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Things are looking up ...

...which is good since things were a bit topsy turvey when we got here.  We just had a water softener installed.  That caused some problems with a leak (ongoing, but minor) and then, consquently, the courtyard flooded as a result when the water was turned back on.  So we had to get our property manager over here on a Sunday to help out.  She's awesome, I must say.  Other issues we've been dealing with include

• Broken dishwasher (now repaired)
• Broken water dispenser (newly purchased, now returned, awaiting a new one tomorrow)
• Beeping smoke alarm in Avery's room last night, so she had to sleep with us which went shockingly well.  I didn't even notice her in bed.  If she slept like that all the time, we wouldn't be so averse to the occasional co-sleeping stint.
• Internet and TV not hooked up (fixed, obviously)
• Moldly closet (ongoing in dealing with it - nothing too serious)

Avery and I went for a walk just now (see Casa de Trio post for more fascinating details on that walk).  She and D are now at the pool, giving me a bit of a break.  While we've been splitting child care pretty darn 50/50 over the last two weeks, I just had zero patience for her today.  The whining was killing me.  And the fact that she had to poop, but couldn't do her usual go to the potty, try, come back, try, go back, try.  Well, she could, but she needed our assistance and that wasn't fun just because I'm not used to having to be there for each attempt.

Plane Story

(Blogging this because Facebook statuses don't save forever and I want to remember this in the blog).  Best moment of our flight yesterday: Avery, sick of being belted into her car seat on the plane, deliberately hits me, then yells (loud enough for the people around us to hear): "I need a time out!" I was rather proud that she figured getting a time out was the best way to be placed elsewhere. Unfortunately, I just had to turn the other cheek and laugh.

Monitor

Way back before Loreto Bay (the company) went bankrupt, we outfitted our house with the ammenities required to be in the rental program.  That was a giant waste of money, but oh well, what's done is done.  As a result of this effort, though, we have flat screen TVs in the living room, downstairs bedroom, and upstairs bedroom.  We only watch TV in the living room. But we only have a little itty bitty mini-PC with us.  So, D bought a cable that allows us to use one of the flat screens as a computer monitor.  It works quite nicely! 

Tonight

We are planning to head into town for dinner.  Tomorrow our friends will hopefully be able to join us, but tonight, they're letting us use their car.  They even put D on their insurance as designated driver when they changed their policy, so that takes a load off our mind. 

Speaking of our friends, they started out with a village home like ours.  However, they wanted enough space for their kids & grandkids (they're in their 50's - had kids young) to come down and stay with them, so they needed more bedrooms.  They bought a custom lot and built a bigger house.  A MUCH bigger house.  We had a tour of it yesterday.  I now feel like we're living in squalor here!  Not really, of course, but it's a very nice house.   They also know all the places to buy various groceries, which will help us out since we have been buying from the largest and most expensive grocery store in town.  They have a circuit of about six places they hit.  Piecing together information down here is part of the challenge.  I don't revel in the challenge, but I accept that it's the way it is. 

Capris & Weight

I can now fit into one of my Lucy capris (meaning non-Ross, non-butt ugly)!  Woohoo!  They're a little snug still, but nothing unsightly and nothing uncomfortable. 

I think the hotel gym is still closed, though there were rumors it was to be re-opened this week.  Tomorrow I guess I'll have to bite the bullet and go jogging to get in a workout.  Ugh.  It's not too hot for jogging, though, so that is good.

Changes in Loreto Bay

The last time we were here, the company was still in existence.  It was on our last day of that trip when we got the email the company was bankrupt and construction would be halted immediately.  Progress has continued on the landscaping since that is maintained by the HOA fees we pay.  It's very nice in the areas around us. Areas that were still a bit of an eye sore have been landscaped and are pretty.  The golf course is also still in very good shape.  Not quite as good as it was from what our friend told us, but still good enough shape that it looks like a course you'd want to play.

There seem to be a lot more people living down here, or at least visiting.  There are more cars around and it definitely doesn't feel like a dead zone.  I was expecting that perhaps it would feel like a place that has gone bankrupt.  It probably does over in the Agua Viva section (those were houses in progress when the announcement came through), but in Founders', it's a good feeling.

We also have a grocery store within walking distance!  It's literally about a minute or two walk away.  It's a small one, but it's owned and run by an American family.  This is good because they know what we want and need.  It's a rather odd mixture of stuff carried, but it's all functional and useful.  And we can buy groceries in a pinch.  Today, for example, we realized we were completely out of laundry detergent.  Five minutes later, I'm home with a container of OxyClean.  Sweet!

There doesn't seem to be much damage remaining from the hurricane, at least not on the landscaping and common areas which I'd heard were hard hit. 

In summary, I can still see the possibility of this community, but it's a far cry from what we dreamed it would be when we bought here.  I think in twenty years, we'll have made a good investment.  Right now, I'm just thankful we didn't buy it as an investment, but rather as a place we wanted.