The day my brother saved my life ...

John, Hannah and I

....my kitchen and possibly even my marriage! That's quite a statement but probably not too far off! Ha ha. Just so everyone is aware this wasn't the first time my brother saved my life and it probably won't be the last either. To make a long story short, the dog we've been dog-sitting has been keeping us up at night. We've all (Joe, me and the dog probably moreso me) have all been super cranky, whiny, and just plain tired. It's been wearing on us, big time. I was talking to my bro yesterday and he was like "why don't you put her in a crate?" Ding Dong! The idea was ingenious - good job bro ( i love that kid!!) So last night we dug out the crate we had from our dog and put Denali's bed in it. She loved it, we loved it and we all slept amazing! I slept so well that I even got up at 4:45 and started cleaning my kitchen. It was long overdue for a good cleaning, and that's putting it mildly (sad but true)! I was in such a great mood when I woke up, all thanks to a good nights sleep! Amazing what a little rest can do for a person!

In other news, Joe and I went hiking this past weekend, it was absolutely awesome! I'll admit, it was originally a ploy to try to wear Denali out so she'd sleep at night. It was supposed to be a relatively easy 4.5 mile hike but of course we veered off-trail and went the path less traveled (literally). It was a tough hike in places as it was pretty steep but it lead to a waterfall and the views on the hike were amazing! I was pretty sore when we got home and covered in Mosquito bites (note: if you ever see the words waterfall and hike together - take bug spray cause there is a pretty high probability that there will be biting bugs!) but all in all it was well worth it!


Me at the beginning of the hike - def didn't look like this at the end! I was muddy and my hair was a mess thanks to all the humidity and the little bit of rain.

A gorgeous view! This is before we left the trail...


Joe and Denali once we found the Waterfall. If it doesn't look stunning in the picture, that's well because it wasn't. More like a trickle rather then a waterfall but oh well who cares - it was water and it was falling.

Just as I am Sunday

Guess what?!? It's Just as I am Sunday. Sweet Megan hosts this and I figured I would join in the fun today. If you want to participate in JAIA Sunday, more information is here.
So here's me, Just as I am:


I know, it's slightly scary. I was just a *little* excited to go to Dave and Busters with friends. And that is one of my super scary excited faces. Big eyes and all. Gotta love it! And the gang peace sign?!? I have no idea.... seemed like a good idea at the time?!? Who knows?
And on that note, have a great Sunday!

Favorite things about today

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So.... you're probably wondering about the Area 51 pictures? Well, I just broke 50 posts, this is my 51 post - Holy Guacamole! It's hard to believe, I had enough things worth posting about - it sure has been fun though! Anyway my list of favorites about today... it has been an awfully good day, afterall!

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Sleeping in! Well, if you define sleeping in as getting up at 5:30 to let the dog out (joy) and then going back to bed (which I do) then this totally counts. It was wonderful to sleep in a bit!
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New table and chairs! Well, not new per-say, but new to us! The table makes a wonderful additional to our otherwise rather stark living room. It just needed something else and the table was the perfect addition. We're using it as a desk right now, it is a great place where both of us can hang out with our computers and no longer have papers strewn about the couch! Fab-u-lous!
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We set up our guest room as a movie room! Woo hoo - tried it out today and it was awesome! Really all we did was push the bed against the wall, put a fitted sheet on the bed (just so happens to be flannel - hey it's super comfortable!) set up the big monitor and made a laptop docking station, piled a bunch of pillows on the bed and we are good to go! It's cool and has turned out to be the perfect place to watch movies!
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This soup....

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... is my favorite! I love the way it tastes and the first several ingredients are all ingredients I have in my cabinet and can pronounce! It is a little tough to find here, so when I do find it, I stock up! I had it for dinner and am in shock that I ate the ENTIRE can!!! It sure was good though!
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The one thing we set out to do today was make a return. And what is the one thing that didn't get accomplished? .... You guessed it! It was no fault but our own - the store has a twenty-one day return policy (????) and we were day twenty-two, no exceptions. Darn it! Anyone want a super-cute vest from Wet Seal? It may or may not be for sale, depending on if I can find anything to wear with it. I like it in theory, it's just a racerback and I have a hard time figuring out what to put under it. Sadly, Wet Seal has just lost my business. I hate saying bad things about companies, I really do like their clothes and was excited to shop at that store but they have a horrible return policy - no cash back or credit to a debit/credit card. I am a firm believer that customer satisfaction makes a business - I wanted something else from that store and would have done an even exchange and even asked if I could get store credit but alas no deal. Oh well, learned my lesson.
Wow, that was a really long introduction to say that even though we didn't get the return accomplished, we still had a great day. Since we were already in town, we decided to make an afternoon of it and visited some stores and and International Market.
I love my outfit in this pic (the shirt looks cuter in person - promise) . This shirt is one of my favs - it always makes my think of my Mom (not because she would wear something like this but) because we bought it together and had a lot of fun shopping together that day!
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Joe and I ate some amazing ice cream - it wasn't really ice cream though - not sure what it was - it was called a "Whip" and was dairy-free but looked (and tasted) like softserve. It was quite good but what made it incredible was the Pineapple that I paid extra put on top of it. Straight from the Dole Plantation, it was amazingly fresh and amazingly delish. Not too tangy and just the right amount of sweet! Yum! On the way home we saw a cruise ship docked - I have never seen one in person and was astounded at how massive those things are!! It's almost unbelievable!
All in all it was an awesome day! Now off to watch a movie and eat some M&M's, I mean ice cream, oops low-fat, low sodium popcorn?!? Riiight.....
:)
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Dog days

For the next *Three* (yes count 'em - 3) weeks we are watching Denali!

She's three-year old boxer pup and
at twenty-one in dog years I hardly think she's a pup but she reminds me of my Harley- pup, hence the "pup" reference.
I'm such a dork, I sing her name like the radio host jingle: De-li-lah.
If you have no idea what I am talking about check out this link and you'll hear the little jingle about thirty seconds in....
Joe thinks I'm crazy, but that's a post for another time.
She arrived at o'dark thirty (read 5:30 am) and proceeded to promptly pee all over my freshly swept and mopped bedroom floor. :( She didn't win any points there but frankly I was too tired to get upset.
Today, we have been chillin' together, I was reading outside and she was lounging in the backyard.

My sidekick:
We were just hanging out when all of the sudden this appeared:
That's right it's the neighbor's dog just popping under the fence to check things out! She does this periodically and it always cracks me up to see a dog head lying in our yard! Denali could have cared less, the neighbor's dog really wanted to play but Miss D was not interested at all!
If you look closely,on the left you can see the neighbor's dog trying to get under our fence, haha!

Oh and look - we have GRASS!!! We have been caring for this lawn like crazy and this past week the lawn has begin to sprout - woo hoo! There's still a lot missing in the middle (darn birds!) but we are hoping to buy more seed this weekend to fix that. And having Denali around should discourage the birds from gorging themselves on the buffet known as "our lawn". Maybe someday soon, we'll have grass we can actually walk on!

I saw this today on this blog. It really spoke to me. I am literally wasting my life away online. It's sad and awfully pathetic. So, for now I'm unplugging - the good Lord knows my lovely little MacBook sure could use a break, and frankly so could I. So here's to a day with endless possibilities...bring it on! As Sugarland says "there's gotta be something more" and today I'm going to try to find it.

These are a few of my favorite things

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Wind chimes, my new favorite thing. Sitting here totally blissed out enjoying the incredible beautiful sound of my neighbor's wind-chimes. Love it!

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Ice cream and M&Ms I mean cottage cheese and blueberries - yum. Oh sorry let me be a little more enthusiastic about that, I'm sure you can practically hear my sarcasm excitement... Seriously though, I am trying super hard not to eat as much Ice Cream and M&Ms as I am accustomed to and eat more good stuff. My waistline (and my husband) better thank me.

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Mail, real snail mail, real e-mail. Love it all. I almost told the postman today that seeing him was the highlight of my day but I refrained. Seeing him not only means that I get mail (yay) but that the workday is almost over and Joe will be home soon (double-yay)! I am lame, I know. I'm sure it was quite a sight today as I hopped all over the street trying desperately to pick up the pieces of the newspaper that flew all over the development - it was a bit blustery today. I'm pretty sure that was the moment that the postman (and the random neighbor) would call the highlight of their day, or maybe not. At least I got a good laugh out of it!

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This book, recommended to me by none other than the fabulous Alicia, is amazing! If you are married - download it to your Kindle, buy it on Amazon, drive to Borders or Barnes and Noble wherever your book buying place is & grab yourself a copy! I'm not finished it yet but so far it is excellent - no matter how long you've been married - 2 months (me) or 20 years, I think everyone will be able to take something away from this book. You can always check out the website too. If you read it, let me know, I'd love to know what you think! Do you know of any other good books for couples to read? What's on your reading list now?

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It may be almost bed-time on the East Coast but it's almost eatin' time here, gotta go get ready. Watch out folks, I'm making Pioneer Woman's Murphy's Hot Hamburger and yes that's the one with french-fries topped with hamburger and all drizzled in gravy goodness....me and my waistline absolutely can't wait....

*** Image from weheartit.com

Friday Funny

Ha, the Friday Funny?!? Who am I kidding - I am always running late, I guess. Can't blame it on traffic this time....
Without further adieu:


And finally a brand-new episode of "Name that Tune".... and no cheating and copying it into Google! ;) Just kidding cheat away, I'll never know the difference! Hint, it's one of my favorite songs that we have been singing a lot recently in church - and I love the lyric, what a good reminder!

"When we laugh, fill our smiles with You"

PS: How obvious is it that nothing exciting is going on in HI this weekend?!? We did catch a couple of good flicks but other than that, it's not too happening here. We'll have to change that for next weekend......


***Image from makeuseof.com

And yet another Thankful Thursday is upon us!

"It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God - that is our righteousness, holiness, and redemption."
1 Corinthians 1:30

I just love this verse and thought I would share!

This week, I am thankful for the simple things. Since I quit my job, got married and moved, I have been blessed with the gift of time. I've been fortunate to be able to take time to learn to cook, to spend time with Joe, play the piano again, take early morning runs, blog to my hearts content, read, spend time with family and friends (either in person or via Skype, G-chat or whatever means possible) and really figure out who I am again. I love having this gift of time - especially since I realize it is just that, a gift. Just remember we aren't guaranteed tomorrow, folks so we gotta start living life, like we really mean it, the way we're supposed to. And by we, I mean I - in case there was a need for clarification. :) I'm promise, I'm not trying to preach to the choir...

Enjoy your day!

:)

Everyone's Irish on March 17th!

Top 'o the morning to you!
(If only it was still morning...)

One of my favorite holidays, just a good 'ole fashioned fun holiday! Love the color green too so any excuse to wear it, I'm taking! Love it!
Started the day with a nice little run (something I am trying desperately to get back into) - of course I wore my green shirt from the Shamrock half-marathon last year- you know the one that I didn't run? Wanted to, just bronchitis got the best of me. They were kind enough to still send me a t-shirt though, thanks guys.... Anyway the whole time I was singing this little mantra to myself:
"Just keep running, running, running. What do we do? We run, run" (Finding Nemo, anyone?!?)
followed by
"You.are.a.rockstar!" (that was at the end, hey I'd do anything to get through it - ps: it worked.)
I always see these gorgeous flowers - I so wish pictures would do them justice... say hello, gorgeous:

I love living here, waking up seeing this amazing beauty everyday, I won't complain.

Last night, I made the most amazing dinner thanks to the Pioneer Woman, Ree. I love the Pioneer Women - if you haven't looked at her site - open a new tab and check it out now! Then come back to my page and leave me some love :) ! She is seriously amazing - every single recipe I make of hers is amazing. I convert all of her recipes into gluten free as needed and they still taste good. Last night was mini blueberry cobblers - I'm embarrassed to say that we ate the entire pan. And by we, I mean, mostly me. It's bad. As I told Alicia, the whole point of running is to take the weight off not put it back on....and trust me I know it's bad - even my underwear feels tight. Haha - so wish I was kidding. And I can't believe I just admitted that on my blog - oh geez! Don't judge me.....
I've been watching American Idol - last night's episode thanks to the six hour time difference, I'm always a little behind. Several of the songs gave me chills (Crystal, Siobhan, Didi, Lee Dewyze - man that raspy voice, loved his performance!) and several of the talks almost made me cry (don't laugh at me, Meg :) ) - Dad/daughter things always do that to me. I love this part of the show, this is when it really gets good.
Ok, enough randomness for the day - this has probably been one of the longest posts-in-progress, ever. I have seriously been working on this all day.

Happy Saint Patrick's Day!

I just wanted a picture of me with a palm tree in the background, since it's green and St. Patrick's day and I love Palm Trees, forgot we didn't have any grass, whoops (well you can see one patch by the gate)! And don't worry I am not standing nekeed in my backyard in broad daylight...I don't do it at night either just to clarify. I am wearing a green tube top - it's cute, wish you could see it....

"Sorrow may last for the night, his Joy comes in the morning!"

For some reason, I woke up with this song in my head today. I haven't heard this song in years (like since I used to sing it in the church band in high school) but it has a good message and was one that was applicable to my life.

Trading my Sorrows

I'm trading my sorrow
I'm trading my shame
I'm laying it down for the joy of the Lord

I'm trading my sickness
I'm trading my pain
I'm laying it down for the joy of the Lord

Chorus:
And we say yes Lord yes Lord yes yes Lord
Yes Lord yes Lord yes yes Lord
Yes Lord yes Lord yes yes Lord Amen

I'm pressed but not crushed persecuted not abandoned
Struck down but not destroyed
I'm blessed beyond the curse for his promise will endure
And his joy's gonna be my strength

Though the sorrow may last for the night
His joy comes with the morning

Joe and I are hunting the bargins at yardsales today and he has given me exactly 24 minutes to get ready. I guess I better hop to it, then!

Happy Saturday!!
:)

I'm a Beautiful Blogger :)

Or at least Jessie thinks so!
She nominated me for this Beautiful Blogger Award.
Thanks Jess - the divisioners reign on!

Here's how it works:

1. Thank the person who nominated you for this award.

2. Copy the award and place it on your blog.

3. Link to the person who nominated you for this award.

4. Share 7 interesting things about yourself.

5. Nominate 7 bloggers.

7 things about me:

I hate the beach but love the sun. Just kidding! I love the beach, I just wish it would stay there. I hate cleaning up the pounds of sand that seem to want to check out invade my residence.
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Movies that make me cry are generally my favorites
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If I am a passenger in a car and I am in the backseat I have to sit behind the driver. Always did growing up and now I get carsick if I'm on the other side. Oh and anytime I am in the car (as a passenger) and I am remotely tired, I will fall asleep, there are no exceptions. I can try to fight it but the end result is always the same
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I love OPI nail polish but do you think I own any?!? Nope! And here's why:
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I'm frugal, or rather, I just (over) justify every single purchase I make. Turns out half the stuff I want, I don't really need anyway. Works for me, less clutter in my house.
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I love to travel and see new places but I love to sleep in my own bed too. There's nothing like being home. I could never spend my entire life on the road.
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I have a crazy birth story.
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I love Army Wives - the tv show.
And, I loved it way before I ever met my army man and became an army wife.
New Season starts April 11th!
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So tell me, honestly, did anyone realize that there's eight things instead of seven? Just a little bonus :)


Happy Friday!

:)

Thursday Thankfuless

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I just realized it's Thursday and got really excited, time to post the thing's I'm thankful for!

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The maintenance men came and re-seeded the yard! Woo hoo, we didn't have to do it ourselves! Thank goodness, they had all the right tools and were able to accomplish in a few hours, what would have taken us Joe a really long time. It makes my day to look out there - we have cd's strewn about, the garden house "snaked" through the yard, and a rake with a Hawaiian shirt acting as a scarecrow- all in an effort to keep the birds from eating the bird grass seed. It cracks me up! Our neighbors probably think we have lost our minds! We are well on our way to having a lawn we can actually enjoy!
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I've been able to spend a lot of quality time with Joe this week - always a plus!! :) Oooo and he has a three-day weekend - Friday off! Double-bonus! Not that I don't love getting up with him at o'dark thirty but I never seem to go back to sleep once I'm up. Looking forward to sleeping in and then maybe exploring the island more! Who knows, maybe we'll find the set of "Lost"?!?
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Friends - I have been blessed this week with an outpouring of love from my friends. Old and new, whether it's spending time with them, skyping, e-mails, phone calls or snail mail (all of these things happened this week) - each interaction has been so encouraging to me!!
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Tried new recipes this week and so far all have been keepers! I am shocking myself with how well I am doing. I am more of a dishes kind of girl - meaning someone else cooks and I will happily do all the dishes. This arrangement served me well all the way through college, until now. Out of basic survival - neither of us want to starve or eat so much fast food that we weigh a gazillion pounds - I learned to cook. This week, I made a really good Honey Cashew Pork (without the Cashews) that was amazing, Chicken Cordon Bleu (the real way not the Houghton version of adding a piece of cheese and ham to the top of a grilled chicken breast), homemade GF pizza dough, made from scratch GF dinner rolls (kneading, giving time to rise, the whole nine yards = totally worth it- they were amazing!!!), a Beef golash recipe that was good. I astound myself every day - if you would have told me three months ago that I would learn to cook, I wouldn't have believed you, but alas here I am, not starving so I must be doing something right!
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Stepping out in faith (again) and will be volunteering at the church! So excited to start doing that - the opportunity to meet new people and to serve -two things that I have been missing in my life!
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Christmas music just started playing on the music player I am listening to! How random but it totally made me smile!

I'm still shocked that it's Thursday! Holy cow how is it possible that another week has gone by so fast?!? What are you thankful for this week?

My loves :)

This was the very last picture that was taken our last night in Maryland. It cracks me up everytime I see it! John was jumping around saying "I gave Hannah antlers" We didn't know he meant literal antlers! It was a great night - such fun!
Anyway I'm off to bed! More joy awaits in the morning!
Until then...
:)

Leaving you with some ABC's about me. I don't normally do these kind of things but I saw it on a blog friends post and thought it was cute.
A. AGE: 24
B. BED SIZE: Queen - perfect size for us!
C. CHORE YOU HATE: Cleaning the toilet
D. DOG'S NAME: Harley
E. ESSENTIAL "START THE DAY!" ITEM: Computer, i feel the need to check e-mail/blog often because of the 5 hour time difference I feel like I am always behind
F. FAVORITE COLOR: Teal
G. GOLD OR SILVER: I think gold jewelry looks best with my skin tone but I have mostly silver
H. HEIGHT: 5'2"
I. INSTRUMENTS YOU PLAY: Piano, would love to learn to play the guitar though!
J. JOB TITLE: House wife
K. KIDS: OP's - other people's kids at least for right now :)
L. LIVING ARRANGEMENTS: living in Hawaii with Joe - couldn't get any better
M. MOM'S NAME: Mom, ha ha
N. NICKNAME: Sweetpea which my dad shortens to "pea" but my friends call me Blondelle - haha long story or B - Joe's Dad calls me "Lady B" - how sweet!
O. OVERNIGHT HOSPITAL STAY: None since birth
P. PET PEEVE: Inconsiderate people
Q. QUOTE FROM A MOVIE: We are the Knights who say Neeh! (Monty Python)
R. RIGHTY OR LEFTY?: Righty
S. SIBLINGS: I have an amazing younger brother! Love him!
T. TIME YOU WAKE UP: Whenever Joe gets up but I get to go back to bed
U. UNDERWEAR: Yes, haha
V. VEGGIE YOU DISLIKE: Brussels Sprouts
W. WAYS REASONS YOU ARE LATE: Traffic
X. XRAYS YOU'VE HAD: A few, nothing too crazy
Y. YUMMY FOOD YOU MAKE: Meatloaf, though I am excited to try a few new recipes this week!
Z. ZOO ANIMALS YOU LIKE: Penguins

There's a very special man who has been on my mind a lot recently:

This picture was taken at my wedding and this man, my Granddad, is very near and dear to my heart. My family is my world and it is so tough to be so far away from them. It is extremely difficult and I pray that they know how much I love them, even though I am far away. I just want to throw my arms around their necks and give them big hugs and it hurts me that I can't do that.


Trying to remember Joshua 1:9
"Have I not commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with you wherever you go."

Manic Monday

It's not really a "Manic Monday" - I just love that song and it's Monday so it's apropos! Plus it makes me think of my mom -always a good thing! We used to watch Don and Marty on WJZ before school and they have people sing this song every Monday, those guys were funny. Wow, haven't thought about that show for a while.... good memories!
And now the moment you have all been waiting for..... the Weekend Recap! Welcome to my weekend y'all! Ha, as if it were exciting!

Friday was so not exciting - hardly worth posting about but we did have a nice dinner at Chili's (food was good - that's a first). It was Meg, Joe and our neighbor (who is hilarious - he keeps us in stitches). All the "plans" that we had originally made for the night got switched around. We were going to go bowling at the new bowling center (right down the street) but it wasn't open yet. Lo and behold, the grand opening is today at 9 am. I don't know who opens a bowling alley at 9 am on a Monday but hey I might just wonder over and get myself a (free) hotdog and bowl a bit. I come from a family of bowlers (seriously) and I love to bowl. I'm kind of partial to duckpin bowling but am pretty sure they won't have it here as it's pretty much a northeast thing. I can always hope though.... Who knows maybe I can convince Joe to join a bowling league? Ha! Once again, I can always hope! Anyway after discovering the closed bowling alley, we decided to go to Outback (love this place!) but everybody and their brother decided to show up and the wait was forever long! Um, no thanks! We hopped back in the car and ended up at Chili's. We then came back and chilled at the house and absolutely nothing exciting happened (unless you count video games for the boys and blogging for the girls exciting - in that case it was an exhilarating night...) I think Meg is now hooked on the blogging world :)

Saturday, Meg packed up and we met Matt at a diner for brunch. We then took her to the airport and bid her adieu, until next time. Of course, we stopped for ice cream at BR before she left! :)
Joe went to beach and the movies with the neighbor Sat afternoon/night. He had a good time and I was able to spend the night cleaning up our own personal beach that had accumulated over the past week. I was shocked at how much sand there was from Meg and I's beach adventures, it was unbelievable! I also did six loads of laundry - between sheets, towels, beach stuff and Joe's clothes I managed do it all except for my clothes! Fortunately that's what today's for - it's only one load and is almost done drying! So, it's nice to have our house back in order!

Sunday, our neighbor joined us for church and we had a great time. The sermon was on "Super-Sized" faith and was so encouraging! As a result, I decided to "step out in faith" (not kidding) and text one of the girls I met at Spa night to join me for a walk, since Joe was at the movies. We met up & walked for two hours! We were both surprised that we had been out that long - the time passed so quickly - we had a blast getting to know each other. She is a super-sweetheart and we are very similar - we really clicked and are looking forward to hanging out more this week! Yay for stepping out in faith - it worked out splendidly and yay for a new friend! :) When I got back from the walk, I found Joe had cleaned the yard (!!!) - it was such a nice surprise. It looked so nice! We spent the rest of the evening reading and being on the computer. I promised myself that I wouldn't be one of those girls but I succumbed, finally broke down and read Twilight. I really didn't want to like it, I even tried not to like it - if you know me at all you know that vampires so aren't my thing (not even a little bit) but I actually really liked the story. It was something different and lately the "something differents" have been working out for me, this was no exception. Maybe I should step out of my comfort zone more often.... Speaking of stepping out of the comfort zone - I have this quote from Donald Miller which rings true (used to ring true?) to me:
"humans are designed to seek comfort and order, and so if they have comfort and order, they tend to plant themselves, even if their comfort isn't all that comfortable. and even if they secretly want for something better."
Um, hello Donald Miller, I know we only met one time but you really should stop writing about my life. Ha. ha. I love Donald Miller, his words speak right to the depths of my soul. I'm trying to move away from this though - like I said the "something different" has been working for me recently and I'm going to try to not "plant" myself... I'll let you know how that goes!

I have been craving pizza for awhile now (just ask Meg or Joe) and there's only one place that serves Gluten-free pizza and it is far away, and expensive, like almost not worth it expensive. So, I decided to break my vow of never making homemade pizza again and tried it last night. My last attempt at making homemade pizza involved an intervention by my roommate and her now husband because I was too covered in sticky dough to do anything. It probably wasn't what they were expecting when they came home, haha but thanks to their help I was free to try again. I almost didn't since the last experience was such a failure but folks, I was desperate.
Joe said he was scared to try it (he wasn't the only one) but when we ate it, it was surprisingly good for a GF pizza. I loved it and will definitely eat it again. Not sure about Joe but he sure was a good sport about the whole thing! I just love the old oven mitts from my first apartment, note the scissors in the back to cut the pizza (no pizza cutter for me, my fmaily always uses scissors and alas the tradition continues on!) and the necklace (love this necklace - my fav color and I love the person who gave it to me!!). Please do not notice the crazy out-of-control hair - I had just gotten rained on, on the way home from my walk and it's a little uncooperative, so...just look at the pizza!

Wow this is turning into quite the long post - sorry friends! I guess that's what you get when you have a housewife at home with (almost) nothing to do. I'm grooving to my "dance mix" radio station on Pandora - trying to get pumped for this day. It's gorgeous and as usual I'm not sure what I will be getting into....I love a day with endless possibilities! Enjoy it!

*Manic Monday image from wjz.com

Thankful Thursday

Wow, I can't believe it is Thursday already! This week sure went fast! A lot to be thankful for!

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An amazing sermon last night at Fuse. It was my first time there but I thoroughly enjoyed it, took way too many notes. I hope the information soaks into my brain and my heart and my life.
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Text messages from my mom! It makes my smile every time I see her name in my inbox!
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A devotional website that was particularly inspiring with this post. Wish I could figure out how to subscribe through my blog so I could catch up on it everyday. Might just have to join the mailing list!
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American Idol, it is a bright spot in my week. I just love listening to the contestants stories and hearing the songs. And Ellen always makes me laugh!
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If you know me, you are well aware of my love affair with teal - it's ok Joe's aware and perfectly cool with it. I.just.love.that.color. It makes me happy. My new favorite color combination: adding *a little* mustard to the teal. Sounds weird, looks cool. Wish I could figure out a way to use it in my house, it really does make me extremely happy.
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Toured the Arizona memorial yesterday at Pearl Harbor. Made me remember the great sacrifice so many before us have made for the freedom of our country. Made me think of all the military men in my life and how grateful I am for their service.
View of memorial from boat

View of the flag from inside the memorial
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My massive headache from yesterday is almost gone. It was a doozy but I am glad to be feeling better and hope to have a great day today!
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It's Jenn G's b-day today! Happy Birthday Girl! Live it up and enjoy your day!
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A few more pictures.....

A little Maryland pride - man o' man I love this state!

Meg and I on the boat. The gentleman who took this picture reminded me of my grandddad, I miss him!

Happy Thursday!

:)

Tsunami Saturday and other Hawaii Happenings

It's been awhile since I've last blogged - so sorry! There's a lot to catch you up on though! I don't have pictures yet but will post some as soon as I can! So here goes:

Meghan arrived safely last Thursday! She pulled up in a bright red Mustang convertible - how cool is that?!? What a great car to drive around in Hawaii! My little Honda hasn't left the parking lot since she arrived! Hope my driving skills don't get too rusty - haha!

Friday we got ready and went to the beach (of course)! We took a few wrong turns but didn't really mind as the countryside was so gorgeous. We didn't go to the beach we planned on going to (Bellows) but stopped at another one (Kailua) and it was awesome! We spent the whole day there - alternating getting in the water with sitting on the beach - it was wonderful! We walked on the beach and drove back home (through traffic but we didn't mind)! We ended the night with dinner at the Dixie Grill (yum-o)!

Saturday, was, well not the typical Saturday. I'm not calling this post Tsunami Saturday for nothing! At 4am, my phone starts ringing and after unsuccessfully trying to get a hold of Meg, her parents called me and told me we had to evacuate because a Tsunami was headed our way. We quickly grabbed the firesafe box (filled with important papers and other documents like wedding pictures) and packed for five days. In addition to clothes, I grabbed things like an entire package of soap, granola bars, apples, Gatorade and water. It really makes you realize your priorities in a time like that. It's hard to have to pick your most important stuff when it comes down to it. It's crazy but out of all the stuff we have, the only sentimental things I grabbed were my Bibles, Wedding Pictures and Softie (my teady bear that I have had forever). The rest didn't seem to matter at that point, and surprisingly it still doesn't - after-all it is just stuff. We pulled the couch away from the wall, unplugged everything, shut all the windows and doors and piled into the Jeep. We drove down to Costco to get gas and joined an already long line. We topped of the tank and got on the H1. I think because we left so early we missed the traffic. We were all silent, just listening to the radio give its account of the time line and what to do. We hit absolutely no traffic on the drive up to Schofield and arrived on base about 5:30. We drove around and then sat in the parking lot of the library. The sirens started going off which was scary - my already rapidly beating heart, started beating even faster. We were calm but still scared - we were safe but still worried about how the events of the day would unfold - we didn't really know what we would find when we got home, would we be working a relief effort? When went to the PX and wandered around the mall-like building for awhile. The lines were extremely long but everyone remained calm. Then we just waited - we sat at Starbucks and got a wireless signal so we were able to stay connected. I broke my no-Facebook rule for this event - it was the quickest way to get accurate information to the most amount of people, I think Jesus will understand (and note: I haven't been back on since). We were just waiting for either the Tsunami or the "all clear" signal. When we got tired of sitting inside, we moved outside - the were throngs of people (and animals) just waiting it out. We drove around the base for awhile then ventured off base, making sure to stay on high ground. We were driving around off base, in some of the prettiest countryside I have ever seen, when we got the "all clear". We continued to drive for fear that we would get stuck in a major traffic jam from everyone trying to head home. We found some cool places including Dillingham Ranch, a really cool YMCA camp (it's just waiting for you Alicia :) ) and even went off-roading! I was absolutely exhausted and could have been in a better mood but tried to enjoy what was left of the day. We all crashed when we got home - it was a pretty emotionally taxing day and we were all thankful to be home safe, sleeping in our own beds. I was so impressed with how the State of Hawaii handled the Tsunami - everyone remained calm - even though we were scared we just prepared for the worst and hoped for the best. Thankfully, we got the best as no one was harmed and no mass-destruction happened. I'd much rather have it that way then the alternative. Praise God for sparing Hawaii - we are all so grateful!

Sunday was filled with much fun! It started with an awesome sermon at church and was finished off with a fun-filled hike! We took Miss K (our almost 3-year old neighbor) along and had a blast. It was extremely muddy but it was such a fun trip which led to a gorgeous waterfall - it was totally worth it! We had to hurry on the way back for fear that it would start to get dark soon - we finished with no problem and headed off to McDonald's for dinner! It was a super fun trip and a great way to end the weekend!

Monday, Meg and I met up with Matt and checked out some more beaches on the North Shore. Unfortunately, we couldn't get too close to the water as that part of the beach was closed due to high waves. They were the highest waves I have ever seen in my whole life! It was unbelievable! We headed to Waikiki, where the beach was not closed. Meg and Matt got in the water and had a good time. I enjoyed my book (actually it was Meghan's book) on the beach. I highly recommend it - it is such a great story of hope and redemption - amazing story!

With all this beach time, I'm pretty proud that I have managed not to get sunburned yet - let's hope I can keep that streak going!

In other news, my next door neighbor will be leaving today (I may have to take her and the kids to the airport) until July. Her husband will remain here until they return. I'm sad to see her go, I've really enjoyed getting to know her and her kids, they are fabulous and have really been a bright spot in my life these past few weeks. I will definitely miss them!

And last but definitely not least....today is Meghan's birthday!

Happy Birthday Meghan!!!

Who knows what the day will hold - everyday we have had a plan and everyday (so far) the plan has changed. We'll see what happens!