Meet Xena, Warrior Cat

Big announcement! I've mentioned it subtly before, but I'm making it official now...

I'm a fur parent!

My husband and I adopted a 10 month-old cat about two weeks ago! It was after a very disappointing rejection from another adoption organization that denied us because we were a military couple (yes, it was devastating). I did a little more research and we went and spoke to a few more adoption organizations. I had to explain our situation: yes, we're an Army family, but we are ready for the lifetime commitment of being a pet parent.

We were lucky because it wasn't long after we met the amazing folks from Animal Allies, based in Fairfax, Virginia. They were amazing and understanding - and truly saw how serious we were to adopt. They recommended a kitten named Tina (at the time). We took her home that day to foster for a week to see if she would be a good fit for us.

The first week was tough for Tina. I set-up shop for her in my office that way she can be with me most of the day as I worked. She wouldn't leave the corner though - for days - and it really worried me. A couple days later, she warmed up to me more and came out. She started eating and sitting on my lap. When my husband would come home, she would get scared, but immediately warmed up again.

We would be patient and play with her in her "safe room," aka my office. She began to open up and get excited with the toys we got her. A day before we signed the adoption paperwork, she ventured outside her safe room to explore the rest of the apartment. She explored cautiously, yet curiously.

Now, she owns the whole apartment! I moved her litter box to the utility room and her food to the kitchen. My husband loves to play with her in the living room, where she goes crazy!

I see that first rejection as fate now. Tina was meant to find us and be a part of our family. She is so adorable and sweet.

It's really bad because I've become a crazy cat parent. I take WAY too many pictures of every cute thing she does...my instagram account has proof....

Cruisin' the Caribbean - St. Croix

Woohoo! I've finally reached the last destination of my unforgettable cruise. St. Croix was my absolute favorite place - and I think it was primarily because we did absolutely nothing.

My husband and I decided to just roam the island and head for a beach. We didn't organize anything with an outside organization or the cruise ship. When we got the island map from the tourism people, we just started walking the line of the island till we reached a spot that was secluded and quiet. 

We spent hours (lots of hours) floating in the ocean. I brought out my waterproof camera again and managed to capture pictures of a school of fish that kept swimming around us. It was an amazing day and it made me extremely sad to know that our honeymoon was over - and back to reality the next day.

I've officially been living with my husband for almost three months now. He finally just finished in-processing and I'm still getting used to life in Virginia. Now that our home actually looks like a put together house, I can really get down and dirty to share all my happenings. So far so good. I've been embracing military life and look forward to utilizing all the resources that are available in the DC-metro area.

Cruisin' the Caribbean - Antigua & St. Maarten

My life was temporarily taken hostage by the military - and our new cat (more on this later!). On Tuesday, I attended the installation Newcomers Briefing, which took up nearly the whole day. And yesterday, I had a tax appointment with my husband on post. Exciting stuff!

Anyway, I don't want to stop sharing my adventures from my honeymoon! I still have three islands I haven't posted about, so I'm doubling up today. I'm also eager to tell you all about being on this new post - and missing my old home! I can't believe we've been here for two months already!

Antigua: We went on an off-road safari ride with an hour beach break!

Waterproof Camera in Action!

Saint Maarten/Martin: We hiked up a summit! 

Last stop, Saint Croix!!

Cruisin' the Caribbean - Barbados

Our next port of call was the island of Barbados. We decided to do a mellow beach day and took a bus to a nearby beach that included a complimentary rum cocktail (yes, please!).

It was a day filled with much needed relaxation! I can't honestly tell you what else we did on Barbados besides eat food....

We were SO excited to try out our brand-new waterproof camera. My husband gave it to me for Christmas in hopes to use it for our cruise - he even got a little floatie for it! At first, it was very weird to take a digital camera in the ocean. I was nervous that it wouldn't really work...but it sure did!

Cruisin' the Caribbean - St. Lucia

I cannot believe it's been a month since my husband and I got back from our Caribbean cruise, especially because there is a winter storm going on right now!

Anyway, time flies. PCSing is exhausting and getting set-up or first home is exhausting too. I'm looking back at our honeymoon longingly - wishing it was nice and warm here in Virginia.

I've mentioned before that I'm a fan of cruising. It's a great way of traveling to more than one destination at any given time with almost everything being all-inclusive! Also, a lot of cruise lines have military discounts, you just have to ask!

For this vacation, I had to find a cruise that fit with our time off - and I also wanted to travel to islands I've never been before. I found a perfect cruise leaving out of Puerto Rico that sailed to five additional islands - four of which would be new to me!

We had one day at sea, which gave us time to get to know the features on the ship. Then the next day we toured St. Lucia!

St. Lucia is a very hilly/mountainous island that has the La Soufriere Drive-In Volcano and The Pitons. It literally took us the whole day to get to those locations because of driving up and down hills!