Monday, June 30, 2008

Saying Goodbye Again

Today was a tough one for me. I had to say goodbye to two close friends this morning after coffee because they both might be gone before I come back from my trip. I am going to miss them terribly and our days will not be the same without them. A and R are friends I have know for a few years but we really all got so much closer in the last year and that makes the goodbyes even harder.

Then this afternoon the dreaded goodbye with my friend K happened. It kind of snuck up on us in the middle of a bunch of other stuff we were doing so we were okay at the moment but I cried the entire way home after seeing her. I am going to miss so much about her, and her companionship for me is just a part of it. I love her family like it was my own and I know my life will feel very empty without them here to keep me amused and busy.

I am glad I didn't have to do an airport goodbye with anyone....just the anticipation of it would have been too much for me, especially with our trip too.

I wish they didn't have to go but I know that they are going onto a new phase and they are looking forward to it even though they will miss their time here with us.

We love you all....and wish you the best. Please stay in touch and let us know if we can send any little bits of the island your way so you won't feel so far away....

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Two Years Ago on In My Words...Relief

Saturday, June 28, 2008

Two Days Out

We are only two days out from our trip starting. We are planning to leave here for Taiwan and spend about 4 days in Taiwan with some friends that live there. It should be a great time, especially with our own personal tour guides. I have already printed some geocache pages so I can get at least on in Taiwan and add another country to my profile map.

On the 5th, fly to Bangkok and plan to spend a few days there. I am going to get some ingredients for food I can't get here and ship them home from the US Embassy...and I think J is going to take care of some business too. I don't know for sure that we will get a Venus jewelry trip in but I am always up for it, if it comes up.

On the 8th, we will fly down to Koh Samui. We have been there before. The airport is just like a scene out of Fantasy Island (and if any of you don't know what Fantasy Island is, you are too young to be reading my blog...haha). I think last time we were there, we weren't all over the digital camera yet so we'll have to see how much our pictures will improve this time. We will hang there for two weeks and then fly back to Bangkok the night before our flight back here......

It should be a lot of fun, relaxation and great food!!!!!

In the meantime, I am trying to get all the "to do before the trip" things done so we are set to go.

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Two Years Ago on In My Words...Tears

Thursday, June 26, 2008

Thanks for Thursday

I have not forgotten about this project...I have just been very busy the last few weeks. While I am on vacation, I probably won't be able to update the blog too much (although I might have a few posts that I schedule to post early) so know that I will be back at it in full force when I return from vacation and stay tuned for any little updates I do manage to get in while we are on the road.

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Two Years Ago on In My Words....Family Reunion

Wednesday, June 25, 2008

The Ocean

Why is it that the ocean has such a huge effect on me? I was walking the other morning for exercise but because we have a typhoon churning in the region the winds were gusty and the water was rough-looking. This cause the ocean to smell awesome (usually here you don't smell the ocean as much unless the tide is out and there is plenty of kelp).

As I was walking along the beach at one point, I had to stop, face the water, close my eyes and just breathe it all in. It always makes me want to contemplate life and to write....now I know why so many writers (in movies and such) are writing at the shore....it just moves you to be creative and bigger than yourself.

I love it and I don't know how I am going to live so far away from it ever again.....I think I might have to have a beach home to escape to in the future when I am not on an island surrounded by the lovely ocean anymore.

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One Year Ago on In My Words...Open and Moving

Sunday, June 22, 2008

Typhoon Fengshen

This one isn't supposed to hit us but as you can see from the picture it has run right across the middle of the Philippines. They had a ferry capsize and they are presuming all 740 people on it died....terrible news.

We'll see if this one makes any changes to its path in the next few days...

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Three Years Ago on In My Words...A. Retentive That's What I Am

Been Busy

I have not forgotten to blog, I have just not had time lately to be as consistent of a blogger as normal. In a few weeks we will be on vacation in Taiwan and Thailand and I know my blogging will really slow down so I am hoping to get a few posts written in advance and then schedule them to publish while I am gone...when I get back, I will definitely be updating my travel blog and those that are subscribed to it will get notice on that. I'll try to post a bit more in the next week and then while we are on vacay but I am not taking my laptop and I don't know how much blogging I'll do from public computers...we'll see.

Anyhow, just wanted to update you on my situation and circumstances...hehe.

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Two Years Ago on In My Words...Quick Trip Review II

Wednesday, June 18, 2008

Turtle Sitting

My friend K is moving soon and while I adopted her fish, I am only fostering her turtle until a better home can be found for him. He is cute but I am just not really a turtle person (now watch, I'll end up with him until we leave and I will have become a turtle person).

From above, while trying to ignore me
From the front but tucked in

Anyhow, I have put the word out that he needs a home and hopefully I can find one for him soon. If not, I'll have to take him over to a friend's while we are in Thailand so he can be fed everyday...haha.

Know anyone that wants a turtle?

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One Year Ago on In My Words...Storage is Gone

Tuesday, June 17, 2008

New Aquarium Friends

I adopted these guys from K as her family is getting ready to move back to the States next month. These are not all of the ones I got but the ones that would sit still long enough for me to get pictures of them. Note how all of her fish are huge compared to mine.....I don't feed mine twice a day...in fact, all of hers are on a diet they probably don't appreciate right now...haha.






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Three Years Ago on In My Words...And Then There Were Four

Monday, June 16, 2008

Hair Cut

Yesterday, I stopped in a beauty salon on the chance that they could get me in for a quick trim. I need to color my hair (yes, I have had grays since I was 19), and didn't want to waste color on split ends (especially since they tend to grab more color and then look funny for a few days).

I was able to get in and the nice Japanese lady that cut my hair was awesome. I told her to just take off the damaged stuff. My hair grows pretty fast so I am not one of those that freaks out if more than an inch is taken off.

The thing that was interesting about this cut was that she didn't wet my head or wash my hair. She put some product on it and then flat ironed. Did I mention that I have very curly hair? Like spirally curly hair? Okay, well I do. Anyhow, she straightened it all out and then trimmed the ends. It was so weird for me to see myself with straight dry hair (because of course it is straight when I get out of the shower). It stayed straight the rest of the day too (even with the high humidity we have). I will wash it this morning and the curls will be back but the whole experience reminds me a bit of when I was a kid.

I had straight hair (or mostly straight hair) until puberty. I looked a bit like Laura Ingalls when my mom would braid it. Anyhow, on occasion if we washed our hair at night, my mom would roll our hair up in soft rollers for us to sleep on. My sister had board straight hair (which is curlier now too), and even with the all-night roller treatment, her hair would not hold the curl, but mine would. It was always a shock to see all the curls and how big my hair seemed. It was just the opposite yesterday. It seemed like my hair was much smaller and controlled than I have seen it in a long time. I kind of liked it (but probably not enough to buy a good ceramic straightener). It was cool to be able to pull a brush through it before going to bed.

Oh, and did I mention that she ended up cutting 3 inches off? No? Well she did. With the straight hair, it doesn't seem that short but I think I am in for a bit of a shock when the curls spring back up later today....it was touching my waist when I as in the shower and I am not sure it will hit my back strap line now....oh well, it grows fast and now I can color it before our trip and enjoy the healthiness of it the entire time.

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Two Years Ago on In My Words...Quick Trip Review

Thursday, June 12, 2008

CDC: Salmonella-tainted tomato illnesses reach 228 - Yahoo! News

In case I needed another reason to buy local veggies....

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Three Years Ago on In My Words....Pavlov's Dog

Wednesday, June 11, 2008

Backdated Thursday Thanks

Continuing project...this week's thanks are:

I know...this is late, but late is better than not posting it at all...things have gotten a lot more busy around here, and I still feel like I am not getting enough done but that is for another post I presume.

Anyhow, I am thankful for the fathers in my life. I figure with this being Father's Day week, this would be appropriate. I know that most people only think of one person as their father, and I probably do buy more Father's Day cards than anyone I know but I like to take this holiday as a way to thank all the father's in my life for what they do.

Okay, first off there was my biological father. We didn't have the closest relationship but I do have to thank him for contributing to my creation and then for not interferring too much in my life afterwards. I know this sounds cold but in reality, I am better off for not having grown up with him. There is just not a better way to say that. We did have our moments and there are plenty of traits that I attribute to him and I would thank him for the good ones if he was around to thank. I wish we would have had a better relationship but I don't know that I could have done much to fix that on my own.

Now, there is my Dad....the one, the man of my life for the longest time. My dad is awesome...as I am sure you can tell from my many postings about him (go ahead, you can search and find him all over this place). Regardless of genes, he is one of the two most influencial people in my life and has a direct connection to the person I have turned out to be. I have posted about him before on Thursday Thanks so I won't go into much more on this subject, but my dad rocks....just so you know.

Next there are the grandpas....yes, plurals work here. There was Grandpa Jolly, who died way to early for my taste but I remember as a lot of fun and smiles. There was Grandpa V who I don't really remember but my mom tells me loved me like crazy. I had two Grandpa's on my dad's side who I don't remember at all. There was Grandpa Les who was absolutely the closest thing to a teddy bear that you can find in a person. I loved him so much. He was the first of the ones I was really close to that died. There was Grandpa P on J's side of the family who I only saw on occasion because he lived on the East Coast but I stayed in constant snail mail contact with. He just passed recently. I currently have Grandpa B in Oregon who is going to be 97 this September and Grandpa D in Nebraska (J's Gpa) who we play golf with everytime we see. I love these men, they have all had an impact on my life and I am thankful everyday for having had them touch my life in so many ways.

Lastly, there are the new "father's" in my life. These would include the father in laws (yes, two of them since J's mom is remarried) and my step father D who is married to my mom. These guys are awesome and add so much to my life. I love them all for the individual things they contribute. I enjoy including them in our Father's Day celebrations because even without me, they are all dads in their own right, and I just like to acknowledge that.

So as you can see, I have a lot to celebrate on this Thursday before Father's Day.....not a bad holiday at all.

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One Year Ago on In My Words....Coming Along

Tuesday, June 10, 2008

The Summer of Goodbyes (or See You Laters)

I just had to say goodbye to a second friend tonight. We had bunco first and then afterwards I had to say goodbye since I can't go to the airport to see her off tomorrow. We lost one friend earlier this summer and now S is on her way tomorrow.

Even though I have only known her for about 11 months, she is one of my closest friends. She has to be the nicest person I have ever met. I don't know that I have ever heard her say anything bad about anyone. She is one of those people that you feel like you have known forever and super close to within only a short while. She has a great family and I am sure they will be very happy in their new home but she will be sorely missed here. It won't be the same.

We all say that we aren't saying goodbye because this world is a small place and we'll get to see one another again, so I guess I will just say see you later for now.....but it doesn't make the ache in the heart any less.

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Two Years Ago on In My Words...Camping and Fishing

Monday, June 09, 2008

Yoshihachi

J and I went to Yoshi's for dinner the other night. It was a Friday night and I expected the place to be packed but it wasn't and it was a nice time. We ordered the Tuna Sashimi, the Veggie Tempura, the Yoshi Roll and the Alaskan Roll to share and it was plenty for both of us. Since it wasn't super busy, our food came pretty fast and we felt very relaxed and satisfied.

Afterwards, we walked along the seawall to work off the food and work in J's new slippers....overall, it was a great Friday night date.

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Three Years Ago on In My Words....Soccer

Thursday, June 05, 2008

Reading for Mishka

Just updated Mishka's Reading with my May reads.....check it out when you have time.

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Two Years Ago on In My Words....Friday Night

Wednesday, June 04, 2008

Thursday Thanks

Continuing project...this week's thanks are:

I am thankful for this day. Those of you that know me in real life know exactly why.....that is all I can say!!!!!

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One Year Ago on In My Words...To The Lake

US flotilla leaving Myanmar coast with aid aboard - Yahoo! News

It made me cry this morning to read this article....these idiots don't give a crap about any one in their country. They could care less if all those people not only die but suffer doing so. I think we are giving them too much credit even remotely calling them a "government".

Even though I don't believe in it, I wish there was an afterlife so they could rot in hell.