Not All Who Wander Are Lost

Stay tuned for...

2012-02-10T22:45:00.001-10:00

Future photos with better quality!!!! Time to redo some hikes?!?

we're warriors. or will be.

2012-02-06T21:11:00.000-10:00

now that i'm working with the marine corps, i thought it'd only be appropriate it i fully engage and participate in the activities that would allow me to see life through their eyes.

well, that may be a stretch. regardless, they've got my number. no, literally. they've got a race bib with my number on it.

march 24th, it's on. it's the warrior dash.

"a 5k?"
"easy, Rach. you've done a half-marathon or 2 in your day" you say.

ah yes, young duck, but never have i ever ran 3 miles with 12 ludicrous obstacles to include jumping fire pits, mud-crawlin', ropes, big tires, barbed wires... and more mud.

Zach and I are slotted to make the trek at 2pm. that's 1400 for you military types.

in the mean time, i guess it's time to lace up the shoes and get to loggin' miles and jumpin logs - i think that's an obstacle too.

O sunny day!

2012-02-04T22:32:00.001-10:00

Backwards Bocce Ball action with friends... Blessed!

surf? can!

2012-01-28T15:39:00.000-10:00

It's been a while since I've given surfing a decent chance. I've been doing my share of standup paddle boarding, which to me, is a sister to surfing. The last few times I've gone out, granted - they were a while back, got to me. The paddling wears you out. The waves are constant.

But none the less, I decided to give it a go when I went to "AccessSurf" with a couple of my patients and staff from Wounded Warriors. AccessSurf, promises that you will stand up. I was skeptical, knowing I've tried it in the past and not fully made it to a standing position. But I tried anyway...

Getting mentally ready is the first (and often forgotten about) important step that should not be skipped:

Paying attention to my instruction: Lua

(a close up of my real thoughts: .....)

more instructions before we hit the water:

discussing where we are heading out and want to be situated:

I CAN STAND UP!:

My first wave!

and again:

and some more:

"don't talk to me, while i surf"

done. paddling in:

wait! i just caught another one. standing up!:

"QUICK! take my picture!!" :

Can.

one day on Kauai

2012-01-21T12:11:00.000-10:00

Day trippin' at it's best.

15 hours on Kauai: Go!

First flight out from Oahu,

puts us on Kauai with our rental car at 615am...

we begin driving North,

and pull over at Kapaa Beach Park to watch the sunrise:

we also use this time to study the map

and eat our picnic breakfast:

homemade chicken biscuits. southern style.

yeah.

lookin' like a lovely day in Hawaii...

oh, and our rental:

stopping for another beach photo shoot at Anahola:

unfortunately his camera has all the good ones.

(more uploads later?)

a bit further up the road is kilauea lighthouse.

pay $5 and you can get closer.

on the way to Hanalei...

Taking the road all the way until it dead ends will put you at the trailhead of Kalalau Trail. It's also called the Na'pali coastline hike.. 11 miles, one way. It's gorgeous. We knew there would be a beach worth going to after 2 miles, so we took a little lunch, water, and began the trek...

some inclines:

worth the inclines, getting some good views:

Hanakapia Beach:

Back out, after some snorkeling at Ke'e Beach,

we drove over to see Hanalei pier

"where the locals hang" says some map description...ha.

still a fan of the jeep:

after a bit of sighseeing and some off-roading through water... we finally found the Wailua falls:

sunset and dinner from Poipu:

and back to the airport at 830pm for the 30 minute hop to our home island. Without feeling too rushed, we covered half the island. Next time we'll check out the grand canyon of Kauai - would have loved to see that too, but you definitely have to pick a direction if you only have a day.

a 3 day weekend to me is...

2012-01-16T20:38:00.000-10:00

This weekend I:

Got much needed sleep: I came home from work on Friday and thought a nap sounded like a good idea. It was 3:15pm, and usually I can sleep for 2 hours if I'm left to my own snoring, but that came and went. Zach called from work at 7pm... I'm still sleeping. He calls again at 10 - "what have you been doing?" .." Oh you know, nothing.. sleeping still." He thought I might be sick. I thought I might be sick. I hung up with him, took out my contacts, preparing myself that I might be awake for most of the night, but went back to bed where I found myself asleep after 20 minutes. Luckily I had set my alarm for 630am, as I slept right up until it went off.

Had a breakfast date with my boyfriend at Bogarts. This super cute little place has a billion scrumptious sounding breakfast choices, and cute little coffee mugs. You order, and they bring out your food and drink. Lucy and Ethel! Yes! I had the spinach and avocado benedict over a french baguette. Yummmmmo. Zach has more of a sweet tooth for breakfast - he ordered the banana pancakes, and they were yummo too.

Volunteered at church. Our church office has some construction projects going, so Zach and I put in some time helping them out on Saturday... which lead me to driving our church truck to Home Depot for more goodies.

Beach volleyball at Waikiki...

Watched a body boarding competition / Zach attempt at surfing some rockin' waves

Sunday evening date: dinner and a movie (Shout out for the Sherlock Homles movie! Loooove it!)

Hike: Kamana'iki ... a 4.5 mile roundtrip through Kalihi Valley. Ahh Stairs - so cute to take pictures of, yet painful to ascend. But what I always tend to forget is the descend. Here's to the knees!

Paper to the work

2012-01-13T13:22:00.000-10:00

It's been a weeeeek full of paperwork, but it's Friday and I'm almost done. It may be hard to tell, but I'm excited.. I've got a 3 day weekend coming up! Thoughts of a body boarding competition, a hike, some parasailing, standup paddle boarding, and maybe a trip to the movies are starting to cross my mind......

New years resolutions:

2012-01-10T19:23:00.000-10:00

10 days in to January, and I'm feeling like I've started the new year right... Exercise, eating right, and sleep.

Oh, and no sodas (New years resolution, again.) But this time... I'm serious.

recapping Dec '11

2012-01-05T23:03:00.000-10:00

It's finally here, a chance to upload some photos... and so, "December!" The pictures! I can't even begin to recall the events in the correct order (according to the days) so why should I attempt trying to put them in descending order.... so here you go.. Here's exactly how I remember the time spent with my family - all the days jumbled and lots of smiles :)

So glad I got to have my family out for Christmas this year.

What a blessing.

Good morning, vog!

2012-01-03T09:54:00.000-10:00

Ending 2011

2011-12-31T21:55:00.000-10:00

The last Hawaiian sunset of 2011...

Tuckered out

2011-12-30T19:44:00.000-10:00

Me too, buddy, me too.

2011 has been amazing, but I'm even more stoked to see what 2012 holds!!

Theres much to post about... But it'll have to wait until I have more time and can think straight.

Hoops

2011-12-15T09:46:00.000-10:00

Some of my wounded warriors playing wheelchair bball against some community members to prep for the games that are fast approaching. Trials are in February for the wounded warrior games in April! Only the best will advance!

phOrientation

2011-12-14T12:16:00.000-10:00

Instead of sending me to Cali for a new employee orientation, I'm sitting in my office, on a 8 hour phone conference... Listening to a bunch of guys talk..

At least I have this cupcake...

Beautifully rainy days

2011-12-13T17:32:00.001-10:00

It's been raining a lot lately...

Sir, Yes Sir.

2011-12-09T18:21:00.000-10:00

Today completed one full week of work at my new job as a Program Manager for the Wounded Warriors Detachment Hawaii. I'm in charge of the Warrior Athlete Reconditioning Program for 40 injured or wounded Marines at the Kaneohe Bay Base. I'll skip all the crazy logistics of why being hired by the Wounded Warrior Battalion (which is based out of Camp Pendleton, California) makes everything doubly hard, but it does.

And goodness - everyone and their brother is doing a background check on me. At last count, 7 different offices and people have initiated an investigation. How efficient is that? You would think a phone call to the main office would save some people some time and money. If you are reading this - the odds are high that you might receive a letter in the mail, or a phone call from an investigator on where I've lived, how you know me, or if I am a terrorist. Take note to those of you who want me to move back to the mainland: answering yes to the last question WILL NOT terminate my job and force me to move back to the south, just to be closer to any friends and family - so don't even try it. I've handed out my social security number like pieces of gum. I've been in trainings, meetings, and ceremonies... Today I attended a purple heart ceremony. It didn't last long, and I was very uncomfortable. A few of the WWBn staffers and I sat in a room with about 300 Marines. Just for reference, we're sitting in the 2nd row from the front. Everyone, everyone except myself, had on camouflage uniforms. What did I happen to pull from the closet to wear today? A bright (electric) blue shirt. Excellent. We're sitting down when someone yells from the back "attention on deck!" Everyone, everyone but me, comes to an immediate stand. I, for one am not use to such a quick stand, nor do I even know if I am required to stand, make the decision that it'd be best to fit in as much as possible, so I do. I don't know how they do it, but they don't turn their heads, they don't flinch, no one hardly blinks. I clasp my hands in front of me.. then behind me... then stare at the floor... I am a civilian in a room full of military men... whats a girl to do? I am just thankful that I didn't have to sneeze. Finally we're told to sit, and everyone claps. The medal of honor is given, and after a few minutes we leave. One of the guys on staff tells me that I did okay with that - I don't have to do anything, but being respectful is good. The same thing happens when they blow the bugle in the morning... they all stop, people stop driving... I just stand and wait it out.

Once the dust settles on the paperwork, I finally get my parking pass, ID badge, and the like, it'll be nice. I've still got certifications and such to do, but I need to be patient. I really feel like this job is going to be great. Challenging, sure... but I feel like God has placed me here for a reason. Maybe for more than one reason.

On the day to day agenda, I'm planning activities ranging from kayaking, shooting, archery, volleyball, basketball, canoeing, swimming, sailing, kite-boarding, standup paddle-boarding, surfing, wheelchair sports, fishing, cycling, etc. Basically, you name it - we have it. Also I'm supposed to recruit people to help come teach and inspire my guys... so the if I can contact the University of Hawaii Volleyball team and get them to volunteer a day of instruction to my marines, or if there is a professional sports person who would want to come instruct, my job is to help make contacts. I've got help. My right hand man's name is Tyrrell. Well, that's his last name. Learning the ranks and remembering to call people by them is going to take some practice.

My boss is a Lieutenant Colonel. He is super nice, and definitely is helping me get adjusted. He's said I'm free to flex my schedule a bit, and stops to explain the alphabet soup they speak all day long... IAA, PED, IR, JEZ, LOO...............everything, everything!, is abbreviated. and LOO doesn't stand for "lua"... it's Lines of Operation - one of the few I remember.

There's some talk of sending me to California in February for the Warrior Game Trials, so I've got to get my guys into practicing their sports. We played volleyball this morning, and.. well.. we've got a ways to go if we want to make the actual games in April.

All in all, a great first week to a great new chapter in my life.

Rays, waves, and everyone is happy

2011-12-06T20:14:00.000-10:00

I'm catching some rays while he is catching some waves.

8 days of vacay left!

2011-11-21T18:42:00.000-10:00

I'm 20 days into my 28 day vacation.. hence the random previous "one photo" blog posts lately. It's been busy: I've managed to roam across the entire state of North Carolina, and have currently landed myself on my parents couch in Kentucky. They are at work today. I'm supposed to be cleaning out my portion of the attic. That was one of the primary reasons I wanted to come up. I've got stuff stored up there dating back to high school. I say stuff because I can't name one thing that is up there. Ok, that's a lie. I think my high school annuals are up there. And I would like to keep those. And I do miss my double broiler, but mom is putting it to good use here, so maybe she should just keep that. The fact that I can't think of anything of value I want back, makes me think I really don't need whatever it is. Maybe I should just tell them to trash it all. Maybe I'll decide that after I watch another movie, or take a nap.

I've declared today as the day that definitively defines what sometimes (with all the hustle and bustle) doesn't feel like a vacation as the "you most certainly are on vacation." I've slept in... Only had a bowl of cereal (and not the healthy kind.)... Watched a movie... and Only got out of my pajamas to take a shower, and then quickly jumped back in the most comfortable thing I could spot. Luckily, I did manage to do some laundry yesterday, so I had some options.

We've spent this past weekend shopping (Dad sat that one out), Geocaching (Mom sat that one out), playing "Fast Track" (Dad shut me and Mom out), and eating Dad's spicy chili (I won't say anything about that "out").

Being back in the south for this length of time, I'm more aware of differences in lifestyles from my previous 3 years to those before I moved to Hawaii. The weather, sure, but that's not what I'm talking about. More of the things I thought I really missed, come to find, that I don't miss them as much as I thought I did. Example? Cheerwine. I thought I really missed it. I gave myself an allowance on the 8 hour drive to my parents house that I'd only stop twice for a cheerwine. Turns out, I only needed to stop once and I didn't even care to finish that bottle. Secondly, when it always feels like summertime (to some degree), you begin to daydream about seasons. I thought I missed the cold weather, but now that I'm feeling a bit sick (from it?), I'm ready to get back to shorts and sandals. And seems like no matter how comfy the bed, the air mattress, or the couch, it's not my own. Traveling is great, being in your own bed is great too though.

I've thoroughly enjoyed spending time with my family and friends, and especially my niece and nephews. That time is cherished. It drains me of energy, but I love it. I'm pretty sure someone feeds them energy pills when they are sleeping. They've grown so much since I've last seen them, and I know that they will only continue to shock me with their growth spurts and dramatic increases in vocabulary, if I am always 6 time zones away, but that's a reality I have to deal with.

Also, I've enjoyed getting to go to 3 different churches these past weeks, but each one really makes me miss my church and church family. I miss Zach, his smile and just spending time with him. I would love to devour a bowl of ahi poke right now! And I do miss the weather, I've been freezing ever since I landed.

Coming back definitely equals mixed feelings for me. I love so many things about the south. But it also makes me realize how much I love that little island, and how lucky I am that I get to call it home.

Football Friday!

2011-11-11T14:22:00.000-10:00

IT'S COOOOOOLD!!!

Beachside at NMB

2011-11-09T08:22:00.001-10:00

If the Atlantic ocean were a dog, I'd bet it would be sniffing me saying "you smell like pacific." Last day hanging out with Jenny, Bryan and Camden... After breakfast, we started the day off with the workout "insanity" and then walked over to the beach for a cool down. Guess I was feeling mighty strong after our workout, as I was able to pull off this move...

Can't get this on Oahu:

2011-11-07T16:40:00.000-10:00

Krispy Kreme!

NC at its best

2011-11-05T11:16:00.001-10:00

Sweet n savory cafe! The best of the best in Wilmington! Now this is a vacation!!

Pumpkin carvin's

2011-10-31T18:45:00.000-10:00

FINALLY, we had a free night to carve the pumpkins. To save time, we decided not to gut them, and only carve the skin. I was tired and i could see that trying to get creative wasn't in the cards for me, so I made up a rule to make it interesting and ensure this wasn't going to get competitive. "Do what you can, in 20 minutes, with a fork, and lets call it a day." Apparently he wasn't as tired as me... I dedicated about 15 minutes of energy to mine.. He spent about 90.

Big praises!!!!

2011-10-27T12:27:00.000-10:00

I want to remember this day, and this feeling!! I hope to forever look back and remember how God has blessed more than i could imagine or think to ask for.... So what am I speaking of? So many great happenings in my life right now:

1. Planning a wedding. NATALIE'S wedding, to take place here, in hawaii, in December. Yyyyyeah!

2. Spending time with an awesome, God fearing, super sweet and sincere man... Zach. :)

3. Planning a trip back South for the month of November... So excited to spend time with friends and family!!!

4. AND working my last week at HAWAII STATE HOSPITAL!! Planning a huge hospital wide "fall festival" for Wednesday, which also happens to be my last day of work there because...

5. I GOT A NEW JOB!!!!!! As of dec 5, (or should I state it as 5dec11).... I will be hired as a civilian for the marine corp base as the program manager for their wounded warrior regiment! What does that mean!!? I DON'T KNOW!! They don't either. I will be creating the program from the ground up, since there is no one currently there running anything with the guys. One of the biggest things they mentioned: getting them ready (physically and mentally) and coaching them in their wounded warrior games to be held in Colorado every May. Other than that, normal physical and metal rehabilitation etc.

SO..... As you can imagine, I'm pretty stoked on life right now. God is good!!!

morning mauka clouds

2011-10-18T07:41:00.001-10:00

(meaning clouds over the mountains)

pickin a pumpkin

2011-10-16T17:08:00.001-10:00

I've seen his art work, now it's time to see his pumpkin carvin' skills. To be continued.....

Manoa Falls

2011-10-12T10:34:00.000-10:00

I think the sign said this is a 600 foot waterfall.

One day after work, last week, some of Zachs family and I hiked Manoa Falls. Fairly easy hike (or walk), no more than a mile each direction. Within 5 minutes of making it to the destination, Zach says it's time to go.. "the rain is coming." "How do you know that!?" I proclaim. He proceeds to give me a look that says "I just know." The only way I know is because my hair curls up. Maybe he has noticed how frizzy my hair has gotten? So, we turn back, and no more than 5 minutes on the return, the rain begins to fall, and then fall harder and just when you think you are soaked to the max, it falls even harder. The whole way back out it poured on us.. So loudly that I couldn't even hear my "flip flops" flopping. Major puddles were hurdled, a little slip sliding fun was had, and we even got a picture before the rain came.

Makaha and all

2011-10-11T11:41:00.002-10:00

Didn't spend a single minute this past weekend at home. Between a girls night ~~out~~ in, spending time on the west side in Makaha with Allison, bonfires, hanging with Zach, a birthday party, church, church softball (times 2) and a little of so much more... It was busy, and it was wonderful.

Obviously, I found a little time to relax!

Can't resisit a hammock! :)

Allison and I stroll out to Keana Point:

You know you're on the west side when:

Allison's view:

Sundays photo shoot

2011-10-03T21:15:00.001-10:00

Sept comes to a close

2011-09-30T12:13:00.001-10:00

.. And everything just feels right...

day to day at HSH

2011-09-26T20:36:00.001-10:00

You never know where I'll go while I'm "at work." Last week my job took me to this beach. We were in the Diamond Head area for the day with patients and stopped off to eat our sack lunches with this gorgeous view:

And today, I was in the cemetery with crayons and paper. Didn't have any patients today though... it was all business. Between the years 1930-1960, Hawaii State Hospital collected and kept the remains of 668 patients that passed away and had no family to claim. Then, in 1960, they were all buried here. Each year since, we hold a Remembrance Day for these folks, and any other loved ones that have passed since. This year, I've been asked to help organize it. So my coworker and I took some paper to the site and rubbed the names onto the paper, so we will have a life size copy of the actual grave site for the ceremony (which will be held on our campus.) I'm also working on another project as an activity for the ceremony - pictures and a post to follow for an update on that.

tough stuff:

2011-09-19T10:23:00.002-10:00

this month is full and flying by.

2011-09-18T22:38:00.000-10:00

What a great, fun, fast, filled weekend. I'll start from today and work backwards:

softball game today:
we lost.
we didn't play to our potential, for sure.
we couldn't get very many hits.

but, i was asked to hold down 1st base, and did a decent job! I dropped a ball or 2, but caught most of them. If i didn't catch them, I stopped them. And tomorrow I'll have the bruises to prove it! 1 to the shin, 1 to the hip bone, and 1 to the right forearm. On that last one, i had plans of grabbing it with my bare hands when it got shot my direction, but it took a funny hop and landed a little short of my hand. Ah, battle scars..

Regardless, I got on base, and apparently did enough of a decent job as our coach awarded me the "game ball!" Woooooooo!!

Saturday after work, was an art show. Mario and Zach B displayed their stuff around my friend Shelby's house, and we all enjoyed a nice little evening of appreciation for their creativity.

pieces from Zach:

little bit fuzzy:

instructions were "bring finger foods"

I made:

new spin on an old classic... the 7 layer bean dip. Only it's in the chip. And it's not 7 layers. A little cheese, some sour cream, toss on a few black beans, and top it with a tomato and a slice of avocado ( spritzed with lemon juice - to keep it from turning brown).. and there you have it! I like them - only downside - you have to serve them fairly quickly to keep the chips crispy.

Gazebo: Round 2!

2011-09-15T22:03:00.000-10:00

Got a notice [and apology] from the landlord that he isn't [and for some time] will not be able to build me a wood structure for my lanai.. and my best option was to find a new gazebo. And so I did. I hunted. I called every Sear's store on the island. Just 2 months ago, I had seen one [just like my old one] on sale. It was originally $699, but end of the season sales dropped it to $159.

"I'm looking for a tan, 10x10, tent.. No, I said it's a tan tent. It's 10 x 10. You know, for my lanai....A gazebo thing." My accent + all the T's = plenty of "hold on, let me get someone else on the phone." Turns out - they're all out. It's out of season. "There's only 1 season in Hawaii!" is what I want to tell them!!!

More research, some stops later, I find Home Depot has 2 left. One is 10x10. One is 12x12. They are both missing pieces. But they are both on sale. I opt for the [originally over $500 but now] tent that is$141. It's 12x12 and missing a leg. I figured I can craft up my own leg of some sort.

Building day comes. I've enlisted some help, and he comes with a drill! Woo! Break open the box, 4 of these, 4 of those, 4 of that, 4 of this, 4 of... everything!! No legs missing here!!!!! I couldn't believe it. LA strikes again.

And God said, you shall have legs. And they were good.

To save on space, we got crafty and tossed 2 legs on the other side of the rock wall. I didn't want it too close to my house.

So it comes with these heavier things that I can sort of make my own tent with if i want to. It has plenty netting to go around, but these block out the sun / privacy a bit better. Pretty sweet! Enough room to get my table, bike and Sandras paddleboard out of the sun!

the Road (and how we got) to Hana

2011-09-13T22:20:00.000-10:00

I hope to (one day) when all the girls get their photos uploaded to make some sort of video of what a great weekend this turned out to be. I was the primary driver this weekend and therefore didn't get to take as many pictures as the rest of the girls did... I still managed to take a few, possibly illegal since you can't hold your cell phone and drive simultaneously. More stories and things to come, but - this past weekend went something like this:

Ryan drops off Allison and I:

(they're newly engaged *applause!*)

We're on the plane to Maui!

Fred's Mexican restaurant: Yum.

a beautiful drive through Wailuku:

The Iao Needle hike: We stopped at the trailhead.

"It's visible from here. Let's save our legs."

"big beach":

MAUI!

Uh oh. the rental has a ... ~~flat~~ slow leak.

quick Costco run to stock up for the race:

(water not pictured.)

time to decorate the van!

time to decorate our bodies:

(fake tattoo's - everywhere.)

super early race morning: Waiting on the girls to pile in..

(note the tat's!)

stretched, prayed, time for air guitars!

Amy starts off the first leg of the race.

Microphone is our "baton" to hand off:

Waiting for our leg to start:

Our heat lines up:

And takes off:

Go Amy!

Here's some teams waiting for their runners:

That's my team, cheering for everyone who runs by:

Ah, Road to Hana, you are quite beautiful:

(Leg 3)

Taken from the drivers seat:

just lovely.

Transition of leg 15 to 16:

Allison is waiting by socks'woman:

Maybe on the way back?

Everyone is waiting, and is friendly:

Unofficial results:

Awards ceremony:

Driving (the long way?) home:

on the way to 7 sacred falls

Losing pavement and the road is getting smaller:

Maui at dusk:

We explored all corners of this island.

Literally.

Hana relay finishers!

2011-09-10T19:26:00.000-10:00

More to come, but for now:
1. We averaged 9:04 minute miles.
2. 12 of 21 in the women's division.
3. And it was awesome.

1 rocking van!

2011-09-09T20:31:00.000-10:00

Gettin pumped!!!

Made it to Maui!

2011-09-08T17:04:00.000-10:00

Allison and I are enjoying "big beach!" got some great pictures already, and since i can only upload one pic per post at a time through my phone, will be randomly posting throughout the weekend, so check back for the latest as the "One Rockin weekend" continues :)

the drive in!

2011-09-06T12:06:00.000-10:00

If I've gone before, I can't remember it - so I'm declaring this as my first official "drive in" experience!! How much more fun than the regular movie? - So much more! Bringing your own popcorn, chairs, cake.. This was a blast!

Labor day weekend? Pretty much rocked the charts.

Maui prep begins

2011-09-03T21:15:00.000-10:00

We met up eeeearly this morning for a group run. I'm not sure whether it was more for the exercise, group bonding, or to practice getting up that early. The name of our girls group for the Maui run is "One Rockin' Love".. based off of our churchs' name "One Love" and one of the girls who just got engaged - hence the rock, and the bling bling we all will be wearing... We'll also be rockin' the miles, and jamming out with our air guitars attached to our shirts. Not to mention, the fake tattoos we're planning on wearing like a rock star. We thought we'd jump in on the action a little early and test some out.

Good times with good folks.

A little BBQ complete with marshmellows, bocce ball,

sunshine, and some guitar tunes.

A great start to a 3 day weekend!

Waimano Ridge

2011-08-30T22:11:00.000-10:00

If I ever made a video about my feet,

I'd guess it'd look something like this...

No rest for the next..

2011-08-24T12:50:00.003-10:00

16 days.

It's the Maui relay road race to Hana.

Here's how it goes:
6 people.
52 miles.

Confused?.... there's 18 legs - so each runner will run 3 legs. So say I'm runner #1: I run legs 1, 7, and 13. Each leg is approximately 2-3 miles. When you are not running, you jump in the (decorated) van, and drive up to the next hand-off spot with your teammates!

And the countdown is on. Not even 3 weeks to prepare.

We are registering today - that is, once we come up with a team name. And some costumes. We are taking suggestions....

Maybe our team name should be "team last minute." fits well, seeing as how we are just now registering and I'm just now preparing.

water-logged

2011-08-20T22:40:00.009-10:00

It is 3pm on Thursday. I have an appointment to give blood. I also happen to have the day off. The weather is gorgeous. Just two hours earlier, I was blazing the lanikai ridge in the midday heat. She takes my blood pressure, then my heart rate. Something must be off. She leaves the room with a "I'll be right back." Hmm, that isn't normal. She walks back in, and fires off a list of questions centered around food: "Did you eat lunch? A big lunch? What exactly did you have? How long ago was this? How much water have you had?" My blood pressure is very low, but I assure her I had a turkey burger and some veggies for lunch, followed by an apple and tangerine after the hike, and more water before 2pm than most people drink all day. She requests that I eat a granola bar before we begin - she doesn't want me passing out later. "Fine."

1 pint of blood in the bag, 1 water bottle emptied, and feeling fine, I've been given instructions "not to do anything strenuous: exercise, lifting anything, etc. And make sure to eat a big dinner." Yeah, yeah, I've heard that speech before... It's now 4pm, the weather is still gorgeous, and I've got a plan. MentalBill and I are going geocaching. Not just any geocaching. We're going to get that geocache placed in the water - right off my beach.

It's now 4:45, we're standing on the beach and we've got the plan underway. Paddles in hand, standup paddle board is ready to go, 1 pair of goggles that we'll need to dive for the cache, and his GPS is in a box we are hoping proves to be waterproof. I've got a pen shoved between my hat and my hair, assuming we are going to find it, and be able to sign the log. Now, it's just a matter of who is going to steer, aka sit in the back. We take a quick glance at the GPS, get the general direction of where we are headed - which we base off of a kayaker.. and then thinking through things a bit more, decide to head towards a specific section of breaking waves. He jumps on, I jump on, we amazingly don't flip, and start to paddle.

The wind has picked up. I feel something slide down my back. THE Pen! I reach in my hair. Gone! I check my bikini strap thinking it may have gotten stuck in the strings. Not there. I glance over the rest of the board, and see nothing. MentalBill has noticed my lack of paddling at this point and is concerned. "The Pen" I say.. and just as I'm saying it, I see it - floating beside me. I make a quick grab before a wave takes it further away and toss it back in my hair and we're off. A few minutes goes by. I must be wondering if we are headed in the right direction more than him. He only seems to check the GPS when I ask. I hope I'm not annoying. "2/10 more of a mile left!" he says. I can't discern from his tone if he thinks that is far or not. I look back at the beach. It seems far away, to me. "What? We've only gone a third of the way?" I ask. He mentions something about how math isn't his strong suit. I'm sitting on the board, wishing I didn't know how to figure it out, because sometimes, it's easier to keep going, when you don't know how far you have to go.

More paddling ensues, and what feels like 60 minutes passes. More likely it's only been 30, another glance at the GPS and we're 15 feet, but by the time we have put the GPS down, we're 25... now 30. We paddle past it just a bit, and considering this is the 2nd to find this particular cache, I am somewhat surprised we have miraculously made it to the location of the cache (which was what I thought would be the hard part.) 2 seconds later, he jumps off and begins a quick search. I'm paddling - just trying to keep us in the same location. He has spotted it! A nalgene bottle attached to a cinder block by a chain and carabiner (without the clip part.) 2 dives and he has it in hand. I open it. It's gross. Water-logged. No, seriously, I can hardly log our names because it's soaked with water. Hmmm, that's a good name for a water-cache.. if I want to place one...

He is still treading water trying not to drift, so I quickly toss it back to him. He disappears under water and shortly comes back up. "Problem." I'm already taking off my baseball cap. "It's hard to dive down that deep with the air in the container." I'm sliding into the water. I put the mask on, locate the cinder-block which I'm guessing is about 12-15 feet deep. Bottle is in hand. Deep breath, deep breath, BIG breath, Go! I'm now at the cinder block and yanking on the chain.. and it's stuck. I can't find the clip. Out of air, I return to the top. "Didja get it?" says MentalBill. "There's no clip!" I pass off the bottle and decide to make a trip down to find the clip first. On the return trip up, 2 tries later, I'm remembering lifeguard class when I had to save a cinder block from the deep end. Ah ha! I will bring up the cinder block, we'll find the clip, attach it and then take the whole thing back down. It's easy to dive with a concrete! "I'm going to bring up the block" I say. "What? You can't!" he says. "We did this in lifeguard class" I say.. although that was easily 10 years ago.. whatever. He is doubting me, I can see it, but down I go, grab the thing, and bring it up. Now we're both struggling to keep our heads above water. Is he fumbling for the chain? Am I supposed to be holding the block? I'm now thinking we should have talked about 'who does what' before I brought it to the surface. Still wearing the mask, I go under and push up from the bottom - hoping he'll see the clip on the chain. I'm out of air. Back up I go. He's yelling something. Something about forget it. And he is pointing. What is he pointing at? We're both holding the cinder block and chain, what could he be - THE Paddleboard! Off I go, freestyle in full force, to bring back our mode of transportation. I get to the board, and I can't believe it but the GPS and paddles are still sitting on top. Man, maybe those nurses were right. Suddenly, I'm sort of light-headed..

I get back to him and he has placed the cinder block atop some reef, so it's not so deep. The search is now on for the clip. 20 minutes passes of taking turns with the 1 pair of goggles we have, looking for the clip. The sun has dipped behind the clouds, and soon it will be behind the mountains. It's always more fun (insert sarcasm) looking for things in the dark. He's looking around and I'm losing hope in finding it. I am wondering with all the things going on in the world if God cares about geocaching and our dilemma, but I'm praying for that clip like the middle east. I've started to contemplate new ways to attach it. I have a hair tie. He has a string on his board shorts. I wonder if we can fashion something up. He pops back up and has the clip in hand! Amen, Amen!

Water bottle to clip to chain to block, and back to the spot they go. I'm now thankful for the wind that is helping push us back in because I have little to no energy left to paddle back to shore... Note to self: consider taking the nurse's advice next time - I'm exhaustedddd.

~ SouthernCharm

Da kine slippahs

2011-08-13T21:13:00.001-10:00

Hmmm... Not mine. Not mine. Mine!!!

You've got a minute...

2011-08-11T21:26:00.003-10:00

... to Win It!

Tomorrow is our "Minute to Win It" Festival at ~~Home Sweet Home~~.. errr.. Hawaii State Hospital. We've got the games, the decorations, the music, the prizes, the snacks... we're ready for the patients!

My chandelier of streamers may look complicated and time-consuming, but with a hula hoop, fishing line and a golf ball, we had this up and running in a flash.

**Update: For a quick and easy transformation of a gym or other large area - follow these steps:

How to decorate a gym:
1. Place hula hoop in the middle of the court and attach one end of the streamers all around the hoop.
2. Take a roll of fishing line, tape the end of it to a golf ball. Toss the ball over the support beam and let it drop until it reaches the ground. It should now be draping across the beam.
3. Take the hula hoop and make an X with the fishing line on the inside.
4. Take one end of the string that is draped across the beam and tie it to the X (the center point of the hula hoop.)
5. pull back on the other end of the string that is draped, and it should rise up into the air! and the streamers should fall down... just take those ends and tape them to the wall.

and poof! There you have it! instant drama.

twinkle toes

2011-08-10T21:10:00.000-10:00

I love puzzles, problem-solving, creating.

Sudoku. Scrabble. Geocaching!

However, that doesn't necessarily mean I enjoy calculus.

I'm pretty sure my college professor would agree with that.

At one point, I had considered some math related field.

Perhaps accounting? Engineering like my Dad?

But God closes doors.

And He closed that door, painted and nailed it shut.

And so I found Recreational Therapy.

The problem lies in the praise.

person today: "Oh, you're creative aren't cha?"

I still don't know what to say to that,

without sounding all high and mighty.

me: "Well, uh, sometimes, I have ideas......"

Everyone has their own set of gifts.

I enjoy trying to figure stuff out.

Sometimes.

And other times, I want to give up.

We've been planning a festival at work.

It goes down this Friday.

Mostly, we're basing it off of the TV show:

"Minute to Win It"

But we're also creating our own games.

Only, we have little to no money to spend on games.

Goals: inspire fun, support healthy life, physical fitness,

yada, yada, yada.

I came up with a game.

And I'm calling it twinkle toes.

Objective: (see pic) place feet in the middle.

Roll ping pong ball around... like that game labyrinth.

Only with your feet.

Might not look like it, but

it's actually a decent ab workout,

especially for my patients.

I think it's part of why I love being a Recreational Therapist.

Adapting things when they don't work,

to make them work beautifully,

quite possibly in a way that they had never thought about working,

for the well-being, uplifting, and all around benefit of someone else.

Haven't decided on how I'll attach the feet to the box.

But that's the way I work and think:

*bam! here's the idea... details to come*

Rubber bands? Tape? Zip ties? Ribbon?

The possibilities are endless......

Just keep swimming...

2011-08-09T23:20:00.001-10:00

It's a marvelous day at Hanauma bay! A few of us went over to this famous little bay for some snorkeling on sunday after church.

It has sparked an interest in learning some names of the fish, hawaiian names or not, I'd like to be able to name something other than "turtle!"

And considering this is free with a local ID, makes it even more enjoyable! Also I've heard that (once a month) they have night dive/snorkeling.... which sorta satisfies my desire to see the pretty fish at night, but plays the safety card as its not as out in the open and inviting for sharks. When did I start becoming cautious?

Aim.. Fire!!

2011-08-06T21:26:00.002-10:00

Ok, so this is a LOT harder than I thought. But not the aim part. That is easy. It's pulling this thing back to even get to the aim part of it.

First it's laughter (the tension is super tight and I'm struggling):

Then seriousness / stiffling the laughter:

Not far off for a first timer!

riding the SUP

2011-08-01T20:49:00.000-10:00

I bought a waterproof case to put my cellphone / camera in while I'm out on the water. So far it works! I wasn't sure you'd even be able to see me through the case, or hear me.. apparently that is a yes. So, come along for a 1 minute ride. Next time, I promise it will be better.

Lanai and trial- part 2

2011-07-23T19:24:00.001-10:00

Updates to some old blogs:

1. Currently, (as you can see from the pic) the lanai is pretty much the same as it was. My landlords are saying they will be building a more permanent (read: wood) structure to replace the gazebo that I had. Excited for that, and ready to see it happen. They did replace the support beams underneath so it's a bit firmer of a deck than it used to be. I'll be sure to post some pics when the new part is built!

2. The trial: is over. Yay! The next day, we jurors waited outside the room for 3 hours. We thought and were correct in assuming they were settling. Greed is a color that flatters no one, and that was evident here. GMB - you can google "james campbell oahu land territory" for a little of the backstory and history behind it... But the short story: $70 million had been inherited. $7 mil invested in a high risk stock, during the economy downturn, and 1.5 of that 7 was lost. He wanted it back, saying it was mismanaged. Apparently the other jurors and I were all giving off the same vibe of "you gotta be kidding me"... The judge did mention that our posture, eye contact, attentiveness, etc. played a major role in the case. Well, yeah, I'd say so. The eye rolling from my friend on the left probably played a part. But the reality is... almost everybody lost money during that time. And at 80 years old, he has more than he can imagine spending, yet he wants his 1.5 back!?? I've got a bible verse for your buddy....

Just give me the facts!

2011-07-20T18:00:00.003-10:00

This is my first jury duty. Im standing outside the courthouse (ka'haumanu hale) and I'm waiting on the doors to open with about 100 others. It's hard to tell who is here for duty, or who is actually on trial. But I tell ya that little to none if them read the letter about not wearing shorts and slippers. I am beginning to wonder if I'm entering the wrong door. Maybe there is a separate door for potential jurors? Nobody else is carrying a letter. Of course I'm trying to blend in, so mine is in my purse. If its a criminal case, the odds of me knowing someone are high, with working where i work and all......

......Here comes the lady. Gas mileage reimbursements. Well theres a bit of good news. 30 dollars a day to listen to other peoples problems? Seems a bit underpaid to me. Role call. 96 of 100 are here. Hawaii has 1.2 million residents and my name is now in the hat of 100. A video is starting on how we were selected and what's the process from here......

.....We've just been divided into 50 and 50. Two different trials apparently. This cute, young, and obviously smart court clerk takes us into anther room. Role call again. WELLS? "here.".. And it looks like I'll be here for the next few days if you want to get lunch, is what I want to say. Maybe I will straighten my hair tomorrow?!.....

.......after we marched into the courtroom, they put all 50 of our names into a box. This is just like bingo! We are about to get called... But wait, isn't the object not to get called?! As I envision her calling my name, she literally does. Seat 6 is all mine. I am so lucky, i should go buy a lottery ticket right now. Questions from the judge, more questions and then a 10 minute break, finally......

..... It seems I'm a unbiased juror, as the attorneys had no direct questions for me. They spend the next 2 hours trying to fill the seats with people who they feel are qualified / not biased. Excuses, excuses. If you are going out of town, you must submit a copy of your itinerary. I begin wondering if they could stop me from booking a flight out this weekend. iPhone + priceline = an out?! The woman who has a 2 month old is dismissed because it's a hardship for her. Dang, knew I should have had a kid by now. Oh, and those 4 people that were no shows? A warrant is out for their arrest and a $500 fine. Yowza!.....

..... Lunch break is here... Agenda: Strolling the block for some food, call work (going to be out for 2.5 weeks boss!) and double check on jury duty pay. Guess that's a good thing about the state. I'll still have my paycheck while I'm out. Plus $30 and gas reimbursement? Whew! I'm in the money!.....

...... Another session complete and another break. I am surprised that we are allowed to have our phones in the courtroom. Now, the jurors are set, opening statements are complete. I even heard my first "OBJECTION!"......

.... Wow. I definitely didn't know it is actually illegal that as a juror, (while it is not mandatory) but if you choose to take notes, you can't "doodle." Luckily the judge mentioned that before I started. I do think that I concentrate better when I'm drawing a pretty flower though.....

... Well, day one is done. Although I can't say I'm excited about all of what's to come, (some long days of sitting quietly in a cold room) I will say that I think I will take away some new insight into what my patients go through when they are on trial.

Crusin'

2011-07-19T22:19:00.002-10:00

What a day for a daydream...

"Rachel Ray" Wells

2011-07-19T18:24:00.001-10:00

A Rachel Ray in the making?! Could work out nicely... After all, One my grandpa's name was Ray...

Quinoa (mixed with curry powder, corn, carrots, edamame, green beans, and feta cheese!), grilled: bell peppers, onions, tomatoes, 1/2 a chicken breast, and shrimp!, and spinach sautéed in garlic and olive oil!

YUM-O!

Meredith is moving. ugh.

2011-07-18T14:00:00.001-10:00

Look at these muscles!! Cute little Jackson and his parents are moving in about 2 weeks, and I am not a happy camper! Sure going to miss this family!! Yet another friend (in what seems like a string of 90 in the past 6 months) to head back to the mainland. The friend-turnover-rate here is sky high lately.

The morning walks and talks, the coffee chats, the stupendous suppers, the yogurt mama must haves, the humongous hikes, the costume garb getup's, and the rest of the Hawaii happenings with my Carolina confidant are soon coming to an end...

ok. I don't want to talk about it.

I needed that.

2011-07-17T17:16:00.001-10:00

Ashley time + N shore secluded beach = a perfect Sunday afternoon.

iolani palace

2011-07-16T14:56:00.001-10:00

Finally stopping in to see some royal sights like Iolani Palace

Royal Hawaiian Band plays a lunchtime concert

King Kamehameha

Need to schedule more work days like this one.

family

2011-07-11T22:13:00.001-10:00

Ma was at the center of us all. There aren't words to describe how things are and will change, nor how I feel about it all. But I am happy that she's in her real home now and I am so thankful that we all got to spend some precious moments together. Thanks to those of you who managed to snap some pictures that week and send them out.

Wrapping up a Sunday

2011-07-10T22:06:00.001-10:00

Brought this blanket home with me from my trip last week. My dad gave it to me. It was hand stitched by my grandmother. Signed and dated "to Donald, love Mama" - Dec 1967.

I bet she can spot me from heaven!

Wells Women

2011-07-06T22:01:00.000-10:00

Heaven is nearby

2011-06-29T00:54:00.003-10:00

Ahhh, good morning Chicago. When I woke up on Monday, I certainly didn't think I'd be seeing the sunrise from this vantage point.

I'm in the middle of a 2 hour layover, with the next stop being North Carolina and a final destination of Tennessee.

My wonderful grandmother has left this place to join her husband in heaven, and while that does not make it any easier for us here, I know she's resting in the arms of Jesus and she is in no pain.

Wish I could give you one last hug, Ma! But I'm sure the family will be giving out plenty in the next few days. You were so many things to so many people, but your work on earth is done. Devoted, loving, graceful, sincere, honest. You spoke the truth in love. Your pearls, smiles, hugs (with your soft skin) and heart of gold will always be remembered. So I hope this time can be a wonderful celebration of your life, because you've lived a great one.

out with the old!

2011-06-25T21:38:00.000-10:00

The sun has set on the final day for my lanai...

On Monday, in with the new! Which is supposed to include some sort of wood gazebo type thing.

iPhone to blogger, come in.

2011-06-22T12:10:00.001-10:00

New feature from blogger! Now, apparently, all I have to do is shoot an email, and this here bloggersite will upload it and post it. (not holding my breath...but am crossing my fingers...)

Here's today's wonderful (and wonderfully healthy) lunch from Rachel's kitchen:

Grilled bell peppers stuffed with curry quinoa, cilantro, carrots and feta.

Kailua Regatta

2011-06-12T21:30:00.001-10:00

Free Coconuts!
(as they should be, aren't these things everywhere?!)

Just down the road from where I grew up, we had lawn mower racing.
Just down the road from where I live now, we have another kind of racing:

Regatta at Kailua Beach Park,

supporting my paddling friends!

Miranda, steerswoman!

Kili and I overseeing the action:

First place? What else is there!?

Nice job!!

water'caching

2011-06-10T23:31:00.000-10:00

That's right.

Water geocaching.

What's needed?

1 standup paddle board / paddle

1 boogie board

1 set of fins

2 goggles

GPS

old camera

4 ziplock bags

packing peanuts

and a dab o' sunscreen:

We're not water logged already:

Just checking out the camera to see if it can take a picture through 2 ziplock bags.

It can not.

Here's the GPS, currently occupying the other 2 ziplock bags.

The peanuts are supposed to keep it afloat if need be.

That was my idea, Dad:

Not there yet, but still excited about trying to find it:

taking a short, short break.

Once you stop paddling, you begin drifting,

in a major, major way.

After an hour and a half, we always seemed to be .18 of a mile away.

Fail:

After a little pep talk, he decided to swim back to shore.

Thought I had lost him there for a minute:

When you see these guys out, you know the wind is kickin'

which also means, it's probably not a good day for paddling.

the classic Rach pic:

back on land and scheming a new plan for the next attempt:

We didn't find any caches, but we did swim with 2 turtles.

That counts for something, right?

put on the sweet tea!

2011-06-04T16:13:00.002-10:00

I was cleaning today. That good kind of spring cleaning, I guess you can call it. But, is it still spring? Sort of feels like summer.... although those 2 seem to run together here and yet I'm not sure which one we are ever really in during any given month. Since it seems warm, therefore I'm calling it summer. Back to my story: I was in a summer-cleaning mood today. Building ladders out of coolers and deck chairs to stand on just so I could vacuum the dust off the top of the walls. That's what I call motivated. I was blaring (...well, as blaring as a Mac's speakers can be) country music that I was streaming off the internet that was based out of Birmingham, Alabama. Seemed appropriate at the time. Music always makes it easier for me to clean. Easier to run. Easier to get out of bed. Easier to just about everything. And country music is great for cleaning among many other reasons like #1 - reminiscing the good ol' times... these ol' times could be a boyfriend, a job, a truck, a dog, or high school days.... #2 - it just makes me feel at home. Which brings me to......

oh yeah!.... I'll be home for Thanksgiving!

Or better yet, the majority of the month of Novemeber! Yeayeayeah! Super stoked about so many things about this trip, but among those are: grandmas' cookin', some family time, getting together with the RC girls, actually getting to be at my niece's birthday party, and by that point - meeting my newest niece/nephew!!!

ready, set.. goal.

2011-06-01T20:39:00.000-10:00

Well, here I go again. I've been contemplating another run: a half-marathon or maybe going for the gold in the all out 26.2 mile marathon, possibly with my brother-in-law when I visit NC this fall. Yes, I'm somewhat shocked that I actually typed such a thing. But from what I hear, that's how everyone feels when they sign up for one. Well, most everyone. I do this to myself and I know it, but I like having something that I am working towards, even if it does feel ridiculous to begin with. And so today, I was reading a health magazine, and this lady said she set a goal of running (or walking) 1,000 miles in 365 days. I thought that sounded like a good goal, and so, today being June 1st, (which just sounded like a fresh start, and a good date to set a goal) I decided to run (or walk) 500 miles by Christmas. I figure that since 2011 isn't quite halfway over, I'm giving myself a couple extra weeks, breaks down to something like 2.5 a day, but I'll let my Dad do the exact calculations. Hikes where I know the distance, community walks with patients and treadmills are all fair game for counting. After today, 495 to go.

A recent hike along the Hau'ula Ridge Trail:

Found a geocache on this hike.

A difficult one at that.

Leading the pack.

Battle wounds, but I'm fierce:

Memorial Day Events

2011-05-30T22:35:00.000-10:00

Started off the beautiful Memorial Day at the Blood Bank of Hawaii.. donating the goods. It's the least I can do, after all, I know many more have give some, if not all of theirs so I can rest with ease each night.

Then it was on to the cookout / surf competition with my church:

And the evening was spent with some guacamole with lime chips, yumm ;)

Followed by the lantern floating ceremony at Ala Moana beach park.

In rememberance of loved ones, (and/or those who have served) lanterns are set to float out to sea.

People write messages to their loved ones.

oh such timing.

2011-05-24T17:01:00.001-10:00

just another spontaneous meeting...

Love ya Ash!

"rise & shine"

2011-05-16T20:45:00.000-10:00

i'm spoiled.

2011-05-15T20:32:00.000-10:00

I like to think that I don't live for just the weekends.... but my, aren't they nice? I am one of the few who (for the most part) enjoys my job, which means I usually don't dread Mondays, Tuesdays or any other day of the week. On Saturday, after a nice day with Ashley and Jordan on the beach, and some excellent food by Jordan on the BBQ, I spent some time enjoying my hammock. Unfortunately, you can't hear the good music, feel the wonderfully light breeze, see the palm trees swaying, or smell the scent of the hawaiian candles.

not quite a full moon, but it was bright:

Today, after more sign language at church (sorry Mom, no video), I enjoyed a little nap before I set off on my new-to-me bicycle. Mahalos to Jordan for hooking up my new chain and getting it ready to go! My original intentions had been just to cruise around Kailua, but it was such a nice day, I ended up in the next town over. I found what hopefully could be a possible "bike-to-work" route, if I can ever get up when the alarm goes off the first time. Ahh that snooze button. I'm going to map it out, but I'm guessing it was around a 20 mile ride.

Who am I kidding? I love weekends.

Mahalo Video

2011-05-11T17:20:00.000-10:00

I skyped a North Carolina 3rd grade class a few months ago. Their teacher, my good friend Candace, sent me their "thank you notes" with more questions about me and Hawaii. I thought I could write them back, but then I thought they'd probably rather "see" Hawaii. So here's my video response for them. The quality may be better if you watch it on youtube.

meet Jackson Kaimana England

2011-05-09T06:31:00.001-10:00

Meredith and Jared came by the house on Sunday.

She snapped 4 photos of me and her little man.

Look at these faces. I had to post them all.

How cute is this little fella?

ode to my Mama:

2011-05-08T08:46:00.000-10:00

Dear Mom,

Since you love my rhymes so much,
On your day, I thought I'd leave a personal touch.

It's Mothers Day, and I'm happy to say,
"I've been blessed with the best Mom, Hooray!"

Throughout my years, all 27 and still going strong,
you've given me hope, and a sense of right and wrong.

From the way you say "excusez" instead of "excuse me",
to the way you make the best jug o' sweet tea...
You can name each state capitol, and you hold church keys,
and between you and dad, you always win the spelling bee.

You showed me that handwriting style says alot, though it may seem superficial,
yet I always adored the way your write your middle initial.

You also taught me that it's best to keep the house clean,
because you never know when you'll have those visitors, unforseen!

Once you told me that of the 3, I was the easiest child to deliver,
I hope that one day I can be as awesome as you, even just a sliver!

We all know that Diet Coke runs through your veins,
An eternal flow of caffeine, we'll never be able to explain.

Cinnamom, you're amazingly omniscient, seemingly all-knowing,
So many times, we didn't listen, but you just kept going.

Keeping your eyes open for pictures might not be your forte,
But showing how to love with all your heart, you blaze away.

I really enjoyed your trip to paradise and the time we spent,
For now, with skype, we'll have to be content.

On this day, to celebrate you,
I want you to know, I love you like you love cobalt blue.

XOXO,
Rach

PS. A package is en route to your house from mine,
Sorry, it'll be late. I think it had to cross the international date line!

Phone a friend

2011-05-06T19:58:00.003-10:00

I learned many things from my dad. Like
- how to shoot hoops; and the rules and regulations of sports.
- the (soon to be lost) art of reading maps, and how to zigzag across the USA without one.
- to always go with your gut.
- that easy little multiplication trick you can do with 9's on your hands.
- how to negotiate with a car salesman.
- and that fractions/ percentages do come in handy.

Even though I wasn't a big fan of it then, I'm glad to have sat through what seemed like child abuse at the time - learning why and how to figure out that a box of granola bars is cheaper in packs of 50 than 12.

I also learned when to hold em and when to fold em. For example.. Today when I stopped in the parking lot of the grocery store / auto care store, I no more than had the hood up before a man asked if something was wrong. "no sir, just checking the oil levels and power steering fluid." "oh, well do you have enough oil? We can't have you runnin around with no oil in there!" Being the daughter of Don, I said it's fine.

Then there's my new grill. My awesome landlord bought me a new grill, and instead of asking him to put it together for me as well, I figured I'd handle it myself. Then I realized I don't have a proper screwdriver.

Dad also taught me how to improvise. Hello butter knife!

So when I hit that point where some screws don't line up, the directions are fuzzy, and I see frustration city approaching, I shifted into neutral and put on my turn signal. I called in support. Hey neighbors :) one works in construction and the other is marine. My grill will either be constructed or blown to pieces.

cinco de fun!

2011-05-05T19:32:00.002-10:00

Work has been great. Busy, complicated, exhausting... and great. Tomorrow we are going bowling, but already this week:

I took some guys on an all day hike;

Got a raise!!! YYYYEAHHH!!!!!

And we had a earth day-cultural-garden-health-may day - fair.

These are the posters me and a patient made for the booths:

(For those of you who are going to guess, of the 10, I made 6 & he made 4)

I was asked to run the Hula Hoopla booth....

so before the patients came down,

I was caught practicing.

Happy Cinco de Mayo!

big flashes and clashes

2011-05-02T20:57:00.018-10:00

It's dinner time. I'm hearing thunder and seeing lightening. Unusual for the islands, but off to Subway I go.

Just in door, back at work, and now the power has gone out. My coworkers and I are sitting around debating what to do. Is this a island-wide blackout? Facebook status updates confirm that power is out in a lot of places - that's for sure. I'm starting to hear stories from the old-timers, about that time the power was out for 2 days... which inevitably leads to the infamous story I've heard over and over: "remember when it rained for 40 days straight? We thought the world was ending." My boss walks in, we're talkin story and decide it's best just to call it a day - can't open the gym for basketball games tonight without the lights. Looks like patients will be on lock down on the units til tomorrow. I guess that's good since we had a escapee on friday. I wonder if he is enjoying this lightening show where ever he is...

Now, I'm gathering my things and heading out. My boss stops me to make sure I know the best way to go home. Stoplights aren't working, so he is giving me what he thinks is the best directions for this situation. I thank my little japanese-island-boss/father-figure for this and crank my car. There's that loud beep - flash flood warning for the island of Oahu. Still thunder and lightening but no rain. And amazingly everyone is driving safely and with aloha. Each stoplight is out, and no cops are present. They must have all been sent to Honolulu or something. Everyone is taking turns and letting people go. It takes 7 minutes longer than normal to get home, and now I have 3 extra hours in my day. What to do?

First things first. There's still some light out, so:
-Wash the dishes. If anyone comes over for a card game later, I'd want the house to be clean.
-While I'm at appearances, make the bed. Yes, this should have been done this morning Mom, I know.
-Mental note to self:
1. Don't open the fridge / freezer. Who knows how long this could last. Hope it doesn't last too long - I just went to Costco yesterday. Will need to keep it as cold as possible. Fiber One bars it is!
2. Resist the temptation to cruise facebook on my phone. Might need the battery later for talking.
-Next: Find all the candles I own. I almost high-five myself for buying these. My second thought is that I don't burn them enough anyway. I wonder if there is anyone that might need some. Next time I'm out, there will be no guilt in buying more. Oh, and I should get the flashlight and that headlamp my boss gave me for hiking. I am a lucky gal to have such a nice boss.

There's just enough light to shower, time to get clean. I get out and look around. The house is clean, what to do now?

Hmmm. Projects!

Paint some flower pots?

Read a book?

Man, I could really go for some popcorn.

Reading it is.

Hey headlamp!

......................

(some time goes by)

All the sudden my fan turns on.

Cheers come from around the neighborhood!!

I literally say "no way!?" Light switch? Yup.

Awesome. Powers back on.

Just in time for Hawaii Five-0!

The news is showing some roads closed due high water.

A quick cruise through facebook shows me what was on the other side of the island:

yowza.

I believe that is a waterspout?!

As long as the lightening is going, the candles will be glowing!

SCORE!

2011-05-01T23:11:00.000-10:00

May Day is Lei Day in Hawaii nei.

(Hawaii nei means beloved Hawaii)

SCORE #1:

what a beautiful day:

Don't know why and don't know how, but lately I've been super blessed by my friends and coworkers. And by blessed, I mean... handed down to me for F.R.E.E. I realize how lucky I am, so I've been trying to pay it forward.

SCORE #2:

a perfect condition TEAK TABLE!

Hello newness! Out with the old, in with the new:

SCORE #3:

2 coolers! and a ton of terra cotta planters.

Plan on taking these to work for my patients to paint:

SCORE #4:

as well as a gazillion starter pots:

my guys are currently painting toilet paper rolls.

so i'm sure they'll be thrilled to have something new!

SCORE #5:

anddddd a neeeew bikeee!

Woohoo!!

including a super nice bike lock!

Will have to check out the bike store soon..

as she needs a tune up and some TLC.

and SCORE #6:

is for the USA.

Obama says no mo' Osama!!!

Way to go guys.

the list lives on.

2011-04-30T23:39:00.000-10:00

Sometimes, it's nice to have a day with no plans. And that is exactly what this day was.. I had a day of "nothing" that I "had" to do. Sort of like last Friday actually. But, as we all know, history repeats itself. Last Friday, I posted a blog somewhat early in the day - when I thought I had a day to work on some projects and get some things crossed off my continual and ever growing project list. Turns out, that plan was hijacked. I've learned that everyone has their own to do list, and there will always be something new to add as soon as something is crossed off. So, moments later, and I'm talking - within the half hour (just when I've had enough time to make a good playlist and let my contacts settle), my friend who lives up on the North Shore called to tell me she was in my neighborhood and going to the beach - my beach - I immediately found a suit, a towel, and started applying sunscreen. ahhh, the list lives on.

So today, when I awoke to no alarm, and the sound of my AC... I thought of what all I would like to accomplish as I rolled over and drifted off back into sleep. Sometime later.. a text... my neighbor is moving. a SOS, if you will. So at 8am, with a cup of coffee, we begin the process... the packing, the loading, the unloading.... oh.. and did I mention the stairs? She moved a block away - which in some ways is almost not worth loading the car. Basically I'm saying there is no down time. No time for the leg muscles to relax on the drive over to the new house.You can almost carry it over as fast as you can load it. So thats what I did with her recliner chair - channeled my inner surfer-self, threw it on my head, like the channel-surfer I am, and walked down the street.

Today had possibilities. There was a street festival in Waikiki, yet another going-away party for another friend, and the possibility of a spontaneous trip to Kauai to see a NC pal. With no definite plans, my original thought as to how to spend the day had primarily consisted of making sure I got a good workout in. With all the carrying of boxes and lifting of furniture, and the stairs - oh the stairs - there was no need for a run tonight. and so the list lives on.

Jim, Miranda and I...

We moved, and moved some more.. and for the most part, got most her stuff into the new house. Then Miranda treated Jim and I to a wonderful dinner of Alaskan king crab legs and a chocolate dessert.. not to mention some excellent white wine, calamari and sashimi.

The dessert = Before:

and after:

And to change topics completely:
It hit me, of all places, in the Haleiwa Joes restroom, one of the things I absolutely love about life here is the open windows. I love the open air. Sure, part of that is I love being outside in general, and maybe the air here is different than what I grew up with, but it really feels like that's how life is supposed to be. Don't get me wrong, I love and thoroughly enjoy my AC in my little studio, but man, when the weather is right, and the trades are blowing, it doesn't get much better. Windows are open everywhere here. Libraries, churches, schools, airports, offices, restaurants... and sometimes they may not even have 4 walls. That's wild talk back on the east coast. But to me, it's a big part of what makes Hawaii, Hawaii.

workin hard?

2011-04-27T23:05:00.000-10:00

or hardly working?

We took some patients to Kualoa beach today for a cookout.

I am obviously:

A. working hard, keeping an eye on them.

B. working hard, on my tan.

C. hardly working.

D. all of the above.

Easter part 2

2011-04-24T23:17:00.003-10:00

and so, to update the story:

I went to the Easter dinner... and actually, for not feeling 100% today, I had an excellent time. What was really a barrel of fun was getting creative with new ways of answering the question "Who do you know here? / How were you invited?"

There was way more than the aforementioned 18-20 people, try more like 45-50. And the ages ranged from 3 weeks to 70+.. and for future hijacking of parties, it will be noted that the bar for conversation and comfort level with complete strangers was set high tonight. I've come to the conclusion that to be able to casually converse with a wide variety of people, it's helpful to know a little bit about a lot of things. National geographic magazine, Oprah, and discovery/history channel cover topics like these. You don't have to read the whole article, just do that old college standby of first and last paragraph. With any creativity, it'll be enough to get you through. Because, if you know everything there is to know about hair straighteners, then it's probably not going to be much of a conversation anyway. Who wants to talk with a know-it-all?

We played cornhole, (yes of course my team won ;), ate some excellent food, and I left with a lunch plate for tomorrow - including a slice of that pumpkin cheesecake. Hello! I found new tennis partners for the future, learned a new "greek?" egg cracking game, and met some kinda Italian man who just about proposed when I shouted "Arrivederci!" as I was leaving. Not sure where it came from, guess it sounded Italian to me in the moment.

At least once in your life, I definitely recommend crashing a party (if you can call it such) and make sure it's by yourself. There's no spare tire: that go-to person who you have history with and at least stand beside in the conversation lulls with others. No backups. It's exhilarating.

Easter 2011

2011-04-24T16:37:00.001-10:00

Sunrise service 2011

Honolulu's blue skies made a nice backdrop.

(That's me in the black shirt, on camera, on the right)

A beautiful day to:

-spend 7 hours at church

-say goodbye to a friend on the beach

-attend a complete strangers house for Easter dinner.

Yeah, that's right. You see, there's this man named John. John and I met a couple months ago. He lives a few streets down. He is religious about his evening bike rides around the neighborhood, and back in the day (read: more consistent with my workout), I'd pass him on the road. He'd waved, I'd smile, occasionally there would be a greeting, but usually I'd have my ipod in, so most times, conversation was minimal to none. Then one day as I was out exercising when he spotted me in a bright orange Tennessee t-shirt. That broke the ice. He is originally from TN, and had to ask where I was from as well. We began talking, and the rest is history. The next few times I saw him, he asked if I could come over for dinner sometime - but thought it might be a good idea to check with his wife before asking me. I told him that even though I didn't know his wife, I'd assume, like every other female, she'd like a warning. He promised to leave a note in my mailbox once he talked to her. Then comes yesterday. He passed by just as I was in my driveway and stopped to ask if I would attend his Easter dinner with his family. Maybe it was my facial expressions or my hesitation - of not knowing him, or anyone else (and contemplating whether I'd rather spend it with my friends / island family) - must have led him to feel the need to offer more details... such as "it is really casual, there will probably be 18-20 people there, ranging in all ages from all parts of the US, including my 2 grandsons - one who will be with his wife and kids, and the other who is single."

................................. I don't know much about this man's history, but I'm wondering if he was ever a car salesman... as he gets right down to his bottom line very quickly.

Good Friday is great

2011-04-22T10:55:00.002-10:00

House sitting definitely had it's perks. I just had to deal with an outside cat - that every time I went to feed the he/she - it hissed at me. Other than that, during the 10 days, I had use of a stove, good books, being within walking distance to work (albeit, I found a reason to always drive?), a full couch with a DVR, and a pool:

Only it's Kaneohe, so sometimes it looks like it is going to rain, and often times - it really follows through with that.

Now I'm back and have the house about back to normal. It's another gorgeous day, (thank goodness for AC) but a different shaped swimsuit from Wednesdays beach day, has left me with a few weird tan lines:

So, this Good Friday, I'm compiling a list of projects and things I've half-started or just thought about starting. One of those projects: I received the sweetest little thank you notes from Candace's 3rd grade class - the one I skyped a few weeks ago. They all mentioned how they loved seeing Hawaii and would love to know more (especially about volcanoes) and for me to write back. So I'm working on a way to do that ... and it may get technical .. like audio/video technical. OooOOOoh!

Easter is upon us!! Today, I'm also working on sign language for Sundays service. And it's a good thing I have today off - I've got to figure out what to do with a song where simultaneously the men are singing one thing and the women are singing another... this could be major confusion for me as the interpreter!

and more importantly, on this great Good Friday, many a status update that is floating across facebook:
**The Greatest man in history, named Jesus, had no servants, yet the called Him Master. Had no degree, yet they called Him Teacher. Had no medicines, yet they called Him Healer. Had no army, yet kings feared Him. He won no military battles, yet he conquered the world. He committed no crime, yet they crucified Him. He was buried in a tomb, yet He lives today!** Amen!

"tear - o"

2011-04-13T21:46:00.002-10:00

I'm really lucky that I work in a place that allows me to get a great cultural experience, provides a better understanding of local life, and expands my knowledge of hawaiian history. At work this week, we made POI! I've had poi before. If you don't recall that blog, are wondering what the heck I'm talking about, click here for a wikipedia definition.

As I was saying... we made poi. I knew there was some work that goes into it. But never knew exactly what. And so I snapped some pictures of the beginning stages.

#1. the root aka the corm of the taro plant. (That's "tear-oh" not "tar".) Goal here is to peel it, just like you peel a potato... this is the outer layer:

#2. Here's my coworker peeling away... Must wear gloves - they said if you don't you'll get all itchy, like you were working with insulation. no good. Once you get through the outer peel, there's a speckled layer of pinkness that needs to be peeled too.

#3. Peeled and ready for cutting: Time to cut into smaller parts - this part reminds me of cooking mashed potatoes. Don't forget to cut out the little sections that are brown!

#4. Dice em up and ship em over to a pot o' boilin' water.

#5. and 6... and I don't have any more pictures of the rest, but basically, you put them in water and boil for 45 minutes or so. We used a rice cooker *surprise* considering that's a major appliance for these parts of the world. Then there's 2 ways to proceed. Mash em yourself (equilivant to mashing your own potatoes by hand) or put them in the food processor. Considering we're making 60 pounds of this, we opted for the latter. Add water. It turns a deep dark purple-gray and, eh, taste kinda... well... bleh. It's not my fave. I'm trying, I'm just not lovin it.. and you can't help what you don't love.

Oh, and did I mention McDonald's serves a taro pie? Yea, just like how you can buy an apple pie on the mainland, we can buy a taro pie. yum.

house sitting

2011-04-11T16:11:00.002-10:00

1. water the plants. - Eeeehhhhhh! This always makes me nervous!!! I have a tendency to kill these!

2. feed the cats. the stray cats that randomly come by the house. ok. can do. her caveat: one of them is not a real friendly cat. which means, i highly doubt i'll be picking any of them up. that plus i bet it's super peeved that i'm not calling it by the right name. can't remember the name... i think its starts with a j... which means for the next week and a half, it'll be called, jasper. because jasper is similar to casper, which i think is a good name for a cat that vanishes randomly, its a unisex name, and starts with the obligatory j.

speeecial effects

2011-04-10T23:17:00.000-10:00

Just messin' around with the special effects on the Mac tonight...

i titled this one "goodnight kisses":

Was it my Dad that used to tell me not to make a

funny face too often, or it might get stuck that way?

Better play it safe and only chance it once a night.

Look Dad, it's not stuck!

woooOOoo!

sweet dreams!

pray, tanks and tings

2011-04-10T21:01:00.001-10:00

Our hospital has some nice relationships and resources with people in the community. One of the things we do for our patients each Easter, is take them to a church for a special service just for them, and then the ladies of the church cook up an awesome meal for our guys. That special Easter service happened tonight for our patients.

It was successful. And by that I mean, no one acted out or made an attempt to run away (when we come back with the same number that we left with, and no one is injured, it's always considered successful.) No matter what kind of outing, we run the same routine. It boils down to a head count. "1, 2 ..7.. 8.. 13.. 15. Alright, everyone is here." We had the usual random murmurs, the guy who stands up just because he feels like it, which blends nicely with the guy who stands up and faces the back of the sanctuary randomly throwing out 2 thumbs down if he doesn't like the song, or spontaneous taking off of shoes and cleaning toes in the church aisle. This is not the first one of these church services / dinners I've escorted patients to... And every single time, I'm stuck debating whether to fully close my eyes during prayer times or to keep watch - because what better a time for a patient to need to "use the bathroom" and be 3 blocks away before we say amen.

So, I find what I think is middle ground, and stare at the floor using some peripheral vision to make sure nothing is moving in the room. After all, I want to set a good example, yet I need to do my job....

Nothing moves, and I start concentrating on the words of the prayer.... we've got a real local guy praying for us, using some major hawaiian slang aka Pidgin... and one of the slang things they do here.. is drop the "h" sound from words.

Three becomes tree.

Thanks becomes tanks.

And things becomes tings.

I guess I began to mentally picture monstrous army trucker tanks, and suddenly it became super funny. But isn't everything always funnier in church when you aren't supposed to be laughing: "And we give you tanks Lord, you have all our tanks. We need to give you tanks everyday for all these tings you give us... these tings we pray."

... Amen.

"1, 2... 9.. 14.........15. alright!"

this my kind of math:

2011-04-04T11:04:00.003-10:00

Sleeping in + 2 skype sessions + 1 standup surf session (x sea turtle sightings) + smoothie (x spinach) = one great monday morning.

2 side notes:
1. This smoothie is: ice, strawberries, blueberries, 2 kinds of V8 juices, kiwi, banana, yogurt, spinach. yum. Such a good way to get the spinach in, you can't taste it at all.
And 2. How amazing is skype. Seriously. 6 times zones away, or 13 (that's almost exactly on the other side of the world yall)... i can still seeeeee you! Everyone should have a skype account!!!

life is good.

2011-04-03T20:07:00.002-10:00

Another beautiful, blessed, wonderful, packed and fast weekend.

Saturday....

... I went to see Meredith and Jared and their brand new, 3 day old beautiful baby boy - Jackson Kaimana England. Such a sweetie! Looking forward to hanging out with their new little family more!

... then birthday party / house warmings for some amazing people. seriously. inspiring. So, I met this lady - people call her (and she calls herself) "crazy". At first I wondered, "What kinda crazy are we talking about?" I mean, afterall, I work with crazy Monday through Friday. I've seen all kinds... But I soon found out - really, she kind of is, well, crazy. Put it this way - when you're in the midst of conversation with someone who refers to Mount Kilimanjaro as "Kili" just as I'd shorten "McDonald's" to "micky D's"... I knew I was talking with a serious hiker. (I doubt she would even recognize such a nickname as Mickey D's and am thoroughly glad we didn't talk about anything that would allow me the chance to utter it.) Later, I found out she hiked the Appalachian trial solo (all 2200+ miles), then went on to the pacific crest trail, and at 19,833 feet at the top of Kili, she realized she wanted to go higher. When I managed to pick up my jaw, I asked how she trained herself for that.. and her response rolled off her lips as if it were nothing "Oh, I do triathlons." And I repeated myself asking how she trains for those?! She said she never stops. Even with a broken hand. That's dedication. Or crazy.

...A little beach time, with some standup paddle boarding...

South shore was beyond gorgeous this weekend too...

Sunday....

... an excellent church service, girl chattin' time at the pool, and caught up on the laundry. coffee for breakfast, a cannoli for lunch.. makes dinner even sweeter - a stirfry and the academy of country music awards (that'd be a blurred out taylor swift in the background.) i think the plan is to finish this whirlwind of a weekend with a movie...

(this recipe: chicken, red potato, cherry tomato, edamame,

broccoli, asparagus, bell pepper, with capers, garlic and lemon.)

....with weekends like this....

well... life is good.

yes indeed, life is really, really good.

ukulele video

2011-03-29T22:38:00.001-10:00

Disclaimer: I think only my mother could love such a video as I'm about to post. Ok, or maybe a grandmother. Or maybe my 2 year old nephew who can watch my Laie Falls Video on repeat without fail. (But I think he likes that one because he knows I fell and am covered in mud.) Not my most exciting video but...

Lauren asked about it.

Mom and Dad asked for it.

So here it is:

9 minutes of clips, from some of the songs we practiced in my ukulele lesson tonight. I've got a few 'uh-oh's and some 'haha's and what'have'you's.. but if you could see where I started, you'd be internet high'fiving me right now. There are some familiar songs (that hopefully you will recognize) and then some not so familiar Hawaiian songs.

The picture at the end is brought to you thanks to Sandra, who found my classroom by following the music...

Dont worry, be happy.

2011-03-25T10:40:00.000-10:00

1. Did I mention I have left the world of Honda for all things Toyota!? Sold off the manual windows (and locks), no AC runnin', automatic drivin', rusty-rachel-patched-herself accord, for a glorious ice cold AC blowin', leather sittin', sunroof gazin', manual Toyota camry. Yet to think of a name for her, but thats in the works.

2. Duke lost. Enough said already, but yes it would have been sweeter if Carolina had taken them out of the running! Still have Carolina in my heart, and in it to win it all on my family bracket, but drawing names at work for the sweet sixteen, I ended up with Kansas... So let's hear it for Kansas! (Easy, family! I can use that money for a flight home!)

3. Woohoo hawaii state holidays! Today is prince kuhio day! I'm actually working for a bit today, so to celebrate, we are playin basketball to old school Hawaiian music. Ahh work!

Sundays sign language

2011-03-21T10:59:00.003-10:00

Yesterday, I signed the worship music for our church. 2 reasons: The lady who normally does it needed a break, and my friend Miranda said she'd come support me if I got up there. 7 songs later... here I am. She took some video of me and the band. Here's one of the songs we sang, by Newsboys "He Reigns"...

tsunami #2

2011-03-11T22:08:00.003-10:00

japans 8.9 quake left them in disaster mode. luckily, we are blessed again to have dodged what could have been a major bullet. from what i'm seeing and hearing, there was some minor damage.. mostly to marina's and larger bays, i think a few homes on all the islands together, and so far - no deaths to speak of..

thursday night is grey's anatomy night. which means = girls night. as we were waiting on it to start, we're doing the usual: catching up on the updates, making smoothies, and you know.. browsing facebook when we see this post about japan and a possible tsunami. channel surf over to the news. nothing. then a few minutes and they are starting to broadcast it. then images from japan start getting air time. i will never forget those waves and seeing the water rush the land. water like that, here,... would wipe my neighborhood clean. eerie.

the news gives us hawaiians about a 5 hour time limit before the first wave, if it comes, will hit. "check phonebooks" to see if your neighborhood is in a evacuation zone. really?! phone books are going right out the window behind landlines. who has a phone book? where it is and if it's current? sirens are going to be going off every hour (someone had new batteries or their watch was a quick 60 though, as they came more frequently than that)

cell phone calls go first, then the news actually starts telling people to text (never thought i'd hear that - days of mocking the text/texter may be over)... which eventually gets tied up as well. and when it all came down? no calls could be made, but you could still get on facebook and write a message. it's weird when that's your main source of communication: where you get your news, and where you leave your news. but also a quick way to check in with a lot of people in a fast manner. i can post a status to say i'm fine, so everyone doesn't feel the need to call or text to see if i'm still alive. i have to say, it's handy. (facebook: 1 point.)

i can't say if i was more prepared this time than last year. i guess i was.

the thing about the 2 we've had since i've been here... they've both been generated by earthquakes far away from hawaii, so that we have plenty of time to think, hear and heed the warnings. a lot of time to think. yes, that is a good thing, and yes - that's what left me with this:

i guess when it comes down to it and you've got to go because high water is coming - nothing is really all that important but making sure i am safe. my jewelry that was given to me? (stolen this summer, so no super impt pieces now.) pictures? well, i don't print many out these days, and most of them are actually posted here or facebook (another point for you FB.) my tv? no good to me if there is no cable or electricity. and how would you carry a tv any amount of distance anyway? sure, one as small as mine currently is.. maybe.. but really.. how is that going to look? "yeah, the waters got everything, but i still have my precious 19" Samsung! i sure do love wheel of fortune!"

so that leaves me to ponder.. when you have the time to plan, what do you grab? do you fill your car with things? clothes? and another thing i don't understand - people rush to the gas station to fill their tanks with gas. Hello folks, my thoughts on that: if we truly get flooded, the roads are going to be shot, where are you driving to? if you cross that mountain, i'm sure it's going to be flooded on the other side as well! unless you are truly sitting on E, wait that out. i'll take a bicycle.

as it turns out, i grab things like contacts. because yes. i recently bought out Costco's row of 3.75 Oasis 2 brand contacts. and i'd hate to see that couple hundred just float away. besides a couple of basics to survive a few days on, i grabbed what i now know as my 3 favorite t-shirts: a PT's shirt (restaurant in Wilmington, NC!), a Big Ed's Pizza shirt (a hole in the wall kine restaurant in Oak Ridge, TN!) and a college t-shirt... the bag was rounded out with 1 bathing suit, some tanks and shorts. in another bag, my bible, some apples, granola bars and my camelbak water pouch filled and ready. apparently 5 hours is enough time to think "if i only had 1 purse to choose out of all these, which one is my favorite?". yup, i actually pondered that for a moment. just one of those things you never think you'll think about if you have 30 seconds, but give yourself 5 hours.. and you'll start putting too much thought into things. "car title. passport. birth certificate. tax info?" ahhh.

but really, would this suffice if what happened to japan also happened to hawaii?

hard to say. firetrucks started to make their rounds telling my neighborhood to leave for higher ground. i left for good ol' southern company of the Cribb family.

over at Sandras house, we stayed up until around 4am. when the wave should have hit the first and foremost outer island of Kauai and we heard nothing but crickets from the reporters - we all headed to bed. we figured Kauai was either getting no movement or all the sudden no longer existed. and seeing as how we can't do beans about either, we slept.

a short nap later, we all wake to find we are expected at work. roads were "closed", and we didn't get the "all clear" until around 8am or so this morning. our governor said state workers did not have to report to work, but since i didn't get a call from my boss, i headed in. needless to say, it was a long day full of chatter. i never found any coffee, and i tried to close my eyes on the weight bench during my lunch hour. not exactly your sealy posturepedic. but who am i to complain? i was able to come back to my house, take a nice hot shower, and after a failed attempt at a nap, start putting away all those things i had packed the night before.

prayers tonight for Japan. still hearing that (24 hours later) they are getting aftershocks of 7'somethings. i can't imagine....

2 years in HI!

2011-03-10T06:55:00.006-10:00

2 words:

SO FAST! (so fast!)

I feel like everything I say should be repeated (repeated!) to emphasize the fact that it's been 2 years!! (2 years!!) since I've been calling this aloha land home!! Seriously, already!! Never saw that coming... and going - so fast. For a girl with a track record that usually is marked every 6 months with a new address, this is some kind of record for me. Although, I must admit, it didn't come without it's itches. Yesterday, just 1 day shy of this ginormous rachel-record day, I had a moment.. serious conversations at work, and starting to think about my future and what is going to happen and where I'm going to be. Is this a pit stop? Is this island my home forever? A little 'aaaahhhh?!' moment... luckily, Dad brought me back to life and reminded me that I can't control everything and to take it one da kine at a time. Well, I'm pretty sure he didn't say "da kine".. but eh, good call brah.

It's been 10 months since I've been home. That, plus... chatting with my good high school friend the other day and he told me I'm loosing my accent... I believe its time to look at scheduling a southern vacation!!

So am I celebrating my 2 year anniversary in paradise?
Well, I sure am!!
8am celebrations at the dentist office!

cheers for heels

2011-03-06T19:18:00.001-10:00

Saturday afternoon.

The Shack.

3:00pm.

Duke vs Carolina

Friends and enemies cheered from the same table.

But Miranda's downward shaka tells all..

WOO HOO HEELS!

thats right.

good times!

play that uke.

2011-03-01T20:57:00.000-10:00

~ i got spontaneous today and signed myself up for ukulele lessons. first thing to know when inquiring about lessons. it's pronounced: "oo koo lay lay."

~ not "you kay lay lee".. that will distinguish you as 'non-local' right off the bat.

~ lesson one was tonight.

~ i turned up to be the only 'non-local' anyway. i thought this was a beginner's class!? the kumu (teacher) walks around and tuned everyones uke. all the while, my fellow "beginner" peers are strumming and practicing. me? i've never even really strummed the thing. i just grabbed one from work and came to class, expecting to be taught, along with everyone else "how to correctly strum." just in these few minutes, i have managed to trade in my hat, rather quickly, from the only 'non-local' to a larger, louder hat that says i'm also the only 'true-beginner'... excellent.

~ we are handed some charts and are expected to start practicing C, G7 and D7. i'm thinking i am going to make it. i know what a 7 is on the piano, that's got to be a good sign, right? more importantly, it's a good thing someone has previously showed me what these graphs were about, or I'd really be hurtin'. the student helper gets to me, and takes note that I am strumming with my thumb. correction #1: use your pointer finger, the sides of it. your finger is too stiff, loosen your wrist.... i go from somewhat blending in, to nailing every string like they're popping off the thing. i can't seem to grasp this. (i begin to play softer.)... perfect.

~ the sweet instructor then takes a moment to go over how strumming is super important and having a solid strum really makes up so much of playing. he manages to look around the room at everyone while indirectly speaking to me. his student doesn't manage that well and stares, with a smile, mouthing "you'll get it." ... lovely.

~ sensing everyone is ready to move on (but me) he continues on. now, we are going to play a song with the chords we've just practiced. it's a hawaiian song. "does everyone know this song and rhythm?" of course i don't. everyone nods. i nod too, but my nod is a "nope."....terrific.

~ the goal is for all of us to "sound like one uke"... heaven have mercy on me. we manage through it, where i find a few chords at the right time, and a few at the wrong time, but i'm playing softly, so it's not as noticeable. the student comes over and stands by me for verse 2.... wonderful.

~ "i must be better under pressure" i think to myself, he smiles and says some reaffirming words that give me some sort of hope that i'm going to make it (and actually may be improving)... marvelous!

~ we play 2 more songs. neither of which i am familiar.... stupendous!

~ the homework for next week is to nail down a few chords and work on the strumming. i'm going to guess it's just like a sport, and i just need to practice it like i would practice shooting free throws. muscle memory. the kumu says he is going to teach us hawaiian and country songs.... fantastic! I know all those!!

omega station, Kaneohe

2011-02-21T22:11:00.001-10:00

Here's a few more of the Stairway hike turned

Omega Station adventure.

(Apparently the tv show Lost filmed a bit here.)

On the roof:

Nick, Paka, me and Nick

aka the YMCA'ers

Could not get the timing down for the "jump" picture:

Beautiful Kaneohe in the morning:

This is the Omega Station.

Yeah, not a huge fan of wandering,

at any time, but especially at night time.

Haunted house for Halloween set already?

Not sure why I was smiling in this next one...

After walking through this building, in the dark,

I guess I was glad to be outside? (and alive.)

Even if I was going up to the roof.

9pm to 9am:

2011-02-19T17:41:00.004-10:00

It has been a jammed packed 12 hours.

And now, I'm resisting the urge to take a nap...

in hopes of sleeping great tonight.

Oh the plans you commit yourself to. They all sound so good, you know? We had decided. Saturday was go day. That mountain was ours. "Stairway to Heaven" is going to get checked off the list. (Not familiar? - check out this video for a quick idea of what I'm talking about.)

So there it is...

Actually, there is work:

But that mountain in the background...

And so, I leave work on Friday, and head home... where I later decide to play tennis.

4 hours and many tennis games later...

I start thinking this may not have been the best idea

if I'm going to do this hike in the morning...

Then there is the 3:30am text.

Something vaguely similar to "are you in?" Feeling like a 7th grader about to skip out of my parents house, in the middle of the night, I respond back with where are we meeting?, and roll out of bed. An hour later, at the grocery store parking lot, in a very non-stealthy way, we crank up and follow each other to the neighborhood entrance. Oh, did I mention this hike is illegal now? It was actually kept up by the state, but now they post a guard at it's entrance to keep people off/out. The local grapevine says the guards start around 6am, or about... So everyone knows, just go early enough, and you'll get on up the stairs.

Parked and cutting through some bamboo forest area:

we come across our first fence...

which has a very nice hole cut open in the bottom...

and someone has even laid down a beach mat...

so no crawling in the mud.

It's 4:45am, and we're through (or under) the first gate, around the corner, and over the hill, when we see a group of 8 or so already standing just short of where the "steps" start. We approach and they are more than eager to share the news.. (and their idea of how to proceed.) Apparently the guard is already there. Already!!? It's not even 5am yet. The mind starts to churn and we're all debating:

1. Whether this guy can be paid off?

2. If all groups combine together, and go towards him, what can he do?

3. If he is even on the clock, or just in early to enjoy ruining people's plans.

4. If there is another way to get up and jump on the stairs after a climb?

Maybe it's just perfect weather + a holiday weekend = Not a chance?

My friend Nick starts to walk up to where said guard is...

*Flashlight beam hits Nick* "Stairs are CLOSED!"

and ok. moving to plan B.

Only we don't have a plan B.

A few minutes later, we're discussing the idea of the Omega Station. You can see this old abandoned building from the H3, so it's close by, and what seems like our only decent option to get a picture of the sunrise. After all, we're up this early, might as well make it count. So we go. We go to this old, tall, spray-painted, haunted-house looking thing. Armed with not much more than a few small flashlights, we enter and I'm immediately scared. I start thinking of all the stories at work I've heard, and thought how perfect of a place this is for my patients to hide out at. I didn't want to go in, but I surely wasn't going to be left outside, and I did want to the see the sunrise from somewhere. So, I immediately enact a new rule. Being the only female, in my most southern voice I declare that "I am not to be 4th".. which means, when we're exploring this place, at no point in time, did I want to be the last (or first, for that matter) to enter a room or leave a room. I wanted the boys on all sides, at all times. haha. Feeling like a girl? yes. but totally freaked out and don't care? completely. I tried to block the ~~stories~~ things I've read in charts at work and think of pretty flowers. And they complied. I know they couldn't see the terror on my face, just because it was too dark, but I think they could hear it in my voice.

So after finally exploring every room, on each and every floor, we found ourselves a way to the roof and awaited the sun.

Finally!

Seeing these now, I think I need to work on my vertical.

Or maybe the camera just captured me on my way down.

Here's the place, which doesn't look as terrible in the sunlight.

And that was just to start off my morning.

Then I went to work to pick up some overtime.

Picked up some patients,

went on our beach outing...

...and that was only until 9am today...

skyping 3rd graders

2011-02-17T10:05:00.002-10:00

Spent some time this morning skyping with Candace's 3rd grade class, (in North Carolina) to talk about Hawaii and Volcanoes. It was cute. I taught them some Hawaiian words, showed them a lei (and why you wear it) and a surfboard. But, mostly just the volcanoes. And then a question about pets.. and oh, back to "have you hiked an ACTIVE volcano?" "What about sharks?" and "Have you seen any LAVA?"

Guessing I would have been "cooler" if I had seen lava! (or a shark)

meatless monday #1

2011-02-15T17:31:00.001-10:00

Meatless Monday's Menu:

Breakfast:

Stoneyfields Organic Vanilla Yogurt

topped with:

Strawberries and blueberries

pomegranate flax seed and granola

Lunch:

that's a spinach salad with :

Red: tomatoes

Orange: carrots

Yellow: Bell pepper

White: feta

Green: edamame, avocado, capers

There's no room to even think about meat.

(dressing: lemon juice, vinegar, garlic & onion salt)

and with not enough time in the day, Dinner:

2 eggs on bread with cheese.

squeezing in all the Mere time I can before

she becomes responsible for little man.

Valentines day was rounded out with a movie:

Gnomeo and Juliet. Cute.

a great day indeed.
:)

Food, Inc.

2011-02-13T23:09:00.000-10:00

Note to reader: this post is much different than my usual random postings, but just as much if not more, deserves your attention, for it's OUR health I'm speaking of...

Today: church, nap, phone calls (x5) - therefore nap extended to 4 hours... then somewhere deep down, I found some motivation. Grilled some chicken, tomatoes and bell pepper. As the sun was setting, I decided it was a nice night for a run. I hit the loop, finished in a close to personal best for the 2.5 miles, and went back to the park to use the kids playground for pull-ups, squats, dips, and push-ups. Needless to say, I was feeling great. I think continually learning is imperative to growth and so I settled in to watch a movie 3 friends have recommended to me as of late: Food, Inc.

People.

Have you seen this? good gracious. The world needs to know what we are doing to ourselves / putting in our bodies.

Before you stop reading, or start skimming - this is not a meat bashing film. It's not telling anyone, at any point, to go vegetarian. It is however, shedding light on the subject of what is really going on in our food industry. and all I have to say is WOW.

To summarize... these big companies (4 or 5) pretty much own the market and the food that goes in it. They've engineered ways to grow a chicken in half the time it normally takes, and also make it 5 times as large. The problem is they've added all sorts of growth hormones, these chickens never see the light of day, and can't walk, because their newly structured 5 pound bodies can't be supported by their bones. And so I ask you, as I ask myself... who wants to eat the breast of a unhealthy chicken that can't walk? The USDA said it was okay for us to use these hormones, yet Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Japan and all European Union countries say NO.

These farms you see on the pictures of the packages in the grocery stores, are not at all what the farms look like... they're much different. Cows being trained to eat corn, that has to be shipped in, and then standing ankle deep in waste. Yum. I'll take some of THAT meat.

And the lady who showed her Chicken houses? Lost her contract. Imagine that.

I consider myself a healthy and smart grocery shopper. I love fruits and veggies... but I am definitely going to start paying attention to the labels on the backs of everything I'm buying. Thanks to my new blender, I've been making all things smoothies lately. So last week when I ran out of yogurt, I went to the store and bought a big tub of Vanilla (Lucerene brand) because it was on sale. Turns out, I don't like the taste of it. I didn't use it, but I didn't throw it away either. I went back and purchased Stoneyfield... #1. Taste so much better. #2. They are organic, and raise their animals on a farm like they should be raised. They are also in this video. I'm a fan. They aren't selling out for money, they are unwilling to compromise what they believe in, and are in it for the health of the people. After this movie, I immediately got up to compare both labels. Seriously, just check that out next time you're in the store. So what if you have to pay an extra .60 cents for the organic one. You're saving yourself from health problems later down the road.

So, new plans:

Meatless Mondays. Why? Plenty reasons here. Check back on future Mondays for post of what meatless meals I've made.
Farmers Markets. Buy local!!!!! Do I even need to type this out? Does this even need reasoning? You're supporting someone who is working for you - if he's not selling his crops, he is going to have to submit to the corporations to buy his crop, which will eventually lead to them telling him how to raise his animals.
Read labels - not just for the calories, sugars, fat grams that I usually check, but the ingredients to make sure these animals and plants are being raised right.
Find what is in season and buy that.

They want us not to question what we are eating. And by us not demanding better choices, (grass-fed, hormone-free, locally-raised options) we are not only putting on the blindfold and walking the plank, we're providing the blindfold and tying it ourselves. Way to go, us.