A little rant and Oh Mexico

It's finally Friday and I'm glad this week is over.  It's had highs (a great dinner with friends last night) and lows (taking my brother to the emergency room for a bulging disc in his back), so maybe those events cancel each other out and it was really more of a neutral week.  (Trying to be positive here...)

Because my brother is going to be fine (I strongly believe our health is the most important thing in terms of worldly worries), the WORST part of my week was getting my first paycheck of the year and seeing the pay cut I got thanks to Uncle Sam.  It really hurts!  Yes I  ball, but I ball on a budget!  I'm trying to save for retirement, save for a down payment on a house, save for a rainy day, while buying organic meat and produce so I won't get cancer someday (because the government allows all kinds of scary sh*t in our food these days), and Big Brother comes along and takes over a Benjamin a month from my net pay! That's like a car payment for a vehicle I'll never get to drive, since Social Security won't be around by the time I'm eligible to receive it.

Anyhow, it's been cloudy and rainy here in Dallas so I really needed some sunshine.  The silver lining of my week has been planning a trip to Mexico with two of my best girlfriends from work.  It's going to be a short trip (only two full days to play) and we're keeping it budget-friendly (flying for free on stand-by passes, splitting one discounted hotel room three-ways) but it will be the perfect little post-holiday girly get-away and I am so excited!  We leave two weeks from today!

I've only been to Mexico once.  Five years ago I won a trip on a local radio station, which included airfare and a three night stay at Barcelo Costa Cancun, an all-inclusive resort.  I had a nice time, but I found Cancun to be too touristy and contrived.  It was like part of the Vegas strip was annexed to Mexico.  (Don't get me wrong, I've had some great times in Vegas, but my hope for Mexico was that it would be much more primitive and chill.  Not so much in Cancun!)

My ex-boyfriend travel companion and I rented a car for a day and did some exploring outside of the tourist zone, which is much more my style.

We drove down to Playa Del Carmen, a cute beach town that I fell in love with!  I wished I was staying in a boutique hotel there instead of lame-o Cancun!

Next we ventured toTulum.  We drove through some jungles where I noticed several secluded eco-tourism boutique hotels and yoga retreats.  One of these days I'll stay there.  Heaven.

We made the obligatory stop at a Mayan ruin which I highly recommend.  There's nothing quite like walking through a piece of ancient history.

I'm stoked to go back since I'll be returning with a better understanding of the area, will be armed with a better camera (stay tuned for pics!) and and will be with some very fun friends who are sure to make the weekend epic!  Adios, amigos!