An Apple A Day...

...is suppose to keep the doctor away, right? Well after waking up this morning at 4:30 am to go wait outside of a silly store, in the cold weather to get this apple, I need to see a doctor to make sure I'm not crazy. That's right... I waited in line for a new ipad 2. I had been wanting one and when I went to go get one, was told they were sold out, but was informed they would have some in the next day. Well the next day before going all the way up to Greensboro, I called to make sure they got them in. Sold out. So the next day, same thing. I finally asked the sales clerk when they would get some in. He informed me that they got them in everyday and they went on sale at 9:00am. So that next day I had off and decided I would be there at nine am to get mine. Boy was I wrong! At nine o'clock there was a line out the store about fifty yards long. Wanna take a guess as to who didn't get an ipad that day? The answer is Big Bird... and myself. Leaving empty handed, I made my way back to Asheboro determined to get one on my next day off.

Now in the meantime, if you read my blog regularly, you'd know that I had to take my MacBook back due to a spill. Best Buy happened to call me two days ago to inform me that it was not repairable, but due to my warranty, was allowed to get a new one. Heck YES! Don't get me wrong, I loved my old one. We were best friends, but I didn't always treat her with the best of care. She had a few scratches and dents and what not, so when I was told I could get another one, I was more than extatic! So I made my game plan for Thursday: Apple store bright and early for my ipad, followed by Best Buy for my laptop.

I set my alarm for 4:30, took a shower and got ready. Grabbing breakfast at McDonalds, I was on the road to Greensboro at 5:45. I pulled into the Friendly Parking Lot to find just ONE other car there waiting. We waited for a good while until another car pulled up next to me (and I'd just like to take a second to say that both cars had Asians inside them. Not that that matters, but Asians are on top of their game.) Then a few more cars, but everyone remained in their nice toasty cars. Who wants to get out and stand in line in 40 degrees weather unless they have to right? That's what was on my mind UNTIL the old man showed up. Getting there at 8:45, grandpa makes a mad dash for the door with his chair and marked his territory, so of course the rest of the anxious crowd hurried to follow suit and stand in the cold. Luckily I managed to get third in line. So after standing in line for an hour, I was able to get my hands on an ipad 2. Now it's not the one that I had picked out originally, but I'm still happy with my purchase.

Old man who wasn't messing around

Starting to get all lined up

Then it was off to Best Buy. There I was able to get a newer version of my original computer for just a small extra fee. So after getting my double dose of apple today, I'm a happy and healthy girl.

Grateful

Well I had been working on this particular blog for over a week to have it just completely erased with no way of getting it back. So instead of thinking about what I had and typing it all over again, I'm going to summarize: There's been a few circumstances lately that have really reminded me how grateful I am to have the life that I do. Circumstance #1: My health. I sat beside a blind man on my last plane home. I've seen blind people before and thought how difficult it must be and how I couldn't even imagine what life must be like without vision. While many questions and thoughts ran through my mind, I was reminded of how fortunate I am to be able to see. I'm grateful for my health. Circumstance #2: Warranties. I fell asleep the other night with a glass of water in my hand. I wake up to find that I had spilt it all over my lap top. My heart quit beating for a good five mintues while I patiently turned it on repeditely to see if it would work. No luck. Later that evening, it turned on, but woudn't stay on unless it was plugged in. Thankfully I found my receipt and I had purchased a warranty. Unsually I don't bother with warranties, but for some reason, I had bought the "accidental" warranty and was able to take it back to be fixed fo free! Circumstance #3: Employment: After one day back from Hawaii, I was already back at work. Now I may not have the best jobs ever, but I'm very lucky to have a job during this economy... and to have TWO let alone is something I don't take for granted. I've extremely blessed to be finicially stable and to be able to do most things that I want to do. Circumstance #4: Friends: I'm grateful to have the friends that I do. I know anyone of them would stop whatever it is they are doing to come help me out, or come listen to the problems that I am having.

Save the Drama For Yo Momma

Women are fascinating creatures, and I don't think that I will ever meet another creature who causes as much drama as we do. Recently I've had about all the drama that I can stand and I just had to take a minute or so to rant about how stupid and immature and POINTLESS it all is. I find it fascinating that men can get along great and cause no problems with one another. If they don't like one another, they simply don't talk to the other, but women have to go and mingle in other people's business and start crazy rumors. If you want to have drama involved in your life, watch soap operas. OK I'm done ranting.

Inter-what!?

INTERVIEW!

That's right, I'm going for an interview on April 19th at 9:40 am at Pitt Community College for the radiation therapy program. For those of you who aren't aware, this is a big thing for me, considering this is what I've decided I want to do for a living, and I'm hoping to be accepted. I have an interview, followed by a test so prayers are appreciated!

My Oh My What A Mess!

The number of suitcases I took to Hawaii: One.

The number of suitcases I had when I left: Two.

The problem: I didn't have room for the first suitcase full of stuff I took with me in the first place.

The solution: Clean out my closet.

The problem with this solution: My room is still a disaster.

I had the sudden urge to unpack my suitcases and get everything put away the day after I got home. Once I had the stuff out of the first suitcase, I realized I was in for much more than I had anticipated. I then unpacked the second suitcase and got to work on cleaning out my closet. I was getting rid of everything I no longer wore. I started to pick thru everything and make a get-rid-of-pile in the floor. I've had jeans and shirts I had been keeping for "I'll be able to wear these if I loose weight". And things that fell into the category of "I really like that and one day I'll find somewhere to wear it to." But this go around, I was NOT going to keep them.

After getting everything out that I was getting rid of, I had:

a lot of extra space in the closet,

a lot of extra hangers,

and to top it off, I found $88 in change that I had hidden from my siblings who tend to think it's theirs.

So after making a huge mess, I now have a clean AND organized closet (something I've never done), along with an extra $88 I had forgotten about. Now if I could just find the motivation to clean the rest of this room....

Checking In

For those few people who actually follow my blog, don't worry! I will post something soon I promise. I've just been super busy getting back into the hectic days that I call life and as soon as I get more than two minutes to myself, I have lots to say! Hope everyone has a great day!

Last Few Days

Before leaving Hawaii, I wanted to squeeze in all that I could. However, the beginning part of my last week was not very weather premitting. Wednesday, I woke up with every intention of going to check out the Pali lookout and some beaches that Sarah had recommended. What did I find when I woke up? Rain! It was nasty outside and it kinda dampened my mood, but I decided to suck it up and go anyways. Who knew, maybe the sun was shining down at the lookout, but unless I went, I wouldn't know. Driving towards Pali highway, the sun looked like it might actually make its way out, but as soon as I got on the highway, guess what? It was the nastiest I had seen it all day. By the time I got to the lookout, you couldn't see two feet in front of you so I completely by-passed it with the hopes that it would be sunny towards the beach, and it was. For the twenty minutes that I was at the beach, it wasn't raining, but as soon as I got in the car and left, the rain found me again so I just headed back home to watch Oprah.

The next day, I thought I'd give the Pali lookout another go. It wasn't too bad outside and by the time I got to the lookout, it had cleared up nicely with the exception of a very strong wind. That just happened to be the same night when the whole tsunami scare went down.

On Friday, after the evacuation the night before, it was beautiful and sunny and I got to catch a few rays by the pool.

Saturday was a relaxing day after the twins music class. Sunday after church, I went down to Ko Olina, picked up Trent and headed towards Waianae to take a few pictures. Then it was date night with Jessi. Auntie Sarah watched the twins so we could go watch a couple of movies. We saw Beastly and Red Riding Hood, a double feature!...both were good.

Ko Olina lagoon

Monday was another relaxing day and the Bachelor season finale. Which brings us to Tuesday... leaving day. I got to spend some quality time with the babies in the morning, chill by the pool with Trent in the evening, and then gather all my belongings up and head for the airport later that night. I can't believe two months have gone by this fast! Holden and Nora are both walking now and their personalities keep growing more and more each day. I'm really going to miss The Burns family (cats too)! Thanks for letting me come hang out with you guys! Nora- we'll have to skype soon!

Sister

The flights home were ok. The usual long flights that it takes to get home from Hawaii, nothing terrible happened though. I got another look at the beautiful scenery of the Seattle airport, and I had a surprise waiting for me when I came home!

Seattle Airport

Love at first wink?

I used to say that I would like to be married by the age of 25. With just having a recent birthday and turning 23, I'm beginning to think this goal is unachievable, unfortunately. Seeing everyone I graduated with becoming either engaged or married, and my best friends recent boy toy, I decided I should step up my game. I mean, who would want to be a third wheel? Nobody that's who.

Upon "stepping up my game", I pondered just exactly how I should go about achieving this task. There's many options these days ya know. I considered applying for the reality television showThe Bachelor. I've seen many women going on this show in search of true love. Honestly, as much as I love watching this season, there's no way I could go on the show with the purpose of finding true love... not when the guy is taking out 20+ other women. I would definitely apply however, due to the fact that they get to travel to a lot of amazing places for free. As much as I would love to travel though, this option is highly unlikely for me to find a boyfriend.

So what's my other option? Well since I don't have the ovaries to place my phone number on a napkin or leave it on some cute guys car windshield that I see driving in the wal-mart parking lot, I thought I'd give internet dating a shot. Before anyone starts to get the wrong impression, let me clarify that last sentence: I was merely CHECKING into it, and I went with match.com for my taste of online dating services.

So what did I find? A lot of nothing.

Match.com allows you to sign up for free and create a profile listing what you're like and what you're interested in in a partner. It also allows you to search other profiles on the site and 'wink', e-mail, or request a phone number. They say nothing in this life is free. They're wrong. You can 'wink' for free all you want to other members of match.com, but if you want to actually contact someone or read an e-mail someone has sent you, that is going to cost you.. a lot. Being the cheap-scape that I am, I'm not paying for a subscription to an online dating site just to see who sent me an e-mail. I guess after receiving lots of different e-mails notifying me that someone had either winked at me or that I had caught someone's attention, I was fed up with the fact that I would have to pay for a subscription for this to actually work. After two days with the "free" version of match.com, I deactivated my profile. Needless to say, I'm back at the drawing board. Maybe one day?

Say Whaaaaat?

TSUNAMI!?!

I'm sure all of you have had time to hear about the recent earthquake in Japan, which caused a tsunami to follow. Now I've never been much for World geography, but with all the Japanese visitors I've seen in Waikiki, I'm just going to assume that Japan is a lot closer to here than it is to NC. With that quick elementary lesson instated, this is the cause to all the panic and chaos that is consuming the island of Hawaii and the West coast of the states for that matter. Many places have been evacuated with the threat of the tsunami hitting here as well.

Having googled tsunami (that's right I googled it), it says that they are a series of traveling ocean waves of extremely long length generated by disturbances associated primarily with earthquakes below or near the ocean floor. Whew that was a mouth full, so essentially, big waves means lots of water on land that isn't meant to be here.

Living somewhat close to the coast and within less than a mile of the evacuation zones, and also having twins to look after, we packed up and headed to higher ground. How and what do you pack for a tsunami? Good question. I'm still in a daze as to what all happened between the alarms going off and trying to pack everything into the cars. However, I remained as calm as I could and so did Jessi. We collected everything we needed and more. Food, clothes, water, babies, cats, computers, toys, etc. Piled everything into the cars and just arrived at our friend Sarah's, who is much further inland.

Don't forget the cats!

Last year Jessi experienced the same situation and went through the same ordeal only to find nothing to hit the island. We're hoping for the same outcome essentially, but you can never be too careful. I've already gotten plenty of calls and texts and I'm sure they are gonna keep coming as the East coast starts to wake up and hear the news, but we're fine. Just say a prayer that it's nothing more than a fluke.

Life Lessons

A few weeks ago, while helping out in children's church, it turns out I was the one that was really receiving the lesson that was being given. Being a kid myself, I guess it takes a kids level for something to actually sink in and make any sense to me. My grandmother has basically been preaching this to me for years, (and no offense G-maw) but I just didn't really wanna listen at the time. It's the simplest most life changing thing too. Want in on my secret? Give your problems to God and let him take care of them. Now where's the easy button when you need it?

As simple as it may seem though, it is hard for me to follow, being the hard headed, ignorant, self sufficient female that I am. I understand it and it all makes perfect sense, but when it comes time to actually do it, I get so caught up in all that is happening, and forget.

For instance: this whole week. I honestly don't know where to start. I could start with the weather and how it has been completely overcast and raining and just down right depressing. Or how I had planned for my whale watching sunset cruise, my massage, and a few days of just laying on the beach relaxing... to all take place during this week of nasty weather. Or perhaps the tire that blew out on me on the middle of one of the busiest highways in Hawaii, thirty+ minutes from anyone I knew. Anyways, you get the point. A lot of problems. Everything turned out ok in the end, but they would have gone a lot smoother if I would have just calmed down and let God deal with them. I just learned the hard way that my blood pressure rises a lot more when I try and take it all into my hands.

The weather here has not been what you would imagine Hawaii to have. And as I mentioned in my previous blog, I get depressed if I'm without sunshine for awhile. My whale watching "sunset" cruise was scheduled for Friday. So much for a sunset, let alone many whales. Bummer. Then to top it off, after leaving Waikiki, the flat-tire-two-hour ordeal occurs. Great. Thankfully, Mike was a calming blessing and came to the rescue. Looking back now, (hind sight is always 20-20) if I would have just stayed calm and let God deal with it, I would have been a lot better. Flat tire fixed, check. Rainy weather cleared, check. I even saw a pretty sunset this afternoon. Saw whales this morning on my way to the shark cage, check. See, God has a way of putting the puzzle pieces together, we may just not see the overall picture during obstacles.

This song played on my itunes recently and I thought it was very appropriate to this blog. Here's a clip of it with the lyrics. Check it out.

"This is the stuff that gets under my skin

But I gotta trust, You know exactly what You're doing
It might not be what I would choose
But this is the stuff You use"

Good Ole NC

Being in Hawaii has been great. The scenery, the weather, good friends, two beautiful babies, watching television, adventures I wouldn't be able to do anywhere else, and... pineapple ice cream!

I mean, it truly is wonderful out here, but (and there is always a but) I'm about ready for home. There are things that North Carolina has that Hawaii will never have. And after five straight days of overcast and rain, I'm starting to become depressed, not being able to occupy my mind with something to do(I get this from my mother). So North Carolina, here are a few things that I am really missing today:

My crazy family and my precious cat

We're constantly aggravating someone else and we're hardly all at the house at the same time, but I wouldn't have them any other way. I miss constantly being asked if I want to watch a kayaking video, or being asked if I can lend some money. I even miss the baby monkey song being whistled and momma trying to talk to me when I'm drying my hair. I take them for granted sometimes, but I love them dearly, no matter how dysfunctional we may be.

My friends

They're awesome and I enjoy every minute I spend with them. I can't go on enough about how much they mean to me. I miss not having anything to do, and always finding someway to have a good time. Wether it be playing phase ten, finding a roof, corn hole competitions in the street, concerts, going to look at houses, watching a movie, visiting Kyle at the varsity, or just asking a bunch of random questions, I love it all because of the people I'm spending my time with.

My jobs

I truly have enjoyed not having to wake up at 4:30 5 days a week to go into work, followed by getting off work and proceeding to my other job. However, I have not enjoyed watching all my hard work dwindle down in my bank account. I'm ready to get back and immerse myself in the chaotic lifestyle or juggling two jobs and being able to do whatever I want. I'm blessed to have a job, let alone two that are so willing to work with my traveling lifestyle. I honestly enjoy my work, which is why I've been at both places for 5+ years. I miss my co-workers, the residents, and the customers.

Food

Right now I'm craving some Chick-fil-A. And sweet tea. There are a ton of restaurants that have yet to make their way to the island. Sure we have a McDonald's, what state/country doesn't? BUT these McDonald's are unaware of sweet tea AND they serve SPAM for breakfast?! No thanks, I'll take my sausage bagel, except oh wait... they don't have those here either. And a Biscuitville? Yeah right. TGIFridays? Nope. There isn't anyone to hook me up at the Varsity for 1/2 off pizza, or any specials at The Pig. We've got plenty of sushi, but what is sushi without a huge sushi boat to split with your friends?

Birthday Month Celebrations

March is a very important month for me. I was born of course. And not only was I born, but so was my twin brother. And wanna know who was born a day before I we were in the same hospital? My very best friend Kristyn Flinchum. A day before her, our good friend Andre Stewart was born. A day before him? My very attractive assistant manager. With a few more of our friends being born around the same time we were, it calls for a whole week of birthday celebrations. So tomorrow starts off the start of the birthday celebrations, which means my birthday is four days away. So guys, celebrate for me and I'll do the same out here, but we're definitely all celebrating together when I get back!

Andre, Myself, Kristyn, Michael

So North Carolina, know that you've been missed since I've been gone. Today especially.

Just Google It

Is it just me or does anyone else feel like Americans, and the rest of the world for that matter, are becoming less and less umm... intelligent? I'm not pointing out specific people by any means, but the term "just google it" has literally become a part of everyday conversations. Not only that, but Americans can't seem to grasp the whole concept of their/they're/there use either. Many situations that keep presenting themselves are leading me to believe that as a society, we're giving up on our own intelligence and relying on other means to help us out.

The other night, while watching The Amazing Race, teams were given many different clues in which they had to figure things out to get to the next stop in the race. I'm assuming that the teams are not allowed any sort of computer or telephone because at least three instances that I can remember, they asked a random person on the street or nearby, that had internet access, to help them out. As a matter of fact, while in the process of writing this blog, I have looked up an address, a movie title and how to spell a word. I remember in school how some teachers were anti-calculator because they said we needed to be able to do things with our own brain and not a computers. What if we didn't have access to a computer, or for that matter, didn't have internet on our phones? Society has made it so simple to become complete idiots. Without the red squiggly line at the bottom of words, I would be lost when attempting to use big words I only think I know.

Which leads me to one of my biggest pet peeves: horrible grammar. It literally sends chills down my back when I'm constantly reading other peoples things where they have used some sort of bad grammar. Wether it be no commas or periods, or the wrong form of a word, whatever it is, I can't stand it. Now everyone is allowed a few mistakes here and there. I know I'm far from perfect, but come on! Reading different things on Facebook or text messages, I'm honestly baffled that some of these people were allowed to graduate high school. I get the whole shorthand that people have picked up too, sure lets save time and energy and type as few letters as possible and hope the other person reading this understands what I'm suppose to be saying. And what is up with people typing like this: im @lw@yzzzzzz fin3? That took me longer to actually type. I give props to whomever types that way because it is definitely more complicated and more of a thought process is involved, but it looks stupid.

All I'm saying is that if things keep going the way they are, which I'm sure they will with our high tech phones that know more than we do, that our children will be graduating high school believing their name is spelled M3g@n and that google has the answer to all your problems. Ok enough ranting, I have a massage bright and early in the morning. Toodles ya'll (this last sentence is entirely underlined in red squiggles just so you know).

Swap Meet Deals

If I'm not working or sleeping, you can be sure that I'm probably spending money. But I like to buy as much as I can for the money I'm spending, which makes the Aloha Swap Meet a great place for me to walk around! It's a huge flea market type place where local vendors gather to sell a bunch of touristy junk, but you can find some neat things! It is in the parking lot of the Aloha stadium, and it wasn't until I had walked around it almost twice that I realized it took up the entire lot and I was seeing repeats. Lets just say I got my walking in for the day, but I did come across some good souvenirs.

Swap Meet

I purchased quite a few t-shirts, some jewelry, and the greatest thing I saw there was this:

This is no ordinary coconut, oh no. And it's even more than just a painted coconut. It's very genius actually, or maybe I'm just amused WAY too easily, regardless, they got my money. It is a very clever way to send mail, because it is indeed a *drumroll*.....

POSTCARD!

I mean, is that not cool or what?! A coconut postcard! I can definitely say that it was my most expensive post card I've purchased and the one requiring the most postage too.

I also got a few jewelry pieces. The one that really got my attention was an Italian glass blown piece. It's of one of my favorite things, and it is a great way to remember this time in my life.

It was a good day at the swap meet!

Big Island Adventures

Since sleep in inevitable at this point, I'll use my time wisely to blog about the big island. Good idea huh?

Well, after waking up SUPER early to catch our flight, we got to the big island right at 7am. Then we went to Budget to pick up our rental car. That's right! I rented my very first rental car! And may I just add that I think it's a load of crap that they add an extra charge per day if you're under the age of 25. I mean, you can rent a hotel room at 21 and purchase cancer sticks at the age of 18?!

My rental car!

Back on track though, first thing on the agenda: Captain Cook's monument. There are a few different ways you can get to this popular snorkeling spot, and we chose the most difficult: hiking. It was about an hour hike straight down, so you can only imagine the torture we endured to get back up (again with Hawaii's practically vertical hiking). But the snorkeling was great! Saw lots of pretty fish and coral while meeting some cool people in the process. Oh and I almost forgot the crazy guy who passed us on the way back to the top. This guy was in his forties or older just cruising to the top with no problem... carrying a parrot on his shoulder and being followed by a dog. I felt like I was being passed by Dr. Dolittle.

Ok next thing: Pu'uhonua O Honaunau, and don't ask me to pronounce that. In the late 1700's it was a place of refuge for lawbreakers. If they could reach this place, they were given a second chance. The coolest part about this place was all the statues.

I'd like a second chance at life if I got to stay here, wouldn't you?

After this, we ventured down to south point. These are a bunch of cliffs that apparently people can jump off of. Not this girl though. I didn't see a way back up, but I'm told there is an old rickety ladder to get back up. Still, no thanks.

Next on the list: volcano. We didn't stay here too long. Due to poor air quality, it made it hard to see. However, we came back the next day to check everything out. We did drive a ways down to see lava flow though. At night it was really neat. It was a few miles away and you weren't allowed off the path to get any closer, but you could see bright red and orange spots coming down the side of the mountain.

Steam vent at the volcano.

Best picture I could get of the lava.

The next day was filled with more volcano exploring, including a lava tube, lots of waterfalls and a botanical garden. We went to three different waterfalls, Rainbow Falls, Boiling Pots, and Akaka Falls, all were beautiful. We also stopped at a Hawaii Tropical Botanical Gardens. Their slogan was " A garden in a valley on the ocean". It was definitely worth our time stopping! After a full day of amazing sights and scenery, we headed to the airport for our flight back to Oahu.

Inside the lava tube.

Rainbow Falls

Akaka Falls

Inside the garden

Boiling Pots