Holy freakin cold, Batman!
We go from 80 degrees in Hawaii to 8 degrees in DC... talk about trauma.
Funny thing, everytime I mention that I went to Hawaii, people always ask me "Oh, really? Which island?" as if to make themselves sound like its their old stomping grounds. Then I tell them about how I was born there and have relatives and old friends there, then they say "Oh that's nice." Silly East coasters.
Mark can tell you that I came home with this new sense of calmness about me. Nothing phased me, even my "butt-kissing" co-worker couldn't get to me! She usually gets me all worked up cause she's always doing or saying something to undermine me; pretty much she wants my job.
So I'm guessing my new found calmness is a combination of spending time in Hawaii and the pregnancy. But the strange thing is I was sitting in traffic a lot more in Hawaii than I do here in DC.
The one thing I LOVE about going to Hawaii, is that moment you step off the plane, you take a deep breath and the air just has this perfect light smell of flowers! I can't find a candle or some air freshener like it to put in my house. Its just unmatched. Then I take a look around and tour guides have armfuls of leis that they're giving to their guests, and I know why it smells so good. :)
I dropped Mark off at his meetings early in the morning and took the rental to go see the island. I've discovered the freedom of having just a map and my curiosity to explore an area. I've always had this fear of being by myself in a unfamiliar place. My parents were always offering to send me to Hong Kong or Singapore for the summer by myself when I was in high school, but I never really took them up on it cause I was afraid. I've always toured other countries/states with family or someone that knew the area. Going away to college was a BIG step for me because I've always liked chilling at home.
I explored Oahu like my cousin Fei writes
her blog entries, exploring her psyche. Every little thing just interested me about the island. I got to spend time with my long time childhood friend
Alexis at BYUH. Alexis was too good of a student to skip out on classes that day... but I forgive her. ;) I love the excitement that just comes flying out of that girl. When I last visited Hawaii 2 years ago, I hadn't seen Alexis for about 6 years. I knew she was at BYUH but had no idea how to contact her. It's a good thing that campus is small and most everyone knows someone that knows who you're looking for. We tracked her down at work at the PCC at the ticket booth, and I got in line to "purchase tickets" from her. "Hi, I'm looking for Alexis?" "I'm Alexis." Then this very polite customer service girl dressed in nice aloha wear starts screaming and jumping around in her booth! Funny tho, her coworkers didn't seem too startled at her reaction... "that's Alexis."
So this time when I came to visit, I wanted to give her something that had meaning behind it to our long friendship. I got her a My Little Pony! Insert Explaination Here: When we were kids we'd used to haul all our toys, mostly our Ponies, to chruch every week and right after chruch we'd be under the stairs poured over our imaginary Pony world.
Today's My Little Pony can't come close to matching those of our childhood, but they'll do. I loved her reaction as she opened her gift. Like a kid getting what they wanted for Christmas! These are the kind of friends I love giving things to.
We also spent time with my Auntie Jo and Uncle Steven and cousins Chris and Becca. It had only been two weeks since we'd seen them at the family reunion, but it still was good to see them again. I felt bad that while I was at there house, I had passed out on the couch while everyone was talking. "When the baby wants to sleep we sleep."
Our friends Jason and Michelle are our old college buddies. Our little circle of friends all had callings working together at church, lived together at some point, and married each other. It's just like the TV show Friends!
We went out to eat at some really good resturants around Waikiki, they showed us around town, and we talked about people we haven't seen in a while. We miss hanging out with them.
Mark's favorite: Matsumoto's Shaved Ice with ice cream and beans. He scraficed a pint of his own blood to millions of mosquitos just to have his ice.
So, I had a really good time. Even though, I only spent a total of half an hour on the beach. Actually, there was just so much more I wanted to do and see than sitting on the beach. If it were Maui, where there isn't as much to do and people to see, I probably would have chilled at the beach all day.
Mark surprised me at work today with early 2 dozen +1 Valentine roses and a Josh Groban CD/DVD. But 10 days early?! I'm not sure what got him thinking that 10 days early was a good idea, but I that's fine by me! Mark doesn't like to do things for me when I expect it... which can be good or bad. 
