flowing emotions

Just standing in the shower can get therapeutic, no?  Especially when its cold out, all I want to do is take a hot-as-I-can-take-it shower.

It's a good place to sing, a good place to cry, a good place to pray, a good place to  talk to yourself ... yea I do that.

And usually, almost as soon as I begin to enjoy the hot water coming down on me, I watch the water go down the drain and begin to think of those that can't do what I do.  The people that go to the river to get their water in order to bathe, to drink, to wash their clothes, to cook with, etc.  Which let me tell you, doesn't help the emotional side of things.

just sayin'

tsunami

this is my first year in Hawaii.  before we moved here, we kind of laughed at the thought of a tsunami.  I think for me, it fit into that category of only happening to a friend of a friend, you know?  not me.


with Japan's 8.9 earthquake yesterday, a tsunami warning was issued for Guam, Hawaii, and Thailand right away.  I heard about it right after I put the kids to bed around 9ish, then got online to read the latest.


our local news, they kept showing scenes from Japan and the tsunami waves that have already hit.  scary, to say the least.  they were honest about it, explaining the who/what/where/when/how's of tsunami waves and knowing what was happening in Japan could very well happen in Hawaii.


they showed street cameras of the traffic; it was bumper to bumper, especially downtown Honolulu.  the grocery store lines were loooooooong.  the shelves of water and canned goods were empty.  the locals seemed to be stocking up, preparing for the worst ... while of course everyone was hoping for the best.

some areas did get evacuated, the areas that are closest to sea level.  the goal of course is to get to higher ground, but still, ITS AN ISLAND.  there is only so far you can go.  I couldn't help but get scenes of Deep Impact in my mind.  remember THAT wave?!  the mountains here do go pretty high, its just a matter of getting there.


we live about 2 miles from shore, uphill, in a valley.  we are also on the second floor of a condo building; we were pretty confident we'd be ok here.  in case the power were to go out, we filled everything in our house with water that we could ... and after we heard about some fighting in the street, hubby loaded his gun.  just in case.


it was estimated that IF there were to be tsunami waves in Hawaii, the 1st one would arrive at 3am.  you think I slept?!  I did fall asleep, but then did one of those instant, dramatic jumps out of bed in 1/2 a second things.  it was one of those funny, but not-so-funny moments.  I watched the news from 3-4am ... with reports of basically nothing.  SAY WHAT?!
since last night, there have been reports of some flooding (from 2ft waves) and very minor damage.


so it was a big freak out for nothing.  it doesn't make sense to me, but somehow Hawaii was spared.  I know Kuai'i got much more flooding than Oahu did, still, no lives taken, no lost homes or businesses.  thank God.


so that's my story.  I survived the tsunami ... can I get a t-shirt?


not to make light of the tragedy of course.  my heart breaks for Japan.
have you ever been in an earthquake?  I have, but no more than 20 seconds or so.  its a freaky experience.  in Japan, that 8.9 lasted 5 whole minutes!
I'm sure people will begin (if not already) to organize supplies to send over.  if you'd like to help, I would suggest starting with your local Red Cross.


count your blessings ... and I guess lets all disregard my last post.  can I please wash some dishes now?

this kind of drinking is good

WATER: something all living things need to survive.  it seems to me, we need it just as much as oxygen. 


water comes to us in our food and other drinks, which seem to have become the substitute for many of us.  me included.  it wasn't until I was living at 9,000 feet last year, where the oxygen was lacking and everything was soooooooo dry.  my hair, my skin, not to mention all the static electricity in the house.  ouch!  as much as I loved living in the mountains of Colorado, I won't be going back to 9,000 feet.  ever. 


funny to think we're made up of mostly water ... but it makes sense that we need to always be adding to it and replacing it.  even the oceans are added to.  (God's design is always amazing to me)


I started getting headaches, and it took me awhile to figure out what it was.  I was dehydrated.  for me, once I get a headache from lack of water, drinking a whole bunch at once doesn't fix it.  its like a migraine, and yes, I need water, but I also need an medication, a dark room, and quiet ... having kids, the quiet part doesn't usually happen.


I don't remember having to drink water as a kid.  I wasn't "raised" on it ... if that makes sense.  I can go through an entire meal without a drink.  occasionally, I will even come home from walking and still wait awhile to take a drink.
its funny, because I like water.  I'm not hooked on soda or coffee.  if I have juice, I always drink it 1/2 juice, 1/2 water; its just too sweet otherwise.  


I've been told if you're thirsty, you're already dehydrated.  well, great.


Sam also got dehydrated when we were in Colorado.  and sometimes, when something happens to your kids, THAT'S when you change things.   having a headache is no fun, and when you see your 5 year old suffer from one, is more like heartbreaking.  so water water water for everyone.  all the time.  well, as much as we can stand it anyway.


so with our "water issues," I have turned to CAMELBAK for my solution.  one word: awesome!


I have a big bottle that holds 32oz.  my goal is to drink at least 1 of those per day.  at least.  the kids' bottle is 16oz.  I did have 2 bottles, but they would just want what the other had, so instead, I fill the 1 a couple times per day.  seems to work out better that way.


they are on the expensive side.  a water bottle for $20?!  c'mon!  HOWEVER ...
1. I get no backwash from my kids.  I can share without the worry of  floaties surprising me later on.  don't you HATE that?!  so gross.
2. its all BPA-free. yay!
3. think green.  stop buying bottles and reuse what you have.
4. you can buy new mouthpieces when needed - say you have a toddler that's teething and you keep finding him just chewing on it ... ugh, Elliott!
5. no spills.  you know how every single baby/toddler cup claims to be spill free ... and you spend too much money to find out none of them are 100%?  well, I can't lie.  I've had a few drops when it got tossed on the floor, but nothing compared to those stupid cups.  I only wish I made this discovery years ago!  for me, its been revolutionary.


I was lucky enough to find the 2 I have at the thrift store.  yahoo!  I paid less than $10 for both.  and because of #4, its ok.  or at least, because of #4, I'm not at all grossed out by buying used water bottles.  would you buy these used?


I did pay full pop for the backpaks.  I got 1 adult size, and 1 child size.  they are perfect for our hikes.

for whatever reason, once these things are in their mouth, they drink and drink and drink and drink.  the biting, sucking, swallowing is enough action for them to be interested ... I don't know, that's my guess anyway.  but whatever the reason, they drink more water because of this bottle.  I'm convinced.


for me, this is one of those things I want to instill in my kids on purpose.  drink more water!!  how do you get your kids to do it?