6

This Is {Wherever} Wednesday Linky Party #3

Posted on August 31, 2011 // This Is Wherever Wednesday

Welcome to the 3rd This is {Wherever} Wednesday par-tay! For those who are new to the party, I recently moved to the Caribbean island of Grenada. When something goes wrong here or is just plain bizarre, we say “TIG” which stands for “This is Grenada.” I’ve adapted it to use for the positive things as well in an effort to remember the fun and inspiring moments  too!


I know everyone, regardless of where they live, has “This  is {Wherever}” moments. I’d love it if you did a post about your hometown and anything funny, crazy, or heartwarming that’s happened this week.


Here are my favorites from last week:


Jenn wrote about Albany, New York saying “I got carded to be walking around the mall after 9pm. TIA. I’ve never been carded at the liquor store. TIA.”


Gale wrote about California, which she is appreciating more since her move to Texas! She wrote, “This is California…Toilet seat covers (seriously…hard to find a bathroom without them in CA.  Not so TX.)”


Haha, I love it. Learning about the quirks of different places is seriously my new hobby.


Here are my T.I.G.’s for the week:


I traded five brownies for a cell phone. TIG.


I got in the shower, got all soapy, put shampoo in my hair, lathered it up, and then… the water completely stopped. TIG.


My friend Kelsey got a free movie ticket, which is awesome. Yesterday (the last Tuesday in August) she realized that she could only use it on Tuesdays in August. TIG.


I got tons of free, delicious fruit from the trees at the University Club and used them to make some mango chicken! T.I.G.


On Friday night, it took us two hours to get home from the bus stop near the grocery store. On Sunday afternoon, the same route took 20 minutes. TIG.


Speaking of bus stops, none of them are marked. By some sort of magic, students pass down this information to other students until a group of people are left congregated on a random concrete slab or in front of a gas station, thus creating a bus stop. TIG.


We had some delicious fish at a weekly street festival called “Fish Friday.” We took a very nice boat there with several other students, got to shore, walked down some really sketchy, dark alleys, and somehow emerged to Fish Friday. See photo evidence below. TIG.

Photo and editing courtesy of Holly

___
Photobucket

Filed under This Is Wherever Wednesday   ~  6 Comments
8

A Day In The Life: Grenada Version

Posted on August 30, 2011 // A Day in the Life

Do you ever look back and think of a point in time when your life was too-crazy-for-words? A hectic time at work maybe or perhaps all three of your kids were sick at the same time? I think we all have those periods when we look back and think, “How did I do that?” 


For me, that period was January – May of this year because I was working full time, finishing my last semester of my master’s program, and missing my sweet hubby who had already moved to Grenada.

Of course, the best thing about being a blogger (besides meeting really cool people) is that I have a record of the craziness. I wrote a post at the end of February running through a day in my life. Today, I thought it would be fun to do the same for Grenada and take a look at the difference between then and now.  

First, let’s get in the time travel machine and take a gander at the old schedule that I wrote about a few months ago:


6:30 - Alarm goes off
7:00 - Finally have enough licks from Julep and am dragging myself out of bed.
7:30 - Ready and downstairs, tea pot started brewing, leash in hand for Julep’s morning walk. (Yes, I get ready really fast because I wear a uniform every day. No standing in front of the closet wondering what to wear!)
7:45-8:00 - Grab tea that was brewing, put lunch together or grab lunch that was put together the night before. Fill up huge water bottle for work. Give Julep her delectable frozen peanut butter bone treat so she doesn’t destroy the house while I am gone. Grab a banana, yogurt, or cup of cereal to eat in the car. Classy, I know.
8:00-8:45 - Really long commute to work. Listen to radio/think about blog posts/try to not yell at drivers/sweet talk my car into working for a few more months.
8:45-Lunch - Work hard, at lunch play on my iPhone and read all my favorite blogs and catch up with everyone on Twitter
Lunch-5:00 - Work some more
5:15ish-6:00ish- Really long commute home. Call my mom/dad/inlaws/etc. to catch up on the drive home
6:00 - Take Julep out. She really has to pee by now. Tell her what a good girl she is for not destroying the house (if that is the case). Get mail while on walk, immediately sort and pay bills when I walk in the door so I don’t forget.
By 7:00 - Dinner is going or being heated up from the night before. I allow myself to eat it while watching a show on HGTV. This makes me happy. I look forward to my HGTV in the evenings. On commercials I run upstairs and load laundry and switch it and fold it.
8:00-10:00 - Work on school work. Read books or write papers that I have to. Try to squeeze in time talking to hubby on Gchat, Skype, etc. Count the days until graduate school is over.
10:00-11:30 - Blog if I have a post for that day. I usually try to post 4-5 times a week. I read all my other blogs and try to comment on as many as possible. I drool over many design pictures. I eventually drag myself away to take a shower and get ready for bed. I let Julep out in the back yard one last time.
11:30 – until. Text hubby goodnight. Open Nook. Read a book for pleasure until I somehow fall asleep in the middle of it…..It’s very important to me to read for pleasure. It’s my way of relaxing myself into sleep and getting ready for the next day. :)
____
Alright, well that was a fun trip down memory lane, right? (Get real). Let’s talk about the good stuff: Grenada.
The night before: Before I head to sleep I brew hubby’s coffee. It’s too hot in the morning, so he takes it iced. I pop some popcorn and put it in a ziplock bag to add to his lunch in the morning. I set out his cereal bowl, cereal, spoon, coffee cup, and juice cup out on the table so everything is easy for him to find in the morning. I head to bed, sometimes watching a show and sometimes reading on my Nook. I’m so glad to have hubs home, even though he’s busy. Life’s way better when you actually get to live with your spouse and not do the long distance thing.

In the Morning: I wake up around 7:30-8:00ish, depending on hubby’s schedule. I make him a sandwich, put his lunch together, and try to sneak a note in there while he’s in the shower (a trait I have no doubt that I inherited from my mom.)
8:30/9:00ish – I kiss hubby goodbye, have some cereal, and grab the leash. It’s time to wear Julep out. We walk to our beach that’s five minutes from my house. She’s so hot already but refuses to put her paws in the water. We don’t last long, and I drag her up the hill, using a big stick to ward off the Dobermans that bug us every day.
10:30ish – If it’s Monday or Thursday, it’s pool day. The university is very kind and lets all significant others of students ride the bus, use the gym, and on those two days, use their gorgeous pool.

Image borrowed from Steph

10:30ish If it’s not Monday or Thursday, I spend time doing laundry, sweeping, washing a few dishes, and in general tidying up.
12:00/1:00ish-5:00/6:00ish Time to work a little (do you hate me yet?) I’ve been lucky to get a new freelance writer job that I am hoping to tell you about a little later in the week. I’ve also applied to others and have been doing “test posts” etc. as part of my applications. I am also still editing personal statements as well as the papers of medical school students through my editing website.

If I’m not writing in the afternoon, I can also be found making the trek to the grocery store, doing crafts with my amazing friends, or volunteering.

Image taken by Steph

When the early evening rolls around, I start making dinner. I’ve never been much of a cook, but I’ve been learning a lot in the past few weeks. I’ve made a few different things but they usually revolve around grilled chicken and veggies. Hubs and I are both trying to be healthy and loose weight, but occasionally I’ll make brownies or we’ll split a little chocolate bar for dessert.

Dinner is really my favorite time because I get to hear about hubs’ day and he gets to take a nice break. He’ll usually start studying again after dinner is over, which is actually good for me because I use the time to write some more, read my favorite blogs, tweet friends, check facebook, or talk to my family.

I think the biggest difference between my life then and now is that I really don’t have a set schedule anymore. There are things I have to do everyday like feed the hubs, take Julep out, and write in some form. And, as of recently, I joined a dance group and will be practicing twice a week. But that still leaves me time to head into town with the girls, watch a movie, and relax in general.

I know I am extremely lucky, and I assure you the days are flying by. I know it’s only a matter of time before my life resembles what it was before. However, I hope I can take some lessons from Grenada and remember how important it is to enjoy life when it’s time to head back home.

What’s your schedule like? Have you ever written about a typical day in your life?

Filed under A Day in the Life   ~  8 Comments