Merry Christmas!

Yes, I'm a little late posting this. Especially, it being after my New Year's Resolution post. But for posterity's sake it had to be done sometime before 2010 hits.

This is our family Christmas photo for 2009. Taken in front of our ONLY Christmas decoration.

A picture of Jesus.

We hope everyone had a GREAT Christmas.
We spent our Christmas Eve celebrating with new friends. Learning very special traditions, and singing all our favorite carols in Spanish.
Thank you Galbreiths!

Christmas Day we were supposed to go surfing but the weather was COLD and CLOUDY.
I think that is how we will bring in the NEW YEAR instead. Bring on the waves baby!

Oh, and our gifts to each other....BOOGIE BOARDS!

Hero-flex...a resolution

So we went to our favorite place for dinner last night on the marina. Baja Cantina.

We met our friends there that Spencer went fishing with yesterday (they caught 9 MahiMahi).

As we are sitting there laughing and talking there is a HUGE commotion behind me. I turn around and see a bar stool from the restaurant next to ours being tossed into a guys face. And guys chasing another guy and beating him down. My natural reaction to such circumstances is, I'm sorry to say, FREEZE! I become completely frozen. I HATE IT! Well, as soon as I realize what is going on, I also realize that Spencer is nowhere to be seen. Apparently his natural reaction is to jump in and help, or at least find out what happened and then help.

Apparently, some American walked up to another American having dinner, and said, "I think I should punch you in the face." And then proceeded to do so. The guy who got hit..his friend picked up the barstool to throw at the guy doing the hitting. Spencer immediately jumped up to go find out what was happening and help if need be. (crazy).

This is what I have labeled as the 'hero-flex'. The film-producing Dutch man who took out the terrorist on that flight last week has it. Spencer has it. Many friends of mine have it. Marie Edgar Bleak...YES YOU HAVE IT! A natural reflex in the face of trauma or disaster to act IMMEDIATELY. I am very pissed that I don't have it. I just freeze and look like a deer in headlights. It is very frustrating.
And that is going to be my New Year's resolution. To work out my hero-flex. No matter what happens, I am going to jump up and do SOMETHING.
It may just be yelling or jumping up and down on one leg clucking like a chicken for now...but I just hate sitting there and being useless.

A change in weather

We had our first day here yesterday of pouring down rain, and coldness; lots of coldness.

Which I have to say, I was grateful for. There was no need to run to the beach for ANYTHING, or to the marina or anywhere!

We stayed inside all day, I got to throw on sweats and I read an entire book. While eating Costco pizza.
It was a GREAT day.

This is the book I read...AWESOME!

A Job? What's that?

I am constantly bombarded with the question...

So, what do you DO?
(accompanied with a glare that really says, "if you say, play volleyball all day every day I hate you)

Truth is...I have been yearning, nay pining, nay pleading to be guided toward something I can enjoy and be good at, whilst Spencer is working. I have felt so "lazy" and kind of pointless lately. I have no kids YET, so really, I need to be "anxiously engaged in a good cause".

My prayers were definitely answered.

Pueblo Bonito MonteCristo (resort that my family is apart of) has NO ONE renting out their villas for their owners. It is really up to the owners to get that done themselves. Which really separates them from being time-shares. It is actually a fractional ownership.

If you go through a regular rental company to do that, the company charges AT LEAST 50-60% of the rental price. That is ridiculous.

That is where I come in. I have started my own website/business and my fees are LOW! 15%!

AND...I meet personally with clients' renters at the concierge and guide them through what they may not understand...(the ever-so-common-language-barrier) which adds a lovely personal touch.

For now, I am focusing only on the MonteCristo Estate Villas, since I am so familiar with them, and I already have clients.

There are NO pictures anywhere on the internet of the NEW PHASE 2 MonteCristo Estates...
UNTIL NOW!

I was able to get special access to the villa and take my own photos. And I have created a lovely video, which I humbly say...I am quite proud of.

So...yes...I DO DO SOMETHING!

AND I LOVE IT!

In case someone IS interested in spending a wonderful vacation in this MOST BEAUTIFUL villa...we do have the 3rd week in February still available. Normally, they rent out at about $4,000/night. However, due to the economic downturn...the owner's are willing to rent this out at $350/night. They are just trying to cover their maintenance fees at this point.

In the Top 5 of "Best Days Ever"

It actually started off sadly...with saying goodbye to my parents at 5:15 am. But it was all uphill from there.

Pueblo Bonito hosted a beach volleyball tournament today at the Blanco resort. There were 20 entrees. We played teams of 4, co-ed. When we arrived I was actually kind of nervous when I got a look at our competition. I was figuring it was going to be the same people I play with/against over at Sunset beach...(which would have been an ace in the hole). Alas, such was not the case.

It was AWESOME!

Some of these guys playing could easily be playing in the AVP tour in the states.

So, I was hoping for at most 2nd place.

It was pretty easy getting to the final championship game...(the 3rd match I served the ball 14 times)

But then we were up against the pros...But I am so proud of my team!!!

Me, Spencer, Miguel, and Jose...pulled it out of somewhere and won 1st place!!!

We won Pueblo Bonito t-shirts and FREE DRINK COUPONS!
It was close too! Final score...21-19. phew.

our competition really was fierce.

Highlight from final: I'm middle front...Kieran (6'6 guy on the other side) goes up to spike and Miguel (on my side) goes up to block, so I am right there waiting for a tip...instead of tipping the ball Kieran turns his shoulder and slams the ball right off of my forehead. He hit it is so hard and fast that I had ZERO time to react...AND he annihilated my sinus infection. i dropped straight to the ground. it was awesome.

But the awesome day doesn't end there. No, no, no. I have had many days of playing awesome volleyball, and have won more t-shirts than you could possibly imagine.

After volleyball we hung around the resort a bit and played with our WONDERFUL friends in the pool there. Miguel's family is AMAZING! His little boy just melts my heart. I love having wonderful friends here!

So, then Spencer and I went to dinner at the marina at Senor Sweets, and had the most delicious pizza I have EVER had. seriously...that is saying something. It was bbq chicken pizza with cilantro. AMAZING!

But it doesn't stop there....

Then we went to what is now ranking in my top 10 of favorite movies....AVATAR! (in the VIP theater with lazy boy recliners)
if you haven't seen this movie yet...go now.

Great volleyball+ winning great volleyball +great friends+great beach+great food + great movie+ great date with my man= IN THE TOP 5 OF BEST DAYS EVER!

Deep Sea Fishing

There are only 2 fish in the world that my dad hasn't caught. A sailfish and a marlin. So, seeing as how he is here now, and there are marlin all across our shorelines...we had an exciting day at sea!


This picture was taken on the boat at approx. 6:30 am. Which means that I awoke at 5 am. I have to log that, b/c I don't think I will ever wake up that early again...

This wasn't our boat..it was the boat next to us, but this is what our boat looked like. It's next to impossible to take a picture of a boat that you are on.


I caught the first fish....a Dorado. Which, at first, I was like...a Dorado? Who cares...I've never heard of that... but then I was politely informed, that a Dorado is a MAHI MAHI! WOO HOO! Boy, did I get excited! This picture makes it look ALOT easier than it is...especially when you are left handed using a right handed reel.




The wind was HORRENDOUS! Weather Underground had lied to us. We had to take Bonine (anti-seasickness pills) that morning...and after the excitement of the first catch...we all PASSED OUT IN THE CABIN! I would have liked to have gotten a picture of that, unfortunately, I too was unconscious.

After a mighty fine nap...Daddy was blessed with his...(drum roll please)

100 lb. MARLIN

Dad released it...He doesn't want to kill things that he won't eat (WHAT A GUY!). And it is better ecologically that Mr. Marlin grow up a little more and produce some marlinettes.

Next up...Spencer



yes, his was bigger than mine.

Another awesome part of the day were the dolphins swimming along side of us!!
After 8 hours of fishing and traversing rough waters...we hooked but lost 2 marlin, and 2 dorado, and one MASSIVE Bulldorado! bummer. But we each caught one...and we were happy!

On the way in, these pelicans were BEGGING for our bait...they got so close to us I could have touched them!

So the following night...thanks to our dear friend Ed, our favorite Italiano restaurante, Salvatore's, made a meal of our wonderful Mahi Mahi.
As their spiritual bodies have now strengthened the armies of heaven, their physical bodies have now strengthened the army of Bradford.

sidebar: i slept 13 hours that night. never taking Bonine again.