Fun in Mexico

We were greeted by the Secrets staff with a cool towel and a glass of champagne.

The first night we were there, the resort put on a Mayan show on the beach complete with dancing and a bonfire. we nearly burned off our fingers trying to roast marshmallows.

Brett and I were so glad to be on vacation and be able to relax that we spent the first few days doing nothing but laying on the beach and sipping some fruity cocktails...One night we decided to venture into Playa del Carmen - a super fun area with lots of shopping, bars, and entertainment!Here we are sipping tequila like they do in Mexico...a shot of tequila (that you sip, don't shoot) and a shot of sangrita (sort of a sweet bloody mary tasting chaser) that you also sip along with the tequila. Very tasty! Brett spent some time playing with his maracas...
and chess (he beat me every time)!
This little guy, Dodo, was too cute! Right before the pic was taken, he ate the orange right out of Brett's drink!
One of my favorite parts of being on vacation is getting dressed up for dinner each night -
On our last night, Brett arranged for us to have a romantic dinner on the beach - it was unbelievable. A table for two was se up in the sand and our personal waiter served us champagne, wine and one of the best meals I have ever had. The wind was blowing so hard, but it was one of the best nights ever!
On the day we were set to leave, we got up super early to watch the sun rise...it was just beautiful!

Secrets Capri - Riviera Maya

The entrance to Secrets is gated and therefore anyone coming or going must check in with the guard. The road to resort's main building is about 3/4 of a mile from the gate. It is narrow and wooded on both sides which provide a home to lots of different wildlife, several of which we were lucky enough to get a glimpse of. The resort accommodated our request for the same room that we had when we were on our honeymoon. Here is an inside view of the sitting room, patio and pool. This was our room, on the ground floor and a very short walk from the pool and beach. View of the ocean from our room.
Cool picture of the other patios looking down to the beach.
Here's one end of the pool. Just to the left out of view is the swim up bar. This building houses two of the resort's restaurants - The Seaside Grill and Oceana.

A "just before sunrise" picture taken of the swim up bar.
Beautiful sunrise!

A Mexican Tease

We've been home from Mexico for over a week now. Our tans are fading, we're a few pounds heavier, and we still relive little memories every day. It truly was the best vacation ever! In order to fully get across what an amazing trip this was I am going to need three posts. In the first post, I will try to convey to you just how gorgeous this place was. Part two will be a run down of all the fun things we did and all the fun pictures we took and part three will be all about our Mayan Adventure.

Now that I have you on the edge of your seats, all I can say is "Go Cubbies!"

Hola!

We're back from vacation or as I like to refer to it - "Possibly The Greatest Week of My Life/ Vacation EVER!"

We're still mulling through pictures and working on putting them into a photo book, but here is one of my favorites...

A little o' this and a little o' that!

So it seems that we have been super busy lately but not a whole lot of exciting stuff to blog about. But, here's a little update on Team Clancy!


1. Two weeks from tomorrow Brett and I will be landing in Mexico! Everything is arranged and all we have left now is one shopping trip for a few goodies (I am thinking Old Navy since they have some cute spring stuff out and great prices) and a long night of packing!


2. Brett has officially lost 15 pounds!!!! He has worked so hard - 30 Day Shred in the morning, gym in the evening and counting calories in EVERYTHING!!!! Way to go baby!


3. A few weeks ago, we went to my first Bulls game. It was so much fun AND Vince Vaughn was there. I zoomed way in with my camera but it still came out blurry :-)



4. We have been drinking lots of fruit smoothies for breakfast and I just thought I would share the recipe to our favorites flavor - Peanut Butter Banana
In a blender, put 1 container vanilla yogurt, 1 large banana, 2 T peanut butter, and a handful of ice. Blend until smooth. If you like it thicker or thinner, add more ice or milk. This makes enough for two good size smoothies so split it between two glasses. Brett's then gets a scoop of protein, I get a scoop of flax seed. Stir and enjoy!!!

Our Low Calorie, Lent Friendly, and Wonderfully Delicious Dinner

I may have mentioned this a time or two but Brett and I leave for Mexico on March 27. It is taking over my thoughts - the sun, the sand, the food, the drinks (did I also mention I gave up wine, beer and liquor for Lent)!!!! We have been planning this trip since getting back from our Honeymoon 4 1/2 years ago and I can't believe it is almost here. To prepare for the trip (and the pounds we will inevitably gain from all the food and drinks) we've been very committed to eating healthy, counting calories, and working out. Our 5 am workout has been Jillian Michaels 30 Day Shred and then we have mixed in weight lifting and cardio at the gym. It has been kind of exhausting and my mind has been overun with thoughts of the food I am not eating. Right now I would give anything for some chocolate chip cookies or a brownie. Please pretend you did not see my last post of the giant piece of cake I cheated with!

Since Fridays in Lent means no meat, Brett came up with an awesome idea for dinner - fish tacos. We love them at restaurants so why not make them? Here is the run down of our low calorie, Lent friendly and wonderfully delicious dinner that we made on Friday. P.S. it was so good that we ate it again on Saturday!

Fish Tacos

Fish
1/2 lb. Cod, pan fried in olive oil and then sliced or flaked, however you like it (this was enough for 2 people, 2 tacos each)

Avocado Sauce

-1 1/2 avocados peeled, pit removed

-1/2 cup fat free sour cream

-juice of half a lime juice

-hot sauce to taste (I used an Habanero sauce)

*mix these 4 ingredients in food processor until smooth

*Add 1 plum tomato, seeded and chopped and fresh cilantro

Slaw

4 large leaves of romaine lettuce, washed and thinly sliced

2 large slices of white onion, chopped

3 inch chunk of English cucumber, chopped

*mix these three ingredients together, season with salt and pepper and add juice from one lime and dash of vinegar (this is best if made ahead and allowed to sit)

Put it all together...

Warm 6 inch whole wheat tortillas in the microwave, about 10 seconds. Smear with avocado sauce, place a large scoop of slaw on tortilla and top with fish.

Southwestern Salad

(I adapted this recipe and I'm not including the amounts because it is personal taste. Use more of what you like, less of what you don't)

Romaine lettuce, washed and broken

Corn, canned is fine, washed and drained
Black beans, washed and drained

Avocado, peeled and chopped into large chunks

Red onion

Pepper Jack cheese, shredded

*Toss with a lime vinaigrette (if you make it from scratch it isn't much more than lime juice and olive oil seasoned up a bit, but I bought Newman's Own Lighten Up Light Lime Vinaigrette and it was delicious at only 60 calories for 2 T.)

Creamy Layered Fruit Sensation

Click on name for the recipe. I got from Kraft Foods and followed the directions as given except that we made individual servings instead of making it all together. Trader Joe's has an excellent bag of frozen organic berries that we used and were perfect for this recipe.

Hope everyone has a good week and enjoys this meal for a meat free Friday (or any day you feel like fish) dinner!

Mmmmmmmmm!

This is something that should not be found on my desk right now - it was a piece of cake. Now it is a mess of icing smeared on the plate because this little piggy went to town! Oh was it good!

Puggle Love

Ranch Style Chicken Chili

A big thank you to all our great Presidents who gave me the day off yesterday! And because I got pretend that I don't have a job for a day, I was able to sit around and watch talk shows (OK, I only watched two Rachael Ray and Martha) I got a fabulous new recipe. Yesterday, Rach (yeah, we're tight) made Ranch Style Chicken Chile and it left my mouth watering. Well that's what we're having tonight for dinner and if Brett doesn't get home soon, there won't be any left!!! You need to go to the store and buy these ingredients NOW!

Ingredients
4 poblano peppers
2 tablespoons EVOO – Extra Virgin Olive Oil
2 pounds ground chicken (I used turkey because that's what I had and I didn't use quite 2 lbs.)
Salt and pepper
1 large onion, finely chopped
4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 tablespoons cumin
1 tablespoon coriander (I did not put this in because the store only had seeds and I was confused by that so I just left it out)
2 cups chicken stock
1/4 cup dill, chopped (I used dried)
1/4 cup chives or scallions, finely chopped (I didn't put this in either because, well, I forgot)
1/4 cup parsley, finely chopped
Hot sauce, to taste
1 cup sour cream

Directions:
Char peppers under the broiler with oven door cracked for steam to escape. Place charred peppers in a bowl and cover with plastic wrap to steam (you can also just put them in a brown paper bag and roll the top down). Let cool then peel, seed and finely chop.
Heat 2 tablespoons EVOO in a medium size pot over medium-high heat. Add chicken, season with salt and pepper, and brown and crumble the meat. Add onions and garlic to the pot and cook 5 minutes to soften. Season with cumin and coriander, and stir in chopped peppers. Add stock and herbs, and simmer 5 minutes. Season with hot sauce to taste.
Turn off heat and stir in sour cream to combine. Serve with tortilla chips alongside for dipping.

*I found the process of charring the peppers kind of fun. Here is before...

and this was after...

I followed the directions almost to a tee expect the few ingredients changes I mentioned above. When it was done, I put it in the crock pot to keep hot 'til Brett got home. I wish I could put a smell on here because this soup seriously smells so delicious! Even Lucy kept standing at the counter trying to get a whiff!

Happy Valentine's Day!!!

Brett and I are celebrating in our usual way...Chipotle!!! We did changed it up a bit (we skipped ice cream at Oberweiss) and are currently hanging out at Borders. Brett has his calendar and some travel books and I have my laptop and my Valentine. Life is good.