It's a Wonder I Don't Fall Down More Often

I like looking at the stickers on people’s cars. They allow people to share their likes and dislikes, whether political, social, or entertainment in content. Regardless of how the message is delivered, it sheds some light on the person’s lifestyle…and most of the time they’re fun and interesting,

But that’s not exactly what this post is about. This is pretty much about just how thick I can be sometimes.

You see, I’ve seen this emblem on people’s vehicles for a few years now; but embarrassingly, it was only just a few weeks ago before I realized exactly what it was.



So, all this time I thought this was some sort of artsy design for some alternative music group. You know, a dancing person or something like that. Everytime I saw it (always on a pickup no less…told you I was thick), I would wonder what it represented. I guess I was a little confused by the existence of this one from the Dave Matthews Band.



C’mon, take a look at the first one. You have a pair of dancing legs at the bottom of the picture, and there is a pair of claw-like appendages raised in celebration. It’s clearing something dancing…

I am so smart…S-M-R-T!

-Marcus, SGB

Prayers, Petitions, and Thanksgivings?

So Marcus and I have been in New York since I last blogged and I plan to post pictures and talk about that (including my Hugh Jackman sighting!), but since we got back I’ve been sick so I just haven’t gotten around to it.

Anyway yesterday I felt a little better and I came across an article/news clip on the Huffington Post (a liberal blog/internet newspaper) about a new line of merchandise with a Christian anti-Obama message. Except that at first it looks pro-Obama, and it isn’t just anti-Obama, it’s a thinly veiled reference to praying for his assassination. Basically the bumper stickers, t-shirts, etc say Pray for Obama Psalm 109:8

Most Christians know that we are instructed in 1Timothy to pray for our leaders, so at first glance this looks like a nice suggestion, except that it’s not. Psalm 109:8 says “May his days be few; may another take his place.” Since this isn’t written out on the merchandise one assumes they want you to actually look up the verse in the Bible. Upon doing so it’d be hard to miss the next verse (not to mention the entire content of that chapter). Psalm 109:9 reads “May his children be orphans, and his wife a widow.”

Anyway, being a pretty liberal website, many of the Huffington Post commentators are atheists. Lots of those atheists have a very negative view of Christians and organized religion in general, but still have a positive view of Jesus. There was a whole lot of Gandhi quoting going on in the discussion. (Ya know,"I like your Christ, I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ.")

While I hate that so many have such negative opinions of Christians (although I understand why they do), I always feel a little better when these same people state that they know the difference between what Jesus was all about and what U.S. Christians seem to be all about.

But then I started to wonder, probably because this was all going on while I was getting into UnChristian, how much longer can we expect that to continue? One generation, maybe two? How long before we Christians become so terrible as a group that the rest of America simply forgets or doesn’t even wish to know what Jesus was actually all about?

You can see the Huffington Post artcile/video clip here

And here's a link to a story in Christian Science Monitor, which seems to be the first time anyone in the media discussed it.

In the Year, 2525...

While Amanda has been at the seminar, I've been spending some time wandering around the town of Rhinebeck, NY; taking in the sites and shops, visiting the Farmer's Market, and snapping some pictures.

Here are just a couple of snaps I took from the town cemetery (in honor of All Hallows' Eve, of course).

The town itself is pretty old (settlement started in 1686 and the village incorporated in 1834); and while I know this area is no Mesopotamia, these two images got me thinking.

I wonder what the world will be like 130 years after I'm spending most of my time beneath a headstone?

Marcus, SGB waxing philosophical

Do You Really Need THAT Many Shoes?

So I needed some new shoes, and since Amanda has recently developed an addiction to Zappos.com, that was the first place we went for my replacement footwear. Sure enough, we found a specimen that would be a good choice for me (unfortunately, Skechers has stopped making the shoe I've worn for the past 5 years).

Confidently, I pulled the trigger on what should have been a painless transaction, but instead has turned into the crux of my present angst.

Time passes...shoes arrive...all is good...

...until a day later that is, when Amanda is in Shoe Carnival and finds the exact same shoe for half the price of what we paid on the Interwebs.

Logically, since it costs nothing to return shoes to Zappos, and I hadn't even worn them out of the house yet, she's buys Pair Number Two.

At this point in the story, every thing's coming up Marcus: I've got a great pair of shoes at half the price, and it occurs to me that I also have the opportunity to pick the best pair of these shoes, and simply return the other pair.

Easy Enough.

So I get home, do some evaluating and testing on the clodhoppers, and pick what I believe to be the best left and right entity of the bunch. I even wear them around the house while we're packing for New York (insert foreshadowing here). I pack up the rejected pair, and get them ready to send back.

Fast forward another day.

We're standing in the airport in Newburgh, NY waiting for our luggage, when I look down to admire my feet (mmmm...pretty, pretty feet). Caught unawares, I'm slapped in the face by what I see staring back at me.









Apparently, the lighting in our house needs to be better, I am clearly wearing two different versions of the same shoe! I'm convinced they are the same color and everything, but the one on the right (wait, let me hold up my hands and make the 'L' shape to ensure that's right...ok, it is) has some sort of black eyeliner around the leather strips.

Standing there, I begin picturing an identical pair of these cursed scarpe sitting in a box 1,800 miles away at my house; and the kicker is, I'm now stuck with both pair! There is no way I can wear these shoes for a week (as they are the only ones I have with me) and keep one of them in good enough condition to return.

So, it looks like I have now completed the purchase of two pair of the same shoe. I hope I still like them 6 years from now.

In an attempt to recover a little bit, I've thought about trying to find another pair up here somewhere that I can add to the recipe...but I'm afraid it'll end up like that time I tried to make tuna and ended up with a huge vat of the sandwich filler because I kept adding Tuna/Mayo/Tuna/Mayo trying to get the mixture just right.

I think I'll just cut my loses.

Marcus, SGB

If You Can't Beat Them...

Well, it's that time of year again. You know what I'm talking about...the air gets crisper, the sun sets earlier, the leaves get colorier...

...and the pumpkin patches pop up on every street corner.


In the past, I may have had an embarrassing outburst regarding these patch phenomena (READ), but not this year.


This year I have decided to join them.


So here's my first Pumpkin Patch Photo Shoot. It went off pretty well, although the person retrieving the carts from the parking lot laughed at me. But that's ok, because I'm committed to doing this.

I think I may call a better photographer next time though...this guy had no idea what he was doing.







Hopefully the next one will be better.

Marcus, SBG

We're Number 37!

Every semester, when we got to the chapter on the U.S. health care system in my Social Problems class, I would tell the class that the World Health Organization ranked the health care systems of 191 countries in 2000 and then ask the students where they thought our system ranked on that list. Typically, about half the class would say we were in the top 5. Almost all the students thought we were at least in the top 10. You should have seen the shocked look on their faces when I told them we were ranked 37th.

Here is a fun little song about our ranking. Warning: the song makes fun of right wing ultraconservatives that disrupted the health care town hall meetings.




Here is a link to the press kit from the 2000 release of the WHO report that gives a summary of how the rankings were determined.

Rumor Has It

Marcus and I are a pretty boring couple. I love to read and he likes Star Trek. We spend most of our time together just hanging out at home. We’re just not that interesting.

Or so I thought.

Last week, one of Marcus’ coworkers came into his office, shut the door, and sat down. He said he was concerned about something and wanted to talk to Marcus about it. This coworker’s wife was at the hair dresser the day before and another woman heard her mention that her husband works for Toro. The other woman said “My neighbor works for Toro too.” The wife asked who the neighbor was, and it turns out it was Marcus. Then the woman said “You know he and his wife have been separated for about 6 weeks and she just recently moved back home.”

Seriously!

When the husband heard the story he thought it sounded odd, so he wanted to check with Marcus to see if it was true, and just in case it was to offer him some support. Of course Marcus told him that it wasn’t true.

I just can’t even imagine people sitting around and talking about us. It’s even crazier to think that someone came up with a totally baseless rumor about our marriage. Weird.

I guess I need to start using our front door more often instead of parking in our detached garage and entering the house through the back door!

Women in the Military

I discovered this article on MSNBC.coms website today. Apparently, the Associated Press released the photo of a Marine after he was severly wounded in Afghanistan. He later died during an operation in a field hospital. The crux of the article is an explanation of why the AP decided to release the photo. As someone who has 2 cousins in the Marines, I have an opinion about that, but that actually is not the focus of my post.

After reading the article, it is very clear that the photographer was in a combat zone, on the front lines so to speak. It's also clear she is a woman. So female Marines (and women in all branches of military service) are not allowed on the front lines, but female reporters/photographers are? Hmm.......That makes about as much sense as openly gay people being barred from serving in the U.S. military at all.

A Long Time Coming

Here is link to Richard Beck's blog about ACU's changes to opening chapel this year. (Dr. Beck is a Psychology professor at ACU and a member of our church). He explains what changed and why much better than I could.

While it was fun to play The Battle Hymn of the Republic in the Big Purple every year and the huge American flag was pretty cool looking when it was dramatically released, it was all very innapropriate during a worship service. It bothered me both as a student and an instructor and I am so thankful that President Money and the Board of Trustees finally had the courage to do away with it.

Apparently they have taken quite a bit of flack for it, so if you are a former ACU student and you are glad they made this change please contact President Money or the Alumi Assoication to state your support.

You can mail letters to:

Dr. Royce Money

Abilene Christian University
Abilene, Texas 79699

Or contact or call our alumni association:

Toll free: 800-373-4220

Fax: 325-674-6679

E-mail: jae08a@acu.edu

Marcus' Graduation Pictures

Here are some pictures from Marcus' graduation taken by our good friend Shannon:

He's trying to find us in the bleachers during the ceremony

Caleb's checking out Uncle Marcus' Tarleton pin

Marcus hugging his mom

Marcus and our nephew Caleb

Marcus and Me with our good friends the Delcambres

Marcus and Me with his family

Congratulations Marcus!

Marcus completed the coursework for his Master’s of Science degree in Information Systems this month and graduated last Saturday. I’m very proud of him for getting this degree since he did it all while working full time and while taking care of me. (I’ve been kinda high maintenance since, oh, late 2004 or so).

So, congratulations to my sweet and super s-m-r-t husband!

Oh, and since he now has a degree in what he actually does, it’s probably time for a career change. ;-)

Surprise!

Marcus graduated with his Master’s Degree in Information Systems today, but this post isn’t really about that. (I’m waiting for pictures from my personal photographer before telling y’all about graduation).

Anyhooo….We got to Stephenville last night and stayed in the local Best Western. This morning, after Marcus got ready for graduation, he went to grab us breakfast and to pick up the cake (poor guy had to pick up his own cake) while I was showering and getting ready. I locked the hotel door, but I left the dead bolt unlocked since I really didn’t know when he’d be back. That was a BIG mistake.

I had just stepped out of the shower and was drying off while facing into the main part of the room when all of the sudden the front door opens.

It wasn’t Marcus.

Fortunately, I happened to have the towel in front of me at that moment. Unfortunately I was standing in front of the huge bathroom mirror. A very surprised cleaning lady got a great view of my entire backside. I doubt she’ll open another door without knocking, at least for awhile.

Nothing like starting your day with a little accidental exhibitionism!

Eep...

It's no secret that I dislike, nay, am incapacitatingly fearful of, spiders (see). Well, just now, I saw an unfinished coke of mine from last night that I left out on the coffee table. I thought to myself, "Self, there's no need to let that go to waste," so I proceeded to pick up the can, bring it to my lips, and finish off the last little bit in one big gulp.

Now, I don't know why, but in the 2 or 3 seconds it took me to finish the flattened Coke, I started thinking, "you know, this can was left here open to the elements, just inviting any number of sweet-seeking insects and other creepy-crawlies to come for a sip. How do I know that there's not some sort of bug floating in this little bit that I'm drinking right now?"

Then (unfortunately) my mind expanded it to, "what if a spider went down the can hole for a swim, and is about to take a dive down my esophagus?!" And of course, I started to picture it. My mind's eye saw the spider there (it started small, but as my mind raced, it got ginormous!), comically scampering to the bottom of the can away from my gaping maw...

I may have freaked myself out.

It could only have been worse if I was floating in the ocean surrounded by toddlers and the elderly...

Sorry to post on the same day that Amanda did (don't miss her post from this morning) ... but I'm apparently trying to avoid the last little bit of homework I have.

-Marcus, SGB

Joyful!

Since over 17 million people have viewed this on You Tube, I know I am waaaaaaay late on this, but it's great.



They just all seem so happy and full of joy. It's too bad it's a Chris Brown song though.

I wonder what their grandparents thought? Both of my grandmothers balked at wearing black to my wedding. I don't think they would've been to keen on this idea.

Also, I am sooo thankful this happened 13 years after my cousin Tiffany's wedding. She's the only person I know that I could picture doing this at their own wedding, and I just don't know if I could've done it!

Snack Time!

So I've been on Weight Watcher's faithfully since April or so and in that time I have tried about a billion new products, mostly of the snacking variety. Here are some of my favorites:

1. South Beach Living Fiber Fit S'mores Bars: 100 cals/2 points

These are pretty good and really filling. Somehow the marshmallow on top has a roasted marshmallow flavor. Caution: Contains A LOT of fiber, so don't eat two in one day. Trust me.

2. South Beach Living Fiber Fit Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies: 100 cals/2 points

These taste more like real cookies than other 100 calorie packs. They have dark chocolate on the bottom. The same fiber caution applies.

3. Hershey's Pretzel Bars: 100 cals/2 points

I like these more than the Nabisco Mr. Salty 100 calorie chocolate covered pretzels. They somehow taste a lot like Hershey's Take 5 candy bars even though they don' t have any peanut butter in them.

4. Hershey' s York Peppermint Waffer Bars: 100 cals/2 points

I LOVE these. They taste almost exactly like Girl Scouts Thin Mints.

5. The Skinny Cow Low Fat Chocolate Ice Cream Cone with Fudge: 150 cals/3 points

The ice cream is pretty good, but the cone is GREAT.

6. Dreyer's Slow Churned Light Chocolate Ice Cream: 200 cals/4 points (for a cup, the serving size is half a cup, but seriously, who eats that little ice cream at once?!?)

This does not taste at all like light ice cream. I usually add some whipped cream and almond slivers to make a 6 point sundae.

7. Blue Bunny Personals Light Super Fudge Brownie Ice Cream: 240 cals/5 pointsThis is also really good light ice cream and it's already pre-portioned.

There are several other snacks that I like, but pretty much they are just mini versions of the regular thing. Like 100 cal Snickers, Twix, Pepperidge Farms Milanos, and Keebler Mini Fudge Stripes.

Oh, and don't worry I'm not just eating snack foods all day!

Hmmm...

What about this is compact?

-Marcus, SGB

I love this cat!

Ok I know I’ve posted about this before, but much as I am still soooo excited about Marcus, President Obama, and snorkeling, I am still excited about my cat. Gus is really the sweetest cat I’ve ever had, and I’ve had about a million and a half cats (so far). The best part about Gus is that he really really loves me, way more than a cat normally loves a person. If I have 100 more cats, none of them will love me as much as Gus does.

I also love my dogs (and Charlie) and of course they love me, but being loved by your cat is so different than being loved by your dog. No matter who ended up being Bailey and Emma’s humans, they would have loved them just as much as they love Marcus and me. Dogs are just like that, as evidenced in this clip from Disney’s Up

If your cat loves you, you know it’s because of you and not their natural inclination to love just any old human. Even Gus, who is super sweet, just recently started to kinda like Marcus, after 5 years of being fed by him. He loved me from the start though.

Marcus and Bailey

Marcus' cousin Camille just got a new puppy, and she posted several cute pictures of herself, her husband, and the puppy on facebook. One of the cutest is of her husband bathing the puppy in the bath tub. That reminded me of this super cute picture of Marcus giving Bailey her first bath.

Update

I haven’t blogged in awhile. Nothing super duper exciting has been going on, but here is an update on my life anyway.

I’m continuing to do well with the weight loss. As of today I’ve lost 25 pounds this year so far. I also hit on a great reward...James Avery earrings. They’re something I like, but not something I would typically buy for myself. And since Marcus and I only exchange cards on holidays, they’re not something I’m likely to get as a gift either. Plus, they never go on sale, so no worries about seeing them cheaper later. And, well, they're just so pretty!

Also along the lines of the weight loss….I started working out again a few weeks ago, and after some initial protesting by my stupid ankle, I’ve got a good little routine going. I do yoga about 4 times a week, and Marcus and I do different Walk Away The Pounds DVDs about 4 times a week. (Not sure how he feels about me telling the world that, but oh well).

On Monday I got my new heart rate monitor in the mail and I am enjoying working out with that A LOT. It accurately calculates how many calories you burn by measuring your heart rate. It’s very helpful on weight watchers, because as you start losing more weight, you start losing eating points, which makes the plan harder to stick to. You can earn activity points by exercising (which you can use to eat more), but you could accidentally overeat and sabotage your weight loss efforts if you aren’t accurately calculating your activity points. I was pleasantly surprised to find that I had been underestimating my activity points!

I just booked a 7 day Caribbean cruise with 2 girlfriends for early January. I’m super excited about that! Although I did realize I will need to pack all at once for Christmas in Houston, a family reunion in Denver, and then a Caribbean cruise. Should be interesting!

My India/Pakistan novel kick is still going strong. I recently discovered that our library participates in the inter library loan program, so I may never have to buy another book again!

Oh, one interesting thing did happen last week. I woke up from a nap and then sat on the couch. I felt something scratchy on the back of my arm. I looked back to check and didn’t see anything. A little later I still felt something scratchy, so I looked back again. This time I saw something. A giant lizard! Now, at that moment my brain didn’t have the time to actually register this thing as a lizard, just a reptile in general, so I freaked out, screamed, and jumped up, which sent my lap top flying.

This isn't the actual lizard, but it looked kinda like this one

I would also like to point out that we have 2 cats and 2 dogs, and none of them prevented this lizard from strolling into our house and sitting on the couch. In fact, Gus and Emma were actually sitting on the couch when the incident occurred.

Useless animals!

That's about it. Now you're all updated.

Yes...It's Yellow

Even after 5 years, I still love our yellow car! Every time I see it in a parking lot, I like how it pops (which makes it great in a crowded parking lot).



Oh, and it runs good still too.

-Marcus, SGB

I Wish We Had Cable

Following Michael Jackson's sudden death MTV played a marathon of his videos. I would have enjoyed seeing that. I did watch several, of very poor quality, on youtube though.

I was 4 when the Thriller album came out, but I remember listening to it over and over at my cousin Tiffany's house. Tiffany also forced me to perform dance routines with her to Michael Jackson and Madonna's music on a pretty regular basis at family gatherings.

I also distinctly remember the Billie Jean video from the early years of MTV. I think they played that video and the Beat It video all the time. And of course, I was completely terrified of the Thriller video. I got to show that video to my 11 year old sister this past weekend. How had she never seen it?

All that to say, his death was sad for me because his music was a big part of my early childhood.

Cousin Tiffany, Cousin Meredith, Me

In the other picture Tiffany and I are at Hanna Barbara Land. I don't know why we were sharing that stuffed animal.

Random Vacation Tidbits

Here are just a few things that I forgot to mention in my earlier vacation posts.

1. When we got on the first ship the Delcambres’ room smelled like a bar. It was horrible. In trying to deal with that and hopefully get them moved to another room, Marcus was told that the ship was overbooked. Huh? How do you overbook a cruise ship? Where do the extra people sleep?

2. Marcus, the Delcambres, and I played games in one of the restaurants most nights of the cruise, and most nights the ship played some sort of Michael Bolton’s greatest hits DVD. I Said I Loved You But I Lied is the dumbest, sappiest song ever written. If I didn’t hate Michael Bolton before, I certainly do now.

3. During our 2 weeks in the Caribbean/Bahamas, we saw a whole lot of people in swimsuits. Now, I am all for people of all shapes and sizes wearing whatever swimsuits they want, with two exceptions: First, speedo wearers. I don’t care if you’re George Clooney or Brad Pitt (attention older gentleman with a beer belly and middle aged gentleman with Robin Williams level hairiness, you are neither) no one wants to see you in a speedo. No. One.

Second, thong wearers. While we are very impressed with the 23 hours a day you spend on the stair master at the gym, we don’t want to see your bare bottom. We really, really don't. We especially don’t want to see it when you bend over (repeatedly) to pick up your golf ball while playing putt putt.

Seriously, wouldn't the world be a better place if speedos and thongs were banned everywhere swimsuits are worn?

So there you go, now you are all filled in on our cruises.

P.S. I found lots of pictures of people in speedos that I could have added to this post. I chose not to. You're Welcome.

Should..Should..Should...

I haven’t seen my therapist since February because she retired. We both agreed that I didn’t need to see her regularly anymore (I’m cured ;-), but she is available if/when I need her.

Anyway, just because I’m not in therapy anymore doesn’t mean I’m not still learning stuff about myself. Recently, I realized another area in which I “should” myself constantly.

I suppose some people might envy those who are traveling across Europe, like my friend Irene; raising super cool little kids, like too many of my friends to even count (you know who you are); writing some pithy, hilarious, and popular blog like my blogger friend Kristina; trying to improve Non Muslim/Muslim relations in the U.S. like Marcus’ friend Kara; living a super fun life in New York City like my cousin Meredith; but not me.

Instead, I compare whatever interesting thing they’re doing with whatever uninteresting thing I’m doing, and immediately think something along the lines of “Why aren’t I doing something that interesting (or important or fun or active or cool or whatever)? I should be doing something that interesting.”

Should, should, should. It’s very tiring constantly thinking of all the things you should be doing. I suspect that it is more tiring than actually doing any of those things. (Ok, well maybe not parenting).

Anyway, I don’t have a solution to this particular should problem. I just find it interesting. The really funny thing is that I'm pretty sure I thought that way on occasion even when I was teaching full-time at a university at the age of 23. That in and of itself is pretty interesting.

I'm Still Excited!

Here's President Obama's entire speech from earlier today in Egypt. Normally I read political speeches (don't have to sit through all the built in applause moments that way), but I can't find the transcript for this one yet. Here's the video:

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

I'm loving this country's new direction under President Obama!

The Rest of our Vacation

After our Caribbean cruise with the Delcambres, Marcus and I hopped on a shuttle bus and headed to the Miami Seaquarium. It’s kind of like a mini Sea World. Since Marcus and I are big animal lovers we had a lot of fun. Plus we both got to see manatees for the first time.

The shuttle dropped us off at the Miami Air Port after the Seaquarium, and from that point we had to take a taxi to our hotel. I booked the hotel weeks before the trip using priceline.com’s name your price. I was certain that we were booked at the downtown Miami Hyatt Regency. In fact, earlier in the week I looked for restaurants near there that we could walk to, and earlier that day I pointed it out to Marcus twice as we passed by in the shuttle. Anyway, we took a $30 cab ride from the airport to the hotel only to find out that our reservation was really at the Coral Gables Hyatt Regency. Another $30 cab ride and we were there. Our room was great and we even had a balcony.

The next day we took yet another cab to the port for our Bahamas cruise. The first stop was Nassau Bahamas. There was a minor thunderstorm most of the morning. We got thoroughly soaked, and I was so tired that I actually fell asleep on the tender ride from the port to our excursion destination. Once our sea lion encounter started we had a blast. Marcus and I and 8 other tourists got to get in the water with Murray the sea lion and his trainer. We got to pet him, kiss him, and hug him. It is right up there with kayaking in Puerto Rico as the highlight of the cruises.

We actually ended up docked in Nassau until 1 am because of passing storm, so Marcus and I decided to brave the Nassau shops for a gift for my little brother. On the way to Senor Frogs near the port we were asked “if we liked to party?” And when I replied with an “excuse me?” The man then asked “Do you want some blow?” I responded with a probably too polite “No thank you.” I then realized that I made it to 30 without being asked directly if I wanted to buy drugs. Not too bad for someone born in Houston in the late 70s.

The next stop was CoCo Cay, which is a private island owned by the cruise line. It was actually disappointing. I was all ready to snorkel, but you had to get to the snorkel spot from the beach which was covered with rocks and slime of some sort. I HATE slime! Marcus and I did enjoy some time just hanging in a hammock.

CoCo Cay, Bahamas

The final stop was Key West, Florida. We signed up for a snorkel adventure. I was so excited because snorkeling is my favorite thing to do. On the hour long boat ride to the reef I started to feel funny, but I got in the water anyway. It was my last chance to snorkel! I’m glad I went. I saw all kinds of fish and plants. It was great. I could have stayed there all day. I’ve already started researching hotels in Key West.

An example of what I saw. I actually forgot the waterproof camera.

It was a really long time to be away from home, but we had a blast!

We're Back!

Marcus and I recently went on 2 cruises. One with our good friends the Delcambres, and then one just the two of us. We had a lot of fun, but 2 weeks is a long time to be away from home. Here’s a run down of our first cruise:

Our first port was San Juan, Puerto Rico. The four of us went kayaking at night in a bioluminescent bay. I’d never kayaked before and was sure I would fall out, but miraculously we never did. We did have a rough start because the water was choppy and there were many other inexperienced kayakers as well as loose unmanned boats. It was like a crazy obstacle course starting out.

Once we got going we had a lot of fun, the mangroves were beautiful as were the stars. The bioluminescent part was super cool. We also learned that Marcus and I work very well as a team, especially compared to a lot of other couples who were pretty much yelling and/or snapping at each other the entire kayak trip. The first person in the kayak is the only one who can see anything, and tells the back person what to do. It is a great test of a relationship. We pretty much spent our time laughing.

Las Cabezas de San Juan

The next port was St Thomas. It was a cloudy day, but we still had fun. We did some shopping down town in the morning, and then in the afternoon we went to Megan's Bay. The water was super cold, but Marcus, Shannon, and I still braved it.

Megan's Bay

Our final port on the first cruise was in St Martin. That was an adventure. Our plan was to snuba, which none of us had ever done. We ate at a restaurant on the marina. On our way out to the snuba spot I started feeling sick, which is weird because I don’t get sea sick. We tried snubaing, but Marcus and I quickly gave up. He is afraid of the water and the choppy conditions and weird sound his equipment made did not help. I was feeling a lot worse, and couldn’t stay upright in the water so I couldn’t get the hang of the snuba gear.

Shortly after Marcus and I got back on the boat I started feeling very very bad. I decided to sit on the back of the boat with my feet in the water. A couple minutes later I started throwing up. I’ve never done that on a boat before. I felt a lot better afterwards, so it’s pretty clear that my lunch was the culprit and not sea sickness. Jonathan does get sea sick and for awhile we were both puking off the back of the boat. Marcus ate the other half of my lunch, so he started feeling bad too. I’m still amazed he didin’t vomit! All in all Shannon is the only one who had a great day in St Martin.

Dutch Side of St Martin

It was a lot of fun cruising with good friends, and we hope to do it again!

I'll update y'all on the rest of the trip later this week.