Kindle
I’m getting recognized for Fifteen years of service at BYUH this year. Every five years we get a benchmark recognition and gift of our choice. For Christmas I really only had two things that I seriously wanted on my list and the Amazon Kindle e-reader was at the top of that list. Second was a dining room table & chairs so we can get rid of the old garage sale hodgepodge we’ve had for the past 12+ years. But that’ll have to wait a while longer. However, much to my delight I learned today that for my 15 years of service award I can select pretty much anything our Bookstore can order (within a set price range) so I was thrilled to put in my order for a Kindle this morning. Now begins the 2-month wait until the big Faculty & Staff Spring Fling dinner where they hand out the prizes. It’s like waiting for Christmas all over again - but better!
Insanity
This morning I went to my second Insanity workout held at our chapel at 4:45a. Not familiar with Insanity? It’s the latest flavor or bust your butt super high intensity aerobic workout craze sweeping the nation. My first experience last week was fun. I learned that a novice like me who is basically active & healthy still should show some restraint when starting something new and should definitely not push herself during the ‘around-the-globe-jump-squats’ series! I thought I was up to the challenge and wanted to get enough bang for my buck after hauling myself out of bed in the middle of the night so I pushed it a little harder than I should have apparently. I pretty much felt like an overstretched jellyfish by the time I got home. By the time I got out of the shower, my calves cramped up and I couldn’t walk normally for the next 4 days.
So a week later I’m back to normal, had a couple good runs on the treadmill Tues & Wed to work out the rest of the kinks and was back at Insanity at 4:45 Thurs morning. It went much better today. I was actually listening to my body and respecting its boundaries better this time. Lots of squat moves today but I modified and went low intensity more frequently and still got a great workout. This time I can feel the effects a little higher up my legs but it’s a good feeling.
Today at work I did an update for a new employee named: Chan-Ting Kao. I love the Chinese and their awesome names.
Thursday, January 13, 2011
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
Marathon Momma
Yes, it's a whole month after the fact but I just have to give this topic a little individual attention because it is too big an accomplishment for me to not mention it. I was waiting until I had at least one photo from someone to post. I finally nabbed some pictures so I’m not putting it off anymore.
I am now officially a marathoner!
I ran my first marathon on Saturday, 12-11-10, from the Laie Stake Center (next to the Temple) to Waimea Bay and back. That's me in the bottom right corner, pre-race. It was an unofficial marathon and there were only 14 of us who started, 7 finished at the half way mark (Waimea Bay) and 7 did the full (back to the Stake Center). It was a full 26.2 miles and I did it in 5:01. Sadly my goal was to beat 5 hours so I’m planning a rematch.
However, I learned a few things on my first attempt that will help me the next time. I definitely won’t be spending the entire day before my next race decorating the chapel for the Ward Christmas Party. I definitely won’t be eating a ward party buffet menu as my pre-race fuel. I won’t be partying and staying up late the two nights before my next attempt. I won’t be taking such frequent or long water & stretching breaks every 3-6 miles to try to 'save myself' for the end of the race. I’ll remember to pack more than one Power Bar energy gel for the race. I’ll experiment with some different fuel options including bananas, peanut butter, oatmeal and apparently Snickers bars during my training runs to see what gives me added benefit. Most importantly, I won’t forget to keep Tylenol and Albuterol in my sports bag!
Since there were very few people involved, there were no cheering fans on the side of the road – we were running on the side of the road actually, so there wasn’t a lot of adrenaline pumping encouragement. It would have been much less fun if I hadn’t had the support of my very own road crew in the truck waiting for me every 3rd mile.
It was very convenient to have someone there to carry my flashlight, water, gels and Vaseline. It was even more helpful to have the encouragement of my husband and kids. The finish line photographer missed my big finish so we reenacted it 20 minutes later once I'd had a chance to cool down. But this is pretty much what it looked like at the end.
Anyone interested in joining me this year, I have a feeling I’ll be having a rematch this Dec. There are no official non-Sunday marathons on my island so I’ll have to figure out how I’ll get my first official race under my belt sooner rather than later.
I am loving how all the running I’m doing has started to reshape me. Anyone wanting to trade some size 10 clothes in exchange for my old size 14 wardrobe, I’d be so happy to swap some bargains with you! Despite being in a kind of recovery slump with really infrequent workouts for the past month, I’m hooked on running and eager to keep pushing myself now. Today I ran 4mi in 36 minutes. I’m starting to focus my workouts on speed for my next event, the Great Aloha Run, on 2/21/11. It’s only 8mi and I’ve got my mind set on speeding up this year and really knocking down my finishing time.
I am now officially a marathoner!
I ran my first marathon on Saturday, 12-11-10, from the Laie Stake Center (next to the Temple) to Waimea Bay and back. That's me in the bottom right corner, pre-race. It was an unofficial marathon and there were only 14 of us who started, 7 finished at the half way mark (Waimea Bay) and 7 did the full (back to the Stake Center). It was a full 26.2 miles and I did it in 5:01. Sadly my goal was to beat 5 hours so I’m planning a rematch.
However, I learned a few things on my first attempt that will help me the next time. I definitely won’t be spending the entire day before my next race decorating the chapel for the Ward Christmas Party. I definitely won’t be eating a ward party buffet menu as my pre-race fuel. I won’t be partying and staying up late the two nights before my next attempt. I won’t be taking such frequent or long water & stretching breaks every 3-6 miles to try to 'save myself' for the end of the race. I’ll remember to pack more than one Power Bar energy gel for the race. I’ll experiment with some different fuel options including bananas, peanut butter, oatmeal and apparently Snickers bars during my training runs to see what gives me added benefit. Most importantly, I won’t forget to keep Tylenol and Albuterol in my sports bag!
Since there were very few people involved, there were no cheering fans on the side of the road – we were running on the side of the road actually, so there wasn’t a lot of adrenaline pumping encouragement. It would have been much less fun if I hadn’t had the support of my very own road crew in the truck waiting for me every 3rd mile.
It was very convenient to have someone there to carry my flashlight, water, gels and Vaseline. It was even more helpful to have the encouragement of my husband and kids. The finish line photographer missed my big finish so we reenacted it 20 minutes later once I'd had a chance to cool down. But this is pretty much what it looked like at the end.Anyone interested in joining me this year, I have a feeling I’ll be having a rematch this Dec. There are no official non-Sunday marathons on my island so I’ll have to figure out how I’ll get my first official race under my belt sooner rather than later.
I am loving how all the running I’m doing has started to reshape me. Anyone wanting to trade some size 10 clothes in exchange for my old size 14 wardrobe, I’d be so happy to swap some bargains with you! Despite being in a kind of recovery slump with really infrequent workouts for the past month, I’m hooked on running and eager to keep pushing myself now. Today I ran 4mi in 36 minutes. I’m starting to focus my workouts on speed for my next event, the Great Aloha Run, on 2/21/11. It’s only 8mi and I’ve got my mind set on speeding up this year and really knocking down my finishing time.
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
Christmas to Baptism
Some Christmas Memories from 2010 
Ram’s cousin, Teva, was visiting with his wife & daughter the week before Christmas. Dec 24th was their daughter’s 6th birthday so we met them for lunch at Ala Moana Ruby Tuesday’s then spent the afternoon hanging out & shopping with them. We stayed in town just until after sunset so we could show them the Honolulu City Lights display at the capital. It was beautiful as always. The kids had fun getting to know each other even though they couldn’t understand one another.
Christmas Eve, despite telling myself I’d be done early this year, I stayed up pretty much all night being a Santa’s helper wrapping and prepping things. Zeth got a really cool Radio Flyer scooter for Christmas last year but it’s made for 2 year olds who need help with balance, has built-in speed controls (tight axels) and restricted turning radius so he prefers using Zana’s old pink butterfly scooter.
I decided it was time the old scooter got a makeover to match Zeth. So at 2a I was out on the lawn spray painting the whole thing silver with several coats of paint. Once it dried, I gave it orange tiger stripes. The new look works and Zeth loves it. He also loves his new free-standing basketball hoop. He got a new remote controlled car from Santa but something must have gone wrong at the seasonal mall kiosk where Santa found it because it has a doesn’t work for some reason. Major bummer.
Zana wanted a cell phone and iPod Touch this year.
She didn’t get either of them but she was thrilled with her new Razor Rip Stik, her remote control car from Santa which *does* work, her electronic piggy bank and a bunch of other gifts. However, the gift that stole the day was a Wii game console. I got a great deal on it second-hand from a co-worker who was getting something new this year. I wasn’t sure how well it would be received but we all played sports and games on it too long that day. The next morning Zana’s arms were so sore she could barely lift them. Need some moderation here.
It was a fun holiday but after all the gluttony of the day and getting everyone in bed that night it hit me just how badly I missed the point of the entire day. We didn’t spend any time celebrating Christ, didn’t read the scriptures or even say family prayers. We just fell apart. But sometimes it is this sort of bottoming out that snaps us back into shape so starting on 12/26, we reinstated our daily family scripture study which had been random at best ever since Zeth joined our family three years ago now. Now we all take turns reading two verses at a time. Even Zeth insists on taking his turn repeating after me, most of the time. Often he’s the one that’s being totally disruptive and driving everyone crazy, but we’re dealing pretty well and I think he’s slowly catching the drift of the new program. He would rather stay and be quiet with us than be alone in his room in time out. We’re getting there.
For New Year’s Eve, we went to the Wasson’s house to eat & light off a mountain of fireworks. It was the last time we’ll be able to do that for a while here, there’s a new city ban on the sale of fireworks in effect this year. So naturally the entire island went overboard and there were more smouldering heaps of explosives on the road than normal to ring in the new year. Normally I avoid the whole firework scene because, having asthma, the smoke kills me but I made an exception this time and am still paying for it 11 days later with my scratchy throat. It was worth it though, despite the rain, the kids had a blast playing with fire (I realize that just sounds crazy – but it is true).
Just for kicks, I uploaded two clips from 2009 & 2010 of the kids singing Twinkle Little Star. They were filmed about a year apart so its fun to see the improvement. But this one that wanders from monkeys to crocodiles is just random & cute.
It's been exactly one month since I ran my first marathon and I’m having a hard time getting back on my regular running routine. I have my annual Great Aloha Run 8.15 mi run coming up in 6 weeks. I’m sure I could run 8 miles with minimal training but my goal this year is to really improve my speed. So it’s time to get cracking but I’ve just been in a post marathon slump for the past month. Need a new training plan calendar on my wall staring me down every day.
Last Saturday Zana was baptized a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
It was a beautiful event. Zana and one of her classmates, Vaihinatea, had a combined program. I spoke on baptism; Ram baptized and confirmed Zana; our friend Jamie-Lynn gave a talk on the gift of the Holy Ghost complete with a huge box of gifts for each of them relating to the many roles the Comforter/Teacher/etc. plays in our lives. It was very sweet. But the most memorable moment for me was when Zana bore her testimony from her heart and got choked up. As soon as she teared-up, so did I. I looked around to see if it was just us but from some of the other wet eyes it was obvious that most people around us could feel the warmth of the Holy Spirit in the chapel too. It was just awesome that she got to have that first experience there right away after receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost. (The first time I remember really feeling the HG was just before Christmas when I was 9.) Later that day I asked her about it and she said she just got this really warm feeling in her heart. She’s such a choice little spirit.
Uncles Henny & Adrian were the witnesses. Auntie Marie saved the day helping transport kids, running off the programs and breaking out her emergency sewing kit in the nick of time. After the services, we shared breakfast with about 35 of our friends at our home. Some of the families that came and supported Zana on her special day included the: Anderson, Wasson, Hite, Veras, Aiu, Pagador, Fiu, Brown, Bohnet, Requilman, Salanoa & Tia families.
Some of the lessons learned from the baptism, in addition to towels, undies and a dry outfit, a hair brush, a fully charged camera with a friend to frenziedly snap pix on it for you, be sure you bring a Children’s Hymn Book because the pianist may not have one and cupboards are usually locked, emergency items such as safety pins, scissors and even better, needle & thread. In my haste getting Zana out of the beautiful Tahitian double lined baptismal dress Auntie Maeva sewed for her, and into the adorable princess confirmation dress from g-ma, the puller on the zipper of the latter dress broke in two and her entire back side was exposed. Fortunately Auntie Marie had a needle & white thread which I used to sew Zana into her dress during the talk on the Holy Ghost and got her decent just in time. Disaster averted. It kind of reminded me of the old high school days when my mom was still sewing me into my ball gown she made for me as my date was waiting in the living room with my dad. It was not funny at the time and it happened more than once too.
Ram’s cousin, Teva, was visiting with his wife & daughter the week before Christmas. Dec 24th was their daughter’s 6th birthday so we met them for lunch at Ala Moana Ruby Tuesday’s then spent the afternoon hanging out & shopping with them. We stayed in town just until after sunset so we could show them the Honolulu City Lights display at the capital. It was beautiful as always. The kids had fun getting to know each other even though they couldn’t understand one another.
Christmas Eve, despite telling myself I’d be done early this year, I stayed up pretty much all night being a Santa’s helper wrapping and prepping things. Zeth got a really cool Radio Flyer scooter for Christmas last year but it’s made for 2 year olds who need help with balance, has built-in speed controls (tight axels) and restricted turning radius so he prefers using Zana’s old pink butterfly scooter.
I decided it was time the old scooter got a makeover to match Zeth. So at 2a I was out on the lawn spray painting the whole thing silver with several coats of paint. Once it dried, I gave it orange tiger stripes. The new look works and Zeth loves it. He also loves his new free-standing basketball hoop. He got a new remote controlled car from Santa but something must have gone wrong at the seasonal mall kiosk where Santa found it because it has a doesn’t work for some reason. Major bummer.Zana wanted a cell phone and iPod Touch this year.
She didn’t get either of them but she was thrilled with her new Razor Rip Stik, her remote control car from Santa which *does* work, her electronic piggy bank and a bunch of other gifts. However, the gift that stole the day was a Wii game console. I got a great deal on it second-hand from a co-worker who was getting something new this year. I wasn’t sure how well it would be received but we all played sports and games on it too long that day. The next morning Zana’s arms were so sore she could barely lift them. Need some moderation here.It was a fun holiday but after all the gluttony of the day and getting everyone in bed that night it hit me just how badly I missed the point of the entire day. We didn’t spend any time celebrating Christ, didn’t read the scriptures or even say family prayers. We just fell apart. But sometimes it is this sort of bottoming out that snaps us back into shape so starting on 12/26, we reinstated our daily family scripture study which had been random at best ever since Zeth joined our family three years ago now. Now we all take turns reading two verses at a time. Even Zeth insists on taking his turn repeating after me, most of the time. Often he’s the one that’s being totally disruptive and driving everyone crazy, but we’re dealing pretty well and I think he’s slowly catching the drift of the new program. He would rather stay and be quiet with us than be alone in his room in time out. We’re getting there.
For New Year’s Eve, we went to the Wasson’s house to eat & light off a mountain of fireworks. It was the last time we’ll be able to do that for a while here, there’s a new city ban on the sale of fireworks in effect this year. So naturally the entire island went overboard and there were more smouldering heaps of explosives on the road than normal to ring in the new year. Normally I avoid the whole firework scene because, having asthma, the smoke kills me but I made an exception this time and am still paying for it 11 days later with my scratchy throat. It was worth it though, despite the rain, the kids had a blast playing with fire (I realize that just sounds crazy – but it is true).
Just for kicks, I uploaded two clips from 2009 & 2010 of the kids singing Twinkle Little Star. They were filmed about a year apart so its fun to see the improvement. But this one that wanders from monkeys to crocodiles is just random & cute.
It's been exactly one month since I ran my first marathon and I’m having a hard time getting back on my regular running routine. I have my annual Great Aloha Run 8.15 mi run coming up in 6 weeks. I’m sure I could run 8 miles with minimal training but my goal this year is to really improve my speed. So it’s time to get cracking but I’ve just been in a post marathon slump for the past month. Need a new training plan calendar on my wall staring me down every day.
Last Saturday Zana was baptized a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
It was a beautiful event. Zana and one of her classmates, Vaihinatea, had a combined program. I spoke on baptism; Ram baptized and confirmed Zana; our friend Jamie-Lynn gave a talk on the gift of the Holy Ghost complete with a huge box of gifts for each of them relating to the many roles the Comforter/Teacher/etc. plays in our lives. It was very sweet. But the most memorable moment for me was when Zana bore her testimony from her heart and got choked up. As soon as she teared-up, so did I. I looked around to see if it was just us but from some of the other wet eyes it was obvious that most people around us could feel the warmth of the Holy Spirit in the chapel too. It was just awesome that she got to have that first experience there right away after receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost. (The first time I remember really feeling the HG was just before Christmas when I was 9.) Later that day I asked her about it and she said she just got this really warm feeling in her heart. She’s such a choice little spirit.
Uncles Henny & Adrian were the witnesses. Auntie Marie saved the day helping transport kids, running off the programs and breaking out her emergency sewing kit in the nick of time. After the services, we shared breakfast with about 35 of our friends at our home. Some of the families that came and supported Zana on her special day included the: Anderson, Wasson, Hite, Veras, Aiu, Pagador, Fiu, Brown, Bohnet, Requilman, Salanoa & Tia families.Some of the lessons learned from the baptism, in addition to towels, undies and a dry outfit, a hair brush, a fully charged camera with a friend to frenziedly snap pix on it for you, be sure you bring a Children’s Hymn Book because the pianist may not have one and cupboards are usually locked, emergency items such as safety pins, scissors and even better, needle & thread. In my haste getting Zana out of the beautiful Tahitian double lined baptismal dress Auntie Maeva sewed for her, and into the adorable princess confirmation dress from g-ma, the puller on the zipper of the latter dress broke in two and her entire back side was exposed. Fortunately Auntie Marie had a needle & white thread which I used to sew Zana into her dress during the talk on the Holy Ghost and got her decent just in time. Disaster averted. It kind of reminded me of the old high school days when my mom was still sewing me into my ball gown she made for me as my date was waiting in the living room with my dad. It was not funny at the time and it happened more than once too.
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