Countdown - 22 days - Channeling Mexico

So the countdown is now on, in only 3 short weeks this will be our view for a week.  We are headed back to hot and sunny Zihuatanejo Mexico and we can't wait.  A friend of mine who lives a couple of hours away here on the island wanted to find somewhere different to go this year for her 50th, and after telling her about the hotel and Z she and her husband booked and are leaving in a weeks time.  We had tried to see if we could overlap our dates but the tiny hotel was sold out so no such luck.  In the end, though, I know she will love it and soon enough we will be there too.  I have started to gather the items we are taking.  I bought myself a pool floatie using Amazon GCs from Christmas and am shorts and sandals ready.  I just need to find a couple of paperbacks to take as I don't like reading on electronic devices.


I have no fear of traveling to Mexico and the Coronavirus - we intend to be as careful as possible washing our hands and using antibacterial lotions.  I am glad though that we are not traveling to Europe this year as so many attractions are being shut due to fear of the virus, quite sad for both the travelers and locals.

I've had half of a root canal - and feel so much better with no pain now.  It turns out that even after being on an antibiotic for a week there was still a massive infection under my molar due to a crack in the tooth.  The worst part is over which was draining it and adding a temporary filling.  The rest will be done in 10 days - making sure 100% of the infection and swelling is gone before they seal it up.  Then in a couple of months a crown.  $1200 now and $1200 for the crown.  I am just thankful that it is finally being dealt with and one day soon I can chew on that side again.

Other than that our weather has been nice, I do believe that we have no more snowfalls in our future until next winter which means we got away pretty easy with only 1 week of snowstorms in January.  Our patio is being installed at the end of next week then after we get back from Mexico our patio furniture will be delivered so we can enjoy our back yard even more than we do now. 

I did a little bit more painting inside last week when hubby was away but that project needs to be finished up, likely will happen in March or April.  Yes, we are dragging it out but painting the inside of your open concept home is a massive job.  We have 3 of 15 walls left, some trim, the tray ceiling and closets and behind appliances.

I was dreaming about spaghetti sauce last night so apparently, I'm making that today.  Weird how your mind works sometimes.  My monthly grocery budget is $525 per month which includes all food and nonfood items including toiletries.  This does not include any medications, vitamins or OTCs as those have been removed from the grocery budget and added to the health/medical budget.  In January groceries came to $496.70 and February $461.08.  Over those two months I also managed to earn $91.09 worth of free groceries redeemed (PC Points, coupons, Checkout 51 rebate) so using them each month is really paying off versus saving it for the end of the year.  We are gone for 5 days at the end of March so I am pretty sure I will be under this month too - the underage will be applied to future months when we host BBQs/have family visiting so I am sure it will even out.

I have not stocked up any more than normal for the Coronavirus but other centers where people are panicking due to having lots of cases in their neighborhood grocery stores are finding their shelves cleared.  Blogging friend Hawaii Planner noted that a recent trip to Costco many items were out as she has several cases in her area.  Something to think about, that is for sure.

Anyway, that's what's shaking here.  Just working and living life the best we can.