Manana, iguana

The cenote that Shanna and Ramy swam in Mexico 150 feet down. They look like ants

The playground I took the kids to was interesting. Either you could propel this as Maya is doing or stand up on the pads and push off the blue ring. I got some exercise myself that way

A wheelchair friendly rocker

Shanna in a cenote

This was to celebrate their 10th. The resort covered their door with ribbons and provided champagne

Shanna looking happy

These come in all colors. When I visit Costa Rica in a few months, I hope to see these and so much more

It's almost the middle of November, my least favorite month. The hard frost of last week killed everything including the mums. I do have my tropical hibiscuses blooming inside along with one , lone orchid. Soon the Christmas cactus will be in bloom as all of a sudden, buds appeared. I've been stringing fairy lights on everything to at least have some brightness in these drab cold times. I ran the other day in the 17 degree dawn. As long as the wind is minimal, I'm OK. 

Should I exercise while nursing a cold? I've been lucky that I've been healthy since the winter of 2016 where everything went wrong while we were traveling. I was recovering from my reconstruction surgery (note: better to lose weight before the surgery rather than after as I did) when I got a really bad cold. On top of that, I got hot tub dermatitis causing the skin around my private parts to slough off while burning. We were away from home and Steve wasn't speaking to me as we had a political argument. I borrowed some cat antibiotic (Steve had our rental car keys so I couldn't even go out and buy some more suitable stuff) which I was allergic to so I was covered in hives, that itched. After a week, the cold finally went away and some of my skin healed so I felt I could run again and then I fell down in the first seconds face first in the middle of the Pacific Coast Highway breaking two teeth and slicing my lower lip open. I needed a plastic surgeon again. The antibiotic I was given screwed up my digestive tract for the next two months. Fun times.

The kids were sniffling last week when we were taking care of them. Steve caught their cold immediately exempting him from outdoor stuff. I am exposed to a lot of stuff and rarely catch anything but my number apparently is up. As we are promised rain today all day, perhaps I will take today off.

With 3 kids close in age, Shanna doesn't get too much time off. I'm glad they were able to enjoy themselves though it was a rude awakening to come back to 17 degrees versus 80s. I was in the Yucatan peninsula about 20 years ago staying on Cozumel. We did go to the mainland one day to visit ruins in Tulum and Coba. Despite my fear of heights, I decided to climb the Coba pyramid, the tallest Mayan pyramid. I was fine going up but I had to go down. Argh! Cozumel's main attraction for me are the coral reefs. I spent hours snorkeling. The whole peninsula is a coral reef so there is no soil or rivers, just sinkholes that fill with fresh water called cenotes. One can swim in them as Shanna and Ramy did. Cancun is to the north of Cozumel and closer to Chizen Itza which they visited. 

As soon as I returned home, I was hosting the Moms. I made squash red lentil soup and a pasta dish using cute little pasta shaped like pumpkins to which I added a variety of vegetables and nuts. I should have added chick peas. At the last minute, I sautéed some scallops for additional protein. The other moms brought lots of wine, appetizers, salad and dessert. Shanna had brought back some Mexican liqueur for me, a mix of cream, tequila, coffee and cinnamon. It was quite tasty.I decorated my home with my Halloween stuff along with leaves to have a fall theme.