Milkshake - DENIED

There's a place in town that is locally known for their shakes. I hear they have great hamburgers too, but my eyes are only tuned into the board with over 100 flavors of shakes when I am there. 

I constantly find many reasons to celebrate anything and everything with a Bogey's shake. We've lived here 17 days? We better go get a shake. The lawn is mowed? That deserves a Bogeys. We got the Internet? Let's celebrate with a shake!

Naturally, I knew that the Hubs first day at the office should be celebrated with a shake. So, all day I anticipated it. I stayed away from the snacks in the cupboard, even after I knew Hubs would be home late, filling in for a golf league. I even ate a smaller portion at dinner, saving plenty of room for my raspberry chocolate chip shake. Or, would I get a blueberry chocolate chip this time. All this was on my mind when the sirens sounded.

At that time I was loudly reminded that we live in Kansas and that it is storm season. Wasn't it bright and sunny this afternoon? We went to inspect the weather for ourselves, of course. It looked dark, with a yellowish hue. The wind was picking up each moment.

You probably would expect people to seek the comfort of the basement, right? If we had one, we might have. Instead, we hopped in the truck that does not actually fit in the garage and headed over to Hubs's office where there is both protection for the truck under a carport, protection for us in a basement, and lots of TVs, with cable. It's so fun to drive around while everyone on the radio screams that the last place to be is on the road in your car. 

We made it and watch lots of debris fly around outside. We got comfortable and watched the weather channels until it was safe to go home. Now, we can just drive by Bogeys on our way home, I thought, and got excited again.

Due to some power outages and trees down, we took the long way. There were clean-up crews out trying to make street maneuverable.  Then, I realized the sad truth. Bogeys was without power; actually the whole block was without power and they weren't even letting people through.

No shake to celebrate Hubs' first day as Dr. Hubs. Instead, I went home and ate a bowl of vanilla ice cream with sprinkles. 

The lesson of free goggles

While on the beach, we saw some very skilled swimmers. Hubs has gotten into swimming for exercise and wished he had brought along a pair of goggles so he could go out and experience some open water swimming. Swimming without goggles in moving water would be less than fun.

As these swimmers finished and were walking past us, they stopped to chat about the books we were reading and let us know that a book festival was going on. Hubs took the opportunity to ask how far they had swam.

Swimmer (think of an island way of speaking): Aw, just down to the pipeline and back, man. Going out was great, but coming back was tough.

Hubs: How far is that?

Swimmer: A mile there. A mile back. Ya know.

Hubs: Wow. Hey, do you know where in town I could buy a pair of goggles? I forgot to pack mine.

Swimmer: Here. Take mine.

Hubs: What? Really?

Swimmer: Oh yeah, just take these. Actually, come with me. I'll getcha a different pair.

Hubs followed the swimmer to his car and found out that he was a swim coach. They talked a while and then he offered Hubs his nicer pair and told him to have fun and "hang loose."

He probably had no idea what an impact those free goggles made on us. They will constantly be a reminder that our stuff is to be used for reaching out to others. The mindset that we want to use all of our stuff that God has given us for his purpose. Whether it is giving it away or sharing it. Those goggles will continue to remind us to not grasp our things but to hold them out with an open palm. 

Later, we drove into the surfing town looking for some lunch. We saw that swimmer again and he yelled out, "Go Big Red" as a greeting and then helped us find the best restaurant for lunch. It takes so little effort to be nice to others and help them feel welcome...yet, how often do we remain in our shells and our comfort zones? 

Buzzed

For the past 3 years, each time Hubs needs a haircut, he always says, I should just buzz my hair. Think how easy that would be! 

There are many pros and cons. You have no idea what sort of weird bumps may be on your skull that your hair was neatly covering up. You have no idea if you will look older or younger. But you are sure that 1) it will be low-maintenance and 2) it feels really cool.

I have been encouraging him to do it just so he knew what it would be like. And, on Saturday, he finally did it.

Before:

Most of the process was done outside where clean up is much easier. 

We went inside to trim around the neck and ears. And here's the final result.

I had no idea what to expect. I was prepared for anything, and it turned out well! No odd bumps or anything and I don't think he looks all that younger. It is a cheap haircut. It is a simple, quick process. And, the best part: Hubs loves it!! 

Sand in my hair, and everywhere else for that matter.

Hubs and I love the North Shore of O'ahu. It is calm and peaceful in the summer months. The water is clear and the ocean floor is soft sand. It was for this reason that we went to the North Shore on our last day in Hawai'i.

Waimea Bay has some of the largest waves in the winter months. We had only seen it calm and peaceful, though. So calm, that we were able to do some rock jumping on our previous trip. Planning to enjoy the crystal clear water, we knew it would be a great way to say "good-bye" to the beautiful island.

When we got there, the waves were like this:

Signs were being posted around the beach alerting us that there was a short shore-break and being in the water was pretty dangerous. People still ventured on in, though, and soon we did too. 

I preferred being out past where the waves were breaking. It was safer and I still got a thrill floating up and down with the rocking of the sea. But, it was getting back to shore that was the hard part. As hard as you swam back, the ocean kept pulling you back further. It took a long time and so we decided to stay closer to the shore where you could dive through the waves as they broke. 

Getting out of the water was hard and when I was finally ready to chill on the beach, I started the process. The under current was very strong and it pulls back all the sand and water it can from the shore to build up behind the wave and then turns over and crashes on the ocean floor like in the picture above. Timing is everything. And, unfortunately, I decided to get out at the wrong time.

I was pulled back with the water and sand and waited a second to long to dive through the building wave. Instead, I was pulled up into the wave and thrown back against the hard sand floor. Head spinning, and back aching, I struggled to try and crawl to get away. I searched for Hubs and it was too late. I was being pulled into another wave and I surrendered to its power, praying that I would not get too disoriented in the toss and that I would not land on my neck. 

Once I could breathe again, I rushed to be free from the punishment. I could feel my hair was everywhere, but I was shaky uncontrollably. I saw Hubs tackling the waves to try and get to me. I was pretty sure I wasn't hurt, just shaken.

As Hubs came up, he evaluated the situation and noticed that not only my hair was a mangled mess, but my swimsuit as well. In fact, the entire beach was getting to witness more of me than I normally would allow. As he adjusted for me, I calmed down and heard the lifeguard come over the loud speaker with an announcement: 

Good morning folks. Welcome to Waimea Bay. As you can see, we have a very short shore break today and so it is pretty dangerous to be in the water, especially for little people. If you have any doubts, please stay out of the water as you could get serious neck and back injuries. And remember folks, this is NOT a nude beach.

Okay, that last part was just in my imagination as I was completely horrified at this point. Sand was everywhere - in my hair, my swimsuit, my ears. I was a disaster and everyone on the beach knew it. 

So, our last day on the beach wasn't the calm, peaceful experience we hoped for. But, it was an experience we both will remember; and one I hope the rest of the beach-goers have forgotten!

Dear Reader

Hello to the blogging world. You can call me Feather. I am very glad you have stopped by.

For the past year 14 months I have been blogging on the random events of our life. Recently, I have been mia and am happy to re-start my blog by providing an introduction to what the feather files are all about.

I am a 25 year old wife of almost three years. I write all of my own posts. After a few weeks of reading other blogs, I knew this was a hobby that I would get hooked on. I communicate better through written words and I have too many thoughts in my head for one person.

Hubs is my best friend and (surprise) my husband of 3 years. He works hard and loves the Lord just as I do. He is more rational than I, and we even each other out in so many ways He will be a vital part of this blog because he is a vital part of my life.

Hubs just graduated from dental school and so we ended one adventure to start a new one, in a new town. We live in the midwest with huge skies, flat prairies and lots of wheat, but at heart I prefer tall trees, rolling hills and cool lakes. 

I can't promise much about what you will find on my blog. It may be funny at times, rarely it will be serious. There will be detailed stories and personal opinions. I can promise you a random selection of topics, pictures, and posts.

Whether you are a family/friend checking to see what is going on in our life or you are a new person just browsing through, I would love to hear from you - from a simple hello to the beginnings of a discussion, please comment!

Welcome to the feather files!

My new computer

is ordered!

And I am so excited.

We ordered a new iMAC and I am so excited for multiple reasons.

A. It is pretty dang cool. The guy at the apple store showed me some of the cool stuff it does and to top it off he told me I could order the extended keyboard for no additional price, which sold it for me. As a former and devote PC user, I was a littler nervous at first. Not only do I love my PC, but I am an anti-mouse user. I navigate mostly with key commands and was very worried about whether my efficiency would decline by switching to a MAC. But, I could not deny how much better a MAC computer is in the long run over a PC and am sure that I am a quick enough learner that I will succeed on a MAC and I will love it! I already do and I don't even have it yet!

B. I will be able to blog again. I have really missed you guys.

C. School is in sight for me and I will be taking my classes online. This computer lets me do that.

D. Antenna TV goes buh-bye in a few days and this will be my one and only connection to news, sports, and weather.

See you soon - next time on my new computer!

I'm in a computer lab.

I'm sitting in a computer lab in the public library. I can't imagine how many germs are on the keyboard and embedded in the cushion of this chair. I am practically holding my breath as I sit here and type. The man two people down from me keeps making loud bodily noises. The woman next to me keeps asking me for help, loudly, so that the rest of the people in the lab turn and stare at us both. But, I just couldn't resist posting and letting you all know that we are officially Kansans.

I still have lots of fun stories to share with you when we get internet at home - including a parking ticket, the caravan, graduation, Hawaii, and our bug situation.

We have new cell phones and a new address. If you need the information, email me. Otherwise, I will hopefully be back to a more regular schedule of blogging next week.