What to Expect when you are Least Expecting...

Beautiful Diaper Cake

Last weekend my amazing girlfriends surprised me with a beautiful baby shower. I have never felt more showered with love. This is one fortunate baby to have such an amazing group of people awaiting his or her arrival. An arrival which may be sooner than we anticipated. ...If it takes a village to raise a baby our baby is in luck because its got a virtual army of talented, loving and beautiful individuals to learn from. Thanks ladies for a wonderful afternoon that I will never forget.

Custom Designed Onsies!

Beautiful friends gave beautiful bounty

Still a little bit in shock

Friends and Family. Thank you ladies and Grady!

Nesting without a Nest

I keep getting e-mails from Baby Center and What to Expect when you are Expecting that seem to think I should have the nursery complete, my bag packed and my birth announcements addressed and ready to slot a picture in and send out as soon as the baby arrives. As I just got back stateside, have a husband in another country and feel very much in limbo at the moment I have not done any of the aforementioned tasks. I now delete these e-mails as they stress me out. I was telling my brother last night that I feel very unsettled and restless, and his theory was I am trying to nest, but have no nest. I think he's probably right...But as there is nothing I can do about it I'll just delete e-mails telling me I am already behind the eight-ball and stop feeling like I am already a bad parent.  My approach if I don't see them then they don't exists....this behavior reminds me of an Ostrich sticking its head in the sand....and at the moment I am buried deep.

Had a laugh today when I did go on some birth announcement site (and was immediately overwhelmed so had to leave) that this is the ONLY time in life where it is acceptable and expected to send out ones height and weight with a half naked picture of oneself. If someone did that to me now, I would hunt them down to the ends of the earth and "discipline" them. In Zambia discipline generally meant kill....the guides used this term when referring to a troubling baboon that needed to be taken care of. Anyway, needless to say I would be murderous if such an announcement was released. Particulary today, when I weighed in at the doctors office and the nurse said I had gained 8 lbs since last week...Almost had a coronary on the spot until we realized 6 of those lbs where my cowboy boots. I'll blame the other pound on scale discrepancy between Grenada and the US, but at the moment I am liking the scale in Grenada much better.


Well regardless of weight issues and the fact I have no nursery set up yet, no pre labeled birth announcements, and a husband thousands of miles away, I am going to ignore all these facts and take bump over to Baltimore for the weekend to visit two individuals more irresponsible than myself. My brothers!

Going to Make a Baby

View from our window. I'll miss it over the next few weeks.

There is an expression in Grenada that locals use that had me thoroughly confused the first few times I was asked. For the last few weeks people in the grocery store, in the bank, etc...have asked me "where I am going to make my baby?"

I was pretty confused and thought can't they see that parts already been done???  Its been cooking for awhile now...but finally the penny dropped and I realized they meant where am I going to deliver the baby. After weighing the pro's and con's of delivery in the States and delivery in Grenada we decided on a stateside deliver (well baring any in flight activity) mainly due to the fact that the timing worked out well for delivery in the states. If John could not be with me I would tough it out on an island with no drugs because having my husband there was not an option for me drugs or no drugs. But as he can, we decided first baby we'll have in the US and forgo the Grenada passport. This baby is possibly entitled to 3 passports (don't tell the US govt) and 4 would really just be greedy.

The medical care in Grenada while different has been good, but I feel a bit safer knowing that if their is a complication we are in a place that is a bit better equipped to handle an emergency.

I find I have to be careful when answering this question though because it is really insulating when you hear people openly voice "oh my god I would never have my baby here" well there is a whole island full of people who were born here and survived and thrived so while the medical care may not be what I was used to it works, and the doctors and lab techs I have seen have all been very nice, very professional and taken good care of me and baby Clark. They deserve a special thanks!

To avoid sounding like a spoiled ex-pat I've hemmed and hawed and tried to say in the most diplomatic fashion why we aren't "making" the baby in Grenada and the other day I blurted out well really I just want to be close to my mom. Then it hit me.

Mom + Rach. Wonder if these genes will carry through and we'll have another mini me!

I am 32 years old and I still want my mom. Oh, my god this is for life they don't grow up and go away. Its 32 years later and I am still dependent on my mother and don't want to do this without her. In fact John and I never seem to go away. We boomerang back into our parents households for weeks at a time seeking respite from our nomadic lifestyle in the two places we know we can relax and unwind. Home. Be it Malawi or Virginia there is nothing like going home to momma.

John and his Mum!

When Baby Clark makes his/her entrance I'll have my mom by my side. Sadly John will not as logistically it was tough to work out. I know he'll miss having his mum there. I'll miss her, but I hope she knows she is an integral part of this process and the love and support she sends us can be felt across oceans, time zones and continents.

Hope this baby looks like its grandmothers. That will be one good looking baby!

So, when I leave tomorrow to go and "make" this baby I leave knowing that when this little guy or girl arrives our commitment is for the long haul. I hope I can raise this baby with the same grace, patience, love understanding and forgiveness that our mom's were able to raise John and I with. I also hope in 32 years time he or she will still want us by their side as they await one of life's biggest occasions. 

The last few months

I haven't been writing as I've been too busy modeling

It seems despite my best intentions to try and regularly update and write a blog I am a miserable failure. I can't help but wonder if I'll ever write again once the baby comes, when I might actually have a legitimate excuse for not writing. At the moment my excuse is I am too hot and don't have anything interesting to say. It's been over two months since I've really written so figured I'll do a quick update of what has been happening in Grenada before I leave on Saturday to wait for the arrival of Baby Clark.

Bathsheba Beach in Barbados

1) A few steps closer to African-American status! We traveled to Barbados a few weeks ago to be interviewed for John's permanent resident permit. Since the US government requires all immigrants to be poked, prodded and thoroughly violated we had to go over a few days early for John's health inspection. That process in itself could probably be it's own blog post, but as I was not subjected to the humiliation I'll leave John to fill in the details. All I'll say is that the hospital looked like something from the 1950's complete with its own nurse Rachet. John's unfortunate physical experience did allow us some time to explore the island and we really enjoyed our last trip before the bambino, though we were a little nervous about our upcoming interview. Thankfully I have family in Barbados who took us in and played tour guide and fed us while we anxiously awaited the embassy interrogation. Big thanks to Ginger and Yuri for their hospitality.

Our Tour Guide and Excellent Hostess my Cousin Ginger!

Turns out we didn't need to be nervous at all. They didn't want one scrap of proof  that our marriage was the real thing. I couldn't even get the official to look at our wedding photos...Here is a tip for all future brides: When spending an exorbitant amount of money on wedding photos remember that after the day no one, not even an immigration official will want to look at them. Our process was quick(well it had been over a year in the making) and easy and there were no questions about who slept where or the color of toothbrushes. The embassy official did say he'd been watching us and could tell we were married...I think this may have been due to the fact we were having a "celebrity marriage" moment while waiting. So a tip for future immigrant applicants: don't act in love, act married i.e. have a fight!

One of our Wedding photos the Embassy Official didn't want to see

2) Since I last posted I've had a birthday. Numbers don't matter ( a lady never reveals her age...unless you are my mother who claims 29) but it was a lovely day on the beach with good friends who all came out to BBQ and lime.

The Chefs

My Liming Buddies

Baseball/Rounders who knows...

3) We've had a pregnancy photo shoot. Much to my husbands dismay. A very talented young lady took our photos and I think we'll see lots more of her work. Thanks Ashley! Check her out at http://ashleywillisphotography.blogspot.com

One of the many fun photos she took

4) We weathered Hurricane Tomas. Hurricane never actually came anywhere close to hitting us, but the panic that ensued looked like the end was near. The whole island went mad. Grocery stores were mobbed, the gas stations lines made you think we were in Zimbabwe not Grenada, and the rumors that flew around spread faster than 7th grade girl gossip at recess. All the panic however, did not keep us from our regular haunt, the boatyard, and we decided to ride out the Hurricane with the rest of the Grenada bar flys. No hurricane but plenty of hangovers the next day! 

What happens after too much Carib at the Boatyard

 5) For once I haven't had car trouble. Though I did have a flat on Friday and luckily the Mongolian Sushi chef, kung fu champion and trainer of Russian soldiers in hand -to- hand combat, Zoro, rescued me and changed my flat. John is worried I have indebted us to someone who could kill him with his pinkie, but I think a case of carib will clear our debt. Thank you Zoro!

My favorite sushi chef and rescuer!

6) I did my first guest lecture for the event planning class at St. George's University. It was fun, but what a lot of work. I have a new respect for teachers.

7) I've started nesting and ripped apart our cabinets and boiled everything in our house. As we have no dishwasher or running hot water (yes, we have to boil water to do the dishes). I literally spent one evening boiling utensils, cups and whatever I could fit into my big pots on the stove. After all the scrubbing and cleaning I dramatically announced that we had to move as I could not bring a baby into such filth. I've since calmed down but only after making my poor husband spend most of the weekend scrubbing, bleaching and disinfecting our apartment. 

8) I continue to practice yoga and pilates at Laluna http://www.laluna.com/ and swear by both during pregnancy. I have also discovered the wonders of prenatal massage and may leave my husband for Sally at the Calabash hotel. http://www.calabashhotel.com/ She is magic!

The recipe I use http://www.marthastewart.com/recipe/banana-bread

10) My amazing friends in Grenada threw me a beautiful baby shower. I love the West Indies the Baby shower went til 11 PM and was followed by an after party. I think it may be the only baby shower I'll ever attend that had most of the guests reporting hangovers the next day! It was a lovely evening and one I'll always remember, even if some of my guests don't! Thank you ladies!

The Hostesses

Some of the girls

Silly Games

11) I saw a sea turtle rescued from Laluna's pool one night. It took four adults to herd it out but eventually they got it. Was an amazing sight and definitely made a dry happy hour a lot more entertaining.

Sea Turtle in Laluna's Pool

12) I still attend the Church of Highland Fling. Will miss the congregants in my absence.Wonder if Baby Clark will be as devout as his/her parents????

A Sunday on Highland Fling II

So, that's it. The highlights of my last months before baby in Grenada. I leave Saturday and I'll come back with a baby. I can't believe it. Who knows maybe I'll even have time to write about it.

 

8 Month Check up

This weekend we had some photos taken at 8 months. Figured we might as well document growing this baby on an island. While I think this is a cute, though somewhat cheesy photo, we've never heard anything with the stethoscope, but its fun to try!

Our little bump is growing and getting feister by the day. Feeling lots of rocking and rolling. I think in December this little bambino may give us a run for our money!

One day our child will probably look at these and die of embarrassment that we did this, but I'm sure this is not the first time we're going to embarrass this little munchkin!

Island Bump

When we leave Grenada I'll miss these sunsets. I love that we've got a great picture to remember them by.

Let's hope the next weeks are as much fun as the last few months have been! Looking forward to a safe arrival in December!

Gotta Love Martha

Thought I would share one of my favorite recipes courtesy of Martha. We had it for dinner tonight and its always delish! One of the things I like most about this recipe is you can get all the ingredients in Grenada....now that doesn't happen all that often. Plus its Martha's take on General Tso's Chicken and one thing we don't have is good chinese on this island.

Happy Eating!

General Tso's Chicken

Save some calories and a little cash with this DIY makeover of a popular Chinese takeout meal. Skinless chicken breasts, a light batter, and just a bit of oil for pan-frying yield the right texture with less fat.

Prep: 45 minutes
Total: 45 minutes

Ingredients

Serves 4

• 1 1/4 cups long-grain brown rice
• 1/4 cup cornstarch
• 1 pound snow peas, trimmed and halved crosswise
• 4 garlic cloves, sliced
• 2 teaspoons fresh ginger, grated and peeled
• 3 tablespoons light-brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1/2 teaspoon red-pepper flakes
• 2 large egg whites
• Coarse salt and ground pepper
• 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch pieces
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil, such as safflower

Directions

1. Cook rice according to package instructions. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, stir together 1 tablespoon cornstarch and 1/2 cup cold water until smooth. Add snow peas, garlic, ginger, sugar, soy sauce, and red-pepper flakes; toss to combine, and set aside.
2. In another bowl, whisk together egg whites, remaining 3 tablespoons cornstarch, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Add chicken, and toss to coat.
3. In a large nonstick skillet, heat 1 tablespoon oil over medium-high. Lift half the chicken from egg-white mixture (shaking off excess), and add to skillet. Cook, turning occasionally, until golden, 6 to 8 minutes. Transfer to a plate; repeat with remaining oil and chicken, and set aside (reserve skillet).
4. Add snow-pea mixture to skillet. Cover; cook until snow peas are tender and sauce has thickened, 3 to 5 minutes. Return chicken to skillet (with any juices); toss to coat. Serve with rice.

Read more at Marthastewart.com: Lighter General Tso's Chicken Recipe - MarthaStewart.com

The men I love

The other day when  John came home after spending the morning with his arm up the backside of a cow my first impulse was to hose him off rather than hug him, an impulse I am having to fight more and more often the deeper we get into veterinary medicine. Which made me think about how often women tend to try and pull out the fire hose and blast away anything we don't like about men. While I think scrubbing away the manure is perfectly acceptable dousing their enthusiasm and excitement is not.

John at work. Pre-hose down.

You receive a lot of advice when you are pregnant some welcome and worthwhile and some off the wall and all together terrifying, but I have noticed that women tend to tell you a lot about how their husbands/partners are useless.  Now, I don't live in the land of make believe and I know marriage can be hard (see my celebrity marriage post) and I imagine adding a child into the mix makes it at times even harder, but I also know my husband and I'm just not willing to get on board with the belief men are useless...different yes, but useless no.

The Harris boys.

Growing up with two brothers provided me with a first hand account of the difference between the sexes and it also taught me a few important lessons. For instances if you can't beat them join them. A lesson I learned when my middle brother Caleb popped the heads of my barbies to use as ammo for his sling shot. Turns out shooting the neighbors dog from our "fort" was a lot more fun than dressing up barbie anyway. Plus, if you give in a little you'll usually get your way...instead of dressing up barbie I ended up stuffing Caleb into my swim suit and making him a real life model...Now if only I had that picture to post!

Despite the differences I've had and have some amazing men and boys in my life who've enriched it in countless ways and since I could soon be living with another boy...I thought I would mention the men in my life who make it special, crazy, at times hair pulling frustrating but always fun and interesting.

The hyena laugh...

My husband, Johno, tops the list and while his affinity for paint splattered tops, ripped shorts and blue socks sometimes drive me crazy his big hyena laugh never fails to put a smile on my face. As for being useless he's read more than I have about this baby and he's held my hand through every appointment. He keeps me sane and keeps me laughing and he's the reason I seriously contemplated delivering a baby on this crazy island because I couldn't be without him for a minute. At times manure covered yes, useless not for a second.

Making me laugh then cry...

My brothers, Caleb and James, while very different have one thing in common. A bossy older sister who they indulge, spoil and humor. Thank you both for being your amazing selves and for making growing up with boys a pleasure...well most days.

Brothers really can be sweet

Now for the man who taught me the finer points of SEC football ( a skill which is totally lost on my husband, as he thinks soccer is football) but who also gave up Saturdays to take me shopping at the mall on dad/daughter dates. My dad has been there for all life's big occasions and made our wedding day sweeter when he performed the ceremony. Dad's are special and make you feel special and mine never fails to support me sometimes in the most surprising ways. The time he told the wedding dress consultant that we weren't interested in anything that looked like "drapes" is one of my favorites. Every girl needs a man in her corner. I'm glad I've got one with some fashion sense...

Special moments

My father-in-law who embraces his yank daughter- in-law in all ways, but lately through his fashion statements. He is the best story teller I have ever come across, can drink more red wine than anyone I know and gave my husband his trademark laugh and grin.If there is soon to be another Clark man in the world I hope he takes after Charlie and if its a little Clark girl I hope she does as well.

I see where John gets his fashion sense...

My little nephew Grady Shake who taught me a lot about being three years old this summer. Mainly that its fine to pee on tires and the only cool t-shirt is one without any sleeves. Invaluable lessons that I guarantee won't be in any child rearing books.

We wore this shirt for a week solid

I've had countless friends, bosses and teachers through the years who have added to my life in very special ways and have to thank them as well. When working in Zambia my friend George, who was the chef at one of our camps, taught me about hard work and selflessness. He also kept a watchful eye on me one night when I was down with Malaria and made me brownies to fatten me up when I started feeling better. He kept me sane when I caught one of our staff smoking the "tree of knowledge" while cleaning the guest rooms, and made me smile when I sat in the kitchen teary eyed after watching a baby elephant lose his momma.

Sitting next to George and with the rest of the crew

The common denominator among these amazing men is they bring laughter into my life and I don't know what could be more useful than that. Thank you for the laughs and reminding me that even though I may sometimes think you are from Mars....your laughter, humor and love is a very welcome addition to my universe.

Why I love my husband.

World's most expensive piece of tin...and hands in unmentionable places....

I vowed earlier this year to become more interesting and stop writing about our car troubles. I also have been trying to stay positive and not sweat the little things, but two things changed that. The flat tire at 6:30 am this morning, and the fact that my husband just came home covered in manure after having his hand up the backside of a cow for the better part of the morning.

At the moment I am teetering on the brink...the car's broken down more times than I can count in the last few weeks and it seems the sole purpose of my paycheck is to pay the bar tabs of the mechanics on this island. We've gone through at least six or seven and I know all of them by name. I often see them at Garfields which is how I know I am paying their bar tabs. To date six out of the seven are incompetent and only one seems to be abel to fix our car without breaking something else. After a very hefty bill last week he let us know we needed new brakes , of course we do, but instead of paying him we found out just how long we could go before they gave out...approximately two weeks to a month. So new brakes are penciled in the week I have my next prenatal exam....Safe no, but I just couldn't fork over anymore money into the worlds most expensive piece of tin.


Now as for my husband smelling like manure wouldn't be so bad except we have no hot water at the moment and the recently repaired washing machine is now averaging a 3 hour wash time per load. At the moment I am worn out with the trials and tribulations of island life that seem to be reigning down on us this month. Its hot, nothing works and and I am six and a half months pregnant and the drivers side door to my car now won't open since the mechanic "fixed" it and I sometimes have to crawl across the passenger side to get in and out. That is a site no one needs to see.

I know I'll laugh about this one day. It may even be tomorrow, but at the moment I work to pay incompetent mechanics and I don't want to hold my husbands hand....Here's to a better tomorrow and a well deserved glass of wine come late December!

Who knew you don't need a license for this...

Seriously, Someone is giving these two a child?

Initially John and I were shocked when we found out that we are going to become parents in December. It took a few days to get used to the idea, as we couldn't quite believe anyone was going to let us have a baby....Shouldn't there be license for this? I had visions of some cosmic baby handing out board realizing their mistake and saying "you sent a baby to the Clarks??? the Clarks??? They are irresponsible winos who drive the most unsafe car on the planet and can't keep plants alive. What were you thinking? Take that baby back and give it to someone who has a 401K." But, so far no one's figured out their mistake, and in about 15 weeks we'll be parents to a little boy or girl who hopefully won't know what a 401K is either.

Looks like they did!

We have no delusions that we know the first thing about being parents, despite all the books and internet research, but surprisingly we both seem to be settling into the idea of being responsible for another being relatively well. Our child may have a different view on this, and I fully expect him or her to one day petition the cosmic baby handing out board in the sky and let them know of their error. He or she will likely asked to be transferred to the nice couple down the street who drives a car that rates high on the consumer report safety list and who have a beautiful tomato garden in their backyard.

So, in preparation for this petition we've come up with our own list to hopefully persuade this child we have some inkling of what we are doing. It's our baby wish list. We've started to write down all our hopes and thoughts for our first born. The plan is one day to show it to him/or her and convince him to shelve his grievance list and stick with us. While most of our list will remain private my father in-law sent us a great wish which was "I hope you can sit on the floor with the dog and share your biscuit with him." Very fitting we think for the child of a future vet.


Throughout the last 25 weeks we've been thinking and adding to our list and one wish that I don't mind sharing is that I hope this baby has a group of friends that are as special and supportive as the friends we've been fortunate to acquire. From childhood friends to our crew in Grenada, John and I have been blessed with a group of people who love us and lime with us despite our aforementioned shortcomings.

Good childhood friends. Fun Bobby and Johno!

This June I had the pleasure of watching my partner in crime, confident and one of the few people who makes me laugh in any situation get married to her perfect match. There was a time I think our mothers thought Katie and I might end up together in a beige pant suit commitment ceremony, but we both managed to find our perfect male mates, though without a doubt Katie is my ideal woman and best friend I've ever had.

When thinking about what I wish for Baby Clark; I hope he or she has a Katie in his or her life. Someone who makes you smile no matter how bleak things look and who you don't mind spending a very hungover day on a deserted island  in the South of France with...incidentally we were supposed to be going to St. Tropez, but as the "french speaker" I was too busy blowing chunks over the side of the ferry to listen to the announcement and we ended up not in beautiful St. Tropez, but instead on a deserted island with a bunch of frog families who who knew to pack pic-nics. Hideous day and an all time low in our Europe travels, and several years later we still think back to that day and shudder.

Not St. Tropez but thankfully not the deserted island either!

 We've held each others hands as we got one another down the the aisle to marry the amazing men who vowed they would put up with us for life, and we've held each other up as we've left the bar after one too many vinos. My wish for our baby is that he or she has a friend to share life's all time highs and lows with and everything in between. I've been so fortunate to find this and despite our lack of 401K's and consumer report rated automobiles; I think maybe the baby handing out board knew that this baby would be ok, because its got an all star team of support backing up its bumbling parents.

Katie and Mike on one of life's all time highs...!

Thanks to our wonderful friends and family who are holding our hands through the next step.

On second thought. We may be in serious trouble...

Crookes in Virginia and Tiefs in Grenada

My last post has us just leaving Grenada and heading for the rolling hills of Virginia all set to enjoy a peaceful summer in a picturesque and serene setting. After the drama off getting off the island...we were looking forward to a low key summer, and all of the conveniences of the States. Dishwashers, running hot water and central air were just within our grasp and we could almost taste the proverbial good life. Life however had other plans...mainly morning sickness and laziness which is why I am just now updating


After a two week tour of the eastern seaboard with John's parents, who had traveled over from Malawi, we headed for our rental in central Virginia. I should go ahead and mention, lest I sound ungrateful, that our summer was bookended by two amazing trips spent with family which I'll write about later, but sandwhiched in the middle of the ideal....was well lets just call it the bizarre. We moved into our picturesque location in Virginia and quickly realized something was a little off...mainly our landlord.

At the risk of sounding petty and like a disgruntled renter I'll spare you the details except to say if Norman Bates had a family I am pretty sure we rented from his offspring. Sparing most of the details... a few highlights were the weird dinner which had me hoping I was among the miniscule percentage of people who can smell arsenic, the creepy feeling that every time I exited my car I had a pair of trained binoculars on me, the utterly bizarre conversations and rules we had to follow, the transexual that cut the grass and just the creepy hair raising feeling these people gave off.

We lived in an stunning little corner of Virginia for 8 weeks and we have no pictures to show mainly because the experience is something we'd like to put behind us, and we pretty much had until we received an e-mail saying that a large portion of our security deposit would not be returned due to stains we put on their "brand new" couch.

We found it a bit strange that this wasn't mentioned in the walk through when we were leaving our apartment. We thought it even stranger that the "brand new"couch was never mentioned when we were asked to watch their friend's dog and asked if it was allowed on the furniture (it was), but imagine our surprise when looking back through photos they sent us of the rental unit we came across a picture of the "brand new" couch. The photo was dated 2000 and there were 5 dogs resting on this couch. We had our own suggestions as to where the stains in question could have come from after seeing this photo, but decided in the end if the Crookes (if you take away one letter, you'll have their surname) needed our money that badly it was a small price to pay to get out of  our Bates like living situation. We did take issue to their e-mail saying they were disappointed in the way we had treated their property. I am disappointed in the way they conduct themselves as humans, but after spending the summer with them can't say I am surprised.

The "tiefing" didn't end in Virginia, we returned to Grenada to find our scooter had been relocated. I have to say the tiefing of the $1200 scooter didn't bother me nearly as much as the bogus fine. Hopefully whoever has our scooter needs it and if they actually got it to start, well then they probably deserve it.

Lesson learned. I'll take a Grenada tief over a Virginia Crooke any day. 

Celebrity Marriage

Pre-Celeb Marriage Moments

John and I recently celebrated on our first year anniversary and as our newlywed period came to an end so did our chance of becoming a "celebrity marriage." Our definition of celebrity marriage is anything that lasts under a year. During our first year of marriage we've had a few celebrity marriage moments...There was the time about 5 months into our marriage that I scalped John with an unfortunate incident with the clippers.  That result was a very bald husband with a faint even balder stripe down the left side of his head...The mismatched baldness made for a very tense afternoon, and when John calmed down and started speaking to me again. I then learned that we had been on the verge of becoming a "celebrity marriage." The hair grew back and he almost laughs about it now...

No pictures of the hair but proof we did recover to live another Day!

Recently I had a celebrity marriage moment of my own about a week shy of our anniversary we packed up our belonging for the summer and traded in island life for a summer in The Virginia Hills so John could complete a wildlife internship. Getting of our island is no small feat under the best of circumstances, but a 4:00 am wake up and dash to the airport compounded by the fact that we spent much of the previous afternoon with the usual suspects at Aquarium  did not help. John was feeling a little worse for wear, and I had spent the last month feeling worse for wear. A few weeks before our newlywed period was coming to an end we found out we would be parents come December! So, here we are in line with about 500 other people trying to get off the island, dealing with Liat (if you have ever flown in the Caribbean you know our pain) both on the verge of puking and my darling husband discovers, as we are paying the extortionist behind the luggage counter, that he has left his debit card at Aquarium. This is a bigger problem than it sounds because we are sketchy nomads and have bank accounts and addresses around the world. To get a new card issued could take months and this is the account with most of our money so, really we can't leave this island without this card. The steam is beginning to come out of my ears and now that I am righteous and pious and no longer drink I think all sort of uncharitable thoughts that teetolers think about their lush counterparts. John decides to leave me to deal with 3 months worth of luggage and the stone faced extortionist behind the desk and "dash of to Aquarium" to retrieve this card. Remember its 5 am. Armed with my saltines I battle through Liat, pay the next scam artist, the departure tax woman, and wait and wait and wait for my husband to come back. I know he won't get this card and am getting madder by the minute... so then I start the text campaign where I send several texts swearing to leave him on this island and maybe never come back...I then see our little Escudo come tearing around the corner on two wheels. Husband jumps out, has no card and we dash to security. Even though I am no longer "speaking to him" I somehow ascertain that he broke into the owner of Aqauriums house and woke him up (I can't even describe what I am thinking then) and he is going to check the safe and if the card is there bring it to us. About 3 minutes later while in customs a saviour of  a man dashes through customs...pandimonium breaks lose and I think we are going to be arrested, but we get the card back. Thank you Uli! A mad dash to the plane ensues and all I can think is all of this for an unpaid intership....

No pictures of this day either, but I think I had this look on my face most of the day.

The day continued much like it started and I surprised myself when we finally (12 hours later) landed on US territory and homeland security looked at my Malawian/British husband asked me is this your husband and I said yes, without hesitation.

We made it!

A week later we celebrated our one year anniversary and while the "celebrity marriage moments" are sure to still crop up...It's nice to know we've got one year under our belt.

My first year paper gift! I gave John a vet book....Ooops!