October is National Plan a Cruise Month!

Not only is October the greatest month of the year (ahem, my birthday may have something to do that fact) but it's also the start of National Plan a Cruise Month!! Yes, it's a real thing, don't look at me like that. ;) 

For the month of October, the cruise industry has come together to help everyone fall in love with cruising by featuring unprecedented cruise vacation offers – from chances to win dream cruise vacations each day of the month (#CruiseSmile) to receiving the best cruise deals and promotions available on the high seas. National Plan a Cruise Month aims to put cruise vacations in the spotlight and hopes to help travelers discover all the incredible experiences that a cruise vacation offers while putting to bed any common hesitations to the cruising way of travel. From now until October 31st, several cruise lines are offering special deals for travelers who book a cruise, including promotions offering as much as $1,500 in savings in addition to free upgrades and bonus packages once on board! If you've been thinking about booking a cruise for the end of this year or anytime in 2016...now's the time to pull the trigger, guys! With just a deposit, you can reserve your next cruise vacation at incredible pricing AND with bonus perks! I'll be sending out my October eNewsletter this week and it's chock full of these insane cruise deals. Sign up here, if you haven't already! 

In addition to the deals featured by all the major cruise lines, for THIS MONTH ONLY I'll also be sweetening the pot with FREE ONBOARD CREDIT, exclusively for my clients! Refer a friend and they also book a cruise, then YOU get an additional special gift from me! You can use this onboard credit for lots of things while sailing...purchase your celebratory "set sail" drinks, sign up for an at sea wine tasting, reserve a romantic dinner for 2 at a specialty restaurant, finally get that pedicure you've been needing wanting (ahem)...so many options, all on me!!

Why choose to book your cruise with me? Because I'm super fun, really cool, and giving you free money, obviously. But if that's not enough to sail you my way...not only will you be working with a seasoned cruiser (I won't tell you I'm going on 2 cruises this month, nope, I won't) and certified travel professional, but you'll be supporting a small business in the process! D and I are so grateful for the opportunities RLT Vacations has brought to our family and it's because of awesome travel-lovers (like you) who've trusted me to share my love of cruising and tailor it to their own cruise vacation needs. I would love the opportunity to work with you and get you sailing on your dream cruise in 2016! Remember, my services are 100% FREE! And I've made it super simple to get in contact with me. Just click right on the words below, fill out the form, and BOOM. You'll have a cruise no obligation quote from me within 24 hours! I'm not in the business of making people wait for fun. ;) Hope to chat with many of you soon!

I Vant to Suck Your Blood!

Q: How do vampires get around on Halloween night?

A: By blood vessels.

Ha! I just had to.

How cool is PicMonkey? I vamped us out in like 2.5 seconds. So fun! Go make your spooky photo now!

And because I just have to share this story and our second round of costume wearing...

Tuesday night I sent my handsome hubby to the PX to buy some candy for his squadron's Trunk-or-Treat event (we all line up our cars, decorate the trunks, and let the kids trick-or-treat around the parking lot since Germany isn't as hip to Halloween as America is just yet). When I arrived home from the gym, I found 15 bags of candy sitting on our dining room table. FIFTEEN BAGS. That's $60 worth of Halloween candy. I almost crapped a brick for 3 reasons:

1) I am a nutritionist and everybody in the squadron knows it. The thought of showing up to the event with THAT much candy completely terrified me. People were already taking bets that we'd be the unpopular trunk giving out fruit and rulers...but now, we were going to be the trunk that would give all the kids diabetes! Really, we wanted the kids to be happy, and gobs of candy is the only way to go. We were just glad NONE of them had to come home with us at the end of the night all hopped up on Twix bars and Sweet Tarts! Take that, parents!

2) That's $60 worth of candy. Or, if you look at it through a girl's eyes...it's a new pair of riding boots or a couple of winter sweaters. Color me annoyed. Which brings me to my next point...

3) Why in the world is Halloween candy...or candy in general...so dang expensive?!? It's highway robbery! We're taking out stock in Mars and Hershey ASAP. That money train isn't leaving the station without us.

In all seriousness, the kids had an awesome time. And we kind of did, too. After being trick-or-treater-less last year, it was so fun seeing all the little kiddies dressed up in their adorable costumes again. Truth is, even after flipping my lid about the ungodly amount of Halloween candy we'd bought, it wasn't even enough!! These kids plowed through it like deranged, candy hoarding dump trucks. I don't know how many times that night I heard the phrase "I told ya so!" from D. Yes, babe...you did $60 worth of a good thing and I'm eating crow. 

Case and point--happy, candy stuffed kids make for a really fun Halloween. :)

A "Spooktacular" Evening!

I'm pretty positive that this past Saturday night was designated as the prime Halloween party night of the year. Photos of costumes, spooky party decorations, and all out debauchery flooded my Facebook newsfeed Sunday afternoon. Totally made me smile. I love how balls to the wall America goes for Halloween! Some of the costumes and haunted houses I've seen have been amazing this year! You guys are totally upping your Halloween game and I love it. Love it to tiny candy corn pieces. Germany is slowly getting on board with Halloween, but it's definitely not like home. If we get trick-or-treaters, I imagine they'll be teenagers with Rewe bags and David Hasselhoff t-shirts. Sigh. I miss home.

Anywho, D and I also had the pleasure of attending a Halloween party on Saturday night! My dear friend and fellow October birthday girl, Leanne, and her hubby, John, threw a spooktacular event in honor of Leanne's birthday and, of course, the greatest fall holiday of the year. We feasted on ghoulish treats like mummy franks and cupcakes, devilish eggs, and my homemade caramel corn until 3am Sunday morning. A totally big deal in my book. It's the first time in a long time that I've been up that late because of something other than jet lag. D and I are old farts, it's true. Nevertheless, we had a blast celebrating my most favorite holiday (next to Christmas) and one of my dearest friends here in Germany. What could be better than a Halloween birthday party? Leanne, I'm beyond jealous of your good birthday fortune. ;)

Our fabulous host, hostess, and pug ladybug!

Quite possibly my favorite photo of the night. Elton and pug ladybug just having a chat. 

She doesn't look amused.

The hatless Mad Hatter and Julius Caesar plotting to take over the world...with crossed legs, no less.

 Oh man, what a blast. Did any of you attend a Halloween party this past weekend and post about it? If so, leave me your post link in the comments section so I can check 'em out! I love a good party post, especially a Halloween one. :) 

Here's hoping your Monday is spooktacular!

Don't forget...20% off all Large ad space is still going on! You've got until Halloween night to snag yours at a discount for November! Exciting things to come! Use code FALL20.