I only wish I could dance like this!

Seriously, NYC get out and Vote!

Mike Bloomberg is disgraceful. His blatant disregard for the laws of this city are a clear indication of his character. Term limits are there for a reason.

And once more into the breach...

It's November and that means that once more I'm going to attempt NaNoWrimo. I did it once back in '04 and have failed bitterly since, but undaunted (well... slightly daunted) I'm going for it again. How the hell I'm going to manage running 3 miles a day, walking the dogs at insane hours, and writing 50,000 words in one month is beyond me. But one thing is sure - it means there will be lots more blog posts here as I procrastinate. Endlessly. If nothing else it will give me one more thing to stress over, which is going to be really nice for my dentist as I'm sure I will be grinding my teeth twice as much as normal. Wheee! My poor night guard takes a beating, I am shocked it's still in one piece. And it also means I'll actually pull some posts together here, which will also be nice; especially since I have let things slide to the point of barely having a blog at all any more.

I haven't been writing much of anything any where for months, not even boring tidbits in my handwritten journal. Partly because my schedule is crazy, partly because my hands have been p.a.i.n.i.n.g. me something fierce, and partly because I feel like I haven't had a helluva lot to say. Maybe that's a good thing, it might actually mean I'll have something to say for this 'novel'.

But now I have to go do some other sort of procrastination - I think I might clean the windows! The beauty of procrastination: a clean apartment.

Okay, you can stop holding your breath now

I know you were turning blue waiting for these photos. And even though I don't have a cohesive narrative to go with them, cohesiveness having flown out the door along with any and all my free time, I'm posting them so you can see how beeee-uuuuu-teee-fullll it was.

Mexico I mean.

But first, a little test. From the airplane window I saw this cloud formation. I saw something very clearly. Take a look. See anything?

Click on it, make it bigger. Look again.

If you see clouds. Okay, I'll give you that. But if you see GODZILLA then you are correct! Yes people, Godzilla my favorite, your favorite, Tokyo's favorite radiation imbued dinosaur-cum- guy in a rubber suit with a zipper down the back. Now for me that bode well. I really love me some Gojira.

Then the coastline coming into the Cancun airport. Oooooh preeeeety.

And here is the lobby of the Catalonia Playa Maroma, or as I like to call it: the preliminary artwork for my new living room. I'm not sure how my landlord is going to react to me digging through the floor for the fountain pools, but I think it's going to look nifty.

the main entrance & lobby

fountains and my new couch

Now on to my little room.....

the view from the front door

through the windows of the back porch

and the view from the porch

Gilligan, get the Professor I want to make a coconut phone!

Now for the interior:

the scary/cool thing about this room is that the color scheme is EXACTLY what I have at home now. I mean exactly. Of course this is a king-sized bed and I only have a full... but if I could knock out a wall in my bedroom I'd have a king. I really, really would. I'd love it. The landlord, again, probably not so much. But let's take a look at the bathroom, shall we? Four of my current bathrooms could fit in here. Yes, I measured.

I always love a little towel origami with my mini-shampoos.

But my favorite feature? The coffee maker.

I'll continue later, for now take a walk with me from the room to the main pathway. the first image is the back of the room - the porch area, then we walk. Listen to the lovely sounds.

Back to NYC...

*sigh*

I got back from Mexico on Friday evening. My morning was all blue skies and warm weather, my evening was bleak, raining, cold and just plain grey.

Welcome back.

Luckily I took tons of pictures (and video) and looking at them makes me forget (sorta) just how dismal the weather is here. It also makes me want to book a flight back for tomorrow... but that's just not possible. Besides, I missed my dog.

My dog, however, did not seem to miss me. Okay, maybe a little. But he seemed to really have a good time entertaining his 'guests' and I don't blame him - Miss Trixie and her Mom are just plain fun. Plus Basil always likes having his lil' Cousin Trixie around.

I was full of perkiness last night but not the kind that makes any sort of writing possible. Unfortunately now I'm feeling the effects of too little sleep yesterday and the drastic weather change is making me sleepy too. So I'm not going to say much about my lovely trip right now. Instead I give you this little taste of a typical day.

And believe me: there's a story to go with these guys. Isn't there always?

My bag is packed, I'm ready to ... Adios

Considering how infrequently I've been posting it might seem odd to post a 'won't be posting this week' post. (And how many times CAN you put the word 'post' in one post?) But that's what this is.

I'm heading to Mexico this morning and won't even be looking at a computer for the next week. In fact I doubt I'll be doing anything other than reading, swimming, taking photos and nursing my stuffed up head.

Yup. Two days ago I got hit with an intense head cold... or maybe it's allergies. (yeah). I've been self-medicating homeopathically which has offered some relief, but at midnight last night I headed to the drugstore and got some good old-fashioned head clearing poison. Because you know what's worse than being stuffed up while you're stuffed in a plane? Um... being stuffed up in a plane that's LANDING.

I've had that ear splitting pain once before (Las Vegas to San Francisco - ungodly pain) and I have done everything and anything since then to avoid having it happen again. So I'm nasal-spraying and neti-potting, and decongestant-popping before I go anywhere near that airport. Then I have special ear plugs that help deflect some of the pressure. I go to great lengths to avoid the 'ouch'. It better work. If it doesn't I'm going to really annoy the kid sitting behind me kicking my seat by screaming blue murder during the landing.

How do I know there is a bratty kid in the seat behind me when I haven't even left the house yet? Because. I know these things. But I'll take that over the earache any day of the week.

Well. Almost any day.

If my head doesn't unstuff naturally at some point on this trip I'm going to be very, very unhappy. Because it will mean I can't smell anything. One of the things I love best about Mexico, and I'm sure this will sound strange, but it's the smell. Mexico, or at least the Yucatan, has a scent all its own, it's kind of a woody/earthy fresh smell. I'm sure it must be from some combination of indigenous trees and plants or something, and I know I sound like a dog who learned to speak English here, but it smells GOOD!

*woof*

Speaking of which, the only bad thing about going to Mexico (aside from the nasty stuffiness) is that I'm leaving my puppy! I hate leaving Basil, and naturally he's been extra-super cute and amusing the past few days. That boy knows how to work me, it's terrible to be so whipped by your own dog. But his favorite auntie, Miss X's Mom is coming (with Miss X, of course) to stay with him and the demon-seed Nick. So I know he's in excellent hands (and paws)... but I'll still miss my boy! Doubtful whether he'll miss me. But that's okay, I'm sure he needs a break from me.

I will post (ah-ha! Got in another one!) tons of pictures when I return, hopefully rejuvenated by the scent of the air and the fresh guacamole, and perhaps, just perhaps, I'll start posting (!) more often.

So la, la, la I'm off to Mexico.

It's been two years

Two years since I've been on a vacation. Which, naturally means, two years since I've seen Mexico. Two years of pulling up my old photos and videos, playing Mariachi music and pretending to practice my Spanish, while eating guacamole (like that will improve my accent).

Well, the wait is over. After much stress, saving, and deliberation which nearly drove me over the edge (I get very tense about making the perfect travel plans) I finally just went ahead and took the plunge. I made reservations and I'm going the second week in September.

Sadly I could not afford to go to see the lovely folks at Lafitte (formerly Capitan now Petit) where I spent my first three ridiculously amazing trips to Mexico. So I'm going to someplace new and untried.

I've already started packing... probably a little premature, but I'm kind of excited.

There is only one small problem now...

The bathing suit.

Oh yeah, everyone wants to see this pulchritude in a bikini, but that's not happening. No. Not until you earn it. That's that.

Truth is I have two swimsuits and they are barely used and I like them (shock!) the trouble with them is, get this (this is trouble?) I've lost weight. Not the ton I'd like to lose, that I struggle constantly to lose, but I've lost a good 10 lbs since I last had the opportunity to wear 'The Suit' and 10 is enough to make things, well.. let's just say less than 'safe' in the water. I SAID you'd have to earn it - there will be no oopsies with the girls in the pool. I mean, okay, should Alan Rickman somehow be in that pool with me, then an oopsie could happen. I mean it wouldn't be a premeditated, rouged nipple flash or anything like that (REALLY)... it just might happen. You know, with a vigorous backstroke or something... Oh shush, it could happen.

Vacation to Mexico isn't the only thing that's been on hold people. Cut me some slack, okay?