Look what I got!

Last night hubby and I went to the Malecon at Plaza Las Americas to meet up with our best friends here in Cancun. I was on a mission - well two. Today is hubbys birthday and I wanted to make sure I had a gift for him. My other mission was that I've had my eyes on these pair of shoes for the last 3 weeks and finally decided I just HAD to have them.

So pretty...I love you new shoe

We all ate in the food court, hubby and Serg opted for tacos. They weren't impressed. My amiga S opted for the salad bar and she liked it. I myself chose to have sushi for $154 pesos. Can you believe it?? It was not worth that at all....I wont' have it again.

My favourite store in Cancun has got to be Massimo Dutti. I just love, love, love the style of their clothing. It's a mix between Club Monaco and Banana Republic. Prices are about the same too. That part kinda sucks!!

They wrapped hubby's present in two of these pretty bags :)

Funny thing? My uncle who used to live in Florence was here in November, saw the store and said he had to go. He is not a shopper, but admits that when he lived in Europe it was his go to shop. Is it Italian? Or Spanish? I'm really unsure, but I love their style. It's perfect for the climate here as well.

Next time you are in Cancun I highly recommend paying a visit to their store. They have one in La Isla mall as well, but it's quite a bit smaller.

Anniversary weekend

This past weekend hubby and I were fortunate enough to have celebrated our 5th wedding anniversary!!! Fun fact? We have 3 other friends/couples who share the same date as us. Kinda cool.

We went to the Aventura Spa Palace Hotel for the weekend - hubby works for the Palace Premier Group and gets amazing deals for us. This was my first time to the Aventura Spa Palace and I was not disappointed. We had 2 other couples come with us and their children but they stayed in a different part of the resort as the Spa Palace side is adults only. Note: Much nicer on the adults only side!!! Better pool, beach, food, drinks, etc....

We had a ton of fun kayaking in the sea pool they have created. We would much rather spend our day dipping in the salt water than chlorine filled pools any day. Such a nice feature, and we all enjoyed it so much.

The Saturday morning hubby surprised me with a massage in their world renowned spa, and neither of us were disappointed. It is GIGANTE and every room has an amazing view of the Caribbean. My massage was one of the best I've ever had and I assure you I've had many in all different types of spas. If I were rich I would have booked a few more services as all the guests boast afterwards poolside. Ahhh.... next time.

I love you hubby!!!!

A bit of an update

Hey Everyone!!!

It seems like about once a month I start a blog by admitting I am the worst blogger out there !! This time I do have a bit of an excuse as we recently moved into our new place, AND we have been without internet until this past Sunday. We weren't even notified that we had it, but hubby just noticed that our modem was blinking in all the right places!! LOL!!!

Soooo I recently celebrated my 29+1 birthday while in Calgary for a short visit. I had way too much fun, and way too much tequila. Wow, I haven't partied like that in YEARS. My BFF's threw me a surprise party which was soooo freaking fantastic. I'll share one tidbit of a story - my mom paid for my make up to be done as she knew something was going on and suggested we get false lashes put on. So we had the works, and sometime throughout the evening one of my eyelashes fell off and the other stayed put. Hahaha. I didn't notice until the early hours of the morning so who knows how long I was prancing around thinking I looked so good with one eyelash. Hahaha.

                                    My baby brother and I - notice eyelashes are still intact!

I actually will share another piece of information with everyone as I really have kept it quite a secret. One of the reasons I went home for my birthday was my friend set me up with a job interview back home - too good to turn away. It was almost exactly what I was doing before I moved to Cancun. It was for a Claims Manager Position for a FANTASTIC insurance company in Canada. The salary was really good considering I've been out of the business now for almost 2 years; $73,000 to start with full benefits, pension, discounted insurance rates, RRSP contributions, etc... The list goes on and on. I nailed the interview and they asked me to meet in person which I so willingly obliged. All my references were called, criminal/credit background checks complete. What happened next? I have been made an offer and I don't think I am going to be accepting it. I really truly hope I do not regret this decision, but it's just too soon, and not enough time for me to truly prepare myself for the move. They want me to start June 15th. Ummm...It's June 1st people!!!

I admit I have truly been wanting to move back home. I am not homesick by any means which is funny as that is usually the reason everyone wants to leave. My reason numero uno is that I miss my independence. I truly do not feel like an independent woman here in Cancun. I know a large part of that is my own doing. I lack the self-confidence to just go out there and do things for myself in this foreign country. I blame it on my Spanish speaking ability, but I'm not sure that  is it.... I also miss having my own money. Yes I could get a job here - I've actually been offered fantastic opportunities but it's not enough for me. I didn't move to Cancun to make less than half of what I made in Canada, no benefits or pension, and work the same hours as I did in Canada. If I were going to work again I will do it in Canada.

Okay, well that is it for now as I don't want to bore you all with the details of my life!!! Cancun is scorching hot right now and I am finding it hard to keep cool without using our A/C.  I'll be going back to Calgary next week which was a trip I have had planned since earlier this year. Nothing more than a visit. I'll be sure to take some pics of our new place that I actually love, love, love.


Happy Hump Day peeps!!!

Moving Day(s)!

Well, alas it is moving day numero uno!! I can`t believe we are moving again as it was only 11 months ago we moved into this place. Oh well, such is life. We have been super busy packing and trying to get the new place ready for us - new AC units installed, shower heads, counter tops, blinds, etc... At the same time we are trying to get this place ready so we can get our deposit back!

Now that we are moving I don`t mind sharing with you a few details about what we were paying for the place we lived, and what we are getting into. We have been living in a stand alone home, 2600 square feet, 4 bedrooms all with bathrooms and walk-in closets, an office which we turned into another bedroom. , maids room which we turned into an office, AC in every room, ceiling fans, our own pool, nice large yard with patio, upstairs patio, hurricane shutters, alarm system, granite counters, dishwasher (didn`t work!!!), etc.... We were paying $23,000 pesos a month plus all utilities, and they are quite expensive for a house this size. We had a gardener, a pool guy, maid, etc... Our water bills were high as we have to top up the pool at least once a week. Our energy bills are high as it`s hard to keep a place like this cool. Oh I could go on and on.  The point is we are moving!
Our new place is quite a bit smaller and we don`t know what to do with all of our things!! We are moving into a 1500 square foot condo. Not small by any means, but small for everything we have. We are paying a LOT less in rent and that is VERY good news for hubby. It already includes the maintenance for the grounds and the shared pool. However, we will now have 24 hours security which is music to my ears!  We are literally less than a block away from the house we were renting so the neighbourhood will stay the same, and I can still walk wherever I need to go! Bonus!!!

I`ll have to post some pictures soon of the new place, but that could take some time as Telmex is having system errors and they advised it could take between 1-20 days to get out to us?? Ohhh how we are`nt surprised!!! Hubby and I looked at each other and just laughed. We are expecting 26 days!!! Hahahaa,

Well I am off to Canada next week for a real quick visit - thank you mom!!!!! I have been SO busy with schoolwork that the last thing I have time to do is write a somewhat interesting blog, but I have been feeling guilty about that lately..... So I made time for this quick update!

Hope you all are doing well and can`t wait to hear from ya!!!!

We are moving!!!

We are moving and have a few things for sale!!!!!

http://cancunsale.blogspot.com/2011/05/moving-sale-cancun.html

No we aren't moving back to Canada, but we are moving into a new place and have a few things to purge!!!

Can be reached at laurkukec at hotmail dot com OR

hubby Gill (Gilberto) at

998-845-0304

So hard to say goodbye :(

I know I've been MIA from the blogging world lately. I have so much catching up to do on everyone's blogs, and probably have a few stories worthy of a post myself.

My BFF Abby left yesterday and it was so sad watching her leave. I actually was spoiled as she extended her stay an additional 3 days so I can't complain. I do miss her though. Abby used to live here in Cancun with me 8ish years ago. She speaks fluent Spanish as she completed part of her Business Degree in Cordoba, Argentina a few years ago. It was great having her back here with me. It was probably the first time since I've been married that we've been able to spend this much time together at once.

We did a bunch of touristy things, and since I'm not the best story teller or writer I will spare you with all the details. However, with that being said I will give you a bit of an idea.... Pictures are worth more than words sometimes, right???

                                                    Us girls went to Carlos n' Charlies

                                    A trip is not complete w/out a VIP experience :)

                                 Had to have a BBQ/pool party with our friends :)

                                                 A trip to the Tulum Ruins!!!

                                                      Puerto Morelos for the day!

All in all we had a great time together, and I'll be in Calgary in a month or so. I can't wait :)

Hotter than hell down here!!!

Hi Everyone!

I am back in Cancun and missing Calgary like crazy. How can I miss that blizzard of a storm I left behind you ask? Easy. Family. Friends. Food. Shopping. I could go on and on. However, that being said I am happy that I'm able to work on my tan again. I can't believe how fast I lost my colour when I went back home. Calgary is one of the driest cities in North America!!

Cancun warmed up in the last few weeks. At first I thought I just had to get used to the heat again, but nope, it's HOT here. For most tourists it's absolutely lovely. As a local I'm not the biggest fan of summer heat in Cancun. I can not wear make up, can't apply moisturizer, no high heels, etc... OMG... Don't even ask me about cooking. Yesterday I was sweating up a storm in the kitchen!! Awful!!! UGHHH. LOL!

On to some really good news.... I lost 5 pounds!!!!! My pants are much looser, and I can really feel it. How did I lose this weight? Pilates and my diet. I gave up sweets for Lent so that probably helped, and I've also been watching my portion sizes. That is my biggest piece of advice for anyone trying to lose weight, and who don't want to completely change what they eat.Oh and btw I am a size 2 again!! A really happy size 2. I would still like to lose a few more pounds, and tone up, but I am so happy. All of my hard work has paid off!!!

IAs I mentioned a few posts ago, I am a student again. I am currently studying nutrtion and will be a Certified Holistic Health Coach, and a member of the American Association of Drugless Practitioners. For those of you who know me personally this won't come as a surprise. I have always had a passion for nutrtition and exercise. I'm very happy that my parents are so supportive and helped me make this possible. Thanks Mom and Dad :)

My best friend Abby arrives in Cancun on Wednesday night for eight days. We are both so excited, and I can't wait to spend some quality time with her. We both plan on working out together the entire time she is here, and maybe next week I'll be down a few more pounds!! Wish me luck :)

Adios for now...