Tuesday, November 30, 2010

Catch up post

Time sure is flying and the blogging hasn't picked up either. I've faithfully been reading everyone else's blogs everyday or every other day but leaving mine lagging behind. There is one really good reason why I haven't posted in so long. Hubs and I finally went on our honeymoon!!!! Thats right and I'm so excited to be able to share it with everyone now.

We left on Nov 15 for the Maya Riviera in Mexico, and just came back on the 23rd. We had such a great time and definitly recommend it to anyone looking for a great honeymoon idea or even a nice getaway vacation. It was our first vacation outside of North America and we cant wait to plan our next trip away. Even though we were gone for 7 nights/8 days we ran out of time. We did so many activities while we were there. We visited and Climbed Coba, seen Tulum, Chichen Itza and got to swim with dolphins. Two of those excursions were full day trips and the other 2 were half day so it really only left is with 2 days to sit and relax on the beautiful white sand turquoise water beaches. I did manage to get a sunburn though which is turning into a nice tan.

We stayed in Puerta Aventuras which is about an hour out of Cancun at a resort called The Catalonia Yucatan Beach Resort and Spa. It was a 4 ****(star) resort and was beautiful in our opinion. The packaged we got was all inclusive-airfare, hotel, food and drinks, plus many activities within the resort and it came in at just over $1500 so we definitly got quite a steal on our honeymoon. We don't have any other resorts to compare this one to but based on having stayed at other hotels before we would definitly recommend it. The resort itself is only 400 rooms which is a lot smaller then the average resort in the Maya Riviera area and a great way to get into the all inclusive thing without being overwhelmed with people. Being November, it wasn't overly busy which was nice, and so we got to meet many people while there. This resort is kid/family friendly and even has a kids club where parents can put there kids during the day to be able to enjoy activities on their own. I know many people don't like kid/family friendly resorts because they want the adult only thing but really, we hardly noticed kids there, and when we did it was by the pools and not really anywhere else.

The food was awesome and the choices endless as there were many different restaurants we could try. The restaurants included 2 buffets (one had theme night dinners), a Mexican restaurant, Italian restaurant, Japanese restaurant, Tapas Lounge, Snack Bar (had a small buffet of basic foods such as fruits, burgers and hot dogs, fries, fajitas, etc), and a dessert Restaurant. Each restaurant had a bar as well as there being 5 others bars on the resort, two of which were swim up bars in pools. The drinks were awesome and free flowing from 7am until 2 am the next day.

Our resort also had a couple of shops, a Theatre (live shows nightly), an infirmary, a sports bar, a disco, a photo center where they took pictures of people around the resort and you could order copies of yours, a gym, an amazing spa, sports activities, snorkling, Catamaran, kayaking as well as beach volleyball and Bocce. When we checked into the resort we were given $40 in Spa dollars to be redeemed on any massage over 50min. We ended up using the dollars on a 50min couples massage. Hubs got a deep tissue massage and I got a relaxation massage. It was my first ever real massage and I greatly enjoyed it. Before our spa treatment we had access to the Sauna, mineral pool and another pool woth different jets and water features. As well as the lounge area serving teas, water and fruit. All in all, I would have to say our spa experience was greatly enjoyed and it was reasonably priced even before our Spa dollar discount. The total of our massages after discount was $118 which I thought for a resort spa, was quite reasonable.

We didn't end up getting over to cozumel or Playa Del Carmen, but plan on it when we got back to Mexico. We were a little disappointed we ran out of time to do these things but Hubs said it just gives us a reason to return. All in all, we had an amazing time and are definitly planning a return trip back, hopefully sometime soon. I'm having a bit of an issue getting pics posted so I promise to post them in the next day or so.

Thursday, November 11, 2010

Remembrance Day

I just wanted to say thank you to all the soldiers who fought for our freedom and everything we have today. My thoughts and prayers are with all those currently away fighting as well. Please take the time today to remember all those who gave up so much so we could live so lucky today. Thank you.

Thursday, November 4, 2010

Thrift Store score

I stopped by a thrift store by our place today on the way home to check out what they had. They didn't have a huge selection, nor was it the best thrift store I have ever been to. As I was walking around I happened to check out the glassware and there on a shelf were 2 Glass Z-stem Martini glasses that I have been wanting forever. I first seen them at my MIL's place when she used them to serve caramel sauce with fresh fruit over the summer. They are so cute and great for entertaining. You can pick them up from walmart or other houseware stores for roughly $15 for a pack of 4. I found 2 for $0.75 each which is a deal in itself but when I looked up there was a sign saying all pink price tags 50% off so I scored both glasses for $0.64 :)

Monday, November 1, 2010

I've seen this 101 in 1001 days blog "project" a few times before, but have never really paid much attention to it. I've been meaning to start it for a while now, and finally decided to do it. The only thing was that I underestimated how hard it would be to come up with 101 things! It took a while.

Not familiar with the 101 Things in 1001 Days project? Check out this website.
The Mission: Complete 101 preset tasks in a period of 1001 days.

The Criteria: Tasks must be specific (i.e. no ambiguity in the wording) with a result that is either measurable, or clearly defined. Tasks must also be realistic and stretching (i.e. represent some amount of effort on your part).

Start Date: November 1, 2010
End Date: July 28, 2013

Marriage & Family
1. “Date night” with Hubs once a month (1/33)
2. Surprise my husband with a gift just because
3. Get married (Completed July 10, 2010)
4. Talk to home every weekend (3/132)
5. Plan a trip to Halifax
6. Buy a house
7. Have a baby
8. Visit Hubb's family for Christmas
9. Celebrate 1st wedding anniversary

Mind, Body & Soul
10. Lose 10 lbs
11. Go a week without weighing myself
12. Complete some form of exercise at least 3 times per week
13. Read at least one book per month (0/33)
14. Give up soda for a week
15. Learn a new recipe and cook it at least once a month (1/33)
16. Get a hobby
17. Get my first massage (Completed Nov 20, 2010)
18. Have another manicure or pedicure
19. See a sunrise and sunset in the same day
20. Hike a really large hill
21. Go on our honeymoon (Completed Nov 15, 2010)
22. Do something for myself at least once a month (1/33)
23. No dessert or cookies at work for 2 weeks
24. For one week, go to bed at 9:00 p.m. just to read
25. Clear the dinning room table off to eat dinner there again
26. No tv for one week
27. No eating after 8:00 p.m. for a month (0/30)
28. After baby, get back to pre-pregnancy weight

Home Is Where the Heart Is
29. Decorate our future house
30. Finish our wedding album
31. Buy a new vaccum
32. Get a new bedroom set
33. Get a new dining room table
34. Empty entire fridge, clean it, then put everything back in
35. Reorganize kitchen cabinets
36. Defrost freezer twice a year (0/6)
37. Buy a new house
38. Bring in the feeling of Mexico

All Work, No Play
39. Upgrade our camera (Completed Nov 4, 2010)
40. Get a new washer and dryer (Competed Sept 2010)
41. Stay on top of the house cleaning (1/33)
42. Start a wedding planning business
43. Help Hubbs with his business
44. Get my ideal job
45. Get another term at my current job
46. Take 3 courses at work

Hit the Open Road
47. Take a spontaneous road trip (1/3)
48. Travel to a foreign country (Completed Nov 15, 2010)
49. Visit Newfoundland
50. Visit friends in Winnipeg
51. Go camping at least once each summer (0/3)
52. Have a picnic in the park we got married
53. Visit the Buchart gardens in the winter
54. Visit Hubbs friends in Alberta

I ♥ Food
55. Update my recipe book with new recipes (At least once a month (0/33)
56. Go out just for dessert
57. Go out for breakfast (1/5)
58. Don't eat out for an entire month
59. Make homemade pasta
60. Try something new at least 3 times a year (1/9)
61. Make banana bread with all the banana's in the freezer

Friends Are Forever
62. Email my best friend once a week (0/146)
63. Send Christmas cards each Christmas (0/3)
64. E-mail friends at least once per month (1/33)
65. Catch up with an old friend
66. Have a party or dinner party
67. Send birthday cards to all friends/family in 2011

Pinching Pennies
68. Save for a house
69. Set up retirement savings

Cha-Ching
70. Pay off all debts
71. Pay off LASIK Surgery
72. Buy a second car
73. Budget for a vacation

Pay It Forward
74. Clean out closet and donate to charity (0/3)
75. Donate to Christmas charity
76. Buy something from a thrift store that supports a charity
77. Donate money to a children's charity (0/6)

Just for Fun
78. Go skiing
79. Go to the beach
80. Go to the fall fair
81. Buy a pumpkin from a pumpkin patch and carve it
82. Go to a local museum
83. Take pictures on all our excursions
84. Have a Christmas cookie exchange (0/3)
85. Decorate for Christmas

Hobbies & Skills
86. Blog once a week at least (1/33)
87. Learn to cook more things
88. Get some family tradition recipes
89. Make a scrapbook
90. Read a book a month (0/33)

Capture the Memories
91. Print photo's to hang in locker
92. Print photoes of each year's events and put in photo album
93. Get photos printed to hang in home
94. Take more pictures
95. Complete 101 in 1001
96. Send more pictures to family

No More Procrastinating
97. Pick pictures for wedding album
98. Clean out email accounts
99. Start an excercise routine

101 in 1001
100. Start a new 101 Things in 1001 Days list once this one is completed
101. Get friends in on this project