Salty Zebra

Sunrise in Indio, CA from our patio  "Free three day trip - all you have to do is attend a presentation."  Have you ever been given an opportunity like this? If not, do you live in the US? Because we are inundated with this all the time.  I remember the first timeshare presentation my husband and I attended. I'm a sucker for stuff like this, so I was ready to sign my life away, but thankfully my husband has a much more level head. We walked away without a timeshare, and I don't even remember for sure if we got whatever we were promised for attending. Over the years I had friends and relatives that bought into one of these programs, and they were generous to share their benefits with us. We were able to fulfill our then 4 year old's lifelong dream to visit Big Bear Lake thanks to my Aunt kindly allowing us to book through their timeshare. Combined with airline miles that my husband had received for work travel, our family of 6 got a week-long vacation in California...

 Ten years ago, our Homeschool PE co-op that had been operating for decades ended due to the YMCA's new policy about allowing people to use the locker room they most identified with. Our little girls seeing naked men change next to them was only one of our major concerns with this policy and after pursuing every possible means to find a mutually agreeable solution, we ended up having to dissolve our group's long-standing relationship with the Y. It was a tragedy for my kids who had been going to the Y for sixteen years for everything from Toddler Gym to swim team.   So, with this background, seeing the sign above in front of the ALL the bathrooms in the D terminal at the Seattle- Tacoma airport this weekend made me a little anxious. I'd seen lots of all gender side rooms, and that seemed like a good solution to me, but to be fair, I'm not their target audience. The building our Primary Care Physician is in has restrooms that were previously standard (one has a urinal in...

 Last year about this time, I wrote to you all asking for a little help from my friends , and you showed up! We raised $357.68 in donations over the month and I wanted to share with you today how that has influenced my blog this year.  First, it showed me that there were real people out there reading what I was writing who actually valued it enough to contribute financially. That means more than I can possibly express! I love  writing, but it's hard when you put things out into the blogosphere day after day and you wonder if anyone sees it, if anyone cares, if it's making a difference. When you all showed up for me last December, it encouraged me to keep writing, to keep traveling, to keep learning and sharing things with you. THANK YOU!!!  Next, by having some level of financial income, my blog was legitimized as a business. This enabled me to open five different credit cards and two bank accounts earning me 365,000 points/miles and $1,200 in account signup bonuses....

 Depression. It makes food taste... bland. Sunny days look... dim. Even comedians don't sound funny anymore. So, what's the point of going on a cruise if you're depressed? Here's my take on it. As with many of my other symptoms, you're going to be depressed whether you're at home or on a cruise, so you may as well be on a cruise!   Depression, at least for me in this season, doesn't mean that I'm miserable. It simply means that I get 40% less enjoyment out of what I'm doing. I see things differently. I experience things differently. How does that play out in real, lived experience? Well, for example, I have found that my interactions with people on this cruise haven't gone as well as I remember in the past. Negativity hits me quite a bit harder, so the lady sitting next to me at my dinner with the officers last night complaining about the temperature of her food and how long it took for dessert to come stood out much more starkly than it would ha...

  So, you’ve made it to Platinum status (or maybe even higher) with Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL). What should you make sure to take advantage of so you don’t miss out on any of your perks? I’m here to talk you through it today.   Your benefits begin before you ever board the ship, so keeping these things in mind can save you money, improve your experience or both! As soon as you join the Latitudes Rewards Program , after your first cruise, you are eligible to book future cruises with extra rewards points associated. Typically you receive 1 point per cruise night in a regular room. If you book a Suite or a room in the Haven, you’ll get an extra point per night, but you’ll pay for that point with a much higher room cost. What you may not know is that you can receive a free extra point per night, moving you up in status twice as fast, by booking a member cruise. You can find these when searching by choosing “More” and “Past Guest Offer.” I’ve gotten a great deal of my points th...

   Last night, minutes before heading to bed, I decided to pop up the Solo Cruise Search on CruisePlum.com . With my husband's career situation being in flux, I haven't been able to book anything for us in the foreseeable future. It's been a hot minute though since I've been on a trip by myself so last night I thought I'd just take a peak to see what was out there. Initially it was about comparing the price per day with an offer I'd found on Holland America for standby travel . $198/day seemed like a lot for an inside room, even for a solo price, but I wanted to confirm that feeling . Turns out I was right! MSC had a ton of sailings under $50/day for solo travelers, but unfortunately, they only sail out of the East Coast and Europe at the moment and I'm not in the mood to fly to Florida. You know who sails out of the West Coast in the fall? Norwegian, that's who! Ok, there's lots of other cruise lines that do this too, but Norwegian is my favorite, ...

 Our week-long cruise in the MSC Yacht Club on the Seascape was absolutely incredible, and much of that is due to what most would consider little things. I've said it before and I'll say it again, the little things make all the difference! In this post I'm going to break down some of the most memorable touches, and as long as I'm sure it will get, I'm barely scratching the surface! From the moment you arrive at the cruise terminal you will see signs and be greeted by staff from the Yacht Club. They escort you to the front of lines and guide you to a special waiting area where the staff are excited to see you and ready to begin spoiling you! They have a variety of drinks available while you wait from still or sparkling water (both of which are pretty much always available), lemonade, or even champagne or a mimosa! Once they have a group together and a butler to escort you, they walk you all the way onto the ship and up to the Yacht Club Top Sail Lounge. Here we were ...