Nanny Diaries: Whistler Edition

Email Excerpt:
The fire alarm went off this morning. T started crying and saying we were going to die. Fire trucks came. Sleeping people were evacuated into the snow. Pajamas and fur coats. My goodness. Turns out there wasn’t a fire. There was a flood? I don’t know what happened. But definitely exciting.

Nanny Diaries: Whistler Edition

Excerpt from my email to my family from 12/26/2010: HAPPY BOXING DAY!!

So, I’ve learned Boxing Day is essentially Canada’s version of Black Friday. However, I stayed here with the kids so the parents could go shopping. They came home around noon and we went… DOG SLEDDING!! It was really cool but it wasn’t as awesome as you’d expect because the trail smells really strongly of dog poop. And the dogs throw the snow into your face when they’re running… through dog poop.

But it was still a really awesome experience.

I'm allergic!

Tynan (Little Brother's friend): I'm allergic to mango.
Little Brother: What'll happen? Tynan: I'll get a rash.
Little Brother: So you can eat it, you just can't touch it.
Tynan: I've never tried it, I'll get a rash on my organs!

Beach Barrettes

I own a small non-profit company called Beach Barrettes. I use shells, beach glass, and coral myself and my family have handpicked off Oahu beaches to make beautiful hair accessories. I buy freshwater pearls to add to the barrettes. $10 of every barrette is donated. Please check out the facebook page and "like" it. On the facebook page are details about the boutiques that carry the barrettes. If you have any questions, feel free to ask!

Creeps

Nakita: So, one of our creepy bar regulars the other day... 

Mom (interrupting): How many creepy bar regulars do you have?

Nakita: ... umm, well, all of them.

24 Hour Fitness

My best friend Carly and I try to go to the gym together at least once a week even though we both have crazy schedules. This happened a few months ago.

Carly: Nakita, you look like you're going to cry. 

Me: I can do it, I can do it, I can do it, can't you see? 

Carly: And she's singing in the gym... 

Me: but it's "the Producers"!!!

Thanks Mom.

Rachel and Kurt are singing "Get Happy" on Glee...

Me: Gosh, I wish I was her! 

Mom: Well, you have a lot of similar qualities. You're pretty brown hair and pretty singing voices. You're just not as famous as her. 

Me: You mean the fact that she's super famous and I'm not famous at all. 

Mom: Well... yes. You still have time though, kind of.

Some of my favorite questions I get asked on a nightly basis...

What’s the difference between a taco and an enchilada?

What’s the difference between a taco and a burrito?

What’s the difference between a margarita on the rocks and a frozen margarita?

Is a frozen margarita the same thing as a blended margarita?

Do I pay with you or do I go up front and pay at the bar?

What do you mean you need to see my ID?

A Glimpse into My Night

Did I mention I work in a Jamaican-Mexican fusion restaurant?

Customer: I don't really like a lot of Mexican food. What was that special on your board? 

Me: A wet mahi burrito. It's a fish and veggie burrito covered in chile con queso.  

Customer: So what's it look like?  

Me: Inside is mahi, broccoli, carrots, cabbage, zucchini, rice, cheese, and black beans and it's wrapped in a spinach tortilla, covered in a spicy cheese sauce. 

Customer: So what's a burrito?  

Me: ... fish, veggies, rice, cheese, and beans wrapped in a spinach tortilla.  

Customer: No, I don't like that. I'll just get the Cajun Cobb Shrimp salad. But instead of shrimp can I get fish?  

Me: Of course.

Gee, thanks

So the kids I watch, there's four of them. From oldest to youngest they're T, K, N, and S.


S: Nakita, you just keep your mouth shut. I want Mommy to do it!

So, you've never seen snow?

You know when you start somewhere new or start school and they ask you something about yourself? Well, I always said, "Well, I've never seen snow." When my friend who I help out with watching her kids and being her personal assistant heard that one she said, "We have to change that." I thought she was kidding, at least the "we" part. However, three months later I get a phone call asking if I can 1. get a passport and 2. would I mind missing Christmas and New Years with my family to come with her and the family to Whistler to help with the kids. As soon as I figured out how to do the passport in three days thing, I answered with an enthusiastic "YES!"

Since I don't want to show pictures of the kids and their parents, the pictures to share dwindled down quite a bit. However, this trip was the trip of a lifetime.

We went dog sledding...

Traveled around Whistler town...

 
The youngest and I would go to the playground to play while the kids were at ski school... (this picture was taken at night when we walked by after dinner. We would go here right before lunch usually)

Intertubing down the mountains...

Decorated the hotel room for Christmas...

Played in the pool (no pictures from that since they're all with the kids)...

(Here's a picture of me stoked on the snow to make up for no pool pictures)

And saw the Olympic rings...

Oh and we traveled to the tops of the mountains. We went on the Peak-to-Peak which is the longest gondola ride. It goes from Whistler Mountain to Blackcomb Mountain. It was beautiful. And also, since I'm scared of heights... really scary.

This was an amazing experience and one I will never forget. I'm forever grateful to the amazing friends I have who took me with them for the holidays so I could have two firsts-snow and leaving the country.

 

Oh and P.S. the first picture is from when we first got out of the bus taking us from Vancouver to Whistler and was my first experience playing with snow and watching snow fall.

Travel, Travel, Travel

I spend almost the majority of my TV time watching the Travel channel. Mostly Anthony Bourdain and Andrew Zimmern. While I understand that I live in paradise, I also want to see the world. I have a list about two miles long of places I want to go but here's my top 5 (that I haven't gone to).

1. Tahiti

 Yes, I will have to stay in one of those little bungalows.

2. Italy

 Parli Italiano? Perche parlo Italiano e devo usarlo. Presto.

3. Brittany

Did you see Tony's episode on Brittany? How could you not want to get here as soon as possible?! Also, shellfish tower. I must do it.

4. Thailand

My favorite food is Thai. Love, love, love Thai food. Also, look at how beautiful this is!

5. St. Petersburg

Something about the Bizarre Foods episode on St. Petersburg made me desperate to go to St. Petersburg, Russia. Also, I would love to take a traditional Russian ballet class.

 
I didn't notice this until I put pictures to the places. But apparently, even though I want to see other places, I can't not be near water. 

Not listed, New York City. If I could go this summer and see "Hair" on Broadway before they close in September and Daniel Radcliffe in "How to Succeed in Business", I'd pretty much be the happiest girl in the world.

Honolulu Zoo

This summer, my calabash cousin was visiting from California. (Calabash cousin-family friend who might as well be your cousin and you consider them a blood cousin, even though they're not).

One night we were driving down Paki Street and I said, "Look at that giraffe!" And she was amazed and confused to see a giraffe over the top of the hedge while driving down the street in Honolulu. She asked if we could go to the zoo and take pictures and I was down to go have fun and do something I rarely do.

 

 A really nice lady took our picture.

I decided to climb the giraffe statue.

Rusty and Violet.

Cutest sleeping hippo ever!

With beautiful Diamond Head (Leahi) in the background!

Adorable giraffe snacking on the tree.

Koi Pond in the Children's Zoo

It was ridiculously hot. Bring lots of water. It was a blast and I strongly recommend going to the Honolulu Zoo if you're in the area.

Let's try this blog thing again...

Originally thinking of doing a blog on my trials and tribulations doing my ridiculous food trends, I decided I should probably do something more about my life instead. I own two companies (a non-profit, and one that might as well be a non-profit since I don't make a profit), I'm a full time student, I work as a server, and enjoy living in the most beautiful place in the world. Sometimes life gets overwhelmingly stressful but I guess that's everyone's story.

Sundays are my one day I take completely off from having to do everything. I take the "sun" part of Sunday seriously. And must go out to see Sol.