Dawn and Joe's excellent adventure!!

Just Listen! I don't want solutions....i want to grieve....

2010-08-23T10:45:00.000-07:00

Wow. This has been one of the most difficult and emotional months of my life......so much so that I have not been able to blog or really even talk about it.....packing up and leaving a place that you so loved and became your "home" was one of the hardest and most painful things that I have ever done and I hope not to repeat the experience soon.....I feel so blessed that I understand grief and loss so well thanks to my work....otherwise I'd seriously question my mental stability.....but I know what I am going through is normal when you suffer a major loss....and people, leaving Nevis was just that.....MAJOR LOSS.....

sometimes I feel like others dont understand where I am coming from .....my friend Stacey, from Louisiana, another med wife as we call ourselves.....told me that when she returned home people didnt really understand the loss that she was experiencing, the changes and the reverse culture shock.....so she has been a wonderful source of support and encouragement for me through this time......

I came across another med wives' blog today....and it was like I wrote it......I identified with it so much so I am going to copy it for you all to read:

"I've just come away from a very bad week. The kind that changes your life FOREVER (so you know its heavy stuff)
Sometimes life sucks.....BAD
I started crying on the job.....CRYING.....ME....HELLO.....the ultimate professional.....
What can I say ? I 've been out of sorts?
I've got no juice....nothing....nothing to write......
In an effort to help me, other people try to think of someone else they know whose situation is worse or turned out great, with a beautiful ending......or reminding me of the great things that I have......
Well let me tell you folks.....THIS DOESNT HELP.....
I'm not interested in comparing crappy situations, Im not interested in those feel good, turned out great in the end stories.....they dont make me feel better, I know people are just trying to help but seriously.....STOP it.
I just want to be heard by people who love me and care about me and then hear them say wow, that really does suck, I feel so bad for you.....and in some wierd twisted way, t his helps, this validates my feelings.....Im just a woman who wants to be heard.....I dont want the solutions just yet. The problem solving conversations aren't helping.........

I think this woman broke into my private thoughts and blogged them.......this is EXACTLY how I feel.....

So for all of you out there who are going to welcome us back home, back into your lives......please....don't start with the well you were so lucky to have that experience yadda yadda, isn't it great to be home crap......JUST LISTEN.......and pray......that God brings me through it with grace and dignity.

Enough said.

If I could save time in a bottle......the first thing that I'd like to do......

2010-07-24T22:45:00.001-07:00

..........Time. How come when we want time to hurry up, it slows down, but if we want it to slow down it speeds up to what feels like a breakneck speed? Ever watch a pot boil? sooooo slow.....but when you want time to slow down so that you can enjoy something, savor every second, it absolutely refuses to do so......I've been singing that old song, if I could save time in a bottle, the first thing that I'd like to do......I won't bore you with all the words....lol......I am very aware of time right now and it appears to be the dominant theme or thought in my head. I have less than 4 weeks in my Caribbean home and I really can't believe it. "Wasn't it just yesterday that we packed up and moved here? Where did 20 months go? I can't believe it is almost time to leave.....I'm so not ready. this little island has absolutely stolen my heart and while many of the other med wives are happy to head home, this med wife is not so much. It's not that I don't love my home in PEI, and it''s not that I am not excited to see friends, family, people that i care about......its that I am going to miss this little island, this weather, the wonderful people that I have grown to love, my horses, my lifestyle, sooooo much. I have already played the final day over and over in my head, the getting on that airplane and flying off to the other side of the world, watching Nevis get smaller and smaller beneath me until she is out of sight......sigh.....this is going to be much harder than I ever anticipated.
I have been busy getting things organized for moving so my apologies for not being a very faithful blogger. We are trying to really minimize so instead of the say 25 bags we usually travel with, we only have 4 or 5 max. It is awful to travel with an abundance of luggage, so we really want to come home with as little as possible. We will be leaveing behind clothes, toys, anything that we can live without or easily replace. We are leaving the evening of august 19th and heading over to St maarten for a few days to meet up with some of our saba friends, and our friends, Ronnie and Brett, from nevis (from England originally) Then on the 22nd we leave the Caribbean and head home. By the afternoon of the 23rd, we will be back on PEI soil, the Caribbean behind us....well some of us anyway. Joe will return to Nevis for one last semester while we get settled back home. It's going to be hard to be apart from Joe for so long but I know we will get through it, hopefully the fall will fly by as it always does (see theres that time theme again....lol) with kids getting settled in school, hockey starting, halloween, christmas preparations.
So as part of my preparation for getting myself in the mindset of leaving I have been making a list of the things I wont miss.....LOL.....so here goes:
1, the mosquitos....well all the bugs actually including the big ugly centipedes, the tarantulas, the ugly yellowy pink spiders that love to come in on my towels, the scorpions and the gnats.
2. The lack of good variety in groceries.....oh sweet superstore, I am going to just spend a few hours standing in your produce section, smelling and staring in awe at the wide variety of fruits and vegetables. The selection down here is quite minimal. There is plenty but sometimes it is strange produce that I don't recognize.
3. Being sweaty and sticky all the time. I take cold showers to cool off (well and to smell pretty again) and by the time I dry off, I am sweating again. And drying your hair with a hair dryer?? thats crazy talk, your hair is soaked with sweat by the time you are done! kind of defeats the purpose.
4. No shopping. There is no walmart, no department store of any kind and really no place to buy clothes and shoes.
5. Opening a cake mix and finding weevils.
6. Leaving a crumb of food out and 1 billion ants show up to celebrate.
I'm trying really hard to make a bigger list of things I won't miss, you know, to balance out the things I will miss list......but it's not working.....LOL
How about the things I will miss:
1. The natural beauty of this island. Its stunning, if you haven't been here, you need to come.
2. The weather, eternal sunshine and warmth. I love it.
3. My friends who have become so dear to me.......my karaoke palsl!
4. the sunrise
5. The sunset
6. The clear sky at night perfect for star gazing.
7. Oualie Beach
8 my horses, oh how i will pine for these creatures.
9 my house and pool.
10 The simple life.
oops , no balance there at all, I better stop, i need to go figure out a few more t hings that I won't miss....lol....
ok its late, I need to get to bed! So friends, less than 4 weeks and I'll be heading home. It will be nice to see you all.
Take care and God Bless.

Just another day in Paradise.......

2010-06-12T17:53:00.000-07:00

"Life should not be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in an attractive and well-preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, chocolate in one hand, martini in the other, body thoroughly used up, totally worn out, screaming "WOO HOO, What a ride!"

I love this quote.....
There are days when I question our sanity.......really and truly, how many people sell everything they own in their mid (ok, almost late) 30s, put the rest of their stuff in storage, give up great jobs and move to the Caribbean to study medicine, accumulating more debt than most families make in 5 years? But then that quote comes to mind......and I realize that while what we are doing is not the norm, may not be conventional, and is totally outside the box, in essence we are skidding in....screaming woo hoo what a ride the whole way......This caribbean adventure has been awesome and I wouldn't trade it for everything.....even if we had to give up everything we had to do it.....we have gained so much in return and had so many great adventures and we will have amazing memories that no one can take away (not even the bank if we can't repay all the loans....lol) I am so thankful and I feel so blessed that we got to do this......it ROCKS......

As you can see I am in a contemplative, thoughtful mood......you see I am entering a phase where I am very aware of time.....and that our time here is now coming to an end.....and I am starting to grieve, taking stock, looking ahead to the future and what that will bring, and staring behind at what I am leaving......there is so much going on in my head that I could never share it all in a million years! It dawned on me today as I was driving home from the barn that I want to remember EVERY thing, EVERY little tiny seemingly insignificant detail......I want to have the drive from the stable to my house burned into my brain, the potholes in the road, the flamboyant bushes on the side of the road, the palm trees with no tops by Coconut Grove that stand looking lonely, the swampy area in front of Cotton Ground that is so beautiful, the barn itself with its breathtaking view of Mount Nevis....I could go on and on and on......so over the next few months....I am really going to try to record everything I can, take pictures of everything I can, write down all of the details that I am sure to forget if I don't get them on paper.......

I am going to start by telling you right now a little bit about our everyday routine ....what we do day to day.....it might be abit boring for you, but for me, it is a record of my day to day life and how wonderful it is so that I never forget this time.......
My day starts at 545.....my alarm goes off, yuck and I roll over and think noooo, it can't be morning, but it is.....my little finch friend is outside my bedroom door singing away waiting for me to fill his dish......I quickly get into my workout clothes and throw my hair into a pony and out the door I go to meet my friend Jen at Oualie Beach......we head out for our hour long walk, where we admire all the beauty and peacefulness, we talk about life as "medwives" and we work up a good sweat. I get home at 7 and wake up the kids, and work on getting them ready for the day.....I make breakfast, lunches, pack bags, and chase 2 half asleep boys around the house, trying to find uniforms, and shorts and socks and where they left their shoes etc......Monty leaves the house with Joe at 7:30 because he has to catch the 8 AM ferry over to St Kitts. He attends SKI academy over there. Then I finish getting Christian ready, clean up the breakfast mess, feed the dogs and get myself ready. I drive Christian to school (they don't hvae school busses here) and then I head over to the barn. I wander around in the pasture for a bit, saying good morning to all of my horsies, giving them a treat and a little scratch, checking their shoes and the fencing.....and watching the monkeys steal all the mangos (buggers...lol) I lift 2 50 pound food bags up and pour into a wheelbarrow and then haul it around and get the horses fed.....I fill the water tubs, I feed the turtles and the chickens, then I figure out what needs to be done.....some days I have tourists to take out on the beach, other days I go riding with a friend, sometimes I just ride one or two horses in the paddock and make sure that they are getting a little schooling.....I am usually home from the barn by noonish, dirty and covered in sweat.....I shower and clean up and start work at home. I clean, do laundry (hang it out cause we have no dryer....) make beds, all that domestic stuff. I then usually go pay a bill, or get water at Nelson Springs (we only drink bottled water here.....) On tuesdays or wednesdays i go grocery shopping because that is when the ship comes in with fresh supplies and it is really the only good time to get milk and produce ...byt the weekend most stuff is picked over or gone......on thursdays I drive to the sea bridge and pick up my meat order from the meat man in st kitts......At 3 I am back on the road to christian's school to pick him up at 3:15.....I bring him home and he gets changed and we either go for a quick dip in the pool or hang out.....at 430 we hop in the car and go pick up Monty at the ferry terminal downtown......Then we head home, have supper, do homework, hang out and then everyone heads to bed....I usually watch a bit of TV.....Joe studies.....Tuesday nights the kids have soccer at the university. On Wednesday nights I often have an SOS activity, book club or desert night or cooking night....on thursday nights I have karaoke at Rumors Bar......weekends we usually have friends over to play with the kids or go to the beach.....sometimes my vet friends from St Kitts come over and we go riding.....Sunday afternoons Monty has sailing club so he goes sailing from 1-4, very fun....did you know that he can rig up his own little boat?? he sails a boat called a sunfish.....tiny little sailboat.....very cool......so as you can see I have a busy and full life....its a different busy from home...but still busy.
So that's it in a nutshell......it is a wonderful existence really, simple but sane and pretty relaxed.....I'm going to miss it like crazy.
I am going to try to put some of my favorite pics on my next post.....so stay tuned.....
Good night friends.

The road less travelled......

2010-06-11T11:25:00.000-07:00

TWO roads diverged in a yellow wood,

And sorry I could not travel both

And be one traveler, long I stood

And looked down one as far as I could

To where it bent in the undergrowth;
5

Then took the other, as just as fair,

And having perhaps the better claim,

Because it was grassy and wanted wear;

Though as for that the passing there

Had worn them really about the same,
10

And both that morning equally lay

In leaves no step had trodden black.

Oh, I kept the first for another day!

Yet knowing how way leads on to way,

I doubted if I should ever come back.
15

I shall be telling this with a sigh

Somewhere ages and ages hence:

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—

I took the one less traveled by,

And that has made all the difference

This has forever been one of my favorite poems......Most of you who know me well, know that I don't often take the "easy" route.....that I don't always follow the conventional path, that I like to go "against the grain" a little....it's just my personality......this poem has been in my head alot lately. We have alot going on in our household in paradise and I thought that I would share some of it with y ou.....at least get some of it down in writing while it is pressing to be released. So.....we have been struggling with a few decisions over the past month.....the two choices are 1) all of us to remain in Nevis until Joe is finished with his 5th semester (december) or 2) The kids and I move back to PEI after this semester (end of august) so that the kids can start the school year fresh. We have been back and forth and back and forth and then back and forth again trying to figure out what is best for us as a family......and we have finally come to a decision.......the boys and I will be returning home August 23......back to PEI......the main reason for this is that Monty is starting junior high and he really wanted to start with his peers and we wanted him to be able to have a smooth transition back to the educational system in Canada. Although he has learned many many valuable things here in the Caribbean, the education system hasn't always been on par so it has been a bit of a worry by times, especially with Monty. Over the last month, Monty has been strongly voicing that it is time for him to go "home" to be with his family, his friends, his school....he is ready to be a Canadian again, ready to play in the snow, ready to go to walmart, read to play hockey (he is a peewee now so will be checking and he is totally pumped about that....yikes) Christian has also jumped on the bandwagon and he wants to go home too....he misses his Nana, his puppies, Bernie and his friends. So with both of the kids feeling strongly about going home, Joe and I started talking about the pros and cons of this decision. I was quite opposed initially because well lets face it people, who wants to give up paradise??? not I said the fly.....I have absolutely enjoyed this adventure so much and I am so grateful that we had this experience.....I can't believe that 20 months has gone this quickly! So as you can imagine I have ALOT of emotions right now.....excitement to go home too, back to my country, my friends, family, my job, my choir (oh my blessed choir...sigh) my church family, all of the wonderful things that I know are waiting.......sadness, because I can't believe that I have to leave all of my friends here, my horses, the lifestyle, the weather, the beauty of the caribbean, the adventure.....it's going to be a big adjustment. We have all really enjoyed our time here...some of us more than others (right Joey?) LOL.....I am going to try to sum up our time here over the next few blog entries......so keep checking back :)
so I just basically wanted you to know that we are coming home.....soon......August 23 and we can't wait to see you all.
I have to run, I'll be back soon.
Love D

Time goes by so fast........

2010-05-13T13:11:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone,
I know that we throw around the expression "Time Flies" but I have to say that here in the Caribbean I am experiencing time flying at a very high speed.....and I'm not sure I like it! Joe has entered semester 4,.....did you hear me? Semester 4....of 5 ....which means that we only have less than 2 semesters left here in Nevis......I remember clearly packing in PEI in the dead of winter, the crazy trip to get down here, leaving my office, setting out on this journey that seemed like it would last a lifetime (it was 2 years) and now here we are, 17 months later!! 17 months!! Wow.....and in that time I have had so many new, interesting, fun, memory making, life changing experiences! And I hope that I have several more in the next 7 months.....I think if I were to choose the highlights they would be:
1. Completing my first triathalon! Just getting fit was a huge feat in itself, and I am so excited and proud of myself for doing it!
2. Participating in Nevis Karaoke Idol....(and placing in top 6 :) I met so many wonderful local people and had a blast!
3. Learning to snorkel and appreciate what is beneath the surface....I know I grew up on an island but I never appreciated the ocean as much as I have learned to while here....I guess having access to it 365 days a year instead of 21 or whatever makes a person more likely to spend time there.....lol
4. The friends that I have made....I can't even list them all here, but I have met people from all over the globe.....from Europe, Canada, US, Caribbean, Gyana, India, and much more.....I have met so may people who have touched my life in very interesting ways.....a few of them that I know I will stay in touch with for a lifetime.....
5. Learning to Relax, Enjoy Life, Minimize, stop and smell the roses......our pace of life in North America really is crazy.....and we often don't even realize it.....here in the Caribbean things are much slower and there is more time to really stop and enjoy each day and the blessings it brings.
6. I'm tanned!!!! For the first time in my life, I am a bronzy browny color.....and I love it!
7. Learning to co-exist with tarantulas all over my yard....lol.....they have holes EVERYWHERE...
8. Watching the kids become more globally aware, learn about different countries , different cultures, learn to speak Dutch, Spanish....making friends from all over the world!
9. Seeing the boys learn to absolutely love the ocean and become excellent swimmers!
10. Getting to horseback ride every day.......wow......on the beach even!
11. and most recently.....assisting in the release of 2 hawksbill turtles back to their natural habitat! (read on to hear more)

We had to say goodbye to a dear friend tht we made while here in Nevis. Her name is Barb and she was the marine biologist here on the island. She is a terrific person and she taught the kids in a Sea Stars program, She also taught me to snorkel, and I mean really snorkel, proper technique and all! So she often rescues marine animals and for the past 2 years she has been raising 2 tiny hatchling hawksbill turtles that had been abandoned during the hurricane 2 years ago, Tia and Seaweed......well this weekend she was getting ready to leave and it was time to release the turtles. She had the kids out withthe turtles in the ocean on harnesses for months, teaching them to swim in the ocean! Monty got to do this several times......anyway we happened to be on the beach when she was heading out so she invited Monty, Christian and I to help her.....of course we were THRILLED.....we went out in her zodiac boat with Tia and Seaweed on our laps and we drove to a nice quiet cove about a mile away from Oualie Beach (where they were housed) We let them go one by one into the water.....it was very emotional....Tia went first and she hung around the boat for a minute or two, kind of looking up as if to say "mom wheres the harness??" Then she realized that she was free and off she went! Then we put Seaweed in, he had a few issues with his back flippers, they had been injured a bit and were slightly paralyzed, so naturally Barb was worried about him and she thought that he might really hang around us for awhile......so we set him in the water.....and he peeked up with a smile and took off like a shot! Dove down into the water....he looked great! It was so awesome......something I am sure that we will never get to do again! The kids and I marvelled at how lucky we are to be living here and having all these fantastic experiences and even though we miss home sometimes, we are making some incredible memories (and friends ) here......
Anyway just wanted to share that great story with you all....I have to take off and go get Monty now......I hope that you all have a great day!
Love Dawn

Is that a tarantula???? (funny Dawn story)

2010-03-29T20:22:00.000-07:00

I almost forgot to tell you this funny story....it happened while my mom was here....so one evenign after karaoke Idol (lol) my mom and I were coming home......as i stuck my key in the door and leaned over to unlock the door, I felt something land on my head.....i thought what the heck is that??? I felt around but there was nothing there....my mom searched my head and nothing....I looked on teh ground, still nothing....mom says maybe you are just imagining it? I said no way I felt something big land on my head! She says well its gone now so lets get inside! I said I am a bit creeped out, there are alot of tarantulas here in Nevis....what if it was one of them?? (we had a very very ugly spider in our house the week before....about the size of my fist....ick I am still shivering) Anyway we enter the house and I have the creepy jeepys because i know something fell on my head.....as i walk across the living room my mother starts screaming bloody murder...."your back your back, its on your back....omg omg....its on you.....of course I am thinking "what? what? what?" so I start screaming and trying to grab at my back, trying to haul my shirt off, of course it is a dress so isn't coming off the way a shirt would.....the screaming is so loud and it is midnight so of course the kids are in bed adn the neighbor downstairs is very likely asleep as is her baby!! Joe comes running out in a panic as he is pretty sure that Jason from Friday the 13th is hacking us to bits....lol.....my mom is still screaming and pointing to my back....I have now scratched my back to shreds trying to rid myself of what I am certain is a big hairy tarantula......"get it off, get it off" I keep screaming....Joe starts to laugh hysterically, he grabs my hand and says stop....its ok....its just a gecko......a big ass gecko mind you, but a harmless gecko! Anyway I start laughing and my mother is still freaking cause geckos and tarantualas are all just as icky to her.....the gecko jumps off and runs for cover.....anyway quite the scene people! I'm just glad it was just a gecko!

So much to say, so little time.....:)

2010-03-29T20:00:00.000-07:00

Hey there, hi there, ho there friends! How are you all? Before you say it, I already know...I SUCK....I have been so delinquent in my blog it is not funny....but I have to say the last 2 months have been a whirlwind of activity and I am extremely busy with life in the Caribbean....I will try to capture for you all of the fun and amazing things happening in my life these days!!!!
First and foremost, I just completed my first (and likely last...lol) mini triathalon.....it was so exciting adn I had a blast but man what a lot of work! My friend Stacey talked me into this way back when we started trying to get in shape and we stuck to our goal and we both went for it 2 sundays ago.....it was the real deal, a few hundred athletes.....we had this special "athlete's area" to sit in and I looked around and it dawned on me that I was ONE OF THEM.....I was thrilled.....that was until I was standing at the start line staring out at the open water that I was about to swim into! Then I started saying holy **** what am I doing??? Anyway my goals were 1. to complete it and 2. to not come last....and I accomplished both and have the medal to prove it! It was great and a real feeling of personal satisfaction...I don't see myself becoming super interested in completeing tris on a regular basis as the training is quite intense and complex....also I am a very weak swimmer....but I could see myself running 5 ks or something like that, fun runs......anyway it was a great great day!
Second interesting event in the life and times of Dawn.....I am a finalist in the Nevis 2010 Karaoke Idol contest.....and what a hoot that is! We started off with 38 and we are down now to top 15....announcements come out tomorrow for who made top 12 (3 get booted each week til the end now!) It is set up alot like American Idol.....of course without the stage and 3 million viewers....lol....but it is so much fun! I am the only caucasion (which gets pointed out each week!) and the only non caribbean person.....but because of my temporary residency status i was permitted to enter.....I have met some amazing and very fun and talented people and I must say the show is very well organized and really entertaining.....some of the performers are fantastic.....my cheeky side is really coming out as I watch other people and I think hey I can do that too.....some of my performances include Shania's Man I Feel Like a Woman, Fever by Peggy Lee, Black Velvet by Alanna Myles and Vogue by Madonna.....anyway i entered it as a bit of a joke and also to win the 1000 prize money......but it turns out to be a very fun thing to do.....I am having a blast....I am somewhat of a local celebrity....ha ha ha.....i did a radio interview the other day and also recorded a commercial for a local business.....anyway what fun!
Third, the riding business has exploded and I am very very busy with rides....taking people out on the beach several times a week.....I am so happy over at the barn around the horses.....it is like therapy! I basically volunteer there as I am not allowed to work here.....this weekend we are taking the horses down to an SPCA fundraiser and giving pony rides.....Monty is going to help me with it so I think it will be a great time! the boys still love coming to see the horses with me, Monty isn't riding quite as much but still jumping on from time to time.....
4. I have had some awesome house guests down to Nevis! My high school buddies Nancy and Valerie came for 7 days and I had so much fun with them that it was crazy.....i haven't laughed that hard in a long time (thanks girls!) We had an absolute blast and I was so sad to see them leave at the end of their time......the boys LOVED them too and Christian raved on about Vals cheese sandwiches for days.....(made the same way as I make them but apparently much better tasting...lol) My mom was just down for 2 weeks as well and that was awesome.....I think she really enjoyed herself and I know the boys loved having her.....we were all sad to see her go....especially me! She was my stage manager for my karaoke performances so i was a bit at a loss when she flew off! Next week we have our dear friends from Saba, Dr Koot and his son Jim coming to stay for a week.....the boys are also off for a 2 weeks easter break and our friends Joe, Tammy and Max from Calgary are coming down for a 7 day visit! So we've had some great company and looking forward to some more!! Any one else want to come join us in paradise??
5. We are moving!!! This week, although from the look of my house and non packing you would not know it! We found a house down the street that is prettymuch the same cost but has a pool....so we figured why not have a pool? It really is so hot here most of the time that we figure a pool will be awesome! So the boys are looking forward to t his.....I am a little sad to leave our house behind because we love it here and the landlord has been great, but the new house will be great too! I'll post some pics on facebook as soon as I have some! I pick up my keys on wednesday morning!!
Anyway those are some of the highlights of what we have been up to! I am going to try to post some pics here on teh blog pretty soon....i find it difficult and the internet is slow so it gets bogged down trying to upload....our new house apparently has very fast internet so I am hoping that once we get settled i might be able to upload with a little more ease!
Everyone is happy and well....Joe is almost done of semester 3, can you believe it.....only 2 more to go....Monty and Christian are doing well with school and with life! We are all pretty settled and enjoying our time in the Caribbean.....I tell you real life is going to suck after this!
so that is my quick update! I hope that you are all well! Take care and I'll talk to you again soon,
Love Dawn

THIS IS THE LIFE!!

2010-01-24T17:20:00.000-08:00

THIS IS THE LIFE!!
"And in the end, it's not the years in your life that count. It's the life in your years." -Abraham Lincoln

Well hello people! It's been awhile since I have sat down and written anything about how things are going in Nevis......that is to be interpreted as a good thing (well except for those of you who are dying to know what is happening in our world!) as it means that we are busy and having alot of fun......Things are going great here and we are all very settled into our routines......I was reading one of my friends blogs today (she is a dear friend that I made during my time in Saba) and her title was as per above "this is the life", and I thought you know what? She is so right! It really is! Every day I realize that we are so so blessed to be having this experience! 18 months ago, when we decided to go down this strange path , I don't think that we could ever have foreseen some of the neat and awesome things that we would be doing or the great people that we would meet or just how amazing this all would be.....its funny how we always say when one door closes another opens....or at least a window opens.....I know I always preach that to people....but I remember when Joe did not get in to Dal, how disappointed we both were and how it almost seemed like the end of the dream.....and then I remembered my friend Lynn who had mentioned something that I thought whacky and crazy at the time, about studying medicine in the Caribbean and I said to Joe, lets look into that! Maybe it is an option! We were not so sure initially....we thought this is about the craziest and nuttiest thing that we have ever considered or done in our lives! But you know, here we are a year into our time here and it has been an amazing experience....sure the road has not been smooth or easy and many sacrifices have been made, but at the end of the day, I know a good thing when I see it, or live it! And this is definitely a good thing! I can just imagine myself for years to come talking about our time here.....looking back and saying Remember when we lived in the Caribbean? How exciting is that?? How many people can utter those words? Wow!
So as you can tell things are great! the weather is perfect everyday (sorry to say it yet again!! I know how you all love my weather reports!!) I am having a blast.....I still have my horses around so I am trying to get out riding as much as I can. Monty is doing great with the riding and enjoying it, Christian loves his best buddy, Big Red and I love them all! They have become very dear to me and I am not sure what I will do when I have to leave them all behind! I spend alot of time down at the barn and I love it there. What an animal adventure park it has become! There is a big wildish pig that hangs around and she just had 6 piglets so we are enjoying watching them grow. There are about 20 monkeys that hang out there and they are always putting on a show and performing for me....the other day I just sat in the middle of the field for about 30 minutes and watched them play, they watched me just as closely! It was very cool.....Besides the barn, I am also putting alot of energy into getting into shape....I know I know, you've heard it before! But this time I am really sticking with it! I have a small group that I exercise with and we run/swim/bike and climb together at least 5 days a week at 615 AM! We are now up to running about 4 kms.....then we walk another few.....we are aiming for 5......all of us are planning to go in the Try a Tri, which is a mini triathalon the end of March.....we are all pretty excited and somewhat nervous about it.....I may change my mind and just do the 5 km run but I am training for the Tri just in case! The running is coming along great, and the biking is pretty easy peasy, but the swimming is going to be an issue! lol.....I am really trying but I am so slow in the water! I imagine I swim about as fast as a jellyfish! I am trying to learn to do the front crawl with proper breathing but it is hard! You know how I am about putting my face in the water! So I put my face in and do 3 strokes and I am supposed to be in theory blowing water out while I do those 3 strokes....then come up for a breath in after the 3rd stroke....yes it sounds easy, but people, I SUCK! so I come up for my breath and then I realize, oh crap, I forgot to blow out the last breath, so then I have to blow out the air and grab another lung full before plunging my head beneath the water for the next 3 strokes....so my breathing is all uneven and after about the 3rd cycle of this I have to stop and stand up and breath properly for a minute (which I am thinking is problematic for the Tri since I am fairly certain the water will be OVER MY HEAD....which translates to no standing up for air!! Anyway Monty was trying to coach me the other day and he got the greatest kick out of how terrible I was (and he's quite good by the way!)....and my friend Jen, who is this amazing athlete, brought her boys along and one of them was swimming beside me saying "wow Dawn, you are really slow, I can totally swim faster than you" (he's 8!) He said it a few times so finally I stood up and looked him in the eye and I said "if you tell me how slow I am one more time, I might possibly drown you!" He laughed and laughed and then off he went....little bugger! I know I am slow but I dont need to be told how slow every few strokes!! Anyway it is an ongoing saga and I will keep you all posted how (or if) I progress! I am thinking that I can talk the organizer of the Tri into letting me use a flutter board, or floaties....lol! Just kidding!
The boys are doing great, both enjoying their school, both have made some wonderful little friends and both are involved in some great activities! Monty's Seastars group is so cool, they are working with a young sea turtle that the marine biologist rescued after the hurricane.....yesterday Monty had it on a leash in the ocean, teaching it how to maneuver around in the wild! He is totally thrilled with this! What an amazing experience! He is also playing soccer and still going to Survivor Camp....and he has a few really nice friends.....I have to say that this is the happiest and the most relaxed that I have seen Monty in a long time....maybe ever! I am so happy that he is happy here! And Christian is doing great....he misses his family back in Calgary and PEI....but he is pretty happy too.....
Joe continues to do well in school.....he studies round the clock.....that is probably the only real downside to this journey is that he isn't really getting to experience alot of it with us.....his workload is crazy! I am so glad that it is him doing it and not me! But it is great that he is doing so well.....and it is all going so fast! It feels like time is just flying by!
So I better tell you a few funny Christian stories before I sign off! The other night we are watching a movie and the 2 main characters end up kissing....so Christian says in a very indignant, somewhat disgusted voice "oh well, now i guess they have to get married!" I said why dear? He said "because they kissed and now you dont want her going and kissing other boys and spreading all those germs now do you?" I laughed and laughed.....then the other day as we were driving, he says, "mom, I dont think that I am going to get married...and I say ok why? he says, well you know because grown ups dont wear pajamas and have to sleep in their underwear and I would be way too embarassed to let her see my underwear!" I laughed, and said its ok dear, you can wear pajamas when you are married if you prefer.....he still didnt look convinced.....it was so funny....I had to bite the inside of my cheek to keep from laughing really hard.....cause he was pretty serious about it! Anyway he is such a cute kid, a delight really......I have some pretty great boys I tell ya!
ok all, I better sign off....my hand is aching from all my typing (not just from my blog btw, I am a serious facebook/email/messenger addict! I will be looking for a program upon my return.....do they have Facebook anonymous yet? I might have to start a chapter! any of you out there want to join with me??
So have a great night friends and take care, I'll try not to take so long between postings! I miss you all, so God Bless and we will talk again soon! Love Dawn

The revenge of the bugs.........and Run Forest Run....

2009-12-05T05:50:00.000-08:00

Hello friends! It has been awhile since I have written. Don't worry, I have been told that my slack-ass ways are not acceptable and that I need to be much more vigilant about keeping this blog up to date.....(thanks Chrissy...lol) So this is my attempt to be compliant and obedient (shaa, as if.....lol) Anyway, life continues to be grand in Nevis, 34 degrees everyday, sun shining all the time, hanging at the beach with the kids, snorkeling, horseback riding, SOS fun nights, karaoke and much much more....REally people, I am going to need oodles and oodles of support (and possibly alcohol) to help me cope with real life next year when I return. This is the life that I was meant for, this life of leisure, this R&R simple life stuff.....I absolutely love it!
So let's see, what to tell? Hmmmm......well, this might come as a shocker to all of you who know me, but I am now exercising every day and contemplating a triathalon in march......ok stop laughing before you read on......lol.....I am serious. I have made this wonderful new girlfriend, Stacey, from Louisiana, she conveniently lives right across the street, and she has done half marathons before. Well she is kicking my ass out of bed at 545 every morning and making me run......we are only at 3-4 miles a day, and we walk some of it too, but it is a great start. we also climb this very steep road/hill that goes up for a mile......a few times a week. In addition, we are using the 30 day Shred, an exercise video. We are both tired of having that extra "baby weight" (well hers is baby weight because she actually has a baby, mine is more like chocolate and french fries weight, but baby weight just sounds so much better...but perhaps the gig is up, Christian is 6 after all! Lol) I am also doing pushups and crunches....working very hard trying to get fit! Oh and of course still trying to ride a few days a week. Stacey and I have a fellow lined up to start training us in January for the tri.....whether we compete or not, we are going to do the leg work.....the running doesnt scare me, it is only a 3 k run and a 10 k bike, which I am sure I can do.....it is the 250 meter swim that has me terrified......do you think they will let me wear Christians floaties? I know the life jacket is out! Or maybe use a flutter board? is the dog paddle an acceptable method of swim?? I am sure I will figure it out......even if I just do the training I will be proud of myself! So all in all, I feel great, I am finally starting to accomplish the skinny part of my Caribbean tanned and skinny goals......(the tan goal was accomplished many months ago!!)
I am keeping very busy, have tons to do, and can't quite figure out how I ever fit work into my busy schedule?? I am sure it will all come back to me next September when I return home! (you will have to take it very easy on me for a while Marylou! There are no promises of stellar job performance for at least the first month......lol)
The boys are doing well. Monty is doing awesome at his school in St Kitts and Christian is enjoying his school as well....they really enjoy this island, they are both pretty active with different camps and activities, both into riding, love the beach and snorkeling, just having lots of fun......I have to tell you, that Christian is turning into quite the boy! He really has quite the sense of humor (finally, glimpses of my personality, he has been all Joe!) I always thought that Monty was the funny one, very dry, quick wit like my brother,Kris, but lately Christian has been coming out with some pretty good lines too.....for instance the other day, Christian and Monty were their regular breakfast war ( you know where they fight during breakfast and you go into an Ally McBeal moment and imagine punting them across a football field...lol) Christian was egging Monty on (which of course we know is like waving a red flad in front of a bull) and Monty was responding, very predictably......so after we dropped Monty off I had the chat with Christian about not picking at Monty in the morning, Monty being very sensitive blah blah blah...Christian looks at me with those killer blue eyes and that cute blond hair, and he say s "ah mom, you know I love messing with Monty" and he cackles.....yes CACKLES......I was like "WHAT??" I had to stifle a giggle as I tried to be stern and tell him that he needs to try not to antagonize Monty in th mornings.....lol....too funny....then later in the day, i picked Christian up from school and we were driving home and I ran through another pothole! (ok I regularly run through potholes and Joe has had to replace 4 tires on our car.....he blames me of course.....well what do you expect, the potholes are frickin' huge here! And our car is so low to the ground....and.....oh whatever, the point is I keep blowing up tires! Get over it!) anyway, so I hit a pot hole and I said oh no, I ho pe I didnt blow another tire, Christian looks up and he says Mom , Dad is going to be mad at you if you did it again......I said I know.....Christian looks at me and he says, dont worry mom, we'll go home and bust into the piggy bank and I will buy the tire and we won't tell Dad....and he giggles and cackles that same little giggle from the morning conversation.....I looked at him and started laughing, I couldn't help it. so I say Christian! First this morning you admit to purposefully antagonizing your brother and now you are suggesting that we decieve your Dad?? He was laughing so hard, it was quite hilarious.....I tried my best to look stern, but really people, it was near impossible!! Anyway the boys are doing great. Joe is also doing well with school. He is very excited to be done another semester (well as of next week) Did I tell you that he bought a scooter?? And yesterday, he took me out all afternoon driving around the island! It was so fun....i think when my mid life crisis starts, I might have to get myself a scooter, or a bike....lol.....
So the bugs.....yeah......there is 1 advantage to having winter, it substantially decreases the bug population.....and here, with eternal summer, there is no bug control.....and there are so many bugs it is unbelievable.....the ants are the worst.....they are everywhere, and there are nasty biting kinds (and they hurt!! esp the fire ants!) You absolutely cannot leave a crumb anywhere or the ants show up with a whole town! Seriously, you know the song the ants came marching 2 by 2? well they dont march 2 by 2, I have witnessed.....they march 10 by 10 at least, and a line that can stretch from one end of you house to the other.....dee-sgust-ing! Other people seem to have serious cockroach issues (shiver...oh yuch) We have been very lucky and have not seen one in our house or around it.....which is good, because over at the barn , I have seen plenty, and they are the size of my pinky finger, so I am ever thankful that they do not come into my home....there are bugs everywhere, the dogs are all loaded with tics (which the boys like to pull of dogs and squish, watching them explode....aren't boys yucky) there are tarantulas, other weird spiders (spider webs EVERYWHERE), strange caterpillars, fireflies, mosquitos, centipedes (which also deliver a nasty bite) Oh and lots of bugs in the food.....yes you read that right.....the cake mix was just the tip of the iceberg.......I went to make another cake mix the other day and it was so gross I had to throw it out.....and we bought miniwheats the other day, the boys were so excited because it was the first time we had seen them here.....well we pour in the milk, and lo and behold, there are bugs in the miniwheats.....we were all gagging, it was so gross........so needless to say I am DONE with boxed baking goods and I now make things from scratch! (yes you read that right.....it is amazing what a girl will do to avoid bug confrontations!
Alright, well my horsies are calling (well whinnying) so I have to get over to the barn......
oh I forgot to mention, we head to St maarten next friday for a day and then off to Calgary for 3 weeks! I can't wait to hit the mall (real shopping with my non money) and the grocery store (can we say selection?? lol) and to see dear friends and family....I am NOT looking forward to t he weather, apparently they are in the midst of some nasty snow storms! But at least I know that in 3 weeks I will return to paradise!! And then I will have only 8 months left, wow!
Talk to you soon, dear friends,
Love Dawn

Weevils....the other white meat.....

2009-10-26T18:37:00.000-07:00

Hey friends,

I apologize for not getting to my blog in awhile....I am sure that you are all just on the edge of your seat wondering how things are going down here in Nevis...Lol.....well things are fantastic and quite busy so I rarely get much time these days to blog! We are all having a wonderful time here in Nevis, really enjoying it! The weather has been absolutely beautiful, albeit slightly hotter than i would like (yes I said it!) It has been 34 most days and about 40 with the humidex! I have sort of gotten used to sweating all the time....ahhh...nothing like sweat rolling down your back or into your eyes and blinding you....Lol.....so subsequently we have been spending alot of time at the beach. Nevis has some great beaches! Our favorite is Oualie Beach (you can google it http://www.oualiebeach.com/) It is a great place to go swimming and build sand castles, very calm and they have nice beach chairs to sit on as well as a little beach pub that you can order fries, drinks and other good grub. I have gotten to know the owners a bit, the woman is Christian's spanish teacher, she is a lovely woman. The daughter, Rachel is in grade 11 at Christians school, a very nice girl. Anyway we love Oualie! We also like to go to Paradise beach, it is close by and has a great spot for snorkelling (for an amateur like me) There is a sunken cannon, which the boys love. We went for a snorkel after school today and Joe and Monty saw a moray eel, which apparenlty was quite exciting to them! According to Joe, it was about 3 feet long.....according to Monty it was about 6 feet long...(hmm could he be related to me??) It was lots of fun and a great way to cool off after a hard day of.....oh ...who am I kidding......after a day in the sun! Lol....I am telling you people, I am so loving this not working for a living thing. I told Joe the other day that I was staying here forever, he could go off and be a doctor or whatever, but this is where I belong! Of course then the reality of 1) I have no money and so cant stay and 2)I am not allowed to work here (officially anyway) so again money will be an issue longterm! (esp with the cost of living, can we say a $400 US electricity bill for september....GULP)

So we are all very busy and doing great. Joe is doing very well in school, he is busy and he doesnt get to enjoy the island quite as much as the rest of us do, but he is happy and content overall and working his butt off!! Christian is happy in school and doing great...he is learning spanish, and he can still remember how to count in Dutch from Saba! He is also enjoying riding a few days a week, is becoming a master snorkeler and swimmer and is now taking Tae Kwon Do. (and loving it) Monty is doing quite well now, we moved him to St Kitts to the Montessori school as he was not doing so well in the little school here and we were also afraid he would get behind. He likes the school in St Kitts, but the downside is that he has to travel back and forth every day on the ferry (45 minute ride) then catch a cab (same fella everyday) then school and back home. There are 5 kids coming from here so at least he has company. He finds the day long but he loves the school and he has a fantastic teacher. Monty is still in survivor camp and marine bio camp and he and I have been out riding alot. He is becoming quite the horseman....getting braver all the time. It is really nice that we can get out and share this together, I hope that we are creating many lasting memories! And I couldnt be better, really, I am so loving it here in Nevis! I am riding almost every day now, starting to get in shape and tomorrow going to be running to the beach with my friend Stacey.....we are going to run the 2 miles to the beach (ha ha) and then swim for 15 minutes then run back......(so she thinks....lol) I am thinking alot of walking is going to be happening since I havent run since my failed attempts at running the last few summers!! I really want to get in shape though......So the riding on the beach is awesome.....really.....loving it.....I feed and water the horses every day for the fellow, and I also take tourists out on beach rides....probably about 3 rides a week for now....busy season starts next month.....I love it, what a job to have. I dont get paid but I get to ride as much as I want and take the kids riding too so that is definitely payment enough for me......being around the horses every day is so soothing, good for the soul.......I am loving it. So what else am I doing? well, I have made some great friends through SOS and I am on the executive so i spend alot of time helping with planning and organizing activities for our organization. It is alot of fun and we do get to enjoy each others company quite often. If you are curious you could check out our website at http://www.muaspousesofstudentsandfamilieso.shutterfly.com/

So you are probably wondering by now where I got this entries title......or maybe not.....well people, shall I say the bug population is abundant down here? We have ants, ants and still more ants.....I hate ants.....little nasty biting fireants....I want to kill them all......we have the biggest cockroach/beetle thing i have ever seen (the size of a hamster!) and oh yes, we have tarantulas...christian and I saw our first one up close last week....and I am still shivering.....big hairy ugly spider....yuck......one of my questions when I get to Heaven....ummm God, about the bugs? " Anyway, I have seen all kinds of ugly, bizarre, crazy bugs these past few months.....including recently while making Christians birthday cake. I open the packaging of my Duncan Hines mix ( or was it Betty Crocker? ) feeling very domestic to be making a cake instead of buying one at superstore like I usually do.....our friends Joka and Jim were here visiting from Saba.....(she is a physician) anyway I digress......so I pour the packaging into the bowl and start to add the other ingredients and I look in and I think what is in the cake mix? is it moving? is it a bug?? Lo and Behold, it is a bug! Several to be precise......uck....I choke back a gag......and I stare in horror at Joka, my friend......she laughs.....says this is quite normal. I ask her how did the bugs get inside the bag of mix and manage to stay alive????? Apparently this is not uncommon all over the world AND she announces that the bugs are called Weevils (hang on a second while I retch again) Anyway, I am horrified but also in a bit of a conundrum.......cake mixes are not always easy to come by here and we bought one of the only ones......sooooo....if we throw it out.....what kind of birthday is it without a cake????? You see where I am going with this dont you??? I had decisions to make.......lol......lmao actually.....(this is one of those times where I am down on my knees thanking God for celiac disease.....) anyway, Joka says "Dawn, they are just weevils, no big deal really, I mean if you have another cake mix, use it but if not just PICK THE BUGS OUT" (again the gag reflex) So I get the sifter thingy out of the cupboard and I start sifting weevils out of the cake mix....I know, I know,......I am horrible......we got alot of them out, probably most, but definitely not all........there were body parts that went through the sifter and a few weevils that managed to as well (no idea how) Bottom line is I made the cake, weevils and all......and no one was the wiser.....well except for Joka and Joe and I......and they both ate a piece...can you imagine?? I wanted to vomit as I watched them all shoving cake in their mouths.....and usually I want to grab the cake and stog it down......anyway I am happy to report that Christian had a great birthday AND he loved the cake!

Well folks, I can barely see the screen now from laughing/crying over that story, so I better sign off....I will try so so hard to be more diligent in writing regularly....I do love writing this blog!

I hope that you are all happy and well, we certainly are....we do miss you all! Take care and have a great week.....God Bless......

I remember how much I love horses now......

2009-09-20T17:48:00.000-07:00

Hey all,

Well it has been a great week in Nevis.....we are slowly getting into a routine, Joe at school, the kids at school and me, well.....that is the good part....me.....I am RIDING HORSES!!!! ON THE BEACH!!!! I have been out riding 4 different times this week, all along the Caribbean ocean and I have to say that it is the ultimate ride! It is so beautiful, so peaceful, so serene......I absolutely love it. My whole life I had a love affair with horses, they are without a doubt my favorite animal.....and I have ridden since I was a little girl....but once we had kids, it just got difficult to own/ride/visit horses. So I got away from it for a while......and I forgot that I loved it so much....or perhaps suppressed it because I couldn't have it?? So these last few days have been so amazing.....getting back in the saddle again.....feeling the horse underneath me......enjoying the Caribbean ocean from horseback! Riding the horse into the water and getting soaked by the waves! Well I just wish you were all here to experience how wonderful it really is! Having said that it is also exhausting, time consuming and my butt is objecting a little (can we say bruising?) but I am sure that with time I will toughen up. I convinced Joe today to come with us for a family ride and so the 4 of us went on a beach ride today. It was awesome!! The kids loved it, even Joe looked like he enjoyed himself! So basically I have been taking care of a fellow's 10 horses in exchange for riding privileges......sweet deal in my opinion! All I have to do is pop over to the barn twice a day for about 30 minutes to feed, water and check the horses.....keep the paddock areas tidy.....(and to be honest I spend alot more time than that there, just hanging with the horsies, enjoying their company, bonding!)

Other than that, things are going fairly well....Joe has first round of block exams tomorrow so we are praying that all goes well! The boys are slowly getting settled into their school.....they each have some nice new friends....Monty is very busy with survivor camp, sea stars and he starts tennis lessons on Monday....so lots of stuff on the go!

Anyway, it is a short post tonight....I am really tired....all this fresh air, sunshine, riding and beach stuff makes a girl tired you know! LOL.....so take care and God Bless and talk to you all soon! D

2009-09-13T13:47:00.000-07:00

Hey there hi there ho there friends! Well we are entering into week 3 of our Nevis adventure and I have to say that I am really really pleased so far. I really like this island, it has much to offer and we feel that we made a great decision in coming here. I have so much to tell you but to get it all in would require a novel length document....soooo I am going to try to give you the readers digest version.....(and you know how good I am at keeping my stories short and to the point....NOT) but I am gonna give it a go.
So Nevis is beautiful, the beaches are awesome, there is lots to do, we are meeting many new and fantastic people....I feel so blessed to be here......I am not going to lie, that the first week was tough and an adjustment....leaving PEI after getting to spend the summer with family and friends was not easy.....but I am feeling really positive now that we have been here a few weeks!
I will start with Joe since he is the reason that we are here.....he seems to be liking the med school so far, likes his profs, meeting some nice students....there is actually a guy from Montague PEI here in his class and they knew each other a bit as this fellow was a nurse in Montague and Joe was a paramedic there....so that is kind of neat. Joe misses some of his Saba peers obviously, but he is adjusting well and appears to be happy with the decision to move......He has been snorkeling and swimming for stress relief......and loving the water and the beaches here. He is hoping to get out golfing sometime soon and he has a few fellows who are interested in doing this with him.....so overall h e is pretty pleased I think.
The boys are doing well. They have had their first week at their new school and they are both settling in. Monty made a new friend, Lu, who just moved here as well from Cancun, Mexico (his parents run a hotel here in Nevis) and they have really hit it off. They are a very nice family and they live closeby so the boys have had a few playdates already. Monty being Monty isn't completely thrilled by his school but he isn't hating it either...so I will count that as a positive! Christian is enjoying school so far and has made some friends there. He has an awesome teacher, originally from Sweden and recently from England. She is lovely and so kind and he seems to really like her. The school is very tiny and so this has been an adjustment for both of them. Monty is excited though because on Fridays the school offers archery lessons to the older kids...so he thinks that is pretty cool!
Monty is enrolled in a few programs here and he is very excited about them. The first one is called Survivor Camp (based on the reality show) and the leader calls it "Scouts on Steroids!" which I think is hilarious. the leader is a special ops fellow who was in the army in South Africa and he is a real outdoors fellow! Basically he takes the kids up the mountain and they learn how to survive off the land, making shelters out of whatever they have, making fires (without matches), making spears for fishing and catching and cooking the fish, learning what bugs they can eat if they are hungry!! (he ate a centipede on Saturday...the guide, not Monty) Anyway it sounds so great and I think Monty is quite excited about it.....the second program he is in is a marine biology camp, where he will learn about sea life and conservation and will go out on a boat snorkeling and learning about underwater creatures.....it will be a great opportunity for him and the leader, Barbara is a very nice lady.....I am only slighly nervous about Monty going on the boat snorkeling as last week a local was eaten by a tiger shark....so that freaks me out a little....apparently that is extremely rare and not usually something to worry about...but you know me! I love to worry...it is like a sport for me....and I am an Olympic calibre worrier!! Unfortunately, Christian can't attend these camps as he is too young...but that is ok because he is having lots of fun anyway! He is doing so well with snorkeling I can hardly believe it.....he just skims across the top of the water now like a pro......it is so amazing to watch him! Not that long ago he was afraid of the water....now you should see him!!
The beaches here are amazing and we have spent alot of time down the road at Oualie Beach Resort (you can google it) the beach is great there, very safe and calm. We just had a big SOS bbq there yesterday and it was a blast. We have a fantastic SOS group and I am meeting so many wonderful people from all over who are here for the same reasons....to support husbands through med school! (so basically we are all crazy!) I have to tell you a funny story about yesterday......we were all sitting around and chatting and beside me was Hedda, a quite pretty blond woman from Norway.....well Hedda looks pretty good in her bikini and I see Monty eyeing her....finally he looks at me and says " so Mom, look at her, isn't that the body that you have always dreamed of having?" Said so matter of factly that it was as if he was asking me h ow I enjoyed the bbq!!!! I nearly died laughing....and poor Hedda....she thought it was pretty funny...some of the other moms weren't sure how to react! it was just Monty being Monty so i wasn't too put out over it! I mean, really, its not like he was saying something that wasn't true! I would have loved to have Hedda's figure! Anyway he is a funny funny kid.......
So I am having a great time.....I am connecting with my new SOS friends....i am now the Treasurer of SOS......(yeah I know....me with money......) I am exploring the island and learning my way around.....I am learning to drive on the wrong side of the road....it is going much better than I expected;....well except for the part where I continue to turn on the windshield wipers instead of the signal lights and then I get flustered and turn the wrong signal on......LOL.....but overall it really isn't that hard to get used to.....I also have a very cool opportunity that has popped up here.....kind of like my dream job! There is a stable here that has been closed for a while for a number of reasons and I searched the owner out and offered my assistance with the horses in exchange for some occasional riding....Well he was so thrilled to have me to help out (he works full time and drives to the stable to feed the horses 2 times a day) and in exchange i can ride all I want, anytime I want and he may start up some trail rides and have me be the guide.....so that will be taking people from the cruise ships on beach rides with horses....ok really people....does life get any better than that!! So I am excited that I will get to do some riding and so will the kids...and maybe some evenings all 4 of us will go down to the beach on horseback.....so exciting I can hardly believe it....
Anyway I better run....lots more to say but it is very hot out and the boys want to go over to their friend's pool for a swim......so I will talk to you all again soon!!
God Bless and have a great week!
D

Welcome to Nevis...the land where Heelies are cheaper than Rice Krispie Treats!

2009-09-03T18:24:00.000-07:00

Hello friends and greetings from Nevis.....I don't officially have internet yet so I feel a bit cut off from all of you fine folk....I am currently sitting on my beautiful deck, with a lovely caribbean breeze blowing (ok so maybe it is the remnant of the tropical depression but whatever) It is about 28 degrees out.....lovely and warm.....I can hear the crickets chirping in the background, and maybe some frogs?? And I am "borrowing " my neighbors internet.....mine should hopefully be hooked up within a week and then I will be able to get back to communicating with the rest of the world! This moving to a new island in the Caribbean and having no internet is tough stuff!! So we arrived on Sunday morning in St Kitts, hopped a cab and a ferry and another cab and arrived without too much incident to our new home for the next year in Nevis (no vomiting, no snow storms, although there was the threat of a hurricane!).....our initial impressions of the island are that is beautiful, and flat, with real roads and beaches, beaches, beaches! Some of the things that we will have to get used to are driving on the wrong side of the road, and paying alot of money for things.....as well as watching out for tarantulas (yikes, shall I remind you that I am an arachnaphobe) and green vervet monkeys! So we are getting ready for this next phase of our journey through medical school. Leaving PEI was pretty tough.....lots of tears....we always hate the going, you know I have addressed my aversion to goodbyes (I will have to follow that up in counseling some day...ha ha) So we were very sad to leave. We had a great summer with my mom, staying in her home, driving her crazy most days! We got to see lots of family, visit with friends and just had a great time. So leaving was tough.....and arriving here to start all over again was hard because the reality of my loss of my Saba network started to hit right about when I was rolling into my new home in Nevis.....Luckily, to cushion the blow, my new neighbor, Stacey was there to greet us! Her husband is a med student too, they are a wonderful family from Houma Louisiana.....and they have 4 beautiful children....so our two families have really hit it off and I feel like I have a great friend already! My downstairs neighbor Afton and her husband and little baby are very nice too....med students as well from Nashville Tennesse.....I also met a few others and we will have our first SOS meeting this Saturday so I am very excited to meet some of the others as well. We have the boys registered to start a very tiny private school on Monday.....this school is interesting, and has a policy of a maximum of 12 students per class....so currently Christian has 10 in his class for Grade 1 and Monty will have 5 others with him! So it could be interesting and very different from what they are used to! We are busy trying to orient ourselves to our new home, figure out where everything is (this island is much bigger than Saba) and of course learn to drive on the "other"' side of the road.....I have yet to try it...it freaks me out a little if I am honest! But hopefully tomorrow I will be brave enough to give it a go! And I will remember to stay on the right (or is it wrong?) side! I keep trying to climb in the drivers seat though so that must mean something??? (yes that I am utterly confused!!) Anyway we have been able to buy a few groceries and I must say that the prices here are pretty steep for food! We found this great store with an upstairs that has everything....from toasters to bikes to heelies and remote control cars etc....well the Heelies were very cheap ($22 ish dollars a pair) and so the boys convinced us to get them each a pair....so we did because they were such a great buy! We bought our groceries and supplies and we were heading out heelies in hand when Christian spotted a big box of Rice Krispie treats.....he was so excited as he loves them....so I said I will run back in and get them so that the boys can have a special treat in their lunch next week! Well I grabbed the box and ran through the cash and when she told me the price I was sure that my hearing was gone and I was hallucinating (heat stroke?) I said pardon me? She repeated the same number.....so then I was standing there with a bunch of people behind me and the girl with her hand out waiting and Christian half way to the car with a big Rice Krispie treat type of smile on his face.....so I took out the money and paid it.....all $40 of it.....yes you read that right......$40!!!! But in my defence it was a jumbo box!! With 40 treats in it.....and they are Christians favorite...and the boys needed an "adjustment" treat...ok you are right, it was a ridiculous decision....but what do you do...so I told the boys that the treats were quite expensive and they were for "school only" and that we would not likely ever get them again so they should enjoy them!! Joe was floored and he stared at me like I grew another head or something.....then he just laughed...we both giggled about how the heelies were cheaper than the treats.....funny stuff I tell ya!
Anyway I think overall we are doing ok....it isn't easy, so we are trying to look at the bright side of t hings.....we are so thankful for our new friends across the road because without them we would be lost! They have been wonderful and perhaps the type of people that we will be friends with for years to come!
I better run, just wanted to say a quick hi and let you know that we are here, we are safe, we are working on the getting settled thing.....once my internet is established I will get back to my regular updates!! I miss all of you and I had such a wonderful summer with you! Take care friends and God Bless.....D

Never a Dull Moment......

2009-08-09T18:57:00.000-07:00

Well friends....Hello! It has been a while since I updated the blog and I was sitting here this evening thinking that it might be a good idea to let everyone know what is going on in our lives as there is plenty! So we have been on PEI since June 24th.....about 6 weeks now and we are having a wonderful time with family and friends.....the weather hasn't quite been "caribbean weather" but ahhh well, can't have it like that all the time! And soon, we will head south again and we will be basking in the sunshiny weather every day for the next year or so......we are missing Joe (he is still in Saba) but we are having lots of fun....we have spent lots of time with friends, on the beach, swimming, shopping, eating fast food (yum).....I have been to summer work parties, hung out with friends, visited with family and been to my 20th high school reunion....yup....that was such a blast from the past! I had the opportunity to catch up with people that I hadn't seen in well.....20 years.....it was a fantastic night and I didn't get home until quite late (errr...early) but I haven't had that much fun in a long time....my stomach muscles were so sore the next day from laughing so much.....many thanks to Melanie for hosting a superb pre and post party!! Personally, I think we should make it a yearly event! Any others interested?? LOL
So we have some interesting and exciting news......it will come as a surprise to some of you.....Joe and I have made a decision to move to another island for medical school.....Joe has applied and was accepted and is transferring to MUA (Medical University of the Americas) which is located in Nevis - St Kitts. There are many reasons why we decided to do this but bottom line is it is a great decision for our family. Monty was finding life on Saba pretty tough and so we feel that Nevis has alot more to offer for his age group, better schools, has alot more activities than Saba, way more in the lines of things to do, and beaches, beaches, beaches......we feel really good about this decision. Joe has been over to Nevis 2 times already and is very impressed by the staff at the medical school. He also really likes the island. He has rented us a stunning house (I think it belongs to Angelina and Brad...lol) and has a car purchased already for us (that Joe is such a go-getter!) It is all a little overwhelming really, but exciting and has the makings of another "excellent adventure"! The downside is that we are all going to miss the wonderful friends that we have made in our time in Saba.....The Koot family, Marylene and the boys, Amanda and Nathan, Lucia and little Harlow (and Jonathon too) Lisa and Billy, Rachel and Greg, Becky and Jaron, Heather and Ben, our church friends, Brother Reilly.....so many more .......wonderful wonderful people that have been a very important part of our lives in Saba....so saying good bye to all of them is going to be hard (you know how I love goodbyes...NOT) I am so grateful to have met and made so many wonderful friends in our short time there.....you have all been fantastic and I will miss you soooo much.....I am hoping that each and every one of you will come to visit us in our new home! We would welcome company any time!
So Joe will be arriving this weekend coming and we are all very excited and happy to have him back......7 weeks is too long to go without Joey! Someone please remind me of that next time I consider leaving him for such a long period of time! Actually we have done quite well, managed fine, but we certainly have noticed his absence from our lives....and we will be excited to have him with us for the rest of our vacation...which by the way , is hurtling by faster than the speed of light! I can't believe how quickly time is going and in about 2 and half weeks we will be flyiing back to Saba.....we will arrive on Saba the 29th for the evening and then finish our final packing (Joe has most of it done now) and then we will fly over to Nevis likely on the 31st.....(quite the jetsetters we have become!) We will have just 2 days to say our goodbyes and get the final business of life in Saba wrapped up! It will be a whirlwind of activity.....
Oh and for those of you who have been following along on our animal adventures....here are the updates:
the guinea pigs are multiplying...we think that someone has been throwing water on them or feeding them after midnight (gremlins) Anyway Joe went out to feed them one morning and lo and behold.....one of our girls had 5 babies overnight.....yes you read that right....5......so that made 10.....ok I am an animal lover (freak whatever) and even I think that 10 guinea pigs is a bit much! So our friend Marylene has agreed to take over our flock and find homes for them as we can't bring them with us to Nevis....they have very strict rules for importing animals so we are going to even have trouble bringing our dog there......anyway that is the story with the guinea pigs! As for birdie....the little pigeon that we hand raised....well she has flown the coop......literally....she finally decided that she was ready to be independent and away she went.....she started off by flying away for a few hours at a time and slowly progressed from there.....one of her last adventures she was gone for 3 days so Joe figured that was it....she was gone.....until our dear friend Joka came by with Birdie and a great and extremely funny story....Joka is one of our dear friends, and one of Joe's profs as well as one of the Island Physicians. She and her husband have been meeting with Dutch officials as Saba is revamping its Health Programs....anyway Joka is this tall, elegant, classy dutch lady and she was in a meeting with all these Dutch suits.....at a very fine out door restaurant....as she sat talking about serious issues (health care transformation in Saba) a funny thing happened.....a pigeon swooped in and landed in her hair! causing quite a fuss I might add.....so Joka reaches up and pulls at the bird in her hair.....and gets the bird out and looks at it and exclaims "oh my, thats Birdie, thats Joe and Dawn's bird!" True story I swear it.....anyway Joka brought Birdie home to Joe once the meeting ended......I laughed for about 2 days after I heard this.....and of course wondered what are the chances that Birdie would pick Joka out of a crowd?? Did she recognize her as a lift home?? a familiar face?? (Birdie would have met Joka a bunch of times) Anyway it was such a great story that I felt that it had to be shared here!! so since that time, Birdie has flown away again.....she hasn't come back this time, on her own accord, or with neighbors! It has been almost 2 weeks so we figure she is rehabilitated and free as a bird! Just the way it should be!!
Anyway friends , it is getting late, I better get to bed....just wanted to quickly update you on what is happening in our lives! So start saving your pennies people....we want visitors! And when are you going to have a free place to stay in Nevis?? This is your opportunity!!
Have a great night and God Bless.

Obsessed with Twilight.....

2009-06-18T10:24:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone! How's your week? Mine has been great.....+30 everyday, sun, sun, sun, no working, carefree lifestyle, beaches, snorkeling.....what more could a girl ask for?? I am busy preparing for our trip home....well maybe busy is a bit of an overstatement...more like every now and then again thinking about it, what to bring ( some clothes), what to not bring (the dog...Monty isn''t impressed).....I am looking forward to coming home and seeing all of you fine folk (well the ones that live in PEI anyway!!) Monty has been excited since we booked the tickets and he is counting down the days....and Christian has finally gotten really excited now that it is getting so close.....I am happy about it too....but a little anxious for a couple of reasons....1) I am going to miss Joey (the obvious) and 2) the not so obvious...I have never flown across countries by myself with my kids before....I usually follow Joe around the airport like a lost puppy....I know ...shocking.....and I never pay any attention to where the gates are, what to say at customs (I was cut off after my fiasco with customs and forgetting to declare fruit and getting in trouble...long "Dawn" story) etc.....so I have to admit I am a little nervous about the travelling...I am sure I will be just fine.....right?? anyway we head over to St Maarten on Monday afternoon...Joe is coming with us....and we will spend the night there at the Sonesta Bay Maho (you should google it to see what you are missing! It is awesome....and a quick walk to the famous Maho beach where all the planes fly in) Then tuesday afternoon the boys and I will leave St Maarten bound for Halifax....it is really kind of hard to believe actually that by this time next week we will be home......
So this week has been pretty good...the boys are winding down at school, amost done...only 2 school days left for them! We have spent some time down at the beach, had supper there with friends last night and you should see Christian snorkel....last night he took off the floaties and started to snorkel all on his own....I was a bit terrified...ahem....nervous....after all that is my little baby floating around in the water out there.....anyway he was delighted as he and Joe followed a stingray for a few minutes.....and he was pretty proud of himself for going without the floaties! (it was only about 4 feet of water and Joe stayed right beside him the whole time.....anyway he had a wonderful time! Monty played in and out of the water with his friend Helke and Helke's 2 brothers, Martin and Jella....it was alot of fun....I am definitely going to miss our beach suppers....
This week has also seen the development of a new obsession for me (along with my hotmail, facebook and reading the Guardian every morning) People kept offering for me to read the Twilight books and I kept saying no thanks....I mean really.....a story about teenage vampires.....yeah, I don't think so, but thanks.....anyway my next door neighbor Lucia said they were so good that she couldn't put them down and she was thinking about them constantly when she wasn't reading.....hoping her baby would take a nap so she could spend a little time with Edward.....so she offered me the first one yet again as well as the movie....so I said ok I will take it home and read it (maybe) and I could watch the movie...I like movies.....anyway on tuesday I picked up Twilight late morning and sat myself down on the couch and thought "what the heck" I have nothing to lose by reading......and that was it......a few chapters in and I was a gonner.....hooked.....I could NOT put the book down.....I read the whole thing ( a few hours in the morning) and then completed it at midnight on tuesday night.....then I was a bit crazed because i didn't bring book 2 home until I remembered the movie....I had to have more of Edward and Bella.....so at midnight, I started watching Twilight....yes, I know, a bit nutso really......although the movie didn't blow me away....I found that alot of the book was cut out....but I didn't care, watching Edward and Bella come to life was awesome......so first thing Wednesday morning, I ran to Lucia's house and gave her Twilight and said "I must have book 2" I need to know if Bella is going to become a vampire? " Lucia laughed and said "I see you liked it" Anyway so yesterday I couldn't wait to get everyone out in the morning so that I could spend some more time with Edward and Bella....and again I read the whole book....all 563 pages of it....I couldn't stop.....so now here I am.....Lucia is reading book 3 so I don't have it and I am absolutely dying to know what is going to happen next! I guess I will have to wait until we get to St Maarten on Monday and I will buy myself a copy to take on the plane!! anyway if you haven't read the Twilight series.....run, don't walk...run to the bookstore right now and get them......I promise that you too will be obsessed!!
Other than that things are going along....the guinea pigs are growing, the pigeon is growing and Joe is studying......not much new to really report!
So I guess I should go....I have to take Monty to a birthday party in a few minutes and they are both out there claiming that they are starving.....so take care and hope to see alot of you soon!
God Bless.

Guinea pigs, pigeons and Gumbo......

2009-06-07T17:43:00.000-07:00

Greetings from sunny Saba....the land of eternal sunshine and +30 weather! It has been awhile since I last wrote.....the days seem to go by so fast.....and before I know it 2 weeks have passed and I haven't written a thing! Time is a flyin' and before you know it I will be PEI bound....only 16 days until we depart for our little fair isle.....I am excited to see people, to shop, to eat at chain restaurants, to go to movies and just really enjoy a PEI summer....I hope that you have all ordered up good weather for me?? After all, I am leaving +30 behind so I will need to have at least +25 or I will be wearing a sweater and wrapped up in a blankie!! ( I am sure you all feel the same after that long, cold winter!)
Life continues to be an adventure here on Saba......things are going well for the most part. We have had potlucks at the beach, snorkeling, guinea pig births, park days with SOS, a cooking night with SOS (where we were taught how to make authentic Louisiana cajun gumbo!) So lots has been going on! Christian is really loving it here and he is a little sad to leave, although happy to see family back home....he has become quite the little snorkeler in the past month or so.....when we came here in January he barely tolerated swimming (in a pool) and particularly disliked getting sand on his feet at the beach....soooo....we are so pleased to see that he has changed so much...he is becoming a great little swimmer and now enjoys the beach and absolutely loves to snorkel....he throws on the floaties and his snorkel gear and out he and Joe go into the deep sea (well about 20 feet) I think I hold my breath the whole time that he is out there, after all that is my baby out there.....AND there are sharks and moray eels and stingrays swimming about! Christian was so excited the other day as he saw sea snakes...yellow ones with dark polka dots...he was pretty pumped.....Monty is now a pro snorkeler and part fish, so he loves to get into the water! The other day at the beach, Joe pointed out that I was the only one not snorkeling or swimming out past my waist....(uh oh ...he is finally on to me!) So he says why dont we go out for a snorkel together.....I'll stay with you.....our friends can watch the kids for a few minutes.....so I am not sure how to turn this down without looking like a total baby.....so I agree to go....after a few swim strokes, I tell Joe that he has to hold my hand! Because I am pretty scared and almost hyperventilating a bit.....so he does, dear fellow that he is.....and he basically drags me out into about 20 feet of water where there are literally tons of fish and sea snakes and sea urchins etc.....the sights are amazing....that is until I let it register again that I am now in 20 feet of water....nowhere to put my feet down if I am tired....no floaties....and no life jacket (people were starting to make fun of me....and they weren't buying the "I am wearing it so that I can help Christian bit anymore") So I pull on Joe's hand and motion to him towards the shore.....he thinks I am pointing at some fish....I do it again.....he still isn't sure....so I pull hard and give him a bit of a grumpy look....he gets it and takes me back in.....so after we get back in, he convinces me to go out and give it one more try....so I did....and I got a little further this time, and a little longer.....it was fascinating for sure....but still scary....man I am a big baby!! After the swimming and snorkeling we had a big potluck on the beach with friends.....pasta salad....BBQ burgers and hotdogs.....dessert etc.....it was a great time......
So another great night was our SOS cooking night....all of us gals got together and Heather, a new SOS'er from Louisiana made authentic cajun gumbo.....everyone raved about it. And we had a wonderful night of socializing....we have decided that this cooking night will be a monthly night and since we have people from a lot of different ethic backgrounds, it should be really fun and interesting.....next month (which I will miss) is mediteranean food! I am not quite sure what I am going to make when it comes to my turn....is Kraft Dinner authentic canadian??
I have been trying to get out walking every day.....uphill both ways of course! When I came here my goals were tanned and skinny....the tanned part is now accomplished...I have never been so tanned in my life and I love it!!! I am sure it will age me about 10 years but for right now it is awesome...so golden and healthy......ahhhhh.....so now the skinny part needs to be at least attempted! So I am trying to get out walking every day with my friend Lucia who has a 3 month old baby girl (the sweetest) and the heaviest stroller I have ever pushed in my entire life...I tell you we are a sight to behold coming up the home stretch (the biggest hill of all!) She pushing the stroller, me pushing her from behind.....we laugh and laugh......and have to stop every 10 steps or so! We blame it on the baby or whatever else we can find to blame it on, when really we are both just quite out of shape! (although Lucia looks like a model so you would never know!) My friend Amanda has offered to walk me too as well as a new friend Nora...Nora is a marathon runner though and in extremely good shape...her idea of a walk is my idea of punishment!! I told her I better do the hills a few times with Lucia before I attempt to go with her! I bet she could whip me into shape though!!!
So the boys are all doing decently....Joe is studying and studying (he's in the thick of exams again), Christian is having a great time and Monty is day by day! Some days he really likes it here, others he is still homesick....he is looking forward to coming home the most! It will be really nice for him to touch base with all of his old buddies.....
So our newest project is raising up a baby pigeon....and yes I know, I have become a crazy animal lady....well truth be known, I have always been like this! But now that I have some time on my hands I just am able to indulge in this hobby a little more (much to Joe's chagrin!) I really really enjoy the animals.....anyway the pigeon has been quite interesting. I have to hand feed it with a syringe every 4-5 hours, baby pablum.......it loves to eat.....and it follows me around.....so cute.....well he isn't really that cute...but the kids and I (and Joe) are having a lot of fun with him....we are sure hoping that he is able to eat on his own come June 23 as I don't think Joe is going to be so happy if he has to keep up the hand feeding when we are gone!! Anyway the kids found this little fellow on the road one day and we looked all around for a nest or some parents etc.....couldn't find one so we didn't feel we could leave him there in the middle of the road....so he came home with us...I call him Mr.Peeps and Christian calls him Whistles (because he whistles all the time!) Anyway he is neat.......
Our guinea pig babies are growing like crazy! They are about 2/3 the size of the mother now and only 3 weeks old today.....I guess we have to decide whether to give them away or not....and our other pig is due to have babies anyday as well....the kids and I have alot of fun with the pigs and they have such great personalities!
Other than that, life is slowly becoming "normal" for us (whatever that is) We feel more adjusted, more at home, more like we have made our lives here.....although some days we feel like coming home, we try to remember just how blessed and grateful we are that we are here having this amazing opportunity/adventure, even if it isn't perfect, even if it means separation from family and friends for awhile, even if it means getting away from the conveniences that we are used to, even if it means no income and incurring a huge pile of debt!! We are still so blessed to be here......Attitude is 90%, it really is....one of my favorite pastors out of the states is a man named Dr James MacDonald and he has a saying .....it goes "Gratitude is the Attitude that sets the Altitude of your life".....I love this......it is something that I think of often here....days when I start to feel a little bit down about being so far away and maybe not being in the same place as my friends back home (financially, being settled etc) or when I have to have a military shower and all i really want is a long one, or when I see an unflushed toilet yet again (when it is yellow...) or when I can't get the foods I want, or go to the stores I want, or I don't have a job or any money coming in etc......then I start hearing Gratitude is the Attitude in my head and I start to look around and appreciate the absolute raw beauty of Saba, the eternal sunshine and +30 weather, the fact that I am not working which means that I am getting to spend more time with my kids at a time when they really need it, the amazing and wonderful new friends that I am making, the tiny little church in the outdoor cafeteria that I get to attend that is so rich spiritually, and the fact that Joe will finally get to be what he has always wanted to be......so like every experience in life, it isn't perfect or always easy...but so much to be learned and gained....I've been listening to the Hannah Montana soundtrack....don't laugh....it is awesome...and I love her song "The Climb" ....it really reflects where I am in my life....that life isn't about arriving....it is all in the "getting there"....some wise supervisor that I have had for a long time (Cathy) preaches this alot and I am finding it to be more and more true every day! Anyway I hope that you are having a wonderful week.....and I can't wait to see all of you and catch up on what has been going on in your lives! Talk to you again soon,
God Bless.

My get up and go has got up and went.......

2009-05-26T04:52:00.000-07:00

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.

Home home on the range......

2009-05-16T06:31:00.000-07:00

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

A few pics from our trip.......

2009-05-05T06:21:00.000-07:00

Christian and I at Le Galion Beach

The 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......

2009-05-05T05:47:00.000-07:00

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.

And then there were 5.........

2009-04-20T06:59:00.000-07:00

Well hello there friends!
How is your day/week? Did I ever tell you how much I love the weather in the Caribbean? It is absolutely spectacular every single day.....sunny and +27-30 most days now (getting warmer as we move towards "summer"...isn't is summer all the time here?) We have even had to turn on our air conditioning once or twice in the last few weeks due to the heat.....it is glorious....every morning when I wander out onto my deck and the sun is shining......I feel extremely blessed to be in this climate.....the Canadian climate is going to be a bitter pill to swallow when the time comes!
So I must apologize for my absence.....it has been a few weeks and I have been thinking about you all. The kids were on Easter break (spring break for 10 days) so my computer time was limited so I didn't really have much opportunity to write......anyway we had a wonderful time....we were swimming, snorkelling, hanging with friends, having sleepovers (my personal favorite...not) The beach is back now so we spent alot of time there! What I mean by the beach is back is that there is really only one beach here called Wells Bay and it is called a "wandering beach".....I will try to explain as it is a bit odd so difficult to wrap your head around sometimes....depending on how the wind is blowing, waves are rolling etc.....the sea brings sand in to the "beach area" and deposits it there on top of the millions of rocks that are normally there....then there is a beach to sit on/play on/build sand castles....but just as quickly as the sea brings the sand in, it can take it all back out again and the beach could disappear for months....leaving only rocks behind (which are not nearly as fun to walk on or sit on!) also when it is just rocks it is usually because the sea is too rough to play in, so beaching is not an everyday occurance here in Saba.....so the beach came back last week and we spent almost every day there! Nothing like packing a cooler full of snacks and heading down for a day in the sun! It was lots of fun, but also a little bit scary.....the ocean here can be pretty rough and unpredictable so you really have to be careful...it can be calm and flat one minute and then 3 or 4 huge (and I mean 3-4 foot waves can just roll in from nowhere....well from the open ocean I guess! So then these waves can be ridden with a boogie board all the way to shore, where you are thrown onto the beach and exfoliated (well that is what I call it....really it is a bunch of sand grinding into you very quickly....you should look inside my suit when I get home....i bring home half the sand with me....hmmm...maybe that is where the sand goes, it isn't the ocean it is the people taking the sand with them in all the crevices and folds of their body....ok ok I can hear Beth saying "Dawn you are way too detailed" and I can see Mike turning red so I better stop) So I have been getting better at the timing of boogie boarding and man it is super fun (when you time it right, not as much when you don't) I wear my life jacket just to be safe as those big waves lift you up quite high sometimes and it makes me a little nervous...Christian wears his too, just in case you are wondering......Monty on the other hand does not.....he is part sea creature I think and he loves the big waves.....our friend Rapha taught him the fine art of wave diving....this is where you dive into an oncoming wave and basically go under it! Monty thinks that this is awesome....he also loves the boogie board! So this week Monty got to go out snorkeling with our friends a few times and he had such an awesome time....I can't believe that I let him go....way out in the ocean in over 40 feet of water....the friends assured me they would look after him....i told them if something happened they should opt to not return to the shore....it wouldn't be pretty.....they laughed of course thinking that I was joking.....I told them about mama bears in Canada.....I think they got it and they took very good care of him! Anyway, Monty came into shore after snorkelling the other day and yelled "mom guess what I saw"? I of course said what dear? He said "SHARKS.....I SAW SHARKS.....2 SHARKS......Not what you want to hear from your 10 year old son after he has been snorkelling in the open ocean (remember that Saba has an "abundant" shark population!) So I try not to over react and he is so excited he c an barely talk....he then proceeds to tell me that they were young nurse sharks....phew I was relieved...they were only like 2-3 feet long...no biggie....better than the 18 foot great white I was envisioning....(I could hear the theme to Jaws in the background!) It turns out he also saw 3 sea turtles and they swam along with them for a few minutes as well......he had a wonderful time! We have also been swimming up at Willards of Saba....an awesome hotel with an amazing view (you could google it if you don't believe me!) So we had a lovely vacation......well the kids and I did....poor Joe basically studied and sweated about his final exams......he was quite stressed but you know what??? He kicked ass!!! He got 87 on his anatomy final and he was so worried about it....i was so proud of him....way to go Joey!!!! So semester 1 down and 4 to go.....Joe is now officially on break (now that the kids have returned to school!) so we have all decided that next week we are going to st maarten for 5 days for some family time .....the kids will get to miss some more school and we are planning to go over and do some normal things that you people take for granted (at least I did!) like movies!! and shopping!! and fast food!!! we are really looking forward to our trip together......we are going to go the real beaches in St Maarten and just spend some quality time together as the last few months have been pretty hectic.....we can't wait!!
so it has been a bittersweet week, some of our dear friends have left Saba as they finished their 5th semester....2 of them, sam and Rapha, who were our church leaders have left and it was so hard to let them go as they had become very dear to us and they both just loved our boys.....the boys miss them already, as do we....we wish them well in their next phase of the journey....Go with God, Sam and Rapha...many blessings upon you both!! This is the odd part of Saba....each semester you meet new friends but lose some old....it is a constant state of preparing to say goodbye (and you know me and goodbye....ick.........)
So do you remember the movie from the 80's...the Gremlins? do you remember what happened when you poured water on them? Yes that is right, they multiplied......so right now I feel like I have gremlin guinea pigs.....why you ask? well it is a rather funny story.....(ok not so funny?) You may recall a few posts ago that Monty purchased a 3rd pig? so we then had 3......well a few days ago , a neighbor behind us decided that she and her partner were leaving the island, she is leaving med school and she has a pig (the same one that Monty brought home a few months ago and we said that he couldn't keep so we gave it to her!) Anyway she gave it back to Monty so he brought it home and in the cage it went......so there were 4 pigs.....and of course he is a boy pig so he is thrilled with his harem.....and this is not good......THEN.....just when I thought that was not good......one of monty's friends from school came over, crying very upset, with a guinea pig in her arms....her mother was making her get rid of her pig adn she had no where to take it....so of course, Monty graciously offered to "help her" out of her difficult situation......and then there were 5!!! 5!!!! What in the world am I going to do with 5 pigs??? I have been trying desperately to find a home for a few...but apparently I am the only sucker on the island....nobody wants anymore guinea pigs!!!! So I have a big frisky boy in a cage with 4 lovely ladies.....can you imagine what is going to happen next?? Oh and by the way.....Joe hasn't looked in the cage lately.....so he isn't quite sure how many are in there? Adn luckily he rarely reads my blog....so I am ok for a few days, until he starts looking and counting now that he is not so engulfed in his studying and has a few days off......it is not going to be a good scene!!! eek! Anyway they are adorable and I don't mind them at all, but we may have gone a little overboard this time.....I have spread the word that I have some pigs to give away....any takers???
Anyway I better run, I have to go get my car to the shop for the brake pads to be replaced! these hills are hard on a persons brakes and last night when i drove it the car sounded a little like Freddy Kruger was following me.....now I am no mechanic but I can guess that is not a good sound when it comes to a car!!!
Have a wonderful week and I will talk to you all again later!
Love and God's blessings to you all.

To nap or not to nap...that is the question....the answer my friend is NAP!

2009-04-07T04:25:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone....I know that I am a day late posting this week and I am going to tell you why that is....because I had a nap! Yes that is right....a NAP.....a wonderful, glorious, refreshing NAP! Do you know how long it has been since I had a nap? I would say years.....and I forgot how much I absolutely love naps.....As most of you parents can relate, it is very difficult to get a nap in when you have kids....it is just not something that you can easily do as a parent. So yesterday when they left for school, I had my breakfast and came in to the computer to check email and write my blog....(I sit on my bed to write, there is a table beside the bed that is our "computer table". So while I was checking my emails, I noticed that the bed was still warm and soft and I thought "I am just going to stretch out here for a minute"....well that lead to "I am going to pull up the covers and snuggle with Tigger for a minute (he is ALWAYS sleeping in our bed these days!) Then, as I lay there all snuggly and warm, I started thinking "what if I took a nap?" "what would that be like?" This of course was being challenged by that responsible side of me, which was saying "you don't have time for a nap, there is housework to be done, your blog to write, you have things to do"......as I was arguing with myself, I drifted off to la la land and voila.....I had a nap! 3 hours later (yes 3....maybe that is a sleep, not a nap?) I woke up feeling fantastic, refreshed and wonderful (and just a tad naughty for shirking my duties) It was noon and Christian would be home soon and I was in my pj's, hadn't really gotten up, house was a mess, beds unmade.....so up I got and started in on the days work. So my message to all of you out there who haven't treated yourself to a nap for a while.....go ahead...do it.....it is wonderful and you will thank yourself for it. It is funny you know, how we mothers especially feel that we have to be always "doing" something "worthwhile". I have noticed this in my friends, family members and myself....we don't allow ourselves some of these luxuries (napping, relaxing) very often. I am not sure why, but I am going to do some thinking about it in the coming weeks and I might experiment with that napping thing a few more times just to get myself comfortable with the concept! LOL...
So we had a pretty good weekend. Friday night I attended a parents' workshop on the psychological needs of children put on by a psychologist from St Maarten. She was excellent and I quite enjoyed the presentation. Although it wasn't really new info to me, it was a good reminder of all the things that we forget sometimes when we are parenting. Then on Saturday, the SOS (significant others of saba) teamed up with another students association to have a big easter egg hunt at the park for the island children and it was a huge success! Hundreds of people showed up, the kids went on an egg hunt (we hid 500 eggs) then there was games and face painting and food, food, food.....it was a great time. On sunday we had potbless (potluck) at church and so again a wonderful time with food and friends.....we also took the kids swimming at the pool as the weather is getting hotter here....you can feel the season changing and the sun getting stronger...noon to 3 or so is quite warm, you wouldn't want to be too active out in it, unless of course you are swimming. So all in all a pretty good weekend.
The boys are very excited as tomorrow is the last day of school and then they are on their Easter Break which is 10 days (Saba version of March Break) They are so excited that they can hardly stand it...they haven't had much down time here so they are looking forward to sleeping in, lounging around, going swimming, playing etc...I am not entirely sure how I will keep them entertained for those days but I will have to try to figure out something! And then of course, Easter is coming this weekend...I still haven't quite figured out how I am going to pull that one off! There isn't tons of shopping around here so I am trying to find some Easter treats! This weekend, our church is putting on an Easter Cafe, so Joe and I will be busy with that on Friday afternoon....we had coffee brought down from the US (Starbucks) and we will be having a bunch of baked goods for students......there will be video clips that discuss Easter and its significance to us as Christians, live music and fellowship....we are hoping to feed about 200! So we are looking forward to this event.
Joe is studying, studying, studying.....his finals are coming up and he is somewhat stressed about it.....I can't believe that the semester is over already....it is crazy how quick it has gone. The amount of information that he has to know is unbelievable...I would have thrown the towel in after the first week....but Joe just keeps on going, studying, absorbing as much as he can. So he will have a 3 week break coming up...unfortunately it is after the kids break is over (poor timing....you would think the med school and school could work together??) We are planning to go over to st Maarten for 3-4 days to hang out and spend some time together so the kids will have to miss a few days of school. We are going to hang out at the beach (because remember Saba doesnt have a beach) and try some water sports, go to the butterfly farm, zoo and some shopping for supplies at Cost-u-less.....we are excited to go.
As for me, I am so glad that I am not working, I really need this time to just decompress from the business of life. Also there is much to do to keep the house running and I was finding myself way too busy. And Monty is still having some challenges so I find it is a good thing that I am home to help him. I am sure that before long I will have to work at something, but for the month of Aprill I have promised myself a reprieve (sort of my deferred salary without the salary! ha ha) We will see from there what I may or may not do. There are opportunities in the restaurants here to waitress and there may be social work opportunities on the horizon. I haven't decided what I will be doing, but I do know that it will be part time (maybe 3 mornings a week?) I really want to take this time to be here for Joe and the kids....medical school is tough and Joe needs me more than ever to be taking care of things on the home front...some of the other spouses are finding the same thing, that being a support system to a med student is a full time job.....so that is my job for right now and in between naps I will be taking it very seriously! Tee hee......
Anyway, take care all of you and have a blessed week.....
Signing off for now,
Dawn

When is sweet too sweet? If there is such a thing....

2009-03-30T12:40:00.000-07:00

Greetings dear friends and family,
How are you doing? I have had a very busy and tiring week and I must say that I am ready to go on an all inclusive to Dominican or Cuba ( I have been inspired by some of you travellers!) Now you might say that sounds pretty silly....after all aren't I living in the Caribbean? Isn't life just like one big all inclusive holiday etc etc....but the truth is no.....life is life, the same here as it was home....work, kids, studying, house to run, responsibilities etc.....the only difference is the absolutely beautiful weather....the responsibilities are still the same! so Joe is finsihing his first semester in 3 weeks time (can you believe it??) and i would love for nothing more than the 4 of us to go on a cruise or an all inclusive holiday.....so for a few days there Joe and I were looking up last minute deals etc.....and we could find some pretty impressive rates...BUT the problem is getting to them.....to fly from Saba to St Maarten and St Maarten to Florida for a cruise is about $600 per person....or to go from Saba to St Maarten to Dominican Republic is about $700! Air travel is so expensive...so the cost of the last minutes is amazing, but the getting there is the problem....anyway i would love a nice vacation, a reprieve from all the daily grind....so we will see....we may all go over to st maarten for a few days on Joe's 3 week break between semesters....
So I mentioned that I have had a busy week.......when really I have had a busy 3 months...I really never gave myself any downtime when I moved here.....I was working on the 6th day nearly full time (well 7:30-1 everyday feels like full time) and then after a few weeks negotiated Mondays off....anyway very busy .....so I made a decision this week to resign from my position at the school and to take some time off to just enjoy life and get some well deserved r&r.....moving to a new country is alot of work and takes alot of energy to get everyone adjusted! So I will look around and keep my ears open for opportunities but for now I am just going to have a few weeks/month of down time.....
We had some tragedy here this week....our guinea pig finally gave birth (after I was fairly certain that she was going to explode) and she had 2 lovely little babies....but sadly they both died....we aren't sure why (no guinea pig autopsy service available) and they looked so sweet and perfect....well the boys were devestated and there was much crying going on here....we had a "wake" which is a viewing of the bodies, putting them in caskets with flowers and showing everyone in teh neighborhood our dead babies....and then Saturday we had a funeral and burial service.....poor Christian was so sad, he had been going outside every morning to see if his pig had delivered so when he realized that the babies were gone, he was so disappointed.....anyway it was a sad event.....so in steps Monty....and this my dear friends is where I get todays title....when is sweet too sweet? Monty was very upset that his little bro was so sad (monty was very sad too) and so today he tells me that a neighbor will be stopping by at 5 with a delivery.....and I say "what do you mean"...he says "I can't tell you, it is a surprise for Christian" so I continue to ask what he has done and eventually he fesses up to his actions......he describes feeling terrible for his little brother about his sadness over the loss of our babies and so he took his lunch money that he has been squirreling away (again) and spoke to some people (Monty knows all the people) and he bought Christian a new baby guinea pig......I say you did WHAT??? He tells me again. I say where di dyou get the money and he replies that he has been saving the lunch money and oh yeah, he "borrowed" $5 off my dresser to help with the costs....but Mom (with those big blue eyes) Christian was just so sad and I knew this would make him feel better, so I just did it, don't be mad, I did it for Christian......(is this kid destined for politics or what?) Anyway I think Holy Hannah....what am I going to tell Joe? He is going to freak! oh and it does take an interesting twist here...he admits that actually there will be 2 pigs delivered...because he had promised one of our babies to Becka, a student who lives behind us and has lots of pets, and he didn't want to disappoint her so he talked the people into a second pig.....I am floored.....this is well, just so sweet but so not good....but so sweet....see my dilema? He is such a sweet and loving child and for all his faults he is about the most compassionate and caring little person I have ever met.....so how can you get mad? But we don't need more pigs....so I try my best to give my sternest parental lecture about what a wonderful gesture but he needs to ask permission...blah blah blah......he promises never to do it again......so now at 5 today, apparently I am about to get a shipment of pigs......so Monty leaves for a friends house and I start to think, just how am I going to explain this to Joe?? so i say to Joe....a funny thing happenend today, your son is so sweet, do you know what he did........well, joe is not smiling, and he doesnt think it is one bit funny.....so I say ok maybe funny isn't the right word to use? He says try disobedient, we said no more pets.....and I say but he meant well.....and Joe says yes and you know what they say about good intentions? So I agree, yes it wasn't a good choice......
So all in all life is interesting here...never a dull moment......we have had wonderful weather and sunshine.....and some great people around here so lots of good things going on......I can't wait to be unemployed for a while and just sit back and survey the lay of the land and figure out how I want to spend the rest of my time here.....3 months are gone already and Joe's first semester is 3 weeks from finishing.....if time goes this fast, we will be done of our 20 months and back in the canadian cold before we know it.....
So have a great week friends, God Bless and we will meet again soon,
Dawn

Refreshed and Rejuvented

2009-03-23T05:31:00.000-07:00

Hello friends,
How was the rest of your week and weekend...I guess that most of you are getting back into the swing of things after being on March Break.....our break isn't until Easter here so we will have from the Thursday before Good Friday until the following Monday off , so 11 days in total.....sounds good to me!! I am really looking forward to a chunk of time off as I haven't had that since I arrived in Saba (I started my job just 6 days after I got here!!)

It is 27, sunny and beautiful here this morning...I am sitting at my laptop, looking out my patio doors in our bedroom, feeling a gentle breeze blowing through my room, doves cooing, birds chirping, kids are gone to school (my monday off) and I can't think of a better, more soothing way to enter the week! I had a fantastic weekend and I hate for it to end.....I always enjoy the weekends so much......on Friday night we (the SOS, significant others of saba, basically spouses of med students) had a goodbye dinner for a spouse whose husband is finished here the end of April and she will be leaving.....(we have welcome dinners for new SOS members and goodbye dinners when they leave and a whole h ost of other interesting and fun events, like the easter egg hunt that we are doing for the island children) We had dinner at an amazing restaurant and just sat and socialized for a few hours....it was very nice and relaxing......on saturday I had an SOS meeting at the park and I have been voted as Co-president of the SOS group as the current president will be leaving end of August...so the next few months the duties will be transitioned over to myself and another spouse, Rachel.....Rachel is very interesting actually, her husband is a PhD who teaches here at the med school and he has decided to attend the med school so he starts next semester (in May) Isn't that neat? There are alot of people in that situation....Saba has what we call non-trads....older persons (over 30) who have had former careers, like chiropractors (there are 5-6 here) pharmacists, physician's assistants, paramedics, etc etc. It is a very interesting pool of students.....now there are your younger people too, but alot of these non-trads kicking around. There is even a 53 year old man here from NB who has been a government employee there for years and is going to retire from there soon...and his son just completed his 5 semesters here too.....this older gentleman is planning to become a phyician and then go do missionary work in his native home south america, which I think is awesome! (his wife is from PEI by the way.....small world!) I told him that I would love to join him andhis wife sometime in a few years when they are down there doing their work.....it is a dream of mine to do some missionary work at some point (gotta get Joe finished school someday first!) So back to Rachel, she is a really nice person, close to my age, with three 5 year olds that they adopted and a 14 year old son.....so she and I are going to take over the leadership of the SOS group, which should be exciting......so what was I telling you about? oh yeah, the weekend......on Saturday we had our SOS monthly meeting and we had praise team practice for church as well....Joe and are taking over the leadership of the music ministry at our church here (it is a student church) and it is so much fun....we are really enjoying ourselves....and again meeting and spending time with some neat people....Sam, the current leader who is from Toronto, but originally Hong Kong, I think.....The other Sam , who is from Winnipeg but originally Korea.....Shauna, from Ontario and Rapha who grew up a child of missionarys and has been all over the world (really cool person) There are some amazing characters in our church and it is so neat that we have come from all over the place and all kinds of different and unique backgrounds, yet because we come together for the common purpose of worshipping God together, we are like family....it is really neat.....we just automatically have so much in common and enjoy spending time together....So back to the weekend, Sunday evening we had a birthday party for one of the student's wife, Lisa.....we had a great time! The kids and I also spent the afternoon playing down at the tidal pools yesterday so that was lots of fun.....the waves were crashing over the man made rock wall and soaking us! So as you can see, weekends are wonderful and very enjoyable....why can't everyday be a weekend I ask????? Who made this work thing anyway?
I am in the middle of some planning for myself......just trying to reorganize my life here to get a better balance.....there are some social work prospects on the horizon, not sure what they will be and not likely any full time work but some interesting prospects none the less....so I heading in that direction....I met with the social worker, Edith who flies over here once a month for 3 days from Curaco.....she is a really neat lady who has been coming here for 25 years now.....she comes again next month and I am going to shadow here around and see what she is up to! She is a jack of all trades and when i asked her what she does here on Saba, she said "everything" from housing issues to parenting to marital issues etc etc.....so I am interested in seeing what happens there.....Saba also brought a child psychiatrist over this month (and they do every 2-3 months) from Curaco as well and I went down to the hospital and met her.....very nice lady....we had a great chat and I pitched myself to her and how I could be of assistance to her when she comes here (meet with kids in between and write progress reports to her etc, do some counseling with the parents, coping strategies for the kids etc) She was very interested and thought that would be great if we could somehow find a way to work together......now to convince Saba?? I also had an email from a lady at an organization asking if I would be interested in putting on a parenting course for young adults.....so, things may get interesting here before long......like I said , this is the direction I am heading.......
Joe is in the middle of exams right now again, so he has been studying alot this week.....well he does every week......so much material to cover, I feel for him! Glad that it is him and not me.....I think that overall he is really happy to be in med school.....
So all in all, I am feeling lighter this week....the post visit/company blues have subsided and I am not feeling as homesick.....also the great weekend helped......to have friends to spend time with and hang out with......I still do miss all of you and once I find a way to use the phone cheaply, I will start making calls....but for now email will have to do.....anyway take care friends, have a wonderful week and God Bless.

Life is a bowl of cherries (but remember you dont get cherries without the pitts)

2009-03-19T17:56:00.000-07:00

Warning: This post is a change of tone from the usual frisky and care free....those of you who like to avoid real feelings should turn back now before it is too late!!!!!

A midweek post? yup...thought that I would throw you all off a little ...and I felt the need to express myself.....just in case you were wondering life isn't perfect.....well at least mine isn't! Don't get me wrong, it is pretty great alot of the time, but nothing is ever perfect. Take cherries for instance...these perfect little yummy fruits and you put them in your mouth and chew this perfect taste and then phooey....a big ol pit right in there and you have to spit it out....the cherry is yummy...the pitt sucks.....pittless cherries sound good....life without pitts sounds good too doesn't it? Can anyone relate to my ramblings??
So as you might guess I am having a little bit of an off week....a pitt week we will call it....last week was the cherry.....maybe it is because my mom and aunt have come and gone and I am unsure of when my next visitors will be (and that gives me something to really look forward to).....maybe it is because I miss my awesome awesome job and colleagues.....maybe it is because my two cousins both had little baby girls just weeks after I left and I didn't get to meet them, hold them or smell them (don't babies just smell so perfect?) and touch their perfect little feet....maybe it is because I haven't had a real shower in almost 3 months....maybe it is because I want to call a few people to touch base and say hello but it is so expensive that I must choose eating over my need for contact! Maybe it is because my home church, Cornerstone has finally finished their beautiful new church and I wasn't there for the first service (and I miss my choir....oh do I miss them) Or a combo of all of the above....I don't know, but whatever it is I am missing home this week...it probably doesn't help that Monty is too and he has been a little weepy and asking me if we can go home soon for a visit....or that his hockey team won the provincial championships (yeah team) and he wasn't there to celebrate the victory with them....anyway just so you all know.....I MISS YOU......more than you can imagine.....and it isn't Saba's fault.....I love the sunshine here, I am meeting some wonderful people and having some very neat experiences.....but I miss sitting in the office chatting with Stacey and Mary Lou about nothing and everything, I miss chatting with Cathy, Carol, Cheryl, Krista, Melissa, Bruce,Mike (yes Mike you too)Beth, etc etc......I miss being able to pick up the phone and call Tina or Elysa or Sandra and just talk for 3 hours.......I miss mom just popping over to bring the boys a treat or to have a cup of tea.....all the little things that make life special and interesting......I miss them.....ahhh it feels good just to acknowledge it......
So to all of my wonderful family and friends out there....thanks for being you and being a special part of my life and and making me the me I am......I feel so blessed to know you all.....even if you do drive me crazy sometimes.....I will be praying a special blessing over all of you for this coming week ....Take care dear friends.......

It's all uphill from here......

2009-03-16T05:20:00.000-07:00

Hello friends. It is pouring rain here this morning, and this is considered a very good thing on Saba as it fills the cisterns thus allowing us to continue showering, washing clothes and dishes etc. But it has been raining for the past few days, which is apparently unusual for this time of year.....and now that I am accustomed to sunshiny days everyday, I must admit that my threshold for tolerating ill weather has gotten much lower.....so I am sick of the rain....I hung my favorite shirt on the line 3 days ago and it has rained everyday so of course it is still wet....and being poured on as I write this....and i mean POURED! I have never seen such rain....it usually only rains for a few minutes each day and then "out comes the sun and dries up all the rain, so that Dawn and the kiddies can go outside again" (my version of the itsy bitsy spider) How will I ever go back to Canadian weather?? Enough complaining about weather...I am fairly certain that I am not getting any sympathy from any of you up there in the north pole....errr PEI!
We had a great week. As you know my mom and Bernie were here visiting and we had an awesome time. We spent the week relaxing and hanging in the sun, doing a little bit of touring and overall just enjoying each others company.....we cooked some fantastic meals together (ok, I watched and provided moral support....ham and scalloped potatoes the pei way...hmmmm) and some great BBQ's. and Mom brought me lots of gluten free products so I have had fresh bread and pizza this week (soooo good...thanks Vandunkerkin...I love you!) We had our friends Joka and Gys and Jim over for supper (well Gys didn't make it as he was delivering a baby) Joe and I got out twice by ourselves (we almost forgot what that feels like!) I did some grocery shopping without chasing those two wild men around the store...I forgot what it felt like to browse everything in the aisles...I am usually focused on getting in and out as fast as possible to get those two out of the store! We didn't do quite as much touring as we could have but my poor aunt Bernie was having a very difficult time with the uphill roads in Saba! It is something that cannot be described, it must be experienced to be believed (ask my mom and Bernie!) Everywhere we went we were on a hill....and Bernie is terrified of heights so she couldn't look out of the car windows or she would feel nauseated....Monty thought this was pretty funny and so inthe car he would say "look out now Bernie it looks so cool, you can see the water about 1000 feet down, it's not that scary Bernie, c'mon, have a look" And poor Bernie would have her eyes tightly squeezed shut and her head down, trying to stay calm! It was pretty funny.....Remember the old stories where people would say things like "in my day we walked to school in 5 feet of snow and it was uphill both ways" and you thought, how can something be uphill both ways?? Well I am here to tell you that in Saba it is uphill BOTH ways....literally....and some of those hills are bigass hills....if a person were to get out and walk some of these hills regularly they would have buns of steel and amazing legs....hmmmm.....wonder if that would be helpful for my goal #2 skinny? Probably....but enough crazy talk......back to the visit.......We went to a big BBQ dinner at Scouts Pub....we went out to the open mic session one evening....and Friday night we went to Sabaoke and it was so much fun...my mother sang "Did I shave my legs for this" by Deanna Carter! And I sang Angel by Sarah McLauglin.....we had a lot of fun! And then it was saturday morning and they had to get on the plane for their long journey home....it went waaaayyyy to fast....and I was really sad to see them go.....made me feel pretty homesick .....and still feeling the effects a little......Christian and Monty were pretty sad too....that is the crappy thing about having visitors...it is so wonderful while they are here but when they leave, the reality sets back in that you are far far away from home and that it could be a very long time before you can see those people again.....I didn't go to the airport to see them off....as most of you know, airports make me hysterical and I bawl like a baby for hours after I have been in one....so it is easier for me to shed a few tears and hug people good bye at home.....Anyway we had a wonderful time....thank you Mom and Bernie for coming down to see us.....we loved it!
Monty had a pretty good week....he joined boxing last week and he is very excited about it.....it is 3 times a week and it is FREE (as most everything is here....well activity wise anyway.....) and there are only about 5 other kids attending so they got alot of 1:1 instruction....he came home pretty pooped! and he has been taking guitar lessons for the past few weeks and really enjoying that....we are going to look at a guitar tonight for him that one of the students leaving the island is selling.....Monty is pumped! I think that despite his challenges settling into school here,he really does like it here in Saba...the lifestyle is very well suited to him, he loves the freedom, he has made a few friends now and he even has a girlfriend apparently.....not sure if i am supposed to tell that?? oops! Anyway he is having some great and fun experiences.....
Christian continues to love Saba and he and Jim are always together....it is a bit like Jim is our other son these days....and we just love him, what a sweet kid...montys friend Helke is a darling too....the other day when Mom and Bernie were here we all went down to the Tropics cafe for a drink and a swim and I took the 4 boys....there was a lady there from Texas and she was amazed that I had 4 boys! I told her that i only technically had 2 and the other 2 were extras! She was very impressed with how polite and well behaved they all were.....we had a blast playing in the pool, laying in the sun and hanging in the hot tub....it was a wonderful day.....
So other than our company, the big excitement of the week is waiting on the birth of our guinea pig babies....the boys are so excited and they check every hour to see if the babies have arrived....the mama pig is about as wide as she is long now so surely they are coming out soon.....the boys are beside themselves with excitement! I must admit that I can't wait to see the cute furry little things either! Now Joe on the other hand is still in denial....the boys keep telling him that we are keeping the girl babies and we will find homes for the boys.....Joe is adamant that we are not keeping anymore.....yeah, ok Joey....sure we won't get any more pets....wink wink nudge nudge......
Anyway I better run...I think that the rain has stopped...woo hoo....maybe it will be an outdoor day after all! I miss all of you.....have a wonderful day and take care......
May you have a week filled with blessings and goodness,
God Bless,
Dawn

It's beginning to look alot like Christmas...well without the snow....

2009-03-08T19:57:00.000-07:00

Hello blog readers! How are you all doing? Another beautiful week in Saba...although it was a bit chilly a few days this week, down to 24 and some winds and a little rain too (trying to make you all feel a little better about your own crappy weather...tee hee) We had a pretty good week here on Saba, a busy week for sure.....we came here with the assumption that life would slow down considerably for us but it hasn't quite worked out that way....I have come to the conclusion that maybe we are just busy type of people and we make it that way because we like it? Anyway the boys had a decent week at school. Monty had to write an essay about a woman from Saba for national women's day and he chose our neighbor Lynn. He had great fun interviewing her for the essay and then writing it...it turned out pretty good....he is a smart cookie that one if you can get him to sit still long enough to do some academics!!
The boys both had sleepovers on Friday night...Monty had his friend Helke and Christian had Jim of course! We rented movies, got junk, the whole 9 yards and the kids had a great time. Jim outplayed, outlasted all of the others and was the last man standing (well laying but still giggling at the TV) at 10 PM....it was his first sleepover ever so he was pretty pumped (and perhaps my decision to allow them to have a ring pop during the movie wasn't very well thought out?) Finally he did sleep though and they all slept through the night....they all got up around 7 but I thought that wasn't too bad considering.....Saturday morning Monty and Helke had guitar lessons so we drove them down to windwardside....then I was over talking to Manuel in the community garden and bringing him some fresh cookies that Joe had baked and I wasn't watchiing the clock and all of a sudden it was 11 and i was late for the boys....so off I went to pick them up.....and then....as I am driving down the hill a truck passes me and in the truck is Monty and Helke and they wave and smile at me.....they had hitchhiked a ride back home.....now before you go freaking out, apparently hitchiking is a very popular mode of transportation with the locals and everyone knows everyone so it is perfectly safe....now I don't have any problems with people hitchhiking but Monty is not people....he is my 10 year old son....so I was thinking good heavens this is crazy....Monty of course thought it was great fun...and he was picked up by teacher Randall the grade 2 teacher who knows the boys and who knows me....anyway life is definitely different here! Helke hitches rides up to our house at least 2-3 times a week....like I said it is like public transit for the people here....but it still freaks me out a little.....so what do you think?Am I losing my noodle??
Saturday night we went to a BBQ with Jim's family and we had a fabulous time....they are such fun and lovely people and the food was amazing! (endive salad with a creamy homemade dressing, satays on the barby, steak and pork....a meal fit for a king! we felt very spoiled) So today was a great day because my mother and my aunt Bernie arrived for a visiit from PEI....well it didn't start out as great....Igot up and got ready and went to the airport to pick them up.....got there at 9 (flight due at 9:05) waited, and waited and waited some more...by 9:20 I was thinking the plane must be delayed and as I had been sitting outside the airport enjoying the morning sunshine and +26 temp (ah hah you knew I had to sneak that in somewhere didn't you!) I thought I will wander in and see when the flight is coming....so I enter and to my surprise there is not a person in sight....and I think,wierd , there are at least 10 cars in the parking lot and there is a flight over due...where are all the people? Have aliens come down and taken them away? Did the rapture happen and I am left behind? what is going on?? So I call Joe and ask him to call win air's office (since there is NO ONE in the airport at all) Joe calls back and says that head office in St Maarten says the flight is in the air and they should be there anytime...so I think ok, wierd but whatever...out I go in the sunshine again to wait and watch for the plane....10 more minutes pass and I think, ok the flight is 12 minutes long and 10 minutes ago it was in the air sooooo where is it exactly?? so I go in to the airport again and I finally see a man (security guard) and I say ummm sir where is the 9:05 flight from St Maarten? He says there is no flight at that time, the next flight is due at 11:20....so I say ah yes there is a flight and apparently it is in the air and my mother and aunt are on it....when will it be arriving? and he says sorry ma'am but the next flight is in at 11:20....so I call Joe and have him call again and call me back and I drive home....when I get home, Joe tells me that apparently the airline cancelled the flight and mom and Bernie are now on standby for the 10:20 flight...and I say 10:20? that is weird,,,,it is a 12 minute flight and the airport said that it wont be here until 11:20....Joe says yeah it gets better,,,,they are flyiing to St Eustatias first !!!!! I said WHAT! NO WAY!! Bernie is going to freak out! So I call over at 10:20 to win air and say please make sure they get on the flight for goodness sake and some fellow says I will see what I can do...he calls my mom up to the desk and I can hear her in the background explaining the situation .....so he comes back and says, I have your mom booked but not the other passenger Perry? I am going to have to check with my supervisor...call me back in 5.....click.....so 5 long minutes later I call back and say Kendell? He says they are on....good bye.....thats it....so down I go and get them.....they have arrived dragging many bags behind them....and so we sat outside by the airport for a few minutes and headed home.....so once we got home, we started opening the bags!!! I tell ya , you never saw people so excited for the strangest things....the boys were gaga over the candy (cream eggs, mini eggs, smarties adn nerds,,,thanks Jamie, Bernie and mom!) and my gluten free stuff (thank you thank you thank you!!) and Joe was doing a dance for his BSG DVD's (Thanks Bruce!) and I was so excited to get my hands on Greys Anatomy episodes (thanks Jamie!!!) We got crocs and socks and flea treatment and candy and erasers and pencils and hair accessories and chalk and home schooling material (I am going to be supplementiing) Anyway it was like Christmas, the whoopaing and squealing going on around here!
We had a great first day, the weather was great, the company was great, lots of fun swapping travel stories and other stuff.....we can't wait to get out and enjoy the next 6 days...I hope that they don't go too fast!!
So take care friends and we will meet again....I will tell you all about our visit next time! God Bless you in the coming week!

Sock monsters exist all over the world.....

2009-03-02T04:38:00.000-08:00

Hello! How are you all doing? I hear that the weather is cold and icky back home....perhaps you should pack your things and come to visit us in Saba!!! It is never below 24 here and the sun shines basically every day.....I really love the weather and I don't know how I will ever adjust back to the Canadian climate!
We have had a pretty good week down here in Saba....on Friday night we were invited to a beach party/bonfire with our new friends, Marylynn and Meno.....they are the parents of Monty's new friend, Helke, they are a dutch family. Anyway they have 4 boys ! Helke is the youngest and the rest are mid to late teenagers, very nice fellows.....so we got invited to a Christmas tree burning bonfire....it was a blast...our other friends, Joke and Gys (another Dutch family) came as well and they brought their son Jim, who is Christian's best friend. So we had an amazing time....it really felt like home going to a social gathering with other families...we definitely need to do that more! The beach wasn't there yet but it was still very fun.....the beach here is called a wandering beach because it comes and goes....the locals say that it usually comes back around midmarch sometime....so right now the shore is all rocks and there is no sand, the waves are quite big as well....but apparently soon, there will be a sandy (black volcanic sand....can't wait to see it) beach again and the waves will settle and it will be nice and calm and a great place to swim/snorkel.....in the meantime we have been swimming down at the harbour. And in the pool when we get invited by our friends! We may buy a membership once the weather gets hotter...there is a beautiful hotel on a cliff not far from here (you could google it, it is called Willards of Saba) and they sell pool and tennis memberships to students...the combined membership is pretty pricey but the pool membership is $200 a semester....so probably equivalent to the Cari complex in town....right now it is winter here and so there is always a fairly cool breeze blowing through. So Joe and I thought that once "summer" arrives and the weather is much hotter (apparently it can get very very warm!) then it would be nice to have access to a pool anytime we want to go.....you can go to alot of the hotel pools if you go and buy a snack or you can go to willards for $10/day per person so we figure that the membership will be the most economical way to go! Now I know you are thinking why don't you just go the beach when it is hot out?? Well the main reason for that is that the beach is a wandering beach and isn't always there....but also it is down down down a very steep road which I am a little afraid of at this point so I am not sure that I would want to drive all the way down there every time we want to go for a quick dip....Willards is about 3 minutes away (although it's driveway is straight up in the air!! so that will be a little crazy too) You really have to see the roads here to truly appreciate what I am saying....you know those very steep roads in downtown halifax? well they are like a flat section here! in some places you are sure that your car is going to tip over because it is so steep....luckily I am adjusting and most of the roads don't seem as scary to me anymore!
So the weekend was great. Monty had Helke over for most of it. Christian went to Jim's birthday party at the park and then swimming with his family on Sunday....so lots of great things going on....Oh and Monty started guitar lessons on Saturday morning and really enjoyed it...I am looking into signing them up for boxing as well...havent decided for sure as dont want to have too many activities going on.
Monty has been suffering from bouts of homesickness.....it is hitting him mostly at bedtime....so he is missing his family and friends and his hockey team.....adjustments and change are not Monty's strengths so this has been tough on him....sometimes I feel so bad for him, but I know that this is also a good learning experience for him...what is it about us parents that we don't want our kids to be hurting? Hurt is a normal part of life and a growing opportunity (as we know) and so we should be ok with it, but when he is sobbing heartfelt, real sobs about missing his family and wanting to go and see them, my heart just aches for him....and I want to run out and buy him a ticket home to see everyone...but I don't....I just listen, and offer comfort and an opportunity to talk about those he misses.....
Christian on the other hand, says that he is staying in Saba forever....he loves it here....he was homesick initially but he has fit in so well that he feels very at home.....
Joe is still enjoying med school....has block exams again this week (they have them every 3 weeks or so.....quite a pace here!) he doesn't have time to miss anyone or anything so he just keeps his nose to the grindstone!
I am a little lonesome for home at certain times....for example, our church Cornerstone just opened their new sanctuary and I felt so sad that we couldn't be there for the first service on sunday.....now you have to understand...this moment was 4 years in the making and we were all so excited to have a new church...so when my friends all were going on Sunday so excited, it made me sad to realize how far away I am from home.....also I miss being able to just pick up the phone and have 2 hour conversations with beloved friends....like Tina or Jackie, Sheri or Elisa, Julie,Lisa or Karen etc.....2 hour conversations in the caribbean mean that we don't have groceries that month!!!! so i really try to limit my phone calls and talk more through email....but I miss the voices, the laughing so hard my belly hurts conversations.....I am going to look into vonage again so that I may be able to make those long calls...they just may be essential to my ongoing happiness!!!! I am meeting some very nice people here, at our church and in our community.....but it does take a while to build those deep friendships that you just can't replace....
So my exciting news is that my mom and my aunt Bee are coming down this weekend to Saba for a week long visit. we are all really excited to see them! We love having visitors (hint hint) We are really looking forward to showing them around our home and community.....my one wish is that we all had the week off to spend with them....but it is probably ok.....mom and Bee are probably looking forward to sleeping in and quiet mornings having tea outside in the sun....so they may be thankful that we take off for the morning! we will have afternoons and evenings to explore away !! So I have asked my mom to bring down some things that we are missing down here....some are kind of small and may seem pidly but are things that we cant get here (unless we take another day trip to st maarten!) So mom is bringing flea medicine for the dog (I think he has fleas! ick) and nice hair accessories for me (as the pony tail is my new everyday style so need some variety) Also Joe needs pics and a capo for his guitar, we wanted some sidewalk chalk for the boys (we have a huge driveway which begs to be drawn on!), and some homeschooling curriculum for Monty (want to make sure that he is keeping up with canadian system) and most importantly socks! SOCKS! Do you know how hard it is to buy socks here and if you do happen to find them how expensive they are???? I had to buy some not to long ago because apparently there is a sock monster in Saba as well (you know the monster that only eats one sock and leaves you without a match??) So monty has about 7 socks with no mates?? Why can't the monster eat them in pairs I ask? would that be too much trouble? Sock monster? are you listening?? Anyway I bought Christian 6 pairs and Monty a 5 pair pack and it came to about $28 US!!!!! And they weren't fancy brand name socks by the way....just good old fashioned white socks (yes white....it was all they had so they won't be white for long!) Anyway the sock monster has been relentless around here so we had no choice in the matter....so I have asked my mother to please stock up on the socks and bring them with her so that the sock monster can continue to feast......
So I told you about our guinea pigs right? Well they are still cute as ever......the boys just love them.....but one of them keeps getting fatter and fatter and fatter....now I like to think it is all the grass and fresh veggies that we keep piling in the cage (please let it be the veggies!) but I have come to the conclusion that we bought a pregnant pig....so now we are thinking what are we going to do???? we are hoping that there are more people like us out there who may want a guinea pig for a pet.....speaking of pets....Monty's friend Helke has the sweetest baby tortoises....they are about the size of a tennis ball or smaller.....he is trying to give 2 to monty and he wants them.....so Monty has been working on Joe all week....the familyhas offered to take them back when we leave.....they are very tiny right now so have to be kept indoors for the first year or so and then they can go outside when they are less vulnerable.....personally I think it is a great idea....Joe is not so sure.....he thinks we have enough pets! Enough pets??? never.....(the boys and I love pets so we would have a whole petting zoo....luckily Joe puts his foot down once in a while.....) So I am thinking that before long we may have 2 more family members , oh and + however many babies a guinea pig has! (please let it be 1!!)
Anyway friends,I better get back to my Monday off!!!! Lots of sunshine to be enjoyed and maybe a little laundry and house work to do before the kids get home! Oh and people have mentioned that they haven't been able to comment on the blog without signing up....I didn't realize that ....so if you don't want to sign up maybe you could send me an email from time to time letting me know that you are reading?? Have a wonderful week all of you!!! God Bless!

2 months have come and gone....

2009-02-22T17:22:00.000-08:00

Well friends.....how are you doing? I was looking at the calendar today and realized that February is almost over which means that we have been on Saba for 2 months already!!!!! Can you believe that? Time really is flying by.....only 18 to go......We have had a great week, although it was a bit rainy and windy all week (one of the nights I was fairly certain that we had an unannounced hurricaine!!) The good thing about rain is that it fills the cistern! This is good because then I feel like I can have a teeny bit longer in the shower, or I can flush a little more and not worry about water! The cistern really is a great idea and we are amazed at how little water we really need and how wasteful we once were (when you don't have to worry about running out, you don't pay any attention to how much you use!) I think of all the times that I saw lawns being watered back home and that seems like such an incredible waste now....the weather has actually been pretty good...I was a bit chilly in the wind but i was Saba chilly, not PEI chilly (for those of you out there that aren't sure what that means, it means that I was a little cold from the breeze and the air temp dropping to 25 or so.....ha ha ha) I really really love the climate here.....I was looking at my cousin's facebook pics today and when i saw all the snow in the background, I shuddered for a second and then gave thanks that we are so fortunate to be living here and enjoying summer year round! Of course, some day I will have to return to reality (and freezing cold and snow and ice and winter jackets and layers....yuck) but for now I am going to take every opportunity to be outside soaking up this wonderful weather!
The boys had a pretty good week.....Monty is still struggling a little with adjustment issues but he had a few good things happen this week....he had a friend over to play and a sleepover with that friend....so he was very excited about this....Monty has been mostly hanging around with the teenagers across the street....they are a pretty good group of fellows actually and they love to come over to play on the trampoline....they raise pigs so they have been teaching Monty the ins and outs of that...they also trap crabs to use for fish bait so they have been teaching this to Monty as well....he loves the freedom of roaming the community with the teens.....checking everything out, learning a few new things (like how a pig is butchered) Tonight he said that he is a "real Saba boy " now.....thought that was pretty cute.....he does really enjoy the fellows and they are very nice to him.....his friend that he had over though was his age, a very nice boy, and they had a great time together....so I am hoping that this will develop into a good friend for Monty.....the teens are great, but it would be nice for him to have a few good friends his own age at school....I think of my own special friends that I had in my life at that age and how important it is to have those best friends who you can have fun with, share with, laugh with......that is what I really wish for him.....Christian is still doing great....he is inseperable from his new best friend,Jim....they are like 2 peas in a pod, so alike and they have so much fun together! We went swimming today at a private pool (thanks to our great neighbors up the road who take us there from time to time! Jim's parents...) and Christian is coming so far with his swimming,I can't believe it.....a few weeks ago he would not enter the water without a life jacket on, would cry if a teeny bit of water splashed his face and would still try to cling to me.....today he went over with Jim and his family and I joined them about an hour later and Christian was swimming underwater with his goggles on and no lifejacket!!! I was amazed....each time we go over he gets a little better....he was very excited that he is able to swim on his own now.......
Joe continues to be pretty busy with studying, but he is very happy about it....he loves all the new things that he is learning about the human body and attempts to introduce it often in conversation....of course I think my eyes glaze over and I try to look like I think it is fascinating....but I am not quite there with him!! I love what is going on inside the brain.....but I don't need to know about the bowel and how big it is and what it feels like or smells like when you cut into it....I have lived 37 years without this knowledge quite comfortably and will continue to do so!! Monty , on the other hand is quite interested in what Joe is doing/learning so he asks lots of questions.... of course Joe loves to answer them.....smarty pants!
Our other interesting news is that we added some members to our family this week.....2 baby guinea pigs which the kids have named Aero and Chimchar (what ever happened to names like fluffy and sparky?) the kids have been having a ball with the pigs and I must admit they are adorable......we had them in a temporary rigged cage for the week and it was ok, so this weekend Joey built a deluxe house for them....which was quite a feat given the supplies that he had to work with......in Saba, houses are built with cement and concrete (amazing strength to endure hurricanes) so wood isn't something that you find in abundance here (nor are hardware stores for that matter) so Joe bought a few pieces of 1"X 4" as well as some screws and nails, mesh and a handsaw.....and he was pretty dubious about his ability to make much of a cage without "proper power tools" (I can hear Tim the toolman in the background.....arroooo?) Anyway I was very impressed with his creation (esp since he stated that he was not having anything to do with the guinea pigs!) He built them a deluxe model home that looks great! The kids and I were impressed and the pigs seem to love it too....they were hopping around for joy and squeaking like crazy (or maybe they were concerned for their lives because Tigger kept trying to get in the cage with them?) Anyway it turned out great......esp given what he had to work with....I tell ya, that Joey is amazing (well in my eyes anyway.....maybe the kids didn't quite appreciate how good it was...they were just happy to have the cage finished)
I had a few outings this week without children in tow! It was so nice! Since my job now consists of being around kids all day and then I come home with my own, my adult time has decreased significantly! So I was so excited to have a few "out" times.....I went to the SOS meetiing on Saturday at the park (this is the Significant others of Saba group...all spouses of med students and faculty) We had a "business" (social) meeting......nice group of gals and we sat for an extra hour and chatted.....the president of SOS is trying to convince me to run for president for next term....I am not quite sure....I am thinking about it...might be an interesting experience.....then I got out for band practice (Joe and I were on the worship team this week, well pretty much every week now!) so we had practice so it was a great time jamming with our new church friends, an awesome group! Today I hung out with one of Joe's school mates, Julianna,she is a lady from Nigeria originally but now from Maryland, USA and she is here in school, while her family remains in the US....she is a very neat lady, very passionate and outspoken (my kind of person!!) She has a great sense of humor and she is also an ordained minister.....so we had some very interesting conversation! I told her anytime she wants to have some "girl hangout time" to just give me a call! So I am meeting some very nice and interesting people here.....I have a feeling that when we leave there will be many people whom we will miss......
So overall a great week and we are very pleased about how things are going here.....we are settling into a routine and getting used to the way of life and it suits us just fine.....I don't miss the "big city life" or the conveniences or the fast food or the mall at all (which surprises me!) The only things that I really miss are family and friends, our church and my job and great coworkers.....
I better go and get into bed....it is getting late and morning comes way too early here!!! Dont forget to sign your name in the comment section! I do really like to know who is reading and what your thoughts are of our adventure! Some weeks are more adventurous than others but overall Saba has been a great experience.....nighty night friends, God Bless!

a cold in the Caribbean? How absurd!

2009-02-16T04:09:00.000-08:00

Hey friends!
How has your week been? I am going to start off by saying that I know there are many of you reading this blog and I would like to ask you a favor.....if you wouldn't mind, after you have read the blog, just going to the comment section and letting me know and even saying hello if you wish! I would like to keep this blog as a bit of a rememberance when our time here is done and it would be nice to know who has been reading/following along and your thoughts! Thanks!

We had a great week. Joe's parents came to visit from Calgary for 4 days and we had a wonderful time with them....it flew by and we were sad to see them go :( But alas, all good things must come to an end.....we had many adventures with them while they were here and they absolutely loved Saba...they both thought that it was a very neat place and that we were so lucky to be living here (which of course we agree) We went snorkeling down at the harbor and Grampy and Joe taught Monty how to snorkel, which he had down pat in about 30 seconds....he is now a snorkeling guru! Leave it to Monty...he is always so good at athletics! We went to the tide pools, which was fun and more snorkeling there. The we went on a snorkeling adventure with Sea Saba in about 25 feet of water.....and no one was eaten by a shark! Even I went snorkeling, can you believe it? It was quite the experience, somewhere between the most fascinating crossed with the most terrifying experience of my life! Breathing underwater is quite an activity...your body is screaming "no don't do it, don't take a breath!" but your brain is saying "go ahead, you have a snorkel, you will be fine" So under I would go and I would start to breathe and then I would start to hyperventilate because of course my body was overruling my brain...so up I would come and get my breathing regulated again and then back down to start the process all over again....I would say after about 20 minutes or so, I finally had it.....and wow, once I relaxed long enough to take a look around, I must say it was spectacular....I encountered many beautiful fish and coral.....it was really neat....of course I continued to glance all around for creatures that may be lurking in the dark (sharks, moray eels) but if they were there, they didn't present themselves to me.....Monty was off like a pro with his Dad and Grandpa and they were way far away from me, having a blast....and Monty was having no part of wearing a life jacket....I on the other hand, opted for the life jacket.....it was a bit cumbersome by times, and so , maybe I looked a tad silly, BUT I stayed afloat...and that my dear friends was the goal! Christian got out in the water with his life jacket on as well and he did stick his head under a few times but I think he was a little more like his mother in aptitude....so he just enjoyed swimming around.....we saw 2 turtles from the boat and Joe and his Dad got to swim right over them, they thought that is was cool! We ended our visit with family with an absolutely, to die for, amazing dinner at the Gatehouse, a wonderful, quaint, restaurant with divine cooking.....It was very sad to see them go and it reminded us a little of how far away from home we really are and that we do miss people......my mom and my aunt are coming in 3 more weeks so we are looking ahead to our next guests......
Other than that, things are getting somewhat routine....we hang out in the sun, get some tan, frolic and play in summer, enjoy the heat....oops am I bragging? We feel so blessed to have this summer weather and we are NOT missing winter one little bit.....everyone should live in this climate! Joe is still doing fine in med school...I think he wishes that he could have a little more down time, but overall he is enjoying it and learning tons......the boys are both doing better with their school adjustment....and I am just going along, working when I must and trying to get some relax and sunshine when I can.....
A few other goings-on:
Joe and I are involved with the music at the church so we led worship this week....it was awesome! Joe played guitar of course, I sang, our friend Sam played keys and sang (he is awesome) and Jeff played the jembe drum.....very fun, our church group is a lovely cozy group from all over....we are enjoying getting to know them.
Oh, I have a cold!!!! Can you believe it? A cold in the caribbean! I keep saying a cold is a Canadian winter illness, but apparently a cold knows no boundaries! I am working hard at trying to get rid of it (lots of flintstone vitamins!! ha ha....and chocolate) so I hope it is gone soon!
we are still feeding the baby goat everyday a few times...she is so sweet and growing so fast...when we come over she jumps in the air, gets all excited to see us.....she definitely has stolen our heart! Monty continues to catch several lizards a day......he had gotten very good at it and I keep reminding him that the first week we were here he couldn't catch any and now here he is a pro!
Anyway I better run....it is my monday off (I love Mondays off) and I should try to accomplish a few things today....take c are and don't forget to leave your message in the comment section! God Bless!

You can't turn the video camera sideways to take video...it is NOT like an Ipod touch!

2009-02-09T18:27:00.001-08:00

Howdy friends!
Well, another wonderful weekend in Saba....really they just keep getting better and better.....we had such a great time that we didn't want the fun to end sooooo today I had the day off and I let the kids play hooky (is that so bad?) so that they could enjoy an extra day as well.....Joe's parents are here to visit, they arrived yesterday morning bright and early and they will be here until Thursday....so I figured since they will only be here for 5 days that a day off from school would help maximize their play time together......that is my story and I am sticking to it.....anyway we have been having a great time. Yesterday we went down to the harbor and the fellas (Monty, Joe and Grampy) went snorkeling...the boys were very impressed....Christian went for a swim but didn't snorkel...and I sat contently on the rocks by the water, watching and soaking up the rays (I have been soaking up a few too many rays these days...but I just can't stop....it is kind of like a Lays chip....betcha can't eat just one.....well you can't just hang out in the sun once.....I think that I may be turning into an iguana.....seriously I would just sit out on a hot rock in the sun all day long....so it stings a little....and my skin is florescent red some of the time.....but lately it is turning into a brown red.....so I am thinking that goal #2 (tanned) is well underway! Goal #1 has not been started.....(skinny) I continue to feast regularly on french fries and chocolate (hey gotta have a few vices!) So today we all went down to the tidal pools (well minus Joe because he was writing exams....sucker! ha ha...just kidding dear.....) I drove down for the first time myself.....it was a bit scary but I did it so I am very impressed with myself.....the road is very steep and twisty and you are 1000 feet up so it is a bit of a daunting task....describing it here can in no way give you a clear pic of what I am talking about....but when you come to visit you will see for yourself! (don't look down!)we had a great time climbing around the volcanic rock and then we played in the man made tidal pool for a while...Monty went snorkeling again and they saw lots of fish there as well....tomorrow we are going out on a boat with Sea Saba to go snorkeling in the ocean (It is Snorkel week, didnt you know?) I am a little nervous so haven't decided if I will snorkel....and if I am honest, I am quite anxious to let Monty snorkel there as well...it might have something to do with the depth of the water (23 feet) or the abundant shark population...not sure....but I guess I have to let him do it....he really wants to do and his Dad and Grampy will be out there too.....and maybe his mother if she ever gets up the nerve to get in the water....(is that the jaws music playing in the background?) So today I took lots of pictures and I decided to take some video of Grampy and Monty climbing closer and closer to the tide pool, where huge waves were crashing in through the rocks.....it was quite cool to watch....so I started videoing and I decided that if I turned the camera I could get a better view of the scene....not thinking that now the video was sideways!!! What a spaz....not until we uploaded it onto the computer and I saw the results of my fine cinematography skills did I realize what i had done! What a spaz....I tell you....I thought moving to a new country that the Dawn stories might level off...but they just keep coming! All in all a perfect, sunny +30, fun filled weekend.
A few other highlights for the week:
-The boys were invited to a big birthday party with about 30 kids in the park...their first here on Saba...adn they had a blast! It was a great party.....
-we have been assisting in raising an orphaned baby goat....we are bottle feeding her a few times a day.....she is sooooo sweet, her name is Addy and we just love her (check out the pics on facebook)
-Joe has been studying for block exams (today and tomorrow) so he has been very busy
-I am becoming a real Saba driver and I no longer go under 20 all the time (much to the pleasure of the Saban folk)
-we have become experts at catching lizards
-We have been having a ball on the trampoline!
Anyway lots of fun stuff going on.....only work and school getting in the way of this being one great big party! But I guess those are necessary parts of life as well!!
I better run and get to bed. I have to get up bright and early in the am to get to work....my Grade 6's are writing exams tomorrow....exams that I wrote....tee hee.......
So take care, God Bless and talk to you soon!

Another weekend in Paradise

2009-02-02T04:09:00.000-08:00

Well good morning friends! How are things in your part of the world? cold? hmmm...I thought so! We had another beautiful weekend here in the Caribbean.....yesterday was +30 out and sunny and hot! I got quite a burn, as did Joe......it was a bit overcast so the sun didn't seem as hot as it was and so we stayed out in it too long! But that is ok....give me sunburn over frost bite anyday of the week!! ha ha.....

We had a great week....we are starting to get a rythym going here, a routine and perhaps we are starting to settle into the idea of "living" here not just on some big vacation. Right now I have Mondays off and I would like to keep it that way...I really enjoy having that one day where i can just veg and enjoy the quiet....I go pick up Christian at 12:15 so I really just have the morning but it is awesome! Tuesday to Friday I work so we are all up about 6:15 getting ready as we have to be out the door around 7:10....it is hard on all of us as we are not early rising kind of people! Back home we used to push snooze several times and finally crawl out close to 7:30! So this is a big change for us! The boys are still working on their adjustment but for the most part they are doing fairly well. They are getting involved in some activities and the lizard hunting is still the favourite activity (well Monty's anyway!!) He has gotten extremely good at catching the poor little guys....occasionally he forgets and grabs one by the tall (and for all of you who know anything about lizards you know that lizards come equip with a slick little defense mechanism that we like to call "drop the tail" so Monty has come up a few times with just a tail! But hey...he is having fun!)

Joe and I went over to St Maarten this weekend , are ya ready.....BY OURSELVES....yes that is right....no kids....some new friends of ours...Billy and Lisa very kindly and generously offered to keep them so that we could over for the day.....Billy is Joe's study buddy and a former chiropractor...and Lisa is his wife, a former electrician...they are from Arizona and are very nice, funny people. I was a little nervous to leave the island and leave the kids behind for the day, but I figured that they were in pretty good hands so away we went. We travelled over on the ferry, which cost us $80 each round trip....it was quite a ride,crossing the open sea in a small vessel. Joe and I sat at the back on the outdoor benches, thinking the fresh air would keep us from being seasick....it worked but Wow what a ride! Imagine a roller coaster that lasts for 2 hours and you get the ferry ride experience.....I didn't mind it at all but some people looked a little greenish.....On the way over we shared the ferry with a group of docs from Toronto who were in Saba on a diving expedition......they were leaving and heading back to the cold! They all raved on about the diving and how amazing Saba is so we felt a little proud and blessed that we live there and get to go back....they were all a little envious of us.....So over in St Maarten the weather was amazing and we wandered around all day in the shopping district in Phillipsburn. It is basically where all the tourists from the cruise ships would spend the day....there were streets and alleys galore with shopping. We knew that we had a few things that we were looking for and a strict budget....but we couldn't help wish a little bit that we had some extra dollars to buy some things....there was incredible deals to be had....one jewelry store had Joe's dream watch....a citizen professional diving watch, one which he has admired for years and usually sells in Canada for around $700 ....it was offered to us for $235 US no taxes (duty free!) it was hard to walk away from that deal! But we had to....alas...in about 10 years Joe can go back and get it...when we are out practicing and the student loans are paid off (ha ha) We had an amazing brunch on an outdoor patio and then wandered around.....we were successful in our shopping.....we got our most important item....a TRAMPOLINE for the boys!! They were so excited!! They have wanted one for a long time and we both felt that it would be a great rec activity to have at the house.....esp since they don't know tons of people and they aren't getting out as much as they used to....it was a hit and Monty jumped on it all day....at one point he looked at us and said I am exhausted....we looked each other and said wow it was worth twice what we paid to hear those words from Monty!!!! So we buy the trampoline at the cost-u-less (basically costco) and a bunch of other items to bring back (fruit rollups and curley wurleys!!) and then we head outside because for Costco to take our items to the ferry it has to be all packaged properly....while outside these young fellows tape up all our boxes and charge us $10 for the service and then a fellow says where do you want these to go, i can take you for $25...dont rely on cost co as they get around to it when is convenient to them.....I look at Joe and he says whatever you think dear.....WHAT? ok Joe, I am a smart, intelligent, capable woman most of the time but I am not an experience world traveller so do we jump in a truck with a strange man and allow him to take us to (our death possibly) err the boat??? Joe is no help so I look the guy over, talk to him, check out his truck, do the fastest social work assessment possible and decide he is ok and say yes...so off we jump crammed into his little truck with our boxes...and then I start to get a little cocky and say "how much extra for you to stop at a pet store so i can buy my son a cage for a lizard?" He says oh sure for $7 more I will do that...I say deal and away we go (I am kind of liking this valet service!! my own personal taxi!) so he takes us and we get to the boat (albeit he was a bit of a wild driver and we had no seatbelts....we are sliding with our safety rules, now partaking in hitchiking, picking up hitchikers, no seatbelts, etc) and he helps us unload everything...on the way to the boat he gives us the lowdown on history and culture of St Maarten from a locals's perspective....so it was an intersting experience! Anyway we really enjoyed our day in St Maarten! It was great.

I better run and get a few things done since it is my day off! I will write again soon! I know that my blog is like an episode of Lost for many of you....h aha just kidding....I do like letting you all know how life is going here though....it is interesting to say the least! Take care dear friends and may God richly bless you in the coming week!

Time flies when you are warm and having fun in the sun!

2009-01-25T16:34:00.000-08:00

Greetings friends....well can you believe it that we have been here 3 weeks tomorrow? I find it hard to believe that I live here....I go outside in the warm air and I look around at the incredible scenery and I think perhaps I am dreaming and any minute I am going to wake up to -39 wind chills and 5 feet of snow! It really is quite beautiful here and the island has alot of charm...it is unique and different from any place that I have ever been....it is raw nature and relatively undeveloped. The boys are having a ball with all of the lizards and fish and other creatures...Monty is now the lizard catching king, catchiing several a day and bringing them in the house to show me....they love the goats wandering the island (they are everywhere) and they often want to stop and get out and pet them (ah kids, they're wild!) They seem to think that if we get out and talk softly t hen the goats will want to be our friends...it is funny....today we went down to the harbour again adn on the way down we say an awesome 3 foot iguana, sunning himself on the side of the road (the little retaining wall that Ispoke of) we got quite close and he just sat there and stared...really cool. Down at the harbour, we were looking into the water at the tarpons again (very large fish) and at all the little Dory fish (from Nemo...aka blue tangs) They were so awesome....Monty was dying to go for a dip but we had just come from church so we didn't have suits...our friends Nathan and Amanda were there as well and so MOnty convinced all the boys to strip down to shorts and get in....so they did and they had a great time diving and swimming....the water was about 14 feet deep but clear as a bell so they could see right to the bottom....it was alot of fun....Christian even went in for a dip....of course I was a little overdressed for swimming so we will know that next time we go to church we will have to bring our bathing suits with us in case we want to go for a swim after!!
Things have been going well overall......we have had a few gliches here and there but really, we can't complain, we are in the caribbean after all, the land of eternal sunshine! I absolutely love this weather....I can't imagine how much it must suck to be in those horrible temps back home!! I am so thankful to be here, warm , wearing shorts and wandering in the water.....
The boys adjustment continues to go fairly well...Monty is still struggling with his teacher, and I don't blame him....it is a big adjustment for Monty (and for anyone really) ......Monty is struggling a bit with this, but he has a pretty good handle on it overall......so not sure how it will pan out....Monty also has found it a little difficult to make friends, there arne't any kids his age up around our place so is making friends with the organic gardening attendent across the street (and learning about gardens) and the farmer down the road (and going to visit his sheep and rabbits) and the pig farmer across the street (he often walks over with him to feed slop to the pigs and did I mention the pellet gun shooting? ) He loves many things about being here though...the weather, the island, the lizards, nature, being outdoors....he keeps saying, we are so lucky to be in the caribbean aren't we mom?

Christian is a little better off as he has 2 friends on our "street" that he plays with adn he has a lovely teacher so he is learning lots in kindergarten...he appears to really enjoy it here....and only at night does he get a little lonely for his nana and other family back home....I was saying to him last night "who loves this baby?" (a game we have played since he was little) and he lists off mom, dad, Monty....and I said what about nana? he said, yeah she can't love me now though,,,,I am in Saba and she is in PDI (gulp) He then said, I think i am gonig to cry now....so he has little bouts of loneliness but overall by day he is doing well......

I am loving many things about Saba.....the weather, the quiet, the view, nature, the water, the interesting sites, did i mention the weather?? ha ha.....there are a few things that i would change....I'd like to take real showers, not saba showers (turn water on, 1 full circle, turn water off, soap up, turn water on , circle for rinse, turn water off!) It is all about
water conservation and all water comes from rain water collected into a cistern so if you run out it isn't so good....I would flush the toilet after every use, not just #2.....again water conservation adn the saying here is "if it is yellow, let it mellow, if it is brown, flush er down!" I used to growl at the boys for forgetting to flush....now I growl at them for flushing too often.... ha ha.....poor confused boys.....Montys first shower here he was like I have to what??? turn off the water why??? You have to understand, Monty loves his nice long hot showers and gettin ghim out was always an issue!!! A few other things I would change.....I wouldn't work, I would just relax and enjoy myself....but alas it is hard to pass up a job when things are so expensive here.....I have gotten pretty good at this computer teaching thing,,....who knew? ( I can hear you laughing Krista!) sometimes I find the class sizes overwhelming but alot of the kids are very sweet.....I have a few nice friends so they drop by afternoons to chat and I am starting to get a tan! Just a wee hint of color but hey goal number 1 (remember 1tan and 2 skinny) I have jump started the skinny with a wee bout of food poisining (that was fun...NOT) soI think that I lost a pound or 2 from that...both MOnty and I got sick from food that we ate at a restaurant on Friday night....I felt better today and a little skinnier so I thought...hey it wasn't so bad.....now if only Joe will stop bringing snickers bars home perhaps I can continue to work towards the skinny goal!! Secretly I think that Joe likes me a little on the plump side! why else woudl he continue to stock the cupboard with chocolate..knowing full well that I have not one ounce of will power....
Oh and we have found a lovely church group....the Christian students association meet at the school on Sundays and it is very nice....a small group...Joe is doing the sound and I am singing....the people are very nice,mostly students but a few locals too....there is a little old fellow named Brother Reilly and we drive him to and from church and he kind of takes a grandfather role with the students (he is in his 80s and almost deaf) So we at least have a great place to worship and enjoy christian fellowship!
ANyway as you can see overall things are going great and we feel quite blessed to be here having this experience...I think that everyone should try something like this at some point.....it is really neat.....I guess that I should sign off and get to bed....I get tired here much earlier (all the fresh air and sunshine!) so it is off to bed I go!!! so take care friends and we will chat again soon! Night night, xoxo, God Bless.....

2 weeks already??

2009-01-19T04:40:00.000-08:00

well hello there! So far i know that I am not doing a great job of updating my blog everyday...although to be fair, I did just get internet4 days ago!! So I am going to try from here on out to get to it at least weekly but hopefully every few days....... we have survived our first 2 weeks in Saba and it has been an adventure for sure! Life is very interesting here and I am so glad that we are in warm temperatures...I keep hearing from all of you dear follk about the cold temps back home and I am thankful and grateful to be here in the warmth....oh I was so meant to live in a tropical climate!Winter just doesn't work for me....it makes me cranky! So for now I am basking in eternal summer (at least for the next 20 months!!)

So we will start with Joe since he is the reason that we are here in the first place....Joe is in his glory! He absolutely loves it.....he likes the people, the island, and he is absolutely thrilled to be in medical school.....I mean thrilled, I don't think I have ever seen him this chipper and happy in the 16 years that I have known him....so this is his dream for sure.....he absolutely loves coming home after spending the day with Gus (his cadaver) and sometimes he even spends some time with Gus in the evenings as well.....the kids and I see him coming home from time with Gus (the telltale sign is the scrubs!) and we start plugging our nose and telling him to change out of his scrubs immediately! I am not in med school so I am in no way interested in smelling dead people...yuck.....so Joe giggles all the way to the bedroom saying "oh come on it isn't that bad now!" I am here to tell you that yes dear Joey ....it is that bad....go change! We even make him keep his scrubs in the trunk of his car...so he has been working hard, he has Block 1 exams today and tomorrow...anatomy lab exam today and then anatomy and histology exams tomorrow....Joe is taking an extra course as well each semester as this will allow him to have a combined degree,.....his MD of course, but also a Masters in Hyperbaric Medicine...which he is quite excited about. He has made some very nice friends...the old married guys they call themselves..although i think Joey is the oldest....but he has a great group....they are all keen and good study partners, mature and serious students, but really nice fellows....Nathan is a biochem major and Billy is a chiropractor (so he has offered free services to us if we would like our bones crunched) All in all, Joe is off to a good start and he is very happy!

The kids are doing quite well....maybe even better than i expected...they have had to make some pretty major adjustments in their lives so I am pretty pleased with how they are doing.....they are both attending the catholic school here. Christian finds it a bit difficult to go to school all day (7:30-12:15) but he is adjusting...he likes to come home and tell us how well he behaved each day...he is so darn cute.....Monty is doing fairly well...he has a very strict teacher....a bit like boot camp actually....at first I was quite worried about it...but I am starting to see that there may be a bonus here....Monty is wanting to avoid the wrath of his teacher so we have not had one homework battle since we got here! I think it is probably toughest for Mont as he does miss his friends and it is a little harder for his age to make new ones....and don't forget that he has switched over from french immersion into an all english curriculum.....they are doing more advanced math here than what he was doing at home so he is having to work hard to catch up ( and I am having to relearn grade 5 math so that I can help him!) We have both boys enrolled in soccer and they started on Saturday and it was great fun...apparently the plan is that we will all fly over to St Eustatias in a few months to play a game over there!! Doesn't that sound like fun....so i am going to help out with the soccer ( as much as my non athletic self can!!) so that I can go to0!!!!! Christian is in gymnastics and Monty is on a waitlist for the snorkel club....here you can sign up for 3 activities for the price of $3 US a month! Quite cheap! unfortunately that is about the only cheap thing on Saba!!!

I am doing fairly well ....I absolutely love the weather and the Island is quite unique so I think it will be a great adventure.....I have met some really nice girls...Lucia (who is due in 3 weeks to give birth!) she is from Canada, Amanda, from Ontario is Nathan (Joe's friend) wife and she is a very nice girl, and Lisa, Billy's wife, Julianna, one of Joes classmates and Lauren, another student's wife...there are 4-5 others that I have met as well...all very nice....Lucia and amanda live closest to me so I hang out with them a little more. So we arrived 2 mondays ago and I registsered the kids for school and they started on that Friday.....that same day I got a call from the principal of the school wantng to interview me for the teaching position that I applied for....so Ithought that I would go down for that....well I was hired in about 15 minutes and they told me that I had to start on Monday! I was not prepared for that so I did ask to wait a week but they needed me so I started....I had a very busy and hectic week as I was teaching 10 computer classes to Grades K-6 and then proving TA and guidance type support to all of the classes as well...I found it a bit overwhelming so I negotiated with the school to slow down my workload adn to have Mondays off for now until I am well adusted to the island....my hope is thta I can have Mondays off indefinitely.....we will see how that pans out :) So here I am teaching computers (yes computers Krista). I love the kids at the school...there are some very sweet little people there, some that need alot of TLC and attention....I am not keen on teaching the younger kids, the kindergarten or Grade 1's.....imagine 21 kindergarten kids in a computer lab with 9 working computers!!! A little hard on the head...the older kids (4, 5 and 6's) are great.....of course with all of my experience with adolescence, that age group would make more sense for me!

The island itself is very cool....a great big mountain....I am finally driving without holding my breath (a good t hing when you drive) I love the weekends as we all go exploring together so this weekend we went to the harbor on Saturday and watched the boats coming and going, chatted with the fishermen and looked into the water at the 6 foot tarpons!! very cool. we were able to wander around under the dock and touch the water...apparently we can swim and snorkel there but Joe is thinking there are 2 many boats coming and going so may not be safe.....Sunday we went to the tide pools and climbed on volcanic rock.....very cool and we got to see sea urchins adn other neat fish in thte litte pools....of course Joe tried to drown us.....ok so I exaggerate.....here is what happened....we get wandering into these little cave like things that you have to climb along the wall and the tide pools are very cool down there....the footing can be a bit slippery so I end up carrying Christian on my back....so I say to Joe , the marine biologist, "does the tide come in here? are we in any danger of the water rushing in and sweeping us away (because in the background the water is smashing against rocks with a fury!) And Joe says oh no I don't think so , we are pretty safe here......the words were just out of his mouth and what happens?? the water makes it over the boulders and rushes in around our feet....now it was only ankle deep but still...didn't I just ask if this very thing could happen....so Joe amends his explanation to well water will come in but it won't rush in and drown us! Anyway I made everyone get out of the cave! We then went to a man made tide pool where the kids were able to splash and play in the ocean.....it was lovely and refreshing!!

I guess that is enough for today.....this is my first day off! and so I am headed to the shower and then just going to relax for the morning....so I will talk to you all again soon! Stay warm dear friends!!!! God Bless!

We have arrived......so much to tell......

2009-01-14T16:07:00.000-08:00

I apologize for my absence but I have not had internet until this very afternoon.....Praise the Lord that it is now hooked up....I was in serious withdrawl! So now I am working on getting my fix.....So the epilogue is that we are in Saba and so far so good.....but before i update you regarding our new home.....I want to continue the telling of the "journey to Saba"....and what a journey it has been.....

So I last left you with the story of the barfy kid and being rerouted to San Juan the next day...as it turns out the storm kept raging on and so we were postponed until the Saturday, which of course royally screwed up our plans of getting to Saba and there was alot of fanagling (sp) to get us where we needed to be so that Joe could start school on time......we were getting frustrated spending 2 nights in Halifax but we thought oh well lets make the b est of it.....we can have fun anyway....there is a pool in the hotel, blah blah blah.....so we head down to the hotel our first day there and oh my.....it is broken! the thermometer is not working and so the water is basically the same temp as the air.....the outside air I might add! The boys try to brave it but their teeth are chattering within minutes so out they come screaming for hot baths and showers (which they took many of for entertainment over the next 48 hours!) with the storm raging, we decided to hunker down and hang out in the room and get some food, although little did we know that this hotel only has a continental breakfast and no other food available!! So Joe had to take our rental car (barf and all...which they didn't charge us for!!!!) down the road in the blizzard and found a Tims so that the kids could eat.....we rented a movie and settled down for the night.....around 4 am I was awakened to the sounds of little pitter patter feet and another barfing child....oh no, there goes my theory of Monty just being a little car sick or over excited....we have now progressed to contagious barfing.....so Christian gets the stomach flu....he started to feel better by mid day and so we wandered through the blizzard in our non winter clothing for a snack ( hey we were moving to the Caribbean, give us a break...did we really think that gloves, hats and scarves would be necessary?) We could barely see the hotel across the street and we were slip sliding away in our non winter shoes when..oops....down goes Dawn! right onto her back.....my arm was not in good shape....the kids helped me up and we carried on into the restaurant for some snacks...that evening I wasn't feeling 100% and I started to worry that I would be the next victim of the ruthless stomach bug.......yup.....the next morning there I was ...talkiing on the porcelein phone.....not fun and I was not impressed....and the sickest I've been in a long time...Joe also became pretty sick...so we spent 3 nights in Hali trying to nurse sick people and keep kids entertained and keep our ever changing travel plans in order! I think we deserve an award or something??? Anyhoo (as Melissa would say), we finally left for st Maarten on Saturday morning and we didn't book a hotel there because we weren't sure that the storm was over and we didn't want to risk any more cancellation issues (the cancelled hotels may charge us) So we arrive in St Maarten, with a still very sick Dawn (almost passed out on the flight to NY, the attendant looked very worried, fussing over me) St Maarten was a really neat flight in right over the beach so that perked me up a little and I prayed that I would feel good enough to enjoy my stay here. We get to the airport with what seems like 4000 bags, all in one piece, Tigger stogged into a slightly too small carry on bag and we start talking about booking a hotel....well that would be a great idea IF we could figure out how to use the frickin phones!!! We keep asking and they keep looking at us like we are crazy, but i swear, we could not get the phones to work....finally some woman at the customer service desk, after answering our questions about 20 times, decided she better help us out or we would keep returning, looking a little more frazzled and crusty each time! She found us a h otel that would accept pets (1 on the island)...luckily they had space, however the VISA took a hit! It was so worth it though.....it was amazing place with a big courtyard that led to the beach or the pool or table tennis or the restaurant or the jet skiing etc.....LOVED it.....so we spent all day sunday just hanging around the resort.....it was so warm and the water was so pretty! We decided what the heck lets rent jet skiis so we even drove around in the lagoon for a while...it was pretty fun! We had to stay until Monday morning at 7 when we could finally get the first available flight over to Saba! So we pack up those 4000 bags again and drag them all to the airport and fly across in the tiniest airplane ever....I could not stand straight up and there was no room to move at all....Mike H if you are ever reading this...you could never fly on this airplane! Anyway, it turned out to be a very fun flying experience...this little plane can just take off and land ona dime...so the kids see Saba coming and they get very excited (and relieved that we will finally be done travelling and HOME)....we have, after all been on the roads for 6 days now......so all of a sudden the plane turns sharply and to my right if the window was open I could have touched the mountain!!!! It was insane, then I look down to the teeniest air strip I have ever seen adn i think NO WAY......but we drop down on it llike nothing and stop in about 300 feet.....crazy...and fun.....I'm glad that I did it.....so we get into Saba and it is beautiful and one big honking mountain.....it doesn't look like somewhere people can live.....we wait for our bags and oh,,,,no really? NO bags?? Well apparently sometimes Win air doesn't send the bags the same time as the people?? So they tell us to go home and maybe they will come today maybe not? we hail a taxi and up up and away.....as we climb higher and higher I think that I am surely going to plummet to my death...the kids are going "weeeeeeee, this is so cool, look mom" I have my eyes squeezed shut and I am praying to God that we please make it to our house so that I can start breathing again!! We finally get to our house and it is great....we love it, very cute and the weather is so warm and sunny.....our house is at 1686 feet above where the airport was so we basically drove straight up! All i can think of is that eventually I have to go back down....ok, hang on......the adventure is beginning......I'll write soon to update you regarding our new "Island life"....take care all....Dawn

Chapter 2...Storm Storm go away......Poor Dawny just wants to get to Saba

2008-12-31T20:26:00.001-08:00

Chapter 2...Revenge of the Maritime weather.....

well we arrived in Halifax with a barfy smelling car, barfy smelling clothes, a barfy kid, tons of bags, a dog, another kid and before the snow....what more could you ask for.....up we went to our room, which is lovely I might add, The Holiday Inn Express by the airport.....very nice and great service....we heard on the radio on the way in that flights "might " be cancelled, we both looked at each other and said, surely the trip blips are done and the storm is going to blow past? Nope....we were so wrong.....by the time we got up to our rooms, the storm started and was in full force....we can barely see out our window, swirling snow everywhere.....we made the dreaded call to american airlines and low and behold.....our flight was CANCELLED! we had a teensy weensy freak out moment and then composed ourselves to jump into problem solve mode....so the airlines it would appear is very booked this time of year so we had to alter our route somewhat....so instead of tomorrow morning direct to NY and then to St Maarten where we were to stay and explore that land for a while adn then to Saba the next day, we are not leaving tomorrow afternoon (weather permitting..not looking good right now) for NY and then off for a night in San Juan, Puerto Rico. We will get in tomorrow night at 10 PM and then leave for St Maarten at 7 am Friday morning just in time to catch our flight to Saba at 12.....so our touring of St Maarten is out.....so American will likely give a voucher for the airport hotel in San Juan, the Best Western....so I think great until we call and they absolutely will not accept dogs....so back to the drawing board adn apparently the only hotel in San Juan to take dogs is the Normandy....so we are booked in their at our expense (and it is expensive) from 11 pm ish until 6 am ish.....apparently we have an absolutley beautiful ocean view, which we won't see since it is night time! You would think that the story ends here.....alas.....it doesn't quite.....we attempted to cancel our reservation in St Maarten for tomorrow night and we cannot find it, we can't remember the name of the hotel.....actually Joe can't but I will say "we" for the sake of showing a united front!!!! he made the reservation and told me about it but can't remember where and I didn't pay a ton of attention thinking that he had taken care of it...so we are paying for a lovely room somewhere in St Maarten tomorrow night....and one in Puerto Rico as well....wonder what VISA will think of that?? Anyway the way that this is all going I am fairly certain that I will have a few more stories to tell you.....

Heeeerrrrrrreee's Dawny!

2008-12-31T20:02:00.000-08:00

ok all you people....I have been told that you are anxiously awaiting more "Dawn" stories (and I am so glad that you all find my life sooo entertaining!) Well have I got a story (or several) for you...the last 24 hours have been, well, let's say....eventful! and to be honest I am not sure how I have survived but somehow God has kept me alive so far so obviously these stories are meant to be told!

yesterday seems meek and mild compared to today, but for a quick recap...we had to move out of our duplex....it took ALL day and I mean all...7 am ish to 7 pm ish, with 2 of us packing, 3 people cleaning and a moving company moving the stuff...and the movers truck broke down and (they had us written down for the wrong day) so they showed up 3 hours late...but they did a great job and were very efficient once they did arrive.....also the day before as we were waiting for UPS to pick up our boxes for shipment to Saba, we found out that we couldn't complete the paper work that was sent to us on the weekend as it was meant for people moving to the US as opposed to moving through the US....so after 4 hours on the phone talking to UPS,Canada customs and US customs (2 hours of which were on a cell phone because as luck would have it, our battery operated cordless decided to die part way in....yes I am serious.....anyway long shipping story shortened is that we ended up canceling UPS and driving 6 very large boxes to Canada Post to mail them down for a handsome price of $520! (instead of the $300 for UPS) but hey to save all the paper work hassle we sent it!so we missed the boat to Saba and we are now not sure when our stuff will arrive but it will arrive and that is what matters (see what a positive attitude I have?? still smiling (through gritted teeth!!)

So we spend the night with my aunt and uncle and kids and had a wonderful morning with them until the goodbyes started, and then we had tears a flying in every direction....picture 8 adults, and 6 children 10 and under all crying....it was quite a scene.....our kids were trying to renegotiate the whole move....I must say I was a little bit tempted myself......

Sooo..this is where the Dawn saga gets more "Dawn like".....we left PEI headed for Nova Scotia, (a little later than planned but whatever) hoping to outrun the Atlantic storm headed our way! About an hour into the drive Monty says "mom I don't feel good" and so i say "Monty you have been up late every night this week and crying this morning and you are anxious and so you probably just feel exhausted...lay back and have a sleep" (good motherly advice?) about 20 minutes later he opens his eyes and starts barfing EVERYWHERE....yup......all over himself, the rental car and the bags in the back seat...Joe quickly pulls over to the side of the road and opens the window and says "Monty put your head out the window" MOnty turns toward the window but makes no move to go to it and barfs all over the door instead....Christian was screaming "oh gross, disgusting, that smells so bad" cars were a flying by and Joe and I just stared at each other thinking what do we do now....we found a few napkins and then started digging into the socks in the suitcases to clean up the barf.....we left a few pairs on the side of the highway just before oxford if anyone is looking for free socks! we stripped him down to his t-shirt but had nom more warm clothes for him because of course we are moving to a tropical climate and we only packed summer clothing (not anticipating needing several changes of winter clothes!) Monty sat shivering in the back seat wanting my coat but he was still half covered in barf so i wasn't keen on sharing.....we turned the heat up (which of course accentuated the smell) and drove to Oxford. We got to a gas station and cleaned Monty all up and got some proper stuff to clean the pool of puke out of the back of the rental car....got him some clean clothes and a bucket (yes the very helpful and sympathetic staff found us a bucket for Monty in case he decided to puke again) He made great use of the bucket all the way to Halifax! Luckily the hotel has laundry facilities.....you would think that the adventure would stop there but NOPE......we stopped at shoppers and I sent Joe in to buys some laundry detergent and he brought it out in a bag......so at the hotel I went to the laundry room to throw the barfy clothes in the washer....and the light was not working so I had to hold the door open with my foot to stretch forward to get the laundry going in the dark....poured in the "detergent" and started her up.....dried the clothes (except Monty's hockey jacket which has to hang) a little while later I walked by his jacket and noticed that it still really smelled like barf....I decided to hand wash it in the bathroom with the "laundry detergent" that Joe bought.....to my surprise when I got a look at the bottle...it wasn't detergent at all....IT WAS FABRIC SOFTENER!!! I looked at Joe and shook my head and I thought this is about the craziest day ever.....oh there is much more but I am going to start a new chapter.....read on.......

5 More Sleeps.....

2008-12-26T19:03:00.000-08:00

I must say that December has flown by with amazing speed and here I sit just 5 sleeps away from our move to the Caribbean! It is CRAZY! Christmas was wonderful and as always it was gone so quickly.....we had many wonderful events this month so that probably contributed to time going so quickly....I really can't believe that we are going....my last day of work was tuesday and it was tough packing up my office and leaving and as I went outside I was thinking....holy cow....I am now unemployed, what am I doing?????? I have a feeling that I am going to feel like this for the next few weeks/months until we get settled in Saba!

So for the past few weeks we have been slowly packing things up and getting everything organized....about 1/2 of our house is now in boxes or sent on to others....so we just have the other 1/2 to contend with ....this is where it gets tricky....I put something in a box and the kids haul it back out because they want to use it! and we are trying to pack all of our winter clothing away and only keep out what we will need for the next few days....it makes it a little more difficult when we are travelling from the north pole ( ha ha) to the hot temps of the Caribbean (it has been 25 C all week in Saba)

I am excited about our adventure and I know that we are going to have such a neat experience...but I am sad too, leaving my family and friends behind....I have a lot to cram into the next 5 days so wish me luck.....

we may be unreachable for a few days until our internet/phone etc gets connected (I've been told that it can take up to 10 days) but as soon as we are safe and sound and online I will let you all know!

God Bless,
Dawn

I'm not a fan of goodbye.....

2008-12-07T10:06:00.000-08:00

well....in less than 4 weeks we will be departing for Saba....I have been keeping so busy getting organized that I have been ignoring the goodbyes, partly because I am so busy getting organized but also because I have learned over the past year or two that I am not a fan of goodbye....I'm a huge fan of hellos and welcomes (meeting new people, getting to know them, new babies etc) and I enjoy the part in the middle (getting to know people on a deeper level) but goodbyes....nope.....I am the person who cries when I see an airport, whether I or anyone I know is going on a plane ( because I have had my fair share of goodbyes at airports and I am now conditioned to cry at the sight of one!) So these next few weeks are going to be intense...with lots of crying...I am planning to head out today to stock up on the expensive kleenex with the moisturizers in it so that when I am blowing my nose and wiping my eyes 100 times a day, I won't be all chafed....I had my first "taste of goodbye" today when one of my friends at church started talking about much she would miss me and she told me that Monty's class is having a surprise party for him on the 18th and the kids are all excited planning for it....it made my heart ache and she opened the goodbye door (that I was trying to keep deadbolted shut!!) and that was it....I was crying .....I am really excited about our moving but I think I was ignoring the part where moving meant goodbye and uh oh, there is alot of work to be done now to prepare.....I know that we will do well, but my life has been here for so long, my dear friends and family, my church family, my choir, my wonderful colleagues, this has been our life....and it is going to hurt alot to leave it all behind.....You are all so dear to me and the thought of not being able to get together for a coffee or a chat is very sad for me (please come for a coffe and visit me in Saba).....anyway for those of you who aren't up for the emotions of the next weeks I would advise you to not read my blog until well into the new year.....for the rest of you....I ask for you help and support as I challenge myself to grow and be successful at saying goodbye....
God Bless, Dawn

Saba, bathing suits and cortisol

2008-11-29T19:09:00.001-08:00

So....a friend of mine advised me that I need to write in my blog more regularly so that people can remain updated.....and of course I know that you are all hanging on the edge of your seats waiting to read the next entry....ha ha.....so I will try to be a little more regular.....there is lots going on though, so writing doesn't seem to take priority.....BUT all that will change when I am relaxing in the sun in Saba because I won't be working full time and trying to move my family to another country....I will have oodles of time to keep you all updated on our adventure!
So I learned something very interesting this week....I went to a conference on the impact of family violence on children and it was excellent. One of the things that I learned was about how we have chemicals in our brain that have to be released at the right times and in the appropriate amounts to keep us happy and healthy....we were talking about cortisol which is a chemical that drizzles out in the morning to give you your happy injection for the day....and the cortisol peaks at about 10 am, so theoretically you should be your happiest and most stress free at that time of day....so why now is this relevant or remotely interesting? Well it applies to my life with bathing suit shopping.....of course moving to the Caribbean I have been advised that I definitely need more than the one bathing suit I currently own......but bathing suit shopping for me is rated right up there with trips to the dentist, immunizations and overdue bills....a nasty, stressful event that should be avoided if at all possible! So I was chatting at my table with a couple of colleagues (of course not during the presentation....definitely coffee break) and it dawned (ahem) on me that I should take advantage of this optimal level of cortisol and go shopping for a bathing suit some morning at 10 am!! That the issue isn't my body being slightly out of shape, it is that I am shopping at the wrong time of day, the evening, when my cortisol is kaput! Anyway, we had a great laugh and we all thought it was an excellent idea! Sooo....Mary Lou, if I disappear some morning around 10, I could be found in a dressing room somewhere in Charlottetown trying on bathing suits...with a SMILE....
So...I assume that you are now wondering about the Saba plans.....well 5 weeks from today we will be in our new house in a new country! I can't believe it.....we are in the packing boxes for shipping stage and I am having difficulties picking which shoes to bring....I was trying to limit myself to 3-4 pairs but it is proving to be a challenging task! Who knew I was such a shoe monger?? We are also weeding out and getting rid of stuff and this weekend we plan to start packing things that we don't need to put them into storage.....We also have been advised by the Christmas commitee members (Monty and Christian) that it will be December in 2 days and the tree MUST go up....so we will be packing and decorating all at once it would seem! Anyway it is getting late and I have to be up early in the morning to practice with the praise team for singing in church....oh and those of you reading out there please feel free to come to Cornerstone Baptist's Christmas Contata...December 13 @ 7PM at the East Wiltshire School gymnasium....it is a great opportunity to share in some music, celebrate Jesus....the reason for the season! and get into the Christmas spirit! Love to see you there.....Good Night and God Bless!

Looking forward....and back

2008-11-23T17:41:00.000-08:00

Time is flying......we are down to 5 and 1/2 weeks until we leave for our 20 month adventure in the Caribbean......the lists are a flyin'.....immunizations...check...dog travel arrangements...check....boxes and tape...check.....criminal record check...check.....you get the picture....it is alot of work to make this all happen! I am SOOOOO excited, anxious, terrified, thrilled (to escape this snow...ick), sad....I don't think that I have ever felt so many intense emotions at one time! I anticipate that it will be like this for a little while until we are moved and settled (thank God that I have a patient and laid back hubby who is quite capable of managing me with all these emotions ;) I am looking ahead to an awesome opportunity, an exciting adventure, an opportunity of a lifetime and imagining all of the possibilities....and I am looking behind at what I am leaving....beloved friends and family, an amazing church family (just when they are about to move into the new sanctuary!) , my choir (oh I will miss my choir), a great job and my 15 year old Eskie, Nikki (she is too old to make the trip and lets face it...an Eskimo dog in the Caribbean??) So I am trying very hard not to look back too long (remember Lot's wife?) I know that God has some amazing plans in store for us and some life changing experiences and I must go forward with joy and embrace this for the blessing that it is! Joe is so excited, I don't think that he has any reservations AT ALL....I mean it....he is just so darn happy to be going to medical school, it has been his dream for so long and he has worked so hard....he is like "let's get on with the show people" He has been a wonderful source of encouragement and strength for me (see I knew I kept him around for a reason...tee hee...) He is very positive about it all and calm, cool and collected.....( I guess that someone has to be!) The kids are mixed...both excited in many ways and both sad to leave their family and friends behind (just like their mama)....they keep asking "how many months until we come home, Mom?" I am sure that 20 months seems like a lifetime to them, but I keep encouraging them by reminding them how many people are going to come visit us on our tropical island.....they love the idea of people coming to visit!
Anyway just wanted to write a quick update to let you know how we are progressing in our "moving" plan! Slowly we are getting there and before you know it we will be in Saba (and in shorts...Hallelujah!) I can't wait to see and feel the warm sun....I am pretty sure I am just going to lay outside (in the shade of course or I will be a very interesting shade of RED) and feel the heat....I'll be thinking of all you chilly folk up here, shovelling snow for the 43rd time.....

Have a great night, God Bless,
Dawn

7 weeks and counting!

2008-11-12T18:39:00.001-08:00

I can't believe that in 7 weeks we will be packed (hopefully) and leaving PEI for the Caribbean....it really is surreal, I almost don't believe it.....I am very excited in many ways, excited about the sunshine and the warmth (I hate this cold,dreary, cloudy weather) and not having to work full time (maybe not at all) and getting to spend more time with the boys and just living a laid back, simple lifestyle.....it all sounds great.....having said that, I am still me, you know the crazy lady with ANXIETY....so of course, you know it can't be a worry-free transition! So, yes I am nervous and slightly terrified to move to a totally different country!! and yes I have lost a few hours (ok full nights...who am I kidding?) sleep on the thought of the the extremely huge amounts of money that we will owe after we have finished this crazy adventure. I am also worried for the kids and their transition and how they will adapt, will they make some special friends, will they like it etc? I know that we will be creating some unforgettable memories for our family and in 20 years the kids will look back at pictures and say "Mom, remember Saba, remember when we lived in the Caribbean for those 2 years and ......" unfortunately when you are 5 and 10 you don't appreciate the concept of the "big picture". So both of them are excited but a little scared too (understandably). We have spent alot of time looking up Saba stuff on the internet so it has been fun, and we have purchased things from people leaving the island that will be waiting for us there (like all kinds of toys, fishing rods, games, books) so the boys are excited about all that. So many people have commented to us that we are so lucky, so blessed that we have such an amazing opportunity, to do something many people only dream of....and I know that they are right....it is an amazing opportunity and WE ARE BLESSED! Funny thing about blessings though....they are never simple, never just a blessing....with blessing comes change and adjustment and then personal growth ( and growth implies growing pains...ouch) etc....so it is never easy, never just a blessing....does that make sense? I have grown a little too comfortable and complacent in my life and I am about to have my world flipped around a bit, I know it will be amazing and fun and adventures that I could never dream of from where I sit right now....BUT I also know that I like my comfortable life...ahhh nothing is ever easy is it.....so we are in the final phase of planning to leave....getting ready to post for sale signs on everything, slowly packing things up, getting all the paperwork ready, the immunizations etc etc.....7 weeks....WOW......so close that I can almost touch it! Anyway thanks for listening (reading) I will post more in the weeks to follow....take care.....God Bless, Dawn

Wishing for warm sunny days....wishes CAN come true!

2008-10-08T18:37:00.000-07:00

It has turned cold quickly here in PEI...almost feels like the universe is reminding of yet another reason why Saba is such a great option....you see, I really dislike the cold and the snow.....I hate being cold and dressing in layers, I dislike cold north winds that make your eyes and nose run, I really don't like slippery (sorry PEI'ers, not slippy) icy, snow covered roads.....so this cold weather is reminding me that I am not a winter person and ....well.....I don't have to be for the next 20 months!!! Yeah, yippee! I have always wanted to live in a warm climate and I used to swear that the stork went way too far north when dropping me off, so now is my opportunity to give it a try....

I am still in regular communication with my Saba penpals (I guess email/facebook pals is more accurate) I just finished reviewing a 13 page list of items for sale that my new Saba friend has sent (things she is selling...it is hard to take stuff off the island when you leave!) There are things that I had never heard of or thought of...such as little dehumidifier things for the drawers and closets...apparently the humidity can cause mold and mildew very quickly so you have to make sure that you are doing something to alleviate this. The climate is particularly hard on leather ( so no Naot sandals, they will remain in storage in PEI) and also on metal/chrome objects (although can't think right off of how that will be an issue for us?)

Monty is getting excited to go. He keeps talking about the warm weather, the scuba diving, and the telescope for star gazing....He and Joe are making lots of neat plans for fun things to do....I am relieved as initially Monty was very stressed about the whole thing, so I am glad that he is coming around....Christian isn't so sure, he says that he will miss Amy (his Nana's dog)....and of course Nana and family members....I think that they will both love that I will be home more with them and we will be able to spend some real quality time together. I have dreams of games nights and rain forest walks and projects on the local wildlife (mostly lizards, birds and wild goats). I also have visions of me having time to cook wholesome, healthy meals (instead of the rushed convenience crap that we often resort to with our busy life) Maybe I am being a bit ambitious! but for now this is my dream and we will see how it all turns out......

We already have visitors coming (Joe's parents) in February! We are so excited and so are the kids. And my mom is planning to come in late March.....Also a couple of my university friends are interested in coming down in March or April.....I hope lots of people take the opportunity to come visit, we'd love to see everyone and share our little unique space while we are there (and it will help us with the loneliness that we may feel being so far away from home)

Anyway it is getting late and I better sign off....I enjoy writing about this as it helps me realize that it is getting closer.....what an adventure we are about to have.....crazy, crazy, crazy.....
Have a great night! :)

3 months to go......

2008-10-05T19:10:00.000-07:00

In 3 months time, we will be heading to Saba...it is really hard to believe....and soooo much work to get there...we finally have plane tickets booked (well almost, just need the jump from St maarten to Saba booked) and thanks to Tigger, our beloved pooch, we have to pay $1000 extra to fly on an airline that will actually take dogs over the "holiday" season....(some Canadian airlines aren't so accommodating!) So we have been trying to book a van or some vehicle to get us to Halifax for our flight, but we haven't had much luck so far.....so getting to Saba isn't an easy, one step process......but in 3 months we will be there.......

We have a house rented! a cute 3 bedroom cottagy type place.....I will post pics once we get settled so that all of you can have a peek! And we finally found a car....let me tell you that was quite a challenge.....for one, many of the cars don't have seat belts!! Yes you read that right....apparently seat belts are not a priority for Saba (but they are for me and my paramedic, some-day-to-be-doctor husband!) so we had to make sure we asked that question for each car we checked out.....I also decided that I wanted an automatic...I am perfectly capable of driving a standard (and have one now) however the road in Saba is very steep and twisty so I am thinking that there would be a whole lot of stalling going on if I were to drive up hill!I hate to admit it but I suck when I drive on the slightest incline and end up squeeling the tires (shhhh don't tell Joe) So to save the stress (and the tires and the people behind me who apparently won't be wearing seatbelts!) I decided automatic it is....Joe could care less.....so our new (almost ) car is going to be a 2002 silver suzuki vitara....a little jeep like thing....the kids think it is pretty cool.....so, all in all we are slowly getting there with the planning....I know that it will all fall into place, just in time to board the plane! and in 4 months time I will be tanned (and maybe skinny from all the "hiking" and "mountain climbing" ??) and living in Paradise (well paradise without seatbelts!!) It is getting closer and I am ready to get this show on the road.....talk to you again soon...good night!

Incorrect website.....so here's the right one!

2008-08-02T18:57:00.001-07:00

ok....so Joe tells me that I gave you an incorrect website for the medical school ....it is actually
www.saba.edu Sorry about that! Happy searching.....oh and if you are interested in seeing some photos of Saba, here is an interesting website www.iwhealon.com This is a woman and her family who are currently living there.....we may rent the house that she is living in (she and her family leave in December) So go have a peek....check out our (potential) view!! Don't ya wish it was you??

We have been busy looking up Saba and finding out all that we need to know before we move down there....it sounds like a very interesting place! It is very small (5 square miles!) and there isn't much in terms of shopping there.....tons of hiking and scuba diving apparently. So the cool thing is that Monty and Joe will become certified and they will go scuba diving together (when Joe has time?) Monty is very excited about scuba diving and so is Joe....apparently Saba is one of the top scuba destinations in the world...they even have shark dives! I am pretty sure they won't be trying that! I like them both in one piece as opposed to multiple ones! Monty and Joe have been talking about all the creatures that they might see together, octopus, rays, topical fish galore, coral reefs, sea sponges etc etc.....Christian is too young yet to scuba so I will stay on the safety of the shore with him! (good thing I have Christian or someone might expect me to scuba!) Maybe he and I will try snorkelling.....anything can happen on this new adventure! Only 5 months until we head out!

Dawn

First Time for everything

2008-08-01T19:54:00.000-07:00

So...this is my first try at a blog....I've never felt compelled to write one before this, but with our being about to embark on the "adventure of a lifetime" I felt that this would be a way to share this with you......So the big adventure is that Joe has been accepted to medical school!!! Can you believe it??? After leaving his career and taking the big brave step of returning to university to complete an undergrad honors degree in biology his (and mine, let's not forget mine!) hard work have paid off.....Now where the "excellent adventure" part kicks in is next....are you ready??

WE ARE MOVING TO THE CARIBBEAN....YES YOU READ IT RIGHT....I SAID THE CARIBBEAN!!! We are moving to a tiny tiny wee island in the middle of the Caribbean....the island is called Saba and before this I had never heard of it....but I am learning lots quickly and connecting with people living there and studying there and I have to say that I am pumped! Oh and here's the sad news (ha ha....) There are NO social work jobs on Saba...not one teensy weensy one and so I....Dawn....will not have to WORK.....I know you are thinking holy cow.....living in the caribbean and not working???? At least that is what I am thinking and I am so excited.....I have been dreaming every night, and sometimes during the day (sorry work) about this whole thing.....it feels a little crazy, but I just know it is meant to be......Joe, of course is very excited as well....Christian can't wait and Monty is a little hesitant but he is warming up to the idea.....so before you go any further go google SABA or here are a few websites
www.sabaedu.com (the med school site) and www.sabatourism.com (self explanatory)....I am expecting all of you to come visit us while we spend 20 months (Jan '09-Aug '10) in paradise, ok? Toodles for now......Dawn