My Bucket List Cruise of 2013 - Day 1

I am so excited to be able to go on my first cruise. My sister invited me after her coworker canceled at the last moment. Which turned out to be a blessing for me. I didn't have the money for the last minute invite, so my sister paid for me to go with a promise from me to repay by next year. My goal is to repay her before 2013 ends.

I set a goal to be able to wear at least one bikini on the cruise. I adjusted my eating by preparing 95% of my meals. I went on a vegetable and chicken soup diet for 2 weeks, asked my coworkers to help keep me on track and I hit the gym and home workouts. I used my Buddy as my judge, not only could I get into one bikini, I was able to get into three. He was so impressed that he bought me a cover-up to wear to the beach but not on the beach. I was ready and psyched.

The Sunday morning didn't start off to well. We were all tired from celebrating my daughter's 21st birthday the night before. We got on the road about 7 am, our plan was to hit the road by 6 am. Forty-five minutes into the trip, Zaneta remembered she had left a basket of wet clothes at the house. We had to get off the road and head back to the house, bummer. I thought in my head the Lord is trying to protect us from something.

Back on the road again, with extra stuff piled up in Zaneta's Nissan Sentra. I had to keep monitoring myself because her car moved so smoothly on the highway, I didn't realize I was going 80-90 MPH in a 65 zone. About 30 miles outside of Conroe the traffic came to a slow down because of a hay truck that lost its bales. So now we know why the delay, thank You Lord. After much speed driving through Houston, we finally reached the Port of Galveston, BEAUTIFUL!! I got so excited when I saw the boat, I almost stopped in the middle of the road. I couldn't get my phone camera to adjust fast enough. We eventually found a place to park where we could take a good photo of the boat, our home for the next 7 days.

Boarding the ship was a long process, security check, beverage check, cabin check-in and finally to our room. The room didn't seem too bad for spa package room. We attended the welcome aboard all you can eat lunch, good food. After the safety briefing, we headed to the party deck. When I say we danced our butts off...danced so much, went down so low, this guy started videotaping us. So if you see me dancing on YouTube, is an unauthorized posting, LOL! We burned our lunch off.
Next we hung out on the shopping level. They were giving away free shots, I had 5. I could feel the boat moving, it felt like a rocking chair. Then we headed to dinner. I ordered every thing off the starters menu and an entrée. Talk about a stuffed pig. My sister said you won't be wearing those bikinis on this trip.

After dinner I was exhausted, I couldn't eat or drink another thing. So we headed back to the room for a power nap. The plan was to get up at 11 pm and go to the club, but our phones said 2:30 am. WHAT!! We changed time zones, we're officially in international waters. We thought, oh well, we'll get on track tomorrow.

  

The Rain

The rain is beginning to come down, it's light right now. Can I make it from the bus to the car before it gets heavier. Yes I can because I'm a runner, so I pick up my pace.
As I sit in my car, my thoughts go to him. Tonight would be a good night to spend time together. We could just cuddle and watch some movies. The rain makes me get into a cuddling mood, I shouldn't have allowed myself to start enjoying him. I get sad, start my car and head home.

As I drive down the street to my home, the rain has stopped. I see my neighbor standing outside, the one that has been trying to get me to sleep with him for the last 4 years. You think by now he would realize, it's not happening. I stop at the mailbox, wave at him, he makes a comment, the usual comment, come back up and spend some time with me. But today, since I can't see him, I respond, I'll be right back, I need to let my dog out. By the look on his face he was unprepared for my response, then he says, I want you to stay all night. I respond okay, I'll bring my movies, you cook the food. Again, he wasn't prepared for my response. He hesitates before responding again. He comes back with a response, I need to go check on my dad first and go by the grocery store. I reply, I'll be waiting for your call. Again, his face looks puzzled, you can tell he was expecting my usual response, not today, I was in flirt mode. Since I had gotten his attention, he couldn't take his eyes off of me. He watched me get back into my car, drive down the street to my house, exit my car and enter my home, he couldn't take his eyes off me. Mission accomplished, now maybe he will give it a rest.

Once in the house, I think to myself, I wish he were here. Since I know that's not a possibility tonight, I prepare to make it an early night. I fix myself a light meal, pour my last bottle of cheap wine and my water, and head to the queen's room. I started texting him with the intent to invite him over, but the wine kicked in, added with my exhaustion from the night before and vacation is now over depression, I was sleep before I could make the invite. Which in hindsight, was a good thing. With the weather being gloomy, I might have crossed the forbidden line.

26.2 Miles Equals A Road Trip By Foot - Part 3

Week 6 (Apr 8 - 14): Continuation. Part 3 is suppose to begin with week 7, but something funny happened on my long run Saturday morning, the one for week 6. First, I was running late to White Rock, by the time I was pulling up Brenda and Kathy were texting and calling me. I love running on Saturday mornings, but I hate getting up. Gotta love the BGR ladies for making sure I was okay. As we get ready to start, I realize I forgot to load my run schedule onto my MOTOACTV, so Brenda set her Runkeeper for the 3:1 intervals. As we begin to run, Brenda says, I think I set it wrong, we keep moving. Then she says it again, I think I set it wrong. So we stop after one mile and sure enough she set it wrong. She set it for 3:1 but for miles. We get a good laugh and readjust. My mileage was off because I couldn't obtain a GPS signal during our warmup. All in all, we had a great run and great conversation. Time for breakfast, I'll do the hot yoga next week.

Week 7 (Apr 15 - 21): Not what it was suppose to be, not one bit. I missed a couple of workouts, but I was able to add the magic mile training to my Tuesday evenings, for the time being. I decided to move some of my morning training to the evening to accommodate my 10 hour work week, every other week. Wednesday was missed because I attended a women's conference. Thursday was missed because I attended a work function and some how, someone took my coat. I had this coat since the early 70s, a gift from my dad. The whole ordeal ruin my night. Saturday, I was too tired to wake up. I had planned to make up my run distance later in the afternoon, but social plans knocked that off the schedule. Then I planned to run on Sunday, but I was sick to my stomach. But the great thing ending this week, I was told I looked great in my 2 piece. He said I was really holding it together to be 50. I needed the ego stoke.

Week 8 (Apr 22 - 28): As I enter into this week's training, I overslept and will have to workout this evening. Not my favorite thing to do. I'm not feeling too well, but I can't afford to be sick, I leave for my cruise on Sunday. I ended up missing Wednesday and Thursday workouts because I was sick. Saturday was missed because my sister was in town and I had the Grands. Sunday is going to be missed because I will be heading to Galveston for my 7 days of cruising the waters of the world.

Week 9 (Apr 29 - May 5): I have decided I will not be doing any training while on my cruise, I am on vacation and I will enjoy every moment. Since I will not be training, I decided, along with my sister, to take the stairs and avoid the elevators. We did a sauna day on Tuesday. First we spent time in the detoxing whirlpool, then we hit three of the sauna rooms and rain forest shower. That was something my body needed, I felt so good and clean afterwards. I had to take an afternoon nap to recover. I tried reverting back to my old way of eating, but my body rejected it and I was sick. By day 3 of the cruise I had to scale back on my eating. I've trained my body to eat healthier and my body is holding me to it. The most strenuous activity I did was climb the Dunn's River Waterfall. I went parasailing in the Cayman Islands and spent time walking the beaches of Seven Miles Beach. I covered three of beaches before the sun start becoming a bit much. In Playa Del Carmen, Mexico, we walk the shopping area from one end to the next. So I did get some form of activity in, and I did a lot of dancing on the ship.

Week 10 (May 6 - 12): I didn't do any sort of training this week. I was recovering from my vacation. I had such a good time. I ended the week with a half marathon on Mother's Day, the Cox Running Club Half Marathon and 5K. I was helping my running buddy Chris get back into the running mode again. We were doing pretty well until mile 6 when her knee gave out on her. We had to slow down and walk more. The last 2 miles we walked and didn't start back running until we  were close to the finish line. My legs were tight from not training properly, but the running event motivated me to get back on my training schedule.

The Muse, My Muse

I saw him this morning but he didn't see me, I was out of his view. He was focused on his phone, I was focused on him. I'll text him later to inform him he needs to be more aware of his surrounding, we never know when our paths will cross unexpectedly. I'm really enjoying our fun friendship, I hope he is too.

Silence is Golden, So He Made It Platinum

I so wanted to tell the world what was happening in my life that weekend, but my best friend sent me a message that simple said "shhh, silence is golden be platinum", and that's what I did. I let my daughters and my best friend know where and who I was with. I had initially posted a photo of the hotel view, but thought it best to remove it from Facebook. We were having a Staycation. Stay within the city but pretending we were out of state on a vacation. He had made all the arrangements, all I needed to do was find a babysitter for my dog and just show up. The babysitter fell through, so I had to make a Plan B, get my neighbor to watch my dog.

When I arrived at the first destination, I was a little shock to see only one bed. I had agreed to two beds. I didn't trust my high sexual nature which I have worked so hard at getting under control. I thought maybe I should leave, but I didn't. I showered, got in bed and was sleep before I could let my mind think. Our bodies never touched. If it wasn't for the sunshine, I probably would have slept longer. I woke up to see him on his phone reading something. I asked did he want something to eat and headed to the breakfast bar. We ate making small talk and plans for our next location.

We decided on a late check out and took a nap. Just up my alley because Saturday is my day of rest after I do my run mileage. I missed my run this weekend because I was enjoying my much needed rest. After our nap we got dressed and headed our separate ways. He had some errands to take care of, and I had my dog to check on. We would meet up later at our next destination. He called me later to inform me to head to the next hotel. I made some stop so we could have some snacks for the night.

As I walked into the hotel, I was greeted at the door by this man dressed in a very nice suit. He insisted on taking my bags and escorting me to our room. I wasn't sure what to think, but the guy informed me it was his responsibility to get me to our room safely. When we got to the door, I knocked, he answered. The guy in the suit said sir, I just wanted make sure she arrived safely and walked away before we could give him a tip.

When I walked into the room, he took everything I was carrying and led me to a chair, sat me down, moved the ottoman in front of me, took off my shoes and said relax, don't move. He walked away and came back with a glass of wine. He walked away again and returned with a bouquet of flowers. I was too out done. He said thanks for just be you and hanging with me this weekend, our Staycation.

After our meal, he ran me a bubble bath, I was feeling really spoiled. We sat and talked, he sipped on vodka, me sipping on wine. We had planned to go swimming but the pool was outside and the temperature had dropped. He suggested we walk around the bay. It was so romantic as we walked hand in hand, talking about stuff. We would make a great couple if we weren't buddies.

Back in the room, we got comfortable in our pajamas and sat looking out the window that had a view of the city night lights, beautiful. He was sipping on vodka, I was on bottle #2 of wine. Before long, I was technical and physically drunk. Something I didn't want because I know how I get when I'm drunk.

He suggested I lay down for a massage. My mistake. This massage was so tantalizing, I lost control and tried to get some, then I started crying because I felt I was drugged. I must have been really tripping because I remember him saying no stop, I'm a man, but this isn't happening. He also said if I didn't calm down, he was going to put me in a cold shower. I remember him saying let me hold you and kept saying calm down. I woke up the next morning without any clothes on, I panicked. He said don't worry, your good girl status is still intact. I got up to go shower and the next thing I know, he gets in the shower with me. I was like okay. He didn't try anything, I was still just his buddy.

We did another late checkout and took another nap. This time I woke to him staring at me, scared the crap out of me. He said I was moaning and talking in my sleep. We talked some more, then got dressed to leave. As we parted our ways, he kissed my lips and said I'll talk to you later. I was on cloud nine. I had been treated like a queen over weekend. Even with my hangover, I was in such a good mood, I cooked a big country meal. I cooked some much, I had to bring my coworkers some food.

Yep, my buddy made it platinum. The silence was golden but the moment was platinum.

True Confession: The Kiss

I really kissed him yesterday, it was totally unplanned and unexpected, but so darn good. I feel really guilty, but the way he touches and caresses me, WOW, oh WOW! So why all the guilt, it wasn't suppose to happen, lip kissing is sex to me. He was just giving me a hug, a “I’m happy to see you hug”, but his neck looked so tasty. Tasty to the point I had to kiss it, then his ears, around his face. I tried to make fun of it, before I knew it our lips and tongues were touching. I think he mumbled take it, I’m not sure. I tried to pull away, I think I pulled him with me. Somehow we ended up against the pantry door, my goodness his lips are so soft and smooth. I was melting into him, the correct hand movements, the delicate way he kissed. He was touching and embracing me like I was a porcelain China doll, but at the same time pulling the wild side out of me. Then my arms went up in the air, I was pinned against the wall, he stepped back, I collapsed, he caught me and started again. What have I gotten myself into, this was feeling too good. He keeps telling me I have total control of the situation, whatever I want, he will deliver. My mind keeps saying, it’s a setup DO NOT across that line, I've gone too far already. Kissing to me is intimacy, in to me he is seeing.