Get real!

I've always loved eating. And in my adult years I've developed an appreciation for cooking as well. 

About a year ago I tried a month long "cleanse" that involved eating unprocessed, vegan food. At the beginning of the month I was tired and cranky. By the end of the month I felt much better, but I knew a vegan lifestyle definately wasn't for me (I just love cheese way too much). I did, however, gain an appreciation for cooking and eating whole, fresh food. I made a point to start consciously working them into my everyday diet. 

Now I've decided to take my commitment to the next level. I am still cooking and eating whole, fresh food but now I am also avoiding sugar and processed flours. It only took a couple of switch-outs in my pantry and a complete change in the way I think about snacking. I'm two weeks in and so far, so good.  

At this point I'm not willing to swear of flour and sugar forever, but check out some of the tasty meals I've made: 

Breakfast of local tomatoes and hard-boiled organic eggs. 

Sweet potato and quinoa cakes topped with an avocado sauce. 

 Chickpea and spinach curry over brown rice. 

Spinach and quinoa cake topped with a fried egg. 

And now for the pic of the week:

This beautiful flower was here one day and gone the next. Good thing I snapped the picture when I did!

Mahalo!

One lucky girl

When I was in high school I had a day that changed my life. Remember "Take Your Daughter to Work" day? Well instead of going with my Mom, I went to spend the day at a school with another woman who went to my church. That day I met my first speech-language pathologist. I remember thinking that woman had the best of both worlds: she got to work with children, but didn't have to deal with crowd control. 

From that moment on I knew what I wanted to be when I grew up. I graduated high school and got into a good college. I survived college and got into graduate school. In grad school I learned more about my choosen profession and the areas of specialty I wanted to pursue (feeding babies of course). And then, finally, all my dreams came true... I was an actual SLP. 

Luckily I am one of those people who truly loves their jobs. And while I may not like all of the paperwork, there is nothing better than helping a baby eat and sending him home with his family. 

This week was a great example of that. I got to send three babies home with their parents. One I had worked with for months, one for weeks and one for just a couple of days. Each off the babies made huge amounts of progress in the time we worked together. Each set of parents grew in the level of confidence in feeding their baby. Each family hugged me goodbye. At least two of the babies, I'll be making cameo appearances in their babies books (years later they'll wonder who's that happy girl with the glasses and the baby bottle). 

Much of my current job is similar to the job I had back in Atlanta. Some of the biggest differences:

- In the last 5 months I have only worked with one red headed baby and not a single blond. Most of the babies born in Hawaii have dark hair. 

- I've met several families who've had their baby while on vacation. This means lots of discharge recommendations to accommodate for different states and different countries. For one baby we got a speciality bottle from Japan!

- Instead of using Spanish interpreters, we have a computer that translates Marshallese, Chukese, Tagalog, Japanese and Mandarin.  

- Instead of being called ma'am I'm referred to as Auntie.  

But overall these differences are quite small. And wether it's GA or HI, I love my job. And that makes me one lucky girl. 

And now for the pic of the week:

This is actually a #tbt from my week with sister. But with it being the middle of the week, I really miss the beach & wouldn't mind a shave ice in my hand!

Sidewalk woes

Currently my primary mode of transportation is walking. There's a whole bunch of benefits to leaving the car keys at home and putting on my walking shoes. 

- I get to enjoy the weather, which is beautiful most days. Yay for vitamin D!

- I count the miles towards my daily exercise.

- I save $60 a month by not parking at work. The CHOA parking deck in Atlanta might have stunk, but at least it was free. 

- With gas costing almost $4.30, every gallon I can save is extra money in my pocket. Fun fact: I've used <4 tanks of gas since the move. 

- And since Hawaii is ranked the second worst traffic city in the nation, I'd rather avoid that cluster as much as possible. 

But walking has its disadvantages too. Let me tell you about the little things that are driving me crazy in a big way. 

1. So I'm pretty sure it's called a sidewalk for a reason ... it's made for walkers. It's not for bikes, razor scooters, skateboards or other things with wheels. I understand those other things might work better on a sidewalk, but please don't run me over... Ick!

2. Hawaii might be in the middle of the ocean, but it's still America. As a result I think sidewalk traffic patterns should mimic road traffic patterns. If you meet another person, take to the right side of the sidewalk. Each time I meet a person I feel like we're dancing as we weave back and worth... Blech!

3. Speaking of meeting other people on the sidewalk, ever hear of giving the right of way?!? Couples continue walking two people deep without caring that it pushes me into the bushes ... Ugh!

4. And people in this city love their little dogs. What they don't love doing is picking up their doggie's doodoo. And dodging the droppings is not my idea of a good time... Eww!

5. For the most part cars are great at yielding for pedestrians. What they are not good at is stopping their car before it's sitting in the middle of the crosswalk. Some afternoons I feel like I'm dodging cars... Yikes!

And even with all my moaning & groaning I would take my 20 minute walk in Honolulu over my 60 minute commute in Atlanta any day. 

And now for the pic of the week:

I still find magic in all these rainbows. 

Mahalo!

Toto, I don't think I'm in GA anymore

A part of being a new employee means having regular check-ins my with boss. At each meeting she has a set of questions that she asks me.  And at each meeting I give pretty similar answers. 

Boss: Has anyone helped you orient or made you feel comfortable at the hospital?

Me: Sure. (I then list 1-2 names of people I work with.)

Boss: Is your job meeting the expectations described to you during your interview?

Me: Yup. 

Boss: Do you have any plans to resign?

Me: Nope. 

 

At our last meeting, the boss got creative, went off the list and threw in a new question. Knowing that I was looking for a cultural experience when I made the move, she wanted to know if Hawaii was foreign enough for me. 

Hmmm. Is it?!?! Let's take a look at the definition. 

foreign- adj. 

1. of, from, in or characteristic of a country or langauge other than one's own

2.  strange or unfamiliar

Thanks Google dictionary, I think Hawaii is foreign. While it's not a different country I'm still adjusting to the new culture. Instead of eating pizza and Mexican food, I'm eating  Asian food several times a week. Technically English is spoken here, but now keiki, pau, mauka, makai, puka and pona are words that I understand. And although I haven't bought a muumuu yet, they do look awfully comfy. Also there are many times I look around the room only to realize everyone else is Asian. 

So I guess I am getting a foreign expirience. My boss can rest easy tonight. 

And now for the pic of the week:

Iced latte on the beach... Don't mind if I do ;-)

Mahalo!

Business as usual

Vacation is over and as the saying goes: 

It's time to get back to the real world. 

When you live in paradise, what does that really mean? For me it means:

- Back to work

- Resuming my workout schedule

- Planning and eating healthy meals

- Still taking the time to enjoy paradise

This week was my first full week back at work. I have patients to see, clinics to manage and meetings to attend. Luckily the parents and nurses are happy to see me back and had lots of questions about my time off. So a lot of my down time was spent reminiscing about my week off with sister. 

There you are... Kapi'olani. 

After days spent at the beach it's time to spend some time in the gym working on my beach body. Why is it that after a week off the workouts seem so much harder? I'm trying to figure out how much of that is physical & how much is mental. 

This is as close to the gym as I got last week. While I may have been right outside the door, my dress wasn't really workout appropriate!

When I did get to the gym, this beast was there to greet me... gorilla kettle bell!

While on vacation I enjoyed all the pancakes, shave ice and bubble tea that I could get my hands on. This week I've prepped to eat lots of lean protein, nuts and veggies. 

My own personal version of "eat this, not that"!

As for paradise? 

Saturday I sat on my lanai and drank Kona coffee. 

Sunday I enjoyed a gorgeous sunset... simply stunning!

Monday I saw a beautiful rainbow from the hospital window. 

Tuesday brought another rainbow!

Today I enjoyed the sun coming up on my way to work. Look at how pretty it is coming through the trees:

And while this doesn't fit into any of the categories I listed above, life doesn't get anymore real than this:

What's a tropical climate without a few bugs; however, I'm on a mission to eradicate all the ants from my apartment!

So I guess that's my version of business as usual. 

And now for the pic of the week:

Here's the sunset that rounded out my weekend. 

Mahalo!

Playing tourist

This past week has given me a whole new perspective on Oahu & Honolulu. With my sister visiting I've been spending the week shopping, eating and relaxing like a tourist. 

I've been to kitschy stores and seen a million tshirts with "hi" printed on them. My favorite purchase of the week: a pair of over-sized purple sunglasses. As the lady at swap meet showed then to me, she saw the glimmer in my eyes and said "I got you"! I bought them not only because the sunglasses were adorbs, but the sales lady was hilarious!

I've eaten at food trucks, holes in the walls and the finest restaurants the island has to offer. The best thing I ate: poke nachos. Sister and I snacked on them while watching the sun set over Waikīkī beach. Delicious!!!

I returned to beaches I had liked before and tried out some new ones. Two of the beaches we visited made Travel Advisors Top 100 Beaches in the World. The best day at the beach had to be snorkeling at Hanauma Bay. Sometimes it takes a new perspective and thanks to Elisa I have a whole new appreciation for my town. 

 And now for some pictures:

Sisters reunitied!!!

Here's the poke nachos... Yum!

Eggs and rice for breakfast at the farmers market. I'm trying to be authentic and using chopsticks to eat. 

Sharing my love  of shaved ice with sister.

 

Dressed up for Elisa's fancy birthday dinner. 

This was everything we ate at the fancy dinner. All the food was incredible! The best thing I ordered was the tomato salad with ling hi mui dressing. 

This is Hanauma Bay. We spent almost 5 hours snorkeling here. Saw a ton of fish, a bunch of urchin and one beautiful eel. 

Check the double blow hole. We had to do some serious hiking to see this. 

And now for the pic of the week:

Some things stay the same.. I'll always love the sun peeking behind palm trees. 

Mahalo!

Too excited to sleep!!!

At least fifteen years ago Walt Disney World had a commercial that has stuck with me over the years. It started with a brother and sister wondering what their trip will be like. The boy exclaims he's "too excited to sleep". Then the screen switches to the sleepless parents & the dad who whispers he's "too excited to sleep".  You gotta love commercials for the happiest place on earth. 

Well in < 24 hrs I think Hawaii is about to become the happiest place on earth. Why?!? Because sister is coming and now I'm "too excited to sleep"!!!

Sunday is my sister's birthday. In honor of Elisa turning 32 she's coming for a week long vacation in Hawaii ... Woot woot! With the help of suggestions from Yelp, co-workers and friends, sister and I have come up with a week-long agenda packed full of good food, beautiful beaches and of course shopping (updates are sure to follow). 

Now I just have to find a way to sleep and make it through work before I can pick her up from the airport. Then let the excitement begin!

If you think these faces look excited, imagine how Elisa and I will look tomorrow!

And now for the pic of the week:

Even this picture couldn't capture the full beauty of the moon that night. 

Mahalo!