Alexa Jay🌸

Focusing on the beauty of life and the strength in love. Made in The Bahamas

[audaciousalexajay]

Lockdown: What I miss the most.

It’s April 2020 and I never thought that The Bahamas would experience a State of Emergency in my lifetime, but here we are. CoVid-19 also known as Coronavirus or “The Rona”, dubbed by black twitter, is the cause and while on 24hr lockdown I’ve decided to take the time to write aspects of my life that I miss most. 

I’m not a mother but I miss my kids. My office is frequently visited by school kids and I’m the one that usually does the educational tours. Along with my actual career is the Empowerment Program I volunteer for where kids are able to ask me tropical weather related questions after watching a movie about Hurricanes. Teaching is something I have an affinity for, it brings me absolute joy to educate. With schools closed, all scheduled visits are postponed and though I’m still in office, I honestly did not think I would miss them as much as I do but it seems I have underestimated my passion. 

Touching, hugging or any physical contact is a bad habit I have. Anyone that knows me well (outside of my family), knows I’m a hugger.  Unable to hug people or having people tell me “Social distance, social distance” is breaking my heart! I find that I battle with my instincts daily during this time, I’m okay but I’m also not okay. Physical affection is something I definitely require and I have to reevaluate these needs. To be honest, until this happened, I didn’t realize how close in contact I come to people on a regular basis. I want this to be over with because I’d like to go back to hugging my friends. 

A vital part of my everyday life is the beach. That salty sea breeze makes the island life worth living and even that now is off limits! The ocean is something that calms and soothes me. Hearing the waves roll in on the shore or crash into rocks helps me to relax. During this 24hr lockdown with no beach access, I’ve had to get creative and play ocean sounds from Youtube as I do my meditations. After this experience, I plan on doing an island getaway. I need to spend a significant amount of time isolated on the beach. Without the water, I feel like I am missing a very important piece of my soul.

The thing I’m most proud of is my introversion, yet, I currently find myself missing social gatherings. Earlier this year, I told myself I’m done with the fetes and clubbing and I am still done with those kinds of events, but I really wanna go to the movies or on a nice date. Thinking back on all those Happy Hours I took for granted or the fact that I cannot go to the Jazz Lounge to hear the Essence Band perform really put things into perspective. I miss brunch, I really do, and I’m not even the brunch type. When this is over, my cousins and I are doing a girls night out. Music, dancing, singing; I want the whole nine yards!

There’s a lot that I miss but for me to sit down and write them all would take way too much time. I love being home but this is not as easy as I thought it would be and though I’m happy that my home is a comfortable place for me to remain in, I absolutely can not wait to be free...

https://www.audaciousalexajay.net/lets-blog/lockdown-what-i-miss-the-most 

[audaciousalexajay]

Things I learned from my (sisters) cat

It’s 1am and my sister's cat, Lucy, is meowing at me to pet her. She woke me out of my well deserved rest for some attention. Now that I’m up, I figure it wouldn’t hurt to write out a list of things Lucy has taught me in her time here so far...

Elevate yourself.

The first noticeable thing Lucy did when my sister got her was make sure she was never on our level. If we were at the desk, she’d sit on the top shelf, if we were sitting on the couch, she’d lay on the top of the chair. This act made me think a lot about the importance of raising or uplifting yourself. In life, we sometimes get comfortable and complacent. We set limits on ourselves and we live within those limits because others around us are there on par with us. There’s great value in continuously raising your bar, reaching new heights and elevating yourself. I’m not saying walk around boastful or own an inflated ego but it’s always good to challenge yourself and learn something new.

Say No to Mediocrity.

You know how the old saying goes, “Beggars don’t pick and choose”? This doesn’t apply to Lucy. When she was rescued by my sister, she was fed Purina Friskies wet and dry food. The other day my brother's girlfriend tried to feed her some non-name brand cat food and Lucy wouldn't budge, she did not touch that food. This taught me not to accept mediocrity, once you become complacent with just any and everything, people tend to give you just that. Don't keep your nose in the air and look down on people. Bear in mind that having standards is important. Do not allow others or even yourself to lower your worth.

Remain Focused

On any given day, you'd find Lucy staring outside of my window with her attention locked on a new target. She gets so lost in whatever she’s fixed on that the slightest touch of distraction will frighten her. This is the kind of focus I need. Many days I find myself easily distracted and unable to concentrate on the task at hand. However, I am realizing that there’s great value in remaining focused and it’s okay to immerse yourself in your craft. When all is said and done, that sense of accomplishment is truly unmatched.

Stay Curious

Lucy is constantly curious and if you observe her long enough, it looks as though she’s solving a complex dynamics equation. She embodies the current idiom “curiosity killed the cat but satisfaction brought it back”. It’s good to always remain curious, to always want to know and understand how things work. Learning is a never ending process and there is something new that you can master. There’s nothing wrong with the urge to dive deep into something new. Stay curious and absorb all you can as long as it helps to improve you.

Nap Time is the Best Time

This point really should’ve been first but I wanted to save the best for last. Out of the twenty four (24) hours in a day, Lucy sleeps for about eighteen (18). Rest is important and there is no circumventing that fact. Honing your craft, learning, studying and researching are all great skills to acquire but rest is a necessary component in your daily life. Taking time out to relax is just as important as completing a task. Nap time will always be the best time.

There’s a lot to learn from cats.

But always remember, pussy rules the world.

Things I learned from my (sisters) cat

It’s 1am and my sister's cat, Lucy, is meowing at me to pet her. She woke me out of my well deserved rest for some attention. Now that I’m u

[audaciousalexajay]

The Buzz About Bees

It all started with a dream….

Dreams are important to me, I feel that the majority of my dreams hold some kind of cosmic, spiritual, ultrasonic message just for me and of course, some don’t. Naturally, after deciding to make my next post a nature related topic, I had a dream about bees and that gave me the resolve to research and learn more about them.

This post is dedicated to sharing information on different bee species, bringing awareness to the importance of bees in the environment, the reasons surrounding their decline and why a number of them are on the brink of extinction.

Here’s what I found out!

“Bees, members of the Apidae family, are flying insects that collect nectar and pollen. There are many different types of bees, possibly 20,000 species, and there are differences between them. Some make honey and some don’t. Some can sting while others don’t.” - The Canadian Agriculture and Food Museum.

...Bees get their complex sugars from nectar, which is pretty obvious, but protein and fats they acquire from pollen! It was shocking to find out that bees actually eat pollen, not sure about you, but I thought bees collected it with the intention to pollinate. Bees ingest pollen for protein and fats, they also use the pollen to feed their larvae....

...In truth, female bees (also known as worker bees) literally do everything in the hive. Worker bees are responsible for scouting, guarding, caring for the Queen and producing honey. On the other hand, male bees (known as Drones) only have one job; to mate with the Queen Bee and though this may seem like a dream, it is not. After the Drone mates with the Queen, he dies...

....It is worth mentioning that not all bees get their nutrients from pollen, some bees have evolved to a state where they are able to feed on animal carcasses to get their necessary protein. This species of bee is named ‘Trigona necrophaga’ or Vulture bee and like most of their kind, they make honey - meat honey. In fact, all bees make honey but only the Honey bee makes the honey that we as humans are accustomed to eating....

...Bees pollinate approximately one third of the food we eat. Without them, we would have to pollinate plants ourselves otherwise, trees would not bear fruit. Also, if flowers are not properly pollinated, the fruit can be deformed. Bees have a major effect on fruit, flowers that are pollinated by bees tend to have larger and fuller fruits....

...Bees and other pollinators are responsible for pollinating 87 of the 115 leading food crops, which accounts for 35% of global food production. In the last 70 years, bee hives have declined from 6 million colonies in the 1950s to 2.5 million colonies, while the human population has increased from 2.5 billion to 7.5 billion over a 70 year period. Within the last 50 years alone, agriculture dependence has increased by 300%....

...There are a number of reasons for the decline in bees, however the top three reason are:

Human Interference,

Pesticide and Neonicotinoid use and

Climate Change....

Bees are the single most important species to humanity. They provide food security, economic growth and preserve the ecological balance in nature. A world without bees would mean starvation for all mammals on the planet. We need to protect them and can do so by using natural insecticides, planting and growing more flowers and simply walking away rather than killing bees...

Read the full article on my website!

The Buzz about Bees

It all started with a dream… Dreams are important to me, I feel that the majority of my dreams hold some kind of cosmic, spiritual, ultrason

[audaciousalexajay]

A look at what Economist, Mr. Z. Laing is saying:

....To reinforce this statement, he quotes the Inter-American Development Bank who states that Major Hurricane Dorian cost an estimated 3.2 billion dollars in losses. He believes that climate change, which he states is a human effect, represents an existential threat to all our environments including our economic way of life. The former Minister states that industries influenced directly or indirectly by the coasts need to take a serious look at Risk Mitigation. The Executive Director advises us as a country to seek partnerships with international economic entities to boost our economy and help lower our economic risk factor due to climate change.....

Environmentalist, Dr. Thomas says:

.....As it relates to climate adaptation and risk management, vulnerability is an important factor. It is the explanation as to why different groups or environments can be affected by the same hazards but have different outcomes. After stating what the risk to climate change is, she then dives into Risk Management. Dr. Thomas utilizes an outline by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) called Comprehensive Risk Management (CRM) and elaborates on the integral parts which make up this work plan.....

The Architect gives us his view on Sustainable Development.

.... Sustainable development first begins with planning and placement. As Bahamians, we are allowed to build in areas that are not conducive to our needs. He expresses how odd it is for us to choose to develop the worst areas for climate change simply because foreigners have created a market for it. On the note of tourism, he mentions how dredging harbors and mariners have negatively impacted our ability to cope to climate change.....

For the entire article, visit my blog

Alexa Jay

Learning and explaining the unknown has always been a great interest of mine. This blog was created to bring a deeper, more simplistic under

[islandphoenixseries]

A snippet of my Article on a Climate Change forum:

The Ambassador then speaks about how climate change is amongst the top five Global Issues humanity faces today. In his presentation, he talks about a number of European Union operations presently in place to mitigate the effects of climate change:

The Paris Agreement and

The EU Civil Protection Mechanism

Before moving on to how Italy works to achieve lowering their carbon emissions, he briefly mentions the importance of the newest operation, The European Green Deal, which was presented to the European Commission in December 2019 with the goal of becoming a climate-neutral continent by 2050. The Ambassador states that currently in Italy, there is also a plastic ban and that cars there emit less carbon. Italy also reduces their carbon footprint by making homes carbon neutral and that student learn from a tender age while in school about climate change. He makes mention of how 1 trillion Euro is allotted for the protection of land and sea in Europe. I learned that local Bahamian schools such as, Anatol Rodgers High School and T. G. Glover Primary School both employ renewable energy programs that were supported by the Italian government. To end his presentation, Ambassador Varricchio quotes a well-known Bahamian proverb, “If you don’t listen, you’ll feel” as a way to say we, as Bahamians, need to act on our resilience to climate change.

Visit my blog site for the full article.

Alexa Jay

Learning and explaining the unknown has always been a great interest of mine. This blog was created to bring a deeper, more simplistic under

[audaciousalexajay]

This blog entry is mostly about my faith and beliefs:

Most times in life, things we pray for never come the way we expect...

I’ve always been one of those “this is the way God made me and if He wanted me different He would’ve done that” type of Christian. It was my reason for doing the things I did without feeling bad for doing it. But I still gained no sense of “wholeness” from doing what made me feel good. However, I also didn’t have enough self control to change. So I prayed, I needed God to change me or give me what I needed to feel whole.

During my days of prayer, I’d pray for understanding and guidance, for healing and fulfillment, for purpose. And I expected God to answer me by just putting the answer in my head or heart (or womb) one day. But no, my answer came through people. Evidently, I’d found myself surrounded by people that changed me without even realizing. And then, before I knew it, I wanted the change for myself.

I’ve lost many people in my life that I’ve loved in the last year and I wondered why things simply wouldn’t or couldn’t work out the way I wanted them to. Friendships died, relationships failed and I was left wondering what I had done wrong as a person. But now, I understand that I needed to lose them or the situation to have my prayers answered.

I learned that God prepares us for what we pray for by moving us out of our comfort zones and removing people that make us comfortable. As of late, I’ve done a lot of changing because I’m no longer surrounded by people that made me comfortable, that tolerate what I’ve become accustomed to and it’s been tough but exactly what I needed.

[islandphoenixseries]

B is for Beach Days

It’s January and it is chilly! 🥶

Somehow, the cold and I could never see ‘eye to eye’ so here I am, reminiscing....

I love the sun, the heat, the burning sand. Summertime and the island life are my favorite, most enjoyable life experiences. The beach is my first home and now that winter has taken up residence there I must remain indoors, covered at all times. This is as close as I’ll get to my love for the next six months!

This photo series is dedicated to my sunny island days. Can someone please tell Summer I miss her? ❄️

[islandphoenixseries]

Island Shopper

Since the early 1940s, tourism has been an integral industry in the economic development of Caribbean countries. Evidently, in The Bahamas, straw crafts such as hats, bags and mats are sold as souvenirs along with wood carvings and conch shell jewelry.

In this photo series, the Phoenix explores this market. Set in the heart of downtown Nassau, she shops. 👒

[islandphoenixseries]

Moods of Love

Moments of passion are filled with both bliss and misery. And yet, it’s still the most amazing feeling, action and language one could ever feel or express. 🥰

[islandphoenixseries]

Holy Ground

This photo series was taken directly in front of one of the oldest churches in The Bahamas, Chrst Church Cathedral.

After 4 months of grieving, the Phoenix returns with a fashion shoot on Holy Ground, cementing her faith for the months and years to come. 👠

[islandphoenixseries]

The Queens Staircase

Cleaved by slaves in the late 17th Century, the Queens Staircase is made of solid limestone and gave access from the Fort to the City as history tells.

In this photo series, The Phoenix poses at the base of the staircase near the waterfall. Her fiery demeanor a bold contrast to the cool rocks and trees surrounding her. 🌴

[islandphoenixseries]

Bahamian Goddess

Chosen by Bahamian designer, Vernique Chandler, The Phoenix adorns crotchet swimwear aptly names “The Barracuda”

In this photo series, The Phoenix is in her element on a beach during sunset. ✨

[audaciousalexajay]

My grandmothers blanket and my favorite journal.

I’ve been awash with grief lately and can’t figure out what to write or how to express my feelings with my words.

Her death has rocked me and I can’t seem to find my footing.

[mariykaauber]

Here is my contribution to Mermay!  I love mermaids, but only enough to draw one for the month haha.  She’s inspired by a fancy goldfish 🐟

[audaciousalexajay]

World's largest offshore wind farm opens in Irish Sea

The world's largest offshore wind farm, located off the northwest coast of England, begins generating energy on Thursday.

Here’s a story that’s truly near and dear to my heart...

[audaciousalexajay]

Here’s to hoping I’ve found a new distraction 🤞🏾

[audaciousalexajay]

Where to go next?

So lately, I’ve had trouble of trying to decide where to travel next.

Recently I moved into my own apartment so money has been a little tight and my savings are dried up 😅

I want to do some research on inexpensive travel destinations. And my first stop will be to Havana (I hope 🤞🏾).

Any ideas of where to go after that are welcomed 😊