Happy Hour has that affect on me..in Belize...

Yesterday morning started out with a goal of finding  Marbucks Coffee House, I had seen signs pointing from the beach and from the road but was not quite sure where (in between the road and the beach) it could be.  Yesterday, I decided to quit being wimpy and follow the signs. Apparently, there is a road in between the main road and the beach, which I should have remembered from my last visit. It was the less bumpy road Larry took because the unpaved main road was full of ruts.

Breakfast at Marbucks Coffee House

The adventure was worth it.  I enjoyed a delicious breakfast bagel sandwich with coffee and decided that I now have another beach breakfast option.

View from the Boca Del Rio Bridge

I then took a walk (all the way) into town.  I followed the main road to the Boca Del Rio Bridge. After the bridge, I took a left to the beach and followed the beach to the town square.  






From Grand Caribe to the town square it is about 2 miles  - two hot, sweaty miles.  I walked around the square a bit and then hopped the water taxi back to Grand Caribe's dock.

I might should have stopped at 1 LI...

I did a few laps in the pool and then heard happy hour calling from the pool bar.  And what a happy hour it was.  A lobster quesadilla and two long island ice teas later and I was feeling no pain the rest of the day and into the night.  Who knew happy hour Long Islands could be so strong?  

Stella's in the morning

First thing this morning I headed to Stella's Smile Wine bar. Margo told me about Stella's and their bottomless Sangrias.  It is a fairly new place about a quarter of a mile south of Grand Caribe. In addition to the bottomless Sangria in the evenings, they offer a bottomless Mimosa on weekend mornings.  What better way to get over a Long Island hangover than imbibing in a few mimosas?  Oh, and their crepes are pretty awesome,  too. I enjoyed a lobster crepe because, when in Belizin in lobster season, I try to take advantage.







After breakfast, I took another walk into town.  I did a little shopping before returning  via  water taxi. 

Stella's in the evening...

A few laps in the pool and back to Stella's to try the famous pizza night with bottomless Sangria.  I opted for the white pizza with shrimp topping.  It was sooooo good.  I have enough for lunch tomorrow  - or maybe a late night snack tonight because I am getting hungry thinking about it sitting in the fridge. 

After I asked for a box for my leftovers, the staff moved a chair to their dock so I could continue to enjoy my bottomless Sangrias and a good view of the lagoon.  And, a few Sangrias later, when  I was ready to leave, they poured one for the road. Bottomless really is bottomless at Stella's

On a sad note, I am missing the tree trimming party happening tonight  at my son's place back in Ohio; I do love a tree trimming party when it is not my tree to trim.  But on the flip side, I am in Belize.  


Disclaimer: There may be typos, misspellings, bad grammar in this post- it's the Sangria doing the writing.

Belize me....

I started  writing this while sipping on a Mimosa at the pool bar this morning.  But then breakfast came and got in the way. I could get use to this life.

Yesterday, I started the day with a walk North along the beach.

I thought I might make all the way to the bridge leading to town,but about 3/4th of the way, I realized I should have eaten something before I started out. So, back to the pool bar for breakfast and a not-spicy Bloody Mary that ended up being hot n spicy.  

My Favorite Lap Pool

After breakfast and a few laps in my favorite lap pool, I hitched a ride to town with David, during his lunch break.










I walked around town a bit, visited a couple of gift shops and a few landmarks I remembered from my last visit, and then took the water taxi back to Grand Caribe. I hope to get back into town at least once this visit to dine at Estel's Dine by the Sea and take the ferry to Caye Caulker.


This morning, I woke up feeling under the weather.  My head does not like the Belizean humidity any more  than it likes the Ohio humidity.  So after my morning walk, poolside breakfast, and a few water-walking laps, I gave in and took a couple hour nap. I hate wasting  daylight napping, but the clouds and rain made the guilt a little easier to handle.

I opted for the naturally mild Mimosa this morning!

When I woke up, the clouds were still lingering, outside and in my head.  It was not raining so I took a walk to the truck stop for dinner.  I enjoyed Shrimp Diablo and a Beliken on their deck overlooking the lagoon.









It started to rain a bit on my walk back - just enough to create a beautiful rainbow.





And now my head is hurting again, so I am going to  see what I can do to make it stop.  I want to feel like walking to  Marbucks coffee house in the morning.

A perfect vacation day...

I did not get up early this morning.

I did not go for a morning walk, but instead enjoyed coffee and a toasted  bagel  on my porch.

I did spend a lot of time lounging by the pool - until the dark clouds brought showers early this afternoon.  I took the showers as a sign that I should take a nap - and so I did.

I did manage to get in an afternoon walk along the beach.

 I returned to find this guy welcoming me back to Grand Caribe...

...pointing me to the pool bar where they serve those awesome shrimp and mozzarella sandwiches and  funky monkey umbrella drinks:)

Ah yes, a perfect vacation day!

Outtakes from Belize - Part One

In case you have missed my blog...it's back...

What brings it back?

Well, I am on a much needed vacation in Belize and having a totally relaxing and awesome time.

But.....

I am too cheap to pay for International Cellular service so I cannot post to FB like I usually do when I am out and about doing something fun or wanting to share an opinion or two or three.  (Which is all good, because, honestly, I do stop whatever I am doing to share to FB a lil too much when it is readily available.)

And another but....

I expect  the sun to shine longer in warmer weather.  The Belizean sun does not live up to my expectations - it gets dark here just as early as it does back home:( 

And then there's the mosquitoes - lots and lots of mosquitoes - OMG!!!  American mosquitoes do not bother me so much, but these Belizean mosquitoes - they love me tooo much. Tho after retreating indoors and downing a couple of benadryl tabs - all is well.

Rest assured, I am not complaining - just explaining why my blog is back.  Rather than waste parts of my days FBing,   I have decided to try to just post my adventures once each evening after the sun stops shining and the mosquitoes start biting.  (Maybe I can carry this practice back to the States with me.   Ok, probably not - who am I kidding?)

This morning, I walked along the beach to AKBOL for a delicious beachside breakfast of coffee with a ham and cheese fryjack. I was tempted to sign up for the free morning yoga class, but  then I remembered how much I do not like to sweat, so I opted for water walking back at the Grand Caribe lap pool - no class needed:)

Then I sat by the beach for a bit before water-walking  a
few more laps.














The best part of the day so far was the long walk north along the beach 

past Captain Morgan's. I definitely reached my step goal today.

Along the way, I met this guy...

and  revisited this tree...

And then,  back at Grand Caribe, I made myself a tuna steak and enjoyed a beer on the porch.

Now I am thinking of heading over to Rain and having another beer or two...

Cheers!

Romantic as Hell, Funny as Hell...

Romantic as what????

Oh hell, yes.

When I first started blogging a few years ago, I somehow happened upon this...at http://www.midgetmanofsteel.com/

Yeah, that.

Moooooog35 is irreverent, to say the least. And something in the reformed Catholic girl that I am loved it and could not get enough of it. I caught up on previous posts and continued to look forward to his daily bits of mental poo.

Back to the present, my life has been a little hectic lately - filled with work and grand puppies and a new grandbaby and kids planning weddings and relocations and on and on - everything except romance.

But that is about to change, because of this:

Moooooog35 (aka Rodney Lacroix) writes books, too.   For months Rodney has claimed that his latest masterpiece contains some of the best romance advice of all time ...

Which may or may not be true...

It seems that snorting, lauging out loud, choking from laughing out loud, farting and/or peeing your pants in public (even if from laughing out loud) tends to counteract any chance of a romantic encounter.

Who knew????

I do know that this book is full of tried and tested (you really did that???) hilarious do's and don'ts for initiating, holding together, and  maintaining a relationship.

The how - to lessons begin with a a couple of teenage horror stories (the don'ts), and continue through a few steady relationships, a few proposals, a marriage, a divorce, post divorce on-line dating, and a second marriage (with kids and step-kids).  

Seriously, no matter where you are in life, there is something in this book for you - something to laugh at, or cry about, or to be embarrassed for Rodney about. You may even learn a thing or two. 

I found a few ideas to try on my next husband, assuming the relationship initiation ideas actually work well enough to  get me a date that turns into a few dates that lead to a steady relationship that ends in a proposal in the not-to-distant future. That is a lot of assumption, I know.  But I have faith in Rodney.

If you prefer a little theatre with your humor, Rodney provides that as well.  I am not sure why, but he felt the need to treat each chapter as an Act  -  complete with an an opening scene.  Whatever, Rodney.  I could have done without that, but I am an just one reader among thousands. I am sure a few hundred others are loving it...

And just to make sure you are grasping the main ideas, Rodney  provides a Progress Checklist at the end of each act.

I have now completed all eight  checklists and am ready to embark on a romantic adventure of my own - to test my real-life understanding of Rodney's lessons. 

Wish me luck.

While I am doing that,  I challenge you to pick Rodney's brain (or better yet read his book) and learn to " make your relationship a little more squishy in the heart parts" because " squishy hearts lead to harder other things on the regular."  Yeah, those are Rodney's words, not mine.  

Let me get you started.   Follow the links below to Amazon or Barnes and  Noble.

Romantic as Hell  Paperback: Amazon

Romantic as Hell  Kindle: Amazon

Romantic as Hell Paperback B&N

After reading Romantic as Hell, I am pretty sure you will want more Rodney.   Lucky for you, there is more. He has two previous books:  "Things Go Wrong for Me"  and "Perhaps I've Said Too Much." Take my word for it, if you like funny, they are both worth the read.

You can purchase all three of Rodney's books in all formats, including autographed copies, at Rodney Lacroix  or at R C G Publishing.

Enjoy!

Words of encouragement...

I am making myself walk this morning around the neighborhood. ..

...despite the heat.

...despite not feeling so great.

....despite feeling grubby - why shower before I sweat?

...while listening to Meatloaf:)

A neighbor who I had not met before stopped me to offer words of encouragement...

She encouraged me to keep it up. She told me how she dropped from a size 20-22 to 10-12 over the last 5 years just by making healthier choices...not killing herself:)

And she looked close to my age...

So glad I took this morning walk...

Kudos to you, Betsy.  Thanks for the kind words.

Sleep is not always a good thing....

My head does not seem to get along with the summer heat -at all.

Damn head...what is  not to love about summer?

This morning, unwilling to heed my head's low warning, I ventured into thegreat outdoors  to run some errands.   I planned to end the errand run with a nice long walk  in the park (since there are no beaches close by). But my head would have none of it...

By late afternoon, the low warning was a blasting fog horn.

So I laid down for a bit, thinking that might help.

NOT...GRRR....

I fell asleep and woke up two hours later...

My head hurts worse...

And the dreams I am remembering...ugh!  I am afraid to write about them for fear they will come true.

I am sitting here crying.

Partly because of the dreams but mostly because of the Vick's vapo-rub face mask I have applied.

I think Mrs. Grass may be hiding in my cupboard.  I am going to coax her out and team her up with Vick to beat the hurt out of my head.

Results to follow...