Busy...busy...busy - just saying!

WOW!! It's amazing that I have time to write anything but I have a few minutes and some residual energy to use up and I need a break from school work so here goes.. the latest and greatest news from GiTMO:

Michael had a cold... yeah! Most of you know what that means so I'll just leave that alone for now! He is going to the states for a week but only as far as Jacksonville, FL so don't get excited. He's going to a class and then enjoy some free time. I get to stay home with the kids while their in Spring Break. Show me where this is right or fair... Whatever!!

Emily turned 16! umhmm! 16 years old and testing whether she gets to see 18 on a daily basis. Her friends threw a party for her at Windmill Beach. A party to which I had to provide the food, drinks and a fire permit so they could have a bon fire. It was great and the 17 - 16 year old kids in attendance were great, had a great time and managed to make Emily feel "loved" by many.

Emily joined the softball team (co-ed) where she realized she can't hit or catch the ball. But it's OK because here, you don't have to be good, you just have to participate and have a great time. She is also taking Tennis lessons in hopes that she will be able to keep up with Aunt Helen when we go back to the states. Maybe if she practiced in between lessons.

Natalie is taking Tennis lessons as well. She loves it and is doing well. She is also back in the pool with semi-private lessons. Not on purpose, there just aren't that many kids in her group so that works out great.

Jonathan is taking swim lessons too. The child could not stand water on his face, in his eyes, anywhere on his head. He refused to jump in the water and cried every time the lifeguard took him away from the wall. That was week one. Day two of week two he was dipped in the water, he cried, so he was dipped again, this time for a longer period of time. By the end of this class he was jumping in the pool all by himself. Now he loves to go under water and spin around, swim to and from the wall, whether I'm looking or not so now, I have to keep an eye on him at all times. Everyday he looks more and more like his brother.

I am almost done with my classes. One will be over next week, one in two weeks and the last one by mid May!! YESSS!! Finally, I will have my bachelors degree in Social Studies and Humanities and what do I want to do when I'm done you ask? I really want to stay in the fitness field. I truly love what I do and the effect that my "job" has on people. I believe there is no sense in going to a job you don't love. I love teaching fitness classes, I love making people feel great about themselves, I love how I feel after each class.

My regulars are awesome! They are always there and always giving me fantastic feedback. Opportunities to work at the gym have come up but that would mean I don't get to teach anymore, I get paid less, work longer hours and I have to put the baby in day care. It's just not worth it.

So I am currently teaching 7 classes (5 spin and 2 boot camp) with 2 more coming soon. Of the seven, 2 belong to another instructor but I'm subbing while he's off island visiting family in Jamaica. The 2 new ones are still in the works, no confirmation yet.

Jonathan has his play group a few days a week with and without me, he goes to the little pre-school a couple of days a week. We are BUSY to say the least. But there isn't anything about what we have that I would change.

We still manage to attend fun social events (Bunco, Cooking Club, PTO events), the movies when something good is playing, the beach, the pool, and Iggies (the Galley or cafeteria) for some yummy food. It's really not bad, plus it's pretty cheap and little kids eat free.

How do I do it all... I LOVE what I do, although, I will be really happy when classes are over for me and I can take a well needed break from school work so I can catch up on reading for pleasure and not to get a grade.

So go out and do what you truly love and soon you'll realize that it just doesn't feel like work! Have fun!

Until Next Time!

Terie

I have pictures to share but upload at this hours is nearly impossible so I will post them tomorrow!!

Earthquakes!!

No need to panic!

Yes, we felt several earthquakes in the last few weeks, but most memorable were the ones we felt last weekend.

We were sitting in our living room around 2:30 pm when suddenly, the whole house began to shake. Side to side. I felt like a toy in a doll house, completely out of control.

It was registered as a 5.6 and about 28 miles off the coast of Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. About an hour later there was another mild one and then another 1/2 hour after that.

The smart thing to do in the event of an earthquake is to get up, grab the kids, and get out of the house. We just sat there in shock! Wow! I was literally shaken. Still today I wonder if the occasional dizzy spell I get when I get up too fast is just another earthquake.

The thing is that they are happening everyday somewhere around the world. Some are not felt at all because they are too deep or too far or if you're driving you wont feel them but it is a good thing to realize that no one country or region is targeted by the earthquake goddess.

Check out this link of the EMSC - it lists earthquakes as they happen... this was an eye opener because it will show even the littlest shake, we generally only hear about the big ones, the ones that cause damage, kill people, and make the news more interesting.

All that said, we are fine, no damages to the base, buildings or people and no tsunamis. For me this was a reminder of how lucky we are that we have nothing to report after being shaken like toys in a toy house.

Back to writing more papers and finishing my coursework...I barely see the light at the end of the tunnel...

Until next time!

Terie

Reptiles, rodents and bugs...oh my!

Living in a tropical island is nice. We often have parties at the Dock of the Bay, we gather at one of our beautiful beaches and collect sea glass, we even get together in our back yard for BBQs and a few games of ping-pong with the neighbors. All without little regard to the time of year. It really doesn't matter.

But most people and travel agencies, never comment about what comes with the heat, humidity, and sunsets.

At the beach we have our buddies, the iguanas. I haven't been to a beach where I haven't been visited by at least one iguana. At first it was kind of scary. It is clear to me why there are signs everywhere telling us to not feed the iguanas. If you feed them, they will come. Nothing that a little noise and a splash of water can't fix. However, the iguanas don't go away, they just hide or go to higher grounds and wait for you to leave so they can go scavenge the area for food.

The Banana Rats. They are Guantanamo's pet rat and they are everywhere. I have never seen one in person or alive but apparently they come out at night looking for food and anything else they can sink their teeth into. In some areas people are required to have their vehicles suited with a wire mesh on the bottom to keep the critters from chewing on anything rubber. They are sort of cute, although, anything with the name rat creeps me out.

There are snakes - have not seen one and I'm perfectly OK with that. That's why I hired someone to give my yard an "up-do" so that I didn't have to run into the snakes he found living in the bushes.

Finally, the most annoying of all. The mosquitoes and no-see-ums. They are on a schedule, though so just figure that out and carry your GiTMO Perfume (aka bug repellant) and you're good. Also the cool night air (75-80 degrees with wind) helps keep them off your skin. Before 8 am and between the hours of 6 and 8 pm is when they are most active.

So you see, there are down sides to the whole tropical island living thing. When it's hot, it's hot and when it's not... well, it's still hot!!

It helps to learn about them, their habitat, their routine and how to repel the most annoying ones. Leave the iguana's alone and don't feed them; don't leave food or trash out for the rats; hire someone to clean the yard once in a while - let them deal with the snakes and like I said before, GiTMO Perfume and good timing helps us enjoy the outdoors.

The grass appears greener on the other side, in reality, we are lucky to have any grass around here and what we have is most definitely not a very appealing shade of green!

That's all for now, until next time!

Terie

Iguana photo is mine. The Banana Rat is courtesy of Danaham's Cuba.

It's life...in GiTMO

I feel detached from our world in the U.S.

We lived where we could pick up the phone and call anyone, anytime, anywhere without giving it a second thought.

To call my family I need a calling card. It should be a staple on my grocery list but I forget and once I'm back from the store I'm not likely to go back.

Shopping...ha! That's laughable. What I need now is not going to happen so I must adjust my radar so I know what we'll need in the next ten days that way I have time to order online.

I have internet but it's slow, unpredictable, and sometimes non-existent.

Dust has to become my friend or it will drive me crazy to be in it's company on a daily basis. Once a week dusting, that's it, no more!

OK enough of the whining.... where the real wine!!

Here in the land of constant sunshine, iguanas, banana rats, mosquitoes and no-see-ums life is not as terrible as I make it sound in my whining, although, I admit I do miss all the luxuries of living in a "developed" country.

But here I have instant friends-- just add wine.

Let me share what I mean.

Last week I asked around for a book called Deceptively Delicious by Jessica Seinfeld. It's my new attempt to get more veggies into our meals. Anyway, within minutes I had several e-mails of people I know and some I haven't met offering to lend me the book and the best yet, one from someone who happen to be in the states on vacation offering to purchase the book for me. A week later and she's back in Cuba with my book.

Try doing that in a place you've only lived in for less then 90 days.

The beaches are always welcoming, almost always warm, and always beautiful.

There are so many social activities I can hardly keep up, never a dull moment.

So while I may not have my Khols, JC Penny's, Farm Fresh and Costco; here I have friends, a safe environment for the kids, and a lot of fishing (if you're into that stuff).

Soon we'll have our boating license and that is one activity I think we'll enjoy quite a bit. Can't wait!!

Pictures coming soon, until then, take care!!

Terie

Time management and fatigue

As much as I wanted all my stuff to arrive, I wish it had come with an "unpacker" and "personal organizer" to take care of that part of my problems. At the risk of sounding lazy, I just can't bring myself to doing all this stuff. Now, once I get started it's not an issue I can go on and on until it's all done, however, I don't live alone and I do not like missing my social activities. There must be a balance between the "must do's" and the "want to do's" in my life.

Yesterday I felt what I think was the result of doing too much physically and mentally and not eating or drinking enough water. I was light headed (and no I had no wine, maybe that's the problem, hmmmm) but I was also tired like I could go to sleep, except Jonathan wasn't sleeping and the girls were about to come home to share their adventures for the day with me. Then I had to make dinner, clean up a few messes, unpack a few boxes, etc... etc...

I realized part of my problem was dehydration. Not drinking enough water throughout the day. As well as nutrition - not eating enough of all the right foods throughout the day. I think I had one meal and coffee. Somehow I lost track of time and then it was 3 pm. I let everything else take over my time. I was just very tired.

Having recognized that and really not liking the debilitating feeling at all - I can't stand to be down, it really sucks the life out of me; I remember one of the little tricks that helps me stay on track-- a simple to-do list. That's all, oh and I will journal my food and water intake for a couple of days until I'm back on track. Having a to-do list is great because not only do I see what I need to do but I can see what I have already done and realize that my time didn't just disappear without me having done something-- does that even make sense? I feel more productive when I can see what I have accomplished that day. That is a great feeling.

So today looks like this:

• Workout at 6am
• Girls to school 7:15 am
• Shower/Eat/check email/check homework 7:30-9 am
• Jonathan's play time at the pool/playground 9:30-11:30 am
• Lunch/Nap for the little man 12:00-3 <--- this is my time to do homework/read/nap if needed. Today I will unpack a few boxes in my bedroom - mostly books and linen
• Girls home from school/homework/ start dinner 3 pm
• Dinner 5:30
• Movies with Michael 7pm - The Book of Eli
• Chill time 9pm
• Bed time 10 pm

Seems like a lot but this is manageable and keeps me just busy enough. A little time management is all I need.

Now off to get ready for the trip to the pool/playground where I will focus on my to-do for that time frame only.

Learn from my mistake - don't let things get out of control, don't let a few chores control your life; eat, drink, and exercise - the benefits are amazing and in the end -- Sleep Well - that's important too!!

Until next time,

Terie

and here's the other half

OK so now I really can't complain, I've got everything. Does anyone realize what a task it is to unpack and find a home for all the stuff we own. Honestly, I lived with bare minimum stuff - one set of sheets for each bed, one pillow case for each pillow, one comforter, a few dishes, couple of pots and pans and enough cups and silverware for each person to have one. Oh yes, we also had 1/2 a couch (it's a blessing to have the entire thing, that's for sure) and enough chairs for each behind in the house.

Makes me wonder why we have the other stuff we have. I guess to keep the echo down and keep the closets full.

So anyway, we now have all our stuff. We can eat in the kitchen ...

or in the dining "room."

We can sit in the family room...

OR... in the sun room, which is currently separated from the family by several columns. That's right, there's nothing between the two. I'm working on that, must have a place to read, meditate....

So, while it is exciting to finally have everything, it would be nice to have someone come over and organize it all so I can finally sit and just enjoy our new home without worrying about unpacking another box, organizing a closet, or re-arranging a room.

Soon. Just a few more boxes to go.

Deep breath in... hold it .... breath out!

That feels great!

Our stuff is here... well, one half is

When they told me last Friday that our household goods were on the barge and that they could deliver by Tuesday I was very excited. When Monday came around I called to schedule the delivery and that's when they told me that only 1/2 our stuff made on this barge, the other half would come later. So being the positive person I am I said, "OK, I'll take whatever you have." He was surprised and said "great, it will be there tomorrow!"

Yes it's only a partial shipment but, hey, it's something. What I didn't realize at the time was that they really only sent me half of just about everything. Michael was complaining and trying to understand why they wouldn't pack all parts of the couch in the same crate. I was just happy to have something that was mine, something familiar to me and the kids.

The comical part came when I tried to assemble things like our new comfy couch. We got only half of that, the bottom half.

Michael's new recliner. Yup, only half.

We got the entire piano and bench - can't do much with that right now.

How about this. Our kitchen table. How many chair do you see? Well, we did get a total of 2 bar stools and three chairs and since there are five of us here that worked out OK.

According to dispatch our next shipment should be on the next barge which arrives this weekend. I am not going to hold my breath or I'll be disappointed. If it arrives, great!!

We also have the kids beds, our bedroom suite and many boxes full of books, linen and clothes. That should keep me busy for a few days. Oh, and in the kitchen I have everything that was in my pantry, spices and other non-perishable items as well as some dishes. From where I stand, it's more than we had before.

And to answer in the words most commonly used here "It's GiTMO!"

Until next time, take care and feel free to leave a message, comment, or gasp at the idea of getting just half, literally, half of everything you own!!