Waikiki: we gonna die in this hotel room, and ain't nobody gonna find us 'cept the 'roaches

Tim's mom is the guru of timeshares; she finds awesome deals for places people really want to go, like DisneyWorld and Waikiki. Usually, the places are amazing.


Last night, we needed some preparation for such an... umm... interesting place.


There was the sliding doors that separated the two rooms (with peep-through slats that provided very little privacy)...


And the very outdated kitchen with old fixtures and decor. Seriously: these pictures do it NO justice whatsoever. Just gotta believe me.


The beds were indescribably uncomfortable, and both had dips in the middle. Check out the huge (20"?) TV. Yeah: impressive.


Let us not forget: this place was NOT in the best of areas (not by a long shot), so the fact that the door locks weren't exactly reliable left the four of us a little on the nervous side.

At this point, we just wanted to get the hell outta dodge as soon as possible. We had early plans in the morning, but fortunately, the plans didn't require anyone to shower...


We was scared of the 70s-style showerhead and drain; there was no telling what was under there, and none of us were willing to find out.



The master bedroom (and bed) left much to be desired.


At least we had a lot of fun laughing about how scary the place was. Cue the nervous laughter.

Pin-ssion. Obse-nterest. Whatever: I love it.

I have this... what would you call it...
Fascination...?
Wonder...?
Obsession. Let's go with ' obsession.'

Pinterest. I just can't help myself most days. I love it. And yes, I've m made recipes and crafts I've found on there; no, they never turn out to be complete disasters, probably because I read the instructions. Go figure.

One of my favorite things on there is the "Quotes" category.


My life's theme. I'm crazy. I think I may start to collect (cheshire) cats.


Ahh, foooood. I'm definitely a true-blue foodie. And junkie. Ooooh, sugar...


That one just makes me laugh. We had to put our Eskie down in July this year, and we miss him. What a character.


This one makes me think of my little brother (coming up on the one-year anniversary of his death is unbelievable). But gives me hope, too. Sad, but a light at the end of the tunnel, too.


Again, same deal. This has been stuck in my head ever since I saw it a few days ago. I should read more C.S. Lewis.


I love quotes from movies, and anything that encourages childlike behavior. I may or may not have to incorporate this into a kid's room.


Speaking of kid movies, this one is from one of my all-time favorites, "The Lion King."

That's it for now. Signing off. More exciting adventures to come tomorrow. Until then, anyone have any favorite...
Apps?
Pinterest categories?
Pinterest finds?
Movies?
Movie quotes?
Food?
Poems?
Authors?
Anything?

Don't get crabs. Watch people instead.

You know those days that you have to just disconnect and decompress or else you'll explode? That was me, today.


I loved starting off with a nice almost-two-mile run this morning (I don't exactly do well in the heat, which is why it was such a short run) along the beach on the cement boardwalk.


If I hadn't been running, it would have been perfect for just sitting, lounging, reading, and people-watching.


So...we did. And we (me and my hubby) loved every minute of it. He wandered around more than I did, because he had to check out the crabs hiding in the rocks and stuff. Boys: gotta love 'em.


I had the best time just watching people. Honestly, I'm not a crazy stalker; I just love observing how people walk, talk and act.

There were the cutest kids at the beach with their parents this morning, for example. Bucking the stereotypical TV sitcom mom, this one was overweight and busy taking as many pictures as her camera would hold, ignoring skinny dad, who was busy interacting and playing with both kids... Every once in a while, when I heard a kid screaming bloody murder, I looked up to find dad throwing one of his water-winged youngsters high in the air, then watch them splash in the water. All to the kids' horror and dad's pleasure. Still, they were so cute, the young family of four; dad calling his son "dude" and mom taking pictures non-stop, while the boy screamed and the girl played in the sand. Such a cute family.


Then there was this crazy chick who thought she was being creative and original when she took multiple pictures of her feet, using different photo-editing apps, and posting some random ones on facebook and instagram for the world to see (and obviously, remark on her soon-to-be-famous foot pictures).

Dole whipped us

I've been to the Dole Plantation three times now, and loved it each and every time. Naturally, I always get some variety of Dole Whip; yesterday, it was in a bowl, with topping.

Until yesterday, I had never done the pineapple maze, the largest maze in the world according to Guinness Book of World Records. In our touristy guide/coupon books, we found a couple of two-for-ones. Perfect for a party of four.


It was a warm day, but the occasional breezes and passing clouds felt so good! We had to walk around a lot to find all of the little markers hidden in the maze, so the prize when we finished was to wander (slooooooowly) through the gift store to cool off before our next stop.

We had a really great time, and would probably go again. This time, we had me and my hubby (both in our early thirties), his sister (early forties), and her daughter (age 14). Perfect ages, all.

There were kids as young as five running around, but not many older than fifty, but that may have been because of the combination of a lot of walking, plus the hot sun. I bet anyone who could walk for a couple miles at a leisurely pace could manage easily.

There were some "is this supposed to be a pathway?" moments where we had to duck through bushes, and there were some narrow pathways, but overall, we had no issues.

Well, maybe the heat. Exerting ourselves in the heat of the day. I could have gone for cooler weather.

Lost, scared, and in need of a room to rest

Today started out (and, not to give anything away or anything, but also ended) perfectly. Beautifully.

See? Evidence. Perfect weather.


A great time was had by all involved. We started out early, headed for Kualoa Ranch, where parts of "Jurassic Park," "Pearl Harbor," and "Lost" were filmed.


Amazing, amazing location. Simply breathtaking. I wish I could stay there forever, just staring up at the sky, walking, hiking, napping, longing, sunbathing, hiking, dozing, running...


I'm really not one to toot my own horn, but in all honesty, I have seen "Jurassic Park" about a million and a half times (I fell asleep once when I was sick or super tired or something). I knew - I KNEW - the part the tour guide was going to say at this part: "they're flocking this way." See, I KNOW that movie! Backwards and forwards. Up and down. In and out.


And then there was Hurley's golf course, from "Lost." (More pictures to come from Tim's more-expensive-than-mine camera.) We had to climb to the top; it was incredible. The whole place was amazing.


And then there was Laie Point, which was also very beautiful (and windy... and sheer cliff-y, which made me more than a little nervous-y).


Somebody (who shall go nameless ...ahem, Tim... ahem ahem) had to tempt fate. Scared me. Always scares me when he does that.

Oh yeah, and blah blah, we also swung past a macadamia nut place and the Byodo-In Temple (which CHARGES for admission and photo-taking now, so we opted out, and took pictures from the road instead, cheap SOBs).


Ahh... Kona Brewing Company. Things got a little fuzzy after that stop. There were tons of laughs on our way back to the hotel, a bunch of which were at least in part due to my imminent and very pressing problem of needing to locate the facilities. As. Soon. As. Possible. Which of course meant that every light HAD to be red. Naturally.

All in all, a wonderful day; I would gladly do it all over again. For just the food. Or the laughs. Or the sights. Or the weather. Or the time relaxing with family. Or, best yet, for the combination of factors that made today memorable.

That's the way it's gonna be?

I have felt so guilty, ever since we landed on Maui, and I unpacked and realized I packed EVERYTHING but sports bras. It's been tops on my to-do list since I realized it, so when we went to Costco this afternoon, I knew - I KNEW - my search would be finished. I would be while once again.

Alas, the Costco here carries no sports bras. Oooooof course not; why would they? It was the only reason we made it a point to go there, but oh well.


At least we found picked onions; that was important!

I had to be dropped off at KMart, run in, grab a couple, run back out. Soooo glad to have found and bought some there, finally! Now, to find a bit of spare time, maybe a half hour, so I can run.

Newlyweds and a sketchy flight

Well, THAT was a very fast-paced day overall, but still slow and lazy at times. The flight we took from Maui to Oahu yesterday was a little bit frightening as hell, but for some reason I was just fine. Strange.


We spent yesterday morning at the beach, getting sandy and gross. And enjoying the beautiful surroundings and weather.


Ahh, time alone with my love was amazing. We went to Bubba Gump's and, while we waited for our food, we were holding hands across the table. Nothing out of the ordinary for us, but the wait staff asked if we were newlyweds, here on our honeymoon. Tim said no; I said yes.

Now, we had discussed this a number of times: if anyone asks if we're newlyweds, just say yes. We act like newlyweds, despite the fact that we've been married six and a half years now (and together much longer than that).

This was the second time someone had asked that question, and the second time he had said "no." Tim is officially cruisin' for a bruisin'!


I've found a few new photo apps on this trip, and I love them for some things, for example documenting the mundane waiting for Ma to come back to the airport after dropping off the rental car.

Check out the view from the airport!

{side note: do you call it a "rental car" or a "rent car"? I've always said "rental," because it's proper English, but SOME people I know who shall go nameless have always called it "rent."}


I forced him to take a picture with me. Good thing he just goes along with my craziness. Again, though: the view! Ahh...

The flight was another thing entirely: it was a very small plane; it was rainy and windy weather. The plane kept rocking and was blown side to side by the strong winds. Made all that much worse by the smallness of the plane. Oh, I wanted off. And I wasn't the only one.

Fortunately, because it was only a half-hour flight, a little puddle-jumper, we didn't have to endure it for too long. It was almost kinda fun.

What's your vote: "rent car" or "rental car," what do YOU say?

What we got away with on a lazy day

I love lazy vacation days, and today was one of those.


We started by bussing over to a sister resort to swim (not that I actually swam, because the posted signs said the area was for hotel customers only), chilled there for a while, until they kicked us out of the area for a wedding scheduled to happen in the area where we had set up shop.


I had fun just resting on the lounger, enjoying the warm sun and the cool breeze.

We had a late lunch at Maui Brewing Company (the wild hog pizza was AMAAAAAZING), then it was back to the hotel room, where everyone promptly passed out, only waking up at around 7:30 or 8:00 p.m.

I love days like these. Tomorrow should include a bit more exploring, though. I can't wait!

Crazy beach, everything is happening so fast!

I headed straight for a gas station after work on Thursday; yeesh, gas prices are high.


Aaaaaand, because I had a long drive ahead of me... Aaaaaand, because the gas station was connected to a McDonald's, I stopped for an frappu coffee thing.


Obviously, gun to my head. I had to do it.

The drive north to Sacramento was interesting, with NO accidents (what? craziness!), TONS of police and CHP, TONS of speedy drivers pulled to the side by said law enforcement officers. TONS of construction and "reduced speed ahead" signs.

I was very excited (but tired) when I got to my parents' house at around 10 or 10:30. It was a very long day.


We had to grab some leftover Halloween candy (hellooooo, full-size candy bars!) on our way to the airport... You know, so we have some energy for our flight. I had one full-size 3 Musketeers, and promptly passed out for more than an hour.


Don't you love waiting for luggage? Me either. This time, it was left up to me to identify and drag our stuff off the conveyor; it was taking Tim a super long time to get back from the bathroom. Couldn't figure out where the hell he could be; I mean, wtf, did he ditch me or what?


He didn't ditch me.
He bought a lei for me.
I got lei'd.
I love that guy.


This girl was in the car waiting to pick us up. Because I likes her, and because she likes me, I made her sit in the back seat with me, and we had fun talking about high school drama, boys, and tons of other fun stuff too. Such a cutie!


Then it was time to eat! We headed to Duke's Beach House.


...made some crazy faces, had a Hula Pie, bought some souvenirs.


...And then went mini golfing at Glow Putt. Very fun, even though I sucked big-time. Totally almost peed my pants a bunch of times, because we were all laughing so hard.


I think we are just going to chill out today, beachin' it up, (maybe head out for a run), just some good ol' r&r, like it should be.

Ahh...

Pig gets caught escaping the trash, cookie dinner, and suicide averted

It's Erection Day... Um, sorry. I meant ELECTION DAY. This year was a really big deal, even if both candidates sucked big-time. My candidate of choice was out of the game 'round 'bout Primary Election time (boo).

I swung past Starbucks on my way to work this morning to pick up some drinks (one for me, and the other for a coworker friend) and a couple of those "indivisible" bracelets. Decided I'm not the biggest fan of skinny mochas. Oh well.

Work days have seriously flown by for me recently, not that I'm complaining, just remarking. It's much preferred to work days that drag on.

Maybe it's because I've started moving around, getting up from my desk, walking, getting water, walking on breaks. Actually leaving my desk chair in general does wonders for me. So do my meds, though.

At least I caught a picture of this on my walk this afternoon:


This was something I considered today, this cute little porker. Do you think it's a message? A joke? A statement?

It could be something along the lines of "when pigs fly." The pig faced outside of the trash area, so is the pig trying to escape a dump, much like some workers feel they're trying to escape this workplace? (It's been a mass exodus outta there recently.) Are the workers the pigs?

Or, is it something a bit more innocent: perhaps the trashed pig fell out of the trash vehicle, and just happened to land on the fence part of the enclosure. I really do wonder.

Opinions?


I had to vote after work, and because it's my first time voting since we moved, I didn't know exactly where to go; fortunately, there were a whole bunch of people just like me, who didnt know where they were going, either.

We eventually found the place, a Baptist church with a seriously crowded parking lot! It was like they were giving away magic lamps with genies to grant each person three wishes. Totally crazy. Parking lot. Lines. Gym area where everyone voted. All of it: crazy.


Ahh...dinner. Tomorrow shouldn't be much better.

And then, I turned on the news, decided NOT to end it all tonight, ran around the house cleaning and organizing and tidying and emptying and loading the dishwasher and finally, FINALLY, going to bed. Once I hit "publish," it's game over for tonight.

But stay tuned. Much hilarity (among other things) to ensue in the coming couple of weeks.

I can't be the only one

I've been busy recently, from decorating, cleaning, cooking, working... Everything is just so time-consuming! Still, I make time for things that are a little less "FIRE!" and a little more enjoyable. Like spending time, energy, and money on friends and family. The catch is, though, that it gets old if those people don't really reciprocate. Or thank you. Or even acknowledge the time, effort, etc.

I have some facebook friends like this. They're kinda-sorta "family," or... Maybe they're a little closer to "family friends." I know they go through some heavy stuff, especially recently, but I'm on the verge of pretty much writing them off because it seems like they don't care.

These folks change phone numbers every couple of months, and they always wait for me to ask for their new number on facebook AFTER I've sent a million text messages telling them I'm worried because I haven't heard from them in a while.

So it seems that the relationship is more one-sided than I would like. But I don't want to block them or un-friend them. Is this just one of those times that I should just put up or shut up?

Any ideas?

Above all, loved

Saturday is not supposed to be a difficult day. It's supposed to be care-free, relaxed, no worries. At least, that's the way it's supposed to be in my world; not EVERY Saturday, but this Saturday.

It didn't exactly happen that way, though. Today was very difficult. For me. I'm so tired of running around town, getting ready for this and that, decorating, cleaning, laundering, everything. I just needed today to be nothing. I needed to do nothing at all. I wanted to stay in bed. All. Day. Long.

Like I said, though: that didn't happen. I cleaned, helped launder, folded, organized, prepared. I'm not exactly complaining...although it might seem like that's what I'm doing. All I wanted to say, is that I had this image in my mind, and I'm already stressed, so when it didn't go according to my plan, I was more than upset. I was a basket case. Still am, I suppose.


It's just that I miss my little brother. And it really makes me resent my close family members (the ones that knew him for his whole 27 1/2 years). Why don't they care as much as I do?


I wish I had been closer to him. He was supposed to come to visit me and Tim the day after Christmas, December 26th. The last text I sent him was, "I'll leave the door unlocked for you." Instead, I attended his funeral on December 28th.


I know he loves me, though. And I always think of the Romantic poets when I think of him, because of the quote emblazoned on his left forearm.


I know I'll never forget that guy. His zest and passion for music of all kind. Incredibly gifted. Adored. Frustrating. A puzzle. But loved.

Above all: LOVED.

And that is comforting to me.

Chocolate-covered haircut

Note to self:
Remember to bring hiking shoes.

Last week flew by, and I'm afraid this week will be the same. We've been so busy here lately; I can hardly breathe! No worries: it's a good thing.

I made something chocolate-covered to take to work on Halloween, and I just had to try some chocolate, because that's the rule when you bake, right?

I may have gotten a bit on my face.


I had to be one of the few Halloween revelers at work. Again: it's the rule. Devil made me do it. But it was really sad that almost NOBODY dressed up this year. Very, very sad.

Yesterday, I got to see a friend and get a haircut (trim), and I feel amazing! Don't you love that new-born, fresh, rejuvenated feeling of a haircut? I love it; makes me feel new and fresh.

Tomorrow, I plan to do ALL the laundry in the entire house. Quite the undertaking, I must say. But it's all in preparation for this little away time we're taking. I'm very excited.

Oh yeah, and I'm sure some running and biking will find their way in the plans for this week and weekend, too.