Carnival Miracle 11/23/08 and Blog Prompts

Yesterday we were at sea. Lots of relaxing and eating going on! We went to breakfast in the diningroom and saw the assistant maitre’d whom we had met on the Freedom last year. We ate with a nice couple from Connecticut (Michael and Leeann) and then very tall son, Andre. Then we went to the Arts and Craft session where we made needlepoint pouches for sail and sign card. After that we tried to walk outside on the deck but the doors and stairs were blocked with yellow tape and signs saying, “Do Not Enter! Strong Winds!” so we never really got outside except the pool areas when walking from one end of the ship to the other. Lunch on the Lido deck was very crowded and we had a little trouble finding a seat so we may eat either earlier or later today. After lunch we went to the casino to get our free $20 card for entry into the slot tournament but then decided we would enter on the 4th sea day at the end of the cruise when there might be less people entered and I’d have a better chance of winning. Finally we decided since we couldn’t walk outside, that we would take a little nap which felt wonderful. At 3:45 we went to the Battle of the Sexes, which was a trivia game between the girls and the guys. Of course, the women won! By then it was time to eat a pre dinner snack of pizza and ice cream. We went to the shops to see what neat stuff we could find and decided to buy a lanyard for my sail and sign card so I could wear it around my neck. Then it was time to get ready for the Captain’s cocktail party and dinner. At dinner, Miguel gave us a wonderful South Australian Chardonnay which we shared with our table mates. The show after dinner was wonderful as usual and not as crowded as the previous night because they had a separate show for each dinner crowd. It was an enjoyable day!

Now I’m going to add the DSP blog prompts for the week since I haven’t had a chance to do them.

Friday’s Blog Prompt - Can you survive without e-mail? How has it changed your life?
I can’t imagine life without email! I keep in touch with many family and friends this way and I think it has brought us closer. Through email I got to know my cousin again who lives on the other side of the US from me. When I went out west in the spring, we got to have dinner together and we hadn’t seen each other in 35 years. My sister and I have gotten closer also through email. Since she is ten years older than me, we tended to not be as close when I went to college and years after that because I hate writing letters. Now that we have email, we constantly keep in touch and we also talk often on our cell phones (thank you Verizon for the IN network!). I regret letting so many years go by that I didn’t keep in touch with her because she knows so much about our family history and she’s a wealth of knowledge about so many things (not to mention that I love her too!).

Thursday’s Blog Prompt - If I could take tomorrow off of work, I'd...
That’s an easy one for me since I’m retired and don’t work. Basically I do what I want whenever I want to! Boy, I love retirement!

Wednesday’s Blog Prompt - Name five things in your refrigerator.
Eggs, Worcestshire sauce, cheddar cheese, Newman’s Own Ginger Sesame salad dressing, Miller Lite,

Tuesday’s Blog Prompt - Right now you should be doing ______ instead of being on the computer.
Anything I want. I am on a cruise ship in the middle of the Atlantic ocean heading for St. Maarten and my husband is sound asleep in our cabin. I am in the Raven Library playing on my computer and enjoying the sun come up.

Monday’s Blog Prompt - What are your limitations, and are they self-imposed?
My limitations are that I am impulsive and tend to agree to volunteer for things and I have to constantly watch this. I also have lots of time since I’m retired and sometimes I feel guilty that I have so much free time while others are working so hard. I guess I’m a people pleaser and I don’t like when people are displeased with me. The thing that helps me is that I know my husband will be upset with me if I overextend myself so then I’m displeasing him. This sometimes gives me the strength not to volunteer for too much. This coming year I am going to try hard to tell people that I can’t give them an answer right away and that I need to think about it and discuss it with my husband. If I don’t say yes right away, I usually am able to come back later and say no. Once I say yes, I’m committed and I stick to my word which I feel is important.