S IS FOR SEACREST

 

Helllloooooo Rhondi!
TAKEN: FEBRUARY 6th, 2018

As any of my avid readers know, I live for, and love to travel. 

People often ask how we can afford to hit as many destinations as we do, and it is simple. We set a budget for the year and stick to it. Any online deals I come across are simply a much appreciated bonus.

One of the best deals EVER, was booked on Black Friday in the fall of 2017. 

Five days and four nights, all inclusive, on beautiful Cable Beach in Nassau, Bahamas. Less than a three-hour flight and an oceanfront king room, for $805pp via West Jet. 

Anyway, not knowing much about the island, other than Baha Mar was usually out of our price range, I figured I should research. My first entry into Google, things to do in Nassau Bahamas included the date ranges of our mid week stay.

I immediately discovered that the filming of the morning show Live with Kelly (Ripa) and Ryan (Seacrest) was being filmed live at the Atlantis Resort while we were there. I filled out all of the online paperwork to get free tickets, including submitting our photo which was a prerequisite; and the tickets arrived via email a couple of days later.

We arrived early, in the hopes to get near the front but little did we know the seats were filled from back to front and we were in the very last row. Not a problem, as that gave me the ability to stand on my chair and take great photos.

As the show was about to start (you can see Kelly signing an autograph above) I held up my camera and began to yell my name.

RHONDI… RHONDI…. RYAN it’s RHONDI...OVER HERE.

How shocked was I, when he toward me and yelled back HELLLLLO RHONDI! 

And just like that, I got what I would classify as my only great photo, whilst acting like a member of the crazy paparazzi culture!

Definitely a travel moment I will remember forever!! 

X IS FOR XEROX

 

 Always be genuine and unique...
Because everyone knows XEROX is unable to be original!
TAKEN: APRIL 7th, 2022

MY MARTIAN!

My martian and I at the top of El Faro with the Port of Mazatlan in the background.

TAKEN: NOVEMBER 30th, 2019

Apparently, what happens in Mazatlan, doesn’t stay in Mazatlan. It returns to Canada as a gastro-intestinal bug that lingers and gurgles for the better part of two weeks!

Aside from that, I managed to make it home unscathed. Thankfully the weather cleared and a half decent suntan was achieved.  A couple of books were read and our flight home was both comfortable and uneventful; just like the rest of the week away.

I’m sorry. I didn’t intend for that to read ungrateful. I’m very grateful. But this destination was different than any other we’ve ever visited. This trip’s the very first time that I felt uneasy in my resort surroundings. So much so that I didn’t like to walk anywhere alone; and I am VERY independent.

For example, even though it was one of the nicest beaches we’ve stayed on, and I absolutely loved swimming in the Pacific, we returned to our room immediately after dinner in the evening and only ventured off resort once.

Where we took the Colectivo (public transit) in Mayan Riviera, we decided to hire a Pulmonia driver to tour with us for the day when we ventured into the city. The little more than one hundred dollars Canadian was money very well spent.

The driver was a result of us being warned, after we arrived, that the people in this area of Mexico have a preconceived notion that all Canadians are extremely wealthy; and therefore you are always a possible target. 

You can imagine in a resort as large as where we stayed (almost 800 rooms) and only a handful of occupants being Canadian, just how small a presence we had. It was intimidating and frankly quite scary.

Anyway, home and settled with yet another passport stamp, I have to admit that the core of the city that caters to tourism was absolutely stunning. I have scads of amazing photos that I will be able to reminisce over for years to come.

That said, once we were home and settled, my husband began searching the cost of month long rentals on the beach where we stayed. Which made me stop and wonder.

What did he misunderstand about my verbalizing my fears and witnessing how sick I got? And how will we manage to stay married spending our early retirement winter months apart?

Once again unequivocally proving that my man is definitely from Mars.

Because this here cat?

Ain’t NEVER goin' back! 

THE SKIN I AM IN

Relaxing on the beach
in Cayo Coca
TAKEN: FEBRUARY 2017

As I do when I prepare for any trip into the sun, I always throw out the old & purchase new sunscreen products. With my goal to better understand online shopping in 2019, I headed over to Amazon.

Wasting more time than expected trying to find the crap I was looking for, I received a personal message about a picture I posted to Facebook yesterday. They continued to comment that, 'I am looking better with age'.

After I made my standard offer to buy them some glasses, I stated the obvious. I matter a factually text back, ‘you know that’s a big fat lie, right?’

The messenger conversation continued as I expressed  that I wished I was still in my 30’s. Then, after looking back through that time via my photo albums this afternoon, I realized that I honestly never really hit my stride until my 40’s. 

That decade offered it all. Ranging from undeniable heartbreak, to the euphoric sense of being surrounded by true & unconditional love and personal happiness. 

Though it was the decade I achieved the most financial success, it was also the one where I suffered a full blown mid-life identity crisis. Year for year, there were very important life lessons in all of them; and I understand that I got to today, being grateful for each & every one of those lessons.

Be it my 30's or my 40's, I was appreciative of the kind words of my friend today. We both know I need to lose some weight, yet he chose to not focus there. Instead, we focused on the journey of our friendship. The truth is, we've always been good friends to each other. Comfortable, never confrontational. At times we've agreed to disagree... like we did today. 

I find it interesting what men typically disclose they find sexy in women. I work with a gaggle of men, and always find it intriguing to listen to them talk on the subject of perceived female sexuality around the water cooler.

It always warms my heart when they try to shock me with their antics. Yet, at the end of the day, they always set up the perfect volley for my spike. The key to saying anything that may be shocking and of a sexual nature is timing. Timing, and that you know you believe what you're saying.

Part of me thinks they have a pool going, as to if I'll bite on the bait they are serving me. What can I say? I try not to be predicable. I am always just me. That said, there are three things about myself I truly wear as (what I consider) badges of honour.

Though I do take pride in my appearance, my first badge is my powerful confidence in knowing the person I've truly evolved into. My generally warped albeit very witty sense of humour comes in a close second, and the fact that I am completely & totally comfortable in the skin I’m in completes my personal trifecta.

As I hope I age with grace,  I never want to get disconnected from the above three identifiers. Because let's face it, beauty fades.

...And I hear that Botox, as well as any/all other age averting enhancements hurt like hell!

NEVER LOSE HOPE

I don’t know about you, but I am one step away from being downright giddy that there’s only a handful of sleeps until the upcoming holiday break. Frankly, I feel I am bordering upon exhausted; but pleased to report that I am managing far better than initially thought in the seasonal affective department.

Not gonna lie, I am NOT going to miss 2018. It was a bit of an emotional roller coaster that ended up with me hitting an all time low the middle of May. If it wasn’t for the Sweenymeister talking me off a ledge or two, my life would be drastically different than it is today. So, as you can imagine, I am very grateful to have her in my life. 

Anyway, as you may or may not recall, I apprehensively posted (in real time) about a weekend jaunt to Cuba I took with my daughter in 2017. I disclosed that I'd never had any desire to visit the island but when the need for a 4 day jolt of vitamin D called it became the obvious choice. We booked, kept our fingers crossed, and had a blast.

On our first morning there, I heard a familiar voice tell her party by the pool, 'I know those people!" 

Low and behold, we ran into this lady & her husband, that I use to babysit for when I was a teen. An EPIC holy shit moment at its best.

As I share this photo of us from 2017, I will also share that she and I have been chatting about the islands' recovery since Irma decimated it, and that I have decided to go back. The resort has been completely rebuilt, and you know what they say, the second time's a charm.

Quick photo with our Muskoka friend before heading to catch our night flight back home.
No hair. No Makeup. No worries!!
Memories Flamenco Beach Resort - Cayo Coco, Cuba.
TAKEN: FEBRUARY 13th, 2018

The second time's a charm. I was thinking about that very thought before I began to write tonight.

Taking any chance in life is never easy, so most don't do it twice. Well, my year has proven to me that I am most certainly NOT a once bitten twice shy kinda gal. I have proven to myself that I will push myself harder than most, simply because I know what success feels like.

In turn, some will call me a bitch. To which I will gladly counter and describe myself as focused. Reminding all, that our most important & valuable life experiences happen in real time and never happen on a beach.

Except this time. This coming February. In Cuba!!

WOOT.

“We are the sum total of our experiences. Those experiences - be they positive or negative - make us the person we are, at any given point in our lives. And, like a flowing river, those same experiences, and those yet to come, continue to influence and reshape the person we are, and the person we become. None of us are the same as we were yesterday, nor will be tomorrow.” ~ B.J. Neblett

V IS FOR VARIETY

Some women are obsessed with shoes.
Me?... I love my wide variety of sunglasses!!
PHOTOS TAKEN FROM: 2007 - 2016

X IS FOR XERODERMA

So, it's the typical A-Z home stretch. I'm tired, my ideas have pretty much dried up and I am faced with some of the hardest letters to write about. All day long I was texting and asking people to help me with a word for my letter. Every man replied with x-rated and our female health & safety supervisor went with xylophone. Call me old fashioned (and sheltered with regards to the latter) but I didn't have a picture of me wholeheartedly participating in either of those very exciting activities.

Totally blocked, I got home and started to look through my pictures for inspiration. I came across a neat pic that I had forgotten I'd snapped after I'd bought myself a cute jewelry piece on vacation a couple of weeks ago. With a lack of creative juices flowing, I shook my head for inspiration and searched for a hybrid work like x-ceptional, or x-cellent. Instead, I found myself passing on the pic and heading to google for a word and some creative direction.

Low and behold, my chosen word tonight immediately jumped off the monitor at me. I figured the last 5 letters had me headed back to the picture of my new bracelet but I had to open the picture again just to be sure. BINGO, I immediately realized that I'd hit the mother load.

Can you believe I always thoroughly moisturize...? Damn xeroderma!
TAKEN: APRIL 4th, 2016 

I'm sure you don't give a rats ass about my xeroderm (aka: dry skin) but two things were skillfully accomplished by choosing that very word. I got to officially show off my new silver piece I brought home from Mexico and I've officially completed my 24th post.

BOO-YA... 24 down and only 2 to go!

Thanks for hanging in there with me. It's greatly appreciated.

A IS FOR ADIOS AMIGOS

I must admit, I feel a smidgen odd starting my April A-Z Blogging Challenge by saying goodbye. After all, this is the one month a year when we all focus on making new friends, so allow me to apologize for the oddity and invite you to  hang around.

Soaking up the sun and catching the waves in Los Cabos, Mexico.
TAKEN: DECEMBER 1st, 2015

Why such a quick goodbye instead of a cheerful hello? 

By this time tomorrow, I'll be on a plane destine for Mexico, which is where my first seven letters of the alphabet will be created and posted from. Beautiful Sayulita, Mexico.

Just so we're clear from the start, this isn't a travel blog. Over time, I have come to consider it an electronic journal. This is my fourth year participating in the challenge, and since I began writing (late fall of 2011) about my refusal to let 'the glass half empty win',  I've had close to two million people stop by. 

So, like my bio says, I am a social media junkie that's rockin' a small Canadian town. What you read is what you get and always remember to keep your hands and feet in the ride at all times. Feel free to follow me on TWITTER, FACEBOOK or GOOGLE+. Better yet, leave me a comment and let me know where I can find YOU. 

So, Adios Amigos. I'm off to the airport. I'll "B" blogging in my bathing suit tomorrow!

APPARENTLY, I HAVE AN ISSUE?

A few months ago I was involved in a labour forecasting meeting where I was introducing a new weekly reporting mechanism I’d designed using Google Docs. In preparing to begin my demonstration, my Goggle+ profile (which you all see when you read here, comment on our Facebook page, or read my Tweets) popped up for me to log into. Without missing a beat, my Boss quickly asked… “What’s with the shades?!”

I vaguely explained that my profile pic's a very symbolic selfie that was taken at a time when I could feel my life changing. It was right around that time I began my electronic journal and as a result it has stayed with me this entire time. That said, I may have told him the story of the day I took the picture but I neglected to tell him that when it comes to me and sunglasses, I may have a wee bit of an issue.

Sporting my newest UV acquisition from last Friday.
TAKEN: MARCH 13th, 2016

If I recall, it started when I was in high school. Like most girls my age, I worked part-time and enjoyed something very exciting called disposable income.

By way of my personality, I knew early on that I would never occupy the proverbial “buy the shoes” lane. Yet, I discovered quickly that without incurring a boat load of expense, a pair of sunglasses could make the most amazing fashion statement. (That, combined with the fact that Corey Hart rocked the Billboard charts with Sunglasses At Night, sealed my 30+ year fate.)

Long story short. I had to scoot into the city last Friday to renew my passport. So, when my mission was accomplished I took it upon myself to do a little shopping. Almost eight hours later, I arrived home with two very small purchases. A new bathing suit and another pair of sunglasses. I could tell when I showed them off to Staccs, she really wasn’t impressed. I explained to her, what I have always believed to be true: some women like shoes but I am magnetically and compulsively attracted to a great concert ticket and sunglasses.

This morning, as I gushed over my new specs, she felt the need to share that she'd spoken of me to her father when I wasn't around. She admitted that when she and her father were in our local grocery store yesterday (that offers optical services) she spied a really neat pair of flashy colourfully tinted reading specs she thought I’d love. She mentioned to her Dad that she thought they should pick them up for me. It was at that point my daughter told me that my husband stopped and turned to her with a matter a fact attitude. “When it comes to sunglasses… Your mother has issues” he said.

I don't want to disclose how many pairs of sun specs I have, except to say that my husband bought me a 5 gallon tote and lid this weekend and mentioned that it may be time to for me to increase my storage.

I told him to use his comical (albeit much needed gesture) for his vintage album collection!!

I am pleased to report his albums have found a very safe haven,

Sun accessory issues my ass!!

TIMING IS EVERYTHING!

I'll remember this moment for a very long time. BIZARRE!
TAKEN: JULY 24th, 2015

With summer in full bloom, I took last Friday to myself. I walked with Sweetie downtown to grab an ice cream cone and to wait for word that my friend had safely landed his plane at Muskoka Airport from his home base in Cleveland. 

I find it hard to fathom that he can be to me (or at least wheels to the ground in Muskoka from Cleveland) quicker than I can get in the car and drive to Toronto.

Long story short he was late. I was worried and Sweetie couldn't wait any longer to meet him. So I loaded her onto the trolley at the Falls and Puddy and I headed back through the downtown awaiting my good news call.

Here's where the story gets kind of neat. As I bent down to take this picture, another American friend was about to exit one of the storefronts in the distance. I didn't know it at the time and there was zero expectation that we would see each other, yet imagine my surprise when  he merged onto the sidewalk in front of me. It had been three years since we'd last met face to face.

When I called out to him, I honestly don't think he recognized me at first. At least that's how I read his face. To be fair, I don't blame him. Who would expect to bump into someone and their dog during regular business hours? Either way, I'm glad we chatted. My life may have moved away from the industry he services but it was nice to discuss my upcoming return face to face. Three years later I still feel the way I did when we were working together, which is that he's a really good person.

As my Cleveland buddy and I enjoyed lunch today I wanted to share how his stronger than normal headwind, changed my fate and had me bump into an old friend; yet, I didn't. Instead we talked for an hour about Muskoka and his quest to retire and buy a cottage here.

At the end of the day I think he could love Muskoka as much as our family does. The American dollar is strong and interest rates are extremely low. I guess we'll just have to wait and see where things go with that. Because, as Friday once again reinforced...

Timing is everything!

I'M WITH STUPID...!

Does anyone remember those cheezy ‘I’m with Stupid' t-shirts? They had a big finger that was pointing at the person walking beside them; classic 1970’s. Well, you may not be able to see it by the picture I am posting but my hubby and I are both wearing those shirts. Yup, and the arrows are pointing directly upward toward our chins!

YUP... We're as stupid as they come!
TAKEN: NOVEMBER 19th, 2014

After more than three solid hours of snow shoveling today (for the umpteenth day in a row) I have to second guess the next couple of months. Yes-sir-reeee, we could very well be the two stupidest people on the face of the earth!!

Matter a fact, that is a camera hanging around my neck, which is feeling very much like a noose today!

I was so excited for my buddy B over the holidays. He surprised the very beautiful T with an amazing trip to Cancun as a Christmas gift. She’s so excited and I am really excited for them. When declining his invitation to join them, I was confident I could cope in their absence mid February (as it was raining outside as we sipped our Christmas Cheer) on the 28th of December. Afterall, winter had yet to arrive.

Flash forward to the last couple of days in Muskoka...

We're only a week in and today is the first day I regret telling my husband that the snow blower fund could be utilized elsewhere. For crying out loud people... With it being -35C yesterday with the wind chill, and walk to the office today in blowing snow, we seriously need our heads examined!

With another foot of the white stuff expected to fall overnight, I only have two words for all of you (as I look at us with our tanned skin wearing very little clothing) TRIP CENTRAL!

Can February get here fast enough? Nope, definitely not for this cat!

The Proof Is In The Protection!

Shortly after the tragedy of September 11th, I had to fly into Chicago for a week of software training. With security in the US heightened, I needed specific paperwork to clear Customs that I just didn't have. Because it was last minute Business, I had the option to have a letter from my employer notarized stating my destination and purpose for my travels.

When I was at my Lawyer buddy Sean’s office having him process my documentation, I remember him specifically asking me “are you sure you want to do this?” 

“..They’re going to take one look at your dark skin and there will be LOTS of questions!” 

The truth of the matter?  The American’s let me in like a head of cattle being put out to pasture; it was coming back into Canada that my paperwork was questioned. I remember being scared. All I kept saying was “I was born in Quebec and live in Ontario… I was born in Quebec and live in Ontario!”

This is the darkest summer tan I've had in years!
Taken: August 11th, 2014

Well, all these years later, I am still an avid sun worshiper.

I truly appreciate a bright sunny day in the middle of winter as much as I enjoyed sitting on my dock for the entire day yesterday. I'm very respectful of the sunlight when it presents itself and try and rationalize Mother Nature's thought process when she keeps it carefully tucked away.

I personally think sunglasses are just as good an accessory as a fun pair of shoes. AND, because I am built for comfort, I own more than thirty bathing suits.  My oldest are from the year we bought the cottage in 1999 and my newest are two I purchased at the start of this season. Some are meant for tanning, some are meant for swimming, and some were just too colourful and fun to imagine leaving them on a rack.

Typically, my tan lines fade by Christmas.... Living at the cottage this summer I suspect those puppies are gonna last until I land in the sun on an island next winter. 

How do I know?

The five gallon drum on moisturizing lotion I just invested in gives me a plethora of hope!