I'm back!

It's been almost five years but I'm back. I still live on St. Croix. The baby I had is no longer a baby. She's seven. My husband and I are still happy here and we can't imagine living anywhere else.

Other things have changed though. I am now a partner at my law firm. I work a lot more and I spend a lot less time on the beach (the beach bum days are officially over). And my new island goal is to shop local. 

Ever since my daughter was born, we have been ordering a lot online, especially on Amazon. It's not as easy as in the states and we get nothing shipped same or next-day but it does work to a certain extent. However, I think I'm ordering a lot more than I need and I'm creating a huge carbon footprint by placing separate orders for each little thing. So here is my attempt to substitute all of my online purchases by only shopping at the stores we have on island.

So the first item we needed was a new Ring camera. The old one was okay but it wouldn't hold a charge anymore and taking it off and charging it every couple of days was no longer a fun activity. This one was pretty easy because we do have a Home Depot (even though our Kmart just closed... yes, you read that right, we still had a Kmart but it literally just closed less than a week ago). Home Depot was selling a doorbell Ring camera along with an indoor Ring camera for $99 which is actually less than what you would spend for a new one of these online. Also, if you want to review the video that your Ring camera captures (not mandatory for using this camera), once you have at least two devices, you can pay $99.99/year and you can install unlimited devices. The indoor camera is perfect for watching your dog when you go on vacation as well!

The next items on my list were paper towels. I had to do higher math for this one. I usually get Bounty 6=15 rolls (select-a-size always but I still will tear off at least two pieces so not helpful at all... but my husband will ask for three once in a while and then it's all worth it). I like this size because the rolls are thicker and I have to change them less often.  I go to Home Depot and they usually have these but sometimes they throw in a 12=24 and my husband buys them and then I don't have enough energy to return them so we just deal with it. But this time I went two weeks ago and they had 12=30 and they were only $10 more than the 6=15 which were about $21. Again, I had to really figure this one out because it's not obvious and they just do the paper towel people just do this to screw with you. But 6=15 is the same as 12=30 and while two 6=15s should cost $42, the 12=30 was only $31 so it definitely made sense to buy the 12=30. 

Liquid hand soap was next and Home Depot had Mrs. Meyer’s which is one of my favorites. They didn't have basil which is my favorite Mrs. Meyer’s scent but they did have lavendar (not a favorite but my husband loves it) and they also had lemon verbena scent which I can live with. They had a size that was double the size of the ones I usually buy online but cost exactly double what I pay online so it was pretty much the same price per ounce. I usually use mason jars with pumps for my soap dispensers and ever since my attempt to make liquid soap failed, we still use liquid soap that comes from plastic containers. This scenario doesn't help anything at all but at least we're not ordering the soap online anymore.

Next I went to Plaza Extra East because I needed to find detergent pods to substitute for the sensitive Dropps pods that I get online. I didn't think I'd find it but I found Seventh Generation Sensitive Skin pods. I had almost purchased these online years ago. The cost wasn't that much different from what I pay online now so it's all working out.

The last thing I needed was dog food that had no blueberries, corn or peas in it. It sounds easy but it's extremely difficult. My dog has developed allergies to the strangest things and apparently all dog food has one of these three ingredients in it. I picked up and turned over every single bag of dog food at Plaza. I found one and only one that didn't have any of these ingredients. It is Taste of the Wild Raw. It has very few ingredients and even though it only comes in an 8 lb bag, it's really our only option right now. 

While I was at Plaza, I also realized they have a whole Mrs. Meyer’s section at the end of the aisle in cleaning products and it's pretty reasonably priced. Something I will need in the future but didn't get yet was contact lens solution. I don't use it but I think my husband drinks it. I found a comparable one to the one he uses at the pharmacy at Plaza. It's a bit more expensive than online but I think if it prevents me from ordering things I don't need, I'll spend less overall and that makes it worth it. 

I can't make any promises and it may very well be five more years before I make another post but hopefully not! See you soon.

The shot of hope

My last post was about our magical life on St. Croix with our new baby who pooped a lot more than I thought was previously advertised about babies. Since then, 2020 happened, and just like the rest of the world, we have been shut down and dealing with the effects of Covid-19. But not even a week ago, there was a silver lining. My husband was one of the first individuals on the island and in the world to receive the Covid-19 vaccine. He's a behavioral health front line worker and last Wednesday when the territory received its first shipment of vaccines, he received his. 

This year, I also had a year-long breast cancer scare that finally culminated in an excisional biopsy three weeks ago that thankfully resulted in a benign diagnosis. For being a small island with one hospital, my husband and I have really gotten a lot of use of all the doctors and medical facilities on island over the last five years, and this from two people that rarely needed medical care when living in the states. While the island is small, there are some exceptional physicians and nurses who have taken great care of us. This has allowed us to continue living here and rarely consider moving back to where we used to live.

Island life also makes social distancing a lot easier than in many other places. The population is under 50,000 sprawled over about 84 square miles. Masks are mandatory and tourism has significantly dropped off since March. Although in the beginning, working from home with no daycare was challenging. Now, we have settled in to eating at home and spending most of our time with each other.

Our baby has grown into a toddler and is now a very assertive and early-rising two-year old who loves to swim. She knows what she wants and along with her sidekick, our dog, knows exactly how to get it. They both share a love for cheese... one asks for it constantly with no intention of eating it and the other one eats it off her nightstand. Our baby also has the most unforgettable laugh. She laughs like the whole world is laughing with her, and she is completely ignorant of a global pandemic going on around her, which is the best part of this story.

I hope for a 2021 that sees the vaccine free the world to being what we once knew as normal. I want a future for my daughter where zoom isn't the only way to see the people that she cares about. I want us to remember what it was like during this year and to use that knowledge to work harder to avoid this happening in the future. I wish for many more memories that makes my life on a tiny island in the Caribbean the best life that my family can have, especially during this time.

A magical life

Babies take a lot of time and it has been a major life change since our baby has come into our lives. My husband and I used to have tons of free time- going to the beach, exploring our island and just doing absolutely nothing a lot of time the time. Now, that has all changed. We do baby, baby and dishes. The amount of dishes that we do now has increased exponentially. Any free time we have goes to doing dishes and we live on an island so using paper plates seems wasteful.

The baby part of our busy lives now is magical. She's like a mini version of my husband and I put together. She smiles and laughs and eats and poops (a lot more poops than they tell you), and it's all exhausting but really great. Every day brings a new experience for our daughter like sitting, standing, waffles; and she experiences it all like she was put here to do so, and she was. Watching her experience new things in life makes all the mis-steps and decisions that brought us to this point of our lives worth it.

I've been thinking a lot lately about the last four years. Four years ago, I came to St. Croix for the first time. I had never even heard about this island before then. When I came here for my nine day pre-move visit, I realized that the possibilities here for me were endless.  I had absolutely nothing to base this on but I can tell you from experience that this premonition was true. I got more from my move here than I could have ever imagined. 

I also thought about the things that happened on this island while I've lived here that I probably wouldn't have wanted to experience when I planned my move. My husband broke his arm in an unfortunate incident, which canceled his last boat trip and our trip to Spain; we got burglarized; and we went through a major category five hurricane, living without power or internet for months. I thought about what life would have been like if none of these unfortunate events ever happened. But then I realized what most people probably realize when they think of such things; that the life that we have now would not be what it is without all of those life experiences. It has led us to where we are  and who we are today.

We live on a beautiful island with the sweetest baby and the most magical views. I get to share my life with my best friend and our daughter and our dog. And while we may not agree on everything (especially when it comes to throwing stuff away- I'm trying to achieve a minimalist lifestyle while raising a baby which is impossible and my husband doesn’t love throwing things away), we do agree on our love for the life that we have and the experiences that have brought us here together.

Perfect little baby feet

I always thought babies had the perfect little baby feet. My daughter has perfect little baby feet. It has taken a while to write this because everything becomes so much busier when a baby needs absolutely every minute of your time and my baby is no exception. We had our daughter back in June and she’s perfect with perfect little baby toes.

When I first came to St. Croix, I joked that I had retired from the law and I was now a beach bum, hence the name of this blog. Since those first few months on the island, three years have passed, I fell in love, I got married (to the person I fell in love with), I got back into law (licensed and all the fun stuff) and I became a mother (the father is that guy I fell in love with and married earlier in this story).  I didn’t plan for any of it and it all worked out. We also moved into a bigger place after having the baby and that has been a challenge. We’re finally unpacked and ready to enjoy our time together.

Pregnancy was not easy for me at all. I was sick almost every day of it except the last two weeks. I also now know the location of every store’s island bathroom. My daughter was a few days late and she did not want to come out so I had her via c-section which was not the plan. I should have remembered that everything that happened after I moved to St. Croix was not really planned so why would that go according to my plan?

As soon as I saw her, all the sick mornings were worth it. She had the perfect everything. I wanted to exclusively breastfeed her but that didn’t go according to plan either. So we are mostly formula feeding now and I couldn’t have a happier baby. She smiles and makes the cutest baby sounds. Our dog (she's adopted) is enamored with our daughter (her little sister as we jokingly call her) and gently licks her and gives her the space that a baby needs.

And in the midst of a pregnancy (that did coincidently happen during a hurricane although it was definitely planned), I became an attorney again. Being an attorney on an island is a little different than being one in the states but there are a lot of similarities. There are still deadlines but I get to meet them in flip flops on most days, and the weather is always summer which I love.

My priorities have changed though.  I prioritize my daughter and my family. They are the most important to me. My work is also important but if my daughter needs something or if it’s between watching her smile or reviewing a pleading on a Friday night, I’m watching her smile instead.

We still have challenges on the island (like no Starbucks or dunkin donuts)  but everything is just a little bit better and we smile just a little bit more because she’s in this world.

It's a girl!!!

I'm so happy to share that we are pregnant and we're going to have a baby girl in June of this year. We also have power and some more connectivity to the outside world, just in time to stream the winter Olympics! Ironically, I started this blog with a post about the would-be olympics in Chicago which never happened.

It's hard to believe that it was just under three years ago that I made the choice to move to an island in the Caribbean that I had never heard of. I met a boy with a dog and my life hasn't been the same since. Then we got married and two hurricanes, life without power or internet or phones for a few months, and now we're having a baby. I have never been happier.

I'm in my 30s and being pregnant is the biggest change that I have ever gone through. Either I wasn't very interested in finding out the specifics or I never had any really close friends become pregnant, but I was not prepared for all that pregnancy entails. I thought it would be some morning sickness and a big belly, but it has been a lot of morning sickness, a lot of tire,d and my belly isn't even that big yet!

I wouldn't change this experience for anything but if you're thinking of having a baby, read some books, ask some friends how it really is and prepare for some of the biggest changes to take over your body physically. Everyone is different but oh my, I was not prepared for how it was really going to be.

My husband is the best though and being married is still the best thing ever. He does absolutely everything for me now that I cannot or feel too sick to do, and while I want to tell everyone out there that you can still do everything and be pregnant at the same time, you can't and that's okay. It's nice to have people around you that are willing to accommodate you when you're most in need.

Life Post-Irma and Maria

We've had two category 5 hurricanes hit the Virgin Islands (only one them directly on St. Croix) and we're still here. We don't have power or internet at home but we do have hot water so it's a start! Here's a picture of the water cooler from government house where we have found new careers as reporters short-term. Things are definitely getting better day by day but it will take some time to get back to what it was and make it even better.

Married life on an island... is the best thing ever

The wedding was a huge success! Being married is amazing, much better than what you hear from friends or on TV. It's the first time since we've gotten engaged we can just enjoy being with each other with nothing to do or plan. They don't mention this in the magazines but when you get engaged, it's great and all, but then you realize that you have to plan a wedding and becoming your own wedding planner is less than amazing.

We planned to have to family and friends arrive a few days before the wedding and we scheduled boat trips and bingo discos to make sure everyone had a good time while they were with us getting to know everyone else. Our families and friends loved each other, which was a relief and also an affirmation that we go well together as our friends and family seemed to mesh well.

The wedding day was everything we could have hoped. So many people said such nice things about us at the wedding, we were very humbled. And it went so so fast.

One moment we were walking down the aisle and forgetting our vows, then we had the first dance, there was cake and then it's over! It literally goes that fast. There are pictures that were taken that I don't remember posing for. We even had wedding crashers and someone did end up in the pool :). It was a perfect island wedding party.

Then came the honeymoon to a nearby island on a cruise which was pretty perfect and extremely relaxing. We can never go on a regular vacation again.

And then we came back to St. Croix and we got to be here for the first time as husband and wife. Now we had lived together for almost two years before we got married so we thought it would be all the same but it's not! Living together, being married and not having to plan a wedding is like the best thing ever. We come home and we can do whatever we want now! We spend lots and lots of time doing pretty much nothing and it feels really good. I think that's how you know that you married the right person.

As a wrap up: 

• I recommend getting married (to the right person).

• Cruise vacations are the best (get a cabin in the middle of the boat if you get seasick).

• Have your dog be the ringbearer (it's extremely cute and we had backup rings just in case).

• Get a cake that not only looks great but tastes great too (it was chocolate with pineapple filling and it was amazing).

• Don't leave the dog in a room alone with your jewelry (she may or may not have eaten it).

• Enjoy each and every day together (even if you don't live on an island).