Car Accident, Love, Forgiveness, and Dove Chocolates

(This is a blog entry that I used to have on my Myspace Account). I have carried it over to this forum since I no longer use Myspace. It will help me preserve some of my thoughts at this time.
Friday, December 19, 2008 Car Accident, Love, Forgiveness, and Dove Chocolates!
Most of you already know about the car accident that my daughter, Ashley, was involved in. This has been quite a stressful time for our family, but I want to thank those of you who have been here for me. It has been so nice having friends who have allowed me to vent and who have allowed me to lean on for support!

Here is a quick run-down of the accident details. Winston (my daughter's boyfriend) was the one driving, and Ashley was the passenger in the front seat. Winston was going westbound on State Road 54, and then he pulled into a "safety zone" in the middle of the highway. He wanted to make a left into a church parking lot. He had to cross over eastbound traffic of State Road 54 to make the turn. He started to turn left, and he realized that a car was coming faster than he originally projected. He knew that the car was going to crush Ashley's side of the car. He made a quick decision to straighten out the wheel. The result was a head-on collision. I am thankful that Winston turned the wheel because if the car that he cut out in front of were to hit Ashley's passenger side door, she would have been crushed. I know that the result would have ended with a little white cross being on the side of the road with Ashley's name on it. Although a head-on collision can be deadly too, it was the lesser of the two evils. Winston was cited at fault in the accident. When I got the call that Ashley had been in a serious accident, I started hyperventilating. The Fight or Flight reaction took over my body, the adrenaline started rushing through me, and I was in panic mode. Jeff had to drive me to the accident scene because I was too upset to drive myself. Shortly after we arrived, I was informed that Ashley had lost consciousness and blacked out after the impact. It was within a matter of minutes that the EMTs loaded Ashley up on a stretcher and put her in the ambulance. Ashley was transported via ambulance to University Community Hospital, and I was able to ride in the back of the ambulance with her. I tried to control my trepidation because I knew Ashley needed me to be strong. She was a bloody mess and was crying hysterically. I did take a picture of her while we were in the ambulance. Many of you might think this might be an inappropriate time to be taking pictures, but you have to remember that I am mother. I wanted to have photographic evidence of how she looked after this accident. The reason for this is because I don’t ever want her to look like this again, and these pictures can be used for posterity to remind her of what can happen when bad choices are made. (I’ll get back to her bad choice momentarily). She has a pretty deep laceration on her head. It is about 2 and a half inches long. Her head laceration was bleeding profusely during our ride to the hospital. At the hospital, they did a catscan, and it indicated that there wasn't any internal bleeding. This was one of my biggest worries, and I was glad that this was ruled out. Her brain appeared to be fine, as well! Her head received 6 staples in it to close that nasty gash. She also has a bad case of whiplash. They originally thought her ankle was broken because the swelling was so bad, but the x-ray showed that there wasn't a break. I was so thankful that it was only sprained. The ER Doctor estimated that she would have to hobble around on crutches for the next 2 to 3 weeks approximately. She also has large contusions all over her body. Her whole body aches. The above medical issues were found at the hospital, and later on we had a few more doctor appointments that have revealed a lot more damage. Ashley had an appointment with her pediatrician on December 17th, and he removed the staples out of her head. He said that there is hypertrophic tissue above the laceration, and this undoubtedly indicates that there will be a scar. Luckily, the laceration is further back on her head, and she can cleverly disguise the scar with her hair once it heals. Ashley was having severe headaches and was experiencing dizzy spells. I called a Chiropractor, and he scheduled her in for an appointment on the same day. He was extremely worried about the symptoms she was having. After taking a series of x-rays and conducting a thorough medical exam, this is what has been discovered: Ashley has torn muscles in her neck and in her trapezius muscle, she has suffered soft tissue damage in her upper & lower back, and her entire pelvis has shifted to the right. Looking at some of the x-rays left me completely in shock. This inner damage that has been done is very serious. Also, in the vertebral column there are a series of bones that are supposed to be inline. There has been displacement in many of her vertebrae. In some places, these bones are shifted so much that it looked like a staircase on the x-ray. The x-rays indicated that her C2 neck bone has shifted so much that it is actually compressing the vertebral artery. This is why she was getting the severe headaches and dizzy spells. She wasn't getting adequate blood flow. Her ankle is definintely not just sprained. We don't know what is wrong with her ankle yet, but the doctor is fairly confident that one of Ashley's ligaments is detached from the bone. Only a MRI will reveal what has really occurred in her ankle. Even 9 days after the accident, it is still severely swollen. She has elevated it, applied ice, and has taken the Ibuprofen religiously, but it isn’t healing. She has started to get some tingling in her foot as well. I’m going to be taking her to see an Orthopedic Specialist. With the tingling and loss of feeling she is experiencing in her foot, I am concerned there is nerve damage. Ashley has had to rely on me for just about everything. Being immobile really puts one in a vulnerable situation. Luckily, Ash has me, and I will do everything that I can for her. It does hurt me to see her crying and suffering, and it also breaks my heart to see the visible scars and bruises all over her body. On a positive note, there are several good things that have come out of this accident. One is that my bond with Ashley has grown on so many levels. I thought we had a tight bond before this, and I didn’t think it was possible for our relationship to grow anymore. Also, another great thing is that my daughter is ALIVE! I'm so thankful to God. I can't even begin to fully express that in words. It is every mother's nightmare to get a call that your child has been in a serious car accident! Ai yi yi! I hope I never have to get that call ever again!!!


Ashley has learned an extremely valuable lesson, but unfortunately she has had to learn it the hard way. Ashley is an honor student and is a very obedient child, but on the night of the accident she made a poor choice by getting in the car with her boyfriend. We have a rule that she isn't allowed to drive with anybody who has had their operator’s license less than 2 years. That might be a little strict, but kids these days don’t know how to drive, and I want to protect my baby from their inexperience. In the first 2 years that a teenager has their driver's license, they are still basically learning how to drive. Why would I want to put my children in a car with somebody who is still learning how to drive? So, our rule just makes sense to Jeff and me. On the night of the accident, I was told by my daughter that her best friend's mom (Lisa) would be driving them to church youth group. I trust Lisa, and I didn't even question anything. She has taken them to church youth group and to other functions in the past so many times, and everytime I called to confirm, she would always reassure me that she was, in fact, taking the girls to the particular function and picking them up. So on this particular night, Wednesday, Dec 10th, 2008, I didn't call to confirm. I trusted that my daughter was telling me the truth. Well, instead of Lisa taking the girls to youth group, Winston picked up the girls to take them. After dropping Ashley's best friend off at youth group, Winston & Ashley decided that they weren't going to attend youth group. Instead they left and went riding around. I know that Ashley & Winston just wanted to spend some extra time together. We had been on a family vacation to New York City the week before, and it had been awhile since they had seen one another. I was young once, and I remember vividly how young love feels, but the fact of the matter is that she completely disobeyed me. She shouldn’t have gotten in the car with her boyfriend. I was kinda joking around with her and told her that if she is going to disobey me that she should never use God as an excuse. She definitely shouldn’t have ditched youth group when she was supposed to be learning about God, and then run off and sin. God will getcha every time. Like I said, she has learned so much from this, and she has matured in so many ways. I realize sometimes people have to learn from their mistakes. I'm not even going to punish her. She has suffered enough emotional and physical pain. The only thing that sucks is that she has lost my trust. I'm going to have to check up on her now. If she decides to go to youth group in the future, I am going to have to call the pastor to ensure that she stays there now. This absolutely sucks because I want to trust my daughter so much, but she has to earn my trust back! But, I do forgive her for what she has done. Winston also felt so terrible for causing this accident. We have gotten to know him very well over the past 7 months. He is a very good kid. He’s an honor student, is typically very obedient, religious, and his bad decision was very uncharacteristic of his character. He told me that he was sorry, and I genuinely felt the sincerity in his apology. I actually felt really bad for him because I knew he was carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders. Accidents are called accidents and not “on purposes.” So, I was able to forgive Winston. Winston and his family came over to our house to wish Ashley well, and it was a nice visit.


I did have a major internal struggle this week though. Winston broke up with Ashley the next day after visiting her. It has been hard enough watching my daughter deal with the emotional pain and guilt that she was having from disobeying me. The intense physical pain that Ashley has experienced due to the car accident was just another terrible thing to have to watch. Now … on top of everything else, a broken heart gets thrown into the equation. She hasn’t had an appetite. In fact, every time she tries to eat, she gags and wants to throw-up. She is getting very little sleep, and when she finally does sleep it is because she has exhausted herself by crying. I just felt like I couldn’t take anymore. My daughter’s pain is my pain. Just like a lion and her baby cub, a momma lion will hurt anybody who tries to hurt their baby. I believe this is a primal instinct that most mothers possess. I wanted so desperately to call her ex-boyfriend up and give him a piece of my mind, and furthermore, beat him up. Then, the more sensible Kara realized that I really didn't want to go to jail. I also realized that these aren’t Christian-like thoughts, and I felt really guilty for feeling this way. I have always been a person who can forgive easily. I just pray about it, and God allows me to forgive those who have hurt me. But, with Winston breaking up with my daughter at the worst possible timing in the history of break-ups, I just couldn’t shake my anger towards him. So, I literally got on my hands and knees and prayed to God. I begged him to please help me deal with this. The very next morning, I woke up with a different attitude. I have found solace!! This is definitely God’s work within me because I was so filled with anger and hurt the night before. I believe that only God could help save me from my internal struggles. I am glad that I have found an inner peace from this whole situation, and I’m really looking forward to putting all of this behind me. I pray that Ashley will find the inner peace that I have found. I did share with her how God has helped me. How can I expect Jesus to forgive me for my sins, if I couldn’t forgive others? God calls us to love everybody, even those who have hurt us. I don’t want Ashley to be bitter. I want her to be the loving, beautiful person that she has always been. So, it’s time to bring this blog to a conclusion; however, this story isn’t even close to being over. We have several months of medical treatments, and Ashley is going to have to go through the grieving process from having her relationship end. The reason for this is because Winston was her first love. He isn’t calling her anymore, and therefore a “death” to a relationship has happened. The grieving process includes: Denial & Isolation, Anger, Bargaining, Depression, and then Acceptance. She has already had the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th stage occur. So, I’m hoping that the acceptance stage comes quickly.


I wanted to add one more thing. I was eating some Dove Chocolates the other day. They are called Dove Promises, and they are delicious! I highly recommend them. Anyway, after opening the 1st one up there was a message inside. It said, “Happiness is the experience of living every minute with love, grace, and gratitude.” Hmmmmm… who would have thought that a chocolate could possess such infinite wisdom?

American Heart Association Walk in Memory of Thomas Moates

Monday, October 06, 2008
American Heart Association Walk (In Honor Of Tom Moates)
When my dear friend, Kim, asked me to walk with her in the American Heart Association Walk on Saturday, September 20th, I didn't even hesitate in making this commitment to her. You see, my good friends Kim & Kelly lost their father, Tom Moates, a few months ago from a heart attack. The news of him passing away was shocking to everybody who knew him. Tom Moates was the epitome of what health should look like. He was in his early fifties, was in great shape, exercised regularly, wasn't a smoker, and he was conscientious about the types of food he put in his body. Tom never went to the doctor because he was never sick. Little did he know, that genetics was causing him to have a lethal level of LDL cholesterol circulating in his blood. This caused stenosis (hardening) of his arteries and damaged his heart. After the autopsy was performed, the doctor told Kelly and Kim that he believed Tom had suffered a minor stroke earlier in his life, but he was probably unaware that this happened.

I first met Tom when I was fourteen years old. One of the many benefits of being friends with Kelly and Kim as a teenager was being able to meet their amazing family members! I remember Tom being a person who always tried to make me laugh, and his smile lit up a room. Everybody who knew Tom automatically loved him. He was a 'people-person' who genuinely cared about others. There are many facts that I could share with you about Tom, but the most important thing that I want to stress is that he was a very GOOD man! He was also a dedicated and loving father to both of his daughters! Both Kelly and Kim had a very strong relationship with their father. They saw each other frequently, and Kim was known to exchange communication through numerous phone calls a day with him. It is a tragedy that he has suffered such an untimely demise, but with that said, he has left such an amazing legacy. I attended his funeral, and it was a true testament of Tom's character and how much he impacted other peoples' lives when so many of his friends, co-workers, and family members showed up to pay tribute to him! I was also impressed that many of Kim's co-workers took time out to show their support for Kim. She works with a tight-knit group of people at the USF Police Department, and it gave me goosebumps to see these men and women in uniform showing their support for Kim.

What do you say to somebody who has just lost one of the most important people in their life? I just love Kim and Kelly so much, and I just want to fix everything for them! I know that nothing I could ever say would bring Kim and Kelly's dad back. I did make sure to express to both of them how much I love them, and how much it breaks my heart to see them suffering. All I know is that I vowed to be there for Kim & Kelly if either of them wanted to vent, scream, cry.... whatever! So, that is what I've tried to do! With Kim living so close to me, it has made it easier for me to 'be there' for her in whatever capacity she needs me. I have tried to be the best friend that I can be to her. I have known Kim and her sister Kelly for 18 years now, and they are both very important people to me. I just wish there was something that I could do to mend their broken hearts! I can empathize with Kim and Kelly's anguish because I know what it is like to lose a dad. My own dad died when I was fifteen years old. Time does help to heal the heart a bit, but there is always a hole there! I miss my daddy too!!

The night before the Heart Walk, Kim came over to my house, and we made t-shirts to honor her dad. It was a challenging project trying to get the kids to place their feet in paint, and then distribute it evenly to the back of their t-shirts. In all seriousness, it was fun to be creative! I've never been an artsy-fartsy type of a person, but I had a really good time with Kim, even when the kids were covering my garage with little purple footprints! LOL! We laughed and joked during our night of arts and crafts! But, one of the conversations we had was quite deep! I talked about how my father has revealed himself to me throughout the years. I know-- I know.. I already told you folks that my dad is deceased, but he has 'revealed' himself to me in many ways. There have been times that it has been really odd to feel his presence, and yet, it is also very comforting. I know that my dad still watches over me, and there are things that have happened that are just too coincidental for my dad not to have had his hand in it! I told Kim about this, and my daughter Allie overheard us talking about it. Allie asked more about this. Being 11 years old, she is very inquisitive about life in general. I didn't want to go into too many details with her. I wanted to keep it pretty simple for her to understand; because some of the stories I could tell you about my dad are just really, really weird. So, I just told Allie that sometimes your loved ones who have passed away will communicate with you in dreams. Also, there might be things here on earth that remind you of your loved one who died, and that thing might appear out of nowhere at weird times. You could look up into the sky and see a cloud formation that looks like that thing, or sometimes you just get goosebumps over something that reminds you of your loved one! Then, I told her about one story when I felt my dad's presence. I told her that one day I was running and it was a hot, humid day outside. I was about 19 years old, and although it had been 4 years since my dad had passed away, I was really missing my dad on this particular day. I asked God to tell my dad that I loved him and missed him. Right after I said that prayer, out of nowhere a gush of wind blew through my hair! I know it may sound silly to many of you that I believe a gush a wind was my dad showing me that he loved me, but at that time, it reassured me that my dad was in Heaven and looking over me. It was the reassurance that I needed at that time in my life to get through that one day! I continued telling Allie that these small things can be your loved ones who have passed away showing 'LOVE' for you. I truly believe that God allows this to happen. The Bible tells me that GOD IS LOVE!!! So, I can't imagine that God would withhold love from my dad's spirit in heaven and not allow him to communicate with me in some way, shape, or form.

The next day, I had to wake the kids up around 5:10 a.m. The Heart Walk was in Bartow, Florida. This is approximately 60 miles away from where we live. The event started at 7:30, and we didn't want to be late. I was going to follow Kim down to the event. When I walked outside with the kids, I said to them, "There appears to be a problem? Where is the sun?" LOL! It was early, folks! I didn't even hear the rooster crow yet. Being up this early is just not right! I even joked with Kim about this! With all joking aside, the fact of the matter is that if I had to get up at 3:30 in the morning, I would have done it for Kim! We did make a pitstop to get some coffee. Anybody who truly knows me can tell you that I have to get coffee in me or I am useless. So, I was thankful to get my 'fix.' I experienced a burst of energy, and we were on the open road.

When we arrived to the event, I didn't realize what a huge event this was going to be!!! This is a rough estimate, but I would have to say there were around 6000 people in attendance. I saw a lot of homemade t-shirts being worn by the participants in the Heart Walk. It was quite obvious that heart disease, being one of the leading causes of death, had taken so many lives. There were about 50 people (possibly more) who showed up to walk specifically for Tom Moates. It was such a beautiful way to honor Kim's dad! Again, this man was loved by everybody who knew him! The event was planned very well. There were a lot of informative people at booths to help spread the word about heart disease. There was a 'bouncy house,' and the kids really enjoyed jumping themselves to the point of exhaustion! Hula hoops, jump ropes, and other games were made available for the little one's enjoyment. There was a d.j. from a radio station who was the commentator of the event, and he announced many names of people who had lost excessive amounts of weight to increase their well-being and their overall health. It was quite inspiring! We were told to stretch a little. As Kim was stretching, she leaned down to tie her shoes. Out of nowhere, the most beautiful butterfly landed on Kim's shoulder. It fluttered its wings while perched on her shoulder. It gave me goosebumps because we were just talking about things that happen that will remind you that your loved one is watching over you. I don't think that Tom's spirit had manifested itself into a butterfly, but I do think that Tom and God made sure that a butterfly landed on Kim's shoulder, not on mine, or anybody elses! It was rather spectacular to witness this! Even Allie said that she got goosebumps when the butterfly was on Kim. A few minutes later, the whistle blew to announce that the WALK was officially beginning. I am a jogger; it is just my nature, and I did find it a bit hard not to bust out into a run. In fact, at one point, I was skipping with Ashley for a little bit, and Kim's dad's boss said, "Stop showing off." LOL! He was a really cool guy, and I enjoyed chatting with him throughout our walk. The park that we walked through was gorgeous. There was a big lake that was lined with green grass and beautiful trees. There was a slight breeze in the air. It really was the first sign of the FALL season. I could smell Autumn in the air!! At the end of our 4 mile walk, there was a bubble blower, and David loved running through the bubbles. We hung around for a little while after that, but then it was time to say our goodbyes to Kim. She thanked my kids and me for coming out to honor her dad. I felt so much emotion from her when she said this, and it really hit the inner core of my being.

I was so happy to be a part of this. I experienced a natural high that was indescribable. Part of writing this all out was to share my wonderful experience with everybody, but the other part was to do my part and spread awareness of heart disease! Please do me a favor! If you haven't seen your doctor in awhile, go and get a physical. Get labwork done to ensure that your cholesterol levels are within a healthy range. Most insurance companies will cover an annual physical that includes bloodwork, even for adults. Heart disease not only breaks the heart of the patient suffering from it, but it also breaks the heart of those who lose a loved one from it!

July 2008 Cruise

For those of you who don't know, Jeff and I got the chance to go on a cruise vacation, and we got back home safely. I still don't know how we managed to get back safely, but those details will come shortly. Our 5 year wedding anniversary was on July 26th, and we wanted to do something special and get away. When we originally got married on July 26th, 2003, we exchanged our vows on the Carnival Cruise Ship called 'THE SENSATION.' So, for our 5 year anniversary, we decided to book a cruise on the same boat that we got married on. This particular ship departs out of Cape Canaveral, Florida. That is about a 2 hour drive for those of you who aren't from Florida. The port of call that this ship travels to is Nassau, Bahamas. Jeff and I had never been to the Bahamas before, and we were so excited to make the trip. A cruise vacation is the ultimate vacation, in my opinion. It really didn't matter where the boat ended up, Jeff and I just love cruising. We were just thankful to get some time away and reconnect. We asked a few friends to join us on the trip. We were very lucky to have one couple commit to us early on. Kim and Kevin have been good friends of ours for over 2 years now. Kim had never been out of the country before, nor had she ever been on a cruise ship. I was so excited to see things through her eyes. The day before we were scheduled to leave for our cruise, at the last minute, our friends David and Wendy booked the cruise. We were thrilled to have them join us, too!

The first day of our cruise vacation, Jeff and I dropped off our son, David, to his grandmother's house (Jeff's mom). Jeff's parents were going to watch David for half of our vacation, and my mom was going to watch David for the other half. Ashley and Allison were scheduled to stay with their dad, Eddie. After we dropped David off, Jeff and I decided to go to the Hard Rock Casino. We thought that we would 'try our luck' before we left for the port. We were in the casino for about an hour, and we went through $100 quickly. I told Jeff that I had a really weird feeling, and I wanted to try $20 more. I know-- I know.... It's always $20 more, right? LOL! Well, that funny feeling didn't turn out to be heartburn, nor was it the little devil that sits on my shoulder poking me with his pitchfork trying to convince me to do bad stuff. It turned out to be a 'lucky' feeling. I won $500 the next pull on the slot machine. I blurted out a big, 'YAY FOR ME,' not really caring if anybody thought I was being dumb. Then, Jeff and I cashed out and left the building. Woo hoo--- we were equipped with an extra $400 for our vacation. Oh yes... one must calculate the original $100 that I lost.

We met up with David and Wendy at the Falkenburg Jail. David is a homocide detective, and he figured that it would be safe to leave his car at his work, and he also thought it would be a good halfway meeting place. After loading their luggage into our vehicle, we were Port Canaveral bound. We had a lot of fun catching up in the car, exchanging stories and jokes. The 2 hour car ride went by quickly. Then, before my eyes was the gigantic ship--- THE SENSATION!!!!!! I got all warm & fuzzy inside, and this wasn't because I had been drinking. LOL! It was just a really neat feeling that I got married on this boat 5 years prior. We checked into our room, got our luggage all situated, and then we just EXHALED!!! We knew that this trip would be pure enjoyment, total relaxation, and that we would get some alone time together that we needed desperately. Kim and Kevin met up with us, and we all hung out on the deck right outside of our cabin sharing wine and fun. All six of us met up for dinner the first night. As we were enjoying our meals, suddenly we heard Celine Dion's 'My Heart Will Go On.' I don't know about you, but it was really disturbing to hear the theme song from The Titanic while we were on a huge cruise ship. After dinner, we saw an 'ALL ABOUT 80's show.' It was great! It had everything from Flashdance to Dirty Dancing songs and dances. It was a well choreographed show, and it brought back a lot of memories. Then, we headed to the piano bar. I met two girls from Chicago named Stephanie and Kathy. They were a hoot to talk to. While we were listening to songs of the piano man, he heard me singing along. Then, he said, 'You have a good voice. Why don't you come up here and sing?' I got to sing a little ditty, and it always feels good to feel like a star!

The next morning, we were in the Bahamas. I was amazed at the beautiful scenery that looked as though it could grace a postcard. STUNNING!!! We originally were supposed to go snorkeling with Kevin and Kim as an excursion in the Bahamas. Part of the snorkeling adventure included a 'shark dive.' I am very afraid of sharks, but I was really looking forward to conquering my fear and experiencing this. Jeff was really uneasy about the whole snorkeling trip. I told him not to worry because in the Atlantic Ocean where the Bahamas are, there is a sign that is clearly posted. It says, 'No GREAT WHITE SHARKS OR OTHER DANGEROUS SHARKS ALLOWED' in all the snorkeling areas. He didn't think that was funny, but I thought it was genius. LOL! Anywho, I really wanted to go snorkeling, but I also wanted to support what my husband wanted to do. We decided against the snorkeling, and we thought it would be fun to rent scooters instead. We figured that we could roam around the island and see everything this way. Jeff has never driven a motorcycle, scooter, or a moped before. I was really surprised at how easily these things are just handed out. They did give him a 'test run' in an alley before fully giving the keys to the bike to him. I guess he did well enough on the 'test run' because before I knew it I was riding on the back of the bike. Let me just say this--- riding on the back of any motorized vehicle takes a lot of TRUST. You are essentially putting your life in the hands of your loved one. We got a rocky start, but then Jeff got the hang of it. In the Bahamas, people drive on the left side of the road-- not the right. It was really weird to get used to this. We were headed over the bridge to the Atlantis Resort, and Jeff started laughing out loud and said, 'I'm having so much fun.' It was such a beautiful thing to hear him laughing like this. We went inside the Atlantis Resort, and I just cannot fully describe the beauty that this resort possesses. I do have some pictures posted in my cruise album. My jaw dropped at the remarkable natural beauty. We had a lot of fun navigating through the resort. Then, we got back on our scooters and we were going to try to find a private beach. David and Wendy had been to the Bahamas and knew of a beach. We crossed over the bridge from Atlantis (Paradise Island) to the main-land. At some point, David said that we took a wrong turn. So, he turned around. Jeff took a sharp right to turn around, and welllll...... it didn't turn around. Our bike hit a curb, we went up about 2 feet into the air, we missed a tree by 6 inches, and then we managed to land on the grassy median. I let out a big scream, and my heart was racing. We totally dented the back rim of the bike, and a big truck of Bahamian men drove by laughing at us. LOL! The reason that I can joke about it is because we did live to tell our story. LOL! David and Wendy came back to get us, and they were laughing hysterically at us. It's funny because the first street that we saw before we got on our motorized scooter was a street called 'ROGERS WALK.' I think that sign was trying to tell the Rogers to walk and not get on that bike. We should have listened to that sign.



We got back on the open road, and we were headed for the secluded beach that David and Wendy talked so highly of. We rode on... and on.... and on. The scenery changed from these beautiful orange blossom trees and palm trees to abandoned buildings and ghetto-like huts. David and Wendy were flying on their bike. They were probably going 55 miles per hour. Jeff and I wanted to go as fast as they were going but we were scared to go that fast. We kept it at a steady 40 mph. We knew that if David was going that fast that he KNEW we were not in a good part of town. I thought that Deputy David would keep us safe, but he was out for his own safety. I seriously thought that we were going to get a cap in our ass at any point. We were lost, and it wasn't fun being lost in the ghetto. Jeff and I decided to pull over and ask for directions. The person at the gas station was so friendly and so helpful. We finally had directions to get the heck out of there!! I was about ready to have a panic attack and was relieved to have an 'idea' of where we needed to go! We came to an intersection where there wasn't a traffic control device, and cars were just speeding through. I was soooooo frightened that we were going to get hit. Not to throw Jeff under the bus either, but he admits that he is a novice at the whole scooter driving thing, and he was scared too! We made it back to the port, but David and Wendy kept on in their search for their secluded beach. I went back on the ship and laid out in the sunshine for about an hour, and then I went back to the room to shower and change. I had a hair appointment on the boat at 5 p.m. It was the Captain's Gala that evening, and I wanted to be all fancy-smancy looking for that. Formal Night was a lot of fun. After our dinner, we did the picture round. Carnival always has a ton of photography opportunities, and they do such a good job with this service. We got some awesome pictures taken. Jeff and I went back to our room, and then we got changed into less formal attire. Everybody came back to our room and we hung out on our deck. Wendy wanted to play Bingo, and she was very serious about her BINGO. LOL! Even though Jeff and I didn't want to play, we were good sports and played. We caught a comedy show after Bingo. Jeff and I gambled a bit after this. I spent about $100 on slots and lost it all!! BLAH! So, then I got that 'funny' feeling again. I went to the roulette table. I put 2 chips on the number 27. I split 27 and 28, and I squared 26, 27, 29, and 30. The number 27 hit, and I won $105. I, then, walked away and went back to my room with my winnings! Jeff and I are pretty good about knowing when to walk away. If you are good with math, my winnings on this night consisted of $5. Again-- must calculate the original $100 that I lost! Later on that night, we had everybody out on our deck, and we were laughing and having a great time.

On our last day at sea, Carnival calls it 'A FUN DAY AT SEA.' That is an understatement. We had a fantastic, phenomenal, amazing day at sea, and we truly enjoyed ourselves to the fullest. We all laid out in the sunshine, enjoyed the swimming pool and water slide, enjoyed some alcoholic beverages, and Kim taught Jeff the electric slide. They were having so much fun dancing, and two women ended up joining them in synchronized dancing. After our day of fun in the sun, we all got ready for dinner. We enjoyed a great dinner in the formal dining room. Jeff had ordered a cake to celebrate our anniversary. I was BEYOND tipsy. I had consumed 2 glasses of champagne and a glass of wine at this point, and I was giggling and just having a great time. Most people who know me well can tell you that it doesn't take much for me to get a buzz. I'm not a big drinker to begin with, and my tolerance is low because of that. Not only that, but I'm on a heavy dosage of antihistamines (due to my ridiculous allergies), and alcohol affects me quicker because of this. In fact, if you look up in the dictionary 'Cheap Date' there is a cross reference that says 'SEE KARA.' LOL! Because of my low tolerance for alcohol, I generally do not drink when I go out, and I'm actually the best candidate to be the designated driver. But for the purpose of this cruise, I didn't have to go home to any children, and most of all, I was among people who I knew wouldn't judge me for getting loopy and acting silly. Weighing all of these things out, I decided not to worry about my alcohol consumption. O.k.... so back to the whole cake thing. Jeff ordered a chocolate cake to commemorate our anniversary. The chocolate cake that Jeff had ordered was so delicious, and a few of the waitresses and waiters came to sing to us. It was special, but because most of them are foreigners, the song came out as "Happy Birsery." So, it was kind of like a happy birthday and a happy anniversary. Maybe they did that on purpose to cover all the bases. I did end up getting chocolate frosting on the top of my dress. It was a drunk girl moment! LOL! Jeff was sweet enough to get some water and try to get the stain out for me. LOL! It was comical because I didn't have any sense of balance or hand-eye coordination. You know it is love when your man will wash your boobie for you in public!! LOL! Jeff and I went back to our room after dinner and changed clothes again. We knew that we wanted to be comfortable for our last night on the boat. We met up with the 'gang' again. We all enjoyed some drinks and wine. We all danced!!!! After this, David and Wendy wanted to call it a night. It was 10 p.m., and I guess they were exhausted. Kim, Kevin, Jeff and I were ready to party it up! We went to the Fantasia Lounge where cruise passengers were enjoying karaoke. I sang a song with Kevin, then I sang a song by myself, and then Kevin sang a song by himself. What a blast! After karaoke, we went into a night club and we danced, danced, danced!!! Kevin made friends with a big group of guys. They loved him so much. I thought at any point they were going to put him on their shoulders and carry him out like a GOD or something. Kevin is a very fun person to hang with, and evidently these guys thought they could steal him away from us!! LOL! Well, they were successful in recruiting Kevin into their fraternity. Jeff and I retired back to our room. At this point, I was deemed 'alcohol overloaded', and it was time to call it a night. Kevin & Kim danced the night away with their new friends.

I woke up a bit groggy, but I was surprised that I didn't have a bad hang-over or headache. Jeff and I got some breakfast on the Lido Deck. We enjoyed our coffee, and reminisced about all the fun memories we had made on the cruise. It was absolutely beautiful to watch the sunrise over Cape Canaveral. I was glad to be back home! Even though we still had to drive from Cape Canaveral back to Tampa, it is all still Florida! I am a Florida girl in my heart! I really missed the kids while we were gone on our vacation! At the same time, I was really sad for the cruise to be over. We all had such a great time together!!!!! It is back to reality now!!!! I have to cook again, and the calories count again!! BLAH. It's not like I can just go up to the Lido Deck and eat whatever I want--- whenever I want. It's not like I can have people to make my bed for me anymore. In fact, I have to go back to doing laundry and conducting all the other domestic duties that I do. No more care-free days!! WOW-- cruising can really make one spoiled!!! It's all o.k. though!!! I know that I have been abundantly blesssed, and I know in the back of my mind that there is another cruise vacation already in the works for September of 2009. LOL!!!