Cruise 2010 Highlights

Well we are back to reality and had the most amazing time on our cruise last week. I'm sure that this post will not do it justice, so I won't even try, but it was fabulous! We made the most of every minute.
Our favorite part of the trip was the boat! The sheer size of the thing was mind boggling. We  could not get over all there was to do on the boat. We were like kids in a candy store running around ooing and awing over things.

To start off, there are 7 neighborhoods, and 17 floors.
So here are some highlights of the boat:
1. Central Park- Live plants, benches, open air and beautiful lights at night. You definitely didnt feel like you were on a boat.
2. Surfing on the flowrider. (I didn't do this because of my back issues) but Marc, Meg and the other boys all loved it.
3. The boardwalk- It had a carousel, an aquatheater, candy store, shops, a donut shop, and other fun things for kids
4. The pool deck- 5 pools- salt water/beach pool area, normal pool, kid pool area, sports pool, and an adult pool. Lots of places to layout as well with a perfect view!
5. The Royal Promenade- Felt and looked like you were in a really fancy mall. The 24/7 pizza plce was there, coffe shop, normal shops,  lounges, bars, cupcake place. All on 1 level.


We had 10 people in our group, my parents, my sister and one of her friends. Then our 2 couple friends, The Jakshas and Hartnesses. The Jakshas live in Austin, so it was a blast seeing them and catching up since we never get to see each other anymore!
Here are some pics!

To see more pics, you can view my facebook album at http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2248325&id=20600298&l=6e789ed258.

If you are looking for a NICE, fun, group vacation, you should look into the "Oasis of the Seas" or the newer boat, "Allure of the Seas" which is essentially the same thing. I would highly suggest cruises for a a group just because there is so much to do on the ships. I'm not too sure on how much Marc and I would have done by ourselves, but still either way it would be a blast!

Hope everyone had a great spring break and is enjoying the warmer weather! I know we are!

Catching up with the Keys

This past Sunday, we had the opportunity to host a couple of Fayetteville community groups at our house. Mainly only one showed up, but it turned out be a wonderful get together.
We hosted the Keys who do mission work in Kansas City on one of the college campuses there, UMKC. Brian and Kelly are some of our great friends. Brian was usher in our wedding and has stayed a dear friend to us.
They had Olivia (their 1st child) almost a year ago. Little Livi came with great surprises and has several different special needs. While I watched them care for their sweet girl, it challenged me. It presented the question to me, "will I be ready for the challenge?" Not knowing exactly what that challenge might be, I do know as a Christian we face many of them. Whether that might be infertility, a special needs child, being called to the mission field, etc. I do know I have be ready.
So what can I do to start prepping myself for any challenges that may arise? Well I'm going to start by thanking the Lord daily for what I do have and then strengethen my foundation with reading through the Bible in a year. Marc has been doing that since January, I'm just jumping on the bandwagon a few months late! That in and of itself is a challenge, so it will be a good test for me. I have also been challenged to give more, not what is expected, but above and beyond. I see this family who does full time ministry and has huge medical expenses with their daughter. I especially feel strongly in this area when I live such a comfortable life.
If you are looking to support a missionary, please consider this sweet family. If you want more information on specifics, please email me and I can give you more details.

To Catch up with the Keys, you can follow their story here!

On a completely different note, we had a really yummy dip at our get together and I thought I would share the recipe with you since it is starting get warm and people are going to start having cookouts in the coming weeks.
I call it "Man Dip" some call it Meaty dip, so whatever you want to call it is great!

2lb velveeta
1can original rotel
1pkg of softened cream cheese
2lb of mild sausage
1T chili powder (or adjust to how much kick you want in it)
1T cumin

Brown Sausage and drain. Melt velveeta, cream cheese and rotel together. (I did mine in a large crockpot) When it is all melted, add sausage and spices!
Serve with chips. This should make any man or pregnant person happy! enjoy!


Drumroll please...... (insert drumroll)
I leave for my cruise in t-minus 2 days. So the next time I post will be sometime after I return!

Happy Spring Break! (for those that still get one)

Giveaway Winner!

And the winner of the cereal giveaway is LINDSEY from http://adollopofmylife.blogspot.com/!

Yay! Thanks to everyone who participated. Lindsey, please email me your address and phone # and your prize pack will be shipped to you within the next week!
The winner was chosen by getting their name drawn out of a cup. (The old fashioned way!)


Thanks to General Mills and http://www.myblogspark.com/ for sponsoring this giveaway!

Hope everyone had a fantastic weekend.

Cereal Giveaway!

Marc and I have been on a serious cereal kick lately. One, because we have not wanted to spend a lot of $$ on groceries because we are trying save $$ for our cruise coming up and two, because we have not wanted to cook or eat large dinners. I'm seriously so burnt out on chicken and veggies, that it makes me lose my appetite. I much rather have a yummy bowl of cereal. So while in search for the perfect cereal, I wanted to find one that had good fiber and whole grains.



While in my search, I found that a diet rich in whole grain can be helpful in maintaining a healthy heart, managing weight (Yay!) and it may also reduce the risk for diabetes and certain types of cancer (which both run in my family)! Who knew cereal could be so helpful?
General Mills was the winner for me when it came to choosing a tasty cereal with the most whole grains! Some of my favorite General Mills’ Big G Cereals  include Cheerios, Fiber One, Cinnamon Toast Crunch, Chex, Total and Lucky Charms!

So since I'm on a healthy cereal kick, I would like to offer a giveaway for all of you cereal lovers!

The prize pack includes:
-2 VIP coupons for Big G cereal products (2 free general mills boxes of cereal, up to $6.00 value each)

-A breakfast chiller
-A large cereal mug
-A tote bag

This will be amazing if you have small children or love cereal like me and you are an on the go person.
I invite you to take the Whole Grain Awareness Challenge. Feel free to

visit www.WholeGrainNation.com to put your whole grain knowledge to the test.

To enter the giveaway, please leave me a comment telling me what your favorite Big G cereal is! I will pick a winner ONE week from today and will announce them on Monday, March 15th!

Good Luck!

 

*General Mills is providing the prize pack through MyBlogSpark.

Yikes!

So today as I was getting my hair done guess what Aubrey found.....









2, I repeat 2 grey hairs. Oh my word I feel old. This makes me so sad.

In other, more happier news, we leave in exactly 2 weeks til our cruise to paradise (or warmer weather at least)! Wahoo I'm so pumped!
Well off to go shopping for a new bathing suit!

Have a great weekend!

Winner, Winner!

I had the privilege of participating in a blog giveaway from Sincerely Yours Paper. Amy was celebrating her 1 year blog birthday and decided to do a fun blog birthday giveaway!

All you had to do was leave a comment. Since I am a loyal reader, of course I left a comment (hoping to win of course)

The prize was a 2lb cookie from Corso's. And I WON it! I was so pumped when she let me know, simply because I never win anything!

It arrived in the mail a few days later. It was MASSIVE. I took it to work for everyone to enjoy, because we all know that Marc and I did not need to eat the whole thing!

Thanks Amy for the fun blog giveaway!

Oh and because giveaways are so fun... be looking for one HERE soon! (hint: within the next week.)