Mexico - Play-by-play

Day 1 started early in the morning with us leaving for the airport in Edinburgh where we boarded the first out of three flights: Edinburgh to Newark, New Jersey. We flew with Continental and compared to the last time I flew with them, the service was much better and the airplane itself felt newer somehow. Movies and food can make time fly, literally. After a few hours in Newark airport we continued down to Houston and George Bush Intl. airport where we had another few hours to kill before our last flight to Cabo San Lucas Intl. We are not entirely sure where, but somewhere along the way our luggage got lost, which of course posed a bit of an inconvenience for us as we did not have any other clothes and toothbrushes and sun block etc.

When we got to Cabo, we met up with our friends Denis and Jessica at the airport and took a taxi to our first hotel ”Tesoro” which we booked just for one night as we flew in a day early. The first night was an early one, just grabbed some Mexican food around the corner and went to bed.

Day 2 that’s when the fun started. We took a taxi out to Sheraton Hacienda Del Mar, our hotel, checked in and hit the pool. As we still did not have our luggage, I had to buy new swimwear and other essentials, but we were still crossing our fingers that the luggage would arrive before the evening. It did. 15 minutes before our first organized cocktail reception and dinner we got our stuff. Phew! The dinner was a really nice gathering; we were greeted with Margaritas and a Mariachi-band playing local music and were seated next to one of the outdoor pools for a great buffet dinner.

When we got back to our room, we had our first out of many gifts waiting for us; gift-credit cards with money on them and a Flip, which is a pocket video camera! Not too shabby!

Day 3 was labeled ”The Beach Day”. CareerBuilder bussed all of us to a beach in the city centre where they had set up both a DJ, a bar, a fantastic barbeque buffet and activities such as kayaking, jet skiing, banana boating, parasailing, snorkeling among other things. I tried jet skiing for the first time ever and let me tell you, it was awesome!

When we got back to the hotel, we had another cocktail reception and buffet dinner waiting for us. Starting to see a pattern here?

Gift of the day: 2 portable iHome speakers for MP3-players.

Day 4 was our first individual activity day where we got to go on an excursion of our choice, and we had already chosen to go horseback riding on the beach. Let me tell you, that was so much fun but also very hot! There is no hiding from the sun when on a horseback on a Mexican beach! We were probably just over 20 people on 20 horses riding down by the water accompanied by curious dogs and hungry buzzards and it was a really nice and calm experience despite the scorching hot sun.

Later in the evening, we had one of the main events of the week, the big dinner where everyone on the trip got to dine and dance together. Shaena did not feel up to it for this one, so I went with our friends instead. We were bussed to the Hilton resort about 10 minutes drive from our hotel where the staff had set up a massive outside venue on the beach complete with a big stage, more buffet food and room for all 1200 guests! That is what I call impressive! Food in excess, great music and karaoke on the stage later on in the evening. I was exhausted after that, and we all fell asleep on the bus back to the hotel.

Gift of the day: A beer cooler/holder with 6 Coronas and 2 towels.

Day 5 was the much anticipated Swim with Dolphins-day. As always, we got up in the morning, went down for breakfast on the terrace and had some food while whale-watching and then we took off to the Dolphin pool. When we got there we put on wetsuits and life jackets and got a quick briefing on what not to do with the dolphins. Apparently, dolphins are not comfortable around you if you don’t show them an open palm, closed fists do not go down well with Flipper and pals. So, we hopped on the pool with our dolphin Ricardo and everyone got to pet Ricardo and dance with him, basically one by one we grabbed his fins and danced around. After this, everyone got the opportunity to cuddle and hug and kiss Ricardo and take pictures, and needless to say, we were up for cuddles and pictures! A very nice touch was also that the pictures were compliments of CareerBuilder.

The last one-on-one activity we did with Ricardo was the dolphin race. We got to choose either a quick race of a slow race. Shaena went for the slow one where she’d grab on to Ricardo’s fins and go for a ride on his belly while I went for the quick one where I was asked to swim over to the other side of the pool and Ricardo would come speeding after and when he turned around, I grabbed on to his fin and he dragged me back to the other side of the pool full speed. What an incredible experience! All in all we got 4 pictures printed from the dolphin day and we’ve decided to hang them in the nursery for baby to see.

Later in the evening, there was another dinner event planned for our enjoyment. As this was an award from my company, there was also an awards-dinner scheduled, and this was it. After our encounter with the dolphins and before the dinner we also got a complimentary bottle of champagne delivered to the room for us to enjoy while getting dolled up. We didn’t, but we sure looked good and the event sure was swank! A professional photographer greeted us by the entrance and all the winners and their guests were seated in their respective groups. And on the table in front of us were our awards. I got a nice crystal piece with my name inscribed on it. So proud!

Gift of the day: Adidas sweatpants and a personalised handwritten thank you letter addressed to me from CB's VP of Customer Care.

Day 6 was the last full day and my company had organized a shopping trip, but everyone could just do whatever they wanted so we took the shopping bus downtown with my boss and his wife and Denis and Jess. We decided against shopping the whole day and instead we hired a taxi boat to take us around so that we would get out on the water away from the heat. The taxi boat also took us to the famous landmarks of Cabo, the arch, lover's beach, The Window To The Pacific, Land's End where the Sea of Cortez and the Pacific Ocean meets, and we also got to see sea lions and whales close up and snap a few photos. We rounded of the day by petting a lion cub and got a few nice photos of this as well.

Later in the evening… yes, another 3-course meal!

We also had time to chill and relax every day between activities of course and the whole trip was so very well planned so that even though there was a lot going on, we never felt rushed or pressed for time and we were pampered like kings and queens. What an incredible company to work for! Not many companies would go through all that trouble to care for their staff, especially not these days.

The morning after – home time; and we could not be happier and more content with our trip! Definitely a memory for life, and hopefully we’ll get to do it all over again next year in Aruba.

Stuff, stuff, stuff

Ok, so I got home safe and sound but with lots and lots of luggage! As previously mentioned (hrrm Mr. Business Writing) I went out to my flat in Stockholm and looted the storage for stuff. I brought a rug, a blanket, some baby pictures of myself, my moon-certificate, a couple of lamps, some DVD’s and some plates and steak knives. Needless to say, that stuff was heavy! Jeez Louise, my back was tired after lugging that stuff half way across Europe.

It sure is nice to be home for a couple of days before jetting off again. I think I am gonna go call my dad now and book his flight for this summer. I have to say, I am super excited my dad is coming over, and I know he is too. He is researching Scotland’s sights already.

Here are a few pictures from the trip to Stockholm for your enjoyment:

Home soon!

So Peter should be on his flight home and soon crawling into bed with me. I am so looking forward to him coming back...4 days is too long to be away :P

Had the 22 week appointment at the midwife today and all is looking good for baby H. He is right on schedule. Yep...that's right. Its a boy!! The next Beckham (or so we hope so we can retire on our son's wages!...no child labour here!)

Tonight was a lovely night at Judy's (she is a former Factotumette) and someone that inspires me. She is such a lovely person and has 3 grown children and a beautiful home in the New Town and has been all over the world traveling with her husband, kids and even dogs in tow.

She cooked us a homemade meal consisting of a cheesy pasta bake, chicken, baked potatoes with mince and mash potato on top, salad and to finish it all off we had traditional english pancakes to celebrate "pancake tuesday". I completely forgot that today was pancake tuesday! mmmm pancakes. At least that has satisfied part of my pancake/waffles craving. Looking forward to waffles in Mexico!

Only 3 more days till Mexico too! I've offered our place to a friend whilst we are away. Should be good since she is having a tough time with flat mates and give her the peace and quiet she deserves.

Looking forward to lying on the beach and sipping my virgin margarita! Mmmm. Virgin. :P

Anyway, just catching up on my show "Damages" until Peter is home and cuddles to come!

Muah!

Day at the spa with the girls

So since Peter is away and seemingly stuffing his face full of his favourite foods, I went on a girls excursion. Orlaith has a membership for One Spa here in Edinburgh and she kindly took me and Maeghan for a 3 hour session for free. It was soooo nice and soooo relaxing. They have an outside jacuzzi that is on the roof top and aroma therapy steam rooms and saunas and cleopatra baths (try squeezing the 3 of us into the 1 bath that is meant for 1 person) ha ha. Good times. Oh and I think we had about 7 showers in all and they even have a icing station that you can take ice chips and rub them all over yourself to cool yourself down from the saunas. I really do wish I had a membership there but I don't think I would be able to use it as much once baby is here. Tell you though, my skin is SO soft!

After that we went to Indigo Yard for lunch since they have a 2 for 1 deal on so Maeghan and I ordered our sandwiches and split half while Orlaith had her Spinach Spanish Omelet. Mmmm. Poor waiter though was not ready for the wrath of Orlaith and her pimping off of her taken friends. Luckily I was not in her line of pimping off...this time!

We then went for a walk around Prince's Street and it makes such a difference with NO traffic since they have closed the street down. Still busy with foot traffic but you can hear the various footsteps rather than the hustle and bustle of the buses, cars and taxis!

Home now and I am absolutely exhausted. Maeghan and her bf Reg are going to come here tonight for dinner and a movie. Poor them since I am going to subject them to "High School Musical 3"!!! Muah ah a ha h

I miss Peter though more than I imagined! Must be the pregnancy hormones or 2 hearts now in 1 body!!! Sure isn't the same without him here...

Love to all

Yesterday was about running around – Today is about eating. Lots of eating.

I flew in to Stockholm yesterday around lunchtime and took the express train to city centre and did not waste one second before digging in to my favourite junk food: MAX hamburgers; I had a MAX Supreme menu with extra everything and hot melted cheddar cheese dip. After the feast I started walking around waiting for my brother to finish work and come pick me up, and before I knew it I had been walking around for 2 hours, lugging my 2 bags around, and let me tell you, Stockholm is beautiful right now!

It is getting closer to spring, the sun is shining and all the swans in the water that is surrounding the city have had their little swan chicks… interesting that they are black like crows when they are born by the way. I got some decent pictures of the city and soon enough, John came to collect me.

Later in the evening we went outside the city to purchase new kitchen chairs for bro, so we went to the obvious choice of furniture supermarket for a Swede, guess which one: I*EA. Funny enough, they did not have much assortment at all, so we decided to go to the more expensive competitor MiO Möbler (möbler is furniture in Swedish by the way), and what do you know? Better chairs for better value! This has to be some kind of record, completely unheard of in Sweden that anyone can outdo them on kitchen chairs!

Today is all about eating. John is out buying breakfast for us right now, Swedish style, and later I am going to head downtown to meet with Rebecka and have lunch with her, then there is the art exhibition, and tonight we are going to the mother of all pig-out establishments: Genghis Khan Mongolian Barbeque on Sveavägen! There are many Mongolian BBQ’s in Stockholm, but nothing like the one on Sveavägen. I really shouldn’t have breakfast OR lunch before that, but I am sure I’ll be fine either way.

I miss my wife; traveling alone is not the same at all. Since we hang out so much together when we are at home and Shaena is my travel buddy; it feels kind of empty and awkward, but it’s only for a few days and then we’ll get to swim up to a bar by the pool on the beach, accompanied by dolphins wearing sombreros, while eating a lobster buffet and listening to a live band! (That was me cramming the whole trip into one single action. And yes, the dolphins are the ones wearing the sombreros.) Can’t wait!

Bad, bad blogger!

We have been a bit lazy with the blogging lately, not because we don’t want to blog but because it has been a bit hectic lately. Lots of stuff going on and lots of planning for what’s to come. More trips are getting planned, will it never end?! :)

Shouldn't complain though, we are very lucky in what we get to see and do.

This is the updated trip calendar so far:

- Stockholm tomorrow – Tuesday
- Cabo San Lucas, Mexico on the 28th of February – 6th of March
- Frankfurt, Germany on the 16th – 17th of March
- Copenhagen, Denmark 25th of March, tied in with Stockholm again on the 26th – 27th of March

I’ll be sure to send an update from Sweden. Apparently, my brother wanted to go to a AC/DC tribute party on Saturday night, and my friend Mona is dragging me along to a comic strip exhibition as well… should be good times!

Baby's nursery

Speaking of lovey-dovey... here's a classic from Pikey-Land!

For those of you who have not yet had the pleasure of seeing the first ever photo taken of Shaena and I, this is your chance! This photo below was taken on the first day I met Shaena, almost 3 years ago. It was a white-trash-themed BBQ at our friend Robin's house and everyone had made an effort to look like the stereotypical trailer trash you see in the movies, and sadly for some, it wasn't that much of an effort, it came fairly natural to them! :)

Anyway, Shaena had dressed up in her finest sweatpants and hoodie and I was wearing sweatpants as well, a friend’s torn up flannel shirt and my favourite Aeroflot t-shirt complete with dirt stains.

There were other people at the party as well of course. Matt & Naomi were there, and Matt looked like a pirate/street thug and Naomi had dressed up as a Dublin north-sider, she was wearing sweatpants, a hoodie, a beanie and a fake-pregnant belly and was smoking and drinking at the same time(!)

We had good fun that day, BBQ'ing and hanging out. And if you ever had to go to the bathroom, it was never far away. Robin had a toilet right there in the garden. Ewww...

Happy Valentine’s Day!

Today is the lovey-dovey-cuddle-cuteness-day of the year! Wherever you go you will see red hearts, gift offers, and couples holding hands just a little bit tighter that usually.

Shaena and I had our date night last night. In true trailer-trash spirit we had dinner at Pizza Hut (however, they have made quite an effort to shape that place up) and after that we went to the movies. Let me tell you, ‘The Curious Case of Benjamin Button’ was a great movie! Well worth the money and could be one for the DVD-collection later. It had a bit of a Forrest Gump feel to it with a bunch of unrelated stories that somehow were tied together by unexpected events.

Today, on the actual day, we are in more of a do, do, do mode; we have a tradesman coming by this morning to look at our crappy windows that are stealing all our heat in the house and after that we are going to IKEA with our friend Martin and his car to buy a cot for ‘H’ and maybe some other baby essentials.

Oh, and another trip was planned yesterday; my boss surprisingly nominated me for a company leadership development training session, so in the middle of March I will be flying to Frankfurt, Germany for a day or two to attend this. Good times.


Have a magical day everyone!

Care-package from Grandma in Canada

Yesterday we received a nice package from Grandma Michelle. Shaena got her long awaited anti-nausea drugs and there were also some old baby pictures from when Shaena was a little baby! How cute! Now we know how our little one will look like, or at least the better half of the baby. :)

Baby also got a whole bunch of onesies in different colours with funny prints like ”Your crib or mine?”, “What happens at Grandma’s, stays at Grandma’s” and “Party in my crib at 2am”.

Last but not least, there was a hilarious video clip on a CD to prepare us for the Mexican culture shock. You are too funny Michelle!

We like care-packages over here, so keep ‘em coming.

What else is new? Well, I booked my trip to Sweden today, so will be in Sweden on the 20th – 24th of February, and then home to prepare for Mexico. It is really a work trip to our Sweden office, but I will also get a chance to spend some time with my brother John and possibly meet up with a few friends. Good times.

Clothes for baby from grandpa in Sweden

Grandpa Stefan, grandma Ritva, auntie Isabel and uncle Henry sent us a few pictures. They had been out shopping for baby. 4 really cute outfits with everything from sleepwear to streetwear.

Here is a little sample:

Thank you guys, we really appreciate it!

"Where is the TV-remote?"

Ok, so I just spoke to my dad and said that I had to go because there was a movie on soon.
After that I gave the remote control to Shaena who at the same time was going to do a load of laundry to wash a duvet. After starting the washing machine, Shaena asks: "Where is the TV-remote?" and we start looking around high and low... *clonk* *clonk*... you guessed it! It was in the duvet in the washing machine!

Saturday-fun at it's best in the HH-household!

It's funny though when things like these happen; the TV remote has been immobilized by the washing machine and you can be sure that the TV channel it's on is showing the crappiest show just because you cannot easily change it anymore. Karma!

Here's a fitting tribute to the occasion:

Discover Monty Python!

Helpful hints from previous patrons at the Harrison-Helin Plaza

As some of you already know, we are keeping a guestbook for all our visitors and have done so ever since we moved to Scotland. As we are getting closer to 2 years here in Edinburgh, quite a lot of guests have come and gone and left their thoughts and helpful hints in this book.

I thought it would be nice to share some of those quotes with you, as many of you faithful readers are coming to see us this summer; and maybe you can be a little bit more prepared for what to expect here in Bonnie Scotland! Enjoy!

“My advice is to bring more than one pair of shoes, especially if you want to go out at night and, along the same lines to bring nice going-out clothes as people here are stylish + pretty. ALSO – make sure to bring some marmalade. I say this not because it’s a Scottish tradition, but because the entire 'Royal Mile' smells like toast + marmalade and you’ll really want some.” – cousin Emily, USA

“Google a Scottish dictionary before arrival, so you’ll understand ”them” especially the bus drivers.” – cousin Emily (on her second visit)

“Wear great shoes + make sure you have done lots of cardio before you arrive!” – auntie Nini, USA

“Try bingo-bowling with slushee vodka” – Tobbe & Linn, Sweden

“Stay longer; there is so much to see and do here and Peter & Shaena are great tour guides.” – Sarah, Canada

“Make sure Peter has a full supply of ‘Swedish cars’, they were so good… also make sure you have enough batteries + energy to keep up to this city, it’s f-ing amazing!”- Jessika, Canada

“Stay as long as you can. Edinburgh castle is great. This place is unreal! Spend a day stopping for a pint in every pub; The Last Drop, Filthy McNasty's (editors note: now called Citizen Smith's), The Bad Ass, Dirty Dick's, Opium, Maggie Dickson's - all good places!” - Bain, Canada

“Break the bank; you’re on vacation!” – Meghan, Canada

”Walk carefully!” – Jenifer, Canada

”1 pound drinks are being served at the Opium. Buy more than one and pound those suckers down!” – Olle & Andreas, Sweden

“Don’t fart in small rooms!” – Matt & Naomi, Ireland (Australia)

“If single; go to karaoke at the Grosvenor, if not; go with Peter to play trivia at the Melville.” – mommy Michelle, Canada

”I will not name my first born Atholl!” – Meghan (on her second visit)

Before it was the kissin kitchen - now it's the kissin/dancin kitchen!

So Peter and I are making a Harrison-Helin delicacy...hot dogs and potato salad. mmmmm. I had a craving. Again, my cravings are subjective to what food is said to me during the day and then I want it. So Peter is finishing up in the kitchen and I am taking over on blogging duties (ha ha duties) since we haven't posted any for about a week.

Let's see...so I got yelled at today! A mom walking her pram up the road yelled at me!! Can you believe that? My work car has a tendency of honking the horn when people get in and out and I guess I honked it and she had just gotten her baby to sleep. Like hello!!! you are out and about in city centre...be nicer to people and realize where YOU are! That is definitely not how I'll treat people when out with our little one. Babies cry...get over it!

Sorry, not to sound so grumpy. Really I'm not. It just baffles me sometimes with people and how they react.

It's also only 22 days till Mexico! Peter has booked us a hotel for the arrival night since we're arriving a day before the actual events start. I can't wait. I know I'm a true Winnipeger but the cold here sucks! It is chilling to the bone! Plus our house loses heat like crazy. Today we nailed some blankets up around the windows to help stop the drafts.

Orlaith and I were saying today that this city is just ridiculous as well. The city of Edinburgh has instigated a new law and required all landlords with rented properties to get an "Energy Performance Certificate" which basically means someone comes out and rates the energy efficiency on a property. So these companies will come out and say "your property would save on energy if it had double glazing windows and energy saving light bulbs" meanwhile there is a law in the city preserving the "look" of Edinburgh and most properties city centre are "A Listed" which means they have to keep original features as if we were back in the 1300's. No double glazing. This certificate is now a legal requirement however they are only recommendations and landlords are not required to conduct the upgrades to the property. Just another way that government spends it's money in silly ways!!

Man my blog is complain-o eh! I really am in a good mood!!

I think tonight we're going to watch "Into The Wild" which is the movie directed/written by Sean Penn. We watched about half last night but it is a long one and really good so far! Oh and if I can make any recommendations to movie goers, go see "Slumdog Millionaire" it is worth the £5 or $10!!

Love to you all and thanks for tuning in! We're almost at 300 waffles...mmm waffles!!!