Half Moon Cay- Bahamas- our first port of call...

parasailing looked fun. maybe next time!

breathtakingly beautiful.

walls of a 500 year old house on the island

starfish =)

our tour guide!
one of our bike stops...

best water EVER!
so warm and clear...

view from our hike

hot sunny day!

we stopped on our bike tour to check out the group on the stingray excursion!

stingray =)

one of the stops on our biking tour...

this is the area near the pier... bar, few little shops, washroom, beach, excursions desk...

view from our tender

our ship!

Private Island...
We had to tender to get to it as there is no ship dock.
We did two excursions... eco hike and bike and then snorkelling at 3 reefs. I *heart* snorkelling. It was amazing to swim with tropical fish and to be able to see everything going on under the water. It was awesome.
We were the only boat here, the snorkelling group was tiny. It was HOT out. We got too much sun here.
It was visually STUNNING and very peaceful here.

We were very happy with our excursions on this island!!
you definitely get a good feel for the islands, which ones you would go back to, which ones you would not..

Honeymoon....part 3- Carnival Liberty

casino

every night they would turn down the bedding, make a towel animal, leave 2 chocolates and a funtimes newspaper of what was going on the next day..... what movies would be playing, restaurants, activities, contests, games, drinks of the day etc etc.... there was so much going on every single day you really had to pick and choose what you wanted to do.... we were NEVER bored. You almost never saw kids or teenagers cause they had so many events going on and their own clubs and bars to hang out in....

movies on the big outdoor TV screen....
This we LOVED!! you could even swim or hot tub while watching movies...
our room was really close by too.

fancy dining room
we ate here 3 times

room service breakfast
we did that on early port days
all the food was free- some had set hours and others were 24 hrs

Built in 2005
Amazing ship. Fabulous service. Never a dull moment. Lots to do for all ages.

Honeymoon.... part two

South beach Florida

leaving the Port of miami
goodbye land, hello ocean

a lounge near the casino

Carnival Liberty
our home for 7 nights
It really is "the fun ship"

honeymoon =) part one....

at the Port of miami

arriving at the port and seeing our ship for the first time!
we were soooo excited =)

Miami

fort lauderdale

Patrick!

flying over florida

Philly cheese steak

Philadelphia

July 9-18th 2010
drive to Toronto from North Bay
Flights Toronto-Philadelphia
Philadelphia- Fort Lauderdale
7 day Cruise to carribean out of Port of Miami
visiting Bahamas twice, San Juan, and St. Thomas.... our Grand Turk port was cancelled due to weather which was why we went to Bahamas twice. we did however get to see two different Bahamian islands...
flights from Fort Lauderdale to Charlotte, NC
Charlotte to Toronto
Drive from Toronto to North Bay

going to try to get these pics into chronological order....

goodmorning vanilla wake-up

• ice
• vanilla protein & vitamin powder
• Bolthouse Farms Vanilla Chai drink with green tea, protein & vitamins
• instant coffee (mixed with hot water to dissolve it)
• rolled oats
• flax seed
• wheat bran

smoothie goodness!

We've been drinking smoothies for breakfast lately. Each one is uniquely different.
Today: Berrylicious

• frozen strawberries, raspberries & blackberries
• soy milk with Omega 3
  
• vanilla frozen yogurt with probiotics & fibre
• Bolthouse Farms 50/50 berry/veggie drink
• oats, flax seed & wheat bran
  

It's all a blurr now...

I had an eye exam with an optometrist today.. Nice place, nice people. I have inflamation in my eyes and need to stop wearing my contact lenses for ONE MONTH... and then go back to see him. We are going to try silicone contacts. He said there is some scarring on my macula (from smoking and the sun) as well. so i also need some good sunglasses.
They put so much stuff in my eyes that it is still blurry 2.5hrs later...

Has anyone tried silicone contact lenses?
I have never even heard of them....

p.s making ratatouille for dinner. with brown rice. yummy =)

food

I am on a clean eating diet. Meaning food that is free of chemicals and preservatives. Food that is healthy and freshly made. Trying to limit our impact on the earth and animals while eating.

Basically...something like this:

breakfast
--high protein smoothie with skim milk (or soy milk) flax, rolled oats and cocoa nibs
--going to start making vanilla/raspberry smoothies soon too!
snack
--unsalted trail mix and fruit/veg or low fat piece of swiss cheese and trail mix
lunch
--leftovers from dinner the night before or WW toast with almond butter or large salad
snack- see above
dinner
--*lots of veggies*, small amount of soy meat or chicken, small amount of carb (potato/brown rice)
occasionally a drink or two
occassionally a small amount of dessert (preferably clean)
--we make our own marinades, sauces, and salad dressings from scratch...

No refined sugar
--instead we use: agave nectar, honey, maple syrup, sucanat
No White flour
--instead we use whole wheat, multigrain, wheat germ, buckwheat
no preservatives
--no boxed foods unless they have very few ingredients that are all natural and healthy.
--no deli meats
--no fast food
--very little cheese

We drink mostly herbal & green tea... and water. Lots and lots of water.

We have switched to organic where possible
We plan to switch to local, small farm meat and eggs and local veggies.
We compost and grow veggies and herbs in the summer.

We would LIKE to lean more towards a raw food/alkaline diet. For good health, to prevent diseases such as cancer and diabetes. I think many diseases can be controlled or cured by what foods you eat.

google search Tosca Reno/ clean eating for more info....
I read a ton of FOOD books. Books on how foods can heal your body or harm it. I have a stack of them... sometimes I read them before bed. If I do not feel like reading a novel I will research natural health options and food...

This year I would like to:

• move to Rome (NY)
  
• sell our house
• pay off all our debt =)
  
• go to Toronto and take courses/workshops
• start a business (I have so many ideas....cannot wait!)
  
• take a cruise in the carribean in December....
  
• continue on our new financial plan
• visit Nat's trailer this summer
• take belly dancing classes
• follow our clean eating diet
  
• get into awesome shape =)
• get pregnant...hopefully!
  
• have a college reunion in TO
• become an aunt again TWICE this summer! I am so excited.

movies....

new haircolor. under $10. L'oreal Feria diamond 100 very light natural blonde....

Movies I have seen lately:

• Religulous
• Remember Me
• The Fourth Kind
• Murder in the Hamptons (although I missed the very ending)

I want to see:

• Food, Inc.
• Dear John
• Post Grad
• Alice in Wonderland
• Shutter Island
  

Movies I want to own:

• Love Me if you Dare
• Middle of the World
• Easy
• Heidi
• Bella
• Wuthering Heights

Friday =)

I miss blogging.. I used to blog everyday. Off and on now for years.... maybe 5 years. I have changed blogs over the years.. but I think I will stick with this one. For a while I made it private but now it is public. If you are not interested in what I have to say, then don't read it. It is quite possible that NOBODY reads this, which is just fine with me as it is like a diary of my life and helps me remember the chronological order that things happened. It helps me sort out my feelings, goals, resolutions. I like to write. probably more than I like to speak.

It's March. so far this year I've:

• had a miscarriage
• many trips to the lab for bloodwork
• had cat scan, ultrasounds, and major abdominal surgery
• been hospitalized
• been on morphine and oxycontin and codeine
• had a tumor the size of a grapefruit and solid as a rock removed from my ovary, along WITH the ovary and fallopian tube, and a biopsy of my omentum
• had Julie visit us in North Bay for a week and my DAD for 4 days.
  
• contemplated moving to New York State and still not sure if we are moving this summer...
• have decided we might like to try and get pregnant
  
• had a couple of emotional meltdowns (but I am fine now!)
  
• started a new financial system as of Jan 1st and LOVE IT
  
• put my gym membership on hold while I recoup from surgery
• taken a road trip to Sudbury with my husband (Feb)

Once I recover I plan to:

• work out vigorously
• eat clean(er)
• go to Le Nordik Spa
• take belly dancing classes and aquafit
• go to Maple Sugar Festival in April
• use my income tax $$ to take workshops in Toronto so that I can start a business on Esty =)
• have a reunion with some college friends this summer- in TO.
• organize a street wide yard sale
  
• go back to work (I seriously cannot wait!)

It's been 17 days since my surgery. I am wishing I could do more than I can. I want to go back to the gym, clean the house, organize things... but I cannot. All in good time.

I've been researching cruises. Thinking we have decided on a 10 to 12 day cruise to the southern caribbean visiting 8 or 9 islands. We *MAY* go over Christmas.... but most likely December will be THE month we go.
I cannot wait any longer than that. And it will give me several months to get into good shape for the trip so that we can hike in rainforests and feel healthy and fit, and possibly get pregnant. I want a tropical "island" holiday.

I am going to spend some time working on my scrapbooking over the next couple of weeks. I am working on a "Animal Shelter" and "wedding" scrapbooks. and want to do a small "surgery" one as well.

Oscar weekend. Corina and Mike are visiting for our yearly oscar party. Mexican food, some wine, lots of FUN.

I am tried of winter...snow. cold. blah. I want summer. I am the kind of girl who would be happy to live somewhere sunny all year. good riddance to winter.

It's been 9 days since my surgery- unilateral salpingo oopherectomy with biopsy of the omentum via laparotomy... I am sore and swollen. still no cancer phone call. YAY. I keep thinking if they were going to call they would have by now... but in reality it could still happen.

I want to plan our honeymoon...which at the moment we are thinking will be a cruise to spain, italy and greece...
we still may or may not be moving to NY state this summer. still up in the air. depends on my health. If all goes well then perhaps we will move. New beginning. Different country. we have a wonderful life here with fabulous friends, a great job, a great house... but it would be an exciting adventure.

I *heart* New England =)