~~~ Aloha ~~~

Hawaii ~ March 2008

Ka'anapali and Kihei, Maui

Ka'anapali Beach...view from the Ka'anapali Beach Club lanai. How wonderful to sip coffee outside and watch the whales in the morning.

Hawaiian sunset...one shot of probably 100. These never grow old.

OK, is it lame to have chosen over $100 in FABRIC as my souvenir?! Hubby wasn't impressed ~LOL~ but I LOVE the Hawaiian prints I brought home and can't wait to start sewing!

Kihei, Maui - sunburned and broke - time to go home.

Sigh. Last one. I promise.

I suppose it's too soon to discuss going back....

I love this picture

On another computer, I have the screensaver set up with a series of pictures from our summer vacation in Cambria, CA. This series always makes me smile, and often literally Laugh Out Loud, remembering the fun times we had. This particular picture (above) is one of my favorites. First, it features DD#4 with a big smile. But secondly, it has DD#2 in the background, watching out for the BEE that was annoying all of us. I love her expression. It got better when said bee landed on her purse. She squealed like a girl. A cheerleader teenager girl. Oh wait - that's just what she is.

Lastly, it reminded me that good memories and smiles are often accompanied by ICE CREAM. I think if really want the world peace we talk about, we should all eat more ice cream. You can't help but smile and feel good.

And let me just put in a shameless plug for Maggie Moo's in Clovis (where DD#2 no longer works) - when they have it, their peppermint ice cream is hands down the best I've ever had.

Come on now, don't you just feel like a bowl? You know you do. Go have some and do your part for world peace.

Cruise - December 2 - 9, 2007

View looking down in the Centrum. Hmm - no wonder I feel dizzy. The ship, Royal Caribbean's Vision of the Seas, was decorated so beautifully for Christmas -garland and Christmas trees everywhere. While on board, Hanukkah began and there were menorahs lit up all around, in addition to Hanukkah services daily.

Now, keeping in mind that I lost 23 pounds prior to the cruise, I would really feel sorry for this poor horse, "Raton," had I NOT lost that much. LOL I'm convinced I'm not really as fat as I look here, or that my bra strap really isn't hanging out of my shirt. But who am I kiddin'? This is the story of my life. Seriously, this horse was like 9' tall and I was fairly close to petrified. Here it just looks like a fat lady riding a burro. Maybe my camera is broken? :o) Anyway, horseback riding on the beaches of Cabo San Lucas is amazing.

Seeing as how we left on my 43rd birthday (I mean 29th!), our cabin steward, Arturo, made me a birthday towel bunny on the first night. He says that usually they don't do animals on the first night. Maybe he was vying for a bigger tip? Arturo was absolutely the BEST! On our last night on the ship when I succumbed to seasickness (aye aye aye), he came in and visited, asking if he could do anything. I miss those twice-daily room cleaning and turn down service with chocolate mints on the pillow. Sigh. It was a good week. :o)

Does it get any better than THIS? Sunset from the ship - somewhere between Los Angeles and Cabo San Lucas.

Too much to write, but I highly recommend this cruise - the ship was very nice and the service was impeccable. The shows were pretty good, but since I have nothing to compare them to, I have no complaints. Besides, who can complain when waiters put your napkin in your lap each night, cut your steak, and remove your lobster tails...THEN bring you chocolate after that!

Blessings,

Cheryl

Am I lovely yet? Not yet...

Well, it's Saturday night and I leave town early tomorrow for a *cruise,* so I wanted to post a follow-up about my commitment to loveliness. I'm afraid it was harder than it sounded, friends!

1) Moisturize my skin daily. Done. Now - how much longer til the wrinkles start to go away?!
2) Drink more water. Not so great. Truth be told, I don't enjoy drinking water...but I did try for one glass a day (this is in addition to coffee and tea).
3) Give the house an extra good cleaning before I leave town Sunday. This one really didn't get done. At all. I had plenty of work and some other things come up, so I wasn't twiddling my thumbs, but...
4) Extend peace and love to my family. Done. I wanted to be able to leave town without any guilt. :) Hubby did comment that the refrigerator looked bare...and it does. This is also a good time for him to see a little of what I do. You know, when I'm not twiddling my thumbs.
5) Get a manicure. Another selfish thing, but done! AND I feel like my hands are pretty. I even added a hair cut and a new pair of jeans to this.

Next week's loveliness list is going to be a little less self-serving.

I am packed, but can't figure out the purse thing. Anyone who knows me well knows that I love purses. BUT none of them seem quite right for the cruise. I'm thinking that it's 10:30 and I have 9.5 hours til we leave and I DO have time to shop...but...nah.

And now I need to forget the purse issue and go to sleep. I am excited and nervous all rolled up into one! My bag is stocked with Dramamine and the like, enough clothes to be gone about 3 weeks, and a camera with an empty memory card.

Blessings to you all. I will try to bring home some warm sunshine from Mexico. :o)

Cheryl

Tahlequah, OK pix

http://picasaweb.google.com/ciklone/CherokeeNationalHolidayWeekend/photo#s5106783974811105970

It's a trend

After our 'rain' over the weekend that broke our 114 day drought, we woke up to even MORE rain this morning. Well, no need for an umbrella, but there is lightning and thunder and even some raindrops. It's almost 8am and 90 degrees with 41% humidity. Weird.

Hubby heads to Tahlequah today with DD#3 & DD#4 for the Cherokee National Holiday and to see family. Looks like their weather is actually going to be better than OURS. Now that's something new - OK with better weather than CA! LOL I'm sending the camera and hoping they have the good sense to TAKE PICTURES. There will be a pow wow, a race (Hubby & DD#3), and a time to connect with Hubby's parents, brother & family, his last remaining grandfather, aunts/uncles/cousins, etc.

Guess I'll just spend my weekend shopping and eating out with DD#1 & DD#2. Drats. Sure wish I could go. LOL

One more week

How is it that there is only one more week of summer vacation left for my kids? Actually, DD#1 starts tomorrow, so her vacation is already over.

What happened to all of our summer plans?

...the cooking class I was going to teach DD#2 and her friend?

...the eCYBERMISSION projects we were going to get started on?

...the weekly swim date with friends?

...the zoo?

...a train ride to Hanford?

While we did have some good times, somehow this summer seems to have flown by faster than ever before.

If I was a mom that counted the days til the kids went back to school, perhaps I would feel happy that we're down to the last week.

Instead, we will try and pack as much fun in as we can, because by this time next week, they will be putting new pens and pencils in their backpacks and making PB&J sandwiches.

Enjoy every minute - the pages are flipping faster than I can quite keep up.

Vacation

Can't keep the girls away from the pirates in Monterey. This one was particularly popular with the girls. :o)

JAIL - precisely where these girls will end up if they keep hanging around pirates!

Photo op at the Mid-State Fair in Paso Robles.

DD#2 showing DD#3 how to properly pose for a picture.
DD#3 looks so sincere in her posing efforts...NOT!


Ice cream stop in Cambria. Can't have vacation without ice cream!

Elephant seals near San Simeon.

Distant picture of the lighthouse Hubby was dying to see - but it was closed for reconstruction.

Last sunset of vacation.