Best Laid Plans

The plans are made we are going to Palm Springs where we will meet up with Billy's brother who lives there, his sister will be coming from Rhode Island, and our in laws will be arriving from Florida. We will be there for a week then we fly to Florida with the in laws to spend a week with them, see the gran kids, see the house, visit with friends etc. so we are all set, tickets bought, car rented, cat is taken care of, all packed and ready to go! then we get a phone call from my mother in law two days before we are ready to go, they can't make it, my father in law has a hernia that needs surgery right away. Well we had to do the first half of our vacation without them. We flew into Lax and then took a shuttle van to Ontario airport where we would be meeting my sister in law, and my brother in law was picking us up, we were all going to meet for my in laws 68th Wedding Anniversary! We all were disappointed that they couldn't be there, but we made the best of it! Our Flight from GDL to LAX was really nice, we flew on Volairs airlines, very nice plane and a smooth ride, no problems getting out of Mexico, flying wasn't a problem it was once we were on the ground and had to take the shuttle van, can you say traffic, crazy drivers, speeding cars, eight lanes of traffic, OMG I couldn't believe it, I thought we would never arrive alive! Buying Stuff: Ok we were in the states for all of 4 hours before I bought stuff, we went to the Ikea store, I love the Ikea store!!! it is full of great things that you think that you need, lucky for me I can only bring back what will fit in my suitcase, well that isn't exactly true, my brother in law is going to be driving to Mexico this summer and he said he could bring back a few things , ok so lucky me he doesn't have to much room in the car, as he is bringing his two dogs with him, so I have to limit myself to one box, and not a very big one, which is a good thing. Just amazing how quickly you can get into the mode of I need to buy stuff!!!! The one thing that was the deal of the century was glass tea light holders one side holds a tea light, flip it over and a regular candle fits in, and they only cost 47cents wow!!! This was Billy's first time in an Ikea store and even he was impressed. St. Patrick Day: Billy's brother was in charge of cooking corn beef and cabbage for the condo residents, it came out really good and everyone had a great time. My Birthday: Billy's brother made us a delicious lamb dinner, one of my favorite dinners, and they even had a cake for me, so it was a really nice day, and no I'm not telling you my age! Hanging Out: I got to spend time by the pool and read my book, another James Paterson one, still working on reading all of his novels. The weather was beautiful, and I loved the mountains, they had snow on the top of them, so beautiful to look at. It was a little chilly at night but not bad. While we were there it was the super moon and I watched it come up while sitting in the hot tub, life is good! Clothing: Had to go to Ross, where I bought a few things, flip flops, tee shirts, and new sneakers, also bought some new towels, they will be arriving by car this summer, so I have that to look forward to. I can't find nice towels in Mexico, well you can but they cost to much money. Pictures: Took plenty of pictures and I will be posting them when I get back to Mexico, right now I am in Florida, and I am really tired so I am going to end this for now. I have so much I can write about and I will, so you will just have to stay tuned. Night All!!!

The First Annual La Joya del Lago Chili Cook Off !

Billy decided it would be a great idea to have a chili cook off, so he put up fliers around the grounds, and 10 people signed up for the contest. We invited everyone at the hotel and some friends to come and judge it. The contestants named their teams with some pretty funny stuff. We had a great turn out, and, after the judging we ate the chili along with some other really good food that people brought. We had a four way tie for first place, so we divided up the prize money four ways, and everyone was happy! Billy did a great job organizing this event, he even printed out ballots and had little cups and spoons for tasting and judging. He plans on having another one next year. Like usual I wish I had taken more pictures but it is hard to take pictures while you are working.



And the winners are : Billy presenting to Mia, Cathy, June and Sparky ( not in the picture )

Barb, taste testing!

Our chefs! Left to right: Brian,June,Sparky,Mia,Sandy, Cathy,Bob,Lee,Judy and Dave
It was really hard to pick a winner, they were all good.


Terry and Walter, Sue in the background. Sue handled the money for us.

Me and Dave with his hand in his pocket, what's he looking for???

Happy hour first.

Newie, our neighbor's cat. He likes to play with our cat. I love to watch them together, to cute.


Our cat Pancho, looking so cute! This cat is such a love, he comes when you call him, loves to cuddle up to me in bed. Sometimes I will wake up and he is hogging the pillow! Also has a huge purr!

Questions: Getting ready for our trip back to the states. I have mixed feelings. I don't know how I will react to being there. Will I love it? Am I to used to living here now? I know I am looking forward to seeing friends and family, also getting some new clothes! Not to mention all our favorite foods that we will have to eat, I will really have to exercise while I'm away. How will I feel about seeing our house in Florida? Lot's of questions running through my mind. It took me so long to get over being homesick. Will it kick back in after being there? Of course I will be doing a post on how I feel about being back.

Now that I am over being homesick, I really love it here, the weather, the people, the food, the mountains, the lake, and the beautiful flowers everywhere. Lot's to love, of course there are bad things too, but that is everywhere.

Diet: I am going to exercise class twice a week, and now that the pool is semi warm, I have been swimming everyday. I am trying not to focus on losing weight, but just getting healthy and toned up.


Retirement Dreams: I just found out that a couple that we met last year, have finally sold their house in Florida after having it on the market for 3 years. They can't wait to get here and live their retirement dream. We are so looking forward to seeing them again, and so happy for them. Joanne also has a blog and I am going to try and link her's to mine.

Reading: I love to read and I am making up for lost time, I really like James Patterson and I plan on reading every one of his novels, I am half way through them. So far my favorite is "Beach Road". I even have Billy reading one here and there.

Friends: We have some really nice friends, and that makes living here even better. The people that are staying here at the hotel are a real nice group and we will miss them when they leave. The place will be so quiet!! No more Thursday poker games for Billy and no more Mexican train for me. We will have to have some pool parties!

Well I think that's all for this post, I will keep you posted LOL !!!!