Get Away to Where the Boat Leaves From

As Zac Brown suggested, we got away to where the boat leaves from - to take away all of our big problems. All our worries, we could drop them in the blue ocean but we had to get away to where the boat leaves from.

Yep, BDR and I went to Playa del Carmen, Mexico - a little town south of Cancun where the ferry takes people to Cozumel. We took the red eye out last Tuesday, nearly missed our connecting flight through Chicago but made it to the beach by about 2:00. We drug some chairs out toward the water and just relaxed.

It was pretty amazing, to say the least. We left 30s and dreary Kansas City for 85 and sunny Playa. Ah, I want to go back.

We didn't do a ton while we were there, lots of walking on the beach:

Lots of wading the water:, swimming, and body surfing:

And lots of lying around, enjoying the view:

It was a great way for BDR and I to connect and really spend a lot of QT together. That was quite possibly the best part.

We stayed at the Sandos Playacar Beach Resort & Spa. It was the furthest south in Playacar, and probably the biggest. Supposedly it was a 5-star resort, but I'd say 3-star at best. We had to switch rooms a few times, in hopes of finding a room without ant farms, with a working shower and a semi-comfortable bed. We ended up in the building closest to the beach, with a jungle/ocean view. Luckily the resort itself was beautiful and the people, although they didn't always follow through, were very nice and friendly.

One of the coolest things about our trip, besides the amazing environment, was that it was truly an international experience. There were very few other Americans at our resort. Tons of Canadians, lots of Norweigans, and many other Europeans. I got to practice my long-lost Spanish skills and I was suprised at how quickly my "vocabulario" came back! There was tons of great people watching. I mean, people in bathing suits on the beach, of all shapes and sizes - the people and the swim suits!

More to come about other trip highlights... Check back soon!

Stache for Cash!

So for all of February, BDR grew a moustache.

Day 1:

Day 28:

It was a charity fundraiser for Special Olympics Kansas. And BDR raised $400!!!

Luckily, he shaved it off before vacation! I'm so proud of the department's biggest fundraiser!!!



Pete ate my Valentine's Day chocolates

Last night, when BDR and I took Stella to puppy class, Peter was pretty upset that he didn't get to go. So upset that he had to eat to hide from his feelings.

That's right, he opened up my box of chocolates and ate every piece!

It's a darn good thing he has an iron stomach, or else he'd be pretty upset right now. Instead he's just laying there licking his tennis ball, happy as a clam.

This is what happened when we got home....

The rest is still unwritten

So my pal Kmac tagged me in her latest post on her ever-hilarious blog. I figured if I didn't comply, I would be officially defriended and that is not something I'm willing to risk!

So here I am on a Friday afternoon, wishing I had a window to gaze into the sunshine playing a little bloggy game in hopes of rejuvenating my motivation!

Instructions:

Answer the following questions in written format:

1. What's your name/your Blogger name?

2. What's your blog's name/URL?

3. Write "the quick fox jumps over the lazy dog".

4. Favorite quote?

5. Your Favorite song?

6. Your favorite band/singers?

7. Anything else you want to say?

8. Tag 3-5 other people.

Ok, you girls take your turn now. In case my readers want to check them out. Here's their blog url's:

Lipstick Cowgirl: http://chroniclesofawildcat-melissa.blogspot.com/

Grey House Red Dog: http://greyhousereddog.blogspot.com/

Farmer's Daughter: http://msbergkamp.blogspot.com/

The Girl on the Run: http://wanderingthroughnothingness.com/

Famous Parents

Nanny and Poppy made the I Am A Stuffed Animal .com blog!!

Check it out here:

http://www.iamastuffedanimal.com/?p=1830

I can't wait to hear all about their latest adventures!

Stelly's Belly!

Stelly's belly will never be the same. You can see the tiny little stitches in the middle of her belly from her surgery last week. They shaved much of her belly too, so not only does it look funny, but it feels all prickly too. Kinda like BDR's moustache.

And due to the stitches, she has to wear the cone of shame. Luckily, she's still really stinkin' cute.

Besides her spay, Stella also had a thumb-ectomy. That is, her dew claws were removed. I had always wished I'd gotten Peter's taken off, so I was sure to get Stella all set up. They shave a good chunk of her hands and she's got several stitches.

 She's recovering pretty darn well though. She of course has her bouts with energy and exhaustion, but that's pretty typical of any puppy. We've been trying to keep her pretty calm and make sure she doesn't wrestle with big brother too much. So far so good.

HAPPY Valentines DAY!

So BDR and I have a hard time waiting to open gifts when holidays come around. I think we both just get so excited, so Valentines Day was no exception! We exchanged gifts last night!

Here's some backstory... Several month's ago there was a prominent Kansas Citian (who has a bigtime jewelry store named after him!) that BDR helped when he wrecked his car, since then BDR has been on the family holiday card list. Shortly after the accident, BDR received a small thank you gift at the station. I was so excited when he told me a package arrived from Mr. Helzberg. I got excited too soon though, it was a box of peanuts!

He got a holiday card and most recently a Valentine's card from the Helzberg family. They have the cutest grandkids by the way! So BDR tells me that another package arrived from Mr. Helzberg, and that he couldn't wait to show it to me.

He brings home a big padded manila envelope from the Helzberg Foundation, with the Valentine's card and some "I am loved" pins inside. I keep telling BDR he needs to leverage this relationship, but of course, BDR being BDR, he says no way.

Anyway, he shows me the envelope from the Helzbergs and says, "Bummer, no Valentine's gift for you from Helzbergs."

I smile and turn around to keep cooking our delcious taco dinner, knowing that's what I should have expected.

"But there is something from Kay!" 

Beautiful white gold and blue topaz (my birthstone) bracelet! 

He said he wanted to find something to match my new ring...

Am I lucky girl or what?!?!

Seriously, I have got the best man any girl could ask for! I hope all of your sweethearts are just as good to you this year!

Off to the races!

I'm signed up for 2011 race #2 and #3 of my 11 races of 11.

 Diva Dash 5K

 Westport St. Patty's Day 4 Miler










I'm pretty stoked.

Diva Dash benefits Girls on the Run, which is always good. And St Patrick is my patron saint, thus one of my favorite holidays and seasons of the year.

Talk of a fall marathon is also brewing... Chicago's been thrown around, but I'd rather do one I haven't done before. Any suggestions for the best marathon out there? Between race, course, and location - we'll turn it into a vacation, so it needs to be an all-around good time!

Every Home Needs A Harvey

What a super super smart dog!!!

Blizzard of Oz, a doggie's dream!

This past week half the country experienced what Frankie Avalon might call the Humonga, Cowabunga from Down Unda'... Ok, it wasn't a big honkin' wave like the one that got him in "Back to the Beach" but it was a serious snowstorm. An actual blizzard. I can't remember a time when the weathergirl actually termed it a true blizzard.

So I settled down in my kerchief and readied myself to get a little stircrazy. There was no way I was driving my new ride out in this. Not when Kansans aren't sure how to drive in snow! It was just a little wet and sleety when I woke up Tuesday morning, but then it started coming down in a serious way.

I'd not seen snow accumulate on my windowsills before but it did last week! It looked like a scene from a beautiful Christmas card!

I feel pretty lucky that my dogs love the snow. And when I say love, I MEAN it! They don't care if its 30-below, if there's powder, they want to play! Look at little Belly's face here, covered in flakes after a romp around the yard, She's in heaven!

At one point, I peaked out the window in the downpour and she was just sitting out there, in awe of the flakes. Isn't it amazing how dogs just truly get it!? They can teach us so much about life and how we are just such a small portion of this huge world.

Before we knew it, darn near a foot had accumulated. This is the door to the back deck from the mud room. Its up to Stella's belly, but she doesn't mind!

And when there is that much snow, there is nothing better to do than play chase! They did laps around the yard quite a while before coming in to nap and warm up.

With this much snow, I was so glad I wasn't out working, but poor BDR was. He pushed so many people out of the snow that luckily, his 12-hour shift just flew by! TGFO. In layman's terms, Thank God For Overtime! While he was outside getting chilled, I started to wonder about the chill in the mud room. Sure enough, snow was coming in everywhere! From the doggie door to the back door, we got snow!

But of course, Stella didn't mind. She just wanted a buddy to go out and play in it with her!

 As the day came to a close, and the flakes started to lighten up. The dogs and I just waited for BDR to come home! What a view we had out our front door of the silent white night. It was breathtaking. 

On Wednesday, after sleeping in, knowing the streets were crap, BDR and I bundled up to shovel my Chevy out of the driveway. This:

is our driveway. Yep, you can't even tell. That could be the lawn for all we know. And there were pretty big drifts in it too! This one is almost up to my knees! I about bit it when I jumped in! Yikes!

About halfway thru I remembered my brother owns a snow blower, duh. Unfortunately, for us and them!, it broke that morning! So we kept shoveling and a few hours later - we had this!

Tada, a clear driveway! Combine that with a romp around the back yard with the pups and a perfect snow angel, it was a pretty good Snow-cation!