OK, where was I?

Much has happened since April 1st. Let me think. My Mom (bless her soul) treated my sister and I to a cruise. We went on Voyager of the Seas and took the Western Caribbean route. Let me digress by saying that I pronounce Caribbean with the strong emphasis on the second syllable; all other syllables receive little emphasis. Come on, think Lauren Bacall a few years ago, that husky, throaty voice saying, "You've got a little Royal Caribbean coming!" That's how she pronounced it, so it must be right.
Anyway, we had a great time. It was a perfect first cruise for my sister. Mom and Dad have cruised 16 times on RC alone, and many times on other cruiseslines. Yes, they were quite the gallavanters. And I could write blog after blog on their escapades alone.
My sister, Deb, didn't seem too excited about the whole thing until she saw the ships. If you come out of the Port of Miami, there is a point where you're downtown amidst tall buildings, then you go over a bridge, and suddenly - there are the huge cruise ships. It is quite impressive. Deb had a great time. We wend snorkeling, her first time, in Grand Cayman. We figured out how to do it on the cheap. On the way back from Cozumel (one of our four stops: Labadee, Haiti; Ocho Rios, Jamaica; Grand Cayman Island) we (the captain and staff) found two life boats floating, so we checked them out. They were empty, so the guys deflated them and brought them aboard, so as not to confuse the next cruise ship. About 30 minutes later (and this is not too far from Cuba) we were stopped dead-in-the-water again when we came upon an inverted catamaran. It looked so small from our 6th-deck room, but turned out to be a 35 footer. The passengers were all curious about a possible relationship between that and the empty lifeboats. Face it, they were agog! When I got home, I found this on a google search: http://www.military.com/features/0,15240,132022,00.html Check it out.

One week after I got home, I had to go to Orlando for a State nursing director's conference. I thought it was going to be boring, but it really was pretty good. I was glad to get home, though, and stay here until.........

.......next week, when my Mom and I travel to MD by car, leaving May 11th. We are taking her border collie, Shadow. She is a great dog. Mom has trained her to be a certified therapy dog, and she really helped take care of Dad.

In between, Dreamer graduated from FSU last Saturday with a Bachelor's in Early Childhood Education and a minor in Japanese. Go figure. Her hubby, who I have finally named Bear, is already seeking employment here, and Dreamer has applied at our local school board. Pray hard! They want to live here, and we'd love them to. We enjoy them. The graduation was well-organized, and we had fun spending time with the kids.

Ripped is engaged (as faithful readers know - all two of you!) to be married May 17th, 2008. I have spoken with him about making sure he won't be plum broke, my only concern. Sweetness is definitely the right girl for him, and we love her dearly.

And.......blow the trumpet!.......Searcher landed that job at the Sheriff's Dept.!!!!! She looks so cool in her uniform. And the stories she tells..... I just laugh and laugh. Today is her first day with a Field Training Officer, so I can't wait to hear how that went.

OK, you're all caught up.

Later!