Member123

Hello Donna 2. :D Welcome to our chat fest. I know! Zumba music just enters your whole body, doesn't it? What's funny is that I can be sitting someplace, like a Mexican restaurant, chatting away with friends... and then, all of a sudden, PitBull... hey I know that song!... and my friends look at me kind of strange because this isn't the type of music that I normally listen to! LOL.

Hey, I just enjoy myself whether I can do the routines or not! You are slightly younger than I am! :p I just do that when-I-wear-purple thing, kwim? Dance like no one is watching.

Right now, I'm getting back into the Zumba routines. I figured out that I missed 20 Zumba sessions while I was on vacation. The first one when I returned... well... never mind...

I did the second class, since my vacation return, last night. It wasn't quite as bad. Still not to the level that I was when I left, but I thought that maybe I only half-died, instead of full-on died. Anyway, just as much fun as ever. In fact, one young lady in class told me that this is the most fun you can ever have in an hour, burning calories.

Teddy (instructor) is doing a routine to Cotton-Eyed Joe. Remember that song? I don't know it it's new on the charts or if Teddy just likes it, but (boy, how...dy!...) does he do a kick-stomping, twirling routine to that song! He even comes down into the class itself and does the twirl with several people, people twirl with other people, we chase each other around like we know what we're doing square dancing.... what a hoot!... it's the last song before the cool down.

Last night, like I said, felt better. I think the first time had a touch of jet lag in it, possibly.

So, on another topic... on my cruise I met a couple who were 85 and had been married for 62 years! They were amazing. Laughing all the time, honest, earnest people. Had wonderful stories to tell. Jack and Dolores. Jack said that his wish for everyone was that they always remember how wonderful life is and how precious each day is and make the most of all that they are given. Thank God and look around to see the good in what you have and the people that you are blessed to know. Love your family. Cherish your friends.

Amen.

Thought I'd share. Every once in a while, people come along that are such beacons of light that they make an impact on my heart. Jack and Dolores; I'm so glad I met you!

And I'm so glad that I've met everyone on this thread. All of you have a wonderful day, full of good things.

I think.

I now present to you an absolutely beautiful EARTH outfit. You know, Anita, that jacket might be headed your way.

I have a Michael Kors top that is a warm sandy/tan color, with a gold sequined type of built in necklace. I thought it looked great with the Chico's Jeweled Jacket, and I think it does. Paired with the Chico's chocolate chip crop pants, and my Softtspots shoes in dark brown patent. How Earthy?

I think this is a good example of what happens to us FIRE ladies when we dress warm, but not bright. Everyone agree?

Yeah! Land! Ponta Delgada, Azores. This is a beautiful, beautiful island. The sun was so bright, so so bright. The camera, I think, made an adjustment for the light conditions.

I am wearing a Chico's no iron shirt, color name: Glow Stick. The overshirt is also from Chico's and its labeled a Devin denim Johansson Shirt. Although you can't see them, I have a Platinum Slig Leg Reg Jean Soft Sand Wash bottoms and my Siren Sport shoes, which were an absolute necessity for the cobblestones and the walking in the European ports. When we left for our trip, the weather in the Azores was predicted to be cloudy, high probablility of rain. We were so blessed with perfect weather. We were told to dress without much jewelry accessories while on shore, so I am wearing some very understated earrings.

Hi, everybody! Happy Memorial Day to everyone and heartfelt thanks to our veterans and our current soldiers. God Bless Them All.

It's a Captain's Reception in the lovely Sky Lounge on board the Celebrity Solstice. This was a fabulous reception. The man with us is Captain Gerry, and if you have the opportunity to sail with him you will be treated to a fabulous ship and crew!

I am wearing Alberto Makali. Kim, you'll love this... I snagged it from a sales rack at Nordstroms. Obviously, it's a print, predominantly brown with jewel-toned accents. I think it works. I have on the Chico's Travelers in Chocolate Chip and back to the Cache gold hoop earrings.

Anita and I just talked on the phone. She was wondering if it would hurt my feelings if she posted some comments that were perhaps a bit critical. Heck, no! That's what this is all about. I want to invite some conversation so we can all learn from our hits and misses.

Here's one that might be a miss. You know, I tried to find some interesting places on the ship to take pictures and this beautiful painting was just in one of the hall areas. I thought the colors in the painting would be complimentary, so here I am. I'm back in my Michael Kors red top... the one on the balcony shot on embarkation day. I don't think I'm doing that great top any favors by pairing it with my Chico's Travelers white palazzo pants! It's the darn Travelers fabric... it just packs beautifully, but I think I'm over it now. It's not doing anything for me.. in the black and in the white... chocolate and chocolate chip I think are a definite yes. But maybe it's time to retire the white and the black. Agree?

Donna! You must feel great. That's a tremendous change! I'll go with the inches lost over lbs lost any day of the week.

Story: a great friend told me that I looked like I'd lost so much weight! How much? OMG, she thought I'd lost 20 lbs. Nope. Good grief. I've lost 7 lbs. BUT, the inches lost has been tremendous as I've told you... and mostly in the waist and ribcage areas. So, they are teasing me about being "skinny," but it's the inches!!!!

Of course, the lbs dropping off will be part of the mix. But, Donna, you know that your gym and Zumba combination is the best. You're gaining cardio fitness AND strength. Hats off! (if I wore a hat, which I don't... so... kudos instead!).

You inspire me to get back to adding some strength training to my routine. I've been having such fun with Zumba that I've been ignoring that part. I'll have to do some research to see the minimum amount that needs to be done, of strength training. I won't give up any of my Zumba sessions, so this will be an add-on for me. Do you think only 2 days a week would be sufficient to do any good?

Same question: are you having fun shopping for your cruise? Or are you waiting for a bit longer? Where are you going?

Oh, I wouldn't be angry about comments of people. Here's what I thought was interesting. We were wearing two DIFFERENT greens, but those people couldn't tell the difference. They were calling us "matchy, matchy" but we really weren't. A perfect ICE green and a perfect FIRE green! We just looked good in the appropriate green for us; that's all.

So, all the evenings on Celebrity Solstice are Smart Casual, if they aren't a formal night. It's a little more dressed than Royal Caribbean, who mixes in Smart Casual, with Casual, and formal. What that means is that men will usually be wearing a jacket for dinner (no tie).

So, here's my first Smart Casual evening. The dress is Chico's Travelers in Chocolate. The jacket is also Chico's; they called it a Jeweled Jacket. The clutch is bright gold, Michael Kors (a real find in the Las Vegas Premium Outlet Mall!).

The next Smart Casual evening. Well, here is where I have a not-as-put-together outfit. The purple top is from Limited and was a real find. The pants are Chico's Travelers, black drawstring crop pants. Chico's just doesn't make all of their Travelers in Chocolate or Chocolate Chip, and the Travelers fabric packs so beautifully and is so lightweight.... well, I just can't get rid of all of it quite yet. My shoes are another Helle Comfort.

Julie, Thank you so much!

I was fortunate in that I found the Seasons Thread when CJW was much more active... prior to marriage and daughter... and I had such an uplifting experience with him. He has quite a wonderful eye and knowledge. I lightened my hair, but more importantly I lightened my heart! And, then Anita found Zumba and I've now lightened my body! LOL. 10 lbs worth! I do feel like a different person, in a way. I was struggling with the mirror... well, I can struggle with the mirror. Like my hairdresser says, "step away from the 5X magnification... just step away!"

The pictodiary... <gasp> it's starting to feel kind of like I'm sucking all the air out of the room and hogging the conversation. kwim? I had such a fun trip! I'm just thining that I love it when other people post pictures so I'm assuming that you ladies are enjoying this peak into my vacation. If you reach a saturation point, just tell me to STOP. ;)

OK.

Just a word about Anita's prediction.... which was OFF......

way... way.... OFF....

I thought I was going to DIE. And that is literally, not figuratively. I couldn't believe it. I seriously couldn't believe it. Keep in mind that I wasn't actually a couch potato for the last month; I did do shore excursions and I walked a lot. I did dance on the ship. I didn't gain a bunch of weight. But....

:eek:

I definitely lost some cardio fitness. Big time. I thought Evelyn was going to kill me. Seriously. I looked at the clock at least a 100 times. About 45 minutes into the hour, I actually started praying for Evelyn to show some Mercy! Just a little Mercy, please!

It was terrible.

And I'm not exaggerating.

Now, I'm determined to go on Tuesday night because, seriously, if it was that bad then I can't allow any more time to go by before I get back to my regular workout schedule. Going tomorrow? Nope. I don't think so. But, Tuesday... definitely.

Kris, thank you so much for your kind words! I guess I feel like this is my payback time for all the fun pictures that other ladies have posted: Kim and Terri and Anita and Jane, etc. As they say in the Academy Awards, there are so many I just don't have time to name them all! Anyway, Kim coined the word "pictodiary" which I think is so meaningful and appropriate and I love that word.

As we progress through these pictures, there are some that are more <ahem> fabulous and FIREy than others. I guess I'll be brave and also post the misses along with the hits.

Anyway, Day 2 was a formal night. They hit us up first thing! I don't think I was really ready for formal night, in my mind. But, we pariticpated.

Here is the infamous Gianni Bini apple green dress. My DH bought me some lovely jewels to go along with my lovely green dress, so I have emerald earrings and a bracelet and a ring from St. Thomas (given to me on 2 separate occasions). The emerald necklace is from my Mother (in law, but she was like a Mother.. with a capital "M" to me). This is in the Blu Restaurant, which is a specialty dining restaurant assigned to Aqua Class staterooms aboard Celebrity Solstice-class ships. As you can see, there are some men in tuxedos, but there isn't a whole lot of fancy, fancy dressing going on.

Courtesy of Anita, who wanted her Dad to wear a necktie that would complement my dress. We found a great ICE green, don't you think? Funny to have FIRE and ICE in a photo, isn't it? BUT, I can't even begin to tell you the comments that we endured that evening. Everything ranging from how "sweet" we were to questions about whether we booked a limo for our "prom" date, etc. Really?!? We shrugged it off, but if affected my DH and he didn't want to participate in the fun and games, so the next time I wore the green dress... well, he picked out his red tie. Christmas! No, we actually didn't get any comments that night. Thank goodness.

Oh, I have to tell you that I have OPI Tasmanian Devil Made Me Do It nail polish on my toes. My shoes are Helle Comfort, and they really are comfortable.

So, Kasi is either on her way or already in Venice! It's amazing that I missed her by such a short number of days. Meeting would have been outstanding. For Donna, too! I met a few people from Scotland, and a couple from Ireland... very fun loving people. There were a huge number of Germans on my cruise.

Anyway, I can't believe how messed up my biorhythms are with this darn time zone change I just went through. It's now Saturday and we flew home on Tuesday. I absolutely did not expect that I would have jet lag coming west... but I can't stay awake past about 10:00pm and I'm waking up around 5:00am-ish. It's really been amazing to get myself back into my time zone.

What was I thinking that I could go back to Zumba the day after travel? Well, I've missed several Zumba class opportunities. My DH has gone to the gym once since our return and he gave me an evasive answer when I asked him if going made him feel better or worse. But, today's the day! Zumba at 9:30am! Even though I woke up super, super early this morning. Still going....

Wonder if Zumba will totally kick my <ahem> gluteus maximus? Still think it will be good for my mental state. Hopefully. I'll let you know...

Bon Voyage, Kasi! Have a great time and let us know all about it. I can picture you on the ship. Speaking of which, Anita, I could post a picture... would that be bad?

You ladies are so sweet. OK. Anita, do you want to hear something that will make you smile? So, I was taking a picture of your Dad and he just wasn't looking all that wonderful for the camera. So, I said to him, "hey, think about Missy Cakes, Miss Anita!" and his eyes brightened up and he got a great, relaxed smile on his face. So, I thought, "hey that totally worked!" So, he took a great, great picture. So, for the whole rest of our picture taking, we just thought of you... hence the happy face. :D

It's Embarkation Day on the beautiful Celebrity Solstice. Of course it had to be a balcony picture!

Because of indiana71 and her fabulous fashionista thread, I really took some time and brought along accessories (which I've always just never taken the time for before and I'm so grateful to her for putting the accessory/outfit planning/playing with fashion thought into my head!).

The top is a red Michael Kors. Now, there is the potential for wardrobe malfunction with this top because the gold accent piece is very heavy! I do have on a strapless bra, but still. The earrings are from Cache, as are the sand colored capris. Gold bracelet that I've had forever. Champagne courtesy of Celebrity... wonderful accessory!

Member123: THANK YOU so much for reporting back:). It pleases me so much to know you were helped by reading this thread. Thank you also for listing what needs tweaking and what went perfectly.

Using your IPod was definitely a great idea. I'm not very techno saavy but reading your post could just inspire me....

 

AND NOW - packing has begun. In this photo you can see how I layer everything. The tan cami is laid out flat. The yellow and red Bolero cardigans are folded in half underneath. Folding adds wrinkles and is bulky so I do as little of it as possible. The next layer will be tissue paper and then DH's shorts. I'll post more as I proceed.

Indiana71, interesting technique! What size of suitcase and brand are you working with? We are seriously considering replacing some luggage pieces. Not because they NEED to be replaced, but we bought such sturdy cases, with lots of zipper compartments, that their weight is becoming a factor in airline travel. Ours are TravelPro Platinum and the technique that you use with them is also a layering, but with straps that cinch down the clothes into a folded package, kwim? It doesn't look like you have that system in the case that you're using.

I'm so glad that you are showing us this because the one thing that always gives me grief is packing my shoes.

I've NEVER packed so far in advance of a trip! You seriously don't have a problem with wrinkles, packing so far in advance? I always try to keep the clothes in the case as short a time as possible, so usually pack only the day before! Packing sooner would certainly be easier, but... hmmm... I'd have to buy a bunch more underwear! Just a thought.... LOL....

We arrived at the FLL airport and had a major confusion with the hotel shuttle. For anyone else arriving in FLL, the hotel shuttles pick you up at a specific location that is BEYOND the terminal builidng. When you see pickup signs in the terminal area, they are informational only and not where you are supposed to stand for the shuttles to be able to get you. So, we had a longer wait than necessary. Then, when the shuttle did arrive, there were so many people who wanted to go that we were literally packed in like cattle. People were sitting on the floor of the shuttle. Not good. And keep in mind that it is about 11:30pm, Florida time!

We checked in and had no problems. Our baggage was all there! Woot woot! Major worry button now released. We found a great little 7-11 that had chilled one-serving bottles of Barefoot Wine's Pinot Grigio. Welcome to our vacation!

The next day, we got up to have fun in Ft Lauderdale. We did have fun. It rained on us a bit. We took the water taxi all around the area. I decided to take this day's picture at the Hyatt at Pier 66. Beautiful hotel.

This is a Tommy Bahama's coral sundress. It's very light weight. Almost backless. Perfect for the hot, humid temperatures. I wasn't planning on wearing this dress on any other day, but ended up being so grateful to have it because the European temperatures were so much warmer than predicted; if I remember, I wore it a few times during my vacation.

Kim! O my gosh!

I was laughing so hard trying to take that picture at the airport. I told Anita all about it because I was so highly entertaining to so many people who were clearly bored, sitting there waiting for their flight. Anyway, I didn't even THINK about the background in the picture! That's the one thing that I didn't think about in all the thinking I was doing.... :eek:

The hair has proved to be interesting. I thought it was way darker than the Redken shades and, at first, I was disappointed. Then, I had to give myself a pep talk because, after all, this was such a fabulous celebration of my birthday (decade change :eek: ) and I just wasn't going to let myself feel any type of disappointment. When I left the salon, I was thinking that I might try to go with a more blonde color next time. But, it's kind of grown on me. IDK. Maybe I like it.

I know what you mean about getting started with the coloring. Let me tell you that the reason that I even got in touch with CJW was because I was feeling so very, very low about the way that I was looking. Well, I hesitate to say anything but all you have to do is look at my BEFORE picture on his fire/air/earth/ice website (if he still has that awful picture posted). Did you know that Mrs. CJW said that I was CJW's greatest success?!? That is kind of.... hmmm... well, ok, funny... I'll take the compliment. Back to my thought.. I'd had my hair dyed in the past and it only seemed to make my skin look inflamed and red and "off." So I was really hesitant to do it, as well.

My life has changed with coloring my hair. OK. That's such a huge statement to make. But, for me, it's literally the truth. Because it started me down this particular path of paying attention to my colors in dress and accessories... and just feeling better about myself. I can't go under a surgeon's knife, or even think about the whole Botox injections... but I can certainly dye my hair! So, that was my thinking. CJW literally brought sunshine into my life... literally...

Sorry about the picture size earlier.

I talked with Anita and she told me that I can change the size of the picture. I just saw how to do that, so I'll make the other pictures better.

Eeks. It's tough to see such a big picture of yourself!

Kim, I'm doing this mainly for you.

BTW, I saw your comment about how much your DH liked his salmon. I'm so glad!

At the SkyHarbor International Airport. On our way to Ft Lauderdale. We are leaving at 3:45pm and will arrive in Florida at 11:15pm, Florida time. Of course, there is a 3 hr time difference so it won't feel that late to us. We are staying at the Hampton Inn Ft Lauderdale Airport North Cruise Port, mainly because they are very reasonable and they have (1) a free shuttle service from the airport to the hotel and a (2) free shuttle service from the hotel to the cruise port. EZ.

I went to my hairdresser to get my hair color refreshed. CJW recommended that I do a 1/2 Cayenne and a 1/2 Golden Apricot Redken Shades. WELL, the salon has stopped carrying that product. Ryan (hairdresser) assured me that the product that they now carry is better... way better... Wella... so what was I supposed to do? I had an appointment for the day before we left, so I had to just cross my fingers.

I dressed for comfort and some durability... hence the jeans. And I knew that Florida would be hot and humid so I just put on a simple top. It's an Ann Taylor that Anita found for me some time ago. The jeans are Code Bleu, with nice warm golden thread accent stitching and some wonderful pocket art that you can't see. The pocket art is done in bronze stitching. Love the jeans... BUT... it's the last time I wear them in the entire 26-day trip! I'm heading to warm, warm weather. I checked on weather.com before the trip and expected to wear these jeans in Florence because the temps were predicted to be in the high-50's, with rain. Instead, we were in the mid-80's with sunny, blue skies! Not complaining, but I would have chosen a different outfit and packed just a wee bit differently if the predictions for weather had been more correct.

No accessories other than the watch. Security, right? Had my first TSA patdown. Survived. The purse on my carry-on is a PacSafe. It's a wonderful travel accessory.

Indiana71,

Back from my fabulous set of cruises and I wish to thank you tremendously for starting this thread. I would never have thought to be so thorough with planning for each day/shore excursion and, I have to tell you, the planning was such a welcome relief to each busy day! In fact, I didn't really see the need to plan for my sea days, but after experiencing the pure effortless dressing that I did for the evenings and the shore excursions, now I know better and I'll absolutely plan for my sea days as well. :D

As this was the first time that I had done planning to such an extent, let me tell you where I got into some trouble.

#1: I looked at weather.com and saw temperatures that were in the mid-70's with chances of rain in 3 ports of call. In fact, one port had an estimate of 60's with scattered showers. In fact, the weather in Europe was very warm; we had no rain. The port that was supposed to be the coldest was hot, sunny, mid-80's. Wow, what a difference. I had precious luggage space taken up with warm jackets that I just didn't need. That was more of a frustration than a disappointment because, obviously, I loved the warmer weather and beautiful blue skies of the Mediterranean.

#2: I took 4 pairs of dressy shoes because (of course) they were such a lovely accessory for my evenings. I took 2 pairs of casual shoes because one of the dressier shoes could be a cross/over casual type of shoe. Well, I really needed another pair of casual shoes due to the amount of walking in the European ports. I had a pair of Walking Cradles sandals that were perfect for warmer days and a pair of Merrells Siren Sport that were perfect for the cobblestones. I just needed another pair of casual shoes that could be worn with skirts/capris. The Siren Sport are really only appropriate for long pants and it was so darn warm that I really wanted to switch out the longer pants for more capri length, but the shoes wouldn't work. So, now I know I need to hunt for another pair of casual shoes that will work with shorter pant lengths.

#3: Interesting that you mentioned medi/pedi problems. I did bring a nail polish that I could refresh, but I thought that I'd be able to buy polish remover on board ship. Nope. Not in the sundries store. The salon was very accommodating and gave me some polish remover pads so that I could change my nail polish. But, by the end of the vacation, both my mani and pedi looked terrible! Also, I did bring an emery board, but I really needed to have a cuticle tool. Again, the salon was very accommodating and a technician took care of my hangnail for me, but it was touch and go for a while until I took myself to the salon. I was willing to just pay for a manicure at that point, but didn't have to because she was very charming and helpful.

Now, let me tell you what I did right!

#1: Tried on all the outfits. OMG! Thank goodness that I did because I was checking out the outfit and noticed a hole in my Chico's Traveler's pants! You know that fabric is great, up to a point. It does have a tendency to show wear with a shiny spot, kwim? So, in checking out the shine to make sure that it wasn't too, too bad, I noticed the hole! I had to run down to Chico's to buy an emergency replacement! LOL.

#2: I didn't have the wonderful planning system that you've perfected for yourself, so I used my IPod Touch and created a list in that. I used an app called ListPro and just put down all the days; i.e., embarkation days (2), shore excursions (ports named), dining room smart casual (8), etc. So on each day, I listed my outfit and accessories and shoes. This worked great for me.

So, again, thank you, thank you. I'll continue with this effort and get much better at it; I'm sure. I'm reading with interest your planning for your next cruise! My next cruise will also be to the Caribbean, next November! Yeah!

Kasi, I don't recall any aqua sports, but I wasn't specifically looking for that. Keep in mind that the sailing I was on was a repositioning cruise from Barcelona to Venice and there was a change of Cruise Directors. Mercedes became the new cruise director; she's from Brazil. So she may have programs that are different. IDK.

I did want to tell you about the area in the Windjammer that has a made-to-order grill. It's really small and easily missed as there's just one person standing there. On embarkation day, they had the best stir fry option and most other days they had a pasta option where they had red or white sauce and you could add additional fresh ingredients like onions, peppers, mushrooms, etc. They usually had some type of shaped pasta. Really good. It's the area that is to the right of the soup station, between the two lines of similar buffet choices, across from the desserts area, at the back in the main section of the Windjammer.

Venice was really, really warm.. in the mid-80's! Take some mosquito repellent. They weren't really awful, but there were areas where there was a problem, mostly inside restaurants. We had such a fabulous meal at both Do Forni and Antico Pignolo (if you go make a reservation for the garden). They're are on the same street and are beautiful restaurants. OMG. Great pasta (of course, right?). Anyway, I didn't have problems with the mosquitos in the garden because of the insect repellent because they were definitely there (the little buggers... :(). Are you staying in Venice before boarding the ship or going out on the same day as arrival?

I know two people who are going to be on your ship.. Bob and Vivian Piu. Do you have all your shore excursions planned or do you need help in getting something together? They are just great people and lots of fun, if you think you'd like to do something on any port day with someone else. You could call their stateroom and tell them that you know me from these message boards and find out if there's something that Vivian has planned that you could go on as well. Vivian usually goes on private shore excursions... just an fyi.... Tell them Pam from the Tivoli shore excursion recommended that you call... if you want to...

I have to post quickly so that I can say Bon Voyage to Kasi before she leaves!

Bon Voyage, Kasi!

You will love Voyager; I'm absolutely positive about that! Your routine for the day sounds way better than your friend's "turn and burn" routine! The only problem with the cruise was just the same as other cruises... there is always a conflict of schedules... like they have the dance steps classes at the same time that they have some other function that sounds like fun.

OK. So... <drumroll>... I promised and I will post. I was actually kind of concerned about what the scale would show when I returned from a 13-nite cruise, land drop, 6-nite cruise, 3 days in Venice... fabulous food... limited opportunity to do structured Zumba classes...

I learned a few things. The most important thing that I learned is that I want to stop relying on the instructor to lead me through the choreography. I need to remember the steps more so that I can actually do a routine myself if I wanted to... because I ended up really wanting to. I had Anita send me some choreography steps to 2 different songs and I ended up doing them on my balcony. Which was something just short of brilliant because it was very funny (for me) to be doing Zumba on a balcony of a ship! And, also, the people were sitting next door on their balcony... having a bit of wine and a bit of a talk.. and I couldn't help but think that they were wondering what in the world I was doing as I was making the dance noise on my balcony... since I had my IPod on earphones and there wasn't any music for them to listen to.. just my bouncing feet :D .. plus, it does get boring to keep doing 2 songs over and over again. I burned about 300 calories before I stopped... anyway...

Also, as Anita mentioned, there were lovely ladies on board who loved to dance. I'm pretty sure they were either from Brazil or Spain.. but they were older ladies who were vacationing as a girls' time... so they were dancing without male partners.. and this was so perfect for me because my DH doesn't love to dance. So I would pop up and dance with them and I had such joy in dancing salsa, merengue, cumbia type dance steps with them! I think this activity helped me with my increase of calorie intake...

Also, there was a lady on board who loved to do 50's dances and there were so many venues on the ship that were dance venues for 50's, 60's, 70's music... so much, much dancing during the afternoon and night...

And I mentioned to Anita something that has happened to me as a result of doing Zumba! Which is.. that I have found that I really love to move... have body movement... sweat. Which is a new thing for me because I absolutely hate to do cardio machines in the gym... and I've never been a runner or a jogger. So I never really understood the "runners' high" that is talked about in the fitness books. Now I think I have a version of "Zumba high" because I love the way my body feels after it's been worked out really well with the Zumba classes.

So, I'm having wicked jet lag today. But I think I'll be ok tomorrow and plan to get back to the Zumba routines.

So, back to my original thought. I stepped on the scale this morning... had a terrible travel day yesterday. Left Venice at 11:35am on a flight to Philadelphia which was 9 hrs 30 mins. Had 2 hr 30 min layover in Philadelphia and every bit of it was used going through customs, baggage retrieval, rechecking baggage, security... lines were horrible. Left Philadephia at 6:00pm ET and arrived home at 8:35pm AZ time, which is 9 hrs behind Italy... which meant that it felt like 5:35am on a body clock... I had an 18 hour travel day!... really tiring... and of course I ate terribly during the day and I'm completely dehydrated...

So I looked at my weight before I left and it was 143.4 lbs and 20.6% body fat.

Today.... 145.4 lbs and 20.1% bodyfat.

I'm thinking that's pretty darn good.

Kasi! Anyone doing Zumba 5 days a week is NOT a couch potato! Not even a couch tater-tot. Do you know tater tots? :D Girl, you'v got to change your words.... words are powerful... do NOT call yourself a couch potato!

Your new class sounds awesome. It targets the abdominal muscles? Just doing the power pumps in Zumba is still targeting my abdominal muscles. I would love to be able to do some dance moves that would target because I literally hate to do the crunches and bends that target abs... those are too much like doing EXERCISE!

OK. I promised so I'm revealing. We'll see what happens on the scale when I return... this morning I'm at 143.4 lbs and 20.6% bodyfat. I can't remember when I broke through the 145 lbs barrier; I'm hoping that it was long enough ago that my body's set point has been lowered. Remember that pre-Zumba, for years. I was stuck at 155 lbs, and was amazed at breaking through the 150 lbs barrier. And now.. here I am... I'm still so grateful that Zumba works so well for me.

Yes, I plan to enjoy myself... within reason... which is the essence of our healthy lifestyle attitude, right?

I didn't do Zumba twice yesterday. I had good intentions, and I'm glad that I went in the morning. Young's "old" achilles heel injury was acting up yesterday and she kept changing the music to find a slower song (well, relatively slower) and she was modifying moves to try to adapt her ankle. Totally understood her situation... but it was a bit frustrating, standing there waiting for her to find the "perfect" song. I don't know if she woke up with the problem, and didn't have time to change her playlist? She was also about 3 minutes late to class...

... and... she was substituting for Kristy at the evening class. So, I guess I used that as my "good" reason (excuse, really) for not going again yesterday. Plus, the packing just went on... and on... and on... forever! No matter how organized you try to be, there's just something about packing that takes so much time. I think my DH is meticulous... and I think we need a butler... :D ...

You ladies take care of yourselves while I'm gone! Keep Anita company! The only thing I don't like about going on my vacation is getting out of touch with Anita! We're limited to email exchanges about once a day and that is dependent upon the ship's wifi signal. So.... I'll let Anita know a bit about my days and she can chat with you. Kasi, if there's anything about the Voyager that you'd like to know... just ask Anita and I'll try to find out for you.

Bon Voyage to me!...

and the packing went really well. I thought I was going to have a heavy carry on, but it ended up weighing 23 lbs. So, well below the limit of 39.6 lbs coming back from Europe.

The checked baggage is weighing in at 38 lbs., so well below the 50 lbs limit there as well.

I think we could have done a bit better splitting the clothes between the two checked bags. We have to work on that system a little bit; that's for sure. I'm not sure what would happen if we ended up having one of the bags go astray.

Well, to that end we're being very conservative with our arrival time into Ft Lauderdale. The ship is leaving on Sunday at 5:00pm. We are flying from PHX to FLL, which means that we are losing some hours by going to an East Coast time zone. After looking at the flight schedule, we realized that there really wasn't a flight that would depart (on the same day) after our arrival that would allow for any misplaced luggage to get to us. Am I making myself clear? It didn't matter if we took an early flight because we wouldn't arrive in Florida and be able to put any lost baggage claim into the system before all the flights had already left the ground in PHX. So, we opted to go in today, Friday, for the Sunday embarkation (and we're taking the last flight out of the day, but it's a nonstop). We're hoping that all luggage arrives safely, and we can just spend Saturday enjoying our day in Ft Lauderdale. I understand that Ft Lauderdale is called the "Venice" of Florida, so we've checked into just seeing the sights with a water taxi and enjoying our time. Fingers crossed.

I have all my outfits planned. Even my leisure day in Florida! I've really never left home with such an impressive list of what I will be wearing at the various shore excursions, embarkation days, disembarkation days, etc. I checked the weather and analyzed the possibility of being cool/cooler/colder at the various ports, and I've planned to layer appropriately. I wouldn't mind if I didn't need some of these heavier layers, that's for sure!

I have the opposite problem in that I live in a very warm area. We were 95 degrees F yesterday. So, my big effort is to get cruise clothes that I can still wear here (the majority of them), but layer effectively so that I can be warm enough in Europe. What I usually do is wear at least 3 layers when I travel in Europe, and then when I'm home I'll just wear 1 layer, usually.

Very excited about this upcoming cruise. I will definitely let everyone know whether I feel the planning effort was worth the time that I put in... because, again, I have to say that I spent hours doing this! Right at this moment, I feel that it was all worth it because I've got some lovely accessories and some really beautiful outfits (to my way of thinking) and this is just elevating the cruise a notch for me. I've always dressed (I don't want to give the wrong impression), but I've never devoted the time to really figuring out the earrings, necklaces, bracelets, shoes, belts that would accent an outfit to its best. Really, all my accessories didn't add that much weight to the bags! So I'm kind of impressed with my effort.

I am the Queen of wearing whatever I take at least twice and sometimes three times. Keep in mind, please, that I usually take longer cruises so I'm not packing for a week. I know people say just pack for one week and then duplicate everything for the next week, but... where's the fun in that?

I have a funny story about remembering outfits (even formal ones!). We were sitting with lovely young people on our last cruise. There were 2 formal nights. This sweet young girl said that she couldn't come to the second formal night because she didn't know we were going to have 2.. and had only brought 1 dress. I told her that she should come to dinner because, frankly, people had short memories. She came. She had on a beautiful drsss! I told her that it was beautiful and... drumroll... I didn't remember it at all! And I think I'm pretty observant. I think there are just so many people, clothes... it's all about the conversation! And her dress just didn't make it into my memory bank. I tell you... when that happened... I knew for a fact that most people don't remember the details of what you wear! (except... probably... indiana71 would remember...)...

I'll be back towards the end of May. And I'll let everyone know how this worked out for me... especially since it's so new to me. Hope everyone here has wonderful days filled with great expectations and enjoyment and wonderful conversation. I'll see you soon!....

BTW, I'm a huge Chico's fan. And Cache fan. Those are my 2 go-to stores, most of the time. A little Michael Kors and Gianni Bini thrown into the mix... I'll give a full run down when I return...

Today is my last "get it done" day before we leave tomorrow. We have a very late departure tomorrow... not getting picked up for the ride to the airport until 1:30pm, which seems like forever. We won't land until 11:05pm in Florida. With the time change, we'll be feeling fine but everything will be CLOSED or getting ready to close. We'll be able to grab a hotel shuttle, check in, and probably try to have a cocktail before getting some sleep.

Anyway, today is the official packing day. And my intention is to get a mini-marathon Zumba workout in today. I'm going to class this morning at 9:15am, and I intend to go tonight at 5:30pm! I think this will help me with my nervous energy and hopefully allow me to sleep tonight. I have the most awful time trying to sleep before a travel day. So maybe this will help with all of that.

I'll let everyone know if this turns out to be a good or a bad idea! I know that Anita is exhausted from all of her Zumba workouts. But part of that is her anxiety to make sure that people are getting a good workout and enjoying her class. She's put in many, many hours in doing her choreography for each song as well as her song playlist transitions to give the best cardio workout and also to be challenging enough but not too strenuous... kwim? She's really approaching her responsibilites as an instructor with a business, professional attitude; it's definitely not a "hobby" for her. For me, I just have to go and "play" along with the party being provided to me by the instructor. So I think I'll be fine; we'll see.

I'm a bit anxious about the cruise in the aspect of watching my calories, trying to exercise, and also enjoying myself. It's just so difficult to face the mental chatter when you are surrounded by food... all day long. And they make it as beautiful and as tasty as possible... of course!

Is anyone watching Top Chef Masters? Yesterday, they had the contestants on from the Biggest Loser. The challenge for the chefs was to take the most favorite foods of a particular contestant and reduce the calories of that food in order to allow the contestant to continue to eat their favorite things. OMG. The calorie counts on these foods was impossible! One contestant loves: french toast, eggs, sausage = 940 calories! another loves: bacon burger and fries = 1280 calories! another loves: deep dish pizza = 2880 calories!

Here's my point: in one of the on-camera interviews, a chef says, "we really don't pay much attention to the caloric content of the food that we prepare. Maybe we should." and then you also saw them sitting around, talking while the judges were deliberating. And one of the chefs said, "you can always make potatoes taste good if you put in a pound of butter." And everyone laughed.

But, it's not FUNNY. :mad: When you are a captive person, and you really don't know what you're putting into your mouth, you have to be so disciplined with portion control and simple refusal to eat more. You have to pay attention to how full you're feeling with every bite. And you have to prioritize your plate. This last part is so important.

I know Anita discussed on here the way that thin people eat (eating the best bites first) and the way that fat people eat (saving the best bites for last). It's crucial that you eat like a thin person on these cruises. Absolutely crucial.

So, I've given myself a little pep talk. I'm still going to thoroughly enjoy my cruise. I'm sailing the first leg of my vacation on the Celebrity Solstice in a stateroom category they call Aqua Class. This means that my assigned dining is a specialty restaurant called Blu. Blu is supposed to help with the cruising experience (for spa-oriented people, which I just equate to healthy lifestyle people) by (a) lower sodium content, (b) smaller portions, © emphasis on fresh ingredients. The biggest complaint from Blu diners is the lack of sweetness in the desserts! Yeah! I've already experienced Blu, so I'm really happy to be going back and enjoying the dining there.

I think I'm also a little anxious because I've managed to lose some weight... right before this trip. And I don't think my body has had time to make that weight loss a new set point. So I've got several thoughts that are rolling around and disturbing my emotions....:eek:

But, overall, I'm just :D:D:D:D

Member123 : Yes! Please let us know about your cruise, if you were pleased w/ the packing process (selecting outfits to packing) and any suggestions you have for the rest of us who are still counting down days until Cruise Time!

Photos are welcome!!

 

Inidana71, you are so gracious.

I am running out of steam! I still have 4 shore excursions and a few land days to figure out. I've got my important picture moments figured out... you know, like the embarkation day which is when we usually take the photos of the stateroom, balcony, etc. I now absolutely have to mix/match because I've got 9 bottoms and 14 tops and I think I've reached luggage capacity! For the first time, I think I'm going to max out my carry on weight limit (coming from Europe I'm limited to 18kg which is slightly under 40 lbs).

Well, the packing is tomorrow afternoon so I'll report back on my luggage weight. Some of those tops, literally, weigh next to nothing... you know, the super lightweight tank type tops. Some are more bulky and substantial, but I've had to consider layering... and color selection... so that's why the number might seem really high.

Anyway, I also don't want to hijack your wonderful thread! I'm not going to the Caribbean... I'm headed to the Mediterannean. Really different clothing requirements.

Oh, btw, no panty hose in sight! :D I'm going to try to pack 6 pairs of shoes: 4 dressy, 1 walking sandal, 1 dance aerobic shoe (ZUMBA!... even if I do it myself in an empty space!)... and I'm wearing my heavy duty walking shoes that are meant to walk on the cobblestones of Europe.. my Siren Sports.

Here's something that I've learned about this experience. Start early! I only have a few more hours to get it together so... off I go. I must be having fun because I'm still at it! :D

Yes, I'm all grins. I can't believe that I'm heading out for another wonderful cruise. It's my birthday celebration cruise, so I'm really excited to be going... and celebrating...

BTW, you look fabulous in your LBD. I hear you about making sure everything is tucked away for the pictures. Well, that is the joy of having the digital camera. Take the time to look at the picture so that you can pose again if you see something that isn't quite right.

Are you sure you look best in bright pastels? What is a bright pastel color? In CJW's language, I am a FIRE. In other color seasons language, I would be a Spring. My DD is an EARTH in CJW lingo, and an Autumn in other descriptions. Neither one of us looks that great in LBDs. She looks much better than I do, though.

I will return on the 25th of May, just about a week before your next cruise. I'll have to catch up on this thread then and see how your planning goes. Maybe since you just did a trip, you'll be able to use your last spreadsheet? Or do you try to make each cruise a fresh, new experience in Fashionista presentation? :eek:

.... so much work!...

oh, Kasi, that's a wonderful gift idea for your Mom. I've thought about doing those photobooks of our trips. In fact, Anita has volunteered to help with that for us.

We are staying in Venice for 3 nights after our cruise so we won't be at the cruise terminal. So I didn't really even look at the options from there. Our hotel is very near the Rialto vaporetto stop and not that far from San Marco Square; it's the Hotel Splendide if you are familiar. That's why I was asking about the private water taxi option.

I know that there are cheaper options to take, but I think that taking the bus would actually take us quite a bit longer than even the Aliluguna water bus; am I mistaken about that? Remember that, at our age, we can afford to make things a bit easier on ourselves.... but that being said, we hate to spend money unwisely. However, there are times, especially on vacation, when you balance time and convenience and money where the cheapest option just isn't necessarily the best. It's all a matter of balancing priorities... I have a terrible story about how I didn't make the right decision regarding transportation from the Rome airport to our hotel. I dom't want to make the same sort of mistake in getting from our Venice hotel to that airport.

Thank you for clarifying about the boarding pass machines. Things always, always run more smoothly the more information and knowledge you have! I think the reviewer was highly, highly stressed because they were so unfamiliar with the proper procedures and they were cutting their time way too short. Some people do create a lot of problems for themselves (and sometimes include others in their stressful situation that they created!).

Yesterday's Zumba class was kind of weird and interesting. Following Teddy always means a really high calorie burn for me. I thought I was working out pretty hard, but when I checked my HRM I didn't burn as many calories as usual... also my average heart rate was about 15 beats per minute lower... and my peak heart rate was also much, much lower. That's what happens you know.... as we get more fit; we have to work that much harder. As we lose weight, we have to watch what we're eating just that much more. That sounds like Debby Downer talk, but it's not meant to be. Just a realization.

OMG. The hardest Zumba classes that I go to are the ones where I've taken a significant break. Even my instructor had a difficult time coming back to her class after she was out for 2 weeks on her vacation! She had to stop several times... she just stopped and waved her hands around and nodded her head and tried to catch her breath! Wow.

;) You forgot to tell us the designer of the little red cocktail dress.... I'm interested for several reasons; love red and it's a US designer so I'm very curious....

Kasi,

A bright red cocktail dress? My answer would be...

ABSOLUTELY!.....

Who is the designer?

Of course I'm still hanging out here. Because I should be doing other things, and this is way more fun.

I just stopped by because I've changed into my Zumba clothes and I needed to get some space between me and my packing list. Do you ever read the Fashion thread on here? There is a lady on the thread, who calls herself a Fashionista, and I got all inspired by her posts and decided that I would make more of an effort in packing this time around. So I've been spending hours and hours going through my closet, trying on all my outfits, even trying on the accessories that would be best... and the shoes. This is just hours and hours of time. Because, of course, you have to write everything down so you can remember what you've decided on.

It's an interesting comparison to the way that I packed the last time. Last time, I was most interested in keeping the luggage weight to an absolute minimum because we were having to transfer bags at some train stations. They give you all of 2 minutes at a stop, if they decide to be generous. I knew that my DH and I wouldn't be able to handle too much; we had to handle 2 bags each. It was quite an effort. Anyway, for the amount of time that we were gone, which was 23 days (this time it's 26 days), I really thought I was doing great by taking 3 jackets, 11 tops, and 5 bottoms. Those were for all the pre-cruise land days and the cruise days... formal attire, pool attire, etc., of course were extra.

So far, by trying to pack for the event... like embarkation day, shore excursion day, eating in the dining room, etc., I'm packing 11 tops and 5 bottoms and 2 jackets. I haven't finished yet, but it'll just be a matter of supplementing with a few extra pants, some long-sleeved tops.. so the bottom line is that the weight will end up being about the same. And the outfits should be way more fashionable and, most important, I won't look the same in every single picture! That's important! This time we won't be catching any trains so that will be better.

Kasi, have you ever flown out of Marco Polo airport in Venice? If you have, would you say it's better to pay the extra money and get a private water taxi to the airport rather than take the cheaper way of getting onto the Alilaguna water bus? In figuring this out, we would have to get to the Alilaguna pier at 8:03am to be dropped off at the dock by 9:00am, and then we'd walk about 15 minutes to the airport ticket counter. It would cost us 26 Euro. OR, we could take a private water taxi and it would be about a 25 minute ride and a 7-minute walk. The cost would be 90 Euro. Is it worth it for the time and the convenience?

Also, can you give me any tips about the Marco Polo airport? I read a review that made it sound a bit frustrating... like they won't accept a printed boarding pass from the website but make you get a boarding pass from a special machine? And there are only a few such machines at the airport? You can't get into the line for security without a boarding pass, so you have to have a lot of extra time for the two different lines. Just making sure that this review is correct. That sounds a bit "fishy" to me... do you know?

We'll be leaving at 11:30am, USAir, from Venice to Philadelphia. I thought that was a great time to book the flight. Now, I'm wondering if we should have tried for a different time. But, what's done is done... so now I'm just trying to learn as much as possible to make it as easy as possible for us.

Any tips you could give would be great!

Indiana71,

Holy cow... I'm halfway through putting together my packing list. What a lot of work! I've tried on all the outfits and organized my accessories.

I have quite a few days that I'm planning for: 8 shore excursions, 2 embarkations, 2 disembarkation-to-land, 9 sea days, 3 land days, 3 formal nights (+1 can be a duplicate because it's on another ship), 9 smart casual dining nights (+5 can be duplicates because they're on another ship), 2 flight travel days..

Since I have about 1/2 of the days taken care of, I'm now trying to look at the outfits that I've put together and see what kind of mix/match effort I can do to stretch the pieces so I can try to keep the weight down. Is that what you do?

Also, my DH likes to travel with a 50/50 mix of his & mine in 2 suitcases, (we have our own carry-ons), so that adds to the whole planning issue because I have to be careful with what goes in one suitcase vs the other suitcase.

:eek: I should have started this process days and days ago! Leaving on Friday, so I have to get back to it. I just wanted to send you a short note and let you know that you inspired me to do this! I'll report back and let you know how it goes for me. I told my DD that being a Fashionista was a lot of work! But, then I can say.... "oh this? I just threw this together today!"... and still look FABulous. :D