Milo No Likey

Living in Frigate Bay, (an area in St. Kitts), we are prone to hearing and seeing random firework displays. Milo haaaaaaaaaates it. Absolutely hates it. Every single time he hears fireworks going off, he runs to his 'bomb shelter,' which happens to be our shower stall. Clockwork.

It's That Time Again...

Finals begin on Monday, and Matthew will have an exam every day until Wednesday, having already taken a final last Thursday. In the mean time, he is working hard to soak in as much information as his brain can handle. As I'm sitting here writing this, Matthew and Sharon are in my living room, already studying the day away. Sharon arrived at about 8:00 a.m, and she'll probably be here until at least 5:00 p.m. This is...normal.

So what do the VIPs do while our students are in finals mode, you ask? Well, I'm sure it varies a bit for each person, but my schedule usually involves the following: 

- Clean

- Cook

- Bake

- Sleep

- Do laundry

- Take a nap

- Try not to distract the student

- Run errands

- Blog

- Pin

- Soak up vitamin D

- Go to the movies

- Keep the dogs occupied

- Take another nap

- Stay out of the way

As you can see, our main job is to take care of our students as best as we can during the most stressful time of the semester. Thankfully, I have it pretty good considering that my student usually has things under control, and doesn't shank me when I say stupid things like, "Go study, but before you go, can you hand me that remote? And the cheetos?"

In other news, Matthew recently passed his 'Rossie.' To those of you who are not part of our RUSVM community, this is a really big deal. A 'Rossie' is basically a mock spay performed on a model. You are only given two chances to pass, and if you fail on both attempts, you have to repeat an entire semester. Thankfully, Matthew passed on his first try. I like to think it had something to do with my words of wisdom prior to him beginning the procedure: "Matty. Just remember: You're pretend-spaying a sweatshirt." 

Anyway, that's the update for now. Good luck on your finals, vet students! And of course, good luck to my fellow VIPs.

Farewell to Rob & Steph

Living in St. Kitts has been really manageable, and I credit a lot of my positive attitude to surrounding myself with wonderful people who also really like it here. Stephanie is one of those people. You've probably heard me mention her before, or maybe you also follow her blogs which can be found here and here.

Anyway, I'm sad to announce that they are moving back to the US of A. Stephanie leaves this Wednesday, and Rob leaves right after finals. Why are they leaving sunny St. Kitts, you ask? Well...they are having a baby, (which I guess is a good excuse), and Rob is transferring to UGA to finish up his vet med studies. 

While I am excited for them to get settled somewhere semi-permanently, prepare for their newborn baby boy, (who shall remain nameless until Rob decides on something else besides Rafiki and Walter Melon), and enjoy the riches of the great land of America—I am super bummed that they are leaving.

Thankfully, a bunch of we students and VIPs were given a chance to head over to their Dolphin House this afternoon to say our goodbyes, snack on yummies, and enjoy their company. As you can imagine, it was a lovely afternoon.

Farewell, Stephanie and Rob. Safe travels, good luck, and please keep in touch! You both will be missed immensely. P.S. Looking forward to meeting little baby Seerley. xoxo

Happy 6!

Yesterday, Matty and I went to The Beach House for dinner to celebrate our sixth wedding anniversary, (which is actually today, August 5th). Neither of us had been to this restaurant before, but it turned out to be a wonderful choice. The Beach House is located out on the peninsula and situated on Turtle Beach with a lovely view of Nevis. Having arrived fairly early, we paid a visit to the bar first, and then walked the grounds. The atmosphere was beach-ey and peaceful, with dim lighting and soft music playing in the background. It was the perfect setting for a romantic dinner date. We also took a stroll out onto the dock. Although it was a bit of a gray day, it didn't rain and the breeze was really refreshing. After a little sightseeing, we went back inside to be seated for dinner. And let me tell you: our food was quite lovely...yummmmm. I might be drooling a little at the memory. We ordered the following:

—Caribbean Seafood Chowder (I am not a chowder person, but this was yummy.)
—Goat Cheese, Pesto, and Pinenut Baguettes (This was uber delcious. Seriously could have eaten fifty of these babies.)
—Creole Spiced Swordfish (Ummm we were in love with this.)
—Pan Roasted Pork Porterhouse in a Coconut Crust (Also delicious.)
—Key Lime Pie (We actually had not planned on getting dessert, but our server brought us this slice of heaven as a complimentary 'Happy Anniversary' treat...I didn't complain.)

So...it's safe to say that we enjoyed our visit. I'd love to go again before we leave St. Kitts in December.

Pink Semester Banquet

As I mentioned in a previous post, the Pink Semester hosted their banquet at Spice Mill Restaurant on Saturday, July 28th. Matthew and I were looking forward to going and celebrating with everyone, but I started to feel quite ill on Thursday night. It was pretty terrible. For someone who, (knock on wood), never gets sick, I had one nasty head cold and fever. By the time Saturday morning rolled around, I was fairly certain that I would not be going. However, I didn't want Matty to miss out on his friends' soiree, so I dug deep, and did my best to not look like a train wreck. Although...I almost passed out getting ready. And I couldn't taste any of the food that was served. And I was about to pass out around 9:30 p.m. I had to walk outside and get some air. Thankfully, my friend, Daisy, followed me out of the building to make sure I was alright. After I sat and pouted for a while, Matthew found me and we headed to the bar and then to the dance floor. Eventually, my fever broke and I was feeling much better. Perhaps it was the sea of sweaty dancers, or maybe the cocktail that helped. Or a combination...maybe. Either way, I finally was able to start having a good time. Of course, I felt crummy the next day, probably due to over-exerting myself. But hey—I survived, and I had a nice time.

With that said, here are a few photos from the event:

Shane and Matthew

Sharon and Matthew

Posing with some lovely ladies: Sharon and Rhiannon.

Posing with a few of my favorite VIPs, Brett and Ryan. Can't believe they leave in a few short weeks.

This photo is sufficiently awkward.

Matty with a few ladies from his Vet Prep crew.  

Only in Saint Kitts...

OISK (courtesy of my friend, Nicole):

{Conversations}

The 7th semester banquet is tomorrow. The soiree will be held at Spice Mill Restaurant, and we are looking forward to celebrating PINK fulfilling their requirements at RUSVM. In the mean time, everyone is trying to figure out what to wear...including myself and my friend, Sharon.

Sharon: I may need to go shopping in your closet for Saturday.

Me: Sounds good. I don't know if I have anything exciting in there, but feel free to browse.

Sharon: Thanks!

Me: Actually, I have a blue dress you could try. It's short, navy, has a belt. It's also stretchy! Which is great for over-eating and ninja dance moves.

Sharon: Excelleeennnttt. That sounds perfect. I can come by this evening.

{Conversations}

I have not blogged about this yet, but I've been working at the RUSVM Preparatory School during their summer camp season. I promise to blog about my experiences, but it will be sometime in August when I'm finished working. In the mean time, please enjoy this {conversation}.

But first...some background information: Today, I was in the 1st-3rd graders' classroom. Our project was to decorate masquerade masks and upon completion, wear them. This particular age group is quite fun when it comes to 'Arts & Crafts' time because they get excited about the simplest things, and they love to play 'dress up.' Last week's theme was 'Wild Wild West,' and I printed out moustache props for them. Upon digging through my craft box while the students were decorating their masks, I found a bunch of extra moustaches without owners. The children were very excited about the opportunity to wear them again this week, and of course started talking about moustaches in general. Here is a snippet among two precocious 1st grade girls:

Belle: I love your moustache, Lia.

Lia: Thanks. I love wearing it. If I could grow a moustache, I would. But moustaches are only for boys.

Belle: Technically, moustaches can appear on both genders.

Lia: Really?

Belle: Yes. One time, I saw a lady with a moustache—a really furry moustache. It was awesome.

Lia: Whooooooooooooa that's so cooooooooooooooooooooool.