Breakaway from these chains..Sail away from your mind...

Okay so last blog entry was a little off.  It really wasn't my voice.  Well it was...but I was told that I sounded like a snooty food critic.  Wait, I'm not a food critic???  I think my humor really didn't come through, as the time on board the Norwegian Breakaway was awesome, just some flaws...we all have flaws and don't we LOVE to hear about them so we can improve?  That's how I roll...

I also think my entry could have been off because I have not been feeling well.  I don't get it...I eat healthy...for the most part...I sleep 7-8 hours a night...well I put my head to the pillow at 8:30 PM and wake up at 5:30 AM, and then there are those nasty creatures that wake me up during the night...dreams...thoughts...birds!  And I exercise...Why don't I feel like the 22 year old I am?  Oh wait, that's Taylor Swift's new song, not my age.  Crap!  Okay why don't I feel like the beautiful, energized, outgoing 30 something woman I am??? I need to call that doctor for the enlarged lymph node, and and that mammogram too.  Thanks to the peeps for reminding me. 

Anywho, let me try to get my tone right for this next "review." 
If you asked little man how this cruise was-he would say AMAZING!! And when are we going again?  Oh wait, he did say that..."So, we are coming back in July mom?"  Yikes...

So here in a nut shell, or a clam shell-Spongebob and friends are on board, get it?- are the remaining features of the ship that I would like to highlight. 

Dan the man asks: "How are they surviving up here?" Smart kid...

Pool/Water Area-2 pools-1 family 1 adult.  I preferred the family one...SMOKE was surrounding the adults only area.  Bar included. Yes, I HATE smoke.  I love adults, and especially when I am on a trip with no kids, I really like adults.  But the pool is small with barely any room to sun.  Yes, my favorite thing at the pool!  So my next trip I need to upgrade to the Haven or something!  The water area for kids was awesome.  Water but not too much water.  Dan hates to have water spilled over his head but he loved it here!  And the slides.  I was way too scared to go on the freefall.  Maybe next trip...But little man was tall enough to go on the "blue" slide and he loved it.   He would have gone on more times but so much to do in so little time.  

Sports Deck- My niece played some basketball here and loved it.  We also played miniature golf.  It was fun.  As fun as miniature golf could be.  Can you hear the sarcasm?  But it was nice hitting golf balls as we passed the Statue of Liberty.  Rock Climbing-little man, myself, and my niece all attempted.  None of us made it to the top but I swear I went the furthest up!  I am a bad ass with my Spartan Race self, and Tough Mudder electricity, okay not yet, but daunting is the best word to describe the feeling when I looked down around me and saw the open waters as I was reaching for the bell. Next time, I do it better!!  Then there was the rope course which we did not get to do, again, it was the weather and the fitting so much into so little time.  It did look like fun though.  Next time.  Yes! 

Entertainment-We sat in on the dueling pianos which I always love because I am a singer!!  Yep, I am the one screaming out Brown Eyed Girl or Sweet Caroline at any bar or party and here was no different.  Both of the entertainers kept up the jokes and had a great flair about them. We went twice. 

Then we saw Rock of Ages and Cirque du Soleil "Jungle Fantasy."  Rock of Ages was just as good as the Broadway performance I saw and the theatre was very nice.  Seemed smaller than others but great viewing.  Cirque was very awesome according to little man.  There was a full 3 course meal given there and I hear it was yummy.  I actually didn't attend.  i decided to take a trip to the gym.

The Gym-Spin room!  So sad I didn't sign up for FlyWheel but the bikes looked amazing.  Maybe on my next trip.  Did some cardio and there were a lot of machines.  Much more in comparison to other ships I have been on.  And I did an ab class which was also great.  Instructor was very knowledgeable and kept us going for 4 rounds...
Kid's Club-what's there not to love.  It was clean, safe, friendly and inviting and Dan wanted to stay there all the time!  But since it was a short trip, it was only short trips that I allowed.  This was our time to experience a boat.  But it did give us the opportunity to do "adult" things in the evening.  He loved it!

Drinks-They were FREEEEEEE!!!! What can I say?  However they did run out of lime so I couldn't get a mojito at one bar.  Thought that was weird.  But hey I opted for a chocolate martini instead...the things you have to do!  Ice Bar-Usually fro $20 you get two drinks and 30 minutes to chill.  Literally chill..  And kids are allowed in too.  They get soda.  What a fun thing to do in a half hour.  Short and sweet...and cold!

Casino-SMOKEY!  Great machines and tables!! I love me some roulette!  But did I say SMOKEY????? those carpets are going to be destroyed by July! 

Oh well, stairs and elevators worked well.  Public bathrooms clean.  A good time by all.  Can't wait to sail away to Bermuda.

Hey mom-are we upgrading to the Haven??

Next blog entry will be about our Family Play date for National Family Play date day, May 10! We had fun...did you???

Blue Team is #1 even though the White team might disagree!

It was TIME to BREAKAWAY to EAT Part 1

Last weekend I was afforded a trip aboard the Norwegian Breakaway out of New York City.  As a Sandy Mom, my family was invited and paid in full by Katie Couric and her amazing show!  It was FREE drinks for all and free speciality restaurants and entertainment.  I will be boarding the Breakaway later this summer and look forward to it.

Besides all the great free things that we were adorned with, I am a cruiser and do have some things to say about the generous and professional crew aboard and some short comings.  Never mind meeting Kevin Sheehan and wanting to tell him everything we see going on this ship...things that need some tweaking...things that were wonderful.  But we didn't want to crash the party and my niece was just so excited to meet the Undercover Boss.  She also was excited to meet Buddy from Carlo's Bakery and Geoffrey Zakarian from Iron Chef fame and Ocean Blue abord the Norwegian Breakaway.

Boarding: Smooth, as usual, except that we wanted to attach one credit card to two rooms and the check-in people were not able to do it so I had to go to Guest Services to get that done once aboard.  That took too long. 

Allison, Mom, Me, Michele,Meg, Dan
#StatenIslandStrong

Rooms:  We were in an inside room 12627.  Room is much smaller than an inside room aboard the Jewel but it was a complimentary trip so who complains.  However for our next trip, it will be the larger room with Window.  Tight closet space, lots of cubicles, and the best was the big bathroom with shower door!!!!  We did get to see rooms in every category as there were viewing hours.  This was great because it helped us see what rooms were best for our next trips.

 



Chilling in the Bunk Bed eating Cheerios

  Dining:  Let me remind you that all dining, including speciality restaurants were free.  So by the time we booked through their touch screen method on board much was booked for prime dining.  We did get the opportunity to eat at the Italian restaurant "La Cucina."  I have eaten at the same restaurant aboard the Jewel and it has been good.  This time around we had some issues.  The pork and gnocchi dish was not very flavorful.  The gnocchi was cooked well and was the best on the dish though.  The beef carpaccio was also flavorless and I understand that the pasta carbonara had too little sauce and not very tasty.  The other dishes were also very salty.

Garden Buffet:
Lunch-Found it weird there was no "kid" friendly portion of the buffet.  The assortment of foods was abundant and the area clean.  Quality was good too: pasta selections, hamburgers with bacon and pineapple, swiss and mushroom, hot dogs, pizzas, panninis, veggies, breads, desserts. However the service was sparse.  We needed to bus our own table, in comparison to other cruises we have taken, the staff rarely, if ever, cleared our table when we were finished with our plates.  Nor did they ask if we needed anything.  We did look for them to get some juices, alcoholic beverages, and sodas at a point since we didn't want to leave the kiddies and the kiddies didn't want to walk, but nobody to be found.  We have had this type of service on Norwegian before so we were surprised by it.

Breakfast-Again assortment of foods were okay.  Omelet Station, pancakes, which tasted like citrus hence didn't go well with the table, waffles (didn't try them),and french toast-not cinnamon enough and had raisins- but was thick and cooked well.  What was not cooked well was the bacon!!!  Always looked raw and fatty.  Had to dig for a little well done piece here and there. Cinnamon buns though were amazing.  Some fresh fruits and hot cereal were also good, watermelon not so ripe though. 

Manhattan Room: The larger dining room, we ate here only once and it was for a Special Brunch.  Salmon for appetizer, Fillet Mignon and an egg pattie for main course and eclair for dessert.  Salmon was salty which made it taste fishy however the cream cheese helped.  Fillet Mignon was delish which made me eat my sis' too!  The egg was okay.  Didn't love it but it was fine. And dessert was also fine.  Which means...Didn't need seconds on both.  And in teh Manhattan Room later in the day I was able to take a dance class with the Rockettes!!  It was very amazing.

Me enjoying the Meat

Bloody just like I like it!



Rockette Dance line Michele and me

 Taste:

Lunch-Philly Cheese Steak-I don't even eat these but I did share some bites and it was GOOODDDD!  Service was also good but slow.  And it was no where near filled like it would be on a regular journey.  So something to look at here and in all the restaurants is service.  Timeliness and quality.  All were very sweet but I can see where theere will be shortcomings. Club sandwich which had ham, bacon and turkey on it.  I couldn't look at the meats, they looked processed so I passed. 

Savor:
Dinner-Tilapia was my main course after a pumpkin soup, followed by a piece of apple pie and pistachio creme brulee.  Both dishes were my second best meal to the fillet mmignon!  Apple pie was no favorite and the creme brulee-wish I had two but it was a large serving!

Breakfast-Sad to go but breakfast was hearty.  Hot cereals, choice of eggs and carbs, hashbrowns were nice and toasty, little man loved it all!  Even the sausage and scrambled eggs.  Did not like the pancakes though, clearly. I did ask for whole wheat toast but they didn't deliver and I didn't say anything...who needed more carbs?

Carlo's Bakery-This was the ONLY thing I paid for on the ship.  I had a chocolate covered cannoli, lobster tail, and chocolate cupcake.  Okay, we SHARED these!!!  Really liked the lobster tail and the cannoli but didn't love the cupcake.   

I did find it weird that there were no chocolate chip cookies in the buffet when we ate but we did find them hidden in some high end areas...

Casino time-Mom enjoying the lobster tail from Carlo's Bakery

You make me feel like I'm the only girl in this world...but I know I am not

I usually just start to write my blog entry on the computer...but this week I went old school.  Pen to the paper!!  But here is the final product.

This week has been very eventful, literally CHOCK FULL OF EVENTS!

Friday: Went to a basket auction at little man's school where my best friend is a teacher-awesome teacher BTW Happy Teacher Appreciation Week-a great way to hang out kid less while benefitting the kiddies.  We were able to enjoy libations and laughs.  I didn't win anything but that didn't matter, much.  I would've liked to win the outside garbage pail and the grill.  How mundane? Well, since Hurricane Sandy took those away in the raging waters I aimed high! 

Saturday: Woke up early, after a late-midnight-night and went to train OCR (obstacle course race) style with my team.  Yes, my injury did not allow me to do it all, but I gave it my all.  Great to see some new members, one who is "family, " and a lovely new lady Bee, who is as funny as me.  Well not really as much as me.  But close.  Then a trip to the cemetery to take care of grandma's plot.  It'll be five years that she has left us, and I miss her each and every day.  Growing up in a house full of women, she was our rock.  She would've loved my little silly boy, as she only was able to enjoy his first year of life.  And he would've enjoyed running downstairs to escape from mommy.  A nice retreat to eat all the goodies she had to offer.  I have to say though, the woman lived a fulfilling life, and if September 11th didn't kill her, Hurricane Sandy would have.  Better for her to have passed peacefully where she wanted to.  Her life lives on in that house!
After the cemetery, a communion celebration was on tap.  The service was very good, a very nice church family and the party was even better.  I always find it enjoyable where friends are invited into everything like they are a part of the family.  And in this case, Jen's family just did that!  Her family is funny, caring, and full of energy!!  Onward to some good eats and drinks and some leisure walking over Cinco de Mayo weekend.  Just wished it was a little warmer so I could've enjoyed the breezes coming off the water. 

2nd Master's degree Ceremony Gram and Dan always with me

Monday: Work...blah blah blah... Then I was invited by Jen to a special blogger event sponsored by Merck and She Speaks.  A wonderful time to talk about the Active Family Project.  This is not the blog entry that I will dedicate to detail the event as it deserves its own.  But a quick note: NATIONAL FAMILY PLAYDATE IS MAY 11th!!  DO IT and make a date with your family!  I am...while cruising for Mother's day Courtesy of the Katie Show celebrating Sandy Moms-another blog entry worthy of more deatil.  Then picked up little man, played hide and seek in the park, drove to Toys R Us for a birthday present, ate at the Chinese buffet-don't judge me-drove to Shoprite for some necessaties, and then drove back home to finish homework, bathe and SLEEP!!!  What father can do all this in one day??? Another aspect of the blog entry related to the Active Family Project.
    

Elizabeth Hasselback and me

This is one long post...but I live one interesting life...REALLY? No!!!

Tuesday: Meeting in the City, oh Bloomingdales and Dylan's Candy Bar...how you are calling my name.  Oh wait, is that a call from the school nurse coming in?  Why yes.  Little man needs to get picked up!
Raced home to get him yet some short hours later he was feeling much better, even though I did get blamed for his illness.  This happens. 
Dan: Mom, my tummy hurt, you gave me too many Cheeze Its. 
Me: Well why did you eat them all? 
Dan: You didn't tell me not to eat them all. 
Jeesh.  Gotta love this kid!  Well since he was feeling well, a date with the best friend and a sleep over with grandma later...Off to Rihanna we went.  A great show and my first at Barclay's Center.  We were shining bright like diamonds once we were dancing to some great hits.  Say my name, say my name...Stay...
Onward...
Wednesday: RAIN....UMBREL-LA-LA-LA!...Flooding...Meeting...oh please don't flood my home.  A birthday party with Dan's friend from school-also known as his brother-oh and his "wife."

The Three Amigos

It's Thursday..maybe baseball will be cancelled...since it's RAINING again!
And tomorrow is Friday!  Aren't you glad...for SO many reasons-yes blog entry almost over.
For me Friday brings a Mother's Day cruise to NOWHERE!!! Yes, the "Karlsberg" women and Meggy Meg and little man aboard the Norewigan Breakaway.  Brand new ship!!! I am sure it will be a Mother's day not to forget. 

Bon Voyage and Happy Mother's Day to all of you-women and men alike.


Mom and Gram, oh and me & Joann in the background.





New Year's Eve Dec 31, 2007 Gram, Dan, and me



Have you been checking that engine said the challenge...

I feel like I had to do a self check-no, not breast exam, but yes CALL for MAMMO!!  Note to self.

A check in on my "To do" list for this near year where I am letting go and opening up...Say goodbye to rigidness! A check in on my engine.  Oh I traded that 8 year old engine in...Escapes...

Anywho...my list...

• Exercise Move regularly-no number on that-don't want to pigeon hole myself.  I love working out but I NEED to remember it's about the quality not quantity.  And I don't want to overwhelm my life with HAVING to do it because I didn't do it yesterday.  This could include running, kettlebells, horseback riding, walking, jumping rope, bowling etc.

I have learned in the past 5 months that I need not plan.  I need not freak out when I feel like I haven't moved in days.  I need not.  I just must do.  So take up a friend on a 5:15 AM or a 6:30 PM run.  Or take a 6AM Spin class in NYC and travel back to Staten Island to work.  Due to an injury, boot camp and working out with my lovely ladies has been put on hold.  But this to shall pass as long as I take care of it.  Take care of me.  And that is what I am doing.  So I feel pretty secure that I am ROCKING this!  Moving and shaking! 

• Have fun.  I need to stop thinking so much and take control of having fun.

I think I have been doing this too.  Not worrying about how to have fun-just having it.  And fun is such a subjective word.  My fun just might not be your cup of fun but when I am not complaining or stressing, I am having fun.  Whether it be an i message exchange, a facebook challenge, a run, a book, singing to the radio, and my new fancy access to Sirius XM. OMG I call that fun, thank you new car!  And just to be around me, how can that NOT be fun!!!

• Don't stress.  I am me.  I am whatever I tend to be.  I need to take control of over analyzing and thinking far into the future.  Jenny McCarthy has a blog for the Sun Times and wrote a great entry this week that hit home regarding the importance of the moment. 

I am not stressing.  I AM NOT!!!  I am a driver.  I am always going to be a force to reckon with but I am not stressing! Much.

• Take on Complete a half marathon.  I really want to do one in Disneyworld...But I'll consider other favorites.

I signed up.  Step 1!!!!

• Pray with little man more.  We started doing this again.  We need to do this more.  Routine, love, thinking of others.

Done.  Can't wait for him to learn about God.  Maye he'll teach me a thing or two.

• Have fun with little man more.  Consistency yes but don't need to be so strict with NEEDING to do one thing or another. 

Done.  Not stressing (see a trend here) about always being a day full of activities.  What's better than playing evil life guard, Hansel and Gretel, banging the drums, playing at the park,  and dancing around from 7:30 AM until 8:00 PM???

• Help my son find his talents.  He has one or maybe more...but what will they be?  He is a good reader and an excellent story teller.

This is an every day accomplishment!

• Walk away more from little man.  No, I would never leave my son alone.  However, my friends might understand that I am a helicopter mom. In everything he does, I am a helicopter mom.  I need to step back and let him grow and make decisions on his own sometimes. 

He even asks me to walk away.  Not sure if it's he wants to play hide and seek (yes, that happens in the middle of homework) but he does it because he wants to show me he can do it!  On his own. 

• Make more dinners or maybe lunches.  YES I DO COOK!!!! Not often yes, a working mom and a picky eater as a son....my excuse.  But no more excuses.

Doing it!!! And I love it.  What's better than the crockpot that my mom won for me!  What's better than healthy recipes supplied by friends.  What's better than a home cooked meal?  Okay, filet mignon at a steak joint; Mexican food...

• Enjoy those around me.  Don't question intentions.  Don't question their acts. Just enjoy them and what they can give to me.

I am trying.  Sometimes I think too much.  Yes, I know.  But what is important, is that I am trying.

• De clutter.  From so much.  I need to hone this one.

I now throw out receipts and cereal from years past.  I call that a start.

• Become more literate.  About so much.  I need to think and do for me and little man.

Work in progress.

• Be aware of what and how much I eat.  Cause we all know good food comes in abundance!

I am.  Except the last two days when the ice cream and cookies kept jumping in my mouth!

• Read more.  So much technology and access to great books.

Yes, working on this.  During my down time.

• See more movies. Why not?

Been doing this too.  Mindless entertainment. 

• Challenge myself!  And know my best is good enough!!!!!!!

Challenge, what challenge???

I think I might be the challenge, and that's why you are my friend, and keep coming to visit me.

Happy May day!
Oh and a shout out to Matty-he is five years old on this first day of May!!!  He better start reading my blog.
Who's ready for Mother's Day?