Royal Caribbean Cruisers -- How Are Things Where You Are? (was "Routine" ​ 😁 ​day in lockdown... how was yours?)

[George C]

I had a beard most of the time living in New York , got rid of it after moving to Dallas.

Go Bills they are hot even in there freezing weather, host Seadogs Chiefs next weekend which should be a great game , we don’t watch anything live so start watching the game a hour after start , but don’t look or pick up phone until game is over . Wonder how a Taylor will like Buffalo weather 😁😁😁

[Sea Dog]

19 minutes ago, George C said:

Wonder how a Taylor will like Buffalo weather 😁😁😁

Can’t be any worse than last Saturday at -4 degrees. 😉 Still haven’t heard if she will even be there.

[HBE4]

37 minutes ago, George C said:

I Wonder how a Taylor will like Buffalo weather 

 

15 minutes ago, Sea Dog said:

Can’t be any worse than last Saturday at -4 degrees. 😉 Still haven’t heard if she will even be there.

 

She looks warm

 

https://twitter.com/NFL/status/1746333044376773076/mediaViewer?currentTweet=1746333044376773076&currentTweetUser=NFL

 

 

EDIT: The link doesn't seem to be working 😕  But here is a picture 

 

Edited January 16 by HBE4

[Ozark_Kid]

Kenzie enjoyed the snow today!

 So did her brother and sister. 

 

I think she enjoyed warming up too!

 

[Sea Dog]

1 minute ago, Ozark_Kid said:

Kenzie enjoyed the snow today!

 

 So did her brother and sister. 

 

I think she enjoyed warming up too!

 

So adorable.

[Keksie]

5 minutes ago, Ozark_Kid said:

Kenzie enjoyed the snow today!

 

 So did her brother and sister. 

 

I think she enjoyed warming up too!

 

Super adorable!

[brillohead]

On 1/8/2024 at 5:38 PM, DaniDanielle said:

I thought you all would appreciate this.

 

 

Except for some of us, our mothers BRING stress instead of relieve it!!!

Coming up on 22 years since I've seen/talked to my mother, and I have no desire to ever do so again.

[brillohead]

On 1/8/2024 at 7:04 PM, HBE4 said:

The local ice arenas are so jammed packed with various adult & children leagues that they could probably stay open 24/7. Some kids leagues are schedule for 7 am on Sundays & I know some of the adult league play up to midnight.

 

Having said all that, you do have a point in that hockey is a distant #4 compared to the other 3 in this area. Part of it could be unlike football, baseball or basketball where you can just go outside to your backyard to play hockey requires a commitment.  Not everybody has parents like Wayne Gretzky who built a ice pond in the back yard to practice.

I've seen practices before 6am for high school kids.  Ice is very in demand (and expensive!).

We built a rink in our yard a couple years when my son was just getting started.  It was a lot of fun, but also a lot of work without a Zamboni!

[brillohead]

On 1/9/2024 at 8:51 AM, h20skibum said:

After disembarking yesterday, we traveled to central Florida to visit with a couple friends.  

 

We have never been to this place before. 

 

All I can say is OMG, the things I wish I could unsee. 

The VD rate there is astonishing....

[brillohead]

On 1/9/2024 at 11:32 AM, A&L_Ont said:

Owen now has his G2, and can drive on his own. Now he has to save up for some wheels, but until then we don’t have to drive him to all of his practices.
 

 

I loved when my son got his license.  My rule was that he had no curfew, but he always had to call me and let me know when he was headed home.  This served two purposes:

1. It gave me an idea of when to expect him, and when to start worrying if he wasn't home by the ETA.  Until he exceeded the ETA, I just didn't worry. 

2. It gave me a built-in DoorDash driver!!!  I'd text him my order and he'd go through the applicable drive-thru and bring me my food!


Recommendation for those with high-school-aged kids (or grandkids):  If the parents have a decent credit score, get an "authorized user" card in the child's name (with rules about what/how much it can be used for).  Even though the child isn't legally liable to pay the account (which is in the parent's name), they still get acknowledged for the responsible usage of a credit card, and it's reflected in their credit score. 

Most kids don't have a credit history until they're living on their own and paying for utilities, etc., and then they have to start at nothing and build their history/score up as they go.  But being an authorized user on a card starts establishing a credit history before they even graduate high school, and makes it easier to rent an apartment, get a car loan with a lower interest rate, and get a lower premium on their insurance.

In my case, I gave the kid two different authorized user credit cards.  One was The Mom Card, so if I sent him for food or to fill my car's gas tank or whatever, he used that card (and if he was picking up food for me, he was allowed to get food for himself on my card).   The other was The Kid Card -- if he was getting gas for his car, or taking his girlfriend to dinner, or buying a pair of shoes beyond what I provided for him, he put it on his card, and he paid me in cash at the end of the month so I could pay off the card each cycle.  

When he graduated high school, even though he had no job (he was leaving in a week for the Army, but wasn't drawing a paycheck yet), he qualified for a $2500 credit card limit from our credit union without even asking (they just offered it to him when we went to open his checking account).  He was the only kid in his barracks with a credit score >800.  I still remember the time he texted me and said, "I just checked my credit score -- thanks, Momma!" 🙂

[brillohead]

On 1/11/2024 at 11:09 AM, h20skibum said:

Somehow, Daryl had to appear in our family photo we took in the tiki hut of our house rental.   The grandkids were also making a “Daryl” movie.  My one grandson is taking a film making class.

PLEASE share this video when it is completed!!!  

[brillohead]

On 1/11/2024 at 6:32 PM, Lionesss said:

The greatest accomplishment is she now has made the connection to asking for what she wants with sign language. 

 

Are you teaching ASL, or just the "kiddie sign language" for the most-used words?

I had grand plans to use signing with my kid, but every time I tried to teach him a sign, he'd just say the darn word instead!!!  He had a legit vocabulary of over 100 words at 13 months (my MIL and I wrote them all down to count them). 

 

I had high hopes that his extreme verbal skills would translate into a love of reading, but I was mightily disappointed -- he inherited his father's lack of interest in the written word.  True to form, though, he will talk your ear off to this day!!!!

[brillohead]

On 1/13/2024 at 4:17 PM, Tree_skier said:

How full is Labadee going to feel and how is it going to be getting a lounger with some shade somewhere when I'm not one of the early ones off the ship.

Chiming in here to confirm what others have said.  When they rebuilt Coco Cay, they also added a BUNCH of loungers and umbrellas to Labadee.  Before then, loungers were available but you had to look around and drag it to where you wanted it, and it was hard to find any shade, but now it's set up like Coco Cay with rows and rows of loungers with umbrellas at alternating pairs.  (I have a picture I can post, but I'm at work and it's saved on my computer at home.)

I don't understand why people spend money on the "loungers for two with a clamshell" when they can get two loungers with an umbrella (with better ventilation than the clamshell) for free!  Ditto for the beach beds -- to get sun protection, you have to enclose yourself in the curtains, which cuts off your breeze.  

As stated, they might not open the buffet at Columbus Cove depending on the number of passengers, but there are free trams that will take you back and forth.  (And even if the buffet isn't open, the bar will be!)  Or if you have a late breakfast on the ship, you may not want to bother with lunch ashore at all.

[Lionesss]

11 minutes ago, brillohead said:

 

Are you teaching ASL, or just the "kiddie sign language" for the most-used words?

I had grand plans to use signing with my kid, but every time I tried to teach him a sign, he'd just say the darn word instead!!!  He had a legit vocabulary of over 100 words at 13 months (my MIL and I wrote them all down to count them). 

 

I had high hopes that his extreme verbal skills would translate into a love of reading, but I was mightily disappointed -- he inherited his father's lack of interest in the written word.  True to form, though, he will talk your ear off to this day!!!!

Most useful words. 
 

plus 

 

Just started on alphabet. 
 

Zoey is a fast learner!!

 

It is fun seeing her get excited with learning!

[Ocean Boy]

45 minutes ago, brillohead said:

 

 

Except for some of us, our mothers BRING stress instead of relieve it!!!

Coming up on 22 years since I've seen/talked to my mother, and I have no desire to ever do so again.

That is really unfortunate.

[brillohead]

9 hours ago, MJSailors said:

I use a Wahl hair trimmer for giving DH buzz cuts. They make good products.

He can go to their web site to check the trimmers out. 

If you already have a Wahl, you don't need to bother with a beard trimmer unless he just wants a smaller device.  Just choose the length of the guard you want, and away you go. 

I bought a Wahl for my son and his father's hair almost 20 years ago, and my ex is still using it to buzz his hair and trim his beard.  He even uses it to trim his eyebrows so they don't look like caterpillars.  One time he forgot to put a guard on at all and he did one eyebrow -- BUZZZZZZZZZZZZ, and it was gone, so then he had to buzz off the other one so his face would be symmetrical! 🤣 

 

[brillohead]

6 minutes ago, Ocean Boy said:

That is really unfortunate.

 

I'm better off without her toxicity in my life... wish I'd cut the ties that bind a lot sooner, but at least I was able to protect my son from her.  

And my experiences with my adoptive family meant that finding and being accepted and loved by my biological father last year was all the sweeter!  

Even though I told him I was home for the weekend and had plenty of food plus city water and a gas furnace and a gas water heater and a generator if we lost power, so I had absolutely no reason to nor intention of leaving the house during the Snowmageddon and Big Chill, my bio-dad still called and texted me four times over the weekend, just to make sure I was safe.  💗

[Ocean Boy]

2 hours ago, brillohead said:

 

I'm better off without her toxicity in my life... wish I'd cut the ties that bind a lot sooner, but at least I was able to protect my son from her.  

And my experiences with my adoptive family meant that finding and being accepted and loved by my biological father last year was all the sweeter!  

Even though I told him I was home for the weekend and had plenty of food plus city water and a gas furnace and a gas water heater and a generator if we lost power, so I had absolutely no reason to nor intention of leaving the house during the Snowmageddon and Big Chill, my bio-dad still called and texted me four times over the weekend, just to make sure I was safe.  💗

I understand your situation. By unfortunate I guess I just wish you, and everyone, could have grown up in the same sort of family environment that I did. I take care of plenty of kids who have had to endure toxic families. I do the best I can to try to help and be a positive influence.

[StanleyandGus]

3 hours ago, brillohead said:

bio-dad still called and texted me four times over the weekend, just to make sure I was safe.  💗

…because that’s what good dads do! Unconditional love is wonderful, and you deserve it!

[brillohead]

On 1/13/2024 at 4:17 PM, Tree_skier said:

How full is Labadee going to feel and how is it going to be getting a lounger with some shade somewhere when I'm not one of the early ones off the ship.

 

I'm home now, so can share my pics of Labadee -- loungers and umbrellas galore!!!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

These are all at Columbus Cove.  Nellie's Beach is considerably smaller, so might be harder to find a lounger.  But Adrenaline Beach (under the zip line) is long and full of loungers as well. 

 

 

[brillohead]

On 1/14/2024 at 5:22 PM, Sea Dog said:

I’ll have to edit a picture of me in photoshop and take out the mustache and see would I would look like.

 

I had to wait until I got home to be able to post this one:

 

 

[helen haywood]

Speaking of dysfunctional families…after Thanksgiving I saw that my brother, whom I haven’t spoken to in two and a half years…since my dad died and I found out neither were who I thought they were, had left a message on my phone.  iPhones are set up where…even if you have blocked a caller (and I’ve blocked him) it will still save a voicemail.  Your phone won’t ring and you won’t know the blocked caller left you a message unless you check “Deleted Messages.”

 

So I had DH listen to the message in another room.  He told me it wasn’t anything upsetting.  I read the transcript…he “misses” us…he “loves” us…he “wasn’t happy with the way things ended up but it should not have caused this kind of rift…”  I didn’t believe a word of this BS.  If you “love” me why haven’t I heard from you in over two years?  (Not that I wanted to!)

 

I told a cousin of mine, who is 83 and one of my few relatives left, about the call.  Of course she (wishfully) thought he might have been sincere.  I hated to disillusion her…but I said it was BS.  Came out later my brother had approached her nephew…trying to get money…which is all he would have wanted from me.

 

 

[DaniDanielle]

6 hours ago, brillohead said:

 

 

Except for some of us, our mothers BRING stress instead of relieve it!!!

Coming up on 22 years since I've seen/talked to my mother, and I have no desire to ever do so again.

I am so sorry for this.  I was very lucky with both of my parents and I will always appreciate it.

[DaniDanielle]

On a better note, my mammogram was good…..

[bobmacliberty]

We got back from our NYC trip Sunday night.  Played golf and watched the Bills game yesterday, and am sitting at home now while it rains here.  Finally caught up on this thread.

 

We had a great trip.  The Billy Joel concert was incredible.  His energy and his voice at 74...just amazing.  The Book of Mormon was hilarious.  Definitely a lot of adult content.  We did a few other fun things while there and of course had some great food.  Weather was pretty good...mostly in the 40s and even peaking up in the 50s, with some wind.  Temps dropped on Sunday and the wind picked up, delaying our flight out of LGA for an hour.  I watched 4 straight planes trying to land on runway 22 before having to do a go around right before touching down.  They ended up closing that runway and had everything both landing and taking off on runway 31.  I think there were 12 planes waiting in front of us to take off and we spent an extra 30 minutes taxiing. 

 

I'll separately post some pics and videos of the weekend.