My son, hubby and I went jet skiing in San Diego at Luxury Jet Ski at the Harbor.  I really love jet skiing.  It’s been a passion of mine since I first went in 2016.  Luxury Jet Ski purchases new jet skis every year so we were on 2020 skis.  While I love everything about jet skiing, what I don’t like is before you can get to where you can jet ski without speed limitations it takes you approximately 8-10 minutes to get to that point. The first part of your jet skiing experience is at 5 mph. The skis will not go any faster to prevent you from getting a ticket. I can accept that.  However, the jet ski company doesn’t really take this into account. They may tell you this at the beginning but then in the end, they are charging you an over the usage fee of $1.65 per minute.  While the cost is $80 per hour, you don’t really get a full hour of jet ski rental.  What you actually get is about 45 minutes and here is why.  You can go pretty far out into the harbor.  If you use your one hour and you are about 15 minutes away, then you are now over by 15 minutes.  Let’s not forget that additional 8-10 minutes its going to take you to get through the 5 mph zone.  For us, our $80 per hour rental ended up being $114.24 as we were charged the additional minutes.

After our jet skiing, we went back to the hotel to get cleaned up and changed so we could walk downtown and find dinner.  The sad thing about downtown San Diego right now is there isn’t a lot of places open, even for take out.  It’s definitely not the same experience before the pandemic. The homeless people and drug addicts have taken over and with no real security and or police down there to manage, restaurants are leery of opening.  We did manage to try and couple of places as we could order margaritas, tacos, cuban and thai food to go.   We did enjoy it but needless to say we didn’t stay too long but we did find some good food which we enjoyed at our hotel.

We stayed at the TownePlace Suites by Marriott which was downtown San Diego.   The rooms were nice.  A little cramped for four people but it was manageable.  They also had a full kitchen in there but I’m not sure I would have wanted to cook with the stove and the beds being so close to each other.  It just didn’t seem big enough or really sanitary.  What I loved most about the place was the robot.  If you wanted something from the snack area, a robot brought it to the door.  It was cute.  Also, the hotel is really nice and clean.  Unfortunately due to the pandemic, nothing was opened.  It was in a nice quiet area so we were able to walk around for a bit after hours. Also, there were quite a bit of food places and stores open if you wanted a late night beverage.  We were able to park on the street and save on parking.  I would definitely stay there again if it was just me and my husband.

On my quest to healthier eating, I have been doing some research on Vegan foods.  I have also been trying to open up my husband’s mind to the idea of trying to cut back on all the things that are unhealthy and focus on more foods that are healthy.  Yelp is definitely my best friend.  While reading the reviews, I stumbled across a restaurant called Madre Tierra.  It’s a 100% plant based Mexican restaurant, but not all the foods are Mexican dishes.  They have burgers which you can order at anytime and sushi (after 3 p.m.) just to name a few.

For starters, we had two different kinds of Fresca water which offers free refills and are only $2. Mine was pineapple and the hubby’s was cantaloupe.  It was really good and refreshing.  They did offer other drinks such as soda, beer, spirits and wine.  I was somewhat confused at those options but I felt in order to have the true experience, I opted for the Fresca pineapple water.  We also ordered the jalapeno poppers which were filled with cream cheese and vegan crab.  It was so light.  You could see the crab meat but it didn’t have that over powering fishy smell and or taste as a lot of seafood.  I was extremely surprised by how flavorful they were.

Next we moved on to the kids meal potato taquitos that came with a side of red rice. We also tried the loaded nachos with Jackfruit pollo.  We had a side of spicy salsa and a mild green salsa. The spicy salsa was really good but it was seriously hot!  I enjoyed the potato taquitos. I was surprised they were considered Vegan but I guess it’s only potatoes.  The loaded nachos were really good.  The sauce that is in the nachos is made by the restaurant.  I believe our waiter said it was made with cashews. While I did like the Jackfruit pollo, it was a little too much that came on the nachos.  It was a little over powering and I felt it took away from the flavor of the nachos.  Once we removed much of the Jackfruit, we were able to dig in and really enjoy the taste.  I think in the future, I would order the nachos without any meat.

The service is really good. Our waiter answered all of our questions and he was very honest and helpful.  I will definitely be going back as there are a few other items I would like to try.  The price was reasonable and for two people we, dined for less than $45, including tip.  If you are ever in the area, stop by and try Madre Tierra, you will not be disappointed.

Customized planner cover

Every year as the new year approaches, I am on a quest for a new planner.  Since I went back to school full time, I would purchase an academic calendar for school and then my normal At-a-Glance for work. I would be excited with my purchases. I couldn’t wait for classes to begin so I could print my syllabus and write all my assignments, due dates, tests and quizzes. I would bring my new At-a-Glance to work and begin writing in my meetings, interviewees, etc. All this excitement lasted for about a month.  Unfortunately, I bore very easily and with work, school  household stuff, family stuff and then planning just was too much for me.  Eventually, it fizzled out and I added two more used planners to my stash.

When 2019 came around, I was determined to find my creative side.  I decided to try crafting.  I went to Michaels and I stumbled across the Happy Planner.  What actually caught my attention was the colors on the covers and the variety of planners which ranged from mini to large. I decided to purchase the planner, some fillers and a couple of sticker books. When I came home, I immediately opened my goodies and began organizing my planner.  There was nothing about my new planner that wowed me and I was afraid within a month, I would add this planner to my pile of used planners.

A couple of days later, I searched for some Happy Planner groups on Facebook.  That was like opening Pandora’s Box.  I virtually began conversing with thousands of Happy Planner addicts. Not only were these women addicted to their Happy Planners but they are fricken creative and full of information.  They suggested certain Youtube channels for “newbies.” Which then led me to Instagram for the hashtag “beforethepen.”  They had all these new sticker books come out and I was going to Hobby Lobby and Michaels everyday.  It was absolutely insane.  I think for a minute I became obsessed. I even found someone on Etsy and purchased a customized cover.  Since she was rude I decided not to hyperlink her page but there are plenty of Etsy stores that customize covers.  In the end, I have found my happy place with my Happy Planner. It’s fun and very relaxing and when I find myself stressed with school, work, family or just life, I grab my box full of goodies and start planning away.

I am a true Crime Junkie fan and  I love their podcast.  While I was listening to one of their episodes, they spoke about a “If I go Missing File.”  I had never heard of that and thought it was a good idea.  I did a google search to see find out how to create one and I actually came across the one that Ashley and Brit created.  You can click on the link here and complete a short questionnaire and you will immediately be sent an email to download the file for yourself.  It’s 27 pages but obviously you can choose what you need to use.

I actually find this a great idea. With the way technology and the privacy laws are set up, if you go missing and no one can access your phone due to password protection, then no one has access to your last possible wearabouts.  I personally find this pretty scary.  The file also has a place for you to insert your fingerprints, what doctors you visit, credit card login and a wealth of other information to help law enforcement, family and friends in their search for you.

One reason why I find this so helpful is that you are giving permission for law enforcement to begin tracing your steps and searching for you without all the red tape involved.  Let’s be honest, by the time they can get a subpoena to go through your financial transactions, your abductor can have you somewhere in another country.  You obviously want to give someone you trust explicitly this information but I like the concept of this form.  Please look at it and pass it along.  You never know whose life you could be saving one day.