At Sea…

Today we are sailing on the open seas! Heading from Port of Miami, Florida to our first Port of Call, Ochos Rios, Jamaica.

What to do at sea?

Good Morning! Coffee on the balcony anyone?

We started our day at the Great Outdoors cafe with a wonderful breakfast until it started to downpour. A few minutes later the sun came out and there was a rainbow.

Next stop the excursion desk to pick up a brochure and decide what excursion to take in Jamaica tomorrow.

The sun was shiny so we wanted to catch a few rays. It was so crazy windy that we were only able stay out a short while.

Back to the cafe for lunch.

We watched a sushi demonstration and David &Glenn volunteered for a little fun. ” Brad Pitt” and “Vin Diesel” had to catch an egg in their mouth. Success for the brothers and their prize…sushi. It was delicious!!

A game of Deal or No Deal…

A little onboard shopping … I didn’t end up getting the hat 😛

And a few games of shuffle board…

An afternoon snack ( warm peach crumble with hot vanilla sauce)

And a little more suntanning…

There’s just so much to do on SEA days!

And one of our favourite things to do every evening is dress for a fancy dinner and show! And to finish the evening…a little music in the atrium. It’s the PERFECT ending to the day.

Haha…Oh these little bitmojis are fun!

Goodnight from the middle of the ocean…sweet dreams

Cruising’

A cruising vacation! Ahh…

Heading out on the Norwegian Pearl this morning. This is our fifth cruise and the 4th time for us on this particular ship. It just feels like home ❤ The Norwegian Pearl just finished a 2 weeks refresh at dry dock in Miami. There are lots of new updated features and we are the first aboard to check it out. How exciting!!

Here is the itinerary…

And here are some pics…

We arrived bright and early at the Port of Miami and checked in and got our stateroom cards. We had to wait until 12:00 to embark. First stop the Great Outdoors for a bit of food. It was overcast and windy with intermittent rain, so the pools and furniture were tied down. After discovering a mechanical problem during rechecks and requiring a part, we were delayed in our sail away. We were scheduled for 4pm, the first ship to leave, BUT ended up being the last ship to finally leave port. Two Norwegian, Two Royal Caribbean, and a Disney Cruise ship all went ahead of us. There’s so much to do on a ship, and David finally had someone to play a game of chess as we watched the other ships leave port. Since it was rainy and not great for being outside to watch the sail away, we had a lovely dinner ( complete with LOTS of desserts), and enjoyed some great Classical music.

We ended our day being rocked asleep in our cozy refurbished stateroomBon Voyage!

And so it begins…

HELLO Mom & Dad

A couple days in Miami before our cruise means it’s opportunity to visit Mom & Dad Goode. They have been spending their winters in Cortez, Bradenton Beach area of Florida for the past few years.

We headed to the coast through the Everglades on the Tamiami highway. We saw lots of alligators and interesting birds but because we were short on time we didn’t stop for pictures. We decided to meet halfway on the west coast of Florida in a quaint little town called Matlacha (pronounced “mat-la-SHAY”)

Matlacha is one of five communities on Pine Island in the Cape Coral area. It is an “Old Florida” fishing village, home to many brightly colored art galleries, island boutiques, seafood restaurants, and traditional Floridian cottages. We ate at a wonderful spot the “Blue Dog” The shrimp tacos and key lime pie were delish! We spent the afternoon browsing the shops and catching up with Mom & Dad.

After a bit more food we headed back to Miami to get a good night’s sleep!

Winter Vacay time

Today is the beginning of our Winter Vacay!

Bright and early, up at 3am

and off to the airport for a 6:40 flight to Toronto

AND

and Toronto to Miami.

I love vacation time but Winter vacations are the VERY BEST!!! It’s the escape from snow and cold to sun and sand that REALLY makes me HAPPY!!!!!

Glenn & Holly ( David’s older brother and wife) are with us this vacay. We are looking forward to a great time! Goodnight from Miami!

FAT Tuesday 😂

FAT Tuesday, Shrove Tuesday aka…Pancake Day is the day in February or March immediately preceding Ash Wednesday, the first day of Lent. So…the date is determined by Easter. Pancakes are associated with the day preceding Lent because they were a way to use up rich foods such as eggs, milk, and sugar, before the fasting season of the 40 days of Lent.

This year Pancake Day is February 28th and for dinner tonight guess what we’ll enjoy?

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My phone must realize it’s soon time for vacation, it has been posting this message off and on all day! 😂

It’s time for a Haircut!!!!

In Chinese culture, the dragon is an auspicious animal that dominates clouds and rains. On the 2nd day of the 2nd lunar month is thought to be the day that dragon awakes and raises its head according to the Chinese folk legend. So the day is called Dragon Heads-raising Day. And there is a poplar Chinese idiom “二月二, 龙抬头” (èr yuè èr, lóng táitóu) which means ‘On the second day of the second lunar month, dragon raises its head’. After the day, spring is coming and there will be more and more rains. People think these credits go to the dragon.

Today…February 27th is BLUE DRAGON Festival, not to be confused with Dragonboat Festival!

Also known as the Eryueer Festival（二月二）, The Blue Dragon Festival, also known as the Zhonghe Festival or Longtaitou Festival, is a holiday closely tied to China’s ancient agrarian culture. It’s a traditional holiday meant to welcome the earliest tentative signs of spring and is held on the second day of the second month of the Chinese calendar.

Longtaitou literally translates to “dragon raising its head,” a reference to the animal believed to preside over all creatures and, importantly, control the rains. Farmers celebrate the Blue Dragon Festival to ensure favorable rainfall and plowing conditions for a strong harvest season.

Longtaitou Festival is celebrated in various ways, most of which are still identical to those practiced in the ancient times, including eating Chinese pancakes (春饼) and noodles. Haha, tomorrow it’s pancake day here in Canada!

It’s time to clean the house and get a haircut! Similar to housecleaning ( sweeping away Chinese New Year’s luck and good fortune if cleaning is done in the 1st lunar month), it’s considered bad luck to cut your hair during the 1st lunar month. Cutting your hair on the Blue Dragon Festival aligns yourself with the dragon’s dignity and power. Dragon is highly esteemed for its dignity and power for good. It is thought to be auspicious to cut hair on the Dragon Heads-raising Day. Luck and opportunities will always knock on your door in the year. So, on that day, barbershops’ businesses are prospering and full of customers. Time to get a haircut!!!! Hint, hint David!!! lol

And…Eat Dragon Foods…Dumplings are called the “dragon’s ears,” pancakes are the “dragon’s scales” and noodles are the “dragon’s beard,” to express hopes for rain and a good harvest.

I just LOVE all the culture, special days and festivals in China!

Spring is coming…time to get a haircut!

RED CARPET READY!

It’s the OSCARS!!! Did you watch it?

I love this awards show. But mainly for the fashions. I love to see the stars all glammed up on the red carpet. And I love Mondays after the Oscars. I really enjoy listening to all the reviews…from fashion, to the big winners, to behind the scenes special moments on all my favourite morning talk shows as I am doing my things around home. In your opinion who was the BEST dressed/ WORST dressed on the red carpet this year?

My Number 1 was Nicole Kidman

Like WOW!!! Keith Urban must be a proud man.

Number 2 was Jessica Biel

And how about that opening by Justin Timberlake!!!

I love these two couples, they are so good together and the ladies looked fabulous as ALWAYS.

Worst dressed…I hate to comment on this, but I didn’t care for the style that Octavia Spencer ( Hidden Figures) wore

And I honestly didn’t care for Halle Berry’s wild and crazy hair!

Everyone has their own style/taste and I’m really not one to judge…these were just my preferences. Everyone looked fabulous.

Speaking of red carpet ready… My cruise clothes and dressy outfits are all picked out and packed. Yay!!!! I’ve packed way too much, considering I normally can do 10 days in a carry on ( NOT THIS TIME) but a girl has to have options when cruising!!!

One and a half more sleeps and it’s VACAY!

He’s HOME!!!

James, our youngest son is home from his Spring Break Vacay!

We picked him up from the airport this afternoon. He was a little tired, yet pumped from his past week’s adventure!

Last Friday night we saw him off at the airport and his adventures began…

James took lots of wonderful pictures and I can’t wait to see them all. Here are some of the pics he shared while he was away, just to stay in touch and I’ll share them with you because they are fantastic!

LONDON, UK

MALAGA, SPAIN

GIBRALTAR

AND my favourite ( on my bucket list now) CHEFCHAOUEN, MOROCCO, AFRICA 16938862_10154777400246858_899182724571522951_n

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One of the joys of travel is meeting new people. James and a new friend enjoy exploring CHAOUEN.

RABAT, MOROCCO

I’m so happy he had a wonderful vacation. I am so thankful he is home safe!!! I think it’s wonderful that he takes AWESOME photos that I can enjoy with him. I love the fact that adventure runs in our family and that we share this love of travel. And…I am thankful and excited that in a few more days my husband & I will be off on our own adventure!!!

We enjoyed hearing a few stories on the drive home and over a late lunch/early dinner ( James was starving)

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And James, being the thoughtful son he is brought back his Dad some Moroccan Dirham and me a keepsake from “the blue city” Chefchaouen …a beautiful little rug ( I’ll use it as a table runner) made by the Berber people. The symbols on it are Berber symbols. And some beautiful soap with mint, a very popular scent there.

Thank you so much James, it’s wonderful to have you home!!

PS. If you’re on Instagram, you can follow James @jgoodephoto

Such a GORGEOUS day!! BUT Coldest Night of the Year!

it’s cold out there!!!! Ok Not so much. It’s actually pretty mild BUT …it’s the

Walk on tonight Saturday, Feb. 25, 2017!

The Coldest Night of the Year is a super-fun, family-friendly fundraiser that raises money for the hungry, homeless, and hurting across Canada. Bundle up and WALK!!

Our church’s teens and leaders are participating in this walk. It’s such a great activity and for a super great cause!

Today was a gorgeous day and great weather to be outside. We had errands to do, packing for our cruise, and David even had a bit of time to start getting his tan on…

We had a simple dinner and are now vegging in front of the TV for a couple hours.

Hope you’re having a nice relaxing Saturday!

A HUGE South American Party

*** Make sure you press PLAY on the audio file to get the full effect as you read this post. lol

It’s that time of year in Brazil!

It’s Carnaval! It falls on February 24-28 this year. It is the biggest celebration of the year in Brazil. We had so much fun experiencing this when we lived there, and just to break up the wintery snow month of February and help me think about warm, sun and beaches…I just had to break out my Havaianas ( have to pack them for my cruise next week anyway)

AND for dinner tonight I just had to make some delicious Brazilian food … shrimp with heart of palm and rice topped with toasted almonds and lime…lime pie and coffee… and caipirinha’s of course!