I Love Jamaica, II

Oh, yes! Jamaica was so much fun! There are so many activities and so much to do it was hard to choose. But I think we made a great choice!

Our first stop was Dunn's River Falls. It is this huge waterfall that you actually climb up! Now, this is actually quite dangerous. I'm not sure how there aren't more injuries. But we made it to the top and had a great time. C'est la vie!
And here is a pattern you will notice as we progress... a picture of our picture! You know they want $20 for these things! No way! But I am pretty sneaky and managed to get a decent photo of our photo. Haha!Next, Tammy took us to the White River for tubing! This was so much fun and so beautiful! Unfortunately, I only brought one waterproof camera and ran out early so I didn't get to capture all the beauty. Who knew it was going to be soooo much fun and so beautiful? Anyway, I got a few great shots in before we ran out.

Tubing in a chain. We all grabbed each other's feet to form one long chain and stick together. Now - I'm really not a foot person. At least I had Lucas's feet and not some stranger's. I feel bad for others - like the guy in front of me - who had to hold stranger's feet. Haha!

We stopped in the middle for a jump off the cliff....
This was not Lucas's favorite part of the trip. He jumps like a wuss. Haha! Love you, honey! Oh, who cares... he is in Cabo right now. He isn't reading this. Haha!

Jamaican Me Crazy- Part I

Welcome to beautiful Ocho Rios Jamaica!!

I'm Ashley and I'll be your tour guide today....
though our actual tour guide is Tammy!
Tammy is the daughter of Phil Lafayette, of Phil Lafayette Tours. If you are ever in Ocho Rios it is a MUST that you tour with these guys. I found out about them online and paid less than half what the cruise ship wanted to charge and had a way better time than everybody who chose to stick with the shoddy cruise tours.

She picked us up from the port and we were off. I'll tell you more about our Jamaican adventures tomorrow, but first a view from above....

We partook of a few local delicacies.... like reggae


Bob Marley....

Jerk Chicken...

(Note there is no chicken in this photo. We are waiting. This is a local jerk chicken shack. We paid about $4 for jerk chicken, potatoes, bread, and a rum and coke. Yea! Crazy good! Crazy cheap!)

And - of course - Red Stripe
That had to be my highlight of the entire trip. Drinking a Red Strip in Jamaica!!!

Come Sail Away With Me

Our journey started off in Miami - our old stomping grounds. (Lucas lived in Miami while we dated and we would fly back and forth to visit each other.) It was nice to be back in Miami (to visit... not to live). But we weren't there for long before we were put on a big boat and drifted away.... on our way to Jamaica and the Cayman Islands!! This was our first cruise!!

We were excited to have a balcony and went straight out to check out all the pre-sailing action!

Before departing we had to run a safety drill. Doesn't this look like fun? Haha!
Then we were off! Sunset over Miami....
Life on the boat was fun!

There were dinners...and sunbathing...
and Cuba. Haha!

We also celebrated our anniversary big on the ship! As you can tell, we had a lot of fun!!

Tomorrow we stop in Ocho Rios, Jamaica!

Adios, Amigos!!

Hello, everyone!!! I'm about to depart for Mexico in a few hours! Let me show you where I'll be for the next week in case you have forgotten.


Oh, glory!

While I'm out, I'll be recapping our exotic first anniversary vacation! So, if you're dreaming of warm weather and sandy beach this is the place to be for the next couple of weeks.

For our first anniversary we sailed out of Mimi on the Royal Caribbean Navigator of the Seas.


Yea! Super nice!

We sailed around Cuba - stopping in Jamaica and the Cayman Islands. It was five nights of pure bliss!


As a bonus, I'll throw in our adventures in Miami and Key Largo, as well! Are you sick of me yet? Haha!

Oh, and

Happy Birthday, O.B.!!!

Sorry we're missing out on the festivities!!

Love you, big guy!!

Havoc Hockey

Friday night a group of us got together to enjoy a hockey game. We had so much fun! Unfortunately, Lucas was out of town with work so he missed all the fun.

Apparently we have several camera shy people in our group since they all seemed to disappear when the cameras came out. Oh, well. Here are a few of us!

Brandon lost a bet to O.B. and was forced to bow to his greatness and present him with a beer. Classic!

Just a couple of girls and Brandon… out at a bar… getting hit on by old men in tight shirts. Eek!
And I guess Justin thought it would be funny to catch me dancing the cha-cha. His wife was also dancing. Why do I get singled out, huh? Anyway, for your viewing pleasure... or not... here ya go.

It is quite hard to dance reasonably well with beer you are trying very hard not to spill.

Musical Mondays: Just Remember When You Let It All Go.....

Hosted by Jori and Diane

I really am too excited about this. These last few days are going to pass slowly. We will be headed to Mexico in TWO DAYS! The cold and windy weather has me aching for sandy beaches and warm sun rays. Lucas has been working himself crazy... or all of his working is driving me crazy anyway. I'm glad we'll have a week away together... phones off.... no work.... no stress! Just us. So here's a look at what I'm listening to to get geared up for the trip (as if I needed to listen to songs about Mexico to get excited)!

Stays in Mexico - Toby Keith
Mexico - James Taylor
Beer in Mexico - Kenny Chesney
Cabo Wabo - Van Halen

Bag Tag - Meet Liz

I was tagged by Aubrey over at The Fam Five for the BAG TAG! Unfortunately, she caught me on a bad day. Not because I don't want you to see my purse, but because I really don't want to tell you how much I paid for her...... but I guess since that is part of the game I am forced to reveal just how cheap I really am......

Here we go. Ladies, meet Liz....

My Liz Claiborne patent leather purse along with matching wallet...

I am still dreading telling you how much they cost me.... so I'll show you what's inside first....


All the essentials..... like my powder, carmex, two shades of lipstick, and two lip glosses. That's essential, right? Along with my wallet, I have my calendar. Just in case you forgot let's take a look at February....


That's right... CABO! It's almost here!!

Also, in my purse: umbrella, sunglasses, pen, Blackberry, business cards, and keys.

Now for the part that I love but dread telling you:

The cost.....

I bought Liz on Black Friday at the Liz Claiborne outlet in Foley, AL. They had a major sell. All purses $19.99, all wallets $9.99. Now that's great all buy itself. But there's more. All weekend long they had a promotion for buy three things and get your fourth free! Great, right? But still there's more... we hit during the early bird hours so we got an extra 30% off our purchases. Oh my!! We loaded up!!! My mother, grandmother, and I had piles of purses, jewelry, and clothes. We grouped our purchases to get the most we could for free (ex. all the expensive items in a group of four so we get one expensive thing free... you get it). We had no idea how much it all would total up to. The grand total came out close to $300 and we were ecstatic. We still weren't sure what happened. That night at our condo I whipped out a calculator to figure out how much each item cost us. To our amazement... the lady had given us an EXTRA 30% (on top of all the others). I don't know if this was a mistake or if she was being nice but we sure were happy. So the $70 purse that was on an unbelievable clearance for $19.99 actually cost about $7 when it was all said and done. That's right.... $7!!! And the wallet? $3!! To our credit, we had no idea they would be so cheap.... but I really wish I would've bought lots more... I ended up with three purses and two wallets. Liz is my favorite.

(By the way, I also got several pieces of jewelry, a sweater, and two dresses. I should've bought more.)

So... now you know how really cheap I am.

I tag anyone who got a great deal (I know it won't be as good as mine) on the purse they are carrying RIGHT NOW! Let me know!