Definitely sick

Mark nudged the heat all the way up to 70 last night because even HE felt cold in the bedroom.  LOL!

That helped me a lot, but I'm definitely sick. My throat hurts; my head hurts; I ache all over; my nose is stuffed up.  What else could it be?

We had a leisurely morning and looked at some of Ron's pictures of Mady, both from the past and from the nursing home.  She was such a beautiful woman.  Then we headed into downtown old Kissimmee for lunch and fun wandering around Lake Toho at the park.  It was sunny and warm unless the wind blew and you were in the shade.  Mostly, we had a great time.

Unfortunately, I started to wear out pretty badly about 3 p.m. and had to go home right away.  Mark was forced to go out on his own to shop while I came home for hot tea and rest.  This evening we plan to have lunch at The Grille and go to the Solivita Thursday movie, which this week is The Giver.  I just hope it's not as crowded as two weeks ago when we went to see Jersey Boys.

Here are some pictures from Cozumel on the MSC Divina and a few pictures of Mark and Ron from today.

The morning started with breakfast in the main dining room for a change. Unfortunately, the waiter spilled my cranberry juice all over Mark's shirt, so I spent a good bit of time wiping it all off with my napkin and a glass of water!

Our main objective for the day was some drinks at Senor Frogs with Pat and Bill Staley.

Oh, yes, Pat can be a party animal!

Walking back to our ship, we noticed how SMALL the Carnival Elation seems docked next to us.

Mark made a delicious crockpot sloppy Joe for dinner.

Tried to go to Three Sisters for lunch, but they are only open for dinner on weekdays.  We went to Savion's, next door, instead.

Enjoying birdwatching, photography, and the warm sunshine.

We bring all of our guests to the Monument of States.

We enjoyed this year's outdoor art sculptures.  Mark liked this one, Infinity.

I liked the musical one!

When we got home, Ron smoked a cigar in the backyard, enjoyed seeing an armadillo come by, and talked to his friends up in the cold, snowy north.

Maybe getting sick?

Sorry I did not write a blog yesterday.  It was a weird day.

I woke up at 3:30 a.m. and my throat was on FIRE.  I could NOT swallow without severe pain. I went to the bathroom and back to bed, but I was miserable.  It was cold in the room, too, because Mark has the thermostat go down to 62 over night.  I tried to stay under the covers and breathe warmer moister air from my own breath, but it didn't help.  I tried to plan which Urgent Clinic I would go to in the morning for a Strep Throat test.

Finally, I got up at 4:30 a.m. and went to the kitchen to make a cup of hot tea. I turned the TV on, found some local news station, and sipped the tea, bundled up in a fluffy robe and blanket.  It was HARD to swallow the tea, but eventually I got a small amount of relief.  I dozed in the chair on and off until Mark came out at 8:30.  Crazy night.

As the day went on, my throat stopped hurting, so I never went to the clinic.  I chalked it all up to the cold dry air in the room overnight.  The only thing I did all day was go to the salon for my mani/pedi. I also got my hair drastically trimmed.  I wanted it really short before the next cruise because it was driving me crazy on the last cruise.  Random chunks of hair always seemed to be sticking out somewhere in every picture.  LOL!  When I got back from the salon, I just sat and watched TV all night, drinking a LOT of hot tea.

Last night Mark promised not to let the thermostat lower to 62 overnight.  He fixed it to stay the same as during the day, 68.  I got through the night, sort of.  I went to bed at 11:30.  I got up at 12:30, 1:30, 2:30, 3:30, and 4:30.  Each time I went to the bathroom and then took a few sips of water.  My throat hurt, but NOTHING like the previous night.  I finally got out of bed at 7:15 and got some coffee.  I am currently at the computer, bundled up in warm jammies I found in a closet last night and a fluffy robe, sipping hot coffee, and watching TV.  My nose is stuffed this morning, too.  Today is supposed to be our coldest day and then it will start warming up again. I realize that central Florida is not like the northeast.  There is no blizzard, but it has been windy and very cold for our area.  Today might not go out of the 50s. I know that sounds wimpy, but we are now Floridians!  LOL!  We like the warmth.

UGH!  Neither Mark nor I can afford to get sick right now.  We each have to perform at the cantor's tribute dinner party Saturday night, and next Friday we are driving to Fort Lauderdale to start a two week cruise on our favorite ship, the Celebrity Constellation. 

Today Mark's cousin Ron from Long Island, Mady's husband, is coming for a two night visit.  He should be here before lunch time.  Mark is making a crock pot dinner, and we will take him up to either the Grille or the Bistro for lunch while we show him around our neighborhood.  Tonight we have a synagogue choir rehearsal. It's the last one before we sing Saturday night for the cantor.  I'm supposed to sing a little solo in the song. I hope I can do it.  I might have to think about who's going to be my stand-in just in case.

Now to happier times!  Here's some pictures from days three and four on the MSC Divina.  These were our ports of Falmouth, Jamaica and Georgetown, Grand Cayman.

Docking in Jamaica

Tour of Rose Hall

The second mistress of Rose Hall, Annie Palmer, supposedly killed her third husband in this room after only six months of marriage.  According to the guide, she killed her first husband after 7 years, the second after 3 years, and then the third after six months.  Finally, at age 29, she was killed by her slave lover because she had killed his own female slave lover.  What a place! Now it's supposed to be haunted by Annie.

Allegedly, she threw one of her female slaves off this balcony and killed her because she was also her slave lover's girlfriend.  Charming woman. Later we read that all of the stories associated with this house were probably just made up and based on a novel.

Next stop, Margaritaville.

Then the Shoppes at Rose Hall, where we bought some delicious coffee.

Hanging out with Jane and Bob at the Shoppes.

Our inside cabin was a bit smaller than some other ships, but more than adequate.

The next day we tendered into Georgetown, Grand Cayman.  Looking back at our ship from the dock.

Seven Mile Beach, which is only five miles long.

Our main event for the day.

Giant sea turtles in the breeding pond.  They are way bigger than this picture shows.

Iguanas are everywhere and considered a nuisance on the island.  This one was enjoying the sun on the deck by the turtles.

I got to hold the baby sea turtle, only 6-8 months old.

Then we went to Hell and lived to tell about it.

Named for the stark limestone formations.

A visit to the Tortuga Cake and Rum factory finished the day.

The Witches of Paris was the big show in the theater that night.  Lots of cancan dancing.

The White Party with a gigantic conga line out on the pool deck finished up the night.

Cruise was GREAT!

It's Monday, so I will start with the weight report.  This morning I am 267.3, which means I have only gained one pounds in two weeks.  I'm very happy about that.  I'm especially happy because yesterday morning, the first time I could weigh in after the cruise, showed a weight FIVE pounds higher.  I left for the cruise 10 days ago at 266 and weighed 272.3 yesterday morning.  So I lost five pounds in one day.  There's only one reason for that, water retention.  I ate very well yesterday, the Fit Fare Omelette at Denny's for breakfast and then lunch and dinner at home.  A low sodium, low calorie day caused five pounds of water weight to leave the body.  Even I was surprised by this amount!  Officially I gained six pounds in nine days over the cruise time.

Now I'm home for two weeks before we leave on the next cruise.  Even though we have two different guys here visiting this week (Rudy Saturday to later today then Mark's cousin Ron from Tuesday through Friday) and several meals in restaurants, I am planning to behave and drop four to five pounds in these two weeks prior to boarding the Celebrity Constellation for that two weeks. 

Now for the cruise report....AWESOME!  Over the next six days, I will post pictures from each of the six photo albums I created.  The first album was from the Miccosukee Resort and Casino in Miami and the day we boarded the ship.

Outside the Miccosukee Resort and Casino.

Me and my new friend in the lobby.

Waiting for the shuttle bus to take us to the port.

The indoor pool on board.  This earlyon the day of embarkation, no one had started swimming yet, but it was very popular and crowded on the rest of the cruise.  There were NINE hot tubs on this ship and three pools.

La Cantina, the location of our muster station, is also a nice bar that sells specialty pizzas.  We never did have any of that pizza, but we ate PLENTY of pizza every night in the buffet.

The famous Swarovski crystal staircases in the atrium.

The first night and first show was "Forever Frank."  We went to all seven shows with Bill and Pat Staley.

The Infinity Pool on the aft deck. 

The first full day was a sea day, so we spent an hour after breakfast exploring more of the ship.

Both sea days were formal nights.

Before the show on the formal night, all the heads of the departments were introduced.  Here is the captain of the ship giving a welcome speech in about 10 different languages!  This was a very multi-lingual cruise.

This night's show was "Wonderland", which included fabulous acrobatic acts.