You don't own me.

That's right, I went into a Target for the first time in a long time and I got out of there without spending over $50 (A feat I had previously thought impossible). And to be honest, it wasn't as exciting as I thought it was going to be. I guess I haven't been missing anything this past year after all. Although I did enjoy the familiar popcorny smell and bright lighting.

Shark Week

It's Shark Week on Discovery Channel - and I don't have TV -yet. Bummer. I guess I'll just have to contribute with my own correspondence on the matter.

I'll kick things off with this little bit of news coming to us from Leeward Oahu - "Woman survives shark attack off Makaha with 'chunk' out of arm". You can read the entire article by clicking on the headline. Or I can sum in up in the three words spoken by the snorkeler - "Help. Please. Shark." Allegedly it was a 16 ft. Tiger Shark. We (Ben and Brady) had a shark sighting at the very same spot before while snorkeling. Only it was about 4-5 ft and most likely a reef shark. Although I'm pretty sure they still have teeth.

So shark attacks are pretty rare right? For the number of folks who go in the water and the number actually bitten, yeah. But in the year we lived in Hawaii, there were three incidents on Oahu alone. They were not highly publicized - bad for tourism I'm sure. Ben was working in the E.R. when one came in. Two were snorkelers, one a body boarder, no one died. In fact the waves themselves cause more harm than these lovable sea creatures. But that's not what we're talking about. At least not this week.

I'm afraid of sharks, at least when I'm on land. I'm also a researcher. I like to know every possible outcome to every situation so when it comes to sharks I was delighted to find this gem of a spreadsheet - http://www.sharkattackfile.net/ - The Global Shark Attack File - tracking incidents by species, event details, injuries and location from the beginning of time (1845). Seriously - it's fascinating. And I will probably never go in the water in FL or Brazil because of it. In July there have been 9 attacks in the U.S. alone!

I never spoke about sharks much in Hawaii because I didn't want to jinx myself. I thought as soon as I make a comment or joke, I would be a goner. Or at least lose a toe or two. The funny thing is that when you're out there with them (you can tell when they're around - you can just feel it) it's not so scary. Sometimes I would almost hope to see one. Although the occasional dolphin fin, turtle or leash brushing against your leg might spook one to hope otherwise.

Two things I learned from Discovery's Shark Week 2007 that I would like to pass on - sharks are more attracted to small amounts of urine than blood and to the color yellow more than the color red - not sure if the two facts are interrelated, they weren't presented as so. But those little bits of information may surely change some nasty little habits some of us may have. Frankly, I consider a little pee in the vast expanse of ocean to be nothing compared to some of the things I have seen floating around out there. And besides, how are you supposed to warm up your wetsuit? Just remember sharks can smell fear.

Photo courtesy of National Geographic.

Brrrrrrr....

It must be like 70 here or something. On the night we got here we could see our breath it was so cold, and we were so underdressed. So alas, we have arrived in Washington. For those of you counting types, yes, we have been here a few weeks. In fact we are in our fourth temporary residence since we have arrived. This one we will call home for at least the next six months as we figure out what our more permanent arrangements will be.

The new picture above is of the south slope of Mt. Rainer - which April reminded me is called Paradise. Hence us still being "just another day in..." I like that thought. And we like it here. That being said, I was never so happy to see fleece as I was when we were unpacking. That box I had labeled and set aside of "Fall/Winter" clothes for the family, just got opened.

There's really no need to make a list of the things I'll miss in Hawaii (although I still have a few thoughts on our previous life that I'll have to get out I'm sure). I'm following the advice of inspirational cards, motivational plaques and dear john letters everywhere - if you love something, set it free, if it was meant to be, it'll come back to you. We love the islands. We will go back. But this is our home now and we are going to love it. Am I trying to convince myself of that? Maybe.

One thing I do love about Washington that I need no convincing of is the friends we have here. But they deserve an entire post and pictures so more on that later. But have they made the transition easier for me and for Avery. Absolutely.

All right so what else do I love about Washington so far:

- Loooonnnngggg summer days. We flew in at 10pm and it was still not quite completely dark. Although it gives you plenty of time to do fun stuff and it's nice for B. to come home in the daylight, it makes it tough to adjust to a new time zone. It will start getting dark and that is an indication to us that it's dinner time. Only it's 9pm. I realize to that there is a flip side to these long days known as winter.

- No frizzy hair. No sweating.

- The mosquitoes here are bigger and slower. Not only did living in HI make me an expert mosquito squisher, I got bit so many times that I became immune - this is completely true. The ones here must have diluted juice cause I don't even feel the slightest itch.

- The grass is softer and unlikely to have thorns in it. Not that you are likely to be barefoot in it.

- Greater variety of fresh produce and bread.

- Good Mexican food. There's also bad mexican food here, but we have found at least two places that are legit. I think Ben has tried every one. If it has Los or El, any reference to a location in Mexico or any form of 'berto in the name he's there - He even braved a place with Tijuana in the name. Never again.

And for good measure - a few things I'm going to have to get over:

- What seems like nearly 10% sales tax. Double what we paid in Hawaii. Where we live it's around 8.8% but enough to discourage me from shopping anywhere but on base. (Why doth I love the military - let me count the ways...) Okay, so there's no state income tax - we weren't affected by that anyway.

- Wearing shoes. This mostly applies to A.

- People not driving with Aloha. I could write a whole post about this. And I just might.

- Pineapples are expensive.

- Butter takes longer to soften.

- The music. I'm not sure exactly which category to put this one in, because although it's fun to hear bands that remind me of high school - Candlebox, Soundgarden, Nirvana etc. On continuous loop it loses some of it's charm. Not that I liked Reggae any better.

The best news about us moving to Washington for all of you (since you just lost your free vacation home in the tropics - need I remind you) is that you are no longer subject to pictures of me in my bathing suit or Ben shirtless. Although, I can't guarantee the latter. Oh wait, yes I can. It's July and it's freezing.

New Post Under Construction

No I haven't fallen off a mountain never to be heard from again. We're just living it up in the Pacific NW - I mean we're househunting.

June Recap

For a number of reasons - namely that we could make money* - we decided to move ourselves and forgo the military move this time. They were late with Ben's orders and we weren't sure if we would be able to schedule a move through them anyhow. By the time everything was straightened out we had already started the PPM (personally procured move) process. Besides, we hadn't unpacked everything from our last move and they damaged some of our furniture last time (hopefully we won't). So far the only casualties of moving ourselves have been the children. Their toys were the first things to be packed up which didn't phase them and they quickly set to work making forts and such with the boxes. They also enjoyed the smell of the Sharpie and would race to try to smell a fresh label before it dried. I did not encourage this. In other unhealthy news, they were nutritionally neglected as the loading date approached going from Pb & J sandwiches to PB & Honey on a spoon to here's a jar of peanut butter feed yourselves. They also ate a lot of popsicles.

*If you are concerned about your tax dollars being pocketed by the Westbrook family, please note that by doing a move ourselves we do get paid to do the work but at a lesser rate than full-time movers. So by helping curb excessive government spending it's a win-win.


Ben - Worked full time all month at the hospital then spent every other minute disassembling furniture and electronics and helping me pack. Not only did he "graduate" from his internship program but he earned his first decoration as a soldier by getting an Army Achievment Medal for his service at Tripler.

Avery - Was our chief box decorator and labeler - I suppose only to get closer to the Sharpie's. She colored boxes with rainbows and dancing roses (her specialties) and actually helped label boxes with me spelling the words for her. She also learned how to spell and write the names of all of the immediate family members and now we know which ones we are in her family portraits.

Miles - Did lots of "boy" things like skateboarding down the loading ramp (on his belly), bringing slugs into the house, kicking things and collecting rocks in his pockets. Some of the things he did while wearing a faux-pearl encrusted pink headband or pink princess bike helmet, but he looked manly just the same.


Me- I spent the majority of the month recovering from my fall - only to find out the mishap could have been avoided had I simply brought a gift, such as a lei, to place on the sacred lands. Luckily I didn't try to take any part of the mountain with me as a souvenir or my injuries would have been much much worse as I was informed by a couple of Aunties at church. To top it off it turned out I had a pneumonia or bronchitis of some sort, which I ignored (as much as you can ignore a hacking cough) until we were finished packing. I finally let B. get me antibiotics (even though I could be described as anti-antibiotics) and guess what? Modern medicine prevailed and I feel a ton better, not to mention people are willing to stand near me again. I thought it for the best before taking a 5 hour plane ride.

Aloha Oe

Until we meet again...

7

How to open a coconut.

Stage 5 is what the kids affectionately refer to as the"Uncle Nate" coconut. This entire process took 1.5 hours.

Postage Due

As Ben pointed out - it probably costs the USPS at least 3 cents to print these little envelopes up to bill me for this penny. This isn't the first time I have had to pay to receive a letter. Many years ago, I remember having to pay 10 cents to receive a letter. Otherwise it was going to be held hostage...or is it for "ransom"? Whatever the case, I'd better pay this puppy before it negatively impacts my credit.

For Sale SOLD

'94 Honda Accord - Immaculate and Loaded. $4,600. Any Takers?

Trust me - I'm a Doctor.

Congratulations to Ben for successfully completing and "graduating" from his (first) internship. I never thought I would say this about a surgery internship - but it's been a great year. Congratulations on passing Step 3 and becoming a licensed physician and for being the kind of doctor that any patient would be glad to have.


But seriously, would you let this guy cut on your face?

Art History 101 - Chiaroscuro

How can two little bodies with the same genetic input and same exposure to the sun have such different complexions?

How to cut a mango.

Fathers Day '08

THE CARD -

THE ATTEMPT TO TAKE A FATHER-SON PIC -

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The "best Father's Day gift ever" -

My sister's boyfriend was at the Lakers playoff game* on Sunday and had "HAPPY FATHERS DAY BEN WESTBROOK" come across the jumbotron at the beginning of the game. His attempt to capture it via cell phone camera failed miserably - but it still goes down in history as successfully "the best Fathers Day gift ever" according to Ben.
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*In case you are wondering how B. doing after Tuesday's slaughter - He got to drown his sorrows in root beer and filet mignon at Ruth's Chris after the game compliments of a drug rep, so he's fine. Plus, he said "they didn't deserve it anyway", I'm sure in reference to the heartless way they played.

At least our cars don't run on milk.

But my kids do.

Olomana - Peaks Two & Three. Mission Aborted.

The second and third peaks were taunting me (we can see them from our house) so I thought it’d be fun to have my mom watch the kids and Ben and I could tackle the hike in its entirety. We got up early and headed out. Surprisingly the hike seemed more strenuous without a toddler on my back but I’m certainly glad the kids weren’t with us because the events that unfolded after we reached the summit would have been tragic and almost were nevertheless. The children almost lost their mother.

Ben was enjoying the view from the first peak and since I had been there two days before I decided to go ahead so that I wasn’t holding Ben up. I was trekking along steadily when all of the sudden the ground below me seemed to disappear and I was falling – fast. I was sliding and screamed out for Ben while trying to grasp at anything to stop me from a non-stop plunge 1,700 feet down. Following a 10 foot slide I went over a drop-off and kept sliding, silently this time and not knowing when or if I would stop. Luckily, I hit a tree.

Ben, just hearing the scream, the fall and a thud, thought that at best I was unconscious. I finally mustered an “I’m okay” and was faced with a new, not less scary dilemma- how to get back up to the trail. Going back up the way I came was out of the question and I would be lucky to get anywhere without sliding further. Not to mention I had sustained some bloody injuries (see exhibit a). I did find a way out and with help returned to the trail. We decided to continue and cautiously made our way to the second peak and were rewarded with an incredible view of the entire Windward coast, and that’s where our journey ended. Reaching the third peak entailed swinging on a rope over a 400 ft drop and we weren’t feeling super confident or as excited about the risks involved, so we turned back. On the way up we had been chatting happily about our hopes and dreams for the future and on the way back we were quieter, bodies limp after the adrenaline wore off but happy to be walking out together. Even portions of the trail that I had quickly traversed with a baby in tow two days before, suddenly seemed like an accident waiting to happen.

But I’m not out of the woods yet. Having a personal doc to assess my injuries he starts rattling off a list of scary sounding conditions that could arise from my abrasions and when I question the possibility of one of those actually happening he replies that he’s seen multiple deaths and amputated multiple legs this year from similar things. So looks like I’m not out of the woods yet, folks.

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Exhibit A - We wern't too concerned about getting them in focus at the time and chances are we were both shaking anyway.

Olomana - Peak One

There is one hike that I really wanted to conquer before we left and with my mom here I thought we might be able to do it even with the kids. Mt. Olomana, or "Oahu's Matterhorn" as it's been called, is a hike with three distinct peaks or ridges that are just begging you to climb them. The first peak is a steep ascent but not as dangerous as the second two and I was never planning on taking the kids past the first and frankly I'm still shocked that we made it to the first. Props to A. who hiked at least four miles round trip from car to summit and back. At one point she even referred to the rest of us as "slowpokes" as she scrambled up rocks like a champion (I was sure that she got her mountain goatedness from me - but I found out a few days later it may not be so). One thing that was cute was that she misunderstood the concept of reaching the "peak" and instead kept finding "peeks" along the way where she would look out over the world below. Miles got a free ride to the top and back, sleeping through most of the trip but giving a few encouraging "weeeee's" along the way down.

Moloka'i

My mom is here to help me with the kids while we get ready to depart, but rather than clean, pack or organize what I really wanted to do was go to another island. So we went to Moloka'i. The plane ride over was amazing. It was a nine seater propeller plane and the view was worth a million dollars - far more than what it cost ($50).

We only spent two days there but the lifestyle is so slow that it felt like a week. There are no traffic lights on the island and only one chain restaurant - you guessed it... Subway :) (it's a little known fact that there are more Subway's than McD's worldwide) Maybe it's because I wasn't expecting much but I thought it had some of the most beautiful beaches I have ever seen. Between the small plane and the private beach time I felt like a celebrity with my own private island. I was set to fly back this weekend so Ben could experience Moloka'i but the flights are all sold out.

A few highlights for me was seeing Kalapaupa - the leper colony (if you want to know more about it I fully recommend The Colony: The Harrowing True Story of the exiles of Molokai). You aren't allowed down there if you are under 16 so I didn't get to tour it this time (on account of the kids), but we did hike along the worlds tallest sea cliffs and visit Hawaii's longest white sand beach. Another place of interest was Phallic Rock - where according to Hawaiian legend women trying to concieve can sleep here and be rewarded with child. Interesting and almost embarrasing to look at. There is a picture in the slide show (we're all adults here people).

May Recap

It can't be June already! I guess when summer never ends, you don't quite realize when it's starting again. In fact, it looks a little more like Fall around here since Summer means less rain some of the hillsides are getting tinged with brown and orange (just around the edges - it's still wonderfully green of course). We are supposed to be getting ready to move but the powers that be have been slow on getting us official orders so there is not much to be done but wait.

Ben - The highlight of May for Ben would probably be the discovery of his talent playing the ukulele. This ability should be no surprise as it runs in his blood (the Portuguese brought the ukulele to the islands long ago and his Portuguese-Hawaiian great-grandfather was a talented musician on Maui). So, on Mother's Day Eve the men at church organized a dinner for the women of the ward and the youth provided in-home childcare so that everyone was assured of having a great time at the ward function. It was held in probably the best located home in town with sweeping panoramic views of the ocean and mountains. The property and home itself are so beautiful it makes you sick to your stomach - in a good way. That was the scene. Following dinner Ben was able to join the entertainment of the evening which was kanikapila - basically a Hawaiian style jam session. After his performance with the group he was asked to be in the ward choir, invited to kanikapila at the beach on Memorial Day and given his very own ukulele song book the next day with the songs often played when they get together. I had a hard time getting him to leave so that we could relieve the babysitters and he admitted on the way home that "this was a rough one" meaning - he was already sad about leaving the islands but this just made it that much harder. I agree.

Work wise, since some of you have been, are in or are imminently going to be in the same position career wise and since that's where he spends most of his time let's report and commiserate. After Ben and I were just discussing how easy this general surgery internship has seemed (we expected the worst)(and it is relatively easy, because I do not see how he can get up that early and still come home with a smile on his face, then again, he's probably smiling cause he's finally home - whatever the reason he's made it easy on me) he started his neurosurgery rotation. After enduring demanding ICU, ER, Surgery and Medicine rotations I thought this one would be a good one to end with, however, on his first day, after being there since 5:30am he called at 7pm to say they were going into surgery and he'd call me when they got out. They got done at 3am. Thankfully, he didn't call me, nor did he come home. Since he had to be back two hours later, he made the right choice and stayed on some lovely bed at the hospital - either that or he has a mistress.

Miles - Still wears a size three diaper but is growing up and out. Can carry on a simple conversation and his favorite phrase, when he is the slightest bit disappointed, is "oh man" (said like Swiper on Dora except that he still won't watch TV (oh man) so I'm not sure where he learned it).

Avery - Graduated from her first year of Awana Cubbies. Is excited about moving to a new "island".

Me - May was not all flowers for me, in fact, I had one very bad day amidst some decent ones and a couple great ones.

Within 24 hours: I put a huge dent in our car while sidling up to what looked to be a harmless baby palm tree, my daughter broke one of my favorite dessert plates, our waterproof camera isn't actually all that waterproof, the dollar theater in town closed down and to top it off I realized, at the end of the day, that the shirt I was wearing all day is see-through.

However, I have a car, and the damage could have been much much worse, I still have 7 more plates and at least it wasn't my stoneware which I only have 4 left of, we have a DVD player to watch movies on and maybe me wearing a very sheer shirt made it a good day for someone else.

In other news, I finally lost all the baby weight from Miles.

Thirty is the new Fifty.

Thanks for the invitation American Association of Retired Persons. Even though you put out a decent magazine and I'm sure you offer great discounts at establishments I probably don't frequent, I'm going to have to pass for now. Call me again in twenty years.