She has arrived!

*Update* The airport found her bags and drove them GASP! to us. We were amazed as our area is a little remote and we didn't expect them to arrive on our doorstep. That rocked! Of course we just came back from Kmart with all sorts of stuff that will now be returned on Sunday...

Junebug is here!

Unfortunately her bags are not...yet.

More on that later.

The airport down here is pretty small. We were there last night at 8pm, and it was pretty dead. Here is an airport entrance, this is the only gate where people arrive:

If you fly into St. Thomas this is the door (marked Do Not Enter) you walk through once you're off the plane:

As you come through the doors you pass by this cart which is usually manned by two women serving up rum punch (virgin or otherwise). Unfortunately they don't serve it at 8pm...

Here is a shot of Junebug and her fellow passengers waiting for their bags; they are only three carousels in the airport - and this room is open to the outside, so even with many fans blowing if you arrive in the afternoon you will be hot and sweaty while fighting off tons of bag-searchers who are also hot and sweaty. Fortunately for us this was the only flight in at the time so the room was not crowded.

Here's a shot of Junebug, hands planted on her hips as she waited (in vain) for her bag:

After watching the last five unclaimed bags circle and circle we finally realized her bag was not coming through the plastic strips and we made our way down to the American Eagle office. We got in line with seven (!) other people who were also waiting for their bags. And then we all waited. And waited. There was an open sign on the closed office door, and the light was on - but there was nobody manning the desk. The Man and I understand the island way and both of us split up to (politely) inquire about the person(s) who should be in the office. I found a nice woman who explained to me that the people who work in the office were probably out on the runway as they're also in charge of plane safety when a plane arrives. Don't ask me what plane safety means. And why they're in charge of it.

Around 9:15 (she arrived at 8pm...) the women returned to the office and we all filed claims. Apparently there is another Amercian Eagle flight arriving from Miami at 4pm this afternoon, and that is probably where Junebug's bag is. Cool.

We left the airport and went to a small restaurant in Frenchtown for a bite and some drinks. We know the bartender and the waitress so she met them, and after dinner we got back to our house. I set her up with some clothes, soap, toothpaste, etc. and after a quick chat we all hit the sack around 11:30.

This morning we checked the computer and her bag is tracked to be on the afternoon flight. Our plan today is to hit the beach, so I'm taking Junebug to KMart so she can pick up a bathing suit and we will relax out the rest of the day.

Here's one last picture of J & I in the airport:

Cross your fingers that her bag arrives!

Restaurant Profile

If you find yourself on St. Thomas and you're staying on the East End, near Red Hook, then The Agave Terrace is a place you should check out for dinner. It's one of our Top Five restaurants on the island.


We first ate here over four years ago, during our first trip to the island. The food (we consider it fine dining) was excellent, the waitstaff was pleasant, and the atmosphere was really nice. It's located by Point Pleasant Resort, a vacation spot. As you walk down to the restaurant the pathway is surrounded by lush plants and colorful flowers. Everytime we visited the island we made a point to eat here, and once we moved here we booked it for our wedding night dinner, party of 18.

Here's a shot of the Man and I on our wedding night walking around the outside of the restaurant:

The Agave is an open-sided restaurant, perched on a cliff overlooking St. John. There's a dining room, and an enclosed bar. If the air is breezefree you some mosquitos come along and try to interrupt your meal; but that was only an issue for us once - and our waiter brought us each a shot of vodka to rub on our uncovered skin. You know what? It worked!

Here is a shot of the entranceway, from inside the restaurant. This was taken the last time the Man and I ate there - last month:

I had the Alaskan king crab legs, which is pretty much what I've had the last four times we've dined there. I can't not get them, they're excellent...EXCELLENT! I eat until I want to lie down on the floor.

Here's a shot of the cliffside seating:

The guy next to me looks like he's full as well.

Here's the dining area:


...and now I want crab legs. Even at this early hour.

We give this restaurant a 3 Bird rating which, if you've been keeping up, is the exact number of birds that we own. So it's equal to 5 stars. Which is perfect.

Thank you Agave, we'll see you soon!

A PSA for Tuesday

I don't care how drunk you are...

...we please ask that you refrain from tossing brownies or any other baked goods into our pool.

Thank you,

Management

It's a Beach Sunday kids!

Some of our crew all hanging onto a raft and float-chatting on Magens Bay:

Saturday Thoughts

**Update Two** - I cried about five times during that movie...

**Update** - we're too comfortable on the couch to go to the movie. So we're tearing open another netflix 'We Are Marshall'. I'm ready for a little Matthew McConaughey, and to finally see this flick. I know you're all resting more easy since I posted this update to our lazy Saturday. Latah freaks.

- We're (finally!) going to see Cloverfield this afternoon. I've been working Friday nights, our usual movie night back home, so we decided on a matinee today. I'm PSYCHED! We haven't been to a movie since we moved back to the island - so we're way overdue. I'm ready for a good 'ol Monster Takes Manhattan flick.

- I just cleaned the kitchen, and we're now on the couch watching Rush Hour 3. Our matinee is at 3:15, and then we're meeting friends at a new sushi place down here. It's also been awhile since we had sushi - so I'm looking forward to a good dinner. And cocktails.

- Waitressing was pretty good this week, I worked five shifts and at the new place I got the good section twice instead of once, and I rocked it, so I was happy with that. I'm taking time off next week and the week after though because...

- ...my CA bud Junebug is coming to visit :) She's ready for her first St. T trip and will be here next Wednesday for a week. We have a lot of stuff planned - so I'm psyched for her to get here and get some island time in. I'm guessing next Thursday will be wacky for her though - she gets here Wed. night, and as we're four hours ahead of CA her go-to-sleep and wake-up hours will be a tad off.

- We have a little over a week to go before the Superbowl and I'm anxious to hear an actual Tom Brady status that doesn't include speculation. I have a better chance of winning the lottery though, so I'll have to wait for the injury report like everyone else. Of course Brady's been on that report pretty much every week during his Pats career so that won't help at all. I guess I'll just have to wait for his first snap.

- My last thought for the day? I have GOT to work on my diet. With five waitress shifts a week I'm pretty much living on restaurant food...and let's just say I ain't picking salad. Quesadillas, pasta, pizza, steak and cheese sandwich, big burger with potato salad - and that was just this week. Yikes! The good thing is with the busy shifts I've had I'm definitely walking a lot, and fast - so that has to count for something. However after you tack on beer and drinks and factor in my lack of vitamins I really need to make an effort. Starting this Monday I'm breaking out the vitamin powder and will start to choose better food options at work. The beer stays though.

All the colors...

...of a rainbow.

I took this pic last year off of our deck:

I was up early this morning for a staff meeting at the restaurant - at the moment the Man and I are watching a movie...and then I'll tie up my waitressing shoes again tonight from 5-10.

There's not much news for the day, and with a football-free weekend ahead of us it will be nice to relax until we get geared up for the Superbowl.

Enjoy your weekend!

Cutest. Reptile. Ever.

I saw this little guy on our wall the other morning:




Here's how tiny this little lizard is, as he came upon the lightswitch plate:





He didn't seem to mind me taking a bunch of close shots of him:




Wow. You really don't know just how dirty your lightswitches are until you zoom in on a tiny lizard walking over them.

He kept going up the wall until he found safety underneath a picture frame:





I made him my screensaver. And Q-tipped our 'switches.

Keep on trucking little guy.

...and on another note - I can't believe Heath Ledger died yesterday. Just wow. So so young.

New Year's Eve - 2008

New Year's Eve on St. Thomas. There are a number of things to do for New Year's: get together at a friend's house, join others at a restaurant for a one-price menu with a champagne toast, find a bar to ring in the New Year. There are also a number of things to do off the island - the number one attraction is going to Jost Van Dyke to party at Foxy's. That party has been called the number one New Year's party in the WORLD - and the Man and I are anxious for our first New Year's at Jost. But that will have to wait as you A) need a boat to go over and B) need lodging. As you can imagine it books up WAY in advance, and it wasn't in our plans this year.

This year we were all about old school Disco. A place on the waterfront, Yacht Haven Grande, was throwing a big bash for New Years inviting people to 'Get down tonight, boogie oogie oogie and shake your groove thang as Yacht Haven Grande St. Thomas welcomes 2008 in ‘Old School’ style with its Disco Funk New Year’s Eve party'.

We began our night with cocktails and light eats at our friends house (where we were bunking in at the moment). There were about 10-ish people who came over around 7pm. Our theme was, of course, Disco, and us chicks put on our most silver heels and sparkly clothes.

Here's a shot of my beautiful veggie plate:

Yum. I show you that because I was proud of my casual 'tossing of raspberries' which made it look attractive as well as tasty. Take that professional caterers!

Am I too excited over vegetables right now?

Guitar Hero was present as it is at all of our gatherings these days. Here's a shot of our friend K and I rocking out:

I bought my outfit that day, and it turned out more Disco Tramp than regular Disco - but at least the shirt had sequins (a Disco outfit must) and the shoes had rhinestones so I had enough shine going on.

Around 9:30 we made our way downtown and joined the throng already milling around Yacht Haven. There were two areas of music, one with a reggae band and one where the disco band would be. We grabbed a spot on the pavement just a few feet from the disco dance floor and stayed there for the rest of the night. Here's a shot of the mass crowd:

The band wasn't going on until midnight so we jammed out to old-school Disco songs spun by a DJ. I haven't danced that much in a long time, we started the minute we got there and didn't stop until our feet were begging us too. The way the party was set up there were bar areas placed here and there and as expected the lines were long. Same with the restrooms. I waited almost 40 minutes at one point to pee and after that I just held it. SO annoying. Especially when you're double-fisting your drinks to save waiting in line.

As expected our group got pretty buzzed and pretty sweaty with all the dancing and boozing. Here's a shot of me with some of our buds:

I don't know what kind of judo chop move I'm putting on my friend L's neck, I obviously knocked her off balance in my photo eagerness - I love how she has her eye on her almost tipped over drink!

Here's a shot of K and I, and while she's pulling a model face I'm once again pulling a judo chop move. It must be my 'thing', so if you're getting a picture taken with me don't let me stand on your back left :)

One of the restaurants fastened a ball on the top of it's roof and we counted down to midnight. At the first moment of 2008 fireworks were shot off and the Man and I kissed in the New Year as did everyone else. We then all kissed and hugged each other while saying 'We love you guys, you're the best friends, so happy we're here and know you!!' The mixture of booze, dancing with our buds, being in St. Thomas, rocking out at a great party, and at the same time being away from home all caught up at the same second in my head and I was teary for the first minutes of '08. Big mushball. Of course I followed up my crying with 'Is my mascara running? Is there make-up all over my face?' Hot stuff for sure. Here's a blurry pic of fireworks going off:

Finally the band came on, called SuperFly, from Washington D.C.:

From what I remember they were really good, and we continued dancing until 1:30-ish. At that point we were getting hungry and the girls' feet were REALLY starting to burn. We had all taken off our shoes earlier, but I don't think that helped, because the minute I tried to put them back on I almost fell over from the pain. It was equally as bad just trying to walk on bare feet. Here's our pile of silver strappy pain-makers:

We left Yacht Grande and made our way down to a downtown restaurant for some late noshing. We munched our way through the food, got into the car and passed out once we got home. The next day we stayed in with our friends and watched movies all day. I was more exhausted than hungover, it was SUCH a great night. These pictures don't even do the party justice: you miss out on the sounds, the grooving beats, everyone screaming and dancing all as one. There hasn't been a New Year's party like this on the island, and it seemed that EVERYONE showed up there. Tourists on vacation, people in from the yachts, local people from every inch of the island - it was awesome. We hope not only do they do the same thing next year, but that they put together some more theme parties in the meantime...going out dancing is something we don't do often here - there's not a lot of places with live music.

Yacht Haven, keep partying!!

I

am hungover.

Well not so much anymore, but this morning? Around 8am? Oh yeah. Oh hell yeah.

And I had to waitress today. Which really put salt in my cereal.

I powered through and now I'm back home on the couch.

Aaaaaahhhhhhhhhhh...........

GO PATS!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Good morning!

Here is your Sunday beach pic:

On tap for today - a quick trip to the price club for some booze, chips, wings and other items we need at home. After that it's to the beach for a few hours of drinking, gabbing and other beachy-keen activities. Around 3:30 we'll be packing up and moving the beach party to our deck for the Pats/Chargers game at 4pm (our time).

And that's pretty much that.

GO PATS!!!!!

Pity Party: Table for One

Blah.

I waitressed tonight, got home roughly an hour ago.

Blah.

I'm in a crap mood and not sure why. Maybe I do know why.

A) I have my period.

2) We were busy at the restaurant tonight; a night I could have happily not moved a pinky...and yet after all of my running around I didn't score the tips I thought I would have. Which really sours my milk.

C) I started a new waitressing job last week, and this week I was on my own. Between you, me and whoever the crap is in charge of Blogger I ROCK at this new job, but because of seniority nonsense I was in the shit section twice this week and I'm scheduled for it again next week. Fuck. Off. The good thing is I sit down with them this week to show them I know the menu and for them to ask me what I like/dislike. Here's a thought: I DISLIKE THE SHIT SECTION.

D) Whatever.

5) I mentioned the period thing.

I'm done with my second beer of the night and ready to pop a third. The Man is sleeping and my plan is to drink beer downstairs, play on the computer, rock out with some chips and dip, watch some TV, drink more beer and finally put myself to sleep and end this pity party.

God I'm ANNOYED right now. Whatever. I want to A) be down to one waitress job but B) I need to hit a certain $$ amount each week and C) with the shit section it's not going to happen. So I need to A) work it through next week and B) sit down with them to make sure we're on the same fucking page or else C) i'm going to have to keep both places and D) I DON'T WANT TO.

To FURTHER annoy I've been sleeping like SHIT all week. I'm having those awake/asleep things where I A) know that it's 3AM and it's sleep time but yet B) people are in our room waiting for me to take their order and it's awkward because C) i sleep in the buff and i'm sure people don't want a naked waitress so D) i end up leaning up on one elbow looking around at the bedroom and it's all fucked because I KNOW it's time for sleep and I KNOW there's no one in the bedroom but yet some part of my brain is all screwed and continues to nudge me awake EVERY FUCKING HOUR with this STRESS that people are waiting for their order. GOD it's making me tired.

And to make my immediate mood worse about 20 mins ago I saw a black roachy thing come crawling out from beneath the couch...then it went back under...then came back out - all while I was standing frozen with my beer saying to myself No no NO!!! See I'm not naive, I know there's crawlies around, I just don't need to SEE them because then I sit here and imagine them in my hair, under my couch cushion, etc. When I don't see them I can pretend they're all outside. But no worries, I took care of the situation. The last time he came crawling out from under the couch I dropped the (full) laundry basket on him. And it will sit there until the Man picks it up tomorrow.

Wow. I LOVE when I sit under the Cloud of Aggravation. It's really fucking pleasant.

I have to pee.

Later.

Dear New England Patriot Fans,

I just found this, and it pissed me off.

Grow the fuck up.

Recycling? Um, not so much.

TGIF people! I'm sure you're all looking forward to your weekend.

My topic today is garbage. Literally.

The trash system on the island is pretty simple. Bag it up ('it' being everything...papers, eggshells, empty bottles...etc), put it in the back of your ride, find a big blue bin and toss it. Period. Here's a shot of a bin area:

Yummy.

We learned a couple of trash lessons last year, one comical - and one messy. We have no big bins outside of our house, so when your kitchen trash is full and you have no plans to leave the house that day what do you do with it?

Last year we had a bunch of people over for dinner during our first month. We had a full trash bag and wanted to hide it from sight so we decided to put it in an....uh....upstairs bedroom. Our guests arrived, we had some drinks, and our friend Robyn wanted a tour of the house. As we got upstairs I led her to 'the' bedroom. As I swung open the door and started to say 'Here is one guest bedr...' an odor like no other met our noses and both of our faces scrunched up in distaste. Sheepishly I said 'Yeah, we put our trash bag in here to get it out of the way, and apparently we've learned a lesson', and then we both cracked up as I slammed the door shut. Don't EVER do that at home, especially if you live in a tropical climate. Ouch.

Lesson #2. We had two full trash bags, and before going to bed one night we put them outside on the deck near the bar so that they wouldn't smell up the house. The next morning we found two torn bags and a nice pile of our garbage scattered around the deck and trailing off the deck into the grass. Awesome. As we put our gag reflex into full use while cleaning up we agreed to never leave trash outside again. You may not think that there are animals lurking, but apparently they are.

If we have a full bag now we leave it just inside the front door. With my waitressing gigs we leave the house more this year than we did last year when we were both tapping away on our computers all day. So it's easier to maintain trash removal. However if we have a full bag and someone stops by there's a good chance they're leaving with our trash, especially if they have a pick up truck.

Usually there are two bins in the bin area, lately there has been three - and as it's situated on a bend in the road it can be tricky trying to manuever in, while not colliding with oncoming traffic. Luckily we all know it's right there and people usually slow down just in case there's a trash clusterfuck, like here:

In the pic the car is pulling away from the bins, the car in front of us wants to pull in and we just want to continue on our way. The bin area, as you can imagine, is not the coolest area to spend time in. When we pull in one of us goes to the back of the car and heaves our bags in the bin while the other clears away the empty cans and bottles that tend to pile up in the front and back seats. Then we jump back in, shut the doors, and zoom off. The ground is cruddy, there's chickens trying to get out of your way, sometimes a stray dog or two are lounging in the shade of the bins. We've seen everything from full matresses, to refrigerators, kitchen tables, chairs, old couches...you name it people are dumping it.

You might have the same question that I do; where do they dump the bins? Do they put it in a big pile and burn it somewhere on the island? Do they place it on a barge and send it away? I'll find out the answer and let you know.

In the meantime enjoy your weekend. Take care of your trash. Smile.

Self-Portrait over the waves

Happy Thursday!

I think my feet hit a wall last night, I waitressed 10:30-5, then grabbed a Heineken (shift-drink) for the 20 min drive to my next job and waitressed 5:30-10. At the second place we were slow after 8:30 and I sat down for a few mins to chat, once I stood back up my feet were just not having it. Clearly I need some better shoes.

A few mornings ago I took the camera (my constant companion these days) out to the deck for some pictures. The waves were crashing pretty hard and I'm always trying to catch the trail of spray that they leave.

Here's one shot:

Here's a second shot, close-up of the spray bouncing off of the rocks:

As I turned to walk back inside I decided to snap this pic of my reflection in our sliding door. Yes, I'm in my house-clothes, which consist of comfy shorts, t-shirt and flippies. And the hair tied up on the top of my head to finish the 'look':

If it's not at Kmart, then we don't need it

Kmart is the big store on the island, that and Home Depot. Yes, there's a ton of shopping down near the cruise ship docks, but for locals Kmart is where it's at.

The Kmart plaza is also home to these other fine stores:

We Kmart a few times a month, and it's usually for cosmetic items for me: makeup, hair stuff, shampoo etc. I have yet to buy clothes on the island, usually I stock up at home and then ship things down here. This Kmart is where we bought the ever popular Guitar Hero. Kmart also has outdoor furniture, dry (and 'frigerated) groceries and booze.

Here's a shot inside the big K:

That's Cruzan rum stocked up behind the women's clothes section; you gotta love it when you can grab an outfit, rum, makeup, a case of beer and groceries all at the same place. The downside? We've yet to wait in a check-out line that is less than 20mins. It be popular in here mon.

Limin' Lizard

Today I waitressed, the shift was supposed to be 11:30 - 5, but due to a wicked slooooooow day I got cut at 3. I made a whopping twenty bucks in tips. And the guy at my first (and by first I mean one of three) tables asked me if I was pregnant. Actually his exact words were: *patting his belly and motioning to mine* 'Do you have a baby in there?'. To which I replied 'No, just a lot of food'. He was a local guy, and I think the girl with him was pregnant, and maybe I had my hand on my belly as I stood watching Sportscenter while simultaneously trying to will the public to sit in my section. Or even enter the restaurant. And then sit in my section.

Either way I'm sure our football party and drinking/eating my weight in beer and chips that night had a lot to do with my (apparently) bloated belly. And I'm getting my period this week.

Or maybe I do have a baby in there.

Nah, I'm sticking with the beer and party food.

Anyways, back to the photo o' the day.

Can you spot the cute little critter in the pic below?

Here's a closer view...

I spotted him while I was having coffee a few mornings ago. These little guys are everywhere - on the outside walls, on our deck, in the grass and flowers...you name it they're hanging there. As you walk up the road you often here them skittering away in the grass. Every now and then one of them surprises me in the house. I don't mind them though, they're completely harmless, and usually by the time you've spotted them they're gone.

Patriots Win!!

We opened up the bar last night for the first of three football parties. House rule? Root for the Pats, or deal with me. Second house rule? DRINK! And we don't mean watah.

The Man and I were home and ready to go around 3:00 after making a special run to buy the 'Lucky Parrot'. More on that later. We watched the Greenbay/Seahawks and waited for people to show. Our game started at 9:00 St. T time, so we invited people 'anytime after 7:00'.

Around 8:30-9 we had a group watching the pre-game outside the bar...:

...and inside the house:

Here's one of our buddies from ME (he teaches down here) showing off his jersey (who would've thought Moss would have ONE CATCH last night...!!!):

The menu at our house for parties...frozen entrees, dogs, burgers, wings, cheese/crackers, chips, dip - all served on paper plates and classy plastic-ware. We asked people to bring either ice or something dessert-ish. We figured with all the drinks (and our Margarita machine working overtime) we went through 100+ pounds of ice last night.

Another shot of our buds:

Last year we had parties throughout the playoffs, but obviously we didn't know the amount of people we know this year, so it was easier for me to pay 100% attention to the games. This year our group has grown, and when you add in the friends I'm making through my waitressing gigs and we ended up with 25-ish people making their way over. Normally I can't tear my eyes away from a game, but after the first couple of touchdowns I started getting dragged away to greet people as they came in, making sure people had a drink in their hands, introducing everyone to everyone and taking people upstairs to see the birds (it was by request only, we had them locked away for the night...).

I always made my way back to the bar though. Here's our buddy Billy, Dave and myself getting ready to knock back some Jager *gag*:

And me quickly chasing it down with beer while swinging around to get my eyes back on the game (do you see the Lucky Parrot glass?):

In the above pic the red Lucky Parrot glass is sitting on the bar awaiting it's next 'passing'. When the Patriots score we pass the Parrot around to everyone in the party so that they can 'love' it. You can love it in any number of ways, the number # way is to take a shot of whatever we fill it with. Last night it was Cruzan 151 Dark Rum and a splash of coke. Nah-ASTY stuff. Some people choose to love the Parrot by kissing it's beak instead of 'shooting it'. Which is also fine. The main idea is that you physically touch it. The Lucky Parrot started last year, but the Parrot was yellow...and sometime after the season ended we found it broken. When we announced our playoff party plans a number of people asked if we were going to have a Parrot glass, so yesterday we made a special run to get a new one, and this time I made sure to pick red. There was much Parrot love last night.

Here's a shot of me working the bar and knocking fists with a Green Bay fan:

Note my second superstition (the Parrot being the first one), my pink Pats hat looped into my belt loop on my hip. I always wear it on gameday, but I got my hair did this past Friday and didn't want to stuff it under a hat; so instead I belted it. As long as the hat is on my body somewhere the superstition still works (just in case you were wondering).

After the game ended we put our drunken skills to work on yet another round of the popular Guitar Hero. Here's a couple of people getting their rock on - I waitress with the girl, the guy came as a friend of a friend:



The game ended somewhere around midnight, and by that point we were a pretty drunk crew. We continued hanging until sometime after 1AM, then the party quickly dwindled down to just a few people and eyes started shutting. We shut the doors around 1:30 and hit the sack. Today we got up, did a little bit of clean-up and hit the beach for a few hours. I finished the clean-up a few hours ago while we watched the Colts/Chargers, Giants/Dallas and our taped replay of the Pats game.

And that completes the photo wrap-up of our first Tiki bar get together. Next Sunday we'll do it all over again: Gametime 4PM. Our opponent? The Chargers, and I will say I'm disappointed that it's not the Colts. That's been the game of the year for the past few seasons, and as gut-wrenching as the games are I was looking forward to a rematch. I can't believe the upset earlier today. I also can't believe how solid the Giants look right now, although I don't see them winning in Green Bay next week.

It's about time for us to hit the sack. We're wiped.

Saturday thoughts

The Hannah Montana Show Fakes a 'Hannah': Trust me, all I know of this Hannah phenom is that she's the daughter of the Achy Breaky Heart singer, and I can still sing most of that song - so clearly I am WAY older than the average Hannah fan. Apparently someone found out that during the Hannah concert there is someone on stage posing as Hannah while whats-her-name rushes backstage to change costumes. This fake goes on for TWO MINUTES. That's IT, and now her fans are mad at her. First of all this Hannah chick is like a girl scout compared to the likes of Britney, Britney's sister...etc., so based on that alone we should only be praising her. Second of all what do you expect her to do, undress on the fucking stage? But then again, the average age of the crowd in this particular concert is, like, eight (not including the parents), so, like, I can, like, totally see how this finding could, like, ruin their, like, day. Oh my god, like, gag me with a spoon she's, like, a fake. They think that's bad, wait until some guy charms them into bed only to never call again - THAT, like, sucks.

Did I just write that out loud?

Britney Spears: Just....wow.

Marion Jones: The last time I fell that bad I took about six layers of skin off my knee. Then again I fell out the door of our SUV, and she's falling from grace, but still - you know it's gotta hurt.

The Writers Guild of America's Strike: Don't get me wrong, I'm really missing the weekly doses of my favorite shows - but I'm backing these guys. They believe they deserve better, they're making a stand - and the award show season is hurting because of it. So good for them sticking to their guns, and shame on the people who won't help to end it.

Britney Spears: Did I mention her already? She's the best reality show out there right now.

Dengue: Don't know what it is? Google it, it's transmitted by mosquitos and two people in our crew down here have already dealt with it. I want nothing to do with it.

...my last thought for the day?

Are you ready for some FOOTBALL?!

YEAH BABY!!!

We're getting our rowdy on tonight with our first football Tiki party. We've got anywhere from 10 to 25 people coming. House rule? You MUST root for the Pats. MUST! I'm completely obnoxious during big games, and it has everything to do with beer. I'm PSYCHED for tonight.

GO PATS!!!!!!!!!!!!

What? There's other games being played? Here's what I'd like to see:

Green Bay/Seattle: Favre's a legend, and everyone wants to see him keep winning - so for the moment I'm a Green Bay fan.

Dallas/Giants: This looks to be a juicy game. Eli and Romo are both decent guys, so I really don't have a favorite. I guess I'm rooting for a good game.

Colts/Bolts: This one is tough. On one hand I hate LT and the 'Dolts'; it was fun to ruin their playoff dreams last year, and I'd like to see Indy ruin their dreams tomorrow. However, how can I root for Indy? That's like rooting for the Yankees, and last time I checked Hell hadn't frozen over.

Okay I'm out, we have party stuff to go buy and we have to go make sure the neighbors know we're turning up the volume later and that they're more than welcome to stop on by.

You all are invited too, of course.

Island living

As mentioned previously we stayed with good friends during the rental, and here are a few pictures from their house. The design is very open with characteristics people associate with island living.

Up first, their view, which is above all the number one thing people want when they are searching for a home on the island, everyone wants to be able to gaze at the ocean. Here is a shot from their kitchen, the arch is highlighted with old brick and is open through to their deck:




I'm standing on the deck for this shot, you can see their dining table (still decorated for New Year's Eve), and their view which is clearly spectacular:




Another staple for islanders is dogs. A lot of people keep dogs outside for both protection (locals don't want to deal with dogs) and also to keep away the creepy crawlies such as rats, lizards etc. Here is a shot of our friends' two pooches, they both heard something outside and immedately stuck their heads out to see what was going on. The house is built on a hill (big surprise, there's hills everywhere here) and the driveway is many steps down from where the dogs are, so in this picture they're looking towards the driveway:




From the driveway it's cute to see their heads poke out to see who you are; it's also intimidating as hell when you realize they're now bounding down the stairs with you as their target. The little one is fine, he's just hyper and jumpy, but the big one? He has rottweiler in him, and some mastiff (I think), and I was frozen the first time he came to say 'hi'. However after staying there we got to know them and they're both dolls. I also found it reassuring knowing they were out there.

When you live in a climate that is warm all the year 'round you will inevitably find yourself at a plant nursery at some point. There are some kick-ass plants, flowers and palms that grow around here, and our friends have a ton of plants around their property. Here is a shot from their couch looking at another part of their deck (and yeah...that's our Guitar Hero on the floor - we brought it with us for New Year's competition):




They have plants in pots, plants in the ground, plants in hanging planters - it makes for a cool look as you make your way up the stairs to their front door.

The last shot has nothing to do with island life - but it cracks me up; their kitten throwing caution to the wind as she hiked herself up on their screen to get closer to something that caught her eye:





Daredevil.

Really?

A blog a day? With photos?

Currently I'm a liar. But I have an excuse. I started a new waitressing gig this week, all days, and two of those days (including this one) start at 10 am. Which means by the time my love-to-sleep-ass drags herself out of bed it's already 8:30 and I have to shower, have coffee, feed the birds, get dressed, apply enough mascara to look awake and drive 30 mins-maybe-longer-depending-on-the-cruise-boat-traffic.

I'm tired in the mornings, and on Tuesday 'feed the birds' was removed from my list as I ran out of time. Blogging doesn't fit in at all but I'm making an effort this morning for you people.

Do you appreciate it?

Do you appreciate me?

Why don't you ever call?

For Jersey Jen - yes I miss my little red car, but she's staying with her big blue brother (the Man's ride) so I know she's taken care of. She's too young to read so I fear the value of postcards would just be missed by her. We do have a car down here.

It's time for birds, shower, coffee, clothes, make-up. Then I'm off to feed the best burger to the tourists.

I'll be back at 6. And if you're lucky I might have some photos for you people to see tomorrow.

...and we're back!

...or I'm back. Don't know about y'all.

So, I left off with us packing and moving out so that renters could take over our place. And let me say, that is fine with us. Our island house is not very personalized, meaning all of our cluttered-life-crap is up in MA. So packing up is wicked easy - grab the clothes and toiletries, lock them in the owner's closet and away we go. The only cluttered pile I have down here is mail, and I ship the pile home when we're through with our stay. I do have a couple of photo albums to fill with pictures, but those will stay out for renters to look through. And hopefully not steal.

Hopefully.

We did lose a couple of really nice St. John towels over the summer to some renters. Who does that?? My fault for not locking them away.

But more on the house later.


Today's photos are all about the feathered friends we live with. Like I said, we moved out. Which is easy for us, but what about the birds? Normally they live in nice big roomy cages, as seen here:

Taking the cages with us was not an option as they're too big for the room we were staying in, and they're a BITCH to move. When we fly they go in tiny carriers that are able to fit under the seat in the cabin, but that wouldn't do as housing for a week, so we bought them larger travel cages that are clear all the way around. On moving day we took them out of their palaces and dropped them into the travel ones. Then they watched the Man and I deal with moving the big cages outside and around to the back of the bar where we covered them with tarps so the renters wouldn't see them. the birds weren't psyched about their temporary homes and I had to snap this picture as each one was clinging to the door like What the CRAP! We JUST got here and now we're traveling aGAIN?! Let me OUT!

No worries, they settled in once we gave them pistachios (a favorite treat). For the car ride we put them all in the backseat and I took a pic of Red and Yellow who seemed to really enjoy the ride. In their smaller carriers they don't have clear walls, so this was a new experience for them. Red especially kept her eyes on the road and enjoyed the breeze ruffling her feathers:

Gray was also back there, but we cover his cage when he goes outside...he sometimes gets freaked by the big world, and as timid as he is it will send him into a mini seizure - which is not comfortable to watch. However, with all of the plane travel in the past year and realizing he always ends up safe with us the Man and I think he's becoming more comfortable with everything. He had no issues this past week whatsoever. Little cutie.

In the new place we had a bedroom with a long chest of drawers. It was just long enough to fit all three cages next to each other and, even better, it was located in front of nothing but windows - so they had a beautiful view to look at. It was interesting to sleep in the same room as them though; the Man gets up earlier than me, and they would hear him leave (they're covered through the night) and would start their little morning routines. Which apparently includes tapping their beaks on the walls incessantly, or shaking the toys with bells on them. Not the quiet toys like rope, no, has to be the loud plastic ones with shrill bells. Which would leave me with my head buried under the pillow moaning Stop it! Quiet! only to hear the bell stop for a second before starting up again.

We moved back in our house last Thursday and set the birds back up in their big cages on Friday. Instead of keeping them downstairs in the main room we are now keeping them in an upstairs bedroom. For the following reasons:

A) Red bird can be LOUD and trust me when I say her scream has a way of bursting right into your brain while making toddlers cry. She's just happy, and letting the world know, but after awhile it's too much and we would end up rolling her cage into the downstairs bedroom and shutting the door. Don't feel bad, she didn't seem to mind the alone time. After screaming like a two year old for twenty minutes she would start whistling, chirping and talking to herself Hello. Hello. Hello. It's the cutest thing to hear her talk, but she doesn't do it in public, only when she's been banished. Downstairs is also where the Man takes business calls, and you really can't have a bird screaming in the background. Not hugely professional.

B) When we have rowdy parties (like we will for all the playoff games) the birds really shouldn't be downstairs as people stay way late. Birds should be going to bed and waking up with the sun, and if we're partying late or watching TV downstairs past 11 it puts them off of their schedule. Plus I caught one of our buds giving my baby yellow a sip of his drink during a party, and pretty much bitch-slapped him for it. We started rolling them into the bedroom downstairs and shutting the door during parties, but now they'll be locked away upstairs which is better for everyone.

C) When the cages are gone and we pull out the decor that's supposed to be along that wall the downstairs looks really really nice. And we decided we wanted to keep it that way. We have four bedrooms here, and for the next few months any visitors coming will only need two at the most, so the birds will own that bedroom. Here they are, I just snapped this picture this morning:



The room is not as dark as it appears, and they're very happy to have a nice breeze coming through all day. And for those afternoons/evenings when we want to bring them downstairs to hang with us we put together these playgyms that are where their big cages used to be:

Now the bamboo on the left can stay put. The wiry stuff to the right of the white pillar also goes under the blue picture, but it looks good where it is for the moment. And with the huge cages gone we no longer have to shove the dining room table out of place. It's a win win.

So there you go, you now have your fill of bird life. I hope you're all enjoying the new year so far!