Austin City Limits.

I'm in Austin: the weirdest town in Texas! I made it all by myself (Jeff is still deployed) and I'm having a pretty good time. I spent two days in training with the support team for my new job, and now I'm enjoying my first weekend of nothing for a loooong time. It's excellent.

Last night and today I hung out with Bill, one of Jeff's friends from college who lives here in Austin. Last night, Bill and his girlfriend Stephanie made me a very yummy dinner. Then today I went to Bill's friends' house to watch the NFL draft. I had no idea what was going on most of the time in the draft, but I was VERY excited about the huge brisket one of his friends made. He'd been cooking it since 5AM! Bill's friends are talented cooks: there was homemade barbeque sauce, buttermilk pie, and Bill & Steph's homemade icecream! This pregnant lady ate too much, but I spent 30 minutes on the treadmill afterwards, so I think it cancels out...

Below is a shot of the brisket cutting. We were all standing around like wolves worshiping the meat. It was worth it - so yummy!

Last Day.

Friday was my last day in my old job. The ladies that I work with put together a surprise lunch for me with food from my favorite lunch-place: Covenant Books & Coffee. (If you are a soup connoisseur and you live on Oahu, Covenant is the best!) They also gave me a lei, but instead of being a necklace, it was just a long string of flowers! I learned that pregnant ladies are not supposed to wear a closed lei because it represents the choking of the baby with the umbilical cord. You can see the lei in the picture below:

On Saturday, I had one last event to staff for my old job: a training of breast cancer survivors for one of our programs. The ladies pictured above have worked tirelessly to help put together a wonderful program and training - and I will truly miss working with them. They are just a sweet in person as they look in this picture!

Kokua Festival

This weekend I finally found some time to relax! Our friends Tricia and Morgan invited me to attend the Kokua Festival at the Waikiki Shell. This festival is the brain-child of Jack Johnson who, for the last three years or so, has pulled together great musical acts and environmentally-friendly organizations to raise money and awareness of global sustainability issues, especially those that affect the islands of Hawaii.

In the picture above, you can see a VERY small Eddie Veder of Pearl Jam fame. The first song he did was "Throw Your Arms Around Me" which is one of my all-time favorites. I recommend everyone download it! The picture below is an excellent shot of our friends Tricia and Morgan. They are just so cool.

The next shot is of Jack Johnson's set. His music really does capture the laid-back feel of Hawaii at its best. He was born and raised on the North Shore of Oahu, which is the sight of the famed Banzai Pipeline and many other famous surf spots. Jeff and I love to head up to the North Shore on a weekend to reconnect with the small-town feel of Hawaii.

My recount of the event wouldn't be complete without a shot of the ladies and Jack Johnson. See him? Way over on the left? He's playing a guitar. He's singing us a song. He really likes us.

Fish Hook Momma

Last week, when I checked my voicemail, here's what I heard, "Sarah, [sirens] the email I just sent to you is of your mother with a fishhook in her cheek. [more sirens] I have three treble hooks in my cheek. [even more sirens] and I'm on the way to the hospital. Okay, talk to you later!"

Here's what I heard: Your mother has multiple gashes in her face and is bleeding out and may die. I felt good that she was in an ambulance, but I was trying to make sense of how she was lucid enough to use a cell phone but was still in need of emergency services. I could just see her lying on the bed saying, "Peter, Peter! Hand me my cellphone. I need to take a picture and call Sarah! Oh, I'm going to have to talk on the other ear, but I can still make it work!"

Eventually, I found out that the damage was not as extensive as I had feared, that she had not been in an ambulance when she called (the sirens I heard were purely coincidental), and that she was asleep in bed by the time I called. It wasn't until that day that I was able to see the picture she was referring to. Here it is:

Ouch! I won't go into how this happened to protect the identity of the guilty party, but I will say that this could have been MUCH worse. After a week or so, Momma is doing just fine and will have very little scarring. My favorite part of the whole thing was Jeff's comment when I told him that my momma had a fish hook in her cheek. He thought for a second and said, "That must've been some bait!"

Stomach Gods.

I have angered the stomach gods. After weeks of bliss - and no stomach pain is, I assure you, the closest thing to bliss for me - I am now having stomach pain again. It isn't too bad, just gnawing, but it's there. And it means that I have to stop eating the fun things I've been able to eat for the last few weeks: oranges, coffee, juice, tomatoes, pasta sauce, SALSA!!! Now I'm sad. Butter Bean is sad, too, but it doesn't know it yet. Back to meals of cereal and cheese. Yum!

Having said all that, things are going well. I think the stomach pain is back because I'm super-stressed preparing for my upcoming vacation. I know better than to let myself get this stressed, but I have a very good reason: I GOT PROMOTED! That's right, I'm moving to yet another job, though still within the same company. In fact, I have to move out of my office today, which would be fun except that my new job doesn't have a desk yet, so I just have to take everything home. I think it'll feel more like getting fired than promoted...

The move is a pretty good one, if I do say so myself. I've impressed Jeffrey with my job-hopping abilities, and he is thankful to be able to experience it all vicariously. Speaking of Jeff, he's gone on deployment, and it's one of the locations where he can't communicate at all except for the occasional email. I guess it's best since I have a LOT to get done these days, and I'll be so happy to see him when we reunite back home in Alabama! First I spend a week and a half in Austin training for my new job. I hope Butter Bean doesn't mind all this traveling.

Below is my favorite picture of Jeff these days. He's so hot! I took it one day at the beach when his parents were visiting. I'm too big to surf these days, but I love to see my man out there riding the waves!

Butter Bean's Latest Portrait.

Year of the Golden Pig

About a month ago, Jeff and I got dumped by our obstetrician. After weeks of searching for an obstetrician, we thought we were home free. Then, without warning, we received a letter in the mail informing us that our OB was relocating to the mainland three weeks later! Is that fair? Does anyone over the age of 13 break up with someone in a letter??? The worst part was that I had already made an appointment with her, so I had to call back and reschedule, which is no easy task in the baby factory that is my OB clinic!

Today I met my new OB. He was super laid-back. He said everything looked good. Said the baby's heartbeat sounded good. Said the 10 pounds I've gained in the last 5 weeks were good. Then we moved on to, WAIT! WHAT? 10 POUNDS? 5 WEEKS? Are you kidding me?! I couldn't believe it. I knew that I had a bit more padding than before, but I had no idea that I had gained so much! The weirdest part is that I still don't think I LOOK all that pregnant. When I go to pregnancy yoga, I look like a chubby person in the wrong class.

The good news is that Butter Bean is scheduled to be born in the year of the Golden Pig. For those not familiar with the Chinese zodiac, this year only comes around once every 60 years and is one of the best years in which to have a baby. NPR recently did a story on the unprecedented baby boom China is experiencing this year. People born in this year are said to be extremely lucky and prosperous. I'm glad I celebrated the Chinese New Year appropriately this year!

Larry has left the building.

Our best pet to date, Larry the Lizard, decided a few weeks ago that he'd had enough of our constant nagging and was off to greener pastures. We were a bit melancholy, but we take solace in the fact that Larry is no doubt on vacation in Mexico drinking daiquiris and browning himself on the beach.

In other news, I've become a pot-bellied pig! I thought I was going to look cute as a pregnant lady, but it seems that I just look like a female Michelin man with lots of rolls around my midsection. I had no intention of posting a picture of the belly anytime soon. However, I just received a great shot of our friend Nick at this weekend's Scottish Festival and I can't help but share it, even though I'm in it, too! (Butter Bean is somewhere behind the chub, I promise.)

Our trip to Moloka'i.

For Christmas, I gave Jeff a trip to Molokai with our friends Nick & Denice. Molokai is called the "Friendly Isle" because of its laid back atmosphere. It is a small place with few roads and no stoplights. everyone knows everyone else and people are much nicer than here in the big city of Honolulu.

Before our trip, Jeff, Denice, and I also read the wonderful book Molokai by Alan Brennert. We all loved it and agree that it made out trip to the town of Kalaupapa more interesting. The book chronicles the life of a young girl in the mid 1800s who is sent to the leper colony on the north shore of Molokai when she develops the disease. It's heartbreaking, but an excellent way to learn about a tragic time in US history that was not all that long ago.

The plane ride to Molokai is only about 20 minutes from Oahu. In order to get to Kalaupapa, however, one must navigate the tallest seacliffs in the world! Those who have money simply fly in, but everyone else is stuck with two options: donkeys or their own feet. We chose to hike down because it's good for us, and I'm pretty sure Butter Bean doesn't like riding donkeys. We started from the topside of Molokai at about 8AM and made it to the bottom of the 100+ year old, 3 mile trail at about 9:30. I had heard the trail was a super-scary cliff-hanger, but I thought it wasn't that bad, unless heights are a problem. Most of the trail was wide enough for a donkey, and is very well maintained.

We had to make arrangements ahead of time to visit Kalaupapa. The whole area is maintained by the US National Park Service and is owned now by the residents who live there until they die. Many people chose to stay there, even after a cure was found for leprosy, because they had lived there most of their lives. The tour is owned and operated by a married couple who are residents. The rules of the tour: no pictures of residents (most don't like the tour being there and so don't come out during tour-time) and no wandering away from the tour (the park rangers will slap you with a ticket for being more than twenty feet from the group!).

My favorite part of the day was visiting the beautiful churches in the settlement. They were the most cheery, serene churches I have ever seen. Very much like Latin America, they were filled with bright colors and lots of flowers. This makes sense when you consider that the Catholic church, initially through the priest named Father Damien, was trying to convert a group of people who were understandably bitter with the world. The churches here, all small wooden structures, are full of the hope that religion brings to those who feel they are forgotten by the world.
Father Damien is the most famous non-leper to be associated with the settlement. When he arrived, he ate from the same communal calabash (bowl for Hawaiian food) as the lepers. Over time, his persistence and selfless care for the sick convinced the residents that he truly wanted to help them. His also has a reputation as something of a tyrant, but no one can argue with the assistance he brought to the people stricken with leprosy, even if he was strict in his approach to living. His grave is still a sacred site in the settlement and, as you can see above, is always covered with offerings of thanks.

The small rock above is the place where people with leprosy were "dropped off" from boats bringing them from around the islands. Because the area is normally extremely treacherous (Our guide said the day we visited was the calmest, clearest day he had ever seen.), it was too dangerous to get any closer to the rocky sea cliffs. Until a dock was built many years later, lepers had to swim from the rock in rough seas to the nearest piece of land and then climb the rocks up to flat land. Many of those thrown out of boats didn't make it because of missing digits or limbs; many others died from infected cuts they couldn't feel.

After our tour, we started back up the trail, gaining 1,700 feet in elevation over 2.5 miles. It took us about 2 hours - and I made it 4 months pregnant! We were a little worried about Butter Bean, but we did just fine. The rest of the weekend, we spent lounging around and touring the rest of the island. It was a wonderful trip and I would recommend a visit to anyone who wants to get away from it all!

Hot Dog Party!

Tonight we celebrated Jeff's birthday, which is today, and our friend Tara's birthday, whose birthday is in a few days. Thanks to inspiration from Tara, we hosted a Hot Dog Party, complete with Tara's homemade chili, which was the hit of the party! We had a full hot-dog bar with ketchup, sauerkraut, cheese, onions, celery seeds, tomatoes, mustard, mayo, and more stuff that I can't remember. Afterwards we had ice cream sundaes. Yum! Jeff and Tara were kind enough to allow me to catch these candid shots of them enjoying their hot dog creations! (You'll notice an appropriate photograph hanging behind them of a famous "Lucky Dog" hot dog cart from the New Orleans French Quarter taken by Jackson Hill, our good family friend and extremely talented photgrapher. You can see his work at www.southernlights.com.) HAPPY BIRTHDAY, JEFF & TARA!