Newbies

Well I've been getting into shape again. It's about time! I think I am going to do a half-marathon in the Fall, so I want to be in shape for it once it's time to start training. Which is soon. I think the marathon last year was a little much for me to make a respectable time goal, so I'm going to backtrack and work harder.

I have been surfing! I got up a few weeks ago, under Isaac's instruction. Actually getting up and riding a board down the wave was exhilarating. I screamed, quite loudly, "I'm doing it!! I'm DOIIINNNNG IIITTT!" which subsequently made me seem like a huge dorky haole. Oh well. It felt amazing, and made all of the soreness in my arms and neck from paddling worth it. The other people out in the surf with us were super friendly. The kind of people who act like they've always known you, despite not knowing your name. They'd help me out a lot "Paddle paddle paddle! You can catch this wave, go go go girl!" and "Ah, that's ok that you fell, you'll get up next time." The less competitive surfers are friendly and I like them. (But it'll be years before I attempt introducing myself on the North shore, which is much less friendly to people who aren't as good at surfing).

Did some whale watching last week. A video of a few clips of the whales we saw is up on my facebook. Why is it that we feel a need to connect with animals in a completely different world? Is it good or bad? I don't know, but the entire time, I wanted nothing but to put on a snorkel mask and fins, and jump in and introduce myself. Maybe I was a whale in a past life.

We have new neighbors! They're pretty cool. One of them kinda reminds me of some of the folks back in Chinle. They are new, and I love not being the newest kid on the block now. I have been sharing with them all the things I didn't pick up on quickly enough when we first got here, trying to be helpful of. (And hopefully being more helpful than annoying). Taking them to one of my favorite beaches today.

New friends? Let's hope. Make new friends, keep the old, one is silver, the others need to get out here and visit.

:-)

Aloha!

Missing My Boy

Work!

I work now. It's what I do. I'm employed. So gleeful am I, to have an income and a simple purpose every day.

I realized that when you don't have a designated "job" that you do, you can only give yourself hobby-centric goals for so long before you start to feel as though you lack a purpose in life. Waking up before the sun rose to shower because there was a reason to be up and getting ready felt sort of liberating the first time I did it this week. No more wasted time. No more failing to set an alarm because I feel I have no need to be up for anything.

Even if I am selling produce and getting to know the local grub and the local farm economy, I'm pleased as punch to be doing it. It doesn't hurt that I love food, and spend my day eyeballing all the treats available while I fantasize about what I'd concoct with them...

But anyway, I have a job. I'm making a little bit of money. My boss(es) are super nice, and even listen to my ideas.

Oh, and I get to be outside all the time. In Maui. Under the shade of a big ole tree. Spectacular.

Ciao!

There's our new bebe! A Vespa Piaggio PX150. Italians sure know how to make a sweet ride.

The fun part is that even though we got a second vehicle so that I'd have something to commute to a job with, Isaac really loves it. When he's done riding, he has a smile that could span the Great Wall of China.  I have a feeling he'll be on it a lot more than he initially thought.

                                                  

Since it's got 150cc's I have to get a motorcycle license to drive it legally. And since I have to learn to shift and balance, I'll be enrolling in motorcycle safety class this week. Hopefully I get it all worked out before I start work. Two job interviews tomorrow...pretty excited!!

Getting Visual!

Finally! The iMac made it, all in one piece and workin' just groovy. Which means...pictures! From our activities and our home.

We've done some snorkeling...

Lots of hiking, this bamboo one was a particular favorite.

We've swam and jumped off waterfalls, both high and low.

Spent a few hours almost every day at one beach or another,

and have been kayaking in Kauai.

After living in Utah and Chinle, we don't take water for granted anymore.

We've been introduced to new, exotic foods like cherimoya. So yummy.

Now, for some pics of our place. Sorry they're not great shots, but I like how colorful we made everything. Still need to buy some art and put some pictures up...

Green bedroom

Living room

Kitchen and our little two-person table.

Mango colored bathroom. Didn't get a full pic b/c I haven't finished one last detail of painting.

Blue office. We have a desk now but can't do anything else with it. The rest of the furniture in there belongs to the previous tenants, I think, so we're not sure what to do with it before we can get our own stuff in.

Partial back-yard view. Put up those flags...they remind me of Chinle, actually. Thanks for the big ones, Julie! :-)

That's all for now. There are some more on facebook. Aloha!

A Very New Year!

New Years is a very big deal in Hawaii, and the merriment of our neighbors--who are all still strangers-- filled our home.

Our house is on a hill near the ocean in what seems like a crowded area. Some houses are huge and brightly painted (and filled with several generations of people), some small and less noticable, some are in between or behind other houses.

Anyway, there was music, the smell of Hawaiian-style bar-b-que, fried foods, and the smell of beer in the air, older people talking and laughing, teenagers running around playing with fireworks and being just mischievous enough to be fun to watch, children screaming and playing, cheering for passing of the New Year in every time zone, and hours and hours of fireworks that could be seen and heard from every window.

I woke up this morning to the smell of fried fish and the sight of some Philipino parents and children de-feathering a chicken and preparing it for what I assume would be lunch. It made me laugh, though I'm not sure why.

Chickens are to Hawai'i what dogs are to Chinle. We have chickens and roosters in our yard, walking the sides of the road, in parking lots, in the jungle, at the beach... and they never let an early morning go by without a loud alarm. I never noticed them when I was just a tourist, but now that I live here I see them everywhere I look. I see them so much I'm starting to notice what I think are different breeds, as well as breed mixes.

Anyway, enjoy the next chicken you eat, and Hau'oli Makahiki Hou!

P.S. Every package has arrived now except for our computer. But I have a good feeling about this week...