Guest Post: An 18 day Cruise

Hey, hey friends!

I'm Janna, and you can find me at Perception Is Everything.

As you all know, our lovely CeCe is off gallivanting in Europe, so I thought I would share about my trip to that beautiful part of the world. I'm hiding in CeCe's luggage, but sssshhh don't tell her.

A few years ago, my grandparents surprised my siblings and I by taking us to Europe for a WHOLE month! I must say, it was one of the best experiences of our lives....

It all began with a NEVER-ENDING flight from Ft. Lauderdale, Florida to Amsterdam, in The Netherlands in August of 2007, along with loss of sleep from our first major time zone change.

Next stop: NORWAY! 

Probably THE most breathtaking country I have ever been to.

We hopped on a 700 passenger cruise ship in Amsterdam, and it became our home for the next 18 days and three countries ;)

The waterfalls along the way were incredible...

And it just got better from there...

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After Norway and a jaunt into the Arctic Circle, we headed down to The Shetland Islands.  Where they really have those little Shetland ponies, by the way.

And then Scotland!

At the end of the 18 days, we were sad that our seaward journey had come to a close, but at least we still had a few more days to explore Amsterdam!

Our Hotel for the last week:

Die Port Van Cleve Hotel, Dam Square-Amsterdam

How gorgeous, RIGHT?  It was the old Heineken Brewery, until the brewery needed to expand.  It is definitely not a Holiday Inn or anything "Americans" are used to, but that's the charm of it...Over stuffed with furniture and no AC, it might dissuade some from staying here, but for the history, location and charm-we LOVED it!

How cool is this outdoor potty?  These were all over Amsterdam, and I was only sad that they didn't have anything for females.  In case you don't know- you have to pay to use public restrooms over there, so you need to have options like this!

As I mentioned, it was the time of our lives, which is what I'm sure CeCe is having right now!

Most importantly, she gets to be reunited with her MJ!!
We are both Military spouses, so I know just how amazing it is to reunite with our soldiers.
I know that I can't WAIT to hear the romantical stories and fabulous pictures that she will have.

Hurry home girl! Well, I know that you won't and shouldn't, but we MISS you!!

Cece's 2 cents:   Thank you Janna for this great post  I love it!  Those pictures are so beautiful.  What an amazing unforgettable vacation.  That is so cool that you got to do this with your family.  I'll be very interested to see those outdoor potties when we get to Amsterdam.  How random is that?  And yes, I do miss you all too!  Logging into Blogger every morning is such an enjoyable part of my routine but clearly it's nice to be unplugged for a while seeing the world...instead of a computer monitor. 

Guest Post: Places I want to Visit

Hello, Friends! I’m Lauren and I blog over at Choosing Joy! I’m here today to talk to you about some of the places that I most want to travel to, while CeCe is away vacationing in beautiful Europe!  My fiance, Brian, has traveled so much during his life. I, on the other hand, have not. At least, not before we met. After meeting Brian, I have definitely expanded my horizons a bit, and traveled to places I probably never would have otherwise, and it's been an amazing experience. I would love to travel more, and we have plans to visit quite a few more places within the next few years. Here is a list of some of the top places I would most like to visit...

1. Maine

Maine is probably the place I would like to visit the most. Brian's family has gone many times, and I've heard so many good things about this place - including the cuisine. I've never had lobster in my life, but am definitely planning on trying it when Brian and I make a stop here on our honeymoon! Besides this, I'd love to see some of the surrounding states, and Canada, since they are so easy to get to from Maine.

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2. Shenandoah National Park

Earlier this year (during late winter), my fiance and I took a trip to Virginia to spend the weekend at Shenandoah National Park. It was absolutely beautiful, and is the best vacation I've ever been on thus far. I would love to return again during the spring when the trees are in full bloom, and there is more green than brown, and when we can go hiking without freezing. I can only imagine how breathtaking the views would be during the warmer months. Next time we go here, I'd love to see Monticello, since it's fairly close to Skyline Drive, and I've never been there before.

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3. Hawaii

I'm not sure this one really needs any explanation. Hawaii is beautiful. Simple as that. For years, I have wanted to visit Hawaii and travel The Road to Hana. There is so much I want to do in Hawaii, I'm hoping this will be a long vacation! The beaches look so beautiful and peaceful - have you ever seen waters so clear?

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Cece's 2 Cents:  Thanks for the Post Lauren!  I haven't been to Maine or Shenandoah but I have been to Hawaii.  We went to Oahu for our honeymoon and I can honestly say it is as beautiful as that picture.  Actually, pictures really don't do it justice.  What, Europe didn't make the list?  Maybe I can convince you to add it after I get back and post a million recaps and pics about my trip.

Meet you in Barcelona

Things were a little different around here with the husband gone. For starters, there was no cooking so the kitchen did not see much use. If I had to make a stop after work it didn't bother me much because it didn't feel like there was anything to rush home to. There's nobody home but me so what difference does it make? The AC was off way more then it was on and there was nothing out of place. As much as I  loved our clutter free house I would rather trip over 5 pairs of shoes a day and wear sweaters and blankets so I don't freeze to death then to have him be so far away for too long. I miss him. I miss us watching movies and cuddling. I miss seeing his cute face when I get home from work and acting silly together. It was only 6 weeks this time.  I can say only because a couple of years ago it was 11. Months.  When he was in Germany we still got to talk and Skype but for the last three weeks he was in Croatia.  I've been feeling totally cut off and it's kind of frustrating.  There are things I want to tell him but can't get across via text.  I have really important things to ask him like whether we should go to Marseilles or Aix En Provence and why or if he could tell me just one more time how to start his new car with the block for a key.  Should I be offended that he reminded me to open the garage door before I ran the engine or just find it sweet that he doesn't want me to die?

Months of research and anticipation have come down to this.  I have a folder full of boarding passes, train tickets, hotel confirmations, self written tour guides and itineraries.  I am nothing if not organized and prepared.  It's funny because Mj has almost no idea of what we're doing on this trip because I planned it all and haven't been able to discuss any of the final details with him.  It'll be a nice surprise for him.  I still cannot believe that I am going to Europe.  Like a wedding, an awesome honeymoon and buying a house it's one more thing that I just figured I would never get to do but like all those others it has become reality.  Mj has been by my side for all of it.  I don't know what I would do without him in my life.

Dropping him off at the airport not only began the six week countdown until I'd get to see him again but also to our vacation. Saying good bye at the airport that morning sucked but it was so cool to be able to say "Meet you in Barcelona" and actually mean it. I felt like I was in a movie.  A really cool romantic comedy; until I drove home, went to back to sleep and nothing all that exciting happened when I woke up. The only good thing about being separated are the heart swooning reunions and I think this might be our best one yet. The only thing that would make it more romantic is if we were reuniting in the romantic city of Paris instead of Barcelona but that's okay because we'll be there just a week later.  I can totally picture it my head.  We'll be hand in hand staring up at the Eiffel Tower.  Together.

Pre Vacation Confessions

I confess that I have never used this much vacation time all at once in my life.  96 hours!!!  I'm such a vacation day hoarder that I was notified that I HAD to use up so many vacation hours by the end of this year.  Being the obedient employee that I am, I immediately booked a trip to Europe.  Even after,  I'll still have over 100 hours left.

I confess that I have spent hours and hours on research for our vacation.  Hours.  Like it's my job.  I could practically write a guide book on the 8 European cities we are traveling to.  I don't want to get there and have to waste time trying to figure out what to do and how to do it.  A European vacation doesn't come around that often and we need to make the most of every single day and do it as cheaply as possible.

I confess that I've been obsessively checking the weather for the cities that we are going to visit.  I added Barcelona, Nice, Rome, Naples, Paris AND Amsterdam to my i phone weather app. 

My pretty passport

I confess that when I thought about not working out for two weeks I got a little nervous.  The ship has a great gym so my goal is to get in two workouts while we're on the cruise but other then that I'm just gonna try not to worry about it too much.  We'll be too busy exploring and having fun.  That alone is going to be enough to wear me out.  Walking will be my main source of exercise and that's gonna have to be okay.

I confess that I have tracked my calories in Lose it every day since I got my i phone almost two years ago.  I'm still trying to decide if I should break my streak and not bother to track calories at all while I'm gone.  I'm going to be eating as much Pizza in Italy as I can so what's the point? 

I confess that I haven't read my Glamour or Marie Claire Magazines for the past two months just so I could save them for my trip.  It's a looong plane ride.  I'm also taking a book called Ice Cream Girls.

I confess that I'm going to pack this weekend and pretend that I'm leaving on Monday.  That way I still have time to obsess over my luggage which hopefully means less anxiety when I actually walk out the door for good.  Packing is stressful.  Speaking of which...

I confess that I still have no idea how I'm going to fit 14 days of clothing into ONE suitcase.

I confess that I still can't believe I'm going to Europe.  It probably won't sink in until I land at the airport in Spain.

I confess that I get butterflies when I think about seeing Mj again.  After six weeks we'll be seeing each other for the first time again at the airport in Spain.  It's just so romantic. 

I confess that this blog is going to be on pause while I'm away.  If anyone is interested in guest posting let me know.  I'd need it by Wednesday.

I confess that in all my years of blogging I've never had a guest poster so if anyone agrees to do it they'll be the first.


Can you tell I'm super excited about my trip?

I'm Not the Hostess Type

Fancy Cheese Platter

Anybody who knows me personally knows that I am not a cook.  Heck, if you read this blog you know that.   I want to WANT to cook and bake but I just don't.  I think life is simpler without it.  No grocery shopping, no kitchen clean up, no dishes, no dishwasher loading and unloading and no worry about letting ingredients or left overs go bad.  I have simple tastes so I don't have to eat out to compensate for not cooking.  I don't need much.  I've saved a ton of money on groceries since Mj has been gone.

When he goes out of town I get this bright idea to invite the girls over for a little get together which kind of makes sense but doesn't.  On the one hand it's the perfect time to take over the house with the girls but on the other hand he's the one who would know exactly what food to serve at a party.  He told me that if I ever wanted to have a party he'd plan the menu and prepare it as long as I help but I always do it when he's gone so my poor guests are left with me.  Whenever I try to come up with things to serve I draw a complete blank.  I can't deal with anything too complicated.  For me that means anything with more then five ingredients.  I saw a $19.99 family meal deal from Pat & Oscars and it was tempting, but I couldn't go out like that so I came up with something.

It's not like it was a big deal or anything.  I only had four friends over.  But still, I made a stress run to the store that morning.  You know the one that happens when you get paranoid and go buy stuff  for 'just in case' that you end up not even using.  I worried about what to make, if there would be enough and if my guests would like it like every hostess does, but I think I did pretty good.  I had a fancy looking cheese and fruit platter, tortilla chips and salsa, green salad, pasta salad with Italian dressing and Turkey Meatballs.  I did not make the meatballs myself; they were frozen but really tasty.  I am most proud of my Pillsbury Crescent snacks because they were a little different and I actually had to put them together and bake them.  They didn't look quite like the picture, but close enough and they tasted great.  Everyone had a good time and I got to see some friends; one of which I hadn't seen in a year!!!  It's crazy how that happens.

Source: pillsbury.com via CeCe on Pinterest

Two weeks ago I spent the night at my parent's house, then my parents spent the night at my sisters house, then last week my sister spent the night at my parents house so this time my mom and sister spent the night at my house.  Did you get all that?  Ha!  Apparently we just really love taking turns spending the night at each others houses.  So my mom, sister and nephew came down for the party on Saturday, spent the night at my house and stayed all day on Sunday.  We had a lot of fun hanging out together.

The only thing about my weekend that sucked was having to cough up $480 bucks on my car for brakes.  That really hurts and there is a chance I got ripped off because I don't know any better but it had to be done.  I did not let it spoil my weekend.

Confessional Fun

I confess that I got to page 132 of Fifty Shades of Grey and wanted to call it quits.  It dawned on me that the book was going to be about her life as a willing sex slave and I found that  I just wasn't all that interested. I stopped reading it for a week but I'm thinking I might as well finish it.

Budget Buster $130, marked down from $400
[Photo Source]

Budget Friendly $12, marked down from $49.99
[Photo Source]

I confess that last month I actually considered buying a pair of Jimmy Choo Sandals.   I was looking for snake print flat sandals for my trip, they came up in google images and I fell in shoe love. They were on sale for $130 down from $400.  I have only ever spent over $100 on boots so even though the price was low for Jimmy Choo it's still too high for sandals and my budget.  I found a cute pair of Alfani flats on clearance at Macy's for $12 bucks instead. My heart still yearns for the Jimmy Choo's.  It could have been my one chance to every own a pair but I'm glad I didn't spend that much.  I guess.  If anybody tells me that I should have bought them I'm going to cry.

I confess that even though I'm on shopping lockdown I bought a cute little Victoria's Secret I Love Pink hoodie.  Hey, it's for my trip.  That makes it okay.

I confess that I seem to have replaced my pretzel addiction with Ritz and Peanut Butter Crackers.  It used to be one of my favorite after school snacks and now I've been eating it after work.  For dinner.  Between that and PBJ's I've almost gone through a whole jar of peanut butter in a month.

I confess that when Chloe beat Maddie at Nationals on Dance Moms I screamed and did a happy dance.  Maddie is an amazing dancer and I think she's adorable but Chloe is the underdog, I love her long beautiful lines and I think it was her turn to shine.  I also screamed when they won 1st for the team.   They won everything!!

Leslie at Blonde Ambition is bringing confessional Friday back next week, Yeah!!  So, I will be linking up with her next week for more of the same.  Have a great weekend!