Cruises are a great vacation

Hi y'all. I just got back from a great vacation on the Carnival Magic cruise ship. This ship ported out of Galveston, Texas so it would be only appropriate that everyone on the ship was majority Texans. I had somehow picked up some of their slang but since I have been back here on the west coast, it didn't take me long to get back to my old self. This was a great trip and met some of the best people who have become good friends. I truly suggest through your travels to talk to everyone. It makes for great times and new friendships. Who cares if you never see them face to face ever again, thankfully we have social media and high tech phones. You can stay in contact with all these new people in your life. Only if you want to stay in contact. So don't forget to get their info if you want to keep that connection going.

Anyways, I have been on 2 cruises so far. Both were fantastic and both were more than I had expected. The first one was a 5 day cruise and the second was a 7 day. I honestly could have stayed probably for 3 more days. I love the relaxing fun that is to be had on the ships.

I have only been on Carnival ships and they have not ever disappointed me. The age range is great, from kids to 60 something with and average of 20's - 50's. Everyone I talked to were friendly and fun. The few friends I made on the ships are fabulous! These are resorts on the water with everything a person could need or want. Food is great, drinks to be indulged (they do not skimp on the alcohol) and entertainment is everywhere any time on these ships. Comedy, to headliners, with a casino, and many bars to have fun. There a many different areas for children as well. Fun for any age on these ships.
 
One of the places I ported to: Ocho Rios, Jamaica (first cruise)

This port I will say, is not my favorite. I am not going to lie and say it was beautiful and fabulous. I was told to not even get off the boat here by other cruisers but I did because I wanted to experience Jamaica. Getting harassed by the locals was the worst but once you learn how to ignore or deal with them it is not to bad. It is a cultural experience here and I would say do an excursion if you want to experience Ocho Rios. I have been told the resorts are great here but I have not been so I cannot say.



Now for port on second cruise: Montego Bay, Jamaica (second cruise)

This port actually is very nice. You will need to take the bus taxi's into town if you want to go to a beach or shop. It costs $5 each way and they stuff you in like sardines but it is not a big deal. The town was cool to wander around and shop. We went into a shop that was owned by some people from India and had been in Jamaica for over 20 years. She said her and her husband vacationed there and fell in love with Jamaica. They made the decision to move there and have a business. (see, talk to everyone you can on your trips, you get some great stories and meet some interesting people). I can say if I go on another cruise and we port here, I will get off the boat and explore again. I never felt scared or uncomfortable at any point. Oh and if you get in the water, I warn you, it is very salty and I mean very salty.

The next port I had on both cruises: Grand Caymans

The Caymans surprised me on how flat it was. Like Florida flat. It is a port that you have to be transferred on boats. Kind of interesting for your first time but piece of cake the next time. On my first cruise I did an excursion called Snuba and I loved it. It actually made me want to scuba dive. So, I am going to learn to scuba dive. The second time I wanted to go to Seven Mile Beach. It was beautiful there for the 20 minutes we were there. It poured buckets of rain on us and we decided to go back to port and shop. Then we decided to get back on the ship. Let me tell you, the Caymans are really nice but being on the ship with very few people on it was fabulous.

The next and last stop of the second cruise was: Cozumel, Mexico

This port has so much shopping, bars and food. It is beautiful with the colors. This was the best people watching here in the shopping areas. Here is where we did an excursion. The twister jet boats to Isla Passion. I recommend this excursion if you want to be at speeds up to 65 mph and have sharp 180 degree turns and get soaked. It was such a great ride. I would do it again. Oh and once you get to your destination it is all inclusive for food and drinks/alcohol. Then you get back on those jet boats to head back.

The sister boats at the Cozumel port.

For anyone who has not been on a cruise I suggest it highly. It is fun, relaxing and you only have to unpack once. Talk to your fellow cruisers and make new friends, don't be shy. Not to mention all the food you can eat as well as your room being taken care of twice a day. The alcohol is not included but hey your on vacation and your not driving so I say indulge.

You are waited on hand and foot with all the service that is at your finger tips. The crew are great people and fun to get to know as well. So go ahead plan your cruise and remember to just shut off the real world while on the ship, it is worth every moment of relaxation.  

My first "official" re-pin!

OK, so with Kristin on vacation, I had decided to post my first re-pin as a craft item. I have made the Buttercup Bag by made by RAE. Her version consists of a pocket on the inside and decorative buttons on the outside. Mine, however, is very basic with no pocket and no decorations on the outside. I wanted to see if I could actually do the whole project all by myself (without the help of my sewing instructor)! And by golly, what do ya know... I DID IT!
I honestly made this cute little bag after work yesterday. Seriously, START to FINISH! I was and still am so proud of myself! It was fairly simple to make as well. The pattern is a free download from made by RAE. It uses just a fat quarter (plus a little extra for the lining). I didn't use a fat quarter, I just bought a half yard of the outer fabric, so I had some extra and the lining was just some remnants I had sitting around. Next time I will try it with a heavier fabric or put some fusible interfacing on it, especially in the handle. This was definitely a fun project and I'm excited to be able to share it with whoever is reading this! Until next time, happy pinning!

Hello to all!

My name is Amanda and I am an Obsessed Repinner as well! Who turned me on to this crazy site? One guess, my friend Kristin. I do blame her for my obsession to this amazing website! I too, find myself pinning as much as possible! I have already made multiple recipes I have found from the site in addition to some craft items. I am so excited that Kristin has invited me to join in on this blog. I will be publishing my first entry this weekend! I look forward to this journey with my friend!

Welcome Amanda as my co-author

So my beautiful peeps in my beautiful virtual world. I was talking to a friend of mine who is as bad with the obsession as I am to the repinners community out there. She was thinking about doing the same thing I am doing right now and blog about trying out these pins. We both had the same idea about the same time and I just happen to start this blog before she did. Being that we are really great friends and she loves Pinterest as much as I do. I wanted to have her on board with me. We will do this crazy, fun blog together.

Welcome Amanda as the co-author of The Obsessed Repinner.

I am so happy you are jumping on board with me and excited to get to do the pins together. This will be so much fun.

First Repin I Tried

This is the first debut of a repin I had in my Yum-Yum board. This is my board where I repin all the scrumptious food that makes me salivate with the need of a bib to catch all the mouth watering.
This pin caught my eye when I saw the picture with the spaghetti squash. I was watching Diner's, Drive In's and Dives one night and it had a similar showing of the use of spaghetti squash. I was excited to see this one. It is called Spaghetti Squash with Meat sauce*. It is one of the most simple dishes I have made in a long time and if you don't know what to do with a spaghetti squash, this is a perfect way. I had added a few other things to the recipe for extra goodness. In the sauce I added 1 tbsp of minced garlic and a half of orange bell pepper. I just happened to have the bell pepper in the fridge and I am sure any color will work. I added the pepper when the other veggies were sauteing and then the minced garlic in when the meat was added to brown so it wouldn't burn. We know what burnt garlic tastes like. BLAH!

I also wanted to warn anyone attempting to cut a spaghetti squash. It is a tough one to get through and can roll around on you a bit. I learned this the hard way, cutting it on my cutting board as it wobbled, I got half way through and then carried it around by the knife as the squash was stuck to it, wondering how I was going to cut the rest of the way through without slicing my fingers off. I have horrible tile at home so I could prop it on the grout line to give the stability. I do not suggest this with flat tile that is normally used on counters, mine are not flat. Later I thought of other ways too and came up with rolling 2 towels and placing them side by side. Then nestling the squash sideways in between to keep it from rolling. Then with a big knife cut through with some force behind it. Getting through the stem was hard so I just split that, pulling the cut squash apart. That was the hardest part of this recipe and a bit entertaining too. Cooking time was easy. The sauce on the stove and the squash in the oven all at the same time. Groovy. Once the squash is done, definitely let it cool like the recipe says and then scrape it out using a fork. Don't want to burn hands. Salt and pepper to taste. The above picture is my finished product. Hope you try this recipe out. It is good and pretty good for you too.

*Recipe from : Skinny Taste

What is the Obsessed Repinner?

This is a blog about me and my obsession. This obsession is......Pinterest. I love this naughty little (not so little anymore) website, social networking, and whatever else anyone wants to call it. I repin and repin til my heart is content and after a 6 week long everyday obsessively checking in on my fancy phone with the fancy app for this little obsessive site, I have repinned more than 700 pins to my boards on my profile.
I have been a member of Pinterest for a few months now and in the beginning I was reluctant to even browse this site. I knew in my heart it was another obsession along with keeping in touch with my friends who now seem to live in my computer through that other obsession called Facebook. It is a morning ritual that goes with my coffee and Good Morning America. Seeing what has been pinned for me to repin. Crafts, clothing, shoes (ahhhhhh, yes shoes), to food (which causes my stomach to ache for that goodness), DIY projects and so on for my virtual vision board to explode on my profile. "I can do that" or "I can make that" or "I can cook that" as much as I say I can, I can, I can, the question; will I?
I laid in bed pondering about my pins I have repinned so dearly to my profile boards and decided, I am going to do these crafty, cooking, DIY projects, along with many others and I should blog about it. Ha, I am so full of BS thinking I can do these pins that I totally talked myself out of it. It's a big commitment and a commitment to my readers when I start, are you nuts?? I am not a fantastic writer (not horrible either, if I say so myself). I am blunt and will say what is on my mind. Its hard for me to filter what I say in person doing it on the computer would be worse. After a few days and a few more hours put in to repinning, I said, "eff it, I am doing it and I am doing it proud." So here I am world, for you to read and share my crazy idea and hopefully inspire you to......oh I don't know, do something that nags at you to do. I don't mean the significant other telling you to take out the garbage. I mean that something you thought you could not do or would not be able to follow through with or even just scared, because right now I have doubts and fears of how this is going to work out but I am doing it. That's what is driving me.

Here is the plan:
I am going to take these wonderful pins I have diligently repinned to my profile on Pinterest and try to recreate them. I will cook one of those recipes or do one of those crafty things. I may even go out and try to recreate one of the outfits that I would love to have in my closet. I am going to try and do these things with a smaller budget and not spend crazy amounts of money. I may make things I won't keep and give to friends and family but I am going to try to do these crazy little pins. I gave myself goals to do one pin a week. If I do more than one, than it is bonus. I will post my outcomes and pictures (maybe video, ooooo that is scary) to show my crazy ways of doing these precious little, golden pins. Some of these I may have to adjust and I will let you know what I did. Some will probably take longer to do than a week but with those I will add that bonus little extra pins. It will be, learn as I go experience.

Now to give fair warning, I am not the most classy of ladies and I tend to say what is on my mind. I am not here to offend anyone but you have been warned. I cuss, have a glass of wine here and there. Maybe a rum drink or two. I'm not very tactful but I am someone who tries to inspire people to step out of their boxes and I am pretty blunt without the fluff. So, this blog will be without the fluff.  Hope you have fun with this blog as I hope to have fun with it.

I also may have spelling errors that spell check missed and my punctuations may be wrong or off but I'm not trying to win the best blog award. Just trying to have fun. :)