What the HECK...

Here is one more for your viewing pleasure. Folks, I do not, nor have I ever consumed alcohol before performing. This is all NATURAL!!! (By the way, this is the song that put me through to the finals) ENJOY!!!

For Johnny & Alicia - Enjoy!?!?!

This is so embarrassing. I can't believe that I am even posting this? I know that I have completely embarrassed myself with the whole "mud bath" experience, so what the hell, let me just add to my embarrassment. (On the cruise ship they have a karaoke competition, and well let's just say they loved me so much that I made it to the finals. However, I was not so good to walk away with the first place prize, but I did walk away with a nifty "Princess" tote that ended up getting left on a chair, on purpose...like I want to take home a bag that says "Princess" on it. LAMEO!) Okay, so Johnny and Alicia this embarrassing moment is for you - enjoy!!!

Christmas at the Williams

Because I am a wonderful sister I got Jessie a stand up cut out of Edward from Twilight.  Dreamy, just dreamy!

The Williams family together again!  

The HUGE snowman that the kids built - I just posed by it.  

Christmas was WONDERFUL!  I got everything that I wanted - imagine that???  I did play Santa for my mom and bought all that I wanted.  I got a very nice knife set, a SUPER nice Cuisinart blender/food processor, a waffle iron, some weirdy movies, and of course The Office season 4 - thanks to Audra.  You go girl!  Probably the best gift we got was to be together as a family.  Yes, these gifts I received from Santa and friends are nice, but to have everyone you love surrounded together is an awesome gift!  

I LOVE Christmas!

Okay - so I really do love Christmas!  I love it because of the giving.  It is so fun to give to others and to see/talk to friends and family.  Gosh, I can be such an "up and down gal" - one minute I am a Scrooge, the next minute I'm a Christmas Angel!  I know that the best Christmas gift I have been able to give this year is to help my mom.  She has not stopped with all that has happened to her in the past little while.  I know I complained about buying my own gifts, but if you really look at it, the real gift I have been able to give was to help my mom in her time of need - shopping for all us kids and others, making/shopping/preparing all the food, and just letting her get through this rough time.  She is constantly giving and serving others, and it's nice to actually get to serve her.  For those of you who know her she never lets anyone serve her, so this was a wonderful Christmas treat for me!  Christmas is a time for GIVING - yes the receiving is nice, but it's the giving that matters most.  In the end all these "worldly" gifts stay here, and all we get to take with us are the gifts of the heart.  

"This is a glorious time of the year, simple in origin, deep in meaning, beautiful in tradition and custom, rich in memories, and charitable in spirit. It has an attraction to which our hearts are readily drawn. 

This joyful season brings to each of us a measure of happiness that corresponds to the degree in which we have turned our mind, feelings, and actions to the spirit of Christmas."

Thomas S. Monson

BAAHUMBUG!

I'm getting fed up with wrapping my own Christmas presents.  This is how it went down.  Just before I left for Paradise my Mom gives me money to go Christmas Shopping for myself and all my siblings.  What?  That's no fun Mom!  I'm not going to be a bit surprised at all when it's Christmas morning and I'm opening the gifts that I picked out and bought for myself.  This is her response, "Well if you were MARRIED, (being as you are 28 and single) you would be buying gifts for your 'own' family!  You're not, so this is what happens - I give you money, you get what you want, you wrap, and then you act surprised on Christmas day!"  As I sit here and wrap my own gifts I am filled with the spirit of SCROOGE, so BAAHUMBUG to you all!  

Merry Christmas ;)

Aruba

Just by saying the name Aruba I want to start singing that song by the Beach Boys - go ahead sing away, I know you know what song I'm talking about...

Aruba was beautiful, and I enjoyed a day at the beach just relaxing.  I want to do it again very soon!  Forget Hawaii - Aruba is my new found LOVE!!!

Panama - We Broke the Canal

We pulled an all niter, can't tell you the last time I stayed up all night.  Might have been back when I went to Price is Right (almost ten years ago...).  We stayed up all night to see us go through the first lock.  We pulled into the canal around 5:00am and started are LONG journey through.  As were making our approach I couldn't handle the lack of sleep and took a five minute power nap.  It was amazing to go through the canal, to see the beautiful newly built Mormon Temple overlooking the canal.  After making it through the first lock we said it's time for breakfast, and off to a long nap!  We were knocked out completely, luckily we even got caught on camera.  Now, when I said we broke the canal we did.  After our long nap we awoke to the announcement that the boat was "broke down" inside the canal - never did find out what really happened, but I do know it made CNN???  It took about two hours before we got moving again.  In the end we began the canal in the dark and finished in the dark.

Columbia

Columbia was cool.  I went and took a mud bath!!!  It was so awesome and refreshing!  I also want to state that the most action I got this entire trip was here in the mud bath.  I got in, got pushed into a corner, and a Latin man started rubbing me up in down with mud.  He even pulled up my tankini top up and rubbed MY CHEST!!!  Like I said, most action I got the entire trip!  SERIOUSLY!  Why this was happening there was nothing I could do, I was so tense by being in the mud and confused to all that was happening.  After soaking in the mud for about thirty minutes I got out and headed down to the river to wash it off.  I get down there and a woman who speaks no English takes me in and starts to bathe me.  She starts tugging on my top and so I move the straps down, next thing I know she is pulling my top completely off.  Then she reaches down and starts tugging at my bottoms.  Then I realize I am completely nude, surrounded by tons of people, but realize they are all nude as well.  The woman took my swim suit and rubbed it clean and then gave it back to me and I quickly, QUICKLY, put my suit on as she continued to clean me, she got me cleaner then I have ever been!   It was quite an experience, but I would love to do it again!  Do it again, not for the rub down...come on people!  It was good for my skin! 

Costa Rica

Costa Rica was a lot of fun!  That was the highlight of the trip.  We went into the rain forest and did a zip line through.  I had a few freak outs with the thoughts of snakes falling out of the trees on me.  Part of the zip line adventure was a trip into the snake cages.  Costa Rica has a little under 200 snakes, and around 30 of them are poison!  ICK!!!  Along with the snakes there are also crocodiles, and monkeys.  We also went to the beach and saw a surfing competition.  I didn't like the beaches there, they are black sand just like Nicaragua, and Guatemala.

My new Latin Lover, he was my rescuer...very shy, but you know what they say about the quiet ones...

Nicaragua

My new friend Hamilton!  Bound for a Mormon Mission - what a cutie!

The Mormon Church!  How exciting!!!

Nicaragua was a very different experience for me.  I had a breakdown.  As we were taking our own tour through some of the cities I just saw all the children around barefoot, all the homes that weren't even close to being a home - four tins in a square with a tin on top.  I started to cry, I was so overwhelmed with emotion at how these people live.  We are spoiled here in North America - spoiled!!!  I did get a hold of myself, but was very wishy washy the rest of the time.  I do have to say, I was way excited to see three sets of Elder Missionaries, and we even saw one of the many Mormon Churches.  Also, to top it off we met a nice young man named Hamilton who is a member of the church and is getting ready to serve a mission.  In fact, I gave him my email and I have already heard from him.  The best of luck to him.  The church is everywhere, and strong even third world countries.

Guatemala

Next stop was Guatemala.  I ditched my friends and went into the town of Antigua.  It was about an hour and half bus ride.  Luckily I met this nice woman from Germany who is married to a man who speaks Spanish, and LUCKILY she spoke enough Spanish to get us around.  Her name was Ingrid and we became fast friends.  Guatemala was a very beautiful country filled with volcanoes, colorful buildings, Mayan people, and lots of colorful things for sale.  I only bought two table runners, and the rest were photos that I took on my own.  

Mexico

I could not get out of the beautiful, warm water - can you blame me???  Look at it.  We just hung out at the beach and soaked in the water!  What a shame that we had to catch the boat to our next stop...

Where Have I Been???

I ask myself that same question???  I have been so far from home, out of the loop of family and friends, and full of questions to what's going on in America???  Well here I sit in the airport with hopes to get an earlier flight home.  Until then it's time to update you all on my travels to a far away land known as Panama!  How fun my trip has been!  How quickly time flies when you are having fun!  

I embarked once again on to a cruise ship bound for south of the United States.  Arriving on Sunday November 30th we got on my beloved Princess Ship and headed south.  We had two relaxing days at sea - or busy with the kids I roomed with.  After days at sea we made our first stop in Mexico.  Relaxed on the white sand beach and bathed in the sand.  It took all I had to pull me out of the turquoise water.  Next day it was on to Guatemala, and I went on my own into the town of Antigua and walked around.  Met a nice lady from Germany who spoke Spanish really well and hung out with her and made our way around.  

Our third day on land we went to Nicaragua and I had a break down!  We are so stinking spoiled in the United States - these people in third world countries have nothing, and that realization hit me pretty hard!  After collecting my emotions it was on to Costa Rica the country with Rain Forest's and SNAKES!  I had a few freak outs with all the vines everywhere I sometimes thought they were snakes.  We zip lined through the rain Forest, it was amazing!!!  Next it was Panama and a trip through the canal.  We made history - we broke the Canal trying to get through - a little nerve racking, but I wasn't to worried it wasn't like we were sinking.  

After that trip through the Canal it was off to Columbia, and bathe in a mud volcano.  Next it was to Aruba, and it took all I had to get on the boat!  WOW - anyone up for a trip to Aruba anytime soon???  Then it was time to rest up on the boat, sing a little karaoke, and then wait in the airport with hopes of catching an early flight.  Traveling is SUPER fun, but being back home in a comfortable place is also comforting and nice.  

Happy Thanksgiving!

The best part about this Thanksgiving was having an ice cold beer!  Hahaha - an ice cold Ale-8.  I love drinking from a bottle!  It was great to have what family is here together for the holiday.  Flint was missed, but we know that where he is at is a good place right now.  We got to talk to him on the phone and it sounds like he is doing really well, and improving.  We'll just keep praying and hope for the best with him.  I made my famous pecan pie and it didn't even last more than two days!  I tried a new pie this year - a chocolate pie, and oh my goodness was it divine!!!  Very rich, but it came in second with desserts.

Going, going, going, and gone!!!  It's just that good!!!

Well, I loved having Thanksgiving at my place because that means I get all the leftovers!  Yeah Buddy!!!