Date day!

Usually my hubby and I plan an afternoon/evening where it's just us and we spend quality time: date night. We have fallen out of any routine over here in Hawai'i since we have so much time together in general but we still declare certain nights "date night." Today was an entire date day and it was awesome.

We woke up late in the morning but early enough to have a packed day. We decided it on dim sum for breakfast, which we haven't gone out for specifically since we've lived here so it was kind of exciting. The place we ate at in China town was just okay. The food was definitely fresh but we ordered some fried rice that I could tell I didn't need to eat any of.

Then we stopped by Kalihi to visit his grandma who just got back from the Philippines. She wasn't home so we hung out with his Uncle for a bit before we headed to out on our road trip.

With full tummies still full we headed west. We haven't spent much time at all on the Leeward side but wanted to explore a little today. We drove through Waipahu and Waianae and finally stopped at a Makaha beach. It was so quiet and so hot. We didn't stay long at all and decided we needed more familiarity (and shade).

It has been a while since we hit up Hale'iwa town so we got back on the freeway, northbound. It was nice to get back up there, especially since things are calmer up there with the winter swells hibernating. Passing through the pineapple fields, I sang songs to entertain my boo. First stop in Hale'iwa was Raging Isle. We shopped a bit and each got some shorts; his for surfing, mine with a partially expandable waistband for my expanding tummy. :)

I was happy to catch the post office and finally buy my stamps I've been saying I need to buy for almost a week. Then I spotted a health food store and knew I'd find something yummy and nutritious for that expanding tummy. Inside there is a health bar called Paradise Found Cafe; all vegetarian menu, which I can do on occasion. I ordered what turned out to be an awesome avocado sandwich. Loved it. We also got an acai bowl to share for the road. Just a block away was the shrimp truck awaiting my honey's bottomless stomach. We ate and were fully satisfied with our Hale'iwa treats.

Our final north shore stop-off was Ehukai beach park. We just layed in the sand and looked at cools shells. J went for a quick swim but the sun was too low for me by that point. I needed the exercise but we figured it's not worth the shivers that I'd get. It was so relaxing on the beach, especially compared to the chaos we usually have around us at Waikiki. Very nice close to our long day - which technically wasn't over.

We still needed to visit his adorable grandma back in Kalihi. We headed there for dinner and to catch up with her. I was pleasantly surprised that she had cooked sinigang for us (with bangos)! Definitely one of my favorite soups. After refusing to eat all the food she pulled out of the fridge for us as usual, we sat on the couch and watched funny Filipino tv together. It's always nice to spend time with his grandma; she's the nicest old lady ever.

I started to dose off on my hubby's lap and it was time to go. We took our treats she brought back for us and headed home. After a couple late night snacks (for me) and some tv, bed time never sounded so good. I'm surprised and glad I last all day without a nap or getting grumpy. Good times.

Looks like I fell off my blogging train again. Life has picked up I guess and sometimes I feel lost in the mix.

One of my dearest bestest friends now lives here! As of the 9th she is a local girl. :) I so wish we lived in the same town but we're getting together fairly often so far and making it work.

I went to the Brian McKnight concert on Valentine's Day with my friend (a girl). It was a great show; he's a true vocalist and is actually very funny. I don't think I'll ever get tired of his voice. I wish I could've gone with my boo but he had to work so we spent time before that. (I don't think he would've enjoyed it as much as me and my friend anyways.)

My honey made it up to me the following Tuesday by surprising me with a trip up north to the Polynesian Cultural Center. I had never been to that luau - or any other luau on this island actually. The food was good, but I wish we got there sooner to see more stuff around the exhibits. We took a canoe ride, and the show at the end of the night was cool. It was a big production, and I liked how they come up and down the isles throughout the whole show.

I finally had my pre-conception check-up last week. I was way overdue for my annual exam so it all worked out. My doctor said I'm healthy and she would expect me to have no problem getting pregnant, even with my cyst issues and longterm pill usage. She also did a cholesterol check on the spot. If I had just waited and not eaten my granola bar in the lobby it would've been a fasting glucose level but at least I have an update: my overall cholesterol went down 9 points, and while I do have high good cholesterol, I also have high bad cholesterol. I hate thinking about that stuff but it kind of weighs on the back of my mind. I am thin, active, and maintain a relatively healthy diet BUT my genes have betrayed me and I still have to watch my cholesterol. Poo. On the up side, I've increased my soy intake via tofu and soy milk. I started before I had the news about my cholesterol since I read soy can help encourage fertility on the woman's side. We'll see if it makes a difference for either of my goals!

And now, it's boo time. We would be surfing, but I'm trying not to prolong my sickness. Just a cold I think, but why drag it out when the waves may not be so good today anyway. I may not be so willing to pass once summer comes around...

**Happy New Year**

It's 2010! And obviously, the end of 2009 smacked me in the back of my head because I haven't made an entry since 11/16/09...yikes. So much has happened, but a here's a bullet-point update for now:

End of November

-Surfing small waves on south shores, prepared with snorkel gear in between sets.

-Watching big waves on North Shore (beaches closed at Waimea).

-Had Thanksgiving dinner with my boss and her family. I was so thankful she invited us and that J didn't end up having to work.

Pre-Christmas December:

-Billabong Girls' Surf Camp, Maui...that's a loaded one that I'll save for another time for a full explanation. Long story short, had a good time staying at The Ritz, meeting awesome women who surf, made some friends, surfed the most beautiful spot so far Honolua Bay.

-Returned from my trip to a house full of guests: 2 friends, 1 sister-in-law.

-Multiple santa hat surf sessions. :)

Christmas!

-Weird to be away from family during this holiday; I'm not a fan. But we had a good Christmas and God reminded me of just how important I am to Him through the little things.

-Spent Christmas Eve with J's family and Christmas day just the two of us after opening presents via webcam with my parents.

-A santa surf session until the sun went down, of course.

New apartment :(

-We just moved right before the end of December, because we were hoping to save a little and get a place that let's us bring our 5 surfboards inside. Too bad we got a place that turns out to have quite a bit of roaches. Currently we are trying to get out of our lease (after 3 days).

New Year's Eve

-J worked, so I went to Nanang's on my own until my friend came by to hang. (Funny story is that we graduated same high school same year, and ran into each other here about a month ago - small world.) Kalihi is bananas on New Years and it was awesome!

TODAY

-Went to church and I needed it! I'm feeling very discouraged because of our living situation. I woke up very negative. The youth pastor preached since our regular pastor was out sick and it was a timely message for both J and I - God just knows! :) Then had a good time with the youth, very refreshing as usual. I ask anyone who got to the end of this entry to join me in praying for another place to live and that our landlord will give us minimal hassle to get out of the lease we just signed. There is already a potential location that would be extremely ideal, but we're waiting to hear back if it's even available for rent.

Please, oh please, I hope, I hope...

The last weekend in August

My hubby had a surprise for me last Saturday and Sunday; he was gonna take me somewhere he'd gone before, but knew it would be a new experience for me.

All I knew was that we were headed towards the North Shore. I was super excited until I realized that there was no SD card in my camera! Nooooooooo! So we stopped in Hale'iwa town to pick up our 2GB of memory to capture the days events.

[Pic, top: famous Hale'iwa sign / Pic, below: cop on an ATV on thefamous Hale'iwa bridge]

Hale'iwa was busy as ever with tourists. And the roads seemed a little backed up, but we attributed it to tourism and slowly made our way to our goal destination...Waimea Valley.

This is where you can walk through about a kilometer of preserved Hawaiian native plants. There are rare birds, and at the end of the hike you get to see Waimea Falls. Here are some of the pics we took along the way...

We didn't swim because the falls was low, and the water seemed a little stale murkier than he remembered, so maybe next time. It was a nice hike; flat, not too long both-ways, not too crowded. We didn't get to see the endangered bird that lives there, the 'alae 'ua (Hawaiian moorhen), but we saw that pekake (peacock) and chickens of course, and a few others. The highlight of course was waiting for hubby to walk all the way back to the falls to find the car keys - oh boy.

On our way back, we stopped in Hale'iwa again for some dinner at Cholo's Mexican Restaurant. It was either that or the Thai food truck, which I'll have to wait for. I was craving some goooood Mexican food for sure. The were out of tamales, so I got fish tacos (ahi). It can be hit or miss with fish tacos, but they were loaded, very yummy. Plus, they had a few hot sauces I had never tried. Some burned, some didn't, but it was all good. We checked out a little surf museum and several surf shops, then headed to Sunset Beach Park to watch...the sunset. (haha)

We were shocked to see the swells happening - it's still summer! Not sure why, but there were freak swells crackin' and we watched for at least an hour, until the sun was gone. We don't even have a rack on our car to bring the boards, but we wished were good enough to surf there in the first place...someday! That will be one of our goals while living here.

The sunset was gorgeous, but the ending was a bit stifled by some clouds on the horizon, as usual. Still got some great pics and even some with surfer silhouettes - nice.

One last look...

...and then we headed home.

That was Saturday. Here is Sunday; more simple, but still awesome:

Went to our new church, met a couple people that seemed interested in actually seeing us to say hi again some other time (I dunno, just got that vibe). Then we went grocery shopping and got all the goods at Safeway. Had some good eats at home, then took a nap. THEN we got ready to go SURFING. Geared up with board shorts and SPF 85, we grabbed our boards and headed to Waikiki. We were ready to go! But the waves were not. It was completely flat!!

We didn't let the moment go: we bought some extra cheap goggles and paddled out to do some "diving" and look at the reef and fishes just off shore. That was a lot of fun. When the waves aren't coming in so constant, you can see everything down there. Just FYI, we did find Nemo. (wakka wakka)

Some waves started to pick up (about 2-footers), since the tide comes in right after sunset. So as the sun was setting, we joined the dedicated surfers who had been out for hours catching what they could. I caught a lot of those little waves and stood up every time with the pink and orange sky behind me.

To satisfy our newly grown appetites, we grabbed some dinner at the burger joint my boss also owns, called Teddy's Bigger Burgers in Waikiki. Heard it was really good, even back in Washington, but we put them to the test ourselves and boy did they passed. Really really good burgers; we'll be back for sure! Of all the burgers we've had here so far, Teddy's has been the best by far.

We decided to walk around the block since my honey at a double 9-oz patty burger - yeah, yikes. We stopped at a part of the beach where Indiana Jones was playing at an outdoor theater screen. So awesome! Wasn't a fan of the movie, but it was cool to sit in the sand under the stars and moon with all those people, just watchin' a movie. Then we rented one on our own, and it was all a perfect end to a perfect day.

Corny, I know. And much longer than I thought it would be! It was like two full days of being on a date with my husband; we don't get a lot of those opportunities, but now we'll be looking for them.