JamieLogical's Live from the Enchanted Princess 8/10

[kad56]

So excited to follow your trip! The intinerary looks absolutely amazing.

[KKB]

@JamieLogical Looking forward to your report! 

[Teechur]

I just ordered the tiny white-noise machine based upon your recommendation. 

Thanks!

[JamieLogical]

34 minutes ago, Teechur said:

I just ordered the tiny white-noise machine based upon your recommendation. 

Thanks!

 

It's great! I can't believe how loud you can get the volume for it being so tiny. I usually leave it plugged in when I am using it, but I have definitely gotten a full night's use out of it off the charger without issue.

[JamieLogical]

Well, as predicted, I didn't get much cruise prep done yesterday. All I managed to do was to print our luggage tags and purchase, check the balance of, and print my AARP gift cards.

 

Tomorrow is when I will hopefully be kicking things into high gear. I've got my to-do list sort of organized by day now, so I will have things to work on each day leading up until we fly out on Friday evening.

[Canuker]

Happiness can come in unexpected doses.

Getting into the crawl space under the stairs is never something this body relishes, especially since the light in there decided to pack up. My wife can expect the odd expletive when I must go in there, like when packing for a cruise. Suitcases are fairly easy to find but I knew my water shoes were in there somewhere too. Ugh. So imagine my joy at almost immediately spotting them, backing out clutching them and not banging my head once!

[JamieLogical]

5 hours ago, Canuker said:

Happiness can come in unexpected doses.

Getting into the crawl space under the stairs is never something this body relishes, especially since the light in there decided to pack up. My wife can expect the odd expletive when I must go in there, like when packing for a cruise. Suitcases are fairly easy to find but I knew my water shoes were in there somewhere too. Ugh. So imagine my joy at almost immediately spotting them, backing out clutching them and not banging my head once!

 

Quite the accomplishment! May we all get through our packing adventures injury-free!

[JamieLogical]

Well, I actually managed to make a tiny bit of cruise prep progress last night after our guests had left. I got my Kindle charged up and my latest books downloaded to it. And I got Windows up to date on my Microsoft Surface, which is the laptop I always travel with because it's so small and light. I never actually use that laptop on my daily life, so Windows tends to get out of date between trips.

[Wishing on a star]

Your getting there!!!!

 

[Honolulu Blue]

Following. I won't say much the next few days, since I'm on my own cruise, but be assured that I'm following along and will say my piece when I find time.

 

Good luck and safe travels. 

[JamieLogical]

I completed what is arguably my most important cruise prep just now! I printed out a door decoration! Someone pointed out this magnetic paper somewhere on CC so I bought some and just used it to print out the CruiseCarb logo I designed. My husband and I bought the domain name cruisecrab.com ages ago and have yet to create a website for it, but I did create a logo a while back and it's just the cutest. So I printed it out on magnetic paper to use as a door decoration. He's going to live on our refrigerator until I pack him.

 

 

 

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0CNRG8WKG/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

[JamieLogical]

Well, in addition to printing out our CruiseCrab door decoration, I actually got some real packing done last night! I washed all of my cruise clothes and I started packing my medications/vitamins and all my backpack stuff. All that's really left to go into my backpack are the rest of my toiletries (I plan to pack those this afternoon) and the clothes I will need for the hotel overnight Friday into Saturday morning. Oh, I also need to clean some of my jewelry before I pack that.

 

Tonight we have trivia, so I will only have a small window between when I get done with work at 4:00 and when we leave for trivia around 6:20 to get anything done. I do plan to stop by the bank for cash on my lunch break as well. Hopefully, after work, I can finish up packing most of my toiletries and work on some of the stuff that is going into our shared checked bag.

 

Tomorrow the plan is to do a lot of the stuff I need to do around the house and do the rest of my laundry. The final packing of my bundle into my carry-on will take place on Thursday.

 

Overall, I am feeling slightly more confident I will be able to get everything done!

[JG&Lcruisingnewbies]

On 8/5/2024 at 10:58 PM, JamieLogical said:

I completed what is arguably my most important cruise prep just now! I printed out a door decoration! Someone pointed out this magnetic paper somewhere on CC so I bought some and just used it to print out the CruiseCarb logo I designed. My husband and I bought the domain name cruisecrab.com ages ago and have yet to create a website for it, but I did create a logo a while back and it's just the cutest. So I printed it out on magnetic paper to use as a door decoration. He's going to live on our refrigerator until I pack him.

 

 

 

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0CNRG8WKG/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

I’m LOVING the cruisecrab!

 

if you do get a chance to make that website and are allowed to share it on here, do let us know please

 

your reviews are excellent and I’m certain I’d enjoy reading what you put on a cruise website 😃

 

 

[JamieLogical]

1 minute ago, JG&Lcruisingnewbies said:

 

I’m LOVING the cruisecrab!

 

 

Isn't he the cutest!?!? He makes me smile every time I see him. His Hawaain shirt is inspired by my husband who wears Tommy Bahama shirts every day of his life. And I love how happy he looks because crabs usually have a reputation for being, well, "crabby." So I love that he is a happy crab. Hard to be crabby when you are on a cruise!

[JamieLogical]

I made a lot of cruise prep progress yesterday, despite having trivia in the evening. I made it to the bank to take care of all our cash needs (my husband wanted 100 $1s and 20 $5s!) cleaned my jewelry, cleaned my lizards' terrariums, cleaned my Merrells, packed up all the toiletries that I could (some I need to keep using until the last minute), and finished packing my backpack except for the clothes I will need for the hotel.

 

Tonight I need to go to the pet store to stock up on cat food, do the rest of my laundry, hopefully finish packing my backpack, start packing our shared checked bag, and paint my toenails. Painting my toenails is my very least favorite cruise prep item. I am very bad at it and it takes forever and I would honestly rather just clean the lizard's terrariums 15 times versus having to do it. But, if I want to wear sandals for formal nights or to the hot tubs, there is no choice but to suffer through it. Ugh!

[KKB]

2 hours ago, JamieLogical said:

I made a lot of cruise prep progress yesterday, despite having trivia in the evening. I made it to the bank to take care of all our cash needs (my husband wanted 100 $1s and 20 $5s!) cleaned my jewelry, cleaned my lizards' terrariums, cleaned my Merrells, packed up all the toiletries that I could (some I need to keep using until the last minute), and finished packing my backpack except for the clothes I will need for the hotel.

 

Tonight I need to go to the pet store to stock up on cat food, do the rest of my laundry, hopefully finish packing my backpack, start packing our shared checked bag, and paint my toenails. Painting my toenails is my very least favorite cruise prep item. I am very bad at it and it takes forever and I would honestly rather just clean the lizard's terrariums 15 times versus having to do it. But, if I want to wear sandals for formal nights or to the hot tubs, there is no choice but to suffer through it. Ugh!

Have a great time!

I gave up doing my own toenails some time ago--pedicures are worth every penny, imo.

[eclue]

We fly to Ft Lauderdale from Houston on Friday  - I will pack tomorrow and be ready to go!

[JamieLogical]

8 hours ago, KKB said:

Have a great time!

I gave up doing my own toenails some time ago--pedicures are worth every penny, imo.

 

Yeah I was doing that pre-cruise or even at the spa on the first day onboard for a while. Then I got an infection in one of my toes (not clear if caused by the pedicure or not, but my doctor speculated it might be). That wasn't enough to deter me, but then my big toenails started falling apart. You see, back in 2015, I trained for a marathon and during that time, I lost my big toenails. When they grew back, they started growing back in layers, which caused these horizontal ridges to appear every 1/8 inch or so. These ridges always drove the pedicurists crazy and they would try to file them flat. I think they filed them too thin and then my toenails just started breaking along those ridges and then just kind of falling off. That was a mess that I didn't want any other human to have to deal with, so I started just managing my toenails myself again, as unpleasant as it is.

 

That was way TMI, but I have nothing better to do while I am sitting here waiting for my toenails to dry.

[startedwithamouse]

20 minutes ago, JamieLogical said:

 

Yeah I was doing that pre-cruise or even at the spa on the first day onboard for a while. Then I got an infection in one of my toes (not clear if caused by the pedicure or not, but my doctor speculated it might be). That wasn't enough to deter me, but then my big toenails started falling apart. You see, back in 2015, I trained for a marathon and during that time, I lost my big toenails. When they grew back, they started growing back in layers, which caused these horizontal ridges to appear every 1/8 inch or so. These ridges always drove the pedicurists crazy and they would try to file them flat. I think they filed them too thin and then my toenails just started breaking along those ridges and then just kind of falling off. That was a mess that I didn't want any other human to have to deal with, so I started just managing my toenails myself again, as unpleasant as it is.

 

That was way TMI, but I have nothing better to do while I am sitting here waiting for my toenails to dry.

We're both runners and feel your pain! 

[JamieLogical]

1 minute ago, startedwithamouse said:

We're both runners and feel your pain! 

 

I am no longer a runner. The marathon was a one and done for me. But I am a hiker now, so I am still rough on my feet.

[KKB]

3 hours ago, JamieLogical said:

 

Yeah I was doing that pre-cruise or even at the spa on the first day onboard for a while. Then I got an infection in one of my toes (not clear if caused by the pedicure or not, but my doctor speculated it might be). That wasn't enough to deter me, but then my big toenails started falling apart. You see, back in 2015, I trained for a marathon and during that time, I lost my big toenails. When they grew back, they started growing back in layers, which caused these horizontal ridges to appear every 1/8 inch or so. These ridges always drove the pedicurists crazy and they would try to file them flat. I think they filed them too thin and then my toenails just started breaking along those ridges and then just kind of falling off. That was a mess that I didn't want any other human to have to deal with, so I started just managing my toenails myself again, as unpleasant as it is.

 

That was way TMI, but I have nothing better to do while I am sitting here waiting for my toenails to dry.

FAIR POINT!!

Have fun!!

[JamieLogical]

Well, I accomplished everything I hoped to for cruise prep last night. I finished all of my laundry, ran to the pet store for cat food, finished packing my backpack (except for a few toiletries I still need to use between now and tomorrow), finished packing my half of our shared checked bag, clipped my fingernails, painted my toenails, and helped supervise as my husband attempted to pack his bundle. I usually build his bundle for him after he has laid out everything he wants to go into it, but he is determined to learn how to properly build a bundle himself, so last night I just supervised, made a few corrections and gave him some pointers on how to do it most effectively and efficiently.

 

For those of you who have no idea what I am talking about, you clearly haven't read my past blogs. Back during the COVID restart, I learned about a packing method that I now live an die by. It's called "bundle packing" and it allows you to fit a RIDICULOUS amount of stuff into a carry-on sized bag. This method allows my husband and I to travel with just carry-ons and backpacks for any trip that is 12 days or less, with no need to do any laundry. For this trip, we are bringing a shared carry-on as well, since it's 14 days and we are flying first class so get "free" checked bags. So, the bundle isn't quite as critical, since we have overflow room in our checked bag, but I filled pretty much my entire half of that with board games....

 

Tonight I will be packing my own bundle along with a final trip to the grocery store, ironing, and vacuuming. If you want to learn more about bundle packing, this is my favorite video... you can really skip to around the 4:00 mark to get to the good part. At the beginning of the video, he mostly just shows you a bundle he had already packed and how much he fit into it, but at the 4:00 mark, he starts working on packing his girlfriend's bundle for her and you can really learn the technique.

 

 

[HotRoot]

I do follow your blogs and have heard you talk about bundling.  So, I watched the video.  I have been packing this way for over 30 years.  The only difference is I just pack right into the suitcase.  I do not "form" the bundle outside the suitcase.  Never realized this was a thing.  I actually thought everybody packed this way.  Learn something new every day,

[JamieLogical]

10 minutes ago, HotRoot said:

I do follow your blogs and have heard you talk about bundling.  So, I watched the video.  I have been packing this way for over 30 years.  The only difference is I just pack right into the suitcase.  I do not "form" the bundle outside the suitcase.  Never realized this was a thing.  I actually thought everybody packed this way.  Learn something new every day,

 

No, most people seem to think rolling their clothes or using packing cubes is the best way to fit the maximum amount into a suitcase. I was a roller before I discovered bundle packing.

[JamieLogical]

14 minutes ago, HotRoot said:

I do follow your blogs and have heard you talk about bundling.  So, I watched the video.  I have been packing this way for over 30 years.  The only difference is I just pack right into the suitcase.  I do not "form" the bundle outside the suitcase.  Never realized this was a thing.  I actually thought everybody packed this way.  Learn something new every day,

 

Question for you, since I have never tried building the bundle inside the suitcase. So assume you build it with just having the pant legs and sleeves and shirt tails trail over and out the sides and then wrap them all around at the end?

 

Edited August 8 by JamieLogical