I have a serious case of the lazies......I have never not had a job before so I always have relied on the structure of the work day to kick me into gear and so now, with me not working (well outside of the home anyway!!) I am finding that getting myself into a productive state before 10 is becoming a challenge! Don't get me wrong, I am not complaining....at all!! I actually kind of like it, (ok I really like it) but I am a little concerned that when I one day return to the real world I am going to be in serious trouble (Hey Mary Lou, can I start work at 10?) So most mornings now I get up at 630, get the kids ready for school, lunches packed, clothes out, teeth brushed, you know the drill.....then I shove Joe and the kids out the door at 7:20......then I go in and stretch out on my bed for a few minutes and think about just how lazy I might be today! I usually spend a half hour or so catching up on emails, facebook and reading the deaths.....errrr....the Guardian....(gotta stay current with what's happening on the PEI homefront!....nosy freakin' islander!) After that, I usually very slowly go about cleaning the house......I do this every day for about an hour in the morning and it never ceases to amaze me that it is just as messy and dirty each time I go to do it? It is some strange phenomenon worthy of an x-files episode! Laundry, dishes, sweeping, dusting, tidying, making beds etc....there is a never ending pile of things to do! Then I get dressed and ready for the day (which usually consists of pulling my hair back into a clip or pony tail and putting on clothes instead of wandering around in my pj's) Some days I put on a little make-up...others I just go au natural.....it is funny.....most of us SOS girls here have shown each other what we used to look like pre-Saba.....nice, classy, professional looking chicks....and we always react with a "wow, you looked awesome"......did you notice the past tense.."looked"......nowadays we are all just hanging around with our pony tailed hair and not a tack of make-up.....it is liberating and scary all at the same time!! One day for fun I put on my make-up and went down into the town and every person that I met that I knew said "wow you look really nice today" or "wow you are glowing today" (I think to myself, that is not a glow, that is the magical transforming power of clinique......) Anyway it is pretty funny.....so back to my non-working topic.....I am trying to get myself motivated to at least get out and exercise each morning...I keep saying that I am going to go out for a walk (which in Saba is actually a climb since everything is a hill) I have gone a few times and come back all sticky and sweaty....see that is the trouble with exercise.....the sticky and sweaty part.,....yuck......I mean it is bad enough that my hair is in a pony tail and I have no make-up on but sticky and sweaty too?? So I have recruited a few friends who are also experiencing symptoms of this serious illness (L.A.S......short for Lazy Ass Syndrome....Melissa coined that one!) and we are now going to try to motivate each other to get out there!
So all talk of laziness aside......my afternoons are quite busy with the kids (my own and usually at least 2-3 more) And of course I am also copresident of the SOS so we have lots of events and planning etc......and Joe and I are in charge of the music ministry at our church so that involves some work as well. And today I start co-facilitating a 6 week parenting course.....I am excited to be doing this but also feeling a little like my brain has been on vacation and so I am not sure how exactly it will perform! I was speaking with the supervisor/coordinator of the agency that has contracted with me to do this course and she advised me yesterday that they are likely going to be looking at hiring a pt social worker 20 hours a week......so that may be an option for me.....it is goiong to be tough decision to give up my mornings though.....
So what else is going on you ask?
Well, we have had a good week on Saba.......the beach is wonderful right now so we have had supper with friends down there 3 times last week! The water is so lovely and warm.....the waves are a little daunting by times, but I am getting used to it.....we have had a park day with the SOS and that was fun and another one coming up this week. Also an SOS cooking class next week, where Heather, a new SOS from Louisiana is going to teach us all to cook authentic Gumbo! And we have a few women from India who are going to give us a class as well next month....we are planning a wine tasting evening.....and maybe a day trip to St Maarten for just us ladies, so lots of neat and interesting upcoming events......there are some really nice ladies in the SOS so I am feeling like I am making some great friends here......Christian is of course doing fine, having a wonderful time in Saba.....Monty is doing better now that he has 2 really good friends to hang out with......school is still a bit rough for him but we are taking it day by day...and he is counting down until we go home for the summer......Joe is studying....thats pretty much it for Joe.....he emerges once in a while from his study, but for the most part he has his head down in the books....semester 2 and 3 are notoriously difficult for students....4 and 5 become a little more manageable again.....so I will see him in about 8 months or so!! ha ha.......Oh, our ginuea pig had babies! 2 sweet little babies......they are adorable and the kids have been so excited! The pigs bring us so much enjoyment....really they do......they squeak and whistle when we come out (hoping for treats of course), we carry them around and cuddle with them, they are really alot of fun.....I highly recommend every family have 2 (maybe not 5 like we do right now!) They are cute and fun little critters....Joe is slowly warming up to them.....he says that he doesn't like them, but he often comes in to tell me that my pigs are calling to me, they must need something etc......they are definitely a great addition to our family!
Oh and it never ceases to amaze me what a small world we live in.....recently I found out that my next door neighbor Lynn rents her guest house out to students and there is a student there named Susan....so I finally meet Susan and her husband Ian.....and if you can believe it....Susan is from PEI, Cornwall! And her husband Ian is from Alberta! Red Deer ,which is where Joe grew up.....so it is so wierd....our neighbors are a couple from PEI/Alberta all the way down here in Saba.....anyway we had a wonderful chat with them and they are a super nice couple....Ian is just here for a few months as he is at the U of T working on his Masters.....so I was struck with what a small world this is....I mean what are the chances of that???
Anyway I guess that I better go enter the housework phase of my morning, then get cleaned up and pull my hair into a pony tail to get started on the day! Hope that you are all well....I am really looking forward to seeing you all this summer!! Until then....God Bless, Love Dawn.
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
Saturday, May 16, 2009
Home home on the range......
Well folks, it is official, I booked the kids and I tickets to come home for the summer......I am really excited....Monty really needs to touch base with friends and family. So Joe and I sat down and talked about it and he is chin deep in biochem, genetics, epidimiology and physiology and is going to have to study study study, so we decided that the kids and I may as well go home and enjoy the summer with friends and family.....so I am excited and happy to go...but also sad to leave my Joey behind.....we will be arriving in Halifax at midnight on june 23 and staying probably until the end of August....haven't decided on return ticket yet!! I am going to go to movies, walmart (oh sweet walmart), the kids are going to play soccer, we are going to the beach, we are just going to enjoy every minute and make the most of our time.......yippee......
I saw this on another friends blog and although I modified it a bit, it really speaks to what I have learned in my time so far on Saba:
1. not to take Wal-mart, Superstore, Shopper's Drug Mart, Sears, Canadian Tire etc for granted. For anything besides the bare basics, we have to travel to the next island over for, or have it shipped from the U.S. (which equals expensive and takes forever!)
2. how inexpensively we eat in the U.S. and Canada. Food is at least 1.5 times the cost here.....and we have so little variety here.....
3. That most days I have 3 types of currency in my wallet (US, Canadian and now Dutch Guilders). The exchange on American equals 1.8 Guilders and the Canadian money on any given day is about 20 cents on the American dollar so I have no clue how much money I carry anymore.....(my friend Amanda has it all figured out!!)
4. to think twice before using any water. We rely on rain water for everything, so conservation is a must! (when it is yellow, let it mellow....)
5. what the meaning of humidity really is. Your clothes grow mold if you don't wear them often enough. Your laundry stinks if you don't get it in the dryer quick enough....and zippers corrode off of things constantly.....dont bother zipping up that sweater!
6.how much it means to have good friends and family close by! I have met some wonderful people here but we are all pretty transient and know our time together is limited......
7. what it is like to wake up to the sound of wild goats and roosters roaming your yard.
8. That I absolutely love sunshine and it makes me happy! I also love warm weather.....and winter is an unfortunate event that the rest of the world has to endure!
9. That cars really can climb steep steep hills when they are filled with people.
10. How privelaged we are in Canada to have a washer and dryer....many people here don't have them because they use so much water or have a saba washer which is more water efficient but very labor intensive....alot of my friends here wash by hand....I am sooooo thankful to have a washer and dryer!
11. How much I love the phone (and how cut off from the world I feel when I am unable to use it as much as I want due to cost.....) I am getting vonage very soon.....
12. That I rely on the internet ALOT to keep me connected to friends back home and I may need to enter internet anonymous upon my return!
13. And finally.....that I am a true Island girl.....I read the guardian every morning, especially the deaths (you do it too, I know you do!) and that no matter how far I roam, I long for my home.
Take care friends and talk to you all soon!
Love Dawn
I saw this on another friends blog and although I modified it a bit, it really speaks to what I have learned in my time so far on Saba:
1. not to take Wal-mart, Superstore, Shopper's Drug Mart, Sears, Canadian Tire etc for granted. For anything besides the bare basics, we have to travel to the next island over for, or have it shipped from the U.S. (which equals expensive and takes forever!)
2. how inexpensively we eat in the U.S. and Canada. Food is at least 1.5 times the cost here.....and we have so little variety here.....
3. That most days I have 3 types of currency in my wallet (US, Canadian and now Dutch Guilders). The exchange on American equals 1.8 Guilders and the Canadian money on any given day is about 20 cents on the American dollar so I have no clue how much money I carry anymore.....(my friend Amanda has it all figured out!!)
4. to think twice before using any water. We rely on rain water for everything, so conservation is a must! (when it is yellow, let it mellow....)
5. what the meaning of humidity really is. Your clothes grow mold if you don't wear them often enough. Your laundry stinks if you don't get it in the dryer quick enough....and zippers corrode off of things constantly.....dont bother zipping up that sweater!
6.how much it means to have good friends and family close by! I have met some wonderful people here but we are all pretty transient and know our time together is limited......
7. what it is like to wake up to the sound of wild goats and roosters roaming your yard.
8. That I absolutely love sunshine and it makes me happy! I also love warm weather.....and winter is an unfortunate event that the rest of the world has to endure!
9. That cars really can climb steep steep hills when they are filled with people.
10. How privelaged we are in Canada to have a washer and dryer....many people here don't have them because they use so much water or have a saba washer which is more water efficient but very labor intensive....alot of my friends here wash by hand....I am sooooo thankful to have a washer and dryer!
11. How much I love the phone (and how cut off from the world I feel when I am unable to use it as much as I want due to cost.....) I am getting vonage very soon.....
12. That I rely on the internet ALOT to keep me connected to friends back home and I may need to enter internet anonymous upon my return!
13. And finally.....that I am a true Island girl.....I read the guardian every morning, especially the deaths (you do it too, I know you do!) and that no matter how far I roam, I long for my home.
Take care friends and talk to you all soon!
Love Dawn
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
A few pics from our trip.......
Christian and I at Le Galion BeachThe landing at Maho Beach....so cool!
Joe and Monty checking out sea life at sunset
Taking off from Saba....a thrill every time!
When MacDonalds reminds you of home......
Hello friends! It has been awhile since I have written.....it feels like everyone in my house has been on holidays for a very long time....and with the kids at home, it is hard to find time to write my blog.....so they returned to school yesterday and Joe started Semester 2 today (good luck Joey!) so here I am finally, alone, in the quiet (oh the sweet sound of silence) staring out my bedroom patio door into the beautiful sunshine.....and I thought.....great, now I have time to sit and write and catch all of you up on the news on our little island......
Things are going well....Joe has had a break between semesters, off for 2 weeks and it was so nice to have him around every day! We decided to take the kids out of school and over to st Maarten for 5 days. And we had such a wonderful time over there.....everyone should go to St Maarten for a vacation! What an awesome place.....We went over on the plane with Win air and I had never taken off from Saba before so it was quite the experience! You get in this teeny tiny plane and you look out the front window (because they don't close the cockpit door here so we sit up front for the "view") and all you see is this tiny strip of pavement.....a few hundred feet in front of you and then a cliff that drops to the sea below....and you think Holy Hannah....we are going to die today! So I prayed....hard....that God would ensure that this little plane left the ground when it was supposed to do so that we didn't plunge into the Caribbean Sea below.....so off we go and I am watching the edge of the runway get closer and closer and I think.....ahhhhhhh.....and then up and away we go.....right from the edge of the runway.....phew! The flight is only 15oo feet above the water so you can see boats under you and waves etc....it is quite cool....then 12 minutes later there is St Maarten and we see Maho Beach and the teeny tiny runway there......we landed safe and sound (Thanks be to God!) Off we went on our adventure! We got our rental car and headed towards our hotel....and Christian looked out the window and saw MacDonalds while Monty looked out and saw Subway and people....I tell you....it sounded like Santa was standing there in the street, the squealing and excitement coming from the back seat.....they begged to go eat at MacDonalds and Subway so we said oh sure, why not....we had a light lunch an hour ago.....so we stop at Subway first and Monty gets his usual chicken breast sub and he gulps it down exclaiming with every bite "how good this is, I havent had a sub in months....mmmmmm....sub..." . Then we head to MacDonalds where Christian decides that nuggets and fries are in order.....so we place the order....then we drive up to the window.....then they open the window....and whammo! the smell of MacDonalds comes rushing in to your car......mmmmm.....the sweet sweet smell of MickeyD's floods the senses.....and I had forgotten how good it smells....it doesn't matter where you go in the world...MacDonalds is a consistent! the smell was so grand that I had to have some fries.....and a chocolate milkshake......so then you had Monty in the back going mmmmm......Subway and Christian and I in our seats going.....mmmmm.....MacDonalds......it reminded us of home sweet home and all the fast food and convenience ......ahhhh....it was sweet I tell ya! Now I never in a million years thought that I would miss MacDonalds restaurant....no way hosee....but when that beautiful odor came wafting in my window....I realized what I had been missing for these months......and every fry was mouthwatering....so yummy! Now we love our little island but there is not one franchise here in Saba.....nothing to remind you of home.....everything is small unique little businesses, which has its charm for sure.....but sometimes you just gotta have MacDonalds and Subway!!
So we had a wonderful trip, we went to Maho Beach where the airplanes fly over as the runway is right beside the beach....and those planes are only about 40-100 feet above the beach when they are approaching landing....very cool....we have a few great pics on facebook.....we went to Le Galion on the french side of St Martin,very beautiful beach.....alot of topless people so of course Monty's mouth was hanging open most of the time (Joe's probably was too when I wasnt looking!) So of course had to explain to Monty about how this is perfectly acceptable in many places/cultures....he thought that is was an excellent thing to do......then of course came the questions about why I wasn't topless when so many others were...was I afraid? Didn't I believe in it? etc etc....darn 10 year olds and their inquiry minds.....We went to Kimsha beach which was also beautiful and we ate at the little beachside bar....where we had the most unbelievable delicious chicken sates that anyone ever ate in the history of the world!! We went to the butterfly farm, which was amazing.....and learned tons about butterflies.....and the zoo where you can feed almost all of the animals.....the kids loved it! And the movies......oh sweet mother.....the movie theater with its tantalizing smells of popcorn and crap......yummy.....we saw Hannah Montana the movie and all 4 of us absolutely loved it.....it is a great family film, lots of music and very funny but a great story.....I highly recommend you to go check it out.....we laughed all the way out of the theater saying "did we really just watch Hannah Montana and we all loved it??"There is no theater or movies in Saba so this was an awesome treat......Our 5 days finally came to an end and we came back to our little island where Joe did some more scuba diving and we all went fishing and swimming down at the harbor......We had a BBQ with friends on Sunday afternoon and that was awesome......we have met some really nice people here......so our holiday was wonderful and we had a much needed family time......now it is back to reality and the boys went back to school yesterday (after basically 2 full weeks off) begging please mom just one more day at home! and Joe went back to school today......Semester 2.....biochemistry, physiology, epidimiology, genetics and hyperbaric medicine.....ick.....and I am back to my wonderful mornings off.......the sun is shining out there and I can hear my pigs whistling for their breakfast....so I guess that I better go! Oh and we found homes for 2 of our guinea pigs so we are down to 3 (2 of whom are pregnant) so I suspect that we will be right back of up to 5+ in no time! Never a dull moment in Saba.....so take care friends, have a wonderful week and I will talk to you again soon. God Bless.
Things are going well....Joe has had a break between semesters, off for 2 weeks and it was so nice to have him around every day! We decided to take the kids out of school and over to st Maarten for 5 days. And we had such a wonderful time over there.....everyone should go to St Maarten for a vacation! What an awesome place.....We went over on the plane with Win air and I had never taken off from Saba before so it was quite the experience! You get in this teeny tiny plane and you look out the front window (because they don't close the cockpit door here so we sit up front for the "view") and all you see is this tiny strip of pavement.....a few hundred feet in front of you and then a cliff that drops to the sea below....and you think Holy Hannah....we are going to die today! So I prayed....hard....that God would ensure that this little plane left the ground when it was supposed to do so that we didn't plunge into the Caribbean Sea below.....so off we go and I am watching the edge of the runway get closer and closer and I think.....ahhhhhhh.....and then up and away we go.....right from the edge of the runway.....phew! The flight is only 15oo feet above the water so you can see boats under you and waves etc....it is quite cool....then 12 minutes later there is St Maarten and we see Maho Beach and the teeny tiny runway there......we landed safe and sound (Thanks be to God!) Off we went on our adventure! We got our rental car and headed towards our hotel....and Christian looked out the window and saw MacDonalds while Monty looked out and saw Subway and people....I tell you....it sounded like Santa was standing there in the street, the squealing and excitement coming from the back seat.....they begged to go eat at MacDonalds and Subway so we said oh sure, why not....we had a light lunch an hour ago.....so we stop at Subway first and Monty gets his usual chicken breast sub and he gulps it down exclaiming with every bite "how good this is, I havent had a sub in months....mmmmmm....sub..." . Then we head to MacDonalds where Christian decides that nuggets and fries are in order.....so we place the order....then we drive up to the window.....then they open the window....and whammo! the smell of MacDonalds comes rushing in to your car......mmmmm.....the sweet sweet smell of MickeyD's floods the senses.....and I had forgotten how good it smells....it doesn't matter where you go in the world...MacDonalds is a consistent! the smell was so grand that I had to have some fries.....and a chocolate milkshake......so then you had Monty in the back going mmmmm......Subway and Christian and I in our seats going.....mmmmm.....MacDonalds......it reminded us of home sweet home and all the fast food and convenience ......ahhhh....it was sweet I tell ya! Now I never in a million years thought that I would miss MacDonalds restaurant....no way hosee....but when that beautiful odor came wafting in my window....I realized what I had been missing for these months......and every fry was mouthwatering....so yummy! Now we love our little island but there is not one franchise here in Saba.....nothing to remind you of home.....everything is small unique little businesses, which has its charm for sure.....but sometimes you just gotta have MacDonalds and Subway!!
So we had a wonderful trip, we went to Maho Beach where the airplanes fly over as the runway is right beside the beach....and those planes are only about 40-100 feet above the beach when they are approaching landing....very cool....we have a few great pics on facebook.....we went to Le Galion on the french side of St Martin,very beautiful beach.....alot of topless people so of course Monty's mouth was hanging open most of the time (Joe's probably was too when I wasnt looking!) So of course had to explain to Monty about how this is perfectly acceptable in many places/cultures....he thought that is was an excellent thing to do......then of course came the questions about why I wasn't topless when so many others were...was I afraid? Didn't I believe in it? etc etc....darn 10 year olds and their inquiry minds.....We went to Kimsha beach which was also beautiful and we ate at the little beachside bar....where we had the most unbelievable delicious chicken sates that anyone ever ate in the history of the world!! We went to the butterfly farm, which was amazing.....and learned tons about butterflies.....and the zoo where you can feed almost all of the animals.....the kids loved it! And the movies......oh sweet mother.....the movie theater with its tantalizing smells of popcorn and crap......yummy.....we saw Hannah Montana the movie and all 4 of us absolutely loved it.....it is a great family film, lots of music and very funny but a great story.....I highly recommend you to go check it out.....we laughed all the way out of the theater saying "did we really just watch Hannah Montana and we all loved it??"There is no theater or movies in Saba so this was an awesome treat......Our 5 days finally came to an end and we came back to our little island where Joe did some more scuba diving and we all went fishing and swimming down at the harbor......We had a BBQ with friends on Sunday afternoon and that was awesome......we have met some really nice people here......so our holiday was wonderful and we had a much needed family time......now it is back to reality and the boys went back to school yesterday (after basically 2 full weeks off) begging please mom just one more day at home! and Joe went back to school today......Semester 2.....biochemistry, physiology, epidimiology, genetics and hyperbaric medicine.....ick.....and I am back to my wonderful mornings off.......the sun is shining out there and I can hear my pigs whistling for their breakfast....so I guess that I better go! Oh and we found homes for 2 of our guinea pigs so we are down to 3 (2 of whom are pregnant) so I suspect that we will be right back of up to 5+ in no time! Never a dull moment in Saba.....so take care friends, have a wonderful week and I will talk to you again soon. God Bless.
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