The Hawaii Chocolate Festival (+Soccer)

Saturday chocolate was calling beckoning me to eat, drink, and be happy! The 2nd Annual Hawaii Chocolate Festival took place at the Dole Cannery and it was something I am glad we didn't miss! For $22 Adrien and I received a passport good for 10 samples, an entry card for the grand prize drawing (chocolate pearls), and entertainment (dancing, songs, etc.). It was a blast, next year we know to go earlier so we can take advantage of the free seminars and spa aspects.

Chocolate beer, chocolate fettuccine, and a yummy fountain!

Chocolate wine selection, lilikoi cheesecake, and chocolate robots!

The we're 21yrs+ wristbands, we won a prize from the donation tree, the 50's retro band, decor on the tree.

Following the chocolate festival we made a pit stop at McDonalds to pick up a quick dinner then met Billy at the stadium parking lot. We were privileged to see the Hawaiian Islands Invitational Soccer Tournament for only the cost of parking (military special!). It was a fun evening!

I'm definitely staying busy... that's for sure!

Moving Bedrooms & Babies?

The reason for this post will confuse you, I promise. Why? Well, it simply confuses me. This morning around 3:30am I was abruptly woken up by the little boys that I share my master bedroom wall with. They are 2 & 4, the 4yr old is autistic... to say this is a random occurrence would be a lie. First- the design of our house is stupid, our master bedroom should not be the only shared wall in the house, it should be on the outside of the house like the neighbors is. Second- it's military housing, built fast, built cheap. Our floors are linoleum, our support beams are steel, the walls are thin, to say things echo is putting it lightly. Third- even if one boy wasn't autistic... little boys argue, and at night if one wakes up crying it's bound to make the other.

So, 3:30am I wake to screaming, stomping (which my floor moves because of being connected) and then one of the boys kicking the wall. I don't know who started it or which one woke up first, all I know is that I was frustrated to the point of shooting a ridiculous e-mail off to Quinn who can't do anything about it (even if he were here), and ranting on facebook. I tossed and turned for about 45min listening to the on-going commotion, then I cried for like 5min at the absurdity of the situation (finally moving out of the dreadful apartment we lived in only to have the same stuff- screaming/stomping -occur), and the thought that when these neighbors move the new ones could have a baby! At 4:30am I'd had enough and grabbed a couple of my pillows and a blanket and trudged across the hall to the guest bedroom. The bedroom that should be the master. Once I turned on the little fan for some white noise I eventually slipped back into sleep.

I woke up slowly to a red tinted room... the master has tan curtains, the guest has maroon. It was quiet, I could hear the fan and faintly the bamboo chime on the patio downstairs. It was peaceful. Everything a bedroom should be. My wheels started turning. Would it be feasible to transfer the bedrooms? The master has a walk-in closet and a connected bathroom. I could put my clothes in the guest closet and Quinn could leave his in the walk-in still leaving space for guests clothes when they do come. The bathroom... well, we don't use the guest one as it is- and it's just a little walk into the hallway from the guestroom and it's 2x the size of our master bath. I started thinking- this could work!

So... skipping breakfast I begin walking it out, where the dressers would go, where the stuff on the walls would transfer too, etc. Then I walked into the "man-cave" the smallest room out of the three. I thought- this would be a nice nursery, the master bedroom is big enough to combine the "man cave" (aka-office) and guest room and this could become baby L's room... WHAT THE HECK! WHERE DID THAT THOUGHT COME FROM? Didn't this whole thing stem from kids waking me up in the middle of the night? Sheesh.

So after all of that:
-I moved nothing
-I freaked myself out thinking about having a baby

Productive morning, right?

Dressing Up & Eating Out

Friday was Billy & Adrien's 5th wedding anniversary... Billy had contacted me earlier in the week telling me about meeting up at Lewer's Lounge to surprise Adrien after their dinner. The lounge required "night time dress" so it was fun to have an excuse to get dressed up! After we listened to the live music from the Asian Frank Sinatra (no, really!) two of the couples had to leave. The rest of us headed to the Hard Rock Cafe for some appetizers and drinks.

Saturday Adrien and I ended up going to one of the beaches on base and hunting for sea glass... despite the crazy wind and waves we actually ended up with quite a few good pieces! That evening we attended "Eat Out Kailua," an event held to benefit one of the elementary schools. Adrien and I tried Five-0 Ribs and Xtreme Tacos. Billy tried Soul Patrol... and we all enjoyed Fairy Cakes for dessert! We have decided that it will be our "3rd Saturday Tradition!" Soooooo yummy. =)

Sunday was church and then a fitness expo in Honolulu... sadly you had to pay to get in and it wasn't as large as we thought it would have been. I did manage to get a t-shirt, some pens, a flashing light to wear while running or riding my bike, hand sanitizer, and measuring spoons. The coolest thing was that I guessed my body fat percentage and was actually right! (17%) ...I am so glad to have Adrien & Billy as my friends, I wasn't feeling too hot this weekend and they let me join in on all of their fun!

Mandy's Visit - Lanikai Beach

Wednesday was Mandy's last day with me... I am so glad the weather was nice and sunny (although we both ended up getting sunburned!) for her since she experienced so much wind and rain during her week here. We took the day to relax, enjoy the refreshing water, and get one last shave ice from Island Snow before she needed to be at the airport.

I feel incredibly blessed that she was able to visit (Kat & Alex as well), it was so much fun to have her here for a week. I know we both needed this time! Praying for your husband that he stays safe and comes home to you very soon lady! I'm hoping we'll see you guys this fall.

After her whirlwind visit, I am feeling a little run-down... hoping I can keep myself from actually getting sick, although I can feel my body telling me otherwise!

Mandy's Visit - Valentine's Day

First... my lovely valentine gifts:

A handmade necklace I ordered, a candy box & cards from my parents, and finally beautiful flowers from my husband!

On Valentine's day... I got a little caught up around the house and did some work in town. Mandy, Kat, and Alex toured Pearl Harbor and hiked Diamond Head. I met up with them around 5pm at their hotel in Waikiki to take a dip in the pool then get ready for our dinner at Duke's!

Mandy's Visit - Hanauma Bay & Punchbowl

Monday morning we met up with Kat & Alex once again at Hanauma Bay... it's definitely a "tourist trap" but it was a great place for Mandy to snorkel for the first time! We saw tons of fish and soaked up the sun after the rainy Sunday we had experienced the day before.

Kat & Alex had to pick up some friends from the airport and check into their hotel so Mandy and I headed towards Hawaii Kai and enjoyed some Jamba Juice, Napoleon's Bakery items (Malasadas, jin-dui, and andagi), and finally headed to Bubbies for some mochi ice cream. Healthy, right?! Haha... on the way home I took her to Punchbowl for the view and to see the memorial.

Mandy's Visit - Makapu'u & Island Tour

On Sunday we met up with our mutual friends Kat & Alex (it was a mini Maryland reunion, so cool!) at my church. After church we grabbed lunch at my house then headed to the Makapu'u Lighthouse. On the hike up we saw one baby whale's tail, we also saw a group of mongoose. We tried to go to the beach afterwards but it was too windy and rainy. So we jumped in their rental (cherry red mustang!) and decided to drive the coast.

Our first stop on our coastal drive was China-man's Hat.... we goofed off a bit, but hey that's part of the fun, right?!

We continued north... and made a stop at Laie Point, finally got to eat at Giovanni's, then ended the day watching the sunset at the most fitting beach for it... Sunset Beach.

Mandy's Visit - Aloha Swap Meet & Pillbox

The most affordable place to get souvenirs on the island is at the Aloha Swap Meet, so I made sure Mandy had set aside Saturday morning to fit this in. While we were there she got a fresh coconut, gotta experience the local eats and drinks! After we bought beautiful sarongs, snacks, wood works, and jewelry we headed to Kailua to eat at the Lanikai Shrimp truck (delicious garlic shrimp & fish tacos!) then hike Pillbox.

The hike is pretty steep, but I loved it. I will definitely be taking family up there and Quinn when he gets home. The day was perfect, a little cloudy, breezy, with beautiful views. Man I love this place!

Mandy's Visit - Dole Plantation & Haleiwa

Friday morning we decided to head up to the Dole Plantation, Mandy heard the Dole Whip was a must-have... I agree, it is a must have! We walked around the plantation, while we didn't pay for the train ride or the tour, we  did get to see some new plantings and some awesome Rainbow Eucalyptus Trees (I'd never seen them before, they are beautiful and look like artwork!).

After the Dole Plantation we continued north to Haleiwa so Mandy could see the North Shore waves! We had planned on getting shrimp from Giovanni's but amazingly they were closed! Our guess is that they sold-out early. So we walked around Haleiwa, shopped, and ate Matsumoto's. After, we drove west on Farrington until the road ended and caught the last glimpse of the sunset.

Mandy's Visit - Whale Watching & SUP

I won't lie, Thursday morning was rough for me... being sick from the luau, I maybe got 4hrs of sleep total. But, we paid for a whale watching cruise and we were going no matter what! So up at 6am and out the door by 6:45am it was. We arrived at the perfect time to check-in and board the ship. We ran into the Captain first thing (I'm sad we didn't get a photo with him) he was a very genuine man and we found out he was a former Coastie! We sat down in the dining room, were given our safety brief, information on the whales, then we disembarked. Once we left the harbor breakfast was served, it was a nice continental breakfast- fresh fruit, yogurt, muffins, crescents, coffee, juice, and tea.

During breakfast we had our first whale sighting notification, we ran outside in time to see the "blow." We spent the entire rest of the cruise on the decks scanning the horizon for whales. We only ended up seeing three, but it was a beautiful morning out on the ocean!

Our cruise ended at 10:30am, since we were already in Waikiki we decided to spend some time hanging out at Ft. DeRussy Beach. Mandy really wanted to learn how to SUP so we rented a board, I gave her a few pointers, and off she went! While I was taking a turn on the board I spotted a sea turtle, so I furiously paddled back to the beach, had Mandy jump on the front of the board and paddled back out praying he was still cruising around... lucky us, he was! We followed him for about 15min and he even cruised right under our board and popped up for a perfect photo!

We called the day early since I really needed some sleep... after grabbing some shave ice we headed back to the house. I showered and climbed into bed for a 2hr nap, while Mandy soaked up the last few hours of sun at the beach near our house.

Mandy's Visit - Germaine's Luau

Mandy flew in on Tuesday and for her birthday yesterday (Wed) we ended up at Germaine's Luau on the west side of the island. The drive out there was interesting, you basically drove thru the most industrial park I've seen on the island so far... right next to the beach is a junk yard with smashed cars piled high. But, the location of the luau itself was beautiful! We arrived a bit early and took some photos on the beach, when we checked in we were given shell lei's, a dinner coupon, and 3 drink coupons. For the price we paid it was very nice!

The luau started with the traditional blowing of the conch shell and the Hawaiian chant/blessing. We were welcomed, given instructions, then we walked over to the imu for them to pull out the pig that had been slowly cooking all day. After the imu ceremony the show began. Once dinner was prepared we were dismissed slowly table by table.

Besides getting food poisoning (just me, thankfully- it was her birthday and vacation!) the night was really enjoyable. I do recommend the luau to others, lately I have had a very sensitive stomach, so most likely it was me reacting to the pork or cream sauces.

Meet Moku!

Today I got a new little piggie... His name is Moku, which means "Island" in Hawaiian. Which is fitting since he is an island piggie! He is very young, I am thinking almost too young to have been taken away from his mom (4 or 5wks). He fits in one hand and doesn't know how to drink water from the bottle. We have a lot of learning to do!

Pro Bowl 2012

Sunday January 29th, 2012

Billy, Adrien, Yvette, and I voted against tailgating... and we didn't exactly have a vehicle that a grill would fit in anyway... so we enjoyed a nice tasty lunch at Teddy's before heading across the island to Aloha Stadium. Once we got off the freeway, talk about traffic! WOW. We were finally herded out onto Ford Island, jumped on a yellow school bus, got dropped off over the bridge, and walked the 1/4mi to the line at the entrance gate. We all got wanded, my security guard was not the friendliest man, but eventually he let me pass.

We literally got to our seats just in the nick of time. Lucky us they pushed back kick-off from 2pm to 2:30pm or we really would have been late. The National Anthem was sung, the fighter jets flew overhead, and the game began! The mascots were definitely hilarious and kept the entertainment factor up since watching the cheerleaders did nothing for me except make me want to get in WAY better shape (some of those girl's abs, oh. my. gosh.). The game was alright, I felt like a lot of the players either didn't care or were a bit high and mighty about themselves. I really wanted to see the ball thrown to Fitzgerald a few more times, darn you Newton!

We managed to have some drama in our section... a very rude and distasteful man refused to pull up his sagging pants when a mother* politely asked so her 12yr old daughter who was sitting behind him didn't need to look at his butt-crack. Needless to say he turned around said some choice words and the yelling escalated from there. Adrien went to get the cops, a nice man stood up for the mother, and things fizzled out. Until the last 10min of the game where the man started cursing out the woman, her 16yr old, and 12yr old... our entire section was up in arms... the cops finally escorted him out and {shocker!} his daughter, yes he was this distasteful in front of his own daughter, who then promptly started cursing at the crowd and cops. Hmmm... I wonder who she learned that from? Dad? It was so sad to witness all of this.

Despite the drama and the lackluster play from the athletes, it was a fun experience. I got to see my favorite player score a touchdown, hung out with some great friends, and I really enjoyed the military tribute half-time show... the cheering for each branch and the "USA, USA, USA!" chants brought a smile to my face. I'm hoping it stays in Hawaii so we can go next year!


*We realized the mom sat next to us on the school bus. THEN she showed up at our Women's Bible Study this Thursday... small world? small island? Haha.