beautiful kauai

Our second full day on the island has been amazing...although the roosters keep me awake at night! We went on an ATV tour today and saw the beautiful countryside/mountain range. We met some fun people and swam in a waterfall, saw wild piglets, and got SUPER dirty from the red dirt! It was a great time. Chris drove, so I was able to really take in the view! We saw the mountain from Jurassic Park, and the rope swing used in Raiders of the Lost Ark. I just can't get over how amazing the ocean view is from the lanai.....incredible! I love when the water crashes over the rockes, spilling onto the road. The forbidden island "Ni'Ihau" (prounounced knee-ee-how) is just 14 miles off shore. They have no electricity and the kids take a boat to Kauai where they go to school each day. Amazing how primitive it is, as visitors are NOT allowed unless invited. I just love the history of the islands, learning about the native plants and animals, except, of course the chickens! Aloha!

aloha!

We arrived in Kauai last night, after spending the previous night in Honolulu, just off Waikiki beach. It was amazing! We stayed at a beautiful hotel called Ilikai Waikiki. We arrived in Honolulu at 3 PM (8PM Central) on Friday. Having that much daylight really messed up our system, but I think we're finally back on track. We headed out to the beach, walked along the water, found our way to the international market and had a LATE dinner (11 PM Central Time). We walked around the shops, and I am just amazed at how many people in Honolulu speak Japanese. It's so fun! C had some great conversations in Mandarin with some of the little shop owners. We had a great time, albeit short, in Honolulu. On Saturday we spent the morning at Pearl Harbor, where we took the boat out to the Arizona Memorial. We also went to the Aloha Swap Meet at the Aloha Stadium :) It was fun to take it all in; this truly is paradise. So it's Sunday morning now, and after a good nights sleep, the roosters woke us up (darn those chickens!) and we are relaxing at the house with family. It's a beautiful sunny day on Kauai, so we hope to spend some time outside today. The view from the Lanai is amazing! I didn't know if I'd have access to the computer, but turns out Jan and Ed brought their laptops ;) You can't keep me away for long! Aloha~

leavin' on a jet plane

Well, tomorrow morning we are shipping out on our big trip to Hawaii...then off to China for the 2008 Olympics in Beijing! Woot! I can't believe it's here already! Wow, time flies. We've waited a year for this trip, and it's finally happening. We've spent the past few days packing and preparing things, so I'm feeling pretty confident it won't be too stressful this evening. We leave early tomorrow morning, fly to Denver, then on to Honolulu for the night. We'll be on the island of Kauai with Chris' mom, dad, step-sister, brother-in-law, and kids, which should be SO much fun. We're going zip-lining, tubing, 4-wheeling, and hopefully we'll get a good tan doing so! We arrive in Beijing on August 4th, where we will be staying with one of Chris' good friends, his wife, and their new baby. Since we won't have access to e-mail or the internet for a while, this will be my only post until we return! Please pray for safe travel for us and our family! I can't wait to update with some amazing pictures when we return! much love to you!

i don't love what you do for me, toyota

Lately, I've been doing a lot of research on fair trade companies, and other such things, and I'm really trying to be conscious about what and most importantly WHOM I am supporting with my business. So, I've become very interested in the issues of human traffiking and sweatshop labor. I recently ran across some very disturbing news, and while a whole 10 people may read my blog, it's the only thing I have to vent the disgust I have with the allegations recently revealed about the Toyota corporation.

I know here in America, most of our goods are outsourced and it's incredibly expensive to buy locally, and to buy green, but I want to make sure that I'm not naive to the fact that these things are happening around the world, and that we DO support them by purchasing their products. Take Walmart for example...for the longest time I refused to shop at Walmart because of their practices. Now that the economy has taken a turn for the worse, I've found myself buying into the idea that I need to save money, so I should get a few things there. Now I'm feeling guilty knowing that even one cent of mine has been given to this corporation, which emphatically denies any wrongdoing. I can't sit idly by while people are overworked, underpaid, and basically abused to make goods. It hurts my heart that this happens, and I want it to stop. Most importantly though, I want to be educated about my buying habits. I want other people to be as well. I wish I could do more, and I hope to one day.

Please, read the article HERE

Learn how to shop smart by visiting this website HERE

For a SweatFree shopping guide click HERE

Link to the National Labor Committee HERE

revamped, renewed, reused, repurposed!

I need a little input. I have been planning on doing this project for 3 years now, and it's finally happened! I have refinished a hope chest (READ: old toy trunk) that my parents wanted to toss out. It had some serious problems, and I had to reinforce a few areas by pulling out some old rusty nails, but I decided to upholster the top and paint the bottom. I'm happy with the results, but they didn't exactly work out as planned. I need help deciding if I should try to achieve a crisp white on the bottom, or stick with the "shabby" finish that the paint decided to do on its own. Chris really likes it the way it is, and I think it looks cute, I just can't decide! Anyhow, I still need to replace the hardware, etc...but here are the before and afters. Feedback please!

i can't put my arms down!

Ohh, only six more months 'til I can watch that beloved movie, you know, the one with Ralphie...woot! For some reason, this quote was in my head, because my arms hurt! But actually, it's the other way around, I can't LIFT my arms. Our China trip is just two weeks away (and as a result, I needed some immunizations to stay safe in Asia.) So three shots later, and both arms are in MAJOR pain! They said the injection sites may hurt for a day or two, but the entire upper arm? So frustrating!
So I am just a debbie downer today. I can't help it, I have no motivation of any kind. I could barely manage to wash my hair in the shower, so I've been a lump most of the day. We are going camping tomorrow..we're starting off slow, only going about 20 miles from our house, but hey, gotta start somewhere....
I DID, however, find time to update my layout :) and surf the web of course...

4 thoughts on the 4th

1. I love watching fireworks, especially when they fill up the sky
2. I love having parties with friends (and Kabobs, yum!)
3. I miss my parents and family and friends
4. Happy Independence Day from Nashville!

happy july!

A patriotic hello from the ville! Here's Moe in his new star spangled bandana...he loves it! Here he's ready to go on a walk, and not really interested in posing for a picture, ohh well.
Not a whole lot going on here. We're still trying to make plans for the 4th, though I don't know what we'll actually end up doing. So far we know we are going to make kabobs...mmm...also, hopefully go to see some fireworks! I am so excited C has off Friday! Woo hoo!