It's Official!

After several attempts at getting my "identity" it is finally done and I am an official resident of the District of Columbia!

You would have thought DC would have needed DNA & blood samples to accomplish this.

But now that it's all done I will probably get my first summons for jury duty by Monday.

The Birthday cake

Yesterday was my friend Mark's birthday and I told him that I would make whatever kind of cake he wanted.

He asked for something with chocolate and peanut butter so I whipped up this little delight.

It is a dark chocolate and peanut butter flourless chocolate torte, a variation of a recipe that I used when making desserts at the hotel on Saba. And just to add a few extra calories I topped it with a peanut butter ganache frosting.

It was almost too obnoxiously rich to eat but the party guests seemed to manage choking it down.

It turned out so well I am making another one this morning to take to the family's house for Mother's Day.

I almost got Beat Up today

So I had to go out to Virginia into "the burbs" to run some errands and buy a wedding gift today and.....

as I was checking out at the local "Specialty Store" with my gift the cashier told me the total was $76.21. I reached into my pocket and gave her $81.26.

She told me "No, no you gave too much moonee" I replied "Yes, I know. I gave you an extra dollar and penny because I don't want singles and the pennies back".

She looked at me with confusion and curiosity in her eyes and tried to return the single dollar and penny.

I told her to just simply put in the amount into the big machine and it will tell you how much I get back!

She tried again to return the dollar and the penny at which point I commented to the customer behind me...

"and I thought the Chinese were good at Math" while chuckling to myself.

Well the customer scoffed and said to me "My husband is Viatnamese"

I said "I'm sorry" to which she replied "Well, you should be!"

I said "No, honey. I meant I'm sorry that your husband is Viatnamese"

I rapidly got my $5 and nickel back and literally ran for the car, locked the doors and sped away.

OK, so I cried today

I had to go into Alexandria today and was traveling down the parkway which is right along the river and as I rounded the bend I saw a Mama Duck and her babies trying to cross the divided four lane highway ahead of me.

As I slowed down this JERKY car in front of me ran over the mother and the little babies started scurrying all over the road.

I slammed on the brakes and this JERKY driver behind me blared on the horn and nearly rear ended me and as I stopped braking I ran over one of the baby ducks.

I barely made it to the nearest exit when I burst into tears.

I'm sorry poor little baby ducklings. I really didn't mean it.

And to all of you JERKY drivers who are in such a rush to get to wherever you are going, why don't you stop and take a break and appreciate life!

Rah, Rah - We LOVE Cheerleaders

One morning on our weekend beach trip was spent at Brown's on the Boardwalk for breakfast.

They make homemade doughnuts and serve them HOT!

Nothing at the beach is diet related so you just have to go with the flow and enjoy yourself.

And speaking of diets... This table was right next to us and I found the lady's jacket on the end interesting.

It was monogrammed with See's Viking Cheerleading Squad.

Since I found it hard to believe she was actually part of the cheerleading team I came to the conclusion that she was the See's Candy Store's chief representative.

Could you pass the chocolate covered caramels, please??

"Pleasant"ville

Saturday was the day for the Ocean City flea market and mass yard & garage sales. In the middle of town was a collection of of nearly 70 vendors selling their wares plus dozens of private sales around the island.

One vendor was selling old glass door knobs and vintage architectural salvage items. My sister needed a new (old) door for an opening in the house that was discovered when they took the old paneling down.

The lady said she had a salvage shop in Pleasantville and had lots of old doors, stained glass, hinges and other stuff so we decided to take a trip out there.
As it turned out Pleasantville was NOT so pleasant afterall. The whole town had certainly seen better days.

One block had this strip of storefronts which included:

The Discount Divorce Center
Latino Tax Preparers
a Bail Bondsman
The Karaoke Training Center
Shiatsu AND Tantric Massage Salon
and last but not least
The Forever Nail Studio offering nail extensions and "African" weaves!

We finally found our way to the Architecural Salvage place only to see that it was closed.

We wandered around for a while and stumbled into a Thrift shop in hopes of finding some hidden treasure. No such luck.

I did come across a pair of crutches but one of them was about 6 inches shorter than the other "match". I looked at my sister with curiosity in my eyes and she says to me "Please don't go there" I told her they must have belonged to Eileen.

I had to explain to her that the crutches belonged to I Lean.

We literally ran out of the store in hysterical fits of laughter!

Baxter's Beach Trip

Baxter went with us to the beach and he had a blast running up and down the dunes and checking out the surf.

He was getting adjusted to the new house and sounds and every time someone walked by the house he would start barking at the top of his lungs.

Woof, Woof, Woof, Woof

As I scolded him and told him to stop, he would then "tone it down" a bit and bark at a normal level.

Woof, woof, woof, woof

I then would say "Baxter, enough barking" and he would stop, stare at me and go

woof, woof, woo, woo quietly

"Baxter, stop"

woo, woo, wo, w, w in a whisper

Obstinate little Mutt!

What's with Religion?

Yesterday was a chilly day at the beach and so we decided to break in the new "beach" chairs by having a little happy hour on the driveway which shielded us from the winds.

A new neighbor of Lila's came down to introduce herself and said "Hi, I'm Nancy. I'm from the Jewish house a couple of doors up the block"

I thought to myself; "Myself, that was a little odd. How am I supposed to reply? Oh, Hi. I'm Chris and we're from the Episcopalian house right here?"

Well, we exchanged our pleasantries and off she went. Later in the day we walked by her house and the shingle on the gate read "The Hewisch's" and it all made sense.

Good thing I CAN keep my mouth shut from time to time and didn't actually reply as the poor lady would have thought I was off my rocker, or a little more off my rocker than I already am.

Animal Cruelty

As we crossed the Delaware River and headed into New Jersey on Friday and started our trek through the rural farms of south Jersey we passed this cow farm which had all these little igloos around the barn.

The image isn't all that great since I took it as we raced past at 60+ miles per hour.

My youngest sister then proceeded into this long story about Molly (my other sister) going on and on about how cruel is was to have baby cows stuck in these things and how horrible it was, blah, blah, blah.

She went on and on about how people need to start an action plan to save the suffering animals, blah, blah, blah.

Later that night, she goes on, Molly and the rest of the group goes out for dinner and she says to the waiter without even thinking; "Oh, I think I'll have the veal parmeson"

The soda I was drinking actually snorted out of my nose!

Where's the Quality Control?

I knew that my road trip to the Jersey shore was going to be a "gut buster" of a weekend but thought "Why not throw caution to the wind" and enjoy myself, extra calories and all.

So before we even pulled out of the city limits of Annapolis I was already rooting through my sister's bag full of food to see what I could eat and found (my all time favorite) the "new" Golden Oreo cookies in the snack pack size.

Well I must admit I was devastated and disappointed all at the same time when I saw that the creamy goodness inside each cookie was pathetic and didn't even cover the entire wafer! I ranted and raved about it for a while until my 2 sisters looked at me with their famous "Shut the F*%K up" face but continued on about how I should write a complaint letter to Nabisco about their lack of quality control.

I mean, after all, it wasn't even worth eating them at all if I was going to be shorted out of the best part of the cookie.

As I was finishing the last one out the the six pack I made one final comment about how cheated I felt and got "the stern look" once again and realized I had gone too far.

An Interesting thought

A friend of mine sent me this curious notation about Men, Women and the human body.

It takes 7 seconds for food to pass from the mouth to the stomach.
Human hair can hold 3 kg.
The length of one's penis is 3 times the length of their thumb.
The femur is hard as concrete.
A Woman's heart beats faster than a man's does.
Women blink twice as much as men do.
We use 300 muscles just to hold our balance when we stand.
A woman has read this entire text.
A man is still looking at his thumb!



So as I'm reading this I absentmindedly reached for the ruler on my desk and as it was nearing the edge of the table I though to msyelf;

"Myself, Have you utterly lost your mind!?!?"

After all, I had done that before and already knew the answer! Geez.

A Little Sand between my Toes!

First thing tomorrow morning I am headed out to Annapolis to meet up with 2 of my sisters for a road trip to the Shore!

My "baby" sister and her husband bought a beach house in Ocean City, New Jersey and they've been rapidly renovating it to get ready for the Summer, 2010 season.

Lila plans on spending the Summer there with the kids. I am so very happy for them as it's been a dream of hers for a very long time.

Although it is NOT on my diet I plan on enjoying every bite of the famous Voltaco's "Philly" style Italian subs, caramel covered popcorn and salt water taffy.

Baxter will go coming along for the ride and I'm excited to see him run on the beach and check out the surf.

It will also be great to see my Uncle Joe and the family. He is nearing 90 years old but still sharp as a tack and is even looking forward to his daily bike rides on the boardwalk this Summer after his hip replacement surgery.

And it even looks like the weather is going to cooperate with a sunny forecast and warm temps. Happy "almost" weekend from DC, soon to be OCNJ!

Earth Day 2010

Today we celebrate and honor the 40th anniversary of Earth Day. And I have to ask the question; Are you doing your part?

I know for myself that I have lots and lots of room to grow!

Recently the District of Columbia instituted a "green grocery" ordinance in an effort to conserve the use of plastic bags. Now every store HAS to charge 5 cents for every bag you use when you make any purchase.

I find that I'm walking more now that I live in the city which is good for me healthwise and also good that I'm not jumping into the car every time I need to run an errand.

Two Feet and A Heartbeat, Baby!!

And simple things like turning off the lights, powering down the computer, using recycled bags.

Now if I can invent a reusable doggie poop bag or get in the habit of blowing my nose into a Kleenex twice instead of once.... OK, maybe this is taking things a little too far.

Happy Earth Day from DC.

Mr. Springtime must be confused

Hot weather clothes, cold weather clothes. Day in and day out!

We've gone from "Summer" like high's in the 80's one day to cloudy and cool with low's in the 40's another.

All this combined with record high pollen levels make by body want to sit in a hot and steamy shower for an hour each morning just to clear the congestion. The one good thing is that it gives my voice that sexy raspy quality. HOT!

Meanwhile I am looking forward to my day today. A friend who I met on Saba is here for a conference which wraps up today and we are headed out for lunch and then an art exhibit.

She wants to have Ethiopian food. I mentioned to another friend last night that I was having a little Ethiopian for lunch today and he looked at me like I had said something naughty!

Then we're off to The Phillips Collection for the Georgia O'Keefe Collection. A lot of her work (I've heard) has been somewhat controversial as her paintings look like female anatomy.

Not being so super well versed in "that" category I don't see it.

Gosh, Eat a little Ethiopian for lunch and then enjoy vaginas in the afternoon. What a sexy day I'm gonna have. Wow!

Happy Chilly Sunday from DC!

And Speaking of Roller Coasters....

NO, not my emotions!

My sister sent me these images of a new roller coaster that has opened my "moist reviews"!

Not being one to handle or enjoy my own roller coaster I look at these images and think,

No Thank YOU!

The topsy turvy spins and rolls this thing makes makes me sick to my stomach just thinking about it.

and the downward spirals. Yikes!

Thank goodness I at least have strong bladder control.

Happy Thursday from the "roller coaster ride of life".

The Continuation.......

4 weeks ago today I arrived home to DC to take the next step in my life's journey and it's been an interesting evaluation.

I arrived back to welcoming arms of friends and family with everyone wanting to "do something, offer something, help out in any way", etc. It was all pretty darn overwhelming to me.

I allowed myself some time to disconnect from the world for a bit and then started focusing in on what mark I could make on the world once again.

So far I've felt like the little awkward kid standing on the sidelines of the soccer game desparately wanting to be picked for a team to play but ends up just standing there picking my nose. However in my mind it's NOT a soccer game but a dodge ball game and I'm the one they are eyeing, not as a team member, but as the target.

It's been pretty amazing to me that a short time away (18 months) could all but erase a sense of confidence. Just the other day I went to the Target to pick up some supplies and was surrounded by more people in one store than most of the residents of Saba put together and had a little panic attack and started profusely sweating and had to leave. I literally walked away from my cart full of goodies and left and then sat in the car for a half hour just to compose myself.

And of all the "well wishers" attempts to comfort me and to help I find myself avoiding questions of WHY, HOW & WHEN "it" didn't work. All things I don't care to talk about now, and quite possibly, ever.

So as we near the one month mark of being back stateside I have decided to start writing in THIS blog again. Afterall, the "big Saban Adventure" as it started is still ongoing, just moving to a new locale.

And the "Big Saban Adventure" comes to a close

Yesterday I arrived back home to DC to start a new chapter in my life.

Nearly 18 months ago I sold everything I owned and packed a couple of suitcases, crated the dogs and birds and left DC on a one way ticket to Saba to start a new life. And although Saba is a wonderful place to be and to live I have felt the constant tug pulling me back "home" for quite a while and that urge has finally won out and brought me home again.

I will truly miss Saba and the life I created but know in my heart that I need to be here for family and personal reasons.

So once again I put my entire life into one suitcase and packed up Baxter in his crate for the long journey home again.

I'm not sure whether I will continue writing in THIS blog or start a new one. Perhaps I'll just change the name to something like "MyBigHomelessandUnemployedAdventure" but we'll see.

Check back soon and I'll update as things go along.

For now my plan is to sleep for a day or two and shed a couple of tears and then focus on the future moving forward.

Happy Friday from (no longer Saba) DC.

Bloody Mary: It's a Breakfast Drink!

And as we wrap up our week here at Bistro del Mare we head into our Sunday Jazz Brunch which will feature, of course, Bloody Marys!

In addition to all the classics featured on our Brunch menu we are serving as today's special meal:

Pork Scallopini "Tuscan Style" with a sun dried tomato and lemon sauce and served over fresh Arugula with shaved parmesan cheese.

And maybe, just maybe, I'll enjoy one of those famous Bloody Marys myself at the end of the afternoon.

Busy Days at Bistro del Mare

Paul made his "famous" Stinco d'Angelo al Forno yesterday which is braised lamb shanks in red wine and root vegetables and served on rosemary polenta which sold out last night.

We've been really busy every night this week and are sold out for tonight's dinner and also for tomorrow's Jazz Sunday Brunch.

When I usually get to this time of the week I am focused on getting through the next day and just look forward to Sunday night's off and a day of leisure for Monday.

That won't happen this week since the hotel is full starting Sunday and Monday.

When we started into this venture we were cautiously optimistic that we would have success but had no idea that the place (hotel AND restaurant) would take off so quickly.

I guess it's high time to "staff up" and get some much needed help to run this joint!

Spring is in the Air!

And that means that lots of cool new things are blooming around the property here on Saba.

The Spider Lillies are out in force. This one has a bloom head on it that is nearly the size of a soccer ball.

By the pool the Plumeria has just put out its first petal. These are the same flowers Hawaiians make Leis, lotions and perfumes out of. The scent is overwhelming, sweet and delicious!

In the orchid garden yet another one of Paul's orchids has just bloomed. This one is quite peculiar with it's long tendril like stalks.

And finally, the nasturtium garden has taken off. The first bloom appeared yesterday. Paul wanted to "play green thumb gardener" and can use these edible flowers in some of the salads on the menu.

Happy Friday from Saba.

Fogged In

We've been fogged in here for the last several days and, thankfully, have gotten a good amount of rain which we desparately needed.

Many of the flights to Saba have been either cancelled or rescheduled.

But it's been "thick as pea soup" around here!

We had a little plumbing mishap on Monday when one of the cottage rooms' sink backed up. A plunger didn't work, Liquid Plumber didn't work, acid didn't work so we had to resort to jack hammering the exterior wall to locate the drain line which resulted in knicking one of the water lines which caused a minor flood and now, 2 days later, it's still "in repair".

Ahhh, the joys of running a hotel.........

The Heineken Regatta is here again

This weekend is the Heineken Regatta in St. Maarten which means that most folks are LEAVING Saba rather than coming to Saba.

That means that Saba will be somewhat serene and St. Maarten will be a rip roaring and non stop party through Sunday night!

The Heineken Regatta revolves around 3 days of yacht racing but the primary focus seems to be how much drinking, dancing and carrying on can happen.

Quite frankly, I am quite content to be here rather than there! Happy Friday from quiet and peaceful Saba.

A Little Italian Humor

Not much to report on today from Saba so I thought I'd share a cute little joke that was sent to me.

And NO, we don't serve Spaghetti on our menu at Bistro del Mare!!

For Several years a man was having an affair with an Italian woman. One night she confided in him that she was pregnant. Not wanting to ruin his reputation or embarass his wife he paid the woman a large sum of money to return to Italy to secretly have the child. If she stayed he would pay for child support until the child turned 18 years old.

She agreed but asked how he would know when the child was born.

He told her, to keep it discrete, to simply mail him a postcard and write "Spaghetti" on the back and he would arrange the start of the child support.

One day about 9 months later he came home to his confused wife. She said "Honey, I got this very strange postcard in the mail today". "Just give it to me and I'll explained later" he said.

She complied and handed over the postcard to which the husband, as he read it, turned pale white and fainted on the floor.

On the card was written:

SPAGHETTI, SPAGHETTI, SPAGHETTI, SPAGHETTI, SPAGHETTI

THREE WITH MEATBALLS, TWO WITHOUT

SEND EXTRA SAUCE!

All this Wind is Making for a Bad Hair Day

We are having another day of really strong winds and this is making for a very bad hair day for me today. Every time I walk outside I immediately start looking like Donald above.

Or Camilla- minus the pearls.

They are saying that the heavy winds out of the South may last into the weekend (one word Big Bird) and that may wreak havoc on flights coming to and from Saba.

Only to sit back and watch and see what happens.

We just booked a dinner for the Governor and some Dutch Delegates for their meal here tomorrow night. We'll have to "put on a good show" for them.

Some More Yumminess

A couple of days ago I tried out a new Chocolate Mousse recipe. This one is "an Italian" Chocolate Mousse made with Amaretto Disaronno and served with fresh whipped cream and a chocolate Biscotti cookie.

Here's a picture I took of my creation. So far it's been a good seller and people are enjoying it.

The winds have kicked back in, Montserrat is blowing ash again but things are really cranking here!

Happy Wednesday from Saba.

Loco for Coconuts!

Yesterday was out "official" day off and we ONLY had 3 hotel room check ins and served breakfast to our guests and drinks to them poolside so we "only" worked about 5-6 hours!

We did manage to get a little fun squeezed in which (obviously) included some cool refreshing adult beverages which we made from fresh coconut milk.

A number of coconuts were harvested from the trees, cracked opened, drained and blended into nice little tropical delights.

I'm certainly paying for it today though.

Last night we went out to dinner with our friends Jody and David who were here for a long weekend. We saw them off this morning and it's right back to the grind.

It's a HOT one here today with temps blazing!!

A Busy Week End Ahead!

We're starting to settle into "our stride" here at the hotel and restaurant and I'm learning how to delegate some responsibilities rather than owning the workload.

That said, starting today will be a busy one going into the week end. The hotel has check ins starting this afternoon which puts us at nearly full occupancy and tonight's restaurant reservations looks promising.

I can't believe that the month of February is nearly over. Wow, how time flies!!

Happy Friday from Saba.

Baxter's Birthday Today

Today was "my baby boy's" birthday. Baxter turned 10 years old today and I wish that I had some time to take him to the beach or out for a special day but that didn't happen.

I DID get to sleep in a bit and am feeling a good bit better today. I got up at around 7am and worked till now, 9:50pm. He's (Baxter) relaxing by my side on the couch as we speak and is enjoying his cuddle time with Daddy!

We had a decent night at the restaurant but had one final reservation that booked for a table at 8pm. They showed at almost 8:45pm and we turned them away. Saba, being such a small island needs to survive on business expected and it doesn't make any sense in keeping ovens, fryers and grills on to wait just to serve one table for 2 at nearly an hour later than our last guest.

It's not like having a restaurant in "the big city" that can serve till all hours of the night.

One hotel guest came back and said "why, it's an early night for you" I said it's great because I've been going nonstop for months from before dawn until nearly midnight every day. He told me that I'd die doing that......

Little does he know I already did....

And More Deliveries

This week we've received a handful of more things being delivered for the hotel. One important set of items were the new tennis net, hand crank and "squeegy" for the tennis court. The old equipment was failing miserably and we HAD TO get new stuff in.

Another thing was this Wii Sports Pack 8 in 1 system for the cardio/gym room which displays a 50 inch plasma TV and guests and member can now use this interactive fitness system.

Not being much of a video game or sports/exercise enthusiast, this doesn't get me too excited

But

today's latest delivery is what really got me going;

The back order of Johnny Walker Blue!! NOW WE'RE TALKING.

Happy Hump Day from Saba.

Crosswinds

Yesterday the winds really starting picking up and by Noon time they were blowing a gale and coming straight out of the south.

That isn't good news for little ol' Saba and their travelers. Saba, having the world's shortest commercial runway AND being right on the edge (as you can see) crosswinds are not the best thing for taking off or landing.

Needless to say all the flights were cancelled for the afternoon which meant that anyone on Saba was stuck here and anyone attempting an arrival was stuck on St. Maarten.

We "instantly" filled any remaining rooms and had a full house last night.

Most of the folks have trucked themselves back down to the airport to attempt passage on the first flight out this morning but based on my vast expertise (which means looking at the flags and how they're flying) it ain't gonna happen.

So I suspect that we'll have them returning right back unless Mr. Gusty up there chills out.

Meanwhile I feel like I've been run over by a Mac Truck. The headache, fever, cold sweats and chills hit me like a ton of bricks yesterday afternoon but I'll need to dose up and get through it.

Happy Breezy Wednesday from Saba.

Adding to our Repertoire

Another one of the nice things we've added here at the hotel is to offer lemon infused cold compresses to our pool guest when they get hot in the sun.

I now have a dedicated drawer in the refrigerator just for the towels that get soaked in lemon water, wrung out and then rolled.

It's the simple things that don't cost much, if any money that makes the difference!!

A Rescued Baby Pelican

Some of the Marine Park folks rescued this baby Pelican the other day at Fort Bay and now neigbhors of ours are taking care of him/her until its well enough to be released.

We got to go over and take a look during his/her breakfast feeding.

They certainly awkward looking birds but still pretty cool.

They are planning to take it over to St. Maarten and reintroduce it into an area where many Pelicans nest and live since Saba does not have any real population of them here.

Happy Monday from Saba.

I Actually Slept IN!

Yesterday was another long day and I actually slept in this morning. Well, until ten past 7am that is!

But the good news is that all this hard work is finally paying off and helping my waist line.

I hopped on the scale this morning and was happy to see that I've dropped below the 200 lb. mark once again.

9 more pounds to go and I'll be right back into my "fighting weight" that I was at last Summer.

Off to start poaching eggs for Eggs Benedict and making Bloody Mary's for our Sunday Brunch customers!

Happy Sunday from Saba.

Gloria, Please Shut Up!

Today everything on the news was all about Tiger Woods making his big "scheduled" apology to the whole freakin' world about his F*&K UP. I mean who really cares but since I have nothing better to do then I have to voice my opinion on the whole matter.

I think it's admirable that he wanted to actually fess up and say that he made a mistake and that he's taking strides to amend it but then this chick, Gloria (aka Loud Mouth, Pushy, Obnoxious, Camera and Video Whore) Allred steps up and says to the media world that he should apologize to his mistresses. WHAT?

Do you mean to tell me that some Porn Star/Stripper/Club Dancer/Escort didn't see Dollar Signs instead of Cupid when she met HIM?

And now she needs an apology for sleeping with him?

I'm sure that good ol' Tiger needs some 7 wood therapy but the mistresses should accept the fact that they were just that, Mistresses. Nothing more, nothing less.

And please folks, help me in joining voices in telling Ms. G.A. - STFU!!

Shearwater Resort is all about LOVE!

Love is in the air. It must be. Our very first day open we hosted a wedding and now, last night, a young couple got engaged here at the resort!

The young fellow asked to have champagne ready at the table and in mid course they went out to watch the sunset and down on his knee he went!

There must be something in the water........