22. Visit 50 of the locations in Northern and Central America in the books 'Frommers 500 places to see before the disappear' and 'Rough Guides: 1000 Ultimate Travel Experiences: Make to most of your time on Earth' (1&2/50) - Cozumel, Mexico

Now wasn't this just THE best trip ever for knocking off 101's?? Four 101's in a matter of days?? Awesome!

Number 661 of 1001 the most ultimate travel experiences (at least according to the Rough Guide) is 'Diving at Palancar Reef'... well we definitely did our fair share of this during our 5 days in Cozumel.. in fact, the only diving we did was on the Palancar reef.. and what an experience!! Imagine sitting on a boat... the variegated blues and greens of the Caribbean stretching towards the pearly luminous white sands of the Yucatan coast, hiding below its surface, a five kilometre stretch of some of the worlds riches coral beds, teeming with animal life and crystal clear visibility that stretches on forever and ever... paradise!!

673 of the most ultimate travel experiences (once again if asking the Rough Guide) is 'taking a dip in the Yucatan's cenotes' All I can seriously say here is WOW! What an amazing experience!! Diving into a freshwater cavern is nothing short of life changing, well at least for a scuba diver, and I think I now have one very hooked husband... teehehe... Gearing up, waddling down hand cut stairs to the cavern opening, and finding yourself in a cathedral like space full of turquoise water and dappled sunlight is simply breathtaking... and that's before you take the plunge and descend into the eerily haunting and ghostly caverns... a once in a lifetime opportunity... one that has opened my eyes to the opportunities within scuba!!

30. Visit 5 countries other than the US and Australia (3/5) - Mexico

Work was driving me crazy... incidents a plenty, stressed out of my mind, beginning to feel like I was sinking... and then along came a holiday... Praise the Lord!! Five glorious days in Mexico with nothing more to do than drink, eat, soak up the sun, spend copious amounts of time scuba diving and of course spend some quality, non stressed out time with my husband... Does life get any better?? Aaahhh Cozumel... your crystal clear waters, balmy evenings and friendly people stole my heart... I can't wait to return some day soon!

20. Scuba dive at 5 different locations around the world (2/5) - Mexico

We just spent five glorious days diving the Yucatan Peninsula at Cozumel and Playa Del Carmen!!

Managing to find decently priced flights in January for the Memorial Day long weekend at the end of May I had a chat to Paul about how desperate I would be for a holiday by that point and we decided to give my sanity a break and go for it! Of course the next hard part was finding a decent place to stay, however the Fiesta Americana Cozumel Dive Resort seemed like a no brainer as we'd been impressed by her sister resort in Cancun AND because I'd managed to find an awesome deal on a tropical casita for 4 nights for about $400... so that was that - we packed our dive gear into one big heavy bag, threw a swim suit and a couple of changes of clothes into a carry on and away we went to dive, soak up the sun, drink cocktails and just generally unwind and recharge.

Diving Cozumel was breathtaking... simply gorgeous - we completed four dives while on the island, all on the Planacar Reef system - with visibility extending beyond 100 feet below the surface and coral formations and critters aplenty it was one of the best experiences of my life and I got to dive Nitrox for the first time in my life.

What took the cake however, was the last day when we jumped on the ferry across to Playa Del Carmen to dive a couple of Cenotes.... what an experience!! Cenotes are underwater sinkholes, or surface connections to freshwater caverns or cave systems and can be recreationally dived in Mexico - literally you are cavern diving... what a rush!!

Paul and Fabio, our dive master, checking out the entrance to Chac Mool - our first foray into the amazing world of cavern diving and Mexican Cenotes. 

The entrance to Kukulcan Cenote - our second dive for the day

Kukulcan Cenote

Following a dive master through the pitch blackness whilst sucking down air from a tank on your back, using a crazy frog kick technique so you dont silt up the small passages, swimming through helioclines trying to see your way through the haze (a crazy layer of water where fresh and salt water come together but dont mix - a shimmery mix similar to oil and water), looking up through the darkness into the beautiful but eery green light that filters through the cavern - it was one of the most unique and amazing and completely indescribable experiences of my life!! All I can say is thank goodness I'm not claustrophobic! 

Packing up the gear after an amazing experience 

For anyone interested, I highly recommend Bahia Divers in Playa - small groups, intimate service, knowledgeable, professional and passionate staff. 

49. My two words of the week that is almost over.... ooops!

My two new words for this week are both diving related in honour of me finally completing my Scuba Diving Nitrox or EAN (Enriched Air Nitrox) certification just in time for our trip to Mexico at the end of the month... Bring on Cozumel!!

Nitrox

'A breathing gas which has a higher concentration of oxygen thank normal air. The level of oxygen in Nitrox is between 21% and 40%. Divers breath Nitrox so that their bodies absorb less nitrogen which increases no decompression times and reduces the risk of decompression sickness.'

   V.E.N.T.I.D

' The acronym Nitrox divers use to remember the signs of oxygen toxicity - Vision, Ears, Nausea, Twitching, Irritability, Dizziness. Oxygen toxicity is a real risk when diving with EAN (resulting in convulsions and unconsciousness) and divers must ensure they do not exceed their maximum depth or partial pressures for the individual mixture they are diving.'

As a quick side note, I'm changing the requirements for this particular task on my 101 challenge... realistically two new words every single week is just a little too hard to achieve, soooo I accept defeat and will be learning AND using two new words every fortnight instead from the first week in June... hopefully this way I can make the words a little more relevant to my every day life and actually USE them!! 

44. Learn how to cook 10 traditional American dishes (2.5/10) - Meat Loaf a la Drill Site Manager (DSM)

A couple of weeks ago I headed south... very south, to a town called Laredo, right on the Texas / Mexican border to shadow our most senior Drill Site Manager on site and learn as much as I possibly could about drilling operations. While there I got more than I bargained for... Every night while out on site the DSM cooked dinner for me... grilled steak and twice baked potatoes on night, meatloaf and mashed potato the next and finally burritos.. delish, who knew DSM's could be such wonderful cooks?!? However the real standout was the deliciously spicy and tomatoey meatloaf - my first taste ever of this very traditional American dish. Well I couldn't help but ask for the recipe so I could give it a go myself once back at home... 

On site with Chevron at H&P 227 in Liz field, Laredo, Texas

I'm only accepting this as a half credit as technically the recipe calls for 'cheating' by using a packet spice mix (don't get me wrong, I love packet mixes... but i want to learn how to make recipes from scratch, with ingredients that I could, realistically expect to be able to come across almost anywhere and therefore be able to make the dish whether in the States, Australia, Indonesia, Nigeria... anywhere our oily expat life could take us)

The not so traditional spice packet from McCormicks

Therefore I am going to try and make this dish again from scratch, with a different recipe, but I loved the unique story behind this dish soooo much and it was such a tasty meal, that I just had to blog about it... besides meatloaf is sooo stereotypically American that I'm sure to give this another try at some point without the help from McCormicks!!

The 'Official' ingredients for DSM Meatloaf

Ingredients: 

2  pounds minced meat

1  packet McCormick Meat Loaf Seasoning Mix

2  eggs, lightly beaten

1/2 cup milk

1/2 cup bread crumbs

1/2 cup ketchup 

1  jalapeno, diced and de-seeded 

1  onion, diced

2 teaspoons garlic

1 small can tomato sauce / paste

1/2 cup medium picante sauce (salsa)

a dash of Tabasco sauce

Directions: 

Mix the McCormick Meat Loaf Seasoning Mix, mince, beaten eggs, milk, bread crumbs, jalapeno, onion and garlic in a large bowl, until well blended.

The ingredients, mixed and ready to go into the cake tin

Place meat mixture into a 9x5 load pan, ensuring that it is packed into the pan tightly, top with ketchup, tomato sauce and picante sauce (add Tabasco if desired)

Ready for the Oven

Bake in 375 degree Fahrenheit over for approximately an hour or until cooked through. Serve with mashed potato and buttered green beans for a truly authentic DSM meat loaf experience.

The finished product, minus the mashed potato 

I must admit it wasn't as good as the one I had on site but still for something so simple and easy it was pretty damn delicious... now I completely understand why its such a staple meal for hardworking mothers and wives in the States... little prep time, few ingredients, hard to overcook... and tasty!! 

91. Read and Review 100 Books (16/100) Dead in the Family - Charlaine Harris

'Even with the blood of two vampires in her system, Sookie is having trouble healing from the terrible torture she endured at the hands of her great-grandfather's enemies during the brief but deadly Fae War. Worse are the emotional wounds - especially over the loss of her own personal fairy godmother and the near death of her first love.

Sookie is hurt and she's mad. Just about the only bright spot in her life - besides the fact that she is, after all, still alive - is the love she thinks she feels for vampire Eric Northman, who is under scrutiny by the new vampire king because of their relationship.

As the political implications of the shifters' coming out are beginning to be felt, Sookie's connection to one particular Were draws her into the dangerous debate. And, unknown to her, though the doors to Faery have been closed, there are still some fae on the human side - and one of them is angry at Sookie. Very, very angry.'

Do you know what I hate?? I mean really really hate... I hate waiting months and months on pins and needles for the next installment in a series that I absolutely adore only to find that when its released, its nothing more than, well, blah... Seriously Ms Harris... in my own humble opinion, there is better fanfiction out there!! Stories written but amateur authors, who better capture the passion, angst and lust between your creations, Sookie and Eric and that relationship... is the whole reason I got hooked in the first place!! 

To sum it all up without giving anything away for those of you that will read this book.. my main issues: 100 pages of 'recap' or back story in a 350 page book (yes I understand it must be accessible to new readers, but really?!?!?), too many new characters who just simply aren't developed beyond anything more than 'filler', a complete 180 in personality for our protagonist and her Viking vampire/man candy AND a thin plot that jumps from here to there and in the end leaves you thinking that this book was nothing more than set up for the next. GRR - This book just left me feeling cold and used... Yes, I'm still invested and yes, I will still purchase the next book in the series BUT I'm not as in love with Sookie and Eric as I was before this book, like I was which for me, is kinda shocking... hope you get it right next time Ms Harris, otherwise it might be time to let this series come to an end... :( 

49. My two words of the week

Boy, I'm getting slack with my words of the week aren't I?? Seems like I'm always posting at the end of the week - perhaps two words a week is a little too ambitious?? Ahh who am I kidding?? I know its overly ambitious.. after all I hardly my words of the week out and about in my daily travels.. maybe its time to admit defeat and make it two or four words a month?? Would that be a little easier to commit too?? I dunno.... but here are my two new words...

vamoose

  \va-MOOS\ , verb;

1.

To leave hurriedly or quickly; decamp.

2.

To leave hurriedly or quickly from; decamp from.

AND

eristic

  \e-RIS-tik\ , adjective;

1.

Pertaining to controversy or disputation; controversial.

2.

Of argument for the sole purpose of winning, regardless of the reason.

noun:

1.

Argument for the sole purpose of winning, regardless of the reason.

2.

The art of disputation.