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...

Reason #1 to live in Mexico

April 2nd' 2011 and we get OVER 10 inches of snow.....

It was a party!

My moms 50th birthday bash went off without a hitch, and boy oh boy was it a blast!!! My mom had around 100 of her closest and oldest friends and family here to help celebrate. It was great seeing so many people that I hadn't seen for a while. It was especially fun as I was able to speak English, Croatian and Spanish!!

                                                        How good does she look?

The party was this past Saturday and it was held at my parents place in the City. The party was caterered by Red Tree Catering http://www.redtreecatering.com/ (I'd include the hyperlink but something is seriously wrong with my keyboard). For anyone in the Calgary area these caterers were amazing. I'd recommend them without any hesitation. We had a group of 7 people come into the house in the early evening and started setting everything up. We had 4 servers, 1 bar tender, and a chef with their staff. It was truly unbelievable. They even cleared up almost everything before the end of the night!

                                These cakes were actually from Brulee in Calgary

Our menu was great as it was just some appetizers. We served : Portobello mushroom and Asiago tortilla cakes, Artisan Cheese Macaroni, Carrot ginger soup shot, Tiger prawns, mini Yorkshire pudding,  and Halibut fish n chips (to die for!!).

The bar was also FULLY stocked, and everyone was greeted with a gorgeous glass of champagne served with a hibiscus flower. Not only did the hibiscus look beautiful, but it helped sweeten the champagne just enough. It was a huge hit.

The party ended around 4 am which is always a good indication that people were enjoying themselves. Regardless of the blizzard that was coming in that night. Brrr....

                                         My cousins and some girlfriends
I love milestone birthdays, and it was so nice to see a huge smile on my moms face the entire evening. She looked gorgeous, and most certainly makes 50 look good. I can only hope that I'll be as lucky as she....

                                 Me and my mom at 4am exhausted
What did you do for your last milestone birthday?

Spring. What spring?

I arrived in Calgary early this morning with our puppy Kiara, and my Bff S picked us up from the airport. What a trooper! Kiara was an angel on the flight, and again the flight attendants told me they didn't receive one complaint - thank goodness for gravol. LOL!!

It was a balmy -3 celsius so not too cold, but still a shock to my system. Poor Kiara was shivering in the car ride, and didn't go out until we woke up this morning!!

Hubby is meeting us on Friday and may only be staying for the weekend as he is starting a new job, and they really want him there for Monday. I hope he doesn't have to go back as we spent $800 on his ticket and would really feel wasted if he's only here for the weekend.

My mom's 50th birthday party is this Saturday and it's going to be HUGE. I'm going over to her house later today to surprise her as she thinks I'm coming in on Friday with hubby. I can't wait to see her reaction. I'm the only daughter out of 5 kids. I also happen to be the oldest, blah!

I will have to write another post about this, but I can't leave you hanging - I'm a student AGAIN. More info to come in my next post!!!!

Off to get ready so that I can surprise my momma tonight!!! EEEE can't wait!!!

Another change

By human nature I am a creature of habit. It's not that I don't like change, as I do. I'm a Gemini - we love change. However, there are certain situations that I do not deal with well. Por ejemplo people.

If you recall, our cleaning lady Elvie is pregnant, and had to stop working with us recently. Thank goodness I had the disaster of the electricity to keep my mind occupied as the weeks leading up to her final day were tormenting me. Serioiusly. I grew so attached to her, and was very sad that I wouldn't be seeing her on a daily basis. A tad dramatic. I know.

The good news is we have her cousin working with us. In all honesty her cousin is actually a much better cleaner than Elvie. However, Elvie had my trust, and her cousin will now have to earn it. After our incident with our awful cleaning lady last year it's sad for me to say you now have to earn my trust. I'm sure she will, and I hope I'm not wrong. I really like her... :)

Another change coming is that my Dad and Joy will be leaving us for Canada next week. Very sad for me as they've been with us for about 10 months. Unfortunately, Joy's health is really not doing well, and she needs to go home to Canada and receive the help that can be offered to her on that side. Well, if it weren't for that reason I would be even more sad. The selfish part of me is going to miss them so much, but now is not a time for me to be selfish. I'll just have to get used to the idea. That's all. Actually, we will be going home with them as well for a surprise visit for my mom's 50th birthday!! Can't wait !!!

What about you guys? Are you okay with change? Or do you relish the thought like myself?? 

CFE = ugghhhhh

Disclaimer: The following is a true story, and summarizes my personal experience with the CFE (Comison Federal de Electricidad) last week. For me, it was truly unbelievable.

In my last post I blogged about a wonderful week spent in the Riviera Maya. Yes, we had a more than wonderful time, but there is more to the story of course. Originally we were supposed to go away for a weekend. Nothing more than a quick getaway, and so the story begins....

The Saturday morning we were set to leave our doorbell rang and it was the CFE coming to check the electrical meter on our home. Or so we thought... The fellow first told hubby they were there to replace our meter with a digital one. Hubby advised we had no time, and were just about to leave. The fellow flat out lied and said no, no, it will be very fast but we can't proceed without your permission. FINE. Hubby gave in, why? I have no clue.

All of a sudden there are 5 guys infront of our home, and we also notice the CFE at every house on our street. This is 8:30 am on a Saturday morning. They turn our power off, I can't shower, I can't get ready, I can't do anything. Even our cleaning lady couldn't work as without power our water pump doesn't work. Just sit and wait. Sit and wait some more. About an hour and a half later one of the fellows comes into our  home with a camera and starts to take snap shots of all of our A/C units, fans, TV's, lights, etc...

What next? The "jefe" who originally told hubby they would take no time at all advises us he is cutting our power off indefinitely. Why? Appaerently our meter had been tampered with. We asked what he meant? He said it appears that our meter is broken, and was tampered with some time ago... We tell him we've only lived in the house 6 months. He says he can tell it was done some time ago, but he was turning it off anyways. Are you kidding me? He tells us we can either "pay up" OR wait until Monday to go into their office to deal with it.

We have no time to argue, but hubby says we will wait as we are going away anyways. I couldn't believe it. We would be without power until at least Monday. We speak to a few neighbours and every single one of them were asked to either pay up, or they'd cut the power too. Most didn't pay as they didn't have the cash on them at the time. Can you believe that? How is this even possible? Our neighbour is 8 months pregnant, and you are turning her power off on a Saturday when you know damn well they can't do anything!

Soo... Monday morning hubby drives back to Cancun and meets with the CFE. He was there for 4 long hours and is told we have to pay a bill. Why? Well, since your meter was broken we are going to take the usage from the previous year and apply to your bill. Are you kidding me? The previous year there was a family of 5 living in the house. How can you even compare us to them? We can do whatever we want was the story we were given. No lie. Also, they informed at earliest if we paid the $17,000 pesos (roughly $1500USD) in full by the end of the day we would have our power back on Thursday. Hubby miraculously got them down to $13000 pesos, but come on! That is a lot of money we have to fork up for doing nothing wrong.

Our power was hooked up again on the Thursday when we returned from our hotel. However, what do people do who can't just go away for a week? How can you live without power? How can they just turn your power off and get away with it?

The worst part is I was'nt even surprised, and I'm not even mad anymore. I actually wasn't even as mad as I would have been a year ago. This saddens me as I'm obviously becoming more and more used to the way things are done. Corruption. It exists at every level. If we would have paid the mordida we would be feeding it, but we are still the ones who suffered. How can we even be sure our meter was tampered with? Maybe the guys tampered with them?

Ugghhhh..... Sorry for the long post. I tried to make it as short as possible yet capture what exactly took place. We were screwed.

I still love this beautiful country, but man oh man is it a challenge at times like this.

Has this ever happened to you before?? I hope not....

BTW... After all of that the meters were never even replaced!