Hawaii, my not-so-secret love

Yesterday was our neighbor's wedding reception at our local chapel's cultural hall. But it was not your typical "Provo-Mormon" wedding reception.

The best way to describe it is to first mention that they are Samoan. Active Samoan. As in they speak it, eat it, dress it, and love it. Which is such a wonderful thing for them. And us! Mostly us --we're often treated to a barbeque or two and their hospitality is unmatched. :)

But I had forgotten how good the Polynesian cultures, in general, know how to celebrate. And I mean celebrate! It was a hoppin' party with loads of food ("you don't eat until you are full, you eat until you are tired!"), loads of people, and LOTS of dancing. And everyone was dancing. Young, old, thin, large...it didn't matter if you were a good dancer or not, everyone was getting down to the great live band. (Polynesian, of course). I had so much fun! And we were there for 25 minutes. The reception started at 1PM and went until 6PM. No joke--it was that long and everyone (including the bride and groom) was there for the entire time. Okay, except us stiff haoles (white people) that would show up for 10 minutes or so....

Anyways, this just made me miss Hawaii even more than I already do on a frequent basis. Just the feeling of love, family, non-stress, and good food made me feel like I was in the Pacific enjoying a delicious breeze along the beach.

I have been to Hawaii 4 times now. 3 times to the island of Kauai, and once to Maui. I've hiked the mountains, driven to the overlooks, sunned on the beaches, snorkeled in the ocean, eaten tons of local food, explored caves, waterfalls, and rivers, and enjoyed more than one sunset from either a boat, a beach, or a hilltop.

What's funny, is I'm not really a "beach" person. I love the mountains and the deep pine forests and the glorious farmland of the Snake River and the Rocky Mountains. But luckily, I married a Cali boy --and now I'm as beach savvy as the next wahine. (okay, okay, I almost am!!).

This photo was taken on Kauai near the village/town of Hanalei...~sigh~ Don't you just love it?

My walking friend...

Whoo-hoo!

I lost 3 pounds. Three whole pounds! To the ounce! Week one of losing weight is going really well.

And now I want to devote this post to my walking friend. I'll call her "J".

About 8 months ago, my cardioligist told me I'd better start walking 45 minutes a day. I started to do it on my own and I realized with my desire for socialization, and my ineptitude to focus on something so quiet was really starting to bore me. So, after assessing who, within my ward, might want to walk with me in the mornings, I called J. She wanted to, she really did. But she never came.

My walking slowly petered out, winter came, vacations came, sickness came, and it wasn't until a couple of months ago that I wanted to start walking again. Spring was coming and my body was screaming for some fresh air and exercise. I called J again. This time, she jumped at the chance and we've been walking daily every since.

Not only do I love the exercise, and my body's response to it, but I adore my talks with J. She is a true friend and we have so much in common. I love being able to talk with her about our husbands, our children, our callings, our neighbors, our problems, our happiness, our sadness, our depression, our families, and our weight problems. We joined WW together, and so now it's wonderful talking ad nauseum about WW together --food, points, exercise, etc.

It's been so long since I had a friend like this. I truly believe that every woman needs another woman to talk to about life. I love my DH and we are great friends, but since he doesn't think like a woman, he can't fulfill all the needs I have. I'm grateful for my walking friend. I'm grateful that we can share so many things together and get healthy together.

Isn't it great to have a friend?

"Now I can go to Kindergarten!"

Well, today was quite busy, I tell ya'!

At 9AM I had my pelvic exam to make sure everything was all right from the miscarriage. Yes, yes, everything is fine. It's all good and I was reminded why I go to CNM's and not OBGYN's. (if you really want to know---ask me why. ).

I picked up the kids and whisked them to "park day" with some friends for our weekly park date. Fun, fun. And it was, really, because the sun was shining and the kids actually got along okay, and #2 remembered when she had to go potty, so it was all good.

Then we stopped at Wendy's for lunch because #1 had her Dr. appt. at 1PM and we didn't have time to go home --and I was so proud of myself for eating a side salad with half the dressing they gave me, some water and I only snuck 9 french fries and 2 chicken nuggets. Go me!

Then to the Pediatrician's office for her LONG--LONG--LONG exam...#3 started screaming and crying half way through and finally fell asleep on my shoulder. #2 was very cooperative, I will give her that. #1 was great until the immunizations. Oh, yes, you think giving a 2 year old shots is hard? Try a tall, athletic 5 year old that knows EXACTLY what "sticking a sharp needle into my arm" means. What's sad is that as soon as the nurse (while the other nurse and I held her down) did it, she laughed. "Oh, that didn't hurt!" But at least now she's knows it's not so bad. And as she said: "Now I can go to Kindergarten!"

Now all I have to do is:

Teach 3 piano lessons; make dinner; go grocery shopping; do the laundry; clean the house; unpack all the way from the Cali trip; go to Primary Presidency Meeting; Return a million phone calls; call the bank; remember to take those forms back to the Dr's office for them to fill out that I forgot to take with us because we went to Wendy's instead of going home....

It's finally going to happen...

Not wanting to give away my face, here is a picture of me in Mexico, parasailing and praying that the parachute will hold me up. Not because I'm afraid of heights (although I am), but also because I'm afraid my weight will pull me down into the ocean, or a building and I will die. In all my glorious fatness.

The preface leads me into my announcement. I HAVE JOINED WEIGHT WATCHERS!

Of course, I was an idiot and joined the day before our crazy weekend trip to SIL's wedding celebration. However, and although ALL my flex points for the week are now used up, I am NOT giving up. I've had this extra 40 pounds for a while now, and I want to do something about it. I'm ready for my beautiful body back, I want to be able to ride bikes, hike, wrestle, and run with my kids, and I want to feel like I can accomplish something I'm ashamed to admit I have a problem with --A.K.A. Eating bad foods and eating too many bad foods.

I've been exercising every morning. My friend and I go walking at 6AM for an hour. Good walking, too. We add weights occasionally. So, she and I, in support of each other, went and joined WW together.

YAY! I'm excited. And I'll try to update you with photos, maybe, and also with my experiences and struggles to teach my soul what my body already knows --I WANT TO BE HEALTHY!!!

Crazy Weekend

We finally figured it out! After years of driving to Canada and California with our kids and wondering the best formula, we have finally gotten an answer. We've tried all ways --flying, driving it in shifts (drive half-way, sleep somewhere, drive the other half the next day), driving at night, just doing it all day and stop frequently...and we've got the winner:

Start at 4AM. No later, no earlier. 4 AM and we're at our destinations by mid-afternoon. The kids sleep for most of the morning --by the time the whining starts, it's time for an early lunch. When we get back into the car, it's only a few more hours until we're there. Ahh, it made traveling nice for this weekend!

We went to California for DH's sister's wedding reception.

She and her future DH are getting married in the New Zealand Temple tomorrow, and they decided to have an early reception for all their family and friends at my MIL's house in Cali. It was WONDERFUL! The BEST reception I've ever been to. And here's why:

SIL planned the reception to the last detail; it was catered; chairs and tables were rented; chinese lanterns were hung (by moi and my other SIL); flowers were done by family; colors were perfect (choc.brown and light turquoisey blue); it was casual (no line); there was an entire side of the yard for children with hired cousins to babysit, crayons, paper, treats, and easter egg hunt, hopscotch, etc. etc. etc.; the yard was AMAZING with terraced gardens and immaculate trimmed bushes and blooming flowers and amazing stone walkways (thanks to my MIL and Step-FIL) that just takes your breath away; and all guests arrived on time (because there was no "end" time on the invite). Oh, and the cake was perfect, too! And they cut it early so we could all eat it. Seriously, it was the best reception I have ever seen.

It was a SHORT trip, though. We arrived Friday and left Sunday (today). The kids are sick of driving now for a while, and our house is a mess. Oh, and we arrived home to find that the plastic waterline taking water from our pipes to our fridge for our water dispenser on the door of our fridge got a leak sometime while we were away. Yep, water all over the kitchen floor (warping some of the wood) and it leaked downstairs. Luckily it leaked into the furnace room and it was minimal.

But it was a great weekend and I'm SOOO excited for my SIL. My aunt even solicited honeymoon advice for her on her community blog (www. talesfromthecrib.blogspot.com)

(I need to start learning how to make a link...hmmm....)

Pride and Prejudice...I'm a fan (almost a freak...)

I am a devoted Jane Austen fan. I love her books (read them all). I really enjoy thoughtfully construed movies that illustrate the brilliance of her characters. But I am somewhat a Pride and Prejudice snob.

Since the book is read by yours truly once a year, I claim to be somewhat of an expert. I can't quote the entire book, nor can I tell you page numbers (come on, people, I'm not obsessed!!) but I do have a good knowledge of the character development and plot outline. This is why the A&E miniseries (with Jennifer Ehle and Colin Firth) is so brilliant. They are SOOOO close to the book and I'm proud of their job (plus Colin Firth is just plain yummy as Mr. Darcy!). I'm quite fond of this movie and I've got the whole thing pretty much memorized.

I haven't really seen the old Black and white 1950's version, which I think I would like to, but I did see a scene and was SOOO turned off by the "hollywood" version of it. Yuck.

The LDS Pride and Prejudice was super cute and fun. Adaptation was taken from the book but I knew going into it that they weren't trying a re-make. It was like "Clueless" was to Emma. Very modern and "hip". I do enjoy it.

Then Kiera Knightley was given the role of Elizabeth Bennett. I was skeptical. I watched it with trepidation. I was offended. Too many liberties! Not like the book! No, that's not what happened! And then I watched it again.

Brilliant.

Not only is the cinematography breathtaking, but the acting was superb. Although the director's and screenplay writer's take on Jane Austen's characters was different then that of the A&E production, I felt that they did a good job interpreting what life would have been like for Mr. Darcy and Elizbeth Bennett. Perhaps Mrs. Bennett wasn't such an idiot (as the A&E portrays very brilliantly, I might add) and perhaps the way of life was more realistic in the new one. Whatever the case, I only have one complaint now about the new movie.

Caroline Bingley would NEVER have worn a spaghetti-strapped dress in 1809. Cleavage, yes! Shoulders? No! That was reserved for undergarments, and no self-respecting, let alone rich and high-society-raised, young lady would have exposed herself to such ridicule. That REALLY bothered me. Come on, fasion designer! Do your research!

Whoo! Okay, anyways, I love this movie now. Of course, the plot is crammed together differently than the book --but I guess one must do that when they have to put everything into an hour and a half.

I love Pride and Prejudice. ~sigh~ We could go into all the reasons why, but I think just the plain realness to Jane Austen's characters and situations span the centuries and the romance depicted back then can be just as real as now. What a brilliant woman she was....

Whatever

Okay, so I'm not being very good at posting each day, and for some reason I think I have to have something brilliant to say before I can post. Things are gonna change people! I'm thinking that I will have to just blog a plethora of plots (which, by the way, was the name of a video presentation senior year in AP English--"Shakespeare's Plethora of Plots" which was really just a bunch of silly seniors acting crazy and thinking they understood Shakespeare. Ahh, what memories!!). That way I will get out what I'm thinking and it won't be all "cateogorized" or "boring" or "by the book" or whatever the heck I'm even trying to say right now. Oh, wait! I know! It will be like how I am in person. Talkative and crazy but a little bit happy... :)

So this week was #1's last day of preschool. Depression around here lasted about 2 hours. I really thought she'd be more broken up about it, but she doesn't seem to care much anymore. ~sigh~ To be 4 again! I'm actually a little glad to have a break from driving her up to BYU campus and back again everyday. I know #2 and #3 are glad about that!

My sis-in-law is getting married this weekend, and so Fri. the long drive to Cali will commence. It will be a quick trip, one that will entail, I'm sure, plenty of stops along the I-15 for "potty" and lots of crying, and usually whining, but it'll be fine. I figure that if my kids can sit still for 9 hours without killing each other, I've probably done something right. We are so excited to be going, too. We love seeing DH's mom's side of the family --and I'm THRILLED beyone belief for my sis-in-law. I love her (and my other SIL) like real sisters and I miss them almost daily. It'll be so much fun! PRAY FOR GOOD WEATHER!!!

Remember my Spring Cleaning post? Well, the organization is still there, but the clean home I was proud of 3 weeks ago is starting to go. This "widowship" of mine is starting to wear me down. In the evenings, when I should just do the dishes and fold the laundry, I've started to re-watch the new Pride and Prejudice (Ooh! I'll save a post for that one) or watch Amazing Race for the 5th time (LOVE that show!) or pick up a novel or call my sister. I think my sould is missing DH's soul and when we're apart, it's hard to be my motivated self. That's why I promised that TODAY, the first day Not having to drive #1 to school, will be my cleaning day. So, of course, I'm here blogging instead. ARGH! Will the cycle never end?!?!? Oh, the humanity!

Well, I guess I'd better get cleaning....okay, maybe after I write about Pride and Prejudice....

House vs. Lawn

I can't believe I did it.

I gave up my chance for a maid so DH could have a lawn service. I know, I know! Why would I do that? What was I thinking? Well, my thinking was this: DH pretty much NEVER has time to do the lawn anymore with his job -- since he was promoted last fall, he's been working hard and summers are the busiest time of the year for his company, anyway. So, year after year he gets to hear his wife say: "Haven't you mowed the lawn, yet?!?? Look at our crazy grass! The neighbors are starting to comment! There's a colony of quail in the grass, honey, the GRASS."

So, we hired a lawn service.

They started yesterday and I must say they do an excellent job for a reasonable price. I was very impressed. And, because we have a fabulous lawn, now, we will be outside in it more often. Which means less mess inside. Which means I won't have to clean as much. Which means not having a maid will not be the end of the world. :)

Plethora of stuff

I've been on hiatus this week --recovering, pondering, mulling, and sometimes zoning. I've also entered my "widowship" which will last until June. Did I already post something on this? Hmmm..maybe I should check...

Anyways, it's hard being a single mom. Bless DH --he sure does his best. He's up at 5AM, works until 6:30AM while I'm out walking from 6-7AM. I get the kids up by 7:15AM and DH is out the door by 8AM at the latest. If he has time, he comes home for lunch and a quick nap and then he's gone until 10PM. The kids sometimes see him, but not always. Most days I feel like he's my boyfriend rather than my husband. But this is a temporary thing --happens every year and it will be fine. We'll get through it all.

The light at the end of the tunnel is one shining, glorious, beautiful thing: A MINI-VAN! Yes, yes, yes! We are going to be getting one by June before our big trip to Canada. I have never been so excited about a car in my life! I mean, goose-bumps excited! DH vowed we'd never own one --HA! He knows the practicality and the beauty of a perfect mommy vehicle when he sees one and he finally understands that if he wants 6 kids, I'm gonna need something to drive them around. Okay, I'll admit it --he wants 9 kids --but if we ever do, that would mean we'll need a super big van, and I'm not quite a fan of those quite yet... (Disneyland story with big van will come later via request).

So, I've been consumed by single-motherhood, picking out colors of my van, and dealing with this miscarriage. Then there's the constant cleaning, picking up, driving, walking, wiping, changing, kissing, and washing that I do every day. Oh, and the Primary stuff. Oh, and my 15 piano students. Oh, and crazy/fun/whatever family stuff that is always going on. Oh, and the visiting teaching that I really stink at.

Doesn't leave much time for blogging...

Miscarriage

I have been pregnant 4 times. The first 3 times were full-term and I gave birth to a beautifully healthy child each time. The 4th ended today.

I can't describe the feeling very well, but since the 2nd week after having that positive pregnancy test, I didn't feel pregnant. I didn't feel any connection to my fetus, and I didn't feel elation that usually comes with my pregnancies. So when I started to miscarry, it was almost a relief. Isn't that a terrible thing to say?!? But that's what it was like. My body was telling me "you technically haven't been pregnant for a couple of weeks (--the embryo developed wrong and detatched from the uterine wall according to the ultrasound), so this is a good thing that everything is being cleaned out. It's nature's way." But that's not all. I have armfuls of friends that have miscarried often. Armfuls of friends that have been unable to concieve. Armfuls of friends that have to try for years to conceive only to have miscarriage after miscarriage. Why should I feel sorry for myself? I have 3 kids. Some have none! I'm so lucky...

I'm sure the tears will start tonight after the kids are in bed and the reality sinks in. It's still a hard thing to go through. But I just want to say that to everyone out there that has experienced this, please feel my love and feel my sorrow for your loss. I can finally say I understand.

It's Spring! Let's Clean!

Interestingly enough, all of my favorite community blogs are talking about this (such as: www.mommywars.blogspot.com and www.feministmormonhousewives.org and I'm sure that www.talesfromthecrib.blogspot.com also has something about this on it). I guess I'll just add to the excitement. :)

I've never been so excited about organization in my life! I'm now preaching the word and taking it to the world that organized homes are wonderful. My mother was right! Having a clean home does help me stay happy! And I get more done! And I'm happy!

Hey, now don't get me wrong. I know that a clean house can also make me completely CRAZY because I have to give up my exciting life to keep it that way. Okay, sometimes I do, but not always. Have an exciting life. But anyway...sometimes cleaning the house takes a back seat to being with my kids or my calling or watching Gilmore Girls (YAY! Finally --finally! --a new episode tonight!) or reading fabulous literature by amazing authors.

But...2 weeks ago I had a revelation. Or a revolution. I decided that my home needed to be in order. Now I am not quite the homemaker, but I will admit that very rarely do I find food under beds or in couch cushions. I've done my best to emulate my organized mother (although I'm sure I fall a little under her expectations --and that's okay), but I think it's hard sometimes with 3 small kids. ANYWAYS....I began the "make-over" of the home.

DH is a pack rat. Not too badly --I can get him to part with things. At the beginning of our marriage it was hard to convince him to get rid of anything, but now that I can say "Have you even seen this in the last 7 years?!?!" and he can readily admit that he's being silly and let it go. Which was great! I did the same for my clothes ("I have worn this in 3 years?") and the purging took on a new life. I re-did #3's bedroom and now he has one! All office/computer/storage stuff is now in the office. EVERYTHING from the toy room to the office to our bedroom to the laundry room (which is next) has been organized. I LOVE IT! Order! It's my new calling!

And that's not all! Oh, no! You would think that I would have been enough to keep me elated for decades, but..but...but! I have finally conquered it.....LAUNDRY. That chore has plagued me for at least 5 years. But I finally found a schedule that I can keep. And it's working! It's been at least 3 weeks without 8 loads of clean laundry piled on our bedroom floor. Ahh...I can see our floor.

Okay, so it's obvious in my writing that this organization thing has really, really, really got me happy! Actually, that could be pathetic if you think about it too long...but what could be better than getting my home in order so that I can spend more time with my family? Instead of looking for stuff? That we don't need?

Yay for Spring!!

I love General Conference

I love conference. I admit I haven't always, but since I left home and experienced conference at college, I've been a huge fan.

And it's not just because we get to hear from our Prophets and Apostles. Or the Tabernacle Choir (always a treat). I think it's because of the way I feel all weekend.

We don't go. We watch it on TV from the comfort of our living room. Usually on Saturday (TODAY!) I will blast the TV and radio so I can still take care of the kids, weed the yard, clean the house, etc. and still hear the talks. Sunday is pajama day and we enjoy just being together as a family. Some people are FLOORED when we turn down offers to go to SLC (so close, so close!) to watch Conference. Why would we? We've done it before, we have 3 small children, and what about those people from out of state or out of the country who would like to go? Why would we take that experience from them? We are lucky that we have seen the Prophet. And the 12 Apostles. We went to BYU and experienced that almost every week. It's not that we wouldn't LIKE to see President Hinckley again, but that woman and her family from Africa might appreciate it more, ya' know?

Anyways, I'm looking forward to the nice weekend of family, slow-paced work, and hearing revelation. Gotta love Conference! (and the May Ensign to catch up on those talks I missed because #3 pooped and #2 whined and #1 couldn't find her shirt...) :)