MelBelle

I'M BAAAAAAACK! Well, here's how the first cruise went.

It...............Was...........Out.........of this WORLD No rough seas. Great weather. Hubby is actually NOT ruling out the idea of another! Vertigo didn't bother me, (of course I started my medication two weeks before hand), until we got off. No biggy. just an up and down motion.

Onward......We left the DC area on Saturday and landed in Orlando in pouring rain. Not fun. Everyone stayed at my sister in laws that night. Embark took longer than I had anticipated. We must have all got there at the same time. Insert thought: note: Michael twisted his back at work the day before we left. This plays thoughout the trip. After wrangling over a wheel chair for my father in law (that my sister in law ordered) we found out we couldn't take it on board, (Carnival supplied one that is). The thought was to use it for Michael since he was in so much pain. But we would have had to give it up at the gang plank. Go figure!

Ship: Starting to show her age. Colors were at one time very Bright. Their rather dull now. Cabins were quite roomy. Not what I expected at all. The kids destroyed our towel animal the first night before I could get a picture so I had our steward put them on the windowsill after that.

First night: I scheduled back massages for myself and Michael. We did the special and also got a foot and hand & arm massage as well. Bought something, (Bad Melanie! Bad Melanie!). Michael was so relaxed he fell asleep early so I was on my own. Found the piano bar. What a hoot! mostly wandered the ship to get my bearings. Sat up on deck with the in laws later in the evening. Lost all six kids! (not really) Just didn't see much of them the whole trip when we were on board.

Freeport: Did the Junkanoo Beach Party. Was not prepared for the warm water. It was incredible! Also wasn't ready for the color of the water. Almost didn't look real. Not a bad place but definatley OOLLDD. But alot of fun. The kids did the Banana boat ride and had a blast. The egg toss was funny. Bought my only Bahamas souvy; a grass fan. Will have fun with it at Ren Faire this year along with my carved coconut.

Went to the stage show that night. Advice. Do not sit in the front row! It's really hard to watch. The inlaws went to the midnight adult comedy show. They said it was outrageous. The kids went around the ship to every photo op without us knowing. I wanted to buy all of them. They got some really great shots. We had a picture of all 13 of us taken on the stairs in the Grand Atrium. Bought that one. It's the only picture I know of with all of us together. I should mention it was formal night. We had a variety of outfits show up. From my father in law in a tux t shirt to me in a sparkly dress. Oh yeah, we were a sight.

Toon in tomorrow for the last two days, (my poor computer has no memory left on the hard drive and this is takeing a toll).

Afternoon all!

Joey....The last rumor on the lot was......nothing. Their going to let it sit for a while and keep an eye on the market and sell it when the price is right. We'll see what happens though.

Sitting here typing this while I'm fighting with Parker's cell lphone carrier He's had the phone less than a year, it died, it was covered under warranty and replace. Now none of his rings tones or games will transfer and they refuse to give a credit for them. I think I'll scream!!!!!

Think happy thoughts....Think happy thoughts. Go to the happy place Mel!

Good morning Crazies!!!!! Just sitting here while the Insurance Rep talks to my employees about our plans.

Schooools......Out...For... Summer! Parker is working in the warehouse here to earn some spending cash for the cruise. Renee' is just being a social butterfly. I think the child has been home one day since the 14th. The girl worries me.

Michael harvested the first Zucchini last night! Going to grill it up tonight. Lettuce is ready and the first cucumber is ready also. Grapes are getting big. The peppers are going CRAZY!!!! I forgot that one of the plants we got was a Chilie. The plant itself is fairly small but the the chilies are HUUUUGE! Michael is already planning out next seasons garden.

Well, Micahel was made Service Manager with his company. More headaches less time at home.

We're all melting here. Took the kids to a little adventure park yesterday afternoon. Thank God for the Bumper Boats! We were soaked when we got off. I was the only adult so all of the kids chased me around and pushed me under the waterfall to get me wet. Heathens.

The building across the street is now gone. It was wild watching it go down. They filled in the hole with the crushed up remains of the bricks that were once the building.

Not too much gooing on right now. Trying to take things slow so Summer doesn't go by too fast.

This is the book I"ll have on the cruise next month. That is of course if I haven't read it before we set sail

Good Morning Everyone!

I know, I know. I haven't been around much. Smack the back of my hand.

Well, things here in Maryland are good. It's going to cool here today (75 - 80). We go back to summer temps this weekend though. Garden is growing and takeing over the one side of my house now. Grapes on the vine, first peppers are appearing, first tomato has shown up, lettuce is gettin big, (still have no idea what I'm doing with it though, but I guess it's working).

Parker's last day of school was yesterday. Renees' is tomorrow. Going to the MVA on Friday to get them picture ID's for the trip. They lost their school ID's.

Have started thinking about new garb for Ren Faire. Need to look for materials and find some new patterns or at least new ideas. Have to take Michael's garb in to the tailor for a new lining. Need to make Parker a new pirate shirt this year. He wants REALLY puffy sleeves. Lucky mom.

Not much else for now. Catch ya'all in the a.m.

Can anyone tell me what time the Straw Market and shops around the pier open and close? We have to book a snorkeling tour through a private company since the ones offered through Carnival are booked already (July 31!!!!) and I want to do some shopping. Thanks Much All.

Mad Dog Kidd (???)

Getting Excited now! Thought I had seen a roll call for this already? Maybe I was wrong

Anywhoo....Anyone else on this one. It will be our first.

This cruise and group look like FUN!!! Please, Please, pleeeeease may I have info on this cruise? Are there special rates for this group or do I just book it?

Have a good day all!!!

O.K. So why is it that everyone responding to this one has the "Troublemakers" banners? Is that a hint! Haven't had the pleasure of "Chair Hogs" yet. Can't wait though . My hubby, whom I refer to as "The walking wall", should come in quite handy.

This thread is too funny.

Afternoon All!

We've been sadly watching the building across the street from our warehouse being demolished for the past week and a half. Still haven't figured what is going in. Hear one thing one day something else the next. I say sadly as I see soooo many older buildings, barns and houses and such going away to make room for the next thing. I work in Frederick MD in the historic area. Some the buildings in this area have been around since before the Civil War. Our old attorneys' office was in the building that was used as the surgical hospital during the Monocacy battle. Granted, the building across the street was built in the 1950's, but it had character. Just don't like loosing them. Anyway, looks like it will be gone tomorrow or Thursday.

I may be lucky, but I've had two root canals and didn't have any complications from either one. But oooh icky!! Don't like em anyway!

Workers Comp.....We've been in business four years and had not one claim. Now in the last 45 days we've had three, two on the same person. Just got the last of her paper work over to them this a.m. so they would approve her surgery later this week, (she broke her wrist). You know, the other bandit is the Veterans Administration. Lordy, some of the battles I went through for dad with those people! But in the end it always worked out. Paitence is the answer I guess.

We still need to get our dogs in for their check ups and shots. Need to get that done soon! I love new puppies! Of course I love my puppies most (11 and 1).

Not too much going on today. Hubby just called me from Home Depot. He's picking up the wood for the container for my lettuce. The green beans sprouted yesterday. Hopefully they'll be ready for planting this weekend. He finished planting everything else last night.

Well, need to work (I think that's why they give me a paycheck!). Catch ya all tomorrow.

Happy Monday Whoo! there's alot going on here! Still haven't caught up on all my reading. Last week was little chaotic without the boss but not too bad. Michael was on call last week. He got 29 hours of over time, 6 hours of double time and his regular 40. To say the least, we didn't see much of him. He's taking me out to dinner tonight for Mothers Day. My kids tried to make me breakfast yesterday. Nothing like runny scambled eggs and cold toast, (best breakfast I've ever had).

Well, we have all of the plants for the veggie garden finally. Michael has to build one last container though. I picked up some lettuce plants this weekend and have no place to plant them. First time for lettuce. Have no idea what I'm doing. The only thing I knew was that it was too late to plant seeds for them. Got lucky finding the plants!

Zebra: A "designer" is a nice way of saying "Mut". Out designer is part dalmation and part retriever. His mother was the dalmation and was our Shatzie (sweetheart). We had her from the time she was 8 weeks old. We lost her this past September. You couldn't seperate them. We got the dachsund last March because we were pretty sure that Shatzie wasn't going to be around for very longer and we were afraid Porthos (designer) would die from anxiety. Someone forgot to tell me that dachsunds can put a beaver to shame when it comes to chewing! She's pretty cute though. She almost has daddy wrapped around her paw.

Hey Iron Tom Flint! Be Ye a Pirate? Some of your cruises look like fun! May have to get info on them and run them past me crew.

I.R.S. ..... I'm not going there! No. Never had any problems with them and don't intend to either!

Michael is a diabetic. Doc changed the medication that he takes at night. Caused him to gain a lot a weight that he can't get rid of. He has to make a new appointment for his six month. I don't know about the rest of you, but once your diagnosed here in MD, the MVA follows you like a blue tick hound.

Put a message up on my class reunion board last week. Suggested we do a cruise. I'll have to see what happens.

Still trying to come up with something really good for PK for his birthday on board ship. Threatened him with a video pictorial of him to be played at the teen party that night. (hmmmmm I wonder......). Nah...that would be cruel.

Well, I should probably get back to work. See ya all later!!!

Helllloooo Allll! Have been really, really busy at the 'ole office since I was out. Trying to get the boss outta here for a short vacation. Whooo. He left Friday a.m. Things are quiet now.

Michael built a new garden container over the weekend. He wants to add more plants to the veggie garden this year. Picked up most of the plants as well. Forgot Zucini. Didnt' realize how big my grape plant had gotten. This will hopefully be the first year we harvest from it. Have to start to germinate my green bean seeds tonight.

Well, the count down is on for the cruise. Michael has finally asked how much is still owed. Filled out the pre-boarding stuff on line a week ago. Have received three of the four birth certificates we need. Think I'll order a couple extras and send to our emergency contact for safe keeping. Cosidering it's my brother, I should probably wait and send everything to my sister-in-law! Need to get the dogs in to update all of their shots and reserve their boarding.

Oh, speaking of the dogs....When I got home last Friday night, my couch had gone to that great big flea market in the sky. The dogs ate my couch. A dachsund and a "designer" ate<] my couch. I didn't know if I should cry or laugh.

Will have to go backwards and read up on whats been going on with everyone. Just wanted to let everyone know I'm still out here.

Hello again everyone. Was down and out for a few days. The lovely storm system that blew through here and lingered for a couple of days, set off my vertigo. Couldn't get out of bed. Meclizine wasn't touching it the first day. Feeling much better now.

Got a little bit of yard work done yesterday. Renee' got a hamster over the weekend for making honor roll. Little ninny got out of his cage, (not a good thing with a dachsund and cat in the house!). Tore the place apart to find him......he got back in his cage on his own. Locked him up in my bedroom today to keep the other members of the household away from him.

Not too much going on. Have a lot of work to catch up on now though. Wish this beautiful weather would stick around. We're going to be in the mid 80's today with rain and cooler temps mid week. Means I need to put the grass seed down.

Catch up with everyone later.......

Good Morning Everyone! Happy tax day! Well,the sun is trying to peek out this a.m. Was very windy all night long. Kept wondering if my house was going to have a roof and siding today. It survived. We're located in the foot hills of the Appellations and would love to say we don't have to worry about flooding but there are a lot of natural springs in the area that have a tendancy of rearing their heads when it rains significantly.

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Mary Lou -- Isn't it funny how bathing suits do that! Personally, I found one of my "lost" bins of summer clothes over the weekend. Really need to organize that stuff better .

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Not too much going on today. The "kids", (my coworkers) are getting ready to leave for a Pack Back and will be out most of the day. I should be able to get something done.

Have a good day

Smooth Sailing!

Late Good Morning to All!! Way too perky today.

Joey..So sorry to hear about the contract falling through. Was this your first offer?

I can't remember who asked for hubbys' hot sauce but here goes.... just remember...this is experimental!! His first batch has been fermenting since late summer of 2005.

You'll need mason jars with lids, vinager, salt and garlic. A Vac-u-seal system would come in handy if you have one.

Choose any of the following: Cayenne, jalapeno and/or habanera peppers. Remember to handle habanera carefully. In fact, I suggest wearing gloves and always wash your hands after touching them! Wash and cut the peppers. Do not discard the seeds. Cut them any way you want. Pack a mason jar with peppers and seeds. You can mix them up depending on how hot you want things to be. Habanera are really hot! Fill the jar with vinager. Michael uses Red Wine Vinager. Sprinkle just enough salt and garlic on top to form a transparent layer (very thin). Put the lid on, shake gently to mix and put away somewhere dark. If you do not use a vac system, put in the way back of the frig. If you do use a vac system, I suggest the back of the pantry. The difference is air in the jar of course. Check every couple of weeks by opening it up and tasting to see if "hotness" has been achieved. Once it is as hot as you can stand it you have a couple of choices. You can put it in the blender and mush it up to make a sauce to be stored in the frig or you can pull the peppers out to put into or onto what ever you want. Again store in the frig from here on. Vineger and salt are the 2 musts. Garlic can be ommited. Michael has a VERY high tolerance level to hot. To him....the hotter.....the better. There's your warning.

Going to break for lunch and to make a trip to the post office. Need to mail those tax returns I've had done since February.

O.K. Mother Nature just didn't forget to flip her calender....she forgot to turn on her alarm clock and is sleeping through Spring. The words "blizzard", "tornado", "watch" and "warning" are without a doubt my most un-favorite words in the English dictionary. I can deal with a thunder storm as long as I am at home to ride it out.

Good Morning All! It's raining here too. Weather man says this is one of the coldest Aprils on record. We have rain in the forecast for a good portion of the next few days with the chance of it all ending in s***, (I don't like the "s" word), showers on Monday. Had really hoped we could get out in the yard this weekend. There so much to do. We're pretty busy around here right now. Have two major construction jobs that are at the same phase of completion and both are making us nuts, (one more so than the other). We've already agreed that as soon as their done we're hitting a happy hour to celebrate. The one good thing came out of them though. The boss decided he doesn't want to do major construction any more. We deal primarily with Insurance companies and their idea and the insureds' idea of what is to be done are two very different things.

You know, if I think hard enough about it, I want to say my grandmothers roll recipe had lard in it. My mother used to do the frozen dough also. It was a Christmas morning tradition. Any other time the dough was made from scratch. O.K. kids....all this food talk is dangerous.

Tonia.....I'll have to ask Michael for the recipe for the hot sauce. Warning! He doesn't use measures. It's going to be a dash of this, a touch of that and so on.

The garden: The first year we did cantaloupes we had one all season and the ants got to it. Last year we got 8 I think. They were small but not too small. Not as sweet as the ones that come up from the Eastern shore. Oh yummy! The sweetest peaches and 'lopes come from the Eastern shore, (so Joey...you ready to come home yet?).

Well, need to get this day started.

Be safe everyone.

Good Afternoon All!

Thank you for all the warm welcomes from everyone. Helps me to forget that I'm still wearing thick sweaters.

So Tonia...home made cinnamon rolls eh? Mmmmmm. Wish I had gotten my grandmothers recipe for hers. They were so famous back home, they got a mention in her eulogy. She gaurded that recipe along with her Hungarian Goulosh like a Tigress!

Joey..do you ever miss living in the DC area? I'm a transplant from Nebraksa, but this is home now. I can't imagine not being near the inner harbor or so close to history.

Mebert....Oh yay. I'm merciless. I'll try to keep it fun though. I'll keep your Godmother in my prayers.

Charlie....Mecclazin is my friend! I keep it in my purse. Had to take some today. There is a pressure front moving in that is affecting me. Am feeling a little lop sided.

General news: Well, as if none of you had figured it out yet....I suffer from a "gift of the gab". I'll tell you what, this whole thing is funny. One day I'm apprehensive and the next I'm emailing my classmates and suggesting we do a cruise for our 30th reunion!

Lets see. A little more about us. I work for a Fire and Water damage restoration company. We clean up behind fires and water damages, mold remediation, clean and store contents blah blah blah. Michael is an HVAC mechanic. The last couple of years we've planted a vegtable garden, will again this year. Usually plant a couple of tomatoe plants, green beans, cantalope, cucumber and all kinds of peppers. Michael makes his own hot sauce. What he made two years ago out of the first garden is still fermenting (somewhere ).

Need to get back to work. Oh...by and by.....I'm technology chalanged, (there...I said it), so I only go near the net during the day light hours and when I have people around me who can save the world when I blow up the server, (this is no joke! I've done it. Really!).

Congrats! Thank's for the Definition. I guess I'll be learning these as I go along.

Excuse my ignorance....but what's an SDM?

Mebert,

Had started looking into what I could do on board the ship for PK, ( or rather "to" himevil grin) We're sailing on Carnival and from I've read they seem to have a lot for teens to do including a dance on board every night. I may see if there is something I can do there, (again, evil grin).

Quiet little place called Damascus. Farms and Friday night Football. Not too many farms any more though. Still BIG Football. Parker plays for the local High School JV. Their already running in the evenings for next season Renee' is a cheerleader for the local sports association. I coached her squad for three years. When they started getting into the tween years I bowed out. Nothing like 25 little hormonal she devils. Now I understand why some species eat their young

To say the least, our Falls are pretty busy. When we're not at Football games, we're at our other passion....the MD Ren Faire in Crownsville. That's where the "Mel Belle" comes from. It's my official Privateer name. Over the next few months not only will I be getting ready for the cruise, I'll be sewing like a mad woman for Faire. The entire family "garbs", (dresses up). Need to make a few things this year I may be on the cruise putting on the finishing hand work!