Butterflies in my Tummy.

Tomorrow's the big day! I am so nervous right now. I think i'm ready but I keep imagining all the things that could go wrong. Stop it stop it! I am not looking forward to sitting on a plane and in airports all day but it's worth it. I was successful in keeping my check on luggage under 50lbs. 45.2lbs was my final weight, woo hoo! I already know i'm going to need to go on a diet when I get back because i'm going to be rolling home after all that yummy cruise food. I'm going to try and get a good nights sleep tonight and then I leave for the airport at 8:45am tomorrow. I'll write again from the Carnival Splendor.

Goodnight!

Packed and ready to go!

-2 Days and counting!!!!! Tomorrow I hit the spa to get all buffed and polished before the cruise. I'm packed and ready to go and my suit case is half empty. I guess I will just have to fill it up with souvenirs to bring back. I really think i'm ready but i'm sure i'll forget something. I can't wait until i'm blogging from the Carnival Splendor.

That's all i've got to say today.

Bye boys and girls!

-Amy

1 ah ah ah, 2 ah ah ah, 3 ah ah ah. Who else grew up counting with "The Count" on Sesame Street?

3 Days! 3 Days! 3 Days! I'm a little nervous and a LOT excited! I can't wait. I can't focus at work and i'm really trying to get my case count down before I leave so my coworkers don't murder me when they get all my cases. I went from 42 cases to 27 cases today, that's not bad. I'm hoping to get down to the teens or lower tomorrow. I am sooooooooooooooo ready for a break from work, it's been really stressful lately and I don't want to get burned out. Really all I have to say tonight is 3 Days! 3 Days! 3 Days!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Goodnight world.

-Amy

You got me!!!

Here was MY plan for the weekend.
1. Get up early and work on the boat all day Saturday
2. Pop over to my brothers house for a quick family get together on Saturday evening.
3. Get home and get to bed early so I could get up early on Sunday so I could finish working on the boat in time to take it on it's maiden voyage Sunday afternoon.

So Saturday morning and afternoon went as planned I worked on the boat. My dad helped out of course. Liz and I went out to lunch and my friend Candace met us to talk about the cruise next week. Then Liz hung around while my dad and I did some more work on the boat. Then 6:15 rolled around and Liz went home so my parents and I could head over to my brothers for our quick get together. My mom went ahead but my dad and I were told we couldn't come early because my nieces had made something for us. So we didn't get there until a little after 7:00.

Here's where my plan's were derailed...
My sister in law Tamy was in the house when we got there and said the thing the girls had made for us was out in the barn so we headed out back. When we walked in people started yelling and I looked around to find my friends all waiting to celebrate my 30th Birthday with me. Tamy had pulled off a VERY successful 30th birthday SURPRISE party for me. Even my friends from California came to surprise me, and boy was I. I was a blubbering idiot for the first few minutes.

So to all the people who helped me celebrate. Especially Tamy who got in contact with all my friends. Thank you for making me feel so special and so loved. I think I needed that more than I knew. This is the best birthday I think I've ever had. It's all down hill from here!

Here are some very serious pictures (there were no flattering pictures from working on the boat today so here are the pictures from Goofing off while working on the boat) of the boat work Yesterday. Also of course pictures from the party yesterday and the follow-up bar-b-cue today.

Also to anyone who still cares I will be finishing my boat and hitting the water. The maiden voyage has however been postponed until after my cruise.




Teaching Harley to leap over the Mast


Trying to make a horn out of the excess Mast


My Motto: "If you find a welders mask in the garage, you should always put it on."



Thank you Suzy!


Me and my California Girls. From left: Anna, Me, Sylvia, Maritza, Suzy and Chrissy



Chuck showing how easy it is to lose all your chips in one spin on the Roulette table.


Sylvia and Anna chillin'


Sylvia and Marianne Chillin' with some Patron and some black jack.



Tamy dealing the Black Jack.



Brooke (the new bride) entertaining the Black Jack crowd.



Cort playing Black Jack with all the ladies. He's such a player!



My Dad dealing Craps. My two brothers Rick and Bryan and my friends Suzy and Maritza.



Cort and Bryan getting "schooled" in Craps. My Aunt Joni looks super excited.


Mindy, Michelle, Chrissy and Matt playing some Texas Hold'em


Today before the girls left for the Airport. Harley was sooo exhausted

Law Breaker?

Alright, I had a little scare today. I called the DMV to find out what I needed to do to get my boat registered before her maiden voyage. The first girl I spoke to said I had to have a bill of sale or bill of gift, of which I have neither because the boat was built by my gramps. So I thought I was just going to have to be a law breaker and just hope I didn't get busted when I went to the lake this weekend. Then I called the DMV again to ask what you do if the boat was homemade and there was no bill of sale. The second girl I spoke to said I didn't need to register anything without a motor. So I'm going to run with that answer and hope I don't learn an expensive lesson this weekend. Cross your fingers! I'll probably have some picture to put up on Saturday. Nothings happening right now, work is driving me nuts and I'm sooooo ready for vacation. Hope all is well with you.

Amy

I'm so excited, that I just can't hide it....

Less than two weeks until my Dirty 30 Cruise!!!!! I am soooo excited. My coworkers will be having a party after I leave because they won't have to hear me give them the count down to cruise time anymore. That's all I have to talk about tonight.

Here's a picture of the ship i'll be sailing on.




The Carnival Splendor

Always a groomsmen never a...wait that doesn't sound right?

Yesterday was Cort and Brooke's big day. It was really fun. I've been to a lot of weddings and this was one of the best. Cort and Brooke both looked incredible, they are a gorgeous couple. The ceremony was very unique and true to the bride and groom. Cort wrote a short play that was acted out by Brooke's brother and Cort's sister. It was the internal dialogue of their first encounter. Very cute and very funny. During the vows Brooke sang a song to Cort and it was beautiful. Brooke has a great voice that you would never imagine from speaking to her. It was very touching. I'm not usually into stuff like that but I was definitely moved.

Then there was the reception! No stinkin' finger sandwiches for us, we had bar-b-cue! Pulled pork, ribs, hot wings, corn bread oh and some beans and salad I guess. I didn't actually ever make it to the veggies. Oh and don't forget the wine, plenty of wine! After eating Dave (one of the co-bestmen and one of my best friends) gave a great speech that was totally off the cuff. I was so proud of him and impressed by his calm presentation. He's a natural in front of crowds. The maid of honor gave a touching speech as well.


Then we moved onto the dancing. It took me a few minutes to get up my dancing courage but once I was up you couldn't shut me down. We danced until almost midnight. I definitely felt my old age this morning. My poor old knees were dying and the soles of my feet had blistered. But that probably has to do more with the fact that my version of dancing is mostly just jumping straight up and down than with my age. I had so much fun dancing with the guys. It was like old times when we used to go clubbing every weekend. Dave and Wes owned the dance floor all night, you can't pay for that kind of entertainment. Dave even got asked to dance by a cute blond. I also got to reconnect with Wes's wife Kim and Cort's sister Dyan. They are really fun and I'm glad they were there to hang out with me when the guys were owning the dance floor.

After the wedding we moved onto the after party. I was pretty worn out by the time we got to Eddie's house. Luckily it was really low key. Some very clever people had taken a bunch of the food and wine from the reception (oops, hope I didn't just bust anyone) and continued the festivities. I don't think i'll be eating any meat for a while, I ate a ton last night. I didn't last very long at the after party and had to be one of the first party poopers to go home. I was home by about 2:30 am and soooooo ready for bed. I could barely keep my eyes open long enough to get out of my dress. Speaking of my dress I looked pretty good yesterday in my dress and even looked presentable after dancing and sweating the night away on the dance floor. Woo Hoo for waterproof make-up and good skin.

To Cort and Brooke... Thank you for having such a fun wedding and helping me feel like my old self again. I love you and I know your marriage will be as happy and successful as your wedding day was.

Lots and lots of pictures today..



I had to take a picture before I went and messed up my hair and make-up. I clean up ok.



Me and Dave taking a break from the dance floor.



Wes, Kim and Eddie's head.



Me and Dave looking "fly".



Dave and Dyan doing their best highschool prom pose.


The three amigos. The groom with his two best men.



Cort and Dave enjoying a moment.



Dave and his "little" brother Don. The last time I saw him he was shorter than me.



It's not a real party unless everyone breaks into song.



Wes and Kim, aren't they cute.



Dave and his new girlfriend.



Dave giving his bestman speech.



Brooke and Cort and their first dance.



Cheese!


Ay who you calling loco?


You know you love it.





How you doin'?



So everyone was supposed to look to right I just didn't get the serious expression memo. Oops!

Looking back but moving on.

I went to the rehearsal dinner for my friend Cort's wedding tonight. Cort is marrying a fantastic girl named Brooke. They are both very fun and creative people and i'm happy they found each other. This weekend is a little bitter sweet for me. I'm super excited to see my friend get married and also happy that his wedding gives me the opportunity to celebrate with some of the people I love most in the world. However it is also forcing me to look at my own life in comparison to my friends. Somewhere along the road there was a fork and my friends each chose a path but I seemed to have been unable to choose my path and have become stuck. I feel like I'm watching the rest of the people in my life evolve into whatever they are supposed to become while I remain the same. Well i'm turning 30 in about three weeks and my goal for my 30th year of life is to try and force my life back into motion. I used to be a passionate person that went after the things she wanted. I'm going to find that strong girl again and bring her back to the surface...

It is now 1:00am and I have been awake since around 3:00am. I believe I am very tired and that is probably causing me to be very melodramatic. So I apologize to everyone for my downer blog tonight. I'll be better tomorrow.

Here are some pictures from the rehearsal dinner. Good night world.




Wes and Dave, a couple of very serious gentlemen.


Some shots of the wedding location.



The pictures don't do the mountains justice


Wes Showing off his "broken foot".


Wes and Dave (co-bestmen) do the hard work of "supervising" the work


Cort (the groom) risking his life the night before the wedding.


Just like old times.


Dave and Amy together again to cause some trouble. Just a couple of grooms people.


Brooke and Cort. The fabulous couple.

To the victor go the spoils!

Ok, so I had planned on working on the boat this past Sunday but I was called away for the all important work of BOWLING!!! I was able to show my impressive pin knocking down skills. It was a tough match but I managed to squeak out the winning score over my more than capable competitors. Don't let their sizes fool you these kids kept me on my toes. I'm sure you're all dying to know the winning score...not 200, not 250, but 100!!!! That's right I hit 100 even! Try not to be jealous of my mad bowling skills. It took years of training to be able to bowl with as little focus as me. If your interested in challenging me please do. Just keep in mind that I charge an appearance fee, I can't just bowl with anyone you know. Someone as skilled as myself has a pretty full appointment book. I'll do my best to pencil you in.

Ok on a serious note... The Boat is on schedule to set sail on June 22nd so keep your fingers crossed that I'll stay dry. Luckily i'm a fantastic swimmer.

Here's some pictures from the bowling alley.




Me and Autumn. She's doing very well about a week out of the hospital.


Me and Aspen. She's a little camera shy.


Action Shot!!!

Rain rain go away...

Well work was a lot better today. I really enjoy my job on most days, but that doesn't mean I won't quit the second I win the lottery. Still didn't get to work on the boat today, it was rainy and cold. I went to see my nieces and nephew today. Autumn came home from the hospital on Friday and she is slowly getting better. It was a relief to be able to get her to laugh and play with me today. She's been so unhappy since she got sick (who can blame her) that I was worried she would never laugh at her silly Auntie Amy again. Aspen and X were in their usual silly moods and fun to play with. MMMMMMMM! I had Training Table with Tamy today, Yummy. I had been waiting all day to eat and it was worth it. That's about it. The boat has some water in it so I took some boring pictures. P.S. Thanks to Tamy for commenting, anyone who wants to comment please feel free I love to read them.

The water is supposed to be around the boat not in it!

My umbrella didn't offer much protection.