Señor B came home from work the other day and asked if I wanted to go back to México. Gee, honey, let me think about that. As if he had to ask. Sheesh! lol
We rent out our condo so we had to check to make sure it was available.We had planned on going down from Feb 13 to Feb 28 but flights were a bit cheaper if we stayed until March 3rd. Alas, our condo is rented for the month of March, so we have no choice but to fly back the 28th. To stay longer would mean renting a hotel for a couple nights, negating the savings on airfare.
Oh man. Ever since we booked the flight, I've been doing the Happy Dance. You know that one where Snoopy dances with his nose up in the air, arms outstretched? That's me.
Thursday, January 13, 2011
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
A Money Funny and a Warning
One day, when the girls and I were out and about, we went to the bank so they could get some money for shopping. YD does her thing and says, "What the heck?" She had planned on taking out 100 dollars and had keyed in 100. I'm not sure if she simply forgot, or if had I failed to tell her, that the machine was in pesos, not dollars. So she ended up with 100 pesos instead. Can't do much shopping on that when you're a 20-something...lol. We all had a good giggle over that.
That story leads me to this one...
When we were still in Cancún, I had told the girls they could get Méxican money from the ATMs. 'Cause I thought they could. We were all out shopping and the girls decided to get some money from one of those free-standing ATMs that was outside of a restaurant. HA! The darned thing spit out American money. Not a problem for shopping in Cancún, but it wasn't our first choice of currency for Progreso.
It wasn't until they were almost ready to fly home that they said they had been charged what they thought was an exorbitant service fee on that withdrawal. BF had taken out $200 and YD $100. They said they had been charged $40 and $30 respectively. Now, I didn't see their receipts to verify it and they didn't double check it with their bank statements at home. It's quite possible that the fee was in pesos and they read it as dollars. Still, it's good to know that the Cancún machines give out American dollars (although I recall reading somewhere that the American dollar isn't as readily accepted there, so that might change) and one would be wise to check the fees.
That story leads me to this one...
When we were still in Cancún, I had told the girls they could get Méxican money from the ATMs. 'Cause I thought they could. We were all out shopping and the girls decided to get some money from one of those free-standing ATMs that was outside of a restaurant. HA! The darned thing spit out American money. Not a problem for shopping in Cancún, but it wasn't our first choice of currency for Progreso.
It wasn't until they were almost ready to fly home that they said they had been charged what they thought was an exorbitant service fee on that withdrawal. BF had taken out $200 and YD $100. They said they had been charged $40 and $30 respectively. Now, I didn't see their receipts to verify it and they didn't double check it with their bank statements at home. It's quite possible that the fee was in pesos and they read it as dollars. Still, it's good to know that the Cancún machines give out American dollars (although I recall reading somewhere that the American dollar isn't as readily accepted there, so that might change) and one would be wise to check the fees.
Saturday, January 8, 2011
Amusing Stats
I like to check my stats to see who comes to visit me, how they arrived here and where they're from. Recently, someone found me by googling "I'm an idiot blog". Guess who's blog was top of the list? lol
Can't help but wonder, though, why anyone would be looking for a blog about idiots. It struck me as knee-slappin' funny. lol
Can't help but wonder, though, why anyone would be looking for a blog about idiots. It struck me as knee-slappin' funny. lol
Saturday, January 1, 2011
I'm an Idiot
In my first blog post I said I wasn't very tech savvy. Ergo...in trying to change the title of Steve's blog, I somehow managed to delete my list of blogs I read. So those of you who notice you're no longer listed, it was completely unintentional. Many of the blogs I had listed, I also have saved in My Favourites. Some were added along the way after seeing links on someone else's blog, but not saved to My Favourites. Hand, meet Forehead. It might take me a while to get everyone back.
If you read me and your blog was listed but you don't see it come back in the next couple days, please let me know. If you read me and your blog was never listed, you can let me know that, too, and I'll add you. Share the love and all that....
Jeepers, I hate when I do stuff like this.
If you read me and your blog was listed but you don't see it come back in the next couple days, please let me know. If you read me and your blog was never listed, you can let me know that, too, and I'll add you. Share the love and all that....
Jeepers, I hate when I do stuff like this.
Happy New Year
Happy New Year, everybody.
Yesterday, we got an email from our condo neighbours, L & M. They live 2 doors down from us. Our neighbours directly to the other side, Owen and Bindi, live about 1.5 hours from where we live, here in Canada. Isn't that wild? Anyways, the email said they were having a party under the palapa, down by the pool, and wished we were there. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Rub it in that we're dealing with this...lol.
That's our backyard this afternoon. It's been snowing all day. It was so quiet when I popped outside to snap this. The only sound I heard was a vehicle in the distance. No birds chirping, no dogs barking, no kids screaming in the way that only kids can when they're having fun, no skidoos zooming up and down the back alley. Nothing. It was like being on another planet.
Last night we went to our friends who live in the country, for our annual NYE get together. Fireworks at midnight are always on the agenda. As our friend was setting them off, I was thinking about the fireworks in México. Of course, we didn't have nearly as many so ours didn't last into all hours of the night. And I'll bet that nobody in México had to wear a winter jacket, Sorrell boots, alpaca toque and hold their mitted hands over their nose to keep it from freezing.
Today is a day of introspection for many people. I'm no exception. I've given much thought to some changes I'd like to make this year both personally and professionally. The biggie, for me, is to hold my family closer. Life is far too short as I learned, many times over, since this past Sept. I know it's a cliché, but all the deaths we've had in our little town this fall have really driven that point home.
Family has always been important to me but as the kids have grown and gone their own ways, I've also gone in a new direction, and it seems as though family hasn't played as big a role in my life. I've realized that my grandkids will also be grown and gone soon enough and I want to get to know them better. So I'm going to work to that end.
I hope that 2011 is kind to everyone and that what matters most to you is bigger and better than last year. Happy New Year.
Yesterday, we got an email from our condo neighbours, L & M. They live 2 doors down from us. Our neighbours directly to the other side, Owen and Bindi, live about 1.5 hours from where we live, here in Canada. Isn't that wild? Anyways, the email said they were having a party under the palapa, down by the pool, and wished we were there. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Rub it in that we're dealing with this...lol.
That's our backyard this afternoon. It's been snowing all day. It was so quiet when I popped outside to snap this. The only sound I heard was a vehicle in the distance. No birds chirping, no dogs barking, no kids screaming in the way that only kids can when they're having fun, no skidoos zooming up and down the back alley. Nothing. It was like being on another planet.
Last night we went to our friends who live in the country, for our annual NYE get together. Fireworks at midnight are always on the agenda. As our friend was setting them off, I was thinking about the fireworks in México. Of course, we didn't have nearly as many so ours didn't last into all hours of the night. And I'll bet that nobody in México had to wear a winter jacket, Sorrell boots, alpaca toque and hold their mitted hands over their nose to keep it from freezing.
Today is a day of introspection for many people. I'm no exception. I've given much thought to some changes I'd like to make this year both personally and professionally. The biggie, for me, is to hold my family closer. Life is far too short as I learned, many times over, since this past Sept. I know it's a cliché, but all the deaths we've had in our little town this fall have really driven that point home.
Family has always been important to me but as the kids have grown and gone their own ways, I've also gone in a new direction, and it seems as though family hasn't played as big a role in my life. I've realized that my grandkids will also be grown and gone soon enough and I want to get to know them better. So I'm going to work to that end.
I hope that 2011 is kind to everyone and that what matters most to you is bigger and better than last year. Happy New Year.
Friday, December 24, 2010
Merry Christmas
Yes, I say Merry Christmas and not Happy Holidays. "Happy Holidays" is as offensive to me as "Merry Christmas" is to others. I had a whole big rant about that typed out but decided it was better left for another day. I've been feeling all Christmassy this year and I don't want to ruin my day with a rant.
I normally don't get the tree up until about a week before Christmas but I've had it up for 2 weeks already. Did a boatload of baking this past Sunday. YD even commented on my Christmas spirit. I have no idea what came over me this year. Maybe it was that milestone birthday I had last month. Maybe it's cyclical because I've felt this way before. And maybe it's "just because". At any rate, my family has been enjoying it all.
Excuse the detritus around the tree. The blue bin holds the firewood for the woodstove, the hearth of which you can just see on the bottom right. And excuse the plastic bag on the hearth. And the extension cord for the tree lights. I'm not a photographer. I usually just point and shoot and hope for the best. Although, now that I'm typing, I'm thinking that, after listening to Marc at the blogger's conference, I could have done a better job. Oh well. There it is, anyways, for you to enjoy.
Is it a bad thing that I have enough decorations to decorate 2 trees? Last year I did it up in gold and clear ornaments. This year, I used the cutesy ones. My angel doesn't really match the cutesy theme but it's the only topper I have and I truly love her, so she gets to grace the tree each year, no matter what decorations go on it.
It's weird to think that I'll be putting up a tree only 4 more times after this year. Señor B and I will retire early 2015 and plan to winter in México. I'm surely not dragging all those decorations down there with me.
We've had a series of bad events happen in our little town...several high profile deaths, a bank robbery and the burning of the old hotel. The deaths have especially bothered me...all good people who had the misfortune of being in the wrong place at the wrong time. It's given me pause to speculate how precious life is, how precious the people in our lives are and how it can all be taken away in an unanticipated instant.
I hope we all take the time to let our loved ones know how special they are and to let them know, always. Not just at Christmas or year's end.
Wishing eveyone a peaceful and love-filled Christmas.
I normally don't get the tree up until about a week before Christmas but I've had it up for 2 weeks already. Did a boatload of baking this past Sunday. YD even commented on my Christmas spirit. I have no idea what came over me this year. Maybe it was that milestone birthday I had last month. Maybe it's cyclical because I've felt this way before. And maybe it's "just because". At any rate, my family has been enjoying it all.
Is it a bad thing that I have enough decorations to decorate 2 trees? Last year I did it up in gold and clear ornaments. This year, I used the cutesy ones. My angel doesn't really match the cutesy theme but it's the only topper I have and I truly love her, so she gets to grace the tree each year, no matter what decorations go on it.
It's weird to think that I'll be putting up a tree only 4 more times after this year. Señor B and I will retire early 2015 and plan to winter in México. I'm surely not dragging all those decorations down there with me.
We've had a series of bad events happen in our little town...several high profile deaths, a bank robbery and the burning of the old hotel. The deaths have especially bothered me...all good people who had the misfortune of being in the wrong place at the wrong time. It's given me pause to speculate how precious life is, how precious the people in our lives are and how it can all be taken away in an unanticipated instant.
I hope we all take the time to let our loved ones know how special they are and to let them know, always. Not just at Christmas or year's end.
Wishing eveyone a peaceful and love-filled Christmas.
Sunday, December 5, 2010
Kodak Moments
Don't you hate it when you get a great Kodak moment and you don't have your camera ready? That happened to us twice, on our way to the airport in Cancún.
Along the toll road between Cancún and Mérida are signs with a drawing of a person riding a bicycle, with the red circle and line through the picture. Meaning no riding bicycles on this road. Seems pretty straightforward, right? Well, apparently this sign doesn't apply to those nifty 3 wheeled bikes with the carrier on the front. We saw plenty of those each time we travelled the road. The Kodak moment? Seeing a dude riding one of those bikes directly below one of those signs.
Driving towards the airport, there's an overpass that looks like any other. We're in several lanes of traffic with signs indicating various terminals. We're very close to the airport. We never noticed the lack of traffic on the overpass...until we saw an airplane driving on it. !!!!! A big blue airplane. And no camera ready to take the pic of a lifetime...for us, anyways. It was the oddest danged sight. I told Señor B that nobody would believe us.
Along the toll road between Cancún and Mérida are signs with a drawing of a person riding a bicycle, with the red circle and line through the picture. Meaning no riding bicycles on this road. Seems pretty straightforward, right? Well, apparently this sign doesn't apply to those nifty 3 wheeled bikes with the carrier on the front. We saw plenty of those each time we travelled the road. The Kodak moment? Seeing a dude riding one of those bikes directly below one of those signs.
Driving towards the airport, there's an overpass that looks like any other. We're in several lanes of traffic with signs indicating various terminals. We're very close to the airport. We never noticed the lack of traffic on the overpass...until we saw an airplane driving on it. !!!!! A big blue airplane. And no camera ready to take the pic of a lifetime...for us, anyways. It was the oddest danged sight. I told Señor B that nobody would believe us.
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