As the title of this post suggests, I completely failed my first day of the Insanity Challenge. Steve got up at 4:45 in the morning, like a good doobie, and did his very first ever Insanity work out. I couldn't get myself up at any time of the morning, afternoon, or evening to do my umpteenth Insanity work out. I concluded that I needed more motivation than just an obscure prize that's nine weeks away. Nine weeks. That's more than two months. I can't be motivated by something that's going to happen that far in the future! I need immediate motivation! I'm a here and now kind of gal! I asked Steve if he would try being my work out partner, and wait until he got home from work to do his work out. He was reluctant, because he is tired when he gets home from work. I pointed out to him that he was most likely tired when he got up at 4:45 in the morning, but he still did it. He loves me, loves me, loves me, so he acquiesced. Today I will do my first work out while he does his second. On the bright side, my extreme laziness has given him the leg up, and therefore extra motivation to out do me. At the rate my attitude toward Insanity, and weight loss in general, is going, he won't have to put forth much effort at all to out do me. *sigh* But he does love me, love me, love me, so he is going to help me today. I don't know about tomorrow, but today he will help.
My mental attitude toward weight loss is not surprising. My mental attitude is the same as countless others who have previously tried, in vain, to loose weight. If you read any weight loss books, or go through any weight loss program, they all begin with the same words.
"The reason you failed before is that you didn't make a lifestyle change. Our program is a lifestyle, and therefore guarantees success! Just change a few parameters of your existing lifestyle, and you will be thin and healthy in no time!"
Even though you already know what these parameters of your existing lifestyle are that you must change, I'm going to list them here the way they would be listed in any weight loss book, or program if they were being completely honest.
1. Do not eat or drink anything that gives you joy or pleasure. If you derive joy or pleasure out of something you've put in your mouth, for the love of Fred, SPIT IT OUT!!! Keep in mind that the word "palatable" is a word only fat people value. Food is fuel, and fuel is not tasty, it's a tool. You must fuel your body with joyless food and beverage at least six times a day. Eating this many times a day won't at all hinder you from getting any work done. You need to learn to multi task anyway.
2. Embrace hunger! Hunger is your friend! Yes, I know you are eating constantly, but if you ever fill up on any of those "fueling sessions" then you're doing it wrong.
3. Exercise until you vomit, and do it every day. It doesn't matter what you do, or how long you do it, as long as the end result is puke. Do you need to join a gym? That's completely up to you. Can you drive yourself hard enough to vomit on your own, or do you need a fitness nazi to help drive you that hard? The choice is yours. Can't fit this into your schedule? Change your schedule to work around your fitness. Your boss won't mind a bit. In fact, he/she will admire your tenacity.
4. Sleep at least 8-10 hours within a 24 hour period. Preferably all at once. If you need to go to bed before the kids do, and get up after they are already at school in order to get in all 8-10 hours, go ahead. Your family, and job, will understand.
5. Drink water until you are urinating every 15 minutes. Once you have achieved this urinary goal, keep drinking water so that you can keep up the urinary pace. Your co-workers won't mind your constant trips to the bathroom one bit.
See? Easy weight loss plan! Go ahead, make this your lifestyle. Your family, friends, and job will love you for your efforts!
And I wonder why I'm still fat!
Tuesday, October 30, 2012
Monday, October 29, 2012
New Insanity Challenge
The first title of this post was, "What Have We Done???" but I decided to be more positive this cold Monday morning. As the current title suggests, I am starting Insanity back up. This time, I am not alone in my efforts. Steve and I have decided to do Insanity together. Together but separately, actually. We have made it a competition. We will be competing to see who can loose more inches, more bulk, more clothing sizes. We will do this by percentage, of course, since we are nowhere near the same size to begin with.
As you may, or may not, have noticed, I didn't do very well with Insanity last summer. The program is six days a week, for nine weeks straight. I never made it to six days a week. The closest I ever came was five days the first week. After that, it was four, if I was really good, but mostly just two and three days here and there for a few weeks before I quit altogether. Results? Not really.
It's not that the program is overly difficult, it's more that it's not fun. It's not Krav Maga, which is the most fun I've ever had with a physical activity. Not being fun, mixed with 45 - 60 minutes a session, six days a week for nine weeks is a formula for failure, right out of the box. Unless, of course, you have something, or someone to keep you accountable for your work out sessions. That's what Steve and I are hoping to do/be for each other with our competition. We've never had a competition for anything before. This should be interesting. I'm not going to tell you about the prize for the winner. It's personal. I will say this about it; if it doesn't motivate us, there is NOTHING in the world that will!
We have two huge obstacles in our way during the program. Week four happens to be the week of Thanksgiving, and week nine, the last week of the program, is the week of Christmas. Can we do it?? Can we work through Thanksgiving week and Christmas week?? I guess we will find out!
Today is day one, week one. Steve got up at 4:45 this morning and did his work out before he went to work. I stayed cozy and warm in bed. Now it's my turn. As soon as Gabriel leaves for school, in about 25 minutes, I'll get my work out on. I will banish all thoughts of going back to bed, since Nathan isn't up yet, and concentrate on the prize at the end. Here I go...
As you may, or may not, have noticed, I didn't do very well with Insanity last summer. The program is six days a week, for nine weeks straight. I never made it to six days a week. The closest I ever came was five days the first week. After that, it was four, if I was really good, but mostly just two and three days here and there for a few weeks before I quit altogether. Results? Not really.
It's not that the program is overly difficult, it's more that it's not fun. It's not Krav Maga, which is the most fun I've ever had with a physical activity. Not being fun, mixed with 45 - 60 minutes a session, six days a week for nine weeks is a formula for failure, right out of the box. Unless, of course, you have something, or someone to keep you accountable for your work out sessions. That's what Steve and I are hoping to do/be for each other with our competition. We've never had a competition for anything before. This should be interesting. I'm not going to tell you about the prize for the winner. It's personal. I will say this about it; if it doesn't motivate us, there is NOTHING in the world that will!
We have two huge obstacles in our way during the program. Week four happens to be the week of Thanksgiving, and week nine, the last week of the program, is the week of Christmas. Can we do it?? Can we work through Thanksgiving week and Christmas week?? I guess we will find out!
Today is day one, week one. Steve got up at 4:45 this morning and did his work out before he went to work. I stayed cozy and warm in bed. Now it's my turn. As soon as Gabriel leaves for school, in about 25 minutes, I'll get my work out on. I will banish all thoughts of going back to bed, since Nathan isn't up yet, and concentrate on the prize at the end. Here I go...
Tuesday, October 23, 2012
Double Digit Diva
It's hard to believe it, but this baby turned 10 years old this month. I really don't know how it happened, but it did. I sure don't remember authorizing that!
Plaster Palace is a craft shop that has shelves and shelves of plain figures made out of plaster. You can pick whatever figure you want, and sit down at a table and paint it however you want to paint it. They provide everything you need, including smocks. Once you are finished painting, you have the option of having glitter put on your piece, then the ladies at Plaster Palace spray your piece with a sealant. Since it's plaster, and not ceramic, you can take your piece home with you that day. Annalise and her friends love creating things, so they really loved that they could pick out something and paint it. When you have a birthday party at Plaster Palace, you get to eat pizza and cake after you are finished painting your piece. The birthday child also gets to put their hand print on the wall in the party room. It's a pretty sweet deal! No fuss or clean up or anything for the parents of the birthday child!
Pictures from both parties are at www.flickr.com/photos/animagusthree/
So now I've got two children in double digits, and one who refuses to get out of diapers. I just can't believe my first two babies are so grown up. On the other hand, I don't think Nathan will ever grow up at all!!!
Friday, October 19, 2012
First Experience With Marching Band
This year, Gabriel is in 8th grade. He was in band last year, and is in band again this year. He plays the bassoon. He was the only bassoon in the whole band last year. This year, there is another bassoon in beginning band. Anyway, this year the LAJH 8th grade band was invited to play with two different high school bands during their schools football game. Last Friday, they played with the Clay High School marching band. Next Friday, they will play with the Middleburg High School marching band. I hope to god that Middleburg has a better band than Clay does! Clay High School has the worst marching band I've ever seen in my life! Their band director is pathetic!! I can't even go into everything that was wrong with this band, and the experience the 8th graders had with them. I will say this, though, Gabriel will NOT be going to Clay High next year. Like I said before, I hope the Middleburg High experience is better.
Here are some pictures from the Clay High marching experience.
Here are some pictures from the Clay High marching experience.
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| Here they come! |
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| This is the only time you will ever see a bassoon in a marching band. Well, except for next week, when he will be with a different marching band. |
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| Yes, this marching band took off their jackets and played half dressed until half time. |
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| They got dressed again for half time. |
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| I LOVE this picture! |
New Floors, Second Installment
In my last post, I told you that we had new flooring put in most of the house. I also said that the floors were JUST put in, and that the pictures reflected that. Here are some pictures of the floors after we've lived with them a few weeks, and cleaned them a few times. I also want to mention that we LOVE this tile!!! Its wonderful! It's easy to clean, and it looks spectacular, and it's so much quieter than the laminate was. It's fantastic!! If you live in the south, because having tile all through your house in the north is just plain freezing, I highly recommend tile throughout the entire house! As soon as it's financially possible, all the kids' rooms and their bathroom will be tiled. (Our bathroom already has tile.)
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| Imaging this room painted in Valspar's Blue Haze. Pretty, eh? |
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| My dream is to repaint our bedroom the blue and gray that is in the bedspread. |
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| The two remaining rooms with carpet, Gabriel and Annalise's rooms. Their bathroom, to the left, is one of two rooms left that have laminate. Nathan's room is the other room with laminate. |
Sunday, September 30, 2012
Things Going On, and On, and On
From the middle of August, to the middle of October is a very busy and exciting time of the year at our house. The beginning of a new school year, and all the activities and social interactions that come with that. Nathan's birthday, in mid September. Finally, Annalise's birthday, at the beginning of October. Planning birthday parties, even small ones, three weeks apart, makes a mom busy.
This year, we added some other events to our busy time of the year. First, after being over seas all summer, Steve came home the day after school started, in the middle of August. Very exciting!! In September, Steve and I went on an incredible cruise vacation to celebrate our 15th Anniversary. Nathan's third birthday was the day after we got home from our cruise. Two weeks after that, We had new floors put in the house. One week after that, we will celebrate Annalise's 10th birthday! Double digits for my baby girl! I can't even believe it!
Right now, we are at the "new floors" stage of this busy and exciting time of the year. This stage started last week. We had to pack up everything in our bedroom, and on the floors of our closets. We also had to pack up everything in the office area, living room area, and dining room. For the kitchen, we just had to get things off the floors in the pantries, and take things off the stove, and top of the refrigerator. The floor guys moved the big furniture, we just had to have everything off it.
We were scheduled to stay with our friends around the corner, in an in-law apartment they had built on to the back of their house when her mother came to live with them several years ago. Her mother has since married, and has left their apartment fully furnished. it was a perfect place for our family to camp out while our floors were being torn up and re-laid.
Steve and I picked out this beautiful porcelain tile, that looks like hardwood planks. I was excited that he liked the tile enough to want it not only in the living room/kitchen/dining room/office area, but also in our bedroom. I really dislike carpet, and didn't want to replace old carpet with new carpet. Until he saw the tile that looked like hardwood planks, he was dead set against having tile in the bedroom.
The man at the flooring store told us that we would have to be out of our house from Thursday, until Tuesday. He said that the floor guys would spend all day Thursday ripping out the old floor, then spend Friday and Saturday laying the tile, and Monday and Tuesday grouting. We weren't happy about that, but were very grateful that our friends were willing to let us stay in their in-law apartment that long. I finished up the packing on Wednesday night, and put Nathan to bed at his usual time. I had planned on getting the five of us packed up for our five day "vacation" away from home after I got Nathan in bed. A little while after I put Nathan to bed, he started crying. The kind of crying that says, "I'm not messing around because I don't want to go to bed, there is something VERY wrong here!" I rushed to his room, thinking he'd gotten out of bed, and gotten hurt somehow. I WISH he had gotten hurt! In reality, he had thrown up all over this bed, and was still throwing up when I got in there. Long, disgusting story short, he threw up until a little after 1am. I did load after load after load of vomited on laundry in those hours, while everyone else slept. At a quarter to eight Thursday morning, the floor guys showed up. As prepared as I thought I was going to be, I was completely unprepared!!! Annalise was just about ready to walk out the door to school. Nathan was still laying on the couch, with a trash can at his side. I had gotten dressed, but was still trying to scarf down my breakfast. Gabriel was in the shower. Those guys came in, and got right to work. Right in the middle of me trying to clean up a sick bed, and a child who was still not well. Right in the middle of me trying to finish my breakfast. Right in the middle of Gabriel trying to get ready for school. Chaos and disarray!!! I don't handle that kind of pressure well. I started freaking out. I started just grabbing things I could think of that I knew we needed, but my brain was stuck. I couldn't think! (and in case you are wondering, I got NOTHING packed up for the five of us after Nathan went to bed, or after he started throwing up.) By the time the last of us left the house, presumably for the next five days, what we had was woefully inadequate. I managed to grab a package of diapers, and a package of wipes. I also managed to grab a change of clothes for Nathan, and a shoe. Yes, just one shoe. I couldn't find the other one, and the floor guys were moving furniture into his room, so I couldn't look for the other one. Other than that, we all had the clothes on our backs, and the phones in our pockets, and the kids and Steve had backpacks. I had my purse, of course. That's it. Nothing else. No shower stuff. No hair brushes. No tooth brushes. No medicines. No contacts (for Steve). No jammies. No other clothes. No food.
As I was getting into my car, the head floor guy, a guy named C.W., came to talk to me. He said that they would rip out the old flooring that morning. He said it shouldn't take more than an hour. He said that they would lay most, if not all of the tile that day. He said they would finish laying the rest of the tile (if there was any left to lay) on Friday, and then start grouting. He said that the grouting would be finished on Saturday at the latest. He said that the worst case scenario, if things go wrong, and bad things happen, the last of the grouting will be done on Monday. Ok, that's a heck of a lot better time table than the man at the store gave us! I was excited about that! Then C.W. said, "You aren't coming back here today, are you? Because you can't walk on anything we lay today. You can't walk on it for 24 hours, so you wont be able to come back into the house until tomorrow morning at the earliest." My addled brain held this information so it could examine it at its leisure once it found a place that was not riddled with chaos. So I nodded, and left. Nathan and I got to the in-law apartment and I started to take inventory of the situation. No other way to say it. I had totally dropped the ball! Man was I going to be in trouble when everyone found out that they had to wear the same clothes to sleep in, and go to school/work in the next day. Plus, Steve was going to have to go to work blind, because he not only didn't have contacts for the next day, but he also didn't have his glasses! And I don't even want to get into what I was thinking about with my medications being missed a day.
Suffice it to say, we walked on newly laid tile that night. We crept into the house, and walked carefully on the tiles and gathered up everything we needed. All was well. I'd spent all day stressing about it, and about Nathan being ill, and about Val being stuck in the back yard...
One thing we noticed when we stole into the house Thursday night, was that C.W. was right. They laid all but 7-8 tiles that day! Woo Hoo!!!! On Friday, they grouted, and put the 1/4 round in. By dinner time on Friday, they were moving the furniture back!! Yesterday morning, we moved back into our house, with new floors!! The grout still has to cure completely, so the tiles still have that dusty, dirty look. Tomorrow I will be able to properly mop and clean up the tiles. After I do that, I'll put all the rugs and stuff back down.
Nathan was very ill on Friday, and I was worried we would have to take him to the hospital. He had gotten very dehydrated, (he had only peed one time in 24 hours), and was running a fever. I couldn't get him to drink anything either. Luckily, once Steve got home from work, he was able to get Nathan to drink some pedialyte, and then gatorade. By yesterday, Nathan was very much better. Today, he's back to normal. Tomorrow he will be happy to help me clean the floors, I'm sure!
I estimate having everything unpacked and put away by Wednesday. After that, we just have Leesie's birthday, which is a week from Tuesday. Steve has missed her last two birthdays, and he's going to miss this one too. He has been scheduled for continuing education. He asked if he could go at a later date, told his boss that he will miss his daughter's 10th birthday, and his boss just doesn't care. He wants Steve to go now. Fine. I spit in his general direction! Poor Leesie. This will be her third birthday without daddy. At least this time he'll be back the following week, instead of the following month, like the last couple of years. We will have something little here at the house, with just her brothers, and me, on her actual birthday. The weekend after daddy gets home, we will have her big party. We only do big birthday parties on the 5's. That's what you get when you have a mom with social anxiety! She will be able to invite friends from school, and we are going to have it at a place called Plaster Palace. She and her friends will be able to pick a plaster craft, and paint it however they want, then have pizza, drinks, and cake. Gabriel had his 10th birthday party at the bowling ally by our house in GA. They both thought that was the best party in the whole world! They got to bowl, play video games in the arcade, and eat pizza and cake. Up until I pointed Plaster Palace out to her a few months ago, she's been sure she wanted the same kind of bowling party for her 10th birthday party. Plaster Palace wowed her away from the bowling party! It should be fun for a gaggle of girls to paint plaster crafts. I'll be sure to bring the camera.
I am including a few pictures of the floors, the way they looked when we walked in yesterday morning. They still look like this now, but will look better after tomorrow. I'll probably have to mop them a few times to get all the grout dust and stuff off. That should be fun for just the first few minutes!
This year, we added some other events to our busy time of the year. First, after being over seas all summer, Steve came home the day after school started, in the middle of August. Very exciting!! In September, Steve and I went on an incredible cruise vacation to celebrate our 15th Anniversary. Nathan's third birthday was the day after we got home from our cruise. Two weeks after that, We had new floors put in the house. One week after that, we will celebrate Annalise's 10th birthday! Double digits for my baby girl! I can't even believe it!
Right now, we are at the "new floors" stage of this busy and exciting time of the year. This stage started last week. We had to pack up everything in our bedroom, and on the floors of our closets. We also had to pack up everything in the office area, living room area, and dining room. For the kitchen, we just had to get things off the floors in the pantries, and take things off the stove, and top of the refrigerator. The floor guys moved the big furniture, we just had to have everything off it.
We were scheduled to stay with our friends around the corner, in an in-law apartment they had built on to the back of their house when her mother came to live with them several years ago. Her mother has since married, and has left their apartment fully furnished. it was a perfect place for our family to camp out while our floors were being torn up and re-laid.
Steve and I picked out this beautiful porcelain tile, that looks like hardwood planks. I was excited that he liked the tile enough to want it not only in the living room/kitchen/dining room/office area, but also in our bedroom. I really dislike carpet, and didn't want to replace old carpet with new carpet. Until he saw the tile that looked like hardwood planks, he was dead set against having tile in the bedroom.
The man at the flooring store told us that we would have to be out of our house from Thursday, until Tuesday. He said that the floor guys would spend all day Thursday ripping out the old floor, then spend Friday and Saturday laying the tile, and Monday and Tuesday grouting. We weren't happy about that, but were very grateful that our friends were willing to let us stay in their in-law apartment that long. I finished up the packing on Wednesday night, and put Nathan to bed at his usual time. I had planned on getting the five of us packed up for our five day "vacation" away from home after I got Nathan in bed. A little while after I put Nathan to bed, he started crying. The kind of crying that says, "I'm not messing around because I don't want to go to bed, there is something VERY wrong here!" I rushed to his room, thinking he'd gotten out of bed, and gotten hurt somehow. I WISH he had gotten hurt! In reality, he had thrown up all over this bed, and was still throwing up when I got in there. Long, disgusting story short, he threw up until a little after 1am. I did load after load after load of vomited on laundry in those hours, while everyone else slept. At a quarter to eight Thursday morning, the floor guys showed up. As prepared as I thought I was going to be, I was completely unprepared!!! Annalise was just about ready to walk out the door to school. Nathan was still laying on the couch, with a trash can at his side. I had gotten dressed, but was still trying to scarf down my breakfast. Gabriel was in the shower. Those guys came in, and got right to work. Right in the middle of me trying to clean up a sick bed, and a child who was still not well. Right in the middle of me trying to finish my breakfast. Right in the middle of Gabriel trying to get ready for school. Chaos and disarray!!! I don't handle that kind of pressure well. I started freaking out. I started just grabbing things I could think of that I knew we needed, but my brain was stuck. I couldn't think! (and in case you are wondering, I got NOTHING packed up for the five of us after Nathan went to bed, or after he started throwing up.) By the time the last of us left the house, presumably for the next five days, what we had was woefully inadequate. I managed to grab a package of diapers, and a package of wipes. I also managed to grab a change of clothes for Nathan, and a shoe. Yes, just one shoe. I couldn't find the other one, and the floor guys were moving furniture into his room, so I couldn't look for the other one. Other than that, we all had the clothes on our backs, and the phones in our pockets, and the kids and Steve had backpacks. I had my purse, of course. That's it. Nothing else. No shower stuff. No hair brushes. No tooth brushes. No medicines. No contacts (for Steve). No jammies. No other clothes. No food.
As I was getting into my car, the head floor guy, a guy named C.W., came to talk to me. He said that they would rip out the old flooring that morning. He said it shouldn't take more than an hour. He said that they would lay most, if not all of the tile that day. He said they would finish laying the rest of the tile (if there was any left to lay) on Friday, and then start grouting. He said that the grouting would be finished on Saturday at the latest. He said that the worst case scenario, if things go wrong, and bad things happen, the last of the grouting will be done on Monday. Ok, that's a heck of a lot better time table than the man at the store gave us! I was excited about that! Then C.W. said, "You aren't coming back here today, are you? Because you can't walk on anything we lay today. You can't walk on it for 24 hours, so you wont be able to come back into the house until tomorrow morning at the earliest." My addled brain held this information so it could examine it at its leisure once it found a place that was not riddled with chaos. So I nodded, and left. Nathan and I got to the in-law apartment and I started to take inventory of the situation. No other way to say it. I had totally dropped the ball! Man was I going to be in trouble when everyone found out that they had to wear the same clothes to sleep in, and go to school/work in the next day. Plus, Steve was going to have to go to work blind, because he not only didn't have contacts for the next day, but he also didn't have his glasses! And I don't even want to get into what I was thinking about with my medications being missed a day.
Suffice it to say, we walked on newly laid tile that night. We crept into the house, and walked carefully on the tiles and gathered up everything we needed. All was well. I'd spent all day stressing about it, and about Nathan being ill, and about Val being stuck in the back yard...
One thing we noticed when we stole into the house Thursday night, was that C.W. was right. They laid all but 7-8 tiles that day! Woo Hoo!!!! On Friday, they grouted, and put the 1/4 round in. By dinner time on Friday, they were moving the furniture back!! Yesterday morning, we moved back into our house, with new floors!! The grout still has to cure completely, so the tiles still have that dusty, dirty look. Tomorrow I will be able to properly mop and clean up the tiles. After I do that, I'll put all the rugs and stuff back down.
Nathan was very ill on Friday, and I was worried we would have to take him to the hospital. He had gotten very dehydrated, (he had only peed one time in 24 hours), and was running a fever. I couldn't get him to drink anything either. Luckily, once Steve got home from work, he was able to get Nathan to drink some pedialyte, and then gatorade. By yesterday, Nathan was very much better. Today, he's back to normal. Tomorrow he will be happy to help me clean the floors, I'm sure!
I estimate having everything unpacked and put away by Wednesday. After that, we just have Leesie's birthday, which is a week from Tuesday. Steve has missed her last two birthdays, and he's going to miss this one too. He has been scheduled for continuing education. He asked if he could go at a later date, told his boss that he will miss his daughter's 10th birthday, and his boss just doesn't care. He wants Steve to go now. Fine. I spit in his general direction! Poor Leesie. This will be her third birthday without daddy. At least this time he'll be back the following week, instead of the following month, like the last couple of years. We will have something little here at the house, with just her brothers, and me, on her actual birthday. The weekend after daddy gets home, we will have her big party. We only do big birthday parties on the 5's. That's what you get when you have a mom with social anxiety! She will be able to invite friends from school, and we are going to have it at a place called Plaster Palace. She and her friends will be able to pick a plaster craft, and paint it however they want, then have pizza, drinks, and cake. Gabriel had his 10th birthday party at the bowling ally by our house in GA. They both thought that was the best party in the whole world! They got to bowl, play video games in the arcade, and eat pizza and cake. Up until I pointed Plaster Palace out to her a few months ago, she's been sure she wanted the same kind of bowling party for her 10th birthday party. Plaster Palace wowed her away from the bowling party! It should be fun for a gaggle of girls to paint plaster crafts. I'll be sure to bring the camera.
I am including a few pictures of the floors, the way they looked when we walked in yesterday morning. They still look like this now, but will look better after tomorrow. I'll probably have to mop them a few times to get all the grout dust and stuff off. That should be fun for just the first few minutes!
Friday, September 21, 2012
The Cruise Edition
Cruise Line: Royal Caribbean International
Ship: Oasis of the Seas
Sail Date: September 8, 2012
Return Date: September 15, 2012
Ports: Ft. Lauderdale, Nassau, St. Thomas USVI, St. Maarten
Statistics for Oasis of the Seas:
225,282 gross tons
1,187 feet long
208 feet wide
213 feet high, from the water line
30 foot draft
6,296 guest capacity
2,165 crew members, from over 71 countries
8,461 people aboard a full ship
2,706 staterooms
24 dining options
24 elevators
21 pools and hot tubs
16 guest decks
7 neighborhoods
3 theaters
2 rock climbing walls
2 flow riders
1 zip line
1 carousel
1 casino
Uncountable bars, nightclubs, activities, parades, shows, classes, and things you can't even guess.
Two things you need to know about me, if you don't already, are that I have social anxiety, (bordering on agoraphobia.), and I have an unbelievable fear of deep, dark water. I know what you're saying. Why in the world would we choose to go on vacation on the worlds biggest cruise ship, over deep, dark water, and with over 8,000 people??? You're partially right. It was a pretty stupid idea. I spent the week in varying degrees of fear, and nervousness. Beyond that, (and in my 39 years of dealing with excessive fear and nervousness I have become pretty good at looking beyond it to experience other things), it was a BRILLIANT idea to go on a cruise! The problem I had was that it took me three days to calm down enough to really start enjoying everything. Therefore, it would have been nice to have an extra three days on the ship! We missed quite a bit of what that ship had to offer, because we didn't start paying attention to what it had to offer right from the beginning. That had less to do with my phobias, and more to do with us being novices with this type of thing. For example, we were unaware of all of the classes, seminars, games, sports, parades, and other activities always going on in various parts of the ship until the last couple of days! I now understand why they have people on board to book your next cruise even before you're finished with your first one! I also understand why people choose to extend their cruise an extra week, instead of disembarking with the rest of us at the end! If we had had the freedom and funds to do that, we would have.
We saw the most fantastic shows that week! The first night we were on board, we saw comedians Al Romas, and John Campanaro on stage at Comedy Live, in the Entertainment Place neighborhood. That was a great way to end the first day on the ship. Laughing our heads off! When we left that show, my cheeks hurt from smiling and laughing so much!
We saw the ice show, Frozen in Time, the next evening. We were awed by the skaters and by the sets and costumes! We left that show feeling like we were little kids again! So much excitement!
The following day, we were at sea all day, so we saw two shows. In the afternoon, we saw Hairspray in the Opal Theater. Steve doesn't like Hairspray. He's seen it on stage, and on screen, and he just doesn't like it. He wasn't looking forward to seeing it on the ship. Well guess what?? He LOVED it!! He had such a good time at that show! It was fabulous!!! And again, the sets and costumes were amazing as well as the acting, singing, and dancing! That evening, we headed to the aqua theater to watch Oasis of Dreams. The diving, dancing, acrobatics, and synchronized swimming in that show were phenomenal!!! (And of course, so were the costumes!)
On our fifth day, we saw Scott Record in the Headliner Showtime. I'd never heard of Scott Record before that day. I'll tell you what, that man is EXTREMELY talented!! Another incredible show! You know a show is good when it ends, and you are sad that it's over! All of these shows were like that! We didn't want them to end! They were so good!
Our sixth night was our formal night. I spent all afternoon in the spa, getting gorgeous, and Steve put on his tux, and we had a three course meal in the main dining room. Then we walked around the Royal Promenade, and Central Park, and got our picture professionally taken in several locations. We rode the Rising Tide bar up and down a couple of times, while sipping on drinks. Then we saw our final show, Come Fly With Me. It had acrobatics, dancing, trapeze artists, flying, and singing. The singing was done by the same performers that were in Hairspray, the ones we loved so much. They just didn't nail this show like they nailed Hairspray. Come Fly With Me would have been so much better if it had just been the acrobats and trapeze artists! They were incredible!!
The Rising Tide bar was the only bar we went to all week. We never went to any of the night clubs on board either. Next time, we will check those places out. We feel like we were busy, busy, busy the entire time we were on board, and we didn't even do half the stuff the ship has to offer! It wouldn't be over doing it to say that you really need two full weeks on this ship in order to experience everything on it!
Below is the link to the pictures on Flickr. I didn't talk about the shore excursions, because the pictures talk about them better than I can. Click on the link, and choose the sets at the right hand side, instead of looking at the pictures in the photostream, or slideshow. To get from one set to the other, click on my name, next to my little face, in the upper right of the screen. That will take you back to the photostream, and you can then choose the next set to look at.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/animagusthree/
Even if you have hang ups about boats, or water, sea sickness, or whatever, I would encourage you to take a cruise, if you have the opportunity. There is just so much to do and experience that you don't get with any other type of vacation. Steve and I will definitely do it again, the first chance we have! Yes, it was that good!!
Ship: Oasis of the Seas
Sail Date: September 8, 2012
Return Date: September 15, 2012
Ports: Ft. Lauderdale, Nassau, St. Thomas USVI, St. Maarten
Statistics for Oasis of the Seas:
225,282 gross tons
1,187 feet long
208 feet wide
213 feet high, from the water line
30 foot draft
6,296 guest capacity
2,165 crew members, from over 71 countries
8,461 people aboard a full ship
2,706 staterooms
24 dining options
24 elevators
21 pools and hot tubs
16 guest decks
7 neighborhoods
3 theaters
2 rock climbing walls
2 flow riders
1 zip line
1 carousel
1 casino
Uncountable bars, nightclubs, activities, parades, shows, classes, and things you can't even guess.
Two things you need to know about me, if you don't already, are that I have social anxiety, (bordering on agoraphobia.), and I have an unbelievable fear of deep, dark water. I know what you're saying. Why in the world would we choose to go on vacation on the worlds biggest cruise ship, over deep, dark water, and with over 8,000 people??? You're partially right. It was a pretty stupid idea. I spent the week in varying degrees of fear, and nervousness. Beyond that, (and in my 39 years of dealing with excessive fear and nervousness I have become pretty good at looking beyond it to experience other things), it was a BRILLIANT idea to go on a cruise! The problem I had was that it took me three days to calm down enough to really start enjoying everything. Therefore, it would have been nice to have an extra three days on the ship! We missed quite a bit of what that ship had to offer, because we didn't start paying attention to what it had to offer right from the beginning. That had less to do with my phobias, and more to do with us being novices with this type of thing. For example, we were unaware of all of the classes, seminars, games, sports, parades, and other activities always going on in various parts of the ship until the last couple of days! I now understand why they have people on board to book your next cruise even before you're finished with your first one! I also understand why people choose to extend their cruise an extra week, instead of disembarking with the rest of us at the end! If we had had the freedom and funds to do that, we would have.
We saw the most fantastic shows that week! The first night we were on board, we saw comedians Al Romas, and John Campanaro on stage at Comedy Live, in the Entertainment Place neighborhood. That was a great way to end the first day on the ship. Laughing our heads off! When we left that show, my cheeks hurt from smiling and laughing so much!
We saw the ice show, Frozen in Time, the next evening. We were awed by the skaters and by the sets and costumes! We left that show feeling like we were little kids again! So much excitement!
The following day, we were at sea all day, so we saw two shows. In the afternoon, we saw Hairspray in the Opal Theater. Steve doesn't like Hairspray. He's seen it on stage, and on screen, and he just doesn't like it. He wasn't looking forward to seeing it on the ship. Well guess what?? He LOVED it!! He had such a good time at that show! It was fabulous!!! And again, the sets and costumes were amazing as well as the acting, singing, and dancing! That evening, we headed to the aqua theater to watch Oasis of Dreams. The diving, dancing, acrobatics, and synchronized swimming in that show were phenomenal!!! (And of course, so were the costumes!)
On our fifth day, we saw Scott Record in the Headliner Showtime. I'd never heard of Scott Record before that day. I'll tell you what, that man is EXTREMELY talented!! Another incredible show! You know a show is good when it ends, and you are sad that it's over! All of these shows were like that! We didn't want them to end! They were so good!
Our sixth night was our formal night. I spent all afternoon in the spa, getting gorgeous, and Steve put on his tux, and we had a three course meal in the main dining room. Then we walked around the Royal Promenade, and Central Park, and got our picture professionally taken in several locations. We rode the Rising Tide bar up and down a couple of times, while sipping on drinks. Then we saw our final show, Come Fly With Me. It had acrobatics, dancing, trapeze artists, flying, and singing. The singing was done by the same performers that were in Hairspray, the ones we loved so much. They just didn't nail this show like they nailed Hairspray. Come Fly With Me would have been so much better if it had just been the acrobats and trapeze artists! They were incredible!!
The Rising Tide bar was the only bar we went to all week. We never went to any of the night clubs on board either. Next time, we will check those places out. We feel like we were busy, busy, busy the entire time we were on board, and we didn't even do half the stuff the ship has to offer! It wouldn't be over doing it to say that you really need two full weeks on this ship in order to experience everything on it!
Below is the link to the pictures on Flickr. I didn't talk about the shore excursions, because the pictures talk about them better than I can. Click on the link, and choose the sets at the right hand side, instead of looking at the pictures in the photostream, or slideshow. To get from one set to the other, click on my name, next to my little face, in the upper right of the screen. That will take you back to the photostream, and you can then choose the next set to look at.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/animagusthree/
Even if you have hang ups about boats, or water, sea sickness, or whatever, I would encourage you to take a cruise, if you have the opportunity. There is just so much to do and experience that you don't get with any other type of vacation. Steve and I will definitely do it again, the first chance we have! Yes, it was that good!!
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