Happy Anniversary!!!

Okay, 5 months since my last post...I'm super lame, totally no excuses. BUT as of August 30th, I've been here over a year...WOWZA! Our original plan was to at least give it a year...well we surpassed our goal...YAY! I'm not gonna lie, it was a tough year...trying to adjust to a new place, new job is not an easy task but we did and it seems like everything is just falling into place now.

Wes is working and kicking butt, my industry is recovering from the worst crash since the Great Depression. Our cat is no longer howling 24/7 because he misses his bro. We are both making friends. I'm also in the MBA program at UH.

Living in Hawaii is definitely a treat but it is also one of the top 5 most expensive places to live in the United States. We have learned to be very creative with our budget. For example, milk at Foodland (local grocery store) is about $9/gallon!!! I'm a total moo juice lover so going dairy free is not an option. We shop at the big boxes: Costco and Sam's Club. Safeway is to supplement what we couldn't get at Costco or Sam's and only if it's on sale. Farmer's markets are abundant but you have to be careful because sometimes they tend to be more expensive! Chinatown has the best prices on produce hands down.

One thing that I have noticed and love is that people like to share here. If they have a papaya or mango tree, they'll bring you a big bag...free stuff is the best stuff. Gotta love a coconut milk and papaya smoothie. During the holidays, my clients bring TONS of gifts: sushi platters, gift cards, cookies, cakes, candy, Hawaiian popcorn, macadamia nuts, more macadamia nuts. Gotta love generosity!

At times during the last year we questioned whether we made the right decision but as we sit here on a Saturday morning, looking out at the ocean and a new adventure planned...we know we made the RIGHT decision.

Aloha

Watchale...it's Cinco de Mayo

Finding good Mexican food in Hawaii is near impossible...correction, it is impossible. Since I always rant to my co-workers about it, I figured I'd grace them with some authentic Mexi treats. I made enchiladas, spanish rice, beans and brought in all the fixin's. Needless, to say it was a BIG hit. I'm on a very restricted diet so I just watched as they devoured the goodies. I could of gone for a big ol' margarita though...double tall, rocks, salt, splash of cran...mmm.

It's gonna be a Funging good time...

Hanauma Bay

Hawaii was graced with the cupcake princess' presence! Fu and Jaymee came out for Mindy's wedding and I was able to hang out when work wasn't getting in the way. I love it when visitors come...kinda gets lonely out here on this rock 3000 miles away.

I picked them up from the airport and got them all checked in to the Marriott on the beach...I got them a local discount...the room was awesome...I was a little envious :)

I took the day off work so we could go snorkeling at Hanauma Bay...what an adventure. The weather wsan't the most cooperative but we decided to check it out anyways. I wish my underwater camera hadn't leaked because I would have gotten some priceless pics...you know what I'm talking about Fu. The images are forever ingrained in my brain...Fu thrashing around in about 2 feet of water and then practicing for a spot on my competitive snorkeling team :) Afterward, we indulged in some cupcake goodness from Cake Couture...peanut butter and jelly cupcakes...mmmm. Then it was time for Cheeseburger in Paradise with lava flows, then it was Nobu (waaay overrated) for dinner to see a cute waiter/scooter.

Their last day came way too fast...we floated around on our most awesome floaties, had lunch with more lava flows, had our floaties stolen, bought more floaties, got to see the parallel parker dance moves, made a pit stop for some coconut syrup and hurricane popcorn and voila off to the airport.

It's always so sad when visitors leave :( Had fun girls!!!

Maui

So we took the ferry over to Maui to see Mica and Dave. It was the WORST weather...so windy and cold! Thank god for Dramamine...the Superferry was rocking and rolling. We saw very few whales since it was so windy. We got a last minute room at the Wailea Marriot Beach Resort for $120 on Hotwire....awesome...plus Mica and Dave were staying there too :)

Since we got there pretty early, we ate lunch and met up with our Seattle buds. We decided to go on a snorkeling adventure. We ended up at Makena Landing...the water was fuhreezing and it looked like chocolate milk from churning on the shore. The guys of course had to show off and show us how tough they were. They said it was awesome so Mica and I slowly immersed ourselves. The coral in Maui is AMAZING, nothing like on Oahu. We saw quite a bit of fish and the clarity of the water was surreal. My snorkel mask was leaking a bit so I figured I'd try to snorkel without my mask...um, yeah, I'm a serious douche bag. Opening your eyes under saltwater equals can't see shit...lol. All in all it was a successful snorkel adventure.

The next day we had booked a snorkel tour out to Molokini Crater. It's whale season so there was bound to see lots of whale watching as well. It was so windy but we lucked out by the time we went to Molokini, it was pretty calm and tons of fish. On our way back we cruised around the West side of Maui a bit...got to see Big Beach and Little Beach (nudist beach). We saw tons of whales but the most memorable were the whales that were having sexy time...oh yeah!

It was great to see familiar faces, even if it was just for the weekend!





Our hotel in Wailea





Molokini Crater

It's been a LONG time!

Wow...I have been a VERY BAD blogger, no entries for four months...yikes. A lot has happened since October:

-Completed my move from Seattle, the final move was drama laden and super stressful. In the end our stuff got here, the hubby, 2 cats and 2 clown fish made it.

-4 days after we got here our beloved Cheech died...poor little guy had heart disease and didn't tell us. At least he got to see Hawaii...miss you so much sugar pea :(

-The next day Wes was rear ended.

-That weekend, some crazy guy came running through our living room threatening to kick our ass because he thought we threw a beer bottle at him from the 33rd floor..um no. He then proceeded to kick in the door at out neighbor's downstairs...he was drunk, it was his birthday, he went to jail.

-Our house in Seattle was burglarized...um property manager, you are not supposed to leave 20 newspapers piled up on the porch! Items taken were irreplaceable :( Pics, financial info, Coast Guard uniforms, diplomas.

-Said property manager did not leave the water running, our pipes froze and burst!

-A crazy at the International Market told Wes he looked like Obama and then tried to cut him with a razor blade...apparently the guy had been doing that all day and luckily the police tackled him in haz mat suits!

-Remember the Brady Bunch tiki episode...they took the tiki and they had lots of bad luck...um yeah, I think Wes put some rocks in his pockets or something...haha

-Glad to say all is well now :)

-Went to Omaha for work, it was COLD! Flying to the Midwest from the middle of the Pacific is not fun...I had enough segments/miles that I'm now an MVP mileage member!

-Our house was finally rented!

-We've been checking out new places every week and playing tourist.

-We finally discovered THE turtle beach...so cool.

-All in all, life is settling down and we are settling in.

I promise to be a better blogger. We are heading to Maui this weekend to crash Mica's vacation :) We'll be taking the Hawaii Superferry over for a little whale watching and fly back. Having my HI DL, is awesome cuz I now get kama'aina rates...gotta love a good deal.

Later gators

Germaine's Luau

Wednesday we had reservations for Germaine's. I had been like 4 years ago but it's always a treat for first timers. An extra bonus was the kama'aina discount...we got $30 off each ticket cuz I live here...woot woot.

We had to fight a little traffic to get there but it was well worth it. It's located right on Barber's point and the sunsets are pretty amazing.

They did the imu presentation, which ironically Emilie is vegetarian so pulling out the pig from the ground was pretty funny. Those of you who have never tried kalua pork...omg, so missing out...fantabulous.

Our meal tickets also included 3 drink tickets each...guess what we ordered...mai tai's! Although, I was only able to drink two, we had tipped the bartender so he assumed we wanted rum with a splash of juice...oy.

I was a little concerned that Emilie wouldn't get to eat much since she's vegetarian...nope, no worries there...plates were piled to the max. My faves were the kalua pork and the haupia (coconut). Ono grinds :)


One of the dancers


Self portrait skills are lacking here :)


Two fisting


Nice plate!

Cirque Hawaii and Dukes

On Monday Emilie booked us for Cirque Hawaii. I hurried home from work and we cruised over to the theater...were we in for a treat...lol. I'm used to the Vegas Cirques: O, Mystere, Love...um not so much. It was so low budget it was awesome. The acrobatics were impressive none the less. We had a few mai tai's and yesterday's overly buttery popcorn. They pulled some dudes out of the crowd to embarrass themselves and then on to the show. I got in trouble for taking pictures...seriously? my flash was off too...lame.

Afterwards, we headed over to Dukes for some more mai tai's...seeing a trend here? We had a great time, good food, awesome music, great drinks and lots of self portraits.

I live pretty close to the beach but stumbling back at night was quite the adventure...haha.


Getting the camera warmed up


In the theater with our tai's


Vili the Warrior embarrassing the tourists


Who's thinking about work in the morning...not me!


Evidence of a good night :)