We started counting down to this cruise two days after we returned from the Emerald Princess last winter. (Yes, we really did have the best time!) On February 18, 2012 we had 262 days left before D (departure) day. On every one of those days, this cruise, and preparing for this cruise, has entered our minds and conversations. When we returned from our Alaska cruise on the Island Princess in late August, the cruise prep began in earnest.
I was on a mission at home this past year to clean and organize and straighten and paint. I don't know for sure, but I think it's kind of like not leaving the house with ripped underwear...you know, so that, in the event something happens, people might say about me, "She led a questionable life, but wasn't her linen closet tidy? And so nicely painted too!".
G says that, with every piece of important snail mail we receive - all eight of them each year ;-) - he thinks about how he'll handle that information when we're gone. If it can be done online (and nearly everything can), he's set it up on his iPhone to do it: paying bills, depositing checks, receiving statements, making transfers, etc. I don't know how people did these sorts of trips before the Internet, other than to rely heavily on the help of others left behind, but we're already abusing the kindness of friends quite enough and it's nice to be able to handle most things on our own.
We're now on a March/September schedule for medical stuff. By the beginning of October we knew that we were healthy enough to travel (I remember back to the good old days, not so long ago, when the question of being healthy enough to travel never even entered our minds!), had gotten our flu shots and had any required prescriptions filled- although I do have to hoard a bit and beg for samples to stretch a normal 90 day prescription to last four months.
Fall yard clean up started in early September, when I trimmed the fruit trees prior to them dropping their leaves (saves some time that way). The annuals and garden were pulled up before the second week in October and the perennials cut back shortly thereafter. We spent the last half of October working on several outdoor projects, significant but slightly less ambitious than last year, when we were finishing up some major things in the dark the night before we left. Yard work in early November is coming down to continuing leaf clean up, a final gutter clean out and mowing. Hopefully we won't need to add snow shoveling to that!
Walgreens once again ran their 50% off photo card sale in early October. I can also report that the 2012 Christmas stamps were available to be ordered from USPS.com beginning October 11th...'cause that's when I ordered ours. By the 17th, both the business and personal Christmas cards were in their envelopes and stamped.
So, as you can see, there have been plenty of opportunities to exhibit my normally hidden OCD traits, and, in fact, being slightly inclined that way is a definite plus when it comes to planning and organization. Each day, it's just been a matter of plugging away at the next thing on the list (and we are fanatical list makers).
Meanwhile, my personal beautification projects have been ongoing (and ongoing and ongoing and...). In an effort to save money (for cruises!), I colored my hair myself last Sunday in a custom shade: dark blonde in the back, and a mix of medium copper blonde and dark blonde on top. I've decided to love it; G thinks it's too brassy. The man clearly doesn't know his metals...it's not brassy...it's copper-y! No matter- in three weeks it will again be bleached blonde by the sun.
Since the grey from my head is finding its way into my eyebrows, I also colored them for the first time ever and then got them waxed yesterday. I have to admit that, with their new bright shade, fewer of them is truly a good thing. Will they fade now too, like my hair does? Time will tell, but I'm fervently hoping so. Blonde hair with brassy - er, coppery eyebrows won't be my best look. Not even Cindy Crawford could carry that off.
I also had a massage Thursday (to cope with the stress of the coloring debacle). Honestly, if I was a rich woman, my massage therapist Carolyn would be cruising right along with me. I'll need her to undo the hurt I'm going to cause myself getting my suitcases down to the first floor.
Last night I had a date with the twins. They've been begging to go to Sweet Tomatoes for dinner before I leave, and so we did. They think we went because I wanted to have a last celebration with them, and that certainly was part of it (I'll miss them so much!!!). But the other reason is that we're cleaning out the refrigerator and if I have to choke down another Hebrew National 97% fat free hot dog smothered in barbecue sauce (both purchased enthusiastically during a half priced sale last summer but still in inventory)...well, I'll choke. Hot dogs with BBQ sauce are a creative new meal at our house. It's a bit like beanie weenie- without the beanies, and it seemed the right thing to do - the only thing to do- after we ran out of catsup and mustard. And pickle relish. By last night I was desperate for a vegetable (I remember eating one in October. Or late September if pickle relish doesn't count) and some fruit, which I think I last enjoyed on our Alaska cruise. Yes, it's been slim pickins' around here lately.
And then there are the cruises themselves (which, after all, are the point of all this preparation). The dry dock blip aside, this has been our easiest year to plan. We're more sure of our contentment on board a ship for long periods of time, and more willing to make reservations for months of cruising right from the outset. We booked cruises from November 7th to April 6th (150 days) as soon as they opened for booking in April 2011. We've already dropped the last 10-night cruise; upon reflection, there was no doubt that we wanted to be home by that time. But those are the only changes we've made to the cruise plans (unlike last year, where we added at the beginning, dropped at the end, and added again at the beginning, or the year before where we flew home for the holidays).
This made planning our flights a lot easier too...we're flying out on November 6th and have return flights booked on three different days (thank you Southwest Airlines!) which gives us our flexibility on our return date. We did have a bit of excitement this week related to our outbound flight on 11/6: I was checking prices Tuesday, as I do everyday, and noticed it was now available for $74 per person! That particular flight must have been empty, as every other flight that day was over $400. Thanks again to Southwest (do you see a theme here?), we cancelled and rebooked the same flight, saving several hundred dollars in the process.
I live for that kind of thing (as some of you know too well). Go ahead- share a laugh at my expense. I don't care...I just saved nearly $400 AND I'm going on a cruise!!!!
I was on a mission at home this past year to clean and organize and straighten and paint. I don't know for sure, but I think it's kind of like not leaving the house with ripped underwear...you know, so that, in the event something happens, people might say about me, "She led a questionable life, but wasn't her linen closet tidy? And so nicely painted too!".
G says that, with every piece of important snail mail we receive - all eight of them each year ;-) - he thinks about how he'll handle that information when we're gone. If it can be done online (and nearly everything can), he's set it up on his iPhone to do it: paying bills, depositing checks, receiving statements, making transfers, etc. I don't know how people did these sorts of trips before the Internet, other than to rely heavily on the help of others left behind, but we're already abusing the kindness of friends quite enough and it's nice to be able to handle most things on our own.
We're now on a March/September schedule for medical stuff. By the beginning of October we knew that we were healthy enough to travel (I remember back to the good old days, not so long ago, when the question of being healthy enough to travel never even entered our minds!), had gotten our flu shots and had any required prescriptions filled- although I do have to hoard a bit and beg for samples to stretch a normal 90 day prescription to last four months.
Fall yard clean up started in early September, when I trimmed the fruit trees prior to them dropping their leaves (saves some time that way). The annuals and garden were pulled up before the second week in October and the perennials cut back shortly thereafter. We spent the last half of October working on several outdoor projects, significant but slightly less ambitious than last year, when we were finishing up some major things in the dark the night before we left. Yard work in early November is coming down to continuing leaf clean up, a final gutter clean out and mowing. Hopefully we won't need to add snow shoveling to that!
Walgreens once again ran their 50% off photo card sale in early October. I can also report that the 2012 Christmas stamps were available to be ordered from USPS.com beginning October 11th...'cause that's when I ordered ours. By the 17th, both the business and personal Christmas cards were in their envelopes and stamped.
So, as you can see, there have been plenty of opportunities to exhibit my normally hidden OCD traits, and, in fact, being slightly inclined that way is a definite plus when it comes to planning and organization. Each day, it's just been a matter of plugging away at the next thing on the list (and we are fanatical list makers).
Meanwhile, my personal beautification projects have been ongoing (and ongoing and ongoing and...). In an effort to save money (for cruises!), I colored my hair myself last Sunday in a custom shade: dark blonde in the back, and a mix of medium copper blonde and dark blonde on top. I've decided to love it; G thinks it's too brassy. The man clearly doesn't know his metals...it's not brassy...it's copper-y! No matter- in three weeks it will again be bleached blonde by the sun.
Since the grey from my head is finding its way into my eyebrows, I also colored them for the first time ever and then got them waxed yesterday. I have to admit that, with their new bright shade, fewer of them is truly a good thing. Will they fade now too, like my hair does? Time will tell, but I'm fervently hoping so. Blonde hair with brassy - er, coppery eyebrows won't be my best look. Not even Cindy Crawford could carry that off.
I also had a massage Thursday (to cope with the stress of the coloring debacle). Honestly, if I was a rich woman, my massage therapist Carolyn would be cruising right along with me. I'll need her to undo the hurt I'm going to cause myself getting my suitcases down to the first floor.
Last night I had a date with the twins. They've been begging to go to Sweet Tomatoes for dinner before I leave, and so we did. They think we went because I wanted to have a last celebration with them, and that certainly was part of it (I'll miss them so much!!!). But the other reason is that we're cleaning out the refrigerator and if I have to choke down another Hebrew National 97% fat free hot dog smothered in barbecue sauce (both purchased enthusiastically during a half priced sale last summer but still in inventory)...well, I'll choke. Hot dogs with BBQ sauce are a creative new meal at our house. It's a bit like beanie weenie- without the beanies, and it seemed the right thing to do - the only thing to do- after we ran out of catsup and mustard. And pickle relish. By last night I was desperate for a vegetable (I remember eating one in October. Or late September if pickle relish doesn't count) and some fruit, which I think I last enjoyed on our Alaska cruise. Yes, it's been slim pickins' around here lately.
And then there are the cruises themselves (which, after all, are the point of all this preparation). The dry dock blip aside, this has been our easiest year to plan. We're more sure of our contentment on board a ship for long periods of time, and more willing to make reservations for months of cruising right from the outset. We booked cruises from November 7th to April 6th (150 days) as soon as they opened for booking in April 2011. We've already dropped the last 10-night cruise; upon reflection, there was no doubt that we wanted to be home by that time. But those are the only changes we've made to the cruise plans (unlike last year, where we added at the beginning, dropped at the end, and added again at the beginning, or the year before where we flew home for the holidays).
This made planning our flights a lot easier too...we're flying out on November 6th and have return flights booked on three different days (thank you Southwest Airlines!) which gives us our flexibility on our return date. We did have a bit of excitement this week related to our outbound flight on 11/6: I was checking prices Tuesday, as I do everyday, and noticed it was now available for $74 per person! That particular flight must have been empty, as every other flight that day was over $400. Thanks again to Southwest (do you see a theme here?), we cancelled and rebooked the same flight, saving several hundred dollars in the process.
I live for that kind of thing (as some of you know too well). Go ahead- share a laugh at my expense. I don't care...I just saved nearly $400 AND I'm going on a cruise!!!!
