BVOFML, Day 4

Day 3 on the cruise was our first excursion day! We boarded in Juneau, Alaska, around noon and we had 9 hours at the port. We bought an excursion to the all you can eat Salmon Bake. We took a bus to get to it, and the driver took us around Juneau, pointing out things about the city. It was a beautiful, but cold, rainy day. There are so many trees in Alaska! The Salmon Bake was yummy. My faves were the glaze on the salmon-I could have drank it by the bucket full, and the corn bread. Yummy!! After we stuffed ourselves silly with salmon, we went on a walk up the trail, and found a gorgeous little waterfall, with fish everywhere in the water! Beautiful beyond words...

After the salmon bake, we decided to take the tram up the mountain in Juneau, where there were shops, hiking trails, a local family playing in a band, and a bald eagle that I fell in love with. Bryce and I went on a little hike-I didn't wear the right shoes for a wet rainy day, so we didn't go far, but oh man, the further we hiked, the more beautiful the scenery got! That night, we ate in Juneau, did a little bit of shopping and then got back on the ship. Such a fun day in Juneau!

View from the tram ride up the mountain, that is our cruise ship! Notice how foggy it was...so cold!

The port of Juneau

The tram we took. Loved it!

Noticed this on our hike. Bryce knew what it was, he knows his flowers!

Loving the hike!

Look at that beautiful waterfall! PS, I love how Bryce is holding the umbrella, it makes it look like it's an old man cane!

Seriously, breathtaking. I wanted to stay here all day!

I couldn't get enough of this bald eagle. It was so cool to see one up close!

Some of the nature we saw on our hike. You can't tell how hard it was raining here, but it was a downpour!

BVOFML, Day 3

The second day on the cruise was a day at sea, meaning we didn't have any ports to get off for excursions. I took full advantage of having a day off from "life" and slept for most of it, best day ever! I think we may have rent a movie in there somewhere. That night was our first formal dinner. It was kind of fun getting all dressed up, I haven't done that for a long while! Can I just say that the dinners were SO good on the cruise? It was always a 4 course meal, with several options for each course, each night. It was like eating at a fancy restaurant, 7 days in a row!
That night we were able to go to the entertainment show, which consisted of Broadway songs....loved it!

One of my most favorite parts of the cruise was the towel animals they would leave on your bed every night while you were at dinner. I always got excited to see which animal they created that night!

Best Vacation of My Life So Far, Day 2

Day 2 of the trip consisted of sleeping in, taking a taxi to the ship (and can I just say I was shocked by how big the cruise ship was?! I've never seen one up close and personal...took me a bit to get used to the sheer size of it!), and checking in to the ship, which was a lot like checking in for a flight at the airport-lots of lines, and security, and more lines. Once we checked in, Bryce and I immediately went to check out our room. It was small, but cozy. The ship wasn't taking off for a few hours, so went to get food and then he took me on a tour of the cruise line. He had gone with Holland America before, so was familiar with the set up. I was very confused and very overwhelmed by where things were, the ship was literally its own city, and it took me a few days to figure out where things were! That night, we had our first dinner in the dining hall, and I instantly loved our waiters. So cute! Chad and Becky went on the cruise to celebrate their anniversary, so the workers sang to them and gave them a cake. We wanted to go to the show that was playing that night on the ship, but dinner took too long, so we ended up just walking around some more on the ship, and then got a movie from the ship movie store...you could rent any of the ones they had for free-we took full advantage of that! It was a very relaxing, fun day boarding the ship!

The vanity where I got ready every day. So small!

Our room! It was tiny, but comfy!

The very small bathroom!

Bryce and I on the first dinner in the dining room

Chad and Becky after being sung to for their anniversary

Aren't they so cute?!

Best Vacation Of My Life So Far, Day 1

I went on an amazing Alaskan cruise this summer, and wanted to share my experiences and pictures with you! I'll share each day from my 9 day trip, one day at a time. Today's post will be on the first day of the trip.

We (we being me, my close friend Bryce, his brother Chad, and Chad's wife Becky) flew out from Salt Lake super early and got in to Seattle around 8:30 AM. We wanted to see if our hotel room would possibly be ready, and were going to take a taxi from the airport to the hotel when we were approached by a limo driver. The very top item on my bucket list has been to ride in a limo because I never have before (I almost did when I was in 4th grade...but that's a story for another day). I assumed it would have been too expensive, so I just kind of laughed it off. But Bryce knew I wanted to ride in a limo someday (I had actually shared a few things from my bucket list with him just days prior to this) and it turned out not to cost a lot with all 4 of us, so we went for it. I was as giddy as a schoolgirl during the whole 15 minute ride, I couldn't stop smiling and giggling! Perfect start for a perfect vacation, I say!

Our hotel ended up being ready and it was such a nice hotel room, I wish I had taken pictures of it! Bryce and I ended up taking a nap since we had to get up so early that morning for the plane ride. After the best nap ever, we went with Chad and Becky to get a pulled pork sandwich because Chad loves them and saw on a food show that this certain place in Seattle is 2nd best in the country. Super yummy!

We decided to do some shopping, which included a walk through of Crate and Barrel where I found my dream bed and chair...someday when I'm super rich, right?!

That night we went to a Mariner baseball game, where they played the Red Sox. We had amazing seats, and it was so much fun! I'm a huge fan of MLB games, especially watching them in person. I decided to cheer for the Mariners since I'm not a big Red Sox fan. I always pick a favorite player when I'm watching live games, and this time I chose number 21. SOO cute!

To Be Continued with Day 2...boarding the ship! Excited, right? That's what I thought!

Enjoying the game!

Awesome seats, right behind the Mariner dugout!

21...the future Mr. Perkins (or I can be the future Mrs. Gutierrez, either works for me!)

This picture was taken on my phone, so super crappy quality, but here's the limo ride! So happy!

Change

Change is approaching. I can feel it...or I should say, I have felt it for sometime now. Not only change in my physical place of belonging, but change within me. Have you ever felt that in life, you are either moving forward, moving backward, or somewhere in between, waiting for either the forward or backward to happen? I've been in the "in-between" stage for sometime now. It's not an easy place to be. It's uncomfortable, it's hard, it's vulnerable. I am excited to move forward, excited to see new possibilities lie before me, excited to let go of the complacency that I have experienced. Life is good. And mine? Well, I am choosing my life to be a good one. A good, good life!

Sometimes...

Sometimes...

...I need a good workout at the gym, or a hard, long run to make me feel like I'm me again.
...I wish I already had my Master's degree (but I'm grateful for the chance to work towards it now!)
...I crave and adore naps!
...I feel like I fail my students. But most of the time, I feel like I'm making a difference in the lives of the children I teach, in a job that I love SO much!
...I just really need to laugh so hard that my stomach hurts and tears fall down my cheeks (thanks to living with the funniest roommate ever!)
...I want to stay in bed all day and read a really good book, or watch my favorite TV shows, one right after the other.
...I observe the world around me, and am amazed at the beauty that is everywhere!
...or all the time, I am really, really grateful for true, wonderful friends. I tell you what, being 29 and single is the best when you are surrounded with the best of friends!
...I like to go to movies alone.
...I crave Jimmy John sandwiches (don't worry, I got my fix today!)
...I love to be a girly girl, and shop for high heel shoes, purses, earrings and dresses.
...I miss my grandma so much.
...I think about memories I have shared with my family and it comforts me when I feel alone or far away from them.
...I want to get a kitten for myself. Yes folks, I have become a pet person!
...I go for long drives alone, blaring my music and singing along so loudly that I tune everything else out.
...I secretly love to watch the Disney channel.
...I need to reflect on my blessings so that I can be a better Positive Polly and not a Negative Nancy!
...I just need to talk to someone and have them just listen.
...I spend hours looking at first grade teaching blogs. There are some really creative people out there and I benefit from their sharing of their creativity!
...I blog about random things in hopes of becoming a better writer!

Truth Is Beautiful

I am currently taking the class Teaching Effective Writing Instruction. And I'll be completely honest, I have been scared for a few months to take this particular grad class because I feel like I struggle as a writer, and teaching writing is my weakest area in teaching. But in the short amount of time I have been in the class, I'm really starting to open up to writing and to the possibility that I can actually be a good writer. All writing is, is telling a story...MY story. There's so much that happens around me, and how I react to it, that I can write about!

I decided that once a week (or more, depending on how I feel), I will open up and just write on my blog. Because I can't be a better writer and a better teacher of writing if I don't write often and push myself to do it!

Today I laid below the big beautiful tree in my backyard while listening to the song Dream by Priscilla Ahn. I got lost in the lyrics, and thoughts about my life. I wish that I had taken more time to do that-to just be alone in my thoughts, lost in beautiful music, while lying under that tree that I'm going to miss so much. There is power in being alone in meditation. It brings you to the core of you. And there is power in music. I love the way that music expresses what is in my heart when my words lack. I love how the melodies of songs are like my heart being poured out. What a gift it is to have music as a way of expression!

Here's to allowing more time for myself to meditate, hopefully I can incorporate it daily! Enjoy the song. Get lost in the lyrics. It's powerful!