June Goal Results

For the month of June, I created a list of goals that I would like to accomplish. Goal setting is something that I have done throughout my entire life. My goals keep me on track and motivate me to do more. Not only do they motivate me to do more, but they allow me to take control of what I want to do in my life!

1. Finish Grad School.
   • It is such a relief knowing that I am finished with graduate school! I ended up finishing 11 days early! Woohoo!
2. Celebrate Clint’s birthday.
   • Clint’s birthday was during the week, so we didn’t do anything super exciting. He worked that day and cooked his own birthday dinner. {He’s the grill master, so he didn’t mind!}
3. Continue exercising.
   • I did continue exercising, but I didn’t exercise as much as I wanted to. Once I finished grad school, I had more free time to be active. HOPEFULLY…I can keep it up through July!
4. Try a new recipe.
   • Clint loves chicken pot pie, but it isn’t one of my favorites unless I’m in the mood for it. Clint sent me the recipe for a Chicken Pot Pie Crescent Bake. I saw that it contained cream cheese and thought I would enjoy it. It was pretty tasty and didn’t require much prep! You can find the recipe HERE.
5. Watch a movie.
   • I was hoping to watch a new movie, but I watched an old time favorite of mine. I had a TON of clothes to put away and figured I would turn on the TV for some background noise. I browsed through the movies on Amazon Prime and found Ladybugs. When I was younger, I watched this movie all the time and I’m really surprised my mom let me watch it.  Haha! {It’s amazing how different movies are when you watch them as an adult.} I found myself watching more of the movie than putting away my clothes.
6. Go to the pool.
   • Check! I’m so thankful to have friends and family members with pools. Thank you, Miriam and Aunt Dana!
7. Finish reading a book.
   • I actually finished reading THREE books! I read Be the One for Kids, The Road to Grace, and A Step of Faith.
8. Blog more.
   • Check! I wrote several blog posts this month.
9. Try a new restaurant.
   • I tried TWO new restaurants this month. Clint and I went to Chipotle for a light lunch. It was pretty good, but I wasn’t crazy about it. {I’m more of a Barberitos kinda girl!} The other restaurant was Chicken Salad Chick. I have been wanting to go because I LOVE chicken salad! Nothing beats chicken salad on a hot summer day. Miriam and I went for lunch and I fell in LOVE! I had a hard time deciding which chicken salad to order. I had the Sassy Scotty for lunch and bought a Quick Chick Buffalo Barclay to go. SO DELICIOUS!
10. Use my embroidery machine.
    • I will never earn the title, “Master Embroiderer,” but I did use my machine! I bought a few appliqué designs off Etsy and gave them a shot! Embroidery reminds me of a foreign language. It takes a lot of learning and practicing before one feels confident enough to share it with the world!

While my June goals were not very taxing, it feels good knowing that I fulfilled all ten goals! Now it’s time to set new goals for July!

Post Vacation Blues (Part 5)

I promise this is the last post of the Post Vacation Blues Series, but I saved the best for last! 🙂

FOOD!

I have a love-hate relationship with cruise food. I LOVE the food, but it can be overwhelming! There were various pastas, pizzas, rice, potatoes, meats, and desserts. EVERY. SINGLE. DAY.
I always felt the need to fill up my plate with savory foods because you may not have the same food options for lunch the next day!

Cruises do a great job preparing a variety of dishes, so you do not feel like you are eating the same thing every day. Although, there are only so many options for breakfast. The breakfast buffet is perfect for the ultimate breakfast eater. Don’t get me wrong, I love breakfast…from Chick-Fil-A.
{If Royal Caribbean had a CFA, it would make breakfast 100x better!}

We usually ate the lunch buffet. There were too many options and I could NEVER narrow it down to one entrée. I ended up getting a little bit of everything and would leave with a very full stomach. I did eat my share of salads {and desserts} though! Royal Caribbean had an awesome salad bar with yummy ranch dressing! They also had a bar filled with desserts! I’m pretty sure it is necessary to finish each cruise meal with a sweet dessert!

For dinner, we usually ate in the formal dining area. {This is where they keep the good stuff!} I love to try weird unique dishes that I would NEVER pay for in an actual restaurant. Escargots Bourguignonne, anyone? (Also known as Snails swimming in a blend of garlic and butter. If you like mushrooms, you would enjoy these!)

Here’s a selection of the dinner entrées that Clint and I ordered throughout the week. (Spicy Grilled Pork Chop, Chicken Marsala, Chicken Parmigiana, Garlic Tiger Shrimp, and my favorite Broiled Lobster Tail)

My favorite night is the Captain’s Dinner because they serve lobster tails at no additional charge. {AND you can order as many as you want!} I also love getting to dress up for dinner!

Formal night is my favorite night to have the professional photos taken.

Oasis of the Seas had several speciality restaurants on board for an additional price. When we booked our cruise, we got a free lunch at one of them. We ate at Sabor which offered Mexican cuisine. We could have ordered the ENTIRE menu, but we decided to order chicken-stuffed jalapeños wrapped in bacon, beef empanadas, steak quesadillas, and rice/beans. The food was very spicy but tasty!

One night, Clint and I splurged and went to another speciality restaurant called Chops Grille. OH. MY. GOODNESS. It was the most delicious restaurant ever! If you ever see a Chops Grille on a cruise, I would recommend eating there!
We ordered appetizers, entrées, and desserts. We had bacon wrapped scallops, crab and shrimp cakes, Caesar salad, three cheese roasted onion soup, filet mignon (mine was butterfly cut), and shareable side dishes. The filet mignon felt like it was melting in our mouths. Clint doesn’t usually express himself, but while we were eating he mentioned how good the steak was! Everything was delicious!

For dessert, Clint had red velvet cake with homemade cream cheese frosting and I had the warm cookie plate with vanilla ice cream!

Now…those are SWEET!

Post Vacation Blues (Part 4)

¡BIENVENIDOS A MÉXICO!

On a cruise, the coolest feeling is going to sleep in the middle of the ocean and waking up in a new country. This was our first time visiting Cozumel, so we were not sure what to expect. There were SO MANY places to shop at the port. There were fewer jewelry stores in Cozumel than in Jamaica (which was a nice surprise), but most of the stores had the same items with different price tags. I’m not talking a dollar difference either. You could easily pay $5 more for the same thing. We ended up browsing around and trying on sombreros until we were ready to buy. 
After doing touristy things, we had a craving for some Mexican food and ate at Señor Frog’s. I really wanted chips and salsa! Except…they bring you popcorn in a dog food bowl instead. At least the nachos and chicken fajitas satisfied our cravings!

And…
A cruise is not a cruise until someone takes the obligatory photo with Señor Frog himself! Thanks, Steve!We said adiós to México and headed back to the ship.
{The water was unreal! Look how clear and blue!}After leaving Cozumel, we had one more day at sea. Then, we were back on American soil. We had a blast on the cruise! It was a little sad getting off the ship that we called home for a week and being back to reality. No more room service, buffets, nonstop entertainment, towel animals, or getting up from the dinner table without paying. We were back to sleeping in our bed, eating chips and salsa, and loving on our sweet fur baby. Reality isn’t so bad…our life is sweet!

Do you want to know what is just as sweet?
Stay tuned… 🙂

Post-Vacation Blues (Part 3)

After looking back at our pictures, I failed to mention that we were in Haiti on Clint’s birthday! (For some reason, I kept thinking we had a full day at sea on his birthday.) Anyway…Clint has never been the one to make a big deal about his birthday, and he doesn’t like being the center of attention. We kept the birthday celebration to a minimum, but I’m pretty sure Clint was told “Happy Birthday!” at least 100 times that day.

We did enjoy dinner in the formal dining room with our entire cruise crew. My mom was very sneaky and told our waiters that we had a birthday to celebrate. Immediately following our dinner course, the waiters sang to Clint and brought him a delicious cake!
{Side Note: I’m planning a post strictly for food later on! :)}

The next day, we were in Falmouth, Jamaica! Ya’mon!
Falmouth, Jamaica was beautiful and H-O-T! Clint and I got off the ship fairly early and walked around the town. We didn’t sign up for an excursion, so we browsed around all the shops instead. We usually don’t buy many things, but I did find the perfect Christmas ornament for our tree! {I love collecting ornaments from our travels together!}

After sweating and shopping, we made our way back to the ship. We spent the rest of the day at the pool!

The perfect time to enjoy the pool is when the ship is in port because most of the passengers are off the ship. We had a blast hanging out around the pool! The fun continued with another full day at sea.

Next stop…
Cozumel, Mexico!

Post-Vacation Blues (Part 2)

After one full day at sea, we arrived at our first destination!
Welcome to Labadee, Haiti! 

Labadee is a private beach resort only accessible by Royal Caribbean cruisers. The water and scenery were breathtaking!

Labadee has four beaches to choose from. We spent most of the day at Nellie’s Beach. It was the perfect place to relax and enjoy the water. There were complimentary chairs to use at the beach, but we kept cool in the water the whole time! You can also rent a float for a small fee.

Nellie’s Beach doesn’t have a whole lot going on. The kayaking excursion does depart and return from Nellie’s Beach which provides additional entertainment, especially if your mom is nearly asleep on her float and is about to be ran over by kayakers. My mom and her red float drifted FAR away…just in time for the kayakers’ departure!

My mom didn’t realize how far she had drifted away until we were laughing uncontrollably. She managed to make it back to the crew safely.

After spending a couple of hours on the beach, it was time for lunch. We enjoyed a complimentary barbecue lunch buffet before heading back to the ship for a midday nap. (I’m pretty sure naps are a daily requirement for cruising. Ha!)

Next stop…
Falmouth, Jamaica!