The Wedding Jitters

This picture was taken the night before our wedding, nearly a year ago. A year . . . wow! I can't believe time has passed so quickly! Now it's time for another wonderful, beautiful, glorious wedding (get ready E & J)! People always ask me if I was nervous before my wedding, and the answer is yes, but then I go on to tell them that I spent the night before my wedding having a gymnastics competition with my soon-to-be husband and family. I truly think that night of silliness was like therapy for me, after that I was calmed and so gloriously happy.
Don't let me have you think that I didn't have at least one pre-wedding meltdown, because I sure did. The day of the wedding, my bridesmaids along with my mom went to get our hair done. I forgot that you weren't supossed to wash your hair before you get an "updo" so after being scolded by the stylist I felt on the verge. There were so many other things that I could have freaked out about that day, and my mom and I both still get histerical when we think about what was the straw that finally broke the camel's back. Eye drops. Yes ladies and gentlemen, eye drops. In my haste to pack a bag that I would need for the wedding day I somehow overlooked my Visene, and although I wasn't aware before this, it is really important to me. It didn't matter that there were more than 4 stores within 2 minutes of where I was that could provide me all the eye drops I could ever want or need. That simply didn't matter at the time. I just freaked out and cried and cried. My mom was so sweet, she humored me so entirely, consoling me that she would not let me walk down that aisle without wetting my precious eyes with some refresheing, "get the red out", wonderful drops. So disaster was narrowly averted when we found ourselves pulling into the nearest K-Mart and buying some. The incident to this day seems blurry, my mom still swears that I threatened to "punch someone in the face," but could the bride really be responsible for such threats?
After the eye drops incident, I was happy and excited. We caravaned to Macy's to get our makeup done after the hair, and as I was sitting in the makeup chair I began to "not feel so good." After being asked by one of my bridesmaids what I had eaten that day, and I couldn't remember one single thing, we realized that this bride was in great risk of fainting and my wedding video was not going to end up on America's Funniest Home Videos. So my wedding was supposed to start @ 5, but didn't really start until around 5:40 if I remember correctly, and why? Why? Because the bride was held up in the drive thru line at Taco Bell getting a bean burrito . . . hold the onions. And that's the reality.
It truly was the most magical, beautiful day of my life. Everything went smoothly and I would not change one thing about the entire day, eye-drop meltdowns and bean burritos included. So Emmy, get some sleep, have someone specially assigned to bring your eye drops, bobby pins, mascara, whatever toiletry is dearest to your heart, and definitely don't forget to eat.

I knew he wouldn't leave without saying goodbye. Oliver has a personality unlike any other whale I have ever encountered. I first spotted him not more than a few days old laying on his back on top of his mothers nose rolling this way and that pectoral fins straight out of the water immersed in the brand new sensation of the suns rays on his bright white stomach. All humpbacks have different coloration patterns, and Oliver is unusually unique because of the amount of white he carries, something that is rare in the Northern Pacific group. Even more than his physical markings, you could always tell when Oliver heard the boat leaving our berth because with out hesitation he would start waving his arms in the air and slamming them down on the water calling out for us to come play. Two days ago after not seeing any whales for the past week, Oliver, under the close watch of his mother swam up to the boat one last time. He circled us on his side, on giant eye moving from one passenger to the next until he got to the back of the boat where he stop rolled on his back lift both his pectoral fins in the air and slowly rolled backwards deeper and deeper until his now impressive shadow disappeared. In the four weeks that we regularly encountered Oliver, he gained probably ten feet and twenty thousand pounds, not quite the little guy I first glimpsed but still just as curious, and I know he knew I appreciated the farewell

Oh Happy Day

Yes folks, the rumors are true . . . The braces are off! He's free free free! I can barely contain my excitement (which dwarfs Pat's excitement might I add). I bet Pat's not feeling nearly as nerdy when talking about his "Damon 3's", since they are off and he has straight teeth in a little over a year. (Okay a year and a half if we're being honest) But I think that's amazing! The Damon 3's worked their orthodontic magic and it was relatively pain free (which I know was not the case for Ben's braces seeing as we asked him how he felt after getting them put on and he said "it feels like someone kicked me in the face"). What a glorious day for Patrick, no more metal-mouth jokes, no more being embarassed because he "looks like a kid", no more comments from loud-mouth passengers on the boat saying "son, are you sure you're old enough to drive this boat?" And get this, the kicker is that Pat's braces removal came with a complimentary bottle of celebration Martinellies Apple Cider, complete with gift wrapping and decorative ribbons, and balloons (which Pat failed to mention until just now as he's reading this before posting). And not everyone gets balloons, he's "made some friends" at Dr. Yim's. Unfortunately he has yet to let me capture the "new" pat on film, so I guess you will have to settle for a picture of the apple cider. A lame second I know, but let Pat know your disappointment, and maybe together we can change his mind.

"B is for Bob"

Okay, firstly Angie I am so sorry for stealing ideas for our blog from you, but I was laughing out loud when I read about James's soccer coach! Then I thought about this shirt that we bought for our friend's baby Atticus (isn't it the cutest?), then my thoughts turned to Bob Marley (as they often do for some strange reason), then I thought about a game that I was playing at work a few days ago entitled "What's Your Theme Song", invented by yours truly (yes, I was playing games at work again). So the game consists of each person to think of a theme song that represents them best. Then as a group, we think of a song for each person, but they can't know what it is until they tell us what their own song is. It is a really, interesting way to find out about people's self-awareness, and learn what people think about you in a subtle, fun way. Yes it can be dangerous. . . but always interesting. It's also been more thought provoking than originally intended, because almost a week later, I am the only one to have chosen a theme song, although as a group we have chosen songs for a few of our friends, although some people are proving tricky. So, the gist? (is that how you spell that? it looks horribly wrong but I can't think of another way.), well the gist is my theme song happens to be a Bob Marley song, "Could You Be Loved". Not necesarily because of the words, but because when I hear it I can't help myself from feeling uterly overjoyed, purely free, and I just dance without even thinking if anyone could be watching. It's not the kind of dancing that you practice, and I'd probably be horrified if I say myself in a mirror, but it's just so free, like when you are really little and you haven't developed a sense of embarassment, and you just let all your limbs go in every direction. It also makes me feel like singing, at the top of my lungs, (this is to Pat's delight because we all know that I can't sing and I can't sing to such an extent that even my mom will admit that I can't sing. . . so you get the picture, it's pretty horrific). That's what that song does for me, so, it's my theme song. You all must listen to it if you haven't heard it, I know it'll have a similar effect on most. So it got me thinking, what's your theme song? Patrick claims he doesn't have one, but I know there's one lurking somewhere.

So that's how my thoughts turned from James's first soccer practice to Bob Marley, and now I'm back, isn't that funny?

P.S. 24 Days in the famous words of Yazan Jubran "Get Hyped"

Countdown to CA

It is officially 34 days until Pat and I come to California! I can't wait! Pat and I have been talking about how excited we are and listing all the things we want to do while in "the mainland." The first thing out of my mouth when Pat asked me what I wanted to to in California was "go to the movies." We just stared at each other for a second and let the hilarity of that statement sink in, and then had a good long laugh. I was just speaking in stream of conciousness, why would that be the first thing I want to do in California? Dunno? We are in fact going to the movies tonight, something we do all the time. Who knows? Can't wait to see you all!

P.S. I am literally bursting with hapiness for Emmy and Josh! I just can't wait! And Josh, I truly can't wait to meet the man that makes Emmy so happy!

LOVE YOU ALL!

"Body Jam"

I have just recently re-discovered a childhood passion of mine . . . DANCE! I discovered it by accident at the gym of all places. Now, I don't like to think of myself as a "gym rat", but I just LOVE exersize, it has become an outlet, a sort of therapy for me in recent years when I am feeling down or discouraged about something. So I love going to classes at the gym, something about the music blasting, when you start to feel the rythm and the beat and then you just feel like you are flying. I go to all kinds of classes, weightlifting that's coreographed to music, spinning, combat, yoga & swimming. Well they recently introduced a class at the gym called "Body Jam", I didn't really know what to expect, and for the first few months they offered it, I never ventured in. I finally decided to brave it with a friend of mine who heard that it was "sort of a dance-ish type" workout. Turns out, it probably the FUNNEST EXERSIZE EVER! It's basically just 50 minutes of non-stop dancing. You do some disco, hip-hop, modern and latin dancing throughout the class and slowly build a routine. I know it's sort of dumb, but the pure joy and freedom that I feel while dancing is amazing! I was an avid dancer all throuhout my life and can't believe that I ever stopped! After the second class that I took the teacher approached me after class and suggested that I take the certification class that's coming up in June so that I can be a "Body Jam" teacher. I am soooo excited about it! One of the perks to becoming a teacher is that you get a free membership, so then Patrick can go to the gym too. He went with me once and was surprised because the gym was neither "too girly" or too "thugged out" (he was asuming it had to be one or the other), I guess it means it is an acceptable place to work out for my Patrick. So anyways, the gist of it is that I have re-discovered dance in my life, a true passion of mine that hopefully I can figure out how to do forever.
P.S. I know I am a huge nerd, I need no reminding. Thank you!

Money to burn

March into April is the craziest time of year here at Ocean Sports and as the seventy-five hour work weeks string together I find myself less capable of intelligent thought, and my subconscious tends to take over. Now this is where weird things really start to happen. When we are all shopping, without knowing it we are all drawn to a certain aisle, and I'm not talking about the tool aisle where I've been scoping out the newest set of wrenches that I am going to buy as soon as Jess forgets about the set I just bought three days ago, but the aisle where our inner thoughts pull us there because something almost primal tells us that to achieve a better standard of living we need those very things. Well long story short after a two and a half hour shopping trip, where I was planning to provide a sustenance for the next few weeks, I came home with only two things, and as I went to place those items in there decided spot of convenience, I found that we already had seven different boxes of band aids. Water proof, especially for knuckles, spider man, skin colored, big ones, small ones, even ones with pre-applied first aid cream. What does it say about me, that when everything else fails I go for the first aid aisle, and what does it say about all of you!!

The New Love of Pat's Life

Well, it was quite the exciting day for the Hawaiian Robinsons! Patrick fell in love with this gorgeous Tacoma, and we bought it! We had been thinking about it for a long time, and a household joke was always that Pat already has his "dream truck" (which by the way is a 1995 Ford Ranger that has been in more accidents than it is years old, with no power steering, no AC, no radio, and most importantly no padding in the front seat, and a mysterious red dust covering not only the engine and the interior, but if you attempt to turn on the non-existant AC it blows out the ducts as well). So I have been steadily convincing Patrick that he deserves a new truck, his real dream car. As you can see in the picture I couldn't tear Patrick away from his truck bed gadgets long enough to even look at the camera, so needless to say, he's pretty excited. It will definitely make those long drives to work pass by a lot faster. He has always worked so hard so selflessley and never seems to consider his own needs, let alone wants, so it's time for him to have something super nice! We all know how much Patrick has dreamt of a new truck. It's a '07 Tacoma, V6 & 4x4 which doesn't mean much to me in girl world, but Pat seemed really excited about it and wanted everyone to know. And yes, everyone it has 4 seats, so whenever anyone gets out here to visit us, you won't need your head scarves because we won't have to ride in back. So congratulations to Pat on his first new car, he deserves it! We miss you all!

Bad Boys

For those of you who haven't had the chance to really get to know my wife, here is a little insight into how big her heart really is. It is true that every now and then I like to dabble in a T.V. series named cops, and for those of you that have never had the chance to partake of this must see T.V., the basic gist is all the people that you thought never existed getting their faces forced to the ground by at least four or five cops. Now if you have seen this show you know that no matter the criminal, nor the crime there always comes a time were the arrestee, shouts the words, "I'm not fighting, I give up." This declaration usually comes right after the eighteenth cop has just entered the screen and one wrist is already cuffed, as the other is being force to a right angle with one of the officers batons. This is were, without fail, Jessica always chimes in, as she bites her bottom lip and wrings her hands, "Why are they being so rough with him." She never seems to remember that just seconds before Billy-Joe had just tried to run over Virginia's finest, after swallowing half a baggy of heroin and pushing the "lady friend" that he has never seen in his life, out the passenger door. Jessica's ability to not just forgive, but seemingly to erase from her mind any wrong doing that you have ever brought her is something, I know, she had with her before she ever reached this earth. I have always known that my wife's abilities to keep those things which life seems to steal from us so early, is more than I could have ever wished for in life. Our children no doubt will find a safe harbor from all the storms of the world with their mother whom I have found doesn't just forgive but seems to take upon herself and free me of all the weight of the mistakes that I make daily.

What's Your Favorite Disney Movie?

Ohh the wonders of Disney. Patrick and I have had many discussions about Disney movies and have come to conclusions about which is our favorite. Patrick's is The Fox and the Hound, and mine is hands down without a doubt The Little Mermaid. The amount of hours I spent in my childhood best friend's pool re-enacting scenes from that movie was enough to leave me in a constant state of pruney hands, sunburnt face, and literally sleeping in my swimsuit. I remember tying my feet together before jumping in the pool, (probably a dangerous little game, where were all the adults right?) so my legs would look like a mermaid fin, and swimming through an obstacle course that we had made underwater by throwing various household items into the pool. (Anything from lounge chairs, to plastic grass hula skirts would suffice) By the point is that movie probably entertained and inspired a good portion of my childhood. I am ashamed to say that I have never seen The Fox and the Hound, but I have a feeling that it reflects the sweet & gentle child Pat that I have heard so many stories about. So, I have come to the conclusion that learning what everyone's favorite Disney movie is gives me a little more insight into who they are . . . So, what's your favorite?

P.S. A close second for both Pat and I is Peter Pan, (although my love for it was partly spurred on by the mermaids). Surprisingly enough another favorite was the recent Brother Bear, it makes me want to go to Alaska.

Worth A Thousand Words

If I could stop laughing for long enough to write anything, tell me what would I even say? It is a night of miracles ladies and gentlemen, firstly that I could stop laughing long enough to hold the camera to capture this rare moment. Secondly, that I caught my darling Patrick in such a mood that not only did he agree on the first plea to put on his "Yim Orthodontics" t-shirt, but also pose for a picture, and SMILE? So if anyone needs anything, say winning lottery numbers, a map to buried treasure, anything . . . I'm feelin' lucky folks!

Isn't the turtle with braces just the icing on the cake? And a special message for the mysterious B.I.T.B. - Jealous right? Let me ask if your braces come with a t-shirt or purple wires? . . . Didn't think so.

I tried unsuccessfully to stay away from "posting" as long as I could, and I'm not going to say that my wife is standing behind me pulling on my ears until I finish my first sentence, but she is. The truth of it all is that I secretly liked pleading ignorance to the fact that we even had a blog, and then reading it when she was away. This is the only real means I held of finding out what she really thinks of me, and by the looks of things she is a tremendous liar! So, completely off the subject the last few months I've been trying to figure out why I haven't been reading nearly as much as I used to. As the suspect list narrowed, the need of a sting was more or less absolutely necessary. With late hours and tedious log keeping I found that whenever I physically touch something in print Jessica's female instincts take over she recognizes, like a shark when there is blood in the water, that I'm letting down my guard, and within seconds it is TIME TO TALK. Now before I tell you anymore I want to let everyone in on a few of the combinations of things that trigger this reaction from my blood hound of a wife, and a few of the things that allow me to get in a few sentences without having to touch the words "How was your day?" Just reading obviously no, how could I be so naive. Reading with the T.V. on sometimes, if it drops below a seven on the volume dial, then no. Reading with the radio on yes, oddly enough. Reading in the the yard no, unless it is cloudy then yes. Reading while in the bathroom with the shower on, to explain while I am in there so long (all other connotation are just a little harsh for a new marriage), yes, but don't forget to wet your hair before you come out or else there will be a little explaining to do. No matter the level of intelligence a collect on my subject I still just can't figure out what is about reading that means I am ready for a conversation, I mean it isn't like I am not doing anything, but at worst I do believe it has made me a faster reader. To tell the complete truth not even a good book would keep me from one of our staring contest which are notorious for last up to three or four seconds.

Just a disclaimer, The picture is for mom, this is the one we have on the wall and I never can quite explain it. Secondly I apologize for the poor grammar, mispunctuation, and all the run-ons, but a while back I was reading an author who wrote with out any of these things, and I figure if he could do that well then I could wrote how things sound as I thought of them so there. Lastly one of our favorite games is Jess tries to figure out what I'm writing just by the words that I'm shouting out that I need spelled for me, lets see how she does with this one.

"California Pat"

Funny Tidbit - So when Pat was in the course to get his Captain's liscense he would work during the day, go to school at night, get home around 10p.m. and still find time to study. He worked SO hard, and was completely dedicated. He had to learn things like which configuration of lights should be used on a ships mast when sailing a 50 foot vessel through fog above the Mississippi River, (no I'm not kidding) he really had to learn that. He just crammed and filled his brain with the most tedious material I have ever seen. Anyways, the Captain's course all boils down to the dreaded "test day", a rigerous and I am sure terrifying series of tests one after another, graded on the spot, to tell you weather your months of hard work was worth it. And this isn't like the DMV here, you have to pass with close to 90%!! So of course I knew Pat would pass, so I went ahead and took a leap of faith, ordering him a delicious ice-cream cake (mint-chip with chocolate cake, since that enhances this story so much more) that was supposed to say, "Congratulations Captain Pat" to pick up on test day. (Pat continues to insist that ordering the cake before knowing he passed was a "risky little game" and if he had failed (which he didn't) it would have been because I "jinxed" him (even though he knew nothing about it)) So I go to Baskin Robbins to find a cake that says "Congrats Ca. Pat". I'll admit I was a little confused. Maybe Ca. is an abbreviation for Captain, maybe this confectionary artist knows something I don't? So I take it home, and as I suspected Ca. is indeed NOT an abbreviation for Captain. But the show must go on, so Pat gets home, I time it so that the candles are lit when he walks in the door. Poor thing so tired and delerious from weeks of stress and cramming, Pat looks up at me with a mildly confused look on his face and says Congrats California Pat? He was so sweet and adorably delerious I just said, yeah Congrats California Pat.

Fun In The Sun

This is one of my favorite pictures. Sure is kind of blurry, and sure we're not centered, but you can tell that we were having one GREAT time! This is my friend Carrie and I, one of our favorite things in the world to do is go out on Pat's boat, (which, by the way, I'm positive he just loves since we act like this) and laugh, snorkel, lay in the sun, and of course take the occasional flying carefree leap into the abyss. So much fun!

Warm Delights

Warm Delights! Please tell me you have all tried these amazing little "pieces of heaven" from Betty Crocker. Some may say it's baking for lazy people . . . fine. I say it's genius! It's like Easy Bake for adults! I love it, and literally can't get enough. Molten Chocolate Cake is my favorite, Pat likes the Choclate Peanut Butter Cake, but isn't nearly as big a fan as I am. Cummon, you add like a spoonfull of water, microwave for less than a minute and end up with scrumptious, steaming hot, moist chocolate cake, for one! Definitely genius! (They should pay me to do commercials right?)

To be perfectly honest. . . I don't know where to begin. Angie definitely inspired me to start doing a blog, it is such a fun way to connect with family and friends, and see what is going on in everyone's lives. Angie's having been the only blog I've ever seen, and Angie being as clever and witty as she is, all while remaining truly insightful, you could say I have a lot to live up to:) I'll do my best!

I think a good place to start is what's been going on with Patrick and I here on the "rock in the middle of the sea." Patrick has had an extremely exciting past couple of months, starting with his huge PROMOTION!!!! I was absolutely ecstatic when he told me, I have never met anyone has hard-working, kind and with much integrity as Patrick. I was so happy that Ocean Sports finally commended all his hard-work and accomplishments. So Patrick began this year as Captain Patrick, (already a wonderful title) and is now, Captain Patrick Chief Engineer of Ocean Sports! You can probably tell I am SO PROUD!! He has taken all his new responsibilities in stride, and accomplished so much in just a few short months. I am truly amazed at the new confidance, and vibrace he has achieved since taking on his new job. He has become quite the "networker" for lack of a better term, and is making some really great contacts in the Hawaii sailing world. He has also started doing some maitence work on a beautiful fishing boat that belongs to a couple of California fishermen, who are in Kona once a month to deep sea fish. I met Patrick at the local harbor the other night with a flashligt because it was getting dark and he was "restoring a generator", (where does he learn these things?) That is a nice gig, and comes with perks, including some freshly caught Mahi Mahi for dinner (yummmm!). The best part of all this is Patrick still gets to Captain the boats a few days a week, which he's truly passionate about. By the way I drive him crazy bragging about him all the time, and look I'm doing it again:) So, Patrick was this inspiration for the title of our blog.

I also changed jobs recently, and it has truly made a world of difference. I still work for the Four Seasons, but I transfered to the Bar & Grill as a bar-back and work literally 30 feet from the ocean. (It's funny because at my old job it was the same scenery, but it's like I never saw it before!) I have made some great friends at my new job, and actually look forward to coming to work (what a concept)! So now my work day consists of, make some coffee, whale watch for a bit, talk to my co-workers, whale watch a little more, make some smoothies, laugh, talk & just relax. Spoiled? Maybe. School is going okay, I am still plugging along, I don't think it helps that I change my mind about what I want to do every other day.

So basically, life's been great! Celebrating close to one year of marriage! I can't believe it! Not to be cheesy but truly it has been the best year of my life. I still get a kick out of talking to people about "my husband." I miss the whole family terribly, and I cannot wait until the next time we can all get together. I love you all! I promise they won't all be this long!

"Christ of the Abyss"

I am adding belatedly to this picture, because at the time I posted it I didn't know how to write on the blogger yet. Now that I have, I should tell you all that this is my most favorite photograph perhaps of all time. It makes me feel calm, peaceful & surrounded by love. The statue is called "Christ of the Abyss", and is an underwater statue located in the Florida Keys. When Pat and I get our own home the first thing I am going to do is buy an enormous framed version of this picture and put it on my wall where I'll see it all the time. I could stare at it for hours. I fist saw this photo for a split second in a slideshow somewhere, and I couldn't stop thinking about it. I didn't know what it was or who the photographer was, so thank goodness for the vast internet, that helped me find it off just a vague description of what it looked like. I love it, just wanted to share.