Other Cruise Photos to share

Carrie and I really had a great time on this trip!  It was so much fun to see a lot of my stamping friends from all over the country again and for them to meet Carrie!  Here I am with my friend Cindy from Hawaii.  Cindy and I did a couple teleconferences for Stampin' Up! this spring and it was so fun to meet in person and spend some time together on the cruise!  On the last full day of the cruise about 5000 of us, yes you read that correctly, did a walk for breast cancer called On Deck for the Cure and Cindy and I walked together.  The walk was a great cause and it was fun that so many stampers and their guests came out to support it! 

And, here I am with a bunch of friends from Wisconsin before the second formal night on the cruise. You'll have to come over to stamp with me to see the rest of my vacation photos.  I hope you've enjoyed reading about my travels!  Thank you for making this trip possible!!

The Panama Jungle!

Once we entered Gatun lake after passing through the locks of the Panama Canal Carrie and I got off the ship and got on a bus headed to the heart of the Panama Jungle.  This is a picture of the two of us with our tour guide for the day.  The comedian on the ship that night joked that the tour stickers we wore were targets but unfortunately that was his only funny joke of the night. 

We rode the bus for about an hour (which was a great time for a nap after getting up so early) and then arrived at the jungle.  We stopped at a resort there and then went to the aerial tram.  The tram was neat but we were there in the heat of the day so didn't see that much wildlife.  But we did hear some Toucans.  The tram took us to the top of a hill where we climbed an observation tower.  While climbing we saw and itty bitty snake which we all very carefully sidestepped!!! 

Sleeping in the timbers of the tour roof was an animal called an Olingo, which is a member of the raccoon family.  He was pretty sound asleep but as we were leaving he shifted positions to have his front paws hanging over the beam he was sleeping on, one on each side (just like my cat). 

Being at the top of the tower we could see  a long distance looking over the canopy of the jungle.  It was neat to think about all the wildlife hiding below!  After leaving the tower and aerial tram we boarded the bus again and headed back to the coast.  It turned out that the ship was late coming in to pick us up so we did some shopping in the market on the pier.  I found a great stitched item, similar to a quilt square, in bright colors made by the local people.  It was a great souvenier and I plan on making it into a pillow for my office to always remember the trip!   

The Panama Canal

For those of you who have been reading along about my adventures at sea with Stampin' Up! here is what you've been waiting for, some photos from actually going through the Panama Canal.  We were lucky because there was a cruise ship in front of us and another behind us.  So, we got up very, very early in the morning and went up to the front of the ship to watch the boat in front of us go through the locks.  Notice in this photo how there is a road that extends across the waterway when the locks are closed!

We stayed there until we started to enter the canal and then went back to the back of the ship.  One of my friends and sidelines, Laura earned the cruise very early in the year and as such had a large cabin on the back of the ship.  So, we had mimosas with room service and sat on the back deck while we went through the locks and also got to watch the ship behind us go through. 

Here is one of the "mules" that are used to help pull ships through the locks.  It was neat that these small cars could pull our large cruise ship through the locks!  It was really fun but really hot!  Even before 9 AM it was sweltering sitting in the sun like that and Carrie and I wondered how we'd make it through the day venturing through the Panama jungle, but more on that tomorrow! 

Relaxing on the Ship

Here we are after a day in the sun, relaxing at one of the ship's many lounges before dinnertime.   This is my upline Glenda on the right and my sideline Bobbi and her daughter Kirsten on the left.  We had such fun on our cruise so thank you for helping to make it possible!!

Stampin' on a Boat!

Yes, we did stamp on the Stampin' Up! cruise and here's proof.  This is me at my stampin' table with two of my sidelines, Laura and Bobbi and three other ladies that we stamped with that morning. 

The night before stampin' day I returned to my room after dinner to find a beautiful package which included a new stamp set (Flowers & Flourishes to be included in the Fall-Winter collection starting in July), inkpads, a new wheel and other stampin' goodies.  We used this to make three great projects two of which included some new designer papers! 

One of the very cool things that Stampin' Up! did was to include the large ribbon from the Seaside Ribbon Originals on everything they gave us - this is even what our nametag lanyards were made of!   

Aruba!!

After stopping at Half Moon Cay, the Stampin' Up! cruise headed to Aruba, "One Happy Island".   On Aruba, Carrie and I hooked up with a friend and fellow rising star Ang Fronek and her husband Ryan for a jeep tour.  This was one thing that Carrie really wanted to do and she wanted to drive!  So, the rest of us were more than happy to oblidge and enjoy the views of the island.  And, it happened to be a yellow jeep, just what she's been dreaming about! 

Here we stopped at a large rock formation that you could climb up.  We could see the cruise ships from the top!  There was a bit of a traffic jam climbing down but it was definitely worth the hike! 

On the jeep tour we saw the collapsed natural preserve, lighthouse, gold mine, sunken ship, a pretty church and finally stopped at the beach to wade in the ocean.  It was a great tour! Here is our tour guide checking out Carrie's license, he didn't believe that she was old enough to drive!    

The Beginning of the Cruise!

I have to go back to the very beginning of our trip.  There is just so much to say, it was an awesome vacation and even better that we were surrounded by 400 of our closest friends (other demonstrators who earned the cruise)!  This is Carrie and I at the cast off party (this was after the lifeboat drill that we did when first boarding the ship). 

That night we went to the Pinnacle Grill with all of the Stampers In Stitches who earned the cruise.  Stampers In Stitches is the name of the group of stampers led by one of my uplines Glenda.  We had a great time at dinner and it was a wonderful way to kick off the best vacation of my life! 

The next day we arrived in Half Moon Cay for a very relaxing day at the beach!  After Half Moon Cay Carrie and I went to the Crow's Nest to watch the sun set before dinner.  Here we are in the Crow's Nest - notice the Ribbon Originals used as the lanyard for my name tag?  I thought this was a very cool extra touch.  Stampin' Up! sure does think of all the details!   

I think we're caught up now but I'm sure I'll end up posting a few extra photos at the end as I forget things or get additional photos from friends.  I love that this blog can act as a virtual scrapbook for you to read about our adventures on the cruise, after all, you helped us get there!   

At the Beach!

Don't you just love the photos from those throw-away cameras?  This is Carrie and I on Half Moon Cay after being done in the water.  We have a habit of doing self portraits and this photo is no different!  We had one photo left on our underwater camera so here we are and not too sunburned! 

Oh, and here's that barracuda that Carrie saw while snorkeling.  I had to borrow her mask so I could get a good look too!

Half Moon Cay

So, I mentioned that I'd be sharing more photos and facts from the cruise, well here is the view of our ship from Half Moon Cay (pronounced Key) which was our first stop on the cruise.  Carrie and I were supposed to do a snorkling excursion but it was actually too windy that day so the excursion was canceled.  That was OK because I really wanted to just lay on the beach and do nothing.  I didn't exactly do that but we rented a set of snorkel equipment and a floaty mat so Carrie was able to snorkel (and she saw a barracuda and a sting ray plus tons of little fish) while I floated along and enjoyed the warm water and the sun.  It was really a great way to start our vacation together! 

When we arrived on the island the Stampin' Up! executives were waiting to greet us and they gave each person a frisbee with the Panama Canal logo on it.  While we didn't play with ours in the water it was a very cool souvenier to take back home! 

I've Been Tagged!

That's right, I've been tagged in a game of blogger tag!  My downline and friend, Diane tagged me!  This means that I'm going to share 7 fun facts about myself.  So, here goes...

1. When I was a kid some family friends nicknamed me “Green Bean” because I had a green jumper on one day.  It stuck!  I haven’t been called that in a long time, so if you’re reading this be sure to tell me Hi Green Bean the next time you see me! 



2. Speaking of names, I also used to go by Jenny when I was a kid.  I have long since outgrown that nickname (except when I hear the 867-5309 song… you know what I’m talking about!)  So, please don’t call me Jenny.  J 



3. I love Stampin’ Up! – OK, most of you knew that already.  But, you probably didn’t know that when I became a demonstrator I had only stamped once before and had only intended to buy supplies for my own personal use for scrapbooking.  But, I had several friends who wanted to learn stamping so I learned and then taught them!  I just returned from a free Panama Canalcruise that I earned so anything is possible with SU! 



4. One of my three cats has thumbs!  Really, he has extra toes that make him look like he has thumbs!  He also has a tendency to give me a thumbs up sign when he lies down which is really cute!



5. My favorite childhood book was “The Giving Tree” by Shel Silverstein.  It’s a book that says a lot about how we should treat others and live our lives and I love to give this book to new moms that I know! 



6. I am an avid Packer and Badger fan even though I’m in Illinois!  I went to school at the University of Wisconsin and am 100% Badger.  I will always remember my Mom watching the Packers over her ironing (funny what we remember from our childhood).  They weren’t very good back in those days and aren’t again right now but there’s something about Wisconsin fans – we’ll show up to support our team no matter what! 



7. Last but not least, I can't post on my blog without a photo so here is a picture of a group of us at the Dessert Extravaganza on the second formal night of the Stampin' Up! Panama Canal cruise!

Thanks for reading and keep watching for more photos from my cruise and upcoming specials!  The retiring stamp list will be out on May 1^st and we’ll have a new special then too! 

Abandon Ship!!

So, my sister and I have started a new tradition every time we cruise together and this trip was no different!  The first day of a cruise they always have you do a lifeboat drill, well, here we are having a little fun with the drill! 

I have a feeling that every cruise we take we'll be doing a similar pose.  :) 

Notice the very cool "Cruise Achiever" magnet on the door... this is now on my fridge and is a ver cool reminder of our trip! 

Panama Palms

I love this scrapbook page!  It was on the display boards on the cruise, so I don't know who stamped it to give proper credit.  But, I love her use of the Rough Texture Wheel and the Palm Tree is so well done!  The colors here are Certainly Celery, Cool Caribbean, Very Vanilla and Close to Cocoa. 

Don't forget that Cool Caribbean is one of this year's In Colors and all six In Colors will be discontinued on June 30th of this year.  So, be sure to stock up before it's gone forever!

I'm Home!

Well, I'm still trying to get caught up after returning from the Stampin' Up! cruise to the Panama Canal last week.  It was a fabulous trip and was one of the best vacations I've ever been on!  Not only was the cruise itself really fun and the perfect balance between adventure and relaxing in the sun, but it was like being on vacation with 500 (or however many cruise earners there were) of your closest friends! 

I'll be posting more about the trip over the next few weeks so stay tuned...