Mary & Martha Takes Me To Cancun...

I earned another trip!!! WooHoo!! This one was to the lovely Secrets Playa Mujeres Resort. 

Paul was not able to go with me because of issues going on at home so my good friend Alisa agreed to be my "plus 1" for the trip. Since she lives in Montana and I am in Maine we both flew to Atlanta the day before the trip to meet up. I wish I had pictures from our stay in Atlanta... We had a beautiful room and everything but the effort it takes two moms to leave home for a week was so exhausting that we both stretched out on our beds for a nap at about 3 PM and I woke up at 1 AM and turned off the lights! We had to be up by 4 AM to head to the airport anyhow so I am glad we were rested! 

It turns out Alisa does not enjoy flying so it didn't matter that we were in first class... This is how she spent most of the flight! 

But after we got through customs & immigration (we both got green lights and if you have ever traveled to Mexico you know what I mean) and found our driver she was all smiles again.

Exiting the airport in Cancun makes you feel like a sheep walking through a crowd of hungry wolves. Mary & Martha had prearranged transport for us but there are dozens and dozens of people offering you a ride, a rental car or any one of a hundred things all at once. When you finally make it out the door you are greeted by about 100 drivers holding up signs and you are supposed to find yours. 

We were waiting a few minutes for some others to arrive from our group and I snapped this picture thinking it would show the total chaos but it doesn't show any chaos at all! 

Our resort was about a 30 minute ride from the airport and we were welcomed with champagne and cool towels to freshen up... Lovely but I just wanted to get to my room and get into cooler clothing since it was about 100 degrees, humid and little breeze that first day... (The weather was much better the rest of our time there.) 

The resort was beautiful! This was looking down at the pool from our room. If you notice the building across from us you will note it is at an angle... Ours was too so we looked out over the ocean and the pool area. 

Here is Alisa on our patio... The room upgrade said it had a "private hot tub" on the balcony... Well the bathtub in the bathroom was bigger then our private hot tub. I did tell Alisa I could get in and she could hop in on my lap but she passed... {kidding folks!} 

Being a Mary & Martha trip we of course for some swag... One thing they gave each of us was this this cool tote bag. Which is really more of a business bag then a tote so it is very functional here at home too!

Our room was gorgeous and the people at the resort took very good care of us. They greeted us with wine and apples... We had a mini bar in the room that was complimentary so we were happy to find lots of bottled water. 

The first night Mary & Martha had a reception for us and it was lovely. So fun catching up with all my M&M peeps!

Here I am with Kathy from Virginia and Anne from Tennessee...

That night set the tone for what it seemed like we did every moment we were not by the pool or on the beach... Eat! It is an all-inclusive resort and they have several restraints to choose from so there was a great deal of discussion as to what and where people would eat each meal! 

Here we are at the French restaurant. At the head of the table next to me is Dawn who is my corporate mentor and friend. She is amazing and I could do a whole post about just her! In the pink on the lower left is Kim our new national sales director and the poor lone gentleman is Mike who is the GM of Mary & Martha. (Quite a few of the ladies brought their husbands but on this night there was a big "game" going on so many of the guys went to the sports bar for that.) 

The next several pictures are of the now necessary pictures of food and eating experiences...

Fajitas for lunch... and Marsha from corporate joining the band!

Soup at the french restaurant... French onion top and potato leek bottom. 

These were from the traditional Mexican restaurant we ate at one night.

I kept meaning to take pictures of each meal but usually would be halfway through it before I would remember and nobody wants to see that!

Of course, being a resort there were nightly shows so we tried to go to those too...

The "Fire" show and...

the "rock and roll circus" were the only ones I took photos at...

Everything was included at this resort, including drinks... I don't usually drink much but when it's an open bar all the time it is tempting. Alisa doesn't drink at all but I did enjoy some myself. After all, there are few things better then tropical mixed drinks by the pool or your favorite beverage in the evening... You don't have to drive anywhere since they had drivers and carts always standing by so I did have a good time. 

We also had a spa day that was amazing. Alisa & I relaxed around their private hydro therapy pool then I had a message and she had a wrap or scrub or something... Then we both did this...

Yes, we had hundreds of tiny fish eat the dead skin off our feet and legs!

It was totally crazy but I have heard about this for years and totally wanted to try it. To answer your questions... 

1. Yes it felt weird

2. No it didn't hurt... It felt like they were just bumping against us.

3. Yes, it totally worked, my feet and legs were baby skin smooth.

4. No, I don't think I'd do it again (but you never know...)

This is what I mostly did while there...

My favorite parts were all hanging out around the pool or over meals with friends and relaxing and visiting! 

I totally love these ladies... They "get" me in a way I have rarely experienced in my life! 

With my Mary & Martha business I joined because I love the beautiful products. I started to get serious because I could see the potential for this business. But, I stay for the sisterhood. I have found "my people"... Women who "get" me. Most the leaders are strong, business minded, determined, focused, and authentic. And even though we all go to different kinds of churches and different denominations all of us love the Lord and that is amazing. Because in the end it doesn't matter if we go to "mass" or "service" or if we are baptist or pentecostal, the fact that we all love the Lord is what knits our hearts together!

On the final night Mary & Martha threw us a goodbye party on the beach and it was truly AMAZING! We ate and laughed..

(Here is a picture of all the leaders who earned the trip)

and danced the night away. We were silly, and laughing, and singing, and it was hard to let the night end.

So on our final morning we watched the sun rise...

I lamented my sunburn... 

(We were both bright red and sore by day five!) 

Ouch...

But it was over too soon... It was time to get back to reality. I am happy to report I did not have any food related stomach issues people tend to get on these trips. I was ultra careful... Only bottled water (even for brushing my teeth) and no raw fruit or veggies that didn't have a rind or peel... I was probably over cautious but it worked... So yay! 

Thanks for listening,