I do not know how I ended up with 2500 photos!!!! Some of the photos have 5 copies of it as those are ones my daughter has selected for herself. So, I figured if she wanted one, maybe the others would want one too!!!! There are a handful that have 2 copies. I’m not sure what I’m going to do with those extras but I’m sure I will figure it out.
When I started this project, the photos were in the boxes we received them in from Shutterfly. I had already gone through all the photos to determine which area they should be in. And by area, I mean pre-cruise, travel day, embarkation day, and so on. This was a good start, but, obviously, still had a long way to go.
To begin the next part of my project, I would need index cards, a columnar pad, and photo boxes. Unfortunately, I did not have any photo boxes on hand, at least none that I could find. So I suppose shoe boxes will have to work, at least temporarily.
I knew I would need to divide the photos by section, so I made some dividers to use to separate the photos I would be storing in old shoe boxes. Apparently I did not plan well enough to have photo boxes on hand. Either that or I’m just blind and they are right in front of my face! So, I first made dividers to use in the photo albums for each section with the sections being: Precruise Follies, Travel Day, Embarkation, Sea Day #1, Sea Day #2, Mahogany Bay, Belize, Cozumel, Sea Day #3, and The End. I also made some dividers to divide the photos into sections. And then I made some divider cards to use within each section. One for photos chosen for possible scrapbook page and one for the photos that will go in the photo album.
The next thing I did was to sort the photos by the date, if printed on the back of the photo, and image number found on the back of the photo. The image number from the cell phones are different from the ones we took from our camera. Cell phone photos start with IMG_ while our camera photos start with P. Once they were all sorted, a made 3 separate image lists: one for cell phone photos, one for camera photos, and one for the photos we purchased from our excursion to Dolphinaris in Cozumel.
The only think left to do was to put the photos in the shoe boxes and start to decide which ones belong in which sub-category. But that will be in the next installment… maybe.
This has been a very time consuming process, but one that I think will be beneficial. Why? Since dementia runs in the family, I will have written documentation of who was on the trip with us. I know this will be very beneficial for my mom!
There are time when you need to go outside of Amazon to find items you need. Or perhaps you just find them by accident while shopping. Some of the items I purchased because I knew it would be needed and used. Others, I just happened to see while shopping at Target. That store gets me every time, just like Hobby Lobby and Michaels.
So, let’s go shopping.
The first thing I purchased was 2 cardigan sweaters from Walmart online. I forgot to bring a sweater on our Carnival Vista cruise and I regretted not having it in the evening. The MDR tends to be chilly.
I purchased some nautical themed face masks on Etsy. The Seller/maker is Handmade By Lady Dianna. I love the style of the face mask and they are so cute! The definitely show my obesssion of anchors.
Since we are cruising on Valentine’s Day, I thought it would be appropriate to find a red dress to wear. I found one on Venus online that was on sale and definitely what I was looking for. I initially purchased it to wear to the steakhouse on embarkation day but I have since changed my mind and will be wearing on cruise elegant night. It fits great which I knew it would. I have been shopping with Venus online for years and I always seem to NEED to purchase something before every cruise. Last year I think I bought 5 swimsuits!!!!
I read on our Facebook cruise group something about wearing red beads so we would be able to recognize everyone. I found these cute red heart necklace while looking for items for an Aladdin project. For obvious reasons, they ended up in my possession!
And then there was Target. Everything single thing I purchased was not on my shopping list at all. Some impulse buys are necessary, like socks. Others, not so much. But I did it anyway.
Besides the socks, I purchased Sugarfix by Baublebar red heart earrings. I will be wearing them on embarkation day along with the the Sugarfix by Baublebar heart necklace.
I also purchased some Sugarfix by Bauble earrings that came in a set. I was looking for simple gold hoops, it just happened that the blingy set was attached to the gold earrings!!!!
This should be everything I will be purchasing for this cruise. That is unless something catches my eyes that I just have to have!!!
Everyone loves a good project, right. Well I will be starting a project that is long overdue.
In 2018, we went on a 4-generation family cruise. For some time, I have been sitting on all of the photo’s I have ordered. Some are to be shared, some are for scrapbook pages, and some are just for the heck of it. I have even purchased scrapbook albums to put the photos and scrapbook pages in. And yet, they sit here, taking up room in my very cramped craffice.
Now this is a lot of boxes with nothing but photo’s in them. I love Shutterfly and would recommend to anyone and everyone.
Two LARGE boxes with Scrapbook Albums in them were purchased at hobbylobby.com when there was a 50% off sale. I love Hobby Lobby and I love a great sale!!!! Unfortunately I do not remember who wants which album. Oh well, they will get what they get!!!!
The time has come to something done with the chaos created by these photos. My plan is to go though all of the photos and decide if they are scrapbook page material or photo album material. the ones for scrapbook pages will go in one stack while the others will be in a box of the person they should go to.
Some photos have 5 copies of it. Why 5? One for my mom, one for my daughter, one for each of my granddaughters (2), and one for myself. Obviously, with that many photos, this could take a while, but I hope not.
Somehow I stumbled across 4 envelopes of photos from Shutterfly that I apparently have not gone thru. Most likely, these photos were taken by other family members. In any case, I guess that means I will be reviewing them and putting them with the section they should be in. This is going to be fun.
My plan at the moment is to work on it daily until I receive the photos and scrapbook for a special project for my mom. Once that special project is finished, I will return to the 2018 Vista Project.
Wish me luck and please follow along with this project.
2021 was not the best year, but it was not as bad as 2020. Unfortunately, the time we were able to spend with my mom was very limited. Luckily, I took pictures almost every time we went somewhere.
I have decided to make a scrapbook/photo album of the adventures we had last year. In a chronological order, there will be a 2-page scrapbook spread. The left page will have the date of the activity, what we did, and who was with us. The right side will have a scrapbook page with the photos. Any additional photos will be placed in photo protectors and put in the album immediately after the scrapbook page. This is something I know she will like.
I store all of my photos on Shutterfly. Today, using the Shutterfly app, I ordered all of the pictures I took of her last year. I have been ordering my photos from Shutterfly for a long time now. I have boxes and boxes and boxes of the photos I ordered from our 2018 Carnival Vista cruise. The quality has always been great and their service is excellent.
A website I love to use for my scrapbook needs is scrapbook.com I have purchased several 12 x 12 scrapbook albums from them. They never disappoint. Today, I found the PERFECT album to use for this special project.
I am very excited about this special project for my mom. I cannot wait until the photos and the scrapbook come in. I will be making notes of the things we have done while I wait. I hope you will follow along with me as I bring this project to life.
As with every cruise or road trip we plan, I find myself stalking Amazon for purchases I think I need, but I really do not need. But I always seem to buy the things!!!! I blame COVID for this addiction.
Let’s get started with the shopping. I will list the description of each item along with the name of the seller. If the item is something that does not see cruise related, I will give an explanation as to why it was purchased. The pictures in this blog were found on the Amazon website. Actually, they were found in the view order details!
The first thing I always purchase before any cruise is a binder. This time I purchased an AVERY + Amy Tangerine 1″ binder. Since our cruise leaves on Valentines Day, I thought the hearts on the binder were perfect. I use the binder to keep all of the important papers in and any paper flyers or notices we receive during the trip. It isn’t as necessary now that the cruise lines uses QR codes for everything but this one will be used primarily after the cruise to keep all the copies of our paperwork in and any notes/info from the cruise. This will help me remember what we did when I start working on the scrapbook. Seller: Amazon.com Services LLC
I decided Jim needs some new fancy face masks so I purchased the Perry Ellis reusable pleated face masks. Seller: Amazon.com Services LLC
I was looking for a blue tunic and I found this one that will work perfectly. I have already worn it so I guess it wasn’t necessarily purchased for the cruise but I will likely be taking it with me. Seller: AWULIFFAN
After our last cruise, I decided it was time to replace the over-the-door shoe hanger as it was looking worn. So worn that it really did not need to be going on any more cruises. I decided to look at something smaller that would work for the narrow doors and I found this instead. It will definitely work for our needs. Seller: EPFamily Direct
Of course, I purchased some Command Strips to keep the new over-the-door shoe hanger in place. Seller: Amazon.com Sellers LLC
I was looking for a pair of casual shoes to wear with a specific outfit and just happen to find these. I do not know if the outfit will make the cut on this cruise, but they will go with another outfit I have in mind. Seller: FRACORA director
Before our last cruise, I purchased this shirt. Unfortunately I lost it in a bad laundry accident. I did not check my husbands pockets and there was a pen left in one of his pockets. The shirt was the only casualty of the incident. So naturally, I had to replace it. The color is Lake Green. Seller: Dofaoo
I have purchased a red dress to wear on cruise elegant night. It only seems natural for my husband to have a red shirt to wear as well. He’s hot-natured so I found a short sleeve, button down shirt for him. Seller: EsabelC
I have been looking for sweatsuits/loungewear that were suitable to wear outside of the house and very comfortable. I decided to try this one in the color blue. Fits perfect! Seller: Automet-US
When you find jeans at a good price, you buy them. I just happened to find a pair of black Lee jeans at an unbelievable price and they somehow ended in my cart. Seller: Amazon.com Services LLC
For some time now, I have see this shirt but I just never could figure out a time I could use it. Well, the time is for this cruise. I am not use to cruising in the winter months so I decided that some tops with longer sleeves would be a good idea. This shirt is a pretty shade of pink and it is slightly see through. I will be looking for a cami to wear under it. Seller: LookbookStore
The pink top looks well with white pants in the pictures on Amazon so I decided to find a pair of white jeans to go with it. Seller: VIV Collection
To complete the outfit, I found some cute pink and black heels to wear! I have already worn the shoes and they are comfortable. Probably the most comfortable pair of heels I have worn in a long time. Seller: fereshte
What’s better than one pair of black Lee jeans??? Two pairs! I purchased another pair. One pair is a longer length that works great with ankle boots and the other works with flats or sneakers. Seller: Amazon.com Services LLC
I found a pink leopard print top with 3/4 sleeve that will be nice to wear to dinner in the MDR. Seller: Zattcas company
You can’t have a pink leopard print shirt without a pair of pink leopard print slip on shoes. They fit great. Seller: Kufeiti shoes.
Might as well but another pair of slip on shoes. But this one is on beige leopard print. This pair of shoes may not make it on the cruise. Seller: Kufeiti
I purchased a pair of ankle boots that will only make the cruise if the weather is cold. Most likely they will stay home. But they are so cute and very comfortable. Seller: Fishbone Apparel
I have noticed I have been having a hard time finding my favorite brand of athletic shoes, Reebok. I was browsing Amazon and I found a pair that I knew I needed. Seller: Amazon.com Services LLC
The blue lounge set I purchased earlier was so perfect, I bought another set in black. Depending on weather at the time of our cruise, they could be my travel day outfit. I will have one for traveling to Galveston and one to wear traveling home. Seller: Automet-US
With the uncertainty of the temperature during the day, I purchased a short sleeve shirt that is short in the front and long in the back. I decided on the color pink. Seller is Zeagoo.
I like the pink 3/4 sleeve top so much, I purchased another one in black and white. I can pair this shirt with either the black jeans or white jeans. Seller: LookbookStore
I found what I hope will be the perfect cami to wear under my pink top. It is pink in color so I do not think it will stick out as much as a white cami would. Seller: Shein online store.
Sweatsuits/loungewear is something I am interested in buying for this cruise. Not to wear during the cruise, but to wear to travel to and from Galveston. I found a couple that I like. The first one says “Be Kind” on the front. I decided on the color blue. Seller: Ze Qing.
The second sweatsuit/loungewear is also in blue and is more of a loose fit. And it is so comfortable. Seller: LYHNMW
And the last purchase for this cruise is a short sleeve casual white shirt. The sole purpose of this shirt is to wear it under a long sleeve sweater I have. It may or may not make this trip.
We have come to an end of our Amazon purchases for our upcoming cruise on Carnival Breeze. Thanks for taking the time to read this long blog. I’m hoping to have another cruise related blog on January 6th.
Our morning started early. I had informed my mom that we would pick her up around 8am. We were only about 15 minutes late so I’m going to count it as a win! The drive to Kimmie’s was uneventful and rather quick since there was not a lot of traffic at that hour.
Once we arrived, we still had to wait for Jennifer to arrive before we could truly start our Christmas morning fun! Our Christmas fun finally began in full around 9:45. Everyone loved their presents. I loved being with ALL of my Kimmie’s family.
After presents, we had our breakfast casserole to eat and coffee to drink. And for one person, it was nap time. It was a great day.
We stayed until around noon at which time we drove to Denton to spend Christmas afternoon with my son Wesley and his family. But there was a little bit of a hiccup on the way to my son’s house. We were using the WAZE app to get to my sons’ home. Jim had my phone in his hand and was trying to set the app to give the directions over the radio. I don’t know when he fell asleep as is was in the backseat but apparently, while he was holding my phone with everything open, he fell asleep. And while asleep he was pushing buttons on my phone. Specifically, he went to the phone settings and managed to hit the Emergency SOS button. All of a sudden, an alarm of sort starts going off on my phone. Then my son called me saying he got an SOS text and was everything okay. Yes, everything was okay, we are on our way. Not long after that, Jim casually mentioned that he also got a text!!! And before long, I received a phone call from the police department letting me know that they had received and emergency SOS notification from my phone and wanted to verify that I did not need assistance from the police, EMT, or fire department. I assured him that everything was fine and that I did not need any assistance. He asked for my phone number so he could remove it from the list. I gave him my number, apologized for the inconvenience and wished him and Merry Christmas and thanked him.
We made it to my son’s house with no problem and a funny story about the SOS texts. But that didn’t matter to me, I just wanted to see my granddaughter. She is definitely growing like a weed. We spent some time opening presents before eating chicken spaghetti for lunch.
It wasn’t long before my mom decided that she was tired and ready to go home so we said our goodbyes and drove back home. We dropped mom off at her assisted living facility. Jim and I walked her in, carrying her presents in for her. Jim also took the time to set up her new radio. This is the one thing she told me she really wanted so I let Wesley and Kimmie both know what she wanted and Wesley got one for her that is specifically designed for people with dementia and/or Alzheimer’s. I can say without a doubt that is her favorite Christmas present. It will be hard to top that this year.
I am always amazed how well my children know me and/or listen to me when I tell them what I want for Christmas. But I only tell them when they ask and it is always the same thing, Carnival Cruise Line gift cards. They both found the perfect gift card for me. Plus a very special one that I can only assume was Peyton’s idea!!!! So the next time they ask me what I want, I will obviously say a Carnival Cruise Line gift card but I might add a coffee mug to the list!!!!
And so, another Christmas with my mom has come to an end. It is time to start planning the next Christmas. Maybe I will finally start shopping early instead of waiting until 2 or 3 days before Christmas!!!!
It’s a brand new year!!! Instead of reflecting on last year, I want to look forward to this year and all that it brings.
I want this year to be different than the last two years. Of course I have the same initial goals that most people have but this year, I want to approach them in a different way. Instead of doing things just to check them off of the to-do list, I want to do things with a purpose in mind.
You may be wondering what purpose I have that could encompass all aspects of my life. Well, my purpose is to improve my health. The end goal is to gradually adapt a way of doing things that will lead to a healthy lifestyle. At least that is my primary goal. Most of which can, or at least should be, easily achieved with diet and exercise. Of course this will all happen in baby steps, but it will happen. Feel free to blame my chronic obstructive pulmonary disease or the years of smoked before quitting in December, 2015.
Like other people, I too want to clean and organize every room in my house. This will take a lot of time and I will only be able to do so much a day. I do not want to do any home improvements like painting and rearranging furniture, but definitely very deep cleaning to begin with.
It is possible that I may decide to relocate my craffice to a different room in my house. But that is a different decision for another day and time. Craffice is the name my husband made up for the room that is used for my work office and craft room. It is very cramped at the moment but that is okay by me.
Before my mother moved to an assisted living facility, she lived independently. We would have a pot luck lunch at her house every Sunday and it was a lot of fun. But now, things are different, mainly because of COVID. I am hoping we can reestablish our weekly lunch with my mom by doing pot lucks at either my daughter’s house or my son’s house. I know how much she like to get out and an outing to my house is too close to count as an outing!
I know that I will be booking a cruise on the Carnival Jubilee when the itineraries open up. Other than that expense, the only other thing I would like to purchase would be a new camera. I have been wanting one for a few years but I’m hoping this year is the year it will happen!
But one of the most important things I want to accomplish this year it to be more mindful of everything in my life and everything/everyone I come in contact with.
“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper yo and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” — Jeremiah 29:11
We currently have seven weeks to go!!! I fully aware that these weeks will fly by!!! But at least there are a few things I do not need to worry about!!!
Parking reservation was made on September 11th. We will be using Port of Galveston SMP Parking Garage located at 150 Rosenberg Street. It is conveniently located across the street from the pier. Of course, our return trip could have us at the terminal 2. It is still within walking distance. We used this facility the first time in August when we sailed on the Carnival Vista. The only drawback was the elevator not working. I’m keeping my fingers crossed that the elevator will be fixed by February.
I did have an issue with hotel reservations. Let me start of by saying, I use Hotels.com for my hotel bookings. I have never had a problem and the issues were all mine, not theirs in any way, shape for form.
On September 11, I booked a one-night stay at Hotel Galvez, located at 2024 Seawall Boulevard. This is a hotel that is on my bucket list, mainly because it is haunted. I was looking forward to staying there, but then I started doing some research. Although the reviews are great, I just did not feel comfortable with having to pay extra for parking. And some of the reviews said the rooms are rather small.
So on September 17th, I cancelled my reservation for Hotel Galvez and booked Inn at the Waterpark located at 2525 Jones Drive. They had a great rate and I thought I would be okay with not having an ocean/gulf view. And any other time, especially if we had our grandkids, it would probably suit our needs better. So, I kept thinking about staying at the Inn at the Waterpark while still checking rates on Hotels.com.
Finally, on October 1st, the hotel/inn that we have stayed at before had a rate I was happy with. So, I cancelled the Inn at the Waterpark and booked our stay at Quality Inn located at 5924 Seawall Boulevard. It is a very basic place but it definitely fits our needs for a comfortable place to sleep.
Now I feel much better about our pre-cruise accommodations and have no plans to make any changes.
I have made reservations for Jim and I to have dinner at Fahrenheit 555 Steakhouse on embarkation day! I am definitely excited about this. I have already decided that the clothes we will be wearing to dinner that night will be in our carry-on, just in case our checked bag(s) do not arrive in time for our 6:30 dinner reservation.
I have also made reservations for a beach club in Cozumel. This is a new place for us and for the price, it is definitely worth checking out. Bonus: It is within walking distance for Puerta Maya cruise terminal. I do not know if the rates in the photo are still available.
Please come back next Monday to read about my pre-cruise Amazon purchases so far.
Once again, it is time to make Kimmie’s Disney Theme frame for her Photo with Santa her kids do every year. I decided that this years them is Toy Story. Of course, every frame requires a shopping adventure!!!!
My first stop was to Party City. I found a couple of things that could possibly work for the idea in my head, but I needed to see the items up close. I decided on an 11 piece table decoration set. I know there are pieces that I will not need, but the three I had in mind would work perfectly.
My next stop was to Hobby Lobby. Luckily, I knew what I was looking for so I didn’t stray from the task at hand. I decided on a frame that would resemble a fence and this one is exactly what I had in mind. I also purchased a sticker set that had blingy MERRY CHRISTMAS and also Christmas lights. and a couple jingle bell necklaces that I thought I could repurpose the bells for this frame. Unfortunately, I did not remember to take a picture of the stickers, but it definitely is on the finished project.
My final stop was to Michaels. For the first time in a very long time, I only purchased what I knew I needed. Varathane premium fast dry wood stain in weathered gray and Varathane ultimate polyurethane water based, crystal clear gloss.
Now that I have all the supplies I would need to purchase, it was time to get started on the Disney Toy Story inspired frame. The figures I decided to use o this project were Woody, Buzz Lightyear, and Jessie. I trimmed them down to remove as much of the red background that I could. I know it isn’t perfect, but that’s okay.
I decided to not sand down the frame as I wanted it to feel like a fence so stained the frame. And it only took one coat of stain!!! I love the color and I have plans for other projects to use this stain on!!!
Once the stain dried, and it did dry fast, it was time to paint the inner portion of the frame. I used a white acrylic paint I had on hand that I purchased either from Hobby Lobby or found on Amazon.
After the white paint dried, it was time to decide on the numeric stickers I had on hand. I was not sure of the size of numbers would be best so I sent pictures to Kimmie to let her decide.
She decided on the smaller numbers so I placed them at the bottom of the frame and tried to decide on the placement of the Toy Story characters. I decided that I thought I would add character if I could place Jessie at the top of the frame to make her look like she was climbing over or something like that. So, this is the final placement of the characters with the Merry Christmas sticker below Jessie and the Christmas Lights stickers around the white frame. Jingle bells were added to Jessie’s hands and are held in place using E6000 glue. The 2021 stickers were so old they would not stick on their own so I used my Nuvo Deluxe Adhesive to keep them in place.
I am currently in discussions with my daughter regarding next year’s frame. I think it my be Disney Aladdin inspired. My mind is going crazy with all of the possibilities for the 2022 theme.
our life reality 