All Things EARTH... part 2

[Joby]

Laurie, you & your husband are just so darn cute! I don't normally like black&white photos but those are great

 

 

I agree, Melody :)

 

Fun photos of your cruise, Laurie! You do look great, congrats on the weight loss and tone up, you're doing a good job.

[mousey]

Laurie,

 

Okay, okay...just let me say right off the top...YOU LOOK AMAZING!!!! You and your hubby make a very handsome couple and you're both very photogenic.

 

I love love loved the 1 and last black and white pictures you posted the best of the black & whites.. You guys look great! What beautiful photographs. The love you obviously have for each shows through in these pictures so beautifully. I loved all your pictures.

 

All your clothing choices were awesome and fit you to a "t". Loved that purple dress! But...my favorite thing was your swimsuit. OMG! What a beautiful color and it fit you so perfectly. As Billy Crystal used to say on SNL..."You look marvelous!"

 

Last but not least...it really touched my heart that your husband is taking sign language classes to be able to communicate with you when you don't have your hearing aid on. What a wonderful, thoughtful, loving thing to do. I'm blown away by such an amazing act of kindness and it's such a loving gesture. You are one lucky lady and he's one lucky guy.

 

Melody,

Again, so sorry for all your problems...hang in there!

 

Margaret,

So sorry for all the problems with your parents. I'm headed there myself. Mom and Dad are still living on their own but things seem to be going down hill a little bit health-wise for them. It's so hard to deal with these issues when we live far away from our families and they need our help. All we can do is our best and it seems that's just what you're doing.

 

Gotta run, I'm in the middle of deciding which outfits I'm taking to Cancun and what's getting left behind. Wish I could take it all but that's not in the cards. Can't wait to leave on Monday. Hope these rain storms stop so we can get out on time. We were in a major drought and now it's over. But so much damage in terms of floods and mudslides, more importantly...loss of life because of the storms.

 

On an up note...Peace, Love, Happiness, and Good Health to All of my Earth Buddies!

Edited February 18, 2017 by mousey

[laurspag]

Thanks, everyone! I just realized that I never posted my dinner outfit from the day we were in Cozumel, which was Valentine's Day. I saw a lot of red being worn, but I noticed a lot more red than normal on formal night as well.

 

I don't know what the deal is, but I was not really happy with so many of our pictures...I think that next time, I will have my husband take a picture of me also, in case I don't care for the same poses over and over with the ship photographers. Anyway, here they are. The color is so off...it looks like the under part of the dress is silver or gray, when it is actually a warm beige tone.

 

 

[laurspag]

 

This here is from when I wore the dress in December. One or both of the dogs always end up in the photo!

 

Sent from my SM-G935V using Forums mobile app

[laurspag]

Overall, it was a great cruise. The staff was fantastic, and the weather was great. The last sea day had some rain off and on, but it wasn't a big deal.

 

Brilliance needs a refresh. I think it was kept very clean and nice, but some chairs need replacing and our bathroom mirror was a bit eorn...things like that.

 

Some heavier drinkers were on board. There was a wedding in Key West and that group was fall down drunk for quite a bit of the cruise. There were others, but I don't know if they were part of the wedding or not. You noticed it, but they weren't bothering you or anything.

 

I have noticed that shorter cruises attract a different clientele than a 7 day. I'm sure the longer cruises add another dimension as well. We just do the best we can with our budget and time restraints.

 

 

 

Sent from my SM-G935V using Forums mobile app

[laurspag]

I posted something this morning, but then my phone said there was an error. Since it isn't here, I will repost.

 

It was a great cruise. We had phenomenal staff, and great weather. The last sea day was a bit rainy off and on, but it didn't seem to impact us at all.

 

I think Brilliance is showing her age. The public areas are well kept, but it needs new furniture, whether it be chairs inside or deck chairs outside. Our bathroom mirror was a bit worn out. Otherwise though, they kept it so spotless that you really found it easy to overlooked a few worn things.

 

There was a wedding when we were in Key West. The wedding party was late getting back to the ship, and very, very drunk. Then we had to wait for a few more drunk guests to get back to the ship. They were pretty much drunk the whole cruise. That being said, they weren't bothering people.

 

There were others as well that seemed to be drinking heavily, but I don't know if they were part of the wedding group. Once again, they weren't bothering us, but I am seeing that the shorter the cruise, the cheaper it is. And that tends to lead to a lot of drinking, maybe? I don't see it on 7 day cruises quite the same. And it certainly isn't about age either.

 

We do what we can with our budget and time restraints. I do want to emphasize that this is an observation, not a compliant or judgement call.

 

The past few days, I've seen a ton of cruise commercials. It has me thinking - I know a few people here have indicated sailing on Carnival and Celebrity. What about other lines? If you could describe each cruise line in one sentence on how they are different, what would that sentence be?

[laurspag]

Is it just me, or has CC been down since yesterday?

[awhfy]

Love that red lace dress. I agree, your pictures are better than the pros, especially with arm placement. I always tell them how it best works for me. Melody

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

[Anita Latte]

Hey Laurie! I have so enjoyed looking at all of your pictures! That cruise you took is one that I would love to take. I enjoy taking the 5 day cruises so much. It was 5 right? We have taken a couple that just went to the Bahamas and back...the one you took going to Nochi is on my short list a good break vacation. An easy cruise to take, not requiring too much planning...and not too long so that you have such a hard time getting back into the rhythm of "normal life".

 

I think you look lovely. I can recall the way that I felt when I had hit my lowest point...and thinking that the pictures were not really showing the weight loss in as dramatic a way as I envisioned it. Here's what I concluded. When we look at pictures of ourselves, we may tend to share the ones that we feel portray us in the most flattering way. Something about our stance, the clothes we are wearing, the scenery, whatever...generally that photo isn't one that is showing us at our worst. And that may be the photo that we have in our minds as representative of how we look. Then we see these photos were we have achieved a great change in body shape and because we have in mind these photos from the past that weren't too awful, I guess, the difference isn't really striking us as hard as we think it should. I went through all this for myself.

 

Find a candid photo that someone else took of you. One where you aren't really posing. My Dad took one of me over the holidays when I was cooking in the kitchen. Put that candid side by side with a more recent photo. You will then see the dramatic difference that you want to see and expect to see.

 

That said, your new level of fitness is obvious to us. I think you look wonderful. I know sharing the bathing suit photo is not the easiest, but you look GREAT!!

 

I do have an idea as to why you may have not liked this round of photos as much. And I hope that you take this suggestion for the well meaning help that it is intended to offer. Voice and tone on these things is self interpretation so, please know that I'm not trying to be negative. BUT...I did learn one really valuable lesson from a brief season of watching America's Next Top Model. The idea is about your neck...and making sure that your neck is as long as you can make it appear in photos. Do not do anything that makes your next appear shorter, or heaven forbid, that covers your next altogether so that you look like a no neck. In looking at your photos that you did share, trying to see what would make you not like them, I wonder if it's your neck. You have a tendency to tilt your head (I do too) and I think that when you do that, you also lower your chin...and that action reduces the length of your neck. You also tend to raise your shoulders...and when you combine a raised shoulder with a tilted head and the possibility of a lowered chin...you really reduce the length of your neck. It's a hard thing to master...posing your head so that you don't get a shot straight up the nose and also not tilting it down too much so that you lose your neck length.

 

It's just an observation...one that I hope is helpful. I know that I was happier with my own pictures and my posing after paying more attention to that.

 

And I do have to say something about your comment about your overbite. I think it is adorable. That may not be the best word to truly convey what I think so... My Great Grandma had a gap between her teeth her whole life. That gap between the two front that some people have? Anyway, she had it and then, for some reason, when she was in her 70s? I think? The dentist approached her about fixing it and she did. They actually capped her teeth to do it. Obviously, she didn't look the same...but Mom always thought that she kind of lost a little something something because she lost that little bit of definition that made her look like her.

 

Somehow our country has really gotten on board with this idea of having to have perfect teeth. What is funny is that no one in my family has had any orthodonture work. Mom and Dad's teeth are both not perfect. Mine are pretty straight...I have more hidden issues. DH has a tilt to his teeth. I read in a book somewhere where the author was talking about teeth and the added character it gives to a face. Even on that silly model show, they talked about how perfection isn't really as attractive as the imperfections that infuse a face with character. Anyway...I just had to say all this because I've always thought that you had an infectious smile...and I never knew you had an overbite...and now, I think that is the main reason why I think the way I do...I wouldn't ever want you to change it. I bet your DH loves it too. It's just another thing that sets you apart and makes you you.

 

I adore black and white photography. I like how the composition isn't distracted from with color. The subject really stands out so much more. I think your private photo session photos are priceless...

 

The deal with the underskirt on the red lace dress...the lighting of the photographers and the flash is really powerful. When you wear something that has a high stretch content, which I'm guessing that layer does have...those lights shine on the elastane or whatever that fiber content is and that is what is showing so much in those photos. That is why they are bleached out from the beige. Any fabric that has stretch may end up looking cooler in a photo than it is IRL because of the way that the light reflects on it. Our eyes don't quite pick up on that in most lighting. That's why you can have such trouble with some of your dresses...saying that they aren't really that cool IRL...it's just the way the light plays on the stretch content of the fabric. (That usually doesn't take the dye well...so it is literally a different color...it's why leggings looked faded out when you stretch them...why they may look lighter over your thighs than over your calves).

 

Melody...so sorry to read about your continued troubles. Margaret nailed it though...you seem to have such a great attitude and trying to take it all in stride.

 

Margaret...I don't even know. Dealing with your family long distance...Hugs.

[awhfy]

Love that red lace dress. I agree, your pictures are better than the pros, especially with arm placement. I always tell them how it best works for me. Melody

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

[laurspag]

I haven't been able to get on here since yesterday. The site seems to be down?

 

Sent from my SM-G935V using Forums mobile app

[awhfy]

Love that red lace dress. It does look different in ship photos

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[laurspag]

I've been trying to post for a few days, but the site has been down.

 

Sent from my SM-G935V using Forums mobile app

[MJC]

Laurie,

 

Okay, okay...just let me say right off the top...YOU LOOK AMAZING!!!! You and your hubby make a very handsome couple and you're both very photogenic.

 

I love love loved the 1 and last black and white pictures you posted the best of the black & whites.. You guys look great! What beautiful photographs. The love you obviously have for each shows through in these pictures so beautifully. I loved all your pictures.

 

All your clothing choices were awesome and fit you to a "t". Loved that purple dress! But...my favorite thing was your swimsuit. OMG! What a beautiful color and it fit you so perfectly. As Billy Crystal used to say on SNL..."You look marvelous!"

 

Last but not least...it really touched my heart that your husband is taking sign language classes to be able to communicate with you when you don't have your hearing aid on. What a wonderful, thoughtful, loving thing to do. I'm blown away by such an amazing act of kindness and it's such a loving gesture. You are one lucky lady and he's one lucky guy.

 

 

Laurie, I think mousey said everything for me. :)

 

I had that red lace sheath dress with a matching liner back when we went to Australia, and it would never photograph right because of what Anita said about fabrics. IRL the liner was the same color as the lace, but it always photographed brighter and pinker. Oh well.

 

You look so beautiful, and fit, and happy. I'm so glad you had such a nice vacation.

 

Here's my photo tip. I always tilt my head down just a bit so I'm looking a bit up into the lens (it opens up the eyes). Then I move my whole head straight forward a tad, which stretches all that skin under your jaw. It's tempting to stand up super straight, but sometimes when we do that we pull our neck bones back and that pulls the chin in too much.

 

I've been out with the flu for the past five days. The first two days I just slept, and the next two I was seemingly trying to cough my lungs right out of my body and onto the floor. I am happy today that I am just aching and fatigued, which is a big improvement.

 

Thank you everyone for your sympathy about my parents. Even though they are in assisted living, I have to keep on top of so much. In December I had given the head nurse instructions to move my mom to the next care level (which would have addressed the laundry issue as well as insured that she was properly cleaned and dressed each day). Well, the head nurse left for a new job without putting in the paperwork, and I didn't find out until last week that the new daily care I thought my mom was getting wasn't happening. I had a big sit down with the new head nurse and the director to make sure everyone was on the same page. And this is in all other respects an excellent facility! I just can never see what's coming next. You can imagine how difficult that is for a planner like me.

[laurspag]

Sorry for the multiple posts. Apparently, when CC was down, it must have been saving my posts and then voila, there they all are!

 

I love the feedback I get from all of you. It is so helpful to me. Sometimes, I need to get opinions to help me sort through what I am thinking. A fresh set of eyes does wonders.

 

One of the things that I often hear when we get our photos done is about standing up straight. It not only affects the face area, but the broadness of the shoulders and of course....the chest area. When you have that inverted triangle shape, it is very awkward sometimes.

 

During our black and white photography sessions, there were a few individual pictures as well. At one point, I was asked to sit up straight, but she had this table for me to rest my arms on, and I think it really made a difference. This is not a shot where you see much more than the shoulders up, but I think you can imagine the rest of the body, perhaps? Maybe not, but I'll post it.

 

 

I'm a very bad poser. I am not a huge fan of putting my hand on my hips for the reasons mentioned above, but if I relax my shoulders when I do this, then it works. I think if you look at the pictures of me out on the balcony, I rest my hand on the rail. It helps me to stand upright, but I am able to relax the shoulders a certain amount so it looks better.

 

And another thing...although I am much smaller in the chest area, I'm still bigger than I would like to be. It's part of me, and I get that. I have found that there is a certain unlined bra from Soma that makes such a huge difference in my shape...it is just so much better looking. However, it is unlined so I can't wear them under everything, for modesty reasons. :rolleyes: In the pictures where I'm wearing the rust and olive tops, I have a different bra on that I can convert to racerback. That works nicely too, in the racerback format.

 

Otherwise, I'm struggling a bit.

 

Anita, your input is so valuable...you are right about the stretchy fabric. It has a different sheen and it was really throwing the color of the red off a lot. It isn't an earthy red, but it isn't as cool as it was looking in the pictures either.

 

Also, I have the size difference between top and bottom, and the poses make the dresses stick out a little near the tummy area in an unflattering way. I'm going to study the pictures I like so that I can see just how I was standing and so forth.

 

More later - my daughter wants to use this computer. :)

[Sailor_Sally]

I posted something this morning, but then my phone said there was an error. Since it isn't here, I will repost.

 

 

The past few days, I've seen a ton of cruise commercials. It has me thinking - I know a few people here have indicated sailing on Carnival and Celebrity. What about other lines? If you could describe each cruise line in one sentence on how they are different, what would that sentence be?

 

 

Laurie, I have sailed Carnival , Costa , Celebrity , NCL , Rcl and frankly they are all more alike than different . Carnival & NCL are more casual but otherwise pretty much the same . Have you considered all inclusive resorts ? They all have entertainment , food and great beaches and activities . Some are the same price as cruises when you figure tips & drinks are included. On cruises you never know who will be on board .Our weirdest group was on Alaska and the best was on a Canada cruise . I think the drink packages encourage the super heavy drinking in people that want to get their money's worth .

[awhfy]

We've been on Norwegian (S.S. Norway, our first cruise). this April will be our 3rd & 4th Royal cruises (going with good friends). The rest are on Celebrity. Celebrity fits us best. Les likes blackjack & the nonsmoking casinos on all Celebrity ships is wonderful. Also like their food better & lack of public announcements (one a day at 10am), few children. We decided early on, that we'd build status on Celebrity & didn't cruise Royal until we'd hit Elite (Diamond on Royal). Looking at MSC as they now match loyalty status (we'd be black).

 

Good news from endodontist. Where my implants are set into a bone graft, not my jaw bone, I'm not in danger of losing them. The lasering of the gums (wowza, that was not a party!) has reduced the inflammation in the gum area. One more week (3 Mar) I get the titanium out of the foot & hopefully everything will calm down.

 

 

So I'm having a frozen margarita! Melody

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

[Sailor_Sally]

Melody , Great news about the teeth implants that would be costly items to replace plus not much fun . Have a Margarita & chill out ! Did you see the Celebrity cruise that stops for two overnights in New Orleans around Jazz festival time ? That would be a fun cruise .It is on the Equinox in April.

[MJC]

Melody, good news! Drink up! Every day is Margarita day at Margaret's house.:)

 

Laurie, that b&w photo is just gorgeous.

 

I agree with Sally, I think that the big cruise lines must be more alike than not. I think itinerary and ship size make for the biggest changes in experience. We jump around among the smaller lines and they have all been very different from each other, and of course very different from Princess.

[awhfy]

Melody , Great news about the teeth implants that would be costly items to replace plus not much fun . Have a Margarita & chill out ! Did you see the Celebrity cruise that stops for two overnights in New Orleans around Jazz festival time ? That would be a fun cruise .It is on the Equinox in April.

 

 

Funny Sally, we were supposed to be on that cruise but our friends backed out so we're doing a b2b with other friends on Royal (Liberty out of Galveston). I really want to do Panama Canal but it's quite pricey (for what I want!). Melody

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

[Sailor_Sally]

Well it is a month and a half until my transatlantic cruise and I am finally getting it all figured out . I have traveled on land trips for three weeks but this is my first three week trip that also involves a cruise which adds more clothes to it . I have pretty much figured out my wardrobe . I am taking one medium bag and a soft medium size carry on .

4 pair of shoes (casual (not sneakers ) athletic shoes , flats , sandals , dressy sandals

2 athletic outfits which will be for days on the deck reading or walking

4 dinner outfits

2 pair capris

4 pair long pants

2 pair capri leggings

7 tops

2 lightweight sweaters

rain jacket

bathing suit & cover up

 

Pj's

 

underwear

 

scarves & costume jewelry

 

Not exactly earth worthy but hopefully it will work . Plan on sending out clothes to laundry at least once .

[awhfy]

Well our nice weather this week has taken a wicked cold turn. 75 yesterday, high of 23 today & snowing like crazy. It was a good night to crockpot a chicken cacciatore (I guess it was good, Les had 3 helpings!)

 

Booked my plane travel for our November cruise. Since first class was only $122 more than coach, we're flying first class! & out of Colorado Springs not driving to Denver (that's worth a lot of money to me!!!). May I leave now please! Melody

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

[laurspag]

I was thinking the bigger cruise lines are probably very much alike overall. Twice in one week, I have gotten mail from Seabourn, which seems very upscale. Probably pricey too, from the looks of it.

 

When it comes to cruising, right now I have limitations on when I can go and how much I can spend, so I don't expect anything that is greatly different over the next 5 year or more. After that, I would love to sail on a 9 or 10 day cruise and get to some different places. That might be a good time to try a different line, but we will see.

 

How about that Syracuse Duke game last night? I couldn't sleep a wink after that! Needlessly to say, everyone is talking about it.

 

Sally, one thing about a longer cruise and transatlantic...I'm always amazed with the packing process and how everyone is able to pack lightly. I would definitely use laundry service too - I simply don't have that many shorts and the like. I think it would be a great time to have solid, basic items that you can change up with jewelry, scarves, shoes, sweaters, etc.

 

That reminds me of what was interesting about my wardrobe this last cruise. I brought along two print dresses for a five day cruise. It was kind of hard for me. I migrate to solids, they're like a blank canvas to me that I can morph depending on my mood or what look I'm trying to achieve.

 

Anita, I never really gave thought to my overbite being cute or nice or anything...but after reading what you wrote, I am looking at it differently now. Really, it's a part of who I am, and when I see some of these pictures, I love seeing myself happy. And you know, a person doesn't look the same with a forced, posed smile like they do when they are laughing and having a good time. My husband and I very much enjoyed that photo session, and it shows.

 

Thank you for reminding me to be true to myself.

 

Melody, your dinner looks great! We had mid 60 degree weather today, which is totally unheard of in Syracuse during February. The temp will be dropping again soon, but not all that cold. It's very strange to have that kind of weather.

 

I totally forgot to have a margarita yesterday. Maybe that's because I had three of them in Nachi Cocom last week????:D

[Sailor_Sally]

Margaret , My sisters and I went through a much lesser amount of stress for years with my Mother and it was hard . I can not imagine your stress in dealing with two parents .

 

Laurie , Since I do almost all my shopping at JJill all my clothes are mix and match which made it easier to plan for this trip even my scarves are JJillI.

[cruzisme]

Laurie, love your b&w photos, you both look very happy.

And you are daring to share your swimsuit photo, beautiful colour on you. Nice styling.

Your dieting and workouts are working for you. Congrats!