What is this...?

I am the kind of person that blushes easily, embarrassed or not. In this particular case my rosy cheeks were accompanied by pure mortification. Let me explain. While in Hawaii we stayed at the home of a friend of Jessie's from High School named Brian. Brian works as a production assistant for a dance company on Oahu. We spent a lot of time with Brian and had the opportunity to meet his boyfriend Mike and best friend Steven. All of them are handsome and tons of fun, just unfortunately for Jessie and me, not attracted to women. One night Mike was hanging out with us at Brian's house and we had thrown in some laundry. Mike was pulling it out of the dryer and folding it when he grabbed something out of the pile and indiscreetly flung it around inquiring, "what is this, does anybody know what this is?" You can imagine my embarrassment upon realizing that it was the padding that goes in the bra part of my swimming suit, cue bright red cheeks and humiliation.

Now let me talk about this little pad for a second. They are a necessary evil in my opinion, they make it so that you are not making an announcement when the water is cold if you know what I mean. I have suits where they are sewn right into the fabric but this particular suit has small openings where they can be inserted and removed (apparently some women enjoy being human thermometers). This is a huge pain because they never stay where they are supposed to, tending to fold and move around often causing an unpleasant lumpy boob effect. We tolerate the strangest things for modesty and beauty's sake.

So, back to the inquiry...trying to contain my utter bewilderment, I quickly stuttered, "oh...oh, you can just put it back with the laundry, um, I'll fold it." Without even acknowledging my plea he quickly found the other stray pad and continued to flagrantly fling them around asking, "what are these?" I snatched one out of his eager little hands and said that it went to my swimsuit but he continued to ask, "well what are they?" Aaaahhhh...it was like a bad dream and it got worse. Brian came over in his curiosity and grabbed the other out of Mike's hand. At this point I had found my suit in the pile and was going to quietly take it into the bedroom to fix. That would have been way too easy. Brian began asking what they were for and how they went in and I had no polite option other than to show him. Together we determined which direction they went and inserted them back into their rightful location in the bust of my swimming suit and under the watchful eyes of Mike and Jessie. The icing on the cake was when I muttered under my breath, "how embarrassing" and Brian turned to me and said, "I glitter costumes for a living, don't worry about it." Thanks Brian!

Sunsets and Big Waves

How did you spend your Sunday afternoon? I went up to the northwest coast of Oahu to see big waves and watch the sunset. We drove up past Makaha, the famous surfing beach, and parked where the paved road ends. We thought we would be able to walk all the way out to Ka'ena Point but we found ourselves awestruck but the amazing big waves. WOW! We didn't make it very far because we kept stopping to take pictures, Jessie and Brian using their super high tech fancy cameras and me with my brand new point and shoot digital (I'm so proud). We all got some amazing pictures but nothing to compare to the reality of enormous waves crashing up against fields of lava rock. The sunset was also beautiful, we have watched it every night. It is fun to watch it slide past the horizon, knowing it is still high in the sky above Brandon in Samoa!

Other fun things...On Saturday we Kayaked out to this island and it was really hard and far. I was getting tired because we were rowing against the wind and the current (and lets be honest, I'm out of shape). I kept saying a little prayer that the wind would calm down a little but it didn't. I had to laugh because after about my third prayer we came across a six pack of coke floating in the water. It was funny because I realized that Heavenly Father wants to challenge us so he won't always make things easier but he will help us to be stronger, even if that means sending us a can of coke full of caffeine for energy. It was His little way of saying, "you can do it Hilary!" And I did do it. I know it was an answer to my prayer because it could have just as easily been six pack of Dr. Pepper which I hate, or even beer, yuck! But God knows I love my Coke! We made it all the way there with the wind blowing like crazy in our faces and salt water making the sun screen run into our eyes. The way back was easier and I thought I would be really sore the next day but I wasn't at all. Tender mercies.


Well, I am having more fun than I deserve but I am loving every minute of it. Aloha!

Vacation

I am going to Hawaii on Thursday. When I have told people I have received both positive and negative reactions including, "Oh, how fun," "You are so lucky," "You suck, that's not fair," and "I wish I could go on vacation!" I have made vacation and traveling a priority in my life and I realize that I am lucky to be able to do so. However, anyone working full time is likely earning vacation hours and I am shocked to discover how many of those people save them up and have them paid out when they get to their maximum. What is that all about? To me, vacation is worth its weight in gold, nothing could persuade me that the lousy blank dollars an hour is more valuable than a few days off. I know everyone cannot go to Hawaii when they take time off but how about taking a few days when your kids have a break from school, or a long weekend to work on your house, or even, funds permitting, going somewhere you have never been before! Camp, stay in a hotel, spend a week on the couch watching Ellen and other shows you never get to watch but wish you could. Don't tell me,"I can't take vacation" because you can. Your company can survive without you for a couple of days and even if you have a lot of work that piles up while you are gone, you will be refreshed enough when you get back to tackle it. So for all of you naysayers and workaholics, you are loosing the argument (of course I have made it a little one sided). If you are a workaholic, don't blame me for working to live not living to work. I love my job and I love to vacation, it keeps me sane!

What do YOU think...?

Is it possible to be indecisive and opinionated at the same time? I always have an opinion about issues but when it comes to deciding which perfume I want to buy or what to fix for lunch...forget it. As Jimmy Buffett said, "I may or may not be indecisive!" To say this is my biggest flaw would be a stretch but it is certainly one of my more obvious and annoying shortcomings. Since I have lots of opinions, I will share them with anyone who wants to listen, and if you are lucky, I will share them with you even if you don't want to listen!