Vacation! - Grand Palladium Vallarta

We finally had enough.  Booked a week in Mexico at the lovely Grand Palladium Vallarta!

From Palladium website

Okay, so I've never been there before.  But it's 1) Not here.  2) On the beach.  3) Somewhere warm and 4) All Inclusive.  We have stayed many times at the Palladium in Riviera Maya, so we're familiar with the brand and very familiar with Mexico.

We leave in 3 weeks.

We leave in 3 weeks?

That's not a lot of time to get into bikini shape, but I'm going to try.  I signed up for a new fitness and nutrition plan...more on that after the first week is done.

I've been taking it a little easy this week because I'm running a 5 mile race (my first chip timed race ever) and I want to have a good showing.  I really want it to warm up though.

2012 - A year in review

I love looking back on the year and reflecting on what has happened.  Problem is, as I get older, I need some visual reminders of what exactly went on :)  Sadly, our picture taking was at a minimum this year (no x-mas pics at all...what a shame), but here's what I got anyway.

 

 

Pre-show drinks (and dinner, not pictured) at the beautiful Palliser Hotel.  My sister and I have seasons tickets to Vertigo Mystery Theatre and meet up at the hotel before the show.  We had such a good time last season that we convinced my husband and our mom to join us this season.

 

Crabapple trees in bloom.  Except for the three days of the year that they're in bloom, I HATE these trees.  Every bloom means an apple...and there's a ton of them (some are still on the trees now...gonna be gross when it thaws).  I did make crabapple jelly with some of the fruit in the fall...so I guess there's that.

 

We took our good friend Morgan to California with us on vacation.  She was a trooper and her and Jet did really well together for the week (it wasn't without it's crying, temper tantrums, sulking and screeching...but in retrospect not all that bad). 

 



 



Disneyland continues to rock our world. 

 



 

Saw a ball game...or two.

 

And I shopped at Trader Joe's for two dollar wine.  TWO DOLLARS!  That alone makes me come back to California every year.  I also bought lots of clothes.

 



 

Then there was Little League.  And it was cold.  And windy.  And I hated every game and practice. Adam coached and I got to "help", that might have had something to do with the hate.



 

Calgary Stampede!  This was at the parade, timestamp 9:23 am.  By the time the longest parade in the world was over (4 hours later) Adam and I had consumed far to much and then had to meet up with my family for mom and dads anniversary dinner.  Jet was bored within minutes of getting there.  He played games on my phone the entire time.

 

Same day...in the hotel where mom and dad were staying.

 

 

Next up, flag football season!  At least it was warm-ish for these games and practices.  Jet's team won again...triple overtime.  I'm sure the ball of nerves that I had while watching will get better as he gets older...right?

 

 

Cruise time!  This was in the Air Canada lounge in Toronto.  $35 unlimited food (appetizers) and booze, plus comfy seats and not a bunch of noisy people.  An excellent way to spend our three hour layover.

 First look at the new Disney Fantasy.  Beautiful ship, loved the look and feel of it. 

 

Jet on the ride to the boat.  For whatever reason he refused to take off this sweater, and it was HOT in Florida (even by normal standards I'm told).

 

Jet relaxing on the balcony.  Adam was the one who wanted this the most, and he did spend the first two evenings having a drink and lounging but then he didn't really use it again.  I liked having the option to hang out there, but I'm not sure it was really worth the money.

Tea and after dinner treats at Remy, the adult only restaurant on the Fantasy.  This dinner was fantastic, totally worth the extra money ($75 for dinner and $100 for wine pairings).  I've never seen so many different types of flatware...and the service (and the food) was superb.

It was also on the cruise that Adam discovered his love for Champagne.  And I discovered my love for really good, really expensive (for me) Champagne.  $30 a glass Champagne.

Christmas presents!  Sadly, not for me this year, but for my sister.  I couldn't even squee in glee over getting the box because she'd totally know what it was and who it was for.  Next year there's talk we'll spend the holidays in London.  The fun London, not the fake Ontario London either.

And that's about it for pictures.  I also got back into fitness, started running and convinced myself to try a half-marathon.  More on that next year.

Here's to a Happy New Year!

Change in vacation plans

I've totally been pouting the last two days.  Looks like my vacation plans for early next year are kaput.

I was stoked to do the Expedition Everest Challenge in Disney World May 4 2013.  I won't lie, it's 95% because I want the finishers medal and 5% because it's an obstacle course plus scavenger hunt.

It's a COMPASS!  I'm not sure how I've lived my life this long without it.

So, I convinced my sister and my husband to join me.  We were going to celebrate cinco de mayo, Jessicas birthday and watch the Jays play baseball in Tampa Bay.

I had plans.  And then work had to go and wreck it.

For about an hour on Friday I thought I could work around it.  It involved a quick jaunt from Orlando to Houston for 3 days for a work thing.  But it was do-able.  Then we noticed the big huge GeoConvention was the same week and I would have to be here for that.

So no early May vacation for me.  We'll probably go to Florida end of March instead, but that doesn't get me my medal.  Not this year anyway.

In other news, we went swimming this morning at the wave pool.  Got my leg workout jumping waves and my ab workout by shivering as soon as you got out of the water.  It was freezing!

Going to make home made pretzels, do laundry and work on my meal plan for Menu Plan Monday.

Vacation Wind Down

Almost done this vacation. While I'm having fun, I am looking forward to sleeping in my own bed.

We've changed hotels to one right outside the airport, mostly because our flight is earlier in the morning and neither of us wants to drive from Anaheim to LAX and then return the car that early in the morning, and because we like to try out hotels at airports.

Jet doesn't have a problem winding down.

Now we're at the Radisson at LAX. It's...near the airport and has a good lounge which you need after the excruciating parking, check in and elevator debacles. The room in nice though; we'll see how the shuttle is in the morning.

Gonna watch a movie and finish the rest of our snacks, then a good sleep and back home tomorrow.

Tan

California - Days 4 and 5

Things I love about vacation:

• Bacon - I've never sat down to see how much of it I could eat, but I'm pretty sure it's a lot. Vacation means we're eating out for breakfast and it usually involves bacon. And I love it.
• Baseball - Baseball would be even better if it was only 6 innings, but I love the excitement and the people.
• Pretzels - Can't get them easily at home but I love the salty goodness. Also can easily be acquired at baseball.
• U-Turns - Pretty sure trying one at home will get you shot. But here it's expected, and wonderful.
• Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Pop Tarts - Couldn't believe there is such a thing. I bought three boxes. Maybe one might make it home.
• The cast iron pan I got for twenty bucks - Yes, I'm putting a frying pan in my checked luggage.

Things I dislike about Vacation:

• No Interac - I'm used to paying with my bank card for everything (even the farmers market). Not having it available weirds me out. And not having to sign for some credit card slips is also a bit odd.
• No Vegetables - I miss raw peppers and cucumbers. Admittedly I haven't made good choices when they were available, but I think I'll go veggie for a bit when we get back.
• Not my computer - my laptop is too bulky to travel. It has all my links and passwords saved. This one does not.
• No playmates for hubby and child - These two are social butterflies and require outside conversation to be the most relaxed. I do not. I'll be in my room reading.

Been spending our time at Disneyland, the pool, the ball diamond and various restaurants. Will continue for the next day and a half before it's home time.

Bought a new camera too! The old one was acting up a bit and this new one is a good transition to a digital SLR that I want. I'll be taking it out and putting it through it's paces (such as they are) tomorrow.

California - Day Three

(I typed in Californication three times before getting it right)

Medieval Times - It's like wrestling but with the added bonus of horses and swords.



The first time we went to Anaheim Jet was 18 months old and I talked Adam into going to Medieval Times because I remembered it from a trip I took when I was 14. He just about had a heart attack when he saw the price of tickets, but when it was all over I had a convert on my hands. Yes it's cheezy, over the top and an excuse to get you to spend money; but it's also a whole lot of fun if you let go and allow yourself to roll with the punches and have a good time.



And there's always booze to help you along the path.

I got a smoking' deal on the tickets which helped a whole lot.

Jet's jumping around in the hotel room fighting bad guys with his foam axe and shield, this is the first time he's stayed awake for the whole thing, I think it will take a while for him to go to sleep tonight.

(I'm trying to convince Adam to see if his work buddy wants to go before we leave. We'll see)

In other news we spent three hours in Disneyland before the crowds got to be too much for us prairie loving Canadians.



Although not before Jet weaseled an Indiana Jones getup of out us.





And a random picture that Jet took. Just because.

Not sure what tomorrow will bring, but dollars to doughnuts it's not the beach.

California - Day Two

There are pineapples carved on the headboards of the beds. That means something, I'm just not sure what it is. Probably that I'm craving fresh fruit and veggies after two days of vacation food.

Sports Day today.


Honda Center, right across the street from the hotel. We didn't go there.


Angels stadium, a 5 minute (maybe) walk from the hotel.

Kids run the bases after the game. Jet's rounding second and if my sister would have emailed me back and let me borrow her camera I would have zoomed in so that you could see him.

And once the game was over we went to Hooters for dinner, because it's Adams vacation too.

My quest for a meal that contains vegetables will continue tomorrow.

California - Day one

Ayres Hotel Anaheim

I love this hotel!

While it's not "near" Disneyland, it's close enough to be convenient and is accross the street from the Honda Center (there's a circus this week) and next-ish to Angels Stadium where we'll see a couple games. The hotel is so cute; outside and in.



That huddled mass in the bed is Jet, we checked in around 11 (midnight our time) and we had to carry him into the hotel because he refused to wake up in the car.



Anyway, so cute!

Best part is this:



I didn't have to crawl under the desk or plug into a lamp base to get power.

We spent the day at the disney parks, took Jet on a bunch of rides that he wasn't big enough to go on last year. We tricked him into going on Space Mountain; but unfortunately to make the ruse work I had to go on too. He had a blast, btw.



Big ferris wheel in California Adventure, I didn't want to go but Jet loved it.



Asleep the moment we left the parking lot. We had to wake him up again to pick up some stuff for the hotel:

Chex Mix (we don't have this at home)

My second favourite table wine Menage e Trois by Folie a Deux (awesome, I may or may not love it because it was an X-files episode) was nine bucks, it's 15 - 20 at home

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Pop Tarts - are you serious!?

Pretzle Goldfish crackers - can't get this back home either

Basically we stocked up on junk food that we don't get back home :)

Tomorrow is a baseball game (kids run the bases after) and bit of relaxation.

And we're off....

Yesterdays packing went about as good as I expected. Adam was super sneaky in his attempt to not pack; he played on the computer until 9 and then decided that today was the day he wanted to watch Love Actually. And because he wouldn't let me skip the sad and boring parts he didn't get started until 11:30.

And then was cranky this morning trying to get everything together.



Got me some snazzy new ear buds since mine bit the dust a while back and I've been using the default ipod ones. I can't sing along or talk or chew without them falling out and the sound is garbage from them.

House sitter is all setup, our ride is co-ordinated (I hope) and I don't think I forgot anything.

Out of office is on and note is on the door.

I think I'm officially on vacation :)

Tan