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I am by no means pro yet, but have been on cruises alone with my husband and with kids. I love it!! I highly recommend cruising as a vacation. This is one of the best ways ever to vacation because there is something for everyone no matter what age.
The most relaxing cruise was of course just my husband and I. We had time to ourselves, lots of relaxing around the pool, nice dinners, shows, it was great. I could go hit the casino while he went to soak in the hot tub and then meet back up for lunch. We spent lots of time together but also enjoyed a little alone time. We made up for a lot of missed date nights. It was the best!
Our next cruise was a huge family affair. It included all of my husbans siblings, their spouses and kids, his parents and us with our kids. There were 17 of us in all. Not as relaxing but just as much fun. Lots of options to do as a big group but still time for us to do things with our individual families as well.
While on this trip we did some of the excursions. My husband and daughter went scuba diving with some of the family and all of us went swimming with the dolphins. So fun!
My husband and I still got some time out as adults, going to shows and lounging around. My teenage daughter had dancing, nightclubs, bingo and some shows. My son, 6, at the time absolutely loved kids camp. We could hardly get him to leave. We had to practically force him to hang out with us or to go to dinner. I was glad he had someplace safe and fun to hang out though. It gave us a chance to relax while he was being entertained and making new friends. We didn’t feel guilty because we knew he was having the time of his life.
There is a lot of planning involved for a cruise though. I’m sure the more you do it the easier it gets though. So I better get onto planning another, haha. Besides just choosing dates and destinations you need to take some time to research the trip your planning and the ship you will be on.
Once you decide on your trip and purchase your tickets you can then get into your account and start adding in the extras. This is when we started really looking into the excursions that we wanted to take and booking those. This is also your chance to add other things such as unlimited drinks. Not just alcohol but carbonated drinks as well if you plan to be getting any of these from other locations on the ship other than the buffet area . We aren’t big drinkers so we did not pay extra for this. We would just swing through the buffet area to grab drinks throughout the day. We did however purchase a case of bottled water ahead of time, which they have in your room upon arrival. Another thing we paid for ahead of time was our gratuities. You’ll pay for this either way. You can wait and they will track automatic gratuities everytime you order a drink, eat dinner, etc ,or you can pay one lump sum ahead of time. When I did some figuring I decided it was cheaper to pay the lump sum and just not worry about what I might owe at the end. I don’t like surprises.
You have the option to add a credit card to your account or you can use cash and go put a certain amount of money on your account when you first arrive for boarding. This is what we chose to do. That gave us a way to put only a certain amount of money on each of our accounts. If we needed more we could always add more later. There are kiosks around the ship so you can check and manage your account whenever you need to.
Be prepared for numerous photo ops. They take pictures all of the time, you can then go find your printed photos and purchase. I usually buy one or two that I really like and get one nice one of the family. The rest of the time I just make sure I take lots of photos myself because it can get expensive quickly when you purchase theirs.
Even with all of the extra charges that you can rack up during a cruise I still feel like you’re getting a lot for your money. It doesn’t involve as much planning as other trips. You don’t worry about hotels, restaurants, or things to do. You have so many options and you are not going to starve with the unlimited food, haha. There is literally something for everyone. I can’t wait for our next one.
Happy planning!
I was recently nominated for the Blogger Recognition Award. I was happy to see that I had a notification on my phone a couple days ago from Steph at Lifestyle of a Non Trophey Wife and she had included me in on her list of nominations. Thank you to Steph for including me.
What is The Blogger Recognition Award?
This is a way for bloggers to build up other bloggers who they feel make a positive impact not only in the blogging world but the world around them. This is a way to get these bloggers websites to be seen by more people that may be missing out. A way to support your fellow bloggers.
Why I Started My Blog
I signed up for my wordpress sight over a year ago in April of 2018. Life happened and even though it was always in the back of my mind I just couldn’t get going. I felt overwhelmed trying to learn the basics. Come November of 2018 I decided to just go for it. I had taken a blogging course and went back to review and posted my first blog post. I decided to write about life, family, food and travel. I would love to make an income eventually but am just going at my own pace and not rushing the process. I like to write, cook and hanging out with my family. This gives me the opportunity to do these things and share about it.
Advice for New Bloggers
Be patient and set goals. This is not a quick process. Be patient with yourself as you learn and figure out what works for you. Set attainable goals for yourself. Don’t commit to doing more than you are actually capable of right now. Once you reach your first few small goals and start figuring out your own system you will be able to start moving a little faster.
Blogger Recognition Award Rules
Once you have been nominated for the award, there are some rules, as with any of these awards:
- Thank the nominating blogger and give the link to their page.
- Write a blog post on your website about winning the award.
- Describe the story of why you started your blog.
- Write two pieces of advice you have for new bloggers.
- Nominate 15 other bloggers who have your vote of confidence for this award.
- Notify each of your nominees of their nomination. I’ll be doing that here and Twitter.
So I have come across so many great blogs since I started my journey. It is hard to narrow down to 15 blogs. Here are the 15 that I am nominating:
- Lifestyled You
- The Recipe Bandit
- A Word From Momma Bird
- Loving Life’s Imperfections
- Insecure Housewife
- Our Balanced Mess
- Your Cruise Girl
- The Salty Mamas
- Goldfish and Chicken Nuggets
- Secret Life of a Real Estate Mommy
- Happy Mom Hacks
- Bold Truth Mama
- Mojo and Moxie
- Our Lives With Bella
- I Love This Place
So this is my list. I hope you take the time to check out some these blogs and show them your support.
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We spend a lot of time in our lives taking care of everyone else. It becomes really easy to forget yourself. There are many things that we need to do for self care. You need a little me time, you need to eat right, you need to exercise. I personally like to wear makeup. I feel better when I feel put together. I feel ready for the day once I get dressed and put a little makeup on.
No, none of us need makeup, none of us should be judged on whether or not we wear makeup and some women prefer not to use it. I don’t wear it everyday and some days are just not going to happen. I like it though and thought I would share some of the products that I love.
I actually started using these Younique products when my daughter started selling them a couple of years ago. This is something she started doing as a way to earn a little money while in college and it has worked out great for her. I have come to really like these products as they not only perform well but are also gentle on my skin.
I personally like natural looking makeup so the colors I choose are usually nudes and neutral colors. My daughter however can go bolder. So whether you’re looking for little coverage, maybe just skincare products or want to do it all you might want to check out some of these products.
I love shopping online and I love getting a package that’s just for me. Sometimes you need to think of yourself. Don’t forget Mother’s Day is coming up. 😀
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When you are taking care of your family and working you definitely have a lot on your plate. If you have to travel at all for work then you understand the planning that goes into that week that you’ll be gone.
You spend the previous week not only getting things sorted out at work, making sure you have your work items, travel documents and email notifications set, but also prepping things at home so your family will survive the week.
You spend time cleaning, making sure house is organized, weekly schedule is sorted out, meals planned, shopping done and the list goes on. On top of all of this you need to pack for your trip.
I have a basic list of items that I pack. I like to go with neutral blacks and grey’s for pants and shoes and add color with tops. I plan to wear each pair of pants twice and just change outfits up with the different tops. This saves on space when packing and keeps things simple. I usually end up packing at the last minute so it’s nice to have a basic list so you don’t forget anything. Just make sure you don’t forget your suitcase. I have actually done this before! Does not make for a great trip.
Clothing Items
- 1 skirt or pair of slacks (black or grey)
- 1 pair pants (black)
- 1 pair nice jeans
- 1 blazer (neutral/black) will wear a couple of times
- 2 blouses (to wear under blazer)
- 2 blouses to wear alone
- 1 pullover sweater
- 1 pair heels
- 1 pair flats
- 1 pair tennis shoes
- 1 workout outfit (leggings, tshirt, sports bra)
- 1 sweater or sweatshirt
- Socks
- Underwear
- Pajamas
- Nylons
- Swimsuit
Travel Bag (I use a roll up bag that I can hang on a bathroom hook when I get to hotel for easy access) (I also use travel sizes so everything fits in one bag)
- Basic makeup
- Nail polish
- Qtips
- Tweezers
- Nail clippers
- Hair tie
- Hairspray
- Razor
- Shampoo/conditioner
- Tothbrush/toothpaste
- Lotion
- Ibuprofen
- Pepto Bismol or Tums
- Make sure if you’re flying all of your liquids are in the small clear part and easily accessible for security.
Other Items
- Hairbrush
- Hair straightener (if needed)
- Jewelery (I take 1 necklace, 1 bracelet, 1 pair earrings)
- Portable steamer
- Phone/charger
- Work items (laptop, charger, business cards, pens, notebook, etc..)
- Snacks and a couple microwavable meals (for when you just want to stay in room)
Once I arrive at the hotel I actually unpack. I hang clothes so they don’t become anymore wrinkled. I set my items up in bathroom. I set snacks up near microwave. I set up work station at desk.I like to be comfortable and not feel like I am living out of my suitcase. I feel like this makes my week go smoother.
I always try to get to bed early also. Might as well take advantage of your time away to try to relax little. I always miss my family but sometimes it can be nice to only worry about getting yourself ready for bed.
I find all business trips exhausting but make the best of it and eat good, sleep early, watch what you want on TV and try to relax a little. Safe travels!