Honeymoon Recap!

HONEYMOON!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Yeah, that's right.  It was that good.  

We decided we wanted to spend our honeymoon in Varadero, Cuba at the Iberostar Playa Alameda.  Let me say that the weather was FANTASTIC the whole time we were there.  During the day it never went lower than about 25 and never higher than 35.  And it was sunny!!  Basically it was a wonderful week to spend on the beach and exploring town.

So let's start from the beginning:

The cab picked us up at 3:40 a.m. on Thursday. It was way too early and I was not happy. I got sick on the flight to Toronto. It sucked. But Mr. Dan was so sweet. He made me a pillow with his hoodie and found me some headphones so I could try to block out all the noises and sleep. After we landed, and I got on firm ground, I felt a lot better. We had a nice little brunch, chatted and waited for our next plane. Apparently it was re-scheduled so we had 3 hours instead of 2. It was okay though. We had a nice chat and people watch!

We arrived in Varadero around 2:30 p.m. Got all our stuff, no problem, and found our bus. It was quick ride to the hotel (which was lovely!) and then we were there. The first few hours we got checked in, wandered around the beach and the resort, figured out where everything was and headed to the buffet for dinner. We were exhausted so then we headed to our room. And our keys wouldn’t work. So we went to get new ones…and they still wouldn’t work. So maintenance (Darel) came and explained (in broken English) that he was new but he’d fix our locks. 1 hour later his supervisor arrived. Then Darel ended up climbing to our second story balcony and letting us in. He stayed for 2 more hours, and was such a sweet man, but couldn’t fix our door. He got the manager who made sure we had a new room that had all the same amenities (king sized bed, second floor, etc). It was mid-night by the time we actually got into our real room…but I was just happy to sleep.  The experience was really crappy but Darel and his team were great to us.

The next few days we spent going into town, relaxing by the pool and on the beach and playing in the waves. It was SO windy that we had these huge waves to play it. It was like we were 10 year olds…but it was so fun to just act silly with my husband.

We went into Varadero (the town) twice. It was a lot of fun and we ended up spending 4 hours just wandering around and buying jewelry, rum, cigars, etc.

Our evenings consisted of dinner (2 restaurants were alright, the other one was CRAP. Buffet was always good) and then drinks in the outdoor courtyard with live Cuban bands. On the 4th Mr. Dan and I went to the “Romantico” restaurant and then got absolutely loaded while watching the band. We ended the evening on our balcony with beer (and a cigar for him). It was the best "monthaversary" ever.  (Did I really just call it that?! LOL)

We didn’t really do a whole lot but we had so much fun. We relaxed, we got a “tan” (I got freckles and now look like less of an albino) and we spent so much time just sitting and chatting. It really was a much needed, much appreciated, wonderful honeymoon.

And here is my proof:

We made it!!

The building we stayed in

Hot day in town! 

Celebrating!

Lizard.

Taxis in front of the hotel

Love palm trees!

I'll just take these beer back to my room to examine....

The beach!

Hello palm tree <3 

The pool

Our last night:(

Cha...cha...changes!

So recently I've decided to do an over-haul of my life.  I need to stop living in the "I'm in university/poor student" mode and move on to adult mode.  The first part of this process is personal:  update my skincare and beauty regimen, revamp my fitness routines, overhaul our eating habits and really spend some time on our relationship as a couple and our relationships with family/friends.  The second part: financial, but we'll talk about that another time.

A few weeks ago I asked some friends for recommendations on skincare/beauty regimens.  While this may not seem like it should be the first step in my over-haul, I believe that the better you feel about yourself the more confident you will be and the more you will accomplish.  So I set off getting recommendations and trying new products.  It's only been about a week but my skin is already noticeably clearer and softer.  I have less pimples and find myself wearing less make-up.  Step one is in progress!

Step two is my fitness.  While I have been actively trying to lose weight/get fit/ be active for the past 5(ish) years I've never pushed this hard.  Before it was to the gym once or twice a week.  Now I've upped it.  Twice a week minimum( I try for 3x a week), swimming/yoga/biking/something stretchy/cardio at least twice a week and walking the dogs at least once a week.  I've only been on this new kick for 2 weeks but I'm already feeling better about myself and my body.  I'm feeling more active, more alert and better about myself.

Step three overhauling our menu.  Dan and I eat pretty well.  We limit the sweets/junk and fast food but we know when to treat ourselves.  What I've noticed recently, though, is that our portions are off.  We can't usually finish what we have and for the longest time I couldn't figure out why.  Now I understand.  I used to cook for three, when we had a room mate, now I'm only cooking for 2 but I haven't cut back any of my recipes or done much to modify portions.  So step three is scaling them back.  Oh, and adding more veggies.  You can never have too many veggies;)

So the final step, for today, is our relationship.  Dan and I have a wonderful relationship.  He's my best friend.  *insert girly sigh here* But it's because we work at it.  We recently agreed that work was stressing us both out so we've made our minds up that once a week will be date night.  During date night there is only us.  We can do whatever we want - go out, stay in, cook, sleep, play video games, BUT we must do it together.  We've also started taking more vacations.  I'm not talking to far away exotic lands but even just to the Valley for the weekend or the cottage.  It's been really great to get out and explore with him and it's given us lots of time to chat.

So there it is, the first half of my new life plan.

Made any big life changes lately?

So um..

So I'm a slacker...I know I know! I've been slack but hey kids, big news....I"M GETTING MARRIED!

Dan and I had decided to go away to celebrate our 4 year anniversary. We went to the Diby Pines in Digby, NS. We were in our room watching TV the first afternoon there, because it was rainy, and Dan got up to mess around with something in his bag. I kept watching tv and just hanging out on the bed. I could feel him standing behind me so I turned around and he was staring out the window. I looked at him then at the window then at him and I said "What are you doing?" I figured he was looking at a boat coming in the harbour. He wasn't. He immediately dropped to one knee and pulled out a ring box. He looks at me and simply said "Will you marry me?" The first thought that ran thru my head was "OMG! Is he serious?! REALLY?!"" But I didn't say it instead I screamed OMG YES and jumped on him!! We kissed and hugged and it was WONDERFUL!!