It's My Birthday...

...and I'll cry if I want to... {just kidding!}

Celebrating my birthday from the islands as I have for the last several years...

So happy birthday to me!!

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Photo by me!

Island Time = Bain of my Existence

St. Thomas is technically part of the United States, but when it comes down to things like mail, it might as well be a 3rd world country in the middle of nowhere.  I thought I was being so smooth ordering a bunch of toiletries from Drugstore.com on Dec. 10th in anticipation of my Dec. 19th arrival, thinking they would be here ahead of my arrival, shipped 2 day shipping via FedEx...

Well...it's now December 24th, and my lovely package of toothpaste, face wash, etc. still has not arrived.  In fact, it's now in Puerto Rico {arrived on Dec. 22nd}, and it's estimated delivery date is January 9th. TWO DAYS AFTER I LEAVE, AND 31 DAYS AFTER I PLACED MY ORDER.

SERIOUSLY?!?!?

What's the point?

St. Thomas for the Holidays!

I've been relaxing the last few days in sunny St. Thomas...the vacation started with an amazing facial at Esthetica care of Linda, who gives the most amazing facials I've ever had.  I highly recommend her if anyone is planning a trip to St. Thomas.

The last few days I've been trying to relax, get some reading for pleasure done before my winter semester started for school, which was today.  But that's off to a good start - I got all the required reading done, and completed today's assignment, which was pretty doable.  We have a little respite though New Years when the course takes off, full swing.  But until then, I have a few days to relax!

Enjoying the day at Magen's Bay...what a pristine day!

The view from my parent's house.

Hitchcock enjoying the fabulous view!

DIY Christmas Wreaths

I have a kind of old, beat-up Christmas wreath hanging on my front door right now, so I've been poking around the interwebs to find some DIY ideas to brighten up my decor.  There are a few I found that seem pretty fabulous, so I may be attempting some of these in the future.

Martha Stewart has a corn husk wreath on her website.  It's kinda fabulous, and not "traditional," but I love it anyway.

Another favorite, and this is the one I think I'll actually make is this multi-colored ornament covered wreath. I'll buy all the multi-colored ornaments in after-Christmas sales to cut down on cost as well {always a bonus!} But seriously, how cute is this wreath??

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Photos courtesy of Martha Stewart and Matt & Becky

For the Manhattan Lover

This is a great gift for the NYC lover!  It's a great little map {or not so little, measuring 18" x 24"} for someone who's crazy about their city, or someone who just moved near or far from the city.  They're made by These Are Things and are for sale for $59 on their site.  They also have tons of other cities, including LA, San Francisco, Cincinnati, Washington DC, Boston, etc.

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Photo courtesy of These Are Things via Design*Sponge

I Got a Job!

It's finally happened...

It may have taken 5 months, but I finally found an RN job.  To make it even better, I found my dream job!  I will be working in the Emergency Department at a major hospital in an urban area of New Jersey.  I'll be working 11 am - 11 pm, which is the perfect shift for me.  I know that 11-11 is going to be a crazy shift, busy from start to finish, but I won't be getting up at 5 am, so despite being exhausted, I won't feel like death all the time, getting up and going to be in the dark.

I'm starting on January 9th, so I will still have a little mini-vacation in St. Thomas over Christmas.  It'll probably be the last Christmas that I'll be heading to the Caribbean for a while, so I best enjoy it while I can.

I've decided to switch to part-time for school; still progressing with my nurse practitioner, just at a slower pace.  At this rate, I'll be graduating in May 2014.  I'll be taking a course over the Winterum semester, so a 13-week course condensed into 3 weeks.  It'll be intense, but I'll get through it, it will just require me to take a text book to the beach.

The background check is done, physical, drug test and pharmacology exam next week...

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Photo courtesy of Destination Hollywood

Now That's a Diamond!

One word...dizam!!

It's 33.19 carats, and it belonged to Elizabeth Taylor, but now it's up for auction at Christie's.  I saw it this afternoon - and can I just say, it's even more incredible in person than it is in this photo.

Richard Burton bought it in May 1968 at Sotheby's for $305,000, and Christie's has it estimated to sell for between $3,500,000 and $5,500,000.  Talk about appreciation!!

It was gorgeous!! Even better than Kim Kardashian's {former} huge rock...

And another view, for scale...

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Photo courtesy of Famous Diamonds and ABCnews.com