Chichen Itza, Mexico

While I was in Mexico, I got to see another one of the 7 wonders of the world! Amazingly enough, now I only have 1 left to see! What? Don't worry, I still have most the 7 natural wonders of the world left to see.

Chichen Itza is cool and all, but I don't know why it was voted to be one of the 7 wonders. I think Angkor Wat or Tikal are both way cooler than Chichen Itza... but I didn't get to decide so...

We had a great time exploring around the ruins. Most of the group split up and so it was mostly me and Jaylene and Jason hanging out. Which I was fine with. Some of the people in the group (the 2 late comers on Thursday night and Friday morning) were not my favorite. It was a 2 hour drive there from where we were staying, so we spent a lot of time there then went out to eat, then went to some cenotes (which I will blog about later) and then got ready to party it up downtown Cancun for New Years Eve. Fun packed great day.

Isla Mujeres, Mexico

Today the gang decided to take a ferry over to Isla Mujeres. An island off of Cancun. We ate good food, hung out at the beach, watched the sunset and explored the island a little bit. It was a good day.

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Starting where I left off last week...

Friday I had off of work, which was awesome. Not mad about that. So Stacey and I hung out all day. It started with a work out at the gym in the morning. Stacey was my personal trainer for the day and it was a good workout. I was sore the next day. We were at the gym for 2 hours. ha ha. We ended with interval running... which I decided is now my new favorite way to get cardio. I will have to keep that up.

After the gym, we went home to change and freshen up and then we were off to the movie theater to see Passengers. I liked it a lot. I had been excited to see it because I really like both Chris Pratt and Jennifer Lawrence.

After the movie we went home and I changed into my new onsie pjs that I just bought the day or two before and went over to Stacey's and we binge watched the Netflix Original Series "The OA". It was strange, but we both liked it. We of course had to take the occasional break since it was over 8 hours of this show and we started in the late afternoon. There were food breaks and of course a dance break which I already posted the video of. It was so fun to kick back and relax all day. The exact thing that Stacey and I wanted to do. And we didn't have to feel bad about it because we got a good work out in first and went dancing the night before.

Next day was Christmas Eve. Since I got home from Stacey's at around 4am... I slept in. I ran some errands and bought a last few presents and made some deliveries and then I decided to drive to Temple Square to see the lights. As is tradition, I stopped at the cheesecake factory on my way home to get their seasonal peppermint cheesecake. I don't know why I started getting that after seeing the lights at temple square... but I am all about tradition. ha ha. I think this is my 3rd year doing that. Then I drove home. I went to fill up on gas and ran into my neighbor Josh you had just gotten home from his cruise that day and was excited to tell me all about it, so we sat and ate at the McDonalds together while he told me all about his cruise. Then it was back to Stacey's... way later than I planned, but thankfully I hadn't missed anything. We were going to have a paint night and I for sure thought they were going to have started painting a long time before I got there, but they had just barely started when I got there. So I joined in on the fun. We painted for a few hours (which I also already blogged about) and then after we watched a movie. We kind of all fell asleep during the movie since it was so late. Stacey wanted me to stay since it was 4:30am and all his other friends were staying and sleeping over. It was tempting, but it just seems so silly when I live down the street and I can sleep in my own bed. Plus one of the guys was a loud snorer... and that is miserable for me. So I decided to go, however I looked outside and everything was COMPLETELY covered in snow... including my car. I guess in the hours that I was over there it started snowing... and it REALLY came down. I guess everyone that was praying for a White Christmas would be happy. Stacey was a gentleman and came outside at 4:30am to scrape all of the snow off of my car and give me a hug goodbye.

Sunday was Christmas. I watched some Christmas movies while I wrapped presents before heading over to my parents house. I guess they were all waiting for me. So we opened presents and then we had dinner. It was nice to spend time with the family... even though we are together every Sunday. I got a few presents. Including a scarf that Sierra knitted for me. How cute is that? She learned how to knit and was busy making everyone something. Another nice letter from Reanne. Some nice gifts from my parents. It was a nice day.

The next morning around noon, Jaylene came to my house and my backpack was all packed and we drove to Vegas. We got to Vegas around 5 but didn't need to be to the airport until 10 or so. Jaylene has a friend who was home with her parents for Christmas break, so we hung out with her and her family. They treated us to dinner and took us to their indoor shooting range. It was actually unlike anything I had ever done before... because it was inside a room with a screen. You project the targets or game up on the screen and then shoot it with either a laser gun for practice or a real gun. In the back there is a vent that sucks the bullets up. It was so cool. I guess there are not many of these types of shooting ranges in the US. Or anywhere for that matter. So at first we practiced on targets and then we went to shooting zombies in a game, but with real guns. Pretty awesome. After we had fun with that... Jay left her car at their house and they took us to the airport and we were on our way to Cancun.

It was a long journey... we took a red eye to Miami from Vegas and had 6 hours to kill in Vegas... but we were pretty dead, so we slept a lot on the floor. Ha ha... Sadly that life is nothing new to me. I wonder how many hours I have spent in airports. I think a lot. I mean... I have slept in airports more than anyone should. Anyway... we finally got to Cancun around 5pm the next day and the temperature was heaven. We took a bus to the main part of the city and then took a taxi to our hostel that we would be staying at until the rest of the gang (that I didn't know) got there.

We hung out at the beach all day yesterday which I am not complaining about. It was so nice to just chill in the sun. Most of the rest of the group got there last night. We went out to eat and then got set up at the Air b&b and then we went out to go to the carnival and find some churros. I feel like I got to know the group pretty quickly and they were all pretty cool.

Today we took a boat out to Isla Mujeres. Another beach day... just at another beach. I will be blogging about that next. So happy to be in warm weather for a week! Great week!

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So good to be on the beach again... sitting back and relaxing on the sand while I watch the sunset.

Spontaneous Trip to Cancun, Mexico

So Jaylene and I had only hung out twice, but she is one of those people that you become instant friends with and feel like you have been friends for forever. When we were hanging out for the second time in October, she was telling me that she had some time off of work after Christmas and wanted to do something fun, but didn't want to break the bank. So we made  plans to take a road trip through Southern Utah since she hadn't seen a lot of Utah's main sites and we would sleep in my car and this and that. Well, after I got back from the Middle East and we were a week or so into December, she told me we could still do the road trip... OR ... she had some friends that were going to Cancun and the tickets were super cheap out of Vegas. She said she was fine doing either one and it was up to me which one I wanted to do. Although I didn't know any of her friends... my thoughts were... I have never been to Cancun and I could cross off another Wonder of the World and go to Chichen Itza AND most importantly, Cancun is warmer than Utah right now. So I said... let's go to Cancun!

So yesterday Jaylene and I drove down to Vegas and hung out with a friend of her's and went shooting and had fun and then went to the airport to catch our flight right before midnight. Yeah... it was cheap because not only was it out of Vegas, but it was crappy times. Vegas to Miami then Miami to Cancun... but our layover in Miami was 6 hours. It's fine, it was all worth it once we got to warm Mexico.

The Spontaneous trip was worth it to go from this...

To this...

This first day Jaylene and I have been here, we have just been hanging out at the beach because the rest of the group comes tonight. We have just been relaxing and enjoying the sunshine and eating tacos. I'm not mad. :)

Christmas Dance

Stacey and I hung out a lot before Christmas because we were both around. On Friday (Christmas Eve Eve) we went and worked out together at the gym, then went to the theater to see Passengers then went home and changed into our onsie pjs and we binge watched The OA on Netflix. In the middle of the show (we ended at 4 am) we decided to take a dance break. And of course we video taped it. Enjoy!

Rainy Christmas Eve Christmas at Temple Square

It was Christmas Eve and I still hadn't been to Temple Square to see the lights. I enjoy doing that, so I  decided to go drive by myself to walk around the grounds and take pictures. I was also hoping that because it was Christmas Eve, it would be a lot less crowded than it is earlier in the month.

There were more people there than I expected there to be, but it was still a lot less people there than usual. It was also kind of raining, so it was pretty cold... but it was also wet which was fun to photograph because I got some cool reflections in puddles and such.

I got a lot of my typical shots that I get every year because sometimes photographing the same place every year... it is hard to think creatively. However... I got this shot which was not my typical shot and became my favorite picture I took that night. So glad I made the trip up by myself. I love walking the grounds and seeing these beautiful lights every year.

Christmas Eve Paint Night

Stacey had some other friends that didn't go home for Christmas or like me have their family here so they were not going anywhere, so he hosted several different things at his house over the break. He had a slumber party on Christmas Eve. He really wanted me to stay with the others, but I didn't know where I would sleep, plus I live right down the street and it seemed silly when I could be so much more comfortable in my bed. ANYWAY... one of his friends that spent the night with her brother is an art major. SO we had a paint night. She brought all the art supplies and mostly just helped everyone else (including me) instead of painting her own painting.

Everyone else did modern art. Me... I picked something to copy... because I feel like I paint better if I have something to copy and go off of. And maybe I'm not creative and confident enough to just create some modern art. Anyway... I picked this painting off of the internet thinking that it looked doable for an amateur like myself. I don't know why, but I always pick paintings that have trees in them. I don't know when I am going to learn that trees are much harder than they look! Ha ha.

I also painted with oil, so it took a lot longer. Blending and shading was really hard for me... here are some progress shots.

In the end I think it turned out alright. I mean... it isn't exactly like the one I got off the internet, but that is kind of impossible to get it exactly the same. And what fun would that be right? Needs to have some Tracy personality. What a fun little hang out. My own personal Paint Night that I didn't have to pay for! ha ha.

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We are getting closer to Christmas and I don't feel ready, but at the same time, I don't know what I need to be ready for. It's not like I have a family to put Christmas on for. I have just been watching a crap load of stupid cheesy Christmas movies on Netflix. I barely even decorated for Christmas this year... mostly just have the tree up and one nativity. My Christmas tree is my favorite though.. so that is ok. Sure, I have a few gifts to give out and a few that I need to still buy and wrap, but I still don't feel like "I need to be ready" for Christmas.

I already blogged about my birthday. Nothing really happened over the weekend except for Kyle taking me out for sushi for my birthday and then I helped him babysit for a friend. Ha ha... I know, pretty exciting birthday. At least I wasn't a lone. And of course my family party which I also already blogged about.

Monday it was back to the grind. Work, gym... and then back to work. Yeah, it's not quarter end, that used to be the only time that I would have to stay late, but we are getting closer to month end and they were feeling behind, so we stayed late.

Tuesday I went to work and then the gym to work out with Josh and then after the gym I met up with a few of my co-workers in Orem to drive up to Jordan Commons to go see La La Land. That was my idea because I really wanted to see it... and since it was $5 Tuesday, everyone was game. We had to drive to Sandy because it is only in select theaters right now. I'm SO glad we saw it. I LOVED it. I'm a sucker for musicals anyway... but it had an old musical feel with a modern take. So good. My boss didn't love it as much as I did... guess you can't win them all.

Wednesday was another work, gym work day. I have to say it makes for a long day when you are at work sitting at your computer from 8:30am- 11:30pm. Sure I took a break to go to the gym but still. It does mean a little bit of a bigger paycheck for me though. :)

Oh, after work on Wednesday... yes... almost midnight... I headed over to Stacey's house because he had a soup party earlier that night and invited me and when I told him I had to work late, he told me to come over after... didn't matter how late... and he had saved me some soup that he had made. So I did. His soup tasted great and we chatted for an hour and then I went home and went to bed.

That brings us to today! Today was a great day because the company closed half day which was SO nice. Sure... I didn't really get to leave right at noon, but even an hour later is still great. They also gave us free pizza that day too. So I got to go home and relax. Never mad about that.

Later tonight Stacey and I went with one of his roommates and his girlfriend and we went Latin dancing. It was fun because I feel like Stacey and I were at the same dance level when it came to Latin dancing. Whenever a Latin guy would ask me to dance... I always felt like an idiot because Latin dancing doesn't come naturally to me. I can shake my hips, but I feel like they shake them differently. ha ha. Stacey and I had a blast dancing though. After we got burnt out of the same moves, we decided to take off and then Stacey took me to his favorite taco place to treat me to some tacos.

Such a fun night. I am so glad that Stacey is around for Christmas because I have him to hang out with over the break! Our second Christmas hanging out together. ha ha.

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I love that glow on the mountains as the sun is starting to go down.

It's the Little Things

It's amazing how such a little thing as a note on a cup that can make you feel so loved. My friend knew I was going to be going over to Stacey's soup party... but he must have told her I couldn't come until later when I was off of work. So.... she left a cup for me to use with this note on it. When I showed up hours later... it made me feel pretty loved. Thanks Kristen.

They Say It's My Birthday, Happy Birthday to Me...

If I'm being honest... it is a little scary how fast the years are going by now and that I am 34 and STILL SINGLE and nowhere close to getting married. *sigh* at least I am living up the single life. I wasn't on vacation this year for my birthday like I was last year... but I was before and after. Ha ha. Not too shabby.

This is the first year EVER that I was really happy that my birthday fell on a Sunday. Why? It was a great excuse of why I didn't do anything for my birthday with friends and I knew my family would celebrate. I didn't tell anyone it was my birthday and I don't feel like I have any SUPER good friends that would care too much. Lolly kind of forgot about my birthday but she still sent me a gift. I tried really hard to forget that it was my birthday actually. I didn't want to turn 34 and I didn't want to think about the fact that I didn't have any fun plans with close friends that wanted to celebrate with me. Hard to forget though when Facebook tells everyone it is your birthday. So... I did get Facebook birthday messages all day and birthday texts. I didn't hate that... I always like to hear from my family and friends, but it makes you realize that most of those people are nothing more than a yearly Facebook happy birthday friend. Oh well. One of the most fun things was hearing from all of my friends that I have met across the globe. Friends from Italy, Israel, Australia, Brazil... In fact this message was one of my favorites. Mostly because the friend Stacey and I met in Brazil is just learning English and Stacey was trying to help him out and I found it adorable and hilarious.

Then of course I got my birthday dance from my favorite Swissie girls! Last year they sent me a dance video they made in the wilderness of Switzerland and I was secretly hoping they would send me another one this year. I was SOOOO happy when they did! They are the best and I love them both.

So I went to church in the morning... then relaxed at home for a bit and then over to my parents house to have dinner with the family. I wondered if they forgot about my birthday because my dad usually asks me what I want for my birthday dinner and I never got that call... but my mom did text me and asked me what kind of cake I wanted. So at least my mom remembered. So we had a yummy dinner and Uncle Dale and Aunt Teresa came over as well. I opened my presents and then we had yummy cake.

My mom got me some really cool stuff. She knows I love to travel and camp so she got me some cool new gear/ gadgets that I am excited to try out. Sierra and Reanne were very thoughtful and painted me pictures and wrote me cards. They are the sweetest. Oh! And Jamie sent me this cool necklace that says Bon Voyage! My family knows me well. I love it, I wear it all of the time.

Well... I guess this is what 34 looks like. Here's to another (hopefully) EPIC year! :)