Danki

"Danki" means "Thank You" in the local island language, also known as Papiamentu. 

As we approach the "thankful" holiday this year, I couldn't be more thankful for my life and the way things have been going. I hope things are going well for every reading this too, if not keep your head up and things will turn around. 

As many of you know a couple weeks ago, (I can't believe it's only been a couple of weeks) we found out my husband got a new job on the island of Curacao and that his wife and dog could move there with him. Basically our dream come true, to finally be together and not in a long distance relationship somewhere tropical where Greg could pursue his scuba diving and I could pursue my art. Well as you can imagine ever since then life has been CRAZY trying to prepare. A house to sell, car to sell, husband and belongings to move, dog to fly, paperwork to do, so much stuff! I literally think I've gone a bit mad...and pretty sure my husband will vouch for that. 

Greg had to finish his contract on the island he was working on then (Roi-Namur,) ship all his stuff on a barge to his new island, and fly 6,300 miles Iowa for 2 days to get his physical and see his (amazing) wife! Two days isn't long at all but still exciting for us because we hadn't really been together much since we got married since he had to go right back overseas for work practically right after the wedding. So we took full advantage of the little bit of time we had together and did what any normal couple would do....BOW CHICA BOW WOW. Ha ha and by that I of course mean we went to our favorite restaurant Ohana Steakhouse, a Japanese steakhouse where they cook it all in front of you. And sure enough, per usual, before I knew it I was dropping Greg off at the airport for another teary eyed goodbye. I hated those. I could hardly wait for them to be over, as the last time it was 7 months before I saw him again. Wait a minute...they are over! Next time I see him, he will be in a coconut bra drinking a pina colata, wait, or will that be me? lol  Either way it will be in our new home on the island where we will start our new life as husband and wife, and not have to do those awful goodbyes anymore! 

Ever since I found out the good news I was on the internet all day trying to find us a place to live on the island. Unlike the job Greg previously had, living was not provided at his new job. So I found some Caribbean real estate sites that also showed rental homes/apartments available and started sending out emails galore. So many I couldn't even keep track of the responses and remember which ones were which. Not only that but the language barrier didn't help, a lot of responses were in broken English. Also with a new culture the homes were very different than the home I live in. For instance central air wasn't really a thing, you mainly had air in your bedroom and that was it. There isn't hot water except for in the shower and that was only from a tiny water heater that would last enough for one person to take a quick shower. No oven's in the kitchen and lucky if there was a stove top. Seriously how do you bake cookies or bake anything without an oven. I know they are a dutch island, and I have definitely heard of the term "Dutch Oven" before but the only thing I ever knew that to be was when you farted under the covers and trapped some poor soul under them to suffer. LoL I guess I had some research to do that wouldn't involve any flatulence. None of the homes had dryers, and I was having a hard time finding one that had a washer. It was also difficult since I had no idea about any of the areas/neighborhoods and there is a bit of a high crime rate there so I didn't want us to choose a place that would be in a bad part, considering I'd be home alone alot. At last though, I came across an email from an agent that had a link to a rental that was in a nicer gated community. It was a big home that the owner rebuilt into 4 different apartments. The pictures were terrible and really did no justice, it was very tiny. The only things that really caught my eye on this place was the HUGE patio and view of the Spanish Waters, and the safety of the location. Oh AND they let me have my dog, that was difficult finding a place that would allow a small dog. I looked at the photos for hours thinking of how I could make the place work, and finally decided it would be perfect. It's weird and different just like us. We would call this place our home. It doesn't have a washer, but it DOES have a butt washer in the bathroom! LoL 
Alexander our real estate agent was so awesome and helpful, he didn't even make us wire money over to hold it like all the other place required. So we took this stranger's word that he would hold this place and he took ours that once Greg flew in Alexander would pick him up take him to the new house, sign the lease, pay the deposit/rent, and get the keys! I was really nervous that it was all too good to be true. Lucky for us he was an honest man and picked up Greg, got him in the house and even offered to take us out boating/wake boarding once we got all settled in. It was nice to get a little insight from a local, he showed Greg the areas and places to go around our house too. We now had a tiny little home and i can't wait to make it OURS and decorate.

Once I got Greg off to the airport I realized how much shit I had to do yet, selling my house was number one on the list as that would really determine when I would get to move to island and join my husband. If the house didn't sell I didn't move. I certainly didn't want to rent it, and it was a little hard for me to list it to because I absolutely adore my home. Plus I just finished redecorating the whole place. But it was so worth it to make our dreams come true, so I contacted my realtor and we got that baby listed. One day on the market and we had an offer! Seriously...could it be that easy and done? Of course we did some counter offering and finally I accepted an offer. Literally that took two days! Obviously there is a long process of closing after that, and thankfully for me my realtor advised me I can sign the paperwork from the island on the final closing documents. Greg was going to have to sign off the papers from over there anyway so this meant I would get to join him very soon! I now have my flight date scheduled for December 9th. 

I've been working my ass off every night and all day on the weekends getting stuff ready, sorting, selling, packing. I was literally selling everything I've worked hard for the last 26 years. I worked hard to get where I am, buy the nice things and home I had and now I was selling it all, for pretty practically nothing (aside from the house.) A lot of people have been asking me if it's hard and honestly it hasn't been yet but I think its just because I've been so busy I hadn't realized that fact yet.. I did get a little emotional when I looked around my home the other day and there wasn't anything hanging on the walls, nothing in cupboards, closets nearly empty, and it was really kind of sad and lonely. But so totally worth it all in the end.

Then there is the issue of getting my dog to the island with me. If you know me you know my dog is my BABY, and Greg just had to accept us as a package. Believe it or not it's actually pretty hard to get pets into other countries, so I had to do some research on what all was required to get Reesie to her new island home. I am SO thankful that she does not have to be quarantined for months like a lot of places make you do with your pets. That would seriously kill me. Basically she had to be microchipped, Rabies shot 30 days to a year prior, vet check/health certificate 2 weeks prior to entrance, and 48 hours prior has to be treated with a pesticide. I also ordered her a travel bag that she will have to be inside underneath the seat in front of me on the airplane, of which she hates. I have been trying to practice putting her in it and leaving her for a little bit. (I can only last like 5 minutes.) It's going to be a traumatic day for her and Mommy flying and a 13 hour travel day, but we will make it. I even got some tranquilizer pills from my vet he said I could give her the day of, but I can't do it...I just don't want to make her feel loopy and see her all half alive. I'd rather her be scared shitless and feel normal than scared shitless and feel all funny. Speaking of shit I just KNOW she is gunna poop in the airport or something. I can't imagine the chaos of this day that is ahead of us. LOL I just hope we make it okay and have no problem with customs and getting her or myself in. 

The final thing I really had to take care of was my car, which was recently paid off. I needed to sell my G6. I looked up the value on KBB and decided on an asking price, assuming people would try to counter offer me down. I had posted a few ads here and there, on Craigslist and on Facebook, got a few messages but nobody was really jumping on it. I then got a call from a couple wanting to test drive it last Saturday, I wasn't sure how the whole selling your car privately thing worked but I let them come over to see the car, swapped them keys, and let them take it for a spin. Once they got back they were saying they liked it and it drove well, kept standing there looking at it and then told me they wanted it! Just like that, for my full asking price and everything! Seriously, could things be going ANY smoother?! I couldn't believe it.

I think some things in life are really meant to be. This being one of them. All signs from day one have been pointing straight to Curacao. I truly believe this is where we belong for the time being. For me it's quite the adventure, I am a little nervous but it really helps having a husband who has no fear. He has traveled the world visiting and living in many countries, he knows how to get things done and how to adapt. I know he will make sure his little family is able to do the same. 

I hope sharing some of my positive vibes will send good vibes your way as well. Happy Thanksgiving everybody! <3

Some Photos For The Way Out

Mean Mommy testing our new bag....

I think she's ready for the island?!

Our new home from the outside...

 And our gorgeous patio view......

Dutch?

Truth is I don't know where to start on this blog.....

I will start with this. About a month and half ago I got a random phone call from my realtor. He had asked me if I had any interest in selling my house because the 2 townhouses next to mine he sold very fast and he had a buyer interested in them still. Keep in mind my house wasn't for sale but my realtor knew mine had relatively the same layout and he just wanted to check with me. The amount that it could potentially sell for was far more than I paid for it, so it was hard to say no....but I didn't have any plans on moving anytime SOON so I just kind of put that call on the back burner. I saw the two houses next to mine had the SOLD signs in the lawn and watched the owners move out over the next couple weeks. That's the end of that story.

Ebeye Island

Greg and I decided we wanted to visit Ebeye Island the other day. In order to do this we had to fly over to Kwajalein and then catch the ferry over. I had to respect their culture and toss my short shorts and dig out my long skirt first lol. When we told people on our island we were wanting to visit it we sort of got looked at with a blank stare and the question of "Why?"

The island is less than a mile long and about 200 yards wide, yet is populated with around 15,000 people! It is the 5th most densely populated place in the world.  Ebeye is 3 miles north of Kwajalein island. One of 93 islands that make up Kwajalein Atoll, it is the bedroom community for the Marshallese who work at the military base. Following WWII, when the US took possession of the Marshall Islands from the Japanese, the US conducted several nuclear tests in the Marshalls (most famously at Bikini Atoll) and moved many Marshallese to Ebeye. When the US started to use Kwajalein Atoll for other missile tests, Marshallese from the mid-atoll were also moved to Ebeye, thus setting the stage for overpopulation and various social and economical problems such as a lack of food, water, jobs, and money. 

The island is very much third world living conditions. Sometimes up to 40 people living under one flimsy shack, sleeping on the ground. 

One thing that really amazed me is the amount of smiling kids you found on the island. The island population is estimated to be over 50% populated of children, which is easy to see as soon as you step onto the island, there are kids running around every where. But like I said these kids literally have nothing and couldn't be happier, it really made me a little embarrassed to know the average American's child's Christmas list these days consists of things like Ipads, Cell Phones, and crazy materialistic things. The children on Ebeye would be happy with a used soccer ball they could kick and play around with outside. It's nice to see children outside playing and SMILING, they would even run up to us and  want us to play with them, which melted my heart!  I caught a cute pic of these two girls climbing on Greg's arms hanging like monkeys, I wasn't strong enough for that so they climbed on my back. =)

They must be a little used to the American's coming over once in a while, because they don't speak English but know enough to yell "PICTURE PICTURE" when they saw me walking with a camera. And unfortunately some American must have shown them how we pose by throwing up "Deuces" and making duck faces lol, because every time I went to take a photo the kids would throw up their peace sign and make a silly face! It was still cute, I even jumped in for one! 

There were quite a few stray dogs hanging around the island too, which I am a huge animal lover but they were very neglected, as you can imagine if the living conditions for humans were poor how they would be for dogs. They aren't treated as pets around there either, a dog around home you would naturally go up and pet (at least I would) and when I was petting this sweet dog it wasn't sure what to do and the islanders looked at me like I was crazy. 

Made me really miss my little Chihuahua! I wish I could take all the dogs and kids there and give them a good bath and the health care they need. It was definitely a life changing experience that really made me thankful for everything I've been blessed with in life, and realizing what little these kids have they are still so happy and make the best of it all. Although their view is UNREAL, check out this shot I got of my man looking out the window of a busted up shack that still had one wall up. 

I really enjoyed my day over on Ebeye Island, although it's third world and it was a little sad it really opened up my eyes. And I absolutely adored the children and their little smiling faces!

Jelly Fish Wall

Another day scheduled to take the boat out and snorkel. Luckily today's weather allowed us to do that. We were headed out with some friends to 8th island which is pretty far from our island and to the coral gardens. It was a bit of a rough ride to get out to the spot but totally worth it. So snorkel gear on I jumped off the boat and followed my man. As soon as we got in the water he spotted a HUGE stingray at the bottom, with a little shark riding the stingray's back. It was pretty deep down but as usual still freaked me out. I'm beginning to gather that I really am quite the "weenie." Ha but I am not used to sharks and stingrays I'm used to cows and corn, and that shit ain't near as scary lol.

So Greg tells me to put the video on and he's going down, I'm thinking dude don't piss him off this is how Steve Irwin died ya know? And this guy is HUGE! I turn on the video camera on my iPhone and Greg swim's down to the bottom. He flips his flipper  about an inch away from him to create a wave that'll startle the stingray and the thing instantly freaks swims away (from us thank God.) It was really cool to watch his big body float away and see the little shark guy riding his back across the bottom. Plus I got it on video which was cool, except I can't for the life of me get video's to upload on this blog which totally bums me out because I have a lot of cool things to share that we've caught on video.

We kept swimming around finding some beautiful fish per usual and then Greg showed me a ginormous clam. I really don't think I'd ever seen one before and what I pictured in my head was a pretty purple small clam that would hold pearls inside lol. Not at all what this was like. It was probably two foot wide and sure enough my man wanted to go down and poke it so he did and thing clamped shut hard and quick! I was hoping he'd come back up with pearls for his lady, but he didn't. I suppose I should just be glad he didn't come up missing any body parts as quick as that thing shut! We did see a shark or two while swimming around and I surprisingly didn't find myself as scared as before, I suppose I was warming up to them. It was time to head off to our next destination to snorkel.

WHEN YA GOTTA GO YA GOTTA GO...lol

I thought everything we had just saw was pretty, man I had no idea it could get any better. I believe this part was called the coral gardens. The water had such clear visibility and the colors and size of the fish were outstanding out here. First thing we did was swim over to the the 8th island. Nobody lives on this island it is literally a deserted island. I told Greg we were swimming over to it and stepping foot on it, because how many people can say they were the ONLY TWO PEOPLE on an entire island?! LoL

Unfortunately about 10 minutes into the dive we discovered my waterproof case was leaking into my phone and we took my camera back to the boat. So we didn't get what we were about to see on camera, which is really too bad. The sun rays shining down through the crystal blue water over the beautiful purple coral was a site in itself. I've never seen anything so beautiful. As we swam though the coral gardens we came close to a little drop off spot. I had a hard time seeing out my goggles it was like there was water spots all over them or something, or maybe they had fogged up. NOPE. It was a whole wall of jelly fish floating around. Just a bunch of white spots. THOUSANDS. It was incredible. But of course I was making sure not to swim or float any closer, because there seriously were thousands everywhere. It was pretty cool! I wished so bad I had my camera at that point. As we were headed back towards the boat we saw multiple sharks, and pretty good sized ones. I can't believe I've been swimming with sharks on multiple occasions now.

WARNING TMI TMI TMI AHEAD

I sort of freaked when I realized it was what my girlfriend and I call shark week for me. It happens once a month to ladies, and hopefully I don't need to explain any further that it was that time of month for myself. OH GAWWWWWWD. Sharks and blood go together like fat kids and cake right?! I'm doomed. PMS. Pissed Mad Sharks. OH NO I told Greg and he just laughed, but I seriously was freaking out, however I yet again made it out safe without any shark attacks. LoL It ended up being a great day and my favorite snorkel ever. Since then we bought a GoPro camera which is great for underwater diving and snorkeling so I am hoping before I leave we are able to go back out there and get it on video because it was too amazing not to share with the world.

My First Day ALONE

Greg had to work today so I am on my own. I was pretty lazy all morning since I was still not feeling 100%. After a while I decided to grab my DSLR Camera and head out on the bicycle to capture some of the scenery. HOLY HOTNESS. Lugging that thing around while pedaling against the winds in 88 degree weather makes for one hell of a workout. I hadn't planned out my photography session very well, because I had to wait about a half an hour for the condensation on my lens to go away...woops. I was a little worried about getting lost at first, but then I realized the island is way too small to actually get lost. So I spent the day venturing the island solo and soaking up the scenery. I got quite a few pics so I'll share some...