Mele Kalikimaka

Mele Kalikimaka is the thing to say

On a bright Hawaiian Christmas Day!

Well it's currently 81 and mostly sunny and weather-wise doesn't feel how you'd expect Christmas Day to feel. For my first Xmas in paradise I've done some extra work to create the holiday cheer.

I find it takes all your senses to create a memory. Since I can't make the temperature any colder, I'm working with my other senses to make things feel cheery and bright. I've got my eye, ears, nose and mouth full with the Chistmas spirit!!!

My house smells delicious with the holiday staples I'm cooking. I've got monkey bread for breakfast. For the midday meal I have turkey, dressing and homemade cranberry sauce. I'll end the day with a nice glass of wine (or maybe two). 

To keep the spirit going I have Christmas music on constant loop. I'm currently relaxing to Hawaiian slack key guitar Christmas hits. When that's done, I'll go back to iTunes Christmas classic audio station. If that gets to be too much, I'm sure there's a lifetime holiday movie on!

I didn't do too many decorations this year, but I bought a little tree that is tiny, but perfect. I've also brought out the holiday mugs for drinking my Kona coffee..yum! And nothing makes the place look more like the holidays than skype with the family, it almost felt like I was in the living room with them!

Here's what a Hawaiian holiday looks like:

Sand sculptures at the Sheraton Hotel

Christmas Eve rainbow (if you look closely, it's actually a double rainbow). I've been blessed with three rainbows in the last week!

My tiny tree out on my lanai

Holiday crafts at the hospital. Apparently I'm a fancy reindeer... But as always I live purple!!!

Flatpenny getting in on the Christmas fun!

Skype with the family

Through the years 

We all will be together,

If the Fates allow

Hang a star upon the higest bough. 

And have yourself a merry little Christmas now. 

And let's not forget the pic of the week:

Mahalo, Mele Kalikimaka, Merry Christmas & Happy holidays!!!

Welcome to Paradise

Hawaii is where people come to vacation.  It's now the place I call home. Living in paradise is different than visiting for a week or weekend. One thing that I've found incredibly entertaining are the weather reports. Since it's always 75-85 degrees and mostly sunny, the weather reports are beefed up with additional information that you don't normally hear on the mainland. 

Surf report- What's are the waves gonna be like for the next three days? Will they be big enough for the competition on the north shore? Too big?

Tradewinds- How fast are the winds blowing? What direction? Are they going to change?

Vog- Ever wonder why your allergies act up on Hawaii? The locals all blame it on vog, air pollution caused by an active volcano. The weather report supports this belief by giving daily vog updates. 

Neighbor islands- Want to travel to Maui or to Lanai? Don't worry, those islands weather reports are covered too!

For a state with extremely consistent weather the local news continues to give updates every 15 minutes. Seems a little intense to me. 

What's the same as the mainland is the sheer inaccuracy of the reports. Weatherman says 30% chance of rain... It turns out beautiful all day long. Weatherman says <10% chance of rain and I'm huddling underneath my umbrella. 

Rain or shine this is one beautiful state. Check out my pictures of paradise!

The rainbow I spotted while on the phone with Allison C. 

Turned out it was a double rainbow (all the way)!!!!

Sunrise on the way to work

Sunset on the walk home

Driving down the highway is like exploring the set of Lost. 

Storm clouds dramatically roll in and then the rain is gone 10 minutes later.

And let's not forget the pic of the week:

Mahalo!

What's in a name?

In the last month I feel like I've enrolled in an immersion course in Hawaiian language and culture. Although Hawaii is part of America, so much of it is distinctly very...Hawaiian. 

Here's a few of the things I've learned so far:

Mainland: Hello/Hi!

Hawaii: Aloha! If you're a visitor it's often followed with a lei. I've been lei'd three times!

Mainland: Kid/Child

Hawaii: Keiki

Mainland: Peeing and pooping

Hawaii: Making shishi and doodoo

 Mainland: Trash can

Hawaii: Rubbish bin

Mainland: Penny, P, Lal, LK

Hawaii: Auntie, Laura, Laura G, "I know my nametag says Laura, but please call me Penny"!

I've also heard a smattering of Asian words in reference to food items and unidentifiable words that only seem to make sense if using context cues. 

If I keep this immersion course up I should be fluent in no time!!!

And here's my favorite pic of the week:

Mahalo!

Kinda a big deal

So many big things happened in Hawaii this week. Some made national news, others will get no more mention than this little blog. But all of these things are kinda a big deal. And now, in no particular order:

Shark!!!! There were actually two shark attacks this week. Sadly, one of the victims didn't survive. Now I've yet to go in deeper than my ankles, but in preparation for future swimming I did some research. 2013 was a big year for sharks on the islands (12 attacks, 2 fatalities), but prior to this year the last fatal attack was 2004 ... Whew!

At midnight Monday night the first same sex marriages occurred in Hawaii. This adorable little couple was finally able to wed after being together for 35 years. Although many Hawaiians don't support this new law, it's clear I'm no longer in the Bible Belt. 

On a more personal note my car, Betty, finally arrived after her long boat ride from the mainland. I am extra-dextra excited about the freedom that having my car will bring! Next stop... Costco where I will pack Betty with all those things that were to heavy to carry on The Bus. 

Finally I'm back doing what I love working with babies and their families. It's just now my babies are all Hawaiian... Super cute! (FYI- this is not a patient photo, though please don't report me to Hawaii's March of Dimes. In fact, maybe you should just make a donation to them and they'll look the other way). 

Now let's end with my favorite picture o the week. It was of the clouds rolling in before the first big storm of my Hawaiian adventure (Otherwise it's been 80 and sunny).

It's time to be grateful

Today is thanksgiving. A day to be grateful for everything in your life. It's also my first major holiday away from home. Without all the regular family traditions I've found I've had lots of time to think about all the things I'm thankful for. Here's a few:

10.  The beautiful weather. I'm amazed at how sunshine really does impact my mood!

9. Sunsets, my new favorite holiday. 

8. Having a job that helps pay for all the things I want/need. 

7. I blessed everyday with good health. Working in a hospital, I know the value of feeling well. 

6. I am extremely grateful for my iPhone. It has helped keep me entertained, keep me in touch, prevented me from getting lost and most importantly... FaceTime!

5. Comfy shoes. With all the walking I do, you can't underestimate comfortable shoes. Right now my yoga mat slippers (aka flip flops) are my favorite!

4. I have amazing friends who make me feel like I'll never be alone. Wen though they're miles away I appreciate all the email, calls, texts and Facebook messages. 

3. I have the best extended family. I am lucky enough to love all my Drake and Gumbel family. 

2. My sweet Josie. I am grateful for every minute that we have spent together the last 12 years. 

1. My Mom, Dad and sister. They are not only my family, but some of my best friends. I love them more than anything!

Happy Thabkdgiving!!!

In just one week...

In just one week you can learn a lot. 

Since moving to Honolulu I've learned the following (in no particular order):

- You can feel like a forgeiner even when you're still in the US.

- The weather report/temp means nothing. Humidity and air flow make a bigger difference (you'd think if know that coming from Atl). 

- It can take 3 hrs to run a simple errand when you don't have a car. 

- And on that same note, comfy shoes are not so comfy after walking 6 miles. 

- Hawaii doesn't have squirrels, snakes or billboards... Weird. 

- Hawaii does have lots of pay phones... Weirder. 

- Little dogs love to be pushed around in strollers (or maybe their owners just like pushing). 

- I cannot eat Asian food 3x/day. I also can't eat hot food when I'm feeling hot. 

- I do like eating cold noodles and acai bowls... Yum!

- It's been seven nights and I've seen seven different sunsets. 

Now for some pictures:

Here's the yummy acai bowl I mentioned. I'm gonna need to learn to make these at home!

And here's another yummy, cold soba noodles. 

Yup, just a little hula at the mall. 

Something about the sun here makes me want to take backlit photos. 

Not 1, but four Hawaiian pay phones. 

And this was my favorite photo of the week taken mid-afternoon at Kuhio Park in Waikiki. Mahalo!

Hawaii bound

Well today want the day. All the hard work of the last month paid off and I'm officially in Honolulu, HI! Today was a day of ups and downs (literally with the flight), but here's a quick summary of my day:

- 4 am wake up call

- 5 am leave for the Atl airport

- 7 am fly to Chicago

- 10 am fly to Honolulu

- 3 pm arrive ( though this feels like 8pm to me)

- 4 pm was busy... meet boss, see new apt, sign lease

- 5 pm discover toilet doesn't work

- 5:30pm meet Hawaiian plumber

- 6 pm walk to grocery store to discover they only accept cash 

-7 pm walk to a 2nd grocery store and buy the "essentials"

-7:30 pm pass up the combination Pizza Hut/Taco Bell to try a more authentic Asian dinner

- 8 pm start watching tv

At some point I should probably go to bed since it's currently 1am to my body... Yikes!!!! Let's end with some pictures:

Land ho! My first sighting of the island over the wing of the plane. 

Local grocery has a "southern" section, though it was mostly Zannarrans (yuck). 

The "essentials" which set me back $50 😮

Asian Mix dinner of noodles, tofu and veggies. As a bonus they through in some orange chicken.  Mahalo!

It's so hard...

 Like the old Boys II Men song used to say, "Its so hard to say goodbye to yesterday.... Ooooh". They also had that sad song about the end of the road. Now that I think about either song would work and both are making me a little teary. Sniff sniff. 

Last night my sister, Allison and Jessica hosted my going away party. At my request the theme was Mexican Luau. The whole thing was bittersweet. I enjoyed seeing so many friends, but that many "goodbyes" at once was like an emotional roller coaster. 

Let's focus on the evenings highlights by looking at some pictures:

Quintessential group selfies. 

Cheesey luau photo-ops are a must!

The whole family joined in on the fun. 

Heather and Levan win the award for best dressed.

Overall the event was a great success... Mahalo!!!