Finally...pictures of our new house!

We are still working on the finishing touches to the house like landscaping, paving, hanging up pictures, etc. But apart from that we are done!!!! We never thought this day would actually come ; )

So anyway, this is one of the entrances. It's the one we use when we move between the Dome and the house & as you can see everything is starting to grow up nicely around it.

Our open-plan kitchen. You can't see the breakfast bar in this picture though. I have to say, I really love this kitchen. It's cozy, made of local mahogany (recycled from our old cabinets) and finished with Mexican tiles. By the way, the river views from the window by the sink are amazing. It makes washing up almost fun!

Our Mexican tiles...

The living room, with its bay windows and DVD shelves. As you can see, one of the local boys is in the picture. Our house has become the community's playground, with children running in and out all day.

The living room goes straight into the dining area and to the left of this picture is the breakfast bar and open-plan kitchen.

This is our family deck. It's a great place to hang out with the kids. We spend a lot of time out there. The views are incredible.

Although not as incredible as the views from the deck on the top floor. The top floor is made especially for our friends and family, with its own bathroom and private deck. Our pampered guests will have the best views in the house (yes, that's the river you see there)

That's it so far. I'll post more pictures some other time.

Investment in the Cayo district of Belize!!! Riverfront property for sale!

My thoughts on the Educo gym

It seems that a fair amount of people come to my blog by Google-ing 'Educo gym' and 'does Educo gym work?'

Well, let me just share my opinion on it then with a list of what I like about the Educo gym system and a list of what I don't like and then you can make up your own mind.

What I like:

1. It is a fast work-out (2o minutes per session)
2. You always are accompanied by a personal trainer
3. It kick-starts you into eating better and exercising with their 12-day program. During these first 12 days you work out every day and you are put on a special diet.
4. It is a nice looking, fully AC-ed gym (most other gyms I have seen in Belize are not particularly flash and most have no AC!!!!)
5. They offer personal support, a diet plan and nutritional supplements
6. I believe that the system works well for those wanting to lose weight and/or adding muscle mass

What I don't like:

1. Their work-out routine and diet is too rigid.
2. They offer no real cardio exercises. By doing the resistance training at a fast pace you are told that you are doing a cardio work-out. Personally, am not convinced that resistance training alone can offer this.
3. The system seems build on a 'one size fits all' policy. In my opinion there should be more variety and people's own input should be encouraged and listened to. Also, not enough attention seems to given to pre-existing conditions and injuries.
4. Because of the short intense work-out time, there is no warm-up or cool-down period and no stretching. One of the trainers told me that by extending each muscle fully in between each power move you are getting all the stretching you need. Again, I disagree with that statement.

All in all, I'm sure that the system suits some people down to the ground. I'm just not one of those people. I want more variety when working out & less emphasis on all this body building stuff. I have bought dance and yoga DVDs and am working out by myself again here at the Belize Jungle Dome : (

I've been meaning to upload these for ages

Andy has helped me figure out why I haven't been able to upload any photos for a while, the files were simply too large.

So anyway, here are some pictures of what's been happening here in last few weeks

First up, the kids getting ready for the Independence day parade. Several took Banana Bank horses along.

11-year-olds probably should not yet be left in charge of toddlers. Proof of that is this next picture of little Henry. Jessica made a right mess of him (it did make us all giggle though)

I've finished my 12-day introductory program at the new gym in Belmopan. I had to go and work out at the gym for 20 minutes every day & follow a diet. I didn't stick to the diet too well as I didn't really want to diet whilst I'm nursing. So anyway, I'm not sure that I got the full effect of it all, but that's okay with me. It's just nice to have gyms (yes, there are two now) in Belmopan.

And finally, John's living room has become rather crowded with this pool table in it. But he likes it!

The Belmopan social scene

One of the hardest things about living in Belize (and Belmopan especially) has been the lack of a social life. It has always been hard to meet other women here. I mean, you see a lot of the same faces in town, but you hardly ever have a chance of meeting them. There are no fun little coffee shops to hang out in or nice bars, restaurants or clubs to go to. So where to meet each other?

The solution: An International Women's Group. I know, it sounds a bit crap, but it has been the best thing ever! It started about a month and a half ago & I believe that we already have about 40 or 50 members. It's great, because now when I see other women in town, I actually know them (it does mean that every little thing I do in town now takes twice as long, as I'm so busy chatting ; )

Anyway, it's a very vibrant group of women and lots of stuff is being set up by the group. For instance, water aerobic classes twice a week. I went yesterday and it was one of the best thing I've done in Belize for a long time. It was so much fun. The setting is heavenly, the women are all having a blast and...best of all...we end the morning with eating cake! Isn't that a wonderful contradiction?

Oh, and I have been given the title Second Vice President of the Women's Group. Which sounds very official, but all it means it that I'm in charge of organizing daytrips (weekday trips for women only and weekend daytrips for all the family), plus I will be the Poker instructor and host the first Poker night.

By the way, for those of you who'd like to read about other people's experiences in Belize, go check out the blogs of our dear friends Maya & Colette. They have settled on San Pedro and are living the beachy kind of lifestyle. So quite different again from ours. Their blogs are really funny. Have a read: http://exploringbelize.spaces.live.com/ & their animal shelter blog: http://nursemelly.blogspot.com/