Oh Give Me a Home . . .

Get ready Kansas, because here we come!

I am SOOOOO excited to visit Kansas this week. I'm glad we aren't going back for Christmas mostly because I can't wait any longer. Also because November offers both KU football AND basketball! I know the football team is a bit over par this year, but still. A game is a game and I'm going to enjoy myself this weekend, win or lose!

Next I want to address the SERIOUS lack of Mexican food on this island. I have severe salsa deficiency right now. I plan to eat my weight in enchiladas during this trip. If I haven't gained at least 5 lbs due to Mexican food by the time I go back to Cayman then I will consider the trip a failure!

There are some old Wichita favorites that I also hope to see. One is the classic Old Mill Tasty Shop. So yummy, so simple.

Of course, there is also the phenomenon of wheat beer that we miss so much. Bob especially can't wait for a few Boulevards!

I promise we are also excited to see our family and friends! It is time to get off the "rock" and back to the real world!!

The unthinkable has happened!

I have a JOB. Like a real job, with a real work permit and real paychecks!

I am a server at a new restaurant opening in Camana Bay called Ortanique: Cuisine of the Sun. I started training today and the restaurant opens Nov 24. I was hired for the job almost 2 months ago but I didn't want to say anything until the work permit was approved. As an expat, you don't really have the job until the government says so.

Did you click on the link above? Ortanique is fancy, no? Doesn't the food look amazing? I can not wait until the food tasting day! The restaurant is really nice and they have a location in Miami with a great following. Also exciting is that the head chef in Cayman was on Top Chef, Season 3!

This job does change things around here, but hopefully the hours won't be too strenuous. Bob will be very busy this winter at work, so hopefully this job will keep me from going stir crazy!

Here is a photo from the first day of training. I'm the tall one in the back, like always :).

A Caymanian Engagement

If you have visited us here in Cayman then I am sure you met our two friends Jackie and Shaun. They are from South Africa and have been here on island a little longer than we have. We met them through Monica and Rob, who knew Shaun and his roommate Yohan from back home.

Last week, after 7+ years of dating, they got engaged! Monica wasted no time and the next day we had a small engagement party to celebrate!

They will be married next September in SA. They aren't sure if they will be coming back after that or not. It is so great to see two friends happy, especially Jacs.

Congrats Shaun and Jacs! We are so happy for you!

PS Grandma, if you notice on the table there is a half eaten cheese ball! It was specially requested for the party, everyone loves it!

Food

I read a lot of blogs and recently have started receiving the Food Network on television again. Here is what I have learned. Local, homegrown and organic foods are cool. Like really really cool. People can't stop talking about them. I can understand the fad, I love a good homegrown tomato and I have fond memories of picking strawberries in my mom's garden growing up. Also, I don't want to eat pesticides and I like fresh food. I get it.

Here is the issue: I live in Cayman. In Cayman, I'm lucky to find produce that will last more than 2 days, regardless of the status. I frequently get home from the store only to realize that some of the food I bought has expired. In Cayman, when food is "on special" that means it is already a day off. Our local section? It has no regulation and is usually filled with odd species of coconut, banana and avocado that don't taste right and were picked from random peoples yards by the landscaping companies. The local goat? Don't get me started.

So I have accepted this is a trend I must watch from afar. I will drool over your photos of produce and hear about the wonders of downtown farmers markets and pumpkin patches.

I feel I should contribute to the foodie community and offer my suggestion of this cookbook:

Jamie Oliver's "The Ministry of Food". At first I was a little put off by the title. "Anyone Can Learn to Cook in 24 Hours"? I already consider myself a cook. I enjoy cooking and I understand most cooking instructions. Add in my background in lab sciences and forget about it! Anyway, my good friend Monica gave me this book and after a few recipes I was hooked. It is the best cookbook ever. Everything turns out amazing. The instructions are easy to understand and ingredients don't have to be precise. Jamie encourages you to make additions and substitutions, many times taking one basic recipe and showing you how to make it four different ways. The recipes are all foods I would like to eat. Many I already had recipes for but I have found his way to be either easier or tastier. I think I have completed 1/4 of the "basic recipes" in the cookbook and have loved every minute. The great thing is that with all of the extra versions he gives, the possibilities are endless!

I also enjoy having a British cookbook and being able to find the British ingredients in my store. That is the one good thing about our grocery stores, we have lots of imported foods. Recently, Jamie came out with the American version of this book "Jamie's Food Revolution", you know, like the tv show that won an Emmy. I would highly recommend this book to anyone that enjoys good food. I know my friend Annie has purchased the book and uses it every week. Seriously people, I have never used a cookbook this much. Rachael Ray and her 30 min meals are SO 2002.

Now for the glamour shots. I made the Vanilla Cheesecake with Raspberry topping. It was SO pretty and like the photo that I had to take a picture.

And yes, it was as delicious as it looks. I have never made a cheesecake before and it turned out perfect. Actually, all of the foods I have made from the cookbook look like the photos. It is nice to know they are true to life.

If only I had my pretty Pottery Barn cake plate.

Stormy Days

It has been cloudy and rainy since Sunday. It reminds me of Kansas in April. Sometimes it stops raining for a bit but the air is still thick and the water falling off the trees makes it feel like it is still sprinkling.

In case you are wondering what storms here look like, here are two photos:

Photo 1: Tropical Depression 16, taken Monday evening

Photo 2: Tropical Storm Nicole, taken Tuesday morning

I like the rain. It has cooled the island off which makes walking Siena much more pleasurable. The only problem is the streets around our place flood easily.

Obviously

First off, sorry it has been so long! I have a laundry list of excuses (new camera won't load photos easily, nothing exciting has been happening, etc) but I realize none of them are very good. Sorry.

Okay, I'm not sure if I blogged about our status here in Cayman but obviously we are staying another year or so. We bought a new car and moved into a new place, which must have tipped most of you off. We are for sure staying through next summer and will be re-evaluating our lives at that time. For now we are just going to enjoy living in our little "Twilight Zone" where time passes quickly and technology stays the same.

The reason we chose to stay here in Cayman should also be pretty obvious. Bob was promoted to Manager at Deloitte! He is very very excited as he now does not have to do the actual auditing anymore but will be involved in the planning of the audits, timelines, working with the clients and adding input to the general direction of the office. He is so happy, especially since this promotion put him years ahead of where he would be if he had stayed at PWC in KC. The promotion is effective Oct 1 and, though we have known about it for quite some time, it has been a secret at work.

As for my job search, things have been up, then down, and now up again. I was hired by a restaurant/lounge but it ended up being a nightclub, so I quit. Now a new and fancy restaurant is moving in to Camana Bay from Miami and I've been hired as a server! I still have to hope that a work permit goes through. Immigration has cut back on work permits, so this could actually be a problem. It is going to open in November, so there is still time for them to change their minds. Hopefully everything will work out!!

Other than that, it has been same old, same old here. It rains every day and we are on hurricane watch. I hope we don't get a hurricane but I wouldn't mind a nice tropical storm that would give Bob the day off. I'm interested to see how these storms stand up to the kind we get in Kansas. According to my brother in St. Thomas, they aren't anything we haven't seen before.

Going for the BIG ones

I know it has been too long since I posted Siena "working". Rest assured, Siena is still catching iguanas, crabs, and whatever else crosses her path. Last week she tracked a snake for a while. She didn't formally catch it, I think she is still confused as to what it was. Also our new area has a lot of large land crabs and she is smart enough not to try and put one in her mouth (they have very large claws).

Iguanas are still #1 on Siena's "Most Wanted" list. She spends most of her day watching and waiting for them. Here she is sitting, staring out our back window.

Today Siena captured a larger iguana near our place, so I had a chance to run inside and grab my camera.

The iguana was just small enough that she felt okay picking it up with her mouth. Usually she just corners the big ones until she gets bored or they run away.

Look at that cute puppy, she is SO proud of herself!