vancouverpetunia

We've been to that resort and looked at it for our wedding but ended up elsewhere. The chill out party area is a really cool set up (forgive the pun). It's been a few years since we were there but feel free to ask me any questions and I'll try to help. We had a great stay there! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

@@maybeoneday No need to apologize! I'm just missing our awesome accountability group [emoji4] Sorry to hear you've been struggling to stay on track, but looks like you have a plan moving forward. Life gets in the way, doesn't it?! Good luck this week [emoji4] Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

That does suck! I hope everything works out. Not cool on the part of the travel agency. Our TA also left, but I was contacted directly by the new agent to let me know. I appreciated the way they handled it (and more so reading your story). Good luck! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Um, ladies! What happened to our thread?!? I thought I had been AWOL, but no more so than the rest of you, it appears. Here's a question to get this going again (I hope)... what is your plan to stay on track (either fitness/nutrition or wedding) over the holidays? It gets so crazy busy and, of course, there is the food, the parties, the booze, the CHOCOLATE! Argh. And this is my busiest time of year at work, plus I'm training a brand new coordinator (so not only am I training her, but she's not yet trained to do the work that my old coordinator would have covered for me). On the fitness/nutrition front, I'm happy to say I've now lost 11 lbs in 11 weeks. My goal is 20, but I'm pretty excited about getting over the 10 lb mark. And my clothes are fitting better, etc. I have an appt with a seamstress the week of Dec 14. She is going to make my dress, so I wanted to get as far down as possible before that, in order to be as close to possible to my measurements for April. This week will be tougher to get my workouts in... Taking the day off on Monday - I have a shopping/spa day with a girlfriend which I'm super excited about. Work Xmas party on Thursday (which means no workout Friday am!!!). Dinner out with friends Friday. But I'm aiming to stay on track with food whenever I'm not out and to get 3 resistance days in, plus 2 cardio days at least... That's my plan. I'll let you know how it goes. I really do feel like it helps to post this. I feel obligated to report back that I was successful! You ladies are the best. I've missed being on the site for the last couple of weeks.

@@snswedding2016 Looks like you had a blast - good mix of classy, fun & dirty. Haha. @@ashhtayy I also teared up a bit reading about the groom and the rose. I'm a sentimental mess these days... must be Christmas. lol @@Wafflesmom Bahaha... Anti-drinking poster child. Love it.

Congrats on your big day! Can't wait to hear more. Laughing at all the name mix ups Oh, your poor MIL. What did she end up wearing?

@@Wafflesmom - I love that you are working out with your bridal party! So fun and motivating. It sounds like you had an awesome week. Good work! I hope no one dropped out at the final payment due date. Ours is coming up and wondering if that will happen... @@calgarybride2015 Woo hoo! 11 lbs. That's awesome, esp with the crazy schedule you've been dealing with. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

@@snswedding2016 NOOOO!!! [emoji31] Wow you guys are having a tough go of it. I'm really sorry to hear about Sean's parents. But, again, probably the right call, as difficult as it is. Sending good thoughts your way. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

@@snswedding2016 @@calgarybride2015 We did a last minute deal to Blue Bay for cheap. Given what we paid, I was happy with it. But it's probably the least favourite of the resorts we've been to. Giant caveat: I developed bronchitis while we were there and I was very sick, so that may have tainted my opinion. Overall, it was fine. Nothing really to complain about but nothing to write home about either. The beach was terrible - but that may have been the seaweed issue as it was earlier this year. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

@@Jessim9 I'm from Vancouver and getting married April 2016 at Now Sapphire. We found prices to be around $2000 for most of the resorts we looked at. I recall Ocean Coral & Turquesa being one of the cheaper ones - maybe around $1700? I have a local TA - PM me if you want more info. I've stayed at both Grand Sunset Princess and Barcelo. I've also stayed at Blue Bay Esmerelda & Dreams Tulum. GSP is actually our favourite of the 4. Maybe it's just because it was our first trip as a couple - I don't know. But we loved the "lazy river" which ran around the property (it doesn't have any current, but it gives you so many different options as to where to hang out for the day, when combined with the pools). It's got a wide sandy beach, which is close to restaurants & pools, but feels secluded as it's separated from them by a mangrove swamp (looks nicer than it sounds LOL). Barcelo was nice as well, but we didn't like it as much for some reason. Both are really big resorts - really spread out & lots of walking. It didn't bother us, but if you have anyone coming with mobility issues, it would be something to consider. I don't remember if they had a shuttle or anything to help move people around. If you end up at GSP and can afford it, I would recommend the walk-out pool suites. We didn't stay in one, but they looked awesome. Walk out onto a patio and into the lazy river pool. Love it! I think most brides will agree that picking the resort is one of the toughest parts of planning a DW. It took me forever, but once we finally chose our resort, everything else has been way easier. Good luck!

I love your dress! It's so elegant. I've never seen "body jewelry" before. Interesting... it's very pretty, but yeah, might be uncomfortable. Was it scratchy?

@@Wafflesmom That sucks about your friend - but bonus for you. Extra vacation time! LOL. You're so smart. I would have probably just been moaning about missing the room night cutoff and wouldn't have though to extend our own. Glad the TA is better. No problems with our new TA (thankfully). She seems to be on the ball. Final payments are due in less than 2 weeks, so that will be the true test. I was thinking about it the other day - I wonder if the original TA gets the commission, since s/he really did all the work. I hope so. Not my problem, though...

@@snswedding2016 Awwwhhh... I got choked up a bit reading about your uncle. That is very sweet. I'm sorry to hear your mom won't be coming to the wedding, but based on what I know of her situation, I think it's the right decision. But it still sucks. I'm glad you are doing okay with it. I also use Hangouts at work - actually for communicating with colleagues in other offices, etc. (although, believe me, it's not all business conversations haha). I also have the app on my phone. It's easy to use and you can see when someone is responding (typing) like with iMessage, if you have an iPhone, and also how long since they last looked at the Hangout screen. But I believe you need a Gmail address to set it up.

@@snswedding2016 - Seriously! What is with Sean's GM? That's super annoying. I try to remember that it's our big day, not theirs (ie any guest), so they probably don't see it they way we do, but still... The things he's questioning should be unimportant to him and you and Sean have told him to drop it, so drop it already. It's a freaking pair of pants. Sheesh. Good luck. And I hope everything works out okay for Sean's dad to attend. Yikes! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Awwwhh shucks. That's some awesome support Glad everything went well today. I had already forgotten about that

Okay, ladies. I'm feeling better. I weighed myself today - down 2 lbs, for a total of 8. And this puts me at the exact same weight I was at when I last measured my body fat, so it makes sense that I would be about the same. Plus, my trainer told me I was dehydrated (I was measured about 30 mins after getting out of bed, so not a lot of water intake yet) and that could raise my body fat percentage by 1-1.5%, so maybe I'm actually down. At least I'm not up I am trying to figure out a game plan for my work travel next week. I've found out that the hotels likely don't have fridges in the rooms. Actually, they do, for the mini-bar, but apparently they have sensors and if you put anything in them they will charge you $25 per night! Ridiculous. I can probably manage in Chicago, there is a small grocery store around the corner (I was just there a few weeks ago). But the Boston hotel looks to have nothing nearby, so I will be eating the provided breakfasts which aren't usually that healthy (and the bacon always smells sooooo good!). I'm going to take some of my own snacks, at least. I'm hoping to get in 2 - 3 work-outs while I'm away. It's going to be tough, as out of 5 nights I have 3 dinners and 2 flights, and mornings will be hard due to the time change. But I think I can manage 2, based on my schedule, maybe 3. I'm just putting it out there so that I have some peeps to hold me accountable. Thanks for the support & encouragement, ladies!

@@jes0912 - Yeah, I understand the single occupancy and even the triple (that third person could get a separate room and the resort could then charge more, I think). But the thing with kids is just dumb. At least I'm pretty sure that is the deal. Now that I'm trying to find it, I don't see it in an email from my TA, as I think we discussed on the phone. So maybe I'm wrong. Hopefully!

@@Wafflesmom - Yikes! Just PM'd you... wondering if we have the same TA!

@@jes0912 We are with Transat, but I think a lot of the perks are similar. We get every 6th (?) room free. But they are very sticky about the double occupancy. We have one single supplement room - doesn't count. Triple occupancy won't count. Even rooms with kids in them (2 adults + 2 kids) won't count. It's ridiculous (esp the last one - are the kids supposed to stay by themselves and pay for a double occupancy room???). I know a few ladies here have been able to take advantage of a price drop guarantee, but I think it's pretty rare. We have one, but we would have to be able to get the same number of rooms, on the same dates, at the same room level to qualify. With 20 rooms and an almost-sold-out resort, that's never going to happen. Love your resort perks - we didn't get anything like that. We are at NOW Sapphire, so different ownership from the Palace hotels. Hope your TA comes through with your various flight perks, though!

Great review so far! Looking forward to more. I have to say, I've never slept in a soft bed in Mexico at the 7 hotels I've been to. Oh wait a minute, maybe the Fairmont... but it's the Fairmont! Luckily I don't mind a firm bed, although they tend to be too firm even for me, but Jeff prefers to sleep on a "marshmellow", as he likes to say. He hates the beds in Mexico. LOL

@@calgarybride2015 - Oops. Missed part of your user name in the post above.

@calgarybride - BTW, your mention of Merida reminded me of a conversation from dinner the other night. Jeff's uncle has a place in Merida and lives there for half the year. But.... Jeff didn't want to invite him to the wedding, so we didn't. They're not exactly close - we've been together almost 5 years and I've never met the guy. Apparently he was all prepared to show up until he found out from Jeff's mom that our wedding is 7 days after he leaves. Hahaha

@@calgarybride2015 - Yeah, a bus AND a boat! We figured it would take a good 8 - 10 hours to get to our destination. With only 7 days, that seemed like a waste. Although, now that I think about it - from the time we have to leave for the airport in Cancun to the time we will finally get to our resort in CR, it's probably 8 - 10 hours. <insert laugh/cry here> Oh well, I'm super stoked about CR. As soon as that became an option, Jeff said that I seemed way more excited than I ever did about Belize, so there's something to be said about that. @@acw271011 - I have fantasies about retiring somewhere tropical. Preferably at age 45 LOL (which is about 3 years away). I will definitely let you ladies know what we think of CR. I've heard nothing but good things. We've been to Mexico so many times now that I'd really like to explore other areas. But we do love Mexico, so it's tough. I wanted our next trip to be non all-inclusive, and then we booked the wedding. Haha. And it comes with 2 free nights on our 1st anniversary, so AI again (if we decide to use that). At least we could use that in the Dominican, as we could use it at any NOW resort. That might be a good compromise.

@@yycbride2016 - 6.5 lbs since August - way to go! And thanks for the encouragement. @@Wafflesmom - Sounds like you are doing well and it's important to take preventative health measures (esp when it helps you lose a bit more weight LOL). Hope everything goes well and that you'll be back in the saddle shortly. @@calgarybride2015 - You go, girl! I'm chanting for you "10 pounds, 10 pounds, 10 pounds!" I've had a bit of a disappointing day. I stepped on that thingy at the gym that measures your body fat... And it hasn't changed at all since I last did it in June! But I have to remember that I gained weight between that first measurement and starting to work out heavily & really watch what I eat in Sept. So I'm probably down from where I started in September, I just don't have a measurement to compare to. Still pisses me off though P.S. I just ate a caramilk bar (Halloween sized, at least). LOL

@@calgarybride2015 Hahaha too funny. Actually the original plan was to go to Belize, but it was too tough to get to from Cancun (go figure - since it's practically next door).