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

[taznremmy]

I believe he is playing board games...😁

[HBE4]

The tipping threads did him  in? 

 

I believe @Tree_skier good friend also posts on these boards so he could pass along any messages to tree 

[brillohead]

13 hours ago, voyager70 said:

I agree. TV weather people have gotten totally over the top in recent years. I long for the days when they just reported the weather without trying to win an award for best dramatic performance.

 

10 hours ago, cruisingpeople said:

It's WFSB out of Hartford. They must take some kind of "Special Class" to help them be as annoying as possible.

 

We have them in Michigan, too.  A friend coined the term "weathergasm" to describe the amped up behavior of the on-air weather folks whenever anything major is in the forecast (thunderstorms, ice storms, snowstorms, etc.).

[brillohead]

2 hours ago, A&L_Ont said:

We are experiencing Thunder Snow.  What’s Thunder Snow you ask?  Lightening and Thunder, during the blizzard. Kinda creepy, kinda cool. 

I saw the lightning as I was driving in to work tonight.  We got about eight inches in about eight hours, from what I can tell.  Fortunately, after last week's ice storm, people mostly stayed home and off the roads, making it easier for those of us with "essential jobs" to navigate the roads in the storm.  

[brillohead]

4 hours ago, Sunshine3601 said:

The searching sounds exhausting but also very intriguing.    Exciting to hear that you may soon have the answers you have been seeking.

And remember you do belong somewhere....right where you are and with us "your cruise family"🥰 

Awwwwww, thanks!!!!! ❤️

And thanks to EVERYONE who commented on my DNA saga.  I was chatting with my suspected half-brother again tonight, and he reiterated that regardless of our sibling or cousin status, he and all the rest of the family still want to know all about me.  I am so incredibly lucky that they are so accepting.


So, funny cruise-related story about my search process:

Because I was trying to make contact through a third party instead of contacting a sibling directly, I was doing some "FB stalking" of the various relatives whose names I had managed to acquire already.  Mind you, most of these people live in the south -- Florida, Alabama, Texas.  Imagine my surprise, when scrolling through various Friends Lists, that some of their friends had mutual friends with me!!!!

Several of my relatives had friends who are also friends with my tour guide / driver in Roatan, Honduras, and several others were friends with my regular snorkel boat excursion guy in Cozumel, Mexico!!!  

And all of a sudden I had a new ear worm:  "It's a Small World After All!"  🤣
 

 

I'll keep y'all updated after we get the next set of DNA results.  

[brillohead]

18 hours ago, dani negreanu said:

Kind of a "wake up call" for those of us who take having known parents for granted....

It's just one of those things that unless you've experienced it yourself, you can't truly understand it. 

My suspected brother has been very open with me about his feelings... the combination of excitement at maybe having a new sister to get to know, plus the change in the way he sees his father (his parents married in '67 and I was conceived in '68), and I keep reinforcing that it's OKAY to be conflicted and to feel like it's a lot to process. 

 

I've had over 50 years of knowing that I came from somewhere else, I'm used to the idea.  He's had a whopping three days to sit with the idea -- it's a lot to process!!!!

And people who haven't been around adoption or talked about it much with anyone in the triad (adoptee, birthparent, or adoptive parent) just don't have the experience to be able to process how much it is to process. 

 

I find that a lot of people think that adoptees go about finding birth-family in an attempt to "replace" their adoptive family.  In some cases, the adoption didn't result in a happy childhood and the adoptee is lucky and gets the whole "one big happy family" experience that they missed out on.  But in most cases, the adoptees had great parents and a happy childhood and they wouldn't change that for anything -- but they STILL want to know where they came from. 

I went into my search knowing that my paternal family might not be willing to talk to me, and I was okay with that.  With my birthmother, she and I only rarely see each other, and I know that she doesn't consider me to be her family and she's totally fine with never seeing me again.... but that's not because of anything to do with me, but rather her own issues, not the least of which is over half a century of alcohol abuse.  My half-brother doesn't even call her "Mom" -- he calls her by her first name or a family nickname. But my half-brother gladly calls me "Sis" and we have always gotten along from day one.  

It's not about finding your "real" family, but just the basic elemental need to know one's roots, to know where you came from.  

It's just a bonus is that now I have someone in Houston who can drive me to/from Galveston's cruise terminal the next time I cruise from Texas!  LOL 

[CrzLvr2]

2 hours ago, brillohead said:

 I was chatting with my suspected half-brother again tonight, and he reiterated that regardless of our sibling or cousin status, he and all the rest of the family still want to know all about me.  I am so incredibly lucky that they are so accepting.

I'll keep y'all updated after we get the next set of DNA results.  

How wonderful that your DNA-related search is progressing so positively!! 🥰
I am soo happy for you!! 🤗

Edited March 4, 2023 by CrzLvr2

[grapau27]

Sorry to hear the American actor Tom Sizemore has died aged 61.

Condolences to his friends and family.

It is 37°F and partly cloudy here at 10.30am.

Best wishes to everyone for a great day.

[grapau27]

 

Edited March 4, 2023 by grapau27

[Momof3gurlz]

12 hours ago, bobmacliberty said:

 

Did you decide to stop for the car show on Sunday?

We’re going to pass on it this year.  Since we’re driving (stopping in Florence SC tonight), we really wouldn’t be there in time to appreciate the full day tomorrow.  The last few years we’ve been going to FL for 3-4 weeks in the late Feb to early March timeframe, so next year we will wrap the car show into our planning.  

[BonTexasNY]

13 hours ago, Luckynana said:

Good to hear that the weather has been good for you and that the morning cleaning is working well.  The room stewards sure work so hard keeping our rooms in good shape....and, good to hear that you're getting the paper Compass daily in your room.

 

I did miss the old menu on our past cruise...I always ordered escargot nightly in the past...sigh...

For us it was daily shrimp salad, always on our table waiting for us each night.

 

I also miss the salmon to choose if nothing appeals to me on the daily menu.

 

 

 

 

[BonTexasNY]

3 hours ago, grapau27 said:

 

 

This picture reminded me something that happened over 30 years ago.  My friend offered to babysit my daughter when I had a dentist appointment.  My daughter, 4 at the time, thought my friend's dog needed artwork on the wall above the dog's bed so she drew a picture and taped it right near the doggie bed so the dog would have something nice to look at.  So sweet. I taught her well.  She did NOT color on the wall. 

[jmh2006]

12 hours ago, A&L_Ont said:

We are experiencing Thunder Snow.  What’s Thunder Snow you ask?  Lightening and Thunder, during the blizzard. Kinda creepy, kinda cool. 

We are in the centre of the dark blue blob. 

 

Yep!! We had that happen to us last night at least 4 times.  It is a weird experience.  

[Ocean Boy]

8 hours ago, brillohead said:

It's just one of those things that unless you've experienced it yourself, you can't truly understand it. 

My suspected brother has been very open with me about his feelings... the combination of excitement at maybe having a new sister to get to know, plus the change in the way he sees his father (his parents married in '67 and I was conceived in '68), and I keep reinforcing that it's OKAY to be conflicted and to feel like it's a lot to process. 

 

I've had over 50 years of knowing that I came from somewhere else, I'm used to the idea.  He's had a whopping three days to sit with the idea -- it's a lot to process!!!!

And people who haven't been around adoption or talked about it much with anyone in the triad (adoptee, birthparent, or adoptive parent) just don't have the experience to be able to process how much it is to process. 

 

I find that a lot of people think that adoptees go about finding birth-family in an attempt to "replace" their adoptive family.  In some cases, the adoption didn't result in a happy childhood and the adoptee is lucky and gets the whole "one big happy family" experience that they missed out on.  But in most cases, the adoptees had great parents and a happy childhood and they wouldn't change that for anything -- but they STILL want to know where they came from. 

I went into my search knowing that my paternal family might not be willing to talk to me, and I was okay with that.  With my birthmother, she and I only rarely see each other, and I know that she doesn't consider me to be her family and she's totally fine with never seeing me again.... but that's not because of anything to do with me, but rather her own issues, not the least of which is over half a century of alcohol abuse.  My half-brother doesn't even call her "Mom" -- he calls her by her first name or a family nickname. But my half-brother gladly calls me "Sis" and we have always gotten along from day one.  

It's not about finding your "real" family, but just the basic elemental need to know one's roots, to know where you came from.  

It's just a bonus is that now I have someone in Houston who can drive me to/from Galveston's cruise terminal the next time I cruise from Texas!  LOL 

Some birth mothers simply are not cut out to be mothers. Best to let go of what can't be changed and enjoy this whole new world that is opening up to you. I'm really excited for you. Stories like yours also make me appreciate more the family I was fortunate enough to be born in to.

[FromSea2ShiningSea]

Caught this on the way down to LA

 

[Sunshine3601]

1 hour ago, BonTexasNY said:

This picture reminded me something that happened over 30 years ago.  My friend offered to babysit my daughter when I had a dentist appointment.  My daughter, 4 at the time, thought my friend's dog needed artwork on the wall above the dog's bed so she drew a picture and taped it right near the doggie bed so the dog would have something nice to look at.  So sweet. I taught her well.  She did NOT color on the wall. 

Precious❤️

[DaniDanielle]

Me in third grade😳

[lenquixote66]

8 minutes ago, DaniDanielle said:

Me in third grade😳

The only class picture that I have is a framed 9th .grade .Why my parents decided to buy it I have no idea.I also have no idea of the cost.

When I was in the 3rd.grade I was in a school play and I also have that picture by not framed.It was a Christmas play and I was an elf.
 

[lenquixote66]

14 hours ago, HBE4 said:

 

Me too. I usually have to "go" but even when I don't,  I can't sit for more than 3 hours in a car. Even with the fancy heated & cooled leather seats with 17,000 seat adjustments & adjustable lumbar support, I still need to get out and stretch my legs.  I've owned dozens of cars in my life time,  from bare-bone low-end to top-of-the-line high end & it's always been the same.

 

In my entire life of driving I have driven a total of two cars.

[dani negreanu]

DS2 asked for a "healthy" option for today's lunch -- pasta with chunks of salmon and shrimps 

 

[Sunshine3601]

1 hour ago, DaniDanielle said:

Me in third grade😳

My 2 guesses which one is you are:

1.    first row, 3rd girl from the left or

2.  3rd row, 4th girl from the left

 

[Sunshine3601]

3 minutes ago, dani negreanu said:

DS2 asked for a "healthy" option for today's lunch -- pasta with chunks of salmon and shrimps 

 

This looks delicious

[FromSea2ShiningSea]

What a sight.  I have never seen so much snow on the Grapevine.  This highway was closed last weekend because of a snowstorm.  This does not happen very often.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Sunshine3601]

We just returned from local Omaha Steak store that is having a 50% off sale and we had a coupon for an extra 10% off.     Eric was like a kid in a candy store, spent a lot of money but got some great deals on filets, steaks, burgers, pot roast, smoked bacon, sausage links, sole stuffed with crabmeat, etc etc.    Our freezer is officially restocked for grilling season.   

We had nasty rain and wind all night but woke up to sunshine although it is still rather windy.

[Sunshine3601]

2 minutes ago, FromSea2ShiningSea said:

What a sight.  I have never seen so much snow on the Grapevine.  This highway was closed last weekend because of a snowstorm.  This does not happen very often.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Beautiful photos😃