One of the trips that Mike qualifies for with his job {annually} is called - Convention. This year it was at the Atlantis in the Bahamas. The resort was beautiful and the weather was great. While I'm partial to the Convention in Hawaii {cause that's where we got engaged} this one was really a lot of fun!
Wednesday, April 22nd
When we got into town we checked in and went to Murray's Deli for lunch. It was AMAZING {per Mike's scale - my stomach was off from the plane so I only had chicken tenders and fries} It was like a real NY deli. Although the price for chips was CRAZY!
We explored the resort for the rest of the day and had a special dinner that night for specific qualifiers {which I forgot to take pictures at ..}
The whole resort was filled with different ponds that had fish, turtles, stingrays and SHARKS!!
Beautiful Waterfalls
Baby Sharks and Giant Stingrays
Sea Turtles!!
This picture doesn't do it justice ... that shark was HUGE!
Does it look like we've been up since 4am??
Thursday, April 23rd
Thursday Mike and I did separate excursions ... he went golfing at the Ocean Club and I went to the Spa for a Mandara Ritual for the Hands and Feet {a glorified mani-pedi}
Mike said it was one of the most beautiful courses he's ever played on and the pictures were awesome. I got to know Mike's co-worker's wife during our spa treatment which was nice since we travel with them a few times a year.
That evening we had a welcome party for everyone on one of the resort's beaches. It was a great time and they shot fireworks at the end and they were so close!!
They had a live band ... which Mike said were horrible .. I didn't think they were so bad
Friday, April 24th
Friday we got up early because there was a General Session where Mike was going up on stage to be recognized. I tried to get a better picture but the lights were so bright {if you look closely he's up on stage in the first picture and his name is on the screen}. He was being recognized for making something called the President's Honor Circle.
Afterwards we went into town to do a little shopping. We ended up walking all the way up and down the main strip and didn't find anything. When we decided to head back {after getting Starbucks of course} we stopped in one more store and found exactly what we were looking for.
When we got back to the resort we went out to the main beach and spent some time in the sun. I actually got a great tan this trip which I usually don't because we're always so busy.
Friday night was the Awards Gala and we got all dressed up! Mike's branch was number one in the company again for the fourth year in a row!! His company always goes the extra mile as well to thank the spouses and significant others of their employees. You'll see my name on screen :)
Coming back from town ... Check out my new glasses ... Each qualifier and their guest got a pair of Ray Bans :)
All Dressed Up For Awards Gala
Main Course - Steak and Crab Layered Fish
Dessert - Key Lime Pie, Chocolate Tart, and Cheesecake
{AQUARIUM BREAK}
Lobsters
More Lobsters
Giant Fish - Look how big they are compared to Mike!
Jelly Fish
Beautiful Aquarium Colors
Nemos!
Seahorse Sea Hell {this picture is for Marie and Chelsea}
Saturday, April 25th
On the last day we went on another excursion ... Deep Sea Fishing. I was excited about this because we've never been before. We tried to on one of the cruises we went on but it was cancelled due to weather. It was nice because we were on a boat with a few people Mike works with and had time to get to know them better. We went out for about 4 hours and we didn't catch anything!
I take that back ... on the way back in we caught a baby Spanish Mackerel. Even though we didn't catch anything it was still fun and we ended up taking a little nap in the sun on a boat. Who can complain about that?
For dinner that night we were on our own so, Mike {having done his research} made us reservations at a sushi place called Nobu {apparently Drake raps about it}. It was REALLY good!
Deep Sea Fishing Bait
Looking at all the fishy bait
View Of Atlantis From The Boat
Our One Lonely Fish
King Crab Tacos
Wagyu Stuffed Dumplings
The waiter made Mike "Beginner" Chopsticks
Overall it was a great time and I would recommend Atlantis to anyone, but I did notice that families with younger children would probably have the best time. {a place for kids and parents to have fun}
Just before I left on our trip last week I was contemplating changing things up a bit on the blog. I didn't want to get too stagnant and have the same types of posts on the same days to where it becomes mundane. I also realized that my weekends aren't always the most exciting to post about them every Monday. So I am going to do away with the "Weekend Wrap Up" and do something called "Life Lately" which I got from the Mix and Match Mama Blog. This way I can still post about what is going on in my life but it can be at any given time about any given time.
I also want to start doing more posts honing down on my niche ... Designing. Designing a life, a home, a marriage, a career, friendships and much much more. I want to start sharing more about what I do to make these things in my life what they are.
With this impending change I decided not to blog last week and actually take time off on our vacation. {I'll still do a Vacation Wrap Up} So this post is going to tie up the loose ends from last week and get ready for some great changes!
31 {Fri}day Blog Challenge Number 13 - Favorite Quote
I used to work in Merchant Services {credit card processing} and I helped in training and customer service. If you have ever learned how credit cards work on the back end, it can be quite confusing not to mention adding on different types of software and transaction flows. I loved it, I enjoyed learning the process of everything and problem solving when there were issues. I didn't love it as much as I love creating things {which is why I didn't stay in that field} but it was while I was working in Merchant Services that I came across this quote and it really resonated with me.
It is one of the truest quotes that I have ever come across. I'm a sucker for a good quote but you know the more you read them the more they start contradicting each other. None-the-less I believe this one is true. Have you ever tried to explain something that you didn't know very well?
I love to realize that I have just explained something to someone simply because that means I know that subject quite well and I feel a sense of accomplishment.
One other quote that I like, I put on the bottom of my daily to do list as a little bit of daily encouragement to work smarter not harder.
I also finished my April book on the plane rides this week keeping right on track with my resolution. I'm quite proud of myself for staying on top of this and we are close to half way through the year.
This was a great book, I was really looking forward to reading a fun fiction book. A lot of the books that I have been reading this year really make you think so it was nice to just read for fun this month. In fact I might just do the same thing this next month!
This book is a lot like the movies "He's Not That Into You" or "Valentines Day" where there is a couple different story lines going and eventually they all intertwine with each other. Each story line is intriguing and there are a few points where you have ah-ha moments when certain things are revealed. I would pay close attention to the character's names early on and it will help you keep all the story lines straight.
Over all I give this book a 9. It was a fun read for sure.
I know it's Monday but I thought I would still give you my favorite thing from last week!
YouTube Videos teaching you how to french braid your own hair!
My hair is getting unbearably long, I've been growing it out for the wedding and I'm over it to be honest, I can't wait until I can cut it! I've been looking for different things to do to it besides down and straight and ponytail ... because ... well that is the extent of my hair styling skills.
So I sat down last week and watched YouTube Videos until I learned how to french braid my own hair. It only took about 45 minutes! All the videos were quite helpful. Once I figured out how to braid over rather than under I got it pretty quickly.
This was one of my first attempts that actually stayed
This was after about 8 tries
And this was me actually wearing it in the Bahamas
Well that's about all I have to catch up on right now ... I'll be posting about our vacation this week and working on some great DIY projects this weekend to share with you guys!
