Blogswap 2011

Shanoy, from Jamaican Mommies is taking over my blog for the day.

I'll be back to my normal programming later in the week, after I get all of my pictures edited.

When given the task of a blog swap with a very heavy photo content, coupled with the 'summer' theme, I instantly got excited...After all, I live in the Caribbean where summer means sunshine, friends, sea, fun, party, food, exotic locations, out of town treks, relaxation and the like (I'm already excited remembering the fun I had and continue to have this summer)...

In the midst of my fun though, it would be useful to note that as a 20 something mum and wife (who blogs over at jamaicanmommies.blogspot.com), summer fun often has to incorporate the family. So here goes my very own Jamaican mum's view of summer (complete with images) to maintain the essence of the My Life in pictures blog.

Also note, I'm trying to steer clear of the very 'touristy' image one gets of Jamaica from the tourist board ads, to really show some of what I think an 'average Jamaican does for fun in the summer

Also as one who resides in the country's capital and works within the 'new town' of New Kingston, this is one of the many lovely views I'm privy to from the office floor...It certainly comforts during many lunch times when I'd much rather be sprawled on the beach...

Then I'm a lover of the 'country', having spent great deal of my life in a fairly rural area of St. Catherine and being quite appreciative of the fresh air, cooler climate, animal sounds and general sense of calm, we had to make a summer trip out of town...

And what would summer in Jamaica be like without the river or beach??

So here we are on one of the many beach treks made this summer

And to balance it all out, I also journeyed with friends to this river we found along the border of St. Andrew and St. Mary (Castleton Gardens/Ginger River)

Then when we felt just a little bit touristy, we journeyed to one of the island's many All-Inclusive hotels, Iberostar Resort in Montego Bay! In a word Fabulous! Especially if you get the chance to check out the Grande Suite which provides waitered service, fully stocked ...heavenly!

and yet another

Then back to reality, there is a whole lot to do, like just jogging in the Emancipation Park in Kingston with its sometimes controversial statues.

A boat ride over to one of the island's many sub-islands (cays), in this instance, the ever popular Lime-Cay off Kingston's coast proved most appropriate.

Oh and for the super adventurous, a trek to the island's Blue Mountain range is a must...I didn't dare travail this path in the summer, but did do it over the Easter weekend and so I just have to include two of the fabulous scenic shots

You can also check out local offerings such as the Mystic Mountain and Sun Coast Adventure tours which offers skywalking experiences, zipline, bobsled etc.

and with budget considerations, house parties have become a good choice this summer... a few close friends, everyone contributes to food and fun fun fun... It works!

and of course the annual Independence gala is a big to do as we celebrate Jamaica at 49..Oh my this country is starting to get old :-).. so there's a shot of us being all patriotic

and because this post could go on forever, let me just say summer in Jamaica also means cool beverages, lots of food and the like... so after all the hectic stuff and as the day winds down, I enjoy a refreshing summer mix, yum!

Alas, time does not allow me to go on, but it is my hope that you would have gotten a good enough peek at some of the interesting sites that makes for excellent summer fun in my island home...Happy reading as I prepare to watch a local play "Charlie's Angel" , which is guaranteed to provide a belly full of laughter, this following my enjoyable episode last week with the local movie Ghetta Life, now showing in movie theatres here.

Walk good and enjoy!!

Minnesota Moves to Montana

I haven't posted in a month.  I apologize for my utter lack of attention paid to this blog.  I've been busy (mostly ignoring real life and hanging out with my friends as much as possible), and I've neglected this brainchild I call a blog.

The past weeks have been rather exciting for me.  I got a real job, moved out of my mom's house, and, most recently, discovered the "t" button on my laptop doesn't work as well as it should anymore.  It'll get better if I just push on it harder or use a hammer.  I promise.

I'm in Salt Lake City for the next few weeks for training for the aforementioned "real job".  I like Utah, but I think the best perk is the king suite I'm expensing for work.  It's wonderful, even when 6am rolls around much too soon.  

The best part of this having-a-real-job thing is that I am now living in Kalispell, Montana.  Yep.  Montana.  In the mountains.  Glacier National Park is less than an hour from my apartment.  I'm going to walk on a glacier in August.  This is awesome, especially for a wannabe-outdoorsy-type like me.  I pretend to be outdoorsy, but when there is a mountain a half an hour away it is hard not to be outdoorsy.  I've only been in Kalispell for 2 weeks now, and a week of that has been spent in Salt Lake City, but I love Kalispell.  I love my job (so far, anyway), my roommate is pretty normal for a Craigslist find, and get to see snow-covered mountains from my bed.  

These aren't my legs. They're Spencer's. I'm not that freakishly skinny.

Yeah.  I packed all of my belongings in my beat-up old Dodge and headed West (and North, but mostly West).  The car didn't mind the trip, and I still had room for my skis.  It took me two days and 5 tanks of gas to get the 2200 miles from Rochester to Kalispell, but I did it.  I stopped in North Dakota for a night, checked the bed in the motel for gross things, hit up Hardee's for breakfast, and made it to Kalispell by 6:30 the day after I left Rochester.  I even had to cross a mountain pass or two before I got the the Flathead Valley.  That was certainly an eye-opener for a Midwestern gal like myself.  I'm still not unpacked, but it'll have to wait until I'm back in Kalispell for longer than a weekend.  It'll probably be September before I'm totally settled.  That's how I roll.  I really like that I got out of Rochester before the crazy heat-spell-thing that is covering the entire nation from the Rockies to the Atlantic currently happened.  It's wonderfully summery in the mountains.  The unbearable heat in Minnesota is horrible for a winter-lover like me.  I can't wait to go skiing this winter!  Bring on the snowy mountains.  I'm waxing up my skis.

Montana or Bust,

Erika

P.S.  It's my mom's birthday tomorrow.  Happy BDay Momma!

I doubt the roses survived the heat, so here's a reminder from earlier this summer.

Prom 2011

My former high school's prom was a couple weeks ago.  I didn't go, because that's weird.  I did take pictures for my brother and his date, though.  He graduated a year ago, so he went with a friend of his, C.  It rained all weekend, like any typical Spring day in Minnesota, so we didn't get to take any pictures outside without my brother's hair being ruined.  He's such a diva.

They're cute.  Or C is, and Spencer is a dweeb.  

Told ya.  Dweeb.  It was fun, even after I remembered how crazy parents of seniors in high school are at school functions.  I had fun trying to be unobtrusive and failing at times.  Apparently most students' older siblings aren't as cool as I am when it comes to hanging out with high-schoolers.

Yep, no one look at me.  Ever.  I'm just the weird one in the corner.  I always am.

Spencer even dragged his friend Zach into the mix, because one of C's friends didn't have a date.  Spencer and Zach have been friends since kindergarten.  Zach is only slightly more normal than Spencer.  

See?  We're not the only crazies in town.

Ladies, I am so sorry you had to deal with those two all night long.  C, your dress is fabulous.  

-Erika

Weekend Recap

First off, felix ides martius comites! (Happy Ides of March everyone, for those who aren't awesome nerds.)  This weekend was super busy.  My grandparents came home, my brother came back for Spring Break, my mom got the counter tops installed, I went to the Science Museum of Minnesota, and I figured out what was wrong with my car (a weird battery cable, nothing major.)

Friday morning, Grandma and I picked up Grandpa's truck.  He was working on my car.  She suggested we go pick it up so I could go to work (I wasn't so keen on that idea, but whatever).  He said he would go get it when he was done.  Not five minutes later, he comes back inside and says, "You guys want to go get the truck?  I think that's a good idea."  This is the world I live in.  This is why Grandma always looks somewhat exasperated.  

We stopped by mom's new house and checked out her new counter tops.  They're pretty.  Roger was there too.  He was installing the tile.  I'm getting excited to move in!  Oh yeah, mom likes to wear flannel.  

Roger put the tops on the cupboards, too.  I like it.  They're backlit!

Spencer came home and immediately started spoiling the dogs.  She's sweet for about five minutes when he's here.  And gross, but that never changes.

This was probably two minutes later when Spencer decided to shake things up a bit.  He was clearly not ready for the consequences. 

She didn't stop with Spencer.  Poor, innocent Penny was her next target.

Luckily Penny can hold her own.

I went to St. Paul on Sunday to visit my old roommate.  We went to the Science Museum, because I wanted to see the mummy exhibit and listen to Harrison Ford's narration (I think he was channeling Indiana Jones).  In college, Minda and I lived on the same floor and our RA gave us all dinosaur names.  Mine was Erikatrodon (yeah, try to pronounce that mess).  Hers was Mindatops.  

It's a Mindatops!

We went to dinner and got margaritas that had far too much salt on them.  We were still very happy with them.  Yea!

Happy almost-Spring!

-Erika

P.S. This was another highlight of the weekend.  Surly Brewing Co. Furious Beer.  It's fabulous and makes cooking dinner that much more fun.  

Destruction and Cold Feet

This weekend was a whirlwind.  Spencer came home for the weekend, Sniper needed to chew on everything, we went to the zoo, and I remembered to hang out with my friends.  The remembering I have friends is difficult for me.  I'm surprised they even put up with me.



Or that they put up with my taking pictures of them making weird faces.  I think she was laughing at something my mom said.  Momma's funny that way.

Since there is nothing to do in Rochester that is free or relatively cheap, I decided to go to the zoo and drag my brother and his friend along.  There's a reason it's free.  It was cold, and I forgot my mittens.  Luckily I didn't forget that snowy shoes are cold, unlike Spencer and Alexa.



I'm so sorry I decided to drag you to the zoo, make you trudge through mud and snow, and document your discomfort.  They could have refused to humor me, but they didn't.  That makes me feel a little better.

When we got home, we discovered that Sniper had destroyed two library books (whoops) and Spencer's camera bag (another whoops).  I now owe the public library two travel guides about Yellowstone country, but I'm keeping the two Sniper ripped the covers off of.

This face:



did this:



That table is generally free of debris, but Spencer brings clutter home with him.  It's a fantastic reminder of how much we'll miss him when he's back at school, which is quite a bit despite his smelly hockey skates.