Mom’s Day in the Keys

I decided to spend Mother’s Day this year at Bahia Honda State Park in the Florida Keys.  To much of a surprise, there are not many beaches in the keys.  Most of the water butts up directly to the land.  Bahia Honda is one of those exceptions.  Not only is it an exception; it is exceptional. Bahia Honda beaches are typically voted as the prettiest beach in Florida and is usually listed in the top 10 prettiest beaches in the United States.  I would have to agree that the beaches there are, in fact, extremely beautiful.  We went paddboarding and snorkeling and were able to see dolphins, tropical fish, a queen conch hermit, a 4 foot wide stingray, coral and much more.

Of course we couldn’t miss the infamous keys sunset.  We timed our dinner and location to be able to catch the sun as it went down over the water.  The beauty of a Florida Keys sunset never ceases to amaze me.

I had an amazing time in a beautiful place with my favorite people.  I couldn’t have asked for a better mother’s day.

*I want to say a special thank you to my wonderful husband who is not a beach or sun person as he typically burns in 10 minutes.  This time he managed to get a severe burn while sitting under a canopy 100% of the day.  I’m sorry babe!

Life Lately via Instagram

A nice long beach run at the end of the workday to clear my head. No prettier place to run.

A little needed weekend hammock time.

After being in the market for a race board (paddle board) for a year, I finally bought one at the local used board sale

Played hooky on a Friday and took my favorite girl to the beach

We joined a new gym where I get to do awesome classes like MMA, boxing, conditioning, kickboxing and ninjitsu (ninja training)….AARRRHH!

Even though I have to spend an hour in the car each morning, I get this amazing view

Serenity NOW!

Sometimes you just have to take a day off.

As women, we tend to take on more and more to the point of exhaustion or explosion.  I knew I had reached my limit the day that I had gotten sick, reached complete exhaustion and exploded at my husband because the house was dirty.  I had worked 10 days straight which included one work trip across the country and three 10-hour all day meetings back-to-back.  I tried to tell myself that it was more important that I had a close relationship with my husband and children than the house being clean and in order.  Logically, this is very true but my crazy woman emotions wouldn’t allow for this sort of rational thinking any longer.  So, yes, I exploded.  The result…a big fight, but ultimately a clean house and a day off.  My husband and I both realized that the house had gotten out of control and I realized that I needed a break.

My day typically starts at 5:30 am and ends with me crashing at 11 pm.  With carpool, a full-time job, multiple after school activities, workouts, volunteering commitments, dinner, cleaning, etc., I don’t really get any down time.  I’m beginning to force myself to say the word “NO”, take time off, relax more, and exercise less (I’m quite obsessive).  This is an area of my life that needs a lot of work.  I don’t have the answers, but I’m trying to take steps in a good direction.  I can’t be helpful to anyone if I have nothing left to give.

You have to slow down and enjoy the little things in life because one day you’ll look back and realize that they were the big things.  I’m learning to not rush through life; to live for today because today is all that we are guaranteed.

“So do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” -Matthew 6:34

 

 

Geeking out in the Cold

From south Florida to Hawaii to south Florida then to Minnesota….YIKES! What a shock the trip was for me. As you probably already know, I hate cold weather; hate with a capital H.A.T.E. I have lived 98% of my life in the south and the last 7 years in a tropical climate. That 2% was a somewhat brief hiatus spent in the northeast. The last winter that I lived there, we had 96 inches of snow. This literally caused me to save all my money for 6 months and move back to the south with no job prospect. All this to say, I went to a conference for my job that was located in Minneapolis, Minnesota and it was crazy cold.

For the fifth year in a row I have attended the non-profit technology conference. The world of technology is ever-changing and is even more difficult to manage in the non-profit world. Attending conferences such as these is crucial to keep up with and attempt to be proactive in my web and IT non-profit job. So, what did I learn about? It was all over the place; social media, technology planning, strategic reporting, web analytics, campaigns, online success, content strategy, data migration, org restructure, project management, smart data, online donor conversion,etc.; all good stuff.

I attended the conference with my great web team members Adora and Briana. Even though the weather was crazy cold, we tried our best to enjoy our time, even when we had to venture outside. Here are a few pics from the trip.

The Trip of a Lifetime

 

About a year ago, my mom and dad surprised us with an amazing gift. They have always wanted to take the entire family to Hawaii for vacation. Since my dad is nearing retirement, he wanted to fulfill this dream while finances allowed. What does this mean? My entire family; husband, daughter, son, mother, father and brother all went to Kauai, Hawaii for 9 days. The only summary I can conjure up is…it was the trip of a lifetime.

I have an extreme affinity for the water.  I grew up near and on the water my entire life and now live near the Atlantic ocean.  The ocean is my happy place.  It lightens my heart, eases my stresses and gives me peace.  It’s also so much fun.  My favorite activity of all time is paddleboarding and I try to get out on the ocean every chance I get.  I’ve been told by many that Hawaii fits me perfectly and that I would love it immensely.  Well, they were right.

There was a cancelled flight, a lost day and an overnight layover in a cold city but none of that mattered.  All we wanted to do was get to the island.  I was privileged enough to sit on the side of the plane that had the island view as we approached Kauai.  I was immediately blown away.  I’ve seen pictures of Hawaii my entire life and have always thought that there is no way that it is truly that beautiful.  I assumed that the photos were all a bit embellished.  I was wrong.  The island looks like a real life postcard.  It really is just as pretty as the pictures; maybe even better.

Kauai is more rural and is called the garden island which fits perfectly because it is so green and plush.  It is exactly what you would expect a very tropical, rural Hawaii to be.  The weather is perfect; never too hot and never too cold.  None of the homes have heating or air conditioning and are built with many windows that crank open.  I loved going to sleep every night to the cool outside breeze and the sound of the ocean waves; and waking up to the ocean waves and the sound of birds chirping.  The island is a bit overrun by feral chickens and roosters.  Apparently, the roosters have the hang loose, anything goes mentality because they crowed at midnight, 2am, 4am; whenever they felt the urge.  It was a bit annoying at first since we slept with the window open, but we got used to it pretty quickly.

We stayed in a house that was located one house away from the water in Hanalei Bay.  My dad rented 5 paddleboards for the week which we used everyday, sometimes multiple times a day.  The first day we got there, we paddled up the Hanalei River to see the breath-taking views of the mountains with waterfalls.  I had a waterproof case on my iPhone specifically for this trip to take pictures.  Well, the phone was waterproof but not sink proof.  Of course I dropped it in one of the deepest parts of the river on that first paddle out so now my phone lives in the Pacific Ocean.  This was a blessing in disguise because it allowed me to focus more on the scenery and my family.

It was the rainy season on the north side of the island so it rained almost everyday, but that didn’t stop us.  We did a ton of paddleboarding in the river, paddleboarding in the ocean and paddle surfing.  We went to see the Napali Coast via a muddy hike as there is no road to it.  The Napali Coast is where parts of the Jurassic Park movie was filmed.  It was made up of beautiful and colorful cliffs.  We did some snorkeling on a couple of different reefs where we saw some very bright and beautiful tropical fish as well as a large sea turtle.  One of the coolest places that we went was Queen’s Bath which is a lagoon/pool in the lava rock.  Getting there required another muddy and steep hike which was met with a sign that read, “Queen’s Bath Drownings 29. Unexpected large waves will knock you of the rocks and sweep you out to sea!” After walking past two of the pools, we can see why this sign was posted.  The waves were huge and the current swirled liked a whirlpool. At the end of the walk was a completely calm and enclosed pool with deep water and cliffs for jumping.  We came at low tide to ensure the waves weren’t breaking into the pool.  It was perfect!  We jumped and jumped and jumped for hours.  It was a blast. We also went to a traditional luau which was an amazing experience.  They cook a pig in the ground all day long.  Their cooking and seasoning method is call kalua pork.  They only season it with sea salt and their cooking method melts away all the fat.  It is by far the best meat I have ever put into my mouth.  They ended the night with dances from each of Hawaii’s ethnic influences.  Of course this included the hula.

Hawaii has the “hang loose” mentality which I had heard of many times in the past and have seen many people doing the sign with their hand; thumb and pinky raised.  Seeing that and experiencing it are two totally different things.  I have never felt more laid back and more at peace in my entire life.  I want to bottle it up and keep it with me always.  The feeling I have about this island simply cannot be put into words.  Yes, it truly is the place for me.  I felt at home immediately.  I’m planning to save my money and go back just as soon as I can.  In a few years when my kids are gone and off to college, my husband and I planned on selling everything and buying an RV to travel around the U.S.  Now we may have changed our plans.  Early retirement in Kauai?  Maybe so.

Wizard of Oz :: Your Character

With the new movie, Oz the Great and Powerful, hitting theaters this past weekend, I thought it would be interesting and fun to look at the characters from the original Wizard of Oz movie and see who I identify with best. Unfortunately, the original characters are not in the new movie as it is a prequel to the original.

Here are the characters in the original Wizard of Oz movie and their character traits. Which one do you identify with best?

Dorothy – Generally lost and seeking
Scarecrow – Lacking in wisdom and knowledge
Tin Man – Lacking a heart; compassion and love
Cowardly Lion – Lacking courage; fearful
Toto – In need of a muzzle

Crazy enough, I think that I identify most with Toto. There is a reason we have two ears and only one mouth. We are meant to listen twice as much as we speak. I find this to be a difficult area for me to manage. It seems that I’m always looking back and regretting something I’ve said. I’ve been working hard, along with God’s help, in this area of my life. “Words kill, words give life; they’re either poison or fruit—you choose.” (Proverbs 18:21 MSG)

I’m curious, which character do you identify with most?

My Pregnancy Surprise

My husband, Steve, and I met in high school.  We got engaged in high school, broke up, got back together and re-engaged.  There is a lot more the story of Steve and me that I’ll save for another post.  I was literally living in a camper on my grandparents’ property.  Looking back, I see how super trashy this sounds (ha, ha oh well)! We were in the process of planning our wedding.

As the wedding planning progressed, the next step was to get a blood test for my marriage license.  After we got married, we planned to live near the college Steve was attending and I would enroll there also.  Unfortunately, they required me to get another MMR shot which I had heard was super painful.  I was afraid of needles at the time and one of Steve’s friends told me that I could tell the health department that I was pregnant and they would sign a paper so that I didn’t have to take the shot and could still get into school.  I remember the visit to the health department as clear in my mind as if it was yesterday.  I even remember the dress I was wearing.

The nurse took me back for the blood test and I proceeded to tell her that I needed the MMR shot as well but that I thought I was pregnant and asked her to sign the paper so I could get into college.  She left and after a few minutes came back in and told me to follow her.  She gave me a cup and told me to pee in it but didn’t tell me why and I didn’t ask.  I gave her the cup and she sat me down to draw the blood.  She then told me that they had to do a pregnancy test before they could sign the paper.  I thought, “ugh, I’m going to have to get the shot!”  Then it happened.  She walked over, picked up the stick and said, “it’s positive.”  I went into shock.  I was totally lying and literally had no idea I was pregnant.  I began to shake, kind of like you do when you’re nervous but I was shaking so badly that it was almost to the point of convulsions and all of the color ran out of my face.  The nurse came over to me and grabbed me asking if I was ok.  I began sobbing so drastically that was gasping for air.  I barely got the words out that I didn’t think I was pregnant and that I was just trying to get out of taking the shot.  She was super sweet and tried to console me.  I guess God showed me!  That’s what I get for lying!  To this day, that moment is still the biggest shock of my life.

I decided that I would wait until after I was married to tell my parents.  One thing I never wanted to do was tell my parents that I was pregnant before I was married.  Unfortunately, my mom found my prenatal vitamins in my purse.  She didn’t confront me.  Instead, she then had my dad come down and they both kept telling trying to get me to tell them.  I refused.  I wasn’t doing it.  I wasn’t saying those words.  Finally, since all the hinting didn’t work, my mom got mad and said, “fine, you won’t tell us what is going on, but in a few months you won’t be able to hide it!”  At that point, I knew that they knew and I walked outside where they were, sat down and told them everything.  To my surprise, they were very calm, consoling and helpful.

We moved up the wedding date from end of 1996 to beginning of September and my sweet Danica was born on March 3, 1997.  We were young, just married and had no idea what we were doing but I wouldn’t go back and change it for the world.  That wonderful little surprise just turned sweet 16 this past Sunday.  She is beautiful inside and out and I am so incredibly proud to be her mom.

 

A Mom’s Happiness

A mom is only as happy as her least happy child.

Mud Run and a Trip to the ER

I have to admit, I just wasn’t as gung-ho about running this race as I usually am and neither was my husband.  Steve hadn’t been doing any cardio training and I had been sick the previous week.  But, a commitment is a commitment so we did it.  It was 9 miles and 20 obstacles and I have to say, my energy level was much less than 100%.  Man, did I notice it.

The race was over and we grabbed our medal, t-shirt and banana and headed over to take the “after” pictures.  Once Steve showered off and changed he came up to me and said, “I think we need to go to the hospital.”  This is a guy who hates doctors and has an enormous threshold for pain, so of course I was a bit panicked.  He has had an abdominal hernia for over a year now but his doctor said it was fine unless it ripped further and he had pain with it.  Well, this was that exact scenario.  He was doubled over in pain.  I went to the paramedic tent where they told him to keep a towel pushed against it to hopefully push it back in.  Apparently, if it stays out more than 4 hours, it can cause major damage.  The paramedics walked us over to the bus line, which was an easy hour wait and put us directly on the bus.  Thanks, Steve for saving us from waiting!  As we were riding to the car, his intestines finally push back in (yuk!) and he got some pain relief.

Of course everyone was riding with us so the four of us were along for this great adventure.  We got to the ER and were able to see the doctor right away.  He felt on his stomach and said that he definitely needs surgery but it can wait until we get home to schedule it.  So glad an emergency surgery was necessary!  It took us only five minutes to see the doctor but a good 45 minutes to get released.  Luckily, we had plenty entertainment by listening and watching a very irate foreign woman that the cops brought in.  By the time we were discharged, they were sedating her.  We definitely got a show in the meantime.  From there, the doctor put us on a mission to go to a medical supply store and get a hernia belt to keep his intestines pushed in (again, yuk!).

We drove directly to the medical supply store only to find that it was closed.  At this point it is almost 4:00.  We haven’t eaten since 7am and we ran for 2 1/2 hours burning at least 2,000 calories.  We are STARVING!  The next best option was the local CVS, but of course they didn’t carry them.  This caused us to improvise.  Long story short, Steve ended up with an ace bandage wrapped around a maxi pad.  Hey, it worked!  We went to a local Mexican restaurant and stuffed our face.

Steve did go to his regular doctor and got a referral to a surgeon.  He will be meeting with him soon to schedule hernia surgery.  This race was fun and definitely an adventure.

Here are some pics from the race and one shot from the ER that I captured from the very hesitant patient.  Also, thanks to Simon for strapping a Go Pro camera to his head for the entire race because now we have a video of our adventure.

Dinner Time

The hubs, kids and I have dinner as a family every evening.  I’ve heard this is quite rare nowadays, but very important as it helps each of us connect with each other.  It’s that precious face-to-face time to talk about your day.  This works great for us especially since we have a no cell phones, TV or music at dinner.

Drinking straight from the jug, eating directly from the serving bowl and complete non-sense.  This a little glimpse into our family dinner.  Man, how I love these three crazies!