Go big or go home.

Halloween 2011

Popeye and Olive Oyl

The wig came with the dress... I would otherwise not have spent money on this thing.

Sharpie tattoos.

Notice the lip prints

For our ward Halloween party, we went all out. We don't do half-a** in this household. Anyways, Wal Mart only sold the "sexy" Olive Oyl so I had to tone it down with leggings. We were the most dressed up ones at the party and had fun dressing up and putting together our costumes.

As part of my job, we take athletes to specialty doctors, the hospital for surgeries, etc. Since these places are in Honolulu and most people don't have a car, we provide transportation.

Yesterday, I brought a basketball player from Japan to Queens Medical Center in town. His name is Ryo Tanaka and has been living in the United States for almost four years now. Hid first experience of the U.S. was when he was living in the ghetto in California where he went to community college and the gang violence was so high he was not allowed to wear blue or red.

The drive to town is over an hour, and the wait to see the doctor was about an hour. Even though it was a very long trip, it was really cool to hear about customs, traditions, and holidays in Japan.

P.s. I also learned how to say hello, thank you, and my name is Erica in Japanese. He said my accent was really bad but it was okay because I was American.

Contentment.

The past couple weeks months, we have both been running around like chickens with our heads cut off. Just the other day we had a talk about how we both felt like we were just getting through life and not living it. I haven't even been grocery shopping in a full 6 days. Needless to say, our meals have been interesting some nights. When this happens, Jake is usually very good at giving himself a break so he can re-coop, feel better, and then get on with his responsibilities.

I, on the other hand, keep going and going until one night I break down in tears and sobs and snot running down my face and Jake tries to calm me down until I fall asleep.

Last night was different...

During my weekly yoga session, I decided that when I got home, I was going to take a night off of everything. So I picked up dinner, sweet pork salads* and headed home. I forgot about my homework/studying I should have been doing, didn't take the shower that I probably needed and put on my jammies and watched Invictus with Jake.

It was great. I was so content and lazy and it felt great.

*Jake's boss bought him lunch that day and it just happened to also be a sweet pork salad from the same place. Oops!

Ho... ly Toledo

Holy crap.

You guys.

Seriously.

I am taking 17 credits, being a TA, and working 6 days a week.

Currently everything besides those three things listed above have been neglected including some of my homework.

The house was just a jumble of our stuff everywhere (until this morning when I woke up early to clean up).

Tonight is the second time in 7 days I have actually made dinner.

Jake is being neglected.*

My wifely duties are being neglected.

My family is feeling neglected because they call when I can't answer and when I call them back I can only talk for about 10 minutes while I'm walking from one class to another class/work/home/back to school.

I don't remember the last time I went grocery shopping.

I leave the house to be at school at 7 in the morning and get home until sometimes usually after 7 that night...

and my nutrition is being neglected AKA I honestly forget to eat until 10 that night.

So if I don't call you back, text you back, Facebook you back, it's because I am trying to catch up on life.
Please don't be offended.

I am really looking forward to April...**

But today!! Guess what I did...

got caught up on my current homework so tomorrow I only have to prep the mens soccer team for their game! Yippee!

got to leave work 20 minutes early tonight

cleaned the house

and dinner is on the stove.

I feel oh.so.accomplished!

Til next time I find five minutes to catch you all up...

*I don't know how moms go to school! Sometimes when I'm trying to do my homework at home, I really just need Jake to leave. I can't entertain him/answer his usually unimportant questions when I'm trying to concentrate. Please don't suggest the library. I can't watch the freshman flirt so horribly anymore. And I'm not being mean, because Jake said that when he's working he wants me to be gone, also.

** Did I mention that I have applied for graduation and ordered my cap and gown?! I did in fact do a happy dance and the guy that took my application looked at me funny and I didn't even care. It felt a-freaking-mazing.

Dear mom and dad...

I have a feeling you may feel like when trying to work a web cam as well. Enjoy!

Maui Trip Video

Please not the wand stand...

A depressing glimpse into my future.

Fall semester started yesterday.

And I already do NOT know how I am going to survive and it's only the end of day two.

I have get to be at the school by 7 am everyday. It was only going to be Monday - Thursday, but one of my professors thought it might be good to add another hour of class on Friday as well. 

At 7 am.

And I am NOT a morning person. I get cranky, angry, sooo not cute, my eyes are swollen/red/puffy/bloodshot and I hate the world for being up at the time of the morning.

On the upside, I am taking a class called the Care and Prevention of Athletic Injuries! I am actually super stoked. Not only because that is what I want to do after graduation but because I am a student trainer in the athletic room at school.

The past few weeks I have really been questioning career choice.

A couple weeks ago I was taping a bag of ice on a sweaty mans thigh, when a drop of his sweat landed squarely on face.

Me: Oh... my... gosh... You just SWEAT on my FACE.

Soccer player: Oops, sorry... (totally not caring at all!)

Me: Seriously, don't you ever do that again. I'm serious. I won't treat you if you do that again.

Side note. He was supposed to shower between practice and treatment.

Yesterday, a 6 foot 8 basketball player had a blister. I dutifully grabbed a pair of gloves, gauze, and a sterile needle (he specifically asked for a clean one) and popped his blister, then squeezed all the liquid out of it. I set him up in a warm whirl pool with some Betadine and thought I was done.

My co-worker noticed his ridiculously nasty calloused feet and toenails that were so long they curled under his toes, and volunteered me to shave off his callouses and clip his toenails.

I used the callous shaver on his feet for an hour... I timed it. During which we had a lovely conversation on keeping your feet in good health and how he will prevent this from ever happening again, his home country (Holland) and the five languages he spoke. He joked about paying me when I was done and was also asked by some of his other teammates if I would give them a pedicure, too. It was great.

As I was clipping his toenails he asked me "what do you want to do with your major when you graduate?" Then it hit me and I told him "be an athletic trainer... so this." 

Ew.

I finally finished and Jasper, the player, pulled out his wallet and handed me a 20 dollar bill. I of course rejected his generosity, even though I totally deserved it. He owes me cookies instead.

Today another soccer player came in who had warts all over his arm. He got his arm caught (somewhere, still not sure) and pulled off part of his warts. We were lucky enough to pull them off the rest.

And I chose this...? There better be a cool concussion or broken ankle on Saturday while I work the soccer game, because those are so much more fun!