Swingin' Cruise 2010: Thanks, Gergely

Our port the next day was Belize City, in, you guessed it, Belize. Kurt went scuba diving (I can't *sniff*) and Alex wanted to stay on the ship to win tournaments and trophies, so Allison and I decided to venture to shore by ourselves for a bit.

 This was our longest tender (boat ride from the ship anchored off shore to the port) at about 20 minutes. I guess the water stays really shallow for a long ways off the coast of Belize City.

Belize City had this touristy, fenced-in port area with shops. We just wandered around the shops, finding interesting things like pipes shaped like ... human anatomy and a really cute doll that Allison wanted to get for her baby girl (who's going to make her big debut any day now!). The doll was crazy expensive though. In the end, I got some rum cakes for our friends who were watching our dogs, and Allison bought candy. She likes to get candy in foreign countries (on Roatan Island we made a special trip to the grocery store, lol).
The next day, which was our last port day--sad; we were at Cozumel, Mexico. This is where Kurt and I were supposed to go on our honeymoon (remember that very long story?). As usual with our other ports, we didn't have any excursions planned prior to stepping off the ship, but we quickly booked a morning snorkeling trip (for way cheaper than the cruise ship would've charged us).

 We got to snorkel at three different spots for a total of 3 hours. It was pretty sweet. We bought a reusable, non-digital, water-proof camera but haven't developed those pics yet. Basically, the reef wasn't like you see in the movies. There actually wasn't a ton of reef. But there were so many fish! We saw all kinds of pretty tropical fish, a couple of rays, a jellyfish, and a few barracuda. Creepy.

When we got back to shore, it was only 11 am and we didn't have to be on the ship till 4. So we decided to do a little bit of self-guided island exploration on a scooter. It was so much fun! We drove all around the island.

 Found a little ice cream/popsicle shop we visted. Twice. I got lime both times. Mmmm...

 Checked out some Lamanite--I mean Mayan ruins.

 And found hole-in-the-wall, off-the-beaten-touristy-path shops to get yummy authentic Mexican food. In the morning, we got fried shrimp tortas that were awesome (for $2 a piece). I didn't get pics of those. And here's Kurt enjoying some fried shrimp (apparently he hadn't gotten enough of that yet) tacos for $1 a piece. He was happy.

Like any good cruise ship, we had towel animals waiting for us every afternoon. This was my favorite, because they even had him hanging from the ceiling. Although he looks like a weird, alien, demon monkey.
The next day was our last. Poo. It was at sea. We got up early and snagged some chairs on the deck. Read, ordered some sodas, grabbed food from the buffet, and watched the contests down by the pool. The boys even participated in one and won.

 Don't mind my strange tan lines. That's what happens when you juggle between 3 different suits in 7 days.

 Our last dinner. We savored it. The food was awesome.

 Yay for our cruisin' buddies!

 Every night the boys ordered two entrees. This is to document that.

 Our waiter Lucas, on the right, and his assistant Albert, on the left.

The next day we did not disembark at our assigned time. Instead, we played card games on the deck (which we did pretty much every night, which almost caused some marital problems since it was boys vs. girls) until they forced us off. It was strange to see the ship so empty. 

It was hard to leave, but the four of us are already planning our next cruise together!

Happy Friday!

TFGIF!

(Figure out what that first F is and you get ... a virtual pat on the back.)

This has been pretty much the longest week of my life.

I was convinced all day yesterday that it was Friday,

despite little clues that it wasn't.

Like my calendar.

Or the garbage out front for pick up.

But it has finally arrived!

Huzzah!

And even though I've gotten about 3 hours of restive (is that a word?) sleep a night this week,

nothing can kill my good mood.

Because:

a) It's Friday (have I mentioned that yet?)

b) It's going to be 60 degrees today!

c) Kurt's last day in public accounting was yesterday (more details on that)

d) I woke up with several scenes in my head for my YA fiction book.

Also, I'm hypomanic.

But I'll take what I can get!

I hope your Friday is as good as mine.

Honestly.

And if it's not, watch this adorable video, and you'll be smiling in no time.

(Shibas are the cutest!)

I love Kurt.

(lying in bed last night)
Me: Why am I so weird??
Kurt: Maybe you ate paint chips as a kid.
Me: Why do you love me?
Kurt: Because you ate paint chips as a kid?
Me: Why would that make you love me?
Kurt: Maybe I ate paint chips as a kid too.

Swingin' Cruise 2010: Mint Chocolate Ship!

Just a note: we are not really swingers, and neither are the Wilcox's. It's just an inside joke run a-muck. As most of our inside jokes with them are. I figure most of y'all know that, but who knows who might be reading this. 

So, in October we went on a 7 night, Western Caribbean cruise with our friends, Alexson (aka Allison and Alex). We had an awesome time with them and already decided that we're all cruising together again in the future. This was both mine and Kurt's first cruise and we loved it! Definitely not the only way to travel (as some people feel) but we'd love to do more in the future. I mean, all food included in your booking price, and seeing 4 countries in as many days? Not too shabby.

Our first day was at sea and I didn't take any pics. That night was Formal Night. Here is my mint chocolate chip sistah and me lookin' stylin'. At least, Allison is, and I'm trying.

 Kurt had the bright idea to take pictures out on the deck. Yeah, it was a bit windy for that.

 The next day we visited Grand Cayman.

 Public accounting wouldn't be so bad if you lived on a tropical island ...

 Somewhat lost ...

 Big Black Dick. He was a famous pirate, me thinks. Yar.

 We said goodbye to the Wilcox's for the afternoon as we went to swim with the stingrays. It was so cool! They have crazy skin (smooth yet sandpapery) and come up to you like puppies. We didn't get any pics because we hadn't bought a waterproof camera yet (dur).

 Had to get us some jerk chicken. Kurt loves that stuff. I decided to try it myself, and it is delicious.

 Check out that water!

The next day was Roatan Island, Honduras. We didn't have any idea what we wanted to do when we got off the ship, but ended up going ziplining. It was a blast!!

Here I go again! Here I go again on my own!

 That's Kurt.

Stay tuned for the rest of the trip...

GOAL UPDATE!

I have decided to tackle my YA fantasy novel edit once and for all. No more putting it off. No more excuses. No more I love you's.

"But Kristina," you say, "you are entering your hardest semester in school!"
To that I say, you are correct. But this really won't add that much extra stress.
Plus, it complies nicely with thirdly goal #4: "Take time every week to read/write for fun. I think this is important. I would say every day, but that's not likely."

So! Every Sunday, I shall edit one chapter. That way, in about 11 weeks, I will have the entire book done!
"Why is it going to take so long?" you ask.
Because I basically have to rewrite it. But it's all good.

Okay, that's all.

Kurt's Manventure

As if Man Weekend 2010 wasn't enough, Nikkia presented Kurt with an awesome opportunity in September: a 2 week, multiple species hunt in northern British Columbia, Canada. So he took it! Like I said, he was gone for 2 weeks, but on top of that, we didn't speak on the phone for that whole two weeks, and only twice through email. It was hard for me to be left behind (it's always easier to be the one gone in these scenarios), but I'm glad he got to go. 

They were based out of this lodge, in the middle-of-nowhere, BC, Canada, but only stayed there for a few nights.

The view from the lodge. Pretty gorgeous, huh?

 Then they flew out to their cabin, even more in the middle of nowhere. Only the pilot, one person, and some gear could fit on the plane at a time. This is the view as they flew (oooers, rhyming).

 Nikkia's elk. It was basically an elk and moose hunt. Nikkia got both but Kurt was unable to get an elk (due to foul weather). Which is just as well, because we barely fit the moose meat as it was.

 They rode horses all day long. Fuuuuuun.

 Here is Kurt's moose. Yay Kurt! Yay his moose! His moose is tasty!

Kurt's guide ... can't remember his name now, but he had no teeth. Yay Kurt's guide!

Then Kurt and Nikkia drove back to Spokane, where Kurt flew to DIA, where I met him and we left straight on our cruise. He was so hairy I didn't even recognize him at first, lol. Not to mention he was wearing camo pants, a plain gray hoody, and sunglasses. He basically looked like the unabomber.

Man Weekend '10

Another old post. I stumbled on these pics while doing the last post. Anyhow, the weekend I threw Camille her baby shower, Kurt and his good friends, James and Evan, had Man Weekend 2010. They left early in the morning...

Hiked a bunch...

 

Fished a bunch...




And rolled rocks off cliffs. Because they're a bunch of big kids.


This is why we love Colorado:




In the end, Kurt came home with a bunch of fish stories, none of which I believed. Okay, just kidding. But look how cute and proud he is of his widda fish:

June 2010

Soooo, I have something really old to post. The weekend after I got back from my June residency, my widda bwudda, Collin, came to visit. The reason I never posted about it is because we took pictures using Kurt's phone and until recently couldn't figure out how to easily get the pictures off the phone. Luckily we did in time for Kurt to get a new one! Collin flew in at about 2 am (thanks to flight delays) and we took him to get some yummy Middle Eastern food. Then the next day, the boys slept while I worked. Then we headed up to the mountains, where we camped for the night. In the morning we took Collin mountain biking, and got some awesome shots ...

Then we raced over to Mt. Evans before they closed the road for the day ...

It was, as usual, really cold and windy up there, but man, what a great shot!

Then we went home, ate Indian food, watched some Flight of the Conchords, slept a few hours, then took Collin back to the airport. It was a quick, but really fun trip! Thanks for coming, bud!

January - April Goals 2011

I've decided, to help lessen my load during this semester, to do one set of goals for the first four months of the year. That way I'll still have something to work towards, but I won't get overwhelmed. Because if there's one thing I'm really good at doing, it's getting overwhelmed.

1. Be diligent about my physical therapy exercises. I'm dying to get back into kickboxing, weight lifting, cycling, and swimming. During my school residency, my legs ached from not being used very much. So to do that, I need to do my PT exercises every four hours. And sit with good posture. I already walk/stand with pretty good posture.
2. Stay on top of school work. That means working a little bit every day. I'm usually one of those binge people. Don't work all week, then on Saturday just kill myself by reading/researching/writing for hours on end. Not the brightest way to tackle such a daunting semester. I'm registering with the office of disabilities at my school this semester, but I only want those accommodations to be a last-minute resort. I've managed to turn everything in on time so far in my college/graduate career. I can continue that trend in my third semester.
3. Keep the house clean. Yes, yes, an on-going goal for me. But with school going to be so heavy and the big kitchen reno going on, this house is going to have a tendency to look pretty scary most days.
4. Take time every week to read/write for fun. I think this is important. I would say every day, but that's not likely.

That should do it. Kinda like one goal per month, huh? Not that I'll tackle it that way, but when I say it that way, it doesn't sound so bad.

2011 Goals

And now I present, 2,011 goals for 2011.


#2,011: Just kidding. :D I may be mentally disordered, but I'm not crazy! Anyhow, I'm approaching this new year with mostly optimistic thoughts. I'll be honest, I'm very intimidated by this semester of school. Completely edit all 4 chapters thus written in my second book, write 4 new chapters, write a 25 page critical paper, and read 5 books and conduct lots o' research for said paper. Yes, I'm slightly terrified. I can handle it. I know I can. My last semester at BYU I was taking 15 incredibly difficult credits (okay, maybe the 2 credits for swimming wasn't difficult, but it was therapeutic!), working 15 hours a week, and was president of Laugh Out Loud (damn, ruined my parallel sentence structure). Not to mention the fact that I was slowly losing my mind and wasn't entirely aware of it! So if I can do that, I can do anything! Spit on the moon! Sing like Mariah Carey! Dress like Lady Gaga!
Hmm, maybe not that last one.
So, my goals for 2011 ...

1. Completely edit my YA fantasy book.
2. Finish my YA fiction book (the one I'm writing for school).
3. Learn how to bake pies and work with pastry dough.
4. Continue to stay healthy. Right now that's on a bit of a hiatus, thanks to my sciatica acting back up. But hopefully I'll be back in the gym doing real work outs (kickboxing, cycling, swimming, weight lifting) in a few weeks.
5. Give up daily sodas ... at some point this year.
6. Rely on the Lord more. Build a better relationship with my Savior.
7. Increase my skill in piano playing. Even if it's just by a little.
8. Eat at least 2 servings of veggies every day. I used to be good about this, but I can't really eat them raw anymore, and lately I've been too lazy to cook literally anything (other than toast). Enough of that nonsense!

That sounds purty good, eh?

December and 2011 Year Goals Recap

Hello from beautiful Tryon, NC! I'm at school right now (our residency is not on campus this semester due to limited housing but instead at a beautiful hotel in North Carolina). The area is pretty, not too chilly. The classes are interesting and inspiring. And best of all, I'm staying with my awesome friend Lindsay at her super cute house. I love being here and being immersed in this literary world. Of course, I miss Kurt and my puppies and snowboarding, probably in that order. But I'll see them soon enough.

Real quick: December goals recap:

-Get caught up on my blog posts! I have like 4 or 5 to do! I hope to do them this weekend. I wanted to do them over Thanksgiving, but we went to Tucson and left our home computer with all the pics (took Kurt's work computer) so that idea flew out the window. I have a certain friend who's going to kill me if I never get Halloween pics up, lol. Fail. And that's okay.

-Edit as much of my book as I possibly can. Fail. Also okay.

As you can see, I didn't really stick to either of my goals and I'm not too upset about it. The reason? I had an awesome Christmas with my family and friends and I have plenty of time to complete both of those projects. 

Now, for my 2011 Year Goals! dun dun dun!

-Lose 20 pounds by June. I know--I have 20 pounds to lose. It sounds like a lot. But I can definitely do it in 6 months. Definitely failed on that, but that was out of my control, so I don't feel bad. And I'm finally starting to really lose all that weight, so I'm happy. :)

-Stay on top of my homework. For this semester, that means reading 2-3 books every three weeks, writing 2-3 pages on each book, and writing a short story every three weeks. Oi. I'd say this was a success. There were a few times I got behind on writing my papers, but the books were always read on schedule, and the papers take about an hour, so that was no big deal.

-Keep my house clean! Big goal for me here. My therapist helped me break down my chores into things that need to be done weekly, things that need to be done semi-weekly, and things that need to be done monthly. I gave it a trial run in December and it was awesome! Before I was trying to get everything done every week. Well, I am OCD. Success. I actually did a really good job on this, for me. Sometimes, towards the end of the semester, things got a little unkempt, but never too bad. And my wonderful Kurt helped big time with the kitchen.

-Wake up every morning at 6:30. I need to actually do my hair in the morning, wear mascara, and get to work on time. Fail. I gave up on this pretty quickly. I'm okay with not doing my hair for work. I still look fine and no one cares, so why should I? 

-Work out 4 to 6 days a week. I feel so much better when I'm working out regularly. It really helps regulate my moods and stave off depression. Success! 

-Finish my book by the end of the year. Really, I'd like to have it finished and thoroughly edited by then, but with school I'm not sure how much time I'll have to work on it. Success!

-TAKE MORE PICTURES. Overall, a success. I didn't take as many pictures as I would've liked, but still more than usual. :)

So, it's been a pretty good year. I'm going into to 2011 with happiness, confidence, and determination. I'll post my goals for 2011 and January after my residency. I'm thinking so much about my book (for school) and my big critical paper to do this semester, that I don't have thought for much else. But that's okay! My therapist would be so proud of me for being able to say that! :D