Picture This!

Pictures convey things so much better than words...so, here are some photos of what we've been up to the past few weeks.

BOATING






Palito Verde (Green Stick) Beach





OVERNIGHT JUNKET TO SAN SEBASTIAN - Real de San Sebastian




Room at the Inn








DINING - Coco's in San Sebastian






BUCERIAS BEACH






MAINTAINING LIFE BALANCE





Todo muy bien! (It's all really good!)

"Dukan" It Out

Mid-life has been giving me tons of grief for about 5 years now. Menopause for the last 3 years has been particularly brutal.

Bio-identical hormone replacement therapy (BHRT) has successfully addressed some of the worst symptoms (severe hot flashes and insomnia), but has failed to touch the issues of edema (water retention and associated puffiness and swelling in my face, feet/ankles and hands) and weight gain (water and fat) all over, but especially around my midriff. Not much ages a woman the way the lost of her waistline does. That really signals "youth is o-v-e-r". Depressing.

I've had success in dropping weight following the Atkins Diet principles in the past (by eating much more protein and zero refined carbs) but it no longer seems to have the same effect for me. My mid-life body seems much more adept at hanging onto its water and fat deposits!

I'd heard about the "Dukan Diet" and know someone who was having good success following that plan. I thought I better check it out, so downloaded Dr.Pierre Dukan's book onto my Kindle and started reading on February 1st (the start of a new month seems like a good time to change habits).

He certainly has nailed the problems of menopausal women like me re: water retention, puffiness, and stubborn weight gain! But man, this sounds like one tough regimen. He doesn't pull any punches - he's clear that the steps he's outlined must be followed exactly or you will not get any results at all. Yeah, right, I thought.

I started following parts of his plan - started eating only lean protein, eliminated ALL refined carbs, had the odd little bit of veggie, and drank much more water for about 3 days. In that time period, I fell off the Dukan wagon once and ate a few deep fried shrimp in batter. End result? I noticed NO changes whatsoever in how I was feeling or looking.

So, I thought I better get more serious if I was really going to give this a try. I am now sticking with the instructions of his "Attack Phase" and eating only lean protein and drinking lots of water. Two days in, and I can see the edema in my feet and ankles has disappeared. This is encouraging!

I went online to his site and entered in all the weight history/current weight info and had it calculate my ideal weight, and how long it would take to reach it on this diet. I put my goal weight at 160 lbs and the Dukan site agreed and cited 161 lbs as my ideal weight...and said it will take 158 days to reach it!!!

This is going to test my patience and fortitude. But I am off to a good start in that my husband went to the local bakery this morning and brought home/ate a cinnamon bun...and I didn't even glance in that direction. I will just have to keep looking at my newly re-discovered ankle bones for inspiration and commitment.

Todo bien. (It's all good.)

A Gorgeous Friday the 13th!

It's Friday, January 13th - another glorious sunny day here in Mexico!

2012 has gotten off to a great start - wonderful visits with family/friends, and my business is back to booming. Nice to know I can work successfully - remotely - from abroad. Although I often curse technology, I have to bless it in this case and admit it is giving me freedom and the ability to earn my living on my own terms.

We spent New Year's Eve on the beach watching the fireworks around the Bay of Banderas and tossing our bits of paper into the beach bonfires...paper upon which we had written all our wishes and hopes for 2012. It's a magical, and fast-working, process! Only thirteen days into the new year and the signs are appearing that it could well be a banner year on all fronts.

We have good health, our dear friends, our important family members, and everything we could wish for a happy, healthy and prosperous life. It's not without it's challenges, and challengers, but nothing we can't handle with courage, grace and integrity.

Todo bien. (It's all good.)

The Restaurant Blacklist

El Brujo in Bucerias has been added to my restaurant "blacklist." We had awful service and a dreadful (and expensive) meal there last evening. The only good thing was the beachfront view of a spectacular sunset, and the restaurant can't take any credit for that!

Anyway, I slammed them in a TripAdvisor review this morning, so am feeling somewhat avenged.

It amazes us how the Mexican restauranteurs think it's okay to charge gourmet restaurant prices for pretty basic Mexican fare, poorly prepared and poorly served. They certainly aren't relying on repeat business.

It was quite a contrast to the wonderful service and food experienced on Christmas Day for dinner at Mezzogiorno (right next door to El Brujo). Mezzogiorno does it right - the vast majority of other Puerto Vallarta area restaurants do not.

Todo bien. (It's all good.)

Thinking Ahead to 2012

Once Christmas Day has come and gone, my thoughts turn to the rapidly approaching new year. What will 2012 hold? What do I WANT it to hold?

I am pretty optimistic that 2012 should be better than 2009 (my mother's stroke, and ensuing estrangement from my older sister, "Gigi"), 2010 (my mother's death, and our condo flood and 4 months of repairs), and 2011 (my gall bladder surgery, never-ending cottage renovation nightmares and Home Depot kitchen misadventures, and the death of Gigi's elderly 2nd husband).

This past fall, I mentally worked through a lot of my issues with Gigi. I feel no active wrath or acrimony, and have apologized to her for my part in our estrangement and the hurt I caused. She accepted and reciprocated with her own apology.

Gigi now seems to want to resume some kind of sisterly relationship but, frankly, I am not so sure. Just because I harbour no active ill will or grudges doesn't mean I trust her, or want her to be much of a presence in my life. The bit of e-mail communication we've had has been chock-a-block full of questionable choices she's making re: romantic relationships (ah, suffice it to say the, um, paramours are not completely available) and she's also just lost her driver's licence for 3 months.

I offered sympathy on the driver's licence issue, but have maintained a purposeful silence on the romantic issues - those are land mines. If I told her what I really think, we'd be at each others' throats in no time.

I refuse to be cast in the role of someone whom she can rebel against - she seems to need that in her life. While our parents were alive, she rebelled against them. Now they are gone, and she insists on sharing upsetting things with me that she must know contravene my beliefs, morals and values. Who NEEDS it? NOT me.

One thing that my 2012 won't contain much of is Gigi - that is a fact.

Todo bien. (It's all good.)

Feliz Navidad 2011!

It's a beautiful sunny Christmas day here in Mexico! And we have a warm, fuzzy feeling from knowing we contributed to making the day of some local kids here - we contributed to the Christmas gift toy drive organized by some ex pats, and helped out by our Canadian friend GW.

We (along with many others) handed cash to GW, and he did all the toy shopping - he's great at it! After the toy shopping run, he drove by our place and showed us a minivan full of things that will be sure to have the kiddies smiling today!

We've been in e-contact with friends and family, sending greetings and best holiday wishes...and once I do the dishes and make our bed, we'll be off to the beach for the day!

Christmas dinner tonight will be at our favourite beachfront restaurant, Mezzogiorno. I'm thinking spaghetti and meatballs - they do a fabulous rendition of this dish.

Merry Christmas to one and all!

Todo bien. (It's all good.)

Occidental Freeloading

This week we ran into friends (R & H) from back home who were down here on a pre-Christmas family vacation - staying in Nuevo at the Occidental Grand Vallarta. It was so nice to spend time with some pals who we had not seen in quite a while!

They invited us down to their resort to spend the afternoon yesterday. It's an all-inclusive and of course we weren't wearing the turquoise wristbands, so had to be "smuggled" in (which just means you try to act like you belong there, and always keep one wrist covered so security can't easily spot you as an outsider!).

The resort was very nice and we were most impressed with the food and drinks that R & H supplied us with poolside all afternoon. So many all-inclusives have so-so food and weak drinks, but not this place! We can recommend the Occidental Grand Vallarta on the basis of the food and beverages alone, but R & H's oceanfront room was very nice too.

We're looking forward to more visiting family and friends down here in 2012 - it can feel a bit lonely at times, even amid all the Canadian ex pats.

Feliz Navidad to all!

Todo bien. (It's all good.)