Monday, May 2, 2011

Spontaneous Combustion



By the time you read this, dear readers, I will be gone.

Well, not GONE gone...I mean, I'm not breaking up with you or anything.

Um.

Let me start over.


By the time you read this, I will be traveling south (ok, further south) for a few days of rest and all-you-can-eat buffets on the high seas.

(Why do they call them the "high" seas, anyway? Wouldn't you say they're about sea-level? [rimshot!])

Where was I?

Ah, right: this feeling of being a bit scattered of late. Mostly, though, I've been concerned about John. Or rather, the way I treat John.

(By the by, I'm about to get really real here for a sec. Hope you don't mind.)

See, sometimes I can be a work-a-holic. Because I like what I do it doesn't always feel like work, but even when it does, I want to answer just a few more e-mails, or file just a few more photos, or - yes, I admit it - check just a few more tweets. Sometimes those "just a few more"s overrun other things in my life, though. Things like weekends. Or rest. Or tolerant spouses.

So last Thursday night, with the crack house done, and the book done, and some extra CW posts written, I decided to do that one thing we work-a-holic hermits absolutely abhor: be spontaneous.


"Whoah there, buddy, let's not do anything crazy, now."


"John," I said, "I think we should take a cruise next week."

It's not often I see my husband's jaw drop, so that next moment was quite a treat.

"Really?"

"Really."

I should mention here that cruising is John's heaven-on-earth.

Cruising is John's heaven-on-earth.
I should also mention that he had one researched, price-shopped, and booked in record time. Probably so I wouldn't have a chance to change my mind. Clever boy.

So, if you need us, we'll be drifting around the Caribbean this week.

Hopefully on board a ship.

I expect I'll still be posting, but no promises. (Although I really do need to vent about the whole bathing-suit shopping experience. You know, for recovery purposes.)

And, since I'll be trying to do this myself, here's a little challenge for all of you: go and appreciate your loved ones this week. Whatever that means to you, and whatever it takes, just try. I'm betting it'll pay off in spades for all of us.

See y'all in a few days.


(Oh, and yes, I have my passport.)

61 comments:

  1. spontaneous cuddle time, enjoy your cruise!!!

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  2. Congratulations! This post and the actions it describes are built completely of awesome!

    Have fun! Avoid unintentional contact with the ocean (intentional is absolutely okay)!

    And when you get back, check these out: http://www.etsy.com/listing/62871947/tardis-earrings?ref=sr_gallery_21&ga_ref=auto&ga_search_query=polymer+clay+earrings&ga_search_type=handmade&ga_facet=handmade

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  3. I love the idea! Have fun guys, you deserve it.

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  4. Have fun and duct tape that passport to your arm until you're on the ship!!!

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  5. Have a great time! Hope the time off together is just what you need.

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  6. Have a great time--you both deserve it!

    I keep trying to talk my hubby into a 'mystery vacation', but he keeps chickening out. I just want to show up at the airport, walk up to a counter and find out where they're flying to next and go. Billings, Boca Raton, Bogata, doesn't matter. We can book a hotel on the smart phone when we get there, and even the most boring out of the way nothing towns have something of interest to do, even if it's just relaxing by a hotel pool or shooting a few frames at the local bowling alley.

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  7. Have a wonderful time! My husband and I are actually going on a little vacay NEXT week. We both are in school part time and have full time jobs. This is finals week for both of us. We need it like whoa!

    Enjoy your time!!!!

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  8. That is fantastic! I want to go on another cruise for realz (did a short 2 day jaunt from San Fran up to Vancouver once)! I hope y'all have a great time. :D

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  9. Have a fabulous time! I'm a little jealous, but thrilled for the two of you!

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  10. passport, shoes, and awesome John. What more does a girl work-a-holic need? We'll miss you but are very happy for you. HAVE FUN!

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  11. Be spontaneous - check.
    With your loved one - check.
    Doing his favorite thing - check.

    AWESOME! Have a fabulous time!

    PS - do you have a problem keeping track of your passport? I am new to the web site, so perhaps I missed out on a story/adventure? I do have a solution for you ... I will work on that!

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  12. Yea! Have a wonderful time!

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  13. Have a good time you guys! Don't worry about us, you and John have a good time. We'll survive a week without any posts. ;)

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  14. I will for sure be spending time with loved ones this week too. My husband has two weeks off before the next term starts. Today is day one of relaxation. Ooh, plus it's End of
    Levels testing this week so the kids havr NO homework!

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  15. bon voyage! I hope you have a wonderful time!

    ~E
    oh in double score points! my captcha was Balista!

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  16. I wish my hubby liked cruise ships, but alas, he likes to have his feet on dirt at all times. I shall be waiting for your posts, so I can dream...

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  17. Excellent! Have a great time! Your posts have brought me little mini-vacations. You deserve a big one.

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  18. Have a wonderful and much-needed vacation! You and John deserve it :-)

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  19. Hurray for Vacations! Hope you two have a good time!

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  20. Don't you mean "Clever girl?"

    I agree--appreciating your spouse is very important. None of us do it enough! Enjoy yourselves!

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  21. Have fun! And take pics please? So I can again live vicariously through your adventures?

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  22. I hope you have an awesome time! Spontaneity FTW!

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  23. When you start something with "by the time you read this I'll be gone" it can be scary. For a split second there I thought that you had gone all sucidey on us. Then I was like...oh yeah, not likely.

    Don't do that again.

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  24. Have fun! Take pictures of your towel animals! :D

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  25. Yeah! Enjoy some you-time! I'm proud of you for jumping in with both feet ... sometimes for us planners/task-doers spontaneity is hard! :)

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  26. Have fun! You deserve it. And so does John.

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  27. Happy Sails to you until we meet again.

    Wait, cruise ships don't have sails these days.

    Happy whales to you... er, whatever.

    Anyway have a wonderful time! Can't wait to hear/read you vent about shopping for suits. That sounds like another post where I'll laugh (as a friend who has been through it, not at you, you understand) until I cry.

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  28. Have fun on your cruise. And I imagined you saying the "Clever boy" line the same why what's his name did in Jurassic Park right before getting mauled by a raptor. :-D

    Bathing suits, ugh! I did find myself an awesome vintage number that covers EVERYTHING so I'll be good if I ever get talked into being around water.

    My roommate is leaving me home alone for a whole MONTH starting really early Saturday morning. So not fair! So, I have to bug him the rest of the week to make up for that month alone.

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  29. I think both you and John are the bees knees and appreciate what you both (and the other Jen... and whoever else I don't hear about too often) put into your online communities. I hope you both have/had a great and relaxing time!

    In terms of appreciating my spouse, I try to take lessons from the dog. She always takes a break from whatever she's doing (even eating and napping!) to say hi when we come home. If we call her over with any sense of need or alacrity, she trots right on over. She holds no grudges and is never cranky about it, just happy to be part of the family. I'll try it this week in honor of you guys =)

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  30. Good for you! Much love to you both; enjoy each other.

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  31. Oooo! Have a good time! And I intend to take you up on your challenge! My best friend's birthday is this week and, she doesn't know it yet, but she's got 3 days of AWESOME coming her way. *evil laugh*

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  32. Good idea, Jen! Enjoy your R&R with your hubs, and try to stay offline... disconnecting and coming back to earth is always a nice feeling.

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  33. What a sweet post. I am totally jealous that you guys are close enough to water that going on a cruise doesn't involve also buying airfare somewhere else. Have fun for all of us up north.

    -C

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  34. Funny how a challenge from a stranger was exactly what I needed to pull my head out of my thesis proposal and realize I haven't talked to my family in...a very long time. I accept the challenge, I'll definitely spend some spontaneous quality time with my loved ones :)

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  35. So jealous I can't type a non-jealous response. (green)

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  36. YES! Have fun! I'm so glad you are taking a much needed break!

    And I have been so appreciative of my hubby for the last 10 days he has taken good care of me, fed me driven me to doctors appointments and picked me up from work when I was just in too much pain to work anymore. You see, I am a klutz. A health conscious klutz who looked over her shoulder while jogging. Not good. My ankle my never be the same. :(

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  37. Although Cakewrecks and Epbot are my first checks every morning, I actually hope that I don't see a single new post from you for a week! Enjoy your time with John on your sea level cruise!

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  38. I agree that shopping for a bathing suit is one of the most horrible experiences a woman has to go through. You just know that there is a suit out that that (1) fits, (2) hides what needs to be hidden, and (3) makes you look and feel sexy and confident. Oh, yeah. It also has to be able to stay on if you actually decide to get in the water! That's a lot to ask from less than a yard of spandex.

    Since I'm "extra blessed" on top, I can't even find a suit in a store any longer. I've had to resort to ordering one from England! I just hope that it gets here in time and fits!

    I hope that you and John enjoy your cruise. You've earned it!

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  39. Have Fun! or actually since you are probably already gone and won't read this until you are back...Welcome Back, I hope you had a grand time :)

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  40. Have a fantastic trip and relax! :)

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  41. Awesome! I agree with your hubby- cruising is heavenly. Love love love it. Wish I could do them more frequently.

    Enjoy your cruise! And yes, I agree, we all need to make sure we tell our people how much we love and appreciate them.

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  42. Have a great trip!

    We just got back from a much-needed mini-break ourselves and, upon returning, we're trying to figure out how to keep the vacation-feeling alive. On the list are taking a day off once a month and ignoring chores, etc. to do something fun in town and me trying harder to go to bed when he does (not one more email, more like one more panel blog post or picture) for snuggling (not a euphemism, lol).

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  43. Have a fantastic trip! If you swing by St. Croix, shoot me an email...I'll treat you and John to the best pizza on the island. ;)

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  44. Hey Jen,

    I'm a long time reader (from the beginning!) but never a commenter (commentor?) until I saw this on a another blog I read and thought immediately of you:

    From Alice Bradley's blog:

    "Nerds like us are allowed to be unironically enthusiastic about stuff.... Nerds are allowed to love stuff, like, jump-up-and-down-in-the-chair-can't-control-yourself love it. When people call people nerds, mostly what they're saying is, 'You like stuff.' Which is just not a good insult at all, like, 'You are just too enthusiastic about the miracle of human consciousness.'" -John Greene

    Here's the link to the post:

    http://www.finslippy.com/blog/elsewhere.html

    Anyway, there you go!
    Enjoy your cruise!!

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  45. Have a fabulous time! Is it a Disney cruise? Because there's no greater tonic for stress than a day on castaway cay. Unless it's a day in the rainforest room. Schedules and girls-only trips have prevented my husband from cruising but I suspect that once he's gone once I'll have to fight to ever have a non-cruising vacation again. Have a fantastic, wonderful, magical time and may you come back fully rested and reenergized!

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  46. As someone who is trying to cram my 12-year wedding anniversary into a week of college final exams, over time at work, and cleaning for an onslaught of family this weekend, I can empathize with this post completely. Enjoy your trip and enjoy your awesome hubby and I will make time to do the same. =)

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  47. We love cruises! Have fun!

    My husband and I, too, have such a hard time with spontaneity, but had a similar rough week last December and decided, "Let's just drive to Disneyland right now." It was a few days before finals were going to start, so logically not the best time to go on a vacation. But we packed up our son, drove through the night, spent the next day at the Magic Kingdom, then drove home. So uncharacteristic of us, but so fun!!

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  48. happy Star Wars day everyone!

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  49. How exciting!!! Can't wait to see pictures. Oh, and I totally hear ya, girl, on the bathing suit front... I'm preparing myself to dive into that trauma as well.
    My hubby & I will be in FL in 32 days! For 5 days of Disneyworld & then a 7 day W Caribbean cruise.
    SO! EXCITED!

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  50. Have a fun time, and remember that today(Wednesday) is May the Forth....

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  51. Thanks for the reminder, Jen! Just went back to school, working full time, and I often forget to make time for the wonderful hubs who makes sure I have dinner when I come home at night and even sometimes packs a brown bag of wonder for me to take to work. Time to surprise him this weekend!

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  52. Oh have a wonderful, indeed a PHABLEC* (wv) time!!! You deserve it.

    *so good that phables are created

    As for enjoying/appreciating family, I'm currently working on showing some extra love to my awesome sister who is taking care of our very confused parents in another state. It's way too easy to take her for granted because she volunteered. Bless you and love you, C!!

    Terrell

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  53. Enjoy the cruise!!

    Have you seen this? http://www.toxel.com/inspiration/2009/12/13/star-wars-millennium-falcon-bed/ My niece sent it to me. Now we both want one.

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  54. Awesome. Have fun! And don't even bother posting until you get back! Just enjoy yourselves! :)

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  55. I hope you have a well deserved, wonderful time!

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  56. Let us know more - what ship, where are you heading, what's your favourite thing to do on the ship and how lucky are you to just be able to book a cruise and go - we have to worry about airplanes - will they get there on time ect ect ect........... Have FUN!!

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  57. Just in case you haven't seen this...

    http://www.geeknative.com/20263/evolution-of-dance-stormtrooper-style/

    It's too cool!

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  58. I am also a . . . well, let's not way work-a-holic. Let's just say I have a Type A personality and am a wee bit hard on myself. (Ahem.) Since I do consult work from my home, there's always SOMEthing that has to be done at any given time, and I'm always "at work."
    But I can say this: Every single time I've been "forced" to put work aside and spend time with friends and family, I've NEVER been sorry. Work will always be there. People who love you (and who you love) won't. Take vacations, go out to lunch occasionally, and spend time with your favorite people when you can!
    Have a wonderful time on your cruise!

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