Back From Cancun

Cancun is not for everyone. And not all who goes there are spring breakers boozing around the beach making a fool of themselves.

In my few trips to Cancun, I have just once seen a crazy nightlife and that was when we stayed in the heart of Hotel Zone, where the hotel/resort we stayed in was a stone’s throw away from Hard Rock Café bar. But the hotel zone is just a small part of Cancun. Sad though that many who visit Cancun only get to see that part.

In truth, Cancun has many resorts and beaches and other establishments that cater to families and nonparty goers who just like to lazy about in the sand sipping some fruity drink with a kick.

In this just concluded vacation, I was lucky to stay in the Hotel Zone, but far from the maddening crowd where I joined others in beachcombing. We visited the famous ecological theme park XCARET, which is about 1 to 1.5 hours drive. If you go to Cancun this is a must visit. For no particular reason did we not visit this park in previous visits, but since on this visit we had nothing on the calendar but relaxation by the beach, we thought it was time to see it. We were floored by the beauty of the park, the variety of activities to suit everyone’s tastes and physical capacities and fed the hunger in this culture vulture.

I must say, we are already thinking about our next visit which is in 2 years. Yah, we don’t want to do Cancun in a yearly basis, because after all there are so many beautiful places to explore and only so little time to do it. But, we’ll be back Cancun, just save the lounge chair on the beach for us.

Blah, blah

*****Here is another post that I found sitting in my draft folder.*****

My yard is looking a lot better now after working on it over the weekend. Weeds waist high sprouted after the El Nino blast of the winter. Only the upper half of my back fence was visible from the house that is how tall the grasses were. After two days of pulling weeds, we can see the neighbor’s house in the back again, LOL!

I am the youngest in the family and my folks were older when they had me. And because I was the youngest and the only girl in the family I was sorta kinda spoiled a bit. No chores for me. It did not help that I was a sickly child and have a mom who panics about my health a lot.

So now that I am a grown-up and have my own house to take care of, the thought of cleaning up the yard is difficult. My instinct is to hire someone to do the job. Heck we had done so in the past. We drove to Home Depot where the day laborers are situated.

This time around the husband was keen on us doing the job. We need the exercise to begin with, plus we can save the money for the future vacation.

However, weeding sound innocuous right? The morning after is the real test. My muscles are sore and achy and I had to do the weeding all over again on Sunday. Exhausted and achy but happy that we did the job ourselves. No way is the backyard job complete but the hardest part is done. We didn’t go anywhere this weekend, because it’s backyard day. Reward for achy muscles came in the form of a impromptu at home tapas happy hour. We scoured the cupboard and the refrigerator and came up with crackers, smoked salmon, olives, goat cheese and almonds and we had a couple of bottles of adult beverages just in time for the Warriors game on Sunday.

Back to the backyard woes, we are thinking of either cementing it or putting stones just so the weeds don’t grow anymore. A guy who does backyard jobs came to the house on Saturday and checked out the job and promised to give us a written job quote. Too many expenses when one has a house to maintain. I’m getting a head ache. But doing something now is better than waiting and waiting.

So blessed, don't be stressed.

Oh lordy, I need a vacation so badly that all I ever think of is a get-away. I’m so obsessed with some time off it’s pathetic. All my free time I spend surfing the net, looking at every deal they have on GroupOn, Travelzoo, and whathaveyou. Seriously. I’m even so excited about the upcoming R&R in Cancun. I normally don’t get excited about Cancun. I know I’m so spoiled. I got a wake-up call about how blessed I am when I was talking with friends of ours, another married couple, and we were planning something to do because her birthday and our anniversary are on consecutive days in late May. When she suggested something to do, we both told her that the date is no good since we already have plans (Cancun) and when she asked, we both shrugged as if it wasn’t a big deal (well it wasn’t). That Cancun wasn’t a big deal, but of course to some IT IS a big deal because they haven’t been there. She jokingly said you both acted like your plan is to go to the grocery store and not Cancun. And she was right. Thinking about it that night, we might have been jaded by the fact that we could “easily” go there, whereas others may consider that a trip of a lifetime.

Have I been too spoilt with God’s blessings that I don’t appreciate every single blessing that I receive? Please let it not be. Please don’t let me be ungrateful.

In other news, how is Mother’s Day people? Did you spoil your moms or did you get spoiled. My mother is at an age where she no longer cares about what she says especially if she gets a gift that she doesn’t like she will tell you in your face when everyone else in the family is present. At her age, she is done pretending she adores (but doesn’t wear) all the sweaters we buy her. So I told all my brothers that Mom likes three things: take her to a buffet lunch, bring her flowers or flowering plants and give her gift card. The memo was also sent to all her grandchildren! I salute her for being frank. If you can’t be honest with your kids and family who could you be honest with? She wears her “grumpy old lady” role to the hilt.

We took her to the buffet, let her eat all the oysters and crabs and fish she can handle. Let her have some ice cream for dessert too. Let her live, we say. And this is another big blessing that I have, my mother lives a very full life and in her advanced age is able to fend for herself. My family and I may not see each other eye to eye (literally and figuratively) but the fact that we live within a 5-mile radius of each other is such a blessing.

Charity Begins at Home

I grew up in a conservative household. The fact that I am the only girl in a brood of 5 and the youngest may have contributed to the fact that my parents, my mom specifically, put me on a short leash. It was home, school, home. Day in day out. If I wanted to go somewhere else, it’s a major production. I must have a chaperon. Thankfully I grew up with nieces and nephews who are closer to age so there’s always someone to tag along with.

Also very unique in my household is that my dad specially wanted the gate locked by 6 pm. Even his relatives who would drop by after sundown would not be able to come in. Dad’s house rules. By the time I appeared in their lives, they had raised their 4 boys, was expecting their first grandson who arrived 2 months after I did, and had exhausted their energy raising the kids and worked like mules to keep everyone fed and clothed. So I understood their reluctance to change the way they raise their daughter.

Because of dad’s strict rules of no visitors allowed after sundown, we rarely had anyone staying over. I remember only two different aunts – mom’s sister and mom’s cousin – who stayed with us for a week or so. Not that my parents were uncharitable, they are lax in giving handouts and help, they just don’t like people staying over. My dad also was sick for a long time, so it’s really understandable that he is not keen on entertaining.

Now when I got married and visited my in-laws I saw the way my husband was raised the exact opposite. In their household, they always have people around visiting for a day or staying over. Their house is open to people who need a roof for a night or more. It was so different. At first I was so uncomfortable with all the people coming and going. Then I understood that my husband’s generous spirit and his easy-going nature was cultivated by his parents.

So when we got together he wanted to adopt the house rules from his childhood. Now we always have people in the house, not relatives, who comes for watch party. Last night, a week night, a school night, our friend and his step son came over to watch the Warriors game. The minute the son entered the house, he said he was too hungry and ready to eat. I felt so wonderful knowing that someone not related to me by blood feels so comfortable to say things like that. Little by little my aversion to people coming over my house that is not blood related is dissipating. My husband’s good attitude about charity and hospitality is rubbing off on me. Hallelujah!

Mission Accomplished

Finally something that I've been planning on doing for months and months, maybe even a couple of years, was accomplished this weekend. I finally got to clean out my closets. Two, yes, for someone who doesn't shop much and who has no fashion sense, my closets certainly filled up. The reason behind this is that despite the fact that I regularly weed out items that I simply don't like to give to Salvation Army, I have so many clothes from when I was still single (celebrating my 9th wedding anniversary this month) that I kept because I liked them so much even though they didn't fit any more. Don't worry I don't buy trendy clothing that goes out of style so the clothes I donated were still okay. Some of them were worn once or twice only. Oh those were the days when I shopped like money grew on trees.

When the husband saw what was happening, he joined in and cleaned out his closet. When we were done, there were 6 bags and 2 boxes of clothing that we dropped at Salvation Army. I felt so good and so light to see room in my closets.

Now the good thing about donating clothes is that I got to buy new ones for me. I don't shop much, but when I do I get more than one. So I got 3 new tops and hubby got 2 new pants. This shopping trip is going to last me for a long time.

What's In My Draft Folder

I know this blog has been quiet lately, but I was writing in the background for material for this blog. Here's one that I wrote last month I believe.

ON MOVING AND MOVING ON....

MOVING...

A swanky new building is opening at work and 99% of the workforce in my department is moving there. The rest of us are moving also, but not in the swanky new building. I and 5 others are moving to another building. My new digs at work will require a little aesthetic work – new carpet for example. I think that is all there is with regards to my new work space, but I will still have my own office. The world around me though is chaotic, as co-workers packing up personal effects to move to the other building. No other items are allowed to be carried over with the move since the mgt has decided that the new building will have all new equipment and furniture. So, adios comfy chair. The rest of us who are not moving to the new building will move to our new digs in 2 weeks. Hopefully a week of sprucing up will be enough so we can move quickly and on time. This old building that we are abandoning will be torn down. This is a case of it’s cheaper to build a new one than to renovate and make earthquake safe an older structure.

And MOVING ON...

The American Idol is ending its mostly illustrious run next week. It stayed on the air for 15 years. Fifteen freaking years!!!!! Yes, that long!

I came onboard on season 4, the year that Carrie Underwood was voted as champion. I was hooked immediately, especially when the charming and ruggedly handsome Bo Bice seemed to croon to me personally every week. I lost my head with Bo. I went out to vote. And in those years, it was very difficult to vote because you cannot get through the phone line most of the time. And while you had all the time in the world after the show is over when the voting begins, you cannot get through the line to vote. You really must like your idol very much to go through the challenge of casting your vote. I must say I did that, jumped through hoops to cast a vote. I was so engrossed in season 4 that I still have VCR tapes of that season in my garage, I think. Yap, call me AI geek. Well I was one.

In my history of watching American Idol, I’ve seen a lot – boring, compelling, exciting, more boring seasons. I have my share of favorite performances that I sometimes watch on You Tube when I get nostalgic.

The timing is right I thought. I am ready to move on with my tv life without American Idol as I’m sure others are too. I am not sure that the show is still pulling in good ratings. I think it stayed longer than it should. On the other hand, I think someday there will be a rebirth or a reboot of American Idol. I know there’s still THE VOICE, but I never watch that thing. I don’t like the judges.

What I am looking forward to is an awesome, jaw-dropping, no-they-didn’t, OMG kind of finale. A finale to end all finales. I hope all the previous winners will attend and perform. I expect to see all the past judges to be in attendance as well, most especially Simon Cowell.


American Idol......please hit this out of the park will you?

One Quarter Down, Three To Go

In a little over a month I will be visiting the beach paradise Cancun for the third time. For someone who wants to visit as many new places before going back to the old ones, I surprised myself with this decision to go back to Cancun again.

How can I make this visit memorable? How can I see Cancun in a different light? I will be staying in the Hotel Zone, just like we did on the first visit. On the second visit we had a rental in a resort in the Puerto Morelos area, far from the chaos of the tourists in Hotel Zone and closer to the local culture of downtown Cancun.

On both visits, we spent significant time in the city. The first time we were there for 6 days and did the touristy things like visiting Chichen Itza (Mayan pyramid) and a boat ride to the mangrove forest. The second time we were there for a medical procedure, hence we stayed longer (12 days) and were more sedentary and lounged more on the beach than being a tourist. In addition, we were able to see and mingle a lot with the locals on the second visit because of our distance to the Hotel Zone.

Now that we are going back to the Hotel Zone, which on the second visit we saw so many changes that I hardly recognized it, I want to do some touristy thing in addition to finding more things to do than what is on Trip Advisor's list. I want to see what the locals see and eat where the locals eat again. Maybe there's a festival that is not on the Trip Advisor's list that will coincide with our visit to the city.

The husband is looking into visiting one of or both of the theme parks nearby - Xcaret and Xplor which are both water activity parks. I had checked their websites and so far from what I gather these are not something I am interested in partaking. Besides, the price for entrance is a bit over my budget.

Also the fact that we are staying in all-inclusive resort means that I would be eating all my meals in the resort, which makes the chance of hunting for local food becoming slim to none. It seems so wasteful to spend for food outside when you have already paid for your food inside the resort.

I don't have too much expectations for this upcoming vacation. Although I must say that I have fallen in love with the beach in Cancun. The color of the water is soothing, the white sand that turns pink when hit by the sunset is a sight to behold and the beach combing is unparalleled. This being the anniversary trip for 2016 I hope I can find something to spring as a surprise to the husband. I have not been going beyond the call of duty of the wife so I need to step up to the plate and do something he is not expecting but something that will blow him away.

Anyway, a few pics from Cancun.


Cancun 2013


On the beach of Xpuha, an hour's drive from Cancun, 2013


Cancun 2010


Cancun 2010