Well here we are again. Year two. Thanksgiving on the island, again.

Since it’s a British island, they don’t celebrate this holiday. In fact, some of the people here think it’s really strange we would have a holiday in honor of a bird. They don’t quite understand that Turkey Day is just slang and apparently have missed the true title of the holiday THANKSgiving.

We miss all of our family very much today. The first year was not quite as bad because it was all new. As strange as it felt to be away from the traditions of home, it was somewhat exciting to cook dinner on my own. There was some thrill in trying something different. This year, however, the newness has worn off. We just want to be home with everyone and to top it off, I am in the middle of studying for exams. As a result, we’re pretending Thanksgiving is next Thursday.

Last year’s cooking extravaganza

I will say, it isn’t all bad the second time around. At least after last year’s fiasco with the legendary turkey search, I knew that I should by my turkey early this year. About a month ago I found a 15 pounder and he’s been frozen waiting for next week this whole time. (Last year I waited until the week of to buy our turkey. The island doesn’t ship in extras because they don’t celebrate the holiday. Finding a turkey was near impossible and we ended up with something like a 30 pounder for four people. That one was the last one and the butcher had to dig him out of the back of the freezer for us.)

This year may not be the way we would choose for it to be happening, but we’re still thankful for everything in our lives. Even though we won’t be eating Turkey and cranberry dressing today, we’ll be thinking of all of you and all the blessing in our lives. Not many people get the chance to chase their dreams like we have, have the love in their lives that we do, and after all, that’s what this holiday is all about. Happy Thanksgiving to all of you!

When Elle posted about her hubby for his bday, it made me think that it’s not too often that I discuss my favorite person on Earth. That’s right, as sappy as it sounds, my husband is the best! Here is a repeat of Elle’s list so that you can all get to know a bit more about the man behind this woman.

1. Who is your man?

Frank also known as Frank the Crank, Frank the Tank, Frankenstein, Doodlebug (though he really hates that one) take your pick

2. How long have you been together?

10 years in May

3. How long did you date?

7 years before we got married - we got married in May of 2005

4. How old is your man?

32

5. Who eats more?

depends on what we’re eating, but 99% of the time him

6. Who said “I love you” first?

Don’t remember. I would guess him.

7. Who is taller?

Him.

8. Who sings better?

Without doubt, me. He can only sing Johnny Cash songs in tune and he only does that if he’s being silly.

9. Who is smarter?

Book smart - me. Street smart - him. We’re a good pair.

10. Whose temper is worse?

Frank’s by far.

11. Who does the laundry?

It’s a joint effort.

12. Who takes out the garbage?

Him. If I have to take it, there is a darn good reason.

13. Who sleeps on the right side of the bed?

We don’t have sides. Weird, I know.

14. Who pays the bills?

He’s an accountant. Why mess with the system?

15. Who is better with the computer?

It’s a tie. He’s PC, I’m Mac.

16. Who mows the lawn?

The condo association

17. Who cooks dinner?

Me. Unless we’re grilling. He’s the bbq king.

18. Who drives when you are together?

I like him to drive. At night I drive, though, because he has bad night vision.

19. Who pays when you go out?

He does. It’s nice to feel like I’m on a date.

20. Who is most stubborn?

Without question, me.

21. Who is the first to admit when they are wrong?

That’s another tie. I think we’re both good about it.

22. Whose parents do you see the most?

My Mom. She is almost a permenant resident of the Caymans. haha.

23. Who kissed who first?

He kissed me on my front porch after a date. Yes, it was like a movie - cheesy and romantic.

24. Who asked who out?

It was a blind date. But, he asked me out for the second date.

25. Who proposed?

Him. The most romantic night he ever came up with - I’ll save it for another post.

26. Who is more sensitive?

Me, for sure. I’m all girl.

27. Who has more friends?

Probably him. I’m too busy studying.

28. Who has more siblings?

Me. 2 sisters. He has 1.

29. Who wears the pants in the family?

Well, I tend to wear shorts, skirts and capris. Guess that means Frank, by default.

Birds of Paradise. Not here. No sir. The birds here like to play mind games with me.

They chirp. They chirp, chirp, chirp right outside my window. Then when they know I’m coming they hide in the grass. They do this so they don’t get their little chirping beaks kicked in. They camoflage themselves from meanies like me.

As soon as I shut the curtains and try to go back to studying, which by the way, often requires silence - they chirp some more. I get up and go back to the window to scare them away. Now they stand on the sidewalk across the grass chirping right in front of me. Laughing at me and my annoyed, frustrations.

I knock on the glass slider to scare them a bit. I mean business little bird. Silence. I go back to my books and re-read the same paragraph for the third time. Now it will sink in because it’s quiet. Then it happens…. CHIRP!!!!!!!!! I run to the sliding glass door and fling it open. This bird has seen it’s last day! It doesn’t move. Instead, it stands on the sidewalk staring directly at me, like a old cowboy in a western movie waiting for the quick draw. Cue the tumbleweeds and the whistling western music from the Good, the Bad and the Ugly - tweedle tweedle dee, bum bum bum…. Being that I am a kind person, I hold back from charging the bird. (Okay, also because I don’t want my neighbors to think I’ve finally lost my mind.) But I give the camoflaged, cowboy, chirping bird a look to let it know I’ve had enough. It holds it’s ground, let’s out another high pitched chirp and calmly flies away.

Zoom in on this picture if you don’t believe me….

Who ever thought of any name along the lines of “birds of paradise” clearly had lost their minds from the chirping. Frank recently said he wanted to get a bird feeder. Yeah, that’s not gonna happen….

We had a great time with our Moms here. Here are some pictures and the story to go along with them.

The long weekend started on Halloween with a celebration of Frank’s Birthday. Debbie made her traditional carrot cake with yummy cream cheese frosting. Here it is decorated for the holiday and Debbie with Frank before he blew out his candles.

On Thursday while Frank was working, I took the Mom’s to lunch at Eats Cafe and then to the beach at the Westin. Here are some pictures of the Moms relaxing by the pool. We had a few frozen, tropical drinks and then headed down to the ocean.

The Mom’s enjoyed the tropical setting and warm sun. The breezes were perfect off of the water to keep us cool in the sunshine. The palm trees were a nice break from the dying leaves back in Michigan.

Here is a little friend that followed by Mom around the pool.

Friday night we took the Moms to one of our favorite restaurants - Copper Falls.

We took a drive out to the East End on Saturday. On the way out, we stopped at the blow holes. Here are some pictures of us as the water spewed through the rocks.

My Mom found yet another little friend along the way.

Later on, we headed out to the far, far east end. Here are some pictures of the island out that way. Our Moms really liked the flowers and greenery out there.

It’s like the tropical countryside when you get out that far.

We stopped to enjoy one of the beaches on the way back. The Moms found conch shells in the sand, while Frank and I took a walk.

The last night the Moms were here, we took them to dinner at one of our favorite little hole-in-the-wall type places. The restaurant sits on a deck that is literally on the beach. While we were waiting for the yummy seafood pasta dishes to arrive, we watched the most beautiful sunset Frank and I have ever seen in Cayman.

Dropping the Moms off at the airport was hard to do, but it helps knowing that we’re coming home in just over a month for Christmas! Can’t wait!