Chi-hooligans

Twins: Koa and Ollie.

I am a little dog convert. I grew up with a lab and golden... But these guys are dogs too(!) They are so lovable and animated. A dog is a dog is a dog. My eyes water thinking about them.

Heart Days

My favorite neighborhood beach. We surfed there today for Andrew's birthday!

A heart rock... today is our two year anniversary of getting engaged.

Happy heart month. My favorite month maybe.

This is my simple religion. There is no need for temples; no need for complicated philosophy. Our own brain, our own heart is our temple; the philosophy is kindness. Dalai Lama

Thanks for reading--and for all the encouragement to start blogging again.
Life has been very full. I appreciate having this space to share it.

Baltimore (Bodymore)

I have a weird thing for Baltimore... see a post from last summer I almost forgot about. My dad grew up in DC so I'm much more familiar with that pretty, polished city. I have a younger cousins who live in Baltimore and relished the chance to visit them in their stomping ground. 

Courtney, in her townhouse. It is soooo cute. (And so is she). And she has a porch roof!

They had a "Hon" themed Christmas tree.

Well, Courtney, actually lives in a charming regentrified (safe-ish?) part of Baltimore called Canton:

Where they also believe in buying local.  My cousins (twins) take a water taxi across the harbor to work. Isn't that awesome?

I love old buildings. We don't have many in Hawaii (or California, really).  And I know these are babies compared to the oldies of Europe. But it still charms me.

The nitty-gritty Baltimore Rat....
And my cheerful Aunt posing as Charlie B.

We got really into The Wire...watching all five seasons over the last few years. What an excellent TV show....ahhh, I miss it. It was set among the crime and corrupt politicians of Baltimore (which you read in the graffiti in one scene in the opening as Bodymore, Murderland).

I have provided you the opening scene and trailer of Season 1, Episode 1 so you can say you've started watching the series. It has amazing diaologue, actors, and provides a lot of social commentary. It is a teensy bit hard to follow at first (it requires your attention) but is so worth watching. Omar Little is my favorite criminal/character...apparently he is Obama's favorite too. Here he is on my pinterest board-- Great Characters.

Overstimulated

 According to youtube this is:

A single night of staring into screens, condensed to 4mins. Filmed with a phone, off TV, laptop and tablet. The first video for amazing new band Lost Lander.

Thank you for sharing this Hillary ! Have fun at the concert. 

Mac Nuts and Hula Hoops

Walking at the beach on a foggy morning. Never know if I'l see dolphins or horses.

The iPhone app instagram kind of became my new blog. I posted these pictures over the last few months with a short caption. I thought I'd share some of my favorites on my blog....the old fashioned way, right?

These macadamia nuts grow in our friends' yard. They don't mind if I snack on them, but you gotta work for them. You place the nut in a hole in their cement. Then you delicately drop a heavy brick on it. The goal is to shatter the shell and not smash the soft white nut. By the way, raw macadamia nuts are way better than roasted.

Evidence of fog through the peer.

An evening at home depot inspired impromptu hula hoop making. It's just a precut pipe and a connector. Pretty cheap...around $6 total? It would be fun to pretty it up with electrical tape.

Pretty Much a Perfect Day

Upon reflection, I just realized I just had my perfect day. A balanced day. A happy day.  Note: Last week was underwhelming full of long demoralizing meetings and a generally crappy feeling in the air.

I skipped coffee yesterday or all weekend. It made the coffee I started sipping around lunch time really work.

I tucked myself in before 10pm last night. My sister called at 10:01 and I couldn't move to answer it.

Breakfast was steel-cut instant oats (from TJs) with chopped apple, some cinnamon, and a sprinkle of walnuts. So wholesome and filling and cozy-ish.

I had parent teacher conferences today. The two kids whose parents I met with are such gems.  My eyes watered when I talked about how delightful they are to teach. 

One conference was cancelled. So I took a walk. I walk for about 15 minutes up hill and then 10 minutes back...I keep my athletic shoes in the car and switch out of my work-lady shoes. It is so fun to look at all the beautiful houses and fantasize about what living in a house might be like someday. I love the Mediterranean landscape of Santa Barbara. I  love looking down at the sparkling sea. Ocean views almost make me feel like I'm at the beach. And, I'm addicted to sunshine.

I snuck out of work early enough to run a few errands (a price adjustment on a skirt from Banana Republic).  I happened upon the bustle of the downtown Farmers Market. I missed it last Sunday in my neighborhood. The colorful  dendrobium orchids were 2 bunches for 5 dollars. I'm in love! I feel so happily indulged when I buy myself flowers. And then I greedily bought lettuces, celery, carrots, kale, broccoli.  Everything was so pretty and fresh.

I went to yoga. My favorite and original yoga studio welcomed me back, even though I've been cheating on it with groupons to other places. Andrew always says, "You mean there is ANOTHER yoga studio?" Yaaay, California!  It was a level 2 class which was challenging but luckily still doable. The instructor is so sweet and she plays really great music. And I bumped into a co-worker I admire there. I barely get a chance to talk to her at work. She is so fit and committed and has a frankness about her that impresses me. I am determined to make this a habit (again).

I love driving home in my new car. Andrew installed a bluetooth radio that hooks up to my iPhone. So my phone conversations or audio books play through the stereo. So cool!

Dinner was a BLT: an open faced tomato, fake-bacon, lettuce sandwich and a huge salad with my new goodies...and an improvised tahini/mustard/yogurt/garlic dressing. Andrew and I polished off our refreshing dinner. I got in the bath while he drove down the block to pick up his latest goods from the pottery studio. Which I am now going to admire.

 I know everyone is reading them right now and probably already knows but I am loving a Game of Thrones. I refer to it as a fairy tale because in general the genre of science fiction is rather off-putting to me. It really is so good! Going to go snuggle with it right now...

P.S. Does this blog post look naked with no picture?

First Class

We got tickets home to Maui last December at the last minute. They had been incredibly expensive for a month so I was waiting for prices to drop. They didn't. At the last minute we found a ticket out of Santa Barbara (way more convenient than LAX) and while it was expensive, it was cheaper than any flight out of CA...we considered all major airports. 

After we purchased the tickets, we realized they were first class. What a fun surprise. Andrew and I counted our tickets as our holiday gift to each other. We were giddy kiddies. 

Another perk: You can check luggage for free--we brought one full of gifts for my family. 

Riding an airport shuttle. Feeling happy!

I promised to give the first class scoop. We were greeted with Mai Tais, you are given hot towels to clean up with, you get two windows, not one.  Real plates and a place mat. We newbies were ignorant about how to get the table out.

It was indeed a lot more comfortable. I didn't feel like drinking alchahol since it is already so dry in the plane.  But I had my share of mini-water bottles. They really like to check in on you and offer things. The people across from us were drinking White Russians and other fancy drinks every five minutes.

Overall, the best part of it was just having more breathing space. It was way less crowded...with less personalities stuffed into one tiny room.  I don't think it is worth the extra money (I love deals) but it was a great thing to experience.  It was a lot like a flight that is really uncrowded with lots of extra seats everywhere, and just that overall calmer feelings.

 
Welcome to the island of Maui....Hooray!
My dad was waiting on the other side of the gate.
So glad we went.