Cocktail party

Check out those smiles for the camera!

Which angles make us look the smallest? Half way through our competition and still friends would you believe, hold on this was a cocktail party posting not a Cindy and Sharon getting smaller in front of us! Check out the sunset though cool eh?

Why the happy faces? Oh because Jackie is heading back to sunny England tomorrow as she misses all that rain! Wait and within a week she will wish she was back here reading by the pool all day as she does it so well.
Jackie looking very cool in her Belize hat! Helping the new guests with the answers as she has been to a couple of these over the past three weeks and knows them by heart now. We are so mean we wouldn't let her do the quiz after the first week.

Checking out Sharon's rum punch which I have to say was a wee bit bland this week, sorry people it's the end of the season and we are using up supplies!

She is looking for inspiration from this man who doesn't give a monkeys about the seven dwarfs or what day bingo is or the chicken drop is at all.

Our lovely owners one the left hand side the Wilcox family who brought some friends with them this year to hang out with and share our little piece of paradise.

Ah well that was a mellow cocktail party as it may be our last for a while as we are heading into that time of year that they call hurricane season! Fingers crossed for us and everyone out there in the path of the storms out there and ones to follow.
I don't know why people don't rush here for September and October as it is like having the place all to yourselves. No queues anywhere (that would be lines to some of you) no rushing to save sun chairs by the pool and beach and just generally a fun and relaxing time to be here. Oh well we will look after the place for you all for the next time you come to hang with us all being well that we are still here!
Have a great weekend and remember there are some great deals at this time of year for all our RCI owners and friends and families of owners, email me at vc@banyanbay.com ! Ta ta for now from the gang here at The Villas At Banyan Bay.

These will make you smile!

I was just forwarded this great email about senior people and some of them stuck out as they made me think of certain people out there in our lives, you know who you are and we love you.

Obviously I like the one above as it has cake in it and Cindy would have you all believe that I do love cake!

This one is way too funny as we have to be so careful and lock up everything here in San Pedro or people borrow it! We are in good stead for the later years.

Um who does this make you think of? A dirty old man even in a wheelchair, there are a few of them here in Belize we can tell you!

I have to give you all this one, this will for sure be me as I have been a speed demon and a hazard all my life whilst behind the wheel and will be no different in whatever I am driving at whatever age! Sometimes I feel there is no justice in this world as I am restricted to about 5mph in my wee golf buggie whilst here in San Pedro but wait until I go to the mainland and have a car under my control! Did I say control, my parents would beg to differ after many years of following my antics in a car!

This one just made me smile from ear to ear, am not sure who it makes me think of but love it anyhow! Ok just thought of a pilot we all know that loves bikes!

Cindy does cheese, Sharon does the jungle!

UMmmm we are now starting week 8 of our healthy regime and where are we right now? We didn't want to bore people by going on and reporting each week like we do the cocktail parties but we have been asked where we both are with out targets etc.
Poor Cindy was very tempted with a lot of cheese and some nice wines over the weekend, well it was her birthday and what else can you buy here in San Pedro. I thought I was being nice to fill a basket with all the cheeses I could find and some crackers and leave it in my fridge for her whilst she was dog and house sitting!
I on the other hand went to stay with the ultra fit and healthy Karen in Belmopan and ate baked chicken and bran cereal!
Therefore when I weighed in yesterday I had lost 1.6kg last week which takes me up and over 20lbs so far and well on my way to my target, hopefully before my trip at the end of Sept. Cindy on the other hand is weighing herself today as she needed to lose a kilo overnight to get back on track and not to have gained!!! Ummm I love it when a plan comes together and that pot of gold at the end is looking more like mine all the time.
Laura on the other hand hasn't been near a scale in 3 weeks as her mum is here from the mainland feeding her up a storm which will be a set back for her as mums food is good by all accounts.
Balti, bless him saw me yesterday and just gave praise to how we are doing as he was taken out on medical advice! I actually think the doctor said not too much strenuous exercise not to eat all the cake in sight! Talking of cake it is Cindy's belated birthday on Saturday on a Catamaran all day, I will have to see what can be done about a healthy cake!
Photos to follow shortly of a fun little cocktail party last night saying goodbye to the Field family who have been here for 3 weeks, always sad to see people leave but the quicker they go the quicker they will be back to see us to paradise!

P.S. Cindy here, and yes I did gain some weight, but only 200g which is not even 1/2lb. So that's not too bad for a boozy cheesy birthday week!

Cindy gets pulled!!!!

This fabulous picture proves what a superstar Cindy Vigna really is. I went away for the weekend to Belmopan to the Belize Jungle Dome to visit my Canadian friend Karen formally Turner but now Cruz, congratulations to Karen and Omar and we wish them all the best for the future! Obviously I can't just up and go and leave the four legged ones to fend for themselves all weekend so my very good friend and co-worker Cindy not only dog sat but house sat also.
Those of you out there that know me and my dogs know what a handful Lisbon can be and how she takes herself off on her own walks when the desire sets in. Therefore Cindy took no chances of this happening on her watch and had what she calls the naughty rope with her which is the yellow rope around her neck which gives the wee one more lee way than the lead but not enough to get away.
I will use this blog to say a huge thank you and a belated happy birthday to one special person in our lives, mine and my dogs and all our good friends in San Pedro, cheers to one and all and we can't wait to celebrate Cindy's birthday next Saturday!

Cindy gloating? Indeed she is!

Oh yes, it is week 6 weigh-in and Laura is still hiding from the scales for the second week in a row. In fact, I haven't even seen her for the past couple of days!
Sharon has done super well yet again, and lost 1/2 kg. I, on the other hand, am gloating as I lost 900g.
Percentage of our total goal: Cindy 51% of target, Sharon 56% of target - and yes, we're both very happy!

Newest member at Banyan Bay

A warm welcome to Sienna Rose our newest member of RCI here at The Villas At Banyan Bay to the proud parents of Jennifer & Michael Jennings from Arizona. We have been emailing back and forward for many months now and are so pleased to announce her arrival all safe and sound.
We are so lucky here to be a part of peoples lives in and out of Belize so please stay in touch owners out there and keep us up to date of your news.

Shout out to the boys!

Hello to one and all to another week here in paradise! I would like to start it by saying a special hello to two very good friends here on the island, Wade and Brad who are away this week celebrating a special family event. We miss them when they are gone and look forward to our own celebration when they return.
This picture was taken at the recent Saga fundraiser in the park and goodness knows how the bad boy Pedro Peter got in on the shot, it must have been a drive by moment on his part but we are fortunate he wasn't doing his signature pose of the finger!
Anyhow more news to follow as the day and week progresses, it is a wee bit quieter now on the island as some people fear those nasty hurricanes at this time of the year so please fingers and everything else crossed for us now and for the next couple of months.

Shout out to Peggy and Michael and of course Trixie!

This is a hello to our lovely RCI owners Peggy and Michael Shea that come and see us usually twice a year. They painfully have to leave their beloved Trixie at home on each trip but we speak of her each day and they have sent me an action shot of her at the dog beach in San Diego last weekend. They reckon Trixie, Jackie and Lisbon would wear each other out no end if left to play and I well believe that after all the shots I have seen of this livewire. There are not many dogs that look like Trixie here in San Pedro so I am sure she would have many admirers, cheers guys for the shots happy Friday to all out there today and have a great weekend.

Cocktail party, week 32

Another week rolls by and we waited until Monday to have our cocktail party as it had been the Costa Maya festival all weekend that just finished today so back to normal and here goes with our new guests to enteratin. Here we have an RCI exchange family that are happy to be here .

Sharon and Cindy doing a photo check to see if we really are losing weight!

The Field family back for the third year in a row telling the newbies what it is all about, saves Cindy and I a job which is great as we talk more than enough.

The fantastic Rico staff always happy to strike a pose for the camera and to be blogged.

Cindy whizzing around clocking up some extra steps! (must find a way to sabotage that one!)

Simon Fields from London who looks very Spainish in that hat and is wearing some very dodgy gear around his neck, we must ave a word wiv im! That was a bit of cockney by the way!

Ummm some yummy food as always

Check out that ceviche it was full of fish

Myself and Jackie a very good friend after three years of hanging out by the pool, well her anyhow and me working but time to chat and get to know each other.

Our lovely family here on the real estate promotion

Monday night special at Blue Lotus-yum!!

Photos as promised thanks to Cindy's camera. Here we have the birthday boy Forrest Jones and the lovely Beth Hart who is about to join us as a permanent resident in San Pedro after a few years of being a regular visitor.

Myself Sharon and Steve Lee who owns Ecologic divers on the fantastic pontoon boat ride over to Blue Lotus.
Fprrest opening his gift from me which was actually a bottle of five barrel rum which is new to the island and oh so fine!
Here he is the birhtday boy doing a wee speach!

Ah Cindy aka IT girl and Paul.

Not sure why this is being blogged as I was just proving how flexible this little number was and not a dead animal but a versitile shawl type thing from my good friend Sammy that used to be here in San Pedro, and yes for the record I was wearing a dress! It was chilly on the boat ride back but not for organised me.

Well we may be on a health drive but that doesn't stop the birthdays coming and last night was no exception! Forrest bless him was lulled into a double bluff last night with regards to getting him out to celebrate his coming of age! We told him we were celebrating Brad and Wade going away today for their union in the states but in fact 20 of us gathered to surprise him.

Blue Lotus was the venue as they have started a special on Monday nights which is $3 beers and a Keebob platter for just $15bz. Needless to say we didn't all stick to the special and some people with no will power aka IT girl had plenty of wine so we didn't stick to the budget night out we were supposed to be having now that it is slow season, but hey you only live once and when in San Pedro eat and live like kings and queens eh!

Happy Mondays!

G'day followers out there, seeing as many people think Cindy and I are Australian I might as well talk like one eh! That bit was for the Canadians out there and cor blimey for the Londoners!
Anyhow it is another week for us here in paradise, the wedding party are just leaving after a fantastic stay. They were a lot of fun to have around the place and it will be unusually quiet for a day or two. Photos to follow of the beautiful couple and their very fit triathlon friends!

Cocktail party tonight so have to go and cool the beers for that so ta ta for now and have a great day. This is one very chilled out groom just hafl an hour before the ceremony!

How crisp and elegant do they all look in white.

Simple and perfect for the caribbean

The weather was on their side also for a couple of hours anyhow.

No turning back now!

Ah everyone loves this bit, get in there my son as some would say from London!

Ok he said kiss her not swallow her up whole in one peice, this bit took longer than the whole service! Ok come on gang now it's time for cake!

Sharon is disappearing before our very eyes

It's that time of week again, the Sunday weigh-in. I knew I wouldn't have done very well as I did no excercise at all last week, drank rather a lot of wine and ate anything I felt like.
Sharon has lost another kilo this week, and I, have lost nothing - but I didn't gain anything either so I'm actually rather pleased.
Sharon is still being self-righteous about not having drunk any alcohol in 5 weeks! What a nutcase! I can see her over the top of the laptop gloating.
WELL DONE! Her focus is her trip in September to visit some of our owners, but where is she going? The mystery remains.
I am now completely focused for this coming week and am going to beat her next week - heheheh.

Cocktail party, better late than never!

Cindy here, and as Sharon said earlier this week has been totally nuts. Today is the eighth of the eighth of the eighth and the island is overun with couples getting married - the wedding planners are near to nervous breakdown, the priest is exhausted and all the brides look lovely! Gladys and Jason are getting married in just 2 hours, I shall get some pictures up over the weekend. This wedding group is definately lots of fun, they had an impromptu beach party yesterday and were offering tamales to everyone walking past.



Here is last week's cocktail party. I failed miserably! I was so engrossed in talking with everyone and having a good time that I actually forgot my camera and only took a couple of shots, sorry guys!

These mini pizzas were so good, as I had spent 3 hours in the pool with Jessica and Sam I felt I deserved a couple! I even managed to get Sharon to have one (half a one actually)!

Everyone digging in
Tammy Arnold above back to visit with her brother in law on her left here for the first time and seeing first hand what they waffle on about each year!

One of the Porter family below on the LHS, here for their second cocktail party but we banned them from doing the quiz as they had all the answers from last week. Back to sunny England for them soon but they promise to return now that their daughter is a certified diver! They are here on an exchange from Portugal through RCI which I somehow feel will never be the same again now that they have experienced the caribbean.

Lifes a beach!!! TGIF

Wow another Friday comes at us like a bolt of lightening, I swear it was Monday just yesterday. We haven't even blogged the cocktail party for this week yet and our guests are up away tomorrow. We have the lovely Arnold family back with us along with the Gladous group who have been all over Belize this week as usual, they will need a holiday to recover!
I was stuck for a picture but happened to come across this one of me and the four legged ones on our favourite beach right at Banyan Bay. They had been to pampered paws so smelling lovely enough to get close to. This picture was pre the health drive hence a bit more of me, Cindy and I have decided to publish photos next week and details of where we have lost the odd pound or two. For the many people out there who have been where we are right now they will know that it seems to leave the places we don't want it to, if only we could redistribute our padding to where we want it life would be a bowl of strawberries! Happy Friday and have a great weekend to all our followers from near and far!

Ummm busy bees in Pedro's Inn?

Ok like I said last week was a crazy busy one but we did manage to fit in our usual Pedro pizza night with our owners at Banyan Bay. Here we have Barbara Lauzon with her friend Susan and of course the one and only JD being blessed with such beauties either side of him. I am not sure why Barb has that look on her face and may have to ask JD if he had just shocked them with one of his many hilarious stories!

Now it was Walter's turn to have a picture with the ladies and show just how photogenic he is, that hair has not been cut for over 15 years and is right down to his bottom! By the way the bottles behind everyone are empty Jagermeister ones and not olive oil as someone once thought and yes JD and Pedro are proud to admit that they are responsible for the vast majority of them over a three year period though! the hangovers the next day, usually on a Saturday tell the whole picture but it always seems such a good idea at the time! I can be very self-righteous now as there is very little chance of a hangover for me right now!

Busy bees in paradise!! Losing weight!!!

I received an email yesterday from one of my RCI owners here at Banyan Bay telling me off for not blogging for a few days. I apologise for our lack of info this past couple of weeks.
I for one have not had internet at home recently therefore have not being able to blog in the wee hours of the morning as I was doing. Also we have been super busy at work with weddings, the Betex tradeshow and just generally dealing with the goings on at the resort. Some stories will be blogged others are X rated!
I now have Internet again and things have calmed down this week so we hope to be back to regular postings.
I have been asked how the healthy regime is going and I am thrilled to say that I have now lost about 15lbs and Cindy about 7lbs. We are both on target to our weight loss and have lost a few inches here and there. I have not had a drop of alcohol in over four weeks which is quite a challenge here in San Pedro I can tell you. So we are full steam ahead and having people follow us is an incentive in itself. We have inspired a few others on the island to join in so good luck to you guys.
We will be blogging later on today some recent pictures of what has been going on at the resort and San Pedro so watch out for them. Thank you for following the blog and showing such an interest in us and San Pedro, Belize.

Sabotage from Cindy and Marie!!

Sharon started this post and I found it! She only wrote the title so the only thing I can think of is that she wants to lay the blame for her GAINING weight this week on Marie and myself. I think she's trying to say that my fantastic bacon butties and Marie's superbe smoothies that she stuffed her face with are responsible for her teeny tiny 200g gain. RUBBISH. I know this is rubbish as I also fell off the wagon this weekend with 4 glasses of white wine on Friday night (oooooooooo my poor head on Saturday morning), 2 bacon butties on Sunday and about 6 beers during the SAGA fundraiser! Unlike Sharon, I lost 500kg.

In the wise words of Einstein: "Nernenernenerner"