Cliff Diving vs. Skydiving

I went cliff diving on Sunday. I doubt I'll ever go again unless it's with people I love and trust and won't ever get horrifyingly angry at them if they push me off a cliff. Literally.

So... never again, then.

On Sunday morning I went on a first date with a guy I'd never met. We carpooled out to Waimea Bay and I made sure my island friends knew where we were going just in case they needed to look for my body later. I always have this type of humor before going on dates. I blame my mother... but I digress...

So! Moving on...

As we are driving out this guy's telling me about what he did yesterday (which was free climbing by Makapu'u Lighthouse where waves were trying to kill him) and entertaining me with fun facts about arachnids (did you know a daddy long leg isn't actually a spider?) and about how the smaller the creature the more likely it's poison is to kill you (such as with scorpions and snakes. He knows rattlesnake babies are super poisonous -- he has the week stay in the hospital and the scar on his wrist to prove it). He also doesn't own a computer or buy WiFi. He owns over 200 DVDs. He's got the cool 70s, 80s music going in the CD player. I'm really liking his vibe.

We get to Waimea Bay and it's sprinkling. Which is fine in hawaii. If we were in Washington I'd be chickening out and sighting a headache. And, come on, it can't be worse than jumping out of an airplane, right?

We get to the rock, leave or stuff on the beach, and start climbing to the top.

This is worse than jumping out of an airplane.

Because I can't just step off.

Oh, no. No, no, no.

You have to bend your knees and jump. You have to commit to the action. You have to take a literal leap of faith.

I did it, though. And I screamed like the little girl I really am. I even did it two more times after that. On the third jump, climbing back up the cliff, the ocean decided she didn't care for me and she shoved me onto the rock and then grabbed me back. I then landed on more rocks and got a lovely bruise for my troubles.

The bruise would have been fine if it hadn't been on my thigh. My biggest muscle was now slowing but surely turning purple. I know I bruise easy and I knew this would be a doozy in a few days. (I was right; see picture.)

So. I jumped three times and climbed back for a fourth. I then proceeded to psych myself out. 1) the wind picked up and I had to crouch in order to feel like I had some control and keep my balance, 2) I kept losing my bikini top while plunging into the ocean (I guess I need to find a sports bra type of top? Anyone have any good suggestions?), 3) I didn't think I could keep up with the waves with my emerging bruise, and 4) that was actually really, really, really high up...

So I walked down.

He drove me home. We chatted a bit. He showed me pictures of food he liked to cook (it looked delicious and I was ravenous after all the water sports). He said something about a shower, I said something about a nap. We parted ways.

I don't think he's going to call me. But that's ok because I've found someone with bigger balls than me. And he can keep them.

Aloha from Oahu!
XOXO
Lisa

What's for Dinner?

Today I wanted to share with you something that has helped relieve stress in my daily life. I feel like this system would be adaptable to most families' or individuals' circumstances. The system has helped me to save time and energy and makes my trips to the grocery store less stressful. This is how we do dinner.
I have spent many months coming up with this system. It has been a matter of thinking about meals we enjoy as a family, trying out some new menu items, and convincing the kids to eat what I put in front of them.

I have been thinking about meals that we like and writing them down on 3 x 5 index cards. I keep all of the index cards in a case on top of the fridge, right above a set of magnets representing each day of the week.

Each card has the name of the recipe, and the list of ingredients on the front; listed on the back is the recipe.

I've also included a few cards for leftovers to follow meals that I know will span more than one night. What I really like about this system is that with just a glance I know what we'll be eating for dinner for the whole week. I've also found it very convenient to have the ingredients listed so that I have an easy time making up a shopping list for the week. Having the recipe on the back of the card is also helpful so that I don't have to dig through a cookbook or try to remember which page number or have to go digging around for each recipe, it's just ready to go waiting for me.
Seeing all of Lisa's success with the 21 day fix I've made the decision to start incorporating that plan into my family's lifestyle. I've recently added some cards that are 21 day fix approved to my collection of cards. But cooking for family is a lot different than cooking for an individual, so we're going to start slow with just dinner, but our plan is to slowly incorporate 21 day fix snacks and breakfasts and lunches.
This is how we avoid the dreaded question "what's for dinner?"

Cheers!
Jessica

Summer Recap

Graduation: We had a fun time at graduation! BYUI puts on a beautiful ceremony. Brett is graduated, now we just have to make it through student teaching and then we'll be on to our next adventure.

Girls night: For Mom's birthday we celebrated late with a girls night out. We shopped and ate at restaurants, we saw Disney's Inside Out (so cute). We spent the night at the Tulalip Resort, which was nice. I got a bed to myself for the first time in years, so nice to stretch out. Their pool is wonderful too. While we did have a great time we missed our Lisa and Mishelle.

Potty training: I don't know how parents make it through this process. We were doing okay while we were staying with Grandma and Grandpa, Little Miss really enjoyed using grandma's potty, but now that we're home with only the toilet we're having a harder time. My goal is before 3, so we don't have much longer.

Visit to Olympia: We got to spend an afternoon in Olympia visiting with some good friends from Rexburg. Olympia was half way between us so we met up for a picnic and parks, and even made it to the capital. It was wonderful to visit with them and play together again.

Pool and Popsicles: Grandma had an awesome kiddie pool that the Littles were in love with, especially Little Man. Every time they were done in the pool Little Miss would tell us that they needed popsicles to warm up.

Dentist: Well, I guess I'm a real grown up now. I had my first cavities and filings. Brett and I went to the dentist he's been going to forever. We went for our anniversary, how romantic, huh? Well, let me tell you, filings are not fun! It took me almost the whole day to get the feeling back in my face, and a few days worth of pain to top it off. Not something I want to do again.

Jazzinators: Of course the purpose of our trip, Jazzinators. So much fun this year, Grammy watched the Littles each rehearsal so I was able to participate too. We played some great music and worked on our improvising. And we got some cool shirts too.

Now we just have to survive fall and then we're on to a new adventure!
Cheers!
Jessica