Hey! I'm Married!

Not that I didn't know that, but its nice get reminded every once in a while.

Today was a great day, even though I'm exhausted. We had a very productive day of cleaning and organizing. We were a great team and the day just flowed. Normally I have to beg Barry to help me with things around the house and then I just end up doing it myself so I don't have to hear him bitch. I probably do it right the first time anyway. But today we woke up, took a shower and got to cleaning. Throughout the day we had kiss-y moments and silly innuendo comments that would make both of us giggle. There was no bickering or griping on either of our parts. Barry was willing to help with everything and actually got things done without direction from me! We worked from about 10:45 until 7:30 with just a short break for lunch. I really wish I took a before and after pictures of our closet because it is COMPLETELY organized with room for more junk! Gotta love space bags when they don't get ruined by cats. All of our winter clothes have been sucked of any air and reduced to dense cubes of plastic and fabric. Our entire wardrobe, less what we're wearing, is washed and put away, and the last load of towels are drying. Anything that hasn't been worn in a year or have been labeled "One-Day-It'll-Fit-Again" have been put aside for a garage sale next weekend. I've got 2 new under-the-bed plastic bins sitting under the bed (go fig) full of things that were formally taking up space elsewhere and my closet base boards were vacuumed for the first time since, well, ever.

The house is still a mess since we really only scratched the surface of what we intend to complete by April 1st, but there were definitely accomplishments today. I just hope we can keep this momentum up!

Face 2 Face

Monday morning I left the house to the tune of Barry saying "Have it in your head that we're working out tonight!" I was all up for it too.

Then my friend at work, Jennifer, got 2 tickets to Elton John & Billy Joel's Face 2 Face tour for a late Christmas present from her brother and asked me to go!! When I called Barry I told him I couldn't work out tonight, I had to go see Elton and Billy. !!!! AHH!!!! Not only were we seeing 2 of the most amazing singers of all time, we had CLUB seats, Section 113 row B (practially floor- but better!)- I felt like a little kid going to Disney for the first time - I was so excited!! I now understand what those girls were screaming about during Beatles Mania.

Needless to say, my monday turned out Fan-Effin'-Tastic. Here's some pictures:

Bob & Sheri

For my Charlotte friends, you know exactly who i'm talking about. The Bob & Sheri morning show. For those who don't, Bob & Sheri is a morning show syndicated out of Charlotte, NC. When I was living in Daytona (2001), I would listen to their show religiously. There was something about their style and sense of humor that made them so much fun to listen to. When I moved back home to Jax, not hearing them was one of the things I missed in the morning.
Fast forward to January 2009, Girls Weekend in Savanah. I turn on my radio and who do I hear?! My beloved Bob & Sheri!! Sunny 103.3!! I got so excited. I listened to them all 2 hours on the way home, and it wasn't until I got to downtown Jacksonville that they started to fuzz out.
Normally, I can't stand white noise. Any flicker of quality in the reception and the station changes. Well, for Bob and Sheri, I can tolerate it. I even changed the way I went to work so i would travel north around the river instead of south, in the off chance that the 8 miles in either direction would make a difference. (I know, its a sickness, really.)
SO anyway, I thought i'd share. Good night, and I wish you good reception.

The Cruise

From Feb 14-22, 14 members of the Swedlow family went on a cruise to the Southern Carribean on the Carnival Fun Ship Victory. It was a helluva of a good time. We visited 5 countries, plus San Juan, PR and St. Thomas, VI. We flew to San Juan on Feb 14th, spent valentines day in Old San Juan and boarded the ship the next day. Old San Juan is beautiful- we could've spent a few more days there!

(One of San Juan's many sloped coblestone streets)

I could write forever on the daily events, but I'll just mention my favorite day and just show some pics from the other days.

My favorite port, by far, was Dominica (pronounce DOM-a-neek-a). Five of us picked up a taxi in town and our guide, Bobby, gave us the best tour ever. We walked on black sand beaches, soaked in a hot spring, swam in crystal waterfall pools, and felt the heat of their volcanos. It is simply the best kept secret in the Carribean. I hope maybe sometime soon to spend a week there to experience all the amazing things to do on this awesome island. (we didn't get to dive!!)

(He even bought us the local beer! YUM!)

(Barry, Rachel & Sharon in the hot spring)

(I love this picture!)

(Doesn't Barry look like an angel? - this is Jacko Falls)

All of those pictures were from Dominica. Here are some other pictures from the cruise :)

Josh & Barry (Cousins) by the smoke stack

Waiting for the R-rated comedian to start!

(In order: Dave, Rachel, Stephanie, Melissa, Mandi, Barry, Sharon, Bruce, Josh)

I clean up nice (this is one of the formal nights)

Relaxing in the hottub after a "brutal" day on the islands

An amazing view of our ship (on the left) on the island of St. Lucia

One of the lounges on the ship: we thought it looked like a strip club :)

One of Barry's classmates is from St. Kitts and mentioned that the best local dish to eat in the islands is Roti, kind of an Indian/Carribean burrito. Needless to say, it was de-LISH and we tried to find some on each island as each one cooks them just a bit differently. Roti King was our favorite. SO GOOD!

This is the Skirt Steak with Yuca Mofongo from El Jibarito in San Juan. OMG, this was one of the best dishes i've EVER had - and that's saying alot from a foodie. We ate there 3 times in the 2 days we were in San Juan.

Me and one of the cruises infamous towel animals

A crowd of us just before we board the Carnival Victory!

The Gang

The List.

I realize i've been a horrible blogger. But what sucks is I have SOOO much to blog about and no time to do it! SO, to hold myself accountable, I'll give you a list of the things you should hear from me:

• The Cruise!
• Bob & Sheri
• Elton John/Billy Joel
• Work
• Grandpa
• My Hubby