Saturday, December 11, 2010

Pictures from Grenada

Hi All!

Sorry it has been a while but I got some super experience observing this week. Yeah!

Today I am picking up with the pictures from our recent trip. Today - Grenada! Enjoy!





















































asd;fbkmsgnkl'msfn'ksl;mfgn'sklfmgn'sfkmgn'sfkl;mgns'fgmns'fgmnks'fgnmksf'gnklmsfgnkl'msfgn'klmsfgn'lkmsgn'lksdfmgn'slkgmfns'fgnklmsfgn
Again - I don't feel the need to narrate the pictures but . . Grenada was a quaint little place to walk around in. I enjoyed it despite the heat and the rain!
zgdhadhf
Today I officially switched into "Christmas Music Mode." I am listening to only Christmas music as I work on the computer and . . . . I officially bought my first Christmas gift for Hubby. Of course, he told me exactly what he wanted and where (and when) to get it but . . . it counts!
fh
I hope you are all getting ready for Christmas - I know more than a few of you are probably already done with the shopping and wrapping and decorating!
sfg
Tonight is Hubby's office Christmas party. It is always a good way to spend a few hours and I finally get to put faces to names I have heard all year. I don't know if I can say that I enjoy the party . . . they do play Bunko and that is fun . . . but the people are nice and the food isn't bad so . . . I guess I do enjoy it!
adhg
Before the party I am hoping to get a little more sleep though - I didn't sleep well last night. Maybe because I was worried about my eyelids getting swollen. Yes. It has happened again. I woke up from a nap yesterday and my left bottom eyelid was swollen again. Never the top lid and never on the right eye. What is up with that?
sfg
I did stop taking my allergy meds (which I was on because of sun poisoning from the trip) the night before but I have no clue if that is related or not. Hubby and I are going to start tracking this to see if we can make any correlation.
sdgh
Do you have any ideas?
adgh
Trisha
adh
Voice Update: Well - I haven't been very good about anything relating to my voice since the cruise. AND I am paying the price. My voice still sounds good but my throat is VERY tight. I started massage again yesterday so we will see if I can get this worked out. My next appointment isn't until Jan. 5th so . . .

Tuesday, December 7, 2010

I Will Be Busy for A While . . .

Hi All!

Just a quick note to let you know that I haven't forgotten you! No - I just have the opportunity to get a BUNCH of observation hours (and good experience) this week for my next Practicum class. The opportunity was too good to pass up so . . . I signed up. For ALL WEEK. I will be busy every day until the weekend.

Being busy IS good, right?

Right?

Trisha

Monday, December 6, 2010

Dominica in Pictures

Hi All!

I took a break from blogging this weekend but . . . I am back with more pictures from our trip. Today it is the lovely island of Dominica. It was VERY cloudy and rainy on the day that we were on the island so the pictures are a bit dark. Enjoy!




































We pulled out of Dominica just as the sun was setting. This last picture is the view from on our balcony.
sfgsf
Our balcony was a nice perk for the trip. It was large enough to have two areas - one which was in view of the other people above us and another which was under cover and which was private. I spent a lot of time out on the balcony reading and enjoying the sea breezes. Now THAT is relaxation!
sdgh
This weekend went quickly for me. On Saturday Hubby and I went shopping for our "angel" from church. We picked an "angel" from the "angel tree." This angel is a child who needs help to have a good Christmas. Our angel was a little girl who was 12 years old (that is all the info we got) and I had fun shopping for her. Hubby had to come along with me to buy the larger purchase - a desk - so he could help carry it to the car!
sdgh
After shopping Hubby and I relaxed (okay - I relaxed and Hubby raked leaves without me knowing. I would have helped - really!). Then we spent a nice evening at home watching DVRed shows and spending time together.
sdgh
On Sunday it was off to church. After church we unloaded out Angel presents and headed home. Once I got home I chatted for a while on the phone with a friend and then scooted off to the college to watch my teacher interpret a play. The play was called One Human Female and it was hilarious - and totally strange!
sdgh
Right after the play I sped off in my car to the church again for handbell practice. It was nice to play again after missing two weeks while on vacation! Then it was home again for dinner (which Hubby prepared) and an evening of laundry and tidying up around the house before snoozing for the night.
sdgh
That, folks, was my weekend in a nutshell.
sdgh
Today I am having a slow day with the hopes of having some observations for the rest of the week.
sfgn
Yes, my class will officially be over after tomorrow but I can still rack up observation hours and apply them towards next semester's practicum class (for which I need 200 hours!). I think that is a pretty good deal! So far I have five out of two hundred hours!
sfgsfg
I hope you had a great weekend!
sfdg
Trisha
sfgh
Voice Update: Doing okay but I probably should check in with Susan about getting an additional massage before heading to Ohio for the holidays. We will see how that goes!

Friday, December 3, 2010

A Pictorial Review

Hi All!

Well, Mental Mama did it - she guess three of the five places Hubby and I went during our cruise. A prize will be on the way to her soon!

For the record, Hubby and I visited the following places: St. Thomas, Dominica, Bonaire, Grenada, Aruba.

Today I am going to show you some sights from St. Thomas. I don't think I am going to say much (I am not in a talkative mood today) so enjoy the sights!






















So - did you enjoy your visual tour around St. Thomas with us? I know the pictures are a bit dark - it was rainy and cloudy so it was tough to catch the sun out for a good picture!
I just want to tell you that there were dozens of Iguanas sunning themselves on the rocks which bordered the dock area. They ranged in size from tiny to rather huge. The iguana shown in the picture above is probably two and a half feet long including that tail!
Well - have a super day! More pictures to come!
Trisha
Voice Update: Doing well but could still use a massage from the master - Susan! I will see how things would out with me getting back into the routine. I may need to get out the "thumper" massager to work on my neck this time!

Wednesday, December 1, 2010

Days Seven and Eight

Hi All!

Well, Hubby and I had a fabulous time on our cruise. We went to five different islands (remember, guess three and you get a fabulous prize!) and saw many different things.

On day seven we were back in Puerto Rico where we started. Because of expensive airfare we decided to stay in Puerto Rico for one night and fly out the next day. We got off the ship quickly and got onto a tour bus for a rainforest tour of El Yunque. It was lovely but a bit "canned" since the tour was one which many other people took too. Nothing personal. Of course I took about a million pictures!

Once we finished the tour we got a ride to our hotel in Old Town with the bus driver who also gave us a tip about where to eat for lunch (I was STARVING by this time since it was about 2:00 and I ate breakfast at 7:00!). Then it was off to Old Town. Since our room wasn't ready at the hotel we stored our luggage and then went to wander around the town.

First order of business was to find the lunch spot called Mallorca. It took us a bit of doing thanks to a wrong turn but we finally found the spot and went in to try a dish called Mallorca. This is a sweet bread which is grilled and topped with powder sugar. It can be filled with cheese or cheese and ham. We got the cheese and ham variety and it was delicious!

Once we had eaten lunch we went out to walk the town and see what was what. We saw several nice shops but didn't really do any shopping - we were shopped out! Then we stopped in a Del Sol store and talked to the saleswoman about a good local place to eat dinner. She gave us a tip about a restaurant which is near the city wall.

Then we finally went to the hotel and got into our room. We cooled off and dried off (from sweat and a brief rain shower during our walk) and took a nap (we were still on vacation after all!). Next thing we knew it was time to find the restaurant for an early dinner.

We had fun looking at all of the little stalls of local art and local food which were set up along the streets. There were a lot of different people out and about due to two cruise ships being at the nearby docks.

We found our restaurant - Cafe Princess - and went into a virtual wonderland. The restaurant is outside and had two permanent pavilions for shelter. The poles of the pavilions and the nearby trees are all wound with lights and there are lovely little chandeliers hanging from the pavilion ceilings for additional light. It wasn't too brightly lit and Hubby had some problems reading the menu in the dim light!

All around the area, on the trees and the pavilion poles plants and vines were growing among the lights and there were hidden frogs "singing" in the night air. Surrounding the entire restaurant was a wrought iron fence and on the other side of the fence there was a gathering of local people who were hanging out, eating, and playing music. It made for a rather festive atmosphere.

After ordering (Hubby got a shrimp stuffed chicken dish and I got Pastelon which is like lasagna with sweet plantain instead of pasta) Hubby and I got to soak in the atmosphere and discuss what we would be doing the next day. When our food came (it was delicious even though mine was a bit unfamiliar with the sweet plantain taste) we asked the waitress about the gathering outside the fence. She told us that the people were local senior citizens who gather there every Sunday starting around noon. The just hang out talking and eating and making music until about one in the morning. Every Sunday. It was nice to hear their music and to watch them dance and socialize.

After dinner Hubby and I walked around a bit more and I bought some Chiccerones (sp??) to try. If you don't know there are fried pig skin and they are yummy! Of course, the smallest bag I could by was 1/4 of a pound and that is a LOT of chiccerones for one person to eat. So - as we were walking back to the hotel I gave some to people we passed and then gave the rest of the bag to the staff at the hotel.

It was a really nice day!

The next morning we got up and had a lovely buffet breakfast at the hotel restaurant and then packed our bags and headed to the airport for our flight.

It was a good time but now we had to go home to the "real world."

After our five hour flight we picked up our car and headed home. We met our cat sitters at the house and treated them to pizza while getting our keys back. Then it was unpacking and sleep in our own bed! Wonderful!

Today I am loading pictures onto our computer so I can show you some of our islands (and hopefully get a winner!). After that it is laundry and some relaxing while I catch up on television on the DVR.

Yesterday I had to write two papers for class and then go to class for the last time. There is one more session this semester but we are meeting at a local restaurant to celebrate actually getting through the semester! Yeah!

That is about all my tired mind can do for today!

Trisha

Voice Update: Well - as you know I haven't been too faithful to my exercises and massage during the trip. I will be getting back on track and am thinking I might even see if I can schedule a visit with Susan to get loosened up again. We will see. Right now I am dealing with my sun poisoning on my neck (yes, again!) while trying to do my massage. Not too fun!