Friday, January 16, 2026

Don't know where we are other than at sea, but it is sunny and warmer than when we left Miami. Love this balcony! DH got us some great coffee to drink on the balcony. The to-go cups look like paper ones but are reusable materials including the cover to reduce waste. Great idea!

Diane, there was champagne crashed against the hull last night, but they used a boom to swing it and we watched on video, LOL. Nice event with lots of champagne and fancy craft ****tails and appetizers passed around. Tons of dignitaries (more than passengers) at the event. The passengers mostly had on casual clothing but the guests were all dressed up in ****tail dresses and suits. They honored the boat "Godmothers" present and appointed the new one for this ship. Never heard of that before. Dinner afterwards was really good surf and turf. DH finished my steak.

Today and tomorrow are at sea, so hopefully my sinuses can dry up more. Seems like they have improved so the antibiotics are doing their job. I am supplementing with the other stuff spaced out in between.

Looking forward to taking a walk on the 8th deck in a bit. The guests have access to deck 3-8 with different amenities on each deck. I need to remember to clip up my hair before the walk as I am sure it will be windy up there. Nicely sheltered from it on the balcony though.

It is 8 am now, so time to get motivated. Have a fervent Friday!

Enjoy your cruise, Liz!

I am still coughing a bit and draining, but it does seem to be lessening so I'll stop grousing about it. All Christmas decorations are down and put away! Want to know something great about living alone and not having other houses 10 feet away? You can scream bloody murder at the top of your lungs when you can't get one of the bags with the Christmas tree sections to zip. Very cathartic. Kirby might have been slightly disturbed.

And now that I feel a better, I can start cleaning. The dust and dog hair are WELL outside acceptable limits.

Today I called and made an appointment with a new AZ CPA. I think it's for the best to switch from CA. The CA folks are not terribly responsive like when I asked about how mu*****haritable donations I should be considering to offset my taxes for this year (I make donations throughout the year to places I believe in, but didn't know if I needed a big catch u*****t). And they just don't understand how some AZ specific donation things work (you can donate to certain qualified charities in lieu of paying that money in state taxes - food banks, foster children charities, etc). So that feels good to be off my to do list. Now I need to call the septic people to schedule a check-up. Ew. And a new HVAC company as mine ghosted me.

It's very sunny and warm here - 13 degrees over normal. And we're in that section of the southwest with no rain or snow pack. Grr.

My bff is getting married in June in Mexico and I am in the wedding as one of the two "best ladies" holding the chuppah. Not to make it about me, but it's a good incentive to work on my weight and general fitness given I will need a weekend's worth of dressy warm weather clothes and will be standing in front of a lot of people. Hmm, what can I accomplish in 141 days?

So that's it from sunny AZ. Take care all!

What fun! You can accomplish a lot in 141 days. I think you would look lovely just as you are, but having an incentive is helpful if you want to go for it.

141 days is a long time! Congrats on getting all the Christmas stuff away - the bag must have deserved being screamed at ;)

Always something to do when you are a homeowner!

Love the idea of giving to charity in lieu of paying state taxes!

Yes, 141 days is a long time if you feel you want to make some changes before the wedding.

Glad you are having warm weather. We are not!

Yay for Christmas decorations being down (even if cathartic screaming was involved) and yay also for feeling better!

I heard about the Florida cold snap on the internet. Good to get away. We used to go with my parents to a Vet Conference in Orlando this week. My Dad went religiously to the continuing ed classes, but my Mom and my family made our way to Disney. Anyhow, the weather could go multiple ways. We could be in short sleeves and enjoying the pool, we could be wearing hats and gloves in the evening. Because of that, I always tried to schedule mine and DH's little getaways mid February. Sometimes it was still chilly in the evening, but we always had nice weather during the day.

Just got back from a really nice pedicure. My calves and shins were full of flaky dry skin (sorry, TMI?) Now they are silky smooth. Lots of scrubs, lotions, hot stones. Very relaxing.

I sold my Dad short! My aussie sister is in Australia, and she said she would try calling my Dad on my Mom's cell phone (he didn't have one so he's just going to use hers). I had practiced with him before I left how to answer and place calls, and she said he answered and was even able to do facetime. Yes, his main problem I think is hearing. He usually puts it on speaker. He has hearing aids, but doesn't like to use them. Bur yeah Dad! I ordered him a phone holster so he can wear it on walks. I have to go in my phone and change the contact for that number so it says Dad. I forgot about him placing practice calls, and when I opened my phone later and saw missed call Mom, I started to cry. I warned my brother too.

Other than completing last minute packing and other tasks (buying sunscreen!) it should be an easy day. I am eating chili right now for some protein, instead of a handful of Ritz crackers. It's snowing, which makes it perfect to pack up the rest of the summer clothes I'm taking.

Today the very popular Mexican restaurant in my town has closed temporarily, due to staffing shortages. So sad, they are great civic partners and donate to all kinds of school functions. Even people with green cards do not want to come to work. Since at least two U.S. citizens were hauled out of Target when they were starting their shifts (one even had their passport in their pocket, but they were still pushed into an SUV, later dumped, bleeding, into a parking lot down the road) I don't blame them. Lord have mercy for these vulnerable souls.

Your Dad may do really well given what you said. When you get a call it may remind you of your Mom but that's not a bad thing. When a good friend's Mom died after years of illness with her husband taking care of her and worrying, he flourished for his last years afterwards. He even came to stay with his daughter all the way from Florida for a couple of summers. He really enjoyed his last years as did his daughters.

Your pedicure sounds fabulous! Reminds me that I need to schedule my dermaplaning facial soon. I feel like DH and I are due for a couples massage too!

Yay for Dad being able to use the phone and extra impressed he can FaceTime!

Your trip will be here before you know it!

202.1 this morning. Salty Ritz crackers may be the culprit for the uptick.

I am feeling more relaxed about behind the ear beard issue. Swelling continues to go down and bruising still appears to be very minimal. I keep expecting it to surface, but I think at 9 days post op I'm not going to see new bruising. I was able to shave my neck yesterday. I'm going to try to shave my face today. Not sure if I can do it quite yet. The incision areas are still tender and feel lumpy yet.

Liz, your stateroom on the ship is lovely! It looks much like the one I chose for our upcoming Italy cruise. I hope ours is as nicely appointed as yours. We enjoyed having a balcony, too. Makes the room feel just a bit bigger. On the river boat our room was really very small, so the balcony was a much needed extension.

Diamond D., a really frightening time for the people of Minnesota! Unbelievable...

I have a NUT counseling session today. I thought it would be a good idea to keep it, but now I'm kind of wishing I had cancelled. Oh, well...

Not much else from the shut in...

Fun Friday, everyone!

Glad you are feeling more settled about the PS outcome. I agree, if you don't have bruising by now, you should not get any.

Have a good Nut appointment. It will be good to get out of the house for a bit!