Carnival Fantasy - Days 2-5

So, I sort of slacked on writing every day as I had planned to do. We did have lots of fun, so maybe that's why there was a lack of time blogging.

Wow, where to start? The food was absolutely amazing. I felt a little guilty about eating an ice cream cone every time I passed the machine, so most nights I ordered fish or shrimp. The only fish I was unsatisfied with was the mahi. The fried shrimp were excellent, though, probably my favorite. Well, I'm not sure if they bested the lobster for my favorite meal of the trip. That night, unfortunately, the filet mignon and the lobster were on the menu together, so instead of ordering two of one of them, I got one of each.

Dessert most nights consisted of this train of thought. "wow, I'm too full for chocolate melting cake, so I guess I should just order orange sherbet. Otherwise, the lobster and filet may end up on the floor in the elevator." But, there were at least two nights I opted for the melting cake and somehow managed to make it back to the room without spewing.

On to the boat's entertainment. A Vegas style show was offered every night but one, I believe. It was complete with singing, dancing, thongs and backless chaps. The room wasn't free of children, so I'm guessing several parents had a fun time fielding questions later on those evenings. Each show was progressively better, with the last night being "A Ticket To Ride" - a Beatles tribute. It was pretty good and would have been better if I cared much about the Beatles. The main singers weren't that great to me. Our church's music minister and his wife would have blown those two out of the water.

The daily Fun Times was delivered every evening so the wife and I always sat down and reviewed the next day's activities. There were many ship excursion lectures as well as destination shopping talks which I'm sure would have been great if I was looking for a nap. There were many fun events planned too. Three ping pong tournaments were held in a secluded area above the lido deck. This guy typing won two of the three tournaments! Ping pong champion!! I'm now the proud owner of two ships on a stick, the customary prize for winners of on-board contests. No geriatric can hold me down!

Although i would like to neglect mentioning the one time we played mini golf, I will mention it. We played a small game with the Horner's in which a decrepit Michael seized the crown of mini golf champion. There, I said it, let's move on.

Brenna and Laura were treated by their ridiculously nice husbands to a full body massage at Spa Carnival. It was one of the package deals with a massage, facial, foot thing, and some other stuff. Brenna enjoyed it, so I was happy. We chose to spend most of the day on the boat when we were docked at Freeport. It was the worst port ever! We were docked in a shipyard. We did find our way off the boat for a few minutes to peruse the shops outside the gate. Most things were made in china or goofy knock off Dora items. There was one small shop where two local guys were carving some things, and that alone was probably worth getting off the boat to see. Otherwise, lots of junk.

Also, I would be remiss if i didn't mention the plethora of games made available for the cruisers to participate in. We enjoyed playing in the Amazing Race style game, which turned out to be lots of fun. We placed second and received an authentic carnival medallion valued a probably less than a nickel. Oh, and if you go on the fantasy and play this game, the answer to the goofy Camp Carnival question is Star Wars. Don't ask.

Brenna and I also chose to attend the ship's version of Minute to Win It. I was selected to play one of the games. Unknowingly I chose Bobble Head. This consisted of me and a challenger wearing pedometers on our heads and shaking it feverishly for 30 seconds. Wow, talk about shaken baby, well, shaken Shane. I managed 82 bobbles in 30 seconds. The only thing is, my competitor, assistant cruise director, "Sexy Craig" managed 82 bobbles as well. So, we were forced to have a 20 second shake off. He was declared the victor as I spent 20 seconds debating how much the medical bills were going to be. No, I only managed 52 shakes and Craig beat me with 65. The amplitude of my shakes wasn't enough. Stupid pedometer.

Aboard the Carnival Fantasy were also two break dancers. Without being stereotypical, it was a black guy and an Asian guy. Yeah, never saw that coming. They were awesome. So when they asked for volunteers, Brenna and I quickly cowered away trying to look invisible. Where can you buy those Harry potter cloaks anyway? Brookstone? Skymall? But, even with our best impression of invisibility, Brenna was selected to participate in the break dancing competition, mind you, in a dress. She competed well only to be upstaged by a young black boy who had all the moves. Scores of onlookers applauded for each contestant and fun was had by all. All until the enormous black lady started dancing. Gross. Side boob. Ugh!

I had written a large section about the Atlantis, which was awesome, but it didn't get saved somehow and I'm too stubborn to go back and rewrite it. So there, I guess I showed them, whoever they are.

The cruise was awesome. Cruises remain the be one of the best values around for a vacation.

Carnival Fantasy - Day 1 - jan 28

Brenna and I are currently enjoying a carnival cruise, as I'm sure you probably figured out by the blog title. We flew to Charleston, SC on Thursday and stayed with my friend Nate. We ate at Virginia's and it was excellent. I had the fried catfish with squash casserole and steamed broccoli. Mmmm! It was awesome! Of course, Brenna copied me and ordered the same thing and she thought it delectable as well. For dinner, we chose Hank's, but was told there was a 45 minute wait. So we headed over to Mercado on Market Street. Nate, being quite the inventor/builder designed and built the dome featured inside on the second floor. I ordered the shrimp linguine and again, excellent. Guess what Brenna ordered.....yep. Shrimp linguine. Afterwards, we rolled ourselves over to Comisky's (or something like that) for dessert. Key lime pie, although not served in the keys, was delicious. This place is known for their desserts and they did not disappoint.

Early this morning, we awoke not to a 6 month old baby crying, but to our alarm. Wow, what a welcomed change. Noah, I still love you, little guy. We headed down Meeting street towards Poogan's Porch for breakfast. A problem was encountered when we got there and realized they don't open til 11:30. So much for eating there. Someone's grandma, probably mawmaw, in the nearby antique store suggested Joseph's to us, which was just around the corner. She said it was the best in town and was quite reasonable. We gave it a shot. I ordered the French toast and Brenna got an omelet with crab meat, sun-dried tomatoes and ricotta cheese, along with a side of grits. When you're in the South, you eat grits. (BTW, you Yankees out there, never ask what a grit is. Ask what grits are.) the food was prepared in a fastidious manner with plenty of love. The fresh toast was humongous, and the omelet delicious. It was the best breakfast we've had at a restaurant in forever.

After breakfast, we collected our belongings and headed towards the boat. After a short walk o a few blocks, we arrived at the port and 30 minutes later, we were on the boat. After much exploring, I'd say I'm pretty impressed with the Fantasy so far. It's only our second cruise, so I'm probably still easily impressed. I can only compare it to the Carnival Holiday, which used to dock out of Mobile, Alabama. It has since been retired and probably shot like Ole Yeller. Boy it needed it. I'm still not convinced there weren't crew members actually rowing with paddles down below the cabins.

We entered for a chance to win some services from Spa Carnival. Out of 200 people or so, our friend Laura won a hair treatment. Better than me winning it; I'm rather short on a gorgeous mane at the moment, due to my choosing. It's not some genetical imbalance; I just hate spending money on haircuts.

After we were several miles from the port the ship movement has become noticeable, but not nauseating just yet.

So day one has been great so far, the food has been good and the ship impressive. Happy sailing!

D-DAY CAME AND WENT... AND I'M STILL HERE!

My life for the past 3 months has been building up to this day... this moment. The moment when I am given my fait as to if I will be cashing a pay check.. or pulling unemployment. Thats right... D-DAY. This day has been a long time coming. Many frustrated nights... times when you feel like you are going to cry, throw up and poop all at the same time. Going from feeling amazing to wondering if anyone will hire you in a fraction of a second.

Yeah... these past 3 months have been anything but peachy. But today... today is a new day. Today I have a home in the AD world... and that home is somewhere fun. I know right? I'll keep all of you posted on when I start my new team (probably next week) and I'll let you know what I'll be doing.

We love and miss ya'll and I can't wait to ya'll!!!

258 days and counting

September 15, 2009. Two hundred and fifty-eight days into the year... and what a year it has been.

1. Our beautiful baby girl is over 9 months old... and has more personality than I can shake a stick at. At 9 months she is only a whopping 16.2 pounds (in the 10th percentile for her age), she has said ba ba (for her bottle), da da (for shane). She can stand up on her own (just not for very long). She has the funniest little crawl... looks like a monkey which is very appropriate for her. She has done crazy things like choreographed her own dance routine (and let us know when we needed to clap) and the thing that tops the cake... our daughter... has done a pull up... on a table. NO LIE. She never stops amazing us.

2. Found out my mom has bone marrow cancer (early stages). Talk about a kick to the crotch. God is amazing though... her doctor caught it in time so it hasn't done anything to her organs which is great! But she does have to start chemo in Oct. Please be praying for her and my family through this. My mom is a trooper and is very strong... and she has been amazing so far.

3. The account that I was on at work... well... gave us the boot... so now my job hangs in the balance. God has been amazing through this though. Some days are harder than others. When no one is calling you for an interview... you wonder are you good enough. But God has really given me a piece about it. Really... its a win win for me. 1. I loose my job (sucky) but I get to stay at home with savannah and we can save money on gas and babysitting. or 2. I keep my job and get to work on another account.

4. We've been working on the house. That has been exciting... and a pain in the butt at the same time. But once it is all said and done... we will have a finished basement that will add to our living space and we will finally have an office. Can I just tell you how excited I am about having an office. I will now have a place for my scrapbooking and my knitting. Yes... I scrapbook... and yes I knit... and NO I'm not 80... I don't think. ha!

So that is my life up to this point in time. I have had a lot of amazing things happen... and a lot of things that I could have done without. I know that Satan tries to use some of these things against me... tries to make me angry at God. God knows my heart. He knows when I hurt... and he knows if I want to blame him before it even comes out of my mouth. But God still loves me through it. And in the bad times... I remember the Lord (Nehemiah 4:14). I remember what God has done for me in the past... the valleys he has brought me out of. I remember him in those times... and I know that he is with me even now.

Love and miss ya'll!!!!

4 months in and loving it!

Motherhood....there is nothing that can help prepare you for it. You freak out about being a mom... wondering why in the world they have tests and licenses for everything in life, but not one for parenthood. Then this beautiful gift from God comes... bringing with her the tiniest hands... that somehow are able to hold not only your heart, but everyone's heart that she meets. And along with her, God inserts the mom gene and erases any memory you had of sleeping through the night.

I've never been more tired in my life than I am now... but every minute she keeps me up... is just more time I have with her. Waking me up at two o'clock in the morning screaming cause she is wasting away and stumbling into her dark room trying to change her before I feed her. Tears rolling down her little face looking at me wondering why in the world I haven't fed her yet. But then to sit there...rocking her...feeding her... just looking at this beautiful baby that Shane and I have made (with God's help of course). Looking at her little features... seeing Shane's mouth, ears and feet... wondering where my features are. :)

My beautiful 6 pounds 13oz baby Savannah... is now 4 months and over 12 pounds. My sweet baby that would only smile because of a dream or gas... now smiles and laughs all the time (she thinks her daddy is the funniest person ever). It has been so much fun watching her find her hands and holding them together like she is getting ready to pray. Her finding her feet and wondering why her toes aren't as long as her fingers (they are much harder to suck on). Watching as my poor baby's hair falls out... first where she looks like an old man... then falling out to where it looks like the parting of the red sea on my child's head.

But it is hard. It is hard trying to have energy to do anything besides eat and sleep. It is hard to feel attractive when you are pumping and feel like a diary cow. It is hard to put Shane before Savannah. Like the song my granny Lucy use to sing to me... The Devil is a sly ol' fox. But God is good... he gets you through all the awkward parts.

I love being a mom. I look forward to all of her milestones. When she says momma... I love you... Gosh... that is going to be amazing. Thanks for reading! We love and miss ya'll!!!!

Being a daddy is fun

So 10 days into daddy-ship or daddy-dum, i've realized that i really do like having a baby. When you decide to have a baby, you think, man, i'm ready. Well, you can't really be ready. I don't know how you can understand all of the responsibilities you'll have. I still don't realize a lot of stuff that we'll have to go through. I'd say i'm a fairly selfish person, but once you have a little person that needs you to clean their smelly butt in the middle of the night, you kind of just do it, not really thinking about yourself (at least, that's how it is now).

Brenna has done so great. She has some hard times when she worries if Savannah isn't getting enough to eat, but i think that's probably just normal (to worry you're not being a good parent). But, Savannah is really filling out in her face, and gaining weight, so she's obviously getting enough to eat. Brenna has to feed her every 2-3 hours, which doesn't seem like very much at first. Savannah seems like she's always latched on and eating, though. Brenna just does it and doesn't complain about how often she does it. She just does it and i respect her a lot for it. Although she doesn't complain about that, it seems little Miss Savannah has the bite of a crocodile sometimes. So, Savannah is still getting the hang of breast feeding and when to clamp down and when not to.

When we were deciding between breast feeding and formula, there really wasn't a question. Breast feeding is much more healthy for the baby, and it's FREE. It's been cool to watch and see how God intended it to be. Pretty soon, hopefully in a four weeks, we'll begin to introduce the bottle. Brenna has started to pump, which is really crazy (interesting). When we are ready to give her a bottle, i'll be the one giving it to her, so she doesn't confuse the bottle with mommy's natural bottle.

Brenna and I still super-excited and thankfully not burned out yet. I was off work last week, so it was good to be at home with Brenna and Savannah. My parents flew home yesterday, and Brenna's mom flies home today. So, starting Monday, it will be just Brenna and Savannah here. It'll be the first time Brenna has been home alone with Savannah, so yall pray for her. We've heard about post-partum depression, and really, i've seen no signs of it so far. I think she'll do great next week. Feel free to call her during the day and let her know you're thinking about her and Savannah. She'd probably like that.

Ok, that's it for now. I think i have some mustard waiting for me in a little diaper.

Oh Facebookers....