review. Hope you enjoy!
Saturday, February 13 - Embarkation/Sail Away
As soon as we got on, we toured the ship. Now I have already been on this ship (went to Alaska on it in 2007), but Chad clearly wanted to explore and I wanted a refresher. We took a lot of pictures which you will eventually get to see on Facebook. Luggage was amazingly quick and we unpacked by the time we had to go to the safety drill. One new thing to note, you no longer bring your life jacket to the safety drill. This was a welcomed change. During our tour we went to the spa and booked a scalp massage for the first sea day and a full-body couples massage for the last sea day. That night for dinner I had prime rib and Chad had the pork chops. I also enjoyed the chilled rhubarb soup. The entertainment for the night was a variety show which Chad and I wound up being in. We were in a game where I had a tray velcroed to a helmet on my head. He had to stack food on my tray, and I had to dump it into this huge barrel without using my hands. Needless to say, we won the game, and were recognized for the rest of the cruise around the ship. That night, it was EXTREMELY choppy out and the ship was a-rockin'. But all was well and we were ready to turn in.
Sunday, February 14 - Half Moon Cay
Today was not only Valentine's Day, but also a stop at Holland America's private island. This was my 3rd stop at a private island, and I can easily say this was the nicest... absolutely gorgeous! In fact, you would not realize this was a private island, you would think it was one of the other ports we went to. Side note... before we got off the ship, we had breakfast in the main dining room. I had french toast that they made out of banana bread. Can you say DELISH?!?! Now, back to the island. Chad and I rented a private cabana for the day. It was AWESOME. We basically had our own little hut complete with fancy lounge chairs, a kitchen table and chairs, a shower, air conditioning, a ceiling fan, and tons of snacks and drinks. We also had hammocks on the outside that we enjoyed for quite a bit. It was a wonderful and relaxing day, minus the part where the loose chickens on the island tried to kill me. I hate things that fly.... they most definitely are an animal meant to be eaten!!!
When we got back to the ship, I had surprised Chad with chocolate covered strawberries and a dozen red roses that were delivered to our stateroom for Valentine's Day. He got teary and I loved every minute of it. That night I had filet mignon for dinner and Chad had a New York Strip. I also started with the mixed berry chilled soup. Again... delish.
After dinner, we saw the show "If Walls Could Rock" done by the cast. It was a great show. Now, a brief bit about entertainment/activities on the ship. In a word... they SUCKED!!!! The shows done by the cast were great, but there were only 3 of those. The rest was awful. Our Cruise Director, Eric, was atrocious. Hands down my worst cruise director ever. He never planned ANY activities to participate in. He was never around schmoozing with guests. And other than the cast, the nightly shows were terrible. You will see all of this played out as the blog continues because we skipped several shows and did a lot of movie watching and board game playing. Ultimately, we did not care because we liked the time spent together, and we made our trip wonderful and memorable on our own, without the dumb cruise director and his lack of activities.
Monday, February 15 - Turks and Caicos
We were not docking until 12:30, so we woke up and had breakfast in our room. Then we went to hear a talk about our next two ports, Turks and Caicos, and Samana (in the Dominican Republic). As we were having lunch, the ship's alarm went off and alerted everyone to a fire. To make a long story short, it was just a copy machine that was smoking, and there was nothing to be worried about. They did a GREAT job keeping everyone informed though and making sure no one was panicking. When we got back to our cabin to get ready to get off the ship, we got a message saying our power snorkeling excursion was cancelled because the weather was too choppy. That was a huge bummer as we were really excited about it, but you could see it was bad out. Finally, time to get off the ship.
This was a port I was extremely excited for. You see all of the celebrities going here and it looks gorgeous. Well, T&C is made up of several islands, and all I know is that where we went, Grand Turk, is NOT where the celebs go. There was a BEAUTIFUL brand new cruise terminal. Lots of shops and fun places to poke our heads in. But beyond the terminal.... nothing. So, we walked over to Margaritaville and thought it looked fun. Then we saw the swim up bar and said we have to do it. So, we got in the pool and swam over to the bar. Chad had a margarita and I had a daiquiri. They were great. Not long after, it started to rain, and did not stop the rest of the day. So, we called it a day and went back to the ship.
Back on the ship we played Scrabble, watched Scary Movie 4, and went to Canaletto (which we called Camel Toe) for dinner. It is their specialty Italian restaurant and it was great. I had chicken marsala and Chad had their lasagna. We met a Jewish couple at dinner and chatted with them for awhile. The show that night was a comedian. He was AWFUL. We left after about 20 minutes. Then, we called it a night.
Tuesday, February 16 - Samana, Dominican Republic
This was a port we were warned about. Basically they said there is NOTHING to do. Three small shops and that is about it. So, we did a Whale Watching excursion. It was awesome. We saw a lot of whales and it was really cool to be so close. The down side, for the first time in my life, I got sick from the motion (again, very choppy water) and to make another long story short, I threw-up twice over the side of the boat. Well, misery loves company and there were a few more people who did the same. It was not pleasant, but we still enjoyed the whales.
Back on the ship I had a New York Strip for dinner and Chad had a prosciutto wrapped chicken breast with Gouda. He loved it... mine was great too. That night I bought Chad's chain for a Jewish star, once he completes his conversion. (Funny I talked about his eating prosciutto and converting in the same paragraph). We also gave each other massages in our room, did some star gazing from our balcony, and skipped that evening's show... some tenor who was going to sing for the old people. Instead, we watched the Exorcist. I was all excited to be scared, but, as always, the movie bored me and I laughed at what should have been the "scary" parts.
Wednesday, February 17 - Sea Day
This was our first sea day. Of course, there were virtually no programs planned, so we had to do it ourselves. First up... banana's foster french toast. Yummy! We went to an art auction and it was terrible. The guy was not showing anything people had tagged. He talked FOREVER on each piece and was only showing things that were thousands of dollars and he knew, as we could all tell, no one was buying anything more than $200. So why keep showing that crap instead of the things we tagged?!?! Chad and I probably tagged 10 items between us... one was shown. So annoying!!! That day we also went to a talk to hear about the remaining three ports. We also enjoyed our scalp, neck, and shoulder massages that afternoon. For dinner, we went to the Pinnacle Grill which is their fancy restaurant that you have to pay for... $20 per person. It was SO worth it. We loved it.... they had the most amazing French Onion soup either of us had ever had. Unbelievably good. We also both had filet mignon as our main course, among some other delicious treats while we were there. After dinner we went to the "Ballroom Blitz" show done by the cast, did some star gazing on the top deck of the ship, and played a few games of Yahtzee before turning in.
Thursday, February 18 - Bonaire
We had heard that snorkeling was the thing to do in Bonaire. They were right. We did a beach snorkel excursion and it was amazing. Tons of coral right off the shore. So fun to see all of the fish, turtles, eels, etc. We truly enjoyed this excursion. After all of that, we did a lot of shopping. They had some cute stores, plus a market with all the vendors. There was not one port where they heckled us and pushed us to buy things. It was a nice change from other ports we have been to.
Back on the ship people thought we were twins (this happened quite often), we watched Beauty and the Beast, gave each other foot massages (we did a LOT of walking), and got ready for dinner. That night I had an NY Strip again and Chad had a blackened sirloin. He had his allergic reaction again, so we know it is really time to go to an allergist. That night was an impressionist for the entertainment. He was so bad, we lasted less than 20 minutes this time. Afterwards we had a drink in one of the bars, went to the Marriage Game (their version of the Newlywed Game), and went back to our room for some room service before heading off to bed.
Friday, February 19 - Aruba
We finally made it. My favorite port, and now Chad's favorite as well. They flip-flopped Aruba and Curacao on our itinerary, so we wound up being in Aruba from 7:00 in the morning until 11:00 at night. While there, we did a ton of shopping again. This time, we were hot to find a Jewish star for Chad. After dozens of stores, we finally went back to one of the first places we looked. We got one that we both love. I cannot wait until he gets to wear it every day. We also had a drink at Starbucks, saw a ton of wildlife (Iguanas, Geckos/Lizards, and Crabs), and went up to Palm Beach. To me, Palm Beach is the most gorgeous of any beach anywhere, so I really wanted Chad to see it. He loved it as much as I did. Absolutely gorgeous. That night there was a BBQ on the deck along with a pool party. We did the Macarena and the Electric slide before heading to our cabin for the night.
Saturday, February 20 - Curacao
Because our Jewish heritage tour was cancelled when they flip-flopped the ports (we were now here on Shabbos), Chad and I set out to find the synagogue on our own. We really wanted to go in because it is the oldest synagogue in the Western Hemisphere, but we knew chances were not good. Indeed, once we finally found it, (it took forever because the map given to us by the ship was wrong) we were not allowed in. And it was not much to see from the outside, so it was kind of a bust... but we certainly gave it our best shot. We did a little shopping in the town. Chad bought me this painting that I liked and after he paid for it the vendor gave him a note. He opened it up and it said "Jesus Loves You!" We got a big kick out of that. Back on the ship we bought Chad a silver bracelet for every day wear, skipped the Celtic Music show that night, and watched Zodiac instead. Dinner for me was a chicken breast and Chad had a pasta. That night was the dessert extravaganza which we enjoyed seeing and taking pics of, but neither of us had any interest in eating it. They always look good, but taste like crap, so we did not even bother.
Sunday, February 21 - Sea Day
The ports were all done, and now we were headed back to Florida. Two sea days ahead of us as we wind down the trip. On this day we went to a travel trivia game, dipped our toes in the pool, went to a talk by the environmental office to learn all about the ship's water, waste, and more. That was actually pretty interesting. We also played Clue and Rummikub that day and Chad tried to teach me to play Chess, but it did not work out so well. That night we went to dinner and both had filet, enjoyed the final show performed by the cast called "That's Vegas," and went to a late night game called the Liar's Club, which I always enjoy. One thing we learned... the word "farding" means putting on make-up. As in... I always knew my mom was farding in the bathroom.
Monday, February 22 - Sea Day
This was our final day on the ship. Always sad to leave after a cruise, but all good things must come to an end. This day we went and sat by the pool for a bit before lunch. In the afternoon we looked at some art, printed our boarding passes (it was a BIG fiasco that I do not want to get into), and finally had our massage. We both said it was one of the best massages we had ever had. Super relaxing and really good!!! For dinner, we went to Pinnacle again because we needed to have that French Onion soup and filet mignon one more time. After dinner we skipped the final show which was the awful comedian and the tenor again. Instead we packed and then watched "The Guardian."
Overall, it was a nice and relaxing cruise. The activities and the entertainment were embarrassingly bad. Part of that was a change in focus for Holland America. Where they used to cater to older adults, now they cater to people who should be dropping dead any minute. The food was good although the choices were a little too fancy for me. The service was good, although not at all what I expect from Holland America, given I had been on this ship before. What I know is that I would not cruise on Holland America again, but I had a wonderful vacation with Chad, and cannot wait for many more ahead.
Check back often for more Random Ramblings!
For this blog, I have decided to do a daily re-cap instead of by sections (i.e. food, entertainment, ports, etc.). Okay... now on to the cruise in review. Hope you enjoy!
Saturday, February 13 - Embarkation/Sail Away
As soon as we got on, we toured the ship. Now I have already been on this ship (went to Alaska on it in 2007), but Chad clearly wanted to explore and I wanted a refresher. We took a lot of pictures which you will eventually get to see on Facebook. Luggage was amazingly quick and we unpacked by the time we had to go to the safety drill. One new thing to note, you no longer bring your life jacket to the safety drill. This was a welcomed change. During our tour we went to the spa and booked a scalp massage for the first sea day and a full-body couples massage for the last sea day. That night for dinner I had prime rib and Chad had the pork chops. I also enjoyed the chilled rhubarb soup. The entertainment for the night was a variety show which Chad and I wound up being in. We were in a game where I had a tray velcroed to a helmet on my head. He had to stack food on my tray, and I had to dump it into this huge barrel without using my hands. Needless to say, we won the game, and were recognized for the rest of the cruise around the ship. That night, it was EXTREMELY choppy out and the ship was a-rockin'. But all was well and we were ready to turn in.
Sunday, February 14 - Half Moon Cay
Today was not only Valentine's Day, but also a stop at Holland America's private island. This was my 3rd stop at a private island, and I can easily say this was the nicest... absolutely gorgeous! In fact, you would not realize this was a private island, you would think it was one of the other ports we went to. Side note... before we got off the ship, we had breakfast in the main dining room. I had french toast that they made out of banana bread. Can you say DELISH?!?! Now, back to the island. Chad and I rented a private cabana for the day. It was AWESOME. We basically had our own little hut complete with fancy lounge chairs, a kitchen table and chairs, a shower, air conditioning, a ceiling fan, and tons of snacks and drinks. We also had hammocks on the outside that we enjoyed for quite a bit. It was a wonderful and relaxing day, minus the part where the loose chickens on the island tried to kill me. I hate things that fly.... they most definitely are an animal meant to be eaten!!!
When we got back to the ship, I had surprised Chad with chocolate covered strawberries and a dozen red roses that were delivered to our stateroom for Valentine's Day. He got teary and I loved every minute of it. That night I had filet mignon for dinner and Chad had a New York Strip. I also started with the mixed berry chilled soup. Again... delish.
After dinner, we saw the show "If Walls Could Rock" done by the cast. It was a great show. Now, a brief bit about entertainment/activities on the ship. In a word... they SUCKED!!!! The shows done by the cast were great, but there were only 3 of those. The rest was awful. Our Cruise Director, Eric, was atrocious. Hands down my worst cruise director ever. He never planned ANY activities to participate in. He was never around schmoozing with guests. And other than the cast, the nightly shows were terrible. You will see all of this played out as the blog continues because we skipped several shows and did a lot of movie watching and board game playing. Ultimately, we did not care because we liked the time spent together, and we made our trip wonderful and memorable on our own, without the dumb cruise director and his lack of activities.
Monday, February 15 - Turks and Caicos
We were not docking until 12:30, so we woke up and had breakfast in our room. Then we went to hear a talk about our next two ports, Turks and Caicos, and Samana (in the Dominican Republic). As we were having lunch, the ship's alarm went off and alerted everyone to a fire. To make a long story short, it was just a copy machine that was smoking, and there was nothing to be worried about. They did a GREAT job keeping everyone informed though and making sure no one was panicking. When we got back to our cabin to get ready to get off the ship, we got a message saying our power snorkeling excursion was cancelled because the weather was too choppy. That was a huge bummer as we were really excited about it, but you could see it was bad out. Finally, time to get off the ship.
This was a port I was extremely excited for. You see all of the celebrities going here and it looks gorgeous. Well, T&C is made up of several islands, and all I know is that where we went, Grand Turk, is NOT where the celebs go. There was a BEAUTIFUL brand new cruise terminal. Lots of shops and fun places to poke our heads in. But beyond the terminal.... nothing. So, we walked over to Margaritaville and thought it looked fun. Then we saw the swim up bar and said we have to do it. So, we got in the pool and swam over to the bar. Chad had a margarita and I had a daiquiri. They were great. Not long after, it started to rain, and did not stop the rest of the day. So, we called it a day and went back to the ship.
Back on the ship we played Scrabble, watched Scary Movie 4, and went to Canaletto (which we called Camel Toe) for dinner. It is their specialty Italian restaurant and it was great. I had chicken marsala and Chad had their lasagna. We met a Jewish couple at dinner and chatted with them for awhile. The show that night was a comedian. He was AWFUL. We left after about 20 minutes. Then, we called it a night.
Tuesday, February 16 - Samana, Dominican Republic
This was a port we were warned about. Basically they said there is NOTHING to do. Three small shops and that is about it. So, we did a Whale Watching excursion. It was awesome. We saw a lot of whales and it was really cool to be so close. The down side, for the first time in my life, I got sick from the motion (again, very choppy water) and to make another long story short, I threw-up twice over the side of the boat. Well, misery loves company and there were a few more people who did the same. It was not pleasant, but we still enjoyed the whales.
Back on the ship I had a New York Strip for dinner and Chad had a prosciutto wrapped chicken breast with Gouda. He loved it... mine was great too. That night I bought Chad's chain for a Jewish star, once he completes his conversion. (Funny I talked about his eating prosciutto and converting in the same paragraph). We also gave each other massages in our room, did some star gazing from our balcony, and skipped that evening's show... some tenor who was going to sing for the old people. Instead, we watched the Exorcist. I was all excited to be scared, but, as always, the movie bored me and I laughed at what should have been the "scary" parts.
Wednesday, February 17 - Sea Day
This was our first sea day. Of course, there were virtually no programs planned, so we had to do it ourselves. First up... banana's foster french toast. Yummy! We went to an art auction and it was terrible. The guy was not showing anything people had tagged. He talked FOREVER on each piece and was only showing things that were thousands of dollars and he knew, as we could all tell, no one was buying anything more than $200. So why keep showing that crap instead of the things we tagged?!?! Chad and I probably tagged 10 items between us... one was shown. So annoying!!! That day we also went to a talk to hear about the remaining three ports. We also enjoyed our scalp, neck, and shoulder massages that afternoon. For dinner, we went to the Pinnacle Grill which is their fancy restaurant that you have to pay for... $20 per person. It was SO worth it. We loved it.... they had the most amazing French Onion soup either of us had ever had. Unbelievably good. We also both had filet mignon as our main course, among some other delicious treats while we were there. After dinner we went to the "Ballroom Blitz" show done by the cast, did some star gazing on the top deck of the ship, and played a few games of Yahtzee before turning in.
Thursday, February 18 - Bonaire
We had heard that snorkeling was the thing to do in Bonaire. They were right. We did a beach snorkel excursion and it was amazing. Tons of coral right off the shore. So fun to see all of the fish, turtles, eels, etc. We truly enjoyed this excursion. After all of that, we did a lot of shopping. They had some cute stores, plus a market with all the vendors. There was not one port where they heckled us and pushed us to buy things. It was a nice change from other ports we have been to.
Back on the ship people thought we were twins (this happened quite often), we watched Beauty and the Beast, gave each other foot massages (we did a LOT of walking), and got ready for dinner. That night I had an NY Strip again and Chad had a blackened sirloin. He had his allergic reaction again, so we know it is really time to go to an allergist. That night was an impressionist for the entertainment. He was so bad, we lasted less than 20 minutes this time. Afterwards we had a drink in one of the bars, went to the Marriage Game (their version of the Newlywed Game), and went back to our room for some room service before heading off to bed.
Friday, February 19 - Aruba
We finally made it. My favorite port, and now Chad's favorite as well. They flip-flopped Aruba and Curacao on our itinerary, so we wound up being in Aruba from 7:00 in the morning until 11:00 at night. While there, we did a ton of shopping again. This time, we were hot to find a Jewish star for Chad. After dozens of stores, we finally went back to one of the first places we looked. We got one that we both love. I cannot wait until he gets to wear it every day. We also had a drink at Starbucks, saw a ton of wildlife (Iguanas, Geckos/Lizards, and Crabs), and went up to Palm Beach. To me, Palm Beach is the most gorgeous of any beach anywhere, so I really wanted Chad to see it. He loved it as much as I did. Absolutely gorgeous. That night there was a BBQ on the deck along with a pool party. We did the Macarena and the Electric slide before heading to our cabin for the night.
Saturday, February 20 - Curacao
Because our Jewish heritage tour was cancelled when they flip-flopped the ports (we were now here on Shabbos), Chad and I set out to find the synagogue on our own. We really wanted to go in because it is the oldest synagogue in the Western Hemisphere, but we knew chances were not good. Indeed, once we finally found it, (it took forever because the map given to us by the ship was wrong) we were not allowed in. And it was not much to see from the outside, so it was kind of a bust... but we certainly gave it our best shot. We did a little shopping in the town. Chad bought me this painting that I liked and after he paid for it the vendor gave him a note. He opened it up and it said "Jesus Loves You!" We got a big kick out of that. Back on the ship we bought Chad a silver bracelet for every day wear, skipped the Celtic Music show that night, and watched Zodiac instead. Dinner for me was a chicken breast and Chad had a pasta. That night was the dessert extravaganza which we enjoyed seeing and taking pics of, but neither of us had any interest in eating it. They always look good, but taste like crap, so we did not even bother.
Sunday, February 21 - Sea Day
The ports were all done, and now we were headed back to Florida. Two sea days ahead of us as we wind down the trip. On this day we went to a travel trivia game, dipped our toes in the pool, went to a talk by the environmental office to learn all about the ship's water, waste, and more. That was actually pretty interesting. We also played Clue and Rummikub that day and Chad tried to teach me to play Chess, but it did not work out so well. That night we went to dinner and both had filet, enjoyed the final show performed by the cast called "That's Vegas," and went to a late night game called the Liar's Club, which I always enjoy. One thing we learned... the word "farding" means putting on make-up. As in... I always knew my mom was farding in the bathroom.
Monday, February 22 - Sea Day
This was our final day on the ship. Always sad to leave after a cruise, but all good things must come to an end. This day we went and sat by the pool for a bit before lunch. In the afternoon we looked at some art, printed our boarding passes (it was a BIG fiasco that I do not want to get into), and finally had our massage. We both said it was one of the best massages we had ever had. Super relaxing and really good!!! For dinner, we went to Pinnacle again because we needed to have that French Onion soup and filet mignon one more time. After dinner we skipped the final show which was the awful comedian and the tenor again. Instead we packed and then watched "The Guardian."
Overall, it was a nice and relaxing cruise. The activities and the entertainment were embarrassingly bad. Part of that was a change in focus for Holland America. Where they used to cater to older adults, now they cater to people who should be dropping dead any minute. The food was good although the choices were a little too fancy for me. The service was good, although not at all what I expect from Holland America, given I had been on this ship before. What I know is that I would not cruise on Holland America again, but I had a wonderful vacation with Chad, and cannot wait for many more ahead.
Check back often for more Random Ramblings!
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