Wordless Wednesday: Cousins!

By the dolphin fountain at Atlantis, Paradise Island

 

On a wall by a seagrape tree near Fort Charlotte, Nassau

 

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Wordless Wednesday: Swap Package Fun!

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Look at all the happy mail I got the other day!

 

Christmas card and Pickwick teas

 

Another Christmas card (in a language I don’t know – Dutch?) and fun tea to try

 

Cute card and more teeea!

 

Awesome goodies from the Philippines including note paper, postcards, fold-up envelopes, stickers, and a bookmark. 🙂

 

 

Great package including owl key tops, postcards, deco tape, notecards, and elephant earrings!

Package Swap!

I think I told y’all about the NaNoWriMo package swap. Someone organized a huge swap where participants could sign up to get as many swap partners as they want. I signed up for 2. We exchanged information about ourselves and the kinds of things we like, then we went shopping for each other. It was a lot of fun!

I think I gave my partners a lot more info than they give me, so they were in a better position to pick and choose things. I told them things like: I love chocolate; I like owl/turtle/elephant things; I’m a notebook freak; I love pens; I like black tea; Cool socks are my thing; I love lime green; Ooh! Stripes!… So yeah… My stuff was AWESOME.

Both of my packages arrived on Friday. I was super excited to open it, and even more excited to rave about everything and show it all off to Babe.

Here’s a picture of my goodies from Kate:

Included in this package:

• About six pairs of cool socks. One pair has an OWL. YAY!
• An ELEPHANT bank. That I can PAINT. How cool is that?!
• Stickers
• Page clip bookmarks
• Bracelet bookmark
• LIME GREEN felt OWL coasters <— WIN!
• Three cool shoelaces
• Pens
• Coffee Cuff
• Chocolate
• Notebooks
• Sock purse <— Too cool!

Later this week, I’ll show you the contents of the other package (from Elizabeth).

I can’t believe how perfect these things are for me.

*happy dances*

How about you? What made your weekend? What awesome thing happened to you? Received any good gifts lately? Fill me in!

NaNoWriMo Excitement

It’s been a while! I know!

There has been a lot going on. Without getting into too many details, there has been lots of figuring out, waiting games, wedding planning, NaNoWriMo prep, being a first-time ML for NaNoWriMo excitement, and on and on and on. The good news: EVERYTHING IS FINE. What is it that they say? Everything works out in the end, and if it doesn’t it’s not the end… Or something. ANYWAY. Lol. I’ve just gotta STAY CALM and KEEP LIVING. Or KEEP CALM and LIVE ON. (They should make one of those graphic thingies for that quote.)

Look what I just got:

EXCITEMENT!

I want my region (The Bahamas) to be AWESOME. I’m hoping to attract people who live in The Bahamas, are from The Bahamas, or wish they were in The Bahamas… Or people who just know I’m awesome, and hope to be equally awesome, and see this as a great way to do it. That means you, mkay? You’re included. If you’re NaNoWriMoing, definitely join the Elsewhere::Bahamas region. You can still be “homed” to whatever other region you like. You can join as many as you want. Ours will be awesome because we’re doing lots of Live-on-Twitter events. Wine parties, word wars, word sprints, and chats. You know you wanna!

I got the blog all set up, and I’m posting at least twice per week. In October, I’ll be focusing on planning and general NaNoWriMo prep. In November, there will be lots of motivation, fun(ny) posts, links to coolness, music suggestions, answers to questions, etc. The Facebook page is also up, and waiting for you to LIKE it! AND. Of course… TWITTER! Follow BahamasWrimos!

Let’s have some fun being crazy novel writing people! 50,000 words to write 30 days. WEEEEE can do EEEEET!

I have more things to tell you, but I let the NaNoWriMo excitement get a little out of hand in this post. There is more to come!

Tidbits:

• Totally went to a bookstore to get ONE book. They didn’t have. Went to another. They didn’t have it either. I left with a bag full of stuff. Only spent $20, but still. It wasn’t the book I wanted. Lol. I LOVE bookish things!
• I’m really excited about NaNoWriMo. Wait… Did we already cover that?
• Wedding planning just got a whole lot better. I discovered the most amazing site ever. We can get pretty much every tangible thing we need. For less than a million smackeroos. Yep. That’s right. Spending less, and still getting a lot of AWESOME. Huzzaaaaah!
• Football practice has been AMPED. UP. Trainer dude worked with us at the last two practices. Everyone had aching thighs. No one else openly admitted it, but even my bootay was a lil zingy. Haha. I have no fear. This bootay ain’ goin’ nowhere. (See what I did there? I rhymed.)
• I’m reminded that I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE to be on the GO, GO, GO! Not literally… Just BUSY. LOVE it. I thrive on having a million (good) things going on. It makes me feel so amazingly good and useful and of value. Crazy? Maybe. But I like iiiiit.

Hope you’re having a great week!

Tell me tidbits. What’s going on with you? Will you please join the NaNoWriMo fun/insanity? *smiles sweetly*

If you’re joining the fun, let’s buddy up! Find me here.

The Stuff of This Week

It’s been a while, I know. Things are kinda crazy. Here’s what’s up:

• My great-grandmother died on Monday. We weren’t close. I didn’t grow up with that side of the family. I talk about my great-grandmother often, but that my dad’s dad’s mother. She’s 92, healthy, fiesty, and fun. Barr, on the other hand, was 95 (Yeah, longevity is kind of a thing in my family), and seemed to be dying for a long time. She had Alzheimer’s or something of the sort. The last time I saw her, I think, was at my aunt’s wedding reception about two years ago. Anyway, her funeral is on Saturday.
• Took my dress to the dry cleaners today. My sister borrowed it months ago, and I just got it back yesterday. And not in the condition I lent it in. I’m slightly annoyed, but blame myself. I never lend out anything I want back. People just don’t care for your things the way they do their own. It’s annoying. I hope the cleaners get the makeup stains (UGH!) out, and do NOT damage the gorgeous embellished neckline. I’ll post pictures if it looks fine, and I end up wearing it on Saturday.
• Jobs! I need one! Something I thought would never came through actually did. It’s now a viable option, but it won’t pay very well. And there’s really no room for it to grow. The pros include the short work day (8:30 to 1 or so), it’s something I enjoy, and leaves me with time to write. It would just become very necessary for me to supplement my income, especially if we ever wanna save enough money to move. The other option… It’s more stable and pays more, but I have no idea when it starts. There are about 3 months of training, and after that, I’d remain a trainee until promotions come out. The major pro for that job is the possibility of being transferred to another island, rent-free. Hellooooo, Savings, and hellooooo, new country of residence! Babe and I will have to discuss, and figure things out.
• My cousin is away for about a week. That means a full week of work for me. YAY! Income! I’m not making loads of cash, but I can pay bills, and buy grocery. This is good.
• I neeeed to start working out again. It’s SO hot. It’s really hard to get out there and run, but I GOTTA. I’m feeling lousy. This always happens when I don’t exercise. I also need to practice yoga. At least I can do that indoors. I have a great book that helps refresh my memory, so I practice what we did in class. There’s no class during the summer. Looking forward to it starting again in September. Oh, and being able to afford it! Hahaha.
• 

  Writing. It’s come to a screeching halt. Things got uncomfortable at home with some mishaps and plumbing issues, and then I got sick. My energy level has been terrible, so I haven’t been getting much done outside of the work day. I need to get back on track. There are deadlines to meet, a class to complete, and publishing goals to be met!

• Got an email from the Community Liaison of NaNoWriMo. They got my application to be the Municipal Liaison for The Bahamas. There wasn’t one last year, so I probably have a good chance of being chosen for this year. It should be fun, and give me a chance to meet other writers. Always good to network, right? And I’m hoping to be able to convince Babe to join in the fun. She could even write 50,000 words worth of songs if she wants too. I just think it would be cool to take on the challenge together. And, of course, she could accompany me to the events I’d have to plan as ML, and then I could always say that ONE person showed up. Hahaha.
• My brother is hilarious. We share a ridiculous sort of humour. At one point, we were quipping back and forth, and he said, “No one in the world as miserable as us!” It was pretty funny because we were talking about not wanting to be bothered by or with anyone, and not being interested in hearing any belly-aching or complaining this week. Oh, even funnier, I was complaining about the graveyard part of the funeral. I don’t get why families WATCH the casket as it is lowered into the ground. I told him it’s medieval. He said, “What? Medieval?” I said, “Yes! Archaic!” He said, “Listen to me… You and me been to the school right, but you been to college on top of that. You need to take it easy on me with these jokes.” I couldn’t stop laughing. Then he added, “You have a whole college class of people you could crack your college-level jokes with. You and Daddy always have me rollin’ with dictionary.” Too funny!
• I feel like I need some things to look forward to right now. I decided to come up with a little list. Here it is:
  • New job – Whatever it may end up being
  • Getting my next assignment done, and getting feedback
  • The Color Run in Orlando (Hoping that we can make it!)
  • Watching The Bourne Legacy and the Timothy Green movies with Babe on the weekend
  • Getting in some beach time this weekend
  • Starting my 5k training again, and feeling better about myself
  • Making lasagna (as soon as our kitchen plumbing issue is resolved)
  • Ordering and receiving The 3am Epiphany, and having fun going through the writing exercises
  • Spending lots of time with Babe (SO glad she’s back!)

Any craziness going on with you this week? Any weekend plans? What are you looking forward to?

Summer Brings…

• Mosquitoes. I don’t understand why they have to show up in the summer. EVERY summer. And BITE. As if it’s not annoying enough that they’re flying around. And seriously, why do they exist? WHY?! Do they do anything awesome like turn into butterflies? No. Do they do anything useful like cat rats? No. I asked my aunt the other day why God made them. She said something about the plagues in Egypt or something. Nice save, Auntie. Nice save. All the bad stuff is the fault of the humans that weren’t jivin’ with God. Got it.
• Heat. Extreme heat. It is a bit too hot in The Bahamas. You really would not survive with air conditioning or a high-powered fan. It is SO. Freaking. HOT. Wowzeeerrr! I don’t mind the heat when I’m at the beach. It’s allllll good. But in traffic? No bueno. Trying to sleep? No bueno. Any time that I’m not on the beach, heat is no bueno.
• Graduations and proms. I think they are all over now. The young folks here have decided that limos are not cool any more. Now, they find people with “fresh rides” to drive them to the prom. Mercedes, BMW, Hummer, Jaguar… That type of thing. They’re saying, “Look at us! We know people who drive these super expensive cars! BOW DOWN!”
• “Summer body” season. It is just HILARIOUS to me. People post FB statuses, tweet, and start conversations about their bodies. It isn’t until June that everyone is talking about “workin’ on this summer body.” Like, really? You have a special body for the summer? That’s the only time that you care to be in shape? You think that if you start in JUNE, you’ll have a “summer body” before the end of the summer? Ok. Carry on smartly! *eats ice cream*
• Idle Children. School is closed. Parents are at work. No guardians are around. All of the children/teenagers are breaking Twitter. Can’t sign in? Guess why. Because all of your little cousins, godchildren, and their friends are tweeting about running out of juice boxes.There also seems to be an increase in graffiti, fights in public places, and revenue at places like the movie theater. They are BORED. Their parents won’t send them to summer camps.  
• Ice Cream Cravings. I want WAY more ice cream during the summer month. And those AMAZING frozen strawberry fruit bars. You know that ones with chunks of strawberry? Have mercyyyyy. Yummm. I love it!
• Projects. It seems like the perfect time to take on things. It’s like Lent on crack. MUST DO THINGS. DO ALL THE THINGS. Must get better at things. Must run marathons, and travel to other places, and exercise, and spend more time with friends, and write a book, and clear out the garage, and finish the kitchen renovations. Must DO. Must.
• Barbeques. Except in this place. We really don’t do much barbequing in The Bahamas, y’all. I don’t think very many people OWN barbeque grills. I miss that about Halifax. Anyway, getting off track. BARBEQUES. Parties outsiiiiide! WOO! *runs around in bikini*
• Vacations. Some people save, and some people take out loans, but ALL the people WILL find the money to GO AWAAAYYY. For Bahamians, the place to be is Florida. It’s super close, so it’s rather convenient to go and shop. They take their children, and spend every single day in malls. Hardly any of them will see a theme park. All they want to do is get rid of the money. Some people are a bit more fancy, and go to New York. They don’t want to wear the same clothes as everyone else who probably caught the SAME sale, and have the SAME pieces of clothing. Vacations are a must.
• Beach time! The beaches are far more crowded than any other season. Everyone who forgot they had a swim suit is on the sand, sitting on bath towels (because no one bothers to buy beach towels). Suddenly, we live on an island, and there is an ocean, and EVERYONE must go and see it. And you should see the hilarity. People staying on the sand, in all the heat. Most of the people in the water unable to swim. Don’t ask me how this happened. I don’t know.

Does summer change things in your city/town/country? Does it change anything for you? What are your summer plans?

I Got Tagged

I love being tagged in these thingies. I don’t know why, but I love answering questions like this. And reading other people’s answers. Fun, fun, fun!

This time, I’ve been tagged by Lily in Canada, quite a funny chica.

Rules

1. You must post the rules.

2. Answer the questions the tagger set for you in their post and the create 11 new questions to ask the people you’ve tagged.

3. Tag 11 people and link them on your post.

4. Let them know you’ve tagged them!

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1. If you could live in a different country for a year, where would you live?

Just a year? A Spanish-speaking country. I’d love to be immersed in the culture, and improve my conversational Spanish. I can read and write in Spanish like a pro – well, as far as my vocabulary will allow – but speaking doesn’t come as naturally to me. I have to think a bit harder. And I’m a bit slower. Particularly in the listening part. I’d love to experience life in Cuba. Or Mexico, or Argentina.

2. What would you do if you were the opposite sex?

Aside from be a man? Ummm… I’d grab my business and shift it around – purely experimental. I’d like to see what it’s all about. What’s the hype? I’d also lean forward and see if I could – No, never mind.

3. If there was a fire in your house and you could only save 3 things, what would they be? (Family and pets would be safe!)

Treasure chest, computer, cell phone.

4. What is your favorite sport and why?

Hmmm… Cycling. I get to power a machine! Hellooo! POWER. And I don’t need other people to do it. Just me. Flyin’ Ridin’ solo.

5. What is a TV show that you hate to miss?

We don’t watch tv at our place. We don’t have cable. The show I hate that I’m missing is Chopped. SO good.

6. If you could be fluent in another language, which would you choose?

Spanish!

7. Which actor or actress makes you mad?

I don’t know if any make me mad. I really don’t pay attention to celebrities. I don’t care much about what/who they do. Hmmm… I don’t like Matt Damon’s face though. I find it hard to watch movies that he’s in. His face is just… Offensive? No, not offensive. I just don’t like it. I’m uncomfortable looking at it. I would be more comfortable looking at disfigurement. Weird? Maybe. I just don’t like his face.

8. What is your favorite vacation spot?

The beach? I’ve never really had a REAL vacation. My parents (and other guardians) used to take me to Florida a lot. All we did was shop. And eat out. Nothing else. What kind of vacation is that?! I want to have a REAL vacation, where I visit somewhere new, do tours, eat new food, hang out at the tourist spot, see where the locals spend their spare time, get a good feel for the culture… All that fun stuff.

9. What is the first thing you would do if you were president, prime minister, etc?

Of this silly country I live in? I would put a LOT of major issues/questions to a referendum. Let the people make a decision for once and for all.

10. Favorite thing to drink?

Coca-Cola! 🙂 I also like strawberry/mango daiquiris from Twin Brothers.

11. Do you prefer baths or showers? Why?

Showers. Baths seem kinda gross. Like you’re just sitting in the dirt that you’re trying to wash away. Make sense? No. Not at all. Stand up, and let the water wash it at all away… Downnn the draaain. And bath water goes cold. *shivers*

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Want to see the questions Lily was asked, and read her answers? Click here.

Now I get to tag peeps (peeps? Let’s blame it on Soulja Boy’s Turn My Swag On playing right now, making me feel gangsta or something) and ask them 11 questions.

My 11 taggees are:

1. Victoria – Victoria Writes
2. Christina – Christina Does It All
3. Ruthie – Just Rambling
4. Madtante – Opinions Expressed May Be Incorrect
5. The Music Oracle – Anthems of Our Generation
6. Lori – Slow Happy Runner
7. The Running Thriver
8. Juliette – Juliette Burke
9. Ashley – A Small Place
10. Stacey – Walk a Mile in My Shoes
11. LesB – Lesbian Brooklynite

My 11 questions are:

1. Do prefer hanging out with 2-4 people, or a group of 5-10 people at a time?
2. What song makes you feel like you can conquer the world when you hear it?
3. What are three of your favourite books?
4. What colour is most like your personality? Explain.
5. What do you want to remember, no matter what?
6. What is your mantra? If you don’t have one, create one.
7. How would you most like to celebrate your next birthday? No limits.
8. If you designed heaven, what would it be like?
9. Limited to 25 words, how would you describe yourself?
10. What is the most challenging thing you faced in the last 6 months?
11. What is one question you were hoping you wouldn’t have to answer? Answer it. No, just kidding. Just share the question.

For those reading this post who were not tagged, feel free to answer the question in your own post or in the comments. I LOVE reading your answers. Fun, fun, fun! I’d especially like to read your answers to 3, 5, 6, and 8.