The Things You Learn on Daytime Television

I am in San Diego with my husband this week.  It is work-related for him, it is R & R-related for me.  Since Matt leaves early in the mornings for his conference, and is involved in it most the day, I get to do whatever I wish - which MAY involve doing a lot or not much at all.

So, my first day looked like this:
Still totally dead asleep when Matt left before 7:00 in the morning.  (I don't even recall him leaving).
Totally dead asleep at 8:00 a.m.
Dead asleep at 9:00 a.m.
Still totally dead asleep at 9:30 a.m. when I'm suddenly awakened by repeated knocking on the hotel room door -- and someone calling through the door, "In-Room Dining."
I hopped out of bed lickity-split (in just my underwear), and decided putting on the "complimentary" hotel robe would be the quickest way to "get dressed." (meanwhile, the knocking continues).  But, I can't get the dang robe off the hanger in the closet fast enough. (and the hotel employee is still calling out, announcing her presence and the delivery of my breakfast).  Then, I get the robe off the hanger, but the belt is wound around the robe a few times and tied (for display purposes) and I fumble with that tie, trying to get it undone so I can get the robe on, and I can't do it! (knocking, knocking, calling, calling).  I finally get the tie off, put my arms in the sleeves, and pull the robe shut - except it doesn't exactly close all the way from my mid-thighs down....(knocking and calling)...so, I just tie the belt anyway and open the door to greet her in all my stunning, morning glory.  Luckily, it was a woman, and the hotel room was completely dark still (love those room darkening shades!) so maybe she didn't notice?  Yeah, right.
So, then I ate before it got any colder, after already having sat a while during the time it took for me to answer the door.
And since I was awake, I decided I might as well "start" my day, so I took off that ill-fitting robe and put on my pajamas!  ;)
And then I turned on the T.V., the laptop, my iPad, and my cell phone and had a nice little rotation going with all of them!  ;)
I THOUGHT about getting in my exercise, going shopping, or laying out by the pool....but I just didn't quite get past the lounging part!

It was during all this lounging that I heard something on a television program (The Meredith Viera Show) that caught my attention and, quite frankly, shocked the heck out of me!  The show has a segment called, "What's Hot Now" where a panel weighs in on some of the hottest news making headlines.
Here was the topic:
(Warning:  Reader Discretion Advised, especially for "proper" persons-from-my-parents'-generation-or-older)

BRIDE magazine had an article about what newlywed couples are REALLY doing on their wedding night......and it's NOT having sex.
Their findings showed that more than HALF were not.

(Shaking my head, eyes popping open, jaw dropped, stunned look on my face)

What?!?

Come Again?

Did I hear that correctly? 

My first thought was; is it because they've ALREADY been living/sleeping together, so it's not the main event?

As opposed to us, in our religion, due to a principle we believe in called The Law of Chastity, we most likely wouldn't pass up the earliest possible chance to consummate the marriage!  (And most engagements are relatively short because of that same belief).

So, according to the article, what are the couples doing on their wedding night, instead?
71% of brides report they were removing bobby pins (Ya know, I'd always wished my hair would've been long enough when I got married to do a pretty "up do," but it wasn't.....maybe I don't regret that after all, learning this!)
20% of couples were counting their cash
20some odd% of bride & grooms spent it in the Emergency Room
and
21% of newly married couples were updating their facebook relationship status'.

Really?!? 

And the main reasons why?
Exhaustion and Drunkeness.
(Before the information from the poll was revealed on the show, one of the guys on the panel guessed it was because they spent so much time taking selfies, then putting them on social media - haha)

Mormons still are exhausted after the long string of events and celebrations, but.....I guess that's another advantage to having a dry, Mormon wedding -- we're not too drunk to have sex. {wink, wink}


By the way, I did eventually make it OUTSIDE my San Diego hotel room that first day, showered and dressed by afternoon - it was a great morning (in spite of the disturbing news).

Keep Calm and Cruise On

After entering our stateroom for the very first time, and being hit with a wave of.......a smell that should only belong in the bathroom,

  (the shower curtain was discovered as the culprit - it hung right next to the toilet, which apparently had caught a lot of "pee spray" from the previous occupants of the room!),  

we had a wonderful week on the Fowers Family cruise!

Here's a sampling of our "yearbook" (weekbook?):

Port 1: Puerto Vallarta

 {Note: Contrary to what this may look like....we are NOT drinking at the bar!  Well, kind of.}  

My brother, David, and us both got the "non-alcoholic drink card" (unlimited virgin pina coladas, strawberry daquiris, "Miami Vice's," "Bahama Mamas" etc. that we HAD to get from a bar).  Without giving you an exact daily number, let's just say we tried REALLY HARD to get our money's worth each day!!  ;)

Port 2: Mazatlan

Port 3:  Cabo San Lucas

The Crown Princess 

AND....interestingly enough, it was WAY easier to get my 10,000 Fitbit steps each day on the cruise...without really even trying!

It turns out, if you don't have to work your desk job for 6 hrs. a day, you get a lot more steps - and there's no last minute running around the block at 11:50 p.m!  :)

It also helped that you walk up 5 flights of stairs to get breakfast in the morning.

Then walk the same 5 flights back to your room to change into your swim suit.

Then walk to the middle of the ship and up 7 flights to the top deck to be by the pool and catch some rays.  

Then walk 2 flights down and over to the the drink machines to fill up your water bottle (and to the bars to get a "sunrise cooler" smoothie).

Then walk to the middle of the ship to watch a movie on the big outdoor screen.

Then you walk around the Buffet, the Pizzeria, and the Grill to judge who has the best lunch options, and then walk the whole outer edge of the ship trying to find a window table to eat at.

Then you go back to your room because you forgot your a) book, b) water bottle, c) sunscreen, d) pen

Then you go around to all the hang out rooms/areas around the ship, on 3 different decks, to see if there is an open table to play cards at.

And then you walk up 3 flights to your room to get ready for dinner.

Then down 4 flights to the dining room.

Then you walk in and out of the dining room a few times to go to the restroom during your 2 hr. dinner, from the constant water you drink.

Then walk to the very front of the ship for the evening entertainment in the theatre.

Then back to the middle of the ship and up one floor for the game shows.

Then down a couple decks to the lounge where you dance the night away.

And then, finally, walk back up 4 decks and to the back of the ship to your stateroom to retire for the evening!

Oh...It was fun while it lasted (which is never long enough!) but now it's back to reality.  boo hoo.

And we've decided (I think, but I'm not convinced) we'll have to try to be "responsible" and take a sabbatical from cruising for the a while......until the next great "opportunity" arises!  ;)

A Sure Way to Have a Whole Month Fly By Without Even Realizing It

If time is ever moving too slow for you - just dragging on and you're wondering HOW you can make it go faster.......just GO ON A CRUISE.

Because it takes a WHOLE WEEK of pressing preparations before you can even leave:
Laundry
Writing up lists
Shopping
Making an instructions guide for our children's caretakers
Packing
Accomplishing THE LIST
ON TOP OF the extra hours at work that I had to pick up for others in trade to get the cruise week off, and Matt had to work to get all the things done that were needed for deadlines that would come up while we were gone or very shortly after we returned.
PLUS, add a daughter's birthday and party in there with my annual girls' shopping weekend in Park City on the side....

....and pretty much I was going non-stop for that first 8 days of the month.

THEN we made it on our [20th anniversary] cruise!  Aaaaaaaaaaah!!!

 The Allure of the Seas, Royal Caribbean

Relief.

No Responsibility.

Restful.

{Haha.  Matt took this "selfie" on the first evening.  

I was so worn out by the time our vacation actually started, I fell right to sleep waiting for the show to start!} 

 Recreational.

{Yes!  There is a operational Carousal on the ship.} 

Rejuvinating.

 Refreshing.

Royal Treatment.

from our awesome waiters, "Jeff" & "Lito"

 Romantic.

 Rewarding.

Sadly, that week went by way too fast.

Side Note:  My #1 tip for married couples:  Get Away Together (alone) often! (anything from a date night to an extended vacation)  There's really no substitute.....but that's a whole other blog post for another time.

And then we came back home.  Here's another adjective beginning with the letter "R" to describe that experience:  Rude Awakening. 

Not only was is COLD, but I had to now cook my own food, pick up my own towel, wipe my own nose......Oh no!!  

  
(It's been pretty much back to work non-stop again)

So, on MONDAY, I worked my shift all day and had to go to the grocery store for all the, "Mom! We're out of (fill in the blank with anything & everything)! items the kids bombarded me with upon my return.

On TUESDAY, I worked my shift all day and had to catch up on paying bills.  What in the heck was the current status of our bank account?!?

On WEDNESDAY, I worked my shift all day and did the miscellaneous "office" stuff...and finally decorated for Thanksgiving!  With a side of planning our ward's Christmas party.

On THURSDAY, I finally had a day off work, so I got around to unpacking all my luggage.  I also tackled cleaning the stove which appeared as if a 10 gallon pot of an assortment of foods & other stuff had exploded all over it in my absence.  I also slid on in to the Post Office in the nick of time - 4:56 p.m. - to send off this month's missionary care package (a blog post for another time) for Ryan Elder Brenchley.  (It's that time again, already?!?)

So, there's another week that's gone by in a FLASH.  It's November 20th already!?!?!  That means practically the whole month is gone!  And then Thanksgiving week always goes by fast and after that, November's over.  I really can't believe how quickly it went.  Here I am left reeling.

There you have it.
Prep week + Cruise week + Catch up week.....
How to lose a month in 20 days. (but what only seemed like a few)

I've Got a Feeling We're Not in Utah Anymore...

We went on our family vacation to Pompano Beach, FL this past week.

We saw and heard many things - things that seemed a bit peculiar to us - that kept reminding us we were THERE and not in our hometown.  But, sometimes it's good to experience the differences.

Here's a little list of our "cultural education":

• The bathrooms at church were in a "trailer house" out in the parking lot (upon further explanation, we found out they were renovating)
• A lizard running across the kitchen floor in the church
• A car veered out around the turning lane, into the oncoming traffic lane, to pass us (the women at church had actually just talked/joked about the driving conditions in South Florida earlier that day!)
• Multiple people [out in public] asked us WHY we were dressed up - on a Sunday.  (We'd NEVER get asked that HERE)  But really?!?  Church attendance wasn't even on their radar?
• We met this guy who says he came to visit So. Florida 30 years ago, fell and hit his head, and never returned/left So. Florida.
• We met another [very warm, kind, & generous] family from Columbia on the Ft. Lauderdale temple grounds.  After chatting for just a few minutes, they invited us to come to their vacation home/use their pool. (They didn't know us from Adam!  But, they had a few teenage girls, and we had two teenage boys....haha) 

• A lady who worked in marketing at the resort was named, TUCKER
• A liquor store inside Costco
• When inquiring about where to park to access the beach, the woman answered [with her accent], "Here, ALL the daddy's are walkin'!"  (her way of informing Matt he needed to drop us off at the beach, then go find a random spot to park a few blocks away)  After that we could use that "cultural education" to our advantage:  If I was all comfy in my bed and didn't want to go out to the kitchen for a drink, I'd ask Matt to do it for me with, "Here, ALL the daddy's are walkin'!"  If one of the girls forgot her pool towel, they would whine/beg for Matt to go back for it with, "Here, ALL the daddy's are walkin'!"  If the boys were just camped out on the couch watching ESPN, and desired to continue doing absolutely nothing....."Here, ALL the daddy's are walkin'!"  Hey, When in Rome, do as the Romans do! ;)
• Horizontal traffic lights



• The back tailgate of a truck in front of us had detailing on it....the back view of a lady bending over....with a [indecent] written phrase to go with it  - that I will omit from this bullet point.
• Kyle Beckerman's "TWIN" riding his skateboard to work his job: the beach chair service company on the beach.
 
• 24 hr. doughnut shops
• Bikers jetting out in front of oncoming turning lane traffic to cross the intersection diagonally
• $3.38/gallon for gas
• Ducks walking around the resort parking lot/puddles (one was sitting on a nest of eggs in the flower bed)
• A check cashing store/deli/grill combo business all in the same building  (because going in to get your checks cashed MIGHT make you hungry!)  :)

We had a great vacation......NEW encounters and all!

As always, we didn't want to return to "real life" - and THE LIST.

A Couple of Math Equations

1.

 +

 +

 +

 +

 +

 =

A much needed [Winter] BREAK in Hawaii last week.

2.

 {It's the wait-until-Mom-gets-home-to-finish-Science-Fair-project-that's-DUE-the-NEXT-DAY-syndrome}

To find out how I feel about those things, read HERE.

+

 +

 {I haven't got a clue!}

+

 +

 

{Why is unpacking such a daunting task?}

 +

 +

=

A RUDE awakening to my harsh reality!

Third Time's the Charm

Matt & I FINALLY made it on our "real" vacation this year....on our 3rd try.
{definition of "real" = not work related, no kids, no cell phone/connectivity, no rigid schedule, no cooking/cleaning and includes sleep, relaxing, lounging, reading, leisure, recuperating, clothing optional (did I say that?), play, laughing, massage, walks on the beach, and service with a smile.} 

After our failed attempt in February.

And after our forced cancellation in April due to a debilitating injury Matt had.

ALTHOUGH, it almost looked like we wouldn't make it on THIS vacation either, when at 3:40 p.m. on the day we were supposed to fly out, (we planned to leave at 9:25 p.m.) we got a phone call from our babysitter having to cancel!
A HUGE THANKS to Mike and Mandy and Dean and Jennifer who all insisted we couldn't cancel our vacation - it was our 19th Anniversary, after all, AND I had chopped 15 inches off my hair in anticipation of Cancun's humidity - so we pieced enough coverage together between them all to still be able to go at the last minute.

Here's the Photo Story of Cancun 2013:

We kept seeing a lot of the same people throughout our stay....and me, always the people watcher, took notice of them.  Matt did too, and we started to name them, and then when we'd see someone, we'd inform the other, "There's cardinal lady" or whatever...

We shared our vacation with:

"My brother, Mike"
"My sister, Beeb"
"Catherine Zeta-Jones"
"Sleepy guy at the bar"
"The decoy couple"
"Red bikini flasher"
"Medusa man"
"The Illinois groupies"
"The bingo girl"
"Tall, skinny couple"
"The shuttle peeps"
"All the single ladies"
"Jennifer Gee" (a girl I went to Elementary & Jr. High with who now happens to be my sister in law's sister in law!)
"Shauna Bushey" (someone from Farmington)
"Twice his wife's age guy"
"The teenagers" (it was an adults only resort, how did they get in?!?)
"The Odd couple"
"The pink shirt guy's wife"
"70's feathered hair"
"The reverse polygamist"

What "characters" they were!

Now, I wonder?  Did others "name" Matt & I, as well, unbeknownst to us?  Nicholas Cage and Bonnie Hunt perhaps?  ;)

{circa 2007.  Matt was asked to play Nicholas Cage in a "Hollywood Squares" game/adult party we had at our church.}