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All Things EARTH... part 2


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Wow, I have so much catching up to do! I've been reading along, but haven't had a chance to post. I really prefer to be on my desktop. I need a full sized keyboard!!

 

First, the concert that I went to. I think my attire worked very nice. There were no dresses or suits in the audience, but a lot of what I will call smart/business casual for the guys and nicer sweater and pants outfits for the ladies. There was a part of me that wanted to kick it up a notch, but not by much. And I fit right in so I was fine. I got a really nice picture of downtown, and it seemed perfect that there was a light snow falling. It wasn't sticking much at that point, so it was mostly about creating a winter holiday atmosphere.

 

I chose the ivory scarf with the gold in it rather than the darker scarf. I wore a longer necklace, but not the one shown. I really liked the idea of layering. The darker scarf is kind of silky and may have been what I was desired when I said kicking it up a notch, but here's the thing...because of the fabric, it doesn't hold it's positioning too well and it's an infinity scarf. So it wasn't going to stay where I wanted it. I'm glad I made the choices I did. I also wore my riding boots rather than booties, as they have a nice look to them. (maybe describing them as riding boots make them seem super casual?)

 

Saturday, we go to see Star Wars and that will be jeans and sweater. But I did get a new pair of dark finish boot cut jeans that I want to wear with booties if the weather allows, and I want the sweater to be a nice sweater. Not dress, just nice. I don't know why, but I just feel like a little effort with the outfits makes the event feel more special?

 

Melody, I love the table runner you picked up. That is beautiful. It is really nice to have something special that you pick up on vacation. I have these paintings I get in Nassau. There is a guy that sits on street and paints on scraps of wood. Every time I look at them, I remember my vacations and they just hold a special place in my heart.

 

Margaret, I'm loving your pictodiary! I totally would have wanted one of those bowls, but then I would have been worried how to get it home safely. I need to find things more like that, or the paintings from Nassau when I'm vacationing.

 

Swimming with sharks sounds so daring and exciting. I often get stuck between trying to capture a memory with a photo, but also by being in the moment. What I do now is try to get a few pictures, and then just enjoy it. You know what was fantastic about swimming with the stingrays? They took pictures. Not just a quick photo for $50.00 with a paper frame....but a larger number of pictures, and then they burned them to a CD for you. We had a good 20-25 pictures, and I loved that they did that work for us. To this day, that is one of the best excursions I have ever taken.

 

Your outfits look great! One nice thing about sweaters is that they are often in neutral colors, so you don't have to bring a ton of different ones with you - you can re-wear them. I know what you're thinking...she re-wears a sweater?!? Why yes, I do.

 

Anita, your outfit was fantastic. As others have stated, it is you. I just love how it all goes together to make a statement. I would totally wear the necklace myself.

 

Melody, do you have more pictures for us? I need to think warm. It's 16 here and we got some snow yesterday. It was a very scary drive to work. My normally 10-15 minute drive took 35.

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Here’s a couple of pictures I thought I’d posted but didn’t see on review

 

This is CosAbao Beach in Curaçao bddfbcbe50dc3d588f9b57bc105f1cd2.jpgd28a7467a6b96fde86407d00d97c008c.jpg5c3b590f3ddff376ee24baa1fca3665e.jpg15ffa14f985f83d4d3760d278737399d.jpg last was the flamingoes

 

Here’s the locks at the moving suspension bridge in Curaçao bb376c54b6325e8bfe49d2acccb856a9.jpg Melody

 

 

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It’s a 45 minute cab ride from the port (each way) & cost $120 (round trip). We split it down to $20 per person round trip. It cost $1 to get in & $3 for chairs (but no one ever came to collect that). There were only 6 of us there for 2 hours then another group came. Absolutely stunning & great snorkeling from the beach. Melody

 

 

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Our next stop after whale sharking was Loreto. Once again we had an early morning because we were meeting our guide for a desert hike at 8am. Coming in to port, the moon was still up:

 

15Loreto.jpg

 

Loreto is very small, so we tendered in:

 

16Loreto.jpg

 

We drove an hour through the Sierra La Giganta mountains to a desert road, where we started our 2 hour hike. I'm standing at the edge of the "dry river bed" that our guide said was ok for sneakers, but you can see it is very rocky. The tree on the right is a Palo Blanco, white stick, which is what Mark's nickname was for the rest of the cruise since he is so pale. :)

 

17Loreto.jpg

 

The cave paintings were really interesting, and surprisingly vibrant after so many years:

 

18Loreto.jpg

 

There were rocks everywhere as well with pictographs on them:

 

19Loreto.jpg

 

Our 2 hour hike back to the van was getting gradually hotter, so I was glad I had a hat with a brim. Believe it or not, neither of us got a sunburn. I'm wearing one of my Lucky Brand tshirts and a skort, with my water sneakers. I wish I had worn hiking boots. Both of us had sore feet after. We saw lots of different birds along the way, and he found some scorpions for us.

 

Between the hard swimming the day before, and four hours of hiking, we were wiped out and took a two hour nap back on the ship. Thankfully, the next day was a sea day on the way to Puerto Vallarta.

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Beautiful girls. :) Hope you have fun!

 

Last night we went to see The Last Jedi with friends at the fancy theater with bistro tables and comfy seats. It was really fun.

 

Here is my last picture from our cruise. There were two sea days at the end, and the first one was our second formal night. Mark and I did try to color coordinate a bit. He shaved his mustache for snorkeling, and it is always weird for me to see him that way:

 

21AtSea.jpg

 

I have several issues with this dress, the first is that I'm not in love with it as it was a desperation purchase. The colors aren't the best for me, and it needed alteration to fit. The worst though is that it is not well made, so I'm very glad I got it on sale. At full price it is poor construction compared to other brands. It snags on everything and I've had to cut off lots of loose threads, so I know it won't last for more than another wearing or two. My goal is to be too thin for it the next time I need a cocktail dress. :)

 

On the whole, I'm happy with what I packed and the amount I packed in terms of function and appropriateness. I am disappointed that I've gotten away from my best colors as I gained weight and had to buy "just for now" clothes. My hope is to behave during the holidays food-wise, and get back on my exercise regimen in the new year. I did plan for two Zumba classes during our Florida xmas trip, and we'll do a lot of walking at Disney, so I hope to stay on track. We usually walk a few miles on the beach every day, too, so that will help.

 

On the whole we are SO happy with our cruise: with Princess, with our cabin, with the itinerary, with the food. I find the entertainment varies widely between old fuddy duddy and very good (excellent comedian, terrible impressionist act, for example). The Voice of the Ocean was an especially nice surprise, as several of the passengers were truly excellent singers. We had a bit of a to-do the first two days regarding our missing AmEx OBC, which took several emails to our travel agent and visits to Passenger Services to iron out. However, for our difficulties Princess comped us a dinner in the steakhouse, so that was a nice unexpected perk.

 

This weekend we did all our laundry and I have started pre-packing for Florida. Basically I'm taking a lot of the cruise things again, but swapping out tank tops for long sleeves, and leaving the dressy clothes home.

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Laurie, you & your girls look wonderful...enjoy the ballet

 

Margaret, even tho it’s not your best color you both look great.

 

Here’s my ceramic gingerbread house, one of my favorite decorations 38f9340e710200866e217f49a230007e.jpg

 

 

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Here's a fashion detail from our cruise. Just so you know how compulsive I am, here is the chart I made to make sure I had packed what I needed.

 

Clothes_Chart01.jpg

 

And here is how it actually worked out. I ended up not taking the maxi dress since I didn't have time to alter the bust. Since our first night dinner plan was changed, I adjusted a bit on the fly. Days 4, 7, and 8 were the warmest, and days 1, 2, and 10 were on the cool side. Some tops that I wore for dinner reappeared later as day wear, especially for MDR lunch. We ended up not trying the Sanctuary, since our balcony was so pleasant and our balcony neighbors were practically non-existent.

 

Clothes_Chart02.jpg

 

I like to have a plan because I don't want to spend time on cruise days dithering about what to wear.

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Impressive Margaret. I took too many swimsuits & rashguards this trip (5 swimsuits & 3 rashguards). They dried better than I expected. So I wore 3 swimsuits & 2 rashguards. In fact I threw in a cobalt blue one piece at the last minute & a pair of white swim shorts & I wore that 4 Days! I’m glad I took 2 dress coverups, wore them pretty much continually to/from beaches. I wore every piece of actual clothing I brought except one light boucle jacket & 2 tank tops & one pair of black slacks. Still love my skorts, wore the black & khaki ones 3 times each (they washed in the sink & dried quickly). Melody

 

 

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I finally have a few minutes to type a few things.

 

Once again, I am with you on the spreadsheet, Margaret. For me personally, I think it just frees up my mind to enjoy my cruise or vacation. By planning out my clothes ahead, not only do I feel I'm ready to enjoy myself, but I feel like I am wearing the best choices from my wardrobe for what I have planned. It's easier, and gives me so much confidence.

 

Plus, it is almost a hobby of mine to do a spreadsheet and all that planning. I find it enjoyable and it helps me get excited for my cruise.

 

On a very different note, I am so saddened by the tour bus crash that has taken the life of some cruisers, and injured a number of others. I am not certain, but this sounds very much like the exact tour I just booked. I had it planned around Thanksgiving time but I didn't place the order and the sale was over. I left everything in my cart until this past weekend when they were having another sale. I was proud of myself for saving $50.00. Now I am thinking how trivial all that is when people have died.

 

I will wait until more information is received before deciding what to do, but my husband is likely to request that I cancel it. I am not sure how I feel about it at the moment.

 

The Nutcracker was beautiful, as always. The Moscow Ballet is really incredible to see. I can hear the music quite well as the venue has good acoustics and the size and volume is just right. Also, as you know, The Nutcracker does not involve dialogue, so it is very easy for me to follow. We had the best time. I am truly blessed. You can tell from our pre-ballet pictures I posted that we love to do things like this.

 

That dress was so nice to wear. It's a bit looser than when I purchased it. Yay! I wanted to put a shaper/smoother on under it, but my daughters told me I didn't need it, and...I just didn't feel like it. I thought it looked okay without it.

 

I desperately need a haircut though, lol. I haven't had it cut since August, and it grows like a weed. I may try wearing it a little longer and straighter, but it needs a good trim and shaping. I prefer to round it a bit towards the face. It seems to lay better that way.

 

Sally, that beach looked divine. It made me want to be on vacation right now!

 

Margaret, that is a really great picture of you and your husband. From the photo, your dress looks really nice. I have a similarly styled dress, and with mine, the lace overlay being different in color than the lining can sometimes photograph funny. Yours seemed to do very well.

 

Would a chocolate lace dress with a really warm beigey lining be wonderful to find?? I think it would photograph well too.

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Laurie, when I took that photo I was thinking about our most recent discussion on posing for photos (just after or before your last cruise, maybe??) and the tips that Anita had posted.

 

So, the photographers always want us to turn towards each other, right? I did but then I twisted my upper body away a bit, then tucked my shoulder blades back so my arm would be out to the side, thus avoiding the dreaded flat arm. It can feel a bit like you're sticking your chest out, but it's actually the natural place for your shoulders. If, like me, you are developing bad posture from sitting at a desk too much, it can feel a bit odd, but it's much better for you to learn to tuck your scapulae in and just let your shoulders drop. I've been working on that a lot lately after having so much paperwork to do this summer that my back was bothering me.

 

He started to launch into the whole gamut of poses: holding hands, looking at the ring... and he was shocked when we said, no, we're ok, that's good, we're done! Someone in the line said "well they look like they've done that more than once" and everybody chuckled.

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I, too, am very saddened by the bus crash in Mexico. Les & I took that exact same tour to those ruins & it’s one of our fonder memories of a bus tour. The busses they used were brand new two years ago & we always felt safe. Laurie, I wouldn’t cancel the tour, accidents happen no matter where you are.

 

I know what you mean about haircuts. I’m wearing a style now that requires a cut every 4 weeks (glad I go tomorrow!!!).

 

Margaret, I laughed at your comments about the photographer. Les & I do the same thing. I always look at background first & then if they have “props” a chair or cubes. I’ll rearrange stuff too. I’ll post a couple of professional pictures later today. Melody

 

 

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It is so sad about that tour bus. You just never know when something will happen. After we returned from Barcelona they had that terrorist attack and it was right in front of the hotel we had stayed at. I have often thought about the lack of seat belts on a lot of excursions and especially in Mexico where they drive like maniacs ..

On a happier note Merry Christmas every one !

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Mery Christmas, everyone! I will probably be too busy to post much til after Christmas. When I have a moment though, I will post pictures of two necklaces that will work really well with my new formal night dress. The necklace I mentioned previously works great with it, but I also have another one that I think is ideal.

 

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Melody, awesome pictures! You must have had such a good time. I'm starting to get really excited, as April will be here before you know it. Right after the holidays, I will take my dress to be hemmed. I have to try on the other one, and see if that needs hemming also.

 

I was looking back through, and I don't see where I've ever posted the picture of two of my dresses. I think they were on my regular camera, and when Photobucket decided to charge an arm and a leg, I never got to taking a picture with my phone. If I get a few moments, I will do so. They are jersey knit dresses, the Chaps brand that is carried by Kohls (Ralph Lauren). I had a beautiful red dress that got to be too big with the weight loss, and I had decided to donate it. Then one day I had some Kohls Cash about to expire, and the dresses were on sale with an additional percentage off.

 

Instead of getting the exact same dress in the red, I opted for burgundy. I did get a different style in the red. So one of those two dresses will be my other formal night dress. What I like about both of these is that they are good at hiding little things. The red has ruching, and the burgundy is styled in a way where it isn't overly fitted. I think either would make a good 2nd formal night dress.

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