Surfing Pipeline

So- I surfed the Bonzai Pipeline on Friday....okay, so that's an extreme exaggeration of what really happened.

I signed up for a paddleboard excursion on the North Shore. There were 6 of us total and 2 instructor/guides. We put in the boards on Sunset Beach and then paddled 4 miles to Three Tables. We went through many famous surfing areas. However, its summer time so its flat out. There were little swells and since I rode on these little swells and didn't fall off my board....I count that as baby surfing...maybe.

It was fun. It took a couple hours. I would paddle along until my legs were shaking or the wind picked up and then I would sit on my board and paddle that way. But I only fell off once, and that was because the instructor collided with me. It takes a lot of balance to be on the boards, so I was really sore that night and the next day. My arms especially from all the paddling. I was grateful that I only had a couple extractions on Sat.

Today (Sunday), we went to the lagoon and layed out. I've got a good book, Sarah's Key. And it was nice and breezy.

We've also been enjoying our new board game, Redneck life. Its a take off on the game "Life". The winner is the person with the most teeth at the end of the game. You get married, divorced, and get into all kinds of trouble. Last time we played, I lost, with only 4 teeth remaining. I also ended up with 7 kids.

We are working on our China plans too. We hope to book our flights this week. This is really exciting. We are planning a 2 week trip. Also, I got invited to the Interdent (work) convention in Vegas this Jan. My airfare and hotel would be covered, so if Brian came we would just have to cover his airfare. We've never been to Vegas, so we are thinking it may be fun. We're not gamblers, but I really want to see Cirque du soleil.

Hope all is well!

Too much excitement

I wish I was telling you about some awesome things that we did or saw this weekend....but instead.....Someone broke into my bank account or has my debit card number and emptied out my checking account. The person bought several plane tickets. I had to block my card, cancel my card, fill out a police report at the police station, go to the bank. And it's going to take 10 to 90 days to get my money back. Luckily, Brian talked me into getting a separate online savings account that I have money squirreled away in. But, it is annoying and now I'm checking my account all the time...several times a day.

I have 4 different student loans plus my cell phone automatically deducting from my account. I am lucky I caught it and am able to get money in my account before my student loan transfers. If I have a late payment, it ruins my chance of getting a 0.25% reduction in rate after 36 months of payments (this adds up to big bucks).

We'll see how long it is before I get my money back...

New work schedule

Work has been very slow....very slow the past couple weeks. However, for when work improves...I was offered a new schedule for when Dr. Pelagio retires in November. Brian's schedule changed to Tues-Sat this month. This schedule is to stay the same until this Jan. At that time, it may stay the same or change back to Fri/Sun off. I have been trying to figure out what to do. I received a great offer! I will now work Tues-Sat starting in Nov. I will have two days off in a row (Sun/Mon). I will work on Sat's in Makakilo instead of Pearlridge. This is great...its a lot closer. I will be only 4 miles from work. Plus the Makakilo office is really great...newer, patients with good insurance and money. I will be the only Dr there and I will have 2 assistants so I can get lots of work done (Sat is only 8am-2pm). I will work Tues-Fri in Waianae. This means less driving in traffic! They are hiring another Dr. to work on Mon and Fri in the office which means that I can flip my schedule to Fri/Sun off if Brian's schedule goes back to that. Basically I will have a flexible schedule as long as I give 30 days notice of having either Fri or Mon off. I am very excited about these changes.

Beach Nerds

Brian and I worked Tues thru Sat this week and both had Sun/Mon off. Slight change in our schedules. Our schedules are going to be shifting a bit over the next couple months until I decide if I'm going to permanently change my schedule to Tues-Sat when Dr. Pelagio retires. The advantage would be that I work 2 more days a month and match Brian's schedule. The disadvantage is that I get little vacation time, and won't have as much flexibility for when people visit or I want vacation.

We went to the beach on Sun and today (Mon). We walked to our current favorite lagoon..number 2. Sun it was very windy and we were all bundled up. I couldn't snorkle much because the water was really choppy and my ears were hurting from getting pounded with water and getting water in them. So I convinced Brian to go again today..hahaha. We went from about noon to 3:30. Sounds like not long, but when you live here and have other things going on (laundry, dishes, bills) we don't usually spend a full day at the beach. Plus, the sun is very strong here. I got some better snorkeling in today. Saw a turtle, a school needlefish (about 20 of them), lots of bonefish, parrotfish, groupers, and various other tropical fish. Also, found these cute little baby fish all swimming at the rope line (the rope lets you know where not to swim past due to the current). They were the size of my fingernail. I never swim past the rope. Only tourists are that dumb.

Then we came home to watch some exciting DVDs on Veneers. We watched about 2 hours of veneer movies. It was nice to watch it together because we could discuss it. Sounds exciting, eh?! I have another veneer case tomorrow in addition the one I mentioned before. One of our staff members broke one off and now we are going to replace them both. Like I said before, I'm exciting to start getting into something different that extractions, dentures, and fills.

I've been continuing my Hawaiian quilting. I finished my Breadfruit pillow a couple weeks ago (took me 4 months). I am almost done with one with coral and yellow fish. I'm then going to make one for Dr Pelagio's retirement gift. I may also branch into totes as I've analyzed my tote that I purchased at the swap meet. At first I thought it would take me too long, but now, I'm faster. And...what's the rush? Quilting is meant to keep me busy so I'm not shopping online. And you can only have so many pillows in the house. Although, I don't keep a lot of my work. I only have three here that I'm planning on keeping.

Off to my haircut....shame on me...I've been growing it since the first week of May. But the new shampoo that Katelyn gave me is so good that I didn't need a trim.