...

We just returned from our second cruise to Cozumel. Last Thursday we left Mobile on the Carnival Holiday ship. The seas were a bit rough but I had the behind the ear patch that worked great. There were 19 people in our party, so it was fun to have people to hang with whenever. Some of the group was Angie's family that may have tested her nerves but hopefully her friends evened out the fun part. The adults got several breaks from the kids since they loved the kids camp activities. I managed to keep Jeff out of the hairy chest competition that involves cheesy dancing which would make me cringe. Our day in Cozumel was split between some shopping, lunch at Jimmy Buffet's Margaritaville, and lounging on the beach. The kids got in the ocean but it was still a bit cold so we stayed out. No snorkeling this time unfortunately.
We were on the ship by 4:30 and the ship started to leave at 5pm. We were all on the deck waiting to get far enough out to see the sunset that was blocked by the larger Royal Caribbean ship. As soon as we got far enough out to see the sunset we started moving backwards and heading back to the pier. The announcement said that medical help was coming to take one of the passengers away, and sure enough an ambulance was driving down the pier. I'm still not sure what that was about. We were aware that the Norovirus had already affected 145 people on our ship. (Thats the stomach bug that causes vomiting and diarrhea) Yuck. We only knew about this because one friend went to the infirmory to get a seasick pill and saw people laying all of the floor. Carnival never made any announcements over the intercom -only on the TV, and that was dated 2005, so it was not clear there was an outbreak ongoing. I just learned that 2 of the kids and one mom have gotten sick today. Now the paranoia starts for me.
Overall it was a fun trip, and I'm definitely glad we had many friends to share it with. My photos are in the usual place on picasaweb.

I will never go on network solutions website again! Every time you do a search to see if a domain name is available it locks it for 4 days, then when it releases it, it's on a list that people are waiting to purchase and try to sell to you for crazy dollar amounts. So in the meantime during those 4 days people are scared into purchasing through Netsol for $35 instead of the going rate of $8 everywhere else. Netsol posted a response but I still think it's a crock of shit. In the meantime I may have just screwed a freelance client. I hope the .com version of their domain is available in a few days. I am so pissed right now. There is alot of talk on several websites about the legality of this and how it's just a matter of time before a class action law suit is started. I hope Network Solutions goes out of business.

UAH is hosting Yale this weekend. Jeff's parents, one brother, and 2 family friends will be at our house in a few hours. For Saturday night's game there will also be a 10 year reunion for the '98 UAH Chargers team that won the national championship. I'm not sure what all is planned for that, but it should be fun. I've also been told that tonight will be the first time they sell alcohol at the hockey game. The next piece of drama may be the snow. You just never know how much to believe the weather guys around here.

The drive home was pretty - snow flakes flying almost horizontal onto the windshield. Unfortuneately we only got a small dusting that is already melted. Doubt I'll be getting out of work tomorrow.

So last week was a bit crazier than normal. I'm not used to being on the phone much, but lots of family calls were exchanged. After several revisions, we got the obituary written and I posted it in the Houston Chronicle. You can read it here. We were all shocked to find out how much they charge to run an obit ad - almost $12 a line (with a line being 3 or 5 words). so this was almost $200. I've heard other cities are free.
I don't want to get into it too much here, but there are some truly kind people my mom made friends with in CR that helped take of her. Words can't express my gratitude and I'll always be thankful there are people in this world that can love a friend so much. One of her friends fw'd some pics from the memorial they had at the house. This one is clickable to a larger version in a new window.

Friday night we went out to eat with some of my work buddies since Philip is leaving town. Afterward 4 friends came back to our house and we played pool and ping pong. Overall, nice fun night.

Since I'm a planner, work is a bit stressing right now. I'm trying to plan a booth for a tradeshow and I'm still waiting to hear what all we're bringing and if I'm going. Shipping has to get done before my cruise on the 24th. I haven't had time to enjoy the planning part of the cruise yet. It will be a very nice break - no phones or email for me to hear the latest family drama. I'm not used to family drama! :)

Have you ever seen a fire in a cemetery? It's pretty creepy. Yesterday driving home I passed a small cemetery near our house and I saw the smoke from far away and when I came up on it there was a guy stirring pine needle brush into a couple small fires - right on top of graves. My first thoughts were isn't that sacrilegious or something? Or maybe he was driving away evil spirits with some kind of fire or smoke ritual. My mind was racing! When I got home I asked Jeff if he saw it and he said 'yeah, I thought the guy was just clearing brush'. It was no big deal to him. Even with all the fantasy books he reads, he said an evil spirit thought didn't enter his head. go figure!

For New Years Eve we partied with Keith and Angie and friends at their house. Now days I'd rather a fun house party than a smokey bar so we had a great time.

Friday we flew into Austin to visit with my family. My step brother and his wife came with us to the Salt Lick for BBQ. Definitely the best BBQ I've ever had, well maybe Rendezvous Ribs are better, just for ribs though. The weekend continued with eating red meat everyday including market wienies, homemade tamales and finishing off with Akaushi beef. There was an article in Texas Monthly about this HeartBrand beef started by Japanese cows brought to a ranch near Yoakum, Tx. The going rate is about $95 for one steak in a restaurant. Dad took us to a place in Moulton, Tx where it was only $35. He got a ribeye and Jeff got a sirloin. Both said it was good but not worth $95, but they were still glad they could say they've tried it.
In the morning we had to have calaches for breakfast, later We had cake for Alan's 12th birthday and ofcourse had Blue Bell ice cream with it. Elise got a really cool handmade firepit for Christmas, so we made smores one night. Looking back now I think we just ate meat and sweets :) We had great weather and did spend some more time going through my Grandma's stuff. I came home with lots of buttons, some costume jewelry and more photos from my childhood.

Saturday night my aunt called to say my mom passed away. I'm glad my brother and I were together to get the news. A couple hours later Courtnay got a call about her dad in the hospital, but word today was he was doing much better, so hopefully that scare is over. Overall it was a good trip interrupted by that bad news.

We flew Northwest airlines who started enforcing a 1 carry on bag rule. And one small bag, not an over stuffed backpack as we had. So that resulted in one of my Christmas presents breaking. Luckily that one is replaceable and it wasn't the fostoria glass platter I brought back from my grandma's stuff.

4 days seemed longer than it was. Back to the routine...