Vegas Baby...Maybe

I have a story to tell about a "free vacation" and maybe the gullible girl that is falling for it. Great hook right?!

Several weeks ago, I got this letter from a prize verification center that was addressed to my dad but with my address. The letter said that I'd (well he'd) been chosen to win a fabulous free vacation plus another of four great prizes. The letter didn't say what I had to do to claim these wonderful prizes. So, I read it and then promptly tore it up. I tossed it away, chalking it up to one of those hoaxy things.

Well, maybe two weeks later I received another letter. Again it was addressed to my dad (a big red flag...he wouldn't have signed up for something using my address) and I read it again. This time I thought a few minutes before tearing it up and promptly forgetting about it. Just days ago guess what came...yes...another letter. Now, I have to say that my curiosity was well and fully peaked. I laid it to the side with all the intentions of calling and finding out what exactly I'd won. Then I got busy.

When the postcard came yesterday, I made it a point to call. Heaven bless the guy that answered my call! I had many questions and was loaded with skepticism. Supposedly, all I have to do is give two hours of my time and listen to some spiel to buy into this vacation resort timeshare and an all-expense paid trip to Las Vegas is mine. For those of you out there afraid that I'm walking into some trap where I'm going to lose all my money...fear not! I'm very good at saying NO!

I did put two and two together and realized that I'd have to probably pay taxes on the trip, but still that might be cheaper than if I'd actually planned the trip to Vegas. Also, I specifically asked for the website address and the name of the company (I Better Business Bureau-ed them!) so I could investigate on my own. Well, I can't access the website. That was sort of a red flag so I searched for this company and scams. Several things came up, but mostly the disgruntled were people who'd actually bought into the timeshare program. There were a few people that said they just went for the free trips and were satisfied.

I want to be in that group...the free (well...relatively free) trip winners who are satisfied group. We shall see. I'm supposed to go and tour this resort next weekend. I'm also taking my cousin with me...she can say NO! too! I'll keep everyone updated on whether I'm actually going to Vegas or not. I know you're waiting with bated breath...

Travel Buds

Quick birthday update: The actual day was great! Both my aunts sent presents too, so over all I raked in the goods. I got three complete sets of outfits (which can be interchanged so it's even more outfits actually), a great ring with different stones I can put in, a new hairdryer, Halloween scrapbooking kit, the scrapbook journaler's handbook, and a neat zipper pull that my mom made. Plus, I had a really great visiting with my parents. Thanks for all the birthday wishes everyone!

Now, about this travel buds business. As you probably know, or should be able to guess if you've been reading long, I love to travel. This year I broadened my horizons by getting a passport and going to Mexico on a cruise. Those horizons will expand even more next year when I travel to Jordan. One of my really good friends is going to Jordan for a year-long missionary trip and has invited me to come and visit. I'm already excited!

But, I've got a little problem in the meantime. What about all those mini vacation trips I want to take around the USA? I was thinking today that I'd love to visit Niagara Falls, Yellowstone, take a bed and breakfast tour of New England, go to Alaska. Can I go alone on a vacation?

I mean, I don't have to ask permission to take a trip, but I've never been totally alone on a trip before. I have to admit that the idea appeals to me. I'm a planner and usually want to do the touristy things the first time I visit a place. My last few fellow vacationers have been more fly-by-the-seat-of-her-pants type of travelers. I'm sure I made them nutty more than once! Plus, if I'm traveling alone, I'm not restricted by anyone else's budget or schedule.

Of course, being alone means I'm...well alone. What if I get lost (a distinct possibility given my map reading skills)? Who will take the pictures of me with all those sights?

The travel bug has me itching to plan a trip somewhere and to do something. But who to ask? Maybe I should take applications...up for travel? Apply below in the comments! Seriously, if you travel alone tell me about it. If you only travel with a bud tell me about that.

I'm ready to pack my bags and go....somewhere!

I'm On Vaca...

Do you think there is such a thing as too much of a good thing? I'm beginning to wonder if perhaps I've hit my vacation quota! Don't misunderstand, I've thoroughly enjoyed all my trips and adventures this summer, but I'm glad to be home. And I think I'll stay put for awhile!

This trip to the beach was great on so many levels. First, I loved getting to head out to the beach again! I've really enjoyed all the sand and surf time this summer. I guess there is just something refreshing and humbling about being next to something so vast. I even enjoyed the sand between my toes (though not so much all the other places sand tends to get...ick) and just laying out and being a beach babe. Second, it was great to connect with people you work with on a level that isn't just a professional one. In case I didn't mention this before, I went on this trip with six other teachers from school. I'll admit to being a little nervous about how we'd all interact, but it was great. We're teachers so we did talk a little bit about school stuff, but mostly we got to know each other on personal levels. That was amazing! Thirdly, I knew that this was my last hurrah before school started so I wanted to make the most of the days. And I did! I felt like I was able to relax and soak up the last bit of summer.

Before long it'll be time to get back into the groove of all things school, so right now it feels great to justify everything because "I'm on vaca!" (I think this is a line from Legally Blonde where the lead character's ditzy friends want to go on vaca (vay-kay) to Harvard to visit her.) Anyway, all week long we explained away everything with "I'm on vaca!".

For example:

"You slept until 10:00am!"
"So, I'm on vaca!"

"I don't usually go without make-up or doing my hair."
"Oh who cares...you're on vaca!"

"I shouldn't be eating this yummy chocolate cake at 2am in the morning."
"But what the hell! I'm on vaca!"

Every time we turned around someone was saying "I'm on vaca!" in that house! We were and we enjoyed every minute of it too. Like I said, it was great, but I am ready for some normalcy too. Starting next week, it's back to being in my classroom all day (organizing and decorating) and then comes the welcome back in-service things. And I'm okay with that because believe it or not I crave a routine.

But, I know that the memories and relaxed feel of summer are going to stick around for a while! And I'm happy about that!

Vacation...One More Time

Well, I'm off...again. Several teachers from school are heading to the beach to enjoy the last few days of summer. I'm excited and I know I'll have time, but I kind of think I'm crazy for going off again so soon after having been gone.

We all agreed to pack light as we weren't planning on making this an activity jam packed vacation. Swimsuits, shorts, tanks, and toiletries should be all we'd need right? Well, this morning as I looked at my suitcase and all the stuff I needed to put in it I was getting nervous. There wasn't anyway way I could take two suitcases! So, after some slight readjusting I got it all in there. What is it with me...I can't pack light!?

Anyway, I've got it packed and it's time to head off. Y'all take care! I'll be back soon and I promise my life won't always be this exciting...lol. Oh, and my cousin, Amanda has volunteered to be a guest blogger and add her two cents to the cruise vacation!

Progreso and Cozumel

I took over 100 pictures, but I was only allowed to put ten in the slide show. I think this is a pretty good collection from the trip! The slide show goes pretty fast so read quickly!

As I've said, the cruise vacation was wonderful! I went with my cousin and we both had a really great time. Trust me, I could go on and on reliving every detail of the trip, but I'd get finger cramps and you'd get bored! So, I'm just going to hit the highlights.

Nightly Shows: Each night we were on board, there was some type of show. I really enjoyed the ones with the singers and dancers. The Blue Sapphire was always cold and after watching one show I knew why...to keep the dancers cooled off! The energy level never dropped from the time the show started to the time it stopped. And we went to the late show several times so it was the second go around for them. Also, there were four comedians. The first guy, Greg Ray, was the funniest. They had a family style show and then at midnight they did an R rated adult show. Most of the guys were vulgar for the sake of being vulgar (something I'm NOT a fan of) but Mr. Ray was extremely funny throughout.

Breakfast: As you've probably heard half the fun of a cruise is the food. And there was food...all the time and everywhere! My favorite though was breakfast. We at up on the Lido deck every morning. I had the same thing the whole time (eggs, hash brown potatoes, bacon, crossant, chocolate milk, and orange juice) and it was so yummy! We were what you'd call the late risers so I was very glad that breakfast was served until noon!

Dinner: You didn't think one little paragraph was enough about the food did you?! Dinner was my other favorite meal of the day. This time it wasn't so much for the food (though that was wonderful!) but because of the people we sat with at dinner. The whole dinner attire was a little misleading. When I called Carnival to ask about how dressy dinner was, they said that it was dressy every night. We took two "dressy" outfits. So the first night we skipped dinner in the dining room and just made do with hot dogs by the pool. The next night was the formal night and we ate in the dining room. That is where we discovered that dinner in the dining room is resort casual...meaning jean capris and a t-shirt was perfectly fine for dinner the rest of the time. Also, we sat with a very nice group of ladies. Out of our table of ten six of us were teachers so we had plenty in common! Everyone was so nice and friendly so dinner was a pleasure each night. And the food was wonderful too! I thought I'd get brave and try some fish but I never did. One of the ladies at our table said, "How can you be on the sea and not eat fish?" Easy...enjoy all the beef! I think every meal was beef of some kind. I did step out of the box a few times though. I had chilled avacado soup and a spicy pumpkin soup. Several times I wondered if they made a plain jane menu so I could know what I was eating, but all in all it was wonderful!

Progreso, Mexico: This was our first port of call. The pier was so long that we had to take a bus onto the mainland! When we booked, I didn't realize that Progreso is the home of one of the seven wonders of the world or we'd done an excursian there. What we did do was wander around a little market square and then headed to the beach. The beach was crowded but it was nice. My cousin was ingrossed in Harry Potter so I was the only one to get in the ocean. It was an ocean...big and salty! I splashed around for awhile and then got a tattoo! It was a henna tattoo, but I like the shock value of saying I got a tattoo. I wasn't supposed to get it wet for 40 minutes so I laid out on the beach. This was the start of one awful burn. Progreso was a fun stop!

Cozumel, Mexico: The water in Cozumel is beautiful! It was so clear that you could stand in it and see your own feet. Plus it had a nice sandy bottom. We went on a dune buggy exploration of the island. It was a stick shift so there wasn't any way I was going to drive! We were in groups of two so for the first part of the tour the other guy drove and then on the way back, Amanda drove. She did pretty good considering there wasn't power steering! We also stopped at a private beach for lunch (which was real Mexican food in Mexico and was out of this world!) and swimming. The ocean was pretty rough that day, but it was beautiful to watch those foamy waves crash into the rocks! I felt pretty small next to those huge waves and that was perfectly alright.

Snorkling: I had never been snorkling before and I wasn't sure how much I'd enjoy it. I like to breathe...a lot! After sitting through the instruction course we trotted over to the ocean. The guide told us there was fire coral on either side of where you enter the water. Great...I wasn't steady anyway stepping on the rocks so I looked pretty funny gingerly getting in the water. One lady didn't pay attention and got a pretty nasty welt on her butt when she brushed up against the coral. Snorkling is a workout! I finally got my legs and arms all moving in the right direction. I had some trouble keeping my goggles from fogging up but after several rounds of spitting in them they cleared up. Snorkling was fun but I was a little disappointed that we didn't see more fish. There were two schools of fish but that was about it. Still...I'd snorkle again. I have some pictures but they are being developed from the underwater camera so it might take me a while to get them posted. That is if they are any good...it was kind of like aim at what you think is fish, point, and click!

There's so much more to tell, but I might be here all day! This is just a sampling of all the fun things we did on this cruise. I would highly recommend cruising! I'll definitely go again. Maybe next time to Alaska...

A Tad On The Crispy Side

So, how do you like your world (and yes if you get to use a passport you can officially say world!) traveler? Crispy and just a tad tired?! Oh, good! Then you won't be disappointed.

The cruise was great and I had a wonderful time. Of course there are so many details and pictures to share but not tonight. Believe it or not, laying out on the deck, splashing in the waves, and eating yourself silly is quite tiring. :) Oh and the slightly charred back, arms, shoulders, thighs doesn't help either. Much more on that topic coming up.

Anyway, I just wanted to touch base and settle any one's mind who feared I'd drink and fall overboard (you so know who you are...) that I didn't do much of the former and didn't do any sort of the latter. Safely back at home now. And thanks for all the well wishes in the previous post's comments. It was indeed a great vacation. Just give me a few days to get back in the groove and I'll share until you'll wish I'd stop!

These Toes Are Ready...

for the beach! As a matter of fact, all of me is ready for the beach, the sun, the surf, a few days of freedom to relax and just enjoy myself. Yesterday afternoon I went and had my feet pampered with a deluxe pedicure. These toes of mine are ready.

Now if only my suitcase was ready! I've really put off getting ready for the trip. Don't get me wrong I'm excited about going on the cruise, but where I'm normally packed up and checking my list twice I haven't even made a list this time. My mom says it's because I've become an experienced traveler. I'm not so sure. I think I'm just ready for the fun part. Unfortunately my suitcases won't pack themselves! So, I know what I'm going to be doing today.

Y'all take care and enjoy yourselves this week. I know I'm going to!

I'm A Little Altered

It's that time of the year. Ladies, you know what I mean...time to get a new swimsuit. Did anyone else just get the shivers? I don't know about you, but I tend to wear out my swimsuits each summer. I hardly ever get to wear them two seasons in a row. Anyway, since I was going to be near the sun and surf so much this summer I decided I might need a couple of new ones. And there in lies the problem.

Finding the swimsuits isn't the problem. It's getting them to fit my body the right way that provides the frustration. This year I have a black with pink flowers tankini, a black and white one piece, and a turquoise with white straps one piece. They are really cute...well except for the turquoise one which is more functional than cute.

I've been blessed...well how else to word it...with a pear shaped body. My hips and bottom are bigger than the top of me. So while these swimsuits fit well on the bottom (staying put and being flattering) the tops are rather large. That or I'm rather small up there. My mom usually has to wag out sewing machine and pull and pin me up so I don't end up on some Girls Gone Wild video.

Well, this year was no different. The black and white swimsuit (which has turned out to be my absolute favorite!) has some gathers around the bust which makes me look fuller on top. I'm all about that! After shortening the straps and tacking the V neck together a little more it fits perfectly. She also criss-crossed the straps on the black and pink flowered tankini in the back. I think I have a pretty back so I like the extra little detail back there. Again, it was all in an effort to keep those girls from falling out. Ever wish you could rearrange parts of your body? I'd definitely move some stuff north!

As for the turquoise one...well it was fixed but by the end I think both of us were frustrated with it. But, my mom seems to be a miracle worker with the sewing machine because it now fits right in the bust and the straps keep it up where it should be. As my mom said, "It won't ever be your favorite, but it does work."

So, I'm ready for these next few summer vacations. I've got my beach towels, the Hawaiian Tropic dark tanning lotion, and three swimsuits that cover me up and look pretty good on me. So, speaking as someone who has to work for the perfect swimsuit I wish all you the best of luck when it comes to finding the perfect suit.

Look out ocean...here I come!

I Need To See Your Passport Please

Just let me start this post by saying there are about a hundred other things I should be doing at the moment...namely packing. See, I'm leaving tomorrow (because I'm leaving for the summer and blah blah blah...) and I haven't packed a single thing. I have made a list (you know because I think lists are almost divine) of things to pack but as of right now not a single thing is in a suitcase. As a matter of fact the suitcase is still in the closet. Do you think there are support groups for people like me? Hello, my name is Steffany and I'm a procrastinator.

And speaking of procrastinating, I've been planning the upcoming cruise since November. You'd think someone who liked to make lists and make sure everything was planned down to the last minute would have had her passport in her hands months ago. And...you'd be wrong. I've been meaning to, but I haven't. I've checked with the cruise line and while it's not required that I have one it wouldn't hurt either. So I'm getting one. And paying for my procrastination to the tune of $60 to rush it...whatever rush means to the US Government.

Yesterday I went to get my passport picture taken. I'm going to stop right here and just say that a passport picture is like all other pictures needed for documents...they suck. It's not a horrible picture mind you, but I'd never want to willingly show it off. Anyway, not thinking about the dimensions of said picture yesterday I wore a super cute black off the shoulder top. I walked into Walgreens and asked to have a passport picture made. The lady told me where to stand and said okay on three. She said three and I smiled. Since it was only going to take five minutes or so I decided to wander around the store. I found myself in the greeting card aisle (surprise surprise) and up comes the lady with a goofy grin on her face. She told me that she'd like me to see the picture because it looked like I was naked. Yes, she said "It looks like you're naked!" very loudly in a semi crowded Walgreens. We walk back to the photo lab (the whole time with her repeating how funny it is because I look naked) to the screen where I'm 2" x 2" and yes I look very...unclothed in the picture. She's still going on about how I looked naked (still very loudly) and I quickly asked her if we could re-take the picture.

She took me back over to the background and we tried it again. I literally had to hold the sleeves up on my shoulders and when she said three let them go and smile. It's amazing that my hands actually weren't in the picture and I did have a smile...well one of those fake ones. This time I hung around the lab counter so if I still looked naked she couldn't yell it as far. Thankfully, this one came out much more...decent. So now I have the required pictures minus a little bit of my dignity.

The moral of this story...when you book a trip out of the country in November get your passport pictures taken in November. You'll most likely be wearing long sleeves and you'll dodge the "you're naked" bullet in a crowded store. See...I might not have my clothes packed, but I've just performed a huge public service!

Summer Vacation!

I'm reading this



because I'm going here



in 57 days!


I am so excited. Seriously excited!