flashback friday: the work trip.

by Janetha on January 27, 2012

in day job,flashback,travel

i have a day job. at a window company. do you need windows? call me.

my day job is pretty stressful at times. i have a lot on my shoulders and am very, uh, relied upon.. you could say. they jokingly call me the CEO: chief everything officer.

even though windows aren’t my passion and getting stressed out about installations, collections, and vendors is not a walk in the park.. i still love my job.  yes, LOVE it. i love the people i work for. i love the people i work with. hell, i met my husband at work! the pros definitely outweigh the cons. one of the perks of my job is the annual trip. my bosses treat us to a vacation each year as a “thank you” for all of our hard work.

this year we are going to manzanillo, mexico.

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(image source: resortvacationstogo.com)

we go to mexico more often than not. a few requirements of taking 20+ people on a trip is that it needs to be at an all inclusive resort and it needs to be affordable.. because of these requirements, we usually end up in mexico. i am crossing my fingers for a day they decide to take us all to italy or spain—but i don’t see that happening any time soon. i am excited to go to manzanillo, though, because it is a new-to-me location! i figure if i am going to take the time to travel, i never want to visit the same place twice. there are just so many places to see!  while i don’t prefer all inclusive resorts (i think the best way to experience a new city/country is by staying in hostels/cheap hotels and eating at local restaurants) i am not going to cry about staying at one when i am being treated to a trip. plus, we can always wander off the resort to check out the local flare.

since trip time is here again, i thought it would be appropriate to look back on past trips for flashback friday!

2009: playa del carmen, mexico.

this trip was last minute. the economy was bad and we were not planning to take a trip at all. however, things started to pick up and we planned a quick trip just two weeks before departing. because of the last minute circumstances, marshall couldn’t go. he had never been out of the country, so he didn’t have a passport, and we weren’t about to pay a zillion dollars to expedite one. plus, he couldn’t really financially justify taking a week off work without planning ahead. because marshall couldn’t join me, i ended up rooming with my co-worker, sim, because her husband couldn’t make the trip, either.

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we stayed at the iberostar quetzal all inclusive resort. if you have ever stayed at an iberostar, you will recognize their signature yellow chairs.

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this was my first experience with all inclusive. i was not a big drinker, so the whole all-you-can-drink perk wasn’t super appealing.. and the food got a little (okay, a lot) repetitive and old. but all in all, it was a great experience. the resort was clean, the staff was friendly, and there were animals all over the resort.

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this was back before my food blogging days, but i did take one photo from the hibachi restaurant.. look, a rice mouse!

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i will admit, i missed marshall quite a bit. at least i had my phone to text him from the beach.

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it was a fun trip, for sure, but it didn’t compare to the following year…

2010: jamaica.

it’s safe to say that jamaica has been my favorite work trip so far. first of all, marshall was able to go with me this time around.

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and.. second of all.. WE GOT ENGAGED. on superbowl sunday, no less.

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he caught me totally off guard with that one. sure, we had talked about marriage.. but not seriously. and i had no idea he was plotting to pop the big Q. it was quite the surprise!

the rest of the vacation was awesome. we stayed at the iberostar once again. the resort was a lot newer and nicer than the one in playa del carmen.

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we participated in lots of excursions, including a catamaran snorkel trip…

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…a trip to bob marley’s childhood home…

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…and a ziplining tour.

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we also ate A LOT OF ICE CREAM.

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it was a fabulous trip.

2011: playa del carmen, mexico.. again.

last year we revisited the iberostar in playa again.

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it was more fun for me since marshall was there this time around, and obviously it was fun for him since he’d never been.

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we ate out at local restaurants quite a bit, which was nice.

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and we saw a BUNCH of monkeys! marshall made sure to always have a banana in his pocket in case there was a monkey sighting.

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and sometimes we paid to hold the monkeys in town.

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there were lots of other animals on the resort.

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and, of course, we ate a LOT of ice cream.

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it was a blast!

while i love utah and winter, i am always ready and willing to head to the beach, sand, and sun. i am excited to head to manzanillo! i imagine that this time around, we will do less excursions and eat more ice cream. i think once you’ve zip lined, you don’t really need to do it again.. we have done it twice and decided it’s pretty much the same everywhere we go. plus, we’d rather spend our money on couples massages.. which we plan to get six of. one for each day. that’s normal, right?

i just want to finish this post with a little thank you to my bosses. i am pretty sure they read my blog every so often, and i want them to know how much i appreciate their generosity. i realize that i am in a great situation, i am fortunate to have a wonderful job, and i really love everyone i work for (and with.)

okay, i would love to stay and chat about current events, but i have been procrastinating way too much lately and still have a lot to do before i go! i will try to pop in for a post before peacing out of here.

your turn…. tell me about the best vacation you have ever taken!

xo. janetha g.

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what is it about thursdays that make me want to type completely random posts?? exhibit A and exhibit B.. this post being exhibit C. i think my mind just piles up with junk and i have to purge through a blog post.

i got a pedicure last night. yeah, that was one of my “errands”… priorities, people.

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my feet were in ROUGH shape. i live in utah. it’s winter. you do the math. everyone loves a pedicure, including myself, but i am just real bad at getting them. i am so ticklish! every time the poor pedicurist tries to scrub my food with that pumice stone, i go batshit crazy. my level of ticklishness is through the roof and borderline embarrassing. i am the same with massages.. but not quite as bad. my feet are definitely the most ticklish part of my body.

why are some people ticklish to the point of crying (i really know the meaning of “tickle torture” from being tormented as a kid) and others aren’t at all? i am sure this is one i could ask google, but it is rambling thursday, so there you go.

back to the nail salon. want to know one thing i never do? paint my nails. like.. ever. i am SO not a girly girl. my nails are always naked. i always see girls posting about nail polish colors and bonding over the latest OPI or essie hue. that is just a bond i don’t share with my fellow females. however, i did get my very first manicure last night. well—scratch that—i have had a manicure to get fake nails before (NEVER AGAIN) but i had never just had a manicure where they do all that fancy stuff to your fingernails and then paint them. it was only ten bucks, so i figured i would give it a chance. i went with a very non-noticable shade of, uh, clearish sparkle something or other?

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sorry for the creepy hand shot. i did the best i could to make it not awkward to look at, but clearly i failed. i will admit, i like the polish. but i probably won’t be painting the town pink any time soon.

moving on.

i can’t FREAKING stop eating cereal lately. granted, it is my favorite food, but my cereal consumption has been greater than normal lately. one bowl of cereal is fine. five bowls is not.  i finally ran out of kashi go lean last night.. and then i ran out of almond milk this morning. i figured my lack of supplies was the best thing for my current cereal situation… until i came home to a package today.

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sigh. i had forgotten that cascadian farms was sending me their new formula of O’s. not that i am complaining.. free cereal?! sweet! free cereal a few days before mexico? hmm. could be problematic since i have no self control. you would think i would hold off on eating it since i told you i was out of milk. haha. no. chobani took care of that one.. the only thing that’s better than their new apple cinnamon flavor is eating cereal with their new apple cinnamon flavor.

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this, my friends, is a very good combo. and for the record, i would, have, and will continue to buy both of these products with my hard earned money.. even though these particular items were sent to me for free. the things i do for taste testing. it’s a tough job, but it had to be done.. and i was the girl to do it.

let’s stop talking about cereal, or i might be tempted to go eat more.

shifting subjects…

random (sincere) compliments are the best.

i was at the gym yesterday, doing the giant sets that i told you guys about, and these two older dudes wanted to share my workout area with me. i scooched over so they could fit, and we were chatting with a bit. i joked with them and told them to get back to work and there was no time to talk! they are there every single flipping night, but we had never actually talked to each other. you know how that goes.. the regulars who make eye contact but never engage in conversation.

anyway, before i put my ear buds back in so i could get back to my workout, the super muscley macho guy said he wanted to tell me one last thing. he said that he watches people every night at the gym (not in a creeper way) and that i have incredible form. he said that a lot of people have the worst form and are doing themselves a disservice with the way they lift, but that i was doing it all right. he also said he thought someone had trained me how to lift, but when i told him i taught myself.. he gave me even more props.

THAT is a compliment that made me feel good. really good. nobody has ever paid me that type of compliment and i am sure i will remember it for the rest of my life.

it makes me want to walk up to a stranger and tell them what i love about them. and really mean it.

before i go, one last thing i forgot to mention yesterday..i am excited about BLEND.

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yesterday i went to lunch with my friends from xagave. they are one of the breakfast sponsors for BLEND retreat. fortunately, they are also a utah local company, so we got to hang out. we chatted about the conference and it got me real excited!

word on the street is some people are nervous about pulling the trigger on attending because they don’t have anyone to room with. let me put it bluntly and say: DON’T be nervous. it’s like summer camp. not that i ever went to summer camp.. but i saw the parent trap a few times and have a good idea of what it’s like. we will be sure to put you in a cabin with friendly folks.  registration is open, click here to sign up. can’t wait to play in may!

and, because i love his dragon paws, here is a random photo of randy:

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what a guy.

okay.. that’s enough randomness for tonight. i still have to go to the gym, figure out a fridge-clearing dinner, and make a packing list.

gosh, i hate packing. i always procrastinate when i am trying to pack.. i usually distract myself with something else.

like bowls of cereal.

Qs~

1. are you ticklish?

2. what is the best compliment anyone has ever paid you?

xo. janetha g.

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things i use & love: round four.

January 25, 2012
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hello and happy wednesday evening! we’ve made it half way through the work week. i always love wednesday nights because thursdays and fridays at my office are way more mellow than the first half of the week.   today was busier than most wednesdays.. i am constantly trying to mark things off my to-do list, [...]

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flashback friday: five years ago.

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this week two of my norwegian friends, espen and petter, celebrated their birthdays.  they lived here in utah back in the winter of 2007 and we became fast friends. that’s the perk of living in salt lake city.. we get people from all over the world coming here to snowboard, and i get to have [...]

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app happy.

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i didn’t post yesterday. i guess i could say it was because of the SOPA blackout, but i’d be lying. however, i do think that SOPA is important and if you haven’t informed yourself on the issue, i suggest you do. i am glad it was brought to MY attention. i will be honest and [...]

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