Quote of the Day

"YES, I know I have something on my forehead..."

WTF People!

My dear friends, this is a chicken:




I don't know WTF this is, but it ain't no chicken...

Cruising Day Eight - the end of the line

We are finally at the Port in Galveston!  Our scheduled departure is not until 10:00 am but I am up and at 'em at 7:00 am - I want OFF this boat!  Have my last day of coffee on my balcony, and take my final, parting shot:

However I had to RUSH back inside to change into sweats and tennis shoes because it was 42 friggin degrees!  Spent the rest of the morning hurrying up and waiting and standing in long line after long line.  It took FOREVER to get off that damn boat.  The whole process took us until NOON to finally get to our car for the long drive home.

Although it was a stressful process, only because I wanted OFF that damn boat, it was a wonderful feeling to be back on land, even though I knew it would be at least another 6 hours before I was finally HOME!

I don't think I would ever take a long cruise like this again, I'm too much of a homebody to be gone that long, I do admit that it was a good time.  As much as I dreaded this trip and thought I would never make it through, I am glad that I let myself enjoy it.  Just don't tell anyone!

Cruising Day Seven

Slept in this morning until 10:30, this rocking and swaying of the boat is really relaxing to me and I have slept like a baby all week.  Had room service breakfast again (yes I did this everyday except one, and yes I can be anti-social in the morning.)  Still no outside contact but not willing to pay $1 per minute to use the boat's computer...

Got up and dressed and the weather was too cool for pool time so just went exploring the ship.  Did some shopping again, met some people for lunch, went to the casino and threw some money away and then headed back to my room for some napping.  Got all my bags packed, I am SO ready to get off this damn ship.  I have really had a great time but it is past time to go home.  I miss my baby and actually missing C1 and C2.  Need to get home soon!

I finished packing up and I am taking my time getting ready for dinner.  Decided to sit on my balcony and catch the sunset, something I haven't taken the time to do yet.  It is breathtaking:

Though my camera did not do it justice!

Got ready for our final dinner and I'm just not feeling the desire to be social tonight.  Did manage to take my camera and catch a few shots:

 

This is actually my little brother and his wife, one of my bestest friends, who happens to be our travel agent.  It was nice to spend time with them among the craziness of all the agents!

 

Here's a shot of me, does it appear to you that I am TRYING to act like I am having a good time?  I'm not sure my fake smile was working here...

But, this one, this is a genuine smile!  Although I can see the fatigue on my face.

If you have ever been on a cruise you know that every night you get some 'animal' made out of towels.  Every morning all my fellow passengers would share the elaborate animal they received and I would share that my towel animal was either unrecognizable or something really stupid. 

For example on the night we left Grand Cayman, I got what I assume was a Sting Ray - a towel folded into a square and a wash cloth twisted in what appeared to be a 'tail' - totally LAME.  It became a big joke that my attendant must not like me for some reason.  So on the final evening when I saw my animal and wasn't even sure it was an 'animal' I decided to take a picture to share.  Myself, I think it looks like a creature in bondage - but you tell me, what the HELL is this?

 

Heading HOME in the morning!

Cruising day six

Still no Internet and still no contact with the outside world.  THIS is making me insane!  Don't have a clue what my peeps are up to or what's happening in the outside world.  Got a wakeup call about 9:45 am reminding me that we were having a shuffle board contest at 10:00 am and I was already supposed to be there to hand out prizes - CRAP!  Forgot for a minute that I was really working on this trip...

Jumped out of the bed praying the water was back on and luck would have it, it was!  PTL!  After a 30 second shower jumped into my swimsuit and threw on a coverup and hat and dashed to my designated place.  Never having played shuffle board, found myself bored silly and praying they would just hurry up!  After two hours a winner was declared and we all headed to the pool for some R&R and Piña Colada's.  And yes, Tricia, those statues were male and anatomically correct - too fun!

Had a lazy day around the pool then headed into my massage (Yes, that would be TWO massages in one week) praying this one was better than the first.  Turned out to be okay.

By the time it was finished I had to rush to my room to get ready for the Awards Dinner and second formal night.  Did I take a picture with my beautiful dress?  Uh, nope.  Don't ask me why, maybe because I was too busy working.  I think maybe someone else got a shot of it, will keep my fingers crossed because even though it was out of my comfort zone, it looked really cute.  (If I say so myself.)

After dinner we headed to the dance club again but I just wasn't feeling it.  I think I was danced out.  Headed to my room and was sound asleep by 11:00, party pooper!

Cruising Day Five

We arrived in Jamaica around 9:00 am and headed off on our day trip to Negril Beach.  Not sure if any of you have ever been to Jamaica, but I have to tell you it was NASTY and extremely depressing.  I thought I had seen some harsh poverty in the many times that I have visited different areas of Mexico, but this place topped them all.  There was nothing pretty about this place, nothing.

We hired a private bus and tour guide to take us to Negril which was about an hour and half drive, the sights were so depressing.  We were traveling to Margaritaville in Negril and before we arrived we were given strict instructions on NOT walking anywhere alone, NOT leaving the fenced in area of the beach and NOT purchasing anything from ANYONE without our guide next to our side.  Talk about stress!  We were all too petrified to have a good time.

We did manage to get a big kick out of one of the  ladies in our group when she smelled a 'skunk.'  Uh, hello, that would be some Mary Jane fumes my dear!  Too funny!  Never would have crossed this old hippy chick that not everyone had smelled that before!

The lunch at Margaritaville was the WORST meal I had by far and I actually spit the first bite of my burger into my napkin and decided I would wait to eat until we got back on the boat.  Definitely thinking that was NOT beef... The tour guide never let any of us out of her sight.

After lunch we went to the local shopping area where we were again given STRICT instructions not to leave the tour guide's side AT ALL.  Of course we didn't listen and all veered off into other shops and she was freaking out.  All in all, not a very good time.  Had camera with me but managed not to take a single pic - too stressed.

Once back on board had a short catnap until it was time to dress for dinner.  The dress chosen for the evening definitely needed the Spanx but after stuffing my face, yet again, I had to actually go change into another dress so I could let it all hang out, my fat that is.  Somehow managed to not get a picture of either one! Ugh!

Went dancing again, and had the BEST time ever.  Much more of this and I will definitely need double hip replacement!  After dancing until 2:00 am and sweating like a stuck pig, made it back to my room to discover that we had no water OR air and would not have any until around 6:00 am.  EEEWWWW!  Had to try to sleep without showering or taking makeup off, with just the breeze from the ocean to cool off, NASTY!  The good news, no stopping anywhere the following morning so I could sleep as late as I wanted to!

Cruising Day four

Still no Internet access which is starting to piss me off.  Very strange having no contact with the outside world.  Getting off the boat in Grand Cayman was awe striking, one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen.  Definitely somewhere I would go back to.

Today's excursion to see the Sting Ray's was probably the coolest thing I've ever seen, too bad I didn't have the nerve to actually get in the water and play like most of the others.  Call me a wussy but had no desire to swim with sea creatures.  Did manage to take some pictures though from my perch on the boat:

The trip out to this site was about a half hour but our small group had a pretty good time.  After swimming with the Sting Rays our captain took for a cruise along the Great Barrier Reef.  Very scary that you could stand in the water on one side and the drop off on the other side was more than 600 feet!  Beautiful!

Once back from our little excursion we had lunch at the Hard Rock Cafe before heading off for shopping and then back to the ship for a little nap time before another evening out.

After dinner we went to the Magic Show which was probably the BEST magic show I have ever seen.  The Cruise Director started the show teaching us all some new dance moves like 'The Lawnmower", "The Seat Belt" and the "Airplane Exit" - we could not wait to get to the dance club and try out all of our new moves.  And THAT we did!

Kat gets her groove on again...

Made it to bed at an early 1:00 am since we had an early excursion to Negril Beach in Jamaica the following morning.

Cruising Day Three

Day Three

I awoke to discover that we had arrived in Cozumel and after another wonderful morning of drinking my pot of java on the balcony and enjoying the view, I managed to get myself ready for our group excursion.

I readily admit that I was dreading this day because our entire group of 40 was going together.  However I was pleasantly surprised that we had a good time.

We went on an Eco Tour of the island in a caravan of Jeeps and not only was it beautiful but very relaxing.  We had a few stops along the way to a private beach where the majority of the group was to snorkel.  Along the way, we saw this:

And these:

Real Live Crocodiles!  It was actually mating season and we had quite an interesting show and learned some interesting things.  It was a beautiful area, quite breathtaking actually, managed to actually use the camera for a few shots:

After laying around on the beach for a few hours we headed back to the ship

  where I was looking forward to my scheduled massage.  After my marathon sleeping session on Day Two I had developed a little crick in my neck and couldn't wait to have it rubbed out.  That is what I get for wishful thinking.  Very disappointed in the massage and even after telling her that my 'troubled spot' was my neck, I don't think she touched it once... UGH!

Had to rush back to my room to get ready for dinner and wasn't quite feeling the love on my outfit, however after a few Cosmo's, I really didn't care:

And after several more Cosmo's got my wild thing on:

Maybe a little too much...

We had a private poker party set up after dinner and to our wonderful surprise, there was a Top 40 dance club right next to our private room.  All the men on the trip sat down to an evening of poker playing while the women decided to get our groove on!  And I did!  And we continued grooving until the wee hour of 2:30 am. After shutting one club down at 1:00 am we headed to another and closed it down.  Yep, Stella got her groove back!

I don't think I have danced that much in many, many years and by the end of the evening (morning, whatever) my body was definitely telling me.  By the time I got to my room and the unknown number of Cosmo's had worn off, not only did my feet hurt but my knees were screaming and my hips were wailing and let's just say a total hip/knee replacement could be in this old lady's future...  BUT, it was a damn good time!

So I am up this early morning of Day Four enjoying my coffee on the balcony typing this and hoping for Internet access today and trying to convince myself to walk my aching body over to the shower to prepare for today's adventure - swimming with stingrays.  And if you believe that I will actually get in the ocean and do that, I have some ocean front property in Arizona to give you...

Cruising Day Two

I will have to admit that Day Two was a perfect day although I am a little disgruntled that the internet access I was promised is a little sketchy...

I feel sorry for all my other fellow cruisers that aren't exactly taking to the cruising on the high seas as well as I am.  Many people seem to be walking around with green shadows on their face but not me, the motion and rocking of the boat are extremely relaxing.

Woke up around 7:00 when my extra large pot of coffee was delivered, had a big cup of java on the balcony watching the vast array of nothing.  The rocking motion made me sleepy so I went back to bed and took a nap until 11:00.  Heaven.

Was forced to get up and go shopping on the promenade  deck finding several great deals, had lunch and was back in my room at 1:00 for an afternoon nap.  Heaven.

Got up around 5:30 to prepare for the first formal evening and got my diva on:

 

Looking hot, yeah?  After dinner we went to the 'Disco' which turned out to be more of a hip-hop/rap kind of joint but we managed to make it until midnight before heading to bed and another blissful night of being rocked to sleep.

Carried my camera around whenever I was out but failed to use it much so sorry but no pics of the color coded singles!

Im' Baaaccckkkk....

Give me a little bit to get my land legs back and I shall share my little adventure. Suffice to say - no internet connection after Day One - but I survived. PS - Fortunately so did all those travelling with me...

cruising day one

So here we go...  Today was an extremely long day and I suffered from excruciating pain from the cute shoes that I was wearing.  But have no fear, no pain, no glory - I toughed it out.  It was a little rough since the temp at home was 30 degrees when I left this morning, but for the sacrifice of fashion, I endured.  Not a really great pic of leaving the dock, but the outfit was THE BOMB:

 

Can't believe they didn't get the shoes!  ARGH! But here they are in all their glory...

 

We boarded the ship way too early and practically froze to death waiting for our 'Muster Lesson.'  Well it could have also been the frozen Piña Colada's that kept it so cold...  Nonetheless we forged on and by the time we went to our 'drill' we were in fine form.  For some strange reason those around us were taking it a whole lot more serious than our group...

Yes we posed for pictures instead of listening to what we were supposed to do in case of an emergency, but honestly I don't really care WHERE I am supposed to be if something happens, it will be to each it's own and my happy ass will be on a dinghy whether I have to push people out of the way or not, just sayin....

Come to find out our cruise is a singles cruise and there is an extremely LARGE group of Singles at Sea and they have the T-shirts to prove it.  Apparently there is also some sort of color coded clothing that indicates whether you are 'single and looking', 'in a relationship' or 'a swinger' - This should be good...  However if I have one more short dude stare directly at my chest for an extended amount of time, it could get ugly...

Didn't get a picture of my cute evening outfit with the really cute shoes that I showed you previously.  I thought about re-enacting it for the good of the blog, but after dancing in those suckers until 1:00 am, I don't think they will be gracing my feet anytime in the near future.

I plan on carrying my camera around more tomorrow, some pretty interesting sites around here that I'd love to share - stay tuned...

Bon Voyage...

Well not exactly, but on Sunday I will be sailing away on the Seven Days in Hell cruise ship and will be way too busy tomorrow to say Bon Voyage...

Busy you say? Well yes, busy because as each day passes I come up with another list of things that I MUST have in order to make the Seven Days in Hell cruise at least tolerable. I think I have gone to one store or another every day this week. Actually probably twice a day, so WHY are there still things missing? Ugh!

But before I sail away and before I make a few more trips to the store, I must celebrate VD with Hubby. No, we are not celebrating having VD, nor do we have VD, we will be celebrating Valentine's Day, geez people!

So how do you think Kat and Hubby will celebrate? Do you think there will be wine and roses? Chocolate and champagne? Whispering sweet nothings to each other?

OH HELL NO, we are going to the AUTO-RAMA-THINGY in friggin DALLAS! GAWD! Of all the things I could ask for or all the things that I could dream of, that is not exactly on the top of the list, but what is a woman in love to do? Suffer, that's what she does, suffer. All in the name of love...

After that exhausting (I mean exciting) adventure I will probably have to come home and put myself in a drug induced coma! Then on Sunday I will have to get up before the ass crack of dawn so that I can make it to the airport by 7:30 to catch my flight. And just where do you think this flight takes off from? Friggin DALLAS! WTF? Is this some kind of karma screw up?

Nevertheless, wishing all of you a Happy Valentine's Day with loads of love where ever you can find it. Hope to post highlights (yeah right) of my trip so you can all share in my Seven Days in Hell trip with me! Keep your fingers crossed that my wireless card works or I may throw myself overboard...

The Unthinkable

In case you haven't figured it out yet, I am a home grown Fort Worth, Texan. True blue, born and bred, full blooded gal from Foat Wuth... Ya'll should also know that I am very proud of this fact. I do have a horrific southern drawl (but only if I want to or don't think before I speak) and it doesn't take anyone long to figure out where I'm from. Yep, the voice gives it away and everyone knows where I hatched from.

One thing you might not know about us Foat Wuthers, we don't do Dallas. Going to Dallas is a like a road trip, you have to pack your bags and drive across the river. There's traffic and too many people and they aren't laid back like we are over on this side of the river. I mean it takes like 30 minutes to an HOUR to get over there - geesh!

I do have some relatives from Dallas, they are kind of uppity (and I secretly love them, don't tell anyone around here though). My little sister moved to one of those Dallas suburbs up north and I refuse to visit her even though she has those two babies that I just adore. And at least once a year Hubby talks me into to going to some event over there and I begrudgingly accompany him.

I am currently in a quandary however because C2 has done the UNTHINKABLE. He is moving to Dallas. Not just Dallas, but downtown Dallas. In the heart of the entire city! My heart is broken, I am devastated, I may have to take to my bed. Actually I am so distraught I can't even talk about it any more...

The Longest Day in History

I woke up.

The Day drug on and on and on and on and on and on.

The clock ticked slower and slower and slower.

Until finally I could take no more of the longest, most boring day in history of the world.

The End.

And Then There Was... The Flu

Well the big dinner and meeting of THE GIRL didn't happen tonight, it appears she is down with the flu. That's okay I put a good foot forward and sent medicine and soup over with C1, nothing like a little good intention. Hubby said he thought it smelled more of intimidation...

Worked out okay for me, I used the day for a lazy, do nothing, take a long nap day instead of stressing out and getting my Diva on. So now we will have to wait and see if there is a next time...

The Girl

C1 has been dating THE GIRL for several months now and yet I have not met her. He's talked about her and I know he's met her parents. He has even introduced her to one of my nieces and she has given her approval, but still five months later, no introduction to the parents.

I actually understand this seeing as he has brought home A GIRL just two times before and within the week of my meeting them, the relationship was over. Coincidence? Surely it wasn't me...

Believe it or not, as much as I love my boys, I've never been comfortable with the female companion thing. It's not that I think that no girl is good enough for my son, it really isn't. It's more of my own discomfort with the whole thing and how I'm supposed to act. I let my hair down once, you may recall the She-Devil, and not only did that whole disaster break C2's heart, it broke mine.

I've known THE GIRL'S first name since the beginning but have only recently learned her last name. Blunder on C1's part in forwarding an email of pictures to me. Thankfully, after the detective searching of my good (and obviously more computer savvy) friends, there were no google hits or anything bad found. Well except that pouty picture thing on Facebook...

I've seen her picture, I think she's cute. She's a brunette and not a blonde, which is good since we know how I feel about blonde girlfriends (think She-Devil again). I have even teased C1 about contacting her myself for a little one-on-one meeting, but I didn't really mean it. I've wondered about her a little bit but haven't dwelled on it and even though some people think it should hurt my feelings that he hasn't brought her around, it really doesn't. I've really been okay with not meeting her and quite honestly I haven't even said her real name out loud, I refer to her as THE GIRL. Kind of like the PORN STAR, still don't recall what her actual name was?

So where am I actually going with all of this? Well... C1 called today and has requested the honor of Hubby and I's presence this Saturday evening at a dinner date with him and THE GIRL. GAWWWWDDDDD!

Shouldn't it be HER with a stomach all in knots, dreading the 'interview' and long, silent pauses? WHY is it ME? GAWWWWWDDDD....