First Birthday Party

Well it's happened: my son is 1-year old. A year ago (and one day) I held in my arms the most precious person I've ever met. He's changed and grown so much since that day. I guess I have a little too.

I wanted to make his first birthday party a party to remember. It would be the first kids party I throw, and an important one for my first and only son. I planned for a month: buying decorations, supplies, goodie bags, setting a menu, ordering and designing the cake, etc. But the party that took place was not the one laid out on my spreadsheet. There wasn't a column for snow and ice. There definitely wasn't a row for measles.

God had a different party planned. His spreadsheet did have snow and ice, which thankfully melted by this morning. His vision included Kole having measles, which also thankfully cleared up a lot by today. Unfortunately I lost a lot of invitees because of those things, and that was hard to swallow.

"No kids coming?? But God, I bought all this stuff for the goodie bags! And look at all this food!"

"Let me show you something." He replied. And that He did.

A wonderful handful of my friends came through, and a lot of family friends filled the house by the time I was finished decorating. Quality time, good conversation, bomb food, and lots of love to celebrate Kole - those were on my spreadsheet. Those are what matter the most.

I'm not gonna lie, I still feel some disappointment to miss out on seeing some people I love, but I'm glad to add to my life list of experiences where God edits my spreadsheet and the party is still a party.

I feel the clock ticking

It's less than three weeks until Kole's birthday and even less time until we'll be in leaving for Seattle. I'm feeling the pressure to get a million things done the way I want them to be done. I'm not always good at deadlines but I really do try most the time. Today I got a little bit done on a special guest book I'm getting printed for the party. I need to finish that and a video/slideshow too.

There really aren't enough hours in a day. We ran some errands at the mall and lost track of time. The boy got a late nap and was quite a challenge to put down for bed even though it was 2 hours past his normal bed time. Now it's late and I should be sleeping soon but I need to sort my upcoming tasks, jot down a couple lists of things we need, clean the kitchen and the living room...I should also fold the laundry buuuuut that will have to wait until tomorrow.

It's so true that a woman's work is never done, especially moms. I hope someday I'll learn to work the hours we're given. Until then I'll just keep living off minimal sleep.

Good night!

Happy birthday to me!

I am 26 years old. I am officially "mid-to-late-20's" :) haha! I don't feel old, but it always feels weird to say I'm another year older and being around younger people just sinks it deeper into my aging bones and brain. I got to spend the entire day with my lovely husband who made every effort to please the will of Queen Olive for the day. I like days like this.

I got to sleep in thanks to my co-worker KR who covered for me - thank you my dear! And we were planning on eating at the fabulous Halekulani breakfast buffet at House Without A Key restaurant, but that sleeping in part kinda trumped so we headed to Kailua for our first visit to Cinnamon's. I have been looking forward to eating there since it's so popular. We shared a 2-stack of red velvet pancakes and by the time he got through his omelette, and I got through my meatloaf sandwich, there was no more room for the infamous guava chiffon pancakes. But that's just more of an excuse to come back, which we will definitely do. I was super impressed with our selections (I'll review later), but the hype can't be for nothing right? And I wanna see what the real fuss is about.

We stopped at the mall afterwards and got my long awaited avocado bubble shake....mmmmmmm! Walked around a bit, but we were both tired and feeling under the weather on top of it, so headed home. We chilled on the couch and cuddled a bit, falling asleep for a short time. I knew he'd want to surf since he had already called in sick to work anyways so since it was my birthday I decided I'd treat myself to some waves as well. I did my best to catch on my knees rather than paddling on my stomach the whole time. That is so new to my body and I'm sure I'll be recovering still in a couple days. Caught some worthwhile rides and it just felt so good to be out there again, especially with my boo.

Came home, got showered up, and ready for dinner. I chose The Old Spaghetti Factory since it's been months since we ate there. I like that place. It's a full meal deal for a good price; can't beat that! Although I couldn't finish off my meal, I was satisfied and felt special sitting in the trolley and getting sung to for my birthday with a candle in my ice cream. Simple joys of getting a little attention, haha! :)

We arrived back to our area just in time for the huge concert getting out - so many people crossing at every corner! We missed several turns trying to avoid them, then got caught in the worst part of it all and basically took 30-40 minutes to travel what should've been 3 blocks. Ay ay ay! Now that we're home, it's couch potato time as we let our food settle and soon enough it will be b e d t i m e zzZZZ...

It's May; one week down

Not sure what to blab about tonight. Just home, my honey is at work, still hate these nights. I am doing ok, just watching tv and going on Facebook. Currently watching Hustle & Flow - sad movie mang. Even if he ended up on the radio, you can't fully rise up while maintaining a 'hood mentality. That's just the truth.

We celebrated my boo's birthday on Thursday (and Friday). We ate lunch buffet at Makino Chaya and dinner at The Yardhouse. We napped, and he got to surf a little. I got him a watch and his favorite cheesecake from Cheesecake Factory. We extended our celebration by visiting his family last night, and watching a late showing of Iron Man 2. I generally really dislike seeing movies on opening day because I don't like crowds or waiting (lol) but occasionally I'll do it for my honey. It was kinda worth it, and not as bad as it could've been as far as crowds. Good sequel, not necessarily better than the first, like people have said. Not sure how I feel about Cheadle in the mix, but at least he's not racist. *cough*terrencehoward*cough*

As for American Idol, the last two eliminations have been long overdue. No one on the show has a "bad" voice, but Siobhan and Aaron are not artists in the way the winner of the show should be. Aaron is young; he's got skills and time to develop them. Siobhan can blow but she also would need time to diversify and develop. I'm still routing for Crystal and Lee the most. Casey is ok, but not quite star material. Mike will undoubtedly do something after the show...maybe an album...hopefully broadway.

Gotta get ready for bed soon so I'm rested for church. Last Sunday was awesome. We had missed two weeks in a row, and that never feels good. The message was great - about reading the Bible as a worship, not just discipline. Then the time with the kids was forced inside by rainy weather. We played a game inside and got to break into small groups, which is my favorite time. The other girl and I just kept all the girls in one group, rather than two, which I also like. The subject of demonic oppression via night terrors or even while just trying to sleep came up. Very interesting to see who has experienced it and who hasn't. There's fear in those who haven't experienced it, and almost an unhealthy ignorance about it from those who have. I hope it's something we can continue to dialogue about to educate each other and just make sure it's not dealt with alone for anyone.

Tomorrow is Mother's Day! Happy Mother's Day to all the mamas! You are blessed and a blessing!

Still looking for my Turtle...

It's May, and my honey loves me

Aloha, well, it's May already. We've zoomed through 4 whole months of this year; time really does go by faster as you get older. Speaking of getting older, my husband's birthday is this coming Thursday. I'm excited to treat him...but I don't know what to do yet! I have some ideas and he said a couple things he wants to do, but I gotta make it really special for him. He always has a surprise for me, and I want him to feel as special as he makes me feel.

Today I got a glimpse of one side of that love. While I do like my job, I applied at Billabong for the heck of it to see if they would hire me on for one day per week (or less, hehe). The interview went well; the manager admitted she wanted to hire me before she even scheduled the interview! That feels good. BUT they ask part time be a minimum of 3 shifts per week, and their shifts are 8 hours long. *sad face* As much as I do want to work there pretty bad, I never intended to inconvenience my current boss. She's good to me, and I would never want to leave her hanging. SO I have a second interview/meeting with her and another manager to find out if she was able to pull some strings to get me down to 2 nights a week, starting at 6pm until about 11:30pm. I'd like that for sure. BUT my honey wants me to do only 1 night per week. This is not a controlling hubby; this is a protective, loving hubby. He is worried about me walking home around midnight, and he would rather buy me everything I want than have me work there just for a discount. This may sound a little silly from an outside perspective, but the way he expressed it to me was so sweet and I'm thankful I didn't get defensive since he basically shot down the idea, but I realized his motives - and I like them.

Back to getting "older"...

His birthday is making me reflect in advance on my 26th birthday in a few months. By no means is that old, but it is over the 20-something hill. That's a weird concept for me, especially with becoming a mama on my mind. I sure hope I pop one out before I'm 27! I can already feel more difference in my body regarding recovery time. I can tell I'm more the tired the next day when I've had a busy day before, or that I really do need those 8 hours of sleep. Not anxious about aging yet, but it's interesting.

Worn out from a fun day

After observing a little bit this morning, and talking with the owner a lot, I am really excited to start working at this coffee shop. My new boss and I see eye-to-eye in many aspects of life and coffee. Very important and very FuN.

Met up with Hubby after and we went surfing. 1 rental board, 1 of his. It was a little windy for me, which made it colder and choppy (yes, I do get cold even outside here in Hawai'i). Good times, talked with a koo local surfer lady out there, maybe we'll see her again next time...

We went and ate lunch and Uncle's, then I felt the fatigue in my amateur arms start to set in. Took a nap while the boys got ready, then took those youngin's (9, 10, 18) to the beach with boogie boards and goggles. I watched them jump off the wall while I tried to save my skin from burning. Going to the beach once a day can be hard on my light skin, but twice made me a little worried. I'm ok though, no red today.

While they went to the pool, I made some chicken nuggets and brought 'em down. Then the boys & my boo played ping-pong while I began this blog upstairs.

I'm exhausted! But it was a great day. I love hanging with my boo and with the youngin's. I still have the motion of the ocean in my system so I'm actually kinda dizzy but nothing some chamomile can't calm I hope. I have orientation in the 9:00am, but since the 18-yr old youngin' will be staying the night, hopefully we'll still have time to wind down with a movie over here at our apartment...oh, and a snack too of course!

*Special note: It's my dear friends birthday back in Seattle, and I so wish I could be there to celebrate her life :) Happy Birthday J! Love you!*

...also, here's a pic of Turtle, sent to me today:

wow i miss this cat *sighhhhh

First Aloha Blog Post!

Wow, I finally got this going! I'll include many pics here & videos sometimes too. This blog is mostly intended to keep people back home updated with as much as I can post. In no way do I want this to replace personal messages or phone calls or webcam chats or etc. I value my Seattle family and as much as possible, I don't want distance to keep us from growing together.

Where to start...

I arrived Saturday 7/18/09, greeted aloha style with leis by my husband and RJ (his lil cousin). We stayed at his Uncle's that night so I could say hi to family. The next day is when I was first introduced to our new living space in Waikiki - a condo we're renting on the 27th floor of a building overlooking the Ala Wai Canal with views of the ocean [Above 2 pics: view of Waikiki, canal at sunset]. My honey picked a great building, very secure and it even has a parking garage and pool. *Thanks babe! ;)

We're settled now in our condo, which catches so much Hawaiian breeze that we don't need aircon. Various pics of our place are on my FB mobile albums uploads.

I am loving the temp and the beach. Most people know that I have issues retaining body heat, but that's not usually a problem here. I admit to wearing sweatshirts a few times a week, but hey, wutyugonnado?

[ Pic: 1st rainbow I saw since I moved here :)]

We've been attending New Hope O'ahu for the past couple weeks - a very large multi-campus church. The services are great but we're not set on staying yet. Searching and praying for a church that doesn't necessarily have to be smaller but very inviting and where we feel that call and welcome to serve.

We're keeping in touch with family in Seattle and making time for family here when we can. We even can pick fresh mangos from Uncle's tree! [Pic to the right] On 7/20 we celebrated J's Grandma's 81st birthday! [Pic above left] She seriously has more energy than me.

So now I'm looking for a part-time job with a flexible schedule (limited Sunday hrs, off by 5 always). I'm blessed to be able to stand pretty firm in that request since my husband has a good career. Praise 'im! I did get hired at as a barista at an impromptu interview on my BiRtHdAy [Pics below], however, as I spent time orienting for a full shift, this overbearing corporate coffee may clash with my liberal coffee culture lifestyle. This is another prayer point of course. 

 

[Pics: Waikiki fireworks, Fort Mall store, a collections of bday love, dinner at Todai]
 

Overall, adjusting to life here hasn't been too abrupt, except for not having my dearest family and friends and cat directly at my side. I'm trying to send a few postcards out every week so make sure I have your address so I don't skip you! :) I can see that making new friends and connections is going to take time, and a big thank you to those who have been referring me to people they know. I really appreciate that and will take the time to get in touch hopefully starting this coming week (or maybe after I get a job for sure). One other thing I'm lacking is daaaaancing. I'm getting exercise swimming, walking, trying to surf, and little home toning workouts but y'all know I gots t'dance!

Well it's real late now. Say ALOHA to Stitch! He's my homie and will be accompanying me in many pics.

♥AH HUI HOU♥