The Adventure Continues!

Roosters! God's brilliant idea for a natural alarm clock...or a practical joke! And for some reason, those roosters think morning starts at 4:30 am. They are extremely misinformed! 

So I am working on this blog post and it is 8:00 pm. It is dark and everyone in our house is asleep or very close to it!! What kind of craziness is this? At home, I can't get my kids in bed before 10. Oh...and showers! My boys can't get enough of their cousins and don't want to miss one minute of playing time. So they fought the WHOLE way home from the beach about was going to shower first. They always fight me to shower last at home!! KIDS!!

This trip is definitely full of "firsts" for me. I put a check mark on an item from my bucket list this morning! We took a tour around the island in a helicopter. Yes...I was terrified! And yes...I wondered what in the world we were doing. Mom arranged the whole thing as a birthday present to herself. That sounds strange as I type it but she is an amazing lady and so generous! She would not be happy unless we were enjoying ourselves and she wanted her kids and grandkids to experience a helicopter tour like they did on their last trip. Words cannot express the magnificent beauty of this island! Some of the sights, we had seen before and some were new. I loved the Pearl Harbor tidbits of information and the military history I learned about. Our pilot told us so many cool things about the island. The ocean here is the most vibrant blue I have ever seen. One funny thing they told us about in the training was that you could find "comfort bags" in front of you if your stomach felt queasy. The guy called them Aloha bags and instructed us to take them with us if we used them. 😂 I've just always called them "barf bags" but now I can't ever call them anything but comfort bags. Eeeewwww!! 😁 

We asked the kids what they liked most about the helicopter ride.  J said he liked all of it. D-liked seeing the cars all lined up in rows. And he loved the reflection of the ocean. And the colors of the water. T-loved Pearl Harbor...especially the battle ships 

Rob said he liked the take off but he had no favorite part specifically...just loved all of it. My favorite part...besides all of it (ha!) was all the new things I learned from the tour. We saw where they filmed Gilligan's Island, Jurrassic Park, Godzilla, Hawaii Five-O, and several other movies and TV shows. We were in a Blue Hawaiian helicopter, which happens to be the same company used in Jurassic World. My dad told us this evening that on their tour last year, they actually rode in the same helicopter used in the movie. Awesome! I love  the movie facts and info! The sky was so clear, we were able to see a couple of the other islands. And the coral reefs looked like lily pads! So fun!! 

  Here are pictures of Pearl Harbor, Gilligan's Island and the coral reefs. 

 

   

The helicopter ride was our highlight today, but we did find a couple of other fun things to do. We ended up at Pier38 Nico's for lunch. I had orange chicken. I tried a small bite of Swordfish, Ono, and Opa. I don't love seafood. I don't even like it...not even a tiny bit. But I realized I was in a place where they probably stepped out into the pier and caught our lunch earlier that day. Ok...so maybe the day before. But it was a whole experience. SO I closed my eyes and tasted it. It wasn't as bad as I thought, but I still don't enjoy seafood. The only fish/seafood I've tried are trout, halibut, and fish sticks and I didn't like any of them. This fish was cooked well and the sauce was delicious. Still...not in a hurry to go back.  

After Nico's, we headed to Hukilau Beach. It was crowded! There were some BIG waves. I learned how to wave jump! The waves were pretty big...well...for this desert rat, they were huge! Ashton helped me get out there without tipping over and Rob and Eric stayed with me to make sure I didn't wash away. They told me when to jump with the roll of the wave  but warned me to dive into the wave if it broke before reaching me. So Eric must have sensed my panic at his comment of, "A really BIG one is coming!" because the next thing I know, he is grabbing my arm and telling me to, "RUN!" We made it back to shore and I didn't get washed away. Whew! So the experience was a great one because my brother loves me enough to drag me onto the beach in my moment of panic! 😜 I am grateful my brothers and husband take such good care of me and I did eventually make it back out there by myself. And I was so proud to learn what my children and nephews had no problem problem doing without help. 😁 Maybe tomorrow I will still be brave and try again. My legs are pretty sore now but it was worth it! It was SO fun and we didn't want to leave! Especially T! Look at how mournful he is while saying goodbye to the ocean for today...😩 He was the very last one to get out. I think he swallowed half the ocean from laughing as he played in the water. 

 

It really was a great day! After we all got cleaned up and had dinner, mom called us all together for a "meeting". She asked each one of us about what our favorite thing was from today. I loved hearing what everyone enjoyed and the different perspectives....especially from the kids. A wonderful end-of-the-day tradition.  It was the perfect ending for day 3. I can't wait to see what adventures await us tomorrow!

 

  

Dogs, Cats, and Chickens...oh my!

The natural beauty of Hawaii always takes my breath away! I forget how green and thick everything is! Peaceful and serene!

  

I am reminded of an interesting conversation with D the other day. As we were driving past the half-built walls of the elementary school near our house, he said in his matter-of-fact, no-nonsense manner, "Well...that school is going to be the same ugly brown and red like everything else around here." His comment startled me! When I graduated from Dixie State, we were given a small bottle of red sand with a poem about never forgetting the "dirt in our shoes." I remembered that gift every time I headed down that last hill on the drive from Las Vegas when I lived there and came "home". The view of those red rocks is breathtaking and some of the most beautiful in the world. I often take our surroundings for granted and I wonder if the Hawaiian people realize they truly do live in "paradise". 

This morning, I woke up at 4:00 am. I couldn't figure out why I was wide awake until I remembered the time difference. It was really 8:00 in my brain. I was able to go back to sleep pretty easily because I was so tired. We were all very tired! Just after we were all settled in bed last night...around 10 pm...we heard popping sounds. Earlier in the evening, J and Soph told us there were going to be fireworks. Of course, we all thought they were making stuff up. They insisted they heard the neighbors talking about it. When the noise started, I jumped out of bed and looked out our window. Yep! You guessed it! Fireworks! I turned the light on and he just grinned at me. Didn't say a word! He didn't need to. The littles hear it ALL! Be careful what you say! 

Then, several times in the night, we heard a dog bark outside our window. Just two or three loud barks then that was it for awhile. There are a lot of pitbulls on the island. They sound and look mean! But I'm figuring they must be pretty good dogs because there are a lot of them in this neighborhood! 

The kids pointed out all the wild chickens everywhere. We went down a side road and saw a lone chicken head-bobbing it's way along the side of the road. Rob thought it would be so funny to harass the chicken. He pulled up to it, rolled down the window, and started yelling at it. When the chicken turned and ran the other way, he backed up the car and started yelling at it again.

 "Hey!!" He yelled. "Where ya goin'?"  The back-and-forth continued until the terrified chicken jumped over the bushes and ran for its life! The backseat errupted with belly laughs!  

The fun continued when we pulled up to the stop sign and several wild cats were lounging in the sun. They all looked at us with their droopy yellow eyes and waited for us to do something. We stared at the cats. They stared back at us. Rob rolled down my window. The cats crouched...alert and ready to run. Rob called out, "Here kitty kitty!"  The yellow one walked up to the window with the others following as I pointed and yelled, "Drive! Drive!" He just laughed and kept calling the cats and the laughter erupted again from the backseat! We couldn't stop laughing the whole way back to the house!

Swap meet! The place where you find all those things you suddenly MUST have but never knew it existed until that moment! Hats, jewelry, kitschy Hawaiian souvenirs...I just have one thing to say...sweet bread!! If you have ever been to the swap meet at the Aloha Stadium,  you know exactly what I'm talking about! Yum! Of course we found our share of awesome souvenirs. Unfortunately, a guy talked my boys into the most annoying mouth whistle in the world! Hopefully those get lost soon! 😉 Uncle Eric would appreciate that! 

This afternoon, we went to a beach. I would say which beach it was, but there are so many, I don't even know what town we were in. 😳

 T loved boogie boarding! D enjoyed bobbing along out in the water without freezing to death (he has NO body fat), and J liked playing in the sand and running from the waves. I loved the waves hitting my legs! After a few minutes, I went and sat in a chair in the shade. It was hot! Mom tried to convince me to go swim. Andy told me to go swim and that he would help me across the rocky bottom to the smoother part.  I told him I would think about it. He told me to "get off my butt and get out there!" So I did! He wouldn't take any excuses! I held onto the boogie board as he pulled it out into the ocean. It was awesome! You see...I have this little secret about me and the family trips to Hawaii. I don't love water. I don't love swimming...swimming pools...the lake...ocean...immersing myself in large bodies of water. Honestly, I love the waves and the beach but I'm very nervous about going in the ocean. I haven't ever been that far into the ocean. Now don't think I was treading water or anything that exciting. I could still touch the bottom. But barely. It was cool and refreshing and as one of my dear friends advised me...healing! A whole new world was opened up to me today! Even Rob joined us in the water! Well...until I noticed the local girls laughing at me as I clung desperately to the boogie board! Oh well! It has to get easier from here! Right?!?

 

 

Back at the house, as we were all settling in for the evening, T reminded us how great it is that we can hear the ocean. Ah! Sweet dreams from paradise and more adventures await us tomorrow! 

Vacation Time!!

Summer time...and the living is easy! Time is going WAY too fast and I wish I could slow it down! 

I haven't blogged for awhile...I read a lot of blogs and I love participating virtually in the experiences of my friends. The problem is...I'm not very tech savvy. I can hold my own..but I haven't ever used an app to blog before. So here goes...

Last night, I sat by the pool at our hotel. I wrote this wonderful blog post. I was feeling relaxed and content. I touched the little "button" called publish and I sent it out into the inter-webs and waited. Nothing. I refreshed. Nothing!! My beautiful, funny post was gone! 

So here we are...starting our vacation. For real now. We drove to Vegas yesterday because I couldn't stand the thought of riding in the car, then dealing with airport stuff, THEN sitting on a plane for 6 hours. The ride was surprisingly quick-we spent the time reminiscing about our past trips and planning for this one. We were trying to figure out our Hawaii trips and which time we did what. We are definitely blessed to have the travel opportunities that we have. I am grateful!!

The first trip (not counting the trip in high school with immediate family), D and I met the rest of the family over in Hawaii in August of 2003. We stayed in the Hukilau house. In 2008, Rob and T were part of the family. We went over spring break and we got to celebrate my birthday over there. We had our own little bungalow with the occasional appearance of the resident gecko   The next trip was spring break 2012. We will always remember that trip by two incidents. 1) Rob drove the van off into the foliage on the side of the driveway and the Dodge boys had to push it back on because it was stuck. 2) we had to push Dom into the house through a window because we were locked out of the house. Of course we have other memories, but these two stand out as our favorites. Again...birthday wishes to ME!!

 Fast forward a little over a year to summer 2013. Our summer trip began right after school. This time we celebrated birthdays for T and Dom...they share a birthday. We stayed in a house right across the street from the beach and next door to a little gift shop. FUN times! 

July 2016

 

So when we got to Vegas, we had some trouble checking in but after dinner and snack shopping, we had a nice relaxing time by the pool. I haven't felt relaxed like that in a LONG time! I just loved the pool lights and the music and the sounds of laughter. I couldn't get T out of the pool until the very last minute before closing. It was nice to head to bed relaxed and calm. 

After a quick breakfast at IHOP, we headed to the airport to tackle all that craziness. The flight, as always, was LONG! The kids were SO excited when they saw "land"! Literally bouncing on the seats!

This particular trip hasn't been in the works for very long. You might say the family is forcing us to go! And by family, I mean the whole Dodge side of the family. Tragic, right? I mean...who REALLY wants to spend a week in a tropical paradise with nothing to worry about, nowhere to be, and no obligations or commitments. Ok, ok...how could we say no?!? 😜 So here we are...2016. We weren't going to take a vacation but the family talked us into it and now that we are here...I'm so glad they did! It's going to be a great week! 

Blog trouble...

I'm having trouble posting...this is a test. 

Blogs, blogs, and more blogs!

I guess the new and trendy thing is to have a blog. I see people use blogs for SO many different things. Pinterest sends people all over the place in the blogging world. I want to start a blog for my artwork and cards but I can't really see a reason to have several different blogs. I want to keep things simple so for now, I will keep this blog for personal and family and maybe put a link to another one for artwork. Still thinking about what to do. For those of you checking my blog...a health update is in the near future!

New Food and Being Grateful

    I am kind of at a standstill right now as far as introducing new foods. I joke with my doctor about this process and I am not sure he is very appreciative of some of my comments. Sometimes I have a tendency to be a little...sarcastic...(*gasp*). I know...it's hard to believe! When people ask me what I am doing to lose weight, my first response is, "I'm on the no food diet." Ha! I crack myself up!
     Last week, Dr. S asked me if there was anything else I could think of to introduce before the big gluten, corn, carb introduction. I responded, "Unless it is ice cream or chocolate, I am good for now." Again...not appreciative.
    In ALL seriousness...this diet has worked wonders for me and I am feeling better than I have in years! I am grateful I found this program. I am grateful for my family and friends and their support. I am grateful I can actually make it through the day without a nap...that one is a stretch as far as being grateful since I love naps. But, I don't actually have to nap to function. YAY! I still have some rough days...I probably will for awhile...but overall, I am feeling great!

New recipe to try this weekend:

Millet-Quinoa Tortillas
Dry Ingredients:

• 1/3 cup millet flour (or brown rice flour)
• 1/4 cup quinoa flour
• 1/2 cup tapioca starch
• 1 teaspoon corn-free baking powder (Hain brand or homemade for corn-free)
• 3/4 teaspoon xanthan gum or guar gum (I use a corn-free variety from Authentic Foods)
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt

Wet Ingredients:

• 2 teaspoons pure honey or agave syrup
• 1/3 cup warm water
• 3 tablespoons non-hydrogenated shortening, such as Spectrum

Makes 6 tortillas
In the bowl of your electric mixer use the paddle attachment to combine the dry ingredients on low speed.
Add the wet ingredients and continue to mix until a dough forms around the paddle. Mix the dough on medium speed for an additional minute. The dough will be slightly sticky and springy. Wrap tightly in plastic wrap and chill for 30-45 minutes.
After chilling, divide the dough into 6 equal portions and form each into a round ball. Keep the dough balls lightly covered with plastic wrap as you work to prevent them from drying out. On a lightly-floured counter, press down one ball at a time with your finger tips, until you have a flattened disk of dough. Using a floured rolling pin, roll out the tortilla to 1/8 inch thickness. Preheat a greased skillet to medium-high. Cook tortillas one at a time for approximately 1-2 minutes on each side, flipping carefully with a thin spatula.
The cooked tortillas will have golden brown spots on both sides and may bubble a bit as they cook. Flip the finished tortillas onto a plate, stacking them on top of each other as you go. Cover with an inverted plate as the little bit of steam that’s created is key. Serve warm. Store in an airtight bag in the refrigerator for 4-5 days. Reheat tortillas on a hot skillet or briefly in the microwave to regain their flexibility.
 
From: www.freeetsfood.com

I will post about how it tastes!! 

The Buffet And Drink More Water

    Right before school started, hubby whisked me away to Vegas for the weekend and some shopping to celebrate my weight loss (28 lbs so far). We weren't able to go to any of our usual places to eat because of the dietary restrictions. California Pizza Kitchen isn't exactly on my list of "foods that make me feel good" even though it is YUMMY! :) We decided to go to a buffet because of the variety of food offered. Can't go wrong there, right? NOPE! We went to the buffet at the M Hotel. Lots and lots of salads but no salad bar...and it was $40 per person. I couldn't handle paying that much money to NOT be able to eat the foods offered. So we ended up at Sunset Station. They had a salad bar...lettuce and a few toppings. Not the greatest salad bar I have been to, but at least I could eat something. I was thinking they would have some cooked veggies and some fruit. NOPE! I quickly learned that while the buffet claims to offer something for everyone, they don't have many options for those people carefully watching what they eat. It was a learning experience and I now know it is better to special order from a restaurant than go to a place with a variety of pre-made options.
     A similar thing happened when we took the kids to Golden Corral over the weekend. Even though it was a breakfast buffet and breakfast traditionally consists of pancakes, french toast, burritos...breads, I was hoping for some healthier options. The eggs had been sitting out and were rubbery and the fruit was from a can or not very tasty because it wasn't in season. It was very difficult to be there and watch everyone else eat. I learned I have pretty strong will power when it is really important. I didn't even cheat!! I am now back to making my own meals and not embarking on the adventure called "eating out" at this stage in the game!

WATER

     I've always known it is important to drink a lot of water. I never kept track of how much water I drank...I knew I drank more Diet Dr. Pepper than water, but that has water in it, right? Since I started this healthy way of eating, I have been very conscious of how much water I drink since it is ALL I can drink. I am actually starting to like and crave it. Strange!! I did start getting my plastic cup at Maverik and filling up with water after I blogged about that as an option. Some places charge full price but Maverik only charges $.25. It's a bargain and so much better for me! It costs $1.00+ for a bottle of water and I don't feel like "cool" because I have a big ol' fountain drink! So that makes it pretty easy to remember how many of those I drink throughout the day.
     Over the weekend, I didn't even drink one full cup on Saturday. I was feeling it the next day. My bones were aching and I had the worst headache I have had in three months. The good part was that I knew it was lack of water and was able to fix the problem pretty quickly. :) I just keep learning from this experience! I am grateful I found Red River Health and Wellness and I am relieved I feel really good this week!