This One's For the Girls

Despite a monthly menstrual cycle, rollercoaster emotions, and the dreaded anticipation of childbirth, there are definitely some perks to being a girl. Take for example that we have no responsibility to make the first move or that a small pimple can be neatly put into hiding with a little make-up. Yes, being a woman definitely pays off, literally.
Last night I went out with a couple of my girls from High School. Whitney, Kjarinda, Britny and I began the night by viewing the new film, "My Sisters Keeper" {be sure to bring a box of tissues along if you go to it}. But the real fun began when we made a quick stop at Applebee's. Nothing too out of the ordinary happened until the checks came. Our kind waiter, Elijah, understood that he was waiting on four ladies and knew what might come of the night if he pulled the right moves. He first turned to me and informed me that the two strawberry lemonade's I gulped would be on him. No charge. And rather than giving me the 80 cents change, he rounded up to a dollar. Britny was next: same story with the lemonade's. Whitney's total came to $2.15. She paid with a ten and dear Elijah gave her nine dollars back in change. What a gem.
Because he had been so kind, we thought it only fair to leave a phone number for him. Although none of us were the least bit interested, he did give us our food almost for free, a small gesture like that was the least we could do. Britny volunteered to sacrifice herself for the team and wrote her 10-digit phone number on her bill. We so wrongly assumed that we would be able to skedaddle right on out of the restaurant without seeing Mr. Elijah again, but somehow we misjudged the timing of it all and didn't take into account that Kjarinda needed to wait for him to return her credit card. He performed his waiterly duties and returned the card, then slyly rested his elbows on the back of our booth and eagerly questioned, "So, whose number was that?" Awkwardly, Whitney, Kjarinda and I immediately pointed a guilty finger to Britny, who just as awkwardly raised her hand. Elijah, bless his heart, tried to play Mr. Cool Guy and attempted to reply with a smooth, "Cool. Well take it easy ladies." And sure enough, Britny received a text just minutes ago reading, "So what's your name and age? This is Elijah from Applebee's."
Sometimes there are sacrifices that must be made, such as giving a number to some poor sap, but the reward of receiving free lemonades for such an act makes it all worth it in the end. There are some definite perks to being a girl and having beautiful friends. I wouldn't trade it for anything in the world.

a week of basking under the hot hawaiian rays

To be frank and forthright: It was the most lovely vacation, perfect in every way. It was the first time the whole family has vacationed together in two and a half years and it was an exquisite reunion. We spent our holiday in Oahu and Maui complete with surf lessons, parasailing, kayaking, snorkeling with Sea Turtles, morning jogs on the beach, a visit to Pearl Harbor and The Polynesian Cultural Center and entire days spent running the ten feet back and forth between the beach and our killer swimming pool too good to even attempt to describe. They say a picture is worth a thousand words, so rather than describe in great detail every moment on the trip I'll post a few pictures and let you interpret them as you may. Unfortunately the kayaking and snorkeling pictures that were taken by our guide are still in the mail and wont be here for another two weeks or so...it will give you something to look forward to in a few weeks.

Just outside the condo in Maui

Taking a break from the beach to barbecue a few burgers and dogs for lunch.


Voted #1 beach in America in 2006 by Dr. Beach...whoever that is. I attest to the validity of that statement.

Unflattering? Perhaps. But proof that I got up {multiple times} on the surf board.

Parasailing 1200 feet in the air: Funnest. Thing. Ever.

The short hike to the Iao Needle. 100% beautiful.

The Polynesian Cultural Center

Our travel agent arranged for a complimentary lei greeting when we stepped off the plane. It was a very warm welcome into the 50th state of the Union.

Living up the last day in Lahaina.

This dream vacation easily makes the top three vacations taken by the Hymas Clan. It was almost too good to be true, priceless memories were created and it was a spectacular time all around.

Just a Quick Thought

Well, actually three:

1. I love the dentist. Yes, I know, most normal human beings dread such a place. I, on the other hand, look forward to the semi-annual dental visit. Something about sitting on a reclined, blue, plastic chair with FM 100.3 tunes playing in the speaker above while the dentist scrapes away plaque and applies fluoride with a small tooth-drill onto my fragile teeth just brings a small grin to my face. There aren't many things in this world that feel better than running your tongue across your freshly cleaned and now smooth-as-glass teeth after the dentist removes the paper bib and tells you you're free to go. Luckily for me, I was able to experience this at 9:00 a.m. today. It was just as good as I remember it being six months ago. And I'll have you know, my dentist gave me the kindest compliment today when he told me that I have "perfect teeth." I guess all that brushing paid off.
2. I love finals week. Finals week is a textbook example of feeling two vastly different emotions all within a relatively short amount of time. The night before finals is beyond stressful; trying to cram in any last minute mnemonics to help you remember that Chartres Cathedral was built in 1134 AD and various points of the Theory of Evolution. By the time the scheduled finals role around the next afternoon you've accepted the fact that you will be participating in academic bulimia: you've crammed in all the information and in just minutes you will be spitting it out on the paper. After filling in all 80 multiple choice questions you hand your bubble sheet to the scantron-lady at the testing center and all of the stress that has built up over the past week rushes out in one swift moment. It's one of the most satisfying and refreshing feelings I can think of and by the time you get to the screen one flight of stairs below that fatefully reveals your ID number and the corresponding test score, you are past the point of caring if it reads a less than stellar percentage. All you really care to do is put your ipod in and dance to your 'happy song' while devouring chocolate covered cinnamon bears to celebrate your completion of yet another semester. There's nothing like it. Love it.
3. The eve of a vacation is full of the sweetest anticipation you could imagine; It's similar to that thrilling feeling you get every Christmas Eve. As I sit on my bed typing this post I'm looking at a fully packed suitcase just itching to be zipped up and loaded onto a plane headed for the Hawaiian Islands. I've got my camera battery fully charged, I've picked the book I'm going to read on the plane/beach {Gone With the Wind}, and I've packed far too many outfits for only eight days {you can never have too many options}. Sleep is not going to come easily for me tonight and I can guarantee that I will dream of soft sand inbetween my toes, warm ocean water and the delicious smell of fresh flowers. Wish me a safe travel and happy vacation.

Exquisitely Happy News

When I was a sophomore in high school I had the delightful opportunity to visit the family pediatrician and receive a physical. Although Dr. White (names have been changed) is an awfully kind man, he's probably not the most skilled doctor in the medical field. Luckily, for me, this meant that my 'physical' consisted of Dr. White putting a tongue compressor in my mouth while I said "Ahh", hitting my knee with a hammer to test for reflexes, and measuring my height. Clearly, I was not blessed with the gift of height, so when Dr. White's measurements read a whopping 5 foot 1 I was not surprised. Slightly pleased that I had surpassed the five-foot mark, actually. And when Dr. White announced that I was done growing and would be 5'1" for the remainder of my life I wasn't that disappointed. Over the past four years I've come to accept that fact and have become happy with my shortness. Some of the most monumental/notorious figures in history suffered from this same disease. Take Napoleon Bonaparte for example, 5'6" and look at what he accomplished. And Suger, the French architect who designed the famous Gothic cathedral, The Abbey of St. Denis, whose headstone reads, "Suger was a man of small stature and small family who in all of his smallness refused to be a small man." From these men I have learned that despite my 'smallness' I can still accomplish great things. I was perfectly content with my height of 5'1". Until today. Today the measuring tape was pulled out. It is the first time I have measured myself since that fateful day four long years ago. And lo and behold, the pediatrician who told me I would be 5'1" for life was proven wrong today, the 14th day of June, 2009. Over the past 4 years I have grown a whole inch and a half. No longer when fellow human beings ask me how tall I am will I reply 5 foot 1. I can now proudly and boldly announce that I am 5 foot 2 1/2 inches tall. This is kind of a big deal and news that makes me exquisitely happy. Maybe in another four years I'll be 5 foot 4...

Mother Nature Hates Me

Or something tragically sad happened that has caused her to cry everyday for the past week. For quite some time I pretended to like the rain purely because I believed it was the 'cool' thing to do (same story with yogurt) but I've come to the point in my life that I am perfectly okay admitting that I hate rain. Loathe it, really. Especially in the middle of June...it's supposed to be sunny and happy and instead its drab and dreary. I live in a dry desert for a reason, if I wanted to live in an area with a wet climate, I'd move to Washington.

Top 3 Reasons I Hate the Rain:

1. It makes my hair all frizzy and wavy and rather unattractive.
2. It gets the bottom of my pants wet: potentially the most uncomfortable feeling. Ever.
3. It puts me in a gloomy, melancholy mood.

Thank heavens I'm going to the sunny islands of Hawaii in 7 days. That will cheer me up immensely.

Lions and Tigers and Bears, Oh My

Because I'm in Biology 100 and our final project is to visit a natural history location and write a report about our experience, I had the perfect excuse to go to the zoo this afternoon. Rather than go alone, I forced my brothers to attend with me {despite what they may say, I know that secretly they loved it} It's been years since I've been to the Hogle Zoo, but the second the nice gentleman took my ticket and I stepped inside, I was flooded with memories of my childhood. I don't even like animals, but an afternoon spent at the zoo is always a delightful experience.

Just a few more inches kid...

Black with white stripes or white with black stripes?

Random fun fact about elephants: they have the largest brain of any land mammal. Now you know.

The lion head drinking fountain seemed a lot bigger when i was four...that was the biggest disappointment of the day.

Next time you head to the zoo, I hope you have an enjoyable experience.

And now I'm off to write a report about the day; unfortunately, I don't think Professor Lee would accept a blog post...

While Laughing Up a Storm

This afternoon as I was driving to Salt Lake, I had the tunes blasting and I was jamming. Not just a subtle sing-a-long, but a full on jam session: head bobbing, upper body moving to the music, hands making gestures in accordance to the lyrics, and belting the words as if I were the next finalist on American Idol. Sometimes when I'm in the car with the windows rolled up, I forget that other drivers and passengers can see me. Today was one of those times. It wasn't until I casually glanced to my right and saw that the car next to me contained two, attractive male characters just a few years older than me. Yes, these men had caught me in the act and made that very clear by busting a gut laughing at me. It wasn't a small giggle or smile they were trying to suppress. Oh no, it was a deep-belly-head back-mouth open wide-eye watering-finger pointing at the source-kind of laugh. There was no mistaking the fact that I was the source of their entertainment. Immediately, I realized what I must have looked like to innocent bystanders and wholeheartedly admit that I deserved to be laughed at. Naturally, I joined in the fun and started laughing that exact same laugh that my fellow laughers were laughing. And let me tell you, it was near impossible to focus on the traffic I was in the midst of while participating in such a laugh. Oh, it was so delightful to have a successful jamming session and one of those deep, satisfying laughs all within the course of five minutes; that doesn't occur all that often, you know. And so, despite my slight embarrassment, I'm honored to say that I was able to provide those two men with such a hearty laugh. I can only hope that they're telling the story at the dinner table tonight.

Sick As A Dog...

What does this expression mean anyways? Was there really a dog so sick an expression was coined after him? Nevertheless, this phrase has been a popular one around the Hymas home the past few days. This illness began with Alex and has now shown up in all of the girls: mama, Ang, and myself. I would like nothing more than to twist my head off and exchange it for a new one; one that has ears that don't feel like I've been on an airplane for 24 hours, a nose that doesn't require a tissue every five minutes, a throat that isn't raw, and a forehead that doesn't feel like someone has just taken a sledgehammer to it. And while we're exchanging body parts, I'll just take a whole new body; a body that doesn't get chills and ache like crazy. Oh, what it would be like in a dream world when it would be possible to trade malfunctioned body parts for healthy ones. Although I can't trade my head for a new one, there are a few comforts that I couldn't live without during this time of sickness...

1. James Taylor's Greatest Hits CD. I don't know what is so comforting about these songs to me, but that soothing voice telling me he's "gone to Carolina in his mind" makes me feel better in a heartbeat.
2. The couches in the women's restroom at work. It's amazing how rejuvenating a quick nap during a 30 minute lunch break can be. And one of the perks to working at a furniture company is that those couches are mighty comfortable.
3. Mexican Style Chicken Tortilla soup. Most people like Chicken Noodle Soup when they're sick, however, since Chicken Noodle makes my top five list of foods I hate, Mexican Style Chicken Tortilla soup is my sick food.
4. Watching inspiring movies such as "The Secret Life of Bees" while laying like a log on the couch.
5. A 7:30 p.m. bedtime and waking up at 10:00 a.m.