... and I've got a good tan.
Seriously: (1) where has the time gone and (2) am I really that tan? I've had so many people comment on my tan - a local at the Post Office, a woman from Dominica at the office supply store, a friend I ran into at K-Mart, some guys at the Lost Dog (comparing arm to arm, after they have lived here 30 years), the owners at Polly's, Kirby's comment about my "gleaming" teeth the other night at dinner. Ironically, as I was typing this, I received an email from a friend back home who I'll see Memorial Day weekend. His comment, "I'm going to go out on a limb and wager that you'll be four times as tan as any of the rest of us." I mean I know I'm tan (okay, I will admit that I looked exceptionally dark last night in a yellow dress), but I don't feel any tanner than I usually get in the summertime back home. And considering there is no difference between summer and winter down here, I have been surprised by all the comments. I'm not complaining - I just hope I can maintain this tan all summer in NC!
Still hard to believe I celebrated my 6 month anniversary down here on Monday (ironically after Lisa and Jeff and Kirby and Andy celebrated their one year anniversaries Saturday and Sunday). Just trying to relax a little, while still getting things ready for my move home (which of course as much as I would like to chill out, there is always stress involved in any type of move). As much as I talk about it, I don't think leaving this place and moving home have really hit me yet. I do have to be thankful that things are falling into place nicely. I'm moving into Shelby's for the first three months, and she is picking me up from the airport - she is also the one who dropped me off, so it's like my journey will have come full circle. I already ordered my mattress and bedding to have delivered to her place (I guess I could officially say "our place") the day I fly back. I was able to sell my jeep here (tear!), but the convenience of selling it for my asking price (along with the seller taking care of all of the title/registration/insurance changes as well as letting me keep it until next week) outweighed the cost of shipping it home (especially since I will be in need of a working top come wintertime). So as seamless as the move down here went, I am hoping the move back goes just as smooth. Of course my next big decision is what color will my new Jeep be???
Apr 20, 2011
Apr 17, 2011
Food Coma
When I heard about the Taste of St Croix, I was immediately interested - simply stated, I love food. Unfortunately tickets were expensive, and none of my friends planned on going. Then the week before, Kirby and Andy ended up with tickets thanks to Kirby's mom standing in line for hours (I also didn't realize that tickets were so limited and could only be purchased in person first come first serve - of course the event sold out that day). I was even more bummed that I didn't have a ticket finding out that the Taste of St Croix was "Named number one on the Ten Best International Food and Wine Festivals by Forbes Travel!" Uptown Life, March 2010. How could I miss something like this?!?
I put a note out on Facebook to see if any of my island friends knew of any extra tickets. A big thanks to my friend Juli for getting a few leads, then an even bigger thanks to my friend Tim (and owner of best fine dining establishment on the island) for the last minute ticket hook-up!
The Taste did not disappoint and was so much more than I had anticipated. Long story short, I have already told my brother (and fellow "foodie") that I would absolutely plan a vacation around attending this event in the future. I have very rarely felt more miserably and disgustingly full - but it was all worth it. Next time I just need to be more planful of my food eating strategies!
I put a note out on Facebook to see if any of my island friends knew of any extra tickets. A big thanks to my friend Juli for getting a few leads, then an even bigger thanks to my friend Tim (and owner of best fine dining establishment on the island) for the last minute ticket hook-up!
The Taste did not disappoint and was so much more than I had anticipated. Long story short, I have already told my brother (and fellow "foodie") that I would absolutely plan a vacation around attending this event in the future. I have very rarely felt more miserably and disgustingly full - but it was all worth it. Next time I just need to be more planful of my food eating strategies!
"Little G Monee"
It's a good thing I'm not afraid of geckos.
I am deathly afraid of snakes though, and one of the perks of living in the Virgin Islands ... no snakes! I remember my time in St Thomas and St John in 2006 learning that mongoose were brought to the VIs to rid the islands of all the snakes. The same is true of St Croix, and I couldn't be happier!
Of course now I face moving back to North Carolina - home of way too many snakes!!! When my friends Steph and Wali were here (Steph's fear of spiders rivals my fear of snakes), we were discussing the idea of taking home a pet mongoose to protect me from snakes. Steph and Wali are also some of my friends who affectionately nicknamed me G-Money (aka G$), so when they called my potential pet "Little Monee", it immediately and fittingly turned into "Little G Monee".
I am deathly afraid of snakes though, and one of the perks of living in the Virgin Islands ... no snakes! I remember my time in St Thomas and St John in 2006 learning that mongoose were brought to the VIs to rid the islands of all the snakes. The same is true of St Croix, and I couldn't be happier!
Of course now I face moving back to North Carolina - home of way too many snakes!!! When my friends Steph and Wali were here (Steph's fear of spiders rivals my fear of snakes), we were discussing the idea of taking home a pet mongoose to protect me from snakes. Steph and Wali are also some of my friends who affectionately nicknamed me G-Money (aka G$), so when they called my potential pet "Little Monee", it immediately and fittingly turned into "Little G Monee".
I'm a Green Flash?
Today started in typical Sunday Funday fashion (mostly asking myself why I haven't been doing this EVERY weekend!). I woke up early and dropped off some of my last goodies at Polly's, then walked around Frederiksted doing some final souvenir shopping as it was a cruiseship day. I ended up talking to three of my best girlfriends from home - two while I was sitting on a park bench enjoying the scenery and beautiful weather, the third while I had just settled in at the beach. All three of whom I am super excited about seeing when I get home ... but after each conversation, I also started to tear up. As anxious as I am to get home, every passing day makes me realize how sad I am about leaving. I have loved it here - the good, bad, and ugly. I will look back on this experience with nothing but gratefulness that I had the opportunity to experience living in St Croix - not just for the amazing views and warm weather, but even more so for the incredible friends I have made along the way. I am not looking forward to leaving any of this behind!
My friend Bruno stumbled onto the beach this afternoon while I was hanging out with Jeff and Christi. He took a moment to say some of the sweetest, most endearing compliments I have ever received (including his comparison of me to a green flash). I'm tearing up again just writing this and thinking about how thankful I am to have met so many amazing people that will always make me look back on my time in St Croix with nothing but fondness. I am truly blessed by the people in my life - both near and far.
My friend Bruno stumbled onto the beach this afternoon while I was hanging out with Jeff and Christi. He took a moment to say some of the sweetest, most endearing compliments I have ever received (including his comparison of me to a green flash). I'm tearing up again just writing this and thinking about how thankful I am to have met so many amazing people that will always make me look back on my time in St Croix with nothing but fondness. I am truly blessed by the people in my life - both near and far.
Apr 11, 2011
Positive Is How I Live
...reads the bumper sticker I just bought as a souvenir. I have seen it all over the island - on people's cars, windows, t-shirts, etc. It is actually the campaign slogan for Senator Terrence "Positive" Nelson, but also serves as a great saying for life in "paradise".
I decided tonight after work that it felt like a hammock night ... so I packed up my stuff and walked down to Sandcastles. On my walk, I saw one of the bumper stickers and it made me smile. It will be a great reminder of St Croix, as well as a motto to learn to live by no matter where the location or what the situation!
I decided tonight after work that it felt like a hammock night ... so I packed up my stuff and walked down to Sandcastles. On my walk, I saw one of the bumper stickers and it made me smile. It will be a great reminder of St Croix, as well as a motto to learn to live by no matter where the location or what the situation!
Apr 10, 2011
A Great Place to Be
Literally and figuratively.
First - here I've been spending the past six months living in the Caribbean, during the winter no less. Although I've had my share of ups and downs, I can't say enough about how much I have loved St Croix and everything about it. My amazing friends, the warm weather, incredible views, a laid back pace of life - all things I will miss and take with me in my fond memories of my time here.
Second - it's a great feeling knowing that I'm going back not because I want to leave this beautiful place, but just because I know where home is and this experience was an important lesson in learning that. Had I spent any less time here, I think I would have left with a lot of "what if's" and a restlessness that I wasn't ready to go. The past two months have provided me exactly what I was looking for. As much as I love it here, time away from home has really made me miss it. I've been able to put a lot of priorities in check ... and all signs point to going back. Of course we'll see how long that feeling lasts before I'm wanting to come back to St Croix =)
In the spirit of being ready to go home, I somehow misplaced my bucket list this week. Ironic that I was just telling a friend that I had crossed off all the "must do's" and truly felt that I have accomplished what I set out to do on this journey. I even felt so complete that I started looking into a trip to another island for one of my last weekends. When I moved down here, I assumed I would be hopping all around the islands. Though it's hard to justify a vacation in the Caribbean when you already live there! At least I have learned a lot about many of the other islands, so I have a nice list of new places to visit someday. I will save my Caribbean vacations for when I'm living back home and really in need of an island getaway!
First - here I've been spending the past six months living in the Caribbean, during the winter no less. Although I've had my share of ups and downs, I can't say enough about how much I have loved St Croix and everything about it. My amazing friends, the warm weather, incredible views, a laid back pace of life - all things I will miss and take with me in my fond memories of my time here.
Second - it's a great feeling knowing that I'm going back not because I want to leave this beautiful place, but just because I know where home is and this experience was an important lesson in learning that. Had I spent any less time here, I think I would have left with a lot of "what if's" and a restlessness that I wasn't ready to go. The past two months have provided me exactly what I was looking for. As much as I love it here, time away from home has really made me miss it. I've been able to put a lot of priorities in check ... and all signs point to going back. Of course we'll see how long that feeling lasts before I'm wanting to come back to St Croix =)
In the spirit of being ready to go home, I somehow misplaced my bucket list this week. Ironic that I was just telling a friend that I had crossed off all the "must do's" and truly felt that I have accomplished what I set out to do on this journey. I even felt so complete that I started looking into a trip to another island for one of my last weekends. When I moved down here, I assumed I would be hopping all around the islands. Though it's hard to justify a vacation in the Caribbean when you already live there! At least I have learned a lot about many of the other islands, so I have a nice list of new places to visit someday. I will save my Caribbean vacations for when I'm living back home and really in need of an island getaway!
Apr 5, 2011
More Days Like This
Well, not today specifically ... or yesterday ... or especially last Monday for that matter. But the last two weekends have been exactly what I anticipated my entire journey being like ... relaxing!
Two weeks ago, I enjoyed an almost perfect weekend - nothing but beach, bars, and basketball. We started out the weekend with an impromptu belated birthday celebration for Andy at Rowdy Joe's (of course we chose RJ's for our Friday Night Dinner Club since they would be playing the Carolina game). Saturday I spent all day hanging out with Lisa, then Jeff met us at the beach, then the three of us watched more basketball and ended up at Rowdy Joe's again. Sunday might have been one of my favorite days here. I had a very productive yet relaxing morning - watched my church sermon, did yoga, talked to friends on the phone, ate Rowdy Joe's leftovers (3 meals from there in 3 days is quite ideal!), then spent the rest of the day hanging out with friends going back and forth between the beach and the basketball games. Now that was a true Sunday funday! (And note, the weekend would have been perfect had the Tarheels won - but an impressive run to make it to the Elite 8!)
This week my friend Pam visited. She came bearing gifts ... most notably a new laptop since mine had crashed earlier in the week! She enjoyed hanging out at the beach while I caught up on work (and I wish we would have taken a picture today - she definitely won the "almost as tan as Jen" award!). Pam was also up for helping me cross a few things off my bucket list - first of all, we went paddleboarding! Very cool and fun ... but LOTS harder than it looks! We were both exhausted by the time we made it back to shore - it was quite a workout! Saturday we didn't quite make it to the beach as planned, but got to see many parts of the island I hadn't yet explored, including Monks Baths and Estate Mount Washington (former sugar plantation). It was an absolutely gorgeous day and perfect for picture taking. And who would have guessed that evening that I would have been surrounded by some of my best friends on island who just happened to be Indianapolis natives and VCU alum - a perfect mix for watching the Butler/VCU game! Only to be followed up by appetizers and dessert from Rowdy Joe's ... and they must have known I had another peanut butter lover visiting, as we polished off the PB reeses pieces ice cream! Then Sunday was another ideal day at the beach - I left wondering why I haven't done that EVERY Sunday and what the heck I've been doing for the past 5 months, since it sure hasn't been that - which is quite unfortunate!!
Of course in the middle of those two great weekends, life still happens - dealing with crashed harddrives, car accidents, doctors visits, flight delays, etc. - unfortunately all the same unpleasantries that happen anywhere else. But the key is being able to enjoy the good times and making the most of them!
Two weeks ago, I enjoyed an almost perfect weekend - nothing but beach, bars, and basketball. We started out the weekend with an impromptu belated birthday celebration for Andy at Rowdy Joe's (of course we chose RJ's for our Friday Night Dinner Club since they would be playing the Carolina game). Saturday I spent all day hanging out with Lisa, then Jeff met us at the beach, then the three of us watched more basketball and ended up at Rowdy Joe's again. Sunday might have been one of my favorite days here. I had a very productive yet relaxing morning - watched my church sermon, did yoga, talked to friends on the phone, ate Rowdy Joe's leftovers (3 meals from there in 3 days is quite ideal!), then spent the rest of the day hanging out with friends going back and forth between the beach and the basketball games. Now that was a true Sunday funday! (And note, the weekend would have been perfect had the Tarheels won - but an impressive run to make it to the Elite 8!)
This week my friend Pam visited. She came bearing gifts ... most notably a new laptop since mine had crashed earlier in the week! She enjoyed hanging out at the beach while I caught up on work (and I wish we would have taken a picture today - she definitely won the "almost as tan as Jen" award!). Pam was also up for helping me cross a few things off my bucket list - first of all, we went paddleboarding! Very cool and fun ... but LOTS harder than it looks! We were both exhausted by the time we made it back to shore - it was quite a workout! Saturday we didn't quite make it to the beach as planned, but got to see many parts of the island I hadn't yet explored, including Monks Baths and Estate Mount Washington (former sugar plantation). It was an absolutely gorgeous day and perfect for picture taking. And who would have guessed that evening that I would have been surrounded by some of my best friends on island who just happened to be Indianapolis natives and VCU alum - a perfect mix for watching the Butler/VCU game! Only to be followed up by appetizers and dessert from Rowdy Joe's ... and they must have known I had another peanut butter lover visiting, as we polished off the PB reeses pieces ice cream! Then Sunday was another ideal day at the beach - I left wondering why I haven't done that EVERY Sunday and what the heck I've been doing for the past 5 months, since it sure hasn't been that - which is quite unfortunate!!
Of course in the middle of those two great weekends, life still happens - dealing with crashed harddrives, car accidents, doctors visits, flight delays, etc. - unfortunately all the same unpleasantries that happen anywhere else. But the key is being able to enjoy the good times and making the most of them!
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