Birthday Staycation Fun

So my birthday has come and gone and so has my second annual birthday staycation.Yep - for the second year running, I have spent my birthday close to home, where I could get much needed rest but without the stress of airports, trying to pack my life into my pink suitcase and without a massive post-vacation bill.

Well, maybe that's a bit ambitious. I did manage to have my 15 minute flight to Tobago delayed by about an hour or so, the pink suitcase was still pretty heavy because packing light is not one of my many talents, and I still have a bit of post-vacation financial angst. But it was great.

With a birthday staycation buddy, from Trinidad to Tobago and back, we had such a great time. Whether we explored beaches, bars, nature parks or cultural haunts, we enjoyed the break from reality. Going back to work this week was a bit of a buzzkill after a much needed break. Happy birthday to me!

The view from the balcony of our holiday apartment near Stonehaven Tobago.
We had breakfast and dinner here every day.
Interested? Check out Hibiscus Heights.

Made local goodies for the overseas travel buddy, and that balcony...that balcony

A day out at Englishman's Bay, Tobago

Some of the brightly coloured wrap skirts on sale at Englishman's Bay

The interior of the restaurant at Englishman's Bay. We just had beers.

Flip flops and toes at Turtle Beach, Tobago

Beers for him and her at Blue Waters Inn, Speyside, Tobago

The amazing Batteaux Shrimp Salad from Blue Waters Inn - the blue cheese, pecans,
strawberries, mandarins and the shrimp gave the salad a great kick. It was amazing.

Back in Trinidad, we explored La Vega Estate by foot. It was hot, but it was worth it.

He spread the plumes but would not pose for a photo until the end when the plumes were gone again!

Ended the last day with a sunset. Sunset over the Temple in the Sea, Waterloo, Trinidad

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My Birthday Staycation

So I am on a very, very short vacation - something I do every year for my birthday - since the mere thought of waking up at 3am and slaving over a hot laptop on my special day is just ghastly. With my birthday being in December, my list of travel spots becomes very limited as I am averse to that white stuff called snow. It would take a real act of God to get me to travel to a temperate country for my birthday!

I am also not a great fan of island vacations and not even my Honolulu birthday trip could redeem itself from the island vacation curse. Wow. Honolulu - the stories! But, I do have a plan, with Tobago, despite it being an island, being selected as the destination of choice this year. It's home after all. So this is really more of a staycation than a vacation isn't it? I also have...

...a confession. It's shameful. I shudder just thinking of your reaction to this burden being lifted off my heart. But...

I had not been to Tobago in over 2 years!! Yep. The last time I was on the island was in May 2011 when I came home for vacation.  I know. Shameful. It's funny. I go all over the place, fighting up with surly Europeans for a visa, being interrogated by surly Americans as I try to enter the country, biting my tongue when the rude Pakistani immigration dude at London Gatwick asks me which man is paying for my trip (true story, and my tongue took a good, hard biting, cause I fraid jail and deportation). Yep - all this drama to get off the rock and Tobago was just sitting there - stress free, beautiful and welcoming.

Sadly, Tobago only became a birthday option after unforeseen and exceptionally critical December expenses put my Plan A out of the running. The truth is, I really get bored with the sun, sea and sand type vacations, and when single, these can be angst-ridden, especially if it is one of those spots that are sold to the lovebirds as the place to be. One day is fine. I will frolic in the sun and sea without complaint. Daysss stretching before me - agony. I am not good at lazy vacations, minus the frantic schedule of activities. But I did plan on a vacation of nothing, and  did say I needed to completely disconnect from my everyday life for a week or so, so let's see who survives this. It's just me, the sea and my flip flops.

I have a full schedule of 'nothing' events, including

• Morning workouts - been slacking on the fitness front so yes, I am packing my running shoes
• Leisurely breakfasts - no hurried breakfasts over company emails and before morning meetings
• French lessons by the pool - my MP3 player and my French books have been dusted off
• Reading - reading fun stuff, and not work stuff. My Kindle is fully charged
• Massage and facial love - get some pampering while I am at it
• Blogging - maybe...maybe
• Sunbathing - Dear God, please stop the rain for the rest of the week
• Wine drinking - kinda defeats the purpose of the morning workout but one needs wine when one celebrates getting older - to numb the pain
• Sleeping - have to fit this in into my busy "nothing" schedule
• Evening workout - yes, you read that right. lol
• Dinner with some more wine - screams in the face of that evening workout doesn't it?
• Chilling and counting my blessings - Amen

And so it begins. When all else fails, it is pretty easy to get an earlier flight back to Trinidad!

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Awesome Trini weekend in London

Well, the birthday had the potential to be a real stinker. I was depressed most of the week, and frustrated with an assignment that try as I might, would not let me finish. I had also hoped for some specific plans which also, try as I might, just would not develop nicely. So come Thursday, I was in a horrid mood, crying and wanting my momma. But willpower is a great weapon against idleness, and with a wave of my mascara wand and a couple emails, life was good again.

Friday night, I finally met up with the other Trini students at my school and we headed to the Trinidad and Tobago High Commission in London for a Christmas reception. I love Trinis. Always looking out for the poor ready-meal dependent students. The food was very welcome. The Trini hospitality more so. The High Commissioner was very pleased to have us raid his larder of all the goodies they had prepared for us. For most people, it was the first real meal in weeks. I thought I was the only one eating meals out of a box but nope...noone cooks. Lots of books, but no cooks. Great Trini food, with great Trini friends. Perfect.

Then the birthday. I had a really nice day on Saturday, starting with a mimosa breakfast. I totally LOVE mimosas. I had mentioned it to my cousin earlier in the week and lo and behold, there were mimosas as I waddled downstairs for what was supposed to be a cheese sandwich type of breakfast. Gotta love the cousin. I then got dressed and put all the books aside, incomplete assignment and all, and headed into London to mail off some Christmas cards to the 'rents and the sibling unit and family, including the nephew and spend some proper me time in the city. I have not done a London day since my first week here. So with okay weather, I toddled into Soho to meet a gf for lunch. I felt like having either Trini food, Cuban food or Thai and we ended up having Thai because neither of the other two were available. I man-gaped for the entire time I was there as well. Always good gaping in Soho. There was also a pretty decent market near my train station  before I got to London Bridge, where I saw a nice portrait I may probably get the cousin for Christmas.

Though I did not have a lot of time because my cousin sent me a text demanding I return home to have birthday drinks, we still managed to grab a couple cocktails and do a sprint through National Gallery, which is undoubtedly one of my favourite places in this wonderful city. I had really wanted to see the Christmas tree in Trafalgar Square but sadly, my fellow students had burnt it to the ground earlier in the week. Needless to say, images of Churchill's statue being defaced and a young girl swinging from the Union Jack were alarming to me and I am not even British. You can be angry and yes, they have a right to be angry but this is your national heritage you're defacing. But that's just me...

Anyway....

Yes, I dug right in to that bad boy! Yummers!

When I got home...the cuteness. My cousin's kids had gotten me a card, cookies and there was also the sexiest looking chocolate cake ever. Mojitos and more champagne and good friends. My dad had called first thing that morning, and my mum called later that evening, with the sibling unit sending an email from work. And the two words that are music to any student's ears on their birthday - wire transfer! lol

The evening was spent with Trini friends at a Caribbean, though more Trini than anything else, party in London, which went into the wee hours, meaning, 1) I had a fantastic time and 2) I had to take a night bus to get home and of course, as with all my late night bus adventures, I missed my stop. I was sober. I was awake. I still missed my stop. I blame not knowing the area, not having chance to check the little grid on the bus shelter to see just where my stop was in relation to the journey because I was pelting down the street at 5 in the morning to catch said bus, I blame the cackling women who overpowered "Erica*" and I did not hear said stop being announced.

* Erica - the name I have given to the female voice used by London public transport. I love her especially when she says "Welcome to the Southern service to Sandwich". lol. Oh, I have also disvovered some new towns with stupid names - Hook, and also Ham. Really???

Anyway, after maybe about, oh, 10 stops I realised I had indeed passed my stop, but it was not an issue cause I knew where the bus was going and I decided to chill out and then get off at the stop nearest to my house and get my regular night bus, the one I was supposed to get at the stop I missed. The point of all this waffling on is I had to sit in this cold bus and then on the cold corner waiting for said bus, in nothing but one coat over a not so warm and snuggly outfit (one built more for the hot temps of a nightclub than the cold streets of London) and now I have a post-birthday cold that just came out of nowhere. This morning I woke up with a sore throat. This evening, without warning, I have a full blown cold. Funny. But I was a happy and sexy icicle. I needed it. I really needed the weekend and needed the birthday to not suck. I was really having a horrific week and to top it off with a sad, desperate birthday would have killed my spirit. And no offence to the Brits and Europeans, but I really really really needed to be around Trinis. The homesickness at this time of year is insane so to hear the sing-song lilt from every mouth, and experience the vibes that only a Trini can create, and bask in the warmth. thoughtfulness and good nature of Trini friends - I was a happy bunny. Where there is life, there is hope. Where there is a Trini, there is the potential for fabulousity, folks. Never forget it!

In any event, I have taken some meds for this stinker of a cold, and I am going to take a nap so I can wake up a bit more cognisant of my environment, to start assignment #100. School closes for the holidays this week. I should be hopping and skipping but I have to study during those 2 weeks. But at least I can sleep in late every morning. Small blessings.

p.s. Can I just say as well, that Bank underground station is the f...g worst!? It sure beats back the one at Elephant and Castle. My goodness. But Vauxhall is another stinker. I should do an entire entry on the underground stations. Waterloo and London Bridge are among the better ones, along with Westminster. But that's another entry isn't it? Mind the Gap, peeps.

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Cheers! To Me!

December 11, 2010. Another year to be thankful for. Blessed.

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Amazons - fierce women. Amazon.com - fierce shopping.

Every year I would make my birthday wish list, send it to my friends and I did not expect anything really, but it was always great fun cause they always liked getting my crazy email with my wish list. It was actually my friend, Lyndon who one year actually got me something off my wish list, and my mum as well. I then stopped doing wish lists and started travelling for my birthday and just loved getting emails and texts from my friends and family. I am really easy to please.

But I have done a wish list, (to your left) which was really born out of the fact that I realistically cannot shop as I am used to and this list is a hybrid of my lust list and my necessity list. You will be able to spot the differences - which is lust and which is a necessity. lol. You will also see missing from this wish list the one thing I really want, but Amazon has not partnered with British Airways for some odd reason. The horror!!! I have kept prices at a minimum in the off chance someone actually gets me something but really...give me my moment to cyber shop and satisfy my cravings.

Also, working from home is a real challenge. I idle when I am home. I got nothing done all day - except for the wine and the chocolate fingers. Yet I am still hoping it snows hell hard tonight and tomorrow, so I don't feel any residual guilt about taking another day off and saving myself from going out into that white madness. I am too tropical and hot blooded for my own good!

And I empathise with the Brits on losing out to Russia. It would have been a spectacular tournament no doubt. But still, I got to look at Becks. That's your trophy right there, England. Russia ain't got nothin' like that!!!

Photo credit: BBC Online
David Beckham in a last ditch effort to bring the World Cup home. Pity.

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The Tale of Two Earmuffs

I came home with the expectation of doing some work. I have already said these next two weeks will be used wisely to put me in a good position to enjoy my birthday next weekend. Yet I came home and did nothing. LIE. I did laundry. But this is how my body and my brain work. I have been going non-stop for the past 4-5 weeks so with this downtime, it is a challenge to get going again. But go, I must. I will open up the books after I finish this. But it was my lovely lass who had me googling Ugg earmuffs. Aren't they beautiful?

OMG. (sob sob)

I have actually been looking for some nice earmuffs on a student salary, aka my allowance (lol) and the best I have seen are the M&S muffs, but then I have not looked really hard. I just pull my hat over my ears and recite a Novena (I am also at the doubling up gloves stage of sufferation). The Primark muffs were horrid. I chuckle at myself cause I always go into this store and always complain about the shit they sell and yet I keep going. The fact of the matter is I may be a Selfridges personality but I am on a Primark budget. Mind you, I got some long sleeved tees for bedtime and a scarf but that was it. I did like their warm and comfy bedtime robes as well though, so okay...they do serve a purpose. Bed wear for the winter. Nothing I would wear at home in 35 degree weather. That calls for silky niceness. But I digress.

I would love some Ugg earmuffs but they cost about 73 quid. That's a bit much for earmuffs, even if I was making a real salary. I stood on the platform today, waiting for my train to Sandwich (again, the train goes to a place named SANDWICH...I laugh every single time) and all the women were coming down the ramp with stylish shopping bags packed with Christmas goodies. I had a shopping bag on Saturday - from Poundland. lol. I got myself a new soup mug and some fake tupperware to store my soup in the fridge. I miss employment. God, I never thought I would say the words. Maybe I should be more specific and not mislead you wonderful people. I miss a hefty allowance. I chose those words carefully because it may not necessarily be a salary but maybe an allowance from a benefactor aka a husband. In any event, window shopping is zero fun when you cannot afford to actually buy anything. It's merely torture. I used to walk into stores, swinging my backside with confidence as I pulled out my Visa and swiped it. Now I pull out my Visa with dread and ogle the receipt, while doing the math in my mind. They say it's a small sacrifice for a Masters degree but it seems like a Herculean demand on my senses to live like this. lol. I am not like an obsessive diva or anything but I do love shopping and cute things. Sigh.

I tortured myself some more this morning by going on to the Macy's website to check out their Cyber Monday deals and there was a great little sweater dress, and a nice turquoise sweater, on ridiculous sale, that would have looked nice on my brown frame come Christmas morning and evening, but boo to Macy's for not shipping to the UK. Boo to my US contacts for not being online so I could beg them to receive said items for me and just forward it. No love for the poor, helpless student. This is the first birthday in eons where I will not be taking a shopping trip to Miami and it's a strange and not so wonderful feeling. But I will survive. I must.

I know my parents will not be expecting presents for Christmas but I would still love to get my cousin something nice, for putting me up and putting up with me. Just not sure what that will be yet. I just reminded him about my birthday so at least the suckage would not extend into that day. I know he would at least get me a card and maybe some nice white wine cause he knows I love my pinot grigio and my sauv blanc. And maybe some chocolates. I may be poor, but I drink well. Very well. I can drink away my sorrows in style. Not to mention the cold. They say snow tonight. I wait to see. God!

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Super Stylin'

I have some housekeeping to do. I have been so busy that I have not blogged and forgot about this but...BOOM!!!

I got this award from a fellow blogger last week and just have not had time to celebrate my award. I also want to say she is the sweetest thing and say to her, thank you for the kind words and empathy. Yes, the London weather is atrocious and I know this is just the tip of the iceberg but you are too sweet. Thanks for the award and I know I should pay it forward but gosh...it's finding the time. Just to let you all know though, I had my mummy talk and mummy talks are great and what is even better is NEPHEW talks. I just skyped with my mum and my sis-in-law and the baby. Of course he just looked at me but at least he know his auntie loves him. So I have enough Skype mojo to last me to the end of the week now.

The award means I have to tag 7 other bloggers, but wooo...may leave that til after my assignment is complete. But I also have to tell you 7 interesting things about me. Hmmm...dunno how interesting I am these days but I can share 7 random things

1. I don't like soda and only drink it by diluting it with water or club soda. Soda is the ultimate "fat" drink!
2. My favourite place to sing is behind the wheel of the car and it makes me so happy. No wonder I am so grumpy here in London. I take the train everywhere.
3. I only eat egg whites. I bought a sandwich last week, not knowing it had hard boiled eggs in it, including the yolks. I bit into it and blech....dustbin. I would eat whole scrambled eggs but not very often.
4. I love buying heels but don't always love wearing them. They aren't the most comfortable things and I can admit that, but they look so good.
5. I did not bring a single pair of heels with me to London and this is so disturbing it hurts. I feel like a vagrant. But practicality won out over vanity.
6. On paper, I am bi-lingual having studied French for 7 years. In reality I am a hot French speaking mess. My fluency hit the toilet during hard core studying during my undergrad years. Now I am trying to rekindle it.
7. This one is a bit of a laugh and especially coming from someone with my hips, but..I don't like fat men. And I mean, obese - beer gut, moobs, double chins. There is something about a man letting himself go that really bothers me. Women have babies, stretchmarks, swollen legs and cramps and PMS to deal with so hey...give us weight gain. Men...you have nothing, so the least you can do is endure the pain to look good.

I also miss shopping and I am looking forward to seeing what "Black Friday" deals will be available on Amazon next week so I can make a purchase and feel somehow renewed as a woman!!! I used said credit card earlier this week to buy some Hilton points so I would not for a second time, lose the thousands of points I have racked up as a loyal Hilton customer. I am thinking of treating myself to a Hilton birthday treat - something to look forward to I guess. But we will see how that goes especially since I have...wait for it...another assignment due the Monday after (my birthday is the Saturday before), and an exam on the Thursday. Oh, how fate is conspiring against my social life!!! Again I say I am paying for this massacre of my social life!!! But I have to do something special for my birthday, right?

I just added some rum to my orange juice which I had with dinner to keep the cold out of my Trini bones. It worked for a while but these cold temps are relentless. I am now engaged to the heater...till death do I part. Now back to the assignment and hopefully some progress.

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