Friday Frustration AND Friday Funnies!

The last night we were in Cancun, it started to rain. The water was gushing from the top of the sliding doors like a spigot. Butch called maintenance and they sent a guy. Butch was trying to explain to the guy what he needed to do. The guy didn't speak English--of course we were in Mexico After a bit, he left and returned later with another guy. Both kept looking puzzled and didn't seem to know what to do. 

I left as many of us were meeting for happy hour. Butch joined us a little later. He said that the guys were still working on it when he left. When we got back to our room after dinner, we had a huge mess. This is what we walked in to:

The guys opened the doors and wedged the patio table between them. Oh yeah, that stopped the "spigot" effect. Now the whole floor was flooded. Add to that---when the doors are open, the air conditioning goes off. So now it was wet, hot, humid and extremely muggy!!

Butch did a little rant and marched down to the front desk to tell them we wanted to move. He said "we" without consulting me! When he got back and told me, I said I wasn't moving! There was no way I was going to pack up at 10 p.m. He said he was going, I said "fine!" Then I called the front desk and order a dozen towels. They knew we were the room with the leak, so there were no questions. We got the towels pronto. 

By then, the rain had let up a little, so when Butch closed the doors, it was just a constant, lighter flow. I'm telling you, the guy can figure out anything. He ended up wedging a piece of cardboard up in the crack to divert the water. 

Then he checked to make sure that the water wasn't leaking anywhere else along the door. Voila' it was fixed---at least for the night. It rained hard during the night. Whenever I got up to use the bathroom, I checked the towels and they weren't sopping wet. 

When we woke up in the morning, there was about an inch of standing water outside the room door. Luckily we had extra towels and threw them down. 

The thing is, we were not the only people to have problems. It's obvious that they have to know the doors leak. I guess they don't worry about fixing it since the floors are all tile. It's not like carpeting was getting ruined or anything. 

I'm just glad it happened on the last day. What a mess!

And now, I have to leave you with some funnies:

Five Things Thursday

1. For all you people out there who don't want to get flu shots---I read an article about how safe the vaccine is. It's safer than taking aspirin! And if everyone got it, it would save 50,000 lives a year!! Worth thinking about. You've been warned!

2. For all you people out there who don't wipe off their suitcase wheels after traveling, this is for you:

This is all the crap I would have wheeled into my home and onto my carpet when we got home from Cancun. You've been warned!

3. For all of you people who want to carry your firearm in the airport, better beware! 

If you do, you could lose your TSA pre-check AND be fined $13,910. NOT $14,000--precisely $13,910. You've been warned!

4. For all you people out there who think you can get rich in politics, take it from Harry:

You've been warned.

5. For all you people who choose to feed bears:

• Never feed a bear!
• Feeding bears makes them lose their natural fear of humans, and teaches them to see humans as food providers. They will learn to go to places like homes, campsites, and neighborhoods to look for food, instead of staying in the forest.
• A bear that has gotten used to getting food from humans may become aggressive and dangerous. When this happens, the bear has to be destroyed.
• Help bears stay wild and healthy, and keep yourself and your neighbors safe. Don’t feed bears.

You've been warned!

What I Buy Wednesday

You've heard me say---many times---that Target is deadly for me! Well, here's one of those stories. 

I went to Target to buy a wedding card for the newlyweds. Just that one thing. But, on the way there, I said to myself, "Hmmm, I really need some Christmas wrapping paper." I had already been to Hobby Lobby twice---a couple weeks apart. I love HL's wrapping paper. Even though they had a lot of their Christmas stuff out, they hadn't put out the paper. 

Back to my Target story. I needed some wrapping paper. Really bad. I bought some Advent Calendar type things for the grands. I want to get them wrapped so I can send them off before Thanksgiving. So, I told myself, "Okay, in and out---just the wedding card and wrapping paper." You don't have to have much of an imagination to know what happened next. I picked up the card and headed back to the Christmas section. 

I was sailing along pretty well and not allowing myself to be tempted. Then I saw this. Are you kidding me!!! I stopped dead in my tracks, backed up and did a double-take. Seriously, "Fate, what are you doing to me. You knew exactly what would tempt me beyond control!"

This display!! OMGosh! Since when is Target carrying things from London?

This is one of my favorite stores. We've stopped in on our last two trips to London. This was their holiday display. I just had to purchase some Christmas gifts. 

Before it was all said and done, I came home with this:

Now that's a lot of Target bags! As you can see, I did get the wrapping paper...

Along with a lot of other stuff: ribbon, gift tags, two rolls of gift wrap from the dollar bin, and two sets of notecards from the dollar bin that will be used in my scrapbooking. I also got the table favors for Christmas dinner.

They had $1.00 off the Fevertree Tonic--my favorite--like I'm a real connoisseur of tonic! But, my sister, Janice told me about this years ago--saying it's the best. She even sent it to me since we couldn't get it here back then. She managed a liquor store, so she would know. Then, when we are in London, that's all they use with their gin & tonics. They absolutely would know the best. I always want the best!! And it comes in flavors---sometimes if you can find it.

I could not resist these red sparkly berries. You can't really tell here, but they are really pretty and sparkly. I like sparkly things!

And then, while I was getting the wrapping paper, I just had to have that cute scalloped tissue paper! 

What you aren't seeing are the Christmas gifts I bought. Quite a few to be exact. Some people are going to be surprised!!

So my mission was accomplished. I did get that card and the wrapping paper along with about 30 other things! 

Yep, Target is deadly for me!! 

Travel Tuesday

Not to take anything away from this post, but I want to wish my cousin, Judy a happy birthday today! She's ___years old (I won't give her away. Let's just say she's getting UP there---way UP!) Love you, Judy!!

Okay, here we go! The wedding week.

We arrived a week ago Saturday. We had a couple of days just enjoying the resort before

Morgan and Olly chartered a day on a catamaran for all their guests. There was lots of food and beachy drinks. The day was beautiful and the water was such a rich turquoise. There was plenty of snorkeling and jumping off the boat (not me or Butch, but we weren't alone. A lot of people stayed on board).

Other than the group picture below, I do not have a picture with Stephanie and Nicky. 

Morgan--the bride! How cute is she? Just precious!

There were about 25-30 of us. People came in on different days. There were 42 guests in total.

The next night, Morgan and Olly hosted a bonfire on the beach. I cannot get the pictures to download--it's so darn frustrating. Just imagine a white sandy beach with the breeze flowing through the palm trees. There were gauzy, white, lighted teepee-type tents set up with comfortable cushions with lots of white pillows. There were people attending to the grill with an assortment of delicious food. The dessert table was laid with dozens of fun choices including a s'mores bar. I roasted my marshmallows, then this happened:

I don't know when or how it happened. Steph was the one to notice! I didn't really like that sticky mess gushing between my toes!

Ahhh, Morgan sent me the pictures so I was able to download them:

The fancy dessert table. That's a lot of desserts for 30-40 people! The resorts presentation of everything was outstanding. The grills were adjacent to this.

Notice Morgan's beaded purse. I gave that to her last Christmas. It's from Etsy and is all beaded "Mrs. Teston." Morgan had a new outfit for every day and every event--so cute! 

I forgot to mention the designs in the sand too! Everything was just so precise! Can you imagine all the work it takes to set this stuff up?

Stephanie and Nicky.

And now for the BIG day!

I wanted a picture as soon as we got off the elevator because within 5 minutes my hair frizzes up and becomes wind-blown!

Mindy, Justin and Robbie before the ceremony. Each guest had a maraca waiting at each seat with a tag that said, "Shake at the kiss!" They also have pictures of palm trees painted on with Mexico written underneath. When brining everything in to Mexico, Stephanie was taxed $57.00. I told her it was because she bought in the US what she could/should have bought in Mexico. Here's the kicker: the maracas have a sticker "Made in Mexico!" I think that's pretty hilarious! Besides the tax she paid, she probably could have gotten them much cheaper in May-hee-ko!

Sandy and Greg

The white roses were spectacular!

I love this picture so much. The dress is absolutely gorgeous! You cannot tell from the picture, but that lace is all beaded. Just stunning as is the bride! They are so happy! We love Olly so much. He fits perfectly in our family!

They went all out for the wedding with every detail. The M & O were lit up when it got dark.

Now we move on to the cocktail hour. 

The reception:

I cannot believe I do not have a picture of the table setting. It was all so beautiful! I'll have to wait for the rest of the professional ones come out. Stephanie and Morgan bought the gold placemats and matching coasters. I'm hoping they'll give me a sent for Christmas (wink wink)! 

Jordan and Morgan--sisters and BFFs. Jordan performed her maid of honor duties perfectly. Well, except for the part where she couldn't tame the blowing veil!

The bride and groom started off the dancing with their own choreographed routine. Apparently they spent quite a bit of time practicing. The last week, Morgan tied a robe around her waist to get the feel of her dress dragging on the floor and making sure she wouldn't trip on it. The other photos I had of the dance would not download. 

But at least I got this sweet shot of the end!

This is how their evening ended---sort of like---ahhhhh....

....and then---you just can't make this stuff up!!

The whole week was so much fun. But I have to say, if you were involved in the wedding, you don't get much time to vacation!! There are lots of duties and appointments. For the rest of us, it was so relaxing. There's nothing like being waited on constantly. We were at the Dreams Riviera in Cancun--an all-inclusive (owned by Hyatt). The resort was so lush and beautiful with flowers everywhere. The grounds were impeccable. 

Morgan and I met early one morning for a walk through the garden. Jordan was supposed to be with us, but she over-slept. Turns out, the garden was actually a dog park. Funny considering we never saw a single dog the entire week! The paw prints on the "Paradise Garden" sign should have been a tip off---I just thought it was referring to wildlife! So we took our walk to the beach and came upon a couple of swings. We spent about an hour just talking. I loved having that special time with her. I gave her some grandmotherly advice and then told her that she didn't have to pay any further attention to me. I had my time, so now she could just focus on everything and everyone else!! 

I cannot imagine how it could have been any better. Morgan and Stephanie did a stellar job taking care of everything---down to the smallest detail to make it all so special and perfect! It was  definitely a week to remember!

That's one wedding down and 4 more to go!! 

Monday Mystery

I do have a lot to report about the last week in Cancun and the wedding, but I haven't had time to sort through all the pictures yet. I'm hoping to do that by tomorrow. It was a beautiful wedding and a great week with gorgeous weather. 

Okay, on to the mystery. What do you think this is? 

Scroll down for the answer.

It's a portable purse holder. I love it. I hate putting my purse on the floor! In this case, it worked perfect for beach bags!

Five Things Thursday

1. Today's the wedding! Still, I can squeeze in a few things:

Don't be fooled by this healthy breakfast. You can't see the amazing hot chocolate on the right! What I'm really focusing on here is the variety of sweeteners. I love that. However, conveying what you want at any of the other restaurants is pretty hard. I wish they would just have the caddies on the table like they do at the buffet.

2. Yesterday, I had two spa appointments scheduled. First was the "fish therapy."

I have never done this before, but, I have heard of it! I didn't know anything about it, but wanted to give it a try.

Basically, you dangle your feet in a fish tank. Then the little fish start nibbling at the dead skin on your feet. It was a little ticklish, but mostly it felt more like a vibration. It felt good. They only let the fish nibble for 10 minutes. I guess they have to make sure the fish are still hungry for the next "guests"! Afterwards, there was a foot massage. My next service was the foot reflexology. Who doesn't love to have their feet rubbed for 30 minutes. In this case, I had my feet rubbed for about 45 minutes. Divine! When I walked in there, the lady offered me an add-on facial with a facial massage for $15.00. Heck yeah! That was a bargain and thought I misunderstood--she might have said $50. When I checked out, it was indeed $15. I do love a good spa treatment!

3. Sandy, Stephanie, and I took a guacamole-making class. That turned into our lunch. 

There was a guy nearby having what I thought was a Bloody Mary. I decided to order one. He said it was a Bloody Caesar--with clam juice added. I was a little skeptical, but decided to give it a try. When you don't have to pay $18.00 per drink, that's the time to try new things. Like this one:

This is my new favorite fruity drink: Strawberry daiquiri on the bottom with a Pina colada on top. So good and I've had way too many!

4. Things that don't make sense.

"The perfect place to relax and feel with your couple"  What? Feel what with your couple? 

Okay, I want to know what "tricky" skin is. Because, if I have it, I guess this means I don't want it! 

It seems to me that if you are doing your advertising in English, then it really should be someone who is proficient in English. Surely, I'm not the only person who has noticed this.

5. Another beautiful sunrise.

Last night we had a bonfire on the beach. It was so beautiful, yet I didn't take any pictures. They had a professional photographer there, so there will be some great shots. I'll share later.