Tuesday Travels – Dreaming of Mexico

 

We love all inclusive and to us an all inclusive vacation to Mexico once a year is a must to reprogram our C drives (brains). Honestly, there is nothing more relaxing then laying on the beach, with a beautiful ocean and a pleasant breeze. An ice cold drink in hand and a good book to enjoy.

 

How I miss being away on the beach. It’s been a year since our last trip to Cancun and our blood is boiling to go back. We’re thinking sometime in November/December. Speaking of which I’m going to let you in on a little secret I learned from a good friend. If you want to go to Mexico, go the week before Christmas, the overall package price drops for the week, and then skyrockets back up for the week of Christmas.

Lots of people think that going in December the weather will be awful, however it’s the opposite. The average temperature is about 75 to 80 degrees, the water is warm from the hot summer (water takes about 3 months to catch up in temperature), and you get a nice enough breeze in the evenings that you can sleep soundly without being overheated.

Currently I’m lusting after the Secrets Maroma Beach Rivera Cancun which is an all-suites, Unlimited-Luxury resort fir adults only.

Here are some pictures from the website:

The first of our requirements when looking at hotels in Mexico, is that there is a large, white sand private or at least somewhat privet beach. Check that!

Second is that the pools and hot tubs have a nice view of the ocean, and a relaxing/friendly atmosphere. Check!!

There needs to be a nice sized pool with a swim up bar. CHECK!

Nice setting for the dinners, if you chose to eat at the “restaurants” rather then in the buffet. CHECK!!!  

And finally the room. There needs to be a king sized bed, and some kind of a sitting area. Considering that all the rooms at Secrets are suits we got that checked off! As an added bonus there is a hot tub in every single room! CHECK CHECK CHECK!!!!!!!!!!

Doesn’t it look just perfect?!

I’ve looked up some estimated pricing for a trip out from Denver for two adults for 8 days and 7 nights here are the dates and the estimated prices. Keep in mind that I’ve only skimmed prices and there are more then likely better deals and offers for this piece of paradise.

August – $3759.98 this includes a direct flight, transfer from airport to hotel and of course the stay for two adults. 

October – $3479.98 same thing here, a direct flight, transfer from airport to hotel …

November – $3819.98 Same deal!

December – $3639.98

All of these were priced through Apple Vacations. Keep in mind that these are not the only prices, and sites such as Kayak and BookIt have the chance to give you a better deal. Since we aren’t planning on shelling out $4000 for our next vacations it is highly unlikely we’ll go here, UNLESS of course I stumble upon a killer deal that I cannot refuse.

We will more then likely stay at either a Dreams, an Iberostar or another Secrets. We LOVE Iberostar and it is truly my go to when I need a quick get away. It isn’t all that cheap but it is worth every penny! Since it’s tried and tested I know you cannot go wrong with this resort.

Where have you been recently? Any all-inclusive that you are in love with?!  

Travel Tuesday

“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines, sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.” – Mark Twain

In the past few weeks I’ve heard a good deal of my friends and family talk about travel, where they are going for summer and how it is so expensive to get out of the house and get to somewhere with a beach. I’ve heard many people talk about the headache they had when looking for the best deal, and how they can only afford that one vacation and by God it better be the best.
I’ve looked at these people and thought to myself, they are sucking all the fun out of their trip by thinking of all the negatives.
Yes, it is a hassle trying to find the best deal, yes it can cost a good chunk of money to travel, and yes things may go wrong and you might not have the best trip of your life, however to me it is the positive attitude that makes all the difference in the trip.
SO on the note of attitude I’d like to share our last trip to Cancun with you.

----------------- May 15th to 22nd 2010 -------------------

First thing you should know, I tend to refuse to fly “hop” or “connection” flights, I also absolutely refuse to fly American Airlines due to previous awful experiences. So we had paid a bit extra to have a direct flight from Denver to Cancun on a charter plane. This was great! We left Denver around 10 am and arrived in beautiful Cancun around 2 pm local time. The flight was nice and easy.

This picture was taken as we were waiting for our cab to get back to the airport on our last day in Cancun, Mexico

However, when we got to our hotel, it had become cloudy and started to rain. We figured it was just a late afternoon shower and would go away, clearing up in the morning. Let me tell ya, we were very wrong. Six of the eight days that we were in Cancun we saw rain and gloom. Only one full day of sunshine and another beautiful day as we were leaving.

It was really disappointing to be on the beach, with the ability to lay out in the sun and swim in the ocean to have it ruined by the awful weather. Lots of people were getting upset, some of the guests were even booking flights back home and checking out early. The Mister and I stayed, and had a ball!

We beat the weather by going diving, and while the sun wasn’t shining on the surface the bottom of the ocean was as beautiful as can be. Unfortunately we didn’t have our underwater casing for the camera and have no pictures of this.

Here are some of the things we enjoyed:

We met Courtney and Josh halfway through our trip and had a blast with them.

Especially since we got to share that one day of beautiful sunshine with these two!

 

We tried out all the specialty restaurants that the resort offered.

The steak house was located on the patio right by the beach

The Japanese restaurant offered a covered few of the patio and the ocean. 

The dinner at the French Fusion restaurant was fantastic, and we got to share it with Josh and Courtney and celebrate our 6 month anniversary all in one. 

In addition we made sure to check out the famous clubs and bars in the area, and even though it was raining outside we walked from one to the other. The tequila helped keep us warm!

In all, we had an amazing time, made some great friends and lots of good memories that will keep us laughing and smiling through the years.

This may be one of my most favorite pictures from the whole trip. That is actually the Mister and I on the beach at night. The photo was taken with our Rebel

I have a confession to make…

… I make a pretty awesome pico de gallo!!

Yup! It is pretty fantastic, and everybody loves it! I have yet to meet someone who does know love my pico! During the Spring Challenge I promised I would make some, keep track of the measurements and then share my ah-mazing recipe with y’all. Well today is your lucky day! I made some pico de gallo last night and kept track of exactly what I put in there. This made a pretty big mess in my kitchen and dirtied every single measuring device I have, BUT I now have all the little details to share with y’all.

To start off you must gather all the following ingredients:

2 cups of diced tomatoes (about 2 medium)

1/3 cup finely diced jalapeño (1 medium)

1 cup diced red onion  (about a 1/4 of a large onion)

3 cloves of garlic finely minced

1/2 cup of chopped loosely packed celantro

1/2 tbsp of salt

pinch of black pepper

2 tbsp of lemon juice

1 lime (juiced)

Pretty much you just throw all of this together, then mix it all up. Let it sit in the fridge for about an hour so that all the flavors can be mixed and it is ready to enjoy!!

This was before putting on a lid and shaking my salsa around! I feel that it mixes much better and makes less of a mess!

This salsa cost me about $1.05 Total! Way cheaper then buying ready made, way healthier and tastier. I am still saying my salsa is winning! 

We are in love with Mexican food in this household, and I love making things in big batches that can be stuck in the fridge for a few days. This pico seems to taste better and better the longer you let it hang around.

PS… yesterdays my jalapeno was not very spicy, and my salsa turned out very mild (I always leave the seeds inside the pepper), you can add more or less based on how hot you want the salsa to be.

Not so Motivational Friday

 

I’m really trying to find motivation to get me going on this chemistry and the million other things that need to get done, and honestly… I have no motivation. All I want is for 4:30 PM to be here so I can go and pick up the Husband from the airport and spend the rest of the day cuddling on the couch.

Too bad, that I actually need to pass this stupid class so that I can graduate, so that we can move, so that life can move on.

Hence here are my motivations to get me off my butt and moving.

Graduation! I’ve been seeing the light at the end of the tunnel for entirely too long. Now I just want to be done. And if I don’t crack down and pass this class, that light will stay exactly where it’s been the past two years.

 

I promised myself that I will book a trip to Mexico or another tropical location the second I see “Graduated” written on my transcript. Hence, the image of a beautiful white beach, and clear blue water is tempting me to actually sit down and study.

That’s about all I can think of. It really is sad how unmotivated a student can get when it comes to the last semester of their degree program. Don’t get me wrong, I love learning and studying and researching, however when it is a topic I am not interested in and know that I will never use the information again it becomes very difficult to keep focused and learn.

Q. What are some ways you keep motivated? What do you do when you have no motivation but you need to get things done? Do you set up a reward system to keep you going?

 

Welp… off to do some more chemistry. Have a fantastic and lovely Friday my loves.

Spring is in the Air – Day 5

 

Once again, I’m sorry this is a little late. I was at the hospital longer then planned, and had a nice chat with my grandfather about random topics that we always seem to talk about. As an update, he is doing great and should be moving from the ICU to a regular room with a discharge date of Monday or Tuesday.

 

Today is the last day for the Spring is in the Air Blog Challenge with Amber and Meghan.

Today’s Question is:

What recipe or food do you look forward to most during the Spring time?

I am addicted to eating, and eating all kinds of food. When Spring and Summer come around I start craving fresh and light food.

For example: TACOS!!!

 

When I’m in the mood I make my tacos super fancy with home made pico de gallo!!!

 

My recipe for pico de gallo is pretty easy, but I don’t have exact measurements. I kind of eyeball everything and toss it up, taste it and if it’s missing a flavor or needs more of one I just add it. One of these days I’ll actually write down the recipe and give exact measures. However, everyone including the husband LOVES my salsa!

Here is what you need:

2 to 3 Roma Tomatoes (gutted and diced)

1 to 2 Jalapenos (diced)

2 to 3 cloves of garlic (crushed)

1/4 to 1/2 of a red onion (diced)

handful of cilantro (chopped)

1 to 2 lemons

salt

pepper

Here is what you need to do:

After chopping and dicing everything up, combine the tomatoes, jalapenos, garlic, onion and cilantro in a bowl. Then squeeze in one lemon, careful not to drop the seeds in there! Add about a teaspoon or two of salt and pepper. Mix well and taste.

I usually like the jalapeno flavor to be there but not overpower everything else. You also have to be careful with the lemon, sometimes one is just right, sometimes you need one and a half and so on. So really its up to your little taste-buds to decide what to do. If you like it spice add the second jalapeno, or more salt or not salt at all. This is a recipe that I just pulled together one day when I was in a desperate need of pico de gallo but didn’t want the store bought one. It turned out great, and now I just tweak it depending on what I feel like having.

PS… my mom also adds this pico de gallo to her avocado mix to make a spicy guacamole!!!

ENJOY!!!