Oh! So very close…… But no authentic twenty-four karat gold, plastic replica of a Carnival ship trophy to be had…………

At least not for me. My son won one (of the above described trophies) for winning at “Game Show Mania.” I played “Who Wants to be a Millionaire,” and when we got to the two hundred and fifty-thousand dollar question, there were only two of us left standing. I didn’t know the only president to be born on July fourth. (Calvin Coolidge, and I so should have because I really like history, and my daughter was also born on July fourth so one would think sometime in the past twenty something years I would have read about famous people born on her birthday.) The other participant did (or at least guessed right) so he won the trophy. Drats! I was still pretty proud, because when I play along on television, I usually fall apart around the sixteen-thousand dollar question.

We also went snorkeling yesterday, and had a blast. It takes me a while to relax enough to breath through the tube instead of trying to hold me breath, but it is so fascinating to get that glimpse of underwater life. My son, on the other hand, jumped in and was diving down and swimming around like he was one of the fish. We had underwater cameras and it was fun taking his picture with the fish and coral. Later, back on the ship, I finished his photo op as he mastered the water slide.

After the games, I gave karaoke another go, so I could make a long-distance dedication to my husband. I sang “My Best Friend” by Tim McGraw for him (this was also one of our wedding songs) with the following dedication “This is for my husband who is home taking care of our business while the kids and I vacation. Why? Because who besides your best friend would do something that wonderful for you?” Even though my name was called to sing Right after I had just finished dancing to someone else singing “Love Shack” and was TOTALLY out of breath ,(I hate it when that happens!) it went pretty well. Much better than when my new found karaoke friend convinced me to get up with her and sing “Poor Me” by Trick Pony. I had a vague memory of the song, but really had no clue how to sing it. Being on the “fun ship” that is what it is all about, so sing it (in a choppy, catch-up with the words, belt out the chorus kind of way) I did. I couldn’t really sing with conviction though, because I have way to many blessings in my life to every believe I could be poor in any area that really counts.

I skipped dinner last night, because I wanted to go to the midnight buffet party. Yup! I ate late, and had not one but two deserts. (I combined them, a chocolate cake with many layers of filling, and a dreaming creamy strawberry concoction, mmmmmm……… heavenly!) Since I kept dancing, I probably burned off at least a few of those calories.

Not getting to bed until after one, I decided not to set a wake-up call. (Really I didn’t set it because when I did it on Friday, I woke up early and had to sit in the room for ten minutes until the call came as I knew the kids would never answer it.) Fate being so kind to me, I heard a crash (with my earplugs in) at four-thirty this morning, so I got up and hit the deck (with my running shoes that is) for my long run. I ended up only running for an hour and a half instead of two hours because my knees began to bother me from the sharp turns on the small track. My reward for getting up was watch dawn break for the last twenty minutes or so of my run. After I stretched and got my first cup of coffee and my banana, I joined the others on deck to watch the sun slowly creep upward, rising higher and higher until it’s full roundness cleared the water. It continued on it’s journey, up, up, up, until it was blazing brightly, casting brilliant rays of warmth onto my face. Talk about bliss!

After celebrating the sun, I refilled my coffee cup and wrote my blog for the day. Sitting here now, I see a veggie and cheese omelet, as well as a nap on a deck chair in my near future. My wish for you is something in your day that will bring you at least as much joy as I know those things will bring to me. Blessings to you!