Brandon's Puppy

A "quick" overview of our cruise

Here it is, the entry you've all been waiting for: the details of our lovely cruise on the Enchantment of the Seas.

We arrived at the port an hour before the ship was scheduled to depart. We dropped off our carry-on items in our stateroom, found our friends, had a small lunch, then went to the top deck to enjoy the lovely breeze as we departed from Port Everglades in Ft. Lauderdale. We were scheduled for the first seating dinner, which was at 6PM, so we went to our stateroom to freshen up, and enjoyed a tasty dinner with the other 27 members of our party. Yes, I said 27. We were 29 in total. Our friends' family goes on a cruise every year, and they invited us to join them. We thought it a perfect opportunity to enjoy one final vacation before two kiddies were running around the house. After dinner, we walked around the ship, sitting in one of the lounge areas chatting it up with a few friends. We finally headed in for the night around 11PM. We would have stayed up longer, but I was quite exhausted, having worked for half a day before heading out to the port.

Friday morning found us docked in Key West. We hadn't been there in a while, so we were quite happy about this part of the itinerary. As soon as we get off the ship, what do we see parked on the other side of the dock? This, which reminded me of my friend. I know I still owe you a trip to Key West, friend, I haven't forgotten...

So we walked around, stopping for a drink at the famous Sloppy Joe's on Duval Street. No I did not have an alcoholic beverage, a virgin strawberry daiquiri was my drink of choice that day. The ship was departing at 2PM, so we headed back to the port at about 1:15. We had lunch, then Eric and I went back to our stateroom for a nap. We woke up at about 4:30 to get ready for dinner. It was Captain's night, so we needed to clean up real good. We had a lovely dinner, and then headed to the theater to catch the show, "From Stage to Screen". It was a wonderful production, with scenes and music from West Side Story, Sweet Charity, Little Shop of Horrors, Hairspray, and Chicago. It was like being on Broadway. Speaking of theater, the dining room is named, "My Fair Lady", and had this beautiful statue of Eliza Doolittle right in the center. Isn't it awesome?!

We had quite a day on Saturday. We had to be at one of the entertainment areas at 9:45 to meet for our excursion in Mexico, and woke up at 9:20. I still don't know how we got dressed in roughly five minutes, ran up to Deck 9 for breakfast, and made it back down to Deck 6 to the designated meeting area in time. We disembarked and took a waterjet ferry from Cozumel to Playa Del Carmen. That. was. not. fun. Let's just say Eric and I lost our breakfast on the way. We arrived in Playa Del Carmen and had to walk several blocks, for about 10 minutes, to the tour buses that would then take us to Tulum. The trip from the bus parking lot to the actual ruins was about an hour and 10 minutes, with a 15-minute bathroom stop. With all this travelling back and forth, no wonder the excursion lasts six hours!

We arrived at Tulum at approximately 1PM. Our tour guide walked us through some of the ruins and explained the history for about 45 minutes, and then we were free to roam around until our departure time of 3:25. The place is amazing!! There are about six or seven structures, some used to be homes of dignitaries with the Mayan community. Others were holy areas or temples, such as this one, The Temple of the Frescoes. If you look closely, you can see the murals inside, between the columns.

It was time to head back to the bus for our trip back to Playa Del Carmen, and the dreaded return ferry ride back to Cozumel. Fortunately, it was not so bad the second time around. We walked around Cozumel for a bit, before taking a taxi back to the dock. It was about 6:10 at this point, and we were late to dinner, but I was adamant about sitting down to those scrumptuous four course meals, so we rushed to our stateroom, took quick showers, changed, and headed to the dining room, which fortunately was on the same floor as our room and a few seconds' walk away. After dinner, we did a bit more ship-exploring, caught some Karaoke, and called it a night at about 11:30.

Sunday was all about relaxing, since it was a Day at Sea. It was time to enjoy the ship, and of course the food. I spent part of the day poolside with the girls while Eric was with some of the guys walking around the ship and watching the art auction. It was soon time to get ready for our last dinner onboard. We took more pictures around the ship, caught another Karaoke show, headed back to our room to pack, and called it a night.

Monday came too quickly, as we woke up to the announcements calling out groups of passengers to disembark. We reluctantly headed off the ship, and back to reality.

Happy First Birthday, C-Man!

I know I owe everyone a cruise update, I will get to it later this evening from home. But I did not want to forget to wish Christian a very happy 1st birthday. We'll see you at your party on Saturday, little one. Welcome to toddler-hood!

You can visit Christian and his mommy here.

Sailing Away

See you on Monday!

Procrastination

Hello there.
We are leaving on a 5-day cruise in a little over 48 hours, and I've done NOTHING to prepare for this trip. Well, the laundry is done, but that's a weekend thing anyway.
On my agenda for this evening, after getting out of school: pack for Brandon's stay at grandma's house. Tomorrow: get a manicure and pedicure, pack for hubby and myself, gather travel documents, and make arrangements for fishy-sitting. Thursday: work until noon, then pick up hubby, drop off Brandon, and head to the Port.
Posting will be scarce for the next couple of days, and then Thursday afternoon I'll be relaxing on a cruise liner. So I'll catch you all later. I have to work now before I get a permanent vacation! ;-)

Hips Don't Lie

Last night, my mom, little sister, hubby and I went to see Shakira at the American Airlines Arena (home of the MIAMI HEAT!!) in downtown Miami. What a concert! There were quite a few surprises. Wyclef Jean entertained the crowd for a while, singing some of his solo hits as well as those with the Fugees. After intermission (which seemed to take forever) Shakira hit the stage just a bit past 9PM. She sang and spoke in English and Spanish, and after about six songs, a very special guest came on stage to sing with her on one her recent hits, La Tortura: Alejandro Sanz. That was completely unexpected, and totally amazing. (Let me go off topic here for a moment and say...THE MAN IS HOT!)
Shakira would not be Shakira if she did not show off her belly dancing moves. There were several performances, backed by sensual, beautiful Middle-Eastern music, and that girl shakes like nobody's business!
Also worth noting is that the female guitarist in the first picture above is none other than Olgui Chirino, and her proud papa
Willy and stepmom Lisette were in the first row, having a great time.
The last song was "Hips Don't Lie", with Wyclef coming back onstage to sing with her. They were all over the stage, with pink, white and orange confetti flying through the air. It was a big party, Shakira-style.

Here's the review by the Miami Herald. I told you it was a great show!

Good Looks Run in the Family

Seriously...how cute is my nephew?!

Amapola

When we moved to our new home, one of our goals was to improve the landscaping, both in our front lawn and the backyard. There is one plant, however, that, when we do get around to it, won't be touched. A red hibiscus tree grows right on the left corner of my house, in front of the driveway. Every time I walk by, I think of my Tia Mary. I know that this amapola tree is there because she is watching over me and my husband, and now our two children.

Today would have been her 72nd birthday. She died in 1996.

Val wrote this as a tribute to her in 2004, and reposted it last year. It's not a happy story, but it's about her, and that's what's important.

Felicidades, Tia Pompi. I miss you.

I'm an Aunty again! (UPDATED)

I don't have many details yet, but my nephew Maxx Logan (Mikey's little brother) was born at about 8:30 this morning via C-Section. So far, the only news I have is that it went well, and both mommy (my older sister) and baby are doing just fine.
More to follow, so stay tuned!

UPDATE #1:
7.5 pounds, 20 inches.

UPDATE #2:
Here's a picture of Maxx. It's not that great, but it's the only one where you can clearly see his face. Thanks, Titi, for the picture!

Very Cool

I just felt the first official kick. I finished breakfast about 10 minutes ago, and I felt a distinct little nudge on my left side.
I guess he was hungry! =)

Never Forget

9-11-01

Big News!

Here it is, the news you have all been waiting for. But first, a few teasers.

A cute little foot:

Cute little Martian-looking face:

And...

Yes, Brandon is going to have a baby brother! For those keeping track, that's FIVE boys in the family in the last 3 and a half years!
We are very excited to welcome this new addition in a few months. And now, I can finally shop! and plan! and decorate! and register!! YAY!

More details about today's U/S will follow tomorrow. I'm ready for bed. It's been quite a long and exciting day. Good night all!

And the verdict is...

Yes, people, I have news to share. Unfortunately, the scanner at work is not working properly, so I cannot fully share the news without visuals. Therefore, please stayed tuned until I get home this evening from work and school, approximately 9 PM, and then you will see a wonderful little update right here on this space. Sorry to make you wait, but that's how things are around here...you know me and pictures.

And GO 'FINS!!

(Those of you that already know.....SSSSSHHHHHH!!!!!!)