CHRISTIANS

3 Months

2012-01-26T02:32:00.003-05:00

Here we are at 3 months. I can't believe it. Well, sometimes I can. Sometimes I feel like it's been so much longer. I guess she has been in existence for a whole year now. She has been a part of me for 12 months.

This baby business is no joke. It is challenging. And rewarding. And tiring. And frustrating. And completely worth every single second. I must say, I'm totally digging it.

Now, for my random compilation of thoughts....

Eleanor has the biggest, most beautiful eyes. Spencer calls them Disney eyes. We still don't know what color they'll be. My guess is brown.

When she smiles she has the two cutest dimples you've ever seen.

Her hairline is maybe not so cute these days. But at least my hair is falling out too. We're together in that.

She loves her mom and is slowly getting more and more comfortable with her dad. He does everything he can to make her smile. While she loves us both, I think her best friends in the world are the ceiling fan, our closet, and the window curtains. Those things can entertain her and make her smile more than anyone or anything else.

She is most comfortable in the sling(more on that later. It deserves it's own post) and with her pacifier. She sometimes buckles down and gets the most intense look in her eyes while sucking on that thing. And sometimes she'll make it pop almost all the way out of her mouth, then suck it back in like 5 times in a row, really fast. And when she's sleeping and doesn't have it in her mouth, she will still make movements with her mouth as if she's sucking. Oh the things that entertain us!

She tries really hard to talk to me. Especially when she's tired. And if I make the "coo" sound, she will always respond back. She'll lift her shoulders, scrunch her face, make a "coo"-ish sound back, and blow spit bubbles. I try to video these things, but once she sees the camera or phone, she'll just stare at it and stop responding to me.

She has a raspy voice. Probably from all the crying. But to be honest, I hope it sticks. It's super cute.

She loves to stand and be on her feet. If propped up against an activity center thingymabob, she can stand on her own for a while. She might be small, but she is strong.

She doesn't eat for long amounts of time. Usually about 10 minutes tops. Just one side. After that she is just not interested anymore. As long as she is gaining weight, that's all I care about. At her 2 month appointment she was 10lb 10oz, 22.2 in. long.

She sleeps really well at night, but horrible during the day. I have to make her take naps. And if she sleeps in her crib, it'll only last about 30 minutes. Maybe up to 1 hour. If I take a nap with her or she sleeps in the sling, it will last longer.

She is always happiest when she first wakes up. I have never been a morning person, but now I look forward to them.

When she is sad, not angry, she has the cutest, most pathetic sad face I've ever seen. I haven't gotten a good picture of it yet, but hopefully I can get one soon. Her bottom lip just sticks out so far.

Her arms are still constantly moving, but it's finally getting to a point where it's on purpose. She is starting to reach for and grab things. And if she can, put them in her mouth.

She loves her room(and that makes me SO happy!). She could sit on her changing table for a long time and look at the curtains or hanging paper lanterns. She loves her crib bumper(first time I heard her laugh was when I walked in after she woke up and she was staring at it and laughing). And she loves her mobile. It just feels good that my efforts in decorating and crafting are paying off.

She has had to deal with thrush, an umbilical hernia, and a giant knot on her leg from her shots. What a trooper.

Someone once saw her and said "wow, look at those eye.....brows!". She got those from her dad.

She is so interested in the world around her. She loves going to the grocery store and looking at all the colorful items. And when we take her for walks, she'll look from side to side and get excited when she hears a car drive by.

Her eyes are always big and wide-eyed and alert.

She's been to the beach 2 or 3 times and seems to like it.

She enjoys looking at books and watching Baby Einstein videos.

As a lady at church put it, "her cheeks are having a hard time with the idea of gravity", and I added that her neck does NOT. She has a pretty funny double chin these days.

If you blow in her face, she will gasp every.single.time. It is hilarious.

When putting her to sleep, she likes to be rocked and either shushed or I will hum "I am a Child of God".

I could kiss her a thousand times a day(and you better believe I do!).

She has literally made me the happiest I have ever been.

I just love this girl. So so much.

Beach Baby

2012-01-22T21:13:00.003-05:00

We are doing everything we can to make sure this girl is a fan of the beach. So far she seems to like it. Let's hope that lasts, or we'll be in for a long 2+ years.

My Little Cry Baby

2012-01-21T16:54:00.001-05:00

The second day in the hospital, the nurses came to take Eleanor for her hearing test as well as other things. I was happy to let them take her so I could try to get some rest. While I was attempting to sleep, I heard a baby screaming. First thing I thought was "Aww, someone just had a baby", as if it were a coming out of the womb type scream. And then it hit me. That could be MY baby. And I just knew it was. Sure enough, the nurse came back, I asked how she did (meaning on the hearing test), and all the nurse said was, "Well, she screamed." Yep, that's my girl. A screamer from the very beginning. Even at our first appointment 2 days after we got home from the hospital, she immediately established a reputation with the pediatrician. The next time we came in, they heard her cry and said "Oh, I remember you!".

I know babies cry a lot. I know and accept that. But when one day Spencer asked if she had any moments of no crying when she was awake and not eating, I began to question if she had colic or something else that was wrong. I felt like we were always actively trying to soothe her when she was awake. And luckily she could be soothed, but it wasn't always easy. I decided to try some different things to see if anything would help. Not only because we hated hearing her cry so much, but because I knew she had to be in pain or uncomfortable all the time.

I bought gas drops and gripe water. Neither really seemed to do anything magical. They sometimes helped her go to sleep, so I guess that was good. But she still seemed to have gas issues.

We took her to the chiropractor. While I didn't really notice a difference in her crying, she did sleep 7 hours straight for the first time after she got adjusted. Coincidence? Maybe, maybe not.

I made a better effort to burp her after every feeding. And to make sure a burp came out every time. Even if it took 15+ minutes. This actually made a big difference. It took a lot of extra time, but it definitely had a positive effect on her crying.

Then I had one of those moments. I have had a few of them before, and while they are rare, they are amazing. I was doing some research online and found a website where a lady was describing her baby. It was as if she knew me and Eleanor and was describing our exact situation. Fussy, gassy(and she even described her gas. I think she explained it as what you might hear in a comedy. I once explained E's as belonging to a middle aged overweight man who just drank a few beers. Doesn't matter what end it comes out), green poop, and crazy spraying milk(TMI?). The more I read the more I knew this was the problem, and I was excited for the solution! The diagnosis was hyperactive letdown. Pretty much just means my milk was coming out really fast, and she couldn't quite keep up. Because of this, she was swallowing a lot of air. It also meant she was getting full on the watery milk and wasn't getting enough of the hind milk (hence the green poop). Anyways, I made a few changes to how I nursed her, and her crying got even better.

There were literally times when I have thought that she was just a more serious/intense baby than others. I would see other babies around ages 6mo-1 year and see how calm they were. I had to tell myself that E would NOT be a cry baby her whole life, even though it felt like she would. I knew it would get better, but I just wanted to know WHEN. I got really annoyed when one of my apps on my phone told me she definitely should be able to laugh out loud by now, but she hadn't (I've now heard her laugh twice). I sometimes hate reading all those expectations.

I didn't intentionally mean to write all of these details, but then I figured maybe someone else might benefit from it.

Now that she is a little bit older and her digestive system is more mature, she is becoming such a sweet little baby. It seems she is always an angel when we go in public(thank goodness). But I just wanted to remember the times of screaming and crying and feeling completely helpless.

And lastly, I feel that every mother should know this information. I just saw it a few days ago, and E is almost 3 months, but already I have heard her use these specific cries, and it is such good information!
http://ww.asseenontvvideo.com/512022/Dunstan-Baby-Language-as-seen-on-Oprah.html

Eleanor's First Christmas - 2011

2012-01-18T02:22:00.001-05:00

This Christmas was so much fun celebrating with sweet baby Eleanor. She was quite a hit at church with her fancy Christmas dress (thanks, Denise!). We had lunch with some friends, then unfortunately Spencer had to work that night, so Eleanor and I finished the night off by watching some Christmas movies. Spencer surprised me with a surfboard. I feel like I haven't been surprised in a really long time, but this one totally got me. He left it in the garage so I saw it on our way out to church. Can't wait to finally, FINALLY learn and get good at surfing!

Herschel Walker Challenge 2012

2012-01-16T03:24:00.003-05:00

I'm writing this post for 2 reasons. 1) To make sure this blog doesn't become an Eleanor shrine. 2) I heard that if you make your goals publicly known, you are more likely to actually do them.

Spencer started a Herschel Walker challenge on Facebook. The challenge is this:

Herschel Walker maintains a rigorous workout at age 49. He performs 750-1500 pushups a day and 1500-2000 sit-ups a day. Our challenge was his first self-committed challenge when he was 10 years old. He committed to doing 100,000 pushups and sit-ups in a year. He now destroys that original goal. Being that most of us work 50+ hour desk jobs, raise kids, and have other athletic pursuits, we have decided to take the original challenge to heart. All are welcome to join. My friend, Brian and I came up with the challenge.

The Challenge: 100,000 pushups and 100,000 sit-ups/crunches to be completed in 2012. Challenge can be accomplished in various ways. You can do 273 a day (extra day for leap year!); 1923 once a week, every week; or 100,000 in one day. Good luck with that.

I decided to join. I don't think I'll make it to 100,000, but I am going to work up to that number. So far I've done 1,000 in 15 days, so that's not bad, right? I am doing girl style push ups though. Given that I just had a baby and am literally starting from scratch with my abs, I think I'm excused, right?

If you want to join, go here and request an invite from Spencer.

E on the phone (whole lotta pictures)

2011-12-29T02:17:00.000-05:00

My phone is filling up pretty fast with pictures of our little girl. I'll feel better about erasing some if I know I at least post them here.

Kamealoha

2011-12-29T01:24:00.005-05:00

This post is probably a little overdue since I have had family members ask about this. So sorry if you have been curious all this time.

When we found out we were going to have a baby while still living in Hawaii, we thought it would be fun to give her a Hawaiian name. We kept talking about doing it, but never fully committed. Even up until the day we were in the hospital, we still weren't decided on if we would give her one. We knew we liked Eleanor Reese, and I didn't want to replace Reese. So one of my concerns was her having 2 middle names, and if that would be more of an annoyance to her when she was older. We also didn't want to offend the Hawaiians and have them think that we were one of them now that we lived here.

Hawaiian names are also usually given by an older person, usually an aunty, or uncle(not necessarily family members. Anyone your elder here is considered your aunty or uncle). And they are usually given after the baby is born, and they name the baby according to what happened during the birth. It is a very spiritual, almost sacred process. Since we don't speak Hawaiian, we decided we'd just have a few names in mind ahead of time, then choose which name after she was born. Well, we told some people that, and it caused a little bit of drama. So then I didn't want to do it at all, because I didn't want to disrespect the process.

Some of our friends convinced us that the way we were doing it was fine since we weren't Hawaiian, and we just wanted Eleanor to have a little part of Hawaii with her since she'd be born here. So they helped us pick the name. We actually first chose Kamea (kuh-MAY-ah), which means "The Precious One", but then our friend and her husband both thought of adding "aloha" to the end. So her name is Kamealoha (kuh-MAY-ah-LO-ha) (I'm making up these pronunciations on the spot), which means "The Beloved One". And she can say that she was named by true Hawaiians. Her Uncle Steven and Aunty Kim.

I was nervous I would regret it. 2 middle names. And a LONG extra name at that. But the longer time goes by, the happier I am that we gave her the name. This Christmas her Aunty Kim gave her a gift and addressed it 'To: Kamealoha', and it made me so happy.

So here is Kamealoha dancing in her cute Hawaiian dress her Aunty KC gave her and sandals her Aunty Alison made her. Aloha!

2 months in her Christmas dress

2011-12-26T01:39:00.000-05:00

I kind of love that her arms look the same here as here 1 month picture. I feel like those were just taken a week ago. But with the holidays, this last month has flown by.

Life with Eleanor is getting easier and more enjoyable, just like everyone told me it would be. She is showing more and more personality every day. At times I think she will be sassy, and other times I think she will be meek and shy. The perfect mix of her parents I guess. It was so wonderful to have her in our home this Christmas. Even though she had no idea what was going on, I loved watching her look at the Christmas tree lights and to have Spencer and her play with her new toys. She definitely got the most gifts out of the 3 of us thanks to generous family and friends. More pictures to come, but for now, I am feeling the hustle and bustle of the day and need to sleep.

Merry Christmas, and Happy 2 months!

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-24T16:39:00.001-05:00

Fingers and Toes

2011-12-22T01:53:00.001-05:00

Eleanor Meets Santa - or someone who looks like him

2011-12-11T15:09:00.001-05:00

Summary of pics:
1. I got to meet baby Weston, who was born exactly 3 weeks after E.

2. Kids perform a song in Spanish, although what it sounded like they were singing was "Costco bells".

3. Spencer was on baby duty. He and Weston's dad had a date in the mother's lounge changing diapers. But that's not Weston's dad in the pic. That's Erich.

4. Erich is so sweet with baby E! So glad he came to visit.

5. I saw this man walk in the room, and assumed he'd be the Santa Claus at the end of the night. Well, the night kept going, and he kept staying in his seat. We had to leave early because Erich was running a marathon in the morning. I asked a bunch of people if they were going to have Santa, and if this guy was him, but nobody knew - even the people in charge. So I just went and asked if he'd take a picture with my baby. He said yes, and here is the awkward hold he held her in. Well, Spencer gave her to him like that, so it's not really his fault. So here is her first encounter with a man who looks like Santa, but isn't really.

6. Right when we arrived, we saw our bishop, who was wearing a very similar shirt as E. He got really excited about it, and I took a picture.

Coming Out of Our Shells

2011-12-10T13:54:00.001-05:00

The last 6 weeks have been nothing but the above. It has been heaven. No schedule. No responsibilities outside of caring for Eleanor. But now real life begins. I started working again this week. Spencer's friend Erich is in town. So we are saying goodbye to our hermit crab life and getting back to the real world, only with one more person included. More car rides (which are not so fun for her most of the time), and more strangers wanting to come up and touch her. I'm a little sad about it, but at the same time, I have enjoyed every second of our time at home together.

1 Month

2011-11-26T02:20:00.001-05:00

Today is Eleanor's 1 month! Time most definitely flies by, but at the same time, it almost feels longer than just one month. I recently told Spencer that I have loved being a hermit crab this last month. We really haven't gone out much. Just a few grocery trips and doctors appointments. But for the most part, the last month has been full of sleep, feedings, and just cuddling on the couch. When I do go in public, I feel a little weird seeing her out in the world. It's almost like I don't want to share her quite yet. I just want to enjoy this time all to ourselves.

The picture below is the reason I have to have her in mittens. I didn't want to have to put her in them, so I've been keeping her nails cut regularly. I have no problem with that. But then she discovered her hair. And if you haven't noticed, she is always moving her arms, and especially keeping them up by her head. She started grabbing and pulling her hair, which then made her scream in pain. And she won't let go! So now she'll be wearing mittens until she's old enough not to hurt herself.

Thanksgiving

2011-11-26T02:10:00.001-05:00

This Thanksgiving was pretty low key at our house. We had our friends over who just moved to Hawaii. He was Spencer's boss on the ship when they were deployed. So happy to have them here! Our menu consisted of the usual. Turkey, kalua pig, sweet potato souffle, mac and cheese...all the goods.

This year I am thankful for so many things. Most of all, so thankful to be the mother to our little girl Eleanor. It has been such a rewarding experience to be with her every hour of every day. And to share that experience with Spencer is so great.

Eleanor's Blessing Day

2011-11-16T20:45:00.001-05:00

We had Eleanor's blessing on November 6th at our house. Spencer and I had always wanted to have our kids' blessings at our house after we attended a friend's baby blessing at their house. We loved how personal it was. Luckily, it all worked out because the only Sunday my parents were in town was stake conference, so it was a good excuse.

My granny made her dress. I decided to pass on the bonnet - but I love how dramatic the dress is! And Spencer's grandmother made her little booties. It was a perfect little outfit for her! We invited just a few close friends over and really enjoyed the evening. I don't think Eleanor cried once the whole night (a miracle indeed). Spencer did a great job on the blessing - had everyone in tears. It really was such a special night for me. Only way it could have been better was if all our family and friends were here.

Profile

2011-11-15T20:25:00.001-05:00

The First Few Weeks of Being a Mother

2011-11-13T21:13:00.001-05:00

The first few weeks of being a mother have proven to be exhausting, joyful, challenging, emotional, and overall pretty surreal.

The first night home was probably one of the most paranoid nights of our lives. We have a pack 'n play/bassinet in our room that she slept in. I didn't get any sleep that night because I was worried she would stop breathing. There is nothing quite like that first night full of worry for this innocent little baby. She slept propped up in her boppy in our bed for a little while, but then I was paranoid because I know you're not supposed to let them sleep in them for risk of suffocation. Then she slept in my arms for a while. I found she slept best that way. I slept better as well because I could just open my eyes and see that she was ok instead of grab my phone for a light and get out of bed to check on her. I also liked feeling her move in her sleep because it reminded me of when I was pregnant and would feel her move as I tried to sleep.

I made it through the first few nights on our own before my parents came to visit with only one breakdown. There was a night when Eleanor decided she didn't remember how to nurse. She was so worked up and I couldn't sooth her. And I knew she needed to eat, but she wouldn't. And I got frustrated. Knowing that she wanted to eat, but wouldn't, and knowing that she needed soothing, but I couldn't. And if you could hear this girl's cry - you'd understand. She already has a reputation at her pediatrician's office for her heart wrenching, out of control screaming. She eventually calmed down, but only after a long period of crying on her part and patience on ours. These little babies can hard to figure out sometimes.

My parents came and went, and oh how they were appreciated!! Eleanor slept in their room. My mom brought her to me when it was time to eat, then took her back and changed diapers, put her back to sleep, etc. Those extra hours of sleep for me were priceless. My dad took the morning shift since he had a hard time adjusting to the time difference. And they loved on her every second they could while they were here. We already miss them like crazy.

Other things I have learned in the first few weeks: She loves the car (thank goodness!! let's hope it lasts!). She has about 7 different facial expressions she makes when she's trying to wake up. I swear she looks older every time she wakes up. She never spits up, but she had one day where she threw up twice. And another day when she projectile vomited. It was pretty horrific. Luckily it missed me and only hit the couch and floor. Our swing is a miracle worker. It gives us a few hours of free time or nap time every day. And last night I had her sleep in it, and she gave me a good 4 hours of uninterrupted sleep. Heaven. I love her cute little coughs. And when she cries so hard that her mouth curls up and her voice gets raspy. She has gone through at least 2-3 outfits every day due to diaper explosions. I'm pretty excited for those to slow down. She hates getting her diaper changed. She likes baths sometimes. I am amazed at how I can still function on such little sleep. Some days I do feel a bit shaky or lightheaded, but for the most part, you find a way to make it work. And not even just make it work, but I enjoy getting up at all hours of the night to feed her and just watch her. Spencer is a changed man. Never imagined seeing him so in love with a baby. But he is smitten. And it is the sweetest thing. I am amazed at how quickly my body was able to heal after delivery. I was feeling great after about 4 or 5 days. But I realize that can be deceiving, so I've still been taking it easy. I still can't believe I have my very own baby. It is such a crazy reality to accept. So surreal. But she is beautiful and such a blessing in our home. Taking care of a newborn is seriously hard work. Mostly because of the lack of sleep issue. But we are so in love with this girl. I have already learned so much about her and how to take care of her in such a short amount of time. Spencer and I are learning together and have gotten so much closer because of it.

If this post seemed a bit scrambled, well, I don't apologize. Just wanted to get some thoughts down while I had some free time. And I want to remember this crazy/delirious time of my life. Because I know I'll miss it when she gets bigger and older.

Eleanor's Birth Story

2011-11-04T01:32:00.000-05:00

The entire last week is pretty much a blur. This is my attempt at documenting every last detail that I can remember of it.

Let's start with last Sunday. I had an appointment that morning(weird they were even open on Sunday) before church. I was 39 weeks. The doctor checked the heartbeat and measured my stomach. He did a real quick ultrasound to check fluid levels. When I found out he wasn't going to check to see if I was dilated, I asked him when they usually do that check. He said not until the due date or after. I told him a lot of people had been asking me if I was dilated already, and it got me curious. So after I requested it, he did end up checking me, and then he had this surprised look on his face and told me I was already at a 2-3. He asked if I had had any painful contractions up to that point, and I didn't. So we were both surprised. He said it was very unusual for a first time mom to get to that point with no pain. He told me to come back in a week, but he said he didn't think I'd make it that far. Things got pretty real for me then. The thought of having a baby that week was so exciting yet terrifying.

Monday came and went. I had to work, so I dropped the kids off at school that morning and picked them up that afternoon. I don't remember anything significant happening that day. No contractions. Nothing.

Let me just interrupt and explain Spencer's schedule for the week. He was on night shift and had to work Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday night. He had been telling me all week to just hold off until Wednesday to have the baby. His job is one that requires someone to be there at all times, so we didn't want to have to inconvenience anyone. Once we got to Wednesday, he had work off for about 2.5 weeks.

Tuesday morning I woke up, had breakfast, then started feeling some contractions. These were different than the Braxton Hicks I thought I had beforehand. The Braxton Hicks were more on the top of my stomach, these were down low. Felt like menstrual cramps. Also reminded me of what I felt when I had my miscarriage. I realized they were pretty consistent, but didn't think they were strong enough to be anything to worry about. Just a little achy. I talked to my mom a while and told her about them. She said they sounded real, but I decided just to hold off to see if anything changed.

I went about my day as usual. Picked up the kids from school. Decided to take them back to my house just in case this was the real deal. I had also started timing them several hours earlier, and they were all very much 5 minutes apart...or less. Sometimes 2 or 3 minutes apart. But again, I didn't think they were serious enough to go to the hospital. Some of them were painful enough to stop walking and wait for it to pass, but again, it was more achy than sharp pain like I expected.

I called my doctor to get her opinion. It as about 4:00pm. I told her they were regular and consistent, and they weren't necessarily getting too much worse, but they weren't getting better either. She said, "well, it doesn't hurt to just come get checked. If you get here and your cervix is changing, we'll admit you, or if you get here and you're at a 4, we'll admit you". I realized that at this point I probably was at least a 4 because I was already a 2-3 on Sunday. So I made plans. She said she'd let the hospital know I was on my way. I told her I'd probably wait it out just a little longer, but would eventually go in. The mom of the kids that I watch is actually a nurse at the ER of the hospital we were going to, and was getting off work at 6. I called her and told her what was going on and that we'd just wait til she got off work so they wouldn't have to be waiting around forever. I then called my friend to ask her if she could take us to the hospital. If I did get admitted, I didn't want us to have 2 cars at the hospital. Plus, I wasn't sure if I should be driving.

I called Spencer and told him I was going in just to get checked. I don't know why I was so afraid of a false alarm, but that's what I was expecting. I left all of our bags, cameras, etc at home and figured he could get them if I did get admitted. Also, the guy who was on call to cover Spencer's shift should I go into labor was playing in an adult football league that night. His game was at 6. He said he'd have his phone on him, but still, I thought I could wait it out until at least after his game was over.

We get to the hospital. Right at about 6:00pm. I drop off the kids. I kept thinking to myself "I'm going to be mad if these contractions all of a sudden stop as I'm walking in and they send me home and think I'm a fool for coming in". Because in all honesty, in between contractions, I was totally fine. And I convinced myself every time that I shouldn't be feeling this good for being in labor. I walked up to the counter and said something like "umm, I think I'm in labor. My doctor said she'd call to tell you I was coming. I just wanted to get checked". They took me to the triage room and got me hooked up to the monitor. They said they'd be back to check on me in 15 minutes. I laid there and watched the wedding episode of The Office - my favorite one. I realized it had been 30 minutes since I was in there, and I also realized that the contractions were getting more painful. Like a concentrated and need to breathe through them painful. I called the nurse and asked if they knew if I was getting admitted or not because I would need to tell my husband. So finally a nurse came in and checked me. She said "oooh my gooodnesssss". And I said "what does 'ooooh my gooodnessss' mean!?". And she said "you're at a 7-8". I couldn't believe it! I really didn't believe it at first. She even told another nurse that maybe she should check me just to verify. But she didn't. Then all these nurses were coming in saying "there is NO way you should be smiling and comfortable like this at an 8!". At this point it was 6:40pm. I immediately called Spencer and said "you need to get here...NOW! I'm already at an 8!" He said ok, and I knew he'd do what he needed to do to get there as quickly as possible (he's been looking forward to the day I was in labor and could drive as fast as he wanted to the hospital. I can't believe he actually got that chance). I called and told my friend who was waiting in the waiting area that I was an 8. She came in and said goodbye and good luck. Then off I went to my room.

I told everyone I wanted epidural, and quickly got extremely nervous that I was too far along to get one. I really got panicky at one point about having to go natural. That was never in my plan. My doctor walked in the room and asked if Spencer was on his way. Then she kind of made fun of me for calling her and wondering if I was in labor when obviously I was majorly in labor. She also told me that since I was so controlled that I would in fact be able to get the epidural. Hallelujah! I kept hearing nurses walking in and out saying things like "she was just so happy and calm...first time mom.....39 weeks, 2 days....blah blah blah". It then hit me that not only was I going to have a baby that day, but in just a couple of hours.

Spencer called to ask if he had time to go home to get all our bags. I would have said no, but the camera was there, and we can't go through this without taking pictures. So I said to go ahead, but hurry. A teeny tiny part of me was so scared he wouldn't make it in time and I'd have to go through this by myself. I was hoping the epidural would slow things down to allow him enough time to get there.

The contractions started getting pretty intense. I kept wondering when I'd get the epi! I found that flexing my legs/feet helped with the pain, and obviously breathing helped. I didn't realize that so much had to happen before you could get the epidural. I had to wait for the bag of fluid to empty in my IV. And they had to take blood. And ask me all sorts of questions. I was really feeling the pain at this point.

And then Spencer walked through the door. I was so relieved! From the time I had called him til the time he walked in was about 45 minutes. At this point it was about 7:30pm. He saw me breathe through a few contractions, and I showed him just how strong they were by showing him the printout from the monitor. Those things were off the charts. He told me he liked the date October 25th better than October 26th, so to try to have the baby that night.

Finally the anesthetist came and I got excited. It was about 7:45 pm. She took forever telling me all the mumbo jumbo of what she legally has to say. I just nodded and said let's do this already! My nurse held my hands to make sure I held still. The epidural wasn't bad. In fact, I thought it was kinda cool how you could feel the fluids go right through you. The anesthetist then said something like "uh oh" - which is NOT what you want to hear when getting a potentially dangerous shot! She said something happened, and she got blood in the catheter, and it rarely ever happens, and she'd have to do it again. How annoying! So I held still again and the 2nd time worked.

Luckily it kicked in fast, and I think I only felt a little bit of one contraction after that. Life was good. They checked me right after the epidural, and I was already 9.5 cm dilated. Spencer and I took some pictures. I don't really remember what else happened except for trying to accept the fact that we were going to meet our baby so soon. I think at this point we discussed if we were going to add a Hawaiian name. We have been back and forth about it for a long time, and now was the time to make the decision. We decided to go for it. We got some help choosing the name from some of our good friends here. It means 'The Beloved One'. Fitting, if you ask me. My doctor came in and hung out for a while. I can't tell you how much I loved her. She was so laid back and just perfect for us. She said a volunteer was going around offering people cookies. My doctor told me that would be my push prize. Push for a cookie.

At about 8:45 I felt extreme pressure. I tried to hold everything in because I didn't know what to do, and my doctor wasn't in the room. When she came back I told her, she checked me, and said "ok, we can push now". Like it was no big deal. This was it. They set up the table, told Spencer how to hold my leg, and then the pushing began. My nurse coached me the entire time. She was great. And did I mention that it was her first day working at that hospital?! She had just moved here from New York. She had the perfect balance of intensity and encouragement that I needed. She ended up neglecting doing a lot of the every day procedures after the delivery, but that's another story.

My water had not broken on its own at this point. We talked about how some babies are born in their water bags, and it's a sort of good luck. I told her that we should try it. Why not!?

After pushing through the 2nd contraction, my doctor was laughing. LAUGHING. I couldn't believe it. Here I am concentrating and in such a vulnerable position, and she is laughing. She said "keep pushing, I'll tell you why I'm laughing in a second". When the contraction was over, she said my water bag was bulging out like a balloon. And I guess that was funny. She thought it'd be best to just break the water and help move things along. I didn't really care, so she went ahead and did it.

I didn't realize how much pushing would hurt. I thought I'd be 100% numb from the epidural, but apparently I was told that she couldn't guarantee I wouldn't feel pressure. I couldn't feel contractions, but I could most definitely feel the baby moving down. I felt so much that I was the one telling the doctor when it was time to push again. After a few contractions I felt like I could have passed out from holding my breath so much. They put an oxygen mask on me and said it was completely up to me if I wanted to use it or not. I kept in on for a while. After every contraction I had some comment of how much it hurt, and how I wasn't expecting to feel everything, and asking how much longer. It was seriously no fun at all. I can't imagine what it would have been like if I didn't have the epidural! All you natural birthers out there, you have my respect!

At one point the doctor said she saw her head and that she had a lot of dark hair! I was so excited - I definitely wasn't expecting dark hair. They asked if I wanted a mirror and I quickly declined. I was a little concerned about Spencer because we had already decided he'd be staying up near me and not down there. But then the doctor just told him where to go and how to help, and well, he saw it all happen. And it didn't even phase him.

They kept telling me we were getting close. I felt the most pressure when she was crowning. As much as I didn't want to push anymore, I knew that it was just a few more until it was all over. After yelling "how much longer!?", the doctor told me 2 more contractions. She got her robe on and prepared for the baby to come. The final pushes were intense. I was literally yelling as loud as if it were a natural birth. I heard the doctor say that her head was out, then an arm, then I don't remember. It was all so surreal. It was 9:47 pm. Next thing I know they are putting her on my chest. All I could do was cry and say "hi!!" over and over and over. She immediately grabbed on to my finger, and I just melted. There really are no words to describe the experience. Her hair was indeed dark and wavy. And the second I saw her eyes I looked up and told Spencer that she looked like him. I had told the doctor earlier that Spencer didn't care about cutting the cord. She made some comment about how she didn't cut them. I thought she was kidding. But then I look up and she's handing ME the scissors, and said "I"m serious, I don't cut the cord". So I cut her cord.

After a good amount of skin to skin bonding time, they took her to weigh/measure her and give her some shots. The doctor followed through with her promise and came back with a big plate of cookies. She had to tell Spencer to get the camera to take pictures of Eleanor while she was getting weighed. It was as if we were in a different world. It didn't even cross our minds.

While she was getting weighed, all I heard the nurse say was "11". I freaked out and said "did you just say she's 11 pounds!?" They laughed and said, no, 7 lb, 11 oz. Doctor said she needs to go to Vegas.

After all the craziness was over, things calmed down a bit and we got to spend some time with this little baby of ours. We took some more pictures. I attempted to nurse her. We texted and called our friends and family to share the news.

The next day/night, we just tried to figure out how to take care of the baby. Our birthing center is "baby friendly" and does not take the baby to the nursery to give me a break. So we had the baby with us the whole time and tried our best to get her to sleep so we could sleep. I was surprised at how well Spencer was a soothing her and getting her to quiet down. This girl has a pair of lungs on her. And she got a rep with the nurses for it. He also jumped at every opportunity to help with diaper changes. He is smitten with this little girl. I must say, I never expected to see such a major transformation in him overnight. He was a trooper with his sleeping arrangement. He had what has to be the most uncomfortable pull out chair I've ever seen. Pretty much springs with a sheet on it.

We also had some visitors. First was the Kanahele's. Then the lady I work for came by before her shift started. Our friend Libby came by with her little girl Lanaya. And then lastly our friends Kim and Gloria came by. Gloria is a pediatrician and helped us out with some of our complaints about our treatment at the hospital. She got us a pacifier(again, this hospital is 'baby friendly' and does not offer pacifiers unless requested). We loved having our friends come by and introduce them to Eleanor.

Our stay at the hospital the rest of the time was not so great. I got pretty frustrated several times with a lot of things. They left the blood pressure band on my arm 4 hours longer than needed. That thing was squeezing the life out of me every half hour or so. And they told me they'd bring me some Motrin, and never come back with it. They told us they were going to bathe her, but that never happened until the next day. So a lot of promises and no follow through. They were very busy that night, but I kept getting very disappointed in a lot of things. Turns out they were supposed to tell me to log all her diapers, feedings, etc. But I didn't know. And they were supposed to give me a folder with birth certificate info, shots info, etc. But I didn't get that until right before we were discharged and after we had asked about the birth certificate. By the time we left, and the nurses all changed shifts, things got a little better, but we were definitely ready to get out of there and get home. They did have good food though, so that was a plus.

We were finally discharged and packed everything up. But then I decided I wanted to get our car seat inspected to make sure it was installed correctly. We had to wait for the inspector to get back from lunch, so we stayed and talked with the nurses for a while. Good thing we waited, because there were some changes we needed to make.

We got home and introduced Eleanor to our house. Apparently Spencer got the nesting instinct and cleaned the entire house. Dusted, wiped all the counters, disinfected everything.

At one point I looked at Spencer and said "welcome to our new life!".

Current Ramblings - at 39 Weeks

2011-10-23T00:43:00.000-05:00

(this picture taken at 37 weeks)

In about 4 1/2 hours I will be 39 weeks pregnant. Time is flying by, I can't seem to keep up! My belly (and other areas) is big. No doubt about that. For the most part I am still feeling really good. I usually don't go to bed without having to take a couple of Tums due to acid reflux. I get up 1-2 times at night to use the bathroom. And most of the time it's a shuffle to the bathroom because my feet feel so stiff. I can only imagine how funny I look making my way in the dark. Let's see, what else. Spencer's favorite part of the day is any time I have to get off the couch or out of the bed. He says pregnancy is the funniest thing that has ever happened to me, and I must say that I agree. My appetite has slowed down majorly since the 2nd trimester when I literally had to eat every 2 hours. At my appt about 3 weeks ago, the Dr. did an ultrasound and said the baby was measuring a teensy bit on the small side. He said she was about 5lb 6oz then, and the average was 5-6 lbs. So still average, but on the smaller side of average. We'll see how accurate that still is when she comes. I recently caught the craft bug. Thanks to Pinterest.That website came at the perfect time as I was putting the nursery together. It gave me a lot of great ideas, and I kept telling myself that I could do a lot of the projects. Nothing too glamorous, but I think we definitely saved some money by doing it myself. My parents get here in a little over a week. For now it's just the waiting game - although I don't really feel like every day is an eternity like some women say the last few days are. I am starting to feel more excitement rather than nervousness. But I still feel calm about it. She'll come when she comes, and until then I am enjoying life as it is.

Jon and Emily come to Hawaii

2011-10-23T00:27:00.000-05:00

Jon and Emily FINALLY made their way out here to Hawaii! We love visitors! We had such a great time with them. I unfortunately had to sit out on some things due to my enormous belly, but what we did do together(including a 2 mile hike completely uphill. At least I have a good idea how to induce labor when the time comes) was so fun and helped pass the time while I am waiting for baby to come. You can see Emily's account on her blog here and here. Jon and Emily - come back soon!

Baby Shower #2

2011-10-23T00:10:00.003-05:00

The Decor:

The Guests:

The Gifts:

The Games:

I was lucky enough to have some women from church throw me another baby shower. And I must admit, while I am not usually a big fan of baby shower games, it ended up being my favorite part of the whole thing. I haven't laughed that hard in a long, long time. First they gave us a handout of questions they had previously asked Spencer regarding baby things. We had to guess out of 3 choices what his answer would be for each question. I literally thought I did great, but no, I think I got the lowest score of anyone. Perhaps I have a little too much confidence in him?!? Anyways, the video was a hit.

The next game was just as funny. Everyone got a paper that had pictures of Spencer and me as kids. We had to cut out the pictures and put together a face that we thought this baby girl would look like. They all turned out pretty creepy looking, but again, it was so funny.

I am so thankful for people out here in Hawaii who love me enough to do all of this for me and our little growing family!

Dean, Natalie, Justin and the Honor Guard come to Hawaii

2011-10-22T23:53:00.000-05:00

A while back (yes, I am way behind on blogging), we had a fun little family reunion here in Hawaii. Dean and Natalie came out(again) to celebrate their one year anniversary. Justin also came out with his Honor Guard at the same time, so we were able to hang out. Unfortunately we didn't get to see them perform due to the windiness of the day, but they did pose for some pictures.

Maternity Pictures

2011-09-08T02:56:00.000-05:00

Once we finished with the baby shower, we went right back to our original plan of taking these underwater maternity pictures. My brother Dean and his wife Natalie were in town, so I had him do the pictures for us. I knew if I wanted Spencer to be involved it had to be something different and fun since he is not one who likes to stand around for an hour having his picture taken (he wanted 10 total wedding pics. no joke). I was excited he was game for these. We actually had a really fun time doing them. Some of them are hilarious due to the water distortion. I kind of love the unpredictability of them. I'm 31 wks 6 days in these pictures, so practically 32 weeks. Say hello to my big white belly!

Surprise!! It's a baby shower!

2011-09-08T02:21:00.000-05:00

This past Saturday, Spencer and I had plans to take some underwater pictures at our friend's house. We show up only to find that all of the young women from church and their mothers are at the house and have planned a fun little tea party baby shower for me! I couldn't believe they all kept it a secret. I definitely feel very blessed to be surrounded by such kind and giving people.

Just the Two of Us

2011-08-28T20:27:00.000-05:00

I can't tell you how many times I've heard new parents say "I can't remember what life was like before they (their baby) came along". I've thought about this quite often. I think about what life will be like with a little one permanently in our lives. And of course it's a big change, and a great change, but I kind of don't want to forget what our lives have been like with just the two of us. It's been a fun time. We've been a couple for 8 years now! 8! That's crazy to me. Sure, we've done some traveling and a lot of fun things together, but I WOULD like to remember life before kids:

On weekends, we sleep in as long as our bodies want. That can be as early as 9am or as late as 11am. And no distractions. Except for the occasional birds chirping right outside our window or the neighbors who like to weed whack their lawn. Or, if we choose to wake up early, we go to the beach. Throw together some food in a cooler, put our swim suits on, and head out the door. We pack light. Then we relax at the beach for as long as our burnt skin can handle. We go surfing or boogie boarding. Take a nap in the sand. Not a care in the world except for making sure to turn every so often to get an even tan. Then maybe that night we decide to go to a movie. Actually, we tend to go to movie on any given night. Weekday, whenever. Look up the times and head out the door. We definitely like to go shopping. And when we shop, we are selfish shoppers. We get what we want. We treat ourselves to a new pair of shoes or a new outfit on a pretty consistent basis. Another thing we like to do is go to the bookstore and just read. Find a quiet corner and stack up on magazines and books. We could spend hours there. Just relaxing and reading and sharing with each other our new discoveries. We are pretty regular gym rats. Both of us like to get a good work out in 4+ times a week. Whether we go together or not, it seems like we spend quite a bit of time at the gym.

So as you can see, we have been pretty selfish with our time. We enjoy our time. And we have gotten pretty used to this time over the last 8 years. And soon we'll have to sacrifice a LOT of this time and share it with someone else. Like I said, I realize it's a positive change, and it will all be worth it, but I just can't help but acknowledge the fact that we've lived a pretty dang fun life the last several years with it just being the two of us. And I don't want to forget that since we won't get this alone time for...oh...about 20+ years.

Beach BBQ

2011-08-21T21:41:00.000-05:00

I could be honest and title this "4th of July beach bbq", but that would be embarrassing since that was over a month ago. In all honesty, I just barely got this film back. I decided that from now on I would take my film camera instead of my digital when we go to the beach. A) to save my digital from the salt and sand and B) to bring some variety to my photography and channel my inner jonathan canlas.This was a fun day with a crowded beach, good food, good friends, and good fun. What more can you ask for on July 4th?

Oh - and the doughnuts....well, if you know, you know. If you don't know, just know that Spencer ate 15 of those bad boys that day. And now you know.

Pregnancy Firsts

2011-08-10T01:47:00.002-05:00

The first time I knew I was pregnant (really the 2nd time, but meaning this pregnancy), I tested pretty early. I didn't care because I had ordered about 20 of the cheap paper pregnancy tests from amazon for about $6. So I had no reason to hold back. I think I tested 10 days past ovulation. Got a faint positive. Went to the kitchen where Spencer was on his computer. Put my hand on his chest and said "I'm pregnant!". He got up, gave me a hug, and said "You can finally be happy now!". Ha. That makes me laugh. Just goes to show how big of a role infertility can play in your life. But don't worry, he was happy too.

The first time we saw her was at 6 weeks, 3 days. It was my first appointment to confirm the pregnancy. I was a mess because that was the exact day I had had my previous miscarriage. The nurse was doing my vitals and said "we should be able to hear a heartbeat today!" And I replied by saying "IF there is a heartbeat". Again, at the time I had a hard time trusting that my body was able to conceive AND keep a baby. Seeing how nervous I was, they hurried me in and got right to the ultrasound. We saw the little speck (that was actually measuring 5 wks, 6 days) and they let us hear the heartbeat. The greatest sound my ears had ever heard. I honestly didn't even know you could detect a heartbeat that early!

The first time reality hit Spencer is a funny story to me. We were walking home from dinner at a restaurant down the street. I told him that our baby was the size of a lemon (don't you love BabyCenter's weekly updates?). He stopped walking and said "Are you serious? Woah, this just got real!". I guess he had that tiny speck still in mind.

The first time we found out the gender was a fun surprise. We were in Georgia visiting our friends Jesse and Natalie. I had originally planned to go to an ultrasound center the next morning to find out - and then reveal at Spencer's family bbq. Instead, Natalie told me her sister was an ultrasound tech at the hospital and was working in the ER that night. We arranged to meet at 11:30 that night. Thanks to her sister who may or may not have sent some patients back to the waiting room to get me in :) Spencer didn't really know what was going on when looking at the screen - but I had a pretty good idea of what I was seeing. We found out it was a girl, then proceeded to see the baby moving around. There was one point where she turned her head to us then raised her hand and waved. Such an amazing experience!

The first time a stranger approached me about being pregnant was exciting for me. I was tired of being in the in between stage where I just looked fatter and was relieved to know that I was finally looking pregnant. I was at Walgreens in GA and the guy at the cash register asked if I was expecting. He was so nice and asked me all sorts of questions about how the pregnancy was going, what the gender was, etc.

The first time I felt her move....well this one is tricky. I feel like I could have felt her at times, but wasn't 100% sure. But the first time I felt it from the outside we were in Covington Ward in Sacrament Meeting. I had my arms folded across my stomach when I felt her kick a couple of times. You will see that this girl apparently likes to move the most at church.

The first time Spencer felt her move was in Sunday School in our ward here in Hawaii. I had felt some pretty strong kicks and quickly told him to give me his hand. He understood that to be that I was feeling needy or something and he put his hand on my leg. I grabbed it and put it on my stomach and he immediately felt 2 or 3 kicks. In the beginning these little milestones get me so excited@

The first time I saw her move was at a 4th of July beach party. I was sitting in a beach chair enjoying the sunshine when I felt really strong kicks. I looked down and saw my stomach moving all over the place. It kind of freaked me out but I was so amused by it.

Those are all the firsts I can think of for now. I just started my 3rd trimester - the final stretch! Getting bigger and bigger. She's kicking and moving like crazy. There are times when I wake up at night and can't get back to sleep because she is moving around too much. But I love every second of it. The Dr. did tell me that I was measuring big for how far along I am. I already knew that after I met a girl in the elevator who was 8 months pregnant and about half the size of me. But such is life. More belly pics? Here you go....

Vacation Part 5: Sushi Night

2011-07-14T01:18:00.000-05:00

Sushi night was one of our favorite things to do when we were living in Atlanta. So we did everything we could to make it happen while we were visiting. Luckily there were 3 other pregnant women there, so they made all sorts of pregnant friendly rolls for us. Love our friends and love our sushi. Best spicy crunchy shrimp ever! And look at how much my stomach grew from the last post to this one. It's madness.

Vacation Part 4: Cheesman Family Fun

2011-07-14T01:12:00.000-05:00

Yeah, still not finished with the vacation posts. Hope you're not already bored of them....

Started with a pretty amazing bbq with so many friends and family that we loved spending time with. Check out that smoker that Jesse made himself. Wow. Such delicious food, such great company, that's all we could ask for. I didn't take pictures because I didn't want to miss out on a second. Lots of pool time. Flip contest between Dad and Pete. Stone Mountain for the laser show. Ice cream outings. Love my family.

Vacation Part 3: Christian Family BBQ

2011-06-27T02:50:00.003-05:00

Our trip to Georgia started with a fun family bbq with Spencer's family. Thanks to everyone who came. We loved seeing everyone. Good food, good company, good day. We also did a gender reveal cake. We had found out the night before that we were having a little girl and kept it a surprise from his family until that day. I made a pink cake and had Denise do the honors of cutting to find out what it was. Lisa Bolt, I love you for the above picture. Your reaction is priceless! I stole the last two pictures, so they are not high res photos, hence the smaller size.

Vacation Part 2: U2 in Salt Lake City

2011-06-27T02:44:00.000-05:00

The whole reason we made any kind of a stop before going to home to Georgia was to see U2 in concert. Spencer and I saw them in Atlanta in 2005 and it was the best concert we had ever attended. By far. So we knew we wanted to see them again. But no bands that we like ever come to Hawaii. So we made it happen in Utah. Call us crazy, but we loved every bit of it. Last time Spencer and I were in the pit, but this time we were just outside the ring that the band members walk out on. Not too bad. We went with Nathan, Camille, Alison, and Wayne. Alison - where are you pictures? Send them to me! All of these pictures came from Camille's camera.

Thanks to Nathan and Camille for driving us everywhere and letting us stay with you! We loved this part of the trip.

Also while in Utah we met up with Dean and Natalie. Loved their charming, old house in Provo. We met up with Jordan as well, and stayed with Grandma. We made a quick stop to see the Shipps at the hospital, and our trip on the west coast was complete.

Vacation Part 1: Yellowstone, Jackson Hole, and Idaho

2011-06-27T02:24:00.004-05:00

I'll let the pictures do most of the talking, but part 1 of our month long vacation was spent in Pocatello, Yellowstone, and Jackson Hole. It was a nice change of environment. I thoroughly enjoyed bundling up and wearing a sweatshirt and gloves again. The scenery was beautiful, and we really enjoyed spending time with our friends. I also got to see Chelsey and her little family. It was such a fun reunion after not seeing each other for probably 5 years. Next stop...Utah. Yep, it deserves a post of it's own.

Baby Girl on the Way!

2011-06-20T14:23:00.002-05:00

Yes, it's true. Spencer and I will be adding to our already happy family this fall. I know, I know, a lot of you are thinking "it's about time!", but trust us, we are right there with you. We will be married 6 years in just a couple of weeks, and I never imagined that we would have gone this long without children.

Without going into much detail, it wasn't an easy road getting here. It was frustrating and sometimes just exhausting. Our patience was tried month after month. I would never wish infertility on anyone! It literally can become obsessive. Living your life in 2 week increments and having all your thoughts centered around something you can't have...it's no fun.

But we found success, and we could not be more grateful for it! Looking back at things, I how found that I am grateful for the timing of it all. I feel like I appreciate the process so much more. And you better believe that in the last 6 years I have matured and really figured out what kind of person/mother I want to be. Since I am one of the last of my friends to have kids, I'm able to learn from their experiences as well. So overall, while we have been wanting this for the last several years, I am grateful that it has come at this time for us.

A lot of people have been asking the usual questions. So I'll just answer here. I kind of hate to say this, because I've heard so many awful stories, but this pregnancy so far has been a breeze. Other than a (very quickly) growing body, I really haven't had any other symptom of pregnancy. No sickness at all. A little fatigue in the beginning. The first trimester I loved eating salty foods (which is not normal for me. I'm a sweets kind of girl).And that's about it. I consider myself very lucky and am really enjoying being pregnant.

We found out at 17 weeks that this little babe of ours is a girl. I had a feeling from the beginning that it would be. Even though I literally did not care what it would be, every time I pictured the baby, it was always a girl. We are both thrilled about it. I sometimes just lay in bed at night and try to picture what she will look like. It is so hard to believe that this is actually happening and we are going to be parents.

Another popular question is about the name. Right now it is Eleanor Reese. We don't really have any other names in mind, but I sometimes just feel like it's too soon to make such a big decision. But most likely, that's what it will be. The only thing we might change is the middle name. I decided if I found a Hawaiian name with a cool meaning, we might use that.

Since everyone likes to see people get fatter, I guess I'll include some pictures of this growing belly of mine. And I'll also include some ultra sound pics. I won't be offended if you don't look at them. They all pretty much look the same, right? But I will say that seeing that girl on the screen is one of my very favorite things in the world right now! She is an active one. The first time she waved at us. And the second time it looks like she's signing "I love you". I'm already becoming such a sucker.

Might I also add that two of my three sisters are pregnant as well! Brooke due July 30th, me due October 30th, and Lisa due November 5th.

This was around the time I started showing while wearing clothes. Still looks like I'm just a little pudgy, but little did I know it was the beginning of a massive growth spurt. This was at 16 weeks.

And here is a half way photo at 20 weeks.

My workout attire is definitely getting on the tight side.

And just recently at 21 weeks.

Now for the ultrasound pics. Again, these don't look very different than all the other ones you see. These are a mix between my 17 and 20 week u/s.

Grewal's Visit

2011-05-21T16:01:00.000-05:00

Spencer had one of his favorite people come visit, then shortly after, I had one of my very favorite people visit. My best friend KC and her husband and daughter came to visit for a week. Unfortunately the weather was not cooperating, and we only had one solid day of sunshine on the beach. But that does not mean we didn't enjoy our time together. I loved playing with Holland and having a baby in the house. And Ashton and Spencer loved shoe shopping and eating malasadas together. And KC and I enjoyed just talking and catching up on each others' lives. One day we will live closer together. One day.

Loewer's Visit

2011-05-21T15:17:00.000-05:00

Spencer frequently talks about his mission in Montreal, Canada (what RM doesn't frequently talk about their mission?). Without a doubt, the time that meant the most to him was his time with his companion, Conor. They were only together for 6 weeks, but it is obvious that these guys were meant to be friends. This is the 2nd time we have met up with Conor and his wife Amanda since their mission. First time was a few years ago in Florida. You know it's a good friend when they get together and it seems as though absolute no time has passed. I stole these pics from Amanda's Facebook since for some reason I didn't take many pictures.

Highlight of the week was definitely testimony meeting where Conor used the Hawaiian term "mahu". He had women crying because they were laughing so hard. If you don't know what it means, look it up.

Easter Picture

2011-05-21T14:49:00.000-05:00

I realize Easter was weeks ago, but I might as well share our picture we took in our backyard after church. Kind of wish Easter was a day later, because look at what we could have had in our picture.

33

2011-05-21T14:42:00.001-05:00

It seems the older Spencer gets, the less he cares about his birthday. This year he turned 33, and all he wanted to do was watch Will Ferrell on Conan O'Brien as he shaved Conan's beard off. So that's what we did. And since he claims to be a brownie guy, I made him birthday brownies instead of a cake.

As you can see from the picture, he is still just a little kid. How can you not love this guy? A surprise brownie dough smeared on his teeth picture. Lovely.

Kristi's Visit

2011-04-08T03:07:00.000-05:00

Little sister Kristi came to visit for a week during her spring break. Can't believe she is old enough to be getting ready for college! Loved hanging out with her, especially since Spencer has been working crazy crazy hours and I get to see him about an hour a day. So having a visitor was perfect! By now I feel I could definitely be a professional tour guide. A quick summary of our week: My favorite rocky/cliff scenery. So inspiring. A hike. Pearl Harbor. Temple. Sunset Beach/big waves. PCC. Sunset at Sunset Beach. Pali Lookout. And of course, Leondard's malasadas.

If you are curious as to who the boy in the picture is...well she met him on the plane ride over. He was totally in to her, but he ended up being too old for her young self. If you want more details, you'll have to ask her about it.

Waterfalls

2011-03-06T22:23:00.000-05:00

Hawaii knows how to rain. The other night I was laying in bed, wide awake, at about 3:00am because it was raining so hard, and the wind sounded like we were surely in the middle of a hurricane or something. It was crazy. The entire last week has been pretty cloudy and not the best of weather.

However, with all that rain comes beautiful waterfalls running down between the ridges of the mountains. These were taken from inside my house. I was too lazy to put some clothes on and actually go outside to take them, so you might see a bit of the reflection from the window.

Epilator Follow Up

2011-03-06T22:10:00.000-05:00

I must say, I was surprised to see how many people were interested in the epilator after I wrote just how painful it was. But that just goes to show how desperate we women are to ditch our normal daily shaving routine.

It's been several weeks since my first time epilating. I have had regrowth. And here are my thoughts and answers to your questions:

I still love this thing!!! It is definitely worth the pain for me. Just the other day I shoved my leg in Spencer's face and told him I hadn't shaved in a week, yet they were pretty much hair free. It is the best feeling to be able to throw on some shorts at any given time and not give any thought to just how hairy my legs are. My hair has grown back thinner, which makes it less painful for when I epilate again. I love it.

Now for some of your questions. Chelsey - I took a picture after the first time I did my thighs. I'm not sure how well you can see the red spots, but they were covering my legs.

Rachel - we ordered ours from Amazon for almost $75.00. See here. It may sound expensive to you, but think about how you won't have to buy razor cartridges NEARLY as often. Plus, think about getting a wax at the salon. You will pay at least that much for one time. So we felt justified in our purchase. I have also read a lot of reviews about one that Braun makes. See here. It's nearly half the price, and has great reviews. The benefit of the one I got is that it has 72 tweezers, which means it gets more hair with less time/effort. Also, I have not used it on my arms yet. My arm hair is so thick it's not even funny. I have to wait for a day before I have nothing to do so I can hide all the irritation. Again, if your hair is thin, you won't have this much of a problem with the pain/irritation. I think I'm just a special case with my man hair.

Emily (and Rebecca) - I have only had 2 or 3 ingrown hairs that are worth telling you about. Yes, they were a bit painful, but they don't bother me enough to quit using it. I try to scrub down my legs with a loofah in the shower every day to prevent them. I think it seems to help.

Candice - If you're talking about more painful places as in bikini area, then no, I haven't tried it. Don't really plan to in the near future.

Annie - I'd love to get your thoughts on how you are liking yours!

The Story of a Creep

2011-02-18T02:38:00.000-05:00

Here's a story for your day....

Spencer and I were well overdue for a nice day at the beach. The weather was perfect today, so off we went. We chose a beach that Spencer likes to take his paddle board to. He went out on the water while I stayed back to catch some rays. So there I was, la de da de da, enjoying the sun, when a man walking his dog came up behind me and started making small talk:

Creep: "You look like you have all the time in the world laying out here"
Me: "Well, today I actually do."
Creep: "So what do you do?"
Me: "I'm a photographer"
Creep: "Oh, well I run a talent search/casting agency out of China"
Me: Cool
Creep: "So do you ever shoot models? Maybe I could find you some work. Do you have a card on you?"
Me: "No, I don't shoot models. But here's my card."

Then he asked if I would take a picture of him and his dog with his iphone. Then while he was looking at the pictures I took, he gave me his dog and said "your turn". Ummm, ok. So I posed with the dog and he took my picture (why, Stacy? WHY did I do that!?).

While he was taking my picture, he asked if I worked out.

Me: "Yes, I work out"
Creep: "Well you can tell. Have you ever wanted to do fitness modeling? We always have a need for fitness models"
Me: "No, I don't think I have the body for that. You should talk to my husband about that though. He's out paddling right now. He has the body for that kind of thing (note, whenever I feel uncomfortable in situations like these, I try to talk about Spencer as early and as much as I can. I am VERY married)."
Creep: "Then maybe you can do a husband/wife photo shoot. That would be fun"
Me: "Ummm, sure it would be."
Creep: "But you definitely could do it. You have the body for it."
Me: "No, really. I've seen fitness models. And I am not toned like them"
Creep: (as he looks me up and down..ughh) "Your body is like a 9.5. That's really good. Especially for a photographer. Most photographers are like a 3-4."

Did he really just put a number on my body!?!?

Me: "Well, thank you."

I make my way back to my towel. This is definitely getting awkward. He then asks if there is a Starbucks on the marine base (I think he thought we lived there). I told him I didn't know. I don't drink coffee, so I don't pay much attention to Starbucks.

Creep: "What are you LDS or something?"
Me: "Yes, as a matter of fact I am"

I was hoping this would come up so he would know that I was married AND innocent. He goes on about his neighbors who are LDS and going on a mission. Then he asked if I liked Jamba Juice.

Me: "Yes, I like Jamba Juice." I was thinking maybe he was trying to get a business meeting set up or something.

Next thing I know, he reaches in his pocket and shoves a $10 bill in my hands.

Creep: "Go get yourself a Jamba."
Me: "WHAT? No, I can't take this. That's crazy!"

He walks away from me with his hands in the air.

Creep: "I took your time away while you were relaxing. Now use that to buy yourself a Jamba."

He walked away, and I was now at my towel. This guy was crazy.

Later Spencer got back from surfing. The dude came back over and told Spencer that he did indeed have a nice body, and it was obvious he worked out a lot. Then they talked a little sports, and he was on his way. Spencer was convinced he was a nice guy. No harm done. I still had that weird feeling about him.

Fast forward. I get home and google this guy (he had also given me his card). He does not have a website. His business isn't anywhere to be found on Google! He has addresses on his card, but they are for apartments with no apt #. I then google his name and find some very interesting things about him. And if you have been approached by this guy in Hawaii and are trying to find out if he is legit, his name is EMERY LUCAS. Guy's a creep.

Here are my findings:

http://www.merareview.com/26696/sendreport.html

And an excerpt from a model's blog:
I use to work out at Power House and was approached by Emery Lucas. Watch out for him. he promises $200k print ads, and a $200k bonus for getting implants D and bigger. I told him I was already a D and he insisted they were C’s and I go bigger. He wanted an $800 deposit. Total SCAM. He also wanted to take pics of my boobs.

Now, go to his facebook page. You can see how creepy he looks as well as his cute dog. Now, go to his friends page. Yes, ALL of his friends seem to be female models. Which means he probably has no real friends. And he preys on women. Ugghck. I am sick to know I have this guy's money. Maybe I will donate it.

Our Weekend of Love

2011-02-16T02:48:00.000-05:00

I love my birthday. I really do. I love that it is the day before Valentine's Day. It's like an overload of love. And who doesn't love to be loved?

I started off by buying my own flowers. I figured I'd go ahead and relieve Spencer of that duty. We had a fun night at a friend's Valentine themed couples dinner party. We went to the beach for about 20 minutes before it started raining on us. We ate at Macaroni Grill. Chicken Scallopine is the best! And the free cake was a definite plus.

Valentine's Day was a funny story to me. I had a feeling Spencer got me something even though he said he didn't. And I'm always feeling in the giving mood on Valentine's Day after receiving so much for my birthday. So I went ahead and ordered him some shoes he's been wanting for a while (thank you Groupon for your awesome amazon deal!).

Spencer wanted to be creative or something and come up with a song to give me a clue as to where my gift was. This was not a pre-written song. He just came up with it. Only problem was that it was not helpful at all. He finally told me it was in the front entrance closet. I went, and what was sitting there? A griddle. Yes, a griddle. I started laughing out loud and got on to him because that was NOT a Valentine's gift. In fact, I told him that household items like that should NEVER be personal gifts. It was pretty funny. Then he opened the front door to the house, and there was a little pink bag hanging on the doorknob. I saw pink and instantly thought "oooh, VS! how sexy! he pulled off a nice surprise!" But no, it was not from him. It was a present from my visiting teacher/friend. So at the end of the day, I got a griddle. I must say the gift was a bit out of character for him. Usually he is very romantic and thoughtful. And don't get me wrong, I am grateful for the griddle. We needed one. But I made sure he knew that griddles are something you buy on any regular day. Not on lover's day.

We do have video of him singing Happy Birthday to me, but I will spare him the embarrassment. Actually, I looked pretty gross too, so it's to spare me as well.

(some of the pictures are blurry. oops.)

Beauty is Pain. Torturous, Unbearable Pain.

2011-02-03T01:37:00.000-05:00

Have you heard of an epilator? Well I hadn't until a few weeks ago. And now my life will never be the same.

An epilator is used for hair removal. It looks like an electric razor, but instead of cutting the hair, it removes it from the root. You get the effect of waxing but without the mess. The one I have has 72 tweezers in the head that rotate and pull the hair. It looks like a shark mouth with jaws that will surely tear your skin to pieces. And the noise is even scarier. Yeah, crazy. Anyways, I have always had issues with my legs. Even after I shave, I'm still not smooth, and you could even still see the hair. It was really frustrating. Notice I used "was" - because that was in the past.

The first time I used this baby was probably the most pain I have ever voluntarily put myself through. No joke. It's the pain of waxing, but it's not all over in a quick rip. It is constant. And terrible. And my legs were not happy. Actually, just my one leg. I couldn't bear to do both. And this is only below the knee. I literally went to sleep with red welts covering my leg. And the next morning was even worse. I had rubbed aloe all over right after to try to soothe my skin, but that only caused it to break out in a rash. I had to wear pants for about 3 days. It was horrible. But now on to the positives.

3 weeks later, my legs (I finally braved the second leg - but still only below the knee) are smooth as ever. And I have found that if I just use it once a week, I can get all the hair that is growing in slowly instead of doing it with a full leg of hair. And less hair = less pain. It is actually not even painful at all the last few times I've used it. It's amazing. And I found that instead of rubbing anything on my legs after, I can just run some cold water on them, and no irritation. Perfect. So, if you have issues with your hair on your legs, you like the effect of waxing but not the price of the salon or the mess at your house, then I would totally recommend getting one of these things. The first time is torture. Believe me. But I think in the long run it is worth it. Beauty wins over pain on this one. My legs will literally never be the same. And I just wanted to share this with you because that's what blogs are for.

Visiting Teaching Convention

2011-01-31T00:48:00.000-05:00

If you are not LDS,you probably won't be interested in this post. But if you are, and happen to ever be in charge of a visiting teaching convention, this post is for you. I was part of a 4 person group in charge of this event, and we searched and searched on the web for an idea to copy(none of us really had the best attitude about the whole thing and wanted to put in as little work as possible). We couldn't really find any so we eventually came up with something. The event was last night, and it turned out quite nice.

We decided to go with an eye exam theme of "Correcting Your Vision...Visiting Teaching with an Eternal Perspective". The invites:

We started off with a pasta bar. We had people sign up to bring cooked pasta, salad, bread sticks, and dessert. The committee was responsible for the sauce. I about went crazy trying to make a chicken alfredo sauce - but it actually turned out edible. And almost enjoyable.

Then we did a questionnaire for each sister to complete. The idea was to get an idea of how well you really know the women you visit. So it had questions like - What are their names? Birthdays? Kid's names? Hobbies? Occupations? Etc.

Next we watched this movie on our big screen. This was quite a hit.

The rest of the program consisted of some talks and personal experiences. Oh, there was a skit thrown in there, but that was not necessary. To each their own. Anyways, I thought our decorations were super cute. Not my idea or doing, but I did love them. Carrots!!

So now that we have done all the work, you can steal our ideas all you want. That's what the internet is for anyways. So feel free. And can I just shout a "Hallelujah" for this event being over!? I'll have more free time - well - maybe not til after New Beginnings. But it's a start.

Bed(not room) Makeover

2011-01-13T22:50:00.000-05:00

This year's Christmas brought us some new and much needed bedding. A few of you mentioned you wanted to see it, so here it is. I'll probably try to find some other pillows that add a bit more color, but here it is currently. I'm also trying to get the rest of the room updated, but that hasn't happened quite yet. Soon enough...

Chinese Horoscopes

2011-01-10T03:30:00.000-05:00

This weekend Spencer and I went to Barnes and Noble for a little together time. It's one of our favorite date night ideas. Anyways, we came across a Chinese Horoscope book that caught our interest. We read our individual animal horoscopes, and they were both surprisingly extremely accurate. The only problem is when we came across this. I am a Rat, Spencer is a Horse. Read the first paragraph...

I couldn't help but laugh in reading how they worded in it. Instead of saying something like "get along", they went with "get on", which could easily be misread as "get it on".

New Year's Resolutions Down the Drain...or should I say pothole?

2011-01-06T23:35:00.000-05:00

This year I made my new year's resolutions. I put a lot of thought into them, and felt like I compiled some really challenging, yet attainable goals. Maybe one day I will share all of them. One of those goals was to run at least 10 miles a week. I got some new running shoes for Christmas, and a new app on my phone to help chart my distance/time/calories. So I was ready to go. Yesterday was my first run of the week. I ran 2 miles on the treadmill in the morning, but then had to cut that short due to time constraints. So last night, I decided to run 2 more miles around the block. Spencer came with me. I was feeling great. It was dark and cool, and I could have gone for a long time. But on the home stretch, as I was beginning to pick up my pace to catch up with Spencer, I ran into a pothole and tumbled to the ground. It must have been quite a site. I think I even let out a grunt as I was falling. The dang hole was hiding in my shadow. Now I am left with a twisted and swollen ankle and new year's resolution that will be put on hold until further notice.

Can you see the swolleness?

New Year's Eve Hawaiian Style

2011-01-02T19:24:00.000-05:00

You might be wondering how New Year's Eve could be celebrated differently here in Hawaii. Well, it's not necessarily different, but just a little more extreme. You see, EVERYONE gets fireworks, and since it is Hawaii, and you can see everything, it looks as if the entire sky is being lit up. We went to our friend's house to celebrate with their extended family, and it was amazing what you could see just standing in their driveway. I tried to take a video, and please excuse the motion chaos. And the switch from horizontal to vertical. You'll just have to turn your head. The big ball of explosions that is on the ladder is a Chinese good luck ritual. I noticed that everyone had these tall poles in their yards and was confused them. But what they do is attach a roll of 25,000 firecrackers and everyone lights them at midnight. It's extremely loud, and you are left with a crazy mess on the road, but fun to see. Sadly, this was the last year the fireworks will be legal here.

Koko Head Hike

2011-01-02T19:11:00.000-05:00

Spencer and I finally went out and tried the Koko Head hike. It is literally a hike that goes straight up a mountain. There were stairs, but no hand rails. Total there are 1,050 steps for a 1200ft climb. So it was a bit scary to say the least. By the time I was about 3/4 the way up, I had to stop about every 4 steps to take a break and catch my breath. It was tough, but the view on top was beautiful.

(the drive home has my FAVORITE scenery!)

Christmas 2010

2010-12-29T02:57:00.006-05:00

Christmas was really nice this year. Although we missed our families, we definitely enjoyed making our own plans and having no real expectations from anybody else. We got to sleep in, eat a delicious breakfast, open presents, relax, and then meet up with our friends for dinner and a movie. No stress, no chaos. Thank you for all the gifts and cards that everyone sent! I must say my favorite gift was from my mom and dad. They gave us a book of every single home video ever made in our life and put them on dvds. They have video of my blessing day all the way up to present day. It was such a great surprise! Hope everyone had a Merry Christmas!

*a few notes. our tree was skirtless this year. i never got around to getting one. and second of all, i feel like i need to explain spencer and lee in the last pictures. they were roommates on the boat when they were deployed. so they got close. really close. obviously.

Christmas Eve with the Obama Ohana

2010-12-28T19:17:00.000-05:00

This Christmas Eve was not like any other we've had. First of all, we went to the beach. And I don't think I've ever been to the beach around Christmas time at all. Second of all, we were at the beach with the Obamas. Cool, right? We thought so. We went to the beach on the marine base. It is always pretty secluded, and there are almost always great waves there. We drive up and see two security guys in the parking lot. We get out of our car, and one of them comes up to us, flashes his Secret Service badge to us, and kindly asks us to move our car to the lower lot. We later get to down to the beach and have one of the MANY Secret Service agents look screen our bags. About 10 minutes after that, everyone at the beach, including all the surfers, have to go up to the parking lot to get scanned with the metal detector. After all of that madness, the Obama entourage finally makes their appearance. They came with all sorts of family members and another crew of employees that I have no idea what they do. I only know they were all together because one of them eventually came up to me and asked me to not take pictures because "they are on their family vacation". Yeah...and....??? He's the president. And I want to take pictures. Anyways. Here are the pictures. He is waving at me. I had one hand on the camera, and the other hand waving in the air. His daughters are really cute, and his wife (I'm actually not 100% sure that is his wife. When I zoomed in close, it didn't really look like her) had a really cute swimsuit on(not surprised). Oh, they also had their own personal lifeguard in the water with the kids, a personal photographer, and lunch catered to them in cute brown baskets. What a life.

*THESE ARE MY PICTURES - PLEASE DO NOT USE OR STEAL THEM W/O MY PERMISSION!!!*

Merry Christmas

2010-12-25T04:04:00.000-05:00

Wishing you a Merry Christmas full of love and joy.

Honolulu Christmas Lights

2010-12-23T01:00:00.000-05:00

The Christmas lights in Honolulu were so beautiful and perfect to get us in the Christmas spirit. This will definitely be a tradition for the next 3 years.

*Yes, those Star Wars guys were very random. I have no idea what Star Wars has to do with Christmas. The guy stirring the popcorn in the large tub was our friend Kana'i that we ran in to. And the last picture is Spencer with King Kamehameha.

Christmas Picture Outtakes

2010-12-21T14:49:00.000-05:00

We seriously considered using this last picture for our cards. Instead, I will just share it here.

Thanksgiving Hawaiian Style

2010-12-19T02:30:00.000-05:00

Am I really writing about Thanksgiving a week before Christmas? Oops. Not much to say though. Our friends Nathan and Camille came in town (again...they were here in April as well). We had a nice feast which consisted of a turkey and kalua pig cooked in the imu. So delicious. Since they had already been here before, we didn't do all the touristy things again (thank goodness). We just hoped for good weather and hung out at the beach. Spencer had just enough time to recover from his PRK (corrective eye surgery). We did check out the Triple Crown surf competition. Unfortunately the waves were not that big so it was pretty uneventful.

Once Upon a Time....

2010-11-09T03:35:00.000-05:00

I was pregnant. Surprised? Maybe, maybe not. I'm sure many of you have wondered why Spencer and I haven't had kids yet (after being married for 5 years, that is an eternity in Mormon world). Truth is, we stopped preventing after 6 months of being married. Subtract a year and some months of Spencer being gone, and you do the math....it's still been a really long time. I realize that this is a very personal and private matter, and maybe not the best idea to share on the internet. However, I feel like I have learned so much in the last several years about myself, my relationship with Spencer, and my relationship with God. I also know that there are so many other couples who struggle with infertility, and maybe I can at least let them know that they are far from being alone in this battle.

Going back to that first sentence...yes, I got pregnant. About 4 months ago. It only happened as a result of fertility drugs. Unfortunately, it only lasted for 6 weeks and 3 days. Before I get in to any details, let me just say that what I went through was NOTHING compared to what so many other women have gone through. Miscarriage is such a common occurrence, I am willing to bet that everybody knows at least one person who has experienced it (and if you didn't before, now you do). Many women keep it a secret because it is such a devastating time in their life. I can totally understand why they choose not to talk about it, but I wanted to make mine known. Why? Not to get sympathy...the last thing I want is for people to feel bad for me. It is only because I found comfort in knowing that I was not alone in that experience. It gave me hope to hear from my friends who had gone through a miscarriage (or 2 or 3), and eventually ended up with the family full of kids that they always dreamed of. While the miscarriage was obviously heartbreaking, the fact that I actually got pregnant was a really big deal, and has given me a lot of hope for the future.

Getting pregnant was not easy. A lot of things (other than the obvious) went into the equation. Dr.'s appointments, missed diagnosis', ultrasounds, blood work, forums, personal research, fertility drugs, and a whole lotta patience. To be 100% honest, while we didn't prevent for a few years, I can't say that I am completely disappointed with the way things have turned out. Spencer and I have had so much time together to build a really great and solid relationship with just the two of us. We have been able to travel and go out on most weekends. The older I have gotten, the more educated I've become, which gives me more confidence to eventually be a good mom. It wasn't always easy though. I definitely went through my phases of being jealous and upset when so many women around me announced their pregnancies. Luckily I eventually came to peace with those issues, and even learned to be genuinely happy for those women. It was an important time in my life when I realized that other people's happiness is no reason to bring me down, in fact, other people's happiness should in fact make me happier.

Spencer has been more than supportive throughout the entire process. He has never pressured me or blamed me. He has shown a lot of love and a lot of patience. And that is all that I need. I have also felt continual love from God. There are some things that I can't explain in words. I have never felt let down by Him. I have only felt like the time wasn't quite right. Even when I had the miscarriage, I felt like it was supposed to happen. Again, I can't quite explain it. But I don't feel like I was blind sighted by it. I felt prepared to face it. And boy am I grateful for those feelings.

My advice for those of you who are struggling with fertility is to do your research! The first time I knew something was wrong with me was when I was reading a magazine and found an article on symptoms that go with specific diagnosis'. There was one (PCOS) where I fit almost all of the symptoms. From then on, I did a lot of research and read a lot of forums on other women who have the same problems. I go to my Dr.'s with specific questions and requests. The last year of my life I have felt very in control of my body and know what is going on with it. I don't just submit myself to every Dr. (I have seen MANY in the last few years) I see and let them make all of the decisions. Maybe I shouldn't be giving advice just quite yet since I don't even have a success story, but I do feel strongly about taking control of your body and educating yourself about it.

So there is my story. While it's not the happiest of stories, it has provided me with many positive experiences and life lessons. I hope that those of you who share this struggle can find hope, peace, and success.

My Favorites - Beauty Products

2010-11-05T00:47:00.000-05:00

A lot of people are into the review blogs with free giveaways of fun products. I follow a lot of them and hope for a win. Unfortunately, that has never happened. Anyways, I decided that I wanted to post some of my favorite products that I use and fully recommend. I'm not getting free products to do this, nor am I giving away anything. I just thought it would be fun to let you know what works best for me. Keep in mind that I shop on a budget. Also, know that I acknowledge the fact that every person is different and has their individual needs in products. Now on to the list:

This mousse saves me! I literally spend less than 5 minutes on my hair on a typical day. After my shower, I comb through my hair with a wide tooth comb. Then I towel dry for a couple of minutes. After that, I flip my head upside down and distribute this mousse evenly throughout my hair while scrunching it up. And that's it. My hair air dries and I seem to get a lot of compliments on my hair. It gives me nice, frizz-free, non-crunchy soft curls.

I use this scrub every night. If you remember my previous post about my big pores, you will know that I am prone to blackheads. This scrub does a great job of exfoliating while giving off a nice, fresh, grapefruity scent.

I'm a little bit obsessed with this moisturizer. It literally feels like you are putting water on your face. It is super light and not oily AT ALL. It has temporarily been replaced with a mysterious concoction from Indonesia that my friend got for me (that seems to work like a miracle), but whenever I need to moisturize, this is what I will always always buy.

I was converted to this shower gel after my many trips to visit my dear friend KC and her family in California. At first I thought it was too much to pay for shower gel (that I could pay $3 for other brands), but it really does leave you skin softer. Plus I love the clean smell. It's not too flowery or anything. Perfect for men and women to use.

I think that OPI nail polish is the obvious popular choice for nail polish. I have a hard time paying close to $10 for nail polish that I'm not even sure how it'll look on my nails. And what if I don't like it? Anyways, I just barely discovered this gem. The brush is thicker than normal, so it is super easy to paint my own fingernails. Plus, it lasts FOREVER! I found them at the drug store on clearance - $1.50 each!

This is what I use for my morning washes. It produces the perfect amount of suds so you feel nice and clean. And it's not too strong that it leaves your skin feeling dry.

There was a point in my life where this SAVED me. No joke. Sure, it's embarrassing to admit that I had a problem, but you know what, if this can help someone else, it is totally worth it. This stuff beats all those other popular named (Secret, Degree, etc.) prescription strength ones. It is that great. Just know that it is not a deodorant, so you might have to get something else to put on in the mornings.

My skin is pretty sensitive to lotions, but this one has worked well for me. I haven't tried TOO many different kids, so I'm sure there are other good ones out there, but I'll probably continue to buy this one. The color of the bottle also feels like it's making me tan, even though I know it's not.

I don't think I will ever be able to shave with anything other than this specific razor. It gives me the closest shave possible (I have crazy coarse leg hair) and it never gives me razor burn like so many other razors. I love love love it. The only problem is that Spencer likes it too, so he steals all my cartridges.

There are a lot of other products that I use that I have not become set on. I am still buying different brands to see which one really sticks. Some of those include shampoo/conditioner, toothpaste, floss, and hair products for straight hair. Now, if you want to make this fun, comment on here or blog about your favorite products. Share the love! We all shouldn't have to learn by trial and error. Plus I'm just curious to see what everyone else uses. Eventually I want to do a make up post, so stay tuned.

Bringing Autumn to Hawaii

2010-10-28T00:03:00.000-05:00

It's that time of year again. The only time of year I wish I wasn't living in Hawaii. The time of year when I hear about changing weather, colorful leaves, pumpkin farms, etc. and don't get to experience any of it. Sure, it gets a little cooler, but it's still warm enough to go with shorts. Even warm enough for the beach. Last year I was in California for fall, so this will be my first year going without it. Oh well. To try to make up for it, I've hit the kitchen for some fall treats to lesson my sadness.

I couldn't help but buy the pumpkin (isn't the white one cool?) and gourds. A constant reminder of the season. Add a nice smelly candle, and I've already got a nice autumn tone set.

First was apple crisp. It turned out really rich, but really delicious. My very favorite part is the topping, so I went a little overboard with it. If you end up making it, just make sure you don't forget the vanilla ice cream. Yum.

Next up: Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins. I've been craving these for a while now. Spencer said they smell like Thanksgiving. These are going to be a fall tradition in our household for many years to come.

He's back for a while.

2010-10-19T16:15:00.000-05:00

Hi friends. It's been a while since we've had an update, but we've been busy in our little Hawaiian home. A lot of good things have been happening. Great things.

Spencer is back from his 2 month training exercise. 2 months was definitely easier than 8 months, but still, it's 2 months. He shouldn't have to leave again until his next job starts. Which by the way, another great thing is that we found out we are staying here in Hawaii for another 2 years. So from now, we're here for 3 years. Awesome. It was what we wanted. 2 years in Hawaii (with 12 of them being separated from each other) was not long enough for us. We are excited!

I got a really great job. I had been working through a temp agency since we moved here, and I was bouncing around from job to job, taking whatever became available, and turning down permanent positions that they were offering. I loved getting to choose when I worked, and if I didn't like the job, no big deal, it's only temporary. That was fun while it lasted, but it got to a point where I wanted to get more of a permanent position. I ended up finding a nanny job through care.com (that is also the website I used to get my job in Virginia Beach). So far I am 2 for 2 when it comes to that website! Both have provided me with really amazing families that are so great to work for. This particular family is a military family with 2 kids, ages 9 and 11. Both are very well behaved, self sufficient, active, and fun to talk to. The hours are perfect for me - while they are at school, I am off. But I am there in the mornings and afternoons. This is definitely a job I plan to keep while both the family and I are still living here. I mean who wouldn't want a job where you get to go swimming, play tennis, go to the mall, etc. and get paid for it!?

My photography business is finally getting up and running. It took me a while to really get motivated to start my business out here since I thought we'd be leaving soon, but once I heard we were staying longer, I went for it. Photography is what I really love to do, so I'm not sure why it took me so long to get it going. Be sure to follow my photography blog to keep up to date on all of my latest work.

We've both been busy with our church callings. Spencer is assistant scout master (or something like that), and I am 2nd counselor in YW. Not only do we have our regular mutual night during the week, but for the last month or so (and up until the end of November), we've added an extra church night dedicated to rehearsal for a cultural celebration dance routine that will be performed for the prophet at the Laie Temple re-dedication. From what I've seen, it should be amazing.

Spencer recently got promoted! Hooray! This promotion is an automatic promotion for those who have been in the Navy for 2 years. I can't believe he's already been in that long, but I couldn't be happier about it. It comes with a nice pay raise, some silver bars, and a new fancy title. Lieutenant JG (Junior Grade).

One of my FAVORITE weeks

2010-09-12T03:51:00.001-05:00

My week in Utah that is. I hadn't seen Spencer in 3 weeks. Hadn't seen my family in about 7 months. Hadn't seen Utah in about 3 years. I love a happy reunion. Everything about that week was perfect. Really, it was.

Spencer picked me up at the airport and we stayed at a motel in the city of my birth (Midvale). Don't know why we chose that city, but it didn't matter. I just loved having him with me again. Our friends Nathan and Camille drove down from Idaho to see us for the day. We went shopping at the outlet mall in Park City. We met up with our friend Kevin Young and his girl for dinner in Salt Lake. We met up my family. We all took turns smothering Mason with love. We got to spend time with Alison and meet her boy Wayne (we totally approve). We played a basketball game of Cheesmans vs. 5 other Utah guys that I'm sure were intimidated to see 3 men walk in who were 6'6"+. We beat them. It was great. We met Natalie's family and had an enjoyable lunch with them. We witnessed Dean and Natalie say "I do". See pics here. We ate gelato. Lots of it. We had a gigantic family gathering at Grandma's with ALL the family who lives in Utah. All the aunts, uncles, cousins, etc. It was so great to see everyone! Our family is definitely the outcasts of the family on that side, so whenever we get to see them is always a treat. We reunited with our buddy Jordan Clark. We met his sister and her family of adorable kids. We ate at Cafe Rio, Red Iguana, Kneaders, and Red Mango (I'd kill for some restaurants like that out here). We enjoyed one day of almost fall weather. We shopped and shopped and shopped. We had the best time.

And now he's gone again until the end of the month. But Utah was great. So great, that it is getting me through these next few weeks. Keeping a smile on my face.

Another thing I did was take pictures. A lot of them. But most of them are of the wedding, Kristi (senior pics), and Mason. See pics of wedding here. And Mason's and Kristi's will be up later. For now, enjoy these. Please note a few things: Kristi is the hot babe in the pink shirt. Yeah, I couldn't believe it either. When did she grow up? Mason's cute teeth. I love the gap in the top two teeth. And please note my parent's cute kiss while i was testing out the self timer. Adorable. Family - I love you, and I loved seeing you! Wish it could have been longer.

High School Reunion

2010-08-24T01:00:00.000-05:00

A couple weeks ago I had 3 of my high school friends (2 of which I have known since I was just a wee little girl) come visit for a week. Two of them were married and brought their husbands. So 5 visitors total. And let me tell you....it was a good time!

I've always told people that 1 week just isn't enough time to really do everything here. I suggest 1.5-2 weeks. That is, unless you are my high school friends. They were ready to get out and go the second they got in. We started every morning early (much earlier than I am used to), and ended every day late. And they got everything done in 1 week with ease.

It was so fun catching up with them. And I think the greatest part is that even though we really haven't seen each other for a while (and when we have seen each other in the last few years, it's been as long as a dinner lasts), we picked up right where we left off. We didn't spend the whole week going down memory lane (sometimes we did), and we were able to really connect with each other in our current lives. It was great.

And can I just say that I love having people come who have never been here before. My friends just "ooh-ed" and "ahhh-ed" over every little flower, rainbow, mountain, etc. It is so refreshing for me to be reminded of just how incredible this place is.

So here are so pictures of all the fun. Some of these aren't my pictures. At the end of the trip we all just combined our pictures and shared them with each other. This isn't even CLOSE to the amount of pictures that were taken in that one week.

Meeting John Locke

2010-08-14T15:42:00.000-05:00

Woah now all you crazy Lost fans - don't go crazy on me this time. Mind your own business and stop being rude to perfectly nice strangers.

Now that I have that out of the way, let me share with you my MUCH better experience in meeting a cast member of Lost.

It was July 4th weekend, and we had some friends in town. We headed up to the north shore for the day to give them an idea of what all the hype is about. One of the most popular beaches is Waimea Bay. It has great snorkeling and a giant rock to jump off of. So obviously a great spot. That particular day, there was a paddleboarding competition from Sunset Beach to Waimea Bay. We, along with hundreds of other people, were at the beach of the finish line. As they were announcing the finishers that were coming in, Spencer and I decided to head over to where the actual finish line was. I was walking over, Spencer was swimming over. I think Spencer and I were in a small argument at the time (which will play in to the story later). Don't remember what it was about (do I ever?).

As I was walking towards the finish line, I spotted Terry O'Quinn (John Locke) walking in the opposite direction. Luckily, I knew his real name (I would've felt like a fool had I called out "John Locke!"). I started approaching him and said "Terry! Hi, I just wanted to say hello. I'm a big fan". He looked at me, extended his hand, and said, "Hi, what's your name?". I told him. He said "I'm Terry, nice to meet you". He then asked me if I lived there. I explained to him our situation of being here with the Navy, and we've been here for over a year. I asked him if he was sticking around Hawaii even after Lost was finished with filming. He told me he still has a place there, so every now and then he comes up to stay. I told him our friend had just seen him at Turtle Bay a few days before (then I felt kind of stupid/stalkerish). As we were talking, we were just walking along the beach. Spencer had just barely come out of the water and was walking towards us. I saw that he didn't notice Terry yet, and for a second I was about to play "I'll get him back" and just say goodbye to Terry and let him carry on. Instead, I stalled until Spencer approached us. I told Terry that my husband was coming, and he would like to meet him as well. Spencer came, looked surprised to see him, shook his hand, and said hi. They didn't talk much - we let him move on (I think he was going to go snorkel). After, I looked at Spencer and said "You're Welcome!". What a nice wife I am - even in a time of an argument.

I decided I would need a picture of him, so I went and played paparazzi while he and a woman were taking turns on a paddle board. So here you have it Lost fans - John Locke himself. I was so pleased with how kind he was and how much time he spent talking to me. And not to mention he is such a handsome man!! You can see from the pics that he keeps in really great shape!

A Week of Anniversaries - Our First Date

2010-06-28T03:20:00.000-05:00

This week is pretty great for Spencer and me. A lot of things have happened. My friend KC once wrote a post about every detail of her wedding that she remembered - a year later. Her memory was quite impressive. Much better than mine. Anyways, I want to do the same for this week. Starting with our first date.

These pictures were not our first date. Just some of the first pictures of us together.

June 27, 2003 - Our First Date
7 years ago. What!? That seems way too long ago. Here's how the day went:
I don't remember much of the morning. I remember I wore my denim looking shirt, khaki pants, and white flip flops. While he was on his way to pick me up, I was on AIM(wow, that must have been a long time ago if that's the chatting service I was using) chatting with KC (you're so popular on this particular post!) about my feelings about the date. She asked me if I was nervous, but I wasn't. I remember telling her that I felt really calm and relaxed about it, but was super excited. Then he pulled up in his little Honda Civic. I remember being surprised that he drove a Civic. Not sure why, and not that it was a bad thing, I was just surprised. He was wearing a blue polo, khaki shorts, and flip flops. He looked really cute. I got in the car, and he asked me what we wanted to do. I kind of laughed in disbelief that he didn't have anything already planned. He suggested dinner and a movie, and that sounded fine. We drove to the Mall of Georgia and ended up choosing Chili's. I ordered a chicken pita, and he had the Monterey Chicken dish. He was really easy to talk to. We then tried the movie theater at the mall, but found that there were ZERO movies playing at 8:00, and the next movies weren't for a really long time. So we left. I remember him opening all the doors for me, and one time he even waited a really long time holding the door for an older lady that was walking farther behind us. I thought that was sweet. Oh, while we were at the mall, I remember him asking me if I watched rated R movies. I told him no, and he then said "What kind of question is that? I don't know why I asked you. That's like asking if you drink beer". He told me he didn't watch them either (only the good ones), and we went on. We then drove to the dollar theater (it was on the way home...he's not THAT cheap), and discovered that there are no movies playing at that time either. Big fail on the movie idea. So, we decided to go back to my house and watch a movie. Driving home, it was raining pretty hard. If you know me, I have slight anxiety when driving in bad weather. I remember thinking that he was a great driver, and I felt completely safe riding passenger. We talked about how we had both watched the same ESPN Classic basketball game the night before. We talked about Larry Bird and the teeny tiny shorts they used to wear. We talked about how he had to take the PRAXIS exam the following morning. Early morning. We got home, and we agreed to watch Harry Potter (the first one). I think he actually chose it. Nice. My aunt Mary sat on the couch in the same room and read a book while we watched our movie. I really wanted to hold his hand, but I am not good at making the first move. He never held mine. He likes to go slow. After the movie he took a bathroom break. My aunt Mary looked at me with big eyes and an 'oh my gosh!!' look and said "he is so hot! his muscles are huge!!" and "Even if you don't end up marrying him, he'd be a a great one to at least compare every other guy to." Maybe I should have felt threatened by my single aunt and her googely eyes, but all I could do was smile and agree. I was pretty excited about him.

I don't remember saying goodbye. But let's just say we spent almost every single day together that summer.

Pretty good for it being 7 years ago, right?

Now Spencer's side of the story:

I didn't read what she wrote. So here's what I got:

She turned me down a week earlier claiming that she had some reception to go to. Reception or date with me? Seems like an easy choice. Anyhow, seemed as though some initial ideas didn't work out. But I've always been a dinner and a movie guy. Talk a little bit, then watch a movie. Didn't really plan ahead because I was a little cocky and knew I could get away with it. So we went to Chillis. I used to work there and always liked the food. Plus it was within budget. Then we went to the movies around 8. No one is playing movies at 8. And Mall of GA doesn't start late shows till 1000 or something. So we headed to her place. Watched a little HPotter. I'd never seen it before. Got to talk about whatever. I don't really remember the details. But I thought she was cool enough for a second date. And her family seemed pretty cool. All ballers, so that couldn't hurt, right? That's really it. I actually don't remember our dating life. But here we are 7 years later. Stand up and stretch.

Visitors: Christians and Chathams

2010-06-25T02:03:00.000-05:00

I have taken hundreds of pictures the last few weeks. Hundreds. We've had visitors in town so we've been on the go the whole time. Instead of boring you with all my shots of trees, flowers, rocks, waterfalls, etc, I'll just include the ones with people in it. Not really of Spencer or me (you've seen enough of us on here), but of our friends and family. Hope they don't mind. Spencer's parents were here for about 2 1/2 weeks, and his best friend, Erich, also came with his family for a week. We had such a great time with all of them! Enjoy.

My New Website

2010-06-03T06:57:00.001-05:00

Introducing my new photography website! I've been working hard to get it done - so I hope you enjoy it. To add to that, I also have a new blog I'll be using probably more often than this one. I'm hoping it will be a nice mix of my personal and professional life. Don't be afraid to become a follower!

Official Website

New Blog

I do have one thing I want feedback on. Is music on a website annoying? If you think it is, let me know. I go back and forth on whether to include it or not.

Fruit Pizza Recipe

2010-05-21T16:26:00.000-05:00

This dessert is probably the most requested one that my mom has gotten for the past 7 years or however long she's been making it. It is the perfect summer treat. So refreshing (and if you want to convince yourself that it's healthy, go ahead). I'm a fruity kind of gal, so this one tops my list of desserts. Oh, and not to mention a 3rd grader could whip this out no problem.

1 roll of refrigerator sugar cookies (only 1 if it's the giant roll. if not, i usually get 2 small ones)
1 8oz cream cheese
1/3 cup of sugar
1/2 tsp of vanilla
Fruit

Slice the cookie dough and place on pan. Mash together to make the crust.
Bake according to package directions.
Cool.

Mix softened cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla.
Spread on crust.
Top with your favorite fruit. Some ideas: strawberries, kiwi, mango, grapes, blueberries, mandarin oranges.
Enjoy!! (but I don't have to tell you that)

I have big pores.

2010-05-20T01:10:00.000-05:00

I went to the dermatologist the other day. I've always had skin problems - runs in the family. Lucky me. Anyways, lately it's been looking pretty good, but I'm just not satisfied until I have perfectly smooth and silky skin like so many other people I see. I've never had skin that glows. And I want that. So I went to the dermatologist.

Here's what he said.

"You just have big pores. It's in your anatomy. My advice - throw away your magnifying mirror. Nobody can see what you are seeing."

Busted. I didn't even tell him I used a magnifying mirror. He did prescribe me a cream to use, but that's not the point. While this post may seem random to some of you, I walked away learning a good lesson. This lesson is more powerful because it came from my dermatologist. Not my mom, husband, friend, or someone who was trying to make me feel better about myself because they love me. That lesson - WE ARE NOT PERFECT. Our bodies are flawed. All of them. It's a waste of time to obsess over those factors that we can not control. And he's right. Most people do not even notice those things we become so self conscious about. Trust me, I have PCOS (polycystic ovarian syndrome). And with that brings ALL SORTS of unwanted physical annoyances. But that is life. Because I am not perfect, and you are not perfect. And that's the beautiful thing. None of us are.

Go Go Go Go Go

2010-05-13T00:20:00.000-05:00

The last month has been pretty crazy. I feel like even though we live a pretty relaxed life, we have still been on the go nonstop. I'll give you a recap with lots (and lots) of pictures:

First, Dean and Natalie (or my name that I like for them... "Deatalie") came to visit for a week. Unfortunately both Spencer and I had to work, so we didn't get to go out with them much. Plus the weather was not so great while they were here (sorry about that). But it was fun to see them. And if you didn't know, they are engaged. Will be married Aug 28th. These pics are from the Valley of the Temples.

Two days after Deatalie left, our friends Nathan and Camille came for almost 2 weeks.

We went on a fun hike to Maunawili Falls.

I jumped off the tiny cliff. Spencer jumped off the 40 ft. cliff. And Nathan jumped off the 70 ft. cliff. Scary!

We also went to the PCC.

And lots of boogie boogie boogie boarding!

Ummm, not sure what to say about this picture...

Oh, let's not forget that Spencer turned 32.

Clearly he was very excited about it.

We celebrated with Nate, Camille, and our very large Family Home Evening Group.

2 days after Nate and Camille left, we headed off to Maui for the weekend.

Our purpose for going was to meet up with our friends Dan and LaLona who were there with Dan's family for vacation. We ate at the Hula Grill. Right on the beach. Delicious!

The next day we went to Ioa Valley for a little history tour.

Followed by a trip to Kula to see the oldest standing LDS church built in Hawaii.

We ended the trip with a nice walk on the beach and time in the hot tub while the sun set.

And now we take a short break before the next string of visitors come....

I'm Home, Beaches.

2010-03-23T23:07:00.007-05:00

Take that as you will. I know how I meant it. After a long 8 month bout with the Taliban and the muckering that goes on between Navy professionals (along with some pretty neat port visits), I am home on USA soil. Although Hawaii does not feel like home yet. It is the current place of habitation.

The deployment was an overall success. We were able to drop a few bombs on some enemies of the State. I was certified as a "Qualified Navy Professional". I got to see: Japan, Singapore, Bahrain, Qatar, Dubai (UAE), Phucket (Thailand), Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia), and Hong Kong. Not a bad list of countries and cities to see. Definitely glad to be home though.

The exact date I was to be home is supposed to be confidential, so only a handful of people knew the it. Thank you to all those that kept Stacy comfortable and occupied. Deployment is almost always harder for the spouse than is home than for the one that is out there kicking butt. She did great, but we are glad to be together again.

We will be in Hawaii for another year or so. I will leave for 3 weeks in July and that will be it for a while. We have friends and family coming to see us. We are excited to see them too. Although I am having a blast traveling the world and doing some pretty cool work, I will forever miss my dear family and close friends. That's what makes this job truly difficult-along with missing U2, The Killers, and Counting Crows in concert.

You know where we'll be.

Final Countdown

2010-03-16T05:12:00.000-05:00

While paper chains are fun and all, I found myself doing a different type of countdown. Definitely not a typical one. The closer it has gotten to Homecoming, I have found myself doing this with more and more things. Let's call it the Household Goods Countdown. I think it started several weeks back when I bought some body wash. I thought to myself I wonder if this body will still be around when Spencer gets back? Then it just continued on with more and more things I observed. I didn't even have to necessarily buy it new. I'd look at my toothpaste dispenser and wonder if it'd last until the big day. I don't know why I found this so entertaining, but it was. Then I started turning to my food and expiration dates. The closer and closer those expiration dates got to the day, the more excited I would get. So now you see that him coming home has been the majority of my thoughts for the last several weeks. It has consumed my entire household. And I'm happy to say that I think everything in my house will still be in use when Spencer gets home. We are that close. Hallelujah.

Surviving Our First Deployment 2009-2010 Part 3

2010-03-12T04:18:00.000-05:00

It is now time to talk about Spencer. He deserves his own post. You might want a barf bag close by, because I'm not holding back on gushing about how great he is. You just might throw up in your mouth a little. But seriously, Christian family, you should be very proud of him. Really. And Mom and Dad, you should be proud of me for marrying way above myself.

I think the best thing Spencer could have done in my opinion was to simply stay true to himself. I was worried that the influence of living with and being surrounded by hundreds of immature and perverted men for such a long time would get the best of him. My worries were a waste of time, because the Spencer I sent away is the same Spencer coming home to me. Hopefully...

He emailed every chance he had. He kept his pictures on facebook updated with every port stop. He bought me gifts at every stop. At least a piece of jewelry in every country. And Hong Kong he went way above and beyond. I want to take a picture of all the jewelry and document where it's all from. I thought it'd be fun to have a good collection from around the world.

When I was in California he surprised me by sending me a mix cd. A very thoughtful and meaningful compilation of songs. He video recorded all of his experiences while he was there and sent me the dvd. He kept me completely updated with his life while he was on the other side of the world. He never EVER complained and kept me laughing for 8 months.

His attitude and behavior literally kept me going through it all. Ask me in a few weeks if my feelings change, but for now, I'm very grateful for Spencer and can NOT wait for him to get home.

Girls Night

2010-03-07T05:20:00.000-05:00

I hosted a fun girls night at my house this weekend. We decided to go with "make your pita pizzas". A really fun idea for groups like this. And tasty. And for dessert....fruit pizza. And root beer floats. And chocolate cake. And Oreos. And M&M's. And that's all I promise. Isn't girls night all about stuffing your face with sugar? And while eating all this tastiness, we watched Bride Wars. Fun night!

Tsunami Scare

2010-03-01T05:02:00.004-05:00

*the above was supposed to be a video. clearly i don't know how to post videos here yet. and i don't know how to fix it either. sorry.

I wasn't going to write about this since nothing really happened. But it became a pretty funny morning to me after the fact. So I wanted to share it with you.

I got a phone call at 4:30am from an unknown number. I ignored it. I seem to get a lot of calls in the middle of the night whether that be from wrong numbers or people on the east coast that forget about the time difference. Anyways, I ignored it, heard the beep for the voicemail, and decided to just check it later when I woke up. Well, about 10 minutes after the call, I got a text message from Rebecca that said something like

"Have you evacuated? If so, call me when you can to let me know you are safe".

That got me out of bed to figure out what exactly was going on. I listened to my voicemail, which was from Stephanie Beaty (a friend from Georgia going to school at BYU-H). Her message said something like .

"Hey, just wanted to tell you there is a tsunami warning for Hawaii. My boyfriend's dad works for the warning center, and he said they'll be evacuating Waikiki, north shore, and Kaneohe. My roommates and I will be driving to Mililani to get more to the center of the island...."

Well, it was something like that. I don't quite remember it all, but it was enough to get me a little worried. Especially when she said Kaneohe, the city I live in. So I went and turned the tv on and found out about the earthquake in Chili and the tsunami headed for us. The news made it very clear that this was a serious issue, and not to take it lightly.

Let me first say that I was going off of about 3 hours of sleep. For some reason, I went to bed the night before at about 1:30am. So 1:30am to about 4:30am was all the sleep I had. I was slightly delirious. I started packing my bags. First I went for our bright blue case of important documents. I put it in a trash bag and closed it tight. I got a bunch of bottled waters and put them in a grocery bag. I also got an apple, granola bars, fruit snacks, and granola. A little random, I know. I remember thinking I should bring bread, but it would get smashed. So I decided granola was a good replacement.

I started thinking about what else I didn't want to get ruined. I noticed my Michael Kors bag and decided that I would rather bring that along with me as opposed to my $7 Target bag that had my stuff in it. So I did a quick purse switch and then started looking for more things to bring. I grabbed a quick change of clothes just to have on hand, my earrings that Spencer got me for Christmas, and some cash. I thought as I walked past my computer that I wished it would get washed far far away. Luckily today is it's last day of use. New lap top gets in tomorrow. Definite reason to celebrate!

When I went to the bathroom to get ready I reached for my contacts, but then realized it had only been 3 hours since I had taken them out. And I just started using this new solution that says you need to let it sit in the solution for at least 6 hours. Just a side note, I HIGHLY recommend buying it. Anyways, I didn't want my eyes to burn off, so I went with my glasses. My whole thought process at that moment makes me laugh.

I posted something on facebook at about 5:30am saying something about evacuating. Soon after, I got a call from my friend here saying that I didn't need to, and that my house was in a safe zone. My house is far enough from the water and on high enough ground to not have to worry about it. I wanted to make sure from some other locals, so I left a message on a friend's phone asking what their plan was and advice on what I should do. Should I drive UP the mountain or through the tunnels to the middle of the island? Later, my friend who I left a message with has told me that she listened to it a couple of times saying how cute and helpless I sounded. I'm a little embarrassed about it, but again, I was slightly delirious. Another friend called and asked if I wanted to go surfing. That had me cracking up. He actually did go try to surf, but they were closing down the beaches. Crazy locals. He also assured me that my house was in a safe zone.

I decided to go get some gas just in case. My friend had told me she went to fill up around 4:45am, and the lines were already forming. So I went around 5:40am. I must have been in line for about 20 minutes, because at 6:00am I was pumping gas and the warning sirens started going off. I tried to get a video with my phone to catch the siren along with the long lines/chaos, but I guess it didn't save. Instead, I got the sirens going off again at 8:00am. They also went off at 10:00 and 11:00.

All these details are getting a bit ridiculous. The tsunami was supposed to hit at 11:25am. I stayed glued to the tv waiting to see what would happen. Turns out, nothing did happen. I watched video on the Big Island of the water receding into the ocean like a white water river, so that was interesting, but not big waves ever came. At the end of the day I was a little annoyed that I had wasted my whole morning worrying for no reason and not getting anything done. I at least wanted to see a few big waves. Not anything damaging, but just something. Is that selfish and even heartless for me to wish for that? Probably. But I am grateful that there was no damage and no fatalities. We were in fact very lucky. I am heartbroken for Chile and continue to send prayers their way.

Maybe this post doesn't seem as funny to you as it was for me. I just think back and think of how tired and clueless I was. There were times when I would pace the house, look out the window, pace again, look out the window. I don't know why I kept looking out the window. It was just small things like that. And most of the morning I was just thinking how I just wished Spencer was there to make the decision for me. Remember how I react in stressful situations? That kicked in for sure.

Overall I thought I did a pretty good job reacting to an emergency situation. What would you be packing if you were in a similar situation and running off of 3 hours of sleep?

HAPPY MARCH

2010-03-01T03:21:00.001-05:00

It is MARCH. FINALLY! May the next couple weeks FLY.

Surviving Our First Deployment 2009-2010 Part 2

2010-02-24T17:12:00.000-05:00

I don't know how many parts this "note jotting" will take, because the more I think about it, the more I have to say about it. So now I will continue writing until I get tired of hearing my own voice in my head.

I want to talk about some of my personal challenges/goals/opportunities I had over the last several months. The first 3 months my goal was to make it through P90X. And thinking back to that, it seems like a really long time ago. I did really well the first month and a half. The last month and a half was pretty hard because by that time I was working and getting tired of the same workouts. I didn't have the amazing results you see advertised, but I did feel so much better and stronger. I went from doing 0 pull ups to 2. And for that I am proud of myself.

I started working at the temp agency and had to find my way around and island that was completely foreign to me. I had to figure out the bus system. And on weekends when I was in Waikiki, I had to get lost about 189456 times before I finally bought a GPS. It sucks when you have no idea where you are going, and nobody to call. But I finally feel like I can find my way around after being here for almost a year. Reason it's difficult to get around? The road names are Hawaiian names (most of them sound the same to me). You have to go on all these back roads to get to certain highways. And just because the highway has an exit at a certain place doesn't necessarily mean it's going to have an on ramp at that same place. And when it gets dark, I can't see where the ocean or mountains are, and I lose all sense of direction.

I had opportunities to travel. California for a month and Georgia for a month. I don't think I would've made those trips had Spencer been here. I've already written plenty of details about both trips, so I'll spare you those details this time around. You can read about it here, here, here and here.But I am very grateful for friends and family that hosted me for such long periods of times. Seriously, those 2 months helped out immensely.

I took on all of Spencer's responsibilities. I was not really looking forward to this part. There are things that I just don't like to do. Like take out the trash. That is Spencer's job. And any car issues. Spencer's. When stressful situations come up, I usually just emotionally collapse and let Spencer deal with it. He is the problem solver in our relationship. So when I get the letter from the IRS saying that we owed them nearly $2500 from 2007, I just wanted to give up. I wanted to ignore the situation. Play dead and see if the situation would just fix itself. But obviously that would not help the matter. After doing a lot of research (and complaining), I finally found out there were some errors, wrote the IRS, and got it lowered to $700. Not bad. It was a pain, but I guess it is just part of being an adult. I ended up selling Spencer's car (with his consent) by myself, and had to get my car's registration renewed. The registration sounds simple, but when you are trying to get out of a $200 weight tax for Hawaii, and your Power of Attorney is slightly flawed, it becomes quite a complicated situation (thank you again Gary and Denise for being willing to help so last minute). I dealt with water leaks, broken ice machines, computer problems, and cockroaches(thankfully we are renting, so none of those expenses were out of our pocket). I paid all the bills. On time. I dealt with any issues our tenants in Covington had (which were not very many...so happy to have good tenants...finally!). I did all the cooking, cleaning, and laundry (which I realize is not bad when it's only for myself). And I'm not sure why I'm using parenthesis in every single sentence. Forgive me.

We definitely had a great opportunity to save some money. I had opportunities to explore the island. My friend Jen and I have covered most of the main beaches already. I had opportunities to challenge myself, meet new people, try new foods, and experience a completely new and different culture. I challenged myself by signing up for an 8 mile race when I have never run 8 miles before. But I trained for several weeks and made it through the race in a decent time. I made it to church by myself every single Sunday (almost). And on time (most of the time).

A lot of people have told me "I could never do what you are doing". Well, 3 years ago I would've said the exact same thing. I never saw this coming. But when Spencer decided this is what he wanted, and convinced me that he felt right about it and it was a smart decision for his future, I agreed. I called up my cousin who was married to a military man and got her take on military life. She told me that she handled deployments alright because she was independent. She got married a little older, and already had a life she was living. She had a house, a good job, and got by on her own. So once she was married, and he was deployed, she just reverted back to her life before marriage, and she was fine. Maybe it's the competitive spirit in me, but after I had talked to her, I thought to myself if she can do it, so can I! So I took on that mindset. I had never been independent in my LIFE before. Even at college, I wouldn't leave my apartment unless I had at least asked someone to go with me. I was always counting on a friend or family member to support me. So this deployment was a huge challenge for me to see if I had the capability to be independent. I've come to the conclusion that being independent is quite fun. I get to watch tv whenever I want, go out whenever I want, sleep in whenever I want, and not ever have to worry about what anybody else is thinking. Don't get me wrong, I still prefer a life with Spencer than without him, but I have learned how to at least enjoy life on my own. I feel like it's been a great character building experience for me to really push myself and at least try to be the person I've wanted to become, with no outside influence.

And now I am tired of talking about myself. Again, this is for documenting. Still more to come. Next one is all about Spencer.

Surviving Our First Deployment 2009-2010 Part 1

2010-02-22T17:18:00.000-05:00

We're on the home stretch. Finally. And while this deployment is not over quite yet, I wanted to jot a few notes about this time of separation between Spencer and me. I want this to look back on and remember how I handled things. And please note - I am not writing this to get people to feel sorry for us. We knew what we were getting in to when we signed up for the military. And just remember where we live during all of this...

At this point we haven't seen each other in over 7 months. At times it feels like it has been forever, but overall, it has gone by somewhat fast. Somewhat. Now I can only speak for myself since he has been in a completely different world that I have during this time. I'll try to get him to write about his side at some point.

It seems as though the first and last months are the hardest. By far. The first month for obvious reasons. Knowing that you have many lonely times ahead of you. Not knowing if your relationship will change. Knowing you have to take on all of his responsibilities. Not knowing when you will get the next phone call.

The last month (or so) has been the hardest. Not because I'm more lonely, or more difficult things have happened, it's only because I'm inpatient. I don't want to wait any longer now that the end is in sight. I feel like I have waited long enough. We have found that the best solution for these last few weeks are what we call auto pilot mode. Have you seen the movie Click? Then you know what I mean. Just zone out the life around you. Eat, sleep, work out, and sit on the beach. And just wait for time to pass.

Now on to the in between months. It was during this time I felt the most comfortable. I was learning how to cope with the situation, and I knew how long I had to be Miss (Mrs.) Independent. Well, that was until we found out he got extended for 2 months.

On average we usually got to email several times a day, and talk on the phone once or twice on weekends. I trained myself to not expect more than that so that anything more was just a bonus. The phone calls usually lasted over an hour unless the phone lines were cut off for various reasons. That happened ALL the time. So frustrating to get cut off and then not know if he can call right back. I mean, how long do you wait by the phone? And speaking of phone calls, some of the times I was most sad is when I realized I had missed calls from him. Around the holidays, there were times he would sit by the phone waiting for up to 30 minutes trying to get a dial tone. And then when he finally gets through, and I don't answer....it's a sad day for both of us. My brother in law Pete suggested I change the ring tone to a loud annoying alarm when Spencer called so I made sure to never miss it. I did that, and my number of missed calls from him has significantly decreased. So thank you Pete. This suggestion came after I missed a call 2 days before Christmas while playing basketball. Spencer said in the message "I hope you guys are having fun. Not sure if I'll be able to call in the next few days, so have a Merry Christmas....". I did not handle that well. But luckily he did get to call Christmas Eve and Christmas day. Thank goodness. And just to note, I always had to wait for his call. I was not allowed to call him. It was completely one sided.

For Christmas I got us both webcams so we could finally Skype each other. That actually helped a ton to be able to hold a real conversation with each other (by real I mean SEEING facial expressions, SEEING reactions to jokes, and just knowing that he's still the same Spencer that I married). We were able to video chat only when he was on a port stop. When he's not at a port stop, he can't use his personal computer - only his work computer. The purchase of the web cams was totally worth it (thanks Kristi), even if we only started using them more than half way through.

While I feel like I sent a good amount of packages, I wish I would have sent more. A group of wives had a little thing going where we would send calendar squares to our guys every month. I didn't make it close to every month, but it was a cute idea. It was basically just a decorated page of pictures that they would post on a giant calendar thing on the boat. The first time I sent a package it got there in less than a week. That was the only one that got there that quickly. The others took up to a month. I tried sending cookies, dollies, candy, etc. Most of it didn't make it all the way without getting crushed to pieces or just ruined because of how long it took. At times I felt it was a wasted effort, but in the future I think I'll just be more mindful of what to send.

Though our communication was limited, I feel like we still maintained a strong connection with each other. I'm about to get mushy on you. We never missed a chance to tell each other how much we loved each other. Every phone call, email, and letter had our affection stamped all over it. Being so far apart from each other has it's obvious downers, but this is one thing that I actually loved about it. When you are with each other all day every day, you get comfortable. You email each other to get a specific message sent. You call to ask for favors. You just have an understanding that you know that you love each other. I'm sure we will be back to those days of comfort in no time, but for now, I am enjoying expressing my love at every possible chance.

Looking at how long this already is, I've decided to break this up into different parts. It's a little more detailed than I had planned. There is plenty more to say, so stay tuned...

Happy Valentine's Day Spencer

2010-02-14T22:14:00.003-05:00

I love you.

(I only did this publicly because for some reason he's not getting pictures on his email.)

Birthday on the beach

2010-02-14T15:12:00.005-05:00

I was told that yesterday all but 1 of the 50 states had snow. And the last few days, I've been overwhelmed by all of the pictures and status updates about snow on facebook. Snow this and snow that. Snow Snow Snow. Snow is beautiful, but as I've said before, I'd rather see sand than snow any day.

So with that being said, I invited a few friends to enjoy a nice day at the beach for my birthday. Since I have a winter birthday, this was the first time I was able to be warm and in a bathing suit for the occasion. These are my friends (L to R) Kim, (me), Yuliette, her daughter Nicole, and Jen. I'm not sure why we all decided to kneel with our hands in our laps. But I promise we like each other...

After the beach, my friend Jen wanted to take me out for dinner and a movie. Her husband is Spencer's roommate on the boat. So we have spent most of our weekends together as we are both husbandless. We ate at Zia's, a ridiculously delicious Italian restaurant, and then went and saw Valentine's Day.

Thanks to all who called, texted, facebooked, emailed, etc. I felt the love. And Spencer made sure he made up for not being there as well. So don't you worry about that. I'm definitely grateful for great friends and family.

And for today, Happy Valentine's Day. I hope you all tell those that you love just how much you love them. Cheesy? Yes. But important.

Lost Fans - This one's for YOU!

2010-02-01T03:49:00.003-05:00

Hi all you crazies. All you anonymous commenters. I just wanted to let you know that I saw the first hour of Lost yesterday. I know what happens. I know a secret. I saw the cast. Almost every main character. I have some pretty dang good pictures of them too. I even sat next to a guy who is a character in the 2nd hour and told me some other things about what happens. But guess what - I'm not sharing them with you, because you are crazy and you went a little too far last time I did post pictures. So I guess you'll have to go find other blogs of people who were there. Then you can invade THEIR privacy and pass ridiculous judgments on THEM, because it's not happening to me again! PEACE.