Florida

I wanted to write about the rest of our Spring Break, since the cruise was only half of it. We had driven all night (I kept singing Celine Dion’s song “I Drove all Night…to get to you”) after work to get to Jacksonville, FL. That’s where Nkere’s sister lives, and where the port was for the cruise. We got to their house about 3 pm the next day (16 hour drive) and hung out with the fam. Nkere’s sister, Nkese and her husband Maurice cooked dinner for us while we played with the kids. Our oldest niece, T’nai, is now 8 years old! She was only 5 when we got married. Kennedy will be 2 in June, and little “Reece” (short for Maurice) was 6 weeks old at the time.


Obviously, this was the first time Nkere and I got to see our new nephew, so we were very excited, and both baby hogs! I didn’t know how Nkese would be with letting us hold him or be alone with him. Since we don’t live around them, I don’t know her as well as I would like, so I didn’t know how she would react. So that being said, we had all gone to Wal-Mart (4 adults, 3 kids= chaos) real quick for a couple of things. Kennedy was in the back of the cart and Reece was in his car seat in the front. Well, everyone soon left me with the cart and kids in tow. I was fine until Reece got hungry and started screaming in his car seat. Now remember, I didn’t know how Nkese would be with me getting him out, so I just let him scream. It was kind of uncomfortable for a minute, with people staring at this white girl and two “random” black kids by themselves. Everyone probably thought, “Who is she, and what is she doing with those kids?” Fortunately, Nkese wasn’t too far away, and yelled “Gracie, you can get him out.” I was very thankful because he calmed down and I was able to walk around with him the rest of the time. So I quickly realized that she didn’t care where or when I held him, and she trusted me with her son. What a relief! Plus, I figured since it’s her third kid, most moms seem to be a lot more relaxed than they were with their first. Maybe I’m just assuming.


The next day we left on the cruise, so when we got back, we stayed with them again for 2 days. We went and picked up T’nai from school and hung out with them at night. It was pretty quiet during the day…Nkese was back at work from maternity leave, and Maurice works nights, so he tries to sleep and do house work during the day. So we didn’t do much, but it was nice being there for a few days. I always feel bad for Nkere because his family is so far away. His mom and Nelson are in Washington, his dad’s in California, and sister in Florida. I would be devastated if I only got to see my family once (maybe twice) a year. I can always tell that Nkere’s kind of emotional when we leave his family. He doesn’t let me see it, but I know he is. I just hope his family comes to see us when we have kids. I already told Nkere that I’m not flying with little babies or 3 kids with me! He’s probably going to have to take a few trips up to Washington by himself. I guess we’ll just deal with it when the time comes.

The Bahamas!

Well, I noticed I haven’t written a blog in over a month, so sorry! I guess I just don’t find much to write about…everyone else seems to always write about their kids (usually). Not that I don’t love reading about them, I do.
Anyway, Nkere and I went on a cruise to the Bahamas for Spring Break! It was awesome! It was a 4 day cruise, which was long enough for me. We went on one for our honeymoon two years ago, which was 7 days long. So this time, we were comparing this cruise to the last. We both agreed that our first cruise was the best, in most areas. This one had a lot of high school and college kids on it, which made Nkere feel really old, but then again, the parties on the ship were a lot more fun! We did a lot of dancing (sorry “COC”) and sun tanning. Of course, what do I do? I got burned so bad AGAIN! I got actual sun poisoning on our honeymoon (didn’t know that could happen), and I’m pretty sure I got it again. I’ve never peeled so bad in my life…it was pretty gross. So I hope I’ve finally learned my lesson.
On our trip, we went to Freeport on the second day, and Nassau on the third day. We loved Nassau! The people there are constantly trying to sell you something or braid your hair. The women always ask (in their Jamaican accent) “You want your hair braided, beautiful?” Or they would call you “Bahama Mama”. I thought that was funny. We went on a water taxi to Atlantis, where the famous Atlantis Hotel is. It’s only $25,000 a night to stay there!! I couldn’t believe it. I’m thinking what could possibly be in those rooms for it to be worth $25,000? We went inside and walked through the huge casino, looked at the aquarium, and the private beach for the guests. Must be nice! Then we took a long detour to get to the beach. I usually just wade in the ocean, but this time, I got in and actually swam for a little bit. I kept getting back in because it was so hot…the water felt really great.
On the ship, Nkere and I made some friends! We both met these people while laying out. Nkere met a guy he talked sports with for a couple of hours…we met up with him and his wife later. Then I met these two girls from New Hampshire. They were so fun, and I hung out with them a lot the rest of the cruise. They actually want me to come on a cruise with them next year! I probably won’t, but it would be fun to go with a bunch of girl friends. I really love going on vacation with Nkere though. We have a great time relaxing and hanging out together. Plus, I don’t really get to see him during football season, so this is a nice time to get away.
Well, that’s about it! We’re planning to go back to the Bahamas in June!

My New Car!

Hello, Blog world! I’m finally posting my first blog after my sister created it for me 3-4 weeks ago. ☺ It’s just that I can’t write blogs from work, and by the time I get home, I’m tired of being in front of the computer all day. So anyway, I bought a new car about a month ago! Of course, my objective was to go SHOP for cars, but that never really happens. Those salesmen seem to get a hold of you every time. Nkere and I actually did go look at another dealership right before the New Year, but I wasn’t really ready to take the leap. I’ll preface by saying I bought my first two cars with cash, so I’ve never had a car payment in my life. Even though my cute little 1998 Ford Escort was ten years old, it was still a good car, and got me to where I needed to go. But I’ve had it for almost 5 years, and Nkere was ready for me to get something that was more reliable, especially for when we have kids. So one day, I went to Five Star Ford and test drove two cars, of which I really liked both. One was a 2005 Ford Five Hundred, but it already had 77,000 miles on it! Way too many miles for a 3 year old car. So I looked at the 2007 Ford Fusion with only 10,000 miles on it, and it drove so smoothly. I was already feeling pressured by my sales guy (which I had already told myself not to give into these men who probably think I’m just a naïve girl they can sell a car to). So I told them I would need some time to talk to my husband about it, which has become a great way of getting out of things if necessary! By the way, if I say that to you in the future, please don’t think it’s just an excuse to get out of something. ☺ Honestly, Nkere wouldn’t have minded if I had bought the car that day. I actually picked out our house by myself…he just looked at it before we signed the papers! But anyway, the finance manager let me take the car home that night, which made me feel a lot more comfortable and a lot less pressured. He said to bring it back the next day, and if I don’t want it, no problem. But of course, driving it home and to work the next day got me hooked! I loved it…everything about it! Actually the best part about it is that it tells me how many miles until I run out of gas…which I definitely need in my life! ☺ I’ve been known to run out of gas way too many times in my short life. I told Nkere I wanted the car, so we went back to the dealership and closed the deal. Here is a list of perks that my car has:
Leather interior, tinted windows, huge backseat, huge trunk, the backseat will lie down if necessary, buttons on the steering wheel to control the radio, six-CD changer, the radio stays on even after I turn off the car, the doors automatically lock after going 12 miles/hour, I can push a button to check the whole system of my car, etc., etc.

I'm sure most of you already have cars with accessories like this, but I'm just amazed that I am blessed with such a nice car. I've never had a new car before, and never this nice! So thanks for listening to me ramble on and on. I just wanted to share another blessing in my life.