Our last couple days in Mexico...

Pink Flamingos in an ecological park at the XHU-PA Palace Resort where we had lunch & leisure after visiting Tulum.

Beautiful view of the beach area seaside at the Tulum Mayan Ruins

Closeup view of carvings & Paintings in some of the buildings.

Broader view of the Mayan Ruins at Tulum

Another view of the seaside at Tulum

Tulum Mayan Fortress

Entrance to the fortress of Tulum

Some of our New friends we met in the Mayan Riviera

Rick at the entrance to the Mayan Fortress Ruins in Tulum

My view from my lounge chair all day on Thursday (after our Romantic Couple's massage in the beautiful and amazing Spa!)

Can't get much more relaxing than this...it included several umbrella drinks too...Yummy!

Shout Out to GRANT!

Happy Birthday Grant! In honor of your birthday your uncle Rick and I went to a historical site located in Tulum, Mexico. See if you can find it on a map to see how far away we are from you right now! I thought of you the whole time we were learning about the Mayan people that lived there. We learned about what great mathematicians and architechs they were. It reminded me of you and how you like to learn about everything new in the world. I wish you could have been there with us but we will share pictures and stories when we get back home. In the meantime, I hope your day was just as special as you are. Uncle Rick and I will come to visit you real soon to bring you a gift and celebrate your being one year older. Love you MUCH!!

Unclerick and Auntie C.

Wednesday is Snorkeling Day...

So today we went to Maroma Marina to the world's 2nd largest coral reef (Australia has the largest). It was amazing and the water was so clear and warm! Rick and I chose to lay in the sun afterwards instead of riding horses, atv's, speedboats, or ski doo's. Later in the afternoon they fed us a wonderful buffet lunch complete with drinks. We spent a bit more fun in the sun and then headed back to our resort. Back to our room to clean up and dress for Dinner at the mediterranean restaurant was exquisite (All the restaurants have been so far) and then we took in the Mayan fire dance show down by the sea at 9:00pm (show every night in different locations). I was just getting warmed up and ready to party and Rick was yawning his fool head off so we went back to the room because I can't go party by myself-or can I ?(MICHELLE-WHERE ARE YOU?!) I want to check out the dancing in the evening so tomorrow night is on for me! There are a ton of people from the midwest here so I can meet some friends! Here are some pics from last night and today....

I'm a babe! Ha!

Leonardo DeCaprio wanna be


I think he's getting tired of me taking his picture...can anyone say cheese?

Our evening (Tuesday) at the Mexican Restaurant having Mayan coffee! What a show!

Dressed for dinner at the Japanese Restaurant. Oooohhh soo goooood!

Mayan Fire Dancers. The show was right by the ocean! Amazing!!

What day is it???

I get so confused while on vacation. You just lose yourself in the tranquility and I had to ask someone what the date was today! We are going to do a couple tours (Paradise Snorkeling and Tulum Mayan ruins along with Xhu Pa Natural Reserve for hiking, shopping, swimming and snorkeling). We scheduled a couple's massage this Thursday. I don't even wear a watch and I drive Rick nuts asking him what time it is. Today we hung out at the resort again. It's just so beautiful and so much to do we hung out at the beach, did some snorkeling, went to a Body Sculpt class (whew! worked my a** off!), and dinner at one of the 8 restaurants. I was serenaded at dinner! It was soooo fun and they have such beautiful voices! I just melt! Hee hee. Then we shopped the open flea market and took in the evening show of dancers (a different one every evening). Now I am catchng up on emails and blogs. WE have unlimited "Free" calls to the states or anywhere else in the world we wish to call! AMAZING! Tomorrow we are either going to do much the same as today (except I'll take in the Pilates class) and go to a different restaurant or we might go to Playa Del Carmen and check it out.They have wonderful flea markets and we can spend the rest of our day in the Palace Resort for Free and check out their facility (supposed to be a golfer's dream!). I wanna do some salsa dancing before we leave Mexico so I'll have to see if I can talk the Old Man into staying up past 10:00pm one night! Ridiculous. I need someone who can stay up with me and do the night life once in awhile...any takers out there? Enjoy the pics...

Can you guess who's feet these are? Notice he's in the shade...what?

Evening show of Mexican dancers


Cindy is serenaded! They make beautiful music!

The Mexican Restaurant (one of 8 different eateries to choose from)

Just one more beautiful shot of one corner of the resort! This place is huge!

Our First Full Day In the Mayan Riviera...

Aventura Spa Palace Resort at night...Gorgeous!
Rick eating breakfast outdoors...

Paradise...

Wandering paths to get you from here to there! This resort has 1,265 rooms. We literally walk a mile to get from one end to the other! We definitely get our workout and burn off the calories we eat from all the yummy food! On my schedule tomorrow...sleep in, breakfast at 10:00, pilates at 11:00, then fun in the sun another day at the beach! Yay!


Going to the beach...80 degrees and sunny! Perfect!

Nearly There!

Paradise in just 5 days...ahhhhh......sigh.

The Mom Song...

Most of us can relate to this...

Freezin' My Butt Off!

Ok...as if you need to hear it one more time....I'M FREEZING!!!! And these pictures makes me sick with the thought of summer!! I can't take it anymore!

So next winter you will find me in a warm cozy place in southern Texas ON THE BEACH for 2 months beginning in January!! Yup! That's a promise! I will drive down with my kitties and we'll park ourselves on the beach until spring. The above images are of a condominium that can be rented monthly for really reasonable rates! Mark my words...it'll be done! My friends from the mall clued me in on this little piece of information. Meggie Loo Hoo...you wanna come along? All you need to do is be able to work from home (or at the beach-hee hee). More details to follow.

Days in January

So you ask me how I fill my time in this cold, blustery, month of January?

Here's a few examples...

Watching old videos of Izzy's baby kitties! She was going nuts and I happened to catch this shot of Izzy nose to nose with her first born. AMAZING! Don't you wonder what she was thinking?

A day in the cities with two of my favorite girls...Meggie Loo Hoo and Kinzie Girl! This shot is in front of Kinzie's new apt. These girls are adorable and I love them to death! Kinzie is Megan's friend from high school and our God Daughter. She came with us to Hawaii in 2002!

Love you Girls!!

Hungry turkeys! Every day we see this sight at least twice. They're getting desparate for food! I often wonder what turkeys eat besides birdseed!
Let's hope that February is somewhat calmer than January. This winter really stinks BIG TIME!

CAT BOMB!

So apparently this is the "Hot Spot" at 8:00am in the morning. I guess I didn't get the memo that there was to be a feline fraternity meeting in my territory! How can anyone be expected to sleep in these conditions?! Apparently THEY are quite comfortable! Sheesh! Completely Spoiled!

Winter's Beauty

So I was getting ready for the day one morning last week and saw this little beauty in the backyard. The contrast of the Red Cardinal with the green Pine tree was amazing. Unbeknownst to me...Rick was viewing this same scenerio downstairs and clicking away with the camera through the window. He didn't know if any of the pics would turn out but sure enough they did as seen below! The Pine tree is one we planted from a stick Megan brought home in first grade!! It doesn't get enough sun to make it full and lush but the cardinal doesn't seem to mind. Isn't he beautiful!!

41 days and counting...

Ringing in The New Year 2009!

A New Year is ushered in and we welcomed it with our friends, Stacy & Chris Terry, Kristin and Todd Alexander, and all their kids. Games, food, drink, and great conversation was the menu. I could do this all the time! Thanks to the "Terry's" for hosting and inviting us to the yearly celebration. We had a blast! Happy New Year everyone!

Watching the Ball drop and celebrating the New Year!

Todd Alexander playing the part of Butler and Bartender!

Thanks Todd! You're a Goof!

Does No One See It?!

Can anyone else see my Angel in the tree below? I am disappointed no one has commented on her! It's fun to see the small little signs that God is with us. Let me know if you can see her. I really want to know!

A Silent Night Before Christmas...

This tree looks like an angel wearing a hat. I can just see the star attached to her hat, her beautiful face, her lovely wings, outstretched arms and flowing skirt. Can you see her too?! She brings the message of hope to all with the birth of Jesus Christ.
and in this silent night we light our candles and our trees in hope that the light of heaven will shine down on us and we will all be blessed. May you all be blessed with a Bright and Happy New Year! God Bless Us All-Everyone!

Wrapping it Up...

Almost done with the Holiday season. We'll close the cart the end of December. It's been a trip to say the least. Just wish the economy had been better to make it more profitable. Now I'll have to figure out what to do next. I'll keep you posted. If anyone has any ideas let me know. Can't wait for Christmas! Jamey and Kate will be down next Saturday thru Sunday and I can't wait to celebrate with them. Christmas day with Rick's family and 5 days with Megan!! Woo Hoo!! The Holiday schedule will be different this year but still just as rewarding and blessed. I'll take whatever I can get. May all of you be blessed in the Christmas Spirit and a more prosperous and healthy New Year!

Ahead of Schedule...

Ok...I have to admit. I am usually too busy at the mall to do the Christmas shopping. Or at least have it done before Dec. 23rd! But I've had it a little easier this year and I've been picking away at it for the past month. Yesterday and Today I picked up a few more and I'm proud to say I only have 2 -3 gifts yet to purchase! I'd say that's a record! I can't remember the last time I was this organized. I even mailed my Christmas cards yesterday!!! Woo Hoo! I'll have time to sit back and relax (right after I clean my house-ugh!). Now if I could only figure out what to get my son Jamey and my nephew Sam I could be done already. Yelp! Merry Christmas everyone!

The Modern Day Santa!

SEGWAY SANTA...
I was selling old inventory at a show in the Faribault Mall on Friday and Saturday and I saw something interesting...a Modern Day Santa. He said they call him "Segway Santa"! At one point when I saw him whiz by he actually had his cell phone up to his ear talking to his reindeer! Ha! ha! Now that's funny!!

Happy Turkey Day!

We had much to be thankful for...

A Nice (although short) Visit...

Someone came to visit us yesterday. ...our stylish and urban girl. Thanks for stopping in Megan. Even though it was short...it was sweet.

P.S. Holla Happy Birthday to Jackie today! yay!

Friends...

I had a wonderful day off today! I got to spend the day having lunch and shopping with a good friend of mine (thanks Kristin-I love spending time with you!). Then I came home and got a visit from a long time friend I haven't seen in quite a few years. We had a great conversation and renewed our spirit and friendship. It was a nice day off. Now back to reality and work tomorrow. Hope you all have a great week!

Just Breathe...

So now I am down to managing one kiosk in the mall. It was a wild ride in October and I'm glad it's over! Employee issues are always the hardest to manage. I will work part time to manage the women's accessory kiosk ("Lavish") from now until the end of January. I had the whole day off today and tomorrow. I don't know what to do with myself. I mostly laid around and watched movies all day (after cleaning the house a bit). It felt good to be lazy but I don't know how to do it well anymore so tomorrow I'll probably go nuts. Oh well. Rick will be working at home and I'm sure he'll figure something for me to do. Maybe I should get back into exercise? That's a thought. It will help keep my energy up. Doesn't have to be a New Years Resolution to count does it? OK...I'll do it. I have one more thing to say....if Mary doesn't update her blog I'm gonna scream! What's up with that? Even as busy as I was I still found time to do it! Come on Mary! Ya gotta join in on the fun!