Disclaimer: Please refrain from reading the following blog if you are sensitive to discussing bodily functions, if you have eaten anytime in the last 2 hours or if you had the notion that I was above discussing my own bodily functions. If you fall under any of the above noted categories, you should refrain from reading the rest of this blog entry. Hence forth, you have been forewarned.
Hawaii, the 50th state, is most often called the "aloha" state, meaning the state that shares love freely. This last Tuesday I had the opportunity in the bathroom stall of a Ross Dress for Less store to witness Hawaii's spirit of "aloha" first hand.
Earlier in the day, Mark and I decided to eat at a restaurant that we had never been to before. (This restaurant shall remain nameless, because it is quite a popular restaurant and I wouldn't want to sway any readers from eating at this restaurant.) The food tasted excellent and I whole heartedly devoured my dish. We left the restaurant and ran a few errands which ended up taking 4 or 5 hours. As we were finishing our errands Mark and I stopped at a shopping center that had a Ross Dress for Less. Mark needed to find another pair of nice dress pants for work, so he went into the Ross while I went next door to Pier 1 (a fabulous store to buy home decor). Within minutes of entering the Pier 1, I found the cutest set of designer decor pillows, and my stomach felt like it was erupting within. All of a sudden I felt light headed and an intense clenching in my stomach and intestinal track. As small beads of perspiration formed on my head and nick, I quickly dropped the pillows of at the register, mumbling to the cashier that she would have to hold the pillows for me, and I exited the store. I ran/clenched/ran to the bathrooms at the back of the Ross and entered into one of two stalls in the small bathroom. I sat down and found immediate relief...at least from that end. It seems I was in the throws of food poisoning! As I sat haunched over the toilet in the restroom, I glanced down and noticed that toilet paper was strewn all over the floor of the restroom, but no toilet paper hung in the dispenser! "Great, there is no toilet paper," I muttered as I scanned the restroom floor inspecting the toilet paper on the ground...I was going to have to be resourceful!
Then in the other stall of the small, two-stall restroom, I heard the distinct accent of an older Filipino woman. "Eh you, you got da diarrhea o' wat?" I couldn't believe my ears, was she asking me about my bodily projections? "Um, yes," I timidly returned. "You no sound so good. I got da paper. You need?" She continued. "Yes, thank you." was all I could say, thinking our conversation was over when she handed me a wad of toilet paper under the stall wall. But to my surprise and amusement, she continued. "I tink you need more." Apparently she was listening to me...She passed another large wad of toilet paper. "I got the diarrhea too. I ate da Saimin and I no feel so good too. Wat You eat?" Well, I could see at this point a conversation was going to ensue, so I, thankful for the shared toilet paper, engaged in the Restroom spirit of Aloha. We talked about what we ate, her recent gal bladder surgery, my 2nd and 3rd rounds, and 10 minutes later when it was all over, I found that I had made a new, old Filipino friend.
May the spirit of Aloha be with you too!
Thursday, March 29, 2007
Hawaii--giving more meaning to the "aloha" state
Universal Truths by i'm erin. 17 SPLURTS
HOT TOPICS awkward moments
Saturday, March 24, 2007
Cake CAKE and more Cake!!!
Universal Truths by i'm erin. 8 SPLURTS
Thursday, March 22, 2007
George is 6!!!
Universal Truths by i'm erin. 6 SPLURTS
Sunday, March 18, 2007
You cant have your Cake and eat it too...
Universal Truths by i'm erin. 8 SPLURTS
Saturday, March 10, 2007
The Ocho!
Universal Truths by i'm erin. 8 SPLURTS
Sunday, March 04, 2007
Goal Accomplished: Biathalon!
My friend and I nursing our babies before the run.
My cheering squad.
Finishing the race with jelly legs.
Erin Summerill: biathalete!
It seems like with the start of each new year, I am very gung ho on setting goals by talking about them, writing them down and dreaming of finishing them; consequently, most years end with 1/2 or more of my goals having been forgotten and never addressed again. At the end of each year, I feel discouraged with my attitude and preformance of such said goals and I inevitably vow to do better. Listening to my inner voice, I mull over my unaccomplished goals by sheepishly saying, "I gave it a good try." One of my favorite sayings that I use and have since learning it in high school is, "There is no try, you either do it or you dont". And it appears that most years, against the direction of my own advice, I justify my behavior by saying, "I gave it a good try," instead of delivering a blow to my self esteem by admitting, "I did not do it, I did not accomplish my goals."
Since having Theodore, my third son, and witnessing many changes and and the exciting accomplishments of my friends and family, my desire to acctually accomplish my goals has burned brighter. With Divine guidence (a whole lot of prayer) and by daily addressing my goals with my best friend and support (my husband Mark) I have been able to stay focused and continue moving forward in my persuit to accomplish many things.
Yesterday, and (I mean this when I write it) only by the had of God, I accomplished one of my goals for this year!!! I competed in my first BIATHALON! The biathalon was held at Ft. Derussy in Waikiki, HI. The course was a sprint distance and about 600 people of all ages competed. Because I have been running almost every morning, I found that the run was quite easy to finish and I was pleased with myself when I was able to pass about 2/3rds of the women runners. To my dismay, I was not so confidant in the swim portion of the biathalon. In fact, I think the majority of the women runners that I passed in the run, passed me up in the swim. I had not prepared well for the swim and the kind life guards in the water asked me multiple times if I needed assistance. But I persisted and talked myself through the ocean swim and found myself barely able to stand and trudge out of the water to the finish line! My wonderful supporters: Mark, George, Henry and Theodore, sat at the finish line and cheered me on!
To all my friends and family, I cheer you on in whatever goal you are enduring to accomplish! Please share with me any goal you are working on and I will send you a cheer from Hawaii!
Universal Truths by i'm erin. 7 SPLURTS
HOT TOPICS my projects
Thursday, March 01, 2007
Theodore's Limerick!
Playful, rotund and pudgy,
I love toys soft and squdgie.
I squeeze them and coo-
Coating them with drool,
I'm Theodore: cuddly and luvie.
Daddy's sleeping on the bed,
Trying hard to rest his head.
Not letting him sleep,
I'm louder than a peep,
I'm Theodore: waker of the dead!
The sleeper will soon be awake,
To a scent...no, it's no mistake.
Yellow buttery goo,
My diaper leaks the ooze,
I'm Theodore: a mess I did make!!!
(Nikki, this one is to be entered in your contest!!!)
Universal Truths by i'm erin. 8 SPLURTS