Dominica Food Challenge: Week 2

I havn't ever really make a recipe with pumpkin in it. We only ever eat pumpkin one of two ways. We make a beef stew, but it in a pumpkin and bake in oven for an hour or so or we eat it as a side dish. I will share the latter with you.

Three Hole Punch

Today was the Kids Halloween Festival. This is really the only thing that goes on for Halloween here on the island and we could not just skip Daphne's first Halloween. We did't have a costume and don't have many supplies to make one, but I was feeling like a bad mother that she wouldn't have a costume. So daddy said we could make her a "three hole punch" like Jim from the "Office". It turned out pretty cute and everyone thought it was cool. It wan't much, but at least it was something. 

In her usual fashion she fell asleep and missed the party, but she was being held by Daddy so I really don't think she minded.

Food, fun and a cranky baby

Tuesday night I went out with the girls for a goodbye party for our friend Meagan. I was super excited about it and had debated if I should take Daphne with me. I don't get to hang out without her very often, but had decided Johnny needs the quality study time with no distractions and Daphne would probably just fall asleep like she usually does. Boy was I wrong. She would have nothing to do with sleep even though she was super tired and of course she was fussy as a result. We got home and she went right to bed and all seemed to be fine, until the next day. She was not a happy baby. She would only sleep if being held and only for very short periods. She wanted to eat constantly and was just over all cranky. I know its normal for babies to have bad days especially if you mess up their sleep, but it was just so weird to she her so needy and fussy because she has always been so sweet and easy. Well lesson learned, next time I'm out and she is being fussy and not sleeping like she should be then we are calling it a night and both going to bed early. That's almost as good as going out with the girls right?
Besides the Daph being a cranky puss, I had a great time. We went up to DeChamps and reserved their hot tub deck area. We got to sit and watch the sun set, eat dinner and relax in the hot tub. We had a great time talking and eating cupcakes. Can't beat it!

Blog makeover

So if your on here you have to have noticed the changes to my blog. My dear friend Katie gave 10 of her blog readers a free blog makeover and I was one of the lucky 10! So how do you like it? I am loving it. I think it is so cute, if I do say so myself!

Dominica Food Challenge: Week 1

Week one is done, and it was tasty. If you want to check out what I did with avocados check it out here on Spouses Kitchen.

Yum!

Quarter of a year and oh so dear!

"No one will ever know the strength of my love for you. After all, you are the only one who knows what my heart sounds like from the inside."

`~unknown

Where is the time going? Daphne is getting so big and so fun! Now that she knows what playing is its all she wants to do. She has grown out of her 0-3 month cloths and that makes me sad. She is definitely not a newborn anymore. She hasn't rolled over yet but she does like to sleep on her side. If I lay her on her back she will just roll to her side. She has her own little mind. No matter how much I wanted her to not suck her thumb she did it anyway, and we gave up the never ending paci battle and we let her have her thumb. She is a super wiggly baby and if you lay her down she will spin herself in a circle. She is really trying to be able to sit up. If we put her in her boppy pillow you can see her try to lift herself all the way to sitting. She loves music. The only toys she will acknowledge are the ones that play music. She especially loves her bouncy seat that plays a couple of tunes. She sleeps through the night most nights and takes two naps during the day. I still think she has to be the best baby in the world. She really only cries when she is hungry and when she has a poopy diaper. I believe she is starting to understand that Johnny and I are her parents and she knows when we are not around. She will look for us when we go out of her line of site and when we walk around the house she will follow us with her eyes. We love her more than anything and she is the joy of our life. Johnny gets very distracted form studying when she is around and misses her on the days he has class. 

The last Bash

Today was the beach bash. Its a party Ross throws for the student body after they are all done with the first Mini. I was not excited to go, because it is just and endless scene of standing in line, but I did have fun. We swam in the beach and Johnny and I got to go on a ride on the Banana Boat. The food was sub par as usual, but they gave us lots of juice, which is always the best part of the meal and what I want more of anyway. We got our last set of beach bash shirts which I plan in turning into a quilt when we get home. 

Today was long and its getting late, so its off to bed for me. I'm caught up on the blog and feeling good. Today started out rough, but now I'm going to bed filled with satisfaction. 

Zam Zam Screw

Wednesday was another great day with the girls! In the afternoon we headed out to Screws Spa. It is one of my favorite places on the island. It is a natural sulfur spring in the middle of the rain forest. We got there at dusk and it was so wonderful. Daphne was a happy girl as well as mommy. We are both water lovers and especially when the water is warm. 

If you remember I mentioned Zam Zams before. We were supposed to go for Katie's birthday, but couldn't because of a Tropical Storm that never showed. It was so nice. It is right on the water and served wonderful Mexican food. The only real Mexican food on the island. The owner was so sweet to us. I am planning on taking Johnny to both Screws and Zam Zams before we leave.

Pagua

Last Saturday we went to Pagua Bay. It is on the Atlantic side of the island so that means fun waves! We had a great time and it was a perfect day for water fun.

 There is a river there that we swam in. 

Katie was super sweet and watched Daphne so Johnny and I could get some alone swimming time. She is always so sweet and ready to take Daphne and watch her. She likes Daph and I really believe Daph likes her just as much. We had a great time out in the waves. We would sit on the raft and wait for the waves to take us out. So fun!

After the beach and river we went up to the restaurant and had an early dinner. Everyone has alwayes raved about the food there and I have to be honest and say I wasn't impressed. Don't get me wrong it was good, but not as good as I was expecting. But the company was excellent. I really don't know what I'm going to do without these girls. They are the best women in the world. 

Mini 1

As a testament to how late I am posting this, we are 9 days from Mini 2 and I'm just getting around o posting about the first one. In usual fashion, Johnny didn't tell me what he got on the test just that he passed. That is all that matters, so AWESOME! After he took the test we went to the beach and relaxed. Daphne really likes to be in the water, but she does get scared if you stick her feet on the sand and then a wave comes. It was nice to go, Johnny hadn't been to the beach in 2 semesters. It is so sad how the students don't get to enjoy the island as much. 

Oh what a beautiful morning.......

You will never guess what happened this morning. I was sitting on the bed playing with Daphne when all of a sudden this weird noise erupted from the bathroom As I went to check out what the noise was my foot hit water. I looked down and the whole floor was filling very quickly with water. I ran to the bathroom and the toilet was gushing water. I ran around the house picking everything off the floor, put some clothes on, and ran down to James store to get my landlord. They came shut off the water and we started sweeping the water out of the house. You should have seen the river running out of my front door. It really took a remarkably short time to clean it up and get the toilet fixed. Daph was such a good girl and took a nap so I could help clean up the floor. 

I'm sorry I've been slacking off on the blog recently, but we have been out having fun instead of just writing about it. I promise I will get caught up over the weekend.

New challenge!

I finished one now its time for another! 

Cooking here on the island can get kinda rough. There are foods you have never seen before let alone know how to cook. You can't find the foods you normally cook with. Contrary to popular belief it is hard to find "healthy" foods here. (Most of what we have is packaged and canned.) It is torture to have to turn on the stove or oven, because it is already 100 degrees in your house. Yes...VERY painful, but we have to do it everyday. 

When people first get here most of their questions are related in someway to procuring or preparing food. So my dear friend Clare decided to have a food challenge!  For six weeks I will have to prepare one meal that corresponds with that weeks food with only ingredients found on the island. We will post them on Spouses Kitchen, our island food blog. I will post mine here as well. Happy cooking everyone!

Day 10 (I know I'm a day late)

What will I miss when I leave?

 Sunsets over the ocean,

Girls night,

Sugar cane Coke in a glass bottle,

Dancing at DeChamps,

 The ride up to Dechamps with 12 girls in the back of the pickup and more friends in the front,

In Light In,

Laying out,

The Branch,

Going to the beach with my Family!

Blessing Daphne

Today was Daphne's baby blessing. In our church we believe that we can receive revelation from God through the priesthood. We give our babies a blessing after they are born to give them revelation for their life from their Heavenly Father. Daphne got hers today. I believe great things are in store for this little girl. 

Day 9

Has anything made this journey easier for me?

aaaa.............

YES!!!

The girls. They make all the difference here. I don't know how you could get by here without these amazing women. I am so proud to be counted as one of them. We are all from different places and backgrounds, but I believe we are all special, amazing women that were meant to be here together. I have learned so much from them. I hope to keep crossing their paths as we continue through med school. I love you girls! 

Day 7 & 8

What is the best meal you have had on the island?

The first time I went to Red Rock I was there for dinner. I had the fillet mignon. It was not only the best meal of the island, it was the best meal of my life. It was served over the best mashed potatoes and onion rings all drzzled with this white wine and creamy mushroom sauce. I have never had anything like it, EVER!

Does Johnny like the island?

He likes what he has seen of it. I feel like Johnny got the very short end of the stick in coming here. He doesn't get to enjoy the fact that we live on an island. He just sits in a classroom studying ALL the time. The one break he actually got to do stuff he really enjoyed. 

Day 6

Only in Dominica Moment

I was in IGA shopping and one of the local women was working stocking the shelf. She noticed Daphne and asked if she was a boy or a girl. I said "girl" to which she responded.....

"Oh, she is sexy!"

Only in Dominica.....

Day 5

Daddy and Daphne talking last night, so cute!

What I don't miss about home?

Wow I have been thinking about this all day and I cant seem to think of anything I don't miss, but I keep thinking about the easiness of life on the island. My life back home was not hard, and my life here isn't technically easy, but the way of life here is just chill. I don't know how else to describe it. Maybe it has to do with not having a job. Or maybe its because after the daily chores (i.e. shopping, dishes, making food) I really can do whatever I want. nothing tying me down. I hope this makes sense. So I guess what I'm saying is even though I like my life back home the way of life here is just better.......I guess.

Day 3 & 4

How does the weather effect me?

Oh the weather.......

Doesn't it effect everyone? It is always hot here, but some weather is better than others. When it is absolutely sweltering I end up spending all my time sitting in front of my computer in any air conditioning I can find. I never feel like doing anything when there is sweat coming out of EVERY pore on my body. Rainy days are better cause even though its still super humid the temp goes down a little bit and its a little more tolerable. I love when the rain is "misty" (you Dominica ladies know what I mean). To me it feels so refreshing. I wish it was like that all the time. When it pours you want to avoid doing any long walks so I end up staying home on those days.  If  the weather could be how it is in January and February I would stay here forever, its so beautiful that time of year. 

What has been my favorite trip?

Now this is a hard one, because I have a favorite place to go, but then there is the trip I had the most fun on.

 I LOVE to go to Batibou! It is so beautiful and so relaxing. When you think of tropical paradise that is what Batibou is. Then the trip I had the best time on was to Trafalger Falls, Screws Spa and Scotts Head. It was such a great day. I got to do three things I love; hike in a beautiful rain forest to a couple waterfalls, sit in a natural hot tub, and then snorkel in the most beautiful, clear water. A day in Dominica doesn't get much better than that. 

Day 2

What is better than I expected?

I think I was expecting to have nothing to do here. I thought I would be stuck in my apartment not knowing anyone and having nothing to do, but that is far from the truth. There is always something to be doing. I'm not saying I'm doing something all the time because I like to be home and do nothing sometimes, but if I wanted to be busy all the time I could. I remember being so shocked when we got here when we got invited to dinner and after getting home from dinner going to my sponsor's apartment to hang out. The first two weeks were that way, just go go go and even when it slowed down I still had things to do and continued to meet and get to know more people. Everyone here is so nice and we get to know each other so well we are like a little family. It is the best thing about the island and it surprised me.

Day 1

(This pic has nothing to do with the post, I just had to put it up cause she is too cute!)

What do I miss most about home?

I know this may sound bad, but not much really. I miss my family of course, but even when I was in the states I didn't see them very often. I miss the nice restaurants, and being able to get whatever you need  at the grocery store for that recipe you have been dying to try instead of having to substitute pumpkin for sweet potatoes and other such food related things. I miss holidays and the weather changing. That is all I can think of that I truly miss, but I have lived without it this long I can do it for another three months.