September 27th, 2014....The best day of my life. I got to marry the world's most incredible, handsome, loving, crazy man! I'll be updating my site soon (as I am WAY overdue) with some more blogs, but for now a glimpse at my perfect wedding day through the camera lens of Kapture King Productions. He did SUCH an incredible job capturing all the little details and important moments of our day. This video brings so much emotion to me every time I watch it (I've probably watched 100 times and cried each time,) I hope you enjoy it as much as I did!
Monday, October 13, 2014
Wednesday, March 12, 2014
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!
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.
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.
Saturday, February 1, 2014
I Said Yes!
I Said Yes...
Alright Alright so as most of you know by now, I got engaged. It was lovely and I am so happy and everybody wants to know the story soooooo here ya go!
Tuesday Jan 28th
Greg got off work at 8 A.M. and had planned out our day for us. We usually like to tackle a lot during his off days while I'm here, because before you know it I'll be gone in Snowy Cold Iowa. *VOMIT*
We decided to start our day off by filling the cooler and hitting the green. There is a little golf course here on the tiny island, it's not what you picture your usual country club like...but it works. I had to get my golf ball of the airport runway multiple, that was a first lol. So after a long day of golf and drinking we grabbed a quick lunch at the chow hall and took a little nap. Later I knew we had planned on Grilling Out and Kayaking so we were gunna need the energy.
After our nap was over we tossed our suits on and started cutting up some potatoes and veggies for the grill to eat with our steaks. We packed what we thought was everything in the bag, tossed it all in the wagon, put the wagon on the bicycle, and pedaled over to the Rat Shack. (Fancy place for dining eh?) On our way over Greg realized he didn't have a lighter so told me he had to stop at the fire station and told me to pedal over to the Surf Shack to get the lighter fluid. Once we both got to the Rat Shack and unloaded stuff we realized we forgot a glove to use to grab the hot foiled tater packages, so I pedaled over to the Surf Shack once more to grab the rest of what we needed. Finally time to sit down enjoy some sangria and have some dinner with my honey. After we finished eating dinner (Greg, Myself, and one BILLION flies) it was time to walk 50 ft down the beach to the shack that has the kayaks and stuff. It was about 5:45 and the sun sets about 6:40 and Greg had the great idea of kayaking around the corner of the island so we could see the sunset. On our way over I bet Greg that he couldn't stand up in the Kayak without it tipping over and of course being the big strong man he is, he had to prove me wrong (right.) So he attempts to make his way up before a few seconds was up flips out of the kayak and falls into the ocean water. When we got around the island we noticed a little beach that was uncovered since it was low tide, so we decided to row the kayaks up to it and get out. We hung out for a while watching the colors in the sky slowly change, walking around looking at things and then we rowed back to shore. We got out and I was ready to wash the kayaks and put them away but Greg said we should do it later, even though it was going to be getting dark, I didn't argue. (Surprised? Ha) I started to walk on the other side back over to the Rat Shack and Greg told me I to get back down and walk along the beach with him, I would soon realize why.
We hold hands and walk up to the shack we had previously eaten at. It looks different. The tiki torches are lit up, candles all over lit up, bottle of wine on the table, and a wrapped box in the middle of it. This box was wrapped in Christmas wrapping and had a sticker on it that said "To Greg From Mom Love and Miss You." Obviously he was confused. I wasn't really sure what was going on. The first thing I said was what's going on how did you light these candles when we were gone? And why is your Christmas present on the table?
*About three months ago Greg's Mom had called me and asked if she could ship a nice watch she got Greg to me and I would pack it in my carry on with me when I went to visit him. When you ship stuff to the island you have to fill out a customs form that says what's in the box and how much it's worth, plus you don't always know how safely it will get here. Of course I told her yes and she insured it and sent it to me, it's been under my tree since I got it. When I arrived I had handed it to Greg and told him his Mom had sent me with his Christmas present, and he said he knew but he couldn't open it until the other present arrived that she shipped. And so it's been sitting in his place ever since.*
I walked up to the table and Greg told me to open MY PRESENT. Again I told him that it wasn't mine and he just kept quiet as he watched me open it. A GUCCI WATCH? I don't get it. So I open the box up and there is no Gucci watch. There is a ring box, it's empty. I turn around and my honey is on one knee holding the most beautiful size 4 1/2 ring I have ever seen. Right there candlelit beach side my boyfriend asked me to spend the rest of my life with him. I SAID YES! Holy shit...I just got engaged. Is this real life?! LoL I sort of blacked out and forget what all happened right then I just knew that I said yes and I couldn't stop crying. And yes if you hadn't put it together, turns out I was carrying my own engagement ring around for months! Just imagine if I had accidentally left it at home under the tree LoL. He picked it out completely on his own and already knew my size. The inside of the ring is engraved with "Forever My Love." He had also asked our friend Alana for some help by setting up the candles and stuff and lucky for me I got some awesome pictures because she was hiding behind a tree taking snap shots the whole time! Apparently Greg had been trying to propose for weeks but either the weather or I had kept ruining his plans lol. OOPS! ANNNND remember when he flipped out of the kayak into the ocean with this diamond ring in his pocket?! Some fish could have been rollin through the deep blue sea with some awesome bling...
Who knew the little fling I found when my best friend and I visited Vegas would turn into forever? (That's another blog to come.) Marriage. AH I am so excited and I am so lucky. I have been living in paradise since I met Greg. I've found the perfect man for me and I love him more than words can say!
Alright Alright so as most of you know by now, I got engaged. It was lovely and I am so happy and everybody wants to know the story soooooo here ya go!
Tuesday Jan 28th
Greg got off work at 8 A.M. and had planned out our day for us. We usually like to tackle a lot during his off days while I'm here, because before you know it I'll be gone in Snowy Cold Iowa. *VOMIT*
We decided to start our day off by filling the cooler and hitting the green. There is a little golf course here on the tiny island, it's not what you picture your usual country club like...but it works. I had to get my golf ball of the airport runway multiple, that was a first lol. So after a long day of golf and drinking we grabbed a quick lunch at the chow hall and took a little nap. Later I knew we had planned on Grilling Out and Kayaking so we were gunna need the energy.
After our nap was over we tossed our suits on and started cutting up some potatoes and veggies for the grill to eat with our steaks. We packed what we thought was everything in the bag, tossed it all in the wagon, put the wagon on the bicycle, and pedaled over to the Rat Shack. (Fancy place for dining eh?) On our way over Greg realized he didn't have a lighter so told me he had to stop at the fire station and told me to pedal over to the Surf Shack to get the lighter fluid. Once we both got to the Rat Shack and unloaded stuff we realized we forgot a glove to use to grab the hot foiled tater packages, so I pedaled over to the Surf Shack once more to grab the rest of what we needed. Finally time to sit down enjoy some sangria and have some dinner with my honey. After we finished eating dinner (Greg, Myself, and one BILLION flies) it was time to walk 50 ft down the beach to the shack that has the kayaks and stuff. It was about 5:45 and the sun sets about 6:40 and Greg had the great idea of kayaking around the corner of the island so we could see the sunset. On our way over I bet Greg that he couldn't stand up in the Kayak without it tipping over and of course being the big strong man he is, he had to prove me wrong (right.) So he attempts to make his way up before a few seconds was up flips out of the kayak and falls into the ocean water. When we got around the island we noticed a little beach that was uncovered since it was low tide, so we decided to row the kayaks up to it and get out. We hung out for a while watching the colors in the sky slowly change, walking around looking at things and then we rowed back to shore. We got out and I was ready to wash the kayaks and put them away but Greg said we should do it later, even though it was going to be getting dark, I didn't argue. (Surprised? Ha) I started to walk on the other side back over to the Rat Shack and Greg told me I to get back down and walk along the beach with him, I would soon realize why.
We hold hands and walk up to the shack we had previously eaten at. It looks different. The tiki torches are lit up, candles all over lit up, bottle of wine on the table, and a wrapped box in the middle of it. This box was wrapped in Christmas wrapping and had a sticker on it that said "To Greg From Mom Love and Miss You." Obviously he was confused. I wasn't really sure what was going on. The first thing I said was what's going on how did you light these candles when we were gone? And why is your Christmas present on the table?
*About three months ago Greg's Mom had called me and asked if she could ship a nice watch she got Greg to me and I would pack it in my carry on with me when I went to visit him. When you ship stuff to the island you have to fill out a customs form that says what's in the box and how much it's worth, plus you don't always know how safely it will get here. Of course I told her yes and she insured it and sent it to me, it's been under my tree since I got it. When I arrived I had handed it to Greg and told him his Mom had sent me with his Christmas present, and he said he knew but he couldn't open it until the other present arrived that she shipped. And so it's been sitting in his place ever since.*
I walked up to the table and Greg told me to open MY PRESENT. Again I told him that it wasn't mine and he just kept quiet as he watched me open it. A GUCCI WATCH? I don't get it. So I open the box up and there is no Gucci watch. There is a ring box, it's empty. I turn around and my honey is on one knee holding the most beautiful size 4 1/2 ring I have ever seen. Right there candlelit beach side my boyfriend asked me to spend the rest of my life with him. I SAID YES! Holy shit...I just got engaged. Is this real life?! LoL I sort of blacked out and forget what all happened right then I just knew that I said yes and I couldn't stop crying. And yes if you hadn't put it together, turns out I was carrying my own engagement ring around for months! Just imagine if I had accidentally left it at home under the tree LoL. He picked it out completely on his own and already knew my size. The inside of the ring is engraved with "Forever My Love." He had also asked our friend Alana for some help by setting up the candles and stuff and lucky for me I got some awesome pictures because she was hiding behind a tree taking snap shots the whole time! Apparently Greg had been trying to propose for weeks but either the weather or I had kept ruining his plans lol. OOPS! ANNNND remember when he flipped out of the kayak into the ocean with this diamond ring in his pocket?! Some fish could have been rollin through the deep blue sea with some awesome bling...
Who knew the little fling I found when my best friend and I visited Vegas would turn into forever? (That's another blog to come.) Marriage. AH I am so excited and I am so lucky. I have been living in paradise since I met Greg. I've found the perfect man for me and I love him more than words can say!
Wednesday, January 22, 2014
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.
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.
Japanese Pool
We were supposed to take the boat out the other day and snorkel but there was a weather advisory and too strong of winds and they wouldn't allow any "B Boat's" to be taken out. So we had to cancel and make a change of plans. I was bummed out but it actually turned out to be a blessing in disguise because Greg and I had one of my favorite days together yet.
It was low tide so the waters weren't covering a certain area by the runway that is called the "Japanese Pool." It' s a small coral area that is dug deeper and traps a lot of things in it. We decided that we would grab our snorkel gear and water shoes and check it out.
Water shoes were necessary to walk around on the parts that were usually covered in water because it was rough and slick walking around on it. It was really cool though because there were little pools or puddles that had some sea life trapped in it that couldn't get out and that didn't wash back into the ocean when the tide lowered. So we found a semi easy entrance to the Japanese Pool and tried to maneuver our way in. I was nervous as usual at first because who knows what could have got trapped in this confined area. But once I got my flow down and we got to moving around in it I felt better. It was so pretty and there were a lot of pretty fish in it. We saw a black and white spotted fish that was like a ball with spikes coming out of it, of which Greg later told me is called a tiger fish and it is poisonous, AWESOME probably a good thing I didn't know this while in the pool.
I missed it but Greg signaled to me that there was a shark in this pool too, which totally freaked me out because as I said before basically all the sea life that's in this thing is trapped, and it's a really small space. I figured this shark was pissed off and wanted out and maybe he was hungry for humans lol, but sure enough he never bothered us. It was a little difficult to get out of the area because there is so much coral around but once we were done snorkeling we found our way out and exchanged our flippers for water shoes. We walked around the land part (I'm struggling to find the right terms to describe it) that wasn't covered in water at the time, but usually is during high tide. The ground is real squishy and slippery, but I only busted my ass one time. It was really cool though to walk around and look in the little puddles at the different fish left in them. We even saw a couple eels, which totally grossed me out. And of course naturally I think all eels are electric and can kill you (thanks crash bandicoot game ha) but Greg said they aren't those kinds of eels. They looked like thick slimy snakes. After we saw those I was afraid the whole rest of the day I was going to step on one. There were a few starfish left in the little pools too. It was a great experience just exploring around and seeing the different life that existed and bicycling by later that day to see that it was completely covered by ocean now and that whatever was trapped in there had probably washed back out to shore and the next time would have a whole new party crew of fishies in there. I can't wait to go back and do it again!
It was low tide so the waters weren't covering a certain area by the runway that is called the "Japanese Pool." It' s a small coral area that is dug deeper and traps a lot of things in it. We decided that we would grab our snorkel gear and water shoes and check it out.
Water shoes were necessary to walk around on the parts that were usually covered in water because it was rough and slick walking around on it. It was really cool though because there were little pools or puddles that had some sea life trapped in it that couldn't get out and that didn't wash back into the ocean when the tide lowered. So we found a semi easy entrance to the Japanese Pool and tried to maneuver our way in. I was nervous as usual at first because who knows what could have got trapped in this confined area. But once I got my flow down and we got to moving around in it I felt better. It was so pretty and there were a lot of pretty fish in it. We saw a black and white spotted fish that was like a ball with spikes coming out of it, of which Greg later told me is called a tiger fish and it is poisonous, AWESOME probably a good thing I didn't know this while in the pool.
I missed it but Greg signaled to me that there was a shark in this pool too, which totally freaked me out because as I said before basically all the sea life that's in this thing is trapped, and it's a really small space. I figured this shark was pissed off and wanted out and maybe he was hungry for humans lol, but sure enough he never bothered us. It was a little difficult to get out of the area because there is so much coral around but once we were done snorkeling we found our way out and exchanged our flippers for water shoes. We walked around the land part (I'm struggling to find the right terms to describe it) that wasn't covered in water at the time, but usually is during high tide. The ground is real squishy and slippery, but I only busted my ass one time. It was really cool though to walk around and look in the little puddles at the different fish left in them. We even saw a couple eels, which totally grossed me out. And of course naturally I think all eels are electric and can kill you (thanks crash bandicoot game ha) but Greg said they aren't those kinds of eels. They looked like thick slimy snakes. After we saw those I was afraid the whole rest of the day I was going to step on one. There were a few starfish left in the little pools too. It was a great experience just exploring around and seeing the different life that existed and bicycling by later that day to see that it was completely covered by ocean now and that whatever was trapped in there had probably washed back out to shore and the next time would have a whole new party crew of fishies in there. I can't wait to go back and do it again!
It's Not All Rainbows And Unicorns
I know I've done my share of bragging about how awesome my life is and how great the island life is....however it's time I share, it's not all glamorous and fun and games.
When the dark night sneaks up on us, it's when they come out. What comes out you ask?! ROI RATS! Gross right? Seriously there is tons of them all over the island. And of course the first one I see I squak and freak out and the usual response from people about all the creatures I've encountered is, "They won't hurt you, they're just as scared of you."
YEAH OKAY maybe. They are still gross and creep me out! Same goes for the geckos they crawl everywhere at night, so fast and eeeeek lol. I was sitting down the other week at the shack watching the sunset and had hung around a little after. Sure enough it had gotten rather dark, all of a sudden a gecko runs across the table in front of me, another across my foot, and a rat climbs up the tree by my head.
Here's the little gecko dudes that hang out....
EW I'm out! Of course the residents here laugh at me and call me a weenie but c'mon rats and lizards aren't anybody's thing right? So I forget to bring a flash light and attempt to make my way down the stairs to my bicycle without screaming. What a terrifying ride home lol I was dodging running over rats with my bike the whole time. However, the moon and stars here are out of this world bright! It's so beautiful in the sky at night with no clouds or polution you can see all the stars perfectly and the moon so bright reflecting off the ocean is just stunning...until you see a rat and freak out ha ha. And then there's the bugs. UGH. I have bug bites galore all over my body. Day and night there's always something looking to bite. Bug spray is a must all the time. But besides those gross things as I said before it's wonderful out here, I mean you can't have it all right? =) One of the residents actually asked me to paint them a rat out of my palm frond art....I am not sure how it will turn out but I'll definitely give it a shot! Until next time.....
Peace Out!
When the dark night sneaks up on us, it's when they come out. What comes out you ask?! ROI RATS! Gross right? Seriously there is tons of them all over the island. And of course the first one I see I squak and freak out and the usual response from people about all the creatures I've encountered is, "They won't hurt you, they're just as scared of you."
YEAH OKAY maybe. They are still gross and creep me out! Same goes for the geckos they crawl everywhere at night, so fast and eeeeek lol. I was sitting down the other week at the shack watching the sunset and had hung around a little after. Sure enough it had gotten rather dark, all of a sudden a gecko runs across the table in front of me, another across my foot, and a rat climbs up the tree by my head.
Here's the little gecko dudes that hang out....
EW I'm out! Of course the residents here laugh at me and call me a weenie but c'mon rats and lizards aren't anybody's thing right? So I forget to bring a flash light and attempt to make my way down the stairs to my bicycle without screaming. What a terrifying ride home lol I was dodging running over rats with my bike the whole time. However, the moon and stars here are out of this world bright! It's so beautiful in the sky at night with no clouds or polution you can see all the stars perfectly and the moon so bright reflecting off the ocean is just stunning...until you see a rat and freak out ha ha. And then there's the bugs. UGH. I have bug bites galore all over my body. Day and night there's always something looking to bite. Bug spray is a must all the time. But besides those gross things as I said before it's wonderful out here, I mean you can't have it all right? =) One of the residents actually asked me to paint them a rat out of my palm frond art....I am not sure how it will turn out but I'll definitely give it a shot! Until next time.....
Peace Out!
Art on Palm Fronds
Who Knew?
Recently I started getting back into my art. I had shipped a small box of acrylic paints with brushes and 2 canvases to help me pass time on the island. So far I have yet to touch the canvases lol. However I came across an old palm frond that had fallen from a palm tree when Greg and I were out and about. It was dried up and hard and looked like it was the shape of an elephant. Instantly I wanted to paint it. Here's a first glance at what it started out like and 2 pictures after showing my progress:
So as you can see it was just the base of a palm tree branch and had dried up. I just brought it inside and washed it up and started painting. It ended up workout out really well. When I was finished with it, I thought was okay but didn't expect the response I got when word traveled around the island that I had been making these. I started out with a safari theme. Next I did a tiger and a giraffe.
Multiple people on the island have come up to me with interest in purchasing so now I am trying to push myself to work a little every day on them. Every couple of days now we will put the wagon on the bike head out with a knife and cut some good dried palm fronds that we find, bring them home wash them up and get them ready to be recreated into masterpieces. It feels great to get such positive feedback on my work especially since it's been years since I've made the time to get back into my artwork. I forgot how much I love it. I used to be an artist back in high school, took a lot of art classes, voted best artist in my class, hell I took a trip with my art teacher and a few other students to Italy to see all the art museums around there, it was wonderful. (Thanks to my parents for making that possible and letting me go and a shout-out to Mr. Kling!)
I even made myself an art studio out of my 3rd bedroom at home when I bought my house so that I could no longer use the "I don't have space" excuse and still never made the time to get down there and create! So out here there is no excuse I am unemployed for 2 months, the space isn't exactly here and poor Greg's kitchen table has turned into my art studio LoL but hey it's working out well. With all the compliments I have been getting I hope my motivation to keep creating stays with me and follows me to my studio back home! If I can figured out a way to ship them over 6,000 miles back to the states then I even have some pieces sold back home too. So if you are reading this and are interested in a piece let me know, I am selling them for $50-$75 a piece and am willing to knock the price down for purchasing more than one. Maybe a dream can come true and I can sell art for a living and live on and island with the love of my life.....crossing my fingers. Help me get there by buying and sharing my artwork! =) THANKS and here is one more picture of my Safari art!
Recently I started getting back into my art. I had shipped a small box of acrylic paints with brushes and 2 canvases to help me pass time on the island. So far I have yet to touch the canvases lol. However I came across an old palm frond that had fallen from a palm tree when Greg and I were out and about. It was dried up and hard and looked like it was the shape of an elephant. Instantly I wanted to paint it. Here's a first glance at what it started out like and 2 pictures after showing my progress:
So as you can see it was just the base of a palm tree branch and had dried up. I just brought it inside and washed it up and started painting. It ended up workout out really well. When I was finished with it, I thought was okay but didn't expect the response I got when word traveled around the island that I had been making these. I started out with a safari theme. Next I did a tiger and a giraffe.
Multiple people on the island have come up to me with interest in purchasing so now I am trying to push myself to work a little every day on them. Every couple of days now we will put the wagon on the bike head out with a knife and cut some good dried palm fronds that we find, bring them home wash them up and get them ready to be recreated into masterpieces. It feels great to get such positive feedback on my work especially since it's been years since I've made the time to get back into my artwork. I forgot how much I love it. I used to be an artist back in high school, took a lot of art classes, voted best artist in my class, hell I took a trip with my art teacher and a few other students to Italy to see all the art museums around there, it was wonderful. (Thanks to my parents for making that possible and letting me go and a shout-out to Mr. Kling!)
I even made myself an art studio out of my 3rd bedroom at home when I bought my house so that I could no longer use the "I don't have space" excuse and still never made the time to get down there and create! So out here there is no excuse I am unemployed for 2 months, the space isn't exactly here and poor Greg's kitchen table has turned into my art studio LoL but hey it's working out well. With all the compliments I have been getting I hope my motivation to keep creating stays with me and follows me to my studio back home! If I can figured out a way to ship them over 6,000 miles back to the states then I even have some pieces sold back home too. So if you are reading this and are interested in a piece let me know, I am selling them for $50-$75 a piece and am willing to knock the price down for purchasing more than one. Maybe a dream can come true and I can sell art for a living and live on and island with the love of my life.....crossing my fingers. Help me get there by buying and sharing my artwork! =) THANKS and here is one more picture of my Safari art!
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