Shopping with Charlotte

On Saturday, I shopped with Charlotte.  I am so glad that she likes to shop and look for clothes.  She was excited to go to Wal Mart and informed me that she was going to ride in her stroller.  I told her Wal Mart was buggy time instead.  On the drive to Wal Mart, she told me that she was tired.  I told her to pep up, that we had lots of shopping to do.  She laughed and agreed.  To keep her awake in her car seat, we danced.

She then insisted that she wanted a quesadilla.  After lunch, it was on to the mall where Charlotte got to ride in her stroller.  She was great as we shopped and wanted to "ride" in the cars at the mall.  But, she wanted the cars to be stationary and not moving.  

I think that Charlotte was telling us she wasn't ready to leave.

Tony's Retirement Party

On Wednesday, August 25, we attended Tony Jones' retirement party at West Georgia Technical College.  A ton of his co-workers were there and made it a special day for all of us.  They asked all of the employees to each bring an RC Cola.  There was a table full.  I am not sure how he is going to drink all of that.

Everyone that spoke did such a wonderful job.  But, the best speaker was Tony!  He made everyone feel special and made everyone laugh.

Family members and friends were there to celebrate with Tony.

Invitation for the party.

The theme was golf and RC cola.

Tony got great presents including an Auburn picture, Auburn car tags, and rounds of golf.

Carolyn and Tony

The guys - Tony, AJ, and Phil

Tony and Karen

Tony, his brother, and two of his sisters

What is it? A good thing.... Chi O Cruise Day 5

A late night turned in to an early morning.  We woke up at 5:30 a.m. to eat an early breakfast and to be the first ones off the ship.  The restaurant opened at 6:30 and there we were.  We went through customs with ease and got in the car by 7:30 a.m.

It was a great trip, but we were all ready to get homes to our families.

We have planned a trip in 2 years.  Cannot wait!

What is it? A good thing.... Chi O Cruise Day 4

Sunday, August 22nd - Day at Sea.  The cruise director said it would be a beautiful day....  It rained most of the day.  We would not be deterred.  Another morning at the gym.  This time I did the treadmill.  It faced the front of the ship.   You could see the ship moving while you moved on the treadmill - an odd feeling.  I saw a school (?) of dolphins swimming while I was in the gym.

We decided to have a quiet lunch and then go to the CHOCOLATE BAR.  Wow.  With a sugar high and rain outside, we chose to take a dance class.  We learned the dance moves from Michael Jackson's Thriller video.  This was so much fun!!  We took the class on the stage of the main theater and there were tons of people watching.  Later in the day, we also took a Hip Hop class. 

Before dinner, we got an unexpected surprise.  Renaldo delivered Wendy's confiscated wine, just in time too.  We had literally poured out the last drop as he knocked on the door.

Plotting our karaoke song.

Before dinner, we made a stop at the sushi bar.  It was delicious and they rotated out different types of rolls.

During the day, we had the idea to do a group karaoke.   After much deliberation, we decided on Baby Got Back by Sir Mixalot.  We even prepared some dance moves.  Initially, we thought about doing costumes.  But, after further consideration, we decide against it.  Sharon was going to be a pimp.

Again, we underestimated how quickly the words would scroll on the screen.  We did have some fans and got some cheers.  It may be because they were happy we were off the stage.

Gary Sears, the guy from our dinner table, watched our karaoke act.  At the end, he said, "I don't know how you girls made it out of college."  Our response, "We were the smart ones!"

Back to the room to pack.  A monkey towel!  This one is for AJ. 

What is it? A good thing.... Chi O Cruise Day 3

Saturday, August 21st  - Cozumel, Mexico!  At the last minute, we decided to take an excursion.  We chose the Deluxe Beach trip at Playa Mia.  This was a very good choice....once we got there.

The air conditioned bus was supposed to depart the port at 8:45 a.m.  We were on the 4th deck and had to get to the 3rd deck to exit the ship.  Seeing no stairs, Wendy, Caroline, and I got on the nearest elevator and pressed 3.  Nothing happened.  Then, we couldn't get the elevator doors opened.  Panic started setting in.  Finally the doors opened and we started running down the hall looking for an exit, reminiscent of Leonardo DiCaprio during Titanic.  We were the last ones off the ship.  This didn't deter the photographers at the end of the gang way.  They insisted we take a picture.  We finally push past them and ran to meet Sharon and Tiffany.  Glad we didn't miss the bus. 

After a 10 minute ride, we were delivered to Playa Mia. Beach chairs, floats, umbrellas, lunch, and frozen drinks included. Even though it was 9:00 a.m., we all started with the Miami Vice - frozen pina colada with frozen strawberry margarita.

Thankful that I brought my own goggles and figuring that shark feeding time had passed, I set out for a swim in the ocean.  The water was so clear and I saw tons of fish.  I guess that I was so mesmerized by all the fish, I inadvertently swam past the buoys.  Yikes!  I was out in the area with the speed boats.  I took a deep breath and started tried to swim back inside the buoys. 

A quote from the beach said by a bunch of 20 something guys:  "Where are all the cougars?"  I couldn't tell if they were looking at us, but either way it was funny.

After 5 hours on the beach, we headed back.  The border people were not very patient as we tried to gather our passports.  One of the guys blew his whistle at Wendy. 

A much needed shower and nap revved us up for dinner.  At dinner the night before, "Robert" was seated with us.  He was by himself and seemingly an introvert.  We all tried to engage him in conversation, but it was painful for all involved.  I suggeted that we have some prepared questions for Robert so that it wouldn't be so awkward.  Sharon pipe up and said, "I have one.  How about - How many people have you killed in your basement?"  This sent us all into hysterics.  Luckily for Robert, he chose other dining plans.

Wendy also had other dinner plans.  After ordering an appetizer, she started fading fast.  The seas were choppy and Wendy was down for the count.  She ran to the room before the main course.

In order to get us to stay up late, Sharon enticed us by saying she would do karaoke and we could pick the song.  We picked "Brass Monkey" by the Beastie Boys.  She was a good sport, but we had all forgotten how fast the song was.   Wendy rallied and joined us at karaoke.  Walking back to our room, I asked Sharon if she would still do the worm.  She dropped down to the floor and attempted it.  Wendy said she looked like a fish out of water instead of a worm.  We even got a teenaged boy to try to help Sharon. 

Caroline loved this bulldog towel in our room that night.  We all loved that Renaldo cleaned our room and made our beds everytime we left the room.

 

What is it? A good thing.... Chi O Cruise Day 2

Friday, August 20th was our first day at sea.  More importantly, it was also Spa Day!  We all got up early to work out before our treatments.  I did the elliptical in front of a full length mirror.  That was interesting - nothing to look at, but the mirror in front of me.  I also did the steam room after my workout.  I love a steam room, but rarely have time to utilize the one at our club. 

I chose the75 minute Spa Topia package:  hot stone massage, back and neck massage, foot massage, mini-facial.  A few minutes in, this is the conversation. 
From Ineke, my therapist from South Africa with thick blue eyeshadow: "Your neck and upper back muscles are extremely tight." 
Me: "No kidding." 
Ineke: "Your face is dry.  Do you know why?"
Me: "Yea I know why.  I swim in chlorine with my face submerged 3 to 4 days a week."
Me: "Can we just not talk anymore?"
Ineke: "Whatever you say."

After being totally relaxed, we spent a couple of hours on the pool deck.  Boy, what a site to see.  If I saw one tattoo, I saw a million.  After a shower, I had THE BEST nap.  Then, it was time for Formal Dinner.

In our formal wear.

At dinner.

Zucchini eggplant parmagiana on a lake of marinara - delicious.  The food was a lot better than I was expecting.  For 3 of the nights, I also ordered chocolate melting cake with ice cream.

What is it? A good thing.... Chi O Cruise Day 1

On Thursday, August 19th we embarked on a Chi O Cruise from Mobile to Cozumel.  Our group included me, Sharon Callison Ghaleb, Caroline Jones Lambert, Wendy Gilbert McMillan, and Tiffany Braswell Larson.  There was drama even before we boarded the ship.  I receive my passport the Saturday before we left.  Wendy got her passport on the DAY before we left.  Tiffany flew in from Wisconsin. 

The cruise ship allows each person to carry on a bottle of wine.  I brought 2 bottles to share and asked Caroline to carry one on.  When Caroline went through security, they asked her if she had a bottle of wine.

Quote of the Day from Caroline:  "I think it is wine.  THEY handed this to me and told me to carry it on."

Wendy's wine got confiscated because she put it in her suitcase.

Luckily, everything worked and we all made it on the ship.  We toasted with the champagne that Sharon brought aboard.  We then ran to the spa to box everyone else out to book our appointments.

At dinner, we were seated with The Sears - two brothers, one wife, and one son.  The brothers were in their 70s/80s and the son, Gary, told us he was 55, single, and on e-Harmony and Match.com.  This all made for interesting dinner conversation.  I am not sure how The Sears took us at first.  With the 5 of talking all at once, we can be pretty overwhelming.

I brought Chi O cups for everyone to enjoy on our trip.

We started playing cards right away - Hearts.  After dinner, we went to the "Vegas" style show.  While we waited, we played a quick hand.  Sharon threw her card and it slipped into the sofa cushion.  We didn't want to be a card short in the deck so Wendy and Sharon tried to lift up the seat.  In the process of rescuing the card, they broke the seat.

Reunion 2010

I had a great time at my high school reunion.  We pulled it together in 3 weeks and had about 30 classmates there - 30% attendance isn't so bad.  We held the reunion at the Irish Bred Pub in West Point, GA.  There was also the Back to School Bash going on in downtown.  It was exciting to see so many people in town.  We actually had to park at Batson Cook.

It felt like we were still in high school.  It was especially fun to see Beth Browning.  I had not seen her since 6th grade!  She said that she remembered all of our spend the night parties.  She also said she remembered that I had a beagle, but couldn't remember details about my brother.

I  was thrilled that Ms. Williams attended.  We had a her as a teacher at Central, then South, then as principal at the Jr. High.  Unfortunately, she didn't follow us to high school.  She had not aged one bit. 

It was fun to see The Hud, DeAnna, Joan Conley, LaShandra Banks, and others. Joan had the smart idea of charging drinks on her twin brother's tab.  Her name tag said Joan Conley so the waitresses thought she was John's wife.  I am glad I left before John got his tab.

Tanya Fincher was most changed and Tricia Keeble was least changed.  Todd's wife got everyone going on the dance floor and Lynn Clark brought a million old pictures.  AJ entertained the husbands by doing commentary on the Braves game. 

We all vowed to meet up in the Winter.... We will see if that happens.  Even if it doesn't, this night was one to remember.

A few classmates with Ms. Williams.

AJ being a supportive husband at the party.

I hadn't seen Beth in about 25 years.

Back with DeAnna.

Group shot.