Create

As many of you know, life has a way of throwing unexpected things at you, and I was recently a victim of a not so friendly road block in my Hawaii plans :(

Wednesday, October 3rd
I was working hard pulling weeds in the coffee fields, (with nothing but a hand sickle & brut force strength..I do not tell lies, you should see my guns) and began to feel a little light headed and wore out= a hard days work and not enough hydration…but then the stomach pain came :( It was sharp pains in my abdomen that I had never felt before. Regardless, I figured it was just something I ate and took some Pepto and tried to get some sleep. The next morning I woke up from a pretty sleepless night, stomach pains and a black tongue!! (FYI: Pepto can leave a black tone to your tongue.) I wasn’t quite sure what the stomach pain could have been from, but it wasn’t letting up. I then decided I needed to go to urgent care and get it checked out. Turns out, the doc was afraid that I may have appendicitis and sent me straight to the hospital because a cat scan is needed to determine if appendicitis is positive and surgery is needed to heal it. I knew all of this information about appendicitis prior & was worried that was what it was, but after he said it and I was actually able to register it, I freaked!!

After arriving at the hospital I began to be a little more at ease when I realized that nothing was really in my control and that the doctors & nurses would know what to do (thanks be to my Dad delivering thousands of sick people to hospitals everyday). I then had to get a cat scan done, among other things that I won’t go into detail about :/ It turned out that I in fact didn’t have appendicitis and therefore didn’t have to get my appendix taken out! Whew!!
Instead, I was diagnosed with colitis. Colitis is the inflammation of the colon caused by virus, bacteria, parasite, and sometimes stress. I freaked!!

I knew that whatever it was in my stomach causing me so much pain was probably contracted from the farm and I had no clue as to what it could be due to the fact that I had been exposed to soo many new things. Not knowing what caused it was very difficult and unsettling. Good news was I received some antibiotics to get rid of whatever was in my colon, bad news was my body wasn’t able to keep the meds down :( and another trip to the hospital it was. Turns out I wasn’t taking enough nausea medicine which is needed due to the harshness of the antibiotics and my tummy wasn’t ready for me to be eating my regular diet quite yet.

Living in the “farm” conditions was really rough for me while sick. All I saw was negative..I didn’t want to be in a tent on a hot day, I didn’t want an outdoor shower that turned cold occasionally and I didn’t want to walk so far to get to the bathroom in the middle of the night. I just wanted to be home.

As I currently write this, my stomach still hurts and I’m in the tent, but not for long. Kevin and I have decided to leave the farm in hopes of getting me better as quick as possible in a hotel in Oahu. We don’t want to leave on such a bad note and we want to at least try and explore Hawaii while we’re still here. So we’re crossing our fingers and sending up prayers that a little TLC at a hotel will do the trick and knock this colitis right on out of me! All I want to do is eat mangos, pineapple, passion fruit, shoot.. anything I lay eyes on here! But in the meantime I’ll stick to my BRAT, yogurt and saltines diet and hope that these meds work their magic.

Despite all the aches and pains this experience has caused it has allowed me to be thankful for:
the home I have, the family & friends I have that I can vent to, my supportive boyfriend that encourages me when I’m down and most importantly.. I’ve learned that it’s ok if plans change because God has other things in store for us that we are just unaware of. You just have to take a different route sometimes.

Aloha!

World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms (WWOOF), was brought to Kevin and I’s attention in February 2012. It is a volunteer program for those aspiring to broaden their education and practical experience in the organic farming field. The way it works is your hard work is in exchange for a place to sleep and food on the table.

You might be thinking, Kayla and Kevin farming?? KAYLA farming!! Why…
Kevin and myself have always had a yearning to travel and experience new cultures, life styles and most importantly explore all this world has to offer. So when we heard about WWOOFing we were very curious about the possibilities it could hold for us. We knew farming wouldn’t be easy, we knew the accommodations wouldn’t be 5 star, but we were up for it!

Thus our journey began September 24th, 2012. 

Owl Ornament I made :)

It’s starting to look a lot like Christmas..

It’s not often I wake to an offering of gifts, but Christmas came early this year! Erin allowed to open my birthday gifts first thing Monday morning, and boy was I excited! She clearly knows me well..

Thanks so much for getting crafty on my behalf Erin :)

Thank you for my cookie monster cupcakes Kev & D!! Loved them :) For those of you that haven’t seen this pin on pinterest, click the picture!

You are my hero, my idol and my number one.

You always think of others before yourself & offer a helping hand when everyone else is running away. Anyone that has been given the opportunity to have a relationship with you has been truly blessed.

I am thankful for my caring, loving, and ever thoughtful Dad.

Thank you for all you do…

In honor of the late and great Quincy (best golden retriever that ever lived) and the Halloween season, I decided to make some “doggone headbands.” :) 

They are For Sale!!
$7 each, limited quantity..
1 white
1 hot pink
1 purple
1 orange
1 yellow 

If you are interested in purchasing please message me or give me a call @ 505.615.7067

Also, if you wish to purchase more than what is currently available, please notify me.

-Kayla Mae-

Added a little flare to some old tables.