Reby's Weight Loss and Breast Cancer Journey: We're back from a fabulous 14 day cruise

Monday, April 4, 2016

We're back from a fabulous 14 day cruise

Before discussing the cruise and posting pictures, I must discuss my weight.

My last post said that on Saturday morning, March 19, I weighed 277.7. Sadly, the very next morning I was up several pounds and set off to Miami weighing in at 280.5. I just snacked and ate too much junk all day on Saturday. So sad.

This morning I weighed only 283.2, so I was pleased that there was only a gain of 2.7 pounds in the entire fifteen days from March 20 to this morning, April 4. That's not bad for a cruise!

I am back on track today. I have recorded everything. I went to the gym and lifted weights and walked 20 minutes. It was a great walk! We saw two big gators on the banks and another three in the water. There were also lots of birds today including the usual herons, egrets, Sandhill cranes, and a big turkey that strolled past a sleeping gator on the bank, gobbling loudly as he walked! So much fun to live here!

Yesterday we were supposed to have our friends Dave and Evey meet us at the house and go out to dinner and stay until Wednesday. Unfortunately, Evey developed shingles while in Florida. Her doctor said that it would not be a good idea for me to be exposed to them since I have a compromised immune system after chemo and also have already had shingles once. I could easily get them again, he said. So they changed their plans and flew home today instead of coming up for a visit. I hope she recovers quickly. They are painful and NOT FUN.

Instead Mark and I unpacked, exercised, did laundry, shopped, and generally caught up on things like banking, paying bills, emails, and Facebook. Now I'm finally writing a blog!

It's also the Opening Day for the Orioles baseball. We are all settled in to watch it, wearing Os t-shirts and hats and drinking from Os mugs. Unfortunately, it's cold and rainy in Baltimore, so the game has been on a rain delay for over half an hour at this point. Sigh. We will wait.

Yesterday was Evey's birthday and we had a nice long conversation with her to wish her well. Eric took her out to one of her favorite restaurants last night. She got lots of cash and gift cards for her birthday and was tooling around the Bed, Bath, and Beyond website, one of her favorite stores, planning on what to buy to decorate her new house! They take possession on April 22 and will be all moved in by the last day of April. We are so excited for them.

Now for the cruise! Wow! This was our first time on a Solstice class Celebrity ship and it did not disappoint. The Eclipse is just gorgeous. The crew was fantastic; the entertainment was exceptional; the food was delicious. We enjoyed the ports, our table mates at dinner, absolutely EVERYTHING.

I took over 1,000 pictures, so I cannot possibly share all of them. Over the next few days of writing blogs, I'll include a few each day.

Here are some pictures from the day we board the ship, just so you can see how pretty it is.

Cabin 6302, the last one on the starboard side at the aft, right before the rooms face the back of the ship. It had an extra deep balcony, which was nice, and completely shaded.

Fancy bathroom and lots of storage every where.

Indoor pool in the Adults Only Solarium.

Heated chairs in the Persian Garden. We bought the unlimited use package and went in almost every afternoon for a nap!

Using my phone for email and Facebook for the last time before sail away.

Outdoor pools and hot tubs. All the lounge chairs were padded and there were more than enough for everybody.

Posing with an interesting sculpture between the shops and the casino on deck four.

Beautiful piece of art on deck five on the way back to the specialty restaurant area.

Another huge piece on deck five. We love the art work on ships. Mark took the tour and then went back and did a self-guided tour with an iPad from the guest relations desk.