Mexican Riviera Cruise

I am finally blogging about our cruise last month--I was waiting for some pictures, but I will have to make do with what I have found so far because I need to write about the trip before I forget everything!

So we left Sunday, Feb. 5 and got back on the 12th, so it was a week. This was kind of our raincheck honeymoon cruise, because we had planned to go right after we got married but it fell through. So now, 2 1/2 years later, we got to go! Thanks Mom and Dad Chambers!

We flew to Los Angeles where Lizzi picked us up from the airport and took us the cruise ship in Long Beach--the Carnival Splendor. We boarded and had to wait a couple hours for our room to be ready, but while waiting, I took in the general splendor. I got really excited when we got on because the big lounge/bar area we entered into was all pink and glitzy with colored LED lights every square inch on the walls. I thought it was an awesome theme room! Well, little did I know that that... was just the whole theme of the ship. Everything was pink and purple and gaudy! It was almost nauseating! But cool :) Oh except our room. Our room was coral and seafoam. So, much more classy. :) Anyway, Sunday we just kinda wandered around. There were 12 decks and about 4000 people on board (including 1200 crew!).

Monday we were at sea all day. We went to a meet the captain seminar where they also told us about the highlights of the cruise and detailed all the different excursion possibilities. That evening was a formal dinner so we got all snazzy and had wonderful food at our dining room: the Black Pearl Restaurant. Joe read a lot and I got caught up on some stuff for work that I needed to get out of the way.

 

Tuesday was my birthday and we arrived at Cabo san Lucas. It was GORGEOUS! We saw Los Arcos as we were approaching the shore and it reminded me of the movie, The Count of Monte Cristo. We went ashore using "tender" transport boats and wandered around the shops a bit. We then hired a local to take us to Lover's Beach so we could do a bit of swimming and snorkeling. It was my first time snorkeling, so I was a bit anxious and wimpy at first, but after some patience from Joe, I finally got the hang of it. It was so cool! There was vibrant violet seaweed and neon yellow and black fish. The water was so salty though and I got pretty exhausted after a bit.  I definitely had a good nap on the beach. We headed back to the boat in the late afternoon. That night after dinner, we went to a comedy show and it was lots of fun.

Wednesday we were in Cabo again, but the weather was really stormy and chilly and they didn't let a lot of people go to shore because it was so choppy for the tender boats to travel in. Joe and I stayed on shore and relaxed. I finally got a chance to read The Book Thief. Joe had gotten it for me for Christmas last year and it had been on my "to read" list forever. It was not at all what I was expecting, but I liked it a lot! I also discovered the onboard gym and the plethora of ellipticals within. We checked out and spent some time at the pool and the hot tub. That night, we went to the five star onboard restaurant--Pinnacle Steakhouse. We decided to splurge one night as a break from the normal dining room and to celebrate my birthday. It was FANTASTIC. I had this amazing creamed spinach, filet mignon and lobster that was truly the most amazing thing I think I have ever eaten. Joe had a delicious steak. He had cheesecake and I had this incredible chocolate dessert. We were very glad we had splurged. We had brought a couple DVDs with us and watched on on Joe's laptop in our room, though I fell asleep like half and hour in.

Thursday landed us in Puerto Vallarta. We had decided beforehand that we were going to go on an all day long excursion called the Sea Safari. There were about 20 of us and our tour guide took us on a motor boat to a little town called Quimixto that was only accessible by boat. We walked around and then went on horseback to reach a little secluded waterfall. Joe jumped off a mini cliff into the pool at the bottom and swam a bit. I was not brave enough. I did eat some chips a salsa from the little restaurant at the waterfall while I watched Joe be brave. We headed back to the boat where we rode for a bit and then stopped at a little inlet to snorkel. Again, I was amazed at the amazingly varied and bright colored fish. We got on the boat again for about 20 minutes until we reached a private beach where they had a spread of food including the yummiest beans and rice we have ever had. There were hammocks and we just hung out and lounged there for a couple hours. We then got back on the motor boat and saw some dolphins and humpback whales on our way back to the cruise ship! It was so cool--there were like 20 dolphins in a group that we got to see.

Friday we were back at sea to head back. The water was pretty rough all day and I got a bit seasick. It was another formal dinner night and then afterward we went to another comedy show.

Saturday was another rocky day at sea.  There was a couples show that we went to, kind of like the newlywed game, but for all couples. That was funny to watch.

Sunday we woke up and got packed and headed off, though we were actually some of the last ones off the boat because Lizzi couldn't pick us up till a bit later. She then drove us back to the airport and we were on our way home again.

All in all, it was super fun and very relaxing. We ate, slept, read, and relaxed a lot and it was fun to spend so much time together.

I'm finally graduated!

Sorry for such a long delay since my last post. Fall semester was kind of a marathon, but now I’m done! I am officially a college grad. I will be walking in April, but I already have my diploma and everything. Just for the final record, I got a bachelor of art in English and a minor in editing—I know I changed majors several times and you have probably had a hard time keeping track J It’s been a long road since I started in 2006 and was majoring in nutritional science. Then chemistry happened and I switched to dietetics. Then… chemistry happened again and I switched to English teaching. Then marriage happened and I switched to just English. Then I took an elective English credit called modern English usage, which I LOVED and found out it was part of the editing minor, hence adding my minor. So 5½ years later… I’m done!

Life post school is interesting. I actually thought I would have more time on my hands, with just a part-time job and no school, but I’ve managed to stay surprisingly busy. I am loving my job still—I work as a book editor at Cedar Fort, Inc. in Springville and it’s my dream job. I am actually working more like 32 hours/week instead of the 20 I started out doing. There is just so much to do and my projects keep me busy and are varied. I get to do anything from copyediting to proofing to doing the page layout, and I’ve worked on all different types of books including cookbooks, young adult fiction, LDS nonfiction, a language-learning book, and a business how-to book. My favorite book I’ve edited so far is a young adult fantasy/paranormal book that I’m recommending to everyone. It’s called “Fractured Light” and it’s by Rachel McClellan.  It should have come out last week sometime (Feb. 8?). Sorry, that’s my pitch for the month. I am hoping a full time position will open up soon, and I’ve also applied to and organization called Teach for America. It is quite competitive, but if I get through the lengthy application process, I will be a teacher in a low-income school district for two years. I will get paid a teacher’s salary and I will get certified to teach through them. I know it would be challenging, but I think it would be a great experience for me too. Teaching junior high English is one of those life goals that I need to cross off my list before I can feel good about settling into a career in editing. I applied to the Las Vegas Corps because that is one of the closest places to go  (there aren’t any available places in Utah) and Joe is familiar with the area, since he served his mission there. It’s not guaranteed they’ll send me there, but they do try to give you your first choice. Other places I listed to go are Detroit, Baltimore, Seattle, and Denver (if I remember right). I’ll keep you updated. My hobbies include keeping up with TV shows “Parenthood” and “White Collar.” I know what you’re thinking. But I find that reading for pleasure has lost its appeal as a past time activity. It’s about the last thing I want to do when I get home from work because I read all day! I’m looking for some new hobbies. Any ideas? I’ve already tried knitting and crocheting. Apparently you have to have something called “hand-eye” coordination to do well in those things. This has also ruled out playing video games and most sports.

If I’ve managed to stay what I call “busy,” Joe has been a Tasmanian devil. He is in two bands (his own, Winters Run, in which he writes the music and is the guitarist, and Enden, a friend’s band, in which he plays bass). He has 1-2 practices a week/per band. He is still working full time at Power Innovations as a electrical engineering technician, but he is also auditing some refresher pilot classes at UVU in the evening, to keep up with that. He has been itching to fly. He still builds guitars in “all his spare time.” He also continues to work on his book he is writing. And speaking of his bands, he has a gig this Friday at Muse Music in Provo at 8 p.m. Both his bands will be playing that night—that’s right. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for you to come see Joe play both his guitar in one band, and his bass in the other, back to back!

Still waiting to hear back about Joe and the Army. At this point, we just kinda want to know, one way or the other, so we can progress forward with something. We have backup plans, but it’s hard to move on until we officially rule out Plan A. Oh well. We are content with what we are doing right now and trying to be patient. Next post I will write about our cruise to Mexico! I had to catch you all up to speed before I wrote about that though! Till then! Thanks for reading!

End of Summer Musings

Hello world. It's been a while.

What a whirlwind of a summer. Since I last wrote, Joe and I have both just working tons, and taking a few random trips. We went to California (L.A.) at the end of July to visit Joe's sisters: Liz, and Rebecca and her family. We had a blast. We visited the Getty museum, the Griffeth Observatory, and Malibu beach.

We also ate some great sea food and did a lot of nothing. It was great and very relaxing. Liz was kind to take us around LA and see the sights (and drive-- LA drivers are CRASY-GO-NUTS!).

This trip was especially nice to get away from the move we were in the middle of-- that's right, folks, Joe and I officially moved out of the Branbury (after 6 years for Joe). Because we couldn't move in to our new 4-plex until the 1st of August, but had to be out of our Branbury apt by the 22nd of July, my parents were nice enough to let us stay with them for a week.

Now we are all moved in to our new place and loving it. It feels like a palace in size compared to our first place--it's actually almost twice the square footage (our Branbury apt. was about 500 sq. ft.). We are also loving the extra storage, 2nd bedroom, and covered parking.

Other story of the week, which it pains me to tell: Joe and I were up for phone upgrades so we decided to join the world and get smart phones. Well, after having mine for all of 2 days, I put it through the washer accidentally when I washed the sheets on our bed, not realizing I had left my phone on the bed when I woke up. To make a long story short, after trying every trick on the internet to try to dry it out, it was ruined. We went ahead and added the warranty, since we were still within 14 days of purchase, but now we will have to pay the monthly warranty fee and the deductible, so... I am rethinking how smart it is for me, Emily-- clumsy and ditsy at times-- to be responsible enough for a smart phone. Right now I'm just using my old phone again.

I'm back in school for my last semester until I graduate- yay! I'm taking my capstone English major class, which I chose the literature of the Brontё family (Patrick, Charlotte, Emily, Anne, and Branwell), as well as my last general ed class (second half of humanities), a poetry class, the Bible as literature, and a history and criticism of rhetoric class. So-- lot's of fun classes!

Also, I officially worked my last day at Charlotte Russe yesterday- it was bittersweet. It feels good to move on, but I've literally worked there for almost four years and made a lot of friends and memories. So n

o more weekends or late nights working! Or holidays! I love it. I only work 20 hours/week at Cedar Fort (oh, yes I don't know that I mentioned on here that my internship hired me!) and it is around my classes, so I have a much more regular schedule.

No update on the Army yet :( But Joe has been busy building guitars. You heard me right.

Life is good and we feel really blessed. Love you all!