Bravery

There are many forms of bravery. Today I did two things that I consider fairly brave.

A few weeks ago I decided to join Toastmasters. For those that don't know what that is, it is a club of sorts that helps people become better public speakers. You give a series of speeches and are evaluated by your fellow toastmaster members. The first brave thing I did today was give my very first speech. Now I am not usually shy in front of a group, and I have done my share of public speaking without freaking out. I even managed to speak at my Grandpa's Memorial Service without making a fool out of myself. But it is a little different when speaking in front of a group of strangers. I overcame my extreme nervousness this morning and gave a very heartfelt and great first speech. The evaluations came in and I was dubbed a natural public speaker by more than one person. If they even knew how nervous I was and how I was shaking inside they would know that I was not going to take up public speaking as a profession. It was very rewarding and felt good to do something that was difficult for me.

That leads me to my second brave thing I did today. I guess the accomplishment from the morning gave me a boost of self confidence. Maybe that's all I needed to do what I did this afternoon. To some, it may not be that big of a deal, but to me it was major. So there is a guy that I have been crushing on for a few weeks. I have been trying to work up the courage to ask him out. Today I did it. I walked right up to him, my insides shaking like I was one of those paint mixers at Home Depot. I made small talk for a few moments and then I just busted out and asked if he would like to go out for a drink. He took my number so I guess maybe we could potentially go out some time. The cool thing is, I am just excited that I was brave enough to do it. Even if we go out for a drink and end up being friends, I am actually pretty cool with that. Because you know what? Today I pushed myself so far outside my comfort zone. I mean we are talking WAY outside my comfort zone. And it felt good.

I wonder what cool things I can do tomorrow now that I have a bit of my bravery back?

I've been tagged

Well everyone else is doing it... so I might as well too... Thanks for the tag Steph :)

Jobs I have held
1. John T's Gifts for Him
2. Plum Pretty Mug Shots
3. Entitlement Manager - Kimball Hill Homes
4. Administrative Professional - Maui Land & Pineapple Company

Movies I could watch over and over
1. Princess Bride
2. Charade
3. Pretty Woman
4. Any stupid high school movie :)

Guilty Pleasures
1. Sleeping in really late
2. Pedicures
3. Massages
4. Chocolate

Shows I enjoy
1. CSI: Las Veags
2. The Closer
3. Survivor
4. Football, Basketball, Golf

Places I have lived
1. Ventura
2. Sacramento
3. Maui

What were the first things you thought when you saw your significant other?
1. I'm hoping I haven't found him yet... cause if I did, I'm in trouble.

In a jam with your spouse what tactics do you use to get out of the dog house
1. I'll let you know if I ever get one of those.

Places I have been on vacation
1. Walt Disney World
2. Las Vegas
3. Idaho
4. Maui

Favorite Foods
1. Steak
2. Ice Cream
3. Mom's Lasagna
4. Anything I eat when with my family

Websites I visit daily
1. Hotmail
2. Blogs
3. Pvp.com, starslipcrisis.com, sheldoncomics.com
4. Woot.com

Body parts I have injured
1. Fractured the tip of my ring finger on my right hand playing softball
2. Snapped my quad muscle on my right leg
3. Strained my right ankle so bad my doctor said I should have broken it and it would have hurt less. (stupid horse!)
4. Lymph node under my left armpit from where the spider bit me

Awards I have won
1. Best Buena Bangs (Senior award)
2. Perfect Attendance in Junior High
3. Best Friend Ever Award (From Tammy after spending a Christmas at the Clobes'!)

Nicknames I have been called
1. Tina
2. T (my grandma)
3. DD
4. Honey

Now I have to pick 4 other people to tag:
I don't know 4 other people who blog... so if you feel like doing it... do it!
who tagged me: Stephanie

Catch Up!

So I haven't written in a while and thought I would do a quick little catch up.

I have recovered from my spider bite. It took a week or so to clear up but now it is just fine. I haven't played golf in a week or so because I am trying really hard to not spend money. I am still having a little bit of a hard time adjusting to paying all my bills so I have been trying to be very frugal. We all know how difficult that can be for me!! It's a bit easier to do here because there really are no stores for me to go browse through. I have to drive almost an hour just to get to any decent stores and that really makes you re-evaluate your purchasing decisions!

I've been spending a lot of time with my sister and the kids... I just love that little Maddox to death!! He is my bestest friend here!! I can not even tell you how it warms my heart that when I walk through the door he drops what he is doing to run over to me and give me hugs! How fun is that?! Amy is loving it too because when I'm at the house she can get other stuff done knowing that Maddox is occupied. I love sitting with him and reading him lots and lots of books! This kid can not get enough books! How cool is that!! Jaxson and I are buddies too. He likes to beat me up (pretend!), and we play video games together a lot. He is definitly a Daddy's boy and no matter what we are doing as soon as Daddy comes home he is done with me!

I went snorkeling last weekend for the first time ever!! There was a volunteer beach cleanup through my company and I volunteered to go clean up the beach and then go through the bay and clean up trash there too. I was really surprised when I tried to snorkel and found myself panicking. I have always been a total water baby and thought it would be no big deal to breath underwater but I found it to be super scary!! After about 5 minutes I looked at Megan (who was organizing the trip and took me under her wing!) and told her that I didn't think I could do it. She very calmly told me that it was no big deal and that we would hang out for a few minutes to see if I got more comfortable. Well I guess her no pressure way was reassuring because I tried a few more times to breath through the snorkel and after a few minutes I actually could breath without hyperventilating. We starting swimming further out in the ocean and I skimmed the surface looking for trash but finding none. I was SO distracted by the BEAUTIFUL fish and coral I couldn't pay attention to the trash! Luckily there wasn't very much so I wasn't just lollygagging! Anyway after we swam out a ways, Megan pointed me back towards the shore. I got a bit brave on the way back in and started diving under the water and coming back up. I was clearing my snorkel like a pro! I fell in LOVE with snorkeling!! So since moving to Maui I have discovered that I love the beach, snorkeling, and hiking! What a great thing to find out about myself!!

On another front, I have found out about myself that no matter where I live, I am STILL no good at the whole guy thing. I developed a pretty major crush on a guy and have been trying to figure out a way to approach him and ask him out. It's been about three weeks and I have almost gotten up the courage to just see if he wants to go out for a drink or something. Well then last night, I went down to Dollie's (a bar that is right under my apartment!) and saw him sitting there. It was my big chance, right?! Ummm no... he was sitting there with a girl. Dang it!! I'm not sure if it was his date or whatever because there was another guy with them. But still. I don't know what to do now. I think he is cute and he is nice and I would like to get to know him better but now I am totally intimidated. Why is it so hard to meet good guys?!? I'm just no good at this whole game! I know you are supposed to not look because that's when you find someone... but how does that really work?!? If someone has any answers, I would really appreciate the input!

I, apparently, know how to find the not so good guys. Last week I had a little run in with one of the guys that work with my roommate. My friend Julie and I went to Dollie's for dinner after watching a movie at my place. I saw this guy Scott sitting at the bar and knew him through John and from the golf course. So I invited him to sit with us. This was my first mistake. He spent the next few hours assuring me that we would be getting together, it was just a matter of time. Needless to say he was very explicit in how this was going to happen. Did I mention that I am not attracted to him in the least? He is funny and I thought he was nice, but came to find out that he is not so much the person I thought he was. So now I have to try to avoid him because he thinks that we are going to get together and I am positive that will not be happening.

So why is it that the guys I don't like, seem to like me. And the ones I do like, don't seem to realize I am alive? Life is so crazy. It sure doesn't makes sense to me at all.

Ok life is SO crazy that I actually have one more story to tell. CRAZY STORY!! Some of you may remember way back when... after Billy and I broke up but before I met David... I went on Match.com at the insistence of My Best Friend Tammy. She literally signed me up for it and then sat there and made me fill out the questions. It was actually pretty fun and super hilarious. She made sure I kept my answers real and not too desperate. Anyway I met this one guy named Joe on there and we dated for a month or so. I met my friend Kate through him. After awhile I decided that Kate and I were great together, but Joe and I not so much. Joe and I broke up and then Kate and I stayed friends. Ok all that is background info to this crazy story:

So I am at a planning commission meeting on Tuesday because one of our projects was on the schedule. I hadn't been to a meeting yet and went so I could see the Commission in action. We were waiting for some people from the office to show up so every time the door opened, I would look back to see who was walking in the door. Well one time the door opened and two guys walked in. One of them was JOE!! The match.com Joe!! He got married last September and he and his wife decided to move to Maui. They got here in May. HOW CRAZY IS THAT?! SO crazy that they ended up on the same island as me... and that he is working for the Planning Department. I could actually be working with him on some of our projects. Life is so crazy!! He was actually very pleased to see me and we talked for a couple of minutes. We will get together for lunch and catch up and stuff. It is just crazy. I'm still shaking my head about it and it's been a few days.

Anyway I guess this post is long enough. Nothing too exciting going on with the exception of me trying to figure out this whole life thing. I am still absolutely certain that this is where I'm supposed to be right now. I love living here. I do terribly miss all my friends and family and can't help getting teary eyed when I find out I've missed stuff going on, or getting emails from people. I wish everyone would come visit me! It would be great to see my friendly faces!!

Love to all of you... and plan your next trip to Maui!