This post is just proof I’m still kicking…actually, the past few months have been a total blur! Get busy livin’ or die trying (as they say)!

In July, Justin and I adopted our first fur-baby, Indy, and we’ve been having fun being cat parents and learning how to be responsible for another tiny life. He’s the sweetest and it’s ADORABLE to see my husband be a “cat dad.” We also got to see Jack Johnson’s Kokua Festival with our friends. There’s just something so nostalgic about Jack’s music that always brings me back to simpler times. All the feels!

August started off with a visit from my whole, wonderful fam! It may have been slightly interrupted by a few of us catching COVID, but we did our best to have a great time all together. I love hanging with my nephews and nieces and seeing them grow into the coolest kiddos.

After two and a half years, I officially completed my mat Pilates certification. I hope to be teaching some group classes in the near, near future (stay tuned!). Being the crazy person that I am, I jumped right into the Pilates equipment training (unplanned), and eventually I’ll be able to teach on the reformer, Cadillac, chair, and all the other wild equipment invented by Joe Pilates 100-some years ago. I’m extremely grateful to Pilates O Ka La owner, Chelsea Peck, for her guidance and patience with me as I navigated training through my diagnosis and treatment in 2020. I don’t really believe in coincidences, and I know that having the mat routine to keep me active during treatment was more than just chance. If you’re ever on Oahu, go take a class at Chelsea’s gorgeous studio!

Then, just in case I didn’t have enough going on, I also started on adjunct faculty at Hawaii Pacific University’s new Doctor of Physical Therapy program. I assisted with cadaver lab (yes, I dissected human bodies). It is and always has been a very humbling experience to learn from these donors who so graciously give their earthly bodies to those of us learning. I learn so much more now that I’ve been practicing for several years, and I also realize how much I still don’t know! I’ll be helping with their labs in October as well, and I look forward to facilitating the next generation of PTs.

September has flown by, too, but Justin and I were able to sneak up to the north shore for our 4th anniversary. We spent the whole weekend camping by the beach and it was just magical. There’s so much to be said about spending time in nature with no agenda and NO cell service! Highly recommend. Cheers to our year 5 and all the new adventures that will bring! Hopefully a trip abroad…

At this point in the year, I’m always looking forward to the holiday season, but in the present moment, I’m grateful that my hair is now officially long enough to pull back into a bun, several of my friends are about to have sweet babies join their families, and my work has been consistently fulfilling.

In the cancer realm, it’s been one of those weeks. The kind where my recent scans were squeaky clean and we celebrate, but also the kind where you learn that you lost a friend to this awful disease. The kind where another friend’s miracle post-cancer baby passed away shortly after birth. The kind where a new friend got the same diagnosis as you had. So, I just pray because what else can you really do? Give it to God and put lots of love out there.

As my friend Kate says, “If you’re very lucky, life goes on…”

And so it does.

As Breast Cancer Awareness month rolls around in October, please consider donating to organizations that fund breast cancer research like the Triple Negative Breast Cancer Foundation, Metavivor, or the Breast Cancer Research Foundation. If you’d rather, you can donate money directly to someone going through treatment. Or take them a meal. Or pick up their kids from school. And if you have a survivor in your life, tell them you love them and you’re happy they’re here.

Wishing you all a great week ahead – will be in touch again soon…er or later?!

Aloha ❤