Beach Bum

I could absolutely love to live close to an amazing beach but then maybe I wouldn't appreciate all these vacations like I do now.  I am totally addicted to going down south.  After my first vacation in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic I was told "You're going to get the itch now"...and it is positively true.  No I did not contract a VD but the itch of going to carrebean islands for vacations.  When I was UBER prego I would sit and look at the travelocity website over and over, torturing myself with wonderful locales that I would definitely NOT be going to anytime soon.  It is going to be almost a year since my last tropical vacation.  I had the pleasure of going to a small resort in Cayo Largo, Cuba.  It is a resort located off the southern coast of Cuba.  It is not a fancy-shmancy resort providing only one pool sans swim-up bar, a bit out of date look and (in my case) cold showers BUT the staff and beaches absolutely make up for it tenfold.  I also LOVED the fact that it was a smaller resort.  You did feel like you had some privacy and didn't have to mill amongst many tourists during your rest and relaxation period. 

Playa Blanca Cayo Largo, Cuba

Main lobby

Bar and stage area

When we arrived there we decided to grab a bite to eat and we were fortunate to meet Carlos, who ended up being our server and buddy for the entire week.  He made sure that our stay there was memorable and that our glasses of preferred beverage never went empty.  One word of caution.  If you plan on going to this particular place beware of the frenchies.  There were a lot of people from Montreal and let me tell you, I was not impressed with their behaviour.  They did not understand the concept of a line up and personal space.  (this is not to say that ALL people from Montreal are like that...just the ones that were there)  Other than that I absolutely loved it there.  Our room was 3 minutes away from the beach which was fantabulous.

A piece of paradise

View from our balcony

  ...Oh yeah...I guess I should say that the regular beach was washed away by the hurricane that passed by there earlier that year so we had to use the beach that was closer to our room.  Bonus you say?  Why yes, yes it was nice to be so close to the beach....the nudist beach that is.  Yup, that was where we were...No, no we did not go nude.  It would have been a bit awkward for me especially since I vacationed with my in-laws and my husband's other family members.  Funny moments include Uncle Lupco saying "Joanne, JOANNE LOOK...they are ALL naked!" (Out loud...in front of the nudists hehe), ride of hellish proportions going to another beach where we all squished into one car (think Fast and Furious minus the kick ass car, Vin Diesel and the NOS) and...well the nudists in general.  Let us say that not a single Brad Pitt-Achilles or Helen of Troy type was present at the beach.  Hell, I would have settled for semi-fit or less saggy...BUT when you see Jabba the Hut sitting on a chair spread eagle with nothing but a traveling mug as a cover for her privates...well that gets a bit disturbing.   At another point while we were strolling down the beach we passed by a man who was less than well endowed (in fact...it looked like there was nothing there and YES i did look...I couldn't help myself...don't worry he did not know as I was sporting some shades to cover my shifty eyes) and I thought "wow this man is either really really confident or really really clueless".  I have nothing against nudists either.  They may do as they please.  In fact, kudos to them for having the guts to show it all off.
The place was really lovely.  Especially the Playa Sirena.  That was the beach we visited with our race car driver for a taxi.  The sand, the water....WOW.

Absolutely amazing spot

Heaven on earth

It is later that we have actually been told and realised that because the sand is so fine (and I don't mean..DAMN that sand was FIIIIINE!) and white it does not burn your feet when you walk on it.  We also visited a Turtle farm where sea turtles hatch and get later released at another location.

Me and my little buddy.

  It was a fantastic vacation and I certainly enjoyed myself.   Drinks and food were good and plentiful, the entertainment was nice and all in all the place provided lots of R&R or party life as you pleased.

Hubby and I enjoying time at the beach

Night of shenanigans

Underwater fun

The Ladies...this was not rehearsed or planned

Playa Blanca in its glory

Having a good time

 In fact this was such a good vacation that I walked away with a little "Something Special' in the end ;) 
Tootles
Ewa
P.S. note of caution-When going down south make sure you bring your travel mug with.  Not to cover your bits and pieces but to have for your beverages.  You're welcome

10-10-10

For those of you who have been there you know what that series of numbers mean.  For those who have not, here is a little glimpse into what happened on that date. 

October 10th, 2010.  The date I married my best friend.  LuLu, you will always be my wifey but I mean my other best friend, my husband Daniel.  Now, before I go on...no, we did not pick that date because of the cool coincidence of the triple ten.  Daniel and I started dating October 10th 2006, he proposed to me 3 years after that on October 10th,2009 and so keeping with all our dates we knew we wanted to get married exactly a year after on October 10, 2010.  Our original idea was to get married on a beautiful hot Caribbean island but that got kyboshed due to some restrictions and us being sticklers for the date.  With 7 months to our wedding date we finally started to plan one in Canada.  For 7 months of planning time and our easy going nature I believe we didn't do too bad on the whole event.  My whole mindset going into that big day was...i don't care if the church lays in ruins around us, I am marrying that man and that is that.  This made my stress level low (now everyone around me...well that was a different story).  The day came and it truly was a wonderful day for me.  Now here's my 5 cents of knowledge I will impart on anyone who would like to listen. 
1.   The Dress

Counting down the minutes

With a helpful hand from momma

My dress was Coco by Maggie Sottero.  It was diamond white, taffeta, strapless, slim A-line gown with corset closure.  Three stores and 30 dresses later I have found "The One" I was going to walk down the isle in to meet my husband.  My advice is this:  Do not hesitate to try on as many dresses as you need to because you need to know with your whole body that the one you have on is THE ONE.  I love my dress and wish I could wear it again and again haha (crazy lady talk here).  After trying so many dresses on and thinking "Holy shit if I have to try one more bloody dress on I will wear a paper bag and call it a day" I tried on this little gem of mine.  My reaction...cry like a friggen baby.  That's when I knew "say yes to this effin dress already".  I would like to thank the ladies of Everlasting Memories for making my experience such a wonderful one. 

2.  The Flowers

love

This was the best deal for me out of the whole wedding (minus the husband of course).  Our theme was black, white with green accents.  For the flowers we decided to go with orchids.  B-E-A-UUUTIFUL flowers and the best part is...they last a long time.  I wanted Hydrangeas but I soon learned that unless they are immersed in water 24/7, they die a fast and wilty death.  Research your flowers, that's fo sho.  We also decided that for our wedding we will try to use as many local businesses or ma and pa shops as possible.  Our flowers came from Bev's Flowers in Bowmanville and I was extremely pleased with the service we got.  Not only did she provide us with great advice and excellent customer service she also helped us out with a last minute additional boutonniere (and by last minute I mean and hour or so to the wedding).

3.  The Cake

Waste of money.  Take that 500-1000$ or however much you'd like to spend on this pastry and spend it on something else.  I loved my cake but I cannot eat a whole bloody cake by myself and that's pretty much what's going to happen unless you make that cake part of your dessert at the wedding.  If you talk to people you will see that most of the time the guests, don't eat the cake.  Have something you can cut into as per tradition but honestly, don't bother with much otherwise. 

The Perfect Pair (Pear) Cake :)

4.  The Bridesmaids

Pick 1 or 20...this is your show and you can do whatever the hell you want.  Don't look at what's proper and what's not, just go with what will make you happy.  With that said, you probably want to go with your closest girlfriends for this one.  Don't feel OBLIGATED to ask one to be the MOH over any other.  Don't listen to bitching girlfriends whine and bitch about how they should be in your wedding party or why they weren't chosen to be the MOH.  I say to those ladies "get yo own wedding". 

The wedding gang (minus Raquel who's behind Daniel)

5.  The Guestlist

Absolutely up to you.  Whether you are a person who wants to invite everybody and their mother or "who the hell are you to me?" person this one is totally up to you...obviously.  Let your parents be involved slightly but not too much.  This is your day and don't forget that.  Do what feels good.

6.  The Venue

You want to go with something that is worth your every penny.  Customer service, food, people all that counts in your choice or at least it should.  ASK about bridal suites and who has the key to those because I had a random lady and her daughter breastfeeding her little baby in MY suite...where I had all our purses and gifts and such stashed WTF??? That I wasn't too pleased with but otherwise I loved my venue. 

7.  Advice

Some is good, some is bad.  Go with what your gut or your brain tell you.

My wedding was a relaxed, fun and good times kind of a wedding (at least that's what I heard from majority).  I enjoyed every minute and didn't stress about the little things, also because I had such wonderful people help me out and surround me at all times.  It was truly a happy day because in the end I walked off with my wonderful hubby.  This coming October it will be my second year anniversary and I only hope that future years will be just as blissful as these have been. 

My love

* Now, I understand that many things can happen and you never know what life has in store for you but you can have hope that life will work out for you in the end*

Tootles
Ewa

Get ready for the onslaught..

Alright...
So it has been a while...yet again.  Now that I have some time off between work and impending motherhood I figured this is as good time as any to finally update my bloggity blog.  I hope you are all ready (what all 5 of you? haha) for what's about to come your way.  I will start off with a little reminiscing about my wedding and hopefully share a few photos (this might come in stages since my regular computer conked out and all my pictures are on there).  After that I will share my Cuba experience with pics of course and eventually lead you into my time as a pregnant woman (this might get a little descriptive as I'm all about telling you the truth and not sugar coating anything).  Remember...I did warn you.  :)  Let's do this in stages so this way I don't overwhelm you, the computer and my blog.
Sooo here we go.
P.s.  You know you haven't posted much on the blog when you log in and EVERYTHING has changed and you have no idea what the hell is going on here.
Tootles.
Ewa

4 months overdue

I cannot believe it has been that long since my last post.  I get wrapped up in life sometimes too much, but I guess there can be worst things right?  I had the pleasure in those 4 months to have my first anniversary with my lovely hubby and go to a lovely trip to Cayo Largo Cuba in November as well as have a lovely Christmas with family and friends and a few "surprises" along the way.  I read some good books, listened to some good music and all in all had a wonderful time.  That's just the quick summary of all that happened.  I missed my writing though and hence, here I am back again.  In the next few posts I will pay a little homage to my wonderful marriage (that sounded a little mushy but bear with me) by posting a few pictures from my wedding.  I will also regale you with stories of my wonderful trip to Cuba.  Show a few pictures and such. 
So with this said, I shall return soon (less than 24 hrs I assure you) to share my stories.

Tootles
Ewa