I wish I didn't have to wait until April for Glee

This sentence is about as exciting as the majority of my time at work right now.

Since the IRS has officially started accepting returns, business will continue to pick up which will help the days go by faster. I've only been full time for 2 weeks but I've already found myself singing "everybody's working for the weekend" by Tuesday afternoon. I've noticed that I'm getting paler and fatter (I don't think I'm fat) from sitting all day every day. I even worked out a few times this week after the kiddies went to bed. Marlene has been a good coach.

Another good thing about my temporary roomie (there are many good things about her) is she surfs. So last Sunday we had a little "church-n-surf" sesh and I caught a wave or two on my own but Waikiki wasn't really helping much. So we just walked around Diamond Head and chatted. Tomorrow we're doing the same thing but going somewhere else where she said it should be better conditions for me. I'm pumped. Next goal: get up way early to go surf then be at work by 9am. Then I will be even more of an island girl.

Speaking of which, once I reach such goal, I've dubbed a term for myself over here...an "island belle." A combination of island girl and southern belle. Get it? Clever? No? lalalala I can't hear you. I think it is appropriate because I plan to regain my tan from September after Elisabeth left and learn to confidently surf solo while not abandoning my pearls, croakies, sperrys, and bows around the waste. Not to mention that out here apparently I have an accent. I tried to tell a few people I was a local haole (white person) but they all called my bluff.

In other news, to wrap up, Chris and Carrie are in Atlanta with Mykah and Jackson (their new kiddies!) and we are picking them up Monday afternoon here in Honolulu where the entire and complete Elliott family will be together for the first time. There will be pictures. There will be waterfalls from all of our eyeholes. Waterfalls of joy and love. It will be a beautiful thing.

Then I pick up Megan on Wednesday. She has been missed.

Some goodies: First, my mini-me. I was playing with Gracen and hear "I'm Kayleigh! I'm Kayleigh!" and turn to see this sassy thing:

Meet Stella.

I'll be sure to dress this up with photos once Megan and I aren't on the internet at the same time. For some reason the connection goes iffy when we are both using it.  I keep telling her to date a nerd so he can explain fix these things.

I spent two weeks on the mainland (that's the contiguous 48 states for those of you not familiar with island language/references). In those two weeks I got to hang out with my 2 friends still left in Lynchburg (there were some moments of regret in convincing Megan to move to Hawaii with me seeing as that was one less person to pass time with in Lynchburg). I even agreed to workout at the YMCA with Spike Hamilton twice within 15 hours of each other. Why I even agreed to workout at 8am one morning in the first place is beyond me, but for me to agree to go to a "muscle grip" class the evening before as well?! Something must've been slipped into all of the cheese toast I ate since my mom no longer keeps the kitchen stocked and what we do have in there my dad monitors to make sure there is enough to cook the dogs breakfast. 

I may be the oldest--but no contest that they are the favorites. I also was able to take lots of naps with sweet baby Stella, eat lots of food with extended family on both sides, and cook eat dinner with my family in Columbia. Oh, and I did I mention I got to see my Gamecocks dominate Clemsux's Tigers? So fun. I got my ticket from a Clemsux fan for under face value so I felt like I won twice that day.

As I mentioned earlier, on Friday, November 20th, sweet baby Stella Carter Dean was born around 2:30am! 

A freaking 22in, 9.5-pounder, at that. To put it in perspective I have come up with this simple to type illustration:

I (this represents Maggie...a stick) gave birth to this: O (representing a big baby with the cutest, softest, chubbiest cheeks you've ever seen)

I know your mind is blown. I spent as much quality time with my new niece as I could while in town. We cuddled and took naps together often. She is an incredible sleeper--I know she gets it from me, and I keep telling Maggie "you're welcome" and even though she doesn't really show her appreciation, I know she secretly thanks me often...it was Thanksgiving, after all.

After Thanksgiving happenings (which included killing my cousin Michelle in the game "Aggravation" which is an older version of "Sorry") I traveled down to my old stompin' grounds, South Carolina. It was so good to be back. I was able to see many people I wanted to see, and even a few I didn't. (I wonder how many people who actually read this just got paranoid. Don't worry, I was only mostly joking). Anyway, at a family dinner (minus Pat and Brittany, who were missed) everyone loved their souvenir neon splatter-painted tourist t-shirts (I got a killer deal at the International Market), see?

Even though it was just a few hours, it was still nice just having most of us in the same room again. With people getting married, going on adventures, getting new jobs, etc (basically growing up) definitely presents its new challenges to keeping a group of close friends together.

Coming back to Hawaii, I had to jump right in to the chaos that took off right after I left for VA. Carrie is in Africa adopting the two children I mentioned in my previous post (carrieelliott.blogspot.com to read more about that) and Chris had to go to Texas for a couple of weeks because The Man (Army) said so. So it's me, Megan, and grandma (Pam...I keep thinking "Pammy cakes" from The Office) until the 14th. There are ups and downs, but we're all pulling together and making it through. My first morning back I was working on schoolwork with Colin. I was still exhausted from a full day of flying and not much sleep because of jetlag, so I had dark circles under my eyes and I put my head down for a second. Megan is sitting at the table too:

Colin: Kayleigh's like a dead rat
Kayleigh: do your math
Colin: dead rats don't talk

all I could think was "touche." This kid has so many one-liners, it is hard to keep a straight face. He so serious when he says anything and so you can't laugh at him or he calls you out/gets upset about it. Later that day for science I had to read to him about fish and their mating process. I'm pretty sure the author of the book just took a super awkward birds-and-bees talk one would give to a child and changed it to apply to fish. Whatev. We made it through and I stayed very mature about the entire thing, laughing only on the inside.

this past Monday, Megan and I met up with Heather and Andrew at 4:30am to head to the north shore for some ridiculous 40-50 ft waves. "The Eddie" is a surf contest that only happens when specific conditions are met and it hasn't happened since 2004. Thousands of people were at Waimea Bay waiting for the call, but even though they were set up it didn't happen yesterday. Pro surfers (and others) still went out so we got to watch them for a few hours. You don't realize exactly how big the waves are until you see people on them. The contest actually happened today and since we couldn't physically be there with 30,000 of our closest friends on the island, we watched it pretty much all day live on tv. It is quickly mesmerizing. So cool that I was able to go see the waves, but now I'm pumped to go watch a north shore contest live as Pipeline Masters (the contest Blue Crush is about) is getting started.

Alrighty, so that catches you up in a nutshell. I hear about and see pictures of the snow/ice everyone is getting and I am glad I got out just in time. I saw a few flurries when I was in Blacksburg over Thanksgiving and that was enough of a white christmas for me. I'm all about the "Mele Kalikimaka" now. Speaking of Christmas right quick, FYI: apparently "dressing festively" for a Christmas party is some unwritten Hawaiian lingo for "wear regular street clothes." I got my Christmas Party 2K9 outfit spending a total of $3 at Goodwill and nobody else dressed up. Oh well, I don't regret my sequined skirt, poinsettia vest, and shiny red half-jacket. You never know when those will come in handy. Also for the Dirty Santa, I ended up with the book "What to Do Until Love Finds You: Getting Ready for Mr Right" please tell me you are laughing at that as much as I am. I tried to read it to 5-yr old Kelia but she seemed to have no interest despite my plea that it is never too early to start getting ready for Mr Right.

Until next time, Mahalo for reading and Aloha.

Reality finally slaps me in the face...in a good way

A lot has happened in the past few weeks. I had allowed myself to be ignorant to the reality of the lost and brokenness out here. A couple of weekends ago I went on the YL leadership weekend on the north shore. I wanted to not only be around people my age, but also learn about YL out here and what it looks like, how it is structured, etc. To say things are different would be an understatement. A high schooler's basic need is the same: to feel loved and accepted, however the daily reality and struggles that kids face in their journey to find acceptance are very different from what I'm used to in the south. When I would think about someone growing up in Hawaii, my naive self would immediately think "like omg, how awesome would that be? Surrounded by beaches, summer weather year round...rough life." Well for many of the local kids it is pretty rough. I took for granted the parental involvement we have in Cola YL and even at times wondered why more people didn't step up. On Oahu, many of the parents are addicted to drugs, etc and have already checked out. There are high school kids who have grown up on the island their entire life yet have never seen the ocean. After school for many kids it is then about what gang you are a part of (who has your back) and protecting your "territory" (various parks, neighborhoods, etc). My heart just broke and I yearn for these kids to know the perfect love of a perfect Father. There was no doubt that God wanted me to be involved in YL out here, but I didn't feel as though it was by taking on a role of a leader again--at least not at this time. From the wisdom of Carrie (I'll try not to go on again about how awesome the Elliotts are, but they are in the process of adopting 2 boys from Africa, check out www.carrieelliott.blogspot.com to read some more about their journey and adoption in general) I am now volunteering administratively to help the area director, since he is the only staff person for the island and it is a lot for him and his wonderful wife to do. Right now the big thing is the main fundraiser for the year--the banquet. As mentioned earlier, parental involvement isn't as "easy" to recruit as back home, and YL is starting to try and build a name for itself in the community. Please pray for the YL Oahu Banquet on Thursday, Oct. 22. Pray for not only that money will be raised, but also for potential committee members, and other interest in involvement from adults in the community.

In other news, I finally bought Julia. Julia is a 1999 Land Rover Discovery II. She needs some TLC, but she is wonderful. We're going to pick up Megan from the airport in a couple of hours--Jules is real pumped, mainly because right now she just loves driving around as we get to know each other.

I gave surfing another shot. I was almost stuck with the board that dominated me before, but I asked for another one. I'll get a chance to even the score with my arch enemy of surfboards, but I needed to build up some confidence beforehand. I can get up and ride the waves, so now the next step is being able to read the waves and catch one without any help. There are two girls, Heather and Christine, who go out almost weekly by where I live so I'll get some more practice. I think there are pictures of me somewhere, I'll just have to find out where.

Booked my flight to come home to welcome my niece, Stella Carter Dean into this world before Thanksgiving. I'll be in Cola Nov. 27-Dec. 1. Feel free to find me a free ticket to the Carolina/Clemson game.

Okay, time to finishing cleaning up/organizing so Megan has somewhere to put her stuff! Be on the lookout for an update from her soon!

Aloha, ya'll!

I know this is long overdue, so buckle up kids it will probs be a long one--but hopefully it won't seem as long as having to watch "Hotel for Dogs" followed by "The World's Biggest Teaparty: My Little Pony LIVE" (on DVD) just to catch the last 30 minutes of Top Gun, get tired, and go to bed. I'll get better about this.


I feel like I've run a mental marathon since my last post since I've been going nonstop. Considering I can't even physically run a 5k much less down the street, I'm quite worn out. But oh what a time it has been, filled with plenty of new adventures, mai tai's, sand, and food. I had my first visitor from the mainland, Elisabeth Pawula (pronounced like "koala" with a "p" since I know you didn't figure it out on your own). We stayed on Waikiki for the first few nights, all of which I spent sick and sleeping. Luckily we were downtown so she could walk around and entertain herself while I slept on and off through NCIS marathons. Just to list some of the touristy things we did: aquarium, climbing Diamond Head (not a rigorous climb by any means, just lots of steps), dinner cruise, Pearl Harbor, North Shore (Turtle Bay, Polynesian Culture Center, Hale'iwa, Dole Plantation), Kailua, luau, SKYDIVING, island-hopping to Kaua'i, ziplining, etc.


My tandem master was Ed White. A man I hardly knew, yet trusted enough to jump out of a plane at 14,000 ft. I was nervous/excited driving to the place (which I think LOST was being filmed down the road...they keep the Oceanic 815 wreckage and some other props at/near the airfield we went to) but the nerves actually lessened as it got closer. I kept reminding myself that at no point will I feel "ready" to jump out of a plane like that, but you gotta go big or go home, ya know? Anyways, it was incredible, and perhaps a bit habit-forming. I'm definitely going to jump again and the north shore is one of the top places in the world to do it. Basically if you come visit--you're skydiving. Get pumped and don't dwell on the 8-pg waiver you sign that repeats in bold letters that you may die and agree to not sue anyone in the world if anything at all goes wrong. I'm not exaggerating this at all. It does make you think again before signing, but I just decided that if it's my time--it's my time. Not to mention it would probs be one of the more exciting ways to die. I hope dad isn't reading this. That's why I don't tell him about these things until after the fact.


Pearl Harbor is of course a must-see for anyone visiting Hawai'i. You grow up learning about it, but just like visiting Ground Zero, or the D-day memorial, or any other memorial of this sort, it just invokes a different sense of what has happened and what people lived through. Standing at the USS Arizona memorial and looking over the mountains where the Japanese came in, you try to imagine it. People went to bed Dec. 6, expecting to wake up Dec. 7 to yet another ordinary day. We also toured the USS Missouri (Big Mo) which you can get lost in very easily. So neat, though.


We were hungry after Pearl Harbor so I look up nearby food in Tim, my trusty TomTom. Tim knows me so well because lo and behold, in black block letters there it was: Dixie Grill. I know Tim has preloaded maps, but I feel confident that it was the smell of barbeque that helped him to lead us to dinner. The place definite emphasized the redneck aspect of the south but I loved every minute there. The only thing missing was some Maurices sauce. I'm sure I'll be eating there again soon enough.


Don't worry, I won't continue in this much detail about the rest of our adventures. Just know it was all so fun and come visit so you can check it out for yourself. Now, for some of the questions I've been getting:


No, I'm not a professional surfer...yet. I actually haven't been but once (twice, actually. The second time they gave me a board and sent me out alone, long story short--I got knocked in the head by the board (this was not a dramatic instance) and the leash ripped off my ankle. When I came up, I couldn't see the board anywhere, then I looked to shore. Where it had taken me 10 minutes to paddle out there (it's a workout), my board managed to make it back to shore in about 10 seconds...needless to say, I don't really count this experience). I've been doing a lot of babysitting this month for the Elliotts to help them out during a busy time. Good thing it doesn't get cold here, so it's not like I'm running out of time. Next month is when the north shore starts to get bigger swells from Pacific storms and Nov-Dec are three big surf contests that make up the Triple Crown of Surfing. So pumped about checking those out. There's also this other Quicksilver Invitational that has a 3 months window, but only actually happens when the conditions are perfect. (Forecasted 20-ft swells which usually meants 30-40 ft waves). If the forecast meets the conditions, they announce that it'll happen and those invited have 12 hours to register, and people just flock there. The last one was in 2004 I think. Let's keep our fingers crossed 2009/2010!


The Elliotts are still wonderful. I'm just glad that I can serve Chris and Carrie in a small way by helping them when they have busy work schedules since they are doing so much for me. The kids are fun and make me laugh everyday. I will say, however, that if you're getting the baby itch just come watch these (or any younger) kids for a bit. It'll cure you. They keep you busy and I get worn out even after one day--Carrie is supermom. When they are pushing my limits I just think of how glad my mom and dad must be that my sister, brother and I were all such perfect angels from birth. You're welcome.


I also haven't been to the beach as much since I've been babysitting, but it's always nice to know it's right there and not going anywhere. As with surfing, after this month things will slow down considerably so I'll be able to catch up and maintain my tan. Oct. 7 Megan gets here so we'll go to the beach a lot so I can feel good about myself since she's pale and freckly....but we'll change that even if it means we have to spend every stinking day on the sand. Clearly I have my priorities in check.


Still checking out some churches. There is one I'm going to on the other side of the island in Kailua next weekend (this weekend I'm going on the YL staff/leader retreat on the north shore to check out YL here). The way Carrie describes it sounds like what I'm looking for so I'm excited to go and see for myself.


One thing that has been really weird to get used to seeing is liquor available for sale on any target, walmart, or grocery store shelf just there for the taking like it's OJ or something. I'm used to the stuff being on lockdown so it always just kind of throws me off. From a marketing standpoint, I can see the strategic placement of this shelf at Target. Last Friday night I was at target agonizing over what kind of toothbrush would best suit my needs (4 out of 5 dentists recommend a lot...it can get intimidating). I realize I never ate dinner and didn't know what was in the house so I wandered to the frozen dinner aisle which they now label "Meals for One." Ultimately, I'm okay that I spent part of my evening reading the backs of toothbrushes and body washes to find which will be the best exfoliant, but I can see how this could be a stab to the bitterly single woman. If you walk one aisle over, you find ice cream--a good the best comfort food. This would be enough for me, and because I'll take a pint of Ben and Jerry's over a lean cuisine anyway, I picked up some. However, for the not as strong willed, one more aisle over and you have shelves full of liquor if that's how you deal with things.


Once again, I've posted some pictures on facebook. I tried to upload some on here but it takes so freaking long and never puts them where I want them. It's too much sitting and waiting and extra work. If you aren't on facebook and want to see some, shoot me an email kayleighahudson@gmail.com