LIberty of the Seas

Jim and I just got back from our first cruise and I think we are in love. Neither one of us wanted to get off the boat. We sailed on Royal Caribbean from Fort Lauderdale and went to Belize and Cozumel (details to come in posts later this week). Right now, I want to talk about the boat. The Liberty of the Seas is one of the largest ships in Royal Caribbean's line and there is something to do for everyone.

We boarded at about noon on Saturday and because the staterooms would not be ready until about 1:00, we headed up to the Windjammer Cafe, the casual buffet, for some lunch. When we were finished eating, we went down to deck 7 to see our stateroom. We had an interior room, which was fine, but next time (yes, I'm already thinking about next time) I really want an exterior with a balcony.

From there, we went straight to the pool since the luggage hadn't been delivered yet. We spent most of our pool time in the Solarium pool, since it was adults only. At 4:00, there was a mandatory muster drill to give important information in case of emergency and then we were off. Jim and I went back to our room for a nap, since we had gotten up so early to get to the airport. When we woke up, our luggage was there and we went exploring the ship.

I'll start at the top and work my way down. Deck 13 is the sports deck, with the FlowRider, rockwall and mini-golf. We played mini golf one night at 11:00 in 45 mph winds. It was hilarious watching me try to putt and hold my dress down at the same time.

Deck 12 has the arcade, teen night clubs and kids activities, a jogging track and a Johnny Rocket's restaurant. Deck 11 is the Windjammer, the specialty restaurants, all the pools and the gym, which we never set foot in.

Decks 10 - 6 are staterooms. We were on Deck 7, which is also where the library is located. Deck 5 is the Royal Promenade, which is shopping, bars and places to eat. It's also where they have the Dreamworks parades and some of the evening parties, and The Sphinx nightclub. The casino and several bars are on Deck 4. The Platinum theater, ice rink and On Air (karaoke) bar are on Deck 3. Also, the main dining room is a three level room on Decks 3, 4 and 5. Finally, Deck 2 is the Screening Room movie theater.

Happy Pi(e) Day!

Today is Pi(e) Day. Get it? March 14th. 3/14. 3.14. Math joke. I'm a nerd and I know it. I embraced my dorkiness a long time ago.

Anyway, after all kinds of pie talk on Facebook today, I decided to make a pie when I got home. This is a basic blueberry pie right from the Betty Crocker cookbook. Every summer when blueberries go on sale, I buy a ridiculous amount and freeze them in 2 cup bags so I can have them all year long. This used up almost all the blueberries in the freezer, but it was so worth it.

Honestly, I've made dozens of pies over the last 20 or 25 years and I still am incapable of crimping the edges and having it look right.

That said, no matter how wonky the pie comes out looking, it always tastes fantastic!

Blueberry Pie

Pastry for a two-crust 9" pie
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon, if desired
6 cups blueberries
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon butter or margarine

Heat oven to 425°F. With floured rolling pin, roll one round of pie dough into round 2 inches larger than upside-down 9-inch glass pie plate. Fold pastry into fourths; place in pie plate. Unfold and ease into plate, pressing firmly against bottom and side.

In large bowl, mix sugar, 1/2 cup flour and the cinnamon. Stir in blueberries. Spoon into pastry-lined pie plate. Sprinkle any remaining sugar mixture over blueberry mixture. Sprinkle with lemon juice. Cut butter into small pieces; sprinkle over blueberries. Cover with top pastry that has slits cut in it; seal and flute. Cover edge with 2- to 3-inch strip of foil to prevent excessive browning.

Bake 35 to 45 minutes or until crust is golden brown and juice begins to bubble through slits in crust, removing foil for last 15 minutes of baking. Cool on cooling rack at least 2 hours.

Our New (fur)Baby

We had been talking off and on for awhile about getting a second cat. We thought it might be nice for Rex to have a companion, since we are gone for a long time during the day.

This is Little Bit. He came with the name Vicente, but since he's so small, we think Little Bit fits him better. We think he is about 8 months old. He's really playful and a bit of a snuggle butt.

We are not sure how it's going to work out. Our first cat, Rex, is not happy about the new guy and Little Bit is very pushy for someone who is out weighed three to one. We are keeping them apart when we are gone and whenever they get too worked up. It seems to be getting better, so I hope that they can come to an agreement.

A New Venture

When I wrote item five on my 101 Goals in 1001 Days list - get a freelance job - this wasn't what I had in mind at all, but I think this is going to be much more fun.

In January, I signed up as an independent consultant for Thirty-One. Thirty-One is a company offering wonderful purses, accessories and products that help organize your life. The company takes it's name from Proverbs 31 that describes the virtuous woman. Our company mission is to "Celebrate, Encourage and Reward" women. What is not great about that!

I attended my first home party in October and just fell in love with the products. I hosted a party at my house in November and started thinking to myself that I could do this. I figured that if nothing else ever happened with it, I would get $300 worth of merchandise for the $99 enrollment fee, but I hope that it takes off. I like that I can make it as much or as little as I like.

I had my official kick off party on Sunday and it was a great success. Now I am looking forward to having my first few parties and seeing what I can do with it. My sister (wave hi, Sara) is hosting a party in Athens in a few weeks, if you'd like to see what Thirty-One is all about. If you'd like to host a party or know more about the products or the company, just ask me or you can visit my website by clicking the Thirty-One logo on the right.

My New Tattoo

I've been thinking about getting a second tattoo for a long time (see number 53 on the 101 Goals list), it just took me awhile to figure out what I wanted to get. Just so you know, it hurts much more to get a tattoo on the ankle than it does to get one on your back.

Since today was a holiday, I finally pulled the trigger and went to Marlowe Ink in Fairfax on the recommendation of a friend. I had a little pencil sketch when I went in and the artist took it and fancied it up a bit for me.

The symbolism of the tattoo is what makes it special. The two sides of the heart are different sizes. The taller side represents a mother and the shorter side is a child. The one star on the top is for my Mom. The two stars on the bottom are for the two miscarriages I had last year. 2011 was a hard year for me, but my hope is that this tattoo will be a reminder of all that I went through and a symbol of going forward.

Three Course Bacon Dinner

Have I mentioned before how much I love D.C. Restaurant Week? I'm pretty sure I have. Tonight we went to dinner at Restaurant 3 in Clarendon. A quick explanation of Restaurant Week - you get a three-course lunch for $20.12 or dinner for $35.12 (the cents change with the year). It gives us the chance to eat at some very nice restaurants that we would otherwise never go to. I picked this restaurant because I looked a their menu and over half of the options, including dessert, involve bacon.

Appetizers: I ordered the Low Country Mussels, which were steamed in beer with leeks and bacon. I don't know why I avoided mussels for the longest time, because they are delicious and these were no exception. The broth was very flavorful with the smokey bacon and tang of the beer. Jim had the Fried Green Tomatoes, with goat cheese and a green tomato relish. This was his first time trying fried green tomatoes and these were very good. The crust was nice and crisp and the goat cheese made a nice contrast.



Entrees: Continuing my bacon themed dinner, I ordered the BBQ Shrimp and Grits. I've found that in Northern Virginia grits are a hit or miss proposition. These were done well, not sticky and not too thin, with the nice addition of asiago cheese. The shrimp were nicely flavored and the whole dish was topped with house cured bacon, caramelized shallots, tomatoes and BBQ sauce. I thought the sauce was a little strange at first, but the sweetness was a nice counterpoint. Jim had the Duck Breast, which was served on a sweet potato and duck hash (divine) with a pomegranate glaze. I've only had duck breast once before this, but I thought it was good, but the skin could have been crisper.



And, finally, Dessert: To round out my bacon dinner, I ordered the Bacon Studded Waffle with Maple Bacon Ice Cream and caramel sauce. I think that I am not a fan of bacon in dessert. Although the waffle was crisp on the outside and fluffy on the inside, I couldn't taste the bacon in it. I could taste it in the ice cream, but not the maple. Over all, I'd say it was just so-so. The other dessert was Chocolate Bread Pudding with a white chocolate sauce, which was also just so-so. It was moist and dense, but nothing outstanding.

Wait, the Bellagio, the Mirage...These are Terry Benedict's places.

Ok, I promised you Las Vegas day two.

On Tuesday morning, we decided to walk around and see some of the casinos and Sara had a bunch of gaming vouchers that she needed to cash. We headed off to the Bellagio, but the thing you have to know about Vegas is that although the casinos looks like they are all right next to each other, they are all a block or two big and you can't walk there without walking though other casinos or shopping malls or both. The point being that it took a long time to walk there, but we really wanted to go for two reasons. One, the ceiling in the lobby of the Bellagio there is a glass flower garden by the artist Dale Chihuly. The second reason is that we saw on HGTV that the largest Christmas tree on the Strip was in the conservatory.

Once we made it back to the hotel, we had lunch and then got ready for massages. This was almost the best part of the whole trip. I found a groupon deal for the spa in our hotel, Oleksandra, so I snatched it up. The spa was absolutely beautiful and very relaxing. Jim and I had a couples massage and it was his first massage. I was kind of surprised that he wanted to go, but he really enjoyed it.

Then it was on to see Cirque du Soleil at the MGM Grand. We saw the show KA, and it was by far the coolest thing I've ever seen. I can't even begin to describe it, but it was great and if you ever get the chance to see a Cirque show, please do.

After the show, we took the monorail back to Harrahs and got off there to walk the rest of the way back. We stopped at the Mirage to see the volcano show. Then we were back to TI for some more video poker. We were hoping to see the pirate show, but they don't do the last show in the winter and we didn't know it, so we missed out. Next time.

Since no trip to Vegas is complete without some Elvises, I'll end with this.