D: Day in the Life of Me

Of course not every day in my life is the same.  My week days are similar since I work from ten to five EVERY SINGLE DAY, but weekends vary.  I thought I'd go ahead and share a typical Wednesday.

8:50 - I force myself awake after pressing snooze once.  I read an entry out of "Jesus Calling" and then force myself out of bed.  I curl up in my quilt and sit in front of my computer to check my Facebook and blog comments. 

9:05 - Finally alert, I get dressed, pull back my hair into a ponytail, and put on some makeup. (Isn't this an exciting life?)

9:20 - I eat a big bowl of Frosted Mini Wheats for breakfast!

9:45 - I leave for work.

10:00 - I arrive at work.

5:00 - I'm FINALLY done with work!  Time to party!

5:20 - I arrive at home.  I usually relax for about thirty minutes or so, either watching an episode of "Lost" or checking Facebook.

6:30 - Time for dinner!

7:00 - I begin to write for this blog, for a story, a song, anything.  It's been all day since I've written.  My fingers are twitching.  I literally ACHE to write.  All day long at work I've thought about what I would write.  Lines are floating through my head, spilling over until I can't think about anything else.  I write and write and write.

9:00 - Rebekah comes over.  We hug and talk a thousand miles a minute.  We go on a walk.  We swing in the park.  We lay down on the street and soak in the warmth of the asphalt.  We dance.  We listen to Disney music.  We have movie marathons. Eventually, we watch a few episodes of "Lost" on Netflix until we're scared half to death.  We're addicted to that show.

Around 2:00 - Rebekah goes home.  We hug and sing a few lines of "I Miss You" by Shane and Shane.  Walking Rebekah out to her car usually ends up with us talking for a while longer, curled up on the cement of my driveway or sitting almost upside down in her car, talking about anything and everything.

2:30 or 3:00 - I take a shower, brush my teeth, and then curl up in bed.

Yeah, my week days aren't all that interesting.  Pretty pitiful, right?  The weekends are usually much more exciting, but today isn't a Saturday.  It's Wednesday.

Are your Wednesdays much more interesting?

C: Cars

Ask a little girl what type of car she wants and the answer is usually a brightly-colored slug bug, right?  I always wanted a slug bug growing up, although I wanted a black and white one to look like a Converse shoe.  People would always smile at me when I said I wanted a Voltzwagen Beetle, sure that I would change my mind as I got older.

I never did.

When I was fifteen, I ordered my first car off of eBay (seriously!).  It was a former Geek Squad car.  You know, those black and white beetles from Best Buy?  They'd already painted the doors black, which was sad, but I didn't care.  I absolutely LOVED my new car. 

For my birthday, a friend of mine gave me a pair of baby Converse shoes to hang from the mirror and I purchased a pretty pink flower to stick in the vase next to the steering wheel.

I felt like I had the best first car in the entire world.

After a while, I began to have some trouble with my bug.  While I loved the way it looked, I was NOT a fan of how it held up.  It broke down all the time, and since it was a foreign car, each repair cost quite a bit of money.  Oil changes cost more than seventy dollars.  The gas mileage was okay, but even that wasn't AMAZING.  The only great aspects of my car were its appearance and the fact that I could park anywhere.

In the fall of 2010, a service light came on.  Much to my dismay, something small in the engine needed to be replaced, which would cost nearly $1,500.  My parents decided the repair wasn't worth it.  My car had more than 80,000 miles on it.  Plus, it was so small, it would be difficult to ever be able to transport my stuff to college.  They decided to invest in a better car for me.

The car I have now I love even more than my adorable beetle.  It's a silver Toyota Corolla S.  I don't have a picture of it right now, but you can see the same model here.  This car had less than a third of the mileage of my beetle and better gas mileage.  It's a little bigger, but not too big, and it's still cute since it's a sport package.  In the last six months, it hasn't broken down once.

Moving on from the cars I've owned, let me skip back a few years to my sixteenth birthday.  I got my driver's license on my birthday, right after school.  Although I never liked driving much, I was ecstatic. 

Eight days after I got my driver's license, I was in a car accident.  It was my fault.  I misunderstood a traffic law and hit another car.  The huge suburban's back tire was slightly damaged... and my car was nearly totaled.  Thankfully, I had insurance that covered the cost of repairs and aside from a few bumps and bruises on my end, both me and my car were okay.

But after the accident, I could hardly bring myself to drive.  I was terrified.

For days, every time I tried to fall asleep, I would jerk back to consciousness, images of the collision occurring again and again in my mind.  What if I messed up again the next time I drove?  What if someone died?  My mom would try to coaxe me behind the wheel, but my hands would begin to shake and I could hardly concentrate.  For a couple of months, I wouldn't drive unless I had a parent in the seat next to me.

To this day, I still have some driving anxiety.  Of course I can drive much easier now than I could when I was sixteen.  I drive just about wherever I go, but if I have an opportunity to bum a ride from a friend (cough, Ali), I'll take it in a heartbeat.  Driving causes my heart to pound and my mind to race.  My shoulders tense up.  I can't drive for more than an hour or so without feeling exhausted and stressed. 

While I still dread every ten hour road trip to and from College Station, I have a peace about it.  I think I'll always have some minor driving anxiety--I'm just not someone who likes to drive--but I am not TERRIFIED like I once was.  I usually say a quick prayer before I even start my car.  "Please guide me as I drive.  Please keep me safe."  I know the Lord will protect me. 

Do you have driving anxiety?  Any tips?

No worries.  I'm still doing the alphabet blogging challenge, but I'm taking a break for today to share something that truly touched my heart.

I cannot believe that God continues to hold me tight, even when I deserve to be left alone.  My doubts are so human and immature, but He hasn't given up on me yet.  I am absolutely amazed. 

You might remember July 4th's post, where I compared my spiritual and emotional struggles this summer to the terrible drought going on in my city.  I actually wrote that on July 3rd, a particularly difficult day in my life.  Why that was a particularly difficult day, I'm not sure.  I could hardly bring myself to get up and go to church, let alone pay attention to the music and the sermon.  I actually left during the worship and cried in a bathroom stall, simply because I felt abandoned.  I couldn't feel God's presence anywhere.  It was just one of those days, if you know what I mean.

I honestly didn't feel motivated at all that day.  I probably would have curled up into a ball and stayed there for the rest of the evening if there wasn't a cookout at a friend's house.  Even then, I probably would have stayed at home if it wasn't for Rebekah.  Rebekah is one of my best friends in the entire world.  We've been friends since early elementary school, when we were next door neighbors.  This summer, she's come over almost every single day too, even though we live twenty minutes apart. We watch Lost (our latest addiction), go on walks, take pictures, and talk about boys, God, and other things.  She has been a ray of sunshine in my life this summer.

On July 3rd, Rebekah accompanied me to a cookout and then came over to my house.  We planned to watch yet another episode of Lost, but as we were driving home, we noticed the sky.  It looked... dark.  Overcast.  Was it actually going to rain?

Instead of sitting down in front of the TV, Rebekah and I sat down on the warm pavement outside and waited, breathing in the scent of wet earth.  It smelled like rain, so it SURELY was going to rain.  We waited and waited.  Although the sun began to set behind the dark clouds, it wasn't raining.  Disappointment fogged in my mind.  Of course it wouldn't rain.  Since when had even a few droplets of water touched my property?  Weeks.  Months. 

After a while, we decided that if the rain wouldn't come to us, we would go find the rain.  So we started to walk.  Despite the stormy weather, it wasn't windy outside.  In fact, the clouds merely cooled off the hot summer day and made the walk much pleasanter than it would normally be.  Rebekah and I skipped down the road, drinking cream soda and chatting about boys and college and potential adventures.

After about a mile and a half, we decided to rest.  We stretched out across the black asphalt of the road, staring up at the dark clouds above us.  Why couldn't it just RAIN?  I sure hoped it would, but I couldn't help but think it was impossible.  It wasn't going to rain. 

And then it did. 

At first, one heavy drop darkened my denim shorts and another splashed Rebekah's thumb. 

We immediately leapt to our feet and embraced, shrieking at the top of our lungs.  "Rain!  Rain!  Thank You, Jesus!  RAIN!"  (I'm not exaggerating.)  You know you're in a drought when three or four sprinkles give reason for celebration.

The sprinkles didn't last for more than ten seconds before the actual downpour came.  The rain fell in buckets, drenching us completely before we could say more than a few words.  We danced and skipped and sang, twirling around and around and rejoicing in the pure beauty of the WATER that was coming from the SKY.  Can you believe it?  Rain.

The walk home was long, but I would have never wanted it any other way.  Twice we were asked by passing cars if we wanted a ride, but we declined.  Why sit in a car when you could dance in the rain?  It's not like we could get any wetter.  We ran barefoot through puddles (Can you believe it? Puddles!) and caught raindrops on our tongues.

At one point, Rebekah screamed out above the clamor of the rain, "Thank you so much, Jesus!" and almost immediately, the loudest clap of thunder we had heard so far echoed through the canyon.  We laughed and hugged each other, wondering if the Lord was saying, "You're welcome!" 

It was one of the most beautiful nights of my life.

After about half a mile, as Rebekah danced ahead, I stood still and reached up towards the sky, closing my eyes as the rain poured down my face.  For the first time all day and perhaps even all week, I felt like God was near.  I felt Him hold me.

Hours before, I had written something for my blog, talking about how I had faith that it would rain one day.  That I knew God would send us rain.  And then it rained for the first time in months.  During a time where I felt distant from God, He sent rain.  He didn't just send rain on the earth.  He sent rain on my heart that night too.

It was such a beautiful moment.  It was like the Lord was giving me a huge hug and saying, "Emily, don't you see?  I never left.  Please let me hold you."

Days later, I still feel so grateful, so amazed that He gave me exactly what I needed.  The rain was such a gift to our thirsty city and to my thirsty heart. 

Thank You.

B: Best Friend

If you've looked through my blog at all, then you know my best friend, Ali.  We met in fifth grade, where she was the first friend I made at my new school.  We kept up out friendship through middle school, but it wasn't until our sophomore year of high school that we became best friends.  My senior year of high school, I got the opportunity for Ali to come live in my home and it was a blast.

You know, friendship is taken to a whole new level when you actually live together.  Yes, Ali and I are still best friends, but it seems more like we're sisters now.  And I'm so glad. :)

Since I've talked about Ali so much on my blog, I thought I'd simply share a photograph of my FIRST best friend.  This is one of my favorite childhood pictures because it makes me laugh and say, "Awwww!" at the same time.  This isn't very good quality because I actually took a picture of the picture, but you get the idea.  It's just so perfect.

We look so grown-up and so little at the same time.  We were probably three or four here.  I love our fancy dresses and bows.  I love how we look as if we're having an adult conversation, but the teddy bear I'm holding in my hand gives away our childhood even more. 

I just love this photo.

A: Animals... do you have any pets?

When I was younger, I practically owned a zoo.  Fish, tadpoles, box turtles, red slider turtles, alligator snapping turtles, hermit crabs, salamanders, geckos, rabbits, mice, gerbils, hamsters, rats, and even a couple of birds.  I was obsessed with animals and even became a vegetarian for almost a year, which is a long time for a little kid.

When it comes to bigger pets, my family has had a long line of cats and a slightly shorter line of dogs.  I'll just share the names since I don't want to bore you with tons of pictures and descriptions.

Cats: Annie (deceased of old age), Figaro (deceased of old age), Waldo (disappeared, ironically), Lucky (deceased in a tragic accident, ironically), Max Ollie (deceased), Turtle (ran off, ironically), and Oreo.

Dogs: Norman (gave him away when we moved to a new city), Mollie (gave away to a teenage boy because she was too active), Buddy, Boo, Coco (gave away to a family with no other dogs), and Jack.

As I've grown older, I don't have that same passion for animals I once had.  I like them, sure, but I don't want to own very many.  I just don't have that same love for animals as I did when I was younger.  That love has transferred over to people as I've grown older.

I still have a few pets right now.  They love me and I love them... well, most of them.  Let me introduce you.

Oreo
Oreo would be the least favorite of all my pets.  We've had him since around May, 2006.  We rescued him from a kill shelter with his two brothers, Max Ollie and Turtle.  Oreo's favorite activity is rolling in the dirt.  His fur often becomes a dingy brown after a single afternoon.  You couldn't even recognize his individual colors at times.

Oreo doesn't have a mean bone in his body, which I like.  He lives outside and in our barn, but he thinks he's supposed to live in the house with the family.  He loves to try and sneak into our house without us noticing.  We've often found him curled up in one of our arm chairs, fast asleep.

Buddy
Buddy is our oldest dog at about ten and a half.  He's a Bichon Frise.  You'd never guess his age by the way he acts.  He enjoys sprinting in circles around the living room, doing what we call the "Bichon Buzz."  He is a bit dim-witted, so he doesn't know many tricks, but he can sit and lie down for about two seconds at a time.  That's pretty much the only things he can do.

Buddy isn't very loyal, probably because of his dumbness, but he loves everybody and has never snapped at anyone in his life.  I adore his sweet personality.

Boo
Boo is eight years old.  She's a Boston Terrier and very clever.  She's extremely loyal to both our family and our pets.  When Buddy finally dies from old age, Boo will probably pine for a long time.  She loves to cuddle.  When I'm watching TV, Boo will often jump on the couch and attempt to curl up on my chest, burying her face in my neck. 

Boo has a hilarious personality.  She has many phobias, including but not limited to vacuum cleaners, water bottles, new things, big dogs, black toys... that's right.  Boo and Buddy both will not play with any toy that isn't white.  Racist, are they?  Very possibly. 

I've been able to teach Boo a few tricks: sit, lay down, shake, beg, crawl, dance, and roll over.  She hasn't learned much more than that, but if we'd attempted to teach her more early on in her life, she probably would have gotten the hang of them quickly.  She's a bit slower now.  Boo is the alpha of our three dogs, but she still has an incredibly sweet personality.

Jack
Jack is the newest addition to our family.  He's a Miniature Yorkshire Terrier at about three and a half pounds now.  He was born on August 9, 2010, which makes him about a year old.  Jack probably has the biggest personality of any dog I've ever seen in my life.  He's curious and smart. 

Jack is a problem solver.  He's too small to jump up on Mom and Dad's bed, so he's figured out another way.  He jumps from the treadmill to the nightstand to the bed.  In a few months, Jack has managed to learn many tricks, including: sit, lay down, stay, shake, crawl, dance, roll over, play dead, stick'em up, and circle.

I enjoy dressing Jack up in cute sweaters and playing fetch with him while I watch TV.  His favorite toys are these colorful squeaky balls we get from Petco.  He loves anything that squeaks.  Jack will play with just about anything, however.  I'll often find him with toilet paper rolls, sticks, and even silly things like sheets of paper.  He likes to sneak away my pencils and other belongings and hide them around the house.

-----------

So those are my pets.  I've probably thoroughly bored you now, but I enjoy bragging about my darlings.  If you actually read through this entire entry, I'm impressed.

Here are today's questions.

1.) Do you have any pets?
2.) Are you an animal lover or do you prefer a select few, like me? 
 

Some of you may remember Rebekah from the prank wars.  Whenever she comes over, we love taking pictures and being silly.  Today's mission was to look like we were flying or levitating.  We weren't quite as good as the girl from this blog. 

"THE PROPOSAL"

"THE WARRIOR"

"PETER PAN"

"MARY POPPINS"

And despite the fact that it was a record-breaking 109 degrees outside, we thought we'd go ahead and take some head shots.  The sun was setting, it was burning hot outside, and it was also incredibly windy, but we still managed to take some decent pictures.

Rebekah is incredibly photogenic, so I love taking pictures of her. 

And I'm not as photogenic...

...so I tend to give up more easily.

And then I'll decide to try to take a picture again...

...but I can't seem to sit still for long.

I love these kinds of days. (:

Since January of this year, my city has received less than an inch of rain.  The all-time low for my city is eight inches of rain in a year, but for us to even get that, it'll have to rain seven and a half inches in five months.  Highly unlikely.  I've never seen a drought like this before.  The grass isn't yellow like it usually is.  If the wind hasn't blown it away, it's brown, shriveled, and dead.

The other day, my friend and I were having a Lion King movie marathon.  There is one scene where Simba returns to the pride lands for the first time in years.  He is stunned to see a dry and dead land.  Grass crumbles beneath his feet.  Do you remember?  That is my city.

My family's well is going dry.  Our water is now an orange-brown color, cloudy and filled with sand.  We can't drink it anymore.  We'd rather not wash in it.  We can no longer water what is left of our lawn.  The heat has reached record temperatures.  There have been several fires recently.  Homes have burned down.  My grandma's old farmhouse burned down a few days ago.  A month or two ago, I jokingly said, "Where's a prophet when you need one?"  It hasn't rained in what seems like forever.

Obviously, we cannot have fireworks on the 4th of July.  There will still be a celebration.  I'll get together with friends and we'll try to make the most of Independence Day, focusing on the meaning of the holiday over the excitement of firework displays.

July 4th has been my favorite holiday for as long as I can remember.  I love the cookouts, the family get-togethers, the warmth of the summer nights, the fireworks.  I live outside of the city limits, so friends and family gather at my place to shoot fireworks and light up the sky with vibrant colors.  I love the smells and twinges of excitement and the taste of homemade ice cream.  I LOVE the 4th of July.

It won't be the same this year.

No fireworks.  No sparklers.  Not even the city will have its huge annual display that we watch along the horizon from our back porch.  It won't be the same.

Honestly, this summer has been an emotional struggle for me.  I'm working a lot of hours at a job that isn't for me.  My friends are also working and taking summer courses, so we don't get together often.  My family is running out of water.  My favorite holiday has been turned into a common cookout.  I'm packing up my bedroom to MOVE AWAY from everyone I know and love within six weeks from now.

I'll admit I'm having a harder time than I thought I would be.  I feel like the ground outside right now.  Windswept, parched, and aching for nourishment.

Sometimes the Lord feels so distant.

When I see those around me do amazing things in His Name and I return to my job at a frozen yogurt shop, when I write yet another post for my blog and don't FEEL my words, when I go to bed early because I'm just so TIRED, I feel confused.  Lonely.  Thirsty.

Psalm 77:19 says, "Your path led through the sea, Your way through the mighty waters, though Your footprints were not seen."

I'll admit it.  It's been harder to feel God this summer than it usually is.  And maybe it's entirely my fault.  I can't help but compare my emotional and spiritual weariness and thirst to the land around me.  To the parched ground in my backyard.  To my empty well.  To the state of my city.

We need rain.  It may be our driest year yet, but it WILL rain.  Rain will come and nourish the ground one day.  It will bring color into the grass and water into our wells.  This may not happen for a while, but it will come.  God will never abandon us.  And even when I'm going through a dry spell like I have this summer, I have faith that God will not leave me.  He is still here, even when His footprints are not seen.

If you're reading my blog and I sound insincere or weary, I'm sorry.  It's probably because I AM.  But I have faith that I will get through this with His help.  I'm in a drought, but He will bring rain.

He will never leave me.

Today I feel like embarrassing Ali, because that's what sisters are for, right?

I found this on Facebook a while back.

Hehe... I love you, Ali. :)

This is where I've been putting my dorm stuff.  Considering I still have about six weeks before I move out, perhaps I should find a different spot.  What do you think?

When I go to college, not only will I eat in the cafeteria, but I'll also have a kitchen to share with a few other girls.  I went ahead and bought a few things I'll need ahead of time.  Here's what I chose to purchase.  I'll be sure to share links and prices with everyone.

I'm a smoothie fanatic.  I love ice cream, fro-yo, and pretty much anything cold and sweet, so smoothies are also something I love.  At my house, we have a giant blender and we make fruit smoothies all the time.  Since I do NOT want to gain the typical "freshman fifteen," fruit smoothies will be a healthy snack while I'm at college.

Obviously, I needed a small, easy to store blender.  At Kohl's, Target, and Bed Bath & Beyond, the prices seemed to be fairly identical.  Bed Bath & Beyond was perhaps the most expensive.  The neatest-looking blender I saw was called the Magic Bullet.  It was little and snazzy and came with several different portable cups that you could carry around with your smoothie.  Perfect, right?  Unfortunately, wherever I went, it was priced from $50-65... wayyy out of my college student price range.  I also found a tiny blender for $15.99, but it looked too poorly made to even work right.

I decided to go with the Oster Personal Blender.  I found it at Target for $29.99.  You can get it here for the same price.  What I love about this blender is that it becomes a water bottle with a lid and everything so you can make your smoothie and take it with you wherever you go.  The perfect breakfast.  The Oster blender comes in several different colors, but the light blue was my personal favorite.  Super cute.  I love this and cannot wait to use it all the time in college.

I found a great deal on a kitchen set at Target.  Unfortunately, I couldn't find the set on the Target website, but I'm sure you can find something very similar at the store.  For about $19.99, I got a thirty piece set of all sorts of cooking utensils, while I was looking at individual utensils for a few dollars each.

Even better, all of these utensils come in black and white, my favorite colors!  Yes, you can get adorable lime green and bright pink rubber utensils from Target and Bed Bath & Beyond, but this set is only twenty dollars and it comes with SO much.  See the list for yourself.  If you're moving or need to replace some of your kitchen utensils, this may be a great find.

Finally, I'd like to share how much I love making quesadillas.  I love Mexican food.  (You can tell I live in Texas, can't you?)  I can make quesadillas with veggies, chicken, and a couple of tortillas.  They're a frequent quick lunch at my house.  I use a George Foreman Grill, but I couldn't afford one of those to take to college.  I instead found something aimed more specifically at making quesadillas. 

I found the El Paso Chile Company Quesadilla Maker at both Bed Bath & Beyond and Target.  At Bed Bath & Beyond, it was $19.99.  At Target, it was $17.99.  It's about half the size or less of the George Foreman, which is nice for my small living space, and it's a bright and cheery red color.  You can find it online here.

These were my finds.  I recommend all three items.  Enjoy your smoothies and quesadillas. ;)

Today I'd like to talk about bedding.  Thankfully, I was able to fulfill most of this kind of shopping at the very beginning of my senior year. 

It started when my mom and I were discussing how I'd like to decorate my dorm room.  "Black and white," I said, like always.  "Those are my favorite colors.  I'd really like a black and white comforter." 

Mom chuckled and said, "Emily, they're only going to have a few basic prints to choose from.  The options for dorm beds aren't going to be that cute."  In fact, to emphasize her point, she took me to Bed Bath & Beyond so we could look at the available options.  One of the first bed sets we found for a dorm was black and white print!  I was so excited.  Even better, it was early September, so all of the dorm sets were about 50-70% off.  Nice, right?  We were able to purchase my bedding for around $70. 

Unfortunately this means that I can't still find the bed set on the Bed Bath & Beyond website.  (Although I did find a matching shower curtain.) However, I was at the store today and saw the same Twin/Twin XL bedding for $109, so they still may be in some stores.

I love black and white.  (Thanks, Mom, for the photography.)

For a better glimpse at what the design looks like, here's one of the decorative pillows included.

My favorite part about the bedding is its sturdiness.  I've nearly reconsidered and purchased other black and white bedsets over the last several months (because there are actually TONS of different styles), but I keep turning back to my original choice.  The comforter is sturdy and thick, which I need since I'm so cold-natured.  It also comes with several neat features. 

Let me share an interesting tale with you.  On the outside of the bag, it says:

Notice that last point.  A free tote bag.  "How fun!" I thought to myself and then proceeded to examine the picture available of the bed set.  At the foot of the bed was a matching bag.  At that, my heart swooned.  "This must be the free tote!" I thought to myself.  "How adorable!"

Wellllllll, the bag in the set isn't exactly the same as the bag in the picture.

But no worries.  I definitely did NOT buy the bed set for a bag.

Today I purchased a twin sheet set from Bed Bath & Beyond.  The sheets are VERY soft and only $24.99, which was better than much of what I saw in Kohl's and Target.  There was a sample sheet out and I couldn't stop touching the soft material.  I forgot to take a picture with my real camera, so I thought I'd take a quick webcam shot.  Check out the sheet set here.  I chose black because it would match, but there were several different colors available.

I also got a mattress pad, which is highly recommended for dorm beds.  This one was only $11.99 at Kohl's.  Online it's $14.99, as you can see here, but if you go to the actual store, they'll have sales consistently throughout the week.  (Random note, but I look much younger than eighteen in this picture, don't I?)

So yes, today was filled with shopping for the remainder of my bedding.  I thought it was quite successful, if I do say so myself.  I don't think I'll need to purchase anything else for my bed unless I'll want to grab an egg crate to make my bed extra comfortable.

Oh yeah.

At the end of my dorm room shopping trip, I may have found something a little... extra. 

Today I'd like to talk about towels.  Wow, right?  This sounds like a strange thing to discuss, but today I've looked at Target, Bed Bath and Beyond, and Kohl's, and I found very different prices at each place.

I happen to be very particular about my towels.  They have to be a certain size or they won't work for me.  If they're too small, I can't do "the wrap."  Reference the webcam shot I literally took a few seconds ago to display what I'm talking about.  (I don't know if you can tell, but I'm completely dry here.)  If I can't hold my hair in a wrap like so, then I won't use the towel.  I'm quite picky. 

I was given two towels for graduation and they both happened to be great sizes for my hair-wrapping needs.  Whew!  For those of you who are still looking for gifts to give to a new graduate, towels are a great idea.  They can be fairly inexpensive and they're very much needed.  Today I bought two more towels, so I will bring four to college in total.

I bought both new towels at Target for $4.99 each.  They're very, very soft, which was what drew me to them in the first place.  They're also big enough to suit my needs.  See how big?

They had several different colors available, but the blue one immediately caught my eye.  (It looks green in the picture below, but it's actually a teal-blue color.)  They also had hot pink, bright orange, gray, and black.  On the Target website, they have even more colors available.  I chose blue and black.  You can purchase these super soft towels here at Target's website, although you'll need to buy them in a set if you order them online.  Good news is that the set is only $11.99 for four towels. 

Before I bought the fast drying towels, I searched at Kohl's and Bed Bath & Beyond to make sure there weren't any for a better deal.  Kohl's tended to be in the more expensive range.  It even had some towels for $14.99.  I finally found some for $5.99, but they were thin and rough.  Bed, Bath, & Beyond seemed to offer towels for mostly $8.99 each.  I'm sure Wal-Mart would also have great deals on towels, but I was still thinking about my soft $4.99 towels back at Target (and I also have gift card money to Target), so I got these.  I'm very satisfied.

And just because I was in a picture-taking mood today, here are the other two towels I was given for graduation.  Cute, right? 

As you can see, my towels as a set won't match perfectly, but I don't care at all.  They're towels.  They'll fit my needs just right and I love them all.  And like I said before, if you're looking for a soft and inexpensive towel, try Room Essentials Fast Drying towels at Target.  They're VERY soft. 

I hope I haven't thoroughly put you to sleep with this entire blog post about towels.  Man, I think this dorm shopping is getting to me.

Lately I've been busy shopping for my dorm room for college.  Even though it's a little stressful trying to pick out cute color schemes while not overloading my room with too many accessories, shopping for bedspreads and dishsets is so much fun!  My sister Amy is fifteen and she keeps saying, "I can't wait until I get to shop for my dorm room!"

The hardest thing can be deciding what to bring, what to get rid of, and what to leave behind.  I don't want to bring too much stuff to college, but I definitely want to bring everything I need.  I thought I'd share what I've been buying recently to give you guys a glimpse into my future room (:D) and also to give tips on moving into a brand new apartment.

Today I'll show you my dishes.  My favorite colors are black and white, so my dish scheme will black, white, and red.  The red idea came from a gift that a sweet friend MADE for me.  Look at this beautiful cross!  It's one of a kind and I hope to hang it in my kitchen area.  If not, I will give it a place on my bedroom wall.

I bought all of my dishes from Target.  I saw them several months ago and immediately ran to my mom and said, "These are MINE."  Black and white and then red as well.  Perfect. 

It was a weird feeling to only buy a few of each item.  We have a lot of bowls and a LOT of cups at my house because of everyone in my family.  There are five of us, but when I move out, it'll be only me.  I only had to buy a few of each item.

I decided to buy three big plates.  These will be for a big dinner.  They're sturdy and I don't think they'll break or chip easily.  You can purchase them here from Target's website in a set of a big plate, little plate, and a bowl, but when I was actually at Target, they were available for about $2.99 each, which I thought was a pretty good price.  I was trying to pick a favorite, but I really can't decide.  I love the bicycle one... and I think the one with the stripes looks so tribal... but I love the crazy flowers too.  Augh, I just love these so much! 

I also bought three smaller plates.  You can see the size difference in the picture with me.  The smaller bowls will be perfect for a small lunch or a snack during the day.  I went with the same theme.  A giant red flower, the tribal marks, and then a new triangular tribal-looking design that I perhaps love most of all.  Again, at the Target website, you can purchase a set for $21.99, but at the store, I got these smaller plates for $1.99 each.  I can't find the red flower designs on the Target website.

I can't find the red bowls on the Target website at all and the black ones come in the same types of sets.  At the Target store, I was able to purchase the bowls for $1.99 each.  I chose to buy four: two red and two black.  I eat a lot of cereal, soups, and canned food, so I thought I might want an extra bowl.  The wheel design would have to be my favorite.  These bowls are a good size, as you can see from the picture where I'm holding them in my hands.  Perfect for a can of Ravioli or a bowl of cereal. 

My cups match these dishes.  They're somewhat clear with the wheel and triangular designs you can see on the plates.  I thought they were very pretty.  Plus, they're made of a durable plastic material, so even if they're dropped, I don't think they'll break easily.  I chose three cups: black, red, and white.  Perfect.  They were also $1.99 each.  Unfortunately, I can't find them at the Target website.

Finally, I got a twelve piece set of butter knives, forks, and spoons for $10.99... also at Target.  You can get'em on the Target website for the same price.  I chose red handles because they'll match the rest of my dish set. 

So these are the dishes I've bought for my dorm room so far. (:

We had to wake up very early this morning, as we had to get off the ship by 8:30. I woke up at about 6:30 and got ready for the day before packing the rest of my things in my carry-on bag. By seven-thirty, we went downstairs and had our final breakfast at the Windjammer, which is the buffet for when you don't feel like going to the fancier diner, Galileo's.

We said farewell to Antonio, our very friendly housekeeper. He's done such a great job all week. It's going to be strange going back to average hotels with housekeepers who don't learn our names and greet us personally each day.

When we arrived back in Orlando, we left our things at the front desk and took off for Downtown Disney. For those of you who don't know, Downtown Disney is kind of like Disney World, but it's composed of city streets with restaurants and stores and shows, all Disney themed. We rented Nawnie a wheelchair and began to explore.

We ate at a sandwich joint called the Earl of Sandwich. I personally can't stand sandwiches, but according to my family, it was very good.

We were delighted to find that Downtown Disney wasn't very crowded. In fact, we were able to make our way around the area with little difficulty.

We stopped in World of Disney, a store full of absolutely everything you could imagine (with a pair of Mickey ears somewhere on each item). I bought a shirt with Mickey Mouse on it, of course. Everywhere we went was blasting a Disney song. Since I love the music from my childhood, I was very excited (and sang along... a lot).

We also dropped into a little magic parlor, where a magician showed us all sorts of card tricks. The one that shocked me the most was when he had me place my hand on a nine of spades and then I picked a king out of the deck without him seeing. In a few moments, he pulled a nine of spades out of the deck and flipped the card that had never left my palm... and it was a king! For any of you who know a bit about illusions, you probably aren't impressed at all, but I was amazed.

Lego World (or is it Lego Land?) was amazing too. Outside, there were all sorts of intricate sculptures and statues made up entirely of legos. Inside the building, there were scenes from movies and real life, such as railway stations and a garden. I'm not much of a lego person, but I was very impressed with how much you can do with a few legos.

For a few hours, we went to Disney Quest, which is a five story arcade. Once you buy the tickets, you get unlimited access to all of the games for as long as you want. We are staying at the Hilton and they gave us all free tickets to Disney Quest. Luke was obviously very excited.

My favorite game was Pirates of the Caribbean. It was 3-D and took place in a pretend ship with fake cannons and everything. You'd shoot at and try to sink sea monsters and other ships until you won treasure. It was great! Some other cool games were Aladdin's Magic Carpet, a raft ride through the jungle, and Mighty Ducks pinball.

By the end of the day, we were all exhausted. We had planned to eat somewhere nice for dinner, but we barely managed to get back to our hotel rooms and crash into bed. We ordered pizza, which tasted good.

We've been watching the Casey Anthony trial like crazy every night. It's kind of funny that we happen to be in Orlando at the same time as all of this is going on.

I cannot wait to get some rest tonight.

Today was a very, very lazy day. It may sound boring from an outsider's perspective, but it truly was not. After a hectic last four days of excursions and appointments and adventures, it was so nice to be able to sleep in and read and nap.

I woke up around ten in the morning and walked into my parents' room. Their room was empty. Confused, I went ahead and got ready for the day before heading up to the Windjammer to see if I could find them there. Just as I was about to give up, I saw Mom walking towards me. “We went back to the room and saw that you were gone,” she explained. “I thought I'd come back and sit with you while you eat.” That was nice of her, so I got some breakfast and we chatted a bit while watching the ocean waves beat each other from the window.

I literally do not have much to share. I took a long nap. I read “The Voyage of the Dawn Treader” by C.S. Lewis for the hundredth time. I sat on the balcony and watched the waves.

When it came time to have a late lunch, I went downstairs to grab some pizza from Sorrento's. Much to my surprise, the chefs were all out in the royal promenade, showing off exquisite fruit carvings and ice sculptures. They were making towel creatures for everyone to see. The best part was the desserts. Pastries, chocolate covered fruits, meats, mousses... and they were all free for anyone to take.

I filled up several plates with the desserts (and a few slices of pizza from Sorrento's) and then headed back up to the rooms. I coaxed Nawnie from her room and we had lunch together on the balcony. It was nice to spend time together.

The waves and wind have been crazy all day. It's not storming, but the waves seem to be so much higher and more powerful than they have been this entire trip. I can hear the wind whistling and howling around our cabin. At night, it sounds like some sort of crazed demon. For one of the first times, we can feel the ship truly rock. It's not terrible, but we can feel movement. It rattles the hangers in the closet and causes water to move back and forth in my glass.

The captain told us over the intercom that the wind is going steady at about fifty-five miles per hour. See, I should be used to such wind. I live in a city in Texas that was once listed in the top ten windy states of the United States. Some days we get gusts of wind up to seventy or eighty miles per hour. It's insane. But the difference between there and here is that our wind comes in GUSTS. We'll have a huge gust of wind and then a quick moment of peace and etc. This wind doesn't change. It's a constant fifty-five-mile-per-hour wind.

Because of this crazy wind, I haven't bothered to go out on top much today. I don't feel bad about it. On the first day at sea, I sunbathed for a few hours, but I'm already a little sunburned, so I don't feel like I need to do that. I'm not much of one for swimming, so I don't want to go to the pools either. There isn't much need for me to go up on the top anyways.

The balcony is sequestered behind a few low walls, so I can sit out on a deck chair and have lunch or read without having my hair blown off my head. The only difficulty is that I can hardly hear anything because of the loud blasts of wind.

We all got ready for dinner and were dismayed to find that for the last night of the cruise, we weren't seated in our normal waiter's section. However, Faycal came to us and said he would still be our waiter. It was our last night, after all! It was sad to hug goodbye and take our final pictures together. We also said goodbye to Odalis, who chuckled and hugged us all, asking us to have a picture with the entire family. All of the waiters were told over the intercom to sing us a farewell song, so they did. After that, we all shook hands again. Dad was sure to tell Faycal and Odalis, “God bless you,” to leave a final seed for Christ, and then we saw them for the very last time. It was sad.

As we were eating, we caught a glimpse of Miami. It was only a small silhouette in the fading night sky. We rushed to the top of the ship and I managed to catch a photo of the sun sinking behind the buildings in the midst of a beautiful sunset.

Before we went up to our rooms, we decided to take a family photo. We didn't really have many of those from this trip. We were already dressed for dinner, which was a nice bonus. Unfortunately... my camera was in an accident that involved a long fall and a hard tile floor. It did not survive. The image you see below was the last photograph that camera may ever take. The picture was taken right after the accident and you can tell the camera was already broken. As soon as we get home, my camera will be sent to the shop. I am praying desperately that it will recover.

We spent much of the evening packing our suitcases, since we had to have them set out in front of our rooms for a certain time. We laid out the toiletries and clothes we would need for the next day and set everything else outside of our rooms.

Tomorrow we'll be getting off the ship. I don't want this trip to end!

When we finally got off the ship onto Cozumel, Mexico, a fat Mayan man dressed in colorful paint and a loincloth grabbed me and said, “One photo. Pose for one photo with me.” I'm not sure if I'll have an opportunity to buy the photo later or what, but it was sure interesting.

A man named Santiago—or Santy, as he preferred to be called—stopped us and offered to drive us to a nearby beach. “I take you to the beach for one or two hours and then to a shopping area. It will be nice. Very nice. Good price.” So we all climbed into his taxi and drove for about fifteen or twenty minutes through the hectic Cozumel streets while he told us about the city and life in Mexico.

The beach was beautiful.

Nawnie, Dad, and Amy crashed on some of the chairs in the shade and took naps. Mom, Luke, and I went to a small, private part of the beach and waded in the cool water as the tide came in, bringing hundreds of shells along with it.

After a little while, Mom and Luke got out some snorkeling equipment and found a few flounders and several other kinds of fish.

I enjoyed sunbathing and wading knee-deep in the water. It was HOT outside, probably the hottest island we've visited, but the ocean cooled me off. When I finally returned back to the chairs to relax, I was sweaty and worn out. There's something about being under the hot sun that is absolutely exhausting.

I relaxed in the sun for maybe twenty minutes and then I was overwhelmed by the heat and shared Nawnie's chair in the shade.

We finally packed back up and Santy took us to a small area of shops. He drove by his casa and honked loudly, making us all laugh. We kept passing iguanas along the side of the road. “Delicious,” Santy said. “They are white meat, like chicken. We call it Kentucky Fried Iguana. You cannot get THAT in your restaurants. Only in your home.”

In the shopping area, we got some Mexican vanilla and Coca-Cola, which is amazing since it's made with sugarcane. I also got a t-shirt, a necklace with a charm of the Mayan calendar's October (the month I was born), and a bracelet.

Santy took us back to the pier after proudly showing us pictures of his grandchildren. He was a very sweet man. I'm glad we got the chance to meet him.

We began to wander down the pier. Dad and the kids went onto the ship while Mom, Nawnie, and I stayed behind to shop for a while. We all bought another t-shirt. I loved the shirts at Cozumel! They're all so colorful and bright.

After getting back onto the ship, Nawnie, Mom, and I went to Sarentto's Pizzeria. We got to meet Julio, one of the chefs. He's from Peru. He told us about how he stays on the ship and works seven days a week for seven months straight and then gets a few months off with his family. He says he gets to get off the ship for about an hour after five o'clock. His girlfriend also works on the Royal Caribbean ship, so they go on dates together on the islands.

Julio was a very sweet guy. He told us a little about his life in Peru. Then he asked me why I was still pale if I'd been out in the sun all day. “I don't tan!” I exclaimed. “I could be out in the sun all day, every day, but I'm still just as white as before.”

“Nice for you!” Julio exclaimed. I'd like to have his perspective!

The little towel friend that we found in our room today was a monkey, hanging from the ceiling.

We woke up very early this morning to hurry and eat breakfast so we could shop a little before we went on an excursion. We were at the Cayman Islands today. Even from the boat, the island looked absolutely beautiful. We could see the reef and the fish from our seventh story balcony on the boat! It was amazing.

To get onto the island, we had to take a tender (a small boat) from our ship to the shore. Our tender was called the Carib Temptress. Interesting.

We shopped around a little. For the first time all week, it wasn't at all cloudy, which was nice at first because of the difference, but then we realized how wonderful cloudy weather actually is. It was HOT on that island. Beautiful, but very, very hot.

After we bought a couple of t-shirts and a flute for Luke, we got on board another boat which took us a couple of miles away from the shore. The water was perfectly clear. Even from the third story of the boat, I could see straight to the ocean bottom.

I'll go ahead and admit that while we were on an excursion to go snorkeling, I didn't snorkel. I think I could have if I had really gotten up the courage, but I know I wouldn't have enjoyed myself. For those of you who are regular followers of my blog, you know that my worst fear is deep water and the ocean. I hate the look of it... and I'm also very freaked out by fish. So being right in the middle of it all is not my cup of tea. I was content to look at the ocean from the boat and watch my family snorkel.

At first, I was feeling a little bored and dismal because my family were out having a great time and I was on the boat, but the captain was a very sweet islander who was eager to help me have the best time possible. He gave me a couple of small loaves of bread to throw into the water. Literally hundreds of little (and fairly big) fish would swarm around the tiny pieces of bread, fighting each other for it. Not only did I help people get to see a lot of fish because they all came up to the surface, but I got to truly enjoy myself.

The captain also showed me that on the bottom story of the boat there were several clear panels of glass that showed the coral reef and all of the fish, so I got to see as much as anyone else, whenever I got up the courage to look. Honestly, I don't see what the big deal was. They were... fish. But I was glad that I got to see everything. I even saw a few jellyfish!

One of the best parts about the captain was his accent. He literally had an accent that sounded like Captain Barbossa on Pirates of the Caribbean. It was very difficult to understand at times, but it was quite entertaining. I loved it.

While I was sitting on the bottom deck, feeding the fish, one of the crew went up to me. He looked about my age or maybe a few years older. He was very tan and his hair fell down to his shoulders. “Hey,” he said, “why don't you snorkel with the others?”

“I don't like the water,” I explained. “I'm having a great time right now. I know I wouldn't have fun if I was in the water with them.”

“No, no, get in with me. Just right here on the ladder. We could have fun together right by the boat.”

“No, thanks. I'm really fine how I am,” I insisted.

Pretty soon, the boy climbed out of the water and leaned on the rail next to me. I kept feeding the fish, but I noticed that he continued to gaze steadily at me. “How old are you?” he finally asked.

“I'm eighteen,” I replied.

He looked surprised and then delighted. “Not so young.” Several people I've met on this trip have thought I was younger than I am. I know I look young for my age, in part because of my short stature. The boy smiled widely at me. “You're old enough to drink here, you know,” he said.

Although I'm not interested in drinking, to make conversation, I said, “Oh, really? It's illegal for me to drink in the United States.”

“In all of the islands, it's legal. You can drink as many beers as you want.” He grinned at me, as if that would be an extremely enticing suggestion. When I didn't say much after that, he tried again. “After this is over, how about you and me go to a bar and have a few beers together? We could talk and hang out.”

Great, I thought. What's an excuse? I glanced over at my family, who were preoccupied with the reef. “I don't think my dad would be very happy if I did that,” I finally said. I wasn't lying. If I went off into the Cayman Islands with a strange native to have a few beers at some bar, I'm sure my dad wouldn't be all that happy.

“What?!” the islander scoffed, looking shocked. “Your dad is here? Where is he?” When I pointed out my family, he chuckled and said, “Well, then, your dad can come to the bar with us... but only for a little while.”

I finally managed to escape from the persistent islander and resumed conversation with the sweet old captain of the ship, who told me all about the different kinds of fish and even dove under the ship to try to stir up some more kinds of fish for me to see.

As we left the boat, I again came across the young islander. At this point, I had already told my family about my conversation, so they were all poking me and giggling. He very gladly took my hand as I started to cross the gangplank (isn't that what it's called?) to get off the boat and said, “There you go, beautiful.”

Oh, man.

I finally turned around and offered him a smile. Even if I was uncomfortable, I was flattered with his advances. He was a sweet kid.

Again, my mom and I stayed behind to shop. We went to a place called Del Sol that had some of the most amazing t-shirts I've ever seen. They start out in black and white or in a few light colors and then when you put them out in the sun, they burst into a rainbow of bright colors. It's amazing. The store also had nail polish, sunglasses, headbands, hair clips, bags, jackets, and more that all did the same thing. I was astonished.

We finally returned to the ship. Mom and I stopped at a pizzeria, where we had a couple of pizzas and some delicious white chocolate and strawberry mousse. After that, I took a long nap and then Mom woke everyone up. She was going to attempt to scale the rock wall and she wanted everyone to be there cheering for her. Sure enough, she succeeded! She made it all the way to the top of the wall and got to ring the bell.

After that, I decided I wanted to attempt the Flow Rider, which is basically a surfing machine that makes waves. Instead of an actual surf board, I opted for the boogie board so I'd only have to sit on my stomach.

The man running the Flow Rider was... let's just say... very good looking. He was tall, bronzed by the sun, muscular, and English. I was awestruck. I was already dreading the moment I knew was to come—the wipeout.

I climbed onto my stomach on the boogie board and surfed down the Flow Rider. Almost immediately, I wiped out, doing a flip and falling hard onto the bottom of the machine while my board shot out from under me. Even worse, as I got up to walk away, I slipped on the slick rubber surface and fell backwards onto my back.

I was flushing and totally embarrassed... and then I saw the cute guy, motioning for me to try it again. I shook my head frantically, saying, “No, no, no...” but he insisted. So I found myself again getting onto the boogie board while he gave me instructions in his thick British accent (which I loved).

This time, I did better, managing to stay on the board for maybe fifteen seconds or so, which is impressive for that machine. And then the British man came down next to me and said, “Try to get on your knees!” Feeling semi-confident, I did... and wiped out. Bad.

I literally did about three full flips in the water, nearly losing my shorts. For a moment, I thought, “This is it. I'm going to drown in this awful machine,” but I somehow made it back to the bottom.

I was so embarrassed. Words cannot even describe my mortification as everyone laughed and laughed. I know it was all good-natured. After all, when many of the others wiped out, I laughed too. It's funny to watch. But I fell and flipped and floundered far worse than anyone. I got several comments like, “Did you enjoy doing a 360?” and “Wow! That was the best show I've gotten all day!” And again, they weren't mean-spirited at all.

But I was still embarrassed. I still am a little embarrassed. And seeing the look on that cute guy's face was the most embarrassing part of all.

Dinner was formal night. I had salad, roasted peach soup, lobster and shrimp, and ice cream. It was all wonderful.

Dad had taken a Dramamine right before everyone went snorkeling, so he was groggy all throughout dinner.  He could hardly keep his eyes open!

When we returned to the room, we found another little towel friend. It was a sting ray!

I'm in bed now, relaxing. I'm the least sunburned out of all of us ladies. Amy's the worst. Her back is as red as the lobsters we had for dinner. I'm thankfully only burned on the tops of my shoulders and my knees.

Tomorrow we will be in Cozumel, Mexico. It will be our last excursion on this cruise. I don't want to go home!

We got onto the shores of Falmouth, Jamaica bright and early this morning. It was a lot how I expected, with men in dreads and brightly colored outfits walking around with their ukuleles, singing, “Don't worry 'bout a t'ing.” Seriously—that was my first impression of Jamaica.  We shopped for a few minutes and then boarded a bus and rode for forty-five minutes to a river further into the island. I loved the bus ride because I got to see a little Jamaican village, where many people lived. It was very poor and rundown, which made me sad. The best part was seeing the little school children come walking down the streets, dressed in their uniforms. I also got to see a lot of the Jamaican landscape. It was nice to get to see the “real” Jamaica and not just the resort part.

At the river, we had to store our cameras and belongings in a locker, so I don't have any pictures. I wish I could have taken some, since everything I saw was very lush and green and beautiful. We climbed into the back of a truck and held on for dear life as we began one of the most scary car trips I've ever experienced—second only to Kenya, Africa. There were potholes and cliffs and deep puddles of mud everywhere we looked. The entire vehicle was rocked about like crazy. To make matters worse, the driver wouldn't stop speeding and we didn't have seat belts.

There were three guides who helped us through the river: Dennis, Thiopia, and another one whose name slipped my mind. They all seemed like best friends and constantly bantered, teasing each other nonstop and talking back and forth in their own Jamaican language called Patois, which is actually a mixture of broken English and slang, which was fascinating to hear.

One of our guides ran up to us, singing loudly and shouting, “I just listened to Bob Marley! I'm feelin' good ri' now, mon!” In fact, throughout the entire journey, the young men would frequently burst into song. They usually sang Bob Marley, interjecting with cries of, “Oh, yeah, mon! Dat's ri'!”

As we drove in the rocky car back up to the main building, several youths hopped onto the back of the car. One fell off during a particularly rocky spot, but he turned out okay.

After we returned, the kids went back onto the ship and my mom and I stayed behind in Jamaica to shop. There were many little shops with all sorts of little things to buy. I found a freshwater pearl necklace that I absolutely loved, but it was thirty dollars. I finally managed to bring it down to fifteen dollars (I have no idea if that's a good price or not, but I sure felt like it was!).

The man who sold me the necklace said, “If I sell you dis for fifteen dolla, my lady, will you t'ink of me ev'ry time you put it on?”

“Yes,” I finally stammered, unsure of what else to say.

“Promise me,” he insisted.

After I promised, he asked to be the one to put it on me and then he said, “If anybody asks you where you got dis, my lady, tell dem dat your sweetheart in Jamaica gave this to you.”

I smiled and said I would.

In fact, I seemed to be a hit with the men in Jamaica. My whole family was laughing. At one point, while Mom was looking at t-shirts, I heard a knocking on the window beside me. There were about six Jamaican men in construction hats who were whistling and waving and blowing kisses at me. “You are beautiful, beautiful!” they kept saying. I waved back. I was too embarrassed to even think about blowing kisses back at them.

The last thing I bought was a t-shirt that said Falmouth, Jamaica. The t-shirt vendor was a fairly older man and he actually gave me five dollars off, although he refused to bargain with any of the people before me. Before I left, he actually called my mom over to us and said, “You mus' tek a picture wit' me to remember.”

“O—okay,” I finally agreed. I didn't have much footage of Jamaica anyways since most of our day had been in the water. Perhaps this would be an entertaining picture... and it was, but for different reasons than I thought.

It seems that this man also liked me, even though he wasn't a young guy like the others. When we posed for the picture, he got a little... close. I'll let you see for yourself.

The man put one hand on my stomach and the other hand on my lower back. And then he was sure to get as close as he could with his face on my head. Mom later said, “I was afraid he was about to molest you while your mother was sitting there taking a photo!” Thankfully, he didn't get THAT close.

Dinner was casual, so there isn't much to report about that. I love our waiters: Faycal and Odalis. They're two of the sweetest men I've ever met.

When we got back to the room, we couldn't find a little towel friend. We were disappointed, thinking our housekeeper must have forgotten. And then Luke looked up towards the ceiling. It was a bat! Our little towel friend hung from a hanger hooked to the ceiling. We all had a good laugh about that.

Tomorrow we arrive in the Cayman Islands. It should be an interesting day.

When we woke up bright and early this morning, we immediately spotted a little wooden rowboat rocking precariously in the deep waters of the ocean. “We must be near land!” we cried out to each other, clinging to the rails and watching the tiny speck of a rowboat in the distance.

Soon the island of Haiti loomed into view, green and mountainous. Heavy rain clouds cloaked the top of the mountains.

We arrived in Labadee, Haiti around 8:00 this morning. We got off the ship around 8:30 and walked down a pristine white dock towards the island, surrounded by crystal-clear water. When we looked down, we could see coral and rocks, but I'm pretty sure the water was much, much deeper than it looked.

Nawnie was given a funny-looking wheelchair for the long walk.

We were immediately taken onto a water taxi with about ten or twelve other people. We rode the waves of the ocean for about fifteen minutes while we were taken to another part of the island with a private beach only for us and a little Haitian village.

A sweet woman named Rosie took us on a tour of the village, showing us how to make Haitian peanut butter, bread, and chocolate and how they make their houses. She even showed us a tree with a cure for insomnia, saying, “Ninety-five percent of Haitians have insomnia. The parents lay awake at night wondering how they will feed their children and send them to school since we have no public schools. The children lay awake at night because of hunger.” It put my thoughts into perspective when I realized that while I had been given the opportunity to relax on the beach with my family, there were people on that same island who were going to bed hungry.

I went to buy some trinkets from the islanders. This is the only way many of these people make their livings, so I spent two or three times more than I would normally be willing to pay. I bought a little bead bracelet, a small statue of Haitian people, two metal painted lizards, a t-shirt, and a stone heart.

Our little private island was absolutely beautiful. Amy and Luke enjoyed scampering through the waves and finding several hermit crabs and clams. I was able to sunbathe a little and even got a bit of a tan, I think.

We returned to the main beach in a couple of hours. We ate a lunch of fruit, bread, and pound cake, and then Nawnie and I sat out on the beach and waited while the others prepared to go on a zip line that was 500 feet above the beach.

It became cloudy and rainy through the afternoon, so it wasn't quite as nice as the morning, but I still liked it. At times, I hid under my umbrella as I poked in the sand with my toes. I love the feel of grainy sand beneath my feet.

Finally, the rest of my family came by on the zip line, beaming widely and waving at us. They came back to the beach with a jerk as their lines hit a spring and bounced them backwards to stop their fall. And then it was over.

Mom and I decided to go shopping in the little Haitian artisan while the others returned to the ship. The little shopping market reminded me a lot of Kenya's. Many vendors lined the roads where men would come and call out, “Pretty lady, pretty lady, come and see what I have to show you. Let me give you a gift. Don't you want something nice? Don't you want something beautiful?” It was always very difficult to say no to any of them because not only were we helping them to feed their families, but when we said no, we were also saying no to their artwork. At one point, Mom made the mistake of calling my name and after that, wherever I went, I heard cries of, “Emily! Emily! Emily, come see what I have for you. Beautiful Emily. Where are you going, Emily?”

After buying a few little things, Mom and I returned to the ship, showered, and took a long nap before getting ready for dinner. I had crab cake, sirloin steak, baked potato, steamed vegetables, berrymisu, and lemon tart. Everything was delicious. Our waiters, Faycal and Odonis, are wonderful.

Waiting for us back in our room was a little towel turtle.

I'm writing these words from my bed. It's only 8:30, but we'll probably retire early again because it's been a busy day and we have another long and exciting day tomorrow in Jamaica. Can this trip get any better?

The moment I woke up and looked outside, I was amazed. The water literally looked gold from the sun. It was so bright and beautiful that my entire family stood in awe of what the Lord had made. The clouds hung gently in the sky, only making the brightness of the water even more magnificent. Beneath us, the water was a deep blue. Churning white waves erupted from beneath the ship.

We got up around 9:30 in the morning and went to eat breakfast. I had an omelet, scrambled eggs and baby shrimp, peach yogurt, a banana, watermelon and frosted flakes. Delicious!

After breakfast, we ventured out to the poolside, where Mom and I stretched out in the sun to try to improve our very weak tans.  I dozed in the sun for a couple of hours and then we went to lunch, where we had a pretty good meal. We went back to the poolside after lunch and watched Luke and Amy both climb to the top of the ship's rock wall. It was fun to see everyone's amazement as adults struggled to reach halfway and both brother and sister made it all the way.

Not a whole lot happened today since we were at sea. No excursions or big activities. All we did was relax and nap and enjoy ourselves, which was very, very nice. I don't do that often.

Dinner was formal wear, so we all dressed up very nicely. Dad and Luke wore suits, Amy and Mom both wore dresses, and I wore a swimsuit cover-up. No joke. I got a black swimsuit cover up when I was back in Texas. When I tried it on without a swimsuit, Mom and I burst out laughing. It seriously looks like a nice dress, especially when it's paired with a black set of heels and a pearl necklace. So that's what I wore. A thirteen dollar fancy dress and nobody ever noticed anything.

Dinner was very nice. I had shrimp cocktail and even tried some escargot. In fact, the entire family tried some. I absolutely hated it, but I felt adventurous for trying. I had some prime rib for my main course and then some strawberry cheesecake for dessert. Overall, it was absolutely wonderful.

We went onto the main deck to watch the sun set, but unfortunately, the sky was covered in thick clouds that blocked the sun from view. Also, the wind was terrible on that side of the ship and tended to blow our dresses around terribly. We couldn't stand without having to hold the hems of our dresses down.

When we got back to the room, we found a few towels formed into the shape of a dog. The towel dog was absolutely adorable and it was wearing Amy's sunglasses. I skipped the show tonight and spent the night relaxing before going to bed early.

Tomorrow will be our first excursion: to Labadee, Haiti.