Happy Birthday Kristen!!

Besides getting to see a friend that I've missed dearly, one of best things about having Kristen visit is that it makes me see Dominica with fresh eyes again.  It's easy to forget how beautiful it is here.

Pagua Bay was super accomodating and opened early for us to have some coffee and breakfast before lending us some of their floaties and boogie boards and sending us down to their beautiful beach.

We love this beach because you can get in the ocean and play, and then go over to the freshwater river to clean off.  It's a great combination of the warm ocean water and cold freshwater.  And boy did Kristen need to clean off after her mud bath adventure!

Our favorite driver, Bruno, came with us down to the beach for once!

After tiring out from all the water play, we all went back to Pagua for lunch and then to the airport to see Chris off.  He was on standby, so we hung out at a local bar until we were sure he was on the plane.

Like always, AA overbooked the flights.  Every room at Pagua was filled the night before with students who were told there were no seats left on the plane (even though they had a confirmed ticket).  Somehow, Chris made it on, and we headed back. 

Today is Kristen's birthday, and we are heading to my favorite island spot for drinks and sunbathing.

This Week in Dominica

Chris had his clinical practical test

and I pretended to be a very ill patient.   

We found a hermit crab on the steps of our apartment.  

He (or she?) was huge!!

Nothing like the little hermit crabs you get in the pet store at home.

I relaxed on a wine cruise.

Isn't this a cool pass through? 

You can scuba dive through there. 

And so, 2nd semester comes to an end.  

Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese

This book is like good braised meat.  It cooks really slowly but in the end you have a tender and delicious masterpiece.  I took my time with this novel, not just because it was rather long (over 600 pages) but also because I had to let each section sink in before moving on.  Told in 4 parts, this novel is the story of Marion Praise Stone’s journey as a brother, son, lover, and doctor. As the story grew, elements of surprise and magic kept me hooked, and the ending brought it all together for a sweet finish. 

Chicken Enchilada Burritos

Looking for something to make for dinner?  Check out my post at Spouses Kitchen on how to make Chicken Enchilada Burritos!

Real Life

Please don't read my blog and think my life is perfect.  It is far from it.  Sometimes I read other people's blogs and think: I'll never have it together like she does.  A blog is like good makeup.  We enhance what we like, and hide what we don't.

Today though, I'm washing my face and showing you what's underneath.  Stress.  As of today, our tenants have paid neither rent nor utilities since January.  You wouldn't believe how hard it is to actually evict a tenant from your home in CA.  Even if they haven't paid you a dime in 4 months!

There is a multi-step eviction process, and we are on round 2 waiting for a judge to give us permission to have the sheriffs forcibly remove the tenants and their belongings from our home.  Did you know that if you turn off their utilities or change the locks, the tenants can sue you?

In real life, I'm an anxious mess about what is going to happen.  I've been worried every day for the last 3 months about what is going to happen when our savings runs dry, and now we are there.

On top of which, we now owe the IRS 5k in taxes from last year.  Because we are no longer living in our home, we have to pay back the housing credit we took when buying the home.  We didn't realize when we took it that if you don't live in the home for 3 years you have to pay it back in full, immediately. 

So today, I'd like to send out a big "SCREW YOU!" to our tenants and the IRS. Better watch out for the Karma Police.