Sometimes I forget

View from the (near) top of the Makapu'u Lighthouse Trail

... how lucky I am to live in Hawai'i.  On the days that I work, I leave when it's dark, and get home at bedtime.  And when I'm at work, the only windows I could look out of are the patients' windows.  Very few hours are actually spent admiring this beautiful place.  Finally, I was reminded of why I'm still HERE this past Thursday. 

We had been talking quite a bit about how much we miss going on hikes.  We've always wanted to take Audrey out to one, but wanted her to actually walk it, not be carried through one.  As for strollers, we haven't used one since she was... two?  Anyway, I started looking through some places that she could try out.  Nothing too steep, too muddy, too long, etc.  My sister suggested the Makapu'u Lighthouse Trail, somewhere I've never been. (Probably because it's on the opposite side and there are other trails so much nearer.)  So on my day off, we decided to go out and try it.  

 

Here she is marking the beginning of the hike

It was raining when we drove out.  The sky cleared up as the day went on.

We will definitely come back here again.

One of my favorite parts of the hike?  Watching Daddy show his little girl around.

Makapu'u Lighthouse

She did it!  Walked the whole two miles.  AND she wants to do it again!

And finally some other things to see on the trail: clockwise from left: the lighthouse, looking straight down from the top, cactus flowers galore! 

This has opened up SO MANY possibilities for us.  Looking forward to enjoying more of this island.  Finally!

It's been an ocean craft kind of week

Ok, so I didn't actually get to watch any Doctor Who episodes today but I do still want to write something up, especially since I've fallen a little behind on my assignments and I've got to work the next couple of days.  (For the new visitors, I work 12 hour days but actually start the day at 4:15am for the commute and get home about 8:30pm, at which time I get my daughter ready for bed, read her stories, and then get whatever I need ready for the next morning.)   So where was I?  Oh yeah, I want to write something.  So what to write about? 

Three years ago, I wrote a post about how I wanted to be 2 years old again.  Unfortunately, I yet have to learn that kind of freedom from (my own) scrutiny.  I have, however, had the chance to spend quite a bit of time working on arts and crafts with my little girl this week and be like a five year old again.  Last Wednesday we were on our weekly visit to the library and picked up another of the Williamson Little Hands books.  So on my days off this week, we pulled out her box of craft supplies and got our hands covered in glue and paint.  So far, we've made ourselves a mobile, a shark, a squid, and found a jellyfish that she made earlier in the week without me.  I may not have had a chance to work on my assignments this week, but I sure enjoyed watching her get creative.  I hope she never outgrows it.  I hope that when she's thirty-six years old she'll still love peeling the glue off her hands and won't mind the paint on her face.  

"Sharkala"  Yeah... she also has a blue Beta she calls "Blue Fin", a white can named "White Snow", you get the gist

Her mobile =)

Detail of the treasure chest she drew and cut out

An ocean painting -- that's a pink dolphin and silver flying fish.  The animal in the water is a frog, of course, couldn't you tell from the feet?

Her jellyfish.  Still needs a name.

  

To my first baby on your birthday

1st baby in the family.

2 times you made my heart stop-- when you disappeared under the waves after suddenly becoming brave enough to run into the water, and when you disappeared out of the (slowly) moving car window. 

3 people who love you with all their hearts

4 little front teeth that are always visible when you want something

5 years of being a good "big brother"

6 photos of you that won flickr challenges

7 tricks that you do without hesitation: sit, shake, high-five, lay down, roll over, speak, dance

8 more brothers and sisters in the litter, but you stood out though EVERYONE was adorable

 

9 brindle spots on your otherwise all white fur

 10 wonderful years of love and smiles 

Happy Birthday, Winston!

Oh but it's been a roller coaster week!

And hopefully it will all start to slow down in the next couple of days.  Where should I begin?

Last week was Nurses' Week.  As I've mentioned in the past, I LOVE what I do, and even if I didn't have to work, I would probably still do it part time.  I've worked at the same hospital for the last ten years and this year, I was recognized as the Nurse of the Year. =)

Lovely engraved koa box on the left along with orchid leis =)

Along with my lovely certificate and leis from my manager and the administration, I got a beautiful engraved koa box that my daughter is already eyeballing.  The hospital celebrated Nurses' Week with different events and free gifts for the nurses throughout the week and a fancy little luncheon for the nurses recognized as "Nurse of the Year."  While waiting for me to get done at the luncheon, my hubby and sister decided to go out hiking that day.  Since they weren't expecting me to be gone too long, they chose a short trail in Aiea.  Turned out that the place was even muddier than usual that day and they ended up slip and sliding their way through it.  No big deal.  They made it out, and we had a good day for the rest of the day.

The next night, Chris started to feel awful.  High fevers, nausea, vomiting, body aches, you name it.  Flu?  Maybe.  Something else from hiking?  Hopefully not.  He rode it through, but it also meant that I had to stay home from work over the weekend since he was supposed to be watching Audrey while I was at work.  So... that was my Mothers Day weekend.  I didn't go to work, though I was scheduled to do so, but I got to take care of my poor sick husband and kept him quarantined from the rest of the family, much to Audrey's dismay ("I miss getting hugs and kisses at night!").  I think we made it up to her by the fact that I slept with her all weekend so I wouldn't get sick as well, just in case.  And for my efforts, my sweet little girl made me a lovely bracelet for Mother's Day.

My Mother's Day bracelet from Audrey

As for today?  Got to make strawberry banana smoothies with my girl, and took her Daddy to urgent care to get some labs done.  He hasn't been feeling any better, still having sky high fevers and when we took him to urgent care yesterday, there were no physicians available. *sigh*  He didn't really want to go to the emergency room, so we waited until this morning to finally see someone.  Now we just wait for his lab results since apparently it isn't the flu hmmmm...  I just hope he gets well soon.

Before the blending.  I love the honey down the side. Yum!

Tomorrow?  Another doctor's visit for what my PCP thinks may be a hemangioma on my neck and loads of photo taking for ADAY.org  Maybe my dermatologist will let me take pictures of all his equipment. =P  And if you're going to be carrying a camera around with you tomorrow anyway, it's not too late to join me!

Redecorating

If you've been here before, you'll note that I've done a little bit of redecorating.  In the past, I may have just abandoned this page completely and started a new one.  But I've just looked at the LAST blog that I left behind and I actually rather miss it.  This time, I know I need a change, but I'm going about it a little differently.  Why not turn this place into what I want, instead of wiping it all out?  I'll just consider it growth. =)  I'll probably continue to make a few tweaks here and there, but for now, I like that it's brighter than before.  And the fact that I prefer brighter is a very good sign. 

Much of the inspiration has come from the work that I've done with Karen's Path Finder class.  With her help, I was finally able to come up with my word for the year (I know it's already almost mid-year, but better late than never).  The word?  Bloom. 

Some of Merriam-Webster's definition of bloom: 

"to mature into achievement of one's potential"

"to flourish in youthful beauty, freshness, or excellence"

"an outward evidence of freshness or healthy vigor"

and even: 

"a bar of iron or steel hammered or rolled from an ingot"

I like it.  Now on to the next step-- finding ways to bloom.

“Play is the exultation of the possible.” Martin Buber

My fairy dancing with her shadow

Perfectionism is my bane.  I let this site go for a long time without posting because I couldn't post as regularly as I would've liked.  No one said I had to post daily.  No one said I had to post weekly.  But all these little rules that I've set up for myself kept me from doing ANY posting because I couldn't do it perfectly.  So. No more imposing silly little rules.  Instead, I've decided to make this fun.  I've decided to PLAY.  That doesn't sound like such a difficult thing, does it?  Playing.  But it is for me.  So, what does that mean?  Well, as far as this blog goes, it means posting when I get the chance.  I couldn't possibly fail at "when I get the chance", right? 

What else does it mean?  Well, it means tinkering with my camera once again.  It means carrying the point-and-shoot around and using it.  (Too bad my DSLR is too bulky)  I could get on the bandwagon and do the instagram thing, but I still forget that I have THAT camera with me all the time.  I use it as a phone, my internet when away from my computer, my calendar.  But as a camera?  Someone always has to remind me that it's there.  Maybe I need one of those phone skins that make it look more like a camera.  Hmmm... until then, it's point-and-shoot in my purse.  

But more importantly, playing means allowing myself ME time without feeling guilty about it.  Maybe it's my Catholic upbringing.  Maybe it's my Filipino upbringing.  It's probably both.   Catholics and Filipinos are experts in guilt, and I've got plenty of that.  Anyway, overcoming the guilt will be quite the challenge.  To help me with it, I've decided to join a group of folks in finding our "beautiful different" with the help of Karen Walrond.  It all starts today and I'm looking forward to what the future will bring.  I hope that this post will be the beginning of my new adventure into playfulness, and an end to my guilt.

If I could switch lives for one day...

So cuddly, a photo by NurseNinja on Flickr.

it would be with my dog. After a long day like today, I can only wish that I'd be this comfy in bed tonight. Why did I sign up to write a blog entry every day again?