The cruise...

We took our eldest daughter (technically my step daughter) and her boyfriend on a cruise for her graduation present. How cool are we?? (In MY humble opinion....very cool!) I will call them E & AW. It was a week long cruise, and we had our balcony room....and they had theirs right next door. The cruise started with the first day and a half at sea, we surprised the kids further with some snuck in mixed drinks for our nightly conversations on the balconies. (They had to be 21 on the ship but not in any of the ports we were going to.)
Monday we was our first port...Puerto Rico. The first place that E could LEGALLY drink, so she was REALLY excited. We took her to Senor Frogs a fabulous party place, especially for the young or the young at heart. We started with yard drinks, T, E, and I each had a "Banana Rama" while AW had a yard of beer and a shot of Crown. Then E had a shot w/ AW, and I told her that I had wanted to have a shot with her.....so of course she ordered another round of shots so I could toast her. ;-) They had a beer chugging contest for the first four people that could get on stage...E got there, even knocked down a banister to get there quickly. She was up against 3 other guys....all had at least 40-50#s on her.....but wouldn't you know it, she out chugged them! She almost lost her cookies on stage, but we encouraged her to leave the stage quickly. When she asked what she had won...the guy told her, well, I own the bar, so you win a free drink of course. She ordered a yard of Smirnoff. Each yard equivalates to about 2.5 drinks. Before they even could bring it to her, she lost ALL her cookies....right onto my tennies that she had borrowed AND my sandals that I was wearing....can I hear an EEEWWW! One would think that she would cease and surrender at that point.....but not OUR daughter! About then I had to use the ladies room.....and while trying to make it back across the dance floor to our table.....they started a type of "line dane" no this was not a country bar.....but that's the best I could explain it....imagine trying to cut through the "Electric Slide" with the whole damn dance floor packed with young inebriated people! (In Puerto Rico, the law states that you only have to "appear 16" to legally drink!!!! N E Who....I had to participate since I was right in the middle of the dance floor when they started it. Thank goodness I had already had a few drinks myself......lol. Finally by the time E called it a night....we had 11 yard glasses among us....yes 11! I think I had ordered 3, along with that shot...hmmm not to mention the several drinks aboard the ship before deboarding....lol. N E ways...E signalled surrender....and I headed to the T-shirt store really quickly to find her a souvenir, it was right up front.. a little black baby doll t that said "If your happy and you know it buy me a drink...." For those of you who know of my E girl.....fitting or what??!! Well when I exited the store....E was bent over the curb praying to the streetside. T handed me my drink to finish on the walk to the boat...and onlookers are calling out "Hey there goes the chugga girl!" It was official.....our daughter was the PR Chugga girl for the following week onboard the Carnival ship, we heard it many times...all week long. I took a sip of my drink and guess what I tasted?? Would it be my banana rama? Of course not...it was.. well I'll leave that to YOUR imagination. Let's just say it was very unpleasant! E was up all night praying to the porcelain god. I guess she kept AW up most of the night too. But he deserved it as he started having an attitude with her at the club.
The next morning we were in St. Thomas...so T and I headed out early, and did some shopping. He bought us some very nice anniversary rings from a place that I've been looking at for the last three years. I am still ecstatic. Then we bought the usual t-shirts and little stuff for the kids. Heading back to the ship we got ahold of E & AW and met up with them...we changed into our swim suits and hailed a cab for a beach somewhere. We didn't get to play in the surf long, as a tropical storm came in, and when I saw the first flash of lightening, my happy ass was outta the water! E thought it was a topless beach.....so she flashed me....lol it was funny...but AW got really pissed off at her. He told her that if I could see her boobs then that meant someone else could have too. Only problem being that it was such a secluded beach....we were pretty much the ONLY people out there!
We headed back into port, and stopped at a little local bar to have something to drink (sprite for E LOL) and maybe grab a snack....well after 45 minutes of waiting for nachos...we gave up and told the waitress to forget it! Then we went back to the ship.
Wednesday morning we were in St. Maarten which is a REALLY interesting island. First off it's about 13 miles long and an average of 3 miles across. Plus half of it is Dutch, and the other half is French. Yep split right down the middle as far as I could tell! The kids went on an ATV excursion first thing in the morning, so we went in to do some shopping. We got bored pretty quickly, and went in search of a beach. We had heard that there were both topless and nude beaches so we found a cab and asked the cabbie about it. He knew of what we were talking about and took us to a place that had both. We asked him to meet us in 3 hours and off we walked. First off I didn't have my bathing suit on to begin with, so I searched for a bathroom....it cost me a buck to use the facilities!! And two people were allowed into the small bathroom at a time... it was kinda weird! But I went with the flow. Then T and I walked over to the nude beach. It was quite the experience let me tell you. First off, it is NOT what most people expect. Immediately T says to me "Hey do you smell that?" and of course I did...so I let my nose do it's job and there was this man sitting there smoking this HUGE doobie. Wow we both were a little in awe about that. So, on with the scenery, there were about 3 pretty women out there. T-H-R-E-E. And MAYBE one or two decent men. Secondly, you really felt out of place walking down the beach with clothes ON. I mean REALLY outta place. T and I found some chairs with an umbrella, and I took off my top....ok not too embarrassing.....then I looked over at T and he was stripped down. Crap. Ok, not to be out done by my own hubby, I did it. I went nude in public. And you know what....it wasn't so uncomfortable, despite the fact that I am not a skinny minnie. I was pretty proud of myself. I did keep thoughts of some of my more courageous friends in mind though!! Needless to say I got burnt from the inside crook of my arm, up my arms, full chest shot and down to my waist. OUCH! You would think that all this would be adventurous enough, but ah hell no. We hurriedly went to these little open tents to buy a couple more shirts etc for the kids, and as we started to walk away, there were these 3 guys standing there smoking a.....you guessed it a doobie. So T smarts off with something about "Hey wanna share?" This is SO not T! And I think it confused the guys to begin with. So I smarted off and said something about "They must not be taking you seriously.....he wanted to know if you wanna share.." The kid held this monsterous joint out to me and I just looked at T.... He said "Why not, you don't get drug tested!" So I did. You know, it's been 16 years since I last got high. And I had only smoked twice in my life, once when I was 11, and then again when I was 16 with my mother. But as a child who grew up with it constantly in the home...I can tell you this. It was some good shit. Three mighty puffs of that and I was baked. T knew it and I knew it. We headed back to the little eatery closest to where our cabbie was to pick us up, and ordered some fries, and another drink. The plate was huge, and T says I ate almost the whole plateful by myself! So, we went with this cabbie back towards the ship...he even pointed out the "gentleman's club" (whore house) and tells us that he has even taken a few couples there.....ok not my cup of tea...no matter how high...lol. He even tells us that he goes there and it's $40 for 20 minutes, or in the slow season $20 for 20 minutes. OK. He drops us off at the portside, and I immediately tell T I need another drink. Now first off, drinks on board are expensive....$10 for a beer....and second off....well I've got cotton mouth by now....lol So we see a little stand and I ask for a dirty monkey....(a very yummy banana concoction) and the guy says he doesn't have that but he has the BEST drink on the island available. I asked him for a taste first, and he mixed it right up. OMG!!! OMG!! He was not lying...it was AWESOME..it was a guavaberry rum drink DE'LIC'IOUS!!! It was so good we bought two bottles of the rum, and T even talked him into making us a free drink to go with the purchase! The man must have thought I was a kick....he even wrote out the recipe using his tasting cups....he drew lines on each one and labelled what amount went with what ingredient. So for any of you that make it to my house...(if I still have any...haha) the drinks are on me! N E Who...trying to board the ship, we pass a K-9 dog with the local police.....that scared me a bit. And then at dinner with the kids.....E was telling me how this man approached them for a $20 bag and how they had declined (very surprising for them as they are regular partakers) and I started giggling. T started laughing and when E looked at us quizzically we laughed even harder. She couldn't believe us.... then after a few minutes of watching me I guess she knew...lol oh well, even I know how to have a good time sometimes.
We had two more days at sea before our cruise ended back in Miami. We all did our own things....T and I got full body massages, I got a facial (I won it at an art auction) we just met up when we set it up... it was a blast! Although I do hope that next time we cruise.....if we do not take the boys that is.....that we go it alone. I gave us some great together time, but we could always use more ;-) BTW Sex on the beach may be great, but on your own private balcony (we had the in between door locked for one night) it was awesome!!
On Saturday morning, we were allowed to disembark early if we hand carried our luggage, so we did cuz we had to drive the kids all the way back to NC...it took us about 15 hours to get them home. Then we only found two hotel rooms there to stay the night and get a fresh start home in the morning..... one was $45 and after we took it, and the AC didn't work, and there were no bath towels, and then the toilet didn't work....we asked for our money back and left. The other was $115 and 20 minutes outside of town. So we roughed it at a rest stop in the truck. We would have just kept driving for an hour or so until we could have found something, but we had already asked our younger daughter V to meet us for breakfast before we left town, and didn't want to disappoint her. What parent's will do for their kids. Not to mention what a culture shock to be spoiled on that cruise and then sleep that very night in our truck...ugh! Well that sums up the cruise trip....so I'll try and add in the other trips in the next few days or so...it feels good to write again. As always, thanks foryour friendship, time, and support. I love ya! Nika

Picking up where I left off...let's just start with the wedding ...

Hello, I'm sorry about the address change....I wasn't feeling comfortable writing where my brother's new bride would just read about me and judge. Alot has happened since I wrote at the other site. Alot between many different branches of my family, and alot of travel!
In mid-May the boys and I went to Vegas to spend two weeks with my brother and his then fiance...they got married on the 28th of May. It was an extreemely long visit. My hubby's Aunt N has a theory of visitors...."Their like fish, after three days they start to stink." I have loved her theory for years and every year it seems to hold more and more true for me. Even though the boys and I were the visitors...I felt like I should have been the host. Neither my brother nor his soon to be wife even fixed us a meal.....IN TWO WEEKS!! I however cooked several times....like everytime we ate unless I voulunteered to pay for everyone else's meal. I finally stood up for THAT toward the end of our stay. In fact other than my own cooking, my father grilled hot dogs for us one night (eww but at least the boys loved it!,) and two of my best friend's in the whole world had us over for dinner. (Shell you made a fantastic roast, and Chick....your hubby cooks wonderfully as well!) MMmmm GOOD! Thanks for the true hospitality! O & BTW....THANX for the AWESOME GNO!! OG was fantastic! Wish you coulda stayed Chick!
In fact that's where we took my new sis in law for her bachelorette party the following week. I got D a lap dance. B and I got totally hammered...whooo hooo, and other than that we thought it all went real well. Until the next morning. I fainlly got ahold of T (my hubby) on the cell...and when I asked him how the bachelor party went...all he would say was ..."I'll talk to you when I see you." Seem very ominous so when I told B, she called her hubby L. Wouldn't you know he said almost the exact same thing?? Then I got worried and called T back and told him to just spit it out. Apparently, my now sis in law's BROTHER (TY) pulled a knife on MY hubby! Let's just say I was NOT a happy camper! Then I got a phone call from LL and he wanted D to come back to the house and pack up cuz he was "not staying for this ..." D and I dropped off B at her house, and we went to go calm down LL. When we finally thought he was calm, I had D take me back to my hotel where Ree had stayed the night with our boys. Bro and S got married....L was his best man, T stood behind him, and TY stood behind HIM. Imagine having the punk who had pulled a knife on you just two night before standing behind you at a wedding??!! Shell and Barbie were there too....thank goodness....it was pretty tense, and I could have easily lost it. The reception was worse! S's mother is a bitch! Flat out! Barbie and Shell helped set out the hors d'oeuvres, and just as soon as they were finished.....Cathy had them move it to where SHE wanted it for her daughter....blah blah blah. Then, she chewed me out for not being there the previous day for the decorating.....I bluntly told her that I didn't participate in events that I was not invited to. I know I sound bitchy....but she was someone you had to respond like that to. Then....she told me she needed me to lift the wedding cake. WTH?? D had made that cake for TWO days.... so I asked her why? She wanted to put a cloth under the cake...so I told her that there was a cloth under the cake....hey there was one. But SHE wanted THIS one under the cake. Well.... this wedding/reception was in Vegas...(obviously bery hot there) and I was NOT going to let this cake get ruined because for some CLOTH. That cake would have fallen apart if I had been stupid enough to lift it!! (Cathy was NOT happy with me.) Then, she told Shell and I that she wanted one of us to CRAWL under the table to plug in a slow cooker....uhhh hello?? We were all in our clothing from the wedding!! My outfit was over $100 I was NOT crawling on the floor to make HER happy.....besides...what was wrong with HER doing it!! N E Who....I was doing fine until as I came around a corner I was T (my hubby,) and TY (the knife puller) heading straight toward me. Oh crap! I told them both that I wasn't in the mood. But T asked me to listen. This 21 yo kid told me he was an ass...I agreed, then he said a few other choice names....all of which I agreed....so I told him this "If you really want to kill someone, go join the military, at least they'll teach you to do it the right way..... And if you can't handle your liqour, don't drink...." Just then I saw our two little boys (ages 5 and 2) come around the corner with Bro... and that's when I got personal. I told him "You see those two boys right there?" he replied "Yes" and I said "Well, we've got two daughters too....what would you have wanted me to tell them, had you succeeded with that knife the other night? You would have left them all without a father." Then TY started to cry. Just to relieve the tension, I told him that I forgave him. But I lied. I wasn't ready to forgive him for that added stress! T the boys and I left the moment that we saw alcohol coming out as we did not want a replay of the bachelor party, it was just too much!
On the 29th, the boys went with LL & D to their ranch up in ID. I did fine with it up until they drove away in their car, then I bawled like a little baby. Six weeks without our kids.....what were we thinking??!! T & I went inside our casino and each had a Bailey's on the rocks. Did I expect it to solve my problem? No....just calm my nerves a hair or two. N E Who.... we flew home on the 30th of May. That was a long day...knowing I was so very far from my boys.
I kept myself busy tho' and on the 9th our oldest (E) graduated from high school. T and I drove down to NC to be there. Just days before our trip, I asked T if he was going to spend anytime with our other daugher (V,) they had been estranged for almost two years. Pretty much since our youngest boy was born. We saw her last when he was two days old. He wasn't so optimistic, but I convinced him to at least call her... She spent almost our whole time there with us. It was nice, and they even got along and got to talk a bit. We drove home that Sun, and three days later we were driving back down that way, but this time to Atlanta, GA. We were there for three day, when we had E and her bf AW come meet us so we could take them on her graduation present (a cruise to Puerto Rico, St Thomas, and St. Maartin.) We drove down to Miami and had a heck of a cruise!! In fact, I think I'll end here for now....fingers are getting tired, and tummy's rumbling. I'll try and pick this up later, I've missed blogging greatly! Take care my friends, and as always, thanks for your time, love, and support. Nika