Thank you all for letting me take this past week “off” from blogging.
My husband and I were on the Love Like You Mean It Cruise almost the entire week this week. It was good to have a break and to spend most of the week unplugged (if you didn’t realize I was gone, that was because my fantastic team did such a great job of running the blog in my stead!).
We soaked up the sun, read some great books, talked and dreamed and planned for the future, ate interesting food, got a sunburn, heard inspiring messages, met some wonderful new friends, and went to bed before 8:30 p.m. almost every single night.
It was exhilarating and refreshing, but it’s good to be home and back to our three precious children. We missed them so much! And truthfully, we also really missed good coffee (there was not a decent batch of coffee to be found on the entire cruise ship–I wished I had brought my French Press so I could have made my own!) and solid ground (thankfully, the motion sickness pills helped soothe my queasy stomach!).
And I missed you all, too, and have so many post ideas my head is about ready to explode! 🙂 But for now, I’m getting ready to enjoy a quiet, media-free Sunday and I’ll be back to blogging as usual on Monday. I promise I’ll share a mini recap of our trip & some pictures, too!
Here were some of the best posts from this past week, in case you missed them:
Freebies and Deals:
100 Photo Prints from Snapfish for $7 Shipped
140 Free Swagbucks for New Sign-Ups
Kid’s Eat Free at Cici’s Pizza
Free Printable Vintage Paper Dolls
Free ebook: 21 Days to a More Disciplined Life
Four Posts You Should Read:
3 Steps to Simplifying Laundry
How We Manage Without a Washer and Dryer
Welcome home! We also just returned from our 6th cruise. It is hard to come back to the 8-4 routine… but, we’re saving now for our next cruise.
For those who get seasick, instead of the Dramamine or Bodine, which make some people drowsy enought to sleep through the cruise, try ginger capsules (thank you Walmart) – starting a day or two prior to embarkation. Take 1 with each meal.
Also, green apples, crackers and ginger-ale.
Ginger is a tried and true home remedy for upset tummies.
LOVE the picture!! You look so happy and refreshed!!
My hubby and I haven’t been away together in 17 years. When you have 10 children, it just becomes nearly impossible to get away. We only have 8 at home still, so one of these days, we will get away!!
I am extremely motion sick though, so it definitely won’t be a cruise!! LOL!!
Welcome back to cyber world!!
Glad you could enjoy some time off!
A little time away is always a wonderful thing!
Welcome back! You two make a beautiful couple–inside and out!
I’m so glad you were able to get a refreshing break, you deserved it! I don’t believe I have ever seen a picture of your husband before. It’s nice to see your other half! 🙂
My husband and I just got back from a marriage conference put on by the same people who put on that cruise (FamilyLife) I hope that you and your hubby had a great time and most importantly grew in your relationship with the Lord and each other!!
We went on this cruise as well! Such an amazing time. Already signed up for next year and counting down the days.
We went on a dream vacation to Disney in December (paid for with consignment pay, surveys, and other “found” money!) and that was my husband’s only complaint-only Nescafe on property! We went off the reservation only once to Ghiradelli and he enjoyed his one good cup of coffee immensely. I am a tea drinker and pack it-much easier to transport! We talked about getting a travel Keurig machine and bringing it with us next time. I used to think people were crazy for doing that, but I am really picky about my tea, so I guess it makes sense!
I agree about the coffee, too. Most cruise ships don’t have the best coffee. And if you drink coffee with the flavored creamer, take your own! LOL My husband is the main coffee drinker in our family, and that is his main complaint!
The first cruise we went on, had really good coffee. The last one, not good at all!
Isn’t is great to cruise! I tell everyone it is the ultimate vacation for the ladies. I am glad to know that we aren’t the only early to bed cruisers. =) But then when you get up with the sun, you need to go to bed early. LOL
I am going into cruise withdrawal, but need to save up a few more $$ before we can go.
Yippee!!
I can’t wait to hear about your cruise. We missed it this year because the only cabins available (when I found out) were $4000+
But I have bookmarked that site and plan to go next year. Hmmm, it just occurred to me, maybe we should go ahead and book it?
dee 🙂
This past year, they sold out of the cheapest cabins at least six months before. So I wouldn’t wait too long to book it.
Forgot about you being away! So glad you got to have some couple time and time to dream. Glad to have you back. 🙂
We went on several cruises before we had kids and they were wonderful, my most favorite vacations. Glad you had a good time.
The bad coffee is due to the desalinated water. Even your french press couldn’t make a good cup with that water.
You two make such a cute couple!! 🙂
Glad you had a wonderful cruise! 🙂 What a great way to celebrate and enjoy some time together!
My husband and I had the opportunity to go on a couple cruises in the past few years and have LOVED them. We still laugh about how the cruises were probably the best we’ve slept over the last couple years with the sway of the boat rocking us to sleep every night as they went from port to port. It is wonderful and refreshing to go on a cruise, not to mention the delicious food and entertainment! We are not a hug coffee drinkers so that didn’t bother us and thankfully we never had problems with motion sickness. Had to laugh that you guys went to bed before 8:30 pm every night, we were up way past midnight and back up at 6 or 7 am every morning so we wouldn’t miss anything! 🙂 My favorite was visiting all the amazing countries as well as meeting new people and learning history of the places we visited.
Welcome Home! It is always nice to come home to the kiddos! 🙂
Good coffee is vital to one’s existence! Ha!
I noticed the weekly goals link-up post was MIA last week, now I know why. Glad you had an enjoyable week! You deserved it!
Glad you had a good time! I haven’t tried a cruise yet because I think the motion sickness would definitely win in my case!!!
Glad you had a great time. By the way, this morning I noticed you were published in the March issue of All You magazine- congratulations!
Next time try ginger pills.. they are great for motion sickness
jenetta
What a great pic (with your new camera?)! Glad you are refreshed and ready to explode with ideas. Looking forward to hearing everything you’re going to share!
Love you sunnny happy picture! Glad to see you had a great vacation! I didn’t know you were absence this week, except at one point I did notice more guess posts:-)
My family and I are going on a cruise next month – I am worried about getting motion sickness. I did get a perscription for the patches but you mentioned taking some kind of pills to help you stomach. Anything you can suggest that we do or take on our trip would be much appreciated. I have never been on a cruise before. Thank you so much – Carmen Goddard
Meclizine is the ingredient you will want to look for. Something like Bonine (which is non-drowsy). There are also generic varieties (which is what we used). We also wore the bracelets, which helped a little.
Ginger-ale 🙂
It’s not a medicine, but if you’re concerned about motion sickness I would suggest watching how much you eat even when you feel good. The one night I ended up eating way too much on my cruise (we went to the steakhouse on the ship) was the night we hit rough seas. Either one on it’s own might have been ok, but the combination was a little rough.
I also second meclizine, but with that (and that motion sickness patches) you have to use them before you get sick.
There are a couple things I like to carry with me on boats and planes and those are Ginger Trips, a ginger supplement which works amazingly well and almost instantaneous! No drowsiness or side affects. The other, I’m not sure the exact name but they are acupressure bracelets/bands that you wear on your wrist that press on the acupressure point that prevents or eliminates motion sickness. Just having something like that or the medication on hand might even be enough 😉
Sea-Bands – find them at Walmart, Target, etc…!
I’m so glad you got to unplug for a while. Its definitely a good idea to get away (especially with hubby) for a while so you can refocus. Thanks for being such a great inspiration!
I’m glad you guys were able to rest and had a good time! Looking forward to going on a real vacation with my hubs one day! 🙂
Wow I did not even realized that you were that much of a coffee drinker. You mention it occasionally but it never seems to be among your purchased on your pictures of your shopping trips.
This year, I’ve turned into a coffee girl, something I never thought I’d be! I usually have one big cup every morning… such a great way to start the day! 🙂
Since we no longer buy many diapers (woot!), I’ve been using some of my Swagbucks gift cards to buy Starbucks coffee from Amazon. My husband and I have fallen in love with Breakfast Blend & Pike Roast. And let’s just say, there wasn’t any coffee close to those on the cruise ship. But we managed… it just cracked us up to realize how particular we’d gotten about coffee. We survived just fine, though! 🙂
Wow your team did a great job in your stead! Didn’t even know you were gone! Can’t wait to hear the recap. And LOVE the picture…it’s nice to see a photo of you and your hubs together! So cute!
Well deserved. You both look relaxed, refreshed and renewed!
Glad you had a great time!
Sounds like a great time. I can’t even imagine bed before 8:30! Thank you for the recap! 🙂 I had missed your free ebook.
Oh! that looks like such a fun cruise! I am so glad you and your husband got to have some fun time away! You two work so hard at being frugal and I hope you really enjoyed the R&R!
Bed before 8:30! That sounds like a dream.
Glad you were able to have such a nice, relaxing time. Looking forward to the mini recap.
Same here! I love traveling and I can’t wait to hear the recap!
Although going to bed at 8:30 sounds great, I wish I could sleep in until 8:30 in the morning though! I’m a night owl. I hate waking up early LOL.