Five on Friday

{One} Drinking Lately. Angry Orchard Elderflower. I love St. Germain liquor so when I saw this new seasonal Angry Orchard brew I had to give it a try.  The cider combines hints of elderflower with lychee,  pears, and citrus flavors. If your a cider fan. Pick a 6 pack up to try and share with friends!

{Two} Snacking On.  Sheetz Grilled Chicken Salad. I am constantly on the go for work and have to occasionally pick up lunch while on the road. I received a free coupon to try Sheetz Meals to Go from my schools and was pleasantly surprised with the quality! Especially for gas station food. ;)

{Three} Wishlist Worthy.  With an upcoming trip my wishlist is a mile long! The hardest thing for me to narrow down is my shoes. I want something comfortable but I also want to wear them after the trip. I'm leaning toward a pair of sperry top-sider.

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{Four} Currently Reading.  Any and every tour book I can get my hands on. I am in disbelief that in less than two weeks we will be boarding a flight to Rome! Any tips from past travels would be much appreciated!

{Five}Around the Corner. Soooo, yeah..... I will be joining my middle school students with a lovely day of Saturday school. Thankfully it is only a half day of school and I should be pool side weather permitting by 2pm!  

Radio Silence

 I apologize for the abrupt break in posts recently. Everything seemed to go into overdrive after spring break and has not been slowing down. My time to wrap up work and reports is cut short due to our trip. We have had this trip planned for over a year, long before we moved to Raleigh. We are going on a Eastern Mediterranean Cruise out of Rome in June.

Because I am so slammed at work right now I have to take a lot of cases home. After work, I have just enough energy to get to the gym and make a semi- decent meal for dinner. Then it's back to writing reports after dinner. I hope to get  myself out from under my pile of paperwork enough to form a coherent blog post for Friday.

Until then I hope you all have a fabulous Wednesday!

Caribbean Cruise: Cozumel

The second stop on our cruise was Cozumel, Mexico. Cozumel is located on an island off the coast of Mexico. Some fun facts I learned while I was there is that the main source of income on the island is tourism. They bring in all their food from the mainland. It takes an hour boat ride to get to the mainland.

We chose to do a sightseeing tour around the island and that included the Myan ruins at San Gervasio.  We set up the tour through the cruise ship which eliminates the guesswork of planning the trip on your own in a foreign country. Our tour guide, Alex was outstanding. He spoke three languages English, Spanish and Myan. He gave our tour in both Spanish and English and transitioned fluently from one language from another.

The ruins include remnants of several houses and a temple. They have also discovered parts of a road they build through the city. Many of the buildings and steps we could walk on a explore. On the tour, we learned all about Myan culture as well as the Myan calendar.

After our tour, we grabbed some beverages for the road. We split a Coke Light and a Coco- Loco. The Coco- Loco was made with fresh coconut water and copious amounts of different alcohol. Hence the name Coco-Loco! The coconut water made the drink refreshing so much so that you could hardly taste the alcohol.  After we finished the Coco-Loco, they cut up the coconut and were able to enjoy fresh coconut!

  Our tour also took us around the island where we got to explore Cozumel’s beautiful beaches.

 After our tour, we took a taxi to downtown Cozumel and visited the shops. It was neat to explore the local merchandise. I have wanted to start collecting something from every country I visit. I have a hard time buying souvenirs because I truly hate trinkets and knickknacks.  So, to start my collection I picked up a hand painted clay nativity. Very excited to expand this little collection throughout the years!

Cozumel has such beautiful beaches and friendly people. It was exciting to learn about the Myan culture and history from locals. 

Five on Friday

{One} Drinking Lately. Sassy Water! I discovered this recipe in SASS Yourself Slim.  It's super simple and all it takes is combining cucumber, lemon, mint and ginger in a pitcher of water. It is extremely refreshing!  A bonus is that the water helps detox and improve digestion.

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{Two} Snacking On.  Perfectly Simple Bars. These bars only have a few ingredients and contain 10 grams of protein. My favorite is the Oatmeal Chocolate Chip. It tastes like dessert. The perfect afternoon pick me up.

{Three} Wishlist Worthy.  Lilly Pulitzer Palazzo Wide Leg Pant. I'm very wary of printed pants but truly want to give it a try. I think Lilly would be a great way to jump into the trend.

{Four} Currently Reading.  Nothing much apart from work this week unless protocols and reports count. I have been reading a lot of Essentials manuals and Response to Intervention books. Nerdy but I love it! Work has been ridiculous coming back from Spring break and I have been swamped with meetings and evaluations. Only 23 more school days left!

{Five}Around the Corner. Yet another busy weekend in the books. This makes my busy bee heart so excited! Friday we have dinner and a movie planned with Joe's college roommates. Saturday I am getting a much needed haircut and hopefully going hiking if the weather cooperates. Then Sunday we will be celebrating Mother's day with Joe's family.

Caribbean Cruise: Key West

The first stop on our cruise was Key West. I have been to Key West several times before on vacations to Florida. I love the vibrant Caribbean inspired homes that make you question if your in the United States instead of the Bahamas. Key Lime Pie is also one of my favorite desserts and no one makes it like Key West! The stop at Key West was a major factor in us booking this cruise.

We started the day exploring Mallory Square which was right nearby the port.

Then mom and I hopped on a trolley tour of the city. I have done trolley tours of Charleston and Savannah as well. I think it is one of the best ways to learn the history of the town while exploring the sites.

Old Town Trolley

Key West Lighthouse

We hopped off at the southernmost point. This is one of the most photographed thing in Key West. So much so that there was a short line to snap a picture with it.

 After some photos, we decided to walk and explore the area. We ended up at a popular restaurant called Blue Heaven. Since it was Easter Sunday the place was packed. We skipped the two hour wait and snagged a mini Key Lime Pie for the road. It was the perfect little size for a morning snack! 

We hopped back on the trolley and enjoyed learning more about the city. We jumped off again to grab some more Key Lime treats at Kermit's Key Lime Pie. They sell dark chocolate covered Key Lime Pie on a stick. This little dessert has my vote for being the best Key Lime Pie I've ever had. The combination of tartness and super sweet is divine.

Following my second treat of the day, we got back on the trolley one last time and completed our tour of the city. What is great about this tour is that you can get off at a stop and board again as many times as you would like. Also, if your staying on the island the second day tour is free! I took the complete tour twice getting off at interesting stops along the way. I learned new facts and stories with each guide and was never bored! But really, how could you get bored of this scenery?

Truman's Little White House

Have you ever been to Key West? What is your favorite spot? Mine is Fort Jefferson which was a built after the war of 1812 and used in the Civil War. (It was a Union Fort!)

Summer Shred

Hello lovelies, hope everyone's Monday is going well. Mine ended with me almost passing out while giving blood. I had to get some blood work completed after work which required me to fast beforehand. I'm not sure if it was giving blood, fasting or a combo of both but I was pale as a sheet!  Pale is not a good look for me at all! I have never been the type to give blood voluntarily and this just reaffirmed my aversion. In college, I never weighed enough to give blood so I had never really tried. I have tried giving blood a few times recently but was never able to. I want to work my confidence up to try again.

Today  I started a new fitness challenge hosted by Bobbi at NHerShoes called Summer Shred. It's a four week fitness plan that includes daily workouts and meal plans. I have been struggling to workout consistently and eat clean since coming back from the cruise. This challenge came at the perfect time to get my butt in gear before the cruise!

I completed the first workout today and I was astonished how sweaty I was just after the second circuit.  I am so exited about doing a lot more strength training in the next four months. The workouts vary from full body workouts to interval training. I will be sharing updates and check-ins on Instagram.

Five on Friday

{One} Drinking Lately. I have been cutting back on sodas since the cruise. On a cruise, you have to pay for sodas at pretty steep prices. Mom and I did not get a drink package so we just skipped sodas for a week. I craved one once or twice especially late at night. It really made me realize that I don't need sodas. Since I am missing the flavor of sodas I decided to give sparkling water a try. My current favorite is Perrier pink grapefruit.

{Two} Snacking On. Still on a huge fruit kick which is no surprise. I found raspberries on sale this week and have been eating them with my breakfast and lunch each day.

{Three} Wishlist Worthy. This Anthropologie dress has stolen my heart. I adore Anthro and find that the few pieces I have from there have lasted the longest and are still in style years later. I now live less than 10 minutes away which is very dangerous for my bank account.

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{Four} Currently Reading.  I picked up this recipe book on a recent trip to Target. I love Cooking Light Magazine. Healthy recipes that feature only five ingredients are right up my alley. Hoping to start trying some recipes for dinner next week!

{Five}Around the Corner. Our pup Charlie has been on a little vay-cay this week. We were out of town all last weekend and I felt bad leaving him alone so he went to visit with my parents.  They reported that he had the time of his life enjoying being outside all the time and they even took him to the beach last Saturday. He is coming back home today and Joe and I may have planned out night around dog centered activities. We are those dog parents. I'm looking forward to our apartment being not so quiet now that he is home.

Charlie and Chloe out on the water last weekend. 

Happy Friday!