VaCaY

uGGgHHH!!!! This Fall can't come quickly enough!!!! I can't wait to see my Nutty sisters and re-up on our bucketlist.......I've missed them so...and I can't believe its already almost August!
All is well on my side of the hood and I can't wait to share my birthday with you both, but first we have to share my sons birthday in California with you both.....

I CANT WAIT!!!! :)

Initial Reaction: When Water Burns by Lani Wendt Young

AAAAAAh! I just finished. You don't know the lengths I've gone to immerse myself in the Telesā universe these past two days. Let's just say I've gone without food, completely ignored several familial attempts for conversation and endured hours on my 4.3" HTC EVO 4G Kindle for Android App. Suffice it to say, I'm grateful to be staring at a 40" monitor. Phew! Okay and on to the meat and potatoes...

It's Midnight! I finally finished the book. Eyes. Eyes. Silent scream. Audible scream. The epilogue really disturbed me, but that's nothing new. Let's just say if Leila even spends half of the next book under Keahi's arm I will not be a happy camper, hear that Lani? lol. Ah, but artistic license; your brain child; what say have I? Nein [I tried to find the word for none, but "no" in German will have to do].

Okay now really, my first reaction...What the heck?! Not again. After I spent all this time waiting to find out who the heck this fire Telesā Keahi was and why in the h-e-double-hockey-sticks he was swapping spit with Leila, now I have to wonder how Keahi might use this development to muss or bless Leila/Pele's life...and is she Pele? Or Leila? Will Leila be able to control Pele if she does, in fact, possess Leila's body? And would it be terrible if Keahi and Leila were to become a couple? But I'm Team Daniel all the way so my answer is an emphatic OH HECK NO. (Actually, all those extra questions are probably my third reaction) 

Second reaction:  YES! I finished it. Enjoi! [Do they really say that?]

Things that had me crazy...

• All Telesā will regret Leila's body being healed?
• I forgot where Keahi was when Leila was trying to free TeUILA from the RPG/RPT? [Whatever it's called] and Daniel was fighting the twins. Hellloooooo? A little help here? And then I remembered he got beat down on the beach...again, haha. 
• I knew Lesina was a Telesā THE WHOLE time and it took Leila 12 hours, in my slow reading, to finally catch up to me. Really girl? The Lord of the Rings fiery eye would've seen that from the beginning.
• Teuila at 13 is no stranger to molestation, violence and substance abuse. Her mother should have been her protection. Fail! This breaks my heart. It's hard to read stuff like that. It takes me back to Lovely Bones and skipping heaps of stuff because I didn't want to live with that trauma floating around in the recesses of my mind.
• I have to say that I am grateful we didn't have to spend as much time on Daniel's amazing physique or Keahi's magic abs, that's something that made me a little loony in the first book. [ Hey! My blog, my rules. I can bring back the crazy from the first installment. ;) ] BTW my Daniel is way beefier and more tan than the model. I'll stick with that one. *eyes closed, sigh* lol
• The "Break". This reminded me of New Moon, and that was my least favorite book of the Twilight Saga. I was really hoping I wouldn't have to wait until the very end of the book for a reconciliation - thanks Lani! Also, props to Daniel for being so forgiving and constant. Leila's headstrong, independent ways sometimes got on my nerves, but oh, if I look into a mirror I'm able to give myself much more leeway, hmmm...
• Salamasina is a long-winded storyteller, or maybe I just read too slow.
• I just wanna hug Keahi and send him to church counseling services. His story was an enthralling opening to a much anticipated book :)
• Mele was spurned again. I really wish she could have a reawakening or something. Leila's I don't hit girls remark was pretty darn funny.

Everything else I liked/loved. 

I am really happy Leila had closure with her Folger family. 

I am glad she didn't have to choose between Daniel and Jason, although Jason's love started in a vial. 

I was happy to see Matile and Tuala in a few sequences and esp glad Lani let Matile stare daggers at Daniel in the hospital; I would expect nothing less.

Yay! There are no more secrets between Daniel and Leila.

Simone is an awesome friend.

Daniel's story and powers are revealed - enjoi! [I hope I don't start using this word.]

Salamasina and Leila come to an understanding.

Sinalei and Maleko are brought back as supporting cast members. Continuity :)

Your name was chosen for a Telesā ... TeUILA

I read Telesā the Covenant Keeper and loved it, then I learned the stories about Teine Sa and felt a little bamboozled. I'm not sure why, esp since I knew I was reading YA fiction. I guess it's because I'm a Samoan who's never stepped foot on the land and I was so wrapped up in the description of the country and culture that I forgot it was fiction. That experience helped me to appreciate this book for what it is:  a wordsmith's work of art. 

I'm also glad I'm not consumed by the book. I was a little too neurotic about the first one. Yay for maintaining a passable form of sanity.

I'd like to dedicate the following quote to my awesome Nutty sisters. Bound together in friendship & love and blessed with faith, we can accomplish all things through Christ Jesus. Okay, but wait, that's not the quote. Here it is...

A woman without her history is a fool.

Lani Wendt Young

I love you guys. Stay awesome!

Update

Where th HECK have I been?? I've literally *blinked* and 3 months have past us by like NO OTHER....I miss you girls like crazy and I hope your having GREAT ADVENTURES without me....lol. *do your list...check it twice*

SooOooOOOooo.....what has really happened in the past months that has kept me from my blogging adventures?

*We've become HOMEOWNERS!!!*

I know...CRAZY........my life has finally began to wind down alittle and even though the house still hasnt unpacked itself, Life is great and I love it.

Work on the other hand...*sucks*....lots of changes, but little by little I'm getting to know my new co-workers. This is where you try and see whether or not you will trust them. I hope that change brings good things......and that it blesses me with patience through it all.

I need a vacation....its April already and I havent gone ANYWHERE...crazy huh!!! I've had so much built up anxiety its not even funny...LOL

I'm sorry my thoughts are so scattered....that's how I am lately......

Help me...I need to go somewhere with a beach, pinacolada, and my nutty krew... :)

Sobering

Visual Bucketlist

First, um, what's up with the new set up here? It's kinda creepy.

Hey girls, click the link. This girl was told she may lose her vision so she made a list of things she wants to see before she can't. Talk about lighting a fire under my posterior =D

I'm back online!!

My laptop died and I haven't had a desirable way to access the Internet. Before that, I have no good excuse for not blogging ;)

Bookit.com <---- a travel website to be avoided at all costs. Because so much of this blog is dedicated to our nutty adventures I thought I might share a tidbit of the grief experienced and the impromptu fun that followed.

Originally we planned to take or nutty mulis to Utah, coincidentally during General Conference. Life happened and Nahdia and I had to back out. Because we were already given the green light to take those days off from work we decided to have a more local getaway.

Day 1: La Montana Magica =) hahah. We drove to Magic Mountain on Friday morning, got our beautiful season passes and trekked through the park...for about 2 hours before we realized we weren't in the mood to deal w/the rude high school, senior ditch day, spring break revelers and 86'd our Plan A. We were excited to get to our hotel b/c we decided to do it big and spend a bit more than we normally would...we were hoping for an Embassy Suites type of joint. While the hotel wasn't as modern as we thought it would be (pictures can be so misleading), it was very comfortable. Grand Vista hotel is nice, but not nice enough to warrant the extra money; lesson learned. If you want to do it big, you can't just spend a bit more. We took our customary vacation nap and charged up for dinner, TGI Fridays style. Have you ever tried the Jack Daniels chicken? It is fantabulous! I love it, can you tell?

Day 2: We met up with some friends in Hollywood and then drove to the Griffith Observatory. The views at night are gorgeous and there is a lot of exercise to be had, lol. Our time was shortlived there and we decided to check in to our next hotel. Did I mention Bookit.com is to be avoided at all costs? I have to mention that we booked our first hotel room on Expedia.com the day before we needed it and things went as scripted. We planned the same outcome for Day 2. We pulled in to the hotel parking lot and went in to check in. The attendant was unable to find our reservation. We gave her the confirmation number and still no cigar. In speaking with the customer service rep at Bookit.com we were told that a cancellation fee was going to be charged because we weren't keeping our reservation. SKOOOZE ME? We were there, ready and willing to accept that reservation, you know, the one that didn't exist as far as the hotel was concerned? The customer service rep said she'd call the hotel and it should be about 35 minutes; really? Thankfully it didn't take 35 minutes and she said something about trying to call the hotel 6 times and no one answered, sure. She told us she was going to waive the cancellation fee (she better!) and she could either find a room at another location or give us a refund. REFUND! Too much was happening not according to plan to leave us uneasy and dispassionate about the rest of the trip.

We decided to call it quits for LA county, but we weren't ready, just yet, to go home. We traipsed through the OC, spent time at Dave and Busters--46,000 coupon Wii! You're as good as ours!! Oh and ladies and gents? Please watch your cards. Nahdia's was stolen right out from under our noses. Please also register for their rewards program. The Spectrum DnB staff was very helpful in replacing the card, with extra credits too! We decided to hit the theater and watch Hunger Games for the second time in 3 days. It's a great movie and a spectacular book. I highly recommend both, multiple times :) After a midnight trip to Walmart and a resounding rendition of heaps of musica latina, we walked into our humble abode. [sigh]

Home Sweet Home

I hope you felt the range of emotions we experienced. We can't wait to do it w/you Uila!

Happy Hunger Games, all day, every day to all of us =)

-the truly nutty one

One of them days...........

Today is one of them days when stress gets the best of me.....when I wish I was near my sisters that understand me....yeah I have sisters, but they arent at my maturity level..........they dont have aspirations yet, they are still finding themselves and trying to overcome their own struggles. I love them regardless, but being the oldest girl has its price...and today is one of them days when I realize the price I have to pay.
Yes, I am blessed to have a man who loves me and listens to all my banters, and my son that just nods and tells me how much he loves me "mucho mucho". But to break it down to you about EVERY female in your life.....we all need people who are trustworthy with the same likes and mostly dislikes of the same sex to go to when you need "girl talk".
*sigh* My mother isnt going to make the cut...lol

I love life and the curve balls that it throws me, but sometimes I just want throw my hands up and give up. Maybe its all the house stress/anxiety I'm feeling..... <--- totally NOT cool..lol Maybe its the increase stress that came with the increase work load AND increase pay <--- only half NOT cool...lol
Sometimes I want to sit on a beach and just let life pass me by.........or better yet.....sit in the temple so I can meditate.
I have spent endless nights praying to my Heavenly Father to bless me with strength to go on....strength to withstand the trials that humanity brings upon each and everyone of us. I guess this is just one of the days that I feel tired...........how did I last this long?

to every season...turn, TURN!

Guess what?! Por fin me toca a mi trabajar por el dia! AAAh, que emocion! That's right, it's finally my turn to have a normal schedule. I consider this one step, among many, toward getting that passive income.