kpark895

@KmomChicagoSo sorry for what you are going through.  No words of wisdom here - I will only say I have a family member who just about ruined their life because of their love of alcohol and so much of your story is familiar. After going to hell and back more than once, they seem to be on the road to recovery, but it is a long, painful road for all involved.  So I understand some of the pain you are feeling.

Have been looking forward to this - and I made it here on the first page!

Jamie, thanks for all of the info on the travel router/VPNs.  Forwarded to my daughter and she will have to decide whether it's something she wants to/can tackle.

On 4/27/2024 at 10:24 AM, JamieLogical said:

One week to go!!!! I made zero progress on cruise prep last night other than to help my husband flesh out his packing list a bit.

 

His new travel router arrived this morning. If we go on our August sailings he will need to work from the ship. His employer has a VPN that cannot be accessed from foreign IP addresses. So he would be unable to simply connect to his company's VPN from the ships's wifi. In order to do that, he basically needs to double-up on the VPN-ing. This router was recommended by his boss who travels internationally a lot. It allows him to connect to a personal VPN like Nord VPN or OpenVPN and then connect from THAT to his company's VPN. We want to test it all out on this sailing to make sure it works before making final payment on the August cruise.

Hi Jamie. Can you let me know a little more about this router, and once cruising, how everything works?  My daughter, who sometimes has to work while on vacation, hasn't been able to connect to her work's VPN, and their IT department (small, as this is a non-profit) doesn't seem to have a clue.  Perhaps your husband has the answer!  Thanks!

@HogladyriderSo glad that your Mom and her sister were able to get together for a visit.  My Mom is 94, and her sister lives halfway across the country, so I understand how difficult arranging these visits can be.  Both your Mom and her sister look so happy to be together.

6 minutes ago, sid_9169 said:

I have informed delivery and oftentimes I'll see a piece of mail that's supposed to arrive and it never does. Then other times I'll see it one day and it'll show up three or four days later...

Happens all the time to me. The way the local postmaster explained it, the image of mail that appears to be coming that day is actually generated at the processing center (in my case, a city about 40 miles away) and not at the local P.O.  So depending on how quickly the mail gets to my local P.O. determines the actual day of delivery.  And of course, there is always the matter of missing mail.  The office I work for mailed me a large envelope of work about 3 weeks ago, and it still has not arrived.  This is a 10" x 13" envelope that can't easily get stuck in with someone else's mail, so who knows where it went.

1 hour ago, Hogladyrider said:

I'm with you on Survivor. I  really enjoy seeing the exotic locations but the contestants not so much anymore.  I am enjoying Deal or No Deal much more!  Maybe because it is "new".

And the exotic locations are no longer "locations".  If I'm not mistaken, they now film in only one place.  I still watch, but previous seasons more than 5 years ago were more interesting.

14 hours ago, LatinaInTexas said:

Wow I guess I live under a rock. While I do own a DVD player it serves no purpose other than collecting dust since I didn't own any DVDs.

May I please join you under your rock?  I don't even own a DVD player, never mind the DVDs!  In many cases, I just don't have the patience to watch an entire movie in one sitting, but that's how it's meant to be watched.

2 hours ago, Jamman54 said:

It's cruise day!!! 😁😁😁

Ho0pe you and Patti have an awesome cruise!  Can't wait to read your next review.

6 minutes ago, sid_9169 said:

I'm in the car on my way home now. The doctor said to come back in ten years... Also, he said I'm good go for margaritas tonight:)

Glad everything went well.  Enjoy that margarita tonight!

@MeganGC1983Happy Anniversary to you and your husband.

@scubagal44Happy Birthday!

Happy Easter to all!  It's going to be quiet day here.  Usually I have dinner with family at my sister's house, but she's not hosting this year, as she and her DH are getting ready for a month long trip to France.  So I'm warming up this great big spiral sliced ham, and making mac & cheese and also adding some butternut squash for my lonely meal!

10 hours ago, ceilidh1 said:

Here’s an aside… when we came in to Hollywood, across the street from our hotel was a really cool looking building called The Magic Castle. I assumed it was a hotel and decided to research it. Turns out that it’s a nightclub for magicians! DS informed me that this place was in the Ricky, Nicky, Dicky and Dawn show, 

As an aside to your aside, on the latest episode of Master Chef Junior, one of those Gordon Ramsey shows, the kid chefs had to work in teams to prepare meals for a group of magicians at the Magic Castle!

13 hours ago, ceilidh1 said:

My checklist is almost completely checked. I had a snafu in my plans today when I suddenly had to work. Luckily I’m able to work from home so I’m between actual work I packed, cleaned, did laundry, and made my checklist! Does anyone else add things to the checklist that are already done just so you can check them off? Does anyone else prepare for a zombie apocalypse each time you go on vacation by not only cleaning the entire house but also eating everything in the place and refusing to buy groceries? We have had some questionable meals this week, but tonight’s dinner was the best - last hamburger bun with cheese slice and ham and a bowl of ramen. Mom of the year award goes to me!.....

 

 

I always add things I've done to my checklist -otherwise, how would I know I've done them?

I actually have a core checklist, then add and subtract depending on the cruise, how many days, expected climate, etc., etc.  It constantly changes as I pack.

Yeah!  Finally made it to the first page of one of my favorite cruisers' reviews.  I'm usually so far behind.

8 minutes ago, JGmf said:

Greetings from stupid snow and ice storm area.  

 

#thankgodmycruiseislessthan30days

Yep, looks like what I woke up to.  Thank goodness I have a teen in the building who clears my car and shovels it out, otherwise I would be stuck there until summer!  Heavy, icy, hard snow, with hard snow boulders deposited by the plow truck.

As far as sports versus cooking, how about both?  I record almost every competition cooking show, and also watch a ton of sports - yesterday it was the Red Sox, the Bruins, the Celtics, a swimming competition and some of the World Figure Skating championships.  Today is almost a day off - just recorded skating and a Red Sox game.  I'll see if there are any NCAA games that catch my attention.

@pebbles1102Hope you're having a wonderful birthday!

17 hours ago, Hogladyrider said:

Any Tribe members who watch Survivor are you watching Deal or No Deal The Island?

 

Watched yesterday as I am a Boston Rob fan...pretty interesting.  It's all about mind playing games and Rob is good at that 

Rob has been pretty good at playing this new game.  But he does have practice at deceit.  I really don't like that older woman.  I haven't watched the latest episode yet, so hopefully she is gone by now.

14 hours ago, RenoNanaOz said:

Just put our corned beef on the stove. We love corned beef, cabbage, potatoes and carrots.  With lots of butter and mustard.  A day early but🤷‍♀️ I’m only a quarter Irish. Thanks for the leftovers idea!

 

 

 

 I could just about repeat your post, word for word, except I'm cooking the corned beef today.  Love the leftovers, too. I make corned beef hash, cubing all the leftover veggies and some corned beef, then pan frying.  And of course, I leave some corned beef for ruebens!

Congratulations @WhiteOptima, and to your now expanded family!

23 hours ago, pirate4me2 said:

Our best and most unique cruise unfortunately doesn't have a review, it was our Vista adventure in 2017 that had the glitter incident as well as being impacted by Hurricane Irma. I was doing post-cruise reviews back then, but my soul dog passed away very unexpectedly as we were traveling home and I was not in the head space to do a review after. HOWEVER....if you want a good read, I think my absolute best, most laugh-filled review is probably our dysfunctional family vacation review aboard the Dream in 2019....we had 3 first time cruisers and 2 newly-single uncles with us, and it was....well, dysfunctional! We had so many laughs and learned so much about each other on that sailing. 

Thanks for the advice - just bookmarked your Dream review, and I promise I will get to it (eventually!).

22 hours ago, Funsince1983 said:

Apologies in advance for the vagueness but some things just aren't meant for the internet. I need some.. I don't even know what I need. Strength and courage I guess. The you know what hit the fan Sunday and I am just in a really, really bad place right now. Physically I'll be fine. It doesn't effect my immediate household, everyone is safe and healthy. Other than that just send me what you can. 

One day at a time, one foot in front of the other, and when you need more, embrace the hugs, love and strength sent to you by all your friends here.  You're a strong woman and you can get through this.  But never be afraid to ask for help.

Following along.  It appears you and your Mom have quite the adventures on your cruises!  I apologize now, because I don't think I've ever read any of your previous reviews.  Now I fear you have added more things to my to-do list - go back and read your past reviews!

@princess76021Great big hugs from New Hampshire!  It does get better with time.  It's been over 11 years since my DH passed, and I no longer wonder and think of his painful passing every day.  I can go for months now, with my remembrance days mostly being limited to our anniversary, which is a few days before Valentine's day, and his passing, which was about a week before Christmas.  If it wasn't for the holiday reminders, I'm almost sorry to say that a lot of time could pass before I think about it all.

There will come a time where how you're living now, alone, will become normal, and memories of your husband will become sweet.

Jeff and Patti, thanks so much for all of the work you do to provide us all with these wonderful reviews.  Right now, a Carnival cruise is not on my radar, but if it ever is, you are two of the people I would want to cruise with and meet in person!

19 hours ago, TxTeach79 said:

 

Back when I lived in Ft. Liquordale we had some friends who were on the fancier side - a married attorney and an engineer - who had a nice place with a big patio out in Weston. Anywho, the wife and her girlfriends discovered some drink at a Wolfgang Puck restaurant they called a Starburst... and basically it was just filling a huge bottle with - i think it was strawberries, pineapple, and oranges - and then pouring vodka to the brim around all the fruit. Leave it in the freezer overnight, and voila... the next day you have a fruity lethal nectar of the comrades. Got through a few hurricane parties (that ended up days long) on the stuff back in those brutal 04-05 hurricane seasons....

 You should try vodka infused gummy bears!   Basically the same idea - fill a jar with the candies, cover with vodka, let soak, the longer the better. I had the privilege of watching someone overindulge while playing a multi-person game of Cards Against Humanity.  He didn't think the candies actually counted against his ability to handle liquor!