Take Me to Tulum

I saved you the best part of my Mexication for last.  On the last full day of our trip we rented a car and drove to Tulum.  The last time I was in Mexico, I drove through Tulum on a rainy day.  This visit was much more pleasant and sunny.  Plus, we had a sweet ride- the most compact Chevy I've ever seen.  The car weighed less than I do so we got great mileage in it!

Cozumel or I'm on a Boat!

On the second day of our Mexication, we got up early and caught a ferry to the island of Cozumel, which is about twelve miles from Playa Del Carmen.  Our activity of the day was a SCUBA and snorkel trip off the coast of the island.  Since I grew up in a land-locked state and am not what one would call aquatically inclined, I always opt to snorkel over SCUBA.  It’s cheaper and seems like much less work.  All you need is a mask, snorkel, and fins and you’re good to go!  No need to worry about air in your tank or pressurizing, and you can fly and drink as much as you want the day before you do it.  To me, that's a much better deal.  Also, fish creep me out and I don’t want to get too close.  I’m perfectly content to admire them from a distance.  They stay on their side of the ocean, I stay on mine and we’re good.

Galentine's Brunch

I was genetically programmed to host parties.  My mom is an accomplished hostess, so is my grandmother, and several of my aunts.  Of course no one tops Aunt Arlene.  She's the most crafty person I know.  She has a holster for her glue gun.  It's that serious.

My color palette inspiration [via].

Playa Del Carmen

My girls' weekend in Mexico started with Mexican Customs taking away my homemade egg salad in Cancun International Airport.  Who knew you couldn't take egg salad across the boarder?  Not this girl.  Once it was gone, I decided to give up trying to diet through the weekend (they also took my apples and bananas!) and headed straight for the nearest margarita and queso stand.  I never found one.  Perhaps it's an untapped niche market?  Fortunately there were plenty of beer vendors outside of the airport while we waited for the ADO bus.  (Insider tip: Purchase your tickets online in advance to ensure a seat.  At $14 USD it's a comfortable, economical way to get from the airport to downtown Playa in less than an hour.)

Paperless Post Bootleg

Inspired by the awesomeness of the hit comedy Parks and Recreation on NBC, my girlfriend and I decided to throw a Galentine's Day brunch.  This holiday is a play on Valentine's Day (obvi) but is exclusive to the ladies.  We'll be celebrating our friendships, completely independent from any romantic relationships we may or may not be in.  Unlike Leslie Knope on the show, we won't be making our guests hand crocheted flower pens, mosaic portraits made from the crushed bottles of each person's favorite diet soda, or a personalized 5,000-word essay on why each friend is so awesome.  But we will have lots of goodies to eat, a few games, and the champagne will be flowing!

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Happy

A couple weeks ago I watched a gloriously uplifting documentary called Happy.  Everyone should watch it (you can stream it on NetFlix) so I won't give away too much, but my key take-away was that the circumstantial things that happen in life only contribute to ten percent of your happiness level.  Your genetics make up a large portion of it (about fifty percent) but the remaining forty percent is tied to your intentions and actions.  To me, that's great news because it means I can do things to directly effect my happiness level.

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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.