Another Day...

I have enjoyed my past couple of days here in the west end of Negril. On Friday night, Elijah & I went down to Nicoles' place for dinner with her & her guests. She has a couple there from Sweden who are kind of goofy but are great to be around. The man Yappie likes to yell "BEEEER" in this very deep voice. I guess you would have to be there to see the comedy in it. We had an enjoyable dinner with the requisite rice & peas, callaloo & fish. It was nice to get out for a few hours & just fulljoy the vibe of different surroundings. If you would like to see where we were, you can google Bananas Gardens in Negril. I am not sure of the exact web address, but it is a really nice place to stay if you get the chance.


On Saturday morning I got up early with Elijah & took him for a morning stroll before the sun came up. I need to lose this baby weight & he would not sleep, so I figured what the heck, beat the heat of the sun, wear him out & get in a little exercise. It felt good to accomplish a little something early in the day. Later that morning we went to Negril Escape to catch up with Nicole & her rambuctious son Jonah who was taking a karate class. I don't think I would be able to concentrate in a place with such beautiful scenery.

Later in the afternoon we took a walk to Nicoles' to enjoy her company & pool. The kids had a great time time playing in the water. Elijah completely enjoyed the water & it took all my effort to not dunk him under. I think he would have handled it with no problem, but decided not to take the chance quite yet. After taking a rinse off, we met up with Elijahs' dad to take a walk to the cliffs & watch the divers jump. It was pretty good for awhile until the rain came & we had to seek refuge in a jerk chicken shop. The rain lasted through the night for the most part...andddddd we now have water. It is a trickle but we have it!

I know it does not seem very exciting, but it has been nice. Of course I miss friends at home & the luxuries we take for granted (clean water, refrigeration, air conditioning, washing machine, etc); however I am enjoying meeting new people & creating new memories & experiences.

Fulljoy life!

Water Baby

Water Baby


I recently met a nice girl here in Negril named Nicole~she was kind enough to take Elijah & I to the beach. We went to a place called Idle Awhile which of course is on the famous 7 mile beach. Elijah went into the water without a peep, not a whimper nor a cry. I even took him deep enough that the water went to his chin while only holding him by his arms. I guess you can call him a true Aquarian because he seems to love the water. There was a sting ray in the water, but I wasn't able to grab the camera and run back down to the beach quickly enough. I forgot to mention there were paparazzi around clamoring to take pictures of the little guy. At least 3 people asked to photograph him & at least he had on proper attire.

He has also been a pro at taking his Jamaican baths~this consists of ice cold water in the mornings & evenings. Once again, not a whimper or cry. He seems to know he has no other choice & just deals with it!

We have been without consistent running water for about two weeks now. It is really frustrating because you get so sticky & hot. Luckily some of our neighbors have water tanks that are full & have been kind enough to share in this liquid gold. The trip to the beach was nice because we were able to get fully doused and then rinse off in the outdoor shower provided there. You certainly count the smallest of blessings in times like these.

That is pretty much all there is to report at the moment. I have included a picture of a nice Jamaican lady selling her bananas on the beach & one of my newest acquaintance Nicole with her "jelly".

I will post another blog soon come ;0).

Life

Well it has been a couple of weeks since I last blogged anything as I have been a little busy. This will serve as a brief synopsis of my last couple of weeks.
I took my lil 3 month Elijah on a world tour, well not really but we are currently in Negril, Jamaica. We had to take 3 different planes & a shuttle ride of 1 1/2 hours. I must admit that he did extremely well during the ordeal. He only got fussy during boarding & deplaning, which is normal for even the most well seasoned traveler.

He has adjusted well to island living~I guess it's pretty easy for a baby as long as he can nurse at will. I swear he has gained at least a pound & grown half an inch in the past two weeks. We had one little mishap with him....my poor baby rolled off the bed & hit is head on the cement floor. I thank the Most High that he was not badly injured. He had a little bump on his head which went away after a day or two. He now has a crib that his grandfather & father built for him. He sleeps in it pretty well &  I have to say I sleep much better knowing he is safe! The crib is painted in the same colors as our house...white & yellow.
Here is a handcrafted mobile made for him by our friend Laura. Not only is it pretty, but it also serves to keep bad spirits & duppies (ghosts) away.

Elijah has connected very well with his dad & his dad has done a pretty good job so far of looking after him. Of course he brings him to me if he starts fussing too much.
So that pretty much sums up my last two weeks or so. Here are a few pics of the baby and of course the cliffs across from the World Famous Ricks Cafe. I will try & do a better job of blogging about the daily life here inna Jamaica.

A day in the life...

 I decided that I would take a few random photos to document my activities for the day. To begin with, I went to our local swap meet with a friend of mine.

 Can you believe they charge you to go potty? I wonder if I only had .53 cents if they would let me use the potty if I brought my own napkins?

 These were the smallest avocados I have ever seen in my life, I wonder if they have a Napolean complex?

And then of course this cute lil guy had one of the cutest mohawks I have ever seen.

So after going to the swapmeet, I met up with another friend for a quick bite of Ethiopian food, I was SUPPOSED to take a before pic of the delicious platter, but ummmm, yeah....I did not quite work out that way, so here is the aftermath.

From there I met with my dear friend Ghia to attend Chicano Park Day.

There was of course more to it than just these couple of pics, but I have run out of steam to post anymore pics or words. The only reason I am up right at the moment is due to the fact that a drunk driver lost control of their car & ran into the neighbors fence, drove through the yard and out the other side of the fence, where by the way my car or my friends car is generally parked. Luckily no one was injured & the police have recovered the car that was involved.

goodnight!

Writing for the sake of writing..just to say I did.

I saw this sign yesterday & the only thing I could think of was...should I risk crossingt & possibly need to buy a "special shampoo"?

Needless to say I took the risk & I am happy to report that I remain crab free!

Today I took my lil road warrior with me to the Farmer's Market where I sell my jewelry & although it was not a profitable day, it was a good day for Elijah to have a little happy hour time with a couple of friends. Elijah & Ezekiel~I feel a biblical diaper change coming on!

And of course after his happy hour libations, he was ready to take a well deserved nap.

Insert random photo here:

Trying to get back into the saddle...

Okay....
I guess you can tell that I did not do very well with my effort to write every day. It's only been since Jan. 2010, but hey I dusted off my spurs & keyboard and trying to get back into the saddle to try & write a little bit. I apologize in advance as my mind is all over the place....so that means this is going to be a hodge podge of blogging~much like when you try to make a new meal out of week old left overs.

My brand new baby boy and I just returned from a trip to Michigan to see my mom. I got the little guy some headphones for the plane ride & of course any subsequent music festivals we decide to go to.

The image is a bit blurry, but what do you expect when the poor kid is trying to keep from falling over from the weight of the headphones? All he needs is two turntables & we will be raking in the dough baby!

Here is a shot of the Chicago skyline~even though we go to Michigan we always fly into Chicago, I guess it's less depressing than flying into Detroit.

My grandparents home has been in the family for many many many years & out of all the places I have lived, it is really the only one that I can remember the address to as well as the phone number. Unfortunately, the home is no longer in the family as of a week ago. I consider myself lucky to have been able to visit there one more time before it is no longer "ours". My favorite part was the barn & the weeping willow tree in the backyard. My grandpa built the barn as well as additions to the original house. While I was there I was able to uncover a couple of treasures to keep including a blue bottle & some horseshoes that once belonged to the horses that were once in the barn. (makes sense right?!)

Well, I guess that is about it for me right now. I know it was not the best reading or the most enlightening, but hey it's the best I can manage at the moment and hopefully it will get better in time. Off to bed I go!

Insert random photo here: