honeymoon :)

saturday we returned from our honeymoon in punta cana, dominican republic.  we had a blast!!  the weather was great... actually, it was pretty hot, but beautiful nonetheless.  the resort was gorgeous, and every single person employed at the resort was wonderfully attentive and exceptionally nice.  we arrived monday afternoon, settled in, got ready for dinner, and headed to el patio, the resort's mexican restaurant.  the food was great!  you can tell that presentation means a lot to them, as every meal was exquisitely displayed on our plates. 

tuesday.. it was raining when we woke up, but it didn't last long.  pretty soon, we were lounging on the beach on the awesome beach beds in the fabulous preferred club's private beach.  the ocean wasn't very smooth... the flag was red and the under-tow was bad. and the waves were semi-extreme.  but it's our honeymoon and we're in the dominican republic with beautiful beaches, so we head for the ocean.  not five minutes later, a wave knocks me down :(  when i resurfaced, my ray-ban's were gone and my headband (which i probably paid 5 dollars for 5) was floating right next to me.  just my luck.  but i didn't let it rain on my parade.... no time to be sad on our honeymoon!  the next morning, i bought a pair of sunglasses (not very attractive ones at that) and some chapstick with spf..... total cost=$30.  really?

tuesday night we dined at the seaside grill.  we both ordered their version of a surf-and-turf, which was good; then we had cheesecake for dessert.

wednesday, back to the beach for the day.  then we went to the fabulous spa late that afternoon.  ju got the deep, relaxing massage--which he loved, and i got the reflexology massage (face, hands, feet only)--which i loved.  the spa was so so wonderful!  very peaceful.... and perfect.  that night we went to the resort's adults only restaurant, bordeaux.  it was yummy!

let me take a moment to discuss the food.  it was okay interesting.  the world cafe, which was a huge buffet style restaurant with tons and tons of options, is where we had breakfast everyday.  they had an omelet station, which was the closest thing to american-tasting food we ate.  they also had a smoothie station that i loved!  very neat and yuuuummy!  now for the not-so-good.... the syrup didn't taste like syrup; therefore making it difficult to enjoy your pancake or crepe.  the bacon (the sign said "bacon of pork"---ummm, where else would the bacon come from?!) didn't really taste like bacon, nor did the sausage taste like sausage. the lunch options were the same--lots of options but didn't taste like we were used to.  pasta--not very good; sandwich meat--i was scared to try;  but the shrimp and fish were very good and pizza was delicious!! needless to say, i survived on omelets and smoothies for breakfast and pizza for lunch.  but hey, it wouldn't be a different experience if everything was the same as it is here.  oh yeah, the restaurants that we ate at for dinner were great!  with all food exquisitely displayed, of course.

ok.. now for thursday.  same as other days.  breakfast, beach, lunch, beach, preferred club lounge for drinks, dinner, back to room (the resort had activities that took place everyday.  but ju and i aren't really the activity type... plus, we're on our honeymoon! no need to spend time with groups of people, just each other.  so after dinner, we retired to our room).  julius and i are big readers.  and with a beach destination, we, of course, brought books.  ju didn't enjoy his book... he thought he was off to a great start when the first page had the date july 17, 1996 (his birthday is july 17).  however, he soon learned that he was wrong--that date marks the day a plane crashed... also, the book was based on actual events. (did i mention that when he began reading, we were on the plane awaiting take-off??)  as if that wasn't enough, it ended with the 9/11 terrorist attacks.  actually, i believe ju said there wasn't really an ending--no answers were revealed.  9/11 just happened, and then the book was over.   wow.. bad reading choice.  my book was excellent though!  i read the help by kathryn stockett.  i would read it again.  definitely.

friday was definitely the hottest day of the week.  we had breakfast then decided we would get a movie from the lounge.  we got 'finding nemo' and 'i'm not there' (movie/documentary about bob dylan. good cast... heath ledger, cate blanchett, christian bale, richard gere, michelle williams).  we watched movies until lunch, then headed to the world cafe for yet another meal of pizza.  then back to the room to relax until our spa appointments.  this time, ju got the reflexology and i got the 'sweet dreams' package, which included coco exfoliation, coco hydrotherapy, aloe wrap, and a relaxing massage.

oh my goodness!  it was superb! i never wanted to leave the spa!!!!  that night we had dinner at oceana.  they told us they had a special table for us-since it was our last night.  table was definitely ordinary but oh well.  they had our main course picked out for us already-said it was special as well.  so we picked out appetizers-calamari for ju, shrimp and crab cakes for me.  they also had a bottle of champagne for us.  meal was delicious!!!

saturday, we had breakfast then got all of our things ready to come home.  car picked us up at 12. flight left at 3:30.  we didn't get back home until a little after 11.  so we were tired (how is it that traveling makes you so tired?) but sooooo ready to be home.  our animals missed us and we missed them!  took us about 2 hours to get them settled down.  went to bed after 1 am and woke up at 7:55.  just my luck. 

overall, we had such a fabulous time!!! but it's certainly nice to be home :)

yesterday, we were lazy.  i did a few things around the house, but i couldn't-and still can't-manage to make myself unpack. (i'm going to do it today.. hopefully).  ju actually had to work, but only for a few hours.  we watched the saints game (9-0!!!) and i semi-cleaned while watching--dusted, vacuum (ok, since we got ruby, ju says that when he asks me what i've done, vacuuming doesn't count anymore b/c it's only pushing a button! ha :), did laundry-which i was more than happy to do; i love laundry.. i know it's weird, but i do.  and with a whole week of no laundry, i was pretty pumped about doing it... i guess my wonderful front loaders and red laundry room aid my enjoyment.  oh, and of course did the dishes--i don't know why this is but i really despise unloading the dishwater. i don't mind loading it or even watching dishes by hand, but there's just something about unloading it.  i cooked supper (yay for normal food!)... since we just got home, our options were lacking.  and even though we'd just returned from many a seafood meal, tilapia was the only thing i could round up for us.  we also had corn, rice, and yummy sister schubert rolls.  i admit though, it was quite nice.

oh, i almost forgot... when we returned from dinner our last night, this was in our room :)

here are a few more pictures...

the rest of our honeymoon album is here.

ruby roomba :)

i just have to take a minute to brag about my roomba... i absolutely love it! now i understand that we haven't had ruby very long; but so far, she has done a superb job, as well as very much impressed us.

there are a few things about roombas that just seem... umm, so advanced (but in an amazing way).  for example, the box says:

1. robot intelligence--roomba efficiently cleans the whole floor, under and around furniture and along walls.
2. self-adjusting cleaning head--automatically adjusts to clean carpets and hard floors.
3. avoids stairs--automatically senses and avoids stairs and other drop-offs.
4. edge cleaning capability--follows walls and reaches deep into corners to remove dust, dirt and debris.
5. detects dirt--roomba senses dirtier areas and cleans more thoroughly in those spots.
6. anti-tangle system--roomba won't get stuck on cords, carpet fringe or tassels.
7. simple operation--just press the clean button, roomba does the rest.

(also says: a powerful vacuum--two counter-rotating brushes and an efficient vacuum reach deep into your carpet to remove dirt, dust, and pet hair.)

and we can't forget about the virtual walls and lighthouses. the roomba comes with 2 virtual wall/lighthouses.  you use the virtual walls to confine the roomba/not let it pass.  you use the lighthouses to guide the roomba from room to room.  you don't have to use the virtual walls or lighthouses--it still cleans the entire house when you simple press clean and have nothing set up.  but it goes in kind of a different pattern.  the virtual walls and lighthouses will more than likely simply shorten the process.  anywho, i haven't set mine up yet b/c i got the wrong batteries.  the roomba booklet has 2 pages about the virtual walls/lighthouses.  one page says the they require D batteries; the other page says C batteries.  so, i bought D batteries only to come home and find out that they are too big.  C it is.  virtual walls/lighthouses or not, ruby still works marvelously.

oh, and the "spot" clean mode... you can place the roomba in a dirty area and press the "spot" button, and it cleans thoroughly in that spot (it goes around and around the area until it's clean).  also, when it's in clean mode, it can detect dirtier areas, so it does the same thing.  it's pretty neat.

so.. need i say more?! it does everything a regular vacuum does without the hassle... or without any work at all.  it's basically vacuuming for lazy people. but hey, it gets the job done :)

loving married life :)

so julius and i have been married for a little over a month, and i have to say, married life is wonderful!  i love going to sleep and waking up next to ju.  i go to sleep and wake up genuinely happy.  i don't think i could be any happier if i tried. 

i am learning that marriage, as with any relationship, is give and take.  i'm working right now on not taking too much :)  julius is a wonderful husband, and i am truly blessed to have him in my life. 

we leave for our honeymoon this coming monday!  hooooorraayyyy!  dominican republic here we come!  i'm so so ready to get out of charleston (and mississippi) for a week!  and hopefully, we will see nothing but sun while we are there.  oh my, i just can't wait!

it just occurred to me that i haven't blogged since the day before halloween.... well, halloween night was great!  ju and i found last minute (and when i say last minute, i mean day-of) costumes-as a doctor and a nurse.  it wasn't an original choice, but it was available.  we both wore scrubs so we were super comfortable all night!  we started here....drinks, appetizers, and cookies then headed to the country club around 8ish.  and it's a good thing we left here at 8 b/c by the time we made all of our stops and finally arrived at the tcc, it was after 9.  the band was good and there wasn't too big of a crowd (which i enjoy more than a huge crowd there).  and being the old married couple that we are, ju and i were ready to go home by about 10:30.  i know, i know... boooooorring.  so home we came.  in bed by midnight.  :)   but we had a blast (even if we wanted to come home so early)!

sunday, we were lazy (and a bit hungover).  monday i subsitute taught at strider... i had the k4 class again.  i just love them! but it was only until 11:30 so i went to oxford that afternoon. tuesday i cleaned and did lots of laundry. today i've had a pretty bad headache :( so i haven't done a lot--just my usual straightening up, loads of laundry, made some calls--dreams resort, att, holmes cc, minimal errands-which always seems to include the bank, and got supper ready. i made spaghetti b/c i had everything and it was easy.  as much as i love cooking, sometimes i just want to cook the most simple meal.. just for a little break. after supper, we watched the new south park... hilarious, as usual!  and tonight was the first episode-since the very first one this season-that it was just me and julius.  normally, bailey and drew (and sometimes lex) come over for supper and the new episode. but tonight it was just us. and i loved it :)

well, julius is watching tv, and i'm getting pretty sleepy.  so off to bed i go.  i plan on waking up early to make julius blueberry pancakes (pre-mixed packets.. you just add water :)