Malta- Cruise part 2

Our first stop on the cruise was Malta, a country I have to say I didn't know existed until I saw it on the agenda. But it turned out to be one of the most beautiful ports we came to! Everyone said we had to be up top while the ship came into port, and they were right. We were coming in just as the sun was coming up, and the port is deep into Valletta, the capital city on this small island country. It was beautiful.

We were all standing on the chairs to get a better view.

Christopher and I wandered around Valletta for a while at first, and it was a really neat place. The streets are mostly for pedestrians, and in fact some of the streets were actually stairs lined with shops, since the area had so many hills.


A lot of people said that the St. John's Cathedral in town was not to be missed, and from the outside we couldn't really tell why. It looked like a neat old church, but nothing that different. But on the inside, wow. It was an amazing Baroque church in every sense of that movement- completely over the top and over decorated on every surface. And the Caravaggio painting in there was really amazing. Unfortunatly, they don't allow flash photography, and I didn't carry a tripod on my trip, so my pictures weren't very good in there.

From there we caught the local bus up to M'dina, a Medival walled city up on the hill. They call it the silent city, and I could see why. It is well preserved, and beautiful, but only 300 or so people live in the entire place, and they keep it contained and preserved.

We also went through some catacombs, which had the most long-winded audio tour I have ever heard. But Christopher thought it was interesting. Mostly, we just enjoyed just wandering around and enjoying the city. There is a feel to these European towns that you just can't get in such a "new" country like America. We think something is old when it has survived a hundred years, but for them, the capitol city of Valletta is "new" because it was built in 1600.

But hey, no matter where you go, you can find people naming their business in a foreign language to sound cool without actually understanding what the words mean.

Progress and Procrastination

Is it still procrastination if I accomplish things not on the original to do list?

Because I still haven't started on the quilt or the house.

But Wednesday night we were shopping for fabric with the Beehives (we're making drawstring backpacks this week), and I found this really cute fleece remnant on clearance.

So the next day, I looked up instructions online, and made Kaitlyn and I matching hats and scarves.

I was going to make me the scarf and her a hat, but then there were enough scraps to make all of that . . . and I made a little pom pom into a clippie for her hair. Half a yard, $1.50 total.

Then I finally got around to a project that has been bugging me for months. I bought these 8x10 frames for the cabin, but I couldn't decide what design to do with the wood burning tool. I finally went with the four seasons, loosly. Everyone keeps telling me the wood burning tool is for cub scout projects, but I really like this thing! Especially once I stained them.

I did make some progress on my list. I went to the Disney store to check out their Tinkerbell costume for inspiration, and it was adorable. And on sale. And in her size. And . . . now we own it. But it didn't come with shoes or a hairbow, so it's still a craft project, right? I made a pair of shoes, but I think I might try again. Tinkerbell needs more of a dainty slipper than a solid pair of shoes. But at least this pair fits her and works, and I have plenty of materials to re-try if I want to.

But I still don't know what Tyler is going to be! He just doesn't have any new interests this year. The dump truck still fits him, but that would make me sad. Since Kaitlyn is Tinkerbell and Daddy is a pirate, I have a fairy costume and I could make Tyler into Peter Pan just so we all match. But I want something that matches his personality! Hrummmph. It'll come to me soon, I hope.

Gotta love fall!

I may not be as fanatic about it as my husband, but I do love Fall. The colors are so beautiful- and even if there is a sense of impending doom about it, it is fun to break out your sweaters for the first time and feel the crisp air.

We don't get too many leaves in our yard, but the cabin more than made up for that! So last weekend we went up there to enjoy the pretty colors of the canyon. The kids weren't sure what I was trying to do the first couple of times I put them in a pile of leaves, but they sure caught on quickly. They spent the rest of the afternoon crawling in circles and throwing handfulls all over the place.

My cousin Mike came up to go mountain biking with Christopher, and they decided to load up the slide with leaves and let the kids slide down. They loved that!

I know this last shot is out of focus, but I still love it anyway. I was taking pictures as she came down the slide, and she got a bit to close on this last picture!

Our NCL Mediterranean Cruise

This year, Christopher's company gave everyone the opportunity to choose their own vacation. I can't tell you how lucky we feel to be with Digicert! We talked about it for a while, and decided that if we could do anything, we would take a Mediterranean Cruise. We've never done a cruise before, and everyone always told us they were wonderful, so we figured it was time to see what everyone was talking about.




And now we are hooked.

I'll probably separate out each stop of the cruise into a different post, but for now I wanted to review the cruise in general in case anyone else is thinking about it.

Now, we've never cruised before, so we aren't experts. But we loved everything about the NCL Cruise. They brag about doing things "freestyle", and I don't think we want it any other way. My parents always took Princess, and had the same table every night for dinner with the same people at the table. But on NCL, there are a bunch of restaurants open a bunch of different hours, and you just pick one and go. That was great because some days we would have a big lunch on the excursion, and not be hungry until later. Some times we would be in the mood to sit down to someting nice. And sometimes we just wanted to grab something at the buffet so we could hang out by the pool instead. My parents went with a group- my grandpa always takes his kids and their spouses - so they liked that everyone would be on different excusions during the day, and then meet up for dinner to share what they did. But in our group of six, we generally stuck together during the day, and then dinner was couples time. We would catch up at the entertainment stuff.

Some people in their reviews said that they thought the paid restaurants were worth it, and we did enjoy the one night we went to the Mexican place for $10. But we loved the free places! We preferred to spend our food money on authentic food off the ship, and then look forward to eating what we wanted for free on the ship. There was a buffet, a dressy sit down restaurant, a 24 hour simple place, and an inbetween all included. We thought that was just fine.

Entertainment wise, it was fairly good. The dance and singing group they have is very talented, if a bit corny and over the top. But I knew my Grandfather would have loved every second. The comedy act didn't impress my husband, but they had a "multi-instrumentalist" who was fun and a magician who wasn't bad. But our favorite act was actually the most poorly attended one! They had a hypnotist come and do an afternoon show right after the boat left our last port, and it was an absolute riot. Some of you know that I do Hypnobirthing, so I was really intriqued to see the comedy act version of things, since I am so familiar with the real, clinical side of things. And I was really impressed. The guy knew what he was doing, and by the end, he had an entire row of people putting their shoes on the wrong feet, made one guy think his shirt was on backwards every time someone said his name, and made another lady forget her name. I loved towards the end when he had one lady as the laugh police that told everyone to be quiet when we laughed, and another one would bow everytime we clapped. So for the rest of the show, when we did those things for other reasons, those two ladies would faithfully yell at us for laughing and bow like it was their own personal curtain call. Priceless!

Our inside cabin room was tiny, but it was all we needed and a lot more luxurious than we expected. My mom said she would never cruise without a balcony, but we were happy to put that money on souveniers and such.

The pool up top was great- but cold! I don't know what was going on, but during the day the pool was too cold to swim in and the hot tubs were luke warm. It was the end of September after all, but everywhere we went it was 70 degrees. Also, the hot tubs send bubbles up, which means the wind catchs the spray and it hits you in the face. But then at night, the hot tubs were wonderfully warm. Go figure. So we just did what everyone else did during the day, and laid out in our swimsuits next to the pool and listened to the live band. Then we would come down at night and hit the hot tubs.

We loved the rock climbing wall and the bowling alley. It was $5 to bowl, but we would have paid that at home, so who cares? On our second trip to the bowling alley, I had the best game of my life! My first two were strikes, and then the third one was a 9. So close!

Nice work, babe! He made it all the way to the top of the "hard" wall.

This is Jon, one of the two co-workers who came with us. I think the smile says it all- we all had a blast!

Masquerade

Saturday night, we went to a Lord's and Ladies Ball in a neighboring town. For those of you who have seen the movie "Enchanted" (and you should), it was just like the Ball at the end. My husband's boss knows the guy in charge (they live practically next door) and actually bought 4 tables to bring anyone in the company that wanted to come. It was awesome! It was a fundraiser for a charity, and besides that, a spectacular evening.

First of all, this place is amazing. Basically he is a very rich Grandpa who wanted to create a wonderland for his family, and he really outdid himself. There was a large building where we ate at, with the most amazing painted ceilings and wood inlays on the floor. And there is a huge playground on the way to an actual castle. The place just kept going, with statues and awesome nooks and crannies everywhere! Every year they host a Princess Festival for little girls in June, and hundreds of little girls come dressed up in their costumes to meet Princesses and listen to stories and play in the castle.

Of course, one of the most fun parts of the evening was getting to dress up. Luckily for me, my prom dress fit the bill quite well. This made me stop for a minute though, and realize that this dress is actually almost a decade old. I remember a woman I was close to in my church helped me sew this dress with my mom, and I still love it! Thanks Sister Weight! But here's the part that gets me. I dug up an old picture of me in the dress for my prom. For those of you who love before and after shots like I do, (Hi Melissa!) this is for you.

Can you believe that? Same girl, same dress, I swear. I showed my husband, and he just blinked and said "I think the last decade has been good to you!" Such a sweetie. I can almost feel how awkward I felt in that old picture when I look at it. John was an awesome friend of mine back then. Neither of us was ever romantically interested in each other- we went on a couple of dates, and they failed so miserably that we took it as a sign. But his family was convinced we were going to get married some day. I wonder what ever happened to that guy! We lost touch not long after his mission. But when my mom told him to put his arm around me to take the picture, I think we both felt rather awkward. I am so glad I am not in the high school awkward phase anymore!

Since I didn't have to rent a costume like most people, I did splurge and get an up-do for my hair. How often do you get to do that? At least for me, it was just wedding and prom.

I don't think the pictures do it justice, because my hair was really fun. They did these cool little spirals in a diagonal line from top to bottom, and it was gorgeous! Thanks Braadyn and friend!

They even had performers for the evening, like some fire jugglers, belly dancers, and the BYU ballroom dance team. And then we got to dance, which would have been more fun if my husband hadn't hiked Timp overnight the night before. Lame planning, hun. Poor guy was dead tired, but tried anyway.



And now, a bunch of pictures of the rest of our group! I honestly love hanging out with these guys, they are hilarious.

Our table for dinner.

Nice sword!

The top hat costume reminded me of Scrooge all night, but he did bring fake fangs to wear. I think he wore them mostly because his wife didn't like him wearing them. They are hilarious.

Since Jeff had a costume that looked like a King, Ken got most of the company to bow down for this shot. All hail King Jeff!

Pending projects

One of the biggest differences between my husband and I is that when Christopher starts a project, he won't rest until it is done. I, on the other hand, seem to always have about 4-5 unfinished projects going at any given time, and some of them never actually get done. The multi-tasking thing is a mom thing, the unfinished thing is pure me. Really, I start projects, and then when I hit a hard part I don't know how to get through, I wander off to think about it for a while and then forget to come back.

So I try not to start craft projects most of the time.

But every year, I allow myself to have fun with Halloween. Way too much fun, actually. The kids don't care. And now, I somehow gained extra projects in addition to costumes. Huh. So here is the stack I have going right now:

1. Tinkerbell

I haven't decided what Tyler will be yet, but for Kaitlyn I wanted it to be a Disney costume since we are going to Disneyland the first week of December and I wanted her to be able to wear it there too. I couldn't think of what Princess suited this high-spirited little girl, until my mother pointed out this obvious choice. Tiny, blonde, and a lot of attitude. Yup, Kaitlyn is a Tinkerbell.

So then I started looking at what the character wears to make a costume.

That is one mostly naked fairy, folks. And it is cold in Utah for Halloween. I got fabric the other day, and I think I am going to make a "nude" bodysuit for her to wear under the dress. Or I might add sleeves. I have no clue how this thing is going to look when I am done, frankly. Here's hoping.

2. Quilt

Growing up, my mother did quilting, and I liked to sew clothes. She gave me the block fabric that she found somewhere because it looked so perfect for a cabin, and I love it. So now I have to make it into a quilt somehow. I spent forever working out the dimensions and stuff on paper, and then I found the blue fabric to border it the other day, but I still have a long way to go. I haven't even decided if I am making a duvet cover or a quilt yet!

3. Little house

My kids love the little play houses, but we just haven't managed to get one yet. They are expensive new, and most used ones are thrashed. And then I was worried about how much space it would take up, especially if the kids aren't using it very much.

And then I found this beauty at a Garage Sale on Saturday. It is a wooden frame for a house. Now I can just sew fabric together to make the sides, and ta-da! Instant house. What I like about this is that I can even make more than one cover, if it needs to be a fire house or a castle or whatever. Or I can cut sides out of plywood and screw them on and paint it too. And then, if it isn't being used or I want to move it or something, I just use a hexawrench and take it apart.

When my husband saw this added to the stack of other projects, I got that look. The eyebrow raise, "I don't want to say anything and get in trouble, but do you actually think you are going to follow through this time and finish these projects?" look.

Time will tell, hubby. Time will tell.

The miracle is that we are going to a Masquerade Ball on Saturday, and I already have a costume. It is black tie formal, and most people have to rent something, but my prom dress is rather Jane Erye style, so I just needed to make a mask. Hooray for putting a ten year old homemade dress to good use! I am really excited for that. Pictures to come afterward . . .

Things that scare me, worry me, and make me sad.

There have been a few things on my mind lately, and I thought I would share and get some moral support from the virtual world. So here we go: something that scares me.

1. Potty training
Oh my, this terrifies me. Why is it that I clean up puke often, but the mere thought of pee on my carpet makes me shiver and gag? Tyler is 3 and a half years old now. He understands what a potty is for, and any time you put him on it he makes his best effort to shoot out what he has. But he has no concept of waiting to go in the potty, telling me when he needs to go potty, or going number two in there at all. In fact, he is not bothered by messy diapers one bit. So I could switch to the expensive pull ups, put my entire life on hold, and take him to the potty every 15 minutes until he gets it, but what if he isn't ready for that? What if I end up doing that for months?

And then Kaitlyn. She loves to sit on the potty. Loves to ask for potty. But usually she just asks for it right after she went. And this morning, when I put her on the potty before a shower, she sat for a while and wanted down, just like normal. So I put Tyler on, and turned around to see her legs wet. Stink bug. I don't think she is ready yet, I just need to keep putting her on when she asks to and reward her amazingly on the off chance something happens while she is there.

But can I just say, the whole thing SCARES ME TO DEATH! I have heard so many horror stories. And I think they will be ready at about the same time, and I think I need Kaitlyn doing it to show Tyler what is going on, because that is the way they usually work.



2. Working out
This one doesn't scare me, just worry me. This is a long story, so bear with me. When I was pregnant with Tyler, I gained 50 pounds. Yes, five - zero, felt like a whale. But then a miracle occured, and I lost 45 of those merely by nursing over the next two months. I had five more I wanted gone, and so I got a gym membership and went five days a week for an hour and a half. For months and months on end.

And never lost a single pound.

Now, before you say it, yes, I know. I know I lost fat while I gained muscle. I know that even though my clothes didn't fit that differently, I was more tone. I was in better shape, and ran a couple of races. But for the love, would it have killed my body to have given me just a shred of quantifiable result for hours upon hours of killing myself at the gym?

So, on to pregnancy number two. I started at five pounds over, because those stupid pounds never left. I gained 24 pounds, after doing fairly close to what I did with the first pregnancy. I lost 16 of those in the hospital: 8 baby, 8 placenta and fluid and such. And now, since Kaitlyn was born, I have actually lost 35 pounds. Yes, that's right, I lost that five that wouldn't leave, and then five more. By doing what, you ask?

Sitting around at home, nursing. And now just sitting around has kept the weight perfectly stable. I watch what I eat, but not like a nutcase.

So last October, I stopped working out. I just couldn't see the point anymore. I never did excercise before I met Christopher. Well, there was a spot in my Freshman year when I tried running a few mornings, but that was just when the Freshman 15 scared me to death. Christopher loves running, and so I have always tried to get into it a little for his sake. But I don't really enjoy it myself, nor any of the other excercises I have done. Yoga is relaxing, pilates/aerobics classes are energizing, and running is great for clearing your mind, but I'd rather be sitting on the couch, thanks.

On to my current problem. I have no energy anymore. I have been ignoring my body for so long, that now I am exhausted just by cleaning my house and doing the laundry. So I know I need to work out, but I also know I have NO self discipline about it, because I have learned I won't get "anything" out of it, so if no one else is depending on me, I won't do it.

I think in order to get it actually done, I would need someone to depend on me. A personal trainer, a friend with an exact schedule, something. Some people are self motivated, but I have to admit I am not that person. I had that drive that one summer, because I kept thinking I would get results. Now that I know in the back of my head that nothing ever happened, I just don't think I will do it again.

When I look at my day, there is this big gap where I could work out - Tyler goes to school at noon, and Kaitlyn goes down for a two hour nap soon after that. The problem is that I have to stay at home because Kaitlyn is sleeping! We have a klunky old treadmill, but at home there are so many distractions. If I was home, I would go off and do the laundry or clean something up or surf the internet instead. Each day, I convince myself that only that particular day is so busy, and I would be back at it tomorrow. But I would be just as distracted then, too. When I go to the gym, my options are a bit more limited. If this was the summer, I would hire a kid to come and watch the house while the baby sleeps. But the only people available from noon to 2 every day are other moms like me, who do not have time to sit at someone else's house for two hours twiddling their thumbs. And my gym membership (which is frozen right now) includes day care, but then Kaitlyn wouldn't get her nap. I could go another time of day, but I already lose Tyler for four hours a day for school, and I think I would feel terrible ditching him any longer than that.

Ideas, anyone?

And now, something that makes me sad:
3. My TI-83 died.

This poor little calcuater made it through 4 years of high school math classes, 4 years of hard core college math classes, 2 years of teaching math, and 3 years of tutoring math. And now it died. You turn it on, and the little black box blinks no matter what buttons you press. No switching of batteries helps. I think my kids got to it. Now I need to go buy a hundred dollar replacement calculator. Since the old one lasted so long, I guess I shouldn't be that sad. But it still had a sticker with my name on it from Geometry class in High School! For a math nerd, I think this is like losing a friend. Sniff.