2010 Books:
1. The End (Series of Unfortunate Events #13) by Lemony Snicket
2. I Am The Messenger by Markus Zusak
3. Comfort Me with Apples by Ruth Reichl
4. Toddlers Gone Wild! Rants from a Mommy Brain by Rebecca Eckler
5. Shanghai Girls by Lisa See
6. Sarah's Key by Tatiana de Rosnay
7. The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein
8. Switchcraft by Mary Castillo
9. Saving CeeCee Honeycutt by Beth Hoffman
10. Girl with The Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson
11. The Gift by Cecelia Ahern
12. Restoring Grace by Katie Fforde
13. The Importance of Being Married by Gemma Townley
14. My Life in France by Julia Child
15. A Reliable Wife by Robert Goolrick
16. Made in the USA by Billie Letts
17. A Wild Affair by Gemma Townley
18. House Rules by Jodi Picoult
19. My Horizontal Live: A Collection of One Night Stands by Chelsea Handler
20. Through The Heart by Kate Morgenroth
21. As Nature Made Him: The boy who was raised as a girl by John Colapinto
(Insane story, true story! A little bit more technical than I liked, but I'm glad I read it.)
22. What Was She Thinking? Notes on a Scandel by Zoe Heller
Bit of a lackluster ending.
23. What The Dead Know by Laura Lippman
24. Heart of the Matter by Emily Giffin
25. Naptime is the New Happy Hour: And other ways toddlers turn your life upside down by Stephanie Wilder-Taylor
26. Promises to Keep by Jane Green
27. The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
28. The Wednesday Sisters by Meg Waite Clayton
Currently listening to: The White Queen by Philippa Gregory and enjoying it.
Finished listening to: Are You There Vodka it's Me Chelsea by Chelsea Handler. Hilarious to listen to! Highly entertaining.
My review of The Wednesday Sisters:
The more I read this book the more I fell in love with it. The funny thing is the book references "The Great Gatsby" a handful of times and how ironic that that's the book I read right before I read this book. (Not that you need to read The GG before you read this.)
This was a heartwarming story, I loved the women's friendships. I loved that it mentioned important historical news happening during that time. I loved that it took place in the Bay area, that the author is from Palo Alto. I also love that the park mentioned in the book is the park I drive by weekly when I go to spin class. It's nice to hear descriptions of this area back in the day.
Overall, I think it was a great book. I'm envious of how close of friends the women are in the book, they were very fortunate to meet and get so close to each other as well as see each other on a weekly basis.
Saturday, July 24, 2010
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
I miss my Garmin
It for sure is dead. I tried resetting it according to Garmin's website recommendation. I couldn't even get it to turn on on the charger. So I placed an order for another one. I decided to go for the Forerunner 305. I had the 205, but for $11 more I get a heart rate monitor option.
I considered the 310xt version which is supposed to be for triathletes, but I don't like the high cost as well as the fact that it doesn't really track mileage well in water. I figured I'd wait till a better version comes out. I was also bummed that the smaller watches like the 405 didn't have the mulit-sport option.
The funny thing is that I have a run tomorrow, Friday and this weekend. I am hoping my Garmin comes soon because I love tracking my mileage, seeing my pace etc. For my two short runs I'll run a known mileage on a familiar path. I just hope that I get it before this weekend for my 7 mile run.
I considered the 310xt version which is supposed to be for triathletes, but I don't like the high cost as well as the fact that it doesn't really track mileage well in water. I figured I'd wait till a better version comes out. I was also bummed that the smaller watches like the 405 didn't have the mulit-sport option.
The funny thing is that I have a run tomorrow, Friday and this weekend. I am hoping my Garmin comes soon because I love tracking my mileage, seeing my pace etc. For my two short runs I'll run a known mileage on a familiar path. I just hope that I get it before this weekend for my 7 mile run.
Sunday, July 18, 2010
Metro Triathlon San Jose
First off, my time. 3:02:50.7. A PR for me by a little over 10 minutes!!
Swim time: 32:54.6
Swim transition: 4:57.9 (Could have improved this, but was talking to hubby and the kids)
Bike time: 1:23:43.6 (17.8 MPH)
Bike transition: 2:42 (including a bathroom stop)
Run time: 58:32.6 (9:26 min/mile)
Came in 5th out of 13 in my age group. :)
Race Summary:
Overall, a great course! I would totally do this race again.
Transition area is not assigned, first come first serve, but plenty of bike racks for everyone.
Small race size, 247 people.
Swim is in a reservoir, kinda murky but the water was warm. It was 2 loops so you do have to exit the water and re-enter.
Bike course is relatively flat and fast. One small hill at mile 6ish and a bigger steeper hill at mile 14-15 with rolling hills the rest of the course back.
Run course is a little rolling but not too bad, somewhat shaded but it's still hot down in San Jose in July.
There were great volunteers along the course. Police manned stoplights so bikers could zoom through intersections.
Positive:
One woman caught up to me on the bike and said "It was sure hard to catch you on that hill, blue." I was wearing a blue tri outfit. We kept up with each other the rest of the ride and I beat her in the run. But in her defense she was 10 years older than me.
I was able to kick butt even though I had only ONE bike ride outdoors for training (25 mile bike ride 2 weeks ago). Other than that it was just my weekly hour long spin class that I teach that helped my biking.
I also only swam once a week for about 9 weeks.
Negative:
My Garmin 205 died this morning before my race. Wouldn't hold a charge. :( Guess I'll be ordering a new one!
I really thought I could beat the 3 hour timepoint, but for the first 4 miles of the run I had stomach cramps. I think I didn't time my sports beans well on my bike and they were bothering me. That with the heat made me not able to run 3 minutes faster. Gives me a new goal though.
Swim time: 32:54.6
Swim transition: 4:57.9 (Could have improved this, but was talking to hubby and the kids)
Bike time: 1:23:43.6 (17.8 MPH)
Bike transition: 2:42 (including a bathroom stop)
Run time: 58:32.6 (9:26 min/mile)
Came in 5th out of 13 in my age group. :)
Race Summary:
Overall, a great course! I would totally do this race again.
Transition area is not assigned, first come first serve, but plenty of bike racks for everyone.
Small race size, 247 people.
Swim is in a reservoir, kinda murky but the water was warm. It was 2 loops so you do have to exit the water and re-enter.
Bike course is relatively flat and fast. One small hill at mile 6ish and a bigger steeper hill at mile 14-15 with rolling hills the rest of the course back.
Run course is a little rolling but not too bad, somewhat shaded but it's still hot down in San Jose in July.
There were great volunteers along the course. Police manned stoplights so bikers could zoom through intersections.
Positive:
One woman caught up to me on the bike and said "It was sure hard to catch you on that hill, blue." I was wearing a blue tri outfit. We kept up with each other the rest of the ride and I beat her in the run. But in her defense she was 10 years older than me.
I was able to kick butt even though I had only ONE bike ride outdoors for training (25 mile bike ride 2 weeks ago). Other than that it was just my weekly hour long spin class that I teach that helped my biking.
I also only swam once a week for about 9 weeks.
Negative:
My Garmin 205 died this morning before my race. Wouldn't hold a charge. :( Guess I'll be ordering a new one!
I really thought I could beat the 3 hour timepoint, but for the first 4 miles of the run I had stomach cramps. I think I didn't time my sports beans well on my bike and they were bothering me. That with the heat made me not able to run 3 minutes faster. Gives me a new goal though.
Thursday, July 15, 2010
Books 2010
2010 Books:
1. The End (Series of Unfortunate Events #13) by Lemony Snicket
2. I Am The Messenger by Markus Zusak
3. Comfort Me with Apples by Ruth Reichl
4. Toddlers Gone Wild! Rants from a Mommy Brain by Rebecca Eckler
5. Shanghai Girls by Lisa See
6. Sarah's Key by Tatiana de Rosnay
7. The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein
8. Switchcraft by Mary Castillo
9. Saving CeeCee Honeycutt by Beth Hoffman
10. Girl with The Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson
11. The Gift by Cecelia Ahern
12. Restoring Grace by Katie Fforde
13. The Importance of Being Married by Gemma Townley
14. My Life in France by Julia Child
15. A Reliable Wife by Robert Goolrick
16. Made in the USA by Billie Letts
17. A Wild Affair by Gemma Townley
18. House Rules by Jodi Picoult
19. My Horizontal Live: A Collection of One Night Stands by Chelsea Handler
20. Through The Heart by Kate Morgenroth
21. As Nature Made Him: The boy who was raised as a girl by John Colapinto
(Insane story, true story! A little bit more technical than I liked, but I'm glad I read it.)
22. What Was She Thinking? Notes on a Scandel by Zoe Heller
Bit of a lackluster ending.
23. What The Dead Know by Laura Lippman
24. Heart of the Matter by Emily Giffin
25. Naptime is the New Happy Hour: And other ways toddlers turn your life upside down by Stephanie Wilder-Taylor
26. Promises to Keep by Jane Green
Books in bold I highly recommend.
Heart of the Matter really hit home for me, with what's going on with my family it just put perspective on a lot of things. I'm not going to go into it in more detail, but I'm truely glad I read the book.
Promises to Keep was amazing. Since having my 2nd child this book talked about one of my biggest fears. I thought it was beautifully written and very heartfelt.
1. The End (Series of Unfortunate Events #13) by Lemony Snicket
2. I Am The Messenger by Markus Zusak
3. Comfort Me with Apples by Ruth Reichl
4. Toddlers Gone Wild! Rants from a Mommy Brain by Rebecca Eckler
5. Shanghai Girls by Lisa See
6. Sarah's Key by Tatiana de Rosnay
7. The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein
8. Switchcraft by Mary Castillo
9. Saving CeeCee Honeycutt by Beth Hoffman
10. Girl with The Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson
11. The Gift by Cecelia Ahern
12. Restoring Grace by Katie Fforde
13. The Importance of Being Married by Gemma Townley
14. My Life in France by Julia Child
15. A Reliable Wife by Robert Goolrick
16. Made in the USA by Billie Letts
17. A Wild Affair by Gemma Townley
18. House Rules by Jodi Picoult
19. My Horizontal Live: A Collection of One Night Stands by Chelsea Handler
20. Through The Heart by Kate Morgenroth
21. As Nature Made Him: The boy who was raised as a girl by John Colapinto
(Insane story, true story! A little bit more technical than I liked, but I'm glad I read it.)
22. What Was She Thinking? Notes on a Scandel by Zoe Heller
Bit of a lackluster ending.
23. What The Dead Know by Laura Lippman
24. Heart of the Matter by Emily Giffin
25. Naptime is the New Happy Hour: And other ways toddlers turn your life upside down by Stephanie Wilder-Taylor
26. Promises to Keep by Jane Green
Books in bold I highly recommend.
Heart of the Matter really hit home for me, with what's going on with my family it just put perspective on a lot of things. I'm not going to go into it in more detail, but I'm truely glad I read the book.
Promises to Keep was amazing. Since having my 2nd child this book talked about one of my biggest fears. I thought it was beautifully written and very heartfelt.
Tuesday, July 6, 2010
Healthy, Kid Friendly, Budget Friendly Recipes
A few people have been looking for healthy, kid friendly (aka family friendly) and budget friendly recipes.
Here are a few of my favorites. Hopefully they fall into at least one or more of those categories.
Pasta Cheese and Trees
Ingredients:
1 lb penne, corkscrew pasta or medium shells
1 lb broccoli tops
2 Tbs. butter cut up
1 Tbs. extra-virgin olive oil EVOO
3 cloves garlic
1 cup ricotta cheese
1/2 cup parmesan or romano cheese
salt, pepper, oregano to taste
(I like to add frozen peas too.)
Optional, can add cooked chicken too.
Cook pasta to al dente according to package. Pull apart broccoli to "trees" put in a pot with ejough water to just cover the tops. Bring water to a boil and add 4 pinches of salt. (I add the frozen peas now too.) Cook for 5 minutes once the water is boiling. Drain.
Pour EVOO and butter into a deep frying pan and heat over low heat. When the butter melts add garlic and cook 5 minutes (I add precooked chicken and seasonings at this step). Stir in broccoli and cooked pasta. Add ricotta and parmesan and stir to combine.
Turkey Veggie Meatloaf
Ingredients:
2 lbs ground turkey breast
1 cup grated onion
3/4 cup dried Italian-style bread crumbs
1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley
1/3 cup finely chopped red bell pepper
1/3 cup grated peeled carrots
1 large whole egg, beaten
1 large egg white
2 tablespoons minced garlic
1 1/4 teaspoons salt
1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1 cup ketchup
Nonstick cooking spray
Preheat the oven to 400 F. Combine the first 11 ingredients in a large bowl. Stir in 2/3 cup of the ketchup. Coat a 9x5 inch loaf pan with cooking spray. Place meatloaf mixture in pan and bake for 45 minutes. Remove pan from oven and spread remaining 1/3 cup ketchup over the meatloaf. Continue baking until a meat thermometer inserted into the middle is 165 F or about 15 more miutes. Let stand for 10 minutes. Serve with mashed potatoes.
Mac and Cheese Soup
Ingredients:
1 pkg (32oz) reduced sodium chicken broth
6 oz small past ashells
1 bag (16 oz) frozen broccoli, cauliflower and carrot blend.
1 1/2 cups low-fat milk
2tbs. all pourpose flour
1 1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
In a large saucepan, bring broth to a boil over high heat. Add pasta. Return to a boil. Reduce heat and let simmer, uncovered for 5 minutes. Add vegetables. Cook until pasta and veggies are tender.
Combine milk and flour in a resealable container; shake well to combine. Stir in pasta mixture. Cook and stir until thickened and bubbly. Gradually add the cheese, stirring until cheese melts.
Whole Wheat Pasta with Ricotta and Vegetables
Ingredients:
8 oz dried whole wheat or whole grain penne pasta
2 1/2 cups broccoli florets
1 1/2 cups asparagus or green beans cut into 1 inch pieces
1 cup light ricotta cheese
1/4 snipped fresh basil or 1 tbsp dried basil, crushed
4 tsp snipped fresh thyme or 1 tsp dried thyme, crushed
4 tsp balsamic vinegar
1 tbsp olive oil
1 garlic clove minced
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
2 large ripe tomatoes, seeded and chopped
2 tbsp grated parmesan or romano cheese
Cook pasta according to package directions, omitting any oil or salt.
Add broccoli florets and asparagus or green beand during the last 3 minutes of cooking; drain.
In a large serving bowl, combine ricotta cheese, basil, thyme, balsamic vinegar, olive oil, garlic, salt and freshly ground pepper.
Add cooked pasta and veggies to ricotta micture. Add chopped tomatoes. Toss to combine. Sprinkle each serving with grated cheese.
Taco Soup
Ingredients:
1 lb lean ground beef
1 pkg (32ox) reduced sodium beef broth
I've substituted beef for turkey and beef broth for chicken broth.
1 can 15 to 16 oz black beans, rinsed and drained.
1 can 14.5 oz diced tomatoes
1pkg 1.25 oz reduced sodium taco seasoning
1 can 11oz whole kernal corn with sweet peppers.
Tortilla chips, optional
In a large saucepan, cook beef until browned. Drain off fat. Stirl in broth, beans, tomatoes, and taco seasoning. Bring to a boil over high heat; reduce heat and let simmer uncoverd for 15 minutes stirring occasionally.
Stir in corn. Serve with tortilla chips if desired.
Chicken and Noodle Casserole
Ingredients:
6 oz egg noodles, cooked
1 onion chopped
1 tbsp. oil
1 lb diced cooked chicken (3 cups)
1 can chicken, celery or mushroom condensed soup
1/2 can milk or chicken broth
2 tbsp Italian bread crumbs
Preheat oven to 350F. Saute onion in nonstick skillet. Combine all ingredients except crumbs. Pour into casserole coated with cooking spray. Top with crumbs. Bake for 25-30 minutes till hot and bubbly.
Here are a few of my favorites. Hopefully they fall into at least one or more of those categories.
Pasta Cheese and Trees
Ingredients:
1 lb penne, corkscrew pasta or medium shells
1 lb broccoli tops
2 Tbs. butter cut up
1 Tbs. extra-virgin olive oil EVOO
3 cloves garlic
1 cup ricotta cheese
1/2 cup parmesan or romano cheese
salt, pepper, oregano to taste
(I like to add frozen peas too.)
Optional, can add cooked chicken too.
Cook pasta to al dente according to package. Pull apart broccoli to "trees" put in a pot with ejough water to just cover the tops. Bring water to a boil and add 4 pinches of salt. (I add the frozen peas now too.) Cook for 5 minutes once the water is boiling. Drain.
Pour EVOO and butter into a deep frying pan and heat over low heat. When the butter melts add garlic and cook 5 minutes (I add precooked chicken and seasonings at this step). Stir in broccoli and cooked pasta. Add ricotta and parmesan and stir to combine.
Turkey Veggie Meatloaf
Ingredients:
2 lbs ground turkey breast
1 cup grated onion
3/4 cup dried Italian-style bread crumbs
1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley
1/3 cup finely chopped red bell pepper
1/3 cup grated peeled carrots
1 large whole egg, beaten
1 large egg white
2 tablespoons minced garlic
1 1/4 teaspoons salt
1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1 cup ketchup
Nonstick cooking spray
Preheat the oven to 400 F. Combine the first 11 ingredients in a large bowl. Stir in 2/3 cup of the ketchup. Coat a 9x5 inch loaf pan with cooking spray. Place meatloaf mixture in pan and bake for 45 minutes. Remove pan from oven and spread remaining 1/3 cup ketchup over the meatloaf. Continue baking until a meat thermometer inserted into the middle is 165 F or about 15 more miutes. Let stand for 10 minutes. Serve with mashed potatoes.
Mac and Cheese Soup
Ingredients:
1 pkg (32oz) reduced sodium chicken broth
6 oz small past ashells
1 bag (16 oz) frozen broccoli, cauliflower and carrot blend.
1 1/2 cups low-fat milk
2tbs. all pourpose flour
1 1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
In a large saucepan, bring broth to a boil over high heat. Add pasta. Return to a boil. Reduce heat and let simmer, uncovered for 5 minutes. Add vegetables. Cook until pasta and veggies are tender.
Combine milk and flour in a resealable container; shake well to combine. Stir in pasta mixture. Cook and stir until thickened and bubbly. Gradually add the cheese, stirring until cheese melts.
Whole Wheat Pasta with Ricotta and Vegetables
Ingredients:
8 oz dried whole wheat or whole grain penne pasta
2 1/2 cups broccoli florets
1 1/2 cups asparagus or green beans cut into 1 inch pieces
1 cup light ricotta cheese
1/4 snipped fresh basil or 1 tbsp dried basil, crushed
4 tsp snipped fresh thyme or 1 tsp dried thyme, crushed
4 tsp balsamic vinegar
1 tbsp olive oil
1 garlic clove minced
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
2 large ripe tomatoes, seeded and chopped
2 tbsp grated parmesan or romano cheese
Cook pasta according to package directions, omitting any oil or salt.
Add broccoli florets and asparagus or green beand during the last 3 minutes of cooking; drain.
In a large serving bowl, combine ricotta cheese, basil, thyme, balsamic vinegar, olive oil, garlic, salt and freshly ground pepper.
Add cooked pasta and veggies to ricotta micture. Add chopped tomatoes. Toss to combine. Sprinkle each serving with grated cheese.
Taco Soup
Ingredients:
1 lb lean ground beef
1 pkg (32ox) reduced sodium beef broth
I've substituted beef for turkey and beef broth for chicken broth.
1 can 15 to 16 oz black beans, rinsed and drained.
1 can 14.5 oz diced tomatoes
1pkg 1.25 oz reduced sodium taco seasoning
1 can 11oz whole kernal corn with sweet peppers.
Tortilla chips, optional
In a large saucepan, cook beef until browned. Drain off fat. Stirl in broth, beans, tomatoes, and taco seasoning. Bring to a boil over high heat; reduce heat and let simmer uncoverd for 15 minutes stirring occasionally.
Stir in corn. Serve with tortilla chips if desired.
Chicken and Noodle Casserole
Ingredients:
6 oz egg noodles, cooked
1 onion chopped
1 tbsp. oil
1 lb diced cooked chicken (3 cups)
1 can chicken, celery or mushroom condensed soup
1/2 can milk or chicken broth
2 tbsp Italian bread crumbs
Preheat oven to 350F. Saute onion in nonstick skillet. Combine all ingredients except crumbs. Pour into casserole coated with cooking spray. Top with crumbs. Bake for 25-30 minutes till hot and bubbly.
Thursday, July 1, 2010
1 year ago today
My baby was born a year ago today. I can't believe my youngest is a year old already?!
Toddler Tricks
A couple of toddler tricks we've incorporated.
A case of the "I want that": You've probably experienced it while shopping with your toddler. They see something they want and go into all out temper tantrum mode trying to get you to buy it for them. My cousin had a recommendation for us that she used with her kids. Tell them to put it on their Xmas and/or birthday list. We've implemented that and it's been working so far for us. It's not like that I've made an actual list, except of items that are truely something I think would be a great gift. One day when we spent a good deal of time at Target I took pictures of the items which helped with her I wants.
Flash cards: We've reintroduced them. My daughter knows her alphabet so it's not like she needs them anymore. We actually took them out for baby #2 but my daughter and husband came up with a new use for them. We play guessing games with them. A person chooses a card and then they either give hints or the guessers ask questions to figure out what the picture is of. My daughter has asked some really great questions as well as came up with really great descriptions. It's been really fun playing this new game with her. Just wanted to say not to throw out those flashcards so soon.
A case of the "I want that": You've probably experienced it while shopping with your toddler. They see something they want and go into all out temper tantrum mode trying to get you to buy it for them. My cousin had a recommendation for us that she used with her kids. Tell them to put it on their Xmas and/or birthday list. We've implemented that and it's been working so far for us. It's not like that I've made an actual list, except of items that are truely something I think would be a great gift. One day when we spent a good deal of time at Target I took pictures of the items which helped with her I wants.
Flash cards: We've reintroduced them. My daughter knows her alphabet so it's not like she needs them anymore. We actually took them out for baby #2 but my daughter and husband came up with a new use for them. We play guessing games with them. A person chooses a card and then they either give hints or the guessers ask questions to figure out what the picture is of. My daughter has asked some really great questions as well as came up with really great descriptions. It's been really fun playing this new game with her. Just wanted to say not to throw out those flashcards so soon.
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
Boot Camp Workout #2
After 4 weeks of doing workout #1 we've decided to change it up. Same routine each exercise 30 sec, 10 sec rest in-between. 1 minute break between rounds.
Round 1:
Squat Kickout
Round 1:
Squat Kickout
Arm Raises
Single Leg Raise Crunch
X's
Leglifts
Round 2:
Round 2:
Knee kick pull down
kickouts
plank
jumprope
step ups
Puerto Vallarta Review
*Photos taken from Villa Premiere Website*
My hubby and I traveled to Puerto Vallarta in June for our 5 year wedding anniversary. We stayed at Villa Premiere Hotel and Spa in PV. It was glorious!
It's about a $20 cab ride from the airport. The hotel is located north of the main drag, south of the airport. It's about 1 mile from downtown.
When we showed up we were handed champagne as we checked in. We were asked what pillow we would like. There were 6-7 options ranging from type of material, down, cotton. Firmness etc. Then we were to choose our scent of the room a selection of our seven exquisite essences, Basil, Cinnamon, Java Citronella, Eucalyptus. A scent they would spray in there daily. After our check in, while they set up our room with scent and special pillows, we were given a 5-minute neck/back rub. Awesome!!
Our room was gorgeous. Every room in the hotel has an ocean view. We got the premiere room which included a jacuzzi tub in the room and a king bed. Robes and slippers were also in the room. Though the slippers were super tiny on us. We also had a fridge stocked with sodas, water and beer. (We did the all-inclusive package.)
The room was very clean and roomy. I loved it. We were on the 7th floor (top floor) and we had beautiful views. The only funny thing about the room was the jacuzzi tub looks into the room, it has shutters to close it off from the room/bathroom. But the shutters aren't fully sealed so when people are doing their business in the bathroom, people in the bedroom could hear everything.
The two pools were nice. Everyday new towels were set out, each lounge chair was covered with new towels. The towel cart had books/magazines and sunblock. There was shade if you wanted it, swim up bar, beds in shade or on the beach or held up by rope like a swing. So many options to layout/relax. I loved how we were located a decent ways away from downtown that the beach was empty, it was nice to be alone in paradise. The bonus is that if you stay at Villa Premiere, you can go to the sister hotel next door and use their pools/restaurants there. Next door is the family hotel while Villa Premiere is the adult only hotel. 16 years old and up. We only tried one pool next door but perhaps if we stayed longer we'd have checked out that hotel a little more. Part of the reason we didn't hang out much next door was because we were doing this trip without our kids and seeing kids for me reminded me of what I missed.
Spa at the hotel. There was a spa on the 2nd floor of the hotel. I was expecting great prices. I was hoping for Thailand massage prices but got prices higher than massage prices here at home. Just an ie. 50 minute massage was $118. At home at my favorite spa/bath house Watercourse Way a 60 minute massage + 60 minutes in the hot tub/steam room/sauna of my choice is $120. 2 hours for same price. Totally not worth it to us.
Gym: I used the gym 2 times at the hotel. Well air conditioned. Views were beautiful. Very clean. They had cool bottles of water. Clean towels on all of the machines. Cool damp wash clothes in the fridge. So great! I used the treadmill both days. And only a little bit of weights on one day. I'm gonna say it's the best hotel gym I've ever used.
Restaurants: Because we were all-inclusive we ate all but one night at our hotel. The food was good. Of course we were limited to only one menu because we were at a down time. I would have liked other options not that there weren't enough choices for me to have a different meal each night, but funny enough the one night we go out was the night they opened the other restaurant. I wouldn't have changed my all-inclusive though. I loved being able to order drinks all day at the pool. I loved ordering snacks by the pool or in the middle of the night from the 24-hour room service menu.
The one restaurant we tried out was Cafe de Olla. It was recommended by a friend. One thing to note about the restaurant is that it's cash only. We ended up only ordering 2 margaritas and shared a meal of fajitas. I could tell the margaritas didn't have much alcohol at all. The fajitas were good, nothing to brag about but good.
Vallarta Adventures:
Not having kids on our trip we decided to live it up a bit. We booked a trip with Vallarta Adventures, we did the Outdoor Adventure package which meant speed boating, ziplining, rapelling and mule riding. SO MUCH FUN!! I totally recommend it. It's a 6 hour trip and I enjoyed every minute of it. FYI for the photos they take of you during the adventure, for one photo it's $15. For all photos of you it's $29, but if you're in a couple for all pics of both of you turns out to be $29 each: $58. We bought our pictures because there were a lot of good ones. The photographer did a great job.
My hubby and I traveled to Puerto Vallarta in June for our 5 year wedding anniversary. We stayed at Villa Premiere Hotel and Spa in PV. It was glorious!
It's about a $20 cab ride from the airport. The hotel is located north of the main drag, south of the airport. It's about 1 mile from downtown.
When we showed up we were handed champagne as we checked in. We were asked what pillow we would like. There were 6-7 options ranging from type of material, down, cotton. Firmness etc. Then we were to choose our scent of the room a selection of our seven exquisite essences, Basil, Cinnamon, Java Citronella, Eucalyptus. A scent they would spray in there daily. After our check in, while they set up our room with scent and special pillows, we were given a 5-minute neck/back rub. Awesome!!
Our room was gorgeous. Every room in the hotel has an ocean view. We got the premiere room which included a jacuzzi tub in the room and a king bed. Robes and slippers were also in the room. Though the slippers were super tiny on us. We also had a fridge stocked with sodas, water and beer. (We did the all-inclusive package.)
The room was very clean and roomy. I loved it. We were on the 7th floor (top floor) and we had beautiful views. The only funny thing about the room was the jacuzzi tub looks into the room, it has shutters to close it off from the room/bathroom. But the shutters aren't fully sealed so when people are doing their business in the bathroom, people in the bedroom could hear everything.
The two pools were nice. Everyday new towels were set out, each lounge chair was covered with new towels. The towel cart had books/magazines and sunblock. There was shade if you wanted it, swim up bar, beds in shade or on the beach or held up by rope like a swing. So many options to layout/relax. I loved how we were located a decent ways away from downtown that the beach was empty, it was nice to be alone in paradise. The bonus is that if you stay at Villa Premiere, you can go to the sister hotel next door and use their pools/restaurants there. Next door is the family hotel while Villa Premiere is the adult only hotel. 16 years old and up. We only tried one pool next door but perhaps if we stayed longer we'd have checked out that hotel a little more. Part of the reason we didn't hang out much next door was because we were doing this trip without our kids and seeing kids for me reminded me of what I missed.
Spa at the hotel. There was a spa on the 2nd floor of the hotel. I was expecting great prices. I was hoping for Thailand massage prices but got prices higher than massage prices here at home. Just an ie. 50 minute massage was $118. At home at my favorite spa/bath house Watercourse Way a 60 minute massage + 60 minutes in the hot tub/steam room/sauna of my choice is $120. 2 hours for same price. Totally not worth it to us.
Gym: I used the gym 2 times at the hotel. Well air conditioned. Views were beautiful. Very clean. They had cool bottles of water. Clean towels on all of the machines. Cool damp wash clothes in the fridge. So great! I used the treadmill both days. And only a little bit of weights on one day. I'm gonna say it's the best hotel gym I've ever used.
Restaurants: Because we were all-inclusive we ate all but one night at our hotel. The food was good. Of course we were limited to only one menu because we were at a down time. I would have liked other options not that there weren't enough choices for me to have a different meal each night, but funny enough the one night we go out was the night they opened the other restaurant. I wouldn't have changed my all-inclusive though. I loved being able to order drinks all day at the pool. I loved ordering snacks by the pool or in the middle of the night from the 24-hour room service menu.
The one restaurant we tried out was Cafe de Olla. It was recommended by a friend. One thing to note about the restaurant is that it's cash only. We ended up only ordering 2 margaritas and shared a meal of fajitas. I could tell the margaritas didn't have much alcohol at all. The fajitas were good, nothing to brag about but good.
Vallarta Adventures:
Not having kids on our trip we decided to live it up a bit. We booked a trip with Vallarta Adventures, we did the Outdoor Adventure package which meant speed boating, ziplining, rapelling and mule riding. SO MUCH FUN!! I totally recommend it. It's a 6 hour trip and I enjoyed every minute of it. FYI for the photos they take of you during the adventure, for one photo it's $15. For all photos of you it's $29, but if you're in a couple for all pics of both of you turns out to be $29 each: $58. We bought our pictures because there were a lot of good ones. The photographer did a great job.
Sans Music
Early May I started running with a couple of my coworkers. I didn't listen to music during my runs with them because I was encouraging them, giving motivation, etc. I then made it a habit to not bring my ipod with me. So going on 2 months of no music during my lunchtime runs. It's been liberating, my pace has been the same, if not faster. I usually don't run races with my ipod. In fact my first race I ran with music was this last April during the Artichoke half, but that was weird circumstances and I NEEDED the music to even be out there running. Most of my races I have someone running with me so it's conversation getting me going. But now that I've been doing 3-4 mile runs w/o music, who knows, maybe my long runs will be in quiet.
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