Who Left the Freezer Open?!

Brrrr!

I'm pretty sure I'm close to being able to do this.

I love Jiffy, I'd be setting fires all the
 time for the popcorn shower.

     We survived a rainy day Friday and figured that the rain and dropping temps would keep away any early a.m. drunken visits. This was true, but we did have our neighbor come home just after midnight and need her some music. Loud. When the music first came on, Michael & I looked at each other and asked, "What is that?!" We were convinced that the words weren't English. Forced to continue to listen, however, I was able to figure out that, not only was the song in American, but the sad, twangy man was informing us about his house and his car...and something about his backyard. Michael couldn't figure out how I had deduced this and was in adoring awe of me (you know, as usual).

True Love

So you know what we did for Valentine's Day? We played "girlfriends." Michael & I have been friends a very long time. In college, we'd laugh, complain, or play jokes on each other's girlfriends/boyfriends (and then hide from them). We would do the dumbest stuff together. Nothing's changed (well except for the fact that we married each other). I still tend to have more guy friends than gal, which becomes a problem when I have the occasional girly urge. I didn't pluck my eyebrows until I was 30. Too scared to do it myself the 1st time, I handed Michael a how-to magazine article and a pair of tweezers and told him to start yanking. The occasional changing of the hair also involves moral support. Of course, I can do it myself, but sometimes it's nice to have backup when you need it. Enter Mikey.

I'm one of the 2-4% of humans on the planet "blessed" with red hair (apparently a viking trait - no I'm not Irish). I like to call it strawberry blonde, but there's way more strawberry than blonde. I got made fun of when I was a kid in school, got asked if my carpet matched my drapes as an adult, and now just feel old. I usually like bucking trends/traditions, but my hair tends to become multi-colored (copper, mahogany, blonde, white) and actually looks like a bad dye job. Every once in a while, I end up coloring it just to make it look "natural." Unfortunately, red turns out be the hardest color to dye if you want a change. Anyone who colors their hair red on purpose be warned - Google it!

Hallmark Thursday

Happy Valentine's Day to those who celebrate it. I think this day is silly, so Michael's always been off the hook. I can be romantic and so can Michael, but we eat chocolate year-round and get flowers when we feel like it. Since this is supposed to be a day for lovers, I've really never understood the drift that's taken place where just about everyone gives everyone else a card as if it's a popularity contest. Even parents give their kids one (eew).

We're the kind of couple that realize it's our anniversary after seeing a card in the grocery store, so pick a card out of the display, swap, read, and put it back. It's so bad that I used our anniversary date on a password for something and later realized it was the wrong date. Michael had no problem getting into the website though because had the exact same wrong day in his mind. And that's why we work.

I was curious as to whether this frivolousness was just a US/European thing, so started checking into it (most of the below comes from Wikipedia). It turns out it was just a Western celebration until marketers started pushing it elsewhere (now that's romantic).

Rays!

Our skin doesn't know what hit it. We haven't been in our bathing suits in 5 months. We've gotten a little pale. I have to admit it felt reeaaaalllly good to pinken up a bit. I think we need to invest in beach towels or reclining chairs though.






While soaking up some rays, we eventually heard some shooting and went to take a look at the civil war reenactment at the fort.

3 for 3

So Friday night we managed to get through the whole night without having a drunken stranger walk through our house.  Saturday, the wife of one of Michael's co-workers threw a surprise party for her hubby and wanted us to act as the catalyst to get him there. Scott is getting ready to hit one of those birthdays with a year ending in zero and is not happy about it. We're just glad that we have a couple more years before we're staring down that number too. The shebang started at the Conch Republic Seafood Co. and we got a good laugh when we discovered that Paula had asked a friend to dress up as the grim reaper. Now that's just cruel.

I love the look on the face of the guy on the right.

After a couple of drinks, we headed over to the Sunset Cafe. It turned out a wedding reception was happening out on the pier, and the bride and groom had just arrived. We really wanted to have the grim reaper sneak into one of the many pictures a photographer was taking of the happy couple, but I don't think it happened.

Caribbean vs States

It turns out we didn't do anything over the weekend. That's not always a bad thing; to me nothing is still something, but I have to admit we're bored. We couldn't even figure out somewhere to just take a walk. We ended up reading on our deck. Money's tight for us right now, so that is rather limiting; and without anyplace to hike, which was always my de-stresser, we're unsuccessfully fumbling for a replacement.

I'm going to take this opportunity to address a few reader questions I've gotten. Some of you might be surprised to learn how hard it is to return to your own country (wherever it is) once you've been out and about for awhile. In August when we realized we had to leave St. Kitts thanks to austerity measures implemented by Michael's employer, we decided to accept an offer to try Key West on for size. When we left the U.S. seven years ago, we had no intention of returning (other than visits). The world is a big place. We really wanted to participate in other cultures and see countries in ways that you just can't experience while on vacation. In particular, we were hoping to find a place that had 80+-degree temperatures year-round, had great hiking, beautiful beaches, warm/clean water to play in, friendly people, and views we could enjoy from our home balcony. And a place we could earn income in some way. We planned on a two- to four-year sail; then a five-year experience on a Caribbean island while we saved up for the next hop; and then thought we'd leap to the Pacific to see what was over there (knowing it was cheaper). Of course, plan is a four-letter word, and by its vary definition; plans change.

An Uninvited Guest

So this Saturday, I'm stumbling around in a lack-of-sleep stupor because we had more Friday night fun. You'll recall that last Friday we dealt with snoring beyond our wall that would have woke the dead (meaning it did wake up Michael). This time, we had a drunk walk right into our house. So in the past 6 months, our home has been breached twice by strangers - the first time in St. Kitts and the other here. Nifty.

I am a very light sleeper. I can even tell when Michael's breathing changes. I sort of snooze through the night. Sure I'm exhausted all the time, but it's worked out a couple of times; like this last night. At 2 a.m. this morning, when I heard someone sneaking up the stairs and then heard our door knob jiggle, I thought - Oh no, not again. Two weekends in a row (three really)? %$*!  I opened my eyes and was dumbfounded when someone walked right past our bedroom's sliding doors. Our bedroom has two entrances: a door on the "real" wall, leading into the living room; and a "fake" wall made of two sliding doors that lead to the entry hallway. The doors were slightly open, and I watched a man walk toward the living room. Crap.