Off The Grid

The Cancun heat hits you immediately.  It's hot! I was so excited when the driver held up a sign with our name on it.  I've always wanted that to happen.  It was very welcoming and a good start to our trip.  It took us about 35 minutes to get from the airport to Playa Del Carmen.  Our hotel is off the beaten path.  There are no signs; just a long curvy roads with jungle on either side of it.  If Azul Fives hadn't gotten such great reviews on Trip Advisor I would have been really worried.  I would have been even more worried if we'd had to try to find this hidden place on our own.  We went to lunch to kill time until our room was ready but what I really wanted to do was rip my clothes off because I was being suffocated by my own clothing.  It's the kind of humidity that makes your skin feel moist.  I'm not used to that at all.

Countless military men and women including my husband have survived exercising in 100+ heat wearing long sleeved military fatigues, boots and gear in dangerous countries.  "How did you do it?" I asked MJ.  "Well, there is nothing you can do about it so you just get used to it."  All week I saw staff working hard in pants and long sleeves in the hot sun and I felt so bad for them.  I was wearing yoga pants and a T shirt on vacation so what I really needed to do was just get over it, but I don't do discomfort very well.

We never did get around to drinking that champagne-we brought it home. 

Our room was gorgeous.  The first thing I did was take those awful clothes off.  The hard cold tile floor felt amazing under my hot sweaty feet.  We had to get used to sleeping in a double when we've been sleeping in a King for the last four years but it was fine.  I don't complain too much about having to be closer to MJ.

Our first day there started with lunch, check in, shower and an impromptu nap.  MJ collapsed on one of the beds and I went down on the other one. 

When we woke up we went to the main pool area.  "Seriously?"  That's the first thing I said when I saw the turquoise water glimmering in the sunshine.  It was positively stunning.  MJ got in the pool but I was feeling too out of sorts and freshly showered to deal with chlorine.  We didn't stay for very long before going back to the hotel and changing for dinner.  After that we went to the Zky Bar where they have something fun every night at 9:30pm.  Saturday was Michael Jackson night.  I honestly, wasn't expecting that much but I was blown away by the dance performance.  They did about six choreographed routines to Michael Jackson songs and it was really good.

We were totally off the grid for the entire week. They had Wi-fi plans but I would feel ridiculous paying for Wi-Fi just so I could peruse Instagram or post a status update.  I'm on vacation.  The whole point is to get away.  No phones, no social media, no web surfing, no blogging and very limited TV channels in the English language. I only missed it for about five minutes when we checked in and were welcomed with blue champagne and a cold wet towel that I couldn't Instagram but  after that I was glad not to have it.  Every single day we were really in the moment with each other and our surroundings without the added distraction of time sucking mindless web browsing that takes up so much time at home.  Instead of Instagram it was InstaLife and that's ALWAYS a good thing.

Later on during the week at dinner there was a group of four ladies who got seated near us.  All four had their heads bent into their phones.  One of them had her phone clutched her in her hand and I don't think she put it down even once until their first course appeared and then it wasn't too long before she picked it up again.  It was kind of sad to watch.  It made me really glad that I did not have Wi Fi and very aware of how ridiculous it is to be so absorbed in your phone when there are so many beautiful and wonderful things going on right in front of your face.

DAY 2
We went to the gym first, then to breakfast and finally hit the beach.  I couldn't wait to get into that gorgeous ocean, but that wouldn't last for too long.  More on that later.   We discovered the Iguanas on our way over.  They are harmless (so I'm told) but I was still scared because I'm scared of everything.  There was one facing us about a foot away from the path we had to walk down and MJ practically had to drag me along to get me to walk past it.  I got used to them after a while-sort of.  There are spider monkeys on the property too.  We kept looking, but never saw any.

One of many activities they had going on all day every day was Salsa lessons.  They promised us a free coconut drink for participating so we were in.

Sorry about the under boob.  Sometimes that happens at the beach

They had water polo once a day and beach volley ball twice a day at 11:00am and 4:00pm.  MJ played water polo twice and Beach Volleyball every single day we were there; sometimes twice a day.  He's good at everything.  He loves organized sports and it was good exercise.  

Meanwhile, I mostly laid on the beach with drinks in my hand.  They'd come around to ask if we needed anything and nine times out of ten I said yes, because why not?  I did get up and do a 30 minute walk way down the beach by by myself.    My feet were digging in the sand with every step making it a pretty good leg work out.  I had my iTunes and a spectacular view.  I also saw an old naked guy.  It was one of the best walks I've ever had in my life!! And not because of the naked guy.  I was so sweaty I had to jump in the pool shower to cool off...and then it was more relaxing.

This was our favorite show watching spot.  There were only two but we usually got there early enough to snag one.

That night they had a magic show.  I was randomly selected out of the audience to think of a famous singer in my head. Okay, Justin Timberlake.  He opened up the manilla envelope that he was holding in his hand the whole time and inside was a picture of Justin Timberlake.  I still don't know how did it.   Is it magic or are people (me) just that predictable?  I'll call it magic.

Cancun Day 3-4

Slimy Carrots and a Blogging Rut

missing that view already

I confess that I have no idea what to blog about so I'm writing a confessions post.

I confess that yesterday was our four year wedding anniversary and I didn't even realize it until someone wished us Happy Anniversary on Facebook.  Oops.  We don't celebrate it so that's okay.

I confess that I haven't even begun to work on my vacation recaps. I haven't even downloaded the pictures and without the pictures I've already forgotten the details of what we did each day. It will happen this weekend and it should be pretty straight forward because it was mostly eat, beach, drink, eat, beach, drink. Repeat.

I confess that I may have OD'd on wine.  I didn't think it was possible but it's Friday and I'm not craving it at all.  Yes, I drank that much.  I'm sure it will pass.

I confess that I returned slimy carrots to the grocery store.  I bought them on a Wednesday and by Thursday the next week they were spoiled.  Carrots should not spoil that quickly.  My mom won't hesitate, but I don't think I've ever returned anything to a grocery store.  I usually just take the hit but it's the 2nd time this has happened and my meal plan is eating us out of house and home!  I needed to get those carrots replaced.

I confess that the week our free 14 oz Success Rice rice coupons were set to expire I hit up the grocery store every day and sometimes multiple stores in one day to use them up.  MJ's cousin gave us a bunch when she was here and it was ridiculous that we waited until the last minute.  Twice MJ and I went into the same store and did separate transactions.  Food is expensive and you can't beat free!! I'm still bummed out that we had to let two of them expire.

I confess that exactly two days after returning from Cancun I was already on the phone booking another vacation. We're going to Hawaii for the 3rd time exactly one year from now. We haven't even taken our September vacation yet and we're going to Vegas next month.   I think I've gone vacation crazy.  It's like I can't stop.  And it's great and all except I'm getting really tired of paying for expensive overpriced airline tickets.  I get really disgruntled every time we book flights especially when I come across airlines that think it's cute to charge for a carry on.  Spirit, I'm talking about you.

I confess that I feel disconnected from blogging.  I just haven't been as obsessed with it as I usually am. I attribute this to three things.
1-I've been editing the heck out of my novel over the last month and it's taken priority over blogging stuff.  Sometimes there aren't enough creative juices to go around.
2-I feel boring, insignificant and that nothing I have to say is blogworthy.  That term is entirely subjective and can change from one week to the next depending on my mood.  One day I'm totally confident about posting even the silliest thing and other times I question and doubt every single post.
3-My life was just fine without blogging and social media while I was on vacation.  No Wi-Fi meant no social media which meant no likes or lack thereof.  I didn't have to think about what I would post next and it was nice that words like page view or followers never crossed my mind.  When I'm in my happy blogging place (which is probably 90% of the time) I care about none of those things but I'm only human.  Sometimes I let it get to me and then I wonder why I bother blogging at all.
I'm sure I'll get my groove back.  It's not the first time I've lost it and I'm sure it won't be the last.  It's just the nature of the beast.

On that note; I'm exhausted!!  We got back late Saturday after about 15 hours of traveling.  I was groggy all day Sunday and then it was right back to work Monday.  I still managed to get in three work outs this week but I'm beat and so ready for the weekend.

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More Energy Please

I'm back!! Vacation was awesome.  My blog reader has over 600 unread blogs, I have a tan line wrapped around my neck visible above my scoop neck top and a million pictures to go through.  I'm feeling twice as energetic on the Monday after my vacation as I did the Monday before my vacation so that means it did it's job.  I am officially refreshed, but how long before I start burrowing my head into my pillow in misery on Monday's again?  

Is it just me or does anyone else ever feel tired all day every day for no good reason?  MJ is an energizer bunny.  He's hardly ever tired, but not me.  Sometimes I wake up tired.  Go to work tired.  Come home tired.  Go to bed tired.  Then I do the same thing all over again the next day like some kind of chronic fatigue thing that never seems to go away no matter how much sleep I get or how much exercise I do.  I know that mood and diet have a lot to do with your energy.  It makes sense to be exhausted if you are depressed and not eating a healthy diet but now that I'm doing better in those areas it was really annoying to find that I was still chronically fatigued.  Life is way too short to be tired all the time.

 I've started and stopped taking multi vitamins a million times over.  I'd do really good taking them for awhile and then I'd start forgetting and quit altogether.  I'd think about taking it but say, oh well why bother because it didn't seem to be doing anything for me anyway. Bodies are so different.  What works for one person may do nothing for another.  I heard all of these wonderful things about vitamin B12 so I took it religiously for a while and it didn't do a thing so I quit.

I was researching something else and stumbled across three vitamins that kept coming up so I went out and bought all three.  I've been taking a 5,000 IU Vitamin D, a 1000mg Vitamin C and three 400mcg folic acid tablets for going on two months now and I think I finally found something that works.  It took about a month for me to feel any different but once I did I was very motivated to keep taking them every day.  It's a lot easier to remember if you actually feel like it's  benefiting you.  I'd get to work and wonder what was going on.  Why am I not tired?  When I get home I don't want to just fall asleep on the couch.  I'd go to bed anyways because I know I need my sleep but I wasn't feeling as dead tired as I was before.  I'm still tired when I don't get enough sleep but day to day I'm finding that I'm just not as tired as I used to be and that is a very good thing because sleepwalking through life is no fun.

I'm also taking 2 Fish Oil tablets with dinner every night as part of my meal plan which is an Omega 6 fatty acid that is supposed to be good  for your heart.  Once I run out of the Vitamin C I'm going to switch to a multi vitamin that has at least 1,000mg of C and supplement with a slightly lower dose Vitamin D and Folic Acid to make up the difference.   Most Multi's actually don't have a whole lot of D and I really think that's what's doing the trick for me.  Or maybe not.  Maybe it's the combination of the three.  Who knows.  I just know that it's really nice to not be dead tired when I get to work every day.  This combination is also very good for vaginal health.  So yeah, that was the other thing I was researching.

I bought this really cute Vita Carry pill case on Amazonbecause rushing to open three bottles every morning was a pain in the butt.  This way I can keep it in my purse and take them at work.The giant fish oil pills fit and it's a lot better looking then those old school looking pill cases they sell at Walgreens. 

Vacation works better then vitamins.  I skipped all vitamins and I still had tons of energy while we were gone.  I ALWAYS have energy for days when I'm on vacation and my chronic fatigue issues magically disappear; which is just one thing I love about vacation.  The only problem is that life is not a vacation.  Life is 45 hours a week at work and fitting in everything else in between so I'm back on my vitamin regimen and I hope it keeps working.

Do you take vitamins?  What works or doesn't work for you?

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A Life That Doesn't Require Vacation

Oh my gosh.  This week!!!!  I was supposed to be all about stress packing and getting my work outs in but it didn't quite turn out that way.  I only managed two work outs, I met up with a friend and I had a friend over to do a Mary Kay consult.  She's a new rep so she needs to get a bunch in this month but she's not pushy so I don't have to worry about her trying to get me to buy stuff all the time.

Friends since 8th Grade // Do we look much different then we did in 2007?

I got a text from my really good friend that they were in town from Alaska.  I knew she was coming and that it was going to be a very tight window right before our trip where we'd have only a few days available to see each other but you know how things sneak up on you.  MJ and I met her and her husband at Mimi's Cafe for dinner.  She is really skinny and her baby is chunky.  She says her baby took her ass; and I think he literally did by way of breast feeding.  I mean, she is thinner then she was before she got pregnant and she got huge while she pregnant.  Some people are just lucky like that.  Anyway, it was so wonderful to catch up with her and her husband and kiss her adorable baby boy.  She's finally getting out of Alaska this year and I'm really hoping she moves back here.  It would be awesome to get my BFF back.

I started packing Sunday, MJ started packing last night and he STILL finished before me.  Typical.  With every vacation I get better and better about not stressing but something tells me I will never be as good as him.  I'm feeling okay but it's those few minutes just before I zip up my luggage to load it in the car that the major anxiety really hits.  I'll just be happy if I can zip the thing up.  It's stuffed but I don't think I over packed.  I've never had to pay a baggage fee since the airlines got really cheap and started charging.  I plan to continue that streak so one suitcase it is.

Our last two beach vacations were in November/December and none of the stores had bathing suits so when I needed a cover up or bikini bottoms to match a top I already had I had the search the ends of the earth to find what I was looking for. This time it's the beginning of Summer and I don't really need a bikini but every time I got to Target (which is entirely too much) I really, really want one.  That wall of bright colors calls out to me even though I dread the thought of putting one on and looking in the mirror.  I'll get one next trip but with my luck it will be winter, I will not have planned ahead and I won't be able to find one without spending an arm and a leg.  Such is life.  You will be seeing pics of me in the same bikini from five vacations ago.

We went to Maui in December but it already feels like a lifetime ago and just six months later I already feel like my life depends on having another vacation.  Someone tweeted a post a few weeks ago that kind of irked me for some reason.   Instead of desperately looking forward to your next vacation why not create a life in which you do not need a vacation from your life?  Okay.  So basically, my life clearly isn't awesome enough because I need a vacation and since I need one so bad then maybe I need to re think my life choices and consider planning a life that doesn't require one.  Does a life like that even exist?  Even rich celebrities who make their living doing things they love and have servants need a vacation from their life sometimes.  Right?  Or am I just doing life all wrong?  Well I definitely need a break from work and the daily grind but the other part of it is that I love traveling.  Even if my life were so called perfect enough to not need a vacation I'd probably still want to see other parts of the world.  Oh wait.  If I were savvy enough to create that perfect life then traveling would be part of my job so I wouldn't need a vacation for that reason either.  Yeah, I'm pretty sure I read into that tweet way more then I should have.

I don't have a maid to clean my house, a personal assistant to run my errands and a job I would do for free so I'm off to do the next best thing.  Vacation.  I will eat like a pig, drink like a fish and let someone else clean my room while I lay on a beach in Cancun.  I won't be posting for the next week (which is not entirely unusual) but if I have wi-fi I'll be on Instagram.