Cruising to Cozumel, Mexico!

I have finally returned home from my incredible cruise, and I am extremely sad to be back in the cold weather. But, I will always have the memories of this vacation in my heart to help me make it through the upcoming snow and sleet. One of my favorite days on the cruise was Wednesday, when we arrived in Cozumel, Mexico. I had never been to Mexico before and was very excited to see this beautiful tropical island. We had signed up for a Jeep excursion, and the minute we got there, we had to take a boat to get to Playa del Carmen, where our tour was planned to begin. The night before my family became a little seasick, and surprisingly I was the only one that did not get sick. So, it was up to me to go to the infirmary, where the nurse prescribed pills for my mom, dad, and sister to take. As we boarded the boat in Mexico, my family had the pills from the night before to safely survive the voyage across the ocean.

Once we got to Playa del Carmen, we met our tour guides and the other families that were also going on the Jeep Tour. After the tour guides explained the itinerary for the day, we got to choose the Jeep that we would be driving in. My family and I choose a silver Jeep and had the top down as we drove to our first destination. The wind was warm, and the sun was shining brightly on our faces as we meandered through many different roads. But, as we were driving one of the drivers in front of us faced a moratorium from driving because he was unable to drive a stick-shift. As we approached the first place of our tour, we parked our Jeep and were eager to eat and engage ourselves in the surroundings.

A private beach was where we wound up arriving after a carefree drive. We had an authentic Mexican lunch that consisted of guacamole, chicken marinated in a tomato sauce, watermelon, and rice. After we had finished eating, we were able to tan on the white sands of the beach and swim in the crystal waters of the ocean. The waves were very calm and I was completely relaxed in the pristine environment that we had encountered. After a little over an hour, we got back in our Jeep and headed for the jungle.

Once we arrived to the small jungle, we were instructed by our tour guides to wear hardhats since they were wary about the low entrance of the cave we were about to enter. The stalactites were very close to our heads as we all began to enter, so we had to be cautious. Once we were in the cave, there was a whole body of mineral water that surrounded the cave's walkway. The tour guides encouraged us to swim in these waters, but I was a little apprehensive about taking the plunge, so I decided to go on the walking tour instead. On the tour my family and I learned all about how the formations within the cave were created and the sea creatures that inhabited the waters. In a small pool of water, the tour guide threw a rock and soon we saw little albino shrimp come out from the depths of the pool. After the walking tour, we headed back to our Jeeps and returned to the dock where the boat would take us back to the cruise. I was sad when the tour guides said that the excursion was about to be terminated because I really fell in love with Mexico. It is such a fantastic place that is full of history and nature that everyone should have the chance to see someday!

Cruising to Key West!

I have just gotten back from a day in Key West on my first cruise ever! My family and I have chosen to take a cruise vacation this February break and it has been such a great experience so far. We first arrived on our cruise yesterday, and spent the whole day exploring the enormous ship and meeting so many new people. Today, we spent time in our first destination, which was Key West, also known as the Conch Republic. We took a shuttle bus to Mallory Square, which is where all the shops are. The weather was sunny and bright, which was so refreshing after living in below freezing conditions for the past three months in New Jersey. Before we left the shuttle buses to explore the small city, the driver accosted a message over the loudspeaker, "If you are not back by 1:30, the buses will leave and you will not be seeing the cruise ship for the rest of your vacation." Even though he was not that nice, my family and I disregarded his attitude and were ready to shop like crazy!

The first gift shop that we came across was a big store that sold all sorts of ornaments, magnets, and other nick-knacks. What made this gift shop unique was the behemoth made of sea sponges that stood outside of the shop! Everyone was eager to take pictures with this "sponge monster" because it was so big and unlike anything they had ever seen! As we continued to walk about Mallory Square, there was a small little store that sold that best key lime pie that I had ever tasted! Everything they sold had a trace of key lime in it, including lotions, iced tea mixes, and frozen, chocolate dipped slices of key lime pie. The shop was very welcoming due to its bright and vibrant decor, and was one of my favorite places that we discovered. Next, my dad was craving something to eat, so we came across a little shack that sold an odd comestible, which were conch fritters. Conch is probably the most horrific tasting fish that I have ever tried, but of course my dad found them to be absolutely delicious! They were deep-fried, and the dipping sauce that they were accompanied by was a spicy Dijon mustard. This delicacy is popular among people living in Key West, and proved to win the taste buds of my dad as well!

My mom and I then began to search for a jewelry store, and soon came across a lady that was selling homemade jewelry along the sidewalk. She was selling ancient keys on different chains, which caught my eye right away. I wound up picking out one that was on a satin gray chain, and realized that she was making keys because we were in Key West! I thought that was a very cute concept and had her tie it around my neck so that I could wear it. Another store that sold very unique items was called Crazy Shirts. At this store, the shirts were dyed with all natural sources including lavender, hibiscus, wine, money, beer, coffee, and chiles. My mom bought my dad a key lime-dyed shirt as memorabilia of this amazing place we were exploring. As it began to get hotter, I was in desperate need of a drink to satiate my thirst, and of course there was Starbucks right around the corner! I ordered a iced tea lemonade, which definitely hit the spot! On the way back to the shuttle bus we saw many roosters running around, and one of the people informed us that drivers would be indicted and fined if they were to run over these animals. Key West was a very special place that was concerned with the well-being of their wildlife and environment which I found very interesting. Overall it was an enjoyable day in a place that I had never seen before!

SNOW DAY!

Today is a snow day!! I am a very credulous and gullible person, so when people tell me there is going to be a snow day I usually believe them without a doubt but this time they were right! When Mr. Demaio came on the loudspeaker yesterday and said that they were going to close the school for a snow day I was ECSTATIC! Pascack Valley High School almost never closes their school due to inclement weather, but today has been a true miracle. At first it was a great start, I got up at around 11:00 in the morning and had a chance to have an actual breakfast that was homemade. I was ready to watch a couple seasons of The Office, until my dad sat down at breakfast and altered my plans. He began cajoling me by saying that he was very proud of me for getting good grades this marking period, and saying that I was such a good daughter. Well I knew that my dad was trying to persuade me to do something strenuous and horrific, and I knew just the activity he needed help with----shoveling snow. I tried to make a quick escape to my room, but then my mom intercepted my avoidance my packing on the guilt because she told me, "Would you mind just spending a little of your time to help your father outside? I love you." Well we all know what I now had been forced into doing, so I had to go get my lovely snow gear on.

I had to put on about three pairs of pants, two sweatshirts, and five pairs of socks so that I would be warm enough to traverse the twelve inches of snow outside. I was ready to be done getting all the snow off the cars as quickly as possible, but it began taking longer than I had anticipated. My arms were starting to hurt from shoveling the snow, and my sister was becoming laconic which was a sign that she was ready to go inside, since she is always a chatterbox. Then, the snowblower was unable to get rid of all the snow because the snow was practically turning into ice since it was so cold. My dad was determined to clear the entire driveway, but I could not take it anymore. My fingers were turning blue, (even though I had gloves on) and my attitude was becoming aloof because my patience was running thin. My dad was finally fed up with the cold himself, and we all decided to go inside to warm up. The rest of the day turned out to be very relaxing though, and I even made red velvet cupcakes with my sister!

Working Girl.

I have recently started working for my cousin's personal trainer to earn some extra cash because I want to eradicate the option of asking my parents for money all the time. I have always been very ambitious about working, but I have always found it very difficult to balance having a job and managing schoolwork simultaneously. I was working at Blimpie (Subway's biggest competitor) for about a year almost every Saturday, but the remuneration that I was receiving was not substantial enough for all the work that I was doing there. So, I decided to move on and not work for a few months so that I could acclimate myself to the new workload that junior year was about to offer. Then, since I decided not to participate in the fall drama and spring musical this year, I needed to participate in some kind of activity after school that would stimulate myself.

Over winter break, I had gone to my cousin Nicole's apartment, and went with her to her personal trainer, Elena. Elena was a vivacious person who was full of energy and thrilled to meet me. She was certified in holistic medicines and had an array of all-natural pills that were bound to heal any ailment. I was in awe at all the information she knew about staying healthy and I got to ask many questions about how different herbs possessed different characteristics in order to heal and rejuvenate people. She was flattered by my interest, and told me to leave her a dossier of my personal information in case she needed someone to work for her in the future. After a couple of weeks, Elena called me and asked me if I wanted to do secretarial work for her during the week. I knew this would be a perfect job for me because I am very organized and she was extremely flexible about the amount of hours I would put in every week.

I was ebullient for my first day of work since I love working with computers and managing files. When I had come in, she instructed my on how to organize her calendar by using Microsoft Outlook, and other things I was to organize for her. Also, she said I had complete freedom to brainstorm ways that she could promote her business by designing flyers, brochures, and even making a Facebook fan page. I was eager to put my knowledge of technology to use and absolutely love my new job!