Two More Days Til Paradise

I am so excited as I sit her looking out the window at the cold, bitter snow on the balcony, realizing that in 2 short days I will be back in Belize, with my sandals on.

I was able to muster up lots of donations to take down to the Holy Cross School. Dream Makers donated lots of teddy bears and t shirts, and people from work donated Vitamins and school supplies.

I will be meeting with Dr. Shackelford, from the University of Mississippi, and talking about the work I will be doing on my long term stay later this year. I will be visiting the school at least two or three times this week, so look for interesting pictures!

I am also heading over to Caye Caulker, to explore another island, and I think Erin and I will likely take a water taxi to Belize City. The only way I could convince her was to remind her that it is a long boat ride.

I can't wait to see Laurie and Paul.

This week I have been sick with blood pressure. I finally went to a Naturopath who treated me. I had acupuncture done and prescribed some Chinese Medicine. She altered my diet, and I felt very relaxed and good with her. I feel that this scare, and it was a REAL SCARE! was enough to cure me of smoking.

I must end this blog now, get back to my reading and studies.

Next blog coming from SAN PEDRO, BELIZE, CENTRAL AMERICA! SEE YOU THERE!

A New Year 2009

Okay! So here it is, my annual reflection on the past year and my looking forward to the next.

2008 - Another great year for me. The first thing I can think of is that I landed a good job that I really like. I earn good money and have good co-workers and bosses and to top it all off, they granted me a three month leave of absence to begin December 2009.

My second accomplishment was that I completed 4 more university courses, and I got 2 A's and 2 B's.

I made several new friends, and two stick out in my mind the most. Bronze, my lovely beau, and Martina, a co-worker.

I took two vacations as well, one to Belize to visit my friends Laurie and Paul, and one to Cuba with the kids. I went horsebacking with my kids on the beach and jumped in the waves in the Caribbean.

I did not meet all my health goals - however, I am going into 2009 20 pounds lighter, 90% vegetarian, and dairy free.

I celebrated as my eldest daughter took flight to Italy in March 2008, and my youngest brought home 6 A's on her report card.

Thankfully this year has had very little chaos and many blessings. In the year 2009 I wish to aim for the following goals

*3 month leave of absense December 2009 to March 2010 and volunteer with the Holy Cross Anglican School, a week in Honduras, and a week in Mexico.

*2 week vacation in Belize (coming up January 27)

* fundraise for the trip to the Holy Cross and raise minimum of $1000.00 to pay for shipping of donations

*pay off bills and possiblu acquire a second property

*have my divorce finalized (it is nearly 75% done)

*finish my BA and get a few more A's

*do well on Kasamba

*continue to live healthy and think healthy

I have a feeling this might be ne of those work your ass ff years, but the final pay off seems so worth it. The end of 2009 has a lot of making my ultimate dream come true.

As I sit here at work 1 hour before midnight I once again reflect what a truly wonderful year it has been. Life is good. Life is so very, very good. What more could I ask for.

A few more Cuba Pictures

Our Wonderful Maid Doris, and our hotel......... that's the life

JUST FOR LAUGHS CUBA

Hi Folks, it has been a long time since I wrote.
We went on our family vacation to Belize. The highlight was horseback riding with my children on the beach, touring Varadero on the BEACH BUS, and enjoying the sun and the friendly people.

The funniest experience which my daughter compared to Just for Laughs was out bus riding experience. Since I work for the Toronto Transit, I have a real appreciation for drivers and know how most systems operate.

We went to Varadero on the Beach Bus, and the driver stopped the bus and took some tupperware containers into a restaurant. The kids asked me what he was doing and so I explained that he was likely hungry and getting some food to go. About 5 minutes later he emerged with his food. We started to drive down the main road and the bus driver pulled the bus over again. This time he was at the grocery store. Because we were sitting on the top level of the double decker I was able to see the driver. He was pricing items, and putting them back. At this point I started to laugh and was able to understand why there is no set schedule for the BEACH BUS, just approximately every 20 mins. The driver came back onto the bus a few minutes later and again we were on our way, or so we thought!!! About a mile down the road the driver pulled the bus up to a old mansion style restaurant. To my surprise the driver took his tupperware and made himself comfortable at a table and proceeded to eat his dinner, while the bus was full of people wondering what was going on. The kids and I were laughing so hard that tears were flowing down our cheeks. I thought of how many times when I was a bus driver that I would literally run into a Tim Horton's for a coffee and people got upset. I guess it's different when everyone is on vacation.

I was a little disappointed to see how poorly the staff are paid and the fact that they have to work 6 days a week, 12 hours a day, for less than I make in a hour. The best part was giving gifts away, they were always so appreciated.

Overall, the vacation was good, but I am much more of a rugged, adventure traveller, rather than be waited on 5 star resort kind of gal. I suppose it depends on the person.

The kids loved it. I will leave you with some great photos.

Here I am in Cuba

Well here I am on vacation in Cuba, and I am finding it relaxing BUT very expensive. My daughter fell down and sprained her leg.... visit to DR. 75.00, there are no collect calls out of country, there are no cell phone services, there is dial up only for internet, no 1 800 numbers allowed, and no bank machines. A letter to Canada or US takes 2 months.

The weather has been nice past 3 days, went horsebackriding, and into town of Varadero, swimming in Ocean and on the CoCo Loco Taxi.

I am quickly learning what being in a communist country is really like. It is not easy at all. I have some news to tell my friend Erin when I get home, how lucky we are to be what she considers slaves in Canada. These people work 12 hours a day, 6 days a week, for ONE PESO a day!

WEll back to the ocean, will post lots of fun pictures when I return, but at .50 a minute I am lucky I can afford one hello blog LOL.


Adios

JOanne

Reflexology and a new skill

Not sure if anyone remembers, but I made it a personal goal that I would start to learn to use a digital camera and blog more. I am still stuck in the days of pen to paper, and Polaroid pictures.

Well, today I started that journey. This week I received 3 hours of Reflexology, which I am finding amazing. Angelica is a relexologist, and also does cupping and massage. She learned in the Philippines, but has also worked in France, Africa , Canada and on cruise ships for 7 years. She did hot stones on my lungs, and was very accurate at knowing where my pain was, what I needed to do to get better. When I entered the clinic I could barely breathe, and after two hours with her, I felt my sinuses clear, my breathing less difficult, and much more relaxed. I can honestly say I felt like a new person.







So I decided to take my boyfriend with me, and see how he likes reflexology. Plus, I needed him to help me figure out a camera. He did both of course. I am not sure if he is as taken by Reflexology, but it certainly has many healing qualities.









I have added some of the pictures, and will continue to add more, hopefully improving my photography skills as time passes.

Volunteering and Travel Itch

Seems every fall I get the itch to travel, and the itch to be out doing mission work somewhere. I watched the movie Darfur Now, and Emmanuels Story, and keep thinking to myself I should be doing something like that. That is where my heart is.

I did get some wonderful news from my Boss yesterday. He said that he has looked at my leave of absence for next year (3 months in San Pedro volunteering at Holy Cross School) and he said it looks positive. He stated that he would like to help me, and that he will have a definite answer by next week. So Please do send positive thoughts on this.

I ordered a few books from the library today:

Three Cups of Tea




Vagabonding An Uncommon Guide to the Art of Long-Term World Travel


How to Live Your Dream of Volunteering Overseas



I feel like I am getting ready for take off - no pun intended. I went yesterday and bought a whole bunch of stuff to bring to children in Cuba. I am also collecting clothes for the women and men.

I will rest for the most part today. I have been very sick, and am trying to get myself better as naturally as possible. I am taking a lot of Chinese herbs, greens, honey, lemon, and ginger.

It seems to be working. Bye for now! Off to read