Well, school is back in session, so it’s time once again to settle into a daily routine. I got a new desktop computer that I haven’t really had time to explore, and a new cell phone I’m learning to use. The new technology is so much fun! Add the Nook I got and haven’t really explored, and I have my hands full. One of the things I’ve been trying to do is convert my music files to mp3, but that hasn’t been going so well. 

I jumped back into the writing challenge again - and I’ve at least kept track of all the scene page numbers and POV details on my story grid. I don’t think I’ll get to filling out the action columns until I start revisions. I haven’t checked a total word count yet, but I started a new scene yesterday on page 156. The writing is going pretty smoothly, so I’m hoping to that will continue! LOL 

I hope you had a wonderful Wednesday and the rest of your goes well for you!

I’ve been on three different Carnival ships and sailed from Galveston, New Orleans, Gulfport MS, and Miami. With that said, there really aren’t that many destinations to visit unless you travel for longer than seven days. And depending on the ship’s port, you will either have just one day at sea before you start visiting ports of call, or two. Either way, you’ll have 3 days when you’re sailing and three days where you’re in a port. The 7th day is all about debarking the vessel and getting the new passengers onboard. But if you’re the one boarding, you get all afternoon onboard before you sail, usually at 4 PM.

I recommend booking an excursion through the ship’s options. You will think it’s too expensive, and that you can possibly do the same excursion once you get off the boat, or online yourself. But if you run late and the ship doesn’t know where you are, they will leave you and sail to the next port. Good luck catching up to the ship then! I should add that we love to snorkel, so that’s what we usually do at every port. There are tons of things to do, and I can’t list them all here. But if you want, go here for an example of all the things you can do in Jamaica.  

Let’s talk itineraries. Depending on which ship you’re on and the length of your cruise, they will take you to two-four different places during your cruise. I’ve been through four different itineraries with 3 ports of call: Key West, Nassau and Freeport, Bahamas; and Montego Bay, Jamaica, Georgetown, Grand Cayman, and Cozumel Mexico; Ocho Rios, Jamaica, Georgetown & Cozumel; and a two ports in Cozumel and Calica, Mexico. Most places are very safe and easy to visit, but you should be careful in Jamaica and Mexico.

The Jamaican people are poor and desperate for money, and they will drive your crazy with their begging. And taxi drivers do not care about you - they will grab your stuff and force you to go with them. Shop keepers don’t have prices on their wares, so they will try to barter with you over the prices. If you stay with a ship’s excursion, they will provide your safe transportation and take you places they trust. That’s a biggie - you should only visit places approved by the cruise lines. Everything is guaranteed, and they’ll make sure nothing bad happens. There is a shopping center at the port entrance/exit that has everything you might want, with decent prices clearly marked.  In Mexico, it similar but not as drastic. Again, stick to places the cruise line recommends.

I have experienced travel when the seas were rough, and they cancelled our port of call completely. Your money will be refunded if you book your excursion through the cruise line, but if you did it yourself online instead you’ll be out of luck.

Any specific questions about the destinations? Leave me a comment asking whatever you’d like to know, and I’ll be happy to tell you whatever I know.

The crew onboard the ship wants you to have a good time. It’s their job to keep you happy. As a frequent guest, we skip several events offered. The more times you sail, the more time you have to spend doing your own thing…

The cruise director spends a lot of time explaining the ports and shopping destinations approved by the cruise line. It’s a good idea to listen to him if you’re cruising for the first time - but what a lot of folks don’t know is that they record those talks and play them back on the ship’s stateroom TVs after the fact. EVERY DAY until the cruise ends. You can gamble in the casino once we sail and when we’re not in port. There are the Broadway shows, the Las Vegas showgirl shows, and… wait for it…

The new Punchliner Comedy Club. The cruise line actually hired comedians (2 for the 1st part of the week, and 2 for the 2nd) ~ during the 1st part of week they have comics who switch shifts - if they did the family show one night, the headlined the adults only show the next night.  FOUR comics in seven days - FUN TIMES!!

They also have bingo. And an art auction. And Spa deals. Plus all the “hairiest man” and “ice carving” contests out by the pool . They have a Camp Carnival program for kids. We used it a lot when the kids were little. They basically keep the kids all day and night if you want them to - although you do have to take them for lunch and dinner. They’ll even keep the kids while you go into port if you want (we never did that). There were lots of nights we didn’t pick up the kids until after midnight (babysitting fees apply after 10 PM).

Also out by the pool they have a steel drum band that sings Bob Marley and reggae songs, and a HUGE screen that shows Caribbean backgrounds while they play Fun Ship Radio, and they play movies at night. There are also bands in the Lobby and some of the bars. They also have a disco, but it doesn’t open until 10:30 PM (we’ve only been there for parties or goofing off taking pictures when nobody else is there. There are also shops that sell booze (which they will hold until the last night of the cruise), perfume, jewelry, t-shirts, cups, toys, etc.  They also have a lot of trivia contests scattered around the ship.

We like to just chill out and read (the kids play a lot of video games in the arcade). I took my Nook and read 5 books in 7 days! We also played Uno and Pass The Pigs.  The TV in the stateroom picks up satellite channels out of Denver, and has the 3 networks, plus ESPN, HLN, CNN, TNT, Cartoon Network and Boomerang (and more), plus a bunch of music and ship channels. There are also 3 or 4 movie channels that show different movies each day.  And let’s face it, it’s your vacation, so if you want to spend the afternoon laying in bed watching a movie you can. There’s only so much fun in the sun you can have. Plus I like quiet time.  Any questions?

Howdy! We just got back from a fabulous seven-day cruise on the Carnival Conquest, a ship we’ve sailed on many times (since we’ve been on 11 total cruises, we’re Platinum Concierge Club members!). Cruising is one of our all-time favorite vacations to take, and this trip held a number of pleasant surprises! We book early and get a reduced rate on a balcony room, which is where we spend a lot of our time when we’re not out of the room. It is a glorious sight to look out on nothing but beautiful blue water as far as the eye can see! At night the stars are so bright and vast - one night we actually could see the Milky Way! When the ship cuts through the water, it sounds like waves rushing up to a beach. We got lucky and had a very calm sea - several days the water was as smooth as glass. The weather cooperated and we had a couple of days when it got cloudy, but that’s okay with us. It cuts down on the heat, and we’re not really laying-out-by-the-pool people anymore. If we’re out by the pool, it’s usually at a table in the shade- reading, playing UNO or Pass The Pigs, or eating.

 Let’s talk about the food for a minute; there is A LOT of food! It’s included in the price of the cruise and is, IMO, world-class. On the Lido deck there is a Grand Buffet that offers a variety of salads, meats and vegetables; a Taste Of Nations Buffet that offers a different cuisine each day (Indian, French, American, etc); a 24-hour Pizzaria; a burger stand that offers burgers, hot dogs, fries, chicken tenders, nachos, etc; a couple of different dessert buffets; and several ice cream/frozen yogurt machines. The drink stands offer juices, lemonade, tea, coffee, and hot chocolate. Breakfast serves all kinds of creals, eggs, bacon, sausage, bagels/muffins/danishes, yogurt, fruit… I’m sure I’m forgetting something. There are also places where you can buy desserts or specialty coffee for a fee. All sodas and bar drinks cost extra, too.

Dinner is a whole different experience. Usually you choose either an early dining seating or late seating, but Carnival added an Any Time Dining Seating that we selected for the first time. Basically, instead of going at the same time each night, we could go anytime we wanted. We ended up going around the same time every day anyway, except for the last night when we went late because we ate a late lunch after coming back from our excursion. More on the excursions later…  Anyway, the dining rooms have really relaxed their dress codes over the years we’ve been cruising, so I didn’t feel like I had to wear dressy clothes just to go eat. You can’t wear ball caps, flip-flops, or cut off shorts, but other than that you can choose how to dress. The menu is available on your TV in your stateroom (just press the MENU button!), so we’d already pretty much decided what we’d order before we even got there. Usually two appetizers, an entree, coffee and dessert. (And I wonder why I’ve slowly gained ten pounds over the past couple of years?) Fancy food that makes your mouth water - the soups are amazing, and they have perfected chilled soups (strawberry, mango, etc) to the point that my kids actually order them! Usually at least one seafood option (fish, shrimp, lobster, etc), and fancy steaks (filet minon, prime rib, etc), pasta and vegetarian selections. Don’t even get me started on the desserts! In the main dining room you’re assigned a table and have the same waiters each night. I missed that by having the any time dining - the special attention is pretty cool, and several times they sing or dance to entertain you at the end of the meal. The Mat-re ‘D gives announcements and tells you all about upcoming events in the dining room. Dinner is quite simply a blast!

In the sake of keeping this from being an opus, I’ll stop here for now, but don’t worry - over the next few days I’m talk more about the entertainment and the excursions we took! If you have any questions please don’t hesitate to ask! LOL

I can’t believe how fast this summer is going! We just had another mother/daughter book club meeting (we read the Catcher in the Rye). Took a two-night trip to Galveston, where we went for a swim on Jamaica Beach one afternoon, then spent the next day at Schlitterbahn. We’re looking forward to heading back down to the coast next month to take another cruise.

Otherwise, we’ve been staying inside where it’s cool, watching whatever station is having a marathon of good TV shows.  Playing games on Facebook, reading library books, nagging the kids to work on summer assignments- this is how I waste the day away. I’m actually looking forward to going on the cruise - VIP, baby! LOL Carnival is bringing some new ships to Galveston next year and we’re already planning on the next trip. They’re having 6 and 8 day cruises, and different ports than we usually visit. Fun times!

We’re also going to do an overnight trip to San Antonio, visit Sea World and the Alamo, the usual places. We’re actually going to stay on the Riverwalk, so that will be something different. All too soon the fun will end and we’ll be back to the daily grind. I’m going to enjoy it while it lasts!

…we’re staying as busy as ever! Despite the arrival of Hurricane Alex, we had our Mother/Daughter Book Club meeting last week for Lord of the Rings-Fellowship of the Rings. (Some of us didn’t didn’t actually finish it and found it to be torture.) Next month we’re reading The Catcher in the Rye, hopefully more entertaining. Hopefully there won’t be monsoon rains involved.

Guess what I got for an early anniversary gift - A NOOK!!! We’re going on some trips soon and my hub thought it would be useful. I’ve been know to take four books on a three-day trip, so it will certainly come in handy. I only wish I hadn’t gone book shopping after book club :P  because I just stocked up on new releases in paperback!

After I got it charged, I played with it for an entire day. I filled it with music, only to discover they’re the wrong format and I couldn’t play them. I did download some books and I feel guilty for not reading them, but there is that pile of paperbacks I just bought… I’ll get used to it eventually. I really resisted going digital, but hey - it’s happening whether I like it or not.

Taking any trips this month? We’re going to San Antonio for a couple of nights, staying at a resort hotel with a lazy river, going to the Alamo and River Walk. Going to Sea World, too… should be a blast!

:watching Burn Notice:

Things change around this household when my kids get out of school. I don’t get nearly as much writing done, we travel a lot, and none of our usual shows are on. Instead, there are summer series to watch, usually on different nights of the week. So it takes a while for us to settle into new routines, only to have them interruped a few weeks later.

It’s harder to resist spending time playing games with the kids. We get quite competive around here! LOL I know I’ve only got a few, short years left before my kids are “out of the nest”, so I like spending quality time with them. I usually get a lot more reading done, too. I am hopelessly addicted to books.

I do have a goal - get synopses written and query letters sent out before school starts in August. If I don’t get any nibbles, I’m going to have to get a real J-O-B. I haven’t earned enough to qualify for social security otherwise. One downside of being a stay-at-home-mom I hadn’t considered. Way to spoil my summer, REAL LIFE!

I’m hoping, dear readers, that you’re enjoying the summer, too. Lots of writers I know are looking forward to the RWA annual conference (I have a travel conflict and won’t be attending this year). Cross your fingers that I actually write decent query letters. I’m not a big fan…

watching The Office

For this month’s MDBC we’re reading Lord of the Rings - but I’ve been completely distracted by The Office, a show most of the members of the group already watch. Apparently I watched something on a different network when the show premiered, and now I’m playing catch-up. I just have to say that I’m LOLing just the same - I can’t wait to go back and start the series off at the beginning… (and after watching the current episode on CW it is apparent I have to see this from the get-go!)

But enough about TV - what are you reading? There are a couple of books I’m eagerly awaiting releases on June 29th, but until then I’ve been reading all the books on my keeper shelf I come across with “summer” in the title. Susan Wiggs. Julia London. Titles I *know* are about summer romances. I can’t help it.

I’m in denial - I know I have to start earning money in the near future - *gasp*! Imagine that! I’m going to be working on queries and doing research for where my work might fit…  (imagine me, hunkering down to endlessly research editors and agents - SERIOUSLY!) 

So while I know I haven’t been the most prolific blogger, I’m going to be busy. Forgive me if I don’t chronicle every little detail. You might be hearing about how I got hired to work at a bookstore instead of how I got a contract on my writing. We’ll see what happens.

With several of my writer friends off on adventures, and several others working on deadlines - well, all I can say is that I’m really excited about looking for a publisher and crossing my fingers that I can actually find a home for my writing.

Cuz it’ll be depressing if I don’t.

I’ll keep writing (I can’t seem to stop! LOL). I’ll start after I finish this fabulous book I had to read AGAIN… 

I recommend getting an Adventure Pass to visit the attractions down around Horseshoe Falls. Included were the Incline Railway (Railway to the Falls), which takes you up and down the steep hill right to Table Rock, where you can stand at the railing and look out over the water. We took some pictures and the went in to see Niagra’s Fury, a 4-D movie about the making of the Falls. From there we went to Journey Behind The Falls, which takes you 180 feet underground to tunnels and an observation deck. That was quite impressive! It gives you a real idea of just how powerful the water is when it hits the river. If you’re claustrophobic, you probably would not like this one. From there we jumped on the People Mover bus (we got a 2 day pass included with the Adventure Pass) and went to Maid of the Mist, a boat attraction that takes you over to the American Falls, then as close as you can get to the pounding water of Horseshoe Falls. Along the way you’re given facts about the amount of water that comes over per minute, etc. We got SOAKED! (I should add that any attraction that involves water provides ponchos to wear over your clothes.) We didn’t mind, though, because the weather was sunny and warm. I was glad I got wet just so I could cool off.

Our trip began early Friday morning with a 6 AM flight to Chicago (yeah, me up at 4 AM to catch a plane- fun times!), then another to Buffalo, New York. We rented a car and drove to the Canadian border. The agent at the booth asked our destination, and we told him Embassy Suites in Niagra Falls. With a nod and a peace sign, he sent us on our way and told us to enjoy our trip. He didn’t even check our passports or ID!The drive to the hotel was extremely easy, even without a GPS (ours doesn’t have Canadian maps). When we arrived, we were delighted to check into our room on the 39^th floor with a wall of windows looking out over the Falls (Horseshoe Falls and the American - also called Bridal- Falls). What an awesome sight! Once we got unpacked and settled, we set out on foot to explore the area. There was a moment of shock when we found out how much food costs in the area. Two entrees (with a beer ordered while waiting for the food) were over $90! After that night we decided we’d get the car from valet parking ($20 a day) each evening and find fast food restaurants. They still cost more than they do in the US (a 12 piece order of fried Popeye’s chicken with two sides was $36), but at least we didn’t break the bank.