It’s BIG, it’s BLACK, and it’s HURTS!!!

Well it’s official…at the age of 39, I finally broken a bone, it’s been confirmed that my right big Flintstone toe is broken. (Well I might of broken my nose when the calf ran over me several years ago (that’s another story), however didn’t see the Dr, so didn’t get that confirmed.)

So let me tell you about this first official broken bone. Normally I travel west to see my man however this weekend it was opening season of muzzleloader, so with that I decided to hang at my house. It was a Friday night and what to do, so I called a co-workers that’s been trying to get me to come out and play, so what the heck, what is there to lose…

So I meet two of the co-workers at Chili’s for some drinks and chow. After a little mistaken identity of a HyPo (Highway Patrol) and a good laugh, one of the co-workers decided we should move the party to bowling. Now I’m feeling my age and thinking I should really go home, but what the heck, what is there to lose…so off to Hoops for some amusing game of bowling…another co-worker joined us at Hoops and few drinks later off to lane 25.

Now I usually don’t bowl, but when I do occasionally I use a 10lb bowling ball, but for some reason I forgotten about that and picked up a 13lb bowling ball. So in the middle of my game, losing by a hair, while two co-workers are re-setting my pins, I decided to let the third co-worker feel how heavy this 13lb bowling ball is, well lets say it was a bad hand off and next thing I know I feel a thump on my right big toe. That came with a little yell and a few chosen words, but that didn’t stop me from finishing my game (of course with a limp and no shoe on the right foot). Oh, if you are wondering yes I did come in last…oh well…home I go…

So as I nestle into my bed, I called the co-worker (Sarah), to tell her about the progress of my big toe…

…ring, ring… “Hello”
“It’s BIG, it’s BLACK, and it’s HURTS!!!”
“What did you do?”
“Oops, this must not be Sarah?”
“No it’s Sharla, what did you do?”

Oops, called the wrong girlfriend, oh well, after a few good laughs and explaining what happen, I prompt my foot up and thru some ice on it and fell asleep. The next morning explaining the situation again to BW, the MD that he is, explained what needed to be done. I just needed to drill a hole in my toe nail to relieve the pressure. “So go get your electric drill and get to work”…right!!! There is no way in heck that I’m drilling my toe nail, not happening…so with some persuading from BW, I called Sarah to take me to the Doctor. Dr Marine (big guy that was a Submarine Dr) drilled into my nail with a needle. Twice the Dr explained how to drill my toe with an electric drill but more in detail then BW. Seriously…there is no way this chick is drilling her toe nail.

So after my trip to Lysite Wyoming and a little blood draining of the toe, all is good…NOT!

My Flintstone toe turned GREEN, yes GREEN…oh my…after another discussion with BW, he explained that the toe nail would need to be removed (I hope he is wrong). So I took a trip back to see Dr Marine which sent me to Dr Foot. Dr Foot confirmed that the toe was broken with an x-ray and explained that the toe nail is coming off (darn it…BW called it). So with a little numbness of the toe, Dr Foot removed the big toe nail, so all in all there WAS something to LOSE from that Friday night of what to do.

So a BIG Thank You goes out to Sarah for taking me to the Doctor (twice).

Lessons learn
Put the bowling ball down when handing off to the other player.

When in Norway you hike to Pulpit Rock

For those of you that are not aware, I’m celebrating my last year in the 30s. However my mind still thinks I’m in my 20s and I can do anything…well Saturday I put myself to the test, not sure why, actually I didn’t realize what I was getting myself into to tell you the truth. When in Rome you do what the Rome’s do, when in Norway you hike to Pulpit Rock.

So Saturday to celebrate a co-workers birthday (Huong turn 26) we (Huong, Brett 24, and me) hiked to Pulpit Rock. We were informed to take the hour Ferry ride, then catch the bus to Preikestolen (the name of the mountain) for a two hour hike to Pulpit Rock, make sure you have water and trail mix they told us…that was it, that was all that was known…now remember I exercise about 20% of the time if that…the young stallion and young doe workout everyday, plus they are young…So we are all full of energy and start the hike, now I’m thinking a hike, yep I can do that…really a ground path to the Pulpit Rock…no problem. Oh Dear Lord, I have a problem, we came around the first bend and wholly crap, the trail is rocks, what did I sign up for here…now we are only in the first 5mins of the hike and I’m stopping to catch my breath…ok…I must go on…within the next 10mins, time for another break and another the next 15mins. Well at this time Brett decided to leave us and now it was Huong and I, it was nice of her to keep up with me…haha! We passed several people coming down, a 78yr old man, and several overweight older women (yes older then me). With that I knew I could hike, climb, this mountain and I was determine. So we kept going on, Huong with her cat like walk on the stones had no problem at all, she was enjoying herself and laughing at me the entire way. We took are time, taking breaks to enjoy the view and snap pictures along the way. Almost there just up the smooth large boulder and around the corner and we are there…wait a minute, who do we see…Brett on his way down the trail, laughing his ass off…The young stallion thought I wouldn't make it…well I showed him…so within 2hrs we made the rocky trail hike to Pulpit Rock and WOW what a view! As Brett headed down the trail, Huong and I enjoyed a great lunch of trail mix, an apple mixed with small bites of chocolate, and water. We enjoyed the view and snapped some photos…WOW what a view…

Crap! We have to go back the way we came…which actually wasn’t bad going down the trail…you just chose your next rock to step on and go…went pretty fast. We felt for the people walking up the trail as we walked down and gave them encouragement.

Well this 39year old, out of shape girl DID IT!

Wow…now let me tell you about Amsterdam…

Arrived in Amsterdam, my eyes are wide open and my chin is dragging the ground…what has this Oklahoma Girl got herself into…Sex, Drugs, & Rock-n-Roll… Amsterdam has it and it’s all legal…something I knew, something I had to ask about, and something I’m still not quit sure about. I’ve seen a beer bike with a keg and at least 10 very happy guys singing and pedaling as they rode down the pathway…

Wow Amsterdam…

Toured the Van Gogh Museum, the Anne Frank House, and Rijks Museum (still learning world history here)…got lost in a small town looking for the Harley Davidson store (twice – found it the second day) (NOTE: For those of you that are not aware, I collect HD shirts from all the places I tour…)

Amsterdam has several things to offer but I couldn’t hit all of them in the two full days I was there…like floating down canals, shopping at the market, parks, and pubs…

Wow Amsterdam…

I rode the train, sub, bus, and taxi…the hotel had cold beer and champagne waiting for us every night with a little food for taste…

So the next stop and last stop ‘traveling around the world’ is Norway…can’t wait…

Cheers,
Tamela

WOW!!! I'm touring GREECE...

We (Sarah and I ) toured Greece in five days- seeing all the sites there is to see in Athens, the ‘Tomb of the Unknown Soldier’, ‘Acropolis’, ‘National Archaeological Museum’, and etc…We ate at the local cafés and of course had Greek Salads (which is not like the typical Greek Salads in the states). We shopped at the Center Market and I actually purchased a summer dress…

On Tuesday, we took the Ferry to one of the Greek Islands – Aigina and visited ‘The Temple of Aphaia’, bought some peaches and pistachio nuts and had a nice little lunch in a café off the beaten path…

The best part of the trip was walking in a little village up to the Acropolis where we sneaked a peak of the charming little homes. The village was all in white with bright colorful shutters and doors.

One thing I have realized about myself when I’m abroad is how I miss the smell of American Men…For you women that are reading this, close your eyes and think of your last date with your man and remember his smell…Old spice, Polo, CK, Stetson, or even Irish Spring (soap)…Oh my how I love those smells…

A couple of things to remember when you are touring Greece, the Greek people are friendly on your third counter with them, the taxi drivers not only stink but will charge you to much…if you not eating at one of the tourist cafés then you are not that big of a hurry, so sit back and relax.

I'm in Greece, WOW, how blessed I am...

With Love,
Tamela (Greek Goddesses)

Lazy Weekend in Jakarta

Lazy Weekend…
This weekend was a lazy weekend, not much happened...On Saturday, we went to Maggua Dua to purchases some name brand: purses, watches, luggage, DVDs and whatever else we could find. I enjoy shopping when there is negotiating involved, I guess I get that from my Mom, she was the Queen of negotiating. It’s a game to me, in China I won a lot, or I bought a lot anyway, but here in Indonesia, I’m losing. They are pretty proud of their nice fake purses. The boys however bought way more then us girls (watches and luggage)…however there is not really any negotiating with them. Since I’m not a brand name girl, I have a hard time seeing the saving on a Prada purse for $60.00 or a Coach purse for $40.00 when I buy Wal-mart for $20.00.

That night I enjoyed a 75min massage for $15.00US or 135,000Ind. The massages here start by washing your feet in warm water with a little bit of destressing oil, then they start at your feet and work their way to your head without oil and then start all over with oil. After your 75 mins is up you receive a nice cup of tea. However, I haven’t figured out how such a small girl with small hands can hurt you…but she can…believe me…

Sunday was a day of relaxation (and recovering from the 75min massage from the night before).


Jakarta Malls…
The malls here are huge and expensive, it’s just hard to believe that when you are driving to the mall how much rubbish you see on the streets…but once you get inside it’s like a whole new world. Everything is very clean and shiny…the merchandise can be very expenses…there are Coach, Mark & Spenser’s, Polo, Fossil Watches, Giordano, plus many others shops to choose from…The Pondok Indah Mall 2 is 4 floors high, however the Grand Indonesia is at least 7 floors high, they are huge.

Putri Island

This weekend, three other team members and me traveled to the Putri Island for some time to relax in the sun, hear the sounds of the ocean, and have some great island food. The weekend started off with a 1.5hr see how many people you can get into a boat ride. When we arrived at the island we were welcomed with the island drink – ‘Tang’ (last time I had that...I was 8). As we are walking to our bungalow, at the corner of my eye I noticed something large – it was a komodo dragon. Oh my-it was big! There were about 5 of those large lizards on the island.

The great island food was fried shrimp, rice, fried fish, watermelon, rice, pineapple, melon and some more rice all at room temperate (90degrees). I could lose weight at this place!

The pool was relaxing and sunbathing in the ocean was out of this world, however the bugs I could have done without…a slap here and a slap there, by the evening I had tons of bites…

I awoke to termite poop on my pillow and the two teammates had bed bug bites…life was fun in the beautiful island they call Putri (princess).

Jakarta Ants

Jakarta traffic is very interesting…

There are lines on the streets that everyone ignores, sounds of horns, flashing headlights, and motorcycles is the norm…the motorcycles remind me of ants, there are thousands of them weaving in and out of traffic, when the cars actually stop at the traffic lights the bikes head to the front of the line. The most I’ve seen on this trip is four people to a bike, last trip there were five people to a bike. I’m amazed at what they carry on the bikes, car windshield, lamp shades, plus many other types of stuff…

My co-worker (Sarah) has written me a poem about the motorcycles that I call ‘ants’…

Jakarta Ants
Jakarta ants zoom down the lane.
Traffic here is such a pain!

The city streets are filled with crowds,
The noise they make- it gets so loud!

As we slide slowly along,
A lady with a baby sings us a song.

Twisting, turning, weaving about,
Zooming in. Zooming out.

When we stop, then they swarm.
Those little ants and the lines they form.

There's one! There's two! There's three! There's four!
Everywhere you look there's always more.

Our slow crawl takes at least an hour,
Breathe in, breathe out, just don't be sour.

Sit back. Relax. Enjoy the ride,
Jakarta ants on every side.

By Sarah Kuhn

Hello from Jakarta Indonesia

Hello everyone—

It’s been awhile since I’ve done any traveling internationally…this trip I’m flying around the world in 56 days hitting Indonesia, Greece, Netherlands, and Norway. My first stop is Jakarta Indonesia for some business….I’ll be here for three weekends.

This Saturday the team toured the Indonesia Safari which was very fun…there were white tigers, lions, and bears walking next to our vehicle, and of course the normal type of animals that you see at any small safari in the states. A small baby zoo was at the end of the safari where I got to pay to hold a cheetah, baby tiger, a snake, and a baby orangutan (which by the way pee’d on me). What is it with babies pooping/peeing on me?

Baby orangutan was excited to see me…

Ken and I holding a cheetah…

Sunday is shopping for some fake purses and whatever else we find…however I wasn’t feeling well, so I hung out in the hotel room…

Cheers,

Tamela