Spanish Steps

We took a wonderful impromptu hike to the Spanish Steps here on Guam.  It was a wonderful way to our monotonous day.  After receiving a phone call from a girlfriend to go we decided to go.  The weather was beautiful, the kids were wonderful and did amazing.

"The Spanish Steps :: This is a steep trail with steps leading from the top of Orote Peninsula down the north face of the cliff 30 meters to the shoreline below.  It is speculated that this trail was created to all water to be hauled up to the Spanish forts from the well at the base of the cliffline."

I was told that the trail had been quite eroded from the recent rains, which made the climb down that much hard.  We had to rely on 2 inch ropes that we already in place to help us get down the really  came in handy, because if we didn't use them then we could have really been hurt or not made it down to the bottom.

When we came to the bottom of the mountain we come to old Spanish Well.

"The Spanish Well :: This well is located at the base of the north cliff of Orote Peninsula adjacent to the end of the Spanish Steps.  It is constructed of mamposteria (mortar and coral rock) and is approximately six feet square."

After hiking through the jungle, getting eaten' up by mosquitos we turn the corner and see this absolutely beautiful and breath taking site.  The water was so clear and warm, and despite all of the coral and rock it was wonderful to finally get in the water.

There was some other people there at the same time that found a huge blue star fish.  It was so pretty and a wonderful shade of blue and it was enormous.  The kids both held it and they thought it was so cool.

The view from the bottom was quite amazing to see how far we climbed.  If you are ever here and have a chance to go, do you will not regret it.

Where do you get off?

 My family has always understood that when I joined the military I may not be home ever again.  But how dare you say that my family is unstable that my kids will never have any long term friends. Ahhhahhh

Disappointment

I went to medical to see if I could get something for this yucky-ness, and they took my vitals and weighed me in.  And that is when it all started, I saw my weight; talk about disappointed.  I have been busting my butt to loose weight, get fit and healthy, and feel awesome in my clothes and then all of a sudden I see my weight hasn't changed.  I am really discouraged at this point in time and my bubble of awesomeness and doing well has been totally deflated.

I just don't understand, I'm watching what I'm eating and working out everyday and nothing.  Now I did talk about this with April, my fabulous trainer, and I'm writing down what I'm eating, and planning out my day's food intake the night before.  The other thing we are looking at will be my measurements, which will be taken the next week when our new training session begins.  So, I'm really hoping that these show some glimmer of light as to loss.

YUCKY!

I love my daughter, but does she really have to share her sickness.  Of course she does.  Now, I have a feel HORRIBLE! I'm sure if I honestly could feel any worse, my head is stuffed, my ears are clogged, my throat is on fire, oh there is so many more things to name, but then I would just be whining.

SUCKS!

I'm tired of being injured, but this injury is one that I can over come quickly...well as quickly as my body will heal a scab.  I was attempting to break in a new pair of running shoes and gave myself a blister on the back of my left heal which later that day my daughter opened up for me by stepping on it.  AH! the pain was even more.  SO two days later with blister band-aids I get all ready to go on a run and what happens, my stupid band-aid slides off my foot and re-opens my blister.  What sucks the most is I don't really have time to be injured, I was doing so good, I had a great routine down, I was making great progress and BAM!! another injury.  Now to fix myself and figure out the next step...ugh! I hate being injured.

Reasons why people think we're "crazy"

- We like to keep Mass interesting. We sit, stand and kneel, in no particular order. Probably just to keep the blood flowing.

- It's not merlot and Ritz they're serving; it's the Flesh and Blood of Jesus. No, really.

- Forget a big meal afterwards, just pick up some of the breakfast tacos they're always selling after Mass

- Purgatory.

- We all have 20 cousins. On each side of the family.

- Infant Baptism isn't dumb; it's after-life insurance.

- $5.00 in the collection basket is the epitome of generosity. Anything more than that, someone has hit the lottery.

- A missal is a book, not a weapon. However, it has been known to pull double duty.

- The signs we make aren't just a mark of respect, they're a lot of fun to do.

- We really like statues. A lot.

- After every confession, everyone hits themselves on the head. This is because they have realized that they forgot that really big sin, and they know that it'll hang over their head til the next time.

- Contraceptives? Why?

- Altar boys continue well into their twenties.

- The 14 Stations has nothing to do with TV.

- We've always been taught that celibacy til marriage is the only way to go, forever and ever, amen. That being said...

- The Mass doesn't start for a few minutes not because of tardy parishioners. It's because the priest is running late.

- The Virgin Mary is not a God and we don't treat her as such. But she is without sin, gave birth to Jesus and did it without having sex. That warrants more than a little respect.

- 11:00 a.m. Mass means 11:15.

- We actually get all the jokes in Dogma.

- There are two very different, irreconcilable factions in every single church in the world. They are known as the Saturday or Sunday Mass bunch.

- St. Patrick drove all the snakes out of Ireland. SNAKES.

- You miss JPII more than you miss some relatives...

- Bake Sales are a way of life.

- Your knees are more calloused than your feet.

- Priests have been giving us alcohol since we were little kids. No wonder any one of us can drink Protestants under the table.

- The Catholic way of dealing with a mid-life crisis is having another kid.

- Mass is nearly unchanged after almost 2000 years. We're a little stubborn.

- Whatever you gave up for Lent, you have it in your hands at 11:59 p.m. Saturday night, counting the seconds til midnight.

- Episcopalians are referred to as "Diet Catholics"

- You either love or hate the Stations of the Cross. There is no middle ground.

- We all know Da Vinci code is bogus and inaccurate. Yet we'll still read it if nothing else is going on.

- "Offer it up!" = "Quit bitching!"

- We have Midnight Mass so there are no interruptions on Christmas morning

- You've slipped out an Amen after the Pledge of Allegiance.

- Holy Water can kill just about anything. So Protestants are pretty much screwed if a vampire comes calling.

- There's no need for impromptu prayer; you can always fall back on the Rosary.

- Alleluia becomes almost a swear during Lent

- It's not uncommon for just one family to take up an entire pew or two.

- Boondock Saints is the greatest movie ever. E-Ver.

- Confession. Enough said.

- You're of the opinion that Stephen Colbert should be Canonized.

- When in doubt, say a Hail Mary.

- Peter Griffin, a Catholic!

- Whenever anyone in Star Wars saga says "May the Force Be With You", we get the urge to say "And Also With You" (coming soon: "And With Your Spirit)

- The Pope does indeed wear a funny hat. But it's way more interesting than Joel Osteen's suit and tie.

- Even though you never met her or been to a country she's been in, you're still willing to have "seen" a miracle by Mother Teresa.

- We're the oldest Christian religion. Period.


If you appreciated, chuckled or even smiled at some of these, you're not a wacko. You're just probably a member of the one of the oldest and largest religions in the world. Open to all Catholics around the world.

Courtisy of  We're not Crazy, We're just Catholic Group