Greece, Here I Come!

Put a down payment on our trip to Greece today! I am already dreaming of the red tile roofs, white stucco, and deep blue water sparkling in the summer sun.

This is the reason I had to have my new camera right this very moment!!! I decided that I needed my camera now so that I'd have time to play with it and figure it all out before we depart for the Hellenic Republic.

We are going over Labor Day weekend, so we only have to take four days off. We are cruising on Royal Caribbean and our ports include Dubrovnik, Croatia; Ephesus/Kusadasi, Turkey; Corfu, Greece; and the much anticipated Santorini, Greece!

I had never really thought of visiting Greece until I watched The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants. I was so taken back by the landscape that Lena saw while visiting her grandparents for the summer, not to mention the sweet love story that developed between Lena and Kostos, that I became intrigued by the historical and mythological landmark that is Greece.

After sailing to Alaska last fall, Jer and I have been eager to plan our next cruising vacation. While flipping through the destination brochure, we landed on the Mediterranean and it just made sense to both of us! And now with the recent unveiling of the film 300, we are both fascinated and obsessed! (Would you believe, he spent nearly a day researching the fabled tale of the 300 Spartans who defeated much of the evil Persian military?)

As if it were necessary, we've justified the vacation as being our last big hurrah before we start a family, our babymoon if you will. It remains to be seen if we will be with child during the trip! ;)

Now, I am knee deep in literature describing all the possible shore excursions we can take. Do we dare cram in as much site seeing as we can stand, or do we opt for the more subdued and relaxed beach excursions? That is the question! I can already predict that it will have to be a compromise in the middle. Jer is much more inclined to r...e...l...a...x... to the max on vacation, i.e. sleeping in, going to bed early, doing nothing involving any amount of exercise (unless golf is involved somehow). Me on the other hand, I take after my mother, and well...that means every day is planned nearly to a tee. Granted, I'm not as bad as Mom...I don't have a minute by minute schedule we must adhere to. But, I certainly don't know if I'll ever get to go back to Greece, let alone Europe, and I want to see all I can! I want to sit in the open air theatre where Paul once preached the gospel. I want to see the strict monasteries that still don't allow women inside their hallowed walls. I want to ride a donkey to the top of the hill to see the volcanic crater lying just below the water's surface that created the Aegean gem of Santorini. Who could argue with me? LOL!

Recollectionz from Houston

Uh, Houston, we have a problem! Six crazy women are on the loose! Terrorizing scrapbook stores and restaurants! {LOL, I need some sleep}

Anyway, here's pics from this weekend:

This is our attempt at being Elsie-fied...

And apparently, there are no pictures of me with just Suzanne! Can you believe it??? I'll have to Photoshop something together!

Back from Texas

Well, it's back to the old grind around here!

I got home from Texas yesterday, and already I'm homesick for my scrappy friends. I so wish we all lived closer together! Our last evening in Houston was so perfect taking in the sunset over Clear Lake at the Sundance Grille. What a way to put an exclamation point on the whole week!

I only got 13 pages done while I was gone, but I found some motivation that I've been lacking for a while, so I hope to continue the creative streak through the coming weeks. Jeremy actually wanted to look at my pages (that's a first!) since I did two layouts for him; one a layout on his hunting trip last year and the second on his old Willies Jeep. He spent quite some time looking at them, so that made me feel good. I also got my title page done for my Bon Jovi album and I'm stoked to get working on it and get it done.

My flight got in early, and not just early, 30 minutes early!!! Can you believe it? I was off the plane, went to the potty, and had my luggage by the time we were supposed to land. Jeremy was caught a little off guard, so I did have to wait a little while for him to come get me, but it was a nice, sunny day in Colorado, so I didn't mind. Though I have to admit, it did feel a little chilly since I got used to the warmth and humidity of Texas!

It was extremely difficult to drag myself out of bed this morning. I am so tired from the travelling and staying up late to scrapbook, not to mention it was nice being home in my own bed with my hubby and puppy last night. I slept in until 7:00 (eek!) and got to work late today.

My lenses for my new camera came in late last week while I was gone, so I've yet to sit and play with the Rebel! I'm hoping I have some time after work this week and this weekend to take it out and about and start figuring it all out.

I bought tickets to see Bon Jovi at Cheyenne Frontier Days in July. Jeremy was actually pretty excited about it until I told him it was standing room only...but he said it would be a good time anyway. Searched for a hotel room yesterday, and already most everything is booked, and those rooms left are going for a pretty penny. Found a room at the Comfort Inn finally. It was pricey, but compared to the others, it actually looked cheap! Jeremy thought we should spend the night and go to the "real" part of the rodeo on Saturday after the concert. I'm looking forward to it!

The next big event we have coming up is tickets to see Wicked on our anniversary in May! Here's to hoping the next six weeks fly by! Cheers!