2011 Goals (written January 2 2011)

2010 was definitely a great year for myself and family.  Now that it is 2011 I can reflect on all the goals that we have managed to accomplish and put forth some new ones.  Brian and I have set some very realistic goals for ourselves including both short and long term ones.  We don't put any actual  time limits on them but just set them as short term and long term.  I think setting goals is a healthy part of life but putting unrealistic time limits on them is sometimes silly and unproductive.  Brian obtained a permanent job this year and I (after 2 years of not working) also found a job!  Looking for a job was really hard for me as I had become quite comfortable with being a stay at home mom.  I had told Brian previously that I would not look for work until he found himself a permanent job.  After 5 weeks of being in Powell River I found myself with a job as a pharmacy technician that I abosolutely love!  Working in the pharmacy is so much fun and it is always entertaining.  Both of us finding jobs were short term goals that I am happy to say that we accomplished.  Another goal that we, well mostly Brian accomplished was paying off his car.  On the advice of my sister and Nathan, Brian started dumping extra money on his car loan on top of his monthly payments.  In February he managed to pay off his car and be debt free!  So on the topic of debts that brings me to some of my new goals.  Since I have been working I have started using my credit card again.  I have a balance that seems to never go away and has been hovering around the $600 mark for the last two months.  Now that Christmas is over I have no excuse so I hope to pay this off quickly and go back to using cash.  Still on the topic of money I have decided (also on the advice of my sister) that I should start putting more money into my student loan.  After my credit card is paid off I intend to put a little bit more money on my loan every payday ( I get paid weekly) and also open some type of savings account or RRSP.  Yes I know that I am 31 and I have not started buying RRSP's but this is the year that I plan to start.

My next goals for 2011 involve food and health.  I am so proud of myself for continuing to make our families meals and work at the same time.  It has been really difficult but I have managed to do it and will continue to do it.  I make dinners before I go to work each day but the trick is that I try and make meals that will last two days and I often use a slow cooker.  I know some people hate leftovers but I don't have the energy to cook a brand new meal everyday.  This year my goal is to cook more healthier and to cook with less meat.  We eat tons of vegetables and mostly chicken but I think that I can make my meals healthier.  Cooking meals without meat has been my biggest challenge.  It is hard for me to cook without using meat.  When I go shopping for dinner ideas I start in the meat section then I build my meal around that.  Also I am proud to say that we rarely eat anything outside of the home and we will also continue that trend, better for the wallet and better for our health.  I will continue my version of morning aerobics at our house and lifting my 10lb weights in hopes of shedding 5-20lbs.  We do not own a scale and I have not weighed myself for about 6 months so I have no clue how much weight I would like to lose but I am sure it is in that range probably closer to the 5lb mark.  Brian has just informed me that we will be buying a scale and doing weekly weigh-ins.      

Now that I have become a little bit comfortable in Powell River I would like to start doing some activities with Jorja and find some new ones for Brady.  Trying to work 5 days a week and fit in some activities won't be easy but I am determined to make it happen.  Brady will continue going to Youth Group but I would like to find something else for him to do.  

My last goals involve family and friends.  Brian and I have the most amazing families whom have been supportive, generous and awesome.  I hope that this year we get to spend more time with them even if we live in Powell River.  Our visits tend to be too short and too infrequent.  I also have the most amazing group of friends.  I rarely get to see them or talk to them but they continue to be my best friends.  My last goal for 2011 is to get-together with them for some much needed catch-up.

Customer Service (written July 11 2010)

Usually when I am out shopping I don’t care much to chit-chat with the workers. I am more interested in buying my goods and getting home. I would love to spend hours shopping but because of two good reasons I can’t, kids and lack of money. If I can’t find something I am looking for I rarely ask anyone for help. I guess I would rather leave a store dissatisfied than bother to ask anyone. I have decided that I am going to change this. I realize that as I spend Brian’s hard earned money that I shouldn’t leave any store unhappy and I should never be unhappy with my purchases. This weekend I got to experience some customer service and make those workers work for our money. We decided to buy a new camera. Our camera is still working but it gets “stuck” often. It has served us well and I have taken 1000’s of pictures with it. I don’t know much about cameras except for the price that we were able to afford. I looked in flyers and on-line all week long hoping to find some good deals. I knew that some stores will price-match their competitors prices but there were so many cameras advertised and the model numbers were not all listed. This was definitely going to be a much harder job than I thought. We started looking on Friday evening. London Drugs had a ton of cameras in their flyers so we decided to check them out. A guy greets us at the photo counter. Hmmmmm where do I recognize this guy? I guess being the DJ at the Voodoo Lounge means you have to have a day job too. He is so friendly and seems like he knows a ton about cameras. I am pretty impressed. Great customer service! We leave and decide to do some more research on cameras. I have not yet received one of my Friday’s papers and am eager to check out what some of the other stores are offering. Saturday morning we wake up early and head out and find a camera I like. I have done a bit of research and I have seen a camera that I really like. It is advertised on sale in Zeller’s flyer. At London Drugs the night before I saw that it was on sale for $40 more. We head out to Courtenay and stop at Zellers so that I can check out the model number for the camera. I ask the lady what colours they come in and she has no clue. As she fiddles around with the price scanner I realize that this lady is probably working in the wrong department. I dare not ask her any questions about the camera I am looking at; it is not worth my time and she is struggling to use the scanner to scan the price code. I tell her it’s okay and write down the model number before we leave. We arrive at Future Shop with the Zellers flyer in hand. I walk over to the photo section and notice a couple looking at cameras. The worker in the photo section is helping them pick out a camera. As I eavesdrop on their conversation I notice the lady has a London Drugs flyer in her hand. They are there to bargain with the worker and get a great deal too. The invite me into their conversation and soon we are all talking about the type of camera we are interested in. I tell them I just want something of a little better quality and a better zoom. The lady is interested in something that will take good pictures of her needle-point. I see the camera I am interested in and notice that the model number is a little different than the one in the Zellers flyer. I show the salesman the flyer and he comments that they do not carry that particular model. Darn! I thought I would be getting myself a good bargain. The other couple have decided on a model that they like and have bartered and gotten themselves a better deal. The salesman offers me the same deal on the camera that the other couple has selected. I am still pretty set on the Panasonic camera that I have chosen so I ask the salesman what the difference is between the FH20 model and the FH22 model. He tells me that the only difference is that the FH22 (the higher priced model at Future Shop) has a touch screen. I am not a fan of touch screen so the decision to buy the camera advertised in the Zellers flyer is now an easy one. I let the salesman ramble on a bit about different cameras only because I feel a little bad. He has been a great salesman and has given me so much excellent information that the lady at Zellers was not able to. I don’t know why I even bothered to look online at camera reviews; this guy was fantastic! We leave and decide to go back to the Driftwood Mall and check out the camera at London Drugs. We get to London Drugs and at the photo counter is the electronics/photo manager. Great! She should be great to talk to and she should be able to hook me up with a great deal. Was I ever wrong. After I showed the lady the camera in the flyer from Zellers she tried numerous times to sell me other cameras at much higher prices. She was not a very good listener. I asked her if they did price match and she said they could give me the camera at the same price. I told her that Future Shop would also beat the price by 10% on the same model. She told me that she could go lower by a few dollars. We decide that her customer service skills were lacking and we left quickly. We head off to Zellers and hope that they have the camera in stock. I ask the lady at the counter if any of the cameras are in stock. She struggles once again to use the scanner and then tells me that it shows 2 in stock but sometimes it is wrong. She then tells me that she will have to go to the back and check and that we will have to wait until someone comes up to watch the counter. This lady is definitely not a good salesperson. I almost feel guilty because the salesman at London Drugs the night before and the man from Future Shop were really good and gave me such great information. I feel bad that I could not give them a sale and instead this lady who is clueless is making a sale. Oh well, I am just glad that I got the camera I wanted for a good price.

Thursday September 2 2010; Our First Day in PR (Powell River not Prince Rupert)

So we, actually I wake up bright and early in the hotel.  Brian has to work at 8:30.  I walk over to the Safeway and grab some bananas, milk, and some muffins for breakfast.  Everyone quickly eats some food, showers and we all head over to our house.  The cats have spent the night alone in the house and they are still scared.  Pandora is hiding underneath a quilt and Akasha is hiding in the litter box.  Both cats have not touched their food or water or used the litter box.  It’s 8:00 and Brian and I both hope the movers arrive soon.  We hear the familiar beeping of the moving van and look outside the window.  Hooray, they have arrived with our stuff.  Brian quickly chit-chat’s with the movers and he’s off to work.  The movers are quick and start bringing in all of our furniture.  Most of the boxes have been labeled by the packers as to which room everything belongs.  They are really fast and only stop to ask where which way we would like our beds and dressers placed.  They make fast work putting together bed frames and stop for a quick break at 9:30ish.  Brian walks up the stairs and says that his big boss came to welcome him to his new job and let him leave the office to deal with the movers.  That was really nice!  The movers are almost done and are hoping to catch the noon ferry, whoops someone left the lights on in the moving van.  As they call BCAA to come and help them we make our way out to get some garbage bags and cleaning supplies.  Most of our items have been left in boxes except for our clothes.  They do provide an unpack service but they just place everything on the floor and do not put items away.  The only reason for the unpack is so that the boxes and packing paper can be taken away by the movers.  I don’t really care for them to unpack and I understand their wanting to catch the noon ferry, hopefully they were successful.  It’s almost noon so Brian decides there’s no point in going back to work since it’s almost lunchtime.  We get back to the house with cleaning supplies and garbage bags and get to work.  Brian’s boss shows up at the house and tells Brian that he put up a sign saying that Brian will return at 2:30; Brian’s boss is off to catch the ferry and head back to Victoria.  Wow, what a nice boss!  So Brian, Brady and I steadily unpack boxes.  Brady does an amazing job of putting his room together and is the first person to unpack all their items.  We are running out of storage space and still have not found those crib brackets that we need to put Jorja’s crib together.  Brady starts flattening boxes and Brian and Brady start to move our storage items into the shed outside.  I hope they will be okay.  The shed is brand new and has never been used but I am worried that Jorja’s baby items will get moldy.  We may have to move them into the crawl space when it get’s wetter and colder outside.  The new cordless phone I bought has now been charging for 8 hours.  I pick it up and there is no dial tone.  Uggghhhh.  I knew that my Telus experience was too good to be true.  I add some more minutes to my pay as you go cell phone and leave a message for Customer Service Representative Laurie.  My advice to anyone dealing with Telus.  If you ever get someone from customer service who speaks perfect English ask them for their voicemail number.  It will save you a ton of time and you will not have to listen to “Captain of Her Heart” or “White Flag” for the millionth time even if you like both songs like I once did.  Laurie calls me back and I tell her of the situation.  She informs me that everything should be running fine…….oh wait, it looks like there used to be 2 different lines in that house she tells me.  So she transfers me to some technician who schedules me an appointment for Monday.  Great no phone or internet for 4 more days.   

Your Bill Explained (Written September 13 2010)

Having never had a BC Hydro account I wasn’t sure about the process.  I knew that it was something that I had to have done before we moved to PR.  Brian assured me that I did not want to have cold showers.  He said you don’t really know what a cold shower feels like until you don’t have hydro.  I am guessing that at some point someone flicked the switch off for him.  I look up the number on the BC Hydro website.  For new service call this number.  I call the number and am put on hold as the automated voice messaging system rattles off some type of message about all customer service representatives are currently busy right now……………. I have heard this message way too many times.  So I wait and wait and oh great the phone is ringing.  Some guy answers the phone and I explain to him what I need.  He asks me “where I would like service“.  I tell him Powell  River.  He says, “I have to transfer you to Sechelt”  So the phone is ringing again and I get the voice mail of some lady named Edna.  The message doesn’t even say anything about hydro, just “you have reached the voice mail of Edna please leave your name and number and I’ll get back to you”.  So I leave a message, it’s 10:00am.  By 3:00pm I have not received a call back from Edna.  It’s a Monday, maybe they don’t work Monday’s in Sechelt.  I call BC Hydro again and tell them my situation.  I ask if there is anyone else I can talk to.  The man tells me yes, there’s Edna and there’s Scott.  I tell him that Edna has not returned my message (and she never ever did) so can you transfer me to Scott.  The phone rings and a polite lady answers the phone.  After telling her my address and information she asks me if I will have an electrican on site.  What?  Electrician on site?  We’re only renting what do I need an electrican for?  So after a few giggles on both ends I realize that “new service” really means “new service”.  What I need she tells me is to open up an account with BC Hydro.  I feel kind of stupid but am glad that I didn’t wait around all day for Edna to call me back.  I am transferred to the accounts extension and give all my information to the lady.  She tells me that since I am a new hydro customer that I will need to put down a $250 deposit or have a credit check done.  I could also have a payee verify that I have paid a bill consecutively for 12 months but I am in quite a hurry so I decide to have the credit check done.  I am actually quite a bit nervous to have my credit check. She asks me for my address and puts me on hold.  Not too sure what type of credit check this is; don’t they usually need your SIN to do a credit check?  After a few minutes she gets back to me and tells me that she can waive the $250 deposit.  Phew!  I am told that we have missed the last meter reading and that the next meter reading will be around the 5th of November.  The lady also informs me that there is a one time fee of around $13 that will appear on the bill.  As much as bills suck, I can’t help but feel so grown-up and responsible having bills in my name.10 days go by and I receive mail from BC Hydro.  It’s a bill.  Odd, I thought the lady said we wouldn’t receive a bill until November.  I look at the bill and see that it is for service for September 2nd to September 2nd.  I see the $13.89 for the first time service fee and another total for energy consumption.  Apparently we used quite a bit of electricity in one day.  About $31 worth!!!!!!  Holy crap!  I do some quick math in my head and I come out to a total of around $900/month.  Holy shit!  Something has got to be wrong.  I look at the bill, show it to Brian but neither of us know how to read this bill.  What’s this step 1 and step 2 thing?  So I decide to go to the BC Hydro website where there is a page that is entitled “Your Bill Explained”.  It doesn’t help me so I call their customer service number.  The lady brings up my bill and she tries to explain it to me.  I still don’t get it.  I ask her if this bill seems quite high for one day.  She realizes that the meter was read from July (the last time there were tenants in the house) until September.  Phew!  I am feeling much better now and she assures me that she will send it back to billing and I will receive a new correct bill in the mail.    

The Laundry (written July 15 2010)

Most people have love hate relationships that involve people or family members. Mine is with the laundry. I love doing laundry. I love the act of sorting out clothes and turning the dials on the washing machine. I love the smell of liquid laundry detergent and I love the feeling of fluffy warm towels fresh out of the dryer. I feel some sort of satisfaction when I can see the bottom of the laundry hamper, although this does not happen often. I do not however enjoy the act of putting laundry away. Having a spare room with a large bed next to the laundry room does not help my cause. After each load of laundry is done I dump each pile onto the bed while I tell myself I’ll come back in a minute to fold and put them away. Well that minute always seems to turn into hours and sadly days. Being a mom means that are many distractions in one day. Folding laundry is never as important as feeding a child or changing a poopy diaper. As I look at the mountain of laundry that never seems to end (both in the hamper and on the bed) I ponder what I should tackle. I always choose the towels first. As a former housekeeper for 9 years I take great pride in folding towels so neat and perfect. I do not however possess the skills to create beautiful swans or nicely shaped hearts. After the towels have been folded I usually holler at Brady to come and put the towels away in the linen closet upstairs. I do not have the energy to make several trips up and down the stairs. Next I usually start sorting out the clothes. I make 5 piles. Brady’s, mine and Jorja’s, my parents, and Brian’s. As I look at Brian’s pile of laundry I don’t know whether I should be worried about the enormous amount of t-shirts he owns or if I should be concerned that my pile is lacking in volume. I definitely wish that I could buy $5 t-shirts at sample sales. After those clothes have been dealt with it is down to the most awful part of the laundry……..folding socks. I don’t know where the socks go and how they always seem to lose their partner. This morning Brian asked me if there were any white socks. If I had the energy at 6:30am I would of looked for him but instead I shook my head. I wonder what color socks he decided to wear to the gym today. I secretly hope he had to wear black dress socks with his runners then maybe he would understand how much the sock problem pisses me off. The sock problem is so bad that I have a large grocery bag full of mismatched socks. I dare not throw them out. I firmly believe that I will find the pairs eventually. Now that it is summer the majority of our clothes get hung outside to dry. It is kind of fun hanging out clothes and I love the smell of liquid softener. Those liquid softeners claim that they will make your clothes all nice and soft like the bear on the front of the bottle but I am still searching for the right brand that will not leave my towels all crunchy. Maybe in my search for the ultimate liquid softener I will also find the right detergent or stain remover that will remove Jorja type stains. I don’t think Jorja owns a single article of clothing without stains. I really don’t have the time to go through all of Jorja’s clothing and pre-treat the stains. I barely have enough time to hand-wash all of my bras! So as I write this note I realize I could probably go on forever about the laundry. I love to hate it and I would hate if I couldn't do it.

For My Birthday I'd Like a Time Machine (written January 31 2011)

Since turning 30 I have started to feel the aging process.  It was on the day I turned 30 that I found my first white hair!  I have since found about a dozen of them.  I am really nervous about the fact that one day I will have to start dying my hair.  I have not dyed my hair since grade12.  I wonder what color I should pick?  It will definitely not be that shade of orange that one inhabited my hair.  Over the past month several events have happened which have contributed to me feeling "old".  Brady turned 14 on friday!  WTF?  Where did the time go?  I still can't believe that I am the parent of a 14 year old.  Sometimes I wish he could age as slow as his matureness is developing.  Being 10 years old forever can't be too bad.  Recently I have moved up a line in the Oil of Olay products.  I don't feel like I am getting the benefits of younger skin that my current line of products advertises.  Who knows if these products actually work.  I have been using Oil of Olay since I was 12 years old.  I'm pretty sure it is the benefit of having a sunscreen based product on my face since 12 that has contributed to my lack of wrinkles......oh and genetics too.  On our last trip home during the holidays I left my face wash behind.  I really didn't feel like spending a lot of money on the face wash I usually use so I decided to use a cheaper brand (plus my face had broken out a little bit so I wanted something to clear up the blemishes).  Biggest mistake ever!  This face wash felt like it burnt my skin and for the next week my skin felt scaly and was so dry it started peeling.  I was definitely not giving this face wash a second chance so into the garbage it went.  I am back to my Oil of Olay face wash and have moved up a line to the Total Effects line cleansers and moisturizers.  Looking at all the creams and medications in the pharmacy I often wonder if maybe I  could whip up some great face cream.  I longingly look at the bottles of drugs and hope to one day see some type of miracle drug that will reverse the aging process but I have not found any.  However there are 3 boxes of Botox in the freezer and tons of needles.  A young boy (he was probably 12) came into the pharmacy one night asking if we sold any blank tapes.  The pharmacist and I looked at each other and shook our heads.  We thought about it for a moment and came up with The Source or Walmart.  The boy said he had already looked there.  I said that I don't think they make them anymore.  He walked away and commented something about being back in the 70's.  How old did this boy think I was?  It was Brady's birthday weekend so we bought a ton of junk food, and ordered pizzas.  Brian, Jorja and I watched a movie called Alpha and Omega.  We commented on how they could make a video game based on this movie, like the video game the Lion King.  I clearly thought that I owned this video game for the Game Cube.  Brian pointed out that it was not for the Game Cube but the Sega Genesis!  Holy crap the Sega Genesis, that is so old!  Eating all that food this weekend was not a very good idea.  My kidneys were so sore when I woke up and I was so dehydrated.  What happened to the days when I could eat like crap everyday and wake up feeling fine.  Since I had the entire weekend off we decided to rent a bunch of movies this weekend.  Jorja doesn't go to bed until after 10 so we didn't get to watch the good movies until after she was asleep.  Staying up past midnight is not so easy anymore.  Recently I saw a link on someone's Facebook page.  It was an ad off Craigslist  for a companion to share a working time machine.  I wish I could post the link here but it has since been removed.  I wish I could have a time machine.  I would love just to go back every now and then and relive some of my past.  I would definitely indulge in a nap or two.  There would of course be a few trips back to the days in the Tempo.  A night at Wileys and Animals.  A day when Brady was a baby and a day when Jorja was a baby.  I wouldn't go back to change anything but just to experience some of the best moments in my life again. 

Day 7 (Jorja's 4th Birthday)

Friday arrived and it was a very special day.  Jorja's 4th birthday!  When we learned the dates of Daphne's wedding  we realized that Jorja's birthday would be spent in Mexico and we weren't really sure how we would spend it.  Brian and I realized that Jorja's birthday didn't really require any special preparations because our family would be there and that's all that would be needed for a special birthday.  Jorja doesn't ask for many things (yet) and is very happy with anything she receives.  I think Brian and I have done a good job of teaching Jorja about being happy with the simple things in life.  This year we only bought Jorja some bracelets and a board game and she loved them!  She is going to be an amazing little girl as she grows up!  We sang "Happy Birthday" to Jorja when we got up and quickly got showered and ready to enjoy our day.  Time seemed to slow down so much for Brian and I while we were in Mexico.  I guess when you don't spend your days having to work, clean house, cook, do laundry, do groceries, do homework and take kids to activities but instead eat, drink, and relax all day, time does really stand still!  Outside of our door we could hear someone singing "Happy Birthday".  We opened the door and there was my mom, dad and Brady waiting to see Jorja and go for breakfast.  I think Jorja smiled all day long because everywhere we went people kept saying Happy Birthday to her.  We went down for breakfast and sat down and ate our usual choices.  Me: toast, coffee, fruit, and bacon.  Brian: bagels, cheese, eggs, bacon.  Jorja: fruit and milk.  Brady: everything x 3.  Today was the day of the Indian Wedding; 180 guests!  We noticed that they cleared off half of the pool loungers to set up for reception.  We finished breakfast and tried to find a spot by the pool.  My parents, my Uncle Martin and Aunt Marie were going to my Uncle Ronnie's and Aunt Cissy's timeshare for the day and said they would be back in the afternoon for Jorja's birthday.  Poolside seemed much more crowded today and there was definitely a shortage of places to sit.  Jorja and Brian got into the pool right away.  The water seemed freezing today and it took me awhile to get myself to get into the water.  We stayed in the pool for a little while then Brian and I decided that we would go into town for the day.  6 days of being in the pool just got a little bit boring at this point.  Brady decided to stay with the friends that he has met.  I was a little bit unsure of him staying alone but I figure he will be okay.....he is 15.  Brady has spent the last few days playing pool, and volleyball in the pool with a few other "kids", Zack, Zack and Justin, aka Jesus.  We decide to skip the city bus and instead take a taxi into town.  We ask the man at the front gate for a taxi and he signals one of the drivers.  We get in and let the driver know we want to go into town.  We've done this drive a few times now but the scenery is still really nice to look at.  Brian asks Jorja if this is better than the city bus and she says yes.  I agree, much better.  Whoops, spoke too soon.  At some point the van takes a turn and heads OFF ROAD and under a bridge.  The van proceeds to drive under the bridge and along the sand.  The driver says that he is taking a short cut to avoid the construction that is going on.  A little bit strange since we are the only vehicle taking this detour.  We finally pop out behind some hotel and are in town.  The driver drops us off at the mall and we laugh about our taxi ride to get to town.  We walk into the mall and I proceed to look around for some gifts for Jorja.  Brian and Jorja are wandering around as I buy a few bracelets for her.  We decide to enter the "luxury" side of the mall.  The first time we came here we never explored the whole mall so I decided that this time I would at least take a look at all the stores.  On the luxury side of the mall there was a Fendi store, Coach, Rolex shop and a bunch of really expensive stores that I am not familiar with.  Definitely luxury shops and definitely out of my price range by a lot.  Even the prices in the mall were not very cheap and were pretty much on par to the stores in Canada.  We left the mall with our purchases and made our way to the marina.  Once again we were bombarded by people trying to sell us glass bottom boat rides to the arch.  At least this time we could say that we had already been there and we weren't interested.  Jorja's whale whistle had broken the night before so we were in search of a replacement.  It was getting close to lunch time so we decided to stop and have something to eat.  We ordered some chicken tacos and watched some really drunk American tourists  having fun with some a mariachi band.  The men playing guitars made their way to our table so we asked them if they would play "Happy Birthday" for Jorja.  Jorja was really shy and was not really fond of these men singing to her.  It was really cute and I wish I had taken a photo.  After eating our food we moved on and kept walking along the marina.  Brian was still contemplating swimming with the dolphins but being that is would be so expensive I convinced him that Jorja might not be ready for it and she might get scared.  I think if she was a few years older she would of been able to appreciate it more.  Hopefully we will get to go back one day so we can swim with the dolphins.  We finished our walk around the marina and decided to catch a taxi back to our hotel.  We got back to the hotel and I decided to try and make reservations at the Oriental restaurant for Jorja's birthday.  I was too late for reservations so I decided to go to the restaurant where the dinner buffet would be served and reserve a table for our family and let them know that it was Jorja's birthday tonight.  They had me spell out Jorja's name and said they would have a cake for her at dinner.  We got changed and headed back to the pool.  I have to admit that sitting poolside so many days in a row was getting a little bit boring for me.  Jorja on the other hand could stay in the pool all day!  Good thing for Brian that the swim up bar never ran out of liquor.  We had heard a rumor that there were baby turtles down the beach in front of the Hilton hotel that was next door.  We decided to get out of the pool and go and take a look.  There was an enclosed pen on the beach and just before we reached it a man on a quad shows up and walks inside the pen.  He proceeded to dig in the sand in these marked areas and started digging up baby turtles!  It was so exciting to watch!  Another girl arrived and a another worked and they kept digging for turtles.  It was such an amazing sight!  We watched for about 30 minutes while they dug up around 100 baby turtles.  Some of the turtles were just coming out of their shells.  Each marked area was tagged with various symbols indicating where the eggs were originally laid and the estimated date of hatching.  We were just very lucky to come down on the right day.  Other people arrived to watch and after we felt like we had watched enough we headed back up to the hotel to get ready for dinner.  My Auntie Marie had already given Jorja her birthday present.  Jorja opened it up in our room and found that my Aunt has bought her a cute princess outfit and a beautiful tiara.  It is decided that she will wear this when we go down for dinner.  We head down promptly for dinner at 6.  We meet the rest of our family and sit down for dinner.  Tonight's theme is Italian.  We load up our plates with pizza, pastas and bread.  A cat joins us for dinner as well.  We feed it some pizza which it absolutely loved!  Jorja is definitely the centre of attention.  Everyone comes around wishing Jorja "Happy Birthday" and as bashful as she is I know that she really enjoyed it.  We finish dinner up and finally the cake comes out.  Jorja's name is spelled wrong on the cake.  I made sure that I spelled her name out in capital letters so they wouldn't get it wrong but I should of known better.  For all those parents (including myself) who decide to give their children either uncommon names or spell their childrens names in an uncommon way, don't get angry when no one can pronounce or spell your child's name.  I feel so bad for teachers.  Parents are coming up with so many new and interesting/weird names.  So the name on the cake is Gorjja but Jorja didn't notice at all and it was a very delicious cake.  We still had to leave them a nice tip for their efforts.  Each night at the hotel there has been a different game or themed show in the theater.  We have yet to participate in any so we decide that tonight we will hit up the Latin Show.  There aren't many people in the theater when we arrive so we take a seat in the first row.  The show starts and they are asking for children to come up and participate.  We decide to send Jorja up to be a part of the show/game.  The 3 kids start off by learning a dance and then playing a silly game.  I don't think Jorja really understood what to do (the songs were in Spanish).  It was really fun to watch and at the end she won herself a t-shirt!  The real show starts which featured a group of young male and female dancers with incredible bodies.  Pretty sure they just made everyone feel more self-conscious of their own bodies.  The show was good but being that it was way past our bedtime (10 pm) we were pretty tired.  What an amazing day for our birthday girl!

Day 6 (Catamaran Trip)

Thursday arrived and we woke up as usual and headed down for breakfast.  This is the only day we would break routine while in Mexico.  We did not head for the pool after breakfast but instead we got ready to head into town.  Daphne and Nathan had arranged for a private catamaran trip for everyone as their way of saying Thank-You to all the guests for coming.  If you have been reading these blogs you will have learned that I suffer from motion sickness.  Some people get a little bit nauseous and feel a little bit dizzy.  I only wish that was me.  I get motion sickness even after short car rides that consist of very few turns; even swings make me somewhat nauseous.  I have had lots of bad episodes taking the ferry from Powell River to Comox (which is really rough in the fall/winter) and Brian has had to pull the car over several times during the drive from Earl's Cove to Sechelt.  I have always suffered from motion sickness since as far as I can remember. My earliest memories of being car sick are from when I was really young and my family would drive from Pine Point into Hay River.  I can remember always getting sick.  My mother used to chew Wrigley's Spearmint gum all the time when I was young.  To this day, the smell of spearmint gum makes me remember how sick I would feel and get on those car rides.  When I lived in Pine Point the playground at our elementary school had a merry go round.  I can remember being spun around and around and feeling so sick.  Another smell that makes me feel ill is the smell of metal.  The type of metal that those merry go rounds and swings are made of.  Suffering from motion sickness really sucks!  I still have yet to experiment with different types of medication.  So far I have relied heavily on gravol.  When I was in highschool my mother always gave me dried sour ginger.  They were really sour, but I think they worked.  I think I will have to buy some next time I am in Vancouver.  Just before the bus arrives I realize that I have forgotten to charge the battery on my camera......crap.  I better make the few pictures I take count.  The bus picks everyone up from the hotel at 9 and we arrive at the marina shortly after.  It's about a 15-20 minute bus ride.  I haven't popped any gravol yet but as soon as we get to the marina I decide to chew 1 tablet.  We are early so everyone takes a look around and some of us wander into one of the nearby shops.  We check out the price of liquor......it is cheap!  I finally find a hat for Jorja.  She picks out a cute pink hat.  We had seen a very similar one at the convenience store at the resort but they wanted a crazy amount of money for it.  Finally they open the gates to the boat ramp and we all climb aboard the catamaran.  Daphne's friend and her friend's husband are nowhere to be seen.  They are staying at their timeshare and have arranged for their own transportation to the marina.  Everyone is looking around the marina hoping to spy her big blonde hair somewhere.  They are nowhere to be seen as the boat leaves the dock.  The boat is getting closer to the end of the marina and someone spies her and her husband.  They can't access any of the boat ramps so the catamaran turns back and heads back to the slip.  They climb aboard and everyone gives them a cheer!  Daphne's friend tells everyone that she was in tears when she thought they were going to miss the boat.  With everyone on board we all head out of the marina.  It is so beautiful out and the view is so awesome!  I quickly snap a few photos knowing very well that my low battery light is flashing.  The crew introduce themselves and give us a quick explanation of safety procedures, location of bathrooms and where we will be going.  The boat is also equipped with an open bar of course.  People quickly start ordering drinks and the music starts to play.  I decide to have a 7-Up instead.  Red Hot Chili Peppers followed by Sublime starts to play and I can tell that Brian is loving this boat ride.  I have found myself a nice spot on the boat and feel pretty good.  I guess the gravol has kicked in.   My aunt ask who smokes in this group.  I don't really understand why she is asking until the next day when we all realize that there was a German couple (they were not guests at the wedding) who somehow made their way onto the boat (the wife was smoking at the back)!  The crew point out a few beaches and then we approach the famous arch.  I snap a few pictures and then I realize that the gravol is not working.  I decide to lie down on the boat and hope that I don't barf my guts out.  In the weeks preceding this trip I already knew that I would get sick but I didn't want to disappoint my sister and not come at all.  Plus I would be so bored at the hotel by myself and I wouldn't want to miss out, even if it meant me being sick.  The catamaran tour is 4 hours and I realize that this is going to be a long trip for me.  I chew some more gravol and drift off into a drowsy state.  I am not asleep but very drowsy.  I listen to the music and although my eyes are closed I can hear that everyone is having a great time.  We finally stop in an area where the snorkeling is going to take place.  People start putting on their flippers and scuba gear and head out of the catamaran.  I lift my head up and watch as people are tossed up onto the beach.  I feel a little bit better so I decide to get up and have something to drink.  Brian has gone out to feed the fish so Jorja is left here with myself and my mom.  She looks extremely bored and I feel awful that I can't take her into the water.  I try to convince myself that if I get off the boat I will feel better but worry that I won't and will be stuck out in the water with Jorja.  Not a safe idea.  I am starving at this point and wonder when they will be serving lunch.  I eat half a banana I packed in my bag and start feeling sick again.  I chew some gravol and lay down on my stomach on the boat again.  Brian comes up out of the water and tells me I should just swim to shore and try to catch a taxi back to the hotel.  Ummm no thanks!  I can hear that everyone is feeding the fish with pieces of bread; I wonder if I throw-up over the side of the boat if the fish will come as well.  I hear that the water is not very clear and the fish aren't very visable until they get really close to you.  That makes me feel a tiny bit better.  Brian takes Jorja out into the water so that she can feed the fish as well.  Everyone makes their way back on board after about 1.5 hours.  They serve lunch (sandwiches, fruit, chips, and drinks).  I really would have loved to eat a sandwich but the rocking of the boat was making me feel quite ill.  After lunch is served the boat starts up again and we are on our way back to the marina.  The crew makes an announcement and congratulates Daphne and Nathan on their wedding.  They tell everyone that they have brought a cake but it is inside a bottle.  Although my eyes were closed I knew that it was a bottle of tequila.  They crank Montel Jordan's This is How We Do It and then someone starts blowing a whistle.  One of the crew members is now sporting a Jamaican hat and wig (this was told to me later) and is going around pouring tequila down everyone's throat.  From the photos I have seen, it was quite the sight.  This man was mounting the women and pouring shots down their throats.  I really wish I could of watched.  It must of been this moment where most of the boat started getting tipsy....obviously from the tequila that was being consumed.  The loud music continues as we head back to the marina.  My mother has become concerned for me and has rubbed suntan lotion all over my back.  I love my mom!  I only wish I was able to lie on my stomach so my face could of gotten the majority of the sun.  As we head closer to the marina I open my eyes and see some people who are parasailing which looks really cool.  A huge Disney Cruise Ship is docked and we tell Jorja that it's Minnie Mouse's ship (she really likes Minnie Mouse right now).  The boat docks and we climb off the boat.  I am quite happy to be off the boat and thankful that I was able to hold everything inside.  We head back into a nearby shop so Brian can purchase some tequila.  We are waiting around for the bus to take us back to the hotel.  It is smoking hot out and I am eager to sit in that air conditioned bus.  The lady who is in charge of the bus arrives and half of the people follow her.  Some of my family is still shopping and using the bathroom so we wait until they come back.  We all walk to where the bus dropped us off and there is no bus there.  The rest of the group is not here either. Finally Nathan finds us and tells us that the bus has broken down and we will be taking taxi's back to the resort.  We make our way back to the resort and I am exhausted when we get there.  Jorja and Brian head down to the pool while I have a nap and shower before dinner.  Dinner tonight is a Brazilian theme.  Lots of meats and side dishes.  I have been making sandwiches for the past few nights with the buns and sliced meats and cheese.  My parents and Aunt Marie and Uncle Martin are heading over to my Aunt Cissy and Uncle Ronnie's timeshare tomorrow.  It is Jorja's birthday tomorrow so we all decide that we will celebrate it together when they get back.  It's another early night for us (we were in bed by 9 almost every night).  Brady has met some friends and has decided to go and play pool with them.  I am in no mood to argue with him so I tell him to be back to his room by 11.

Day 5 (A Trip Into Town)

We woke a little later today.  We were up a little bit "later" the night before.  We kept asking Jorja what her favorite part of the wedding was and she kept answering the dancing!  What a little dancing queen she was!  I didn't drink much the night before so I felt great!  Brian kept ordering tequila sunrises last night but he looked like he was in pretty good shape.  We shower and got dressed and headed down for breakfast.  We meet my family at breakfast and sit down to eat.  I decide to skip the mimosa's this morning although I'm pretty sure Brian did not skip his morning vodka and OJ.  Toast, bacon, fruit and coffee.....my daily breakfast.  Brian keeps to his daily morning breakfast.  Bagels toasted with cheese, bacon and eggs sunny side up.  Not to mess with our daily routine we finish up with breakfast and head into the pool.  We are becoming somewhat climatized and the pool feels like it is freezing!  It takes me a few tries before I can actually get into the pool.  I'm curious to see where my sister is at.  I have heard she was pretty wasted at the lounge last night.  I think I heard she might of tried to take over the DJ booth.  Poor Nathan!  Slowly everyone takes their usual place poolside.  Daphne emerges from her room eventually.  She definitely looks like she is in rough shape and the big oversized sunglasses she is wearing adds to her look.  She gets a couple of claps from everyone as she makes her way to breakfast.  I have been thinking of going into Cabo San Lucas and checking things out.  A bunch of the guys went to San José yesterday but they didn't say too much about it.  Apparently they went on a very long walk in search of cigars.  Brian and I decide that we will go into town and head back up to the room to get ready.  Brady is very hesitant to come with us so I pretty much tell him he has no choice and he is coming.  Brian talks to someone at the front desk about catching the city bus.  It will cost us $25 US to catch a taxi into town and only $2 US per person to catch the city bus.  We decide to catch the city bus.  We carefully cross the busy highway and sit at the bus stop.  I am pretty sure that no one drives the speed limit here.  We have been told that the bus leaves every 15 minutes so we figure it won't be long before a bus come by.  It is so hot out already and it isn't even 11 yet.  Finally the bus arrives.  We get on the bus and quickly make our way to some seats near the back.  We figured we would just blend in when we got on the bus but we were definitely the only tourists on the bus.  The bus ride is pretty bumpy and I'm pretty sure that there are no shocks on this bus.  We pass by a bunch of resorts and some areas where some new resorts look like they are being constructed.  Brian asks me if I told them we want to go to the mall.  I tell him no and he says he didn't say anything to the guy collecting fares either.  I figure with a full bus that the bus will just stop at the mall.  Someone else on here must be going to the mall.  There are no handles to signal the driver to stop and with every bump and squeak this ride is making me more nervous.  I did remember to pop some gravol before I got on the bus just in case.  I look back at Jorja and Brian.  Jorja looks scared and has her head in Brian's lap.  I suspect that she get's a little motion sickness sometimes but not as bad as me.  I notice that the back door of the bus is wide open and turn my head and face forward for the rest of the trip.  There are large signs on the highway that point towards Cabo San Lucas so at least I am comforted by the fact that we are going towards our destination.  We are approaching the town and the bus makes a turn to the right (away from town).  As we drive away from the town the bus finally makes some type of strange U-turn and we are headed again towards Cabo San Lucas.  We pass by a bunch of shops and then what looks like to be the mall across the street.  The bus veers off onto some side road and stops.  We wait for others to get off.  No one is moving.  They do however all turn around and  look at Brady, Brian, Jorja and myself.  I ask the lady sitting across from me if this is the mall.  She smiles at me and points across the road.  We quickly get off the bus and the bus quickly takes off.  We make our way off the sidestreet and onto the main road.  Two men are walking outside of a bar/restaurant so Brian asks them if that is the mall across the road.  They tell us that it is the mall, but it is really expensive.  They point to where the Marina is and tell us to continue further down for cheaper shopping.  They also let us know not to venture past the main road on the side across from the mall (where the bus dropped us off).  We thank them for the useful information and proceed to cross the road.  We approach the large mall (Puerto Paraiso) and proceed through the revolving doors.  It is so hot outside and the air conditioning inside is heavenly.  I notice a trend in the people inside the  mall right away.  I feel like I am in a mall in Canada.  Everyone in this mall is white except for the workers.  We walk through the mall and take a look inside a few stores.  I am still in search of a sunhat for Jorja and some gifts for her birthday on Friday.  We decide not to spend much time in the mall and head outside towards the marina.  Wow!  The marina is beautiful and full of some of the nicest boats that I have ever seen!  We are pretty hungry so we decide to eat at Johnny Rockets (a burger chain in the US).  I quickly do the math and convert the pesos to US dollars and realize that this place is a little bit pricey.  Well everything is pricey to my family who never goes out to eat.  We order some hamburgers and fries and shakes.  The food is good but the burger reminds me of a fast-food burger which I guess was to be expected.  Bellies full we venture out to the marina.  There is a tuna fishing contest starting tomorrow which I am guessing accounts for large amounts of super huge boats in the marina.  The prizes are huge in this contest.  This years winning boat took over $250,000 in winnings!  We get our first experience of locals trying to sell us all types of boat trips, silver jewellery and food.  It is a little overwhelming to be asked every 2 minutes but we just keep telling everyone no.  We walk all along the marina and see Cabo Dolphins.  Brian has been talking about swimming with the dolphins but we both know that it is too expensive and we cannot afford to do it this trip.  We both later agree that Jorja would be too young for it anyways.  The cost to swim with the dolphins vary depending on age.  I think an adult was about $170 and children were half-price.  You are not permitted to take pictures and are given the opportunity to purchase the pictures after.  Photo packages start at $100 and upwards to $250.  It is so hot out and we can tell that Jorja is getting tired.  We buy her a whale whistle and continue our way around the marina.  Finally we decide that it is time to go home but we have no clue how to take the bus home and both Brian and I tell each other later that we never intended on taking the city bus back.  We find a taxi and go back to the resort.  We get back to the resort and find out that Daphne and her friends are all heading out for the night.  Brian and I have talked about going out but they all plan to leave before 6.  We decide that we are not prepared to be leaving at 6 and because my mother is not feeling well it wouldn't be a good idea.  My mother has spent most of the day in bed being sick.  Not wanting to waste any pool time we head back to the pool.  I decide to go back to the room to shower and get ready for dinner.  My key card is demagnetized so I head down to the lobby to have it fixed.  The lobby is full and I realize that there is another wedding taking place at the resort later this week.  I later learn that there are 180 people here for the wedding!  It is an Indian wedding so it is not surprising that there are so many guests here.  Most of them are from Toronto or Texas.  6 pm arrives and we head out for dinner.  We like to arrive at mealtime when the buffets first open so we can get good seats and first pick at the food.  Tonights menu is Seafood!  We quickly fill our plates with the largest deep fried prawns that I have ever seen.  The lady is making them as fast as we are filling our plates greedily.  They were so delicious.  I am still very cautious about what I am eating as I open and close each lid around the buffet.  I settle on some nice rice and delicious steamed vegetables and some potatoes and prawns of course.  Brian has filled his full of some mussels in some sauce.  My dad and uncle come back with half a deep fired snapper each.  Everything is so fresh!  We finish dinner and head up to our room for an early night in.  Daphne has arranged for a private catamaran to take everyone out for sightseeing and scuba diving and the bus is leaving early in the morning.

Day 4 (Daphne and Nathan's Wedding Day)

Tuesday arrived!  Daphne and Nathan's big day!  They had already been married back home but this would be their big ceremony day.  I realize that I did not have a chance to see their photos and will have to bug my sister to let me see them.  The weather was beautiful.....hot of course.  We started our day like every other day before and would continue the same routine until we left.  Showers and off to breakfast to meet up with my family.  I would continue to eat the same breakfast everyday.  Toast, fruit, coffee and bacon.  As much as the omelets and eggs that everyone else was eating daily looked amazing, I couldn't eat them after seeing how runny they were on the first day.  We finished breakfast and headed to the pool.  Daphne had asked all the girls to be in her room at 2:45 so I had lots of time to relax until I had to get ready.  I had been a little bit cautious of getting too much sun before today.  I didn't want to have any funny looking tan lines even though my dress would be very forgiving if I had any.  Originally I had wanted a really nice tight strapless type of dress but my body disagreed with me.  So I lounged in and around the pool.  Jorja and Brian stayed in the pool of course.  A little girl by the name of Coco enters the pool.  She and Jorja look very similar (she is obviously of mixed race).  Everyone remarks at how they look like twins.  We learn that she her birthday will be on Thursday while Jorja's is on Friday!  She is 1 year and 1 day older than Jorja and her family is from Kansas City.  Her father is Mexican.  Jorja and Coco continued to play in the pool while I had something to eat from the snack bar before heading up to my room at 12 to get ready. It's close to 2:45 and Jorja and Brian make their way up to the room just before I am leaving.  I make my way down to Daphne's room in my heels in the uneven paved pathways.  I'm pretty sure people were taking bets that I would fall over.  There were a few times when I thought that was going to bail as well.  Earlier in the day we learned that the location for the ceremony would be on the beach as opposed to on the grass.  I figured that I could easily walk through the hard grass in heels, but sand?!?  I was definitely not going barefoot or sporting my $3 Old Navy Sandals so I convinced myself that I would be fine and I could do it.  I get to Daphne's room and find her and Mel there.  Mel has just started to work on her hair.  Slowly the rest of Daphne's friends arrive.  They look so beautiful and I am amazed that they could all be together for such a wonderful occasion.  As we drink mimosa's, some of them start reminiscing about their days at Pinecrest in Miss. Herman's grade 3 class.  Nat, Tara, Brandie, Michel, and Daphne have been friends since grade 3!  So amazing!  Daphne has bought everyone little gifts including handmade candles and lotions and beautiful earrings as well.  Mel is still working on Daphne's hair and finishes it with such ease.  Her hair looks beautiful!  The wedding coordinator brings the flowers to the room and I decide that I will take them with me when I leave and deliver them to the Nathan.  We look over Daphne's balcony where the ceremony will take place.  I ask the girls if wearing heels in the sandals can be done.  They talk about walking in heels on grass and how you can aerate someones lawn but I don't think anyone has tried heels in the sand.  It's getting closer to 4 and I have to get back to my room to get Jorja ready as well.  I've asked Brian to make sure she has a shower before I get there and to blow-dry her hair.  I figured that should be an easy task for him to handle.  I quickly take some pictures of Daphne and her friends before I leave.  I wish I had taken more and I wish I had a much better camera to take pictures with.  With all the flowers for the grooms party and mine and the flower girls bouquets I head back to my room.  It is a slow walk with my hands full.  I am dreading the 60 steps I will have to walk up to my room (in heels).  I'm sure my legs will be super sore, they were.  I tiredly make my way to our room and find Jorja there, showered but her hair is still wet.  I finish blow-drying her hair myself and get her dressed.  I have decided not to try anything fancy with her hair since she hates having her hair done anyways and instead have bought her a cute hairband with a silver bow on it.  It's just after 4 so we make our way down to the grassy area where the wedding was originally to be.  I look at the sandy path that they have smoothed out and it doesn't look very firm.  I decide to go for a trial walk in the sand.  I decide that I can do it as long as I only bear weight on the front of my feet and walk slowly.  I also decide to try and run in the sand and I surprise myself that I can!  I am thinking that I should enter one of those contests where women run down streets and around tracks in their high heels.  All the guests start to arrive and as they start to descend down the stairs to their seats they are all handed either a fan or parasol.  Everyone is seated and the ceremony begins!  Jorja and I are first.  We are walking together which is great for me because I have to walk down the stairs and the through the sand in these heels.  I try to look graceful and smile as we walk down the aisle.  I think I did pretty good.  Nathan's niece Julia is next, then Caleb Nathan's nephew.  Daphne and my dad start to make their way down the stairs.  I had to leave Daphne's room to get Jorja ready so I never got to see her put her dress on.  She looks so beautiful!  Her dress is stunning and she looks amazing.  Honestly though she could of worn any type of dress and she would of looked beautiful!  As they are approaching the arch/arbor my father begins to cry.  He is really crying a lot and I start crying as well.  It was so emotional.  My father doesn't cry.  I remembered that I did not use waterproof mascara.  Crap.  I also did not bring any tissues with me so I am forced to use my hand to wipe away my tears.  The ceremony starts but unfortunately the tears do not end.  I think the ceremony took only 15 minutes including the uniting of the sand.  Very short but perfect!  They kiss and that's it!  I hand my sister her bouquet and she and Nathan hold hands and walk down the aisle.  As soon as they reach the stairs Jorja and I take our turn.  I am not so concerned about how graceful my walk looks anymore and I am just excited that this is done.  Pictures follow and then drinks and appetizers.  I glance over at the tables for dinner.  Nathan's mom Judy planned all the decorations and brought them all with her!  Move over Martha Stewart.......they were that good!  No wedding in Mexico would be complete without shots of tequila to celebrate!  Gross, but I manage to finish most of it.  Brian is disappointed when I don't finish it all. Daphne and Nathan leave to have photos taken and everyone else is left to mingle.  A week before the wedding Daphne asks me how drunk is the bride allowed to get?  She wasn't kidding.  All she kept saying was "No one can judge me, it's my wedding day".  We all get seated for dinner.  They begin the evening with their first dance.  They dance to I'm on Fire by Bruce Springsteen.  Sadly this song reminds me of work (it plays almost daily).  Daphne and Nathan have chosen to sit at a small table alone.  Nathan makes a small speech and we are ready to start dinner.  First table to eat has to answer this question.  What is Daphne's favorite color?  Brady answers correctly with the color green and we are first to eat!  Dinner has ended and all I can smell is diesel or some other type of gas.  I remember that there will be fire dancers performing.  The performance begins and it is amazing.  It is very satanic-like but so good!  They have the cake-cutting ceremony and then dancing begins.  Jorja dances all night long and even cries when the music stops and it's time to go.  She is actually really tired and so upset that she can't dance anymore.  Brian and I kept making sure she had water to drink to keep hydrated because she danced non-stop.  One of my favorite parts of the night was when Gangnam Style came on and Nathan's family busted out all the moves.  I was sure that I would be able to go to Mexico and not here this song but I was wrong.  Their moves were so great and definitely entertaining.  The night ended for us but I heard that Daphne was quite the sight that night.  What a beautiful wedding!

Day 3 (Monday)

It's Monday, the day before Daphne and Nathan's big day.  The sleep the night before was not great.  The beds are not very comfortable.  Online reviews of the hotel mentioned that the beds are very hard.  They weren't lying.  Brian and I fought constantly about the air conditioning.  The air conditioner is loud and scares me, and the room is too cold.  Brian probably could sleep in a freezer and it would still be too hot.  This is also a constant battle at home as well.  Well I figured since he was going to snore all night long I would turn the air conditioner off.  Since we are sleeping in separate beds I don't have the option of kicking him or shaking him to stop snoring.  There is a book lying on the nightstand between us.  I think about throwing it at his head but with my lack of co-ordination I would miss.  He definitely is not going to get to snore all night long and have the air conditioner on as well, and get to have a bed to himself as well!  I constantly check Jorja to make sure that she is not too close to the end of the bed and move her closer to the middle forcing me to sleep in a space about the size of a sandwich.  I realize that the beds are not queens but doubles.  I squint my eyes at the clock and realize that it's 6:30 AM.  I guess it's time to get up.  We all shower and get ready to check out the resort.  Someone knocks on the door.  It's Brady!  He is staying with my parents in the next room.  They are heading down for breakfast and will meet us down there.  We eagerly head down stairs for breakfast.  We find a table for our family and make our way to the buffet.  I start opening up lids.  Waffles, pancakes, hashbrowns.  Pretty much what I expected.  The scrambled eggs look runny so I decide to avoid them (I didn't eat any eggs the whole time in Mexico).  I opt for some waffles, fruit, and a muffin.  There is champagne and vodka placed on the table and cards that read Mimosa and Bloody Mary station.  Sounds great!  Mimosa's with breakfast it is.  Brian chooses to have vodka with his orange juice.  Jorja decides to have waffles and fruit as well and milk.  We all sit down and enjoy our breakfast.  It isn't even 8 yet and it is hot!  The restaurant is very open and the view of the beach and the Sea of Cortés is really pretty.  There are small birds everywhere in the restaurant.  Kind of gross but didn't bother me at all, even when Brian told me that they were eating the buns/rolls and bread.  The restaurant is filled with noisy birds during the day and moths at night.  Huge moths!  The night before I thought they were bats!  They are beautiful large dark moths and they have a wingspan of 6 inches easily.  We finish eating and head up the 60 steps to our room to change into bathing suits.  The pool opens at 8.  Get up to our room, lather on the sunscreen and collect our pool towels.  We spy a nice area around the pool which we would make "our" area for the entire stay.  Brian and Jorja get in the water without hesitation.  I ask if the water is cold, Brian says it is fresh water (no chlorine) and it is warm.  I get in and it is really nice.  Daphne and her friends one by one make their way over to the pool and quickly start grabbing lounge chairs.  We realize later in the week that you have to get to the pool early to get a good spot.  We chit-chat and find out that Mel, Daphne's friend who is doing her hair is trying to get a passport and on a plane today........and she does!  10 AM finally comes around and the pool bar opens!  Everyone heads over to try some new drinks.  My aunt was drinking Miami Vice's last night so we decide to try them......pretty tasty.  We also try some type of mudslide drinks and some other random cocktails.  They all look so pretty but some of them taste terrible!  I'm pretty sure I watched Brian having random shots of tequila and I know by the end of the trip Tequila Sunrise was definitely his favorite drink.  We decide to head to the beach to check it out.  Jorja does not want to get out of the pool so I have to convince her that we will find some treasure when we go to the beach.  We walk down a long flight of stairs to get to the beach and realize that the "beach" has been filled in with some type of coarse sand.  We walk further and get to the real sand.  Much more coarse than I expected but still nice to look at.  The waves are loud and quite crazy and there is definitely no swimming going on at this beach!  We walk around a bit and Jorja collects a few small shells.  We are approached by a few men selling jewelry but we aren't interested.  Back to the pool it is!  It is getting hotter and Brian and I both realize that Jorja needs a hat as well as Brian.  Ooops I forgot to pack Jorja's sunhat.  We head back to the pool, the place where Jorja and Brian would spend 80% of their time.  I am glad that we enrolled Jorja in swimming lessons prior to this trip and as soon as we got home we registered her for another session.  It's after 11 AM so the snackbar is now open.  I quickly realize that I am going to eat some of that delicious guacamole and salsa that I can remember when I went to Mazatlan with my friends a million years ago.  I can still remember how fresh and tasty it was.  OMG, so good!  We have developed an awesome time-telling system here in Cabo.  Neither Brian nor I have a watch or any type of time-telling device.  Breakfast starts at 7 AM, pool opens at 8 AM, pool-bar opens at 10 AM, snack bar opens at 11 AM, lunch is served at 12 PM, and dinner starts at 6 AM.  We have rehearsal this afternoon and then dinner at one of the restaurants at the resort.  I can't remember what time each of these events are at so I better finish writing these blogs soon!  I decide to take a nap before getting ready for dinner tonight.  A nap!  I am so excited.  It feels like it has been so long since I had a nap!  Brian and Jorja stay in the pool of course.  The phone annoyingly rings as I am sleeping.  It's someone trying to sell me a golf package.  I look at the clock, it's only been about 45 minutes since I got back to the room.  I try to close my eyes to sleep but can't.  I head back to the pool.  Everyone is sitting around and the drinks are flowing.  Jorja and Brian are still in the pool.  We head up to our room to get ready for rehearsal and dinner.  My mom knocks on our door and we head down to the pool.  We meet with the wedding coordinators and they lead us through the ceremony.  Everyone is able to follow along easily.  I am excited that we will be walking through grass and on a stone pathway (the location was changed the next day).  I didn't have a chance to buy any nice sandals so I brought along my old faithful dancing shoes which I absolutely love!  I do have a new pair that are hot but I have not broken them in yet and the heel is about 1 inch higher so I still need some practice.  The wedding is at 4:30 the next day which is great because it gives me a ton of time to get ready.  We head off to La Terraza for dinner.  Daphne and Nathan make a few small speeches while we order our food.  Jorja decides on some spaghetti and Brian and I choose some shrimp skewers.  Dinner being served at the buffet tonight is BBQ, which we missed (my dad and Brady went down after).  Our dinners arrive and the portions are very small.  Jorja is falling asleep at the dinner table so we excuse ourselves after dinner and head up to our room for bed (at 9 PM).  We stop in the small convenience store on the way up and buy a few snacks.  The store is super pricey.  I think bottles of sunscreen were selling for $20!  Brian advises me when we go to bed not to turn the air conditioner off.  I tell him I won't but I know as soon as he is asleep and snoring I will turn it off and he won't know until he wakes up in a pool of sweat.  I flick through the channels and try to find something in English.  One of the Twilight movies is playing with Spanish subtitles.  I am pretty excited and now that we are back home I plan on watching them all......Brian is really excited as well.

Day 2 (Vancouver ---> Los Cabos)

The phone rings at 5 AM.  I look at the clock and notice that the time has changed even though Brian said he couldn't figure it out the night before.  We find out later that the clocks automatically change.......kind of creepy especially since the clock didn't look very high-tech.  The shuttle to the airport leaves every 30 minutes and we have decided to catch the 6:30 AM shuttle. Continental breakfast starts at 7 AM, we have decided to skip it. We have been told to check-in at least 2 hours in advance, our flight leaves at  10:15 AM.  Daphne and Nathan are going to be there at 7 AM.  I am still very anxious about leaving.  I am more nervous about Brady's passport.  It took a bit of work to get Brady a passport and I am still nervous that he will not be allowed on the plane. A little bit of advice.  Anyone with split families who are looking at taking children out of the country, start planning in advance, years if you can.  The amount of sleep lost over getting Brady's passport could of been avoided had I started planning much earlier.  I started the process in July, we received his passport in the middle of October and that included going to a passport office in Vancouver. Also, don't look up travelling with children with one parent in the few days before scheduled to leave.  There are lots of horrible stories, some which I feared would happen to us.  Obviously our travels have a happy beginning and ending or else I wouldn't be writing this blog.  We get to the airport and take the escalator upstairs to international departures.  It seems like we are really early (we are) so I decide to get myself some coffee.  After some waiting around we realize that the counters are open and we make our way down to the WestJet line.  Daphne and Nathan have already checked-in.  They forgot to set their clocks back so they were there super early.  So we enter the line up.  My heart is beating a little bit faster than normal.  Brian goes first, then Jorja.  Brady is up next.  No questions, that was easy.  Now I am getting excited knowing that my whole family is checked-in.  Our luggage also makes weight which was another minor concern of mine.  We see my parents and wait for them to check-in.  My dad tells us that the Continental Breakfast was great.....I am starving at this point.  I am eager to see if my mother's suitcase makes weight.  It easily does.  There are two other wedding parties checking in.  One wedding party is off to Cancun and one off to the Mayan Riviera I think.  One girl is very concerned about transporting her wedding dress. Daphne proceeds to tell her about her wedding dress disaster, yikes!  We also learn at this time that one of Daphne's friends who is also doing her hair is not expected to make it as her passport expired without her realizing it.  If you've seen our pictures on Facebook then you will have realized that she did make it.......a little bit late but miraculously she was able to get a passport and on a plane within 15 minutes!  I'm convinced it was her good looks and charm that helped her.  With our family all checked in we proceed through security and walk through the duty-free.  Wow!  Everything is so cheap!  We now have only 2 hours until boarding the plane.  Brian gets us some muffins (we thought that there would be a meal served on the plane) and something to drink.  Brady and my dad wonder off to Subway to have something to eat.  One by one everyone starts to show up.  The waiting area at the gates are really great!  Jorja had a great time playing and it made time go by so much faster.  They announce that families with children and pets are to board first.  Pets?!?  Yes there were two small mini-pinschers on the plane and later we would learn 3 large dogs down below.  We find our seats which are thankfully seated together and get settled in, Brady is one row behind us and on the other side.  I am happy that he has a window seat.  Nathan's brother somehow arranged through a friend who works for WestJet to group our seats together, nice.  I pop some gravel and sit back.  Everyone has boarded the plane and we are off!  We soon discover that there is no longer any free meals on the flight, only bits n' bites and something to drink.  My stomach feels like it is going to eat itself so Brian buys us some popcorn snacks.  The plane ride is pretty enjoyable and I sit and try to sleep the whole time.  We land in Los Cabos and proceed through customs and then to gather our luggage.  The luggage conveyor is not working and it takes about 30 minutes for all of us to get our luggage.  We finally get our luggage which is easily identified by the green polka dotted ribbons I tied to them.  We proceed through security and through the crowd of people offering rides.  Daphne and Nathan have graciously arranged transportation for all of us on a bus!  I can feel the heat already and all I want is to get on that air-conditioned bus.  The average temperature was around 30° C while we were in Cabo but with the humidity it felt closer to 35°C.  There is a bar outside the airport and people are lined up getting drinks!  I am just eager to get to our hotel and unpack and relax!  We leave the airport and enter a very poor looking neighborhood.  There is graffiti everywhere and I'm pretty sure I saw a hooker......I sure hope it gets nicer as we get closer to the resort.  We ask to put some music on and it was like they knew I would be on this bus.  80's tunes and I am in heaven.  We arrive at the Melia Cabo Real Resort.  Daphne's friends who arrived from Calgary are already there to greet everyone.  We check in and proceed to our room....on the 5th floor!  The walk from the lobby isn't too bad but from outside there are 60 stairs!  By the last day my thighs were really sore!  Our room is nice and pretty basic.  Two beds, tiled floors, a fridge stocked with pop and water, and a nice balconey overlooking gardens.  Unfortunately the view from our room is of the hotel next door.  Oh well, I don't plan on spending too much time in my room anyways.  We quickly unpack a few things and set off to look around the resort.  It is getting late in the afternoon and Jorja is a little bit disappointed that she can't go swimming until tomorrow.  We meet up with some of Daphne's friends by the pool.  One of them comments that she thought she saw a man that looked exactly like my dad.  It's my uncle!  He and my aunt arrived 1 day earlier.  We proceed to look for them around the resort, Brian has made his way to the bar at this point.  All you can drink?  This could get ugly.  Hopefully Longshanks has stayed back in Canada.  We meet up with my parents and my aunt and uncle and make our way to the buffet.  It is Oriental night and we immediately start filling up our plates.  Brady is loving this all you can eat buffet.  I think he went back for thirds!  After dinner Brian and I try out a few different drinks.  Daphne's friends are trying to pass off their gross cocktails......no thank-you!  I am having troubles trying to think of what I would like.  There are no menus and for some reason I can't think of a single drink combination I would like.  I decide on a mai tai.  Pretty tasty.  We meet up with Daphne and her friends at this beautiful fire pit which we all nicknamed "Gordon Road Pit".  It seemed fitting, fire and good friends.  Jorja is tired so we head up to our room to sleep.  We have decided that Jorja and I will share a bed and lucky for Brian he gets his own bed.

Day 1 (Leaving Powell River)

November 3rd finally arrived, the day that we leave for our vacation!  I don't think either Brian or I got much sleep the night before........well I know I didn't.  There was no need for the alarm to go off because  I was wide awake feeling anxious and nervous about the trip.  No, that was the night before.  I was wide awake because there was a three year old sleeping in our bed.  If you have a child that sleeps in your bed on occasion you know what I am talking about.  The constant kicks to the back, the sideways sleeper, the frequent checks to see where their face is buried..  I decided that I wasn't going to get anymore sleep so I figured that I might as well just get up and get on with the final preparations.  I put in my contacts put on my ugly blue robe on and trudged down the hallway into the livingroom to do what I do every morning........log onto Facebook.  I figured since I was going to be without a computer for awhile I better get my fix in.  Hmmmmmmmm, nothing has changed since last night.  I know.  I'll have breakfast and make tea and re-check it in 10 minutes.  I showered, packed all my remaining bathroom junk and attempted to close my suitcase.  Since Brian decided to buy the jumbo sized suitcase I figured I would just put everything that wouldn't fit in mine comfortably in his.  We decided to catch the 2nd ferry out of Powell River to Earl's Cove.  Such a good idea.  Usually we catch the very early ferry (5:35 am) in order to maximize our time in Vancouver.  Since our only mission was to get to our hotel in Richmond and sleep, we were in no hurry.  One last check around the house to make sure nothing is forgotten, a few lights left on, passports, garbage taken out, passports, travel itineraries, lots of food and water for the cats......okay we are good to go!  Somehow we manage to fit all our suitcases into the sunferrari.  I felt bad that we would not be around to rake up the leaves during the week.  Hopefully our neighbor won't mind.  A lady down the street told me that her daughter's neighbor was so anal about the leaves that he would dump the ones that blew onto his yard on her front steps!  We raked up about 5 bags of leaves in the few days prior to us leaving, but I knew that there would be at least 10 waiting for our return.  As much as I worried about our house being broken into or something worse happening while we were gone I knew that I would not miss the depressing fall weather in Powell River; cold (10°C this morning), wet and grey skies for the next 6 months.  I pop some gravel and we are off to catch the ferry.  Catch the 1st ferry with no problems (Brian and I's travel plans are constantly delayed to due BC Ferries horrible service) and drive to Langdale to catch the 2nd ferry.  This is the route that we take to get to Vancouver.  We get to Langdale and the lanes are already filling up.  The ferry is sold out but we have managed to get on it.  We are so hungry when we get on the ferry but they are still serving breakfast and I am hungry for lunch.  We decide that we will eat when we get to Vancouver.  We arrive in Vancouver, it is raining; I am excited for some sunshine and warm weather.  We have lots of time until we check into our hotel room in Richmond so we decide to go to Metrotown for some quick last minute shopping and some lunch.  As we are making our way towards the mall, Brian and I are both reminded why we would never live in the city again.  Traffic.  Living in Powell River, we only deal with 1 or 2 traffic lights daily and there is no such thing as rush hour or asshole drivers.  Bad drivers, yes, but everyone is quite courteous.  We make our way around the mall and head towards the food court.  Should I try and eat something healthy and low-fat?  I certainly did not lose the 10 pounds I would of liked to before this trip and I know I am going to gain at least 5 after this trip so KFC it is for Brady and I.  Jorja and Brian opt for sushi of course.  We finish lunch and follow Brian around the mall in search of a hat, I am interested in buying a bathing suit.  Yes I am going to Mexico and have only bought one bathing suit which I managed to find the week before on the clearance rack at Walmart.  I am just happy that it fit and looks pretty decent.  We quickly look around and decide that it's time to leave.  Oh goody, they have closed off one of the exits out of the mall and EVERYONE is driving around the underground parking lot looking for a way out.  We make our way over to Richmond and find our hotel easily.  We check in and ask at the front desk if my parents have checked in yet.  They tell us they haven't so I figure they must be visiting with family.  I ask Brian really nicely if he will take me to Richmond Center so I can find a bathing suit.  I know he doesn't want to go there but he gives in and says yes.  As we are leaving my parents pull up and my mom mouths the words to me "I want to go to the mall".  We wait for my parents to check-in and Brian takes my mother and I to the mall.  I'm pretty sure that will be the last time Brian will ever visit Richmond Centre.  Seriously is it always this busy here?  I'm pretty sure everyone in Richmond got paid on the same day, today.  There is no parking anywhere on the roof, in the front and we finally decide to park in the overflow parkade.  We head off into the mall.  I am in search for a bathing suit and so is my mother.  We quickly  walk around and manage to each find a few bathing suits and Brian takes us back to the hotel so we can have dinner.  Many thanks to Brian for once again driving me and my mother around.  We all go to bed early even though we are going back to Standard Time and get an extra hour of sleep.  We have asked for a wake up call at 5 AM.