Caribbean Christmas

 A few silly photos from this year's Caribbean Christmas, according to my iPhone:

 Goof balls in Santa hats:)

Our sweet little Christmas tree!

Presents!

Oh Christmas tree...

Festive ferry dock

The car got in on the Santa hat action!

My sexy Santa

Surfing on Christmas Day

The waves weren't very big, but they were fun!

Pretty palm trees

 Cruz Bay Christmas tree

Love & Happiness

Everything I am feeling these days said much more eloquently than I ever could:

Love is the beauty of the soul.

-St Augustine

Happiness depends upon ourselves.

-Aristotle

In dreams and in love there are no impossibilities.

-Janos Arany

The moments of happiness we enjoy take us by surprise. It is not that we seize them, but that they seize us.

-Ashley Montagu

There is only one happiness in life, to love and be loved.

-George Sand

Gratitude is one of the sweet shortcuts to finding peace of mind and happiness inside. No matter what is going on outside of us, there's always something we could be grateful for.

- Barry Neil Kaufman

Love one another and you will be happy; it is as simple and as difficult as that.

-Michael Leunig

What is the meaning of life? To be happy and useful.

- Tenzin Gyatso, 14th Dalai Lama

There is no remedy for love but to love more.

-Henry David Thoreau

No one is in control of your happiness but you; therefore, you have the power to change anything about yourself or your life that you want to change.

- Barbara de Angelis

Love is that condition in which the happiness of another person is essential to your own.

- Robert Heinlein

Friday Mind Musings

* I feel like December just started, and already it's 2 DAYS until Christmas!!!!! How did that happen?! I swear my life is flying by right before my eyes! But I've finished my shopping and all my Christmas cards went out, everything is wrapped, and we've been baking like crazy so I'm feeling pretty accomplished as far as Christmas spirit goes!

* My laptop is broken, AGAIN. I hate Gateway with a passion, and I will never, never, never, EVER buy an Acer product again. This makes 7 repairs on a laptop that's under 2 years old. So very frustrated...

* Sky got me a new engagement ring! To make a long story short we found out through a jeweler that blue topaz (the stone in my first e-ring) isn't suitable for everyday wear. So when we found that out I was a little sad and disappointed, but then Sky pointed out that it means I can have more than one ring, since they suggested I rotate it with another ring! And now I love the idea of having more than one ring! The second ring is a white topaz solitaire, and I love it! Yay for sparkly things:)

* The island seems to be so cold lately! And I should clarify that it seems cold to those of us with island blood now! It got down to the low 70s the other night and people on island were walking around in sweats and jeans and jackets and long sleeves (including me!). It was hilarious! And if you think I'm joking that people were calling it "cold" you can ask anyone who lives here how the weather has been lately and see what words they use to describe it!

* I'm currently reading The Radleys by Matt Haig. It's about vampires, although I didn't know that when I picked it up. But so far (about 100 pages in) it's funny and dark and takes a slightly different view of vampires than the norm. Very interesting!

* Not having access to my bank down here has got to be one of the most frustrating things about living here. It takes way too much time and effort to do business with Wells Fargo from St John. But the alternative is banking locally, which for many reasons I just won't do.

* Christmas and Hanukkah music has been playing non-stop in our home, much to Sky's chagrin. But we only listen to it once a year for 3 weeks, so really I'm going to keep playing holiday music until Christmas is here, and maybe even until New Year's! I just can't get enough!

* I am one slacker of a bride. Less than 9 months until the wedding and Save the Dates are still not out! Ahhhh! I need a kick in the pants, or maybe just some inspiration. It seems like every time I decide on a detail of the wedding, I change my mind! The joys of indecision!

I hope everyone is having a wonderful day! Happy Friday, Merry Christmas and Happy Hanukkah!

A Pill for Everything

The amount of medication I'm currently on is weighing on my mind! I'm not against modern medicine at all, but I have always tried to limit how much I take, including anything over the counter. If there's a natural way to fix a health issue I try to go to that first, unless it's serious enough for a doctor's visit. But this last year has seen me take more pills than I'm sure I've taken in the last 10 years combined. I've been on Zoloft for a little over a year now for my depression and anxiety. And while it's working well, one of the side effects is that I'm unable to sleep unless I take something, so that's two Benadryl every evening. Another side effect is headaches, which bother me to the point where I'm also taking OTC pain relief several times a week. And I'm on daily oral contraceptives. This seems like so many pills to swallow every day! I don't know why I bother worrying about it, because they're all medications I need. But it still nags at me in the back of my mind...

Thursday Mind Musings

* Christmas is only 17 days away!!!!! I'm so excited I can barely stand it! How am I going to get all my shopping and decorating and baking done before Christmas?! Ahhh!!!

* The weather is definitely cooling down here on St John! The days remain a balmy 80 to 85 degrees, but the nights have been bringing cooler air in, which is awesome since like a majority of the island, we don't have AC!

* I've been listening to Christmas music non-stop! My playlist of favorite Christmas and holiday tunes grows by the year:

Christmas Eve/ Sarajevo 12/24 by Trans-Siberian Orchestra

The Holly & The Ivy by Annie Lennox

All I Want for Christmas is a Real Good Tan by Kenny Chesney

Ave Maria by Celtic Women

Carol of the Bells by Mannheim Steamroller

Last Christmas by Wham!

Christmastime is Here by Charlie Brown Holiday Hits

Silent Night by The Temptations

All I Want for Christmas is You by Mariah Carey

It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year by Andy Williams

Happy Xmas by John Lennon

* To sum life up these days: work, beach, bar, home, love, friends, happiness & laughter: Life is good, and I am very thankful:)

* Oh and I've decided to rename these entries from "Mind Dump" to "Mind Musings" for two reasons: first, I love alliteration! And second the word "dump" was making me uncomfortable!

Hope everyone has a beautiful day!

Christmas Wish List

I think part of my love for making Christmas lists (other than to be helpful to friends and family who request it) is browsing through catalogs and scouring Amazon.com and window shopping to my heart's content! I love making lists of shiny, pretty, new things that I'd like to have! That's not to say I expect these things, but it's fun to imagine! I've always done this, even when I was a child. I've just gotten started this year, but here are a few things on my Christmas Wish List so far...

A Mac!

VS Gift Card (helloooo bikinis!)

I've wanted this watch for a year now! Maybe Santa will bring it!

I'm obsessed with Pottery Barn. And having things monogrammed.

And of course the usual can't-go-wrong gifts: pedicures, massages, or anything pink or sparkly. Oh I can't wait to open presents this year!