Planning a Vacation During a Pandemic

I feel like there should be sitcoms devoted to the comical ways life has changed since this pandemic. Like the fact that I received this in the mail yesterday:

It's from a Jehovah Witness who, due to social distancing, was unable to come to my door. Now their only path to converting all of us heathens is to hand write really long letters. I was so tickled by this little piece of mail that I almost didn't have the heart to throw it away. (Almost. I ended up throwing it in the fireplace. I do appreciate this lovely woman's effort, though).

But nothing beats trying to plan a vacation during a pandemic. Last year, my extended family (Mom, Dad, sister, brother in-law, nieces, etc.) and I booked a summer cruise to Alaska for my grandpa's 90th birthday, which falls on July 13, 2020. At the end of May, our cruise was cancelled. We were disappointed, but we moved on. We found a resort on the island of Kauai that was still welcoming tourists. We booked the resort and all our flights. In some ways, the new vacation sounded more fun than the original.

Then in June, Hawaii brought down the hammer. They decided that anyone flying into their islands would be required to be quarantined for fourteen days. Not a possibility for us, considering we were staying for only a week.

After that, Clint found an amazing deal for an all-inclusive resort in Jamaica. Jamaica has no travel restrictions or quarantine requirements--they're pretty much welcoming tourists with open arms. Clint and I went ahead and booked it. My mom and my niece were super excited, viewing this vacation as even better than the first two! The one caveat was my sister would now need to get passports for her kids super fast since we were only a month out from our vacation. No big deal; the passport agency is willing to expedite passports for an extra fee. 

Oh wait. No they're not. Not during a pandemic. Apparently a worldwide virus required them to downsize their staff and they no longer have enough employees to expedite passports. 

So we waved goodbye to our Jamaican dream. After that, the conversations regarding "Where should we go for vacation" reached ludicrous levels, with a lot of manic-type crying and kicking and screaming (along with some hair pulling) over the subject. Some ideas originally open for discussion due to the public reopening were quickly disregarded due to these same areas going down into lockdown again, or due to safety concerns with the recent looting/rioting (because, you know, a pandemic isn't enough. Let's throw social upheaval into the mix as well).

So what's the verdict? What did we decide to replace our beautiful Alaskan/Hawaiian/Jamaican trip with? Are you ready to be awed by the glamor of my upcoming vacation?

We're RV camping at a KOA about 2 hours from my house.

*sighs*

Yep. Most of life's 'new normals' are inherently unfunny, but there is some humor in all of this if you look hard enough. Like, really hard. Really really har--yeah, okay. I hate this sh*% too.

Florida, Writing Lair, & Last 200 Words

It's hard to pause during summer to write about stuff, but I'll squeeze in some quick updates:

Florida: I was in Orlando, Florida last week for a conference. Clint brought the kids and we stayed in the Disney Coronado. They did all the touristy stuff while I did conferency stuff. Not an ideal vacation for me (insert pitiful woe-is-me music here), but I still did a lot of bonding with my coworkers, ate some good food, drank some great drinks, and attended at least a few sessions that reinvigorated me for the upcoming school year. Oh, and I got to go to Gatorland (and feed baby alligators!).



New Writing Lair: Aside from a few finishing touches like window trim and attic-access, my art/writing studio is finished! I have a little stereo in there now for music, cabinets with all of my drawing/painting supplies, my lounge area if I want to relax between writing sprints, my "fireplace" for cooler evenings...I even stocked it with wine for when I get writer's block (one bottle is leaning toward empty already). It's a good thing this space isn't equipped with a toilet and a fridge because at this point my belly and my bladder are the only two entities that can convince me to leave.

Driving Test: Trinity finally overcame her driving-anxiety and got her license today. It was her first time taking the test and you're allowed to miss fifteen points. She only missed one! I say this with excitement because back in the day I missed... well, let's just say a few more than one. ;)

I'm thinking this is enough updates for tonight? Here's the last 200 words for Black Lilies, chapter four. If it sounds familiar, it's because I actually posted this one in the past for reasons I can no longer remember. Anyway, it'll be the only 'last 200 words' that repeats.

 "I’ll tell you my name as soon as you tell me who you are, and what’s going on.” I crossed my arms and stepped back in a show of defiance. The assignment that was crumpled in my hand fell over my fingertips onto the linoleum floor. Moving quickly, I reached down to pick it up.
 “I’ve seen this stationery before” he said, leaning forward to look at my paper.
 “It’s not stationery, it’s just my assignment. It’s what I’m supposed to be working on right now, but I’ll get an ‘F’ now because of your impromptu performance of the Star Spangled Banner.”

 He squinted his eyes, examining it closer. “Let me see that.”

 Why would he want my paper? There was barely anything written on it. I shrugged. “Here.”

 I tried to hand it to him, but he didn’t move to take it. Instead, he tilted his head, as if trying to get a better view. He mouth gaped open before he quickly snapped it shut. His body seemed to freeze. “I know this writing.” He jerked back, his fists clenched at his side. “Tell me your name, clever girl.”

 I stood silent.

 “It’s you, isn’t it? You’re Aviva.”

 My mouth fell open, and he disappeared.

(206 words)

Summer Catch-Up

Look, I'm writing a post you guys. It's a post!

I went through a massive blog drought over summer. I can't explain why, since summer should be when I finally feel the freedom to write. But right from the onset I knew I didn't want to even look at my blog.

There's so much to talk about from this summer...it would make for a very long and boring post (and still might). So I'm just going to abbreviate the main things that happened:

• Grandma's Ashes: I flew to Cushing, Oklahoma to deliver my grandmother's ashes to her hometown. I made the trip with my half-sister Sarah. We stayed in a lovely hotel suite, swam at an awesome pool, enjoyed some nice dinners, had a little girl-time at the local bars, and met a lot of really cool people. Very memorably experience.
• My Niece Graduated! I guess this doesn't seem like a big deal, but it was for me. Not only am I close to my niece Cassidi, but she's the first of my and Shannon's kids to graduate. It makes me feel weepy--to think she's all grown up now, and sort of marks a new era. 
• Clint's Knee Surgery: Clint had knee surgery the first week of July and is out of work until October. The first week he couldn't walk and I learned what it feels like to do everything.
• Jamboree Days: I ran a Chasing Echoes booth in Crestline selling my books and some other related stuff (see here). It was fun! The only caveat was I was supposed to do the booth for two days, but I only lasted for one day before getting totally wiped out. In my defense, I was staying at my sister's house that weekend and her entire household (including my kids) were still up running around at 1:30 a.m., on a night that I was supposed to get up at 6:30 in the morning. Plus it was the 4th of July, so we were up watching fireworks and celebrating. And I had a crippled hubby who couldn't help me with the heavy-lifting.
• Comic-Con: Comic-Con was immensely fun--even better than last year (even with Clint on crutches--which he turned into assault rifles, by the way).
• Camping: This almost didn't happen due to Clint's parent's RV breaking down. But after spending over twelve hours fixing it, we ditched our original plans of camping in Oregon and, instead, found a beautiful campground outside of Lake Tahoe called "Snowflower." I could do an entire post just on that. It was gorgeous.
• Monopoly Tournament: Elijah participated in the Juniors Monopoly Tournament on the world's largest Monopoly board in San Jose. He didn't win, but the experience was awesome! We all stayed at the Hilton. Clint's parents were trapped in their room the morning of the tourney when their deadlock broke. Maintenance couldn't get them out, so they were forced to climb out the window onto the roof, down an emergency escape, and through a service door to get back to the lobby. I wish I was making this up.
• Dog Beach: I went to a dog beach for the first time with Shannon, Jeremy, my parents, and all the kids. A dog beach is just like a regular beach...with dogs.
• Ringworm: My whole family (except for Elijah) came home from camping with ringworm. I still have scars. 
• Writing: I didn't get a lick of writing done.
• Art: I drew with charcoal for the first time! And I dabbled with oil pastels too. I LOVE charcoal. My goodness where has this been my whole life? Here are my first two drawings: 

I have a ton of other pictures from summer but I'm too lazy to find/organize them.

That's about it. Now I'm back to work. We're in week 4, actually. It already feels like it's going so fast. And of course I've already slipped up in the classroom. Last week I told the class "In today's society you just don't see balls anymore." Of course we were talking about the setting for Cinderella, but it didn't matter--the class was howling (7th graders. *sigh*). Today I was tempted to play AC/DC's Big Balls to the class, since, like me, he's talking about parties and dances (ha!), but I thought that might be a little over the top.

Okay, a real song now. You've heard it before...it's pretty popular. When I focus too hard on the lyrics, it makes me sob like a baby.

Closed for Summer

I hope to be back for the new school year. Have a wonderful summer!

Ready, Aim, Fire

This weekend I became a certified archery instructor!

 My first time firing the Genesis bow

Mr. Bales and me with our certification cards

The class was in Wheatland, CA, which is about a seven and-a-half hour drive from where I live (eight hours plus if you figure in stops for gas and food). Clint and I, along with a teaching colleague of mine, Mr. Bales, left right after work on Friday, arrived to our motel around midnight, and started the training the next morning. 

The class was awesome. I came into the class being a tiny bit familiar with archery, but my experience was limited to the compound bow with a peep sight and scope, set at about 42 lbs. The bows we're required to use for NASP (National Archery in the Schools Program) are Genesis bows, which are also compound, but have no peep sight, no scope, and are only set to 11 to 20 lbs. So in addition to having to learn how to set up and run an archery range (including all of the safety rules/regulations), I had to learn the techniques for shooting a bow that I'm completely unfamiliar with. Did you know there are ELEVEN steps to shooting a bow? Here was the nemonic device I made up so I could remember all of the steps for the test: 

Sassy naked damsels boast proudly during an afternoon salsa routine Friday.™

Seriously, I need to trademark that baby. ;) It stands for: Stance, nock arrow, draw handset, bow handset, pre-draw, draw, anchor, aim, release, follow-through. Someone was paid the big bucks to make all that up. If I was in charge over at NASP, I'd have three steps: 

Ready. Aim. Fire.

Anyway, we were also required to learn all of the different parts of a bow, and how to do common bow repairs. It was total information overload...by the end of the training my brain felt numb. But I also came out of it on a high, because I feel like I learned SO much (I ended up scoring a 96% on my practicals, and man did it take everything out of me). At this point, I honestly think I could set up an entire archery range and run an event with confidence.

While all of this was going on, my son was participating in the Monopoly Championship Tournament eight hours away, which resulted in me doing a lot of hyperventilating, squealing, and screaming while trying to shoot targets and memorize that the top cam of the bow is called the "idler wheel." I'm dying to write more about this whole Monopoly thing on this post, but it's way too cool and special, so I think I'll save it for the next one.

Cross your fingers for me now that our grant through NASP goes through, because I really, really want to get this archery program going for the new school year!

Comic-Con 2014

I am SO swamped with work, but luckily I had this post on reserve (aka: sitting in "drafts" where I forgot to publish it):

I've noticed I have the tendency to avoid posts in which I have TOO much to say. Like our cruise to the Bahamas over Thanksgiving break way-back-when. We did sooooo much...everything from lounging on a beach right on an airport to visiting an iguana farm. But to write about it would take twelve pages! So I never wrote about it. Never posted pictures--nothing. A whole trip to three amazing islands with no record of it! It might as well have never happened.

Now I'm feeling that way about Comic-Con. Even though it was only a one-day event for us, it was ten straight hours of complete over-stimulation, and to write a blog entry about it would go on and ON. So I've been avoiding it.

In order to break this cycle (because even though recording family memories sometimes feels boring, three years later it's awesome to read them), I'm going to simply write down three things about Comic-Con. Three ONLY. My favorite thing, my least favorite thing, and what we'll do differently next time we attend.

And then of course I'll post a few pics.

Here we go:

My Favorite Thing about Comic-Con: This sounds funny, but I'd have to say the people. Comic-Con is ridiculously crowded--like, I can't believe it's legal to stuff that many people into one building. According to the news (I can't remember which station), over 160,000 attended Comic-Con this year. But, despite the crowds, everyone I encountered there was SO friendly, whether it be worker or attendee (except for the security guards--they could be jerks). Overall it was a very spirited, happy group of people.

Oh yeah, and the costumes! And all the awesome art! And all the freebies! (Okay, I'm trying to cheat by squeezing in more than one favorite thing, but I'm done now).

My Least Favorite Thing about Comic-Con: In addition to the above-mentioned crowds (seriously, by afternoon it was elbow-to-elbow gridlock), I hated the lack of seating. If you attend one of the panels, that provides you a great opportunity to sit down and relax for a little while. But in the convention hall itself, you're forced to walk around for hours amongst the various booths with no relief. There were a few tables near the snack bars, but they were always occupied. Always. And anytime we tried to sit down against the wall in one of the side-corridors, the security guards would come by and tell us that we needed to keep moving. At one point we had ordered a couple trays of nachos, and with no where to sit, we took our food outside of the main convention hall and sat against a wall FAR AWAY from foot-traffic to eat our food. We still had a security guard come hassle us, telling us we needed to move along. It was beyond frustrating, because there was no way to eat nachos while trying to balance our conference bags and purchases. We ended up having to exit the convention center completely just to sit down.  Because of teaching, I'm used to being on my feet all day, but even my legs were throbbing by the time we left. So if you ever attend Comic-Con, wear comfortable shoes and be prepared to be on your feet indefinitely.

What We will Do Differently Next Year: Despite the crowds and lack of seating, we still plan to go next year. The thing is, Comic-Con actually wasn't that crowded from 9:00 to about noon. At those hours, there were even tables still available near the Snack Bars. So next year, our plan is to go for three days instead of just one. The problem with this year is we only had ONE DAY, so we were forced to put up with a lot of craziness for the sake of getting to see everything. Going for three days will allow us to take our time, take breaks during the really busy hours, eat lunch at a "real" joint, return to our hotel as needed to recharge, etc. Overall it should provide us with a more relaxing experience. Clint already booked our hotel room, so we're ready to go.

Okay, some pictures:

Trin and I getting ready to leave--her as a TARDIS and me as a Dalek. 

Her wig only lasted about an hour, and I switched over to jeans and flip flops in our parking structure when I found out we were walking nine blocks.

We made it!

 Entering Comic-Con

 Arghhh, blurry. Clint and Elijah were characters from Assassin Creed. 

 Trinity was so thrilled to get her Welcome to Night Vale poster. She got it autographed later by four voice-actors of the cast, plus the creator of the show. According to her, it was the "best day EVER." She repainted her entire room this week to match her poster.

 Clint and his new BFF.

 One of Trin's best friends happened to be at Comic-Con the same day as us. The girls ran off on their own for awhile and had a blast,

Trin and Tris in one of their favorite booths: The Dr. Who store.

 Elijah in his favorite booth: Skylanders

View from the window of the Starbucks two blocks away from the convention center.

My favorite--the Outlander booth! I haven't even read this series, but I SURE AM now! (P.S. I love that young woman's quite authentic-looking period-dress).

Trin and I with an Outlander guy.

 Clint has had a down payment on one of these since March. It's called an Elio. He was so excited to discover they had one on display at Comic-Con.

That counted as only a few pics, right?

Okay, sticking with three things wasn't so bad.

Vegas Conference

I am finally home! *Huge happy sigh* The conference was a ton of fun, and a complete whirlwind. I carpooled with two of my teacher friends, Jen and Lainie, and we arrived in Vegas at about 2:00 on Monday. After getting checked in to the Treasure Island (pictured above), we enjoyed a couple of drinks and headed for the pool. Later a bunch of us met at Gilley's for dinner. My district gives teachers $80 a day for meals, so we're always sitting fat and happy during conferences. After dinner, some of my coworkers tried to talk me into going out, but I hadn't unpacked my luggage yet, and I was massively craving a bath and some alone time, so I opted out.

On Tuesday, I woke up early and four of us girls walked down to Starbucks for some wake-up juice. Then we walked over to the Venetian for our conference. Everyday we had four 75 minute sessions--two before lunch, and two after, with a half hour between each session. My Tuesday sessions were "okay." Three of my presenters were great, but they didn't teach me anything that I wasn't already doing in my classroom. The fourth presenter was nice enough, but the session was supposed to be on "project--based learning," and she never once talked about projects. Instead she discussed coming up with "key questions" for your lessons (a dead horse of a subject lately). It was frustrating, because I was excited for some more project ideas.

Once our sessions were over, I got together with my coworkers for drinks, and then got ready for dinner. This time we ate at the buffet at Planet Hollywood. I don't care for buffets, but the food was so good. I was so stuffed by the time I finished that I swear I looked like I was five months pregnant. Okay, thats a pretty big exaggeration, but I was seriously full. After the buffet, I had 15 minutes to get ready for a club I had agreed to go to with my friend/coworker Danielle--"Hyde" in Bellagio. I haven't clubbed in...well...probably ever, so I didn't even think to bring appropriate "club wear." I had packed a couple of my work dresses, and one of them was more curve-hugging and night-out-on-town looking (I thought), but apparently it wasn't slutty enough, because Danielle took one look at me when she walked into my room and was like, "Here." She handed me a short, slinky black dress. Danielle is shorter and heavier than me (I don't mean this as an insult--she is super cute), but she said the dress was "one size fits all," and as I held it up, I thought "Damn, this thing is actually going to fit." So I put it on and it fit like a glove. But I couldn't help but laugh because every single time Shannon and I go to Vegas, we make fun of all the girls wearing spike heels and little black dresses. It is SO CLICHE. Like, seriously girls, there are other lengths and other colors. If I ever go clubbing again, I'm going to wear a white lace dress or mint green or something just to break the mold.

Anyway, Danielle and I, along with our coworker Alfred, took a taxi to the Bellagio. Once we arrived to the club, it was...just...holy cow. The location was so beautiful, because it had an entire wall of glass that overlooked the Bellagio fountain/light show. It was STUNNING, seeing the show from that angle, over and over again. But that's where the fascination ended. The club was SO crowded. I love to dance, but it's nearly impossible when you're squished on all sides like you're the unfortunate innards of a sandwich.

Also, I don't know club etiquette. I was getting approached by guys and I would let them know I was married in the friendliest way possible (usually by smiling apologetically and pointing at my ring, since you couldn't hear a damn thing in that place). I was never mean and all "get lost" or anything, because, hey, it takes guts to approach a woman, and I'm not going to squash someone for trying. But one guy (from the $1500 section) wouldn't get the message, and started putting his hands around my waist and kissing me on the cheek even though I had told him several times I wasn't interested. Danielle got pissed when he cornered me by the restrooms and WOULD NOT LEAVE. She told him very point-blank that he needed to leave me alone and started to lightly push him away from me, and he pushed back--not in an intention to push her, I don't think...more holding his hands up in the air to keep her away, but the bouncer wasn't having any of it, and he kicked the dude out. Later, when we left the club and were walking out of Bellagio, the guy appeared out of nowhere and started asking me where I was going, etc. When Danielle caught up, he started yelling at her for getting him kicked out of the club. Danielle called him an ass and we jumped in our cab. She told me in the cab that I am not bitchy enough for clubs, and I laughed, because it is so true.

But it's all good because I am pretty sure I am done with clubs. Not just because of the thing from above, but because I hate watching women act like they have no self-respect. Dresses tinier than lingerie, spiked heels, bending over so their ass-cheeks can gyrate against some stranger's groin...ugh. I am officially too old for this. I am glad I went with Danielle this one time though so I could get it out of my system, plus there were parts of the experience that were a lot of fun.

While I was at the club, Clint was making the drive to Vegas from his work. I got back to my room about 1:45ish, and he had just arrived about a half hour before. He stayed for the rest of the week, which was SO much fun. Clint meshes well with my coworkers, and I always feel more...well, I just feel like I can breathe easier when he's there.

Wednesday was sort of rinse and repeat, minus the clubbing. I woke up early, went to Starbucks with the girls, and then it was off to my sessions, lunch at the Outback, and more sessions. My sessions, again, were "okay" that day, or maybe I was too tired to fully appreciate them. All of us went to dinner that night at an Italian restaurant that served food family style. It was awesome. I think I went to bed at a decent hour that night, but it's hard to remember.

Thursday was the same as Wednesday, except for my sessions were wonderful. I was so thrilled by one of them on "warm-ups and sponge activities" that I was taking notes like a crazy person. The presenter was energetic, hilarious, and everything he suggested was ingenious. After my first two sessions ended, a group of us (along with the principal) enjoyed a drink around the pool. Later we went to dinner at a Mexican restaurant called Canunita (or something like that). Once back in my room, I had an hour to relax before it was time for Chippendales. Yes, you heard that right--Chippendales! I have never in my life gone to a show where the MEN take off their clothes, and honestly, I've never had any interest. I've gone to Vegas showgirl performances, and I really enjoy those. The dancers are gorgeous with smooth skin and beautiful bodies and glittering costumes...why would I want to see a bunch of bumpy, greasy men?

But Clint kept telling me "Just go babe! You'll have fun," so I did, and he was right. The show was sheer entertainment from start to finish. The music and choreography was awesome, and the men weren't made to look like "pretty boys" like I was worried about. The producers did a great job of playing on women's fantasies by choosing settings and costumes that emphasized the mens' ruggedness, and by recognizing that teasing us with what we can't see can be so much more provocative and fun than baring everything.

We weren't allowed to take pictures until the end of the show, and even then I didn't take any (I'm a lousy photo taker), but I had a few sent to me by Irma. The show featured Ian Ziering, who used to play Steve Sanders way-back-when on Beverly Hills, 90210. And remember Jaymes and James from The Amazing Race?

I remember how adorable and enthusiastic those boys were on the race...they were definitely amongst my top five favorite contestants.

The only thing I managed to take pictures of during the show was the bathroom (I know, here I have almost-naked men parading around, and I'm fascinated by the bathroom). I swear it was the size of an apartment, with different nooks and sections with vanities and various seating areas.

Here we are, after the show, groping giant poster men:

(From left to right: Katie, Amanda, Nikki, Me, and Irma)

I got back to my room sometime after 1:00 a.m., I think. The next morning (yesterday) was my last day of the conference, and finally time to drive home. Clint packed us up and we headed out, stopping for a late lunch in State Line. I was so excited to get home. I missed the kids and the animals (although sadly Trin is still in Utah at horsemanship camp until tomorrow). Plus nothing beats sleeping in your own bed.

Now I'm trying to motivate myself to clean this house and do some laundry. Tomorrow I'm hoping to get a few hours to fill out Najla's requirement form for my book cover. By Monday I hope to be back to revisions again. I have to plan another pool party soon too, because my coworkers are bugging me for one.

Oh, Krystal over at Narcissistic Rose tagged me for a Versatile Blogger award, so I'll scratch down my seven random facts in a near-future post. Shouldn't be too hard...LOTS of randomness to choose from.

*takes nap now to avoid cleaning*

Resolutions, Black Fish, & British Relatives

I'm a little late with this, but here's our New Year's resolutions. I say "ours" because I decided to post my family's resolutions too. After I forced them to make some up, that is. Okay, here we go:

Trinity

"My New Year's resolution is to stop biting my nails and to like hot tea."

The hot tea thing is because she's a total Whovian who loves all things British. She even found out that her grandpa (Clint's dad) is 80% British. He himself just discovered this fact through Ancestry.com (more about that another time). So she wants to liken herself to her British roots by forcing herself to choke down a beverage she normally can't stand. She is now drinking about three cups a day, so I think it's working.

Elijah

"My resolution is to convince Dad to download Minecraft mods onto my computer." 

He's ten. His life is pretty simple. And I have no idea what "mods" are. 

Clinton

"My resolution is to restore my Nova, and to go to the gym three times a week."*

*(It's possible that Clint's resolutions may have been completely fabricated by me due to his lack of playing-alongness. To my credit, I kept 50 % of his resolutions practical and relevant to his interests, when what I wanted to say was My resolution is to treat my wife like a princess and make her chocolate chip pancakes and rub her feet on a daily basis).

Mine

"My resolution is to finish my manuscript and to get a literary agent."

That would be awesome. I'll be thrilled if I can make that happen. The first half of that WILL happen, but that second half is...scary and partly out of my hands.

Changing the subject, we took Elijah to Sea World for his birthday yesterday. Before you decide to boycott my blog over this fact, I had NO IDEA about the whole Blackfish documentary and all that. I was off Facebook for a period of time, and I guess that's where I would have heard about it. But I have to say, ignorance is bliss, because the park was dead. We had free reign over the place. Shan's family went with us, and we made the mistake of sitting in the soak zone for the Shamu show where we got utterly destroyed. Like, not splashed a bit, but destroyed. I have never been that drenched in my life. Well, except for every time I take a bath or shower. Or when I get into a swimming pool, or a spa. Or the beach. Or...uh, I guess I have been that drenched before, so let's just let that hyperbole die now. But this was my UNDIES that were soaked, people. I mean, COME ON.

Changing the subject again, my husband is 40% British! Now if Ancestry.com could only get him to talk in that accent....

A Post of Excuses

Ditto what Jodi said! Every day this week, I have felt like I need to write a post about our vacation, but there is just SO MUCH. I do not know where to begin. And Jodi is absolutely right- our pics are inconveniently scattered among several cameras. Sadly, the pics I have on my camera are very few. Even worse, an entire island isn't even on a camera at all, but is still on a CD we had to purchase for $40 (we couldn't take our cameras because we were kayaking and snorkeling). To further complicate things, I am having a hell of a time uploading pictures at all onto this blog. Egh!

By the way, GETTING to our cruise ship was the WORST travel experience in my life. Jodi will confirm this.

I will try and write a decent post about our vacation this weekend (I was secretly hoping Jodi would beat me to it). Maybe I will just do bullet points or something.

Back from Paradise

Shan and I were officially home from our cruise late Saturday night (more like Sunday morning), but I've been avoiding our blog because I'm overwhelmed by the idea of writing about our week.  It would take pages to describe ONE day of the cruise, let alone the whole eight days.  Plus my pictures are still spread amongst five different cameras, and since I'm not on facebook anymore, it's going to take awhile for me to wrangle some photos to post.  Basically the cruise was amazing, but blogging about it right now sounds like a big fat chore.

So until I get around to doing a real entry about it (feel free to step in here any time Sho), here's a 15 second video clip of us girls playing on the beach at Atlantis (Shan in gray, Mom in blue, me in red).  It was stormy that day, but my mom labeled this afternoon on the beach as one of her most memorable moments of the whole cruise.  

Turkey Dinner on the Epic

I've had a few untraditional Thanksgivings in the past.  There was that one year when I was little and Shan and I ate giant hot dogs in Las Vegas for Thanksgiving dinner.  Or that one year where we spent Thanksgiving with our insane aunt and her cult of talking-in-tongue worshippers who spent the day striking the movie "Backdraft" to hell because of all of the curse words.  Or that one year I spent half of the day stuck in a restaurant parking lot with a dead battery.

But this--THIS--is definitely going to be my favorite untraditional Thanksgiving up to date.

Shan and I are going on a cruise to the Caribbean!  I can't believe it's happening, because the cruise is SO expensive, and as of now Clint's not going with me.  But my parents twisted my arm.  They're going to celebrate their 25th anniversary, and they want their family there with them.  I happened to have some money in savings from working at the college last summer, so I decided to go for it.  I booked my flight to Florida from Los Angeles on Sunday night.  I got the very last seat available for that flight!  Crazy.  Since our cruise is on Thanksgiving week (which is summer weather in the Caribbean), the flights are filling up super fast.  We're traveling on a huge ship--the Norwegian Epic--as pictured above.  My mom has always drooled over this particular cruise liner, and now for her 25th, she finally gets her wish.

Jeremy, Shannon, and I are bunking together in a balcony cabin.  Yep, I get to be their little third wheel.  But it's all good, because they made arrangements for my parents to babysit me whenever they need a little--ehem--privacy (haha, like I can't come up with a thousand and one ways to entertain myself).  Sharing a cabin was actually Jeremy's brilliant idea, because with the three of us, we can afford this:

We have our own private balcony with non-stop views of the ocean.  This is a touch nicer than the little hole I slept in for our Carnival cruise five years ago.

Clint just got accepted into engineer service for his job, which means a huge raise as soon as he gets through the six months of training (training starts in August).  But it also means he can't go on the cruise with me.  Even so, he is desperately trying to think of a way he can go.  If he does decide to fake pneumonia or something, he and I will have to fly out separately since my flight is full.  In fact, LA's flights are all filling up, which means he will most likely have to fly out of Vegas.  Sort of ironic that we'd have to take off from different states to get to the same place.  Also, if he ends up going, my room gets downgraded to this:

 
It's a 10 x 10 studio cabin.  In other words, a hole.  Just a cute, nicely decorated hole.  That little window doesn't even face the ocean--it faces the corridor.  As in, the hallway where the people walk.  It's like an exhibitionist's dream come true, complete with shagadelic lighting:

There's blue and green, I think, too.  I can practically hear the bonky music playing in the background.

Honestly, I don't care if I sleep in the storage deck, because I'll be too busy enjoying this:

 And this (an ice bar!):

And...

Okay, I better stop now.  This cruise doesn't even set sail for another four months.  But man it's awesome to have something to look forward to.