Kicking cancer's ass - DAY 3030!!!

So...

This morning Hubby woke me up before he left for work to tell me 🐕 left a mess in the living room.  That mess included two wet spots on the carpet and four piles of 💩💩💩💩.

My day went downhill from there.  I know... how is that even possible?

I spent the morning with my daughter at the GI doctor and the lab for xrays because she has been having stomach issues for months.  The appointment was quick and the doctor was great... until she asked if we have any family history of colon cancer (we do). This freaked my girl out completely. I ordered her to stay off Dr Google. 

I was then called in to work on my day off.  It's nice to be needed, but not really on a Monday when I hadn't even had time to eat breakfast and still had the fun task of taking my cat to the vet for shots. 🐈‍⬛

I came home to another ridiculous surprise from my mail carrier.  

Let me back up a minute...You see, they apparently have an aversion to my front porch.  We live on a busy 4 lane highway and our house sits back from the road.   One day a month ago I came home to this:

Is that a nice big box clearly labeled Bath and Body Works sitting right on the ground next to the highway just begging for someone to stop and take it? Yes. Yes it is. 

The next day my son left for work at 4:45am and found a priority mail package from my mom on the ground next to the driveway - way out by the gate.  

Last week, the laziest mailman on the planet left this:

And today:

I guess climbing those three steps was too much for our very unprofessional USPS worker.  Mr FedEx is apparently a superhero who goes the extra ten feet, because HE left HIS package right next to my front door. 

Add in teenage girl drama after school, a dog that won't quit barking and a mysterious stiff neck that HURTS and I was 1000% done with today before dinnertime. 

But you know what? Even a stupid, frustrating, upsetting, exhausting day like today is a GOOD day.  Know why? I'm still kicking cancer's ass.  😳🙌🙏

OVER THREE THOUSAND DAYS!

That's a lot of ass-kicking. 💪

I think I earned the right to be cranky when life gets annoying.  

Every day is a gift.  That's why it's called the present.  Today just happened to be a lump of coal. ☻️

Kicking cancer's ass - day 2990

 So... we kinda did a thing.

Here's how it went:

At the beginning of 2021, Hubby and I were talking about how we've been together for more than two decades and that this year was our 20th anniversary.  I mentioned that I would love to go on a trip or do something special to celebrate.  When we got married in 2001 we had a simple courthouse ceremony, ate lunch together and then Hubby went back to work.  We've had a lot of great trips over the years, but nothing that said "let's celebrate us".

Fast forward to October.  Hubby planned this ENTIRE trip.  I didn't know anything.  He eventually told me when we were leaving (kinda needed to know that) and he grudgingly told me to pack for warm climate and to bring something nice.  That's all I got.

If you know me, you know I am a planner.  I'm OCD.  I like things in order.  So the fact that I was not just okay with this, but thrilled and excited, is beyond my comprehension.  But I was.  He doesn't even like to plan dinner, let alone a 20 year "honeymoon"!  But he did.

And can I just say that he KILLED IT?!?!?!?

Oct 13, 2021

We left Abiilene that evening to drive to Dallas.  Work snafus kept us in town longer than expected, so by the time we got to the hotel, we knew we'd only have about three hours of sleep.  We joked that we should have saved the $$ on the hotel and slept in our car at the airport.  We had a 5:40am flight.  Did I care?  Heck no.  (Yes, I said FLIGHT!  Hubby planned a trip that involved flying!  I think he loves me.)

Oct 14, 2021

That 3am alarm was no joke.  Again... did I care?  Not one bit.  I was READY!  And I still didn't know where we were going!  We checked out of the hotel and headed to the airport a little before 4am.

  

Here we are boarding our first flight (I had a surprise of my own and we got so many compliments on the shirts!)

We had a long layover in Atlanta and when we arrived at our next gate, the board said "Pittsburgh".  Hubby hates all things Pittsburgh, and he did tell me to pack for warm weather, so I knew that surely he wasn't taking me to Pennsylvania.  He asked me not to look at the board until it updated with our flight.  Once it did, he walked me over and we had someone take a picture of us underneath it.

When Hubby showed me the picture, that was when I finally learned our destination.  

St Thomas!  As in the ISLAND.  As in NOT part of the continental US.  I was floored.  And so freaking excited.  I was going to a Caribbean island for a week with my husband for our anniversary.  It was like a dream. 

When in Rome...er...St. Thomas...

Hubby had arranged for a car service to take us to the hotel.  The driver was running late so we hit the bar.  The first of many daiquiries and margaritas that week.  Our driver ended up being REALLY late, so we finally decided to rent a car.  Best decision ever!  We had freedom to go where we wanted, when we wanted.  Not to mention Hubby probably would have puked in the first five minutes if he wasn't driving, which really would have put a damper on the whole romantic trip thing we had going.

Ok... are you ready for this?  Hubby planned a trip.  He planned a trip that involved taking an airplane.  He planned a trip to a tropical island.  And...

We were staying at the Ritz Carlton.

Are you kidding me???  It's like he reached into my soul and gave me everything I could ask for on a silver platter.  I'm not a fancy kind of gal, but who doesn't want to live like this for a week?  This.Was.Amazing!

The resort was like a movie set.  Sparkling white villas and palm trees and gorgeous flowers everywhere.  It still doesn't seem real.

This was the view from our balcony at night.  Jealous yet?

Someone else pulled off a surprise for both of us.  We arrived at our room and there was a card and a bottle of champagne (Dom Perignon!!) waiting for us (from Hubby's friends at a supply house) 

October 15, 2021

Wanna see the view during the day?

Glorious, isn't it?  

(pay close attention to those palm trees in that last pic)

Our first full day on the island happened to be our actual anniversary.  Hubby had one last surprise (the reason he told me to bring something nice).  Even though we had to get up semi early on our first vacation day, I was curious and excited.  We drove to nearby Sapphire Beach where we waited for some mystery guy that Hubby kept texting.  It was really weird.  I was like "who could you possibly know in St Thomas??"

Finally it was time to meet this guy.  We headed over to Pretty Klip Point (remember those palm trees I told you about?).  When we walked out there I saw a man dressed in a suit, and a photographer setting up her equipment and then I knew.  And I was overwhelmed at how romantic my husband was.  Not only did he arrange for us to renew our vows...

He got down on one knee to propose to me all over again!
(If you haven't heard the story of his first proposal, that's for another time, but let me just say that I was throwing a fit and he asked me to marry him in his truck in the mall parking lot...lol)

I just couldn't get over that I was marrying my best friend all over again, by HIS planning, in the most gorgeous setting.  What a beautiful morning to start our "twentymoon".

After that incredible experience we headed back to the resort for lunch and relaxation.

This was our view at lunch from our table at Sails, the bar/restaurant next to the beach at our resort.  Our waitress was lovely and so happy when we told her we had just renewed our vows.  She told us to let her know when we came back down to the beach because she wanted to do something special.  Later that afternoon she came over to our lounge chairs with a chilled bottle of rosé.  Neither one of us are champagne/wine people, but we finished two bottles in two days.  ha ha

Have you ever heard of a tiki bar in the middle of a parking lot?  Me neither.  We found one, though, and our dinner that night was awesome!  Duffy's Love Shack had a fantastic beach vibe, great drinks and delicious food.  Friday is their steak night and Hubby had steak, beans, mashed potatoes and corn on the cob for 19.95.  That's about the cheapest meal we had the entire time!

While we were eating we overheard the couple at the next table tell their waiter they were from Texas.  Hubby went over to ask them where they were from.  He couldn't believe it...they live in Abilene!!!  They were on their honeymoon.  Such a small world.

October 16, 2021

We found a little coffee shop tucked away across the street from the tiki bar and decided to check it out for breakfast.  They had the best breakfast sandwiches!  Lattes in Paradise became our go-to for the first meal of the day.  They had tables set up on the deck overlooking this marina.  Not a view you'd get sick of, I promise.

After breakfast we headed to Magens Bay Beach.  The photographer had told us about this beach the day before.  After doing some research, I found that it was one of the most popular and beautiful beaches on St Thomas.  You can rent beach chairs and umbrellas and waitresses come right to you on the beach (or even in the water!) to serve drinks. We stayed for a few hours.... I could have relaxed there, taking in that view, for a few years.  

The beach was gorgeous.  The water was crystal clear.  And it was practically empty!

After an amazing day there, we stopped for dinner at Margaritaville.  Our view was outstanding!

On a side note, there are stray cats everywhere on St Thomas!  We saw them at restaurants and even by the pool at our resort.  They aren't pests.... just kind of wandering around like they own the joint. 

October 17, 2021

We spent Sunday at our resort, just chilling on the beach most of the day.  We did try something new to both of us - kayaking!  I would like to point out that after all of his wonderful planning and romantic gestures, Hubby lost a few points when he dunked me getting into the kayak.  😂

This was Alloro, one of the four restaurants at the resort.  We didn't eat there, but it looked amazing and what a setting!

View of the Ritz resort from the water.

The island on the left with all the houses is St. John.

The Lady Lynsey II is the The Ritz-Carlton’s exclusive luxury sailing catamaran.  We toyed with the idea of doing a dinner cruise or a trip over to St John on it, but ultimately decided that Hubby getting seasick would put a damper on our trip. 

The pools at the resort were open 24/7 and they were crystal clear and gorgeous!  And most of the time they were empty.  It was crazy.  During the day some people would be relaxing poolside, but at night we were often the only ones there.  If the poolside bar at Sails had stayed open past 6pm it would have been perfect!

October 18, 2021

On Monday we decided to venture to downtown Charlotte Amalie for breakfast.  We went to Bumpa's and if you ever go to St Thomas, you MUST go there.  The sweetest older couple have owned and run this waterfront restaurant for 38 years!  The tables are all on an upstairs outside patio (covered, thank goodness since it rained while we were eating) and they serve breakfast and lunch on paper plates.... but oh my goodness was it delicious!  Well worth the hassle of trying to find someplace to park.

Much to Hubby's dismay, we decided to walk around downtown looking for a gift shop and I got sucked in to a jewelry store.  They offered me a free palm tree pendant just for coming in, and gave Hubby a rum and coke.  I picked out a few gifts for my friends and daughter, and then.... they steered me towards the diamonds.

Let me preface this by saying two things.... First - I fully admit I'm spoiled.  If it's in his power to give me something, Hubby will.  Second - months ago I had mentioned to Hubby that I wanted to get my diamond reset.  100% truth.

Ok, now that I got that out of the way.... THIS happened:

This was an extravagance that we didn't plan on and couldn't really afford, but look how pretty!!  It's my diamond that Hubby gave me in that mall parking lot twenty years ago, but reset in white gold with a diamond on each side.  I fell in love with it.... and since Hubby fell in love with me all those years ago, he said yes.  After another rum and coke.  

We finished the day off with a night kayaking excursion, which was cool and unique and interesting and exhausting!

October 19, 2021

For our last day we decided to take a road trip across the island to Brewer's Bay Beach.  Two of the ladies on the night kayak trip with us told us that they had been there and had seen sea turtles.  Say no more.  Unfortunately as soon as we parked next to the beach it started to rain.  Fortunately there was a food truck right there with the most delicious pates (?) and passion fruit juice.  So we had a brunch picnic in the car.

The rain didn't seem to want to let up, so we drove up (and up, and up) to Mountain Top, home of the world famous banana daiquiri.  The drive up there was.... interesting.  Twisty and turny and felt like we were on a roller coaster.  We even came around a corner and almost hit a cow! I don't ever get car sick, but I did on those roads!  

The view from the top was definitely worth it.

Obviously rum is the drink of choice here.

This is the view of Magen's Bay Beach where we'd gone a few days before.

And yes, the water really is THAT blue.

I took a pass, but Hubby tried the famous drink.  He loved it.

The views on the drive back down the mountain were exquisite.

After the weather cleared we headed back to Brewer's Bay Beach (I was determined to see a turtle!).  There were only a handful of people there and even fewer fish/wildlife sitings.  Not much to complain about when you're floating around without a care in the world, though.

AND.... right before we left I finally saw a sea turtle!  He was about 5 feet from me.

He was gone by the tme Hubby got over to me, but I have video to prove it!

For dinner we went back to the little town of Red Hook where we had had such good luck finding places to eat.  We went to Island Time Pub, which was right upstairs from Lattes in Paradise.  We had drinks and pizza overlooking the harbor.  It was amazing.  

October 20, 2021

I was so sad to wake up on Wednesday, knowing we were leaving.  We had a lazy morning getting ready and packing before we checked out at 11am.  Our flight wasn't until the afternoon so we went back to Red Hook to get something quick to eat.  We went to Lattes in Paradise one more time... and wouldn't you know after we ordered, our song came on?  Lonestar's "Amazed" was playing when we took this last picture:

  

I am so grateful to have had this special time with my husband.  The fact that he dreamed it up, did all the planning (including contacting my friends to make sure our busy teenager got where she needed to go every day while we were gone) and did such an AMAZING job picking the location....  sorry ladies, he's taken.

There are so many things I'll remember from this trip...

• yelling "STAY LEFT" every time we got in the car (yes, sometimes Hubby would forget and we were honked at a few times and had some close calls... ha ha)
• climbing the stairs to our room after a long day of beach sun and drinks
• getting married AGAIN
• seeing a real live starfish (Hubby held it, I didn't)
• the wonderful people of St Thomas who were friendly, entertaining and welcoming
• learning to kayak
• waterproof phone bag that wasn't quite waterproof (Hubby's poor phone)
• sleeping in a bed that had our feet higher than our heads
• that AMAZING bathroom
• eating burgers & fries from a paper bag and funnel cake for dessert at The Tap and Still
• the HUMIDITY
• the motorcycle on the balcony
• paper straws 😣
• Bushwhackers!  (Hubby's new favorite drink, minus the coconut)

I have never "missed" a vacation as much as I do this one.  We got home two weeks ago today and I'm still ready to go back.

Honestly this trip was more incredible than I could have ever imagined.  Our "twentymoon" was one of the best weeks of my life.