Cozumel day #5

For our final day, we woke up extra early to take one last drive around the coast and relax on the beach.  I spent my time wandering the sand looking and seashalls and running shrieking from the occasional crab.  Felipe lounged, occasionally beckoning me back when he felt I had wandered too far (which meant further than 20 feet from home base.)

This picture makes me giggle.   

After our beach adventure we lounged by the pool and tried to finish up all the snacks and beverages in the frig.  Felipe made it through a gatorade, I made it through 2 dos equis and convinced him to escort me down the street for some delicious fish tacos which I devoured.  Best fish tacos of my life!  Poor Felipe lunched on cereal and a banana.  I love having a stomach of steel.  Before departing, Rueben tried to teach us to play the conch.  My 2 weeks of trumpet playing in fifth grade payed off, and I managed to make it toot on my first try (much to everyone's amazement.)

The flight back was uneventful and we arrived home to two sweet kitties, a clean house, and loads of laundry.

cozumel day #4

The morning of day 4 was a sigh of relief.  Felipe was feeling good, so we got up early, packed some snacks, and headed for the beach. Our first stop was playa palancar, a public beach complete with tropical drinks, a restaurant, 2 peacocks, and lounge chairs.  Ever the vigilant sunbather, I tried to keep my skin protected;)

After awhile we got hungry for lunch, so we hopped into "green-go" for a ride down the coast to a beautiful secluded beach.  There, we feasted on bananas and granola bars and took in the sights.

After the beach felipe took me shopping for this awesome woven bag I had seen earlier when cruising the shops.  Since we happened to stroll past fave margarita place, we stopped in for a delicious strawberry margarita.  We snacked on guac, pico, and quesadillas and turned in early to lounge in bed watching reality tv.  Just as we were turning down the lights, this giant flying cockroach deciding to spice things up.  Luckily I have a pretty tough husband who managed to hunt it down with his bare hands, and half a can of very toxic bug spray.

cozumel day #3

Day 3 started out a bit rough, Montezuma decided to get some revenge on Felipe.  But, I had an ashiatsu massage to look forward too and I wasn't letting Montezuma (or a sunburn) get in my way.

After my massage, a trip to Mega for some loperamide, and an afternoon siesta we rented a beat-up VW Convertible. With a quick lesson in reverse, and a pair of oversized sunglasses we took off for a trip along the island's coastal beaches.

It was an absolutely gorgeous drive, and felipe was a pro at the clutch. My favorite beaches were along the quiet (and electricity free) east coast where you could park along the side of the highway and scout out your own spot in the sand.

cozumel day #2

We set an alarm for the early hour of 9am to prepare for our boat trip.  After a nice omelette at a street-side diner we lathered up with spf 70 and hopped a taxi to the Blue Angel Resort to meet up with our guides, Kim & Dario.  Felipe was rather skeptical when he saw the other boat passengers (who happened to be paler than I am and had "built-in" lifevests), but the trip ended up being amazing.

Snorkeling took a bit of getting used to, but once you got the hang of putting your face in the water and breathing through a straw it was very peaceful and quite romantic.  I manged to convince felipe snorkeling would be so much better if we held hands;)  We had an amazing lunch while docked along the coast - grilled chicken, rice, guac, salsa, fresh fruit, and dos equis.  Yummy!  We both took brief naps on the deck while we sailed around and I developed this lovely pink lobster shade which put a damper on sunbathing for the rest of the trip.

Walking back to the resort we stopped at Mexico's version of Walmart, Mega, to get me some aloe.  Felipe found grenadillas, a weird gooey fruit that he loves.  I found chocolate croissants.  We both had happy tummys.  Based on Kim's recommendation, we stopped by Wet Wendy's for the best margarita in cozumel.  This place did not disappoint, felipe went for the traditional lime but I decided to be a bit more adventurous with the cucumber-jalapeno.  Heaven!  I kept catching felipe sneaking drinks of my margarita!

cozumel day #1

Traveling to cozumel went fairly smooth.  We were super nervous with all the snow on Sunday but we made it through the snow and the roads were quite drivable.  We layered up before we went - in total I had on 5 (t-shirt, button down, hoodie, jean jacket, and scarf) which kept me warm enough and allowed me to take off a layer at each destination.  Unfortunately our plane had technical difficulties in DFW and we were delayed for 2 hours - I was getting so anxious I put in a call to our travel insurance agent where I was informed the layover had to be >6h for our benefits to kick in.  In the end, I decided a 2h layover without benefits was much better than a 6h layover with a free dinner.

The cozumel airport is about the size of KC which made customs a breeze.  It was 80 with lots of sunshine which made me very sad I had forgotten my sunglasses.  Our hotel, Casita de Maya, was a 2 block walk from the airport so we didn't need to haggle for a taxi.  We were greeted by Dan (the owner), Rueben (the "concierge"), Trixie (the dog), and a sweet kitty that loved to lay in our luggage.  Made me miss my own kiddos a bit less.

After changing into island-appropriate clothes we walked down to the coast where the cruise ships dock and all the shops are.  Absolutely gorgeous!  We enjoyed our first margaritas (mango!) and some fresh salsa before making our way to dinner at a local seafood restaurant with amazing pico and the best shrimp ceviche.  By the time we made it home it was dark and we were both exhausted!

Recipe #15: Fried Pickles

For Valentines's Day we got out the Fry Daddy and fried up some pickles and asparagus.  Grease overload!  Not sure where the romance fit in, but we definitely enjoyed ourselves.  If you decide to make the pickles, I'd definitely recommend double dipping so you have lots of good crispy coating.

Scary

I feel blessed to have avoided this terrible pile-up, the same road I drive daily to the Leavenworth VA.

(click link for video)

I am Meredith Grey

Anyone see this episode of Grey's Anatomy?



Well, I got to live it yesterday.  Luckily I didn't drop a transplant organ, but it was just as awkward.  So glad I have a 3 day weekend to forget all about it.

SuperBowl Sunday

Had our friends, the Schumachers over for SuperBowl Sunday.  Pulled out my new barefoot contessa cookbook and tried several recipes - turkey meatloaf (shaped like a football!), roasted tomatoes (def recommend trying this one!), and chocolate pudding cake (which tastes like brownie batter, and is do die for!)  That brings me up to 14 new recipes this year!

Felipe whipped up some homemade guac which was quite tasty and we even wore matching sweaters.

Rather disappointed in the commercials- but here's my fave:

bah humbug

Super sleepy, my sinuses are all stuffed up, and I'm not a fan of surgical personalities.  Blah!  Cheers for an upoming beach vacation!

Foodies!

I think the hubby & I are starting to become foodies (at least that's what I tell myself as day-by-day my pants get a little tighter.) 

Our most recent adventures include my birthday trip to El Pulgarcito, a little restaurant on the "wrong side of the tracks" in merriam.  I got to try pupusas (kinda like a pancake), indulge in carne asada, and feast on fried plantains.  Greasy, but absolutely satisfying.

Next, was top chef rosso-style with felipe and I battling over breakfast-for-dinner.   On the left is Felipe's deconstructed omelet with summer sausage and jalapeno's.  On the right is my rendition of Barefoot Contessa's creamy cheddar grits, my first foray into one of Britney Spears faves (only difference is I made mine with cheddar.)

Yesterday we dined on some fantastic grilled chicken from a carry-out place in the barrio called El Pollo Rey.  Eating here renewed my desire to learn spanish, so that I wouldn't need Fel to place my order!  Not that there is much to learn, they only have 2 things on the menu: half-chicken and whole-chicken.  It comes grilled with homemade white corn tortillas, beans, rice, picked red onions, and delicious tangy salsa.  We each got 2 meals out of the whole chicken which cost a whopping $12.   Yum!

Jackson's new digs

Upside down, sideways, sliding across the floor, this is his new hideaway!

Recipe #10: pork and chive pot stickers

I first tried these delicious pot stickers at the Schumacher's.  Hannah's were gorgeous (and delicious), perfectly formed and browned.  Figured I'd give them a try.  The recipe looked simple enough.

First, you mix the filling - scallions, ginger, ground pork.  Got my hands dirty and mixed it good.  Then, you put a small spoonful in the middle of a wonton wrapper, wet the edges, and seal it up.  So far, so good.  I had a lovely 40 wontons ready to go.

Next you boil them to cook the filling.  Now, you want to boil them a few at at a time so they don't stick together.  I figured I'd toss them in the colander to drain so that felipe could brown them up nice and toasty.

 

The first batch never stood a chance.  They dried into a gigantic clump of wonton and the fragile wrappers couldn't withstand the stress of being separated.  10 wontons down the drain (well, actually into our tummies.)  Turns out wontons taste just a good all jumbled up, but are slightly harder to eat with chopsticks.

The second 10 were perfect!  We decided about 20 wontons were all our bellies could hold, so the rest were sent to the freezer for another day.  After the first clumping fiasco, I knew better than to throw them all into a freezer bag.  Instead, I painstakingly laid them out on plates so that they could be individually frozen and later placed into bags.  I woke up early the next morning so I could seal them up before they caught a frost.  Turns out they froze to the plates, and I couldn't get them pried off.  So back out on the counter they went to thaw.  By this point I was so nervous about working with pork, they went promptly into the trash.

Sigh.

Recipe #9: Baked Shrimp Scampi

Beyond delicious - Barefoot Contessa can do no wrong.  Lost season premiere, baked shrimp scampi, the perfect night (until Felipe passes out on me after taking otc cold medicine!)

my first day of surgery. . . .

wish me luck!  i'll be dealing with some big surgeon ego's this month.  ugh!