Displaced Beachbums

Two days BEFORE FM got his call regarding our move to NY, I got word that I was chosen for a Protocol job. Upon hearing about my new job, I went out and bought a new suit to wear on my first day. FG went with me so she could play Stacy from “What not to Wear.”

Yesterday, I returned the beautiful suit (jacket & pants), matching skirt and two shirts which I purchased for the job. Some people suggested I keep it since I’ll no doubt need it sometime in the near future, but it had too much “attached” to it and every time I wore it, I would think about yet another lost career opportunity.

Now that the suit has been returned, I can close the door on that and move on to our new adventure.  

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I took my first ever yoga class today. My friend, Yukari, has been asking me to go with her since I met her last May and I finally ran out of excuses today. I almost cancelled AGAIN about an hour before the class but since I couldn’t reach Yukari by phone, I felt compelled to attend. 

I don’t know if it was a good idea going with someone who is really flexible and so good at yoga that she could teach the class. At least, I could look over and see how it’s really suppose to be done rather than what I was doing. My attempts at the poses were no where near what they should have been.  

It’ll take several more classes before I figure out all the pose names like Downward Facing Dog, Warrior II, Boat, The Bridge, etc. I do know I can’t even try the Crocodile or the Shoulderstand right now ~ or if I will ever want to do them.

As uncomfortable as I felt in class and as silly as I looked, I felt great the whole rest of the afternoon. If I don’t wake up in severe pain tomorrow from all the stretching, I just might add yoga to my exercise routine.

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As the new year begins, I realize I haven’t made any resolutions. I recently read an article about “living outside your comfort zone“. For the most part, I think I already live outside most people’s comfort zones but it made me think of what I consider to be uncomfortable situations.  The question becomes: Am I willing to really push it? So, I thought I’d make a list of what makes my palms sweat or I don’t like and perhaps I will use 2007 to overcome them:

1. Being a lector at church. Normally, I’m OK with speaking in public but there’s something nerve-racking about some of those old biblical names that are hard to pronounce. I would hate to get the giggles while reading a gospel passage during mass.
2. SCUBA Diving. I’ve got problems with my ears and I’m a little claustrophobic which is not a good combination for diving, but, as I’ve mentioned before, I might really regret not giving it another try while I’m in the “best diving spots” in the world.
3. Playing golf at peak times. Although I’ve gotten much faster at playing golf, I still schedule tee times at the slowest times. I absolutely hate having people behind me. Even if there are golfers ahead and I’m waiting on them, I feel the pressure from the people behind me.
4. Completing a current project that could be a raging success and make money OR it could be a colossal failure and I would be sad for putting all my effort into it. 

Although these are just a few I could think of while writing this, I’m sure there are a lot more and I will attempt to be more open to pushing through those uncomfortable situations. If I feel like I’m sliding from week to week and it’s getting a little too comfortable…I’ll shake it up a little with something new and hopefully, fun.

Happy New Year and I hope all your days in 2007 are healthy and happy!

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Merry Christmas everyone! It’s been hard getting into the Christmas groove with our balmy, tropical weather but we did have a wonderful Christmas day and I hope you have a great day as well.

Peace be with you.

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The in-laws have arrived. FM’s mom, dad and aunt are here for the holidays.  FG greeted them at the airport with flower leis as they got off the plane. FG really enjoys hosting people in our home so she’s in her element ~ she even left individually wrapped chocolates on their pillows. I think she has my “hotel” blood in her.

Below is Aunt Fran having a difficult time adjusting to island life. She staked out the hammock early.

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As a vegetarian, I get a lot of questions about what I eat, how I maintain a nutritious diet and, occasionally (only three I know of in 20 years) someone will decide to become a vegetarian themselves. More often than not, people want to cut out the amount of meat they eat and I’m happy to share any tasty recipes. In no way do I try to actually convert anyone to a meatless life ~ you either want to or not.  FM certainly hasn’t been swayed although he happily eats my meat-free meals at dinner (when I actually cook).  

My golf partner, T., was very curious about my recipes and I told her I get most of my new recipes every month from the Vegetarian Times magazine.  I hate throwing away my used magazines and, when in Germany I shared them with a fellow veggie, Alex. Since T. was so curious, I sent several back issues, via FM, to give to T’s husband who was suppose to take them home to T. You know, the husband postal service.  We’d done this with novels and have had no problems.

When we were all out at dinner the other night, I asked T. if she tried any of the recipes in the magazine. Suddenly, the table got very quiet and her husband looked down with a very guilty look on his face. I knew immediately what had happened ~ he threw away the magazines for fear his wife might become a vegetarian. It’s not like she’s an easily influenced 18 year old and, since I’m not a fan of someone who would actually censor his wife’s reading material, I’ve decided to give her “The Best of Vegetarian Cooking” for Christmas 😉

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So it wasn’t quite like Breakfast at Tiffany’s but I had a very elegant, delicious and informative  lunch at the Hyatt which was hosted by Tiffany’s store.  I sat at a table with 2 navy spouses and an air force spouse. The Navy life intrigues me so I asked lots of questions of those 2 ladies and they were equally interested in the strange army life.

Tiffanys had several of the spouses wear little black dresses so they could model the jewelry. There were so many gorgeous pieces and so many diamonds. Also present were several very muscular security guards keeping a close eye on everyone which I don’t blame them at all…one ring cost $24,000.  Yes, I have the right number of zeros 😉

I’m not much of a jewelry wearer. I basically wear my wedding ring/engagement ring and I’ll occasionally (rarely) throw on gold earrings and a necklace. The sales director gave us a brief lesson on what makes a Tiffany diamond special. He then offered for us to look through the special diamond magnifying machine so we could check out our own diamond. Three of us at the table looked at each other and all agreed we didn’t really want to take a look. Why would we want to see flaws or anything else since we were all emotional attached to our wedding rings. The fourth woman at our table sheepishly looked down. We asked if she wanted to check out her ring and she shyly said “Well, when I first got engaged, I had the ring appraised.”  Wow, that’s what I call one practical woman! She explained that she wanted to make sure the jeweler hadn’t cheated her soon-to-be husband. 

It’s unlikely I’ll be getting any Tiffany diamonds anytime soon ~ we spend all our disposable income (little that there is) on traveling. I’d rather have those great memories than a hard rock anyday.  

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I once read an article in Time Magazine when I was a teenager living in Puerto Rico. There was a photo of an impoverished African man who laid on the ground and the caption read something like this: he comes from no where and has no where to go. He lays here waiting.

As I sat on a gorgeous beach, with my picnic lunch and read the article, I was overcome with gratitude for the life I was living. I knew then and there I was ‘priviledged’ ~ my family was far from rich but I felt like I owned the world.

Ever since then, I have been grateful EVERYDAY for everything in my life, even the challenges which only serve to make me stronger and more appreciative of what I do have.  My first thought each new day is “Thank you, God, for giving me one more day on this glorious earth.” And at the end of each day, I once again thank God for my day’s blessings. I am grateful to have shelter, running water and electricity which may seem so basic but, I always remember that some people have to walk miles for water and all I do is turn the faucet.  

On this Thanksgiving day, I am especially thankful for:

FM and FG who love me unconditionally. 

Good health.

Family and friends who, although they are far away,  continue to support and encourage me.

I want for nothing (OK ~ I do want a house on Puako Beach in Hawai) 😉

For living in a tropical paradise and meeting the wonderfully diverse group of  people on the island.

For having traveled all my life and knowing there is more goodness in the world than evil.

As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them.   (John F. Kennedy)

Happy Thanksgiving to all !

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