A Few of My Favorite Things

Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens
Bright copper kettles and warm woolen mittens
Brown paper packages tied up with strings
These are a few of my favorite things?.?.?.?

Hum...I think if I were to make a list of favorites, kettles would not be on it--let alone bright, copper ones. Plus, I HATE brown paper packages. I prefer the bright patterned kind with fancy ribbon, not string. However, the song got me to thinking about the things I do love. AND lucky for you, I'm going to post ALL of them. So sit back and enjoy! (These appear in no particular order).

1. Sailing: I did this for the first time this year, and it is fabulous. The feel of the wind in your hair, the dolphins and flying fish cruising alongside the boat, sipping a nice Diet Coke. Nothing like it in the world. (By the way, the Pepsi in my hand is my husbands. Don't worry, my favorite diet soda--I would never cheat on you. :-)) 2. Sunsets on Turtle Bay: Pina Colada in hand, tiki torches, plastic poolside lounge chair. Ahhhhh...feel the relaxation.
3. Running: I NEVER thought I would say that. However, there is something wonderful when you hit your stride; breath becomes rythmic, feet turn to auto-pilot, and music blares in the headphones.
4. My kids laughing: I wish it happened more often. Usually it is the sound of squabbling that drifts up from the basement. But once in a while, when the moon is full, I hear all three laughing that deep-belly laugh that comes from true enjoyment--and they are actually doing it together. So Good! 5. A Completed Chapter: Writing is one of the most difficult, yet rewarding, things I've ever done. There is nothing better than putting the period at the end of the chapter that has been extremely hard to write. (Can't wait until I'm putting the period at the end of my completed book.)
6. My job: Working with kids is not the easiest of jobs, but it is definitely enlightening. Seeing a kid finally catch on to something they've never understood is priceless...AND...It never gets boring. So for someone with a short attention span like me, it is perfect. 7. A Clean Kitchen: This so seldom happens at my house, but when it does--magic is the only way to describe it. I love when the countertops are cleaned and the appliances shiny, the chairs pushed in and no crumbs on the carpet (yes, I have carpet in my kitchen--not my choice, but the people who built the house). It is the one room in my home that, when it is clean, the whole house feels clean.
8. Pajama Days: I truly adore days when I can stay in my pajamas from sun-up to sun-down. I enjoy staying in bed that long too. Usually my life is so busy, but every once in a blue moon, this happens, and I LOVE it!
9. Movies: Bad movies, stupid movies, funny movies, sad movies--it doesn't matter. I get excited even thinking about the smell of the popcorn, the sticky floor, the lights dimming, and the previews coming on the screen. I just relish sitting in a darkened movie theater. 10. Organizing: I know my house would never show this, BUT, I think organizing things is 'Da Bomb'. I make piles for each thing and then sort those into same colors, sizes, and shapes...and alphabetical order...sigh...alphabetical order is the best. I think I let things get messy again, just so I can organize it again. Very satisfying when something that was a jumbled wreck is finally laid out in order and function. Wish I had more time, because EVERYTHING, even my socks, would be color-coded.
11. Campfires: It is no secret to anyone who knows me that I hate camping. I don't like being dirty and I hate things not being convenient. However, I L-O-V-E sitting by a campfire. I like roasting marshmallows, hotdogs, and just the end of the stick. Even the smoke smell is kinda comforting (that is, until the fire is gone--then I don't want that smell around me anymore. I H-A-T-E smelling like a campfire.) 12. Good Friends: Every once in a while you get to meet someone who becomes someone truly special. Whenever, I get to spend time with someone like that, I get really excited. Doesn't matter if it's family, my high school buds, my teacher compadres, or my Writer's Group besties. I love them all! 13. An Awesome Book: Actually books should be higher on my list. I have had a love affair with books for decades (three to be exact). When I was younger, I would go to my friend's houses just to see what books they had. (Yes, I am a geek--check out my earlier posts about that). I wish they made a perfume room spray that smelled like an old book store. Ahhhh...the smell of wrinkly old pages and leather covers. Let me revel in it a moment.


Okay--done revelling.

14. Useless, but Interesting, Information: I have a penchant for 'Bathroom Readers'. No seriously, they have some really great info. in there. Little snippets on the edges of magazines or sides of cereal boxes. There are hidden facts all around us. I collect the facts and store it in a rarely used section of my brain entitled: "Things it probably doesn't matter if you ever remember again, but it's cool." 15. Conspiracy Theories: I like thinking that someone is always out to get someone else. Whenever I hear of a politician or a stock broker dieing, the first thing that pops into my head is "I wonder what they knew too much about." The guy who got pulled over and claimed he was an alien? Maybe he really is... Drug company virus creations, presidential cover-ups, you name it and I think it is interesting. The unique aside to this is, I don't believe in the major conspiracies. "Area 51?" pshaw. "JFK Assassination", maybe the Lee Harvey was just a wacko who wanted to be famous, so he killed the president.

...SO now you know a little bit more about me. If these don't stop you from returning to my site, then I don't know what will. I accept the fact that I am strange...I guess, you had just better accept it too.

Absence Makes the Heart Grow...Oh Who Am I Kidding?

I've been absent from the blog-o-sphere of late and have been feeling a little guilty about it, worrying that all those billions of people who read my blog would be missing me, when lo and behold, I see that no one has been reading my blog.

It makes me feel, oh I don't know, like that 25 page research paper you are forced to write in high school. You know the teacher is never going to read it, but you still work so hard making it look good. However, you slip in that one little line...'and you are probably not even reading this paper so I'm just going to say that you suck'--when, sure as shootin', you get your paper back with a large 'EXCELLENT' on the front and nothing else written throughout the entire paper.

That...is my blog.

And you know what?

I am perfectly okay with that. Because I have been writing...and writing...and writing, and I am loving it! I am now up to almost 55,000 words. I'm on chapter 18 and I'm half way to finishing my first novel. (Well the first draft of it anyway) I feel so accomplished. I've also started my list of 'Top 20 people I want to be my Literary Agent'.

So...I'm feeling an ackward pause...like when you meet that person you were good friends with 10 years ago, but haven't spoken to since, and now you've just finished up your small talk with them and don't know how to say "I gotta go."

Therefore, let me end with the classic..."I know, I know. We need to see each other more often. It's been too long. Yes, Yes, I'll call you." *kiss kiss hug hug* (Don't speak again for another 10 years)

*Really, I might post again soon, but if history repeats itself, it will probably just be with the classic 'Christmas pictures' no one else cares about but me. Oh, and certainly my list of things I'm thankful for in honor of Thanksgiving...you know, the usual. :-) Ta ta

Shingles, Power Tools, Cowboys, and Pirates

My kids are at the perfect ages to mix up words and basically do the cutest darned things EVER! Here are a few of our latest:
Cute-ism#1
I'm sitting in the other room putting the binding on a quilt I'm making (yes, folks, that is no typo, I actually crafted something),when I hear Micky gasping and screaming out in fake pain. Then she yells in her 'irritated' voice. "I can't do it! I don't know how anyone does it!"
I answer her with, "What? What is wrong? What can't you do?"
She comes stalking in, "I can't do the shingles."
"The what now?" I ask.
"The shingles," she whines.
"What are the shingles?"
"This." And she goes down into the straddles on the ground.
Whew, I've never heard of anyone upset about not getting the shingles.

Cute-ism #2
I'm watching some t.v., just chillin with my two year old AJ, and Micky comes in with brush and hair dilly-dallies in hand. "Hey mom, want me to fix your hair?" she asks.
"Of course," I say. (because I love having my hair combed)
She climbs up next to me and starts brushing and coifing to her hearts delight. I notice AJ watching and taking it all in. Then he turns to me, "I fix hair mom?"
"Okay!"
He runs into his bedroom and I'm wondering what he could possibly be doing when he runs out with all of his play powertools, a huge smile on his face. "I fix."
He climbs up and starts sawing, hammering, and drilling my head.
Moral of the story: You're not a man's man until you 'fix' your hair with power tools.

Cute-ism #3
I had just picked AJ up from the babysitters and I'm in a hurry to get home, so I'm driving pretty fast. Suddenly I hit a huge pothole and the car bottoms out and scrapes on the pavement. I look in my rearview and see there are no car parts left on the road, so I figure it's all good. I'm worried though because I hear AJ whimpering in the back. To cheer him up, I yell "YEEEE HAAAAAW" as loud as I can.
He covers his ears and says. "Cowboys Yee Haw mom. You no cowboy. You no Yee Haw."

Last One
Over Fall Break Jerry and I took the kids to the new themed restaurant in Orem, Pirate Island. We had a lot of fun, making the menus into pirate hats, getting balloon animals, eating pizza and coconut shrimp, and playing lame arcade games to win enough tickets to buy a tootsie roll. Fast forward about five days.
I'm running late for work (as usual)so I run in and wake up AJ, trying to get him to hurry. He rolls over, stretches, and says something, but I don't catch it.
"Hurry, buddy, get up," I say as I bustle around his room.
He lays there, then says, "I go pirate ship now?"
"Pirate ship?"
"Yeeeeeep." (You have to hear him say this. He never says yeah or yes, it's always yeeeeeep.)
"Did you dream about pirates buddy?"
"Yeeeeeep"
"Were they mean pirates?"
"Nooooooo"
"So you dreamed about nice pirates?"
"Yeeeeeep"
"So you want to go to their pirate ship?"
"Yeeeeeeep, I need more cannie (candy)."

What Chew Talkin' Abou' Dan Brown or My Review of The Lost Symbol

Let me just begin with an excerpt from the book:(if you can't get through it, don't worry I had to skip over half of it myself)
"So tell me, Kate," her brother had asked while she was home on vacation during her sophomore year at Yale. "What are Elis reading these days in theoretical physics?"
Katherine had stood in her family's book-filled library and recited her demanding reading list.
"Impressive," her brother replied. "Einstein, Bohr, and Hawking are modern geniuses. But are you reading anything older?"
Katherine scratched her head. "You mean like...Newton?"
He smiled. "Keep going." At twenty-seven, Peter had already made a name for himself in the academic world, and he and Ketherine had grown to savor this kind of playful intellectual sparring.

What follows after this is a rousing debate with a few words like...entanglement theory, Subatomic research, Dharmakaya, 'at-one-ment', polarity, Kybalion, binary systems, superstring theory, and multidimensional cosmological models.
Hahaha...what fun! I always love these kind of physiological debates about the origin of man with my brother too.

Okay, I'm not saying the book is wordy per-se, but frankly, the book is wordy. I have enjoyed Dan Brown novels in the past and have always felt a little awestruck by the amount of information I learned through reading them. However, subatomic theory is a little over my head, and no one told me I needed to hold a Doctorate degree in order to know all these scientific and religious texts and people it mentions off-hand. I usually feel like a fairly smart individual, but for the first time when reading a novel, I felt like a complete moron.
I started to get bugged by comments like "I am standing in the sublevel basement of the U.S. Capitol Building" or "The room felt like a tomb" from the main character. And comments like "I am perfect" by the 'bad guy' as he stared at himself naked in the mirror.
There were other minor inconsistencies as well. For instance, if you had just been knocked unconsious and drowned could you honestly "run" somewhere right after this? Is it possible to have an appendage cut off, be shaved head to toe, see a loved one die, and still want to explain the inner dimensions of the masonic order in a very casual way, even 'laughing' over the cute way a person doesn't undertand what you are saying? I didn't think so either.
My last complaint has to do with Robert Langdon himself. As far as I know, this book is supposed to have taken place after 'Angels and Demons' and 'Da Vinci Code', yet the main character acts like everything he sees is a 'shock' he just can't believe. Honestly, how many times does he have to be trapped in a deep, dark, tiny space before he just gets over is claustrophia for heavens sake? How many times does he have to see something that was considered legend be true before he just kind of starts to believe in things before he sees them? Langdon really sort of drove me nuts in this story.

All of this being said...I would still recommend this book to other people, and no, its not because I want other people to be miserable. I like the underlying message of the book. I love the idea of 'science' and 'religion' co-existing without wanting to tear each other's eyes out. The information about the Masonic Brotherhood was also very interesting, and I did want to go to the places it mentions that are right in downtown Washington D.C. and see them for myself. There is also a very interesting twist right there at the end that is almost a 'Sixth Sense' kind of moment.

Overall... I give it 3 1/2 stars. Three stars for the things in the paragraph prior to this and a half star for character development and dialogue.

P.S. It took me four times longer to read this than any of the other Dan Brown books, so leave yourself plenty of time if you happen to read this for a book club or something.

A Day Late and a Gazillion Pictures Short

I'm a teacher. I know there is no such thing as 'a gazillion'. However, when I started looking at all the pictures I haven't uploaded yet, a billion or even a trillion just didn't seem to cut it. If you check out my blog (that is, you whole two people that ever look at it)you'll notice that my posting this summer was just plain pitiful. I can't write everything we did or I would be sitting here for a week, and frankly, I've got a book to write. So... here is my spewing of the basic facts of the Jordan Summer.
Micky and AJ working on their Model poses. Actually, when AJ saw Micky wearing this towel in this cool way, he had to be a part of it.
Ty and Jerry went on a Fathers and Sons campout with my dad's ward. Basically, the campout was off the charts lame, so this one picture just summarizes all the fun. :)
Andrew loves! trains. He has a borderline obsession. Here is he and Micky waiting their turn to ride the train.
On the train ride. We paid 3 bucks a piece for this. No wonder they had the train to themselves.
At least the train looks cute.
I was a little nervous about pools this year,H1N1 and all, so we bought a cheap pool. Ty and his friends still enjoyed it though.
Haha...Micky is more about the pose than what she is doing. She loves water, but she also likes looking cute in her swimsuit.
Andy wasn't sure if swimming was for him. His swim outfit was comfortable though. :)
Nothing fun to do this summer? Just plaster yourself with stickers. I actually love this picture because Andy is finally old enough to play with the kids.
He can play with them--that doesn't mean he should play with them. :)
Oh the joys of having a big brother. Ty and Andy in mid-wrestling match
Who will be triumphant? Probably the BIG brother. But at least they are BOTH smiling.
Proof that I am the coolest mom ever. I took my two older kids to the Jonas Brothers Concert in Vegas. This picture was taken at one o' clock in the morning.
A trip to Vegas is not complete without a trip to the Cheesecake Factory.
While Ty and I took our Vegas sign picture, this was McKayla. So...am I really a good parent? Or is it child abuse when your daughter falls asleep in the middle of a concert she's supposed to be enjoying?
After the Jo Bro Concert--All the kids...that were still awake. :)
We Love The Jonas Brothers. This was before the concert and they were all decked in their Jo Bro outfits. The concert was actually really fun. I knew all the songs and could sing along to every one. SHHHH, don't tell anyone though. Anyone over the age of 16 should not know Jonas Brothers songs.
After the concert Micky just had to have some Jonas PJ's. Doesn't she look awesome?
Once again, it ain't a picture if there ain't a pose.
Moore Family Reunion here again. This is my whole crazy, loveable family. My family was actually in charge this year. We had a BLAST!
One hit of the reunion was our skit bags. This is me in my acting debut. Don't ask me what our skit was actually about.
I was in charge of the crafts for the reunion. Being the completely lazy person that I am, I went with craft that could be created with what we found around us. This was a mask we made with paper plates, leaves, and a few babbles.
Another hit was the pet rocks all the kids got to paint. They are sooo enjoying themselves.
I LOVE this picture. This is my nephew, Ethan. He just accidentally ate a bubble. Isn't that picture priceless?
Best cousins. These kids are practically brothers and sisters yet they still love being together.
This is a random pic. Andy trying on Jerry's shoes. I think I have pictures of all of my children doing this. This pic is especially special because he happened to have stitches in his lip. (check my earlier post for that detail)
Every summer we go to Payson park on Sunday nights and 'watch' the band concert. Usually the grown ups just sit around chatting the whole time and don't hear a word of the music. The kids make their own fun. This week, one of the nice people sitting by us gave them free glow sticks. They thought it was fabulous!
Another kid band concert highlight? Hitting a stick on the trees. FUN!
Fourth of Jyly is always spent in Nephi. Every year Ty tries to do the grease pole. He hasn't made it to the top yet, but he's getting closer.
This is a classic Micky pic. Love it!
Waiting for their turn to climb the grease pole. Do they look nervous?
Daddy and Andy--Making their own fun in Nephi park.
End of Summer. First day of school. It's grade 5 for Ty and grade 2 for Mick.
Hogle Zoo Carousel--We actually did this before school started, but I was just too lazy to change it.
This picture is so cute. I wanted to post the one before it though. It actually captured the essense of what it is like to take photos of kids. The extra cute add-on is my pretend niece Jazzy. She is my cousin's daughter, but I just call her my niece.
Here is Andy's turn on the carousel. He LovEd It!
Ty petting a sting ray at the Living Planet Aquarium.
The awesome part of the Aquarium, the Amazon Rain Forest section. I could stay here for hours.
Isn't this pose to die for? He sat like this throughout the entire aquarium, like he was watching a TV show or something. I loved it.
My sista Teresa graduated with a Master's Degree in the Fall. I was so proud of her. She is an awesome sister and is almost too smart for me now. :)

Well, that's it. If you are reading this, GET A LIFE! Just kidding. Hope you enjoyed the summer exhale of pictures. Don't you wish your family was as cool as we? See ya!

Happy 14th

Jerry and I celebrated our 14 year anniversary on September 15th. How can time go so quickly on some weeks and seem to have lasted an eternity on other weeks? It reminds me of one of my very favorite books; 'A Lantern in Her Hand' by: Bess Streeter Aldrich. When Abbie Deal's true love comes home from the Civil War and asks her to be his wife. The dialogue goes like this:

"I was afraid all the time, Will"
Will held her close, smoothed her red-brown hair.
Afraid of what, Abbie girl?
"I don't know. Just Afraid."
"You're not afraid with me?"
"Not with you, Will. Why is that?"
"Because I love you and you love me."
"Yes, that's it... and I'm not afraid."
"Of life with me, Abbie-girl?"
"Not of anything, Will, with you."
"And you'll always love me?"
"Always Will,...in this life and the next."

So you understand...this was my vision of what love was as a young teenage girl. Always thinking life held a fairy tale ending for any one who wanted one. Imagine my surprise, when I realized there is no ending and that sometimes you are afraid, and sometimes things go wrong. Maybe Jerry and I don't have a book-ending kind of marriage, but these are all the things I love about my husband.
-He let's me be me. Even when I'm being a bit of a Bee-otch.
-He has worked nights for nine years just so our children won't have to go to daycare.
-He is a hard worker and makes our home and yard look awesome.
-He still thinks I'm hot even though I look so much different than I did when we first got married.
-He is willing to sing really loud in car with me.
-He has given me a love of classic rock(something I didn't think I'd ever want, let alone appreciate)
-He is a wonderful dad.
-He takes me on FUN vacations.
-He still holds my hand even though I know he hates holding hands because he thinks he has sweaty palms.
-He does the laundry and the dishes, and only complains about it once in a while.
-He has a hilarious belly laugh (if you haven't heard it, you really should)
and last but most important...
-He loves me.
Thanks Jer, for fourteen great years. We've had our ups and downs, but I'm glad I've experienced those highs and lows with you.
LOVE YA!

Another Brilliant Idea

I often sit around thinking that life is good, and how lucky I really am to be alive and have my wonderful family and great friends. However, being the true American I really am, I am never satisfied. What would make having a life of safety and cleaniless (something not attainable in a third world country) better you ask? Why a soundtrack from the sky of course.

I am an avid movie watcher. I love how, when something sad happens, the depressing music crescendos at just the right moment making you cry your eyes out. It's fabulous when the two lovers finally get together and a little bit of a love song floats in from the background. Best of all, in a scary movie, they let us know something bad is going to happen when a creepy tune starts playing right before the guy jumps out of the closet. Wouldn't life be that much more wonderful if this happened for us?

Imagine for a moment you are driving along the road and suddenly, out of nowhere, the Jaws Theme starts playing in your car. Sure enough, right when the music hits fever pitch a hidden policeman pulls out behind you and gives you a ticket. Or, your jerk of a boyfriend that you've given years of your life to suddenly breaks up with you. At the perfect moment, Alannis Morriset's Jagged Little Pill soundtrack rips over an intercom. Now picture yourself having the best hair and clothes day you've had in a long time, and as you walk out of the bathroom Justin Timberlake's Sexy Back comes blasting out. Be honest, wouldn't that be awesome!

I keep hearing all these conspiracy theories, true or fake, about how the Government has devices that can track us where ever we go. Via satelite they pretty much know when you are using the bathroom or blowing your nose. They can track you through your credit cards also, which is why they are trying to make credit card usage an infection that spreads to every person in America. Well, I have to say, that if they have this kind of technology, then why can't they also create the soundtrack tracker?

How it would work is that a music system/satellite would be launched into space for every person in the U.S., because lets face it, there are not enough satellites in space. Then they could just install some type of microchip in your brain that tracks your moods (There's no way some one could use this for evil, right?). Then when your mood changed, a song would play inside your head that was perfect for whichever situation you might be in. It would be SO GREAT!

So, just in case someone ever does get smart enough to create this and not destroy all of mankind with the technology, here is my list of songs I would want in 'Margie's Life Soundtrack'.

A Bad Day- 'You Found Me' by:The Fray or 'Survivor' by:Destiny's Child
A Fat day (don't we all have these?)- 'Big and Chunky' by: will.i.am or 'Paper Bag' by: Anna Nalick
Sporting a Sexy Outfit- 'Sexy Back' by: Justin Timberlake or 'Single Ladies' by: Beyonce
Fighting with someone- 'I Don't Care' by: Fall Out Boy or 'Bad Reputation' by: Half Cocked
A Hard day at work- 'Take Me Away' by: Plain White T's
Feeling Stressed Out- '4 Minutes' by: Madonna and Justin Timberlake
Watching my kids get along- 'Makes Me Happy' by: Drake Bell
Fight with Hubby- 'So What' by: Pink
Tender Moment w/Hubby- 'Your Call' by: Secondhand Serenade, 'No Other Love' by: Chuck Prophet, and 'Crash Into Me' by: Dave Matthews Band
Finding Time to actually go running-'Let It Rock' by: Kevin Rudolf or 'Dirty Little Secret' by:The All-American Rejects
Bidding Farewell- 'Say' by: John Mayer or 'Homeward Bound' by: Mormon Tabernacle Choir

These are just a few of the songs I would request in my micro-chip, brain-implanted soundtrack. I know I would HAVE to have some U2, Pearl Jam, Jewel, Queen, Eric Clapton, Aretha Franklin, and Bing Crosby in there somewhere. Until that day comes, I guess I'll just have to keep my IPod handy and the radio blasting in my car.

A Formal Complaint to "The World"

7 August 2009

Me
Fed Up Lane
My life

To Whom it May Concern:
I had the opportunity of visiting your "offices" this past week, and I have a few complaints to make you aware of.

First of all, you don't have to make so many cops with attitude problems. They shouldn't follow you for five miles waiting for you to make a mistake. They shouldn't pull you over for not signaling for two seconds before changing lanes. And most of all, they shouldn't treat you rudely just because you drive a ghetto car with duct tape on the bumper. Could you please look into that for me, or at least tell them they should be following the '3 second' rule instead of riding my butt while they wait for me to make a mistake.

Secondly, I would appreciate it if you could keep your winds to a slight breeze. One of your more gusty rebels picked up my tramp yesterday and flung it into a neighbors yard three houses down, completing mutilating it. Also explain to me why you would choose our brand new tramp to pick on when all the surrounding neighbors tramps that are older and dingier didn't even budge an inch. I will be expecting a check for $350.00, the cost of the trampoline.

Lastly, could you please keep your "offices" clean? Frankly, I'm tired of my kids coming in from playing at "your house", and getting their filthy, dirty feet and bodies all over my sheets and couch. I've had to wash my sheets every other day, and bath children who are grumpy because they are tired. You just seem to wear them out, and I need them awake and alert when they start school in a week and half. (Thank Goodness).

If you could just take care of those items for me, it would be greatly appreciated. Oh, and while you're at it, I would appreciate a fog-free brain, a self cleaning house, a car that doesn't require gas (or duct tape), and a reprieve from giving a talk in church on Sunday. Thank you for your prompt reply. I am eagerly awaiting your response.

Sincerely,
Me

Hawaii AND Bust...(my pants that is)

I'm a little late posting this, but between BBQs, Trampoline set-ups, stitches, classroom moving, etc., I haven't had time.
My husband and I got back about a week ago from a thoroughly relaxing trip to Hawaii. Ahhhhh, was it blissful! We stayed up late, learned to be 'slumdog millin-aires', ate, woke up early, snorkeled, ate, lounged on the beach, ate, saw sea turtles, swam with sharks, ate, watched t.v. without having to get up once to break up fighting kids, ate, read books, solved People Magazine crossword puzzles, ate, drank pina coladas by the Turtle Bay pool, went on a sunset catamarran sail,ate... Are we seeing a common theme?
I think I spent two months trying to body prep myself for this trip. I ate less, exercised more, got a pedicure and gel toes (recommended), a spray-on tan (not recommended), got my hair cut and highlighted, and waxed,well we won't go into that (ouch!) I really wanted to look fabulous. I then spent the entire week of my vacation undoing all the hard work. My spray tan washed off in splotchy blotches after about one trip to the beach. My hair was, well, humidity-driven the entire time (aka frizzy), and I ate so much food I gained five pounds. Why do I do this myself? Because looking good is hard work and work frankly, SUCKS!
Now don't get me wrong. This trip is definitely in the Top 3 BEST vacations I've ever been on. Our friends we traveled with were awesome! We've always been good friends, but it was truly fun getting to know them better. I laughed more in that week than I think I have in the rest of the year combined. I discovered snorkeling and that I love it. I even want to get a Scuba License now. I became a beach bum (which if you've known me at all-you'll know I usually shun the sun). I learned to take life one moment at a time and just breath in the moments I am given. I came home a different, more relaxed kind of person.
So, to recap...With all my work and worry,I didn't look fabulous for even one moment of the trip. I couldn't even compare to the beautiful beach babes walking around Waiemaie Beach. BUT... for the first time in my life I didn't care. This trip taught me that there is more to life than how we look. It's about embracing life and having fun whenever you can. AND... that is a lesson I will keep with me always.
THANKS HAWAII! I'll be visiting you again soon.