Hawaii Pics--Part 2

1. Even chickens love drinking out of coconuts!
2. Mt. Wai' ale-ale--the wettest spot on earth (and perhaps a LOST filming location??)
3. An endangered Hawaiian Monk Seal! The three of us swam on shore together and then he hit the beach for a nap!
4. Steve and I and the top of Waimea Canyon. See that waterfall in the background? We hiked to the top of that waterfall!
5. Steve and I at the unbelievable Kalalau lookout.

Hawaii Pics--Part 1

1. Dinner at an awesome roadside place--ahi and shrimp skewers flow like water!
2. Sunset at the Bonzai Pipeline
3. Jumping for joy
4. Beach on Oahu--we left from here for our kayak/snorkeling trip
5. On the plane on the way to Hawaii. A LONG journey--but every minute was worth it!

Thanksgiving Thankfulness

I have so much to be thankful for this year. I do every year, but I feel especially lucky this year. In no particular order, here's what I'm thankful for this year:

• My FIANCE! (because I have one now!!) He's the greatest guy in the world and my love for him grows every day! (sorry to be sappy, but it's true and I don't care who knows it!)
• Hawaii--I can't believe that state is part of the US. It's amazing and I'm so lucky to have spent 10 days in this paradise!
• Family--their love and support is never ending and that's amazing
• Friends--I love my laid back, hilarious, crazy friends SO much
• Boots--I only have a few pairs but I love all the options and styles that are out there. Thanks fashion designers!
• My Health--This year I ran a half marathon, my best 5k ever, donated blood several times, and fought off e-coli and the worst sinus infection of my life. I'm thankful my body has held up for all that and I hope it does for years to come!
• My job--as much as I complain about it, I'm thankful to have one and to have kept it while thousands got laid off this year. Yowza.
• Sunshine
• Rainbows
• My pet cat, Sparkles (she's heaven!)
• Stars
• Nutella (be prepared to eat a whole jar at once if you've never had it--it's that good!)
• Diamond rings
• Addie and Sam--the best niece and nephew EVER. (especially in Halloween costumes!!) They light up my life!
• My apartment--even though it's cold and the floors are creaky-I love it so much!
• Quiet neighbors--quite a novelty if you've never had them!! Amazing!
• Having a reliable car! Yeah!
• Espresso makers--especially when they're free!
• Nature
• Avocados
• Safe traveling--I've been lucky enough to go on a lot of trips this year and I'm so very thankful to make it home safely after every one of them!

Hmmm I'm sure there's a lot more, but this is my definite list so far!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!

Blog Failure

I'm a blog failure! I've been out of town and busy and sort of forgot to post some comments...oops! Ahh the crazy life of the quarter-lifer...

Aloha Hawaii--Here We Come!

It is SO hard to focus at work when you're leaving for vacation in approximately 71 hours!! (but who's counting!?) I'll be spending 10 days in Hawaii with my boyfriend and I can't even wait!!! Honestly...who can focus on anything when you'll be headed here in just 71 hours!

Bathroom Etiquette

When you gotta go, you gotta go! No big deal--everyone HAS to go at multiple points throughout the day. It's human nature!

I'll give $5 to the person who can tell me why people feel it necessary to discuss why they're going to the bathroom in the first place! I can't tell you how many times I walk into the restroom at work or elsewhere and hear women say "Oh I drank too much coffee today!" or "Oh I shouldn't have had all that pop" or "Goodness! I drank so much water today". Is that really necessary?! Everyone is in the bathroom for one (or two!) purpose--no need to explain!

And how awkward is it when you hear people on the phone in a stall? If someone ever calls me and I hear toilets flushing in the background--you better believe I'm hanging up!

Next week's discussion....locker room etiquette at the gym...

Domestic Diva? Or Homemaker Horror?

Earlier this year I upgraded from a small, one bedroom apartment to a large, two bedroom townhouse/apartment place and I love it! It feels like a house, which makes me feel like I should do house-like things: cleaning, cooking, recycling, etc. I do a decent job with cleaning and recycling, but cooking is a different story...

I really enjoy cooking and baking, but as it turns out--I'm not very good at it (as evidence by previous blog posts highlighting several smoke alarm incidences...). Last week, a coworker gave me a starter kit for homemade bread. I was so excited with thoughts of homemade bread and I couldn't wait to impress my family and friends with it's deliciousness! I made the bread on Tuesday. I bought all the right ingredients, measured everything out exactly, and even poured the mixture into 2 brand new loaf pans I bought at the grocery store. My apartment filled with the tasty scent of homemade cinnamon bread!

I set the timer and took out the bread after 45 minutes, as instructed by the recipe. It still looked a little soupy, so I popped it back in the oven for a few minutes. When I took it out again, same result--still soupy in the middle, but the top was looking dry and burnt. After a few more minutes, I pulled out the bread again, only for the top to be char-grilled and black! Devastation! I let it cool for a while and then attempted to cut into it. The first slice came out great--delicious and warm! When I cut into the loaf for the second slice, the uncooked middle came oozing out the end! I started chopping up the loaf to inspect the damage and found multiple pieces of eggshell!! OOPS!!

Naturally, I did what any quarter-lifer would do--threw the destroyed loaf away and put the other loaf of denial in the fridge (out of sight--out of mind!) Then I called my mom to relay yet another story of cooking failure...