AlmOsT ChriSTmAs

I am such a slacker the last few weeks. December has come and pretty much gone, can't believe Christmas is in a little over a WEEK! We aren't going home this year for Christmas so it will be our first one alone with no family. Tickets are so expensive and Darin can't really leave the shop to someone yet. We were going to get a real tree so it smelled like Christmas in our home but we were a little late on purchasing one so all of the smaller ones were gone. I wanted one that was around 5ft so I didn't have to get on a ladder or anything like that, plus it would have to fit in the elevator. I was sad they were all gone but the next day I was in a store and they had a promotion on fake ones, so I caved and got a fake one. It's the perfect size and it makes me smile when it's night and the tree is all lit up. I did white lights and silver decorations. I also am super excited about our stockings!! I ordered some from the Hallmark here and had them embroidered with our initials. We also have a few presents from my parents, my mom was sure to shove some in my suitcase last time I was home so now with the tree, stockings and presents it feels like Christmas. 

We also have a new little niece named Joss who was born Dec 7th. Drey and baby are both doing well and Joss is so so cute! 

Oma

When I was younger I thought that was her name, Oma. I always thought it was cool that she found someone named Opa and they got married......kids. It wasn't until a car ride leaving their house when I found out that Oma and Opa were dutch for grandma and grandpa, their real names are Rita and Dan. I was born in NH and lived there until I was 11yrs old and moved to Florida. We saw our Oma and Opa often as they didn't live very far. Some of my best memories were, every Sunday going to Howard Johnson (a hotel that may not exist anymore) and we would all meet for breakfast, I had a thing for bagels and tons of cream cheese. I remember them always getting coffee as well as my mom too and thinking that was so gross. Christmas was always fun because it was only us 3 kids so we got a lot of presents, also because we had 2 uncles and an aunt too. My Oma was an artist, a writer, a musician, a muti lingual woman, courageous, helpful and kind. I didn't get any drawing skills from her but she did teach me how to play the piano on her organ down in the basement....if I close my eyes, I can hear that 1 button you pushed to play one specific beat the whole time and my Oma would play along to it. I did take lessons years later in Florida and picked up on piano really quick. I could remember a song and play it with out the sheet music so easily, play it from memory just like she did. Unfortunately I stopped playing.....and lost that wonderful talent, Laura picked it up and still knows quite a few songs from memory. As a writer, which was one of her most accomplished and well known talents, she started writing a memoir years and years ago. She had one of the most amazing and interesting lives as a teenager, disguising herself as a boy during WWII in fear she would be used as a "comfort woman", this disguise was so she could go with her mother and siblings to a POW camp and be safe. Her book goes on to tell her amazing story and adventures and having kids living in Amsterdam. She started to work on book 2 and slowly lost the energy to write when she became sick. She used to send me rough copies on her books so I could read chapters at a time but her second book i've never seen anything from it, she did tell me I was in it and we had a tea party together......I can't wait to read that part, I know she'll have such detail about that memory as she does all of the ones she writes about so it will be special to read. Her last few months she was just like how I remember her being, chatted up a storm with you, was trying to finish her book and write a journal of her last few months, busy woman she was. She wanted to be sure to leave her legacy to all of us and future generations of our families, always thinking of others was her specialty. We haven't had a chance to see each other in the last few years except some facetime and written some emails, she was more of a hand written letter person so we did some of that too....her hand writing is beautiful! Laura and I recently went to Amsterdam and went to Madurodam (a miniature city in Holland she took my father to as a kid). We made sure to take lots of photos for her because she so badly wanted us to see it. She loved the pictures and knowing that we've seen pieces of her past and our fathers was very special to her. Wednesday, November 21, 2012 she passed away peacefully and happy. She had everyone around her she loved and i'm so glad my dad made it up there in time as well as my mom and Laura. Breaks my heart I couldn't be there, but I know Laura did a good job telling her good-bye for me. She will forever have an amazing place in my heart and i'll cherish every memory and every conversation I got to share with her. Thank you so much for your legacy and all the stories, Love you always and forever Oma! xoxo

Top left is the first book but second publishing, top right is a few weeks ago (you can still see the love), lower right is the first book, first publishing, lower left is Oma, me, Opa and Craig

BacK tO rEALitY

Can't believe it's been a MONTH since Europe! I've gotten to know Sarah (my first friend here) really well. She says lets do something and sets it up, she keeps my free time busy and active. Unlike Nassau when I had days off I sat at home and did chores (no fun), but here Sarah and I have signed up for a gym membership and we go EVERY morning, needless to say i've been sore the last 3 weeks, but it feels kinda good. Two days a week we take a spin class at 9am, I like to call it "sweat fest" because i'm soaked of sweat after. I've realized how necessary it is for me to exercise these days and at first I couldn't make it through the warm up, but once I figured out the resistance and the beat to ride to it's become a lot easier...I still haven't made it though a whole class but i'm close! Yesterday's class I bumped up the resistance and WHOA does it make a difference, talk about jello legs! Sarah and I've also went paddle boarding on the west coast where the water is flat (most of the time) and so clear that we found a few turtles swimming! I signed up for surfing lessons, yes I know my husband surfs but would you rather learn to do something from a friend who does it or by a pro? I think pro. Darin doesn't understand but I told him after I get the "real basics", i'll go out with him and he can give me pointers and stuff like that. I've been twice and the first time I did awesome! Top of the class too! Sadly the second time I went, I can't count....my first time standing up on the board, I tweaked my hip/groin area and couldn't even lift my leg to step, I kinda dragged it. I was a little nervous but took some Advil and didn't work out the next day and rested on the couch. That's all I needed and now I feel so much better! Sarah and I talked about volunteering at the local RSPCA here and the next day she set it up so we went. I thought we'd go for a little bit every now and then but thanks to my "go big or go home" friend,  she started going every day, so I requested we make a schedule lol.....now we go Tuesdays and Thursdays. We walk all the pups, feed them, bathe some, love on them and have "chats" (what Sarah likes to say I do, when I sit in the grass with them). While I have lots of active stuff to do, I still help Darin with lots of stuff at work which keeps me busy on the other days. Life so far is great here, we've made friends and enjoy our home on the beach. Things are so close we can walk and we're constantly adjusting and learning new things about Barbados every day....hopefully someone will visit us soon :)

LaST bUt NOt LEasT.....PaRIs!

Remember how all the train rides and tube stations and dragging luggage around, well....this is finally where we learn our lesson. We arrived in Paris by train at an early, rainy and cold 8am, got off the high speed train and off to find the local metro train to bring us to our stop where we were staying. We quickly realized unlike the other cities, Paris had no elevators or escalators and LOTS of stairs. We tried so hard to be organized and carry our luggage and bags the smartest way possible but after a set of very large stairs there was just no point. We got the local metro hoping when we got to the city it would be better but nope, there was lots of little sets of stairs so every time we got up 10 steps and turned the corner, there were 10 more. People weren't as helpful and our luggage weighed as much as we did. At some points we would just stand next to our luggage and pant like dogs that just ran 10 miles. Finally getting up to the street we knew this was the shortest walk out of all the cities to our "flat". Shortly finding out the distance doesn't matter when it's raining, your umbrella is packed somewhere and if you had it out you probably couldn't carry it in your hand anyways. Bumps on the sidewalks and curbs crossing streets and having your bag flip around several times in the rain is very stressful. We had 2 blocks to walk and after 1, I was willing to pay $100 just for a 2 min taxi ride. Sadly none passed as we kept walking. We got to our place and there was so much relief knowing that was the last time we'd ever do this....Laura and I had the same look on our face once we got settled, we will NOT take trains to the airport, no matter what the cost, we're catching a cab. 

We unpacked, re organized a little, cleaned up and headed out because we had 2 days on a pass to get a start on. First place was the Louve. Our flat was so so close to the center of the city so it was perfect to walk almost anywhere. If you've never been to the Louve do you ever ask about it or what it is? I did, and the only answer I got was "that's where the Mona Lisa is". I never understood why this glass triangle that people stood in line for was so amazing, I mean, it's just a glass triangle in the middle of nothing. What NOBODY ever told me was it went down inside and with like 7 tunnels and 3 floors and so much art and history expanding underground to the buildings surrounding the "glass triangle". This place is HUGE!!!! It would honestly take days to see everything in this place, it's un real! Since Laura nor I are museum type people we headed straight to see the Mona Lisa, stoping for a few things on the way. After the Louve, we headed to the Notre Dame Cathedral then St. Chapelle. I think Cathedrals are one of the most beautiful things i've ever seen, all the detail on the building, all the stained glass windows, every little thing was thought about and hand crafted so perfectly.....why can stuff today be done with that kind of perfection? I guess America is to young of a country and here in Barbados, I don't think they had the resources back then. We grabbed lunch and headed back for a nap before going out for dinner and wine....ohhh the wine, it's so good, everywhere, no matter what you get it's all fabulous! The next day we headed to the O'rsay Museum where we walked though an exhibit and saw the Starry Night Over the Rhone painting by Van Gogh. This museum is much smaller than the Louve so we got to thoroughly enjoy some people watching and had some really good laughs! Since the sky was a little clearer today, we could see the entire Eiffel Tower!! Got some great photos in front of that but knew we were coming back the next night for our dinner reservation, so this was a quick stop. We walked around a bit down the Champs Elysees...one of the most famous and expensive strip of real estate in the world (also where we stopped at McDonalds, haha, french fries...so authentic!) and it's headed right into the Arc de Triumph. The Arc de Triumph has the craziest round about ever, I think it's like 6 lanes and 12 roads that connect to it. When Laura and I reached the round about we weren't quite sure how to get across hahaha, we sure we'ren't crossing it there. After a debating what to do realizing nobody was crossing the street but there were people over there the next thing was to look for a crowd crossing a bridge but there was no bridge....we saw a crowd so headed over to find out there's a tunnel!! How clever! We climbed all 284 steps to the top which was really cool to see all the streets headed towards us and watching the craziness of the round about below. We took a few pictures of the Eiffel Tower and some of the city before headed back down all those stairs which makes you dizzy very easy! We had spare time so we went back for a nap and a little reading the out for Sushi and then another place to share dessert and a bottle of wine. I love wine in Paris, I love that everyone sits out front of the restaurant and face towards the street with their wine and food so when you walk by all you want to do is stop to sit and join in. Our last day in Paris we went out to find some shops and grab some souvenirs before headed home to get ready for a very special dinner reservation at the restaurant in the Eiffel Tower!!! It was so amazing! We got there for 6pm and watched the sun go down and all the city lights go on, dinner was so good and so was the wine (of course), this was also one of my favorite things we did on our trip and it was the most perfect way to end our Europe adventure!! The next morning we had to be at the airport by 9am, we packed the night before so the morning wasn't rushed, walked our stuff to the street and waited for a cab with out taking one more step....I think we finally learned our lesson :) The flight home was great, although we almost had to sleep in Cleveland....making it home to Florida was a great feeling. 

I'm so glad I have a best friend in my sister and even though we had a few disagreements a full argument never happened :) I'd say we did pretty good for 2 weeks in other countries with so many differences together. I am so grateful for getting to spend that time together doing something so amazing and once in a lifetime. I have to thank my parents for raising us to love each other and wanting to share experiences together. We only wished Craig was there too :)

SeCOnD sToP....AmsTErDaM!

The strike was over and we were up early dragging our luggage to the train station. Our high speed train left London at 6:50am and arrived in Amsterdam by 2:15pm with one stop in Berlin. The high speed trains are nice, the only issue that we had (because we didn't know before hand), there is NO luggage check....you are responsible to drag every piece of luggage on and off the train and if you stop to switch trains (which we did) it was off and on again. Our bags were quite heavy to begin with but after shopping for souvenirs our bags were un manageable. Thank goodness we ran into a few helping people that saw us struggling. We did have a system but when you're rushing from train to train with those bags....the system kinda goes out the window. FINALLY making it to Amsterdam we got right to our place, (which had the steepest, most steps in a 3 story town home we've ever seen) put our stuff down and headed out, being sure not to waste the afternoon. We hit up the Heineken factory and enjoyed a few free beers and a tour. It was actually pretty fun in there so we actually went twice haha, but another day :) we went to grab a bite and caught a ride on some bikes. That night we ventured through the red light district. I had a vision in my head what it would be like but thought there's no way it can be all that, well, it was really everything i'd imagined. I'm pretty sure I walked around with my jaw on the ground dragging in complete shock and maybe laughing a few times because I just couldn't believe this was actually happening and we were actually walking around in this place "window shopping" (but not purchasing lol), it was crazy! The next day we headed back to the train (with our luggage, still haven't learned) and headed out to Rotterdam where our long lost, we'll call her Aunt Irma, would pick us up. Before we got there she'd asked us our shoe size...Laura and I had bets on what our surprise was, ice skating or bowling haha....we were wrong, we were going to the city of Gouda (pronounced How-da) to an actual working cheese farm. This may sound a little different to do on a trip to Europe but it was probably one of our most favorite things we did. We had a personal tour of the whole factory and ALLLLLL the many many cheese they had just made as well as very aged cheeses. We taste tested and bought cheese to bring home and were also given cheese as a gift for visiting. It was so amazing and the cheese was the best i've ever had. We went for lunch with Irma in the town center of Gouda and walked around visiting a few other cheese related places adding more to our growing selection. That night we got to meet Klaus and Irma's kids Floor and Daan, had a dutch dinner and a dutch dessert. 

(Long story short, I met Irma online after researching my ridiculously long last name. I emailed her, said who I was and got an email back! We chatted and it ended up her husband Klaus was coming to Florida for work so we arranged for him to come by the house and meet us! He was so nice and it was amazing to me we had family we'd never met and here he was! We kept in touch though email so when Laura and I were planning our trip we had to let Irma and Klaus know.)

We stayed with them for a few days and Irma was our personal tour guide to the city and our family history and traditions of our dutch side. As Oma has recommended, we went to Madurodam (the minature city). Oma brought my father there when he was little so we thought it would be great to see and send her photos of it. We also got VERY lucky as there was a de Clercq Zubli family reunion happening the weekend we were there!! I've never seen so many of "us" in one place and had no idea there were that many either!! It was a great feeling meeting all these family members we never new existed. We spent the afternoon with them and after the reunion we went with our Great Uncle Tom to his and his wife's place to see old family photos and see a lot of our history. Maddie (Tom's wife) has done extensive research into the de Clercq Zubli's and had folders and cases and boxes of stuff all organized perfectly. We had such a great afternoon and it was extremely hard leaving knowing I probably wouldn't be back for a long long time. The next day Laura and I took a morning train to visit Amsterdam again, just for the day. We rented bikes and rode everywhere just like the locals do and we recommend everyone rent bikes if you ever go to Amsterdam, it was a fantastic way to see the city. We went to find where our Oma and Opa used to live, as well as our father when he was little. As far as we knew the building still stood and it was in biking distance. We had a picture and an address to go by and found it a lot easier than we thought we would. We took a picture on the same steps as our dad his brother and 2 cousins back in 1958, pretty surreal (picture below). It was such a great day and all this history about our family was so special to us. For our last night, Klaus and his family took us to an authentic indonesian restaurant and if you know us we are also indonesian so continuing with the family stuff was really cool, especially because we've never eaten indonesian before (go figure). Holland was the hardest place to leave. We had so much fun with our family and getting to know them and learning everything about our family history and are so thankful for the place to sleep and everything they did for us. Irma made sure our trip was one we would remember and want to come back and she did good, we will never forget and we already want to go back :) Next and last stop is Paris!

FirSt sTOp...LONDON!

FINALLY!!! Off we go to see the other side of the world! A dream of mine for years I finally get to experience AND with my sister! We left Orlando and connected in Detroit, from there to London the flight wasn't bad at all, except that we didn't sleep....maybe a little snooze here and there but that's about it. Given the excitement, also the cabin lights on in the plane for the first 3 hrs of the flight and then serving dinner and desert, might all be a reason why we had no sleep. We landed in London at 7:30 am (2:30am home time) and had decided before our trip to take the tube from the airport to our stop where we were staying but that was only short lived. We took the main train into London and then got a taxi to the house we stayed at haha. We had heavy bags and this was a foreshadow at the rest of our traveling days to come. We stayed with the most amazing couple and their place was perfect! So clean and tidy, only a 5 min walk to the tube and not to far from town. Laura and I put all of our stuff down and had two options....brave the city for a full day (it was 8am) or take a nap then go out, needless to say, we braved the city and were up for 27hrs. We decided to just walk some of the local shopping at Camden Market and Covent Gardens. We grabbed a beer at a local pub and watched a magic show some people were putting on outside in the square. The rest of the day we walked around learning the city and taking in the fact that we were actually there in London. That night we had booked tickets for the London Eye so we went home to change and relax a little and headed out to grab dinner and go to the London Eye. The city looked amazing all light up at night and the ride was 30mins so I got to take some good photos from way up at the top. The next few days the weather wasn't to bad, we had on jackets and boots but some of the days we didn't wear jackets because the sun was out and it was actually nice out. We visited Trafalgar Square and the National Gallery, ate lunch at Sherlock Holmes pub and headed to see Westminster Abby. Although the Abby was closed that day we did go back and had the full audio tour which took about 2 hours but it was totally worth it, I think for the both of us that was one of our favorite things we did. Everything about the Abby is simply amazing, I love that you can sit and stare and never look at the same thing twice because there's so much detail and so many stories about this place. It has so much history and you walk around and just say wow like 1,000 times to yourself (with your mouth dropped open). We got up early one day and arrived at Buckingham Palace 2hrs prior to the changing of the guards. We had the perfect spot! I sat there to hold our position while Laura found Starbucks and returned with coffee and treats :) This was another favorite of mine, I never knew what was so cool about going and everyone saying that we had to go, but this was really really neat to watch. They do so much in the hour, like yell things at each other and then have a battle of who plays songs better...and they aren't old songs, they would play a Beatles song and Sweet Caroline, haha. Absolutely fabulous and something I think everyone should do also. Another favorite thing was our tickets we booked to go into Buckingham Palace and see the 9 staterooms. The queen is gone for a few weeks a year and they open the Palace for the public. We walked through the room Will & Kate walked in when they officially announced their engagement, we walked right by the steps where they took their wedding photos at, it was un real. We also did an audio tour here and learned a lot about the Royal Family history and ALL the artwork that covers the walls there. The Queen had on display all of her most important jewelry so we got to see the coronation crown and necklace, that famous broche she wears to a lot of events, all the rings, crowns, necklaces and earrings, just everything was so beautiful and we were looking at it, right there, inches away! We also got to eat on the back patio of the Palace, there was a small cafe set up so we dove into some deserts and coffee before walking through the backyard garden of the Palace. That is also something everyone must do, of course only if you go during that time of year. A few other places we saw were the St. Pauls Cathedral, Big Ben, a boat tour and the Princess Diana's memorial fountain. Before leaving London we had to see the famous London Bridge of course along with the London Towers. That London bridge is amazing, all the building of that was done so perfectly and it's way nicer than I thought it would be. The towers took a while to walk though but there was a lot of history there as well. Laura found a room where a prince was killed and you listened to audio of a reenactment of what might of taken place in that room. The murder was never solved. We ventured out a few nights to grab dinner and wine (which was always good), and one of the nights we saw the show Wicked, which was awesome. Laura and I had never seen a show before and we both loved it! 

We ended up staying an extra day because of a strike in Belgium where we had to switch trains to head on to Amsterdam, it gave us a day to lounge around and take a much needed nap. On the last night we were there we stayed home and since seeing all the Royal things and being surrounded by it, we decided to watch The Other Boleyn Girl on the couch with a bag of popcorn. The next morning was an early one, 4am. Our train left at 6:50am so we got an early start to dragging our luggage to the tube, riding that into the city, dragging it through the international train station and onto the high speed train with us. Not fun, absolutely not fun. That was the second foreshadowing of how NOT to travel with luggage, and we still hadn't learned. Here's some pictures of our London visit, next stop (and post) Holland (where our dad is from)!!

From top left to bottom right then the middle: The National Gallery, The London Eye, Wellington Arch, Big Ben, Windsor Castle, Buckingham Palace, Westminster Abby

OoPs!

Please excuse my absence as i've gone MIA for the last month. As you know I was in Europe for 2 weeks wich I can't wait to blog about and then since being home i've been crazy busy helping Darin because now he has 2 shops and I just can't find the time to sit and write with out being utterly exhausted! I am editing some photos right now so I can blog about London, our first stop...and man that was was amazing. I'm going to write about Europe and take the time so I don't miss anything when I post my blog so hopefully tomorrow i'll have something. There's been TONS going on this last month so I probably have blogs to keep me busy for a while!! Thanks for being so patient with me! Check tomorrow for my London post!!

NeW hOMe wEeK 1

Barbados is pretty awesome. I've been super busy helping Darin open the new store here and setting up his office and buying office supplies which if you know me is one of my favorite things to do, buy office stuff and organize. I've had to order flyers, signs, business cards, polo shirts, the whole ordeal. So now it's Saturday and i've been here 1 week and 2 days. This island is full of busy people who work hard and play hard. There's beaches everywhere (including my backyard) and lots of places to eat on the water, which Darin and I love about living on the islands, we love eating with a view :) Our condo in great, it's perfect, I love it! We drive on the left side like we did in Nassau so we're used to that, the drivers aren't as bad here as they were in Nassau, and the cars are nicer. We love it here and continue to enjoy every day and look forward to the weekends when we can venture to unknown territory. Our stuff from Nassau comes on Monday on the boat but I will sadly and happily not be here, i'll be on my way to Orlando!!!! Darin will be all alone for a few weeks because Europe is also in 5 days!!! This is a crazy crazy month but I love it crazy!

BarBaDOs TiME

IT'S ABOUT TIME! We FINALLY heard 1 wk and 2 days ago that Darin's permit got approved and we'd be leaving the following weekend. So the week went on and we never heard anything, i'd packed up some but not everything. We were told twice before we'd be moving shortly, like in days, I would pack and Darin would continue to work and the "days" would go by and we'd still be in Nassau so slowly i'd take something we needed out of a box that's been packed and taped up and soon it was all the boxes opened again. SO, this time, I've learned....I packed some and didn't tape anything closed yet. Last Thursday we found out was leaving Sunday and i'd leave a few days later. Darin left this morning, it was an early dark morning drive to the airport, 4:45am. We packed Darin up last night so he had 2 full suitcases and his surfboard. He's lucky, I have to pack up the kitchen, our bathroom, my clothes, our bedding and everything else that I can't think of right now. Tuesday i'm bringing it all to the shipping place and sending it to our new home.

We are so happy to finally be moving to Barbados, can't wait to experience a whole new island! I'm sure we'll have a great time there, especially Darin with the surfing everyday. I can't take anything for granted and have the guy up above to thank for this amazing life i've been given to live. I'm excited to live in our new condo, on the beach, find all new places to eat and hang out, meet new people and learn how to surf! This will probably be my last post from Nassau, next, Barbados! Thank you to all of our friends that made our time here so much fun!!  We will miss all of you! 

The map below is obviously Barbados. Our first store is in Bridgetown and second is in Oistins, our place is in between both on the south coast!

Island Gal Photography

I have GREAT news!! I've finally decided to make my hobbie, my job! I've always loved photograghy, I always have a camera on me and I've wanted to do it professionally for so long. I either had a full time job (back in the states), didn't have a "real" camera, or i've been enjoying my first 2 3/4 yrs of marriage. I've since have no job and i've exhausted all of my time to enjoying and doing whatever I could to grab the full experience of living on an island and being a newlywed. Sooooo....i've been getting a little bored lately and back in June for my anniversary Darin got me an awesome camera, a Nikon D7000, i've never had such an intense camera before and if you know me well enough, as soon as life gives me something to do I dive right in and annoy everyone around for days or weeks because that's all I talk about (ie: Europe, 25 days!). I started out in my manual for a few days, then moved on to youtube videos and site seeing for practice. I've always had a creative eye and i'm usually very chit-chatty so I knew i'd be great with my clients and placing them how I thought would look best, I was just nervous about my camera skills. I started this last week Friday, I made my logo, made a Facebook fan page, put an ad on a local page for  a **FREE** family photo session and immediately got 16 responses. I wrote back everyone and in less than a week of starting out, I had 3 people actually follow through and make appointments, I also had 2 appointments from the girls at work so 5 total! Yesterday (Thursday) I had 3 of those appointments in one day, but I didn't mind because I want to get great photos for my website so people can see what I do....more photos = more business!! I feel like I did pretty good for my first go around, i'm excited to see where this goes and what I can learn as I continue to take more photos! Check out my site and facebook page and of course "like" it too :)  As always...enjoy!

www.islandgalphoto.com

http://www.facebook.com/IslandGalPhotography

FaNTasY FoOTbALL

It's the time of year when all the fantasy football teams start to be organized and then drafting players becomes your #1 priority. I've never had my own fantasy team but when Darin had them in the past years it always made me more excited to actually watch football on Sundays. This year I got my own team in the CashWiz league!! I studied and looked up a bunch of things about all the top players and some of the teams, did a few pretend drafts to get the hang of it, read up on the professionals drafts and saw what they did. I had lots of notes and pages of ideas on how I was going to strategically draft my teams players. Here's my top players I picked up for the 2012 season. Can't wait till the season starts when I beat all the boys teams, or at least the top 5 at the end, that would be a successful year for a girl's first fantasy team.

GuiNeP sEasON

For only a few months out of the year (I think 2), the street vendors here not only sell the usual phone mins cards, boiled peanuts, news papers and snacks, they now sell Guineps! The peanuts are in brown baggies and the guineps are in clear bags so you'll always know what they have. This fruit simply grows on trees, people pick them and sell them on the street corners to people like me who love them and don't have the time or know what the tree even looks like to pick my own, but at .50 cents a bag, it's a bargin! I consume these any chance I can these days, I have my $1 ready to hand out the window at any moment. This little fruit, about the size of a large grape has a tight leather type skin that you pop when you bite into it with your teeth, it opens up and you eat the inside orange part which is the part that covers the seed, you can eat the seed to but I don't. Once you pop the little orange fruit in your mouth you basically just suck the tangy part off the seed. After so many my lips start to feel funny, but that doesn't stop me...they are too good!!

LobStEr SEaSoN

August 1st marked the start of lobster season. Here in the Bahamas we are allowed to spear them, there is a limit per boat or per person but i'm not sure what it is, all we know is if there is a Bahamian on the boat we can have as many as we want! Our friend Alex is a Bahamian, he invited us so we said yea! I don't spear but I snorkel around and take pictures, or drive the boat, I also take the lobster from the spears and make sure they go in the live well....just so the boys don't have to get out of the water to do that then get back in, makes it easier if someone is on the boat you can pass stuff to. We had extra spears so I decided to carry one with me, not sure if i'd use the darn thing and I had no clue how to use it properly, but there I was with spear in hand swimming around looking for lobster. I had a quick lesson from Darin in the water, "hold here, pull this back, aim and let go", easy enough I guess. I was swimming behind darin a little ways back and spotted a lobster with his head out of the hole. I did what Darin told me to and missed, tried my second shot and I hit him!!! He went back up into the hole a little but when I swam back down to grab the pole, he came out with it! I swam to the boat and handed my lobster to Alex. I was and still am pretty impressed with myself, I feel like one of the cool guys that spears stuff, so now I can actually say i'm a lobster hunter and successfully killed dinner. That may be to over the top but i'm just proud of myself. Here's a little peek of some photos from our morning out catching lobster!

AbACo AdVEnTurE TeAm

Continued from the last Abaco Adventure Team post.....here's the link to the video of our week in ABACO. Again, it's amazing and something I will hope to re-live next year too! Enjoy these 15mins because I know we all did!

http://youtu.be/PhUe2WzjXks        or just try...          www.abacoadventureteam.com
                    or just click my youtube channel link in the column to the right ------>

I posted twice today, be sure to look below: 

                                                                            

MoViNG agAiN

We've just got settled in yet ANOTHER place in Nassau. This is our 4th place and hopefully our last before we move to Barbados. The house is the nicest place we've had here, really big and spacious. Since we have Tony and Chad coming and going from Freeport all the time we had to make sure we had at least 3 bedrooms, and this one has 4!! So we STILL have room for guests or other CashWiz employees that need to come and stay for a bit. Darin has already said after 2 days it felt like home, the same goes for me. We feel like this is a home, and that's a great feeling to have especially when you rent all the time and nothing is yours. We're very secure here and in a great neighborhood. Here's a few quick photos of the new place. No word on Barbados yet....we still have our fingers crossed for this year sometime hahaha!

75 DaYs tiLL euROpE!

We're under the 3 month mark and online shopping is in full swing. Laura's order stuff online and returned what she didn't want or didn't fit already. We're having a skype date to go over all of our outfits for the whole trip just to make sure we don't need anything else and then at the 30 day mark we'll have it finalized lol....girls are so weird, but I think we always feel it's necessary to take extreme measures on outfits when traveling to somewhere like Europe!! I've just about finished our "packet", it has our itinerary in it and all of our info and receipts of all the passes we've bought, travel expenses and where we're staying. Of course directions and maps and pictures all go along with that too. I think i'm up to about 30 pages LOL....some might think i'm crazy, but I like to call it excited and prepared! I also have a "packet" for my parents so they will know where we will be and when, what times we'll be there and directions from the airports, just in case of any emergencies and peace of mind for our mother. I think after this trip I will be fully prepared to publish and sell a book for Americans traveling to London, Amsterdam and Paris in 14 days. Pretty sure I haven't missed anything, but I probably have and those gaps will be filled in as I travel Europe! If anyone has any questions about Europe, please.....feel free to ask :) 75 MORE DAYS!!!!!

AbaCo aDVeNTuRe TeaM!

Our theme was "YOLO" and Justin didn't disappoint with all of his goodies in the "fun bag"....hats, bead ties, beads, shades in all colors, it made the trip that much better rolling as the "YOLO" crew. Last week Darin and I had been invited again to Abaco for July 4th and all the festivities those islands up there have to offer. Last year we had the BEST time and had an AMAZING crew. This year was just as awesome. Every year we have so much fun with everyone that goes and it's never for a second a disappointment. Here's some photos of the week in Abaco, i'd like to thank the Dobson family for opening their home for all of us crazy kids AND also joining in on all the fun with us, it was awesome to have the Dobson parents there right along with all us crazies! :)

Oh and HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME! 

As always.....one of my videos is to follow SOON!!

EuROpE!!

It's been a dream of mine to travel to Europe someday, preferably before I had a family. I didn't want to be that person who always said they wanted to go but have never gone because life just got in the way. Darin isn't able to go since we'll be opening the Barbados store and he can't be gone for 2 weeks, so I thought my dream was shot and i'd be the person that life got in the way and I won't be going to Europe after all. Out of the blue a couple months ago Laura told me she wanted to go to Europe with me if I still wanted to go.....dream is back on!! I couldn't believe it! Laura was 100% in for Europe. So after getting her work and my works approval for the time off, i'm VERY VERY happy to say WE'RE GOING TO EUROPE!!!!!!" We got our tickets the other day so now in 98 days, we'll be traveling to London, Amsterdam and Paris. I'm so lucky to have my sister as one of my best friends, she's a sight seer and a fast walker and likes to eat and try different foods....she's the perfect traveling partner! In Amsterdam we're staying with some of our extended extended family, and meeting many more. This trip is going to be the most amazing time and definitely make some of the best memories!! Laura's time off was approved first, so we were waiting to hear about my time off....this is how I told Laura that I could go.....and her response, lol!

FatTHeRs DaY

Today is Father's Day, and just like Mother's Day.....we aren't able to make it to Orlando. I know you're probably looking at the picture below thinking something is missing.....well Craig and my dad don't have any pictures together!! My mission next time i'm in Orlando is to take pictures of just them. If we were home today we'd probably be spending the Sunday at church and then home for some good old yard work. My dad's favorite things to do besides anything related to cars is yard work. He likes to have the best looking yard on the street, he has a secret to mowing his yard and I think that's helped him get the "best yard in the neighborhood" award a few times....I can't share his secret though. I miss my dad so much, he so laid back and carefree. He's been a great listener my whole life and tries hard to show his kids how living with Jesus in your heart, how hard work and having financial responsibility in life goes a long way. He's one of the most honest, kindest man I know, and it's quite obvious he's a role model to any man, guy, boy or son who knows him. He's the type of guy you want to be more like, and who you then strive to be (or want in a husband). I'm very blessed to have parents like mine, and my kids will be very lucky to have them as grandparents one day. Love you daddy, to the moon and back!! xoxo

2 YeARs!

Last Monday we celebrated our 2yr wedding anniversary with a little outing to our favorite indian restaurant.  I think every wife thinks of that day they were a bride. I ran through the whole thing all day, looked at pictures, read my blog and just remembered how amazing that day ways. It's been a pretty easy 2yrs, we definitely have our moments but we have WAY more awesome moments than anything else. We keep learning about each other and what works in a marriage and what doesn't. We communicate with each other very well because we only have each other here on these islands. I think living here has made us a stronger, solid couple. We need each other and we have to rely on each other. We have a house of love and couldn't be happier with where our life is going and having each other in it. 


We're headed to Abaco in a week for our birthday's and anniversary. Can't wait to get away for 4 days, we love Abaco!! Pictures coming soon :)

GraTeFuL

Lately for for some reason, i've had this feeling of gratefulness...maybe it's because I had a rough plane ride a few weeks ago, I don't know. But i've realized how much i'm in love with my life. I thank God every time I pray, for this amazing life, this opportunity and can't wait to see what else he has in store for my life. Not really sure if I ever did anything to deserve it but i'm very very thankful that this was my plan. My mom's favorite bible verse is Jeremiah 29:11, the more my life continues to be amazing, I think of that verse and how much it really relates to everything. Nothing was planned by me, although I did hope to have a great future with someone I loved and to live on an island someday, lol....guess someone was listening :)

And a belated HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my daddy!! Love you to the moon and back! xoxo

PaiLe WeddINg

The week of Mother's day I flew to Orlando for one of my oldest, dearest, bestest friends wedding. Just so happened Darin had been asked to go to a leadership conference in Orlando 2 days before I got there. He wasn't supposed to even be in town that week or get to go to the wedding so it was really nice to have him there that week. He also got to surprise his mom on Mother's day too, which she loved. Our long weekend was pretty relaxing, we didn't do to much which was nice and we didn't really have plans since Darin wasn't supposed to be there, so it was a pretty uneventful week....oh my sister did get a new car, and it did take ALL day to make the purchase but now she has a "new" Honda CRV, and she's very excited to fold down the back seats so Remie can roam around instead of walk on the seats in her car :) My parents also purchased additions to the fence so Remie has the whole back yard to play in now, which she loves being outside so hopefully it will be a little easier on my parents to let her out and not worry if she'll take off or not. 


Marissa & Ben's wedding.....i've been waiting for this day since the summer before 6th grade. Marissa and I met and we were instantly best friends. We had the same initials, same skinny little bodies, hadn't hit puberty yet, and both had dark hair and dark eye with some tan skin. People have said we looked like sisters, even twins....we always thought that was cool. We did everything together!! If I told you some of the stuff we did, you'd think we were lunatics, so I won't go there, but man those were the good old days!! So the day finally came when Marissa said she got engaged!!! I could hardly wait to see her walk down the isle. What made it even better is that she deserved someone awesome, just down to earth awesome.....and she found just that in Ben, he's great to her, I think you'd call them a perfect match. On May 19th I finally got to watch Marissa marry her bff. It was a perfect day and the ceremony, dress, reception, music and every detail that day screamed Marissa.....instead of blankets on our heads walking down the stairs in her house pretending it was our weddings......it was exactly everything I pictured how it would be, beautiful. I got a chance to video the day for her, so look for the link below...even though i'm a beginner I always do the best I can. Here's some pictures of Marissa & Ben's big day....enjoy!!


Paille Wedding video:   http://youtu.be/-jHvLWs_BvY

We also got to sneak a few family photos in since we all looked nice....minus the sun in our eyes, it's a nice family photo!  :)

MotHErS dAy

Today is Mother's Day, (well by the time i've posted it, it's 2 days later) and one of the sad things about not living near our families is that we don't get to be home on days like today. My mom is very simple and Mother's day is just another day for her, nothing changes, and her schedule stays the same. She still works, goes to church and will go see my grandma just like every other Sunday. She is very simple and just likes us to go to church with her in the morning and eat a grilled cheese for lunch at home after. I love that the small things are enough to make my mom happy, it's not about presents to her or about spending $200 for lunch on one of the busiest lunch days of the year, it's about spending time together as a family just like every other day. My dad always makes it a little special for my mom, with flowers, a sweet card and dunkin donuts coffee, it makes her smile and she knows we all love her....I think she gets the same thing every year which is totally perfect with her. I miss my mom every day and I love her to the moon and back every day!!


Here's our mom with all her kiddos! 

EaSTeR

Last minute decision....we weren't going home for Easter because it was WAY to much money. On Wednesday morning Darin decided we were going and it didn't matter, his niece was in town and if he didn't see her this weekend, it wouldn't be until maybe November (we're going back for a wedding). Our families haven't seen us since Christmas break, so it was nice to go home, especially for Easter. It was a short trip but didn't seem like it was a stressful one at all. Darin's family was at the lake all day and my family was out in Clermont at my Aunt and Uncles house for lunch. We had a little BBQ for our families and friends to come out and be together so we didn't have to rush and squeeze a bunch of visits into our 4 days. Darin of course found some time to surf with the guys as I got to see my mom for the afternoon. I was looking forward to two things on this trip. 1. seeing Remie, I couldn't wait to get off the plane and have my mom pick me up to get to the house and see Remie. I was missing her so bad lately, with all the videos and pictures my family sends me and facetime, seeing her all the time. I went to the backyard and my mom let her out there. She jumped on me and cried and rolled over  in my lap, licked me, tried to bite me (in a lovey way), and cried some more....she was SO excited!! She slept with Darin and I every night, waited at the door when we left, followed us around the house and waited in our room until we got home at night....we were so happy she remembered us and she's being such a good pup for my sister and parents. Casper may not enjoy her hyper-ness all the time but he's definitely lost weight from having a playing partner, he jumps for treat now AND he jumped up on the bed, which i've NEVER seen him able to do!! 

So my 2. was going to church on Easter Sunday. I've been itching to go to church lately. I grew up going to church and i've always gone every Sunday, until I moved and churches here are way different. I actually got the itch to go, I missed it and felt like I needed it. It's frustrating when I can't go and want to, watching online is great but not the same as actually being there. So Easter was great for me, great service, great energy, great feeling......needed that. Hopefully in Barbados there will be a great church for us to go to.

The rest of our Easter Sunday was spent with our families and a few friends. Fun quick trip home to Orlando, here's a few photos.....I did quite a bad job at taking pictures this trip, but I do have a few of Remie (hahaha).

BarBaDoS uPDatE

Since getting home to Nassau a week ago we've had some ups and downs. Glad the last week is over though. We hired 2 new people in Nassau and I get to train them next week using all my training skills and manual I made in Cayman. Putting my work to the test, hopefully it will be as good as I imagine! Darin found out his permit was ok, and all of his documents have been looked over. The only thing he needed was a police background check and finger prints from Turks and Caicos (because he lived there longer than 6 months) and a certificate from the Federal Bureau of Investigation of the United States of America! Yep, that's what the email said. We found out it will be a minimum of 8 weeks for that certificate which will put us in Nassau longer. A few hours of freaking out and Chad thought to call the officer in Barbados to simply ask if Darin could come there and have 90days to show the certificate. The officer agreed! Thank God.....so now Darin is going to Turks and Caicos on Tuesday for 2 days to get that done, we'll fedex that over and hopefully be there in about 3 weeks. We can't wait to move into our new home, all this waiting makes us more anxious! Good new though, we're going to come home for a few days when we leave Nassau to see our family and friends, then off to Barbados from there. We won't be home until October/November for a wedding, so we decided to go home for a short weekend before we moved. So there's an update, hopefully next post will be about us packing up our life here and starting a new adventure on a new island!

ExuMaS

As usual, we've been busy! After our Exuma trip, we got back and 2 days later I was off to Cayman on a super spontaneous work trip and i've been working my butt off the whole time. Currently i'm still in Cayman, but i've got to put up the amazing pictures of our trip to the Exuma Bahama islands. I think it was our favorite trip by far! Alan and Chad came to Nassau for this awesome trip, so there were 4 guys and me. We left Thursday morning early, took Matt's boat from Nassau down to Exuma, specifically Staniel Cay. We got there and made really good time so we still had most of the day to play. The water is so crystal clear....we thought in Nassau the water was amazing but down in Staniel Cay, it's 100x more amazing!! We rented a boat, got situated, and immediately went to the Thunderball Grotto to snorkel. Matt brought his cheese wiz for the fish and they went crazy over it! We explored and just drove in and out of tiny islands amazed at all of the water and how clear it was. The next day we got the boat again so we did some spear fishing, saw the swimming pigs, visited other marinas swam with sharks and attempted the parachute that Alan brought. Wish that worked out because it would of been awesome to parasail over those islands. Dinner was free and fresh, grouper bites and a LOT of lobster. I can't explain how amazing it was and that everyone needs to take a trip there before they die. These pictures are some of my favorites, there were so many but I think you'll get the feeling just by seeing these ones. 

I hope to have the video our friend Alan made posted to my youtube channel. I'll put it up soon!!

A biT oF FiLLeR

Just a little "filler" post.....the last week has been super crazy at work, with everyone coming and going I go to the airport at least twice daily! I've been training a new girl at work, and we have construction going on in the back, and money flying out the window I have to keep track of!! We haven't really had time to do anything. Grocery shopping was put off for 5 days and we got down to almost nothing in the fridge, laundry is piled so high it will take 2 days to finish, the house is a wreck because we're not home for more than 10mins at a time, and the landlord is showing our place today so i'm working a sweat.

Also, Tera came in town Friday. Had a great time, at good food, and took the boat out to snorkel and lay out on a really pretty Sunday! Tera left this morning and this afternoon Alan comes in! Thursday we're off to Exuma on Matt's boat for a 4 day boat trip. Going to Staniel Cay and Compass Cay, it's where they have nurse sharks you can swim with, pigs that swim and the famous Thunderball Gratto (swim through rocks for snorkelers) where 007 was filmed in 1965!! Exuma has some of the most beautiful waters in the Bahamas. We're so happy to be FINALLY doing this, we've wanted to see more of the Bahamas ever since we started living here. I love getting to experience this kind of stuff, it's what loving life is all about.....YOLO!!

Here's a video on Youtube of what we'll be doing this weekend, ENJOY!!

NeW HoME

Well not yet....but we did SIGN OUR LEASE!!!! And OMG is it awesome! You'll all want to visit us as soon as possible too! When Darin and I were in Barbados a few weeks ago we looked at a few places that we liked and pretty much fell in love with all 3 of them. 1 was out of our price range, and 2 we told our realtor to start putting our bid in. By the time the day was over one of the 2 we liked was taken! So we were down to our last love. We got the ok about our price and everything approved and signed the lease! Darin and I are quite the excited little kids over here, it's fun to see Darin so excited about a place to live, usually it's the girl who's more excited. Although we don't move until the middle or end of March, we're just glad we got something that we love! Take a peek....

BarBaDoS

THIS WEEK in our life......we got to visit Barbados for a week. Originally Darin was going to get the shop demolition started and interview some people, but it ended up that I got to join!! I was asked to do a comprehensive demographic report for the investors and directors of the company while I was there. At first I had absolutely NO clue what that meant, but with the help of some special people in my life, lol, I think i've slowly figured it out. You'd be surprised how much I know about this island now that I probably would of never known. It's kind of like my homework with a professional report attached. I have a feeling i'll go above and beyond my duties, but it's just because i'm not sure what to put in it so i'll just put in everything. I'm sure that's not all you want to hear about sooooo......i'll talk about the island. Barbados is pretty awesome. The structure and roads remind me a lot of Nassau, not so "pretty" but lots of older buildings they're trying to preserve, roads that are super narrow from the "horse" days and almost like poverty next to the rich. All of that i'm used to so I don't mind it at all. Barbados though, has LOTS of beach access, plenty of bars and restaurants on the water and on the beach, plenty of world class surf spots, tons of people our age and so much to do at night! Everyone we met says "trust me, you'll fall in love living here", I can't help but be so excited about this place. I have a lot to learn, with the health system and having kids, as well as the school systems here, but i've heard it's not at all bad and the schools here are really great!! Darin and I have looked at a few places to live and we love all 3, but the 3rd is WAY out of our price range, even though i'd love to have a pool on my second floor which is also the roof top of the building, UGH!!! So the first two will be just fine if we can negotiate the right price (which I think we will). We're stayed in a few places one was our realtor's guest house, which is PERRRRFECT! It's right on the beach, with a hammock, and the waves to listen to, the breeze, a bar just a short walk down the beach, just the best little set up. I can't wait to be there and live there and have all of our stuff in one place, FINALLY!! The flight wasn't bad, 3 hrs from Miami, where Darin's last trip was 3hrs 45mins. It went by pretty fast, especially since there was an in flight movie and a tv show after.  COME VISIT!!! I'll post some more when I get home, until then.....enjoy the pics as usual!!

Oh yea, and don't be jealous that sea rocks can spell our name and not yours, ours is just that awesome!!

ReMiE's NeW hoMe

SIIIIIIIIIIIIIGH...that was the longest "sigh", just so you know.....A lot has happened since my last post. Emotionally it's been pretty intense. Up until this last weekt i've cried just about every day. Our pup Remie has had a hard time finding a good home and it's breaking my heart. My brother had her and for reasons had to tell me it wasn't going to work out, then a friend of mine had her for a week and things were going well, she loved the two girls and her husband was loving his new bff, for other reasons the roommate was having issues with Remie and wasn't being fair to her when she was home alone with her, so my friend and her husband didn't feel like it was fair for Remie to be treated like that and she could find a better home. At this point i'm absolutely lost for words or ideas. I have no clue what to do with Remie, I just want to take her with us, I want to come and rescue her. She just needs a loving home to give her a chance to be a dog. She isn't in one place long enough to get used to things. She loves the outside and the grass, which we didn't have here, she likes the dog park too which helps her socialize with dogs since we couldn't do that here either, she's learned to like kids and meets new people all the time......she's going to be a pretty awesome dog, especially when she learns how to walk on a leash and the "come" command lol. Thanks to my forever amazing family, my mom was tired of Remie not having a real home so she, my dad, my sister and Casper took her in. My dad and her started out a little rough, but my sister helps and my mom is home all day and says she loves being outside on the porch and does really well at home for her. She's been there for almost a week and I pray every night that Remie is a good dog and my dad finds the love in his heart for another pup. She'll be 10 months old this week so she's got a lot to learn and probably more trouble to get into before the puppy stage is over. I still hope something changes in Barbados and i'm able to bring her, but until then she's in the best home ever and Casper is probably teaching her stuff and they might annoy each other sometimes but you can tell they're becoming buddies. Thanks again to my family for putting my emotions at ease by taking Remie, I can't thank you enough, any dog would be so lucky to have you as a family and Remie got that chance.

TatToOs

Laura (my sister) and I have been wanting to get something permanent to remember my grandfather who passed away Aug 20th, 2009. It's been a little over 2 years and we always talk about what we'll get, it may of changed a few times but ended up what we wanted in the first place. We did it over my Christmas visit home. I know he would of not liked this idea at all and I actually thought while I was getting it done that he was not happy looking down at me and Laura, but probably a little happy we still think about him all the time and want to keep him close to us forever. Our Grandpa was an amazing man, he was always so funny even in his last years it still came out somehow, he also made sure we all knew God, even when he passed he kept saying "know Christ", that was his legacy for all of us. We'll miss him forever and one day get to see him healthy and happy again! Love him with all my heart xoxo! 

Here's my grandpa's song: http://youtu.be/qHJplQYA03E 

NeW YeArs! 2012

Back from our holiday trip to Orlando and ready to write my first post of 2012!! So far this year, it hasn't gone so well. My last few days I was sick, we had to leave our families and also had to leave behind our dog. This year will turn around at some point, but it can't come fast enough.


Our long 2 week trip was great! Remie flew for the first time and I had a surprise 4 some pick me up at the airport and help out with the dog. Remie was quite scared and the sedative didn't seem to really help, I think the anxiety took over the meds lol, but, she made it to Craig's safe, even got a Chick-fil-a fry on the way! I brought her to the dog park a few times so she could meet some friends, got her some new toys and got her all set up at Craig's. She loves it there, runs in the back yard, gets to chase her toys in the grass and not cement, Craig plays with the hose and she loves that too. There's 3 boys there so she'll be spoiled with play time. So happy Craig adopted our pup, but i'm sure going to miss her hanging out all day with us. Gonna be quiet at home. Christmas was busy as usual, we surprised our parents with some pretty awesome gifts this year. Spent lots of money on clothes and even more on food. Darin claims to have gained about 10lbs while we were home because all we did was go eat with people. We went to a Magic game, Darin got to surf, my best friend moved 5 mins from my house so I got to see her a lot, Darin's parents threw a big holiday party and I got an awesome present from Darin. New Years was great, we went to my friend Reanne's house and she had the best little party set up!! Great little foods out, nice decorations and a fun looking bar! As always, i'll put some pictures up of our trip but here's some of each of our families.

The Zubli's

The Doty's

and the new year isn't complete with out my mom's famous Donut Night!!! They.Are.So.Good!!