follow the trail...

Dear Trail Mix:

I’m not sure what took us 29 years to get acquainted… but I’m so glad we finally met. You came into my life at such a perfect time... you’ve been by my side a lot lately and I know you’re never more than a block away. I know your cousin, the granola bar, will get over it soon… I mean, how could I choose him over you… when he was clearly all wrapped up in himself. You offer me so much, you let me spice it up, sweeten it up, and you don’t mind when I don’t put the nuts in my mouth. I have a feeling we’ll have a very long-term relationship… as long as you stay sweet.

Love, Kristen

what does 'vagabond' mean anyway?

i'm determined to make my friend, Janae's, blog go viral.

why? well currently, because she is having a contest... and i want to win. i'm very competitive... and i don't really have anything else to do. (well, i guess i could write a real blog.... but, i'd rather do this....)

oh, and, about a year ago i told her she needed to make her blog public so she could become famous so i could be her agent. after reading her last two posts from this week.... i'm pretty sure we still have a shot at stardom. i can't wait to start partying with the Kardashians!! woohoo!

so why would you want to follow janae's blog? click on it and find out.

http://vagabondmother.blogspot.com/

she's got years and years of older posts if you're interested.... or just start up now.... i'm sure any day now she'll be writing about how her entire family is becoming Vegan, or leaving the Mormon church to become monks, or learning to speak Spanish just in case they decide to escape to Mexico.... (ha ha.... ANYTHING is possible with Janae!.... )

she's impulsive, free-spirited, fun.... and not embarrassed to document it. she's got all the qualities needed for a great blogger....

so follow her... you won't regret it.

oh and maybe one of these days i'll get around to blogging again too.... (a little encouragement might get me started...)

http://vagabondmother.blogspot.com/

bitter sweetness....

it finally hit me. i'm leaving this uncivilized, unaffordable, scary-ass island in 9 days. and i can't stop crying in sadness.

i'm gonna miss the 2 minute walk to the beach.
i'm gonna miss my living room bar.
i'm gonna miss the women at brody's daycare who saved my sanity by rescuing me from my own child a few hours each day.
i'm gonna miss kittitian indian food.
i'm gonna miss cheering on "Yea! Shawn's team" every friday afternoon at beach volleyball and sunday mornings during flag-football.
i'm gonna miss living in my dream home... aka: my one-bedroom apartment at the crackhouses.
i'm gonna miss using "my" key to calypso pool.
i'm gonna miss karaoke wednesdays.
i'm gonna miss getting hit on every time i go buy beer from the beer depot.
and i'm really gonna miss my friends who aren't joining me on my next adventure.

but there are a few things i'm not gonna miss...

potholes bigger than my car.
paying $20 for a pint of ice cream.
expired milk.
the kittitian police force.
VAT.
my outrageous electricity bill that the government recently decided to increase by 88%.
converting EC to US.
getting stuck behind "L" cars going 2mph and getting passed by taxi's driving 100mph.
sugar ants, cockroaches, and centipedes.
random, yet, regular electricity outages.
and last but not least... the kittitian customer service standard.

so there is a bit of bitter-sweetness mixed in my tears...

these last 16 months have been challenging to say the least- but they've also become some of the best months of my life.

as for brody... he has now spent more of his life in st. kitts than in his birth country. he learned to walk and talk here... well, if you count speaking kittitian (english slang). ha ha. he is a local celebrity here. the baby with the mo-hawk. the mascot of the team. catherine's sidekick. beau's buddy.

and shawn... don't let his knew vocabulary filled with words like... hypertrophic cardiomaglia... blah blah... hepato spleno... blah blah.... fool you. he's managed to have a pretty damn good time on this island too... all while completing his first two years of medical school.... YEA! Shawn!!

it's been real. really hard and really great. and we're really looking forward to our next destination: PORTLAND, MAINE!!

until then.....

meet diana...

there are a lot of words i could use to describe my neighbor diana...



newlywed

nice

canadian

wife of a medical student

innocent (she also calls this "sheltered")

fun

never without her camera

......


but the reason i'm introducing you to her is because she is....

consistent.


when i'm too lazy to update my blog.... you can count on her to let you know what is going on here in st. kitts....


here is the link to her blog....

http://andeediana.blogspot.com/

(seeing as diana was my only friend on the island that went to all four birthday celebrations for myself and shawn in the last two weeks... i know she'll be blogging about that soon. and don't worry... i will be blogging again someday... i'm just currently on a blog-break... until BLOGGER comes up with an easier and faster way to upload multiple photos!!!)


oh, and by the way, diana loves comments.... so comment away on her blog so she knows you were there!

Bon Appétit....

so a few days after our actual anniversary... we decided to celebrate it properly... we got all dressed up, got a babysitter, and spent a fortune on dinner. and it was worth every bite (and sip for that matter).

we went to the local french restaurant here in st. kitts...La Belle Vie... and it was amazing!

i've never had french food before... so i can't compare it to that... but as for friendly service on st. kitts... it is among the best. from the outside the restaurant looks like a regular home... but i was pleasantly surprised as i walked in the door to find an open door atmosphere with beautiful landscaping and lights. the experience got even better when i noticed the owner making his rounds to each table to explain the specials and take dinner orders. his french accent made the "atmosphere" even better... (i'm starting to sound like a food critic... so i'll get on with it already...)

i ordered the french onion soup for an appetizer... because duh, i was at a french restaurant. shawn ordered the salmon pâté... because he isn't allowed to order the same thing as me... just a rule i have.. in case i don't like what i ordered... then i can switch him... ha ha

for my entree...i got the pork filet mignon (which i didn't even know existed... and it was DELISH) literally my mouth is watering as i type this.

shawn got some other kind of meat... something from the shoulder?? can't remember what exactly... (obviously)... but i do know that he thought it was DELISH as well.

on the plate with our entree was a mixture of veggies, potatoes and sauces. it was sooo good.

and then we BOTH got dessert...of course. we got the crème brûlée and a puff pasty with fruit.... needless to say... i loved them BOTH.

and in between each course we had a glass of wine... of course (again). ha ha.
their house wine is a lot like Lambrusco... so if you like chilled, sweet reds... you'd like it and it's very affordable.

anyway... it isn't everyday that you get good food AND service on this island... so i thought it was definitely blog worthy... and i wish i wouldn't have waited until we only had a few months left on this island to try it out.... but hopefully by writing this... i'll convince a few of my St. Kitts friends to try it out!

and who knows... maybe this will be the start of my food critic career... i mean... i'm pretty good at giving my opinions.

Bon Appétit!

*unfortunately i was too busy scarfing food down my face to take my any pics... but... the website has a few if you want to check it out...

http://www.labellevie-stkitts.com/index.html

yuck or luck?

nothing like someone else's puke all over your front side... back side... in your hair... and on your feet.

brody threw up today... for the first time ever. lucky me was holding him while it happened.

thank God that Shawn was home to help clean Brody and the mess up... so i could clean myself up.

but i guess if he only gets "throw up" sick once every 19 months... i should be thanking my lucky stars. it could be a lot worse.

still... it was yuck.

yes, i'm rubbing it in...

another week in paradise.

filled with...


days at the beach

some studying



chilly, moon-lit nights at the seawall



a night out



a taco tuesday





tons of beau and brody time

an evening at shipwreck beach bar and grill

hanging out with wild monkeys









and last, but not least...

a 15 minute firework display in my backyard.

it doesn't get much better than this.

have i mentioned how much i LOVE life in St. Kitts??

word clouds...

in five months... i'll be back in the real world (aka: United States)....

which means i'll be job hunting soon.

so, i took a few hours (okay, minutes) to update my resume...

and i got extremely bored... and frustrated...

it brought back memories from a previous job where i spent day after day scanning resumes... literally SCANNING... (i know my former KV associates are laughing at this)

anyway... my resume needed something... color.. an emoticon... just something to make me stop yawning...

so i decided to turn it into a "word cloud".

(if you are not familiar with the phrase "word cloud"... don't worry... i wasn't either until recently when i learned about it from an episode of 'Weeds')

anyway... my "word cloud" resume might not get me any more interviews than my plain-jane black and white boring resume...

but it definitely makes me a more attractive candidate.

(click on the photo of my word cloud to make it bigger... it will also direct you to the site to make your own)

so, what does your "word cloud" say??

gobble gobble

"The best part of life is when your family becomes your friends, and your friends become your family."

We're very thankful this year to have so many new friends that have become family.

Thanksgiving celebration #1...



I'm not sure how this Thanksgiving celebration could have been any better...
oh wait, I do know, Sasha could have brought the Mac 'n' Cheese.
(haha... just kidding Sasha)
but seriously... an ocean view Thanksgiving dinner... with five courses...
and "presents" to occupy Brody for seven hours....
it was pretty much PERFECT!

first course: punch



second course: appetizers

the third and "main" course: turkey and sides











the fourth course: dessert



fifth and final course: wine




**i know you might be saying to yourself that punch and wine don't count as "courses"... but this isn't your blog... so you are wrong and i am right.

after dinner we gathered on the deck to get a group photo and share what we were thankful for.....

and no Thanksgiving dinner would be complete without a dip in the pool, right?

well that's what Brody thought... and apparently planned ahead for... because there was a swimsuit packed in his diaper bag and neither of his parents put it there.

other exciting events that took place during this Thanksgiving celebration consisted of...

suzett taking a photo of me...



while i took a photo of this...




a few games of "bop-it"

and a "who can gain the most weight during dinner challenge"

i'm not sure if shawn was the true "winner"... but he crowned himself King regardless.

luckily, he had 5 days to "digest" before our..

Thanksgiving celebration #2...



because that dinner.... might not have had five courses....

but it had five HUGE tables constantly being filled with food!

which is good... because Shawn and I estimated there were well over 100 people in attendance to this Thanksgiving dinner arranged by our friend's church group...

















the food was amazing... and we had a great time spending Thanksgiving with our friends...













Brody had a pretty good time with his friends too....



















Happy Thanksgiving!