Monday, August 29, 2011

MIA

So I haven't blogged in about a month.
Basically, my time has been consumed with getting ready for my NEW JOB!!!

I have been hired as a KINDERGARTEN teacher at a new charter school in Pittsburgh, Imagine Penn Hills.

Our School's Grand Opening

I know everyone has probably heard from the teachers in their life how much work is involved...but can you imagine doing that AND helping start up a brand new school?  It has been a very fun, but also very busy time.  I felt a little guilty blogging during this time!

I have 20 kindergartners and they are a great bunch.  I have been spending A LOT of time teaching them things that might seem silly - how to line up, how to wait in the hall, how to ask for help, how to gather materials, etc.  Not too exciting yet! 

At my desk - we built all our furniture!
 The days are somewhat longish - I actually woke up around 4:40 to run before work this morning!  I am hoping this is something I can get in the habit of, I actually have more energy at work when I run first.  More time to spend with puppies later!

On another note, last weekend we attended my best friend's sister's wedding.  It was at a CASTLE!  It was so beautiful out and we had a great view.  We had a great time with Caitlin and Peter!!!
yay for fake tan lotion

up close!

castle!


dancing without shoes
As requested, a picture of Bruno.  He is a bone chewing fiend.  He looks like he is smoking a cigar!

Bruno!
Our majestic Corg!

Wednesday, August 3, 2011

Cancun!!! What we did every day

When I'm on vacation, I just like to relax and enjoy myself.  I workout daily, but other than that, I take my job relaxing and doing nothing very seriously.  Aside from leaving the resort Thursday all day to go to Xplor (where we spent all day ziplining, driving ATVs, swimming and rafting through caves, AND waiting in humongous lines) and going to the market downtown once, we kept to the resort/pool area all the time.

Click on the picture to read more about the park we went to
6:30-7:00 woke up, not really able to sleep in... tried to bug Jordan into getting up, didn't really work.  Read on our balconey for a little while. I read so many books on this vacation and loved it!

Balcony View

Next, I did my workout for the day.  The first day I ran on the treadmill, and it was SOOO horribly hot, the AC didn't really work.  The one thing I didn't like about the vacation is that running off the resort didn't feel very safe.  If I were a guy, I would go for it but I'm pretty easy to snatch up...so running inside was the only option.  I decided that aqua jogging in the pool was so much more enjoyable and an equaly good workout, so I ran 2 of the days on the treadmill and all the other days in the pool.  I went for an hour each time and Jordan would hop in an talk to me.  The view was spectacular.

Where I aquajogged, each loop of the lower pool was about 10 minutes

the other end, pool bar on the right

I love aqua jogging!!

After that, we hit up the breakfast buffet for my usual egg white omlette, wierd toast, mexican cheese and tomato sandwich, and tons of fruit and coffee.  Tried to have a balanced, healthy breakfast because lunch was not so healthy.

After breakfast Jordan and I would get in the infinity pool and I'd bring my book in and he would bring his Fantasy Football Magazine to read.

My spot is the area with no (visible) wall

Since I am so disciplined, I waited until about 11:00am every day to order margaritas.  They were delicious and a necessity in the hot sun!  Continue reading, swimming, talking with Jordan, Kristen, and Corey in the pool until we had to make the hard decision of when to have LUNCH!

Lunch was my favorite time of day.  So nice to be able to pull yourself out of the water and have a nice lunch by the ocean. I loved loved loved the fresh pico and gaucamole!!!

We usually went to the ocean for a bit after lunch.  I love sticking my feet in the water and watching the ocean and sitting in the sand, but I am not a fan of really swimming in it.  Maybe that is a good thing.  On our last day here, we watched a bunch of people get rescued from the ocean because they were stuck.  The lifegaurds were awesome and so fast to respond.

The rest of the afternoon was spent 'hydrating' swimming in the pool, and dozing off in the shade.  We usually got ready for dinner anytime after 5.

I loved the concept of the tapa bar and we went there a few times before dinner.  I had things like mushrooms, bruchetta, and chicken salad on toasted bread there.  And of course red wine.

We ate dinner every night with Corey and Kristen and it was delicious and fun every night.  Dinner was the highlight of the evening.  We sometimes had drinks afterwards too or hung out outside.  We went to bed by 11 most nights, tired from the sun.  One night, we went to see a Michael Jackson impersonator at the resort - such a good show.  We walked around the 'Mexican Night' and went to downtown Cancun another night.

Some more pictures!!

all of us at the Italian restaurant - Friday: last night all together!

tray of desserts

Saturday night - just us at dinner - Italian again

Jordan

day one: I am tanner than Jordan because the chlorine has not yet eroded my self-tan

first night, after our Mexican dinner


Jordan and Corey frolicking on the way to the market
Hope you liked reading about Mexico!  In case you were sad about the lack of doggie pictures....

Monday, August 1, 2011

CANCUN!!!! Our Resort

Since I have been back for over a week, I should probably write about my vacation......

One of the things we loved about Cancun...our resort!

The all-inclusive resort.  This place was amazing.  I loved that the food and drinks were included in the price because there was no hesitation to order LOTS of drinks at the pool bar or go to a fancy Italian restaurant for dinner - the food there at home would have been pretty pricey!!!

Everyday, we ate breakfast at a buffet.  The fresh fruit and omelets were my favorite, and the coffee was actually great!  When we went to Puerto Vallarta, the coffee was awful and that was a big let down.  They even had omelets made just from egg whites.

Lunch was one of my favorite things about the resort.  Maybe it was the incredible view of the ocean, the friendly Amigos  that worked at the bar, the convenience (Just pull yourself out of the pull, dry yourself off, and seat yourself) or the amazingly fresh food.  My favorite was the seafood salad, and the chips, guacamole, and pico....and the margaritas!

We had three great choices for dinner every night.  A fancy Italian restaurant (no kids, guys had to wear pants and collared shirts) a slightly less fancy Mexican restaurant (there was a dress code but it wasn't enforced) and a more casual Asian restaurant.  All meals were amazing, no complaints at all.  Some of my favorites were the spinach and yam gnocchi, tortilla soup, creme brule, white fish with green curry and coconut sauce, and the sushi.


There was also a coffee bar and tapas bar, which we loved to visit for appetizers before dinner, especially if we had to wait for a table.

Th e pool area was amazing, it included a swim up bar, tons of beach chairs underneath shade, two great pools, my favorite being the upper level infinity pool.  I loved looking out to the ocean from it while reading my book!

The workout room was really hot, so I didn't do as much running as I would have liked there....but the attached spa was fantastic.  We had an excellent couples massage our last day there.  They give you your own personal attendant to help you relax and prepare for your massage, haha!

The king size bed in our room felt gigantic and unnecessary....but very comfortable. The balcony view was really nice, too!

More pictures later, but here is some for now!!!
tapa bar

view from tapa bar

enjoying his tapa

lobby

With Kristen and Cory at the Italian place

entrance

fish with green curry and coconut sauce at the Asian place

loving life at the oceanfront bar

fish taco fan

caprese salad

lower level pool, swim up bar around the corner

cornhole

courtyard of our room

spicy fish

salad

hat was necessary

arriving

lower level of the pool

view from the lobby