hawaii – day 1 (aka, the plane ride)

January 26, 2012

Our day started out quite early… A 9am flight from SFO meant we had to leave my parents house at 5am. Like I said, quite early. The day prior was booked solid. Two birthday parties, followed by dinner at my parents house. With no time to spare on Saturday, we packed up most of our stuff Friday night, intending to throw it in the car during nap time Saturday. I’m happy to report that everything went just to plan.

Most of Sunday was spent in a plane. Confined to our seats for much of the flight due to turbulence, we filled our time with snacks, ipod games, stickers, movies, drawing and naps, and more stickers.

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Something about air travel always makes me feel so dirty. I think it’s the recycled air. The longer the flight, the worse I feel. It doesn’t matter if I’ve showered immediately before boarding, I always end up feeling greasy and gross. Add the humid island weather to the equation and I feel disgusting. Showering after a long plane ride is always incredible. Along the same lines as how it feels to shower after spending a few days camping.

That aside, we got off the plane and collected our baggage without incident, then Ben set off to rent our car. Good fortune smiled upon us – they were out of standard cars, and upgraded us to a Jeep for free.

We found our condo quickly, and were not disappointed. The unit was clean, nicely furnished, and just big enough for the three of us to roam comfortably. Even better, the description online did not deceive. We really are 23 steps from the beach. Again, feeling pretty lucky.

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The view from our back sliding door.


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We quickly made ourselves at home. So quickly, in fact, that we didn’t get any “before” pictures to document the awesomeness of this place. Oh well, here are some “after” pics for you.

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And what else did we bring with us? What was critical enough that it found a place in our precious cargo space? Ah, yes, our wireless router… yes, we brought it with us. The high speed connection here was hard wired, which simply wouldn’t do, so we packed our own.

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So here was our big fail for the day… we traveled to Costco to get some groceries for the week, and were overwhelmed by hunger and grumpiness. So, instead of picking up supplies and making dinner at home, or heading out for sushi, which was our alternate plan, we succumbed to the Costco snack bar. We opted for chicken ceasar salads, so it wasn’t an entirely terrible choice, and considering we didn’t have lunch, it hit the spot. It actually tasted pretty amazing. And, more importantly, it revived us and improved our moods considerably. We all made it out of the shopping trip that followed alive. I’m not sure I could have said that if we’d gone without food.

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Groceries out of the way, Claire exhausted and nearing melt down, we made our way back to our condo to put her to bed. We made some POG (pineapple, orange, guava juice) and rum cocktails and listened to the waves crash on the beach from the comfort of our living room.

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Big plans to walk down the beach to the farmers market tomorrow. Wish us luck!


maui recap

January 25, 2012

imageIn one word, amazing. Can we come back every year? Claire had such a great time, and I’m so glad we brought her with us. By the end, she’d just started adjusting to the time zone here, and her temperament was getting better because of it. She does so much better fully rested, much like everyone else, I suppose.

We’re on our drive home as this posts. Just hours away from home and our nice, soft, comfortable bed. In case you were wondering, I’ve been blogging along the way, but wasn’t crazy about posting the fact that our house was open and ripe for the picking to the internet world, so my daily hawaii vacation posts will start going up after our return.

For now, I’ll highlight some of the things we loved about our trip, and some we’d do differently next time. A good summary log and reference points for planning our future trips (which we’re hoping will happen sooner rather than later).

Things that I loved:
- After reading reviews that the water in Kihei wasn’t great, I brought filter bottles and intended to buy bottled water. Then I discovered that our condo had an inline Watts water filter under the sink (the same filter brand we have at home). Not only did the water taste fine, but I felt better about the quality as well.

- Nanny service. Great idea. The nanny services on the island worked out perfectly. Claire liked our nanny, Andrea, and had fun while we got away for some of our own adventures. Having some brief time to just enjoy, without keeping track of or entertaining a toddler, were fantastic. It was pricey, but worth it.

- Polynesian Village Luau. Such a great experience. It has that certain “charm” you get with family run businesses. The host was funny and entertaining, and you felt like you were a part of their family.

- Ground floor condo. Perfect. Wouldn’t do it any other way. We had direct access to the lawn and beach, and our monitor range just reached far enough for us to lounge while Claire napped.

- VRBO rental. Having a full kitchen and fridge was wonderful. A Costco and Walmart run had us stocked for most of our trip, then we filled in with local farmers markets for fresh produce during our stay.

- Sarongs. Such a brilliant invention. My sarong served as a swim suit cover up, a skirt, a dress and gave me an incredibly easy, discreet way to slip in and out of my swimsuit (thanks for the great Christmas gift, mom!). I even picked up another one while here to add to my collection.

- Driving the road to Hana. Breathtaking. Seeing a pair of whales frolicking at the end of our journey made it unforgettable.

- Reef Dancer underwater boat. It was a great way to see lots of tropical fish and learn about them without having to get wet. This was especially great for Claire, since there was no way we were getting her to snorkel.

Things I’d do differently:
- Book accommodations earlier. We confirmed reservations late October and missed out on our first choice because of it. One week, it was available, the next, gone.

- Opt for a two bedroom unit. One bedroom worked ok, but it’s really best when Claire has her own sleeping area. The fold out couch in the living room just wasn’t comfortable or convenient enough to be a long term option.

- Find a place with a spa! Or, at the very least, a bathtub. Or condo had neither, and there were a few nights that relaxing in warm, bubbly water was all I wanted.

I’ll probably think of more to add later. Links and more details will follow in my upcoming posts. Stay tuned!


the streak

January 24, 2012

I know it didn’t go unnoticed that I broke my recent blogging streak over the weekend. I’m sure some of you were oblivious to it, but others, those frequent (or formerly frequent) bloggers out there, probably took note. Just over a solid month of daily blogs, and then I slip up and miss a day. At least I already gave myself an out, right? Pssshaw… I know, even I find that reasoning weak.

This was, in fact, not due to lack of subject matter or creative juices. Or a matter of simply being too busy. I had a post lined up and ready for Saturday afternoon, just waiting to go live. Or so I thought. As it turns out, my post was still marked draft, even though it was slotted to publish at 11:59 a.m. on Saturday. Yes, it wasn’t until Sunday evening that I noticed the missing post. Frustrated to see it hadn’t made it’s way to the blog, I checked the post in WordPress.com and noticed the status error. Sigh.

I know it doesn’t really matter. It’s not as if there’s some blogging God out there, tallying up the good posts versus bad, blogging attendance and the like. It was just a personal goal to keep daily posts going as long as possible, and I certainly wasn’t lacking in material. Oh well, like I said, it doesn’t really matter. I’m probably the only one keeping track anyway.

The streak already broken, I felt it would be cheating of sorts to backdate the entry that was supposed to go live. I’ll slate it in the queue again soon enough. I guess it just wasn’t ready to grow up and become a real live post yet.


white house, black market

January 23, 2012

Oh shopping… how I despise thee. And, yet, every so often I have a magical shopping day where everything fits, looks good and is on sale. Those shopping trips? I don’t hate so much. In fact, you might even say that I like those trips.

I had one of those days not too long ago at White House, Black Market. My mom is always the one to find deals, if any are to be had. In fact, she rarely pays full price for anything. So, when she spotted a sale as we walked past, I was game to check it out.

Sale prices in this establishment leave something to be desired. Most items cost more than I’d normally spend paying full price. But the clothes are beautiful, well made, and the sizing gives you a nice ego boost (being that I fit in to a size 6).

I found quite a few really nice things that day, and ended up spending more than I’d planned, but my shopping trip was partially subsidized by my mom, so the damage wasn’t too bad.

What did I end up buying? A black and white shirt, a simple black dress, and a pair of gorgeous black shoes that called my name and molded to my feet when I slipped them on. Oh, the shoes. Devious, delightful things. They were the only things not on sale, of course. I wouldn’t have even tried them on, had I seen the price tag beforehand. When the sales attendant asked if I needed heels to try on with my skirts and dresses, I said yes, and they were waiting in my dressing room for me, price unknown. It wasn’t until I was already in love that I asked the price. It was in the *gasp* range. Well, gasp for me, at least. I know plenty of other ladies who spend upwards of $100 on shoes, and the price tag on these came just below that amount.

My immediate thought was to just walk away. Then, on second thought, I asked if these shoes ever went on sale. “Nope,” the sales attendant said, “these are our most popular shoes, and I’ve never seen them go on sale.” Drat, I thought. Ok, I conceded, I’ll let them go. But when my mom offered to buy me the dress and shirt she and I both loved, it seemed only logical that I get a fabulous pair of shoes to go with them. Yup, I plunged in head first and decided to get them.

Curious to see the shopping haul? Here it is…

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The truth is, I love my new shoes. And my new dress. And my new shirt. Considering how infrequently I have a successful shopping trip like this, I feel like it’s economically reasonable, as long as you amortize my purchase over twelve months or so. Did you forget I’m an accountant? I can’t just shut that off, despite how I may try… :)

(trigger happy upload fingers and sloppy editing lead to this post going live before review… oops! I seem to have issues with posting errors far to frequently these days)


the trade off

January 22, 2012

I find some of the hypocrisy in our society odd. For instance, when changing in to swim attire, usually from garments that don’t look a whole lot different from swim wear, why do we feel obligated to find a modest place to keep our undergarments off display, but have little issue bearing all in our swimsuits? It just strikes me as odd why two garments, each covering the same body parts, can be so vastly different in terms of social acceptance.

Is the issue that one connotes images of the bedroom, while the other belongs poolside? Is it really that simple? Are we so prudish that we can’t accept one as a reasonable substitute for the other? Or perhaps we’re so fixated on sex that we can’t displace those thoughts when faced with a reminder if it. We blush, cover our mouth with a hand and suppress a giggle.

I think this discomfort with undergarments is engrained in us at an early age. Remember that rhyme? “I see London, I see France, I see Suzy’s underpants!” The sole purpose was utter humiliation. And how did we play it off as kids? I remember in the fifth grade, after performing a revealing cartwheel while wearing a dress, telling another kid that I was wearing my swimsuit under my dress, so it was ok. And you know what? He bought it. It was ok. Swimsuit? No problem. Underwear? You’re in for some teasing.

Here’s the other thing… girls wear dresses and skirts. Whether by choice or parent and societal pressure, that’s what we girls often wear as kids to feel “pretty”. We can argue the pitfalls of this sense of validation later, but that’s just been my observation. Along with the pressure to “look pretty”, the female sex is expected to do things just as well, hard and fast as our male counterparts. So, when out on the playground, do you subdue playing and your sportier skills to keep yourself proper, or do you opt for sturdier clothes that can handle cartwheels, tumbling and climbing on jungle gyms, compromising on that self confidence boost from feeling “pretty”? It really is a trade off, and one that doesn’t make me happy to think about.

Granted, there are some good middle of the road options these days. Cute jeans, nice pants, flattering shorts. But traditionally? If you’re a girl and want to look nice, a dress or skirt is the most conventional option. Even in the professional world, there were certain clients where you still wore suits, and skirts suits were preferred. Even interviewing ten years ago, the recommendation from our career counselor was to wear a skirt suit. They were classic and distinguished, and in the accounting world, there wasn’t a whole lot of room for budding fashionistas.

The whole thing is just strange to me. I accept that we still live in a very sexist society, where a woman earns $0.80 for every dollar that her male counterpart does, but the whole societal pressures dictating what is ok and what isn’t is a bit unsettling. I’d love to think it will all balance out by the time Claire is thirty, but I highly doubt it.


favorite things friday

January 20, 2012

Another installment of favorite things friday. Really, just an excuse to tell you all about things I love while meeting my once a day posting quota.

- macadamia nuts. Yummmm.

- burt, you and your bees have done it again. I love, love, LOVE this lotion. Amazing stuff.

- crazy straws. Can anything else make you feel five so quickly again. Need I say more?

Just a short one today. Happy Friday!


the reason

January 19, 2012

She’s the reason I get up in the morning.

And the reason I get up in the middle of the night.

The reason I sing lullabies at three a.m.

The reason I know yo gabba gabba, raffi and sesame street songs by heart.

The reason I’ve relearned my nursery rhymes.

The reason I’ve relearned ASL.

The reason I buy goldfish crackers.

Which leads to the reason I strive to make healthy, balanced meals.

The reason I get excited when I see an Elmo book or shirt.

The reason I use words like “potty”, “poopy” and “pee pee”.

The reason my expletives now consist if “oh my goodness!” and “oh my gosh”.

The reason I know I say the word “awesome” and the phrase “that’s so cute!” far too often.

The reason I’m not in the workforce right now.

The reason I try to be social on a regular basis (despite how much I might feel like being a hermit).

The reason I use good manners.

The reason I question my actions.

The reason I step back and look inward when I’m frustrated.

The reason I wave and smile when someone cuts me off (or at least refrain from other less than becoming behavior).

The reason I try to be a better person.

The reason I’m taking better care of myself.

The reason that I’m incredibly challenged every day.

I love you, Claire bear! <3


homework

January 18, 2012

Remember when you were in school, what an awesome feeling it was to get homework done early? Not just on time, not at 2 a.m. the night before school, not minutes before the bell, but actually finishing it early? By several days. Or a week. Or doing the assignment immediately when you got it. Yeah, it didn’t happen much, but man, when it did, I was on top of the world. “Homework done, sweetie?” my parents would ask. “Yup,” I’d reply confidently.

Maybe that was just me, though. I was a bit of a nerd in school. If a teacher made the mistake of giving us all of our assignments at the beginning of a semester, and I found myself with spare time, I would do it all and have it queued up in my binder ready to go. It felt great to know that I was on top of things and that I could push that worry from my brain. Hell, I even did this during the masters program I was in a few years ago. I guess I’m still a nerd.

I’m discovering that’s a great bonus to writing out draft blogs and scheduling them, instead of releasing them immediately. The delayed gratification has some perks. It’s like my “homework” is already done. Or, at least it’s near done. A variety of drafts in the line up, in various stages of completion, ripe for the picking. A new idea strikes? I create a quick post with a title and the jist of the idea. Some are skeleton ideas that I drafted weeks ago, still in the infantile stages that may never see the light of day. Some are nearly complete, but cover topics I’m not so sure I want to post publicly, so they may stay in draft form indefinitely as well. But, they’re there. Faithful soldiers that they are, standing strong and awaiting my orders.

It’s great to write again. It feels indulgent; I find myself writing sometimes when I probably shouldn’t be. While Claire is playing or eating, when I should be engaged with her. I try not to. I really try to only turn on my phone when she’s napping or fully distracted elsewhere. I try to be with her when I’m with her, ya know? Can’t be perfect all the time, though.

Thanks for reading.


swype

January 17, 2012

My feelings about the Swype keyboard on my phone run hot and cold. Hit and miss. Love and hate. Throw in another cliche here if you wish.

Here’s the thing… it’s SO mind numbingly easy to write with the Swype keyboard. Using only one hand, tracing the path of the word, and most of the time, the correct word comes back. That most is the big caveat here, though, and the reason I sometimes despise the Swype keyboard. For example, when I tried to write “sometimes” just now? My keyboard thought I wanted to say “Dungeness”. Ah, yes, and flagrant typos abound. If I hadn’t caught it just now, and then missed it during review… well, you’d have the quality of posts that I’ve been achieving with the first versions that have gone live on my blog recently. Shameful, error ridden posts with incorrect words and typos scattered throughout. I know some of you have seen them. I assure you, these are not Freudian slips, but rather, Swype’s clever method for determining just what it is I’m trying to type.

It’s most likely user error. Sloppy fingering, incorrect spelling or some other reason that lays the blame squarely with me. But I’d like to lay at least some of that blame on the fact that Swype seems to be missing a critical common sense component. I mean, really, “Dungeness”? How often is that word really used in common conversation? Aside from crab fishermen, that is. Enough that it’s a more likely candidate than “sometimes” when a similar pattern is drawn? I highly doubt it.

I’ve tried other keyboards, and consistently return to this one. It fits me well, despite the time I spend correcting errors. Hey Swype developers, can you add a feature to help fix this? Maybe learning a user’s commonly used words? I love the keyboard, but see above for my gripe. Thanks! :)


pave paradise, put up a parking lot

January 16, 2012

image Every time I see spots on my apples, I think of the song “Big Yellow Taxi”. Not the original version, but the Counting Crows cover. You see spots more often with organic varieties, especially when purchased in bulk from Costco where careful inspection of each fruit doesn’t happen.

I know what happens when an apple starts to go bad. There’s logic behind the saying, “don’t let one bad apple spoil the whole bunch“. The bad apple releases gas at an accelerated rate, spreading a contagious spottiness from one apple to the next. The gas released accelerates ripening, so the apples reach their prime well before their expected “best by” date. That’s the basic idea, no? At least that’s what I remember from… oh, let’s say high school biology. Really, it’s just one of those random facts that’s stuck in my head for no apparent reason. But it stays… a permanent fixture in my mind, staking it’s ground and refusing to budge when other useful information tries to take it’s place. “Go somewhere else!”, it says, “No room here.”

There was a point to this. Other than giving my thoughts their own overly controlling personalities, that is. I often wonder about the nutritional value of fresh produce purchased from a grocery store. How old is it already by the time we bring it home? My experience has been that organic produce meets it’s demise far sooner than it’s non organic counterparts, so how much benefit are we losing? When shopping at a large supermarket, would we be better off purchasing frozen varieties? Organic aside, let’s look at conventional produce. How long did it take to get to the store? How long will it sit in your kitchen before it’s used? Would we get more nutrients from the stuff that was picked and flash frozen the same day?

The journey over the past week has convinced me of one thing – I don’t get enough raw veggies. Most of the veggies I eat are cooked in some fashion, save the occasional salad with dinner. One of the documentaries I watched said that when veggies are cooked, nutrients are lost and your body can’t assimilate them as well. In some cases, your body may actually try fight against the food, recognizing it as an invader instead of the healthful meal you’re trying to deliver. Crazy, right? Then, I found this article that counters this argument. Some vegetables are actually more nutritious when cooked. What to believe? My thought? More produce in general is good – lots of raw, some cooked. Sounds like a plan, right?

Am I a sucker for the propaganda? Maybe. I’d like to think I’m a logical person, weighing out arguments; able to dispel truth from sensationalism. But I’m sure I don’t always get it right. I try to make informed decisions and get my facts straight before recirculating info back to the general public. But, I’m sure there are times that erroneous things make it past my filter.

I’m not talking about differences of opinion here. We could go back and forth on so many subjective issues that it’s not even worth stating examples. I’m talking about issues where seemingly legitimate people present a valid argument, supported by facts and data. I guess I could say that I’m a sucker for facts and data. Where it seems somewhat black and white. It’s unfortunate that statistics can be so easily skewed, but again, that’s something I try to keep in mind when new facts are presented to me.

So when a question like this comes up, regarding which produce is really best, it’s hard for me to come to an answer that settles well. There are too many variables for my brain examine. The logical answer seems be to to buy local and organic. Farmers markets and the like. I’m sure some study out there will discredit that approach as well. Besides, the reality of that happening consistently for me is slim, though, and it’s not really answering my question. Perhaps the answer is already out there on the internet and I just haven’t scoured long enough to find it. This article and this one do a decent job of touching the edges of the question, but it’s not thorough enough for my satisfaction.

Planning to sign up for our CSA box delivery again. At least that way we’ll have some fresh, organic produce coming to us that way, and I don’t even have to head to the farmers market to get it.

This one got a little wordy today. Apologies.


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