Cherry, Cherry

Product Review

About a month ago, a rep from Cheribundi contacted me to review their juices. I was more than happy to oblige, and she sent me 4 bottles of cherry juice to try.

This is what I received:
Two regular, one lower calorie and one with protein.

This all-natural juice is cherry intense! I like intense flavors, and the tart cherry just bowled me over. It has the consistency of pomegranate juice, yet has a more powerful flavor. I never drank an entire 8 ounce bottle in one sitting, maybe I would drink just half of it or mix it in with lemonade or limeade. The "Tru Cherry" and "Skinny Cherry" versions would probably make good bar mixers for a cherry martini, cherry mimosa or just mixed with soda water and a lime wedge for a refreshing non-alcoholic spritzer.

Cheribuni offered three versions. The "Whey Cherry" has 8 grams of protein, but I'm allergic to whey protein. I was able to taste it without any major consequences, but Hubs drank the rest of it. He must have liked it because it went down fast. The added protein made the juice a little thicker, but not by much. The "Skinny Cherry" version was a little milder in flavor, and is only 90 calories, compared to the 130 calories of the "Tru Cherry." The "Tru Cherry" was true cherry, in your face, knock your socks off flavor.

I would purchase Cheribundi on my own, as I really do like the extreme cherry flavor, but I would experiment mixing it with other fruit juices or drinks, or recipes, such as some sort of marinades, sauces or syrups.*

PS...
It's good for you, too, packed with antioxidants and is a great source of potassium.

Yesterday's Song:
Through My Eyes - Phil Collins

PEACE

*Ooooh, cherry syrup over waffles... Must . Have . Waffles.

Come Away With Me

IXTAPA/ZIHUANTANEJO, MEXICO, WEDDING TRIP/MINI VACATION, NUMERO UNO

I really wanted to get this entire trip recap in one blog post, but I made the mistake of using my husband's camera for most of the trip. He took the camera to work. GAH!

For some weird reason we couldn't get flights from San Diego into Mexico. Most of the flights went north to either Los Angeles, San Francisco, or even Phoenix, Az and Seattle, Wa. Really. San Diego is a border town. It seemed ridiculous to drive 2 hours to Los Angeles, so we opted for a short 20 minute drive to a friend's house, then another short 15 minute drive across the border to fly out of Tijuana. Easy. Smooth flights, little to no turbulence, no problems. No pilots slacking on laptops overshooting the destination...

We had one short layover in Mexico City. We had no time to leave the airport or explore the city, but the airport was ginormous. It reminded me of a Legos building...

Benito Juarez International Airport

Arriving at the little Ixtapa airport, greeted by the tropical foliage and 90+ degrees and humid weather, was the beginning of vacation mode.

"Toto, I don't think we're in Kansas anymore..."

We took a taxi to Las Brisas Hotel. Each room has a view of the ocean. Here's a shot looking out to the patio of our room . I would have slept in that patio hammock all night if it weren't for the insects, iguanas, coati and other unusual jungle critters...

¡Cómo es escénico!

At our first evening at the hotel, we joined the parents of the groom at the hotel lobby lounge for happy hour.

Consumición de los cacahuetes en la barra de hotel.

Happy hour offered two drinks for the price of one, but they'd bring out the two drinks at one time. These margaritas were loaded, made from scratch, and not the syrupy sweet mixes you get in the states at chain restaurants. These were wicked.

¡Aclamaciones! My Spanish speaking skills were MUY BUENO after these.

What is it that they say about good intentions? I had intended to run, either at the hotel gym or somewhere, but after a few times up and down this set of stairs at the hotel, I figured I was good to go. My GPS didn't pick up a signal at all and it was too hot and humid to wear socks and shoes. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

Stairway to heaven... or at least the hotel lobby.

Sure, we were there for a wedding and to visit with people, but we also spent a lot of time doing this:

My husband is one of those dots out in the water. Yes, I did join him to body surf every time we went out.

We bought Gatorade while there, in Ixtapa, thinking that it was the standard yellow lemon/lime flavor. Little did we know it was mango flavored until we had a swig of it and THEN read the label.

¿Mango? ¿Quién sabía?

Más a seguir...

Last Wednesday's song:
Mexico - James Taylor - Pat's Running Blog - Nine Oh Nine

PEACE