The Funk

Despite all the wonderful memories from Cancun Christmas New Years fond farewells Winter Break, I have found myself in a bit of a funk.

Overwhelmed by the enormity of getting the house back in order, Christmas decorations put away, laundry done, work, carpooling and schedules, with a little family drama thrown in, I am finding it difficult to find the {BALANCE}.  

Not to mention that my energy is zapped, I'm missing my kids, PMDD is rearing it's ugly head, my skin is so dry it hurts (in shock after the lovely humid climate you-know-where), and I'm peeling like I actually recently overdid it in the sun.
Maybe we came home with more than one lobster.

(Christmas trees down and put away.  Check.)

But I have {HOPE} that it is just around the corner, and that sustains me.

And I'm not the only one in a funk around here.

Shilo had a swim meet this week.  She had only practiced once over the break, and once the day before the meet. She's had a little bit of a bug, and isn't at the top of her game.  She was frustrated that she added 5 seconds to her IM time, and didn't get a better time on the 500 -- her first time even attempting it.  Personally, I think she performed excellently.  A 500 is 20 laps, for pity's sake.  She came home with renewed ambition to step it up at practices and beat her times, hopefully to qualify with an A League time in at least one more event.

Bill tells me he's got the gunk, not the funk.

That guy cracks me up.  Everything is as a result of some kind of germ or bug.  The sore neck (could it be from stressful driving 14 hours in car?  He thinks not), the tiredness, the headaches, etc (to protect his privacy I will refrain from further detail).  Gunk or funk, it's kind of the same in my book.

Those kindergarten kids have definitely suffered from the funk.  There's nothing like having a couple of weeks off, full of fun, excitement, freedom from school, and sugar to throw a kid off.  Especially a kid with special needs who thrives on structure and consistency.  It's been good times at the school.

And Mauri's had the funk too.  I should have known that a whole week away from home would be hard for her.  But I was so consumed with coordinating the arrangements and making it all work at the least possible cost, that I just didn't.  My bad.

I should have known that she would find it difficult to be away from her mom and dad, sisters, and birds.  Even if she was spending many wonderful days with her grandparents, uncles, aunts, and cousins.  And over her birthday, no less.  I should have known.  (Which only adds to my funk... what was I thinking?  Two or three days would have been sufficient.  And we could have avoided the drama.)

So after a few phone calls, a nice long Skype session, and arrangements to have her fly home a day earlier (ON her birthday, in the early morning, so as to spend the day with the family), I think she feels better.  I hope.

Love you, Mar.

So here's hoping for less stressful, less messy, and more peaceful (PMDD-free) days ahead.

The Cancun Diaries: Final Chapter

Here's a little bit of Cancun This, That, and the Other.  Then I won't mention it again (for those of you who may feel a tad envious... or don't care... or are sick of hearing about it) for at least a month.  Maybe more, maybe less.

{THIS}

I would be amiss if I didn't mention the food.  I think I gained a good 8 pounds in just under a week.  I was skeptical about non-Mexican food in Mexico.  I figured they would have some pretty awesome native taste sensations, but Asian?  Italian?  A good old fashioned buffet?

Yes, yes, and yes.  Especially to the buffet.

I'm not so much of a buffet person, but it was the most-often group-selected meal choice on our vacation.  Probably because it had a large variety, which changed daily.  It was open early and closed late.  It was quick.  No waiting for a four course meal to be served at a leisurely pace.  We didn't have to change into nicer clothes to eat there.  And the food was good.  

Can't beat that with a stick, as my mom would say.

Where else could you get an amazing breakfast like this,

(this was pretty much what Lex ate every morning... attagirl!),

at our regular table,

(this was our last day there, so we were the first through the doors for lunch... relishing our last visit to the buffet before heading to the airport)

with great service from these guys?

Other food memories:

 (Late, long 4-course dinners... NOT too much tequila.)

 Our workin'-it waiter.  He was grandma's favorite.

{THAT}

We drank a boatload of these:

Strawberry Daiquiris, Pina Coladas, Mango Tangos... all non-alcoholic, of course.
And the coconut ice cream?  Yum-o, with a capital YUM.

At our every whim.  Even on the beach.

(Note the three empty daiquiri glasses on the sand.)

So the 8 pounds weren't a shock, and they were worth every ounce.

And {THE OTHER}

Some favorite random pictures.

(No, this was not our masterpiece... just sand art abandoned on the beach)

(We brought a lobster home.)

In closing, as one of our English-speaking tour guides said:

My house is your house,
my country is your country,
my beer is your beer (I think the whole country is sponsored by Corona),
but my wife, is my wife.

{THE END}

Adios,