Aloha Oe Hawaii!

Well, the time has come. End of the year, end of our time in Hawaii. I am happy, sad, nostalgic---but mostly I am scared of the single digit temperatures that await in Colorado!
On Thursday I said goodbye to my co-workers, on Friday we said goodbye again at happy hour and today we say goodbye to the island life for awhile. We have had an amazing time here. Of course spending hours out in the tropical sun is never bad but we have also used this time to renew our spirits. We have seen 793 rainbows, took 4 interisland trips, trained for and completed a marathon, went camping twice, saw some turtles, fed the fish, took a submarine ride, had 6 sets of visitors (although 2 sets were my sister), Dave turned 50, I turned 30, Dave formatted and published his book, gave talks/book signings at both cancer centers on Oahu, and we started our own company. We also spent two weeks in Colorado to celebrate my sister's graduation and help my mom after hip surgery. I gotta say it's been an amazing year. We are thankful that our friends and family are healthy and happy. We look forward to 2008 and hope our paths cross with each and every one of you soon!

Live the magic of Christmas

This is a sentence I pulled from my friend Chris' blog. In talking about her young nieces and nephews, she stated "they still live the magic of Christmas".
Before I went to her page, I was wondering, has all the magic gone out of Christmas?

I went to work today. I don't know one good reason why people need OT on Christmas Day but at time and a half, I wasn't going to argue. Having Christmas in Hawaii is like, well, basically any other day in Hawaii. It is warm, green, and sunny. No white Christmas here. We went to breakfast before Dave took me to work. I left about an hour early. Nothing too special.

When I got home, we went for a walk along the beach. Just like any other day in Hawaii. I called my family. They were playing cards together. I must admit, but you didn't hear it here, I am a wee bit homesick. Sounded like they were having fun but we will be there soon enough.

This morning as I got ready for work the Peanut's Christmas Song entered my head. You know the one....Christmas Time is Here....Lalalalala. SOmething something, and cheer. At work my friend Karen said she had the same song in her head because the child in us wakes up excited, saying "Christmas is here"!

But now at the end of the day, I am wondering, is it still magical? Was today like any other day? Is it what they all say? Are we too OLD for Christmas?

Then I realized this---you are my magic. Each and every one of you. You help me live the magic of Christmas by your friendship, excitement, and love. Christmas is still magical to me because you all live in me.

Mele Kalikimaka to everyone and thank you for the magic that you all brought to me this Christmas.

Our Christmas Wish

Mele Kalikimaka!

I hope that magic and wonder is finding all of you this holiday season.
Magic and wonder are filling me this evening. Dave and I got word today that our papers of incorporation for our non profit were filed successfully. To all of you that have asked me what Dave has been doing during this time in Hawaii, I have answers for you.

Dave and I basically started dating on Christmas 4 years ago. He invited me to dinner with his family which was being served at his brother's house. The drive was about 1.5 hours. During that time we talked the entire way. It became clear almost immediately that we both felt the same way about life. A common theme in that conversation and many conversations to follow is that we both felt we are here for a larger purpose. We have grown so much since that day. We are moving away from unfulfilling jobs and toward that dream. This non profit org that we are starting will be called A Good Day Inc. We will promote health, happiness and hope to cancer survivors across the country. This is such an important day for us as it leads us into that dream of becoming more. In many ways we are taking chances. It is scary sometimes but exhilirating at the same time. We ask for your support, prayers, and encouragement. Most likely, you will get to be a part of this movement at some point as well. We're gonna be big!
We also would like to thank our friends and family for always supporting our dreams. We will always be there for you in return if and when you need us.

So Merry Christmas and sweet dreams. May happiness find you my friend!

Eat, Pray, Love

The above is the title of one of the better books I have ever read. I thought I would blog on it a little tonight. I actually read it about a month ago. I borrowed a copy from my friend at work and when I returned it, I went on and on about it so much that she bought me my own copy. I am glad to own it because it is something you could go back to over and over.
The book is about a woman who takes a spiritual journey for a year after going through a divorce and an even more tumultuous rebound relationship. She becomes depressed and unhappy. She decides to take a year long trip of self exploration. She spends three months in Italy, three in India, and three in Bali. The woman, Liz Gilbert, is a writer and it is an amazing memoir. At first I thought it was going to be wishy washy but it was quite the opposite as she tells her story while educating and enlightening anyone who reads it. This is on of those books that I feel gets invited into your life at just the right time however it means something different for everyone. For me, I enjoyed getting it at this time in my life as Dave and I have done a lot of studying and meditation (very elementary meditation)on the life altering powers of positive thought and power talking. I found myself nodding many times throughout the book thinking, EXACTLY. That is exactly what I am thinking. I can't believe someone else has had this thought yet put it so eloquently.
In Italy, Liz decides to learn about pleasure. Although she remains celibate, she allows herself to eat anything and everything she wants, sleep in, etc. This book will make you want to go to Italy and have pizza, if nothing else.
She then travels to India where she stays at an Ashram. Here she studies devotion. This is where a lot of her deepness comes in along with defining what she feels God is. It is very spiritual but in a practical sense.
After India she returns to Bali to see an old Medicine man she met before during an interview. Here she learns about balance and finds love. Bali is also a place I feel would be amazing to visit.
If anyone else out there has read it, I would be interested to hear your opinion. If you haven't read it, go get a copy and get crackin'!

The 30th Birthday/Marathon Weekend EXTRAVAGANZA

Let's just get it out of the way....I'm 30. I have officially left the twenties. You know what? If feels pretty good! Many have assured me that 30 is not the new 20 because it's better. I think those wise people are right.
So my actual birthday was this last Wednesday. Not the most exciting of days to have a birthday. I went to work. Dave gave me a lei that morning (get your minds out of the gutter it was the flower kind!) that I wore all day so people knew I was something special. He made me a nice breakfast, showed up for lunch at work with my favorite fast-food indulgence, Arby's, and then took me out to dinner of my choice. I chose a place called Nick's Fishmarket which is sort of expensive but fortunately my mom and dad put money in my bank account for the momentus occasion of my coming of age so to speak so it made the thought of the bill not so horrible. I ordered a medley of seafood. Here is where I learned that no matter how nice a place looks, how much they charge or what their claims are--the food may not be great, or even good. Out of five kinds of seafood, only the scallops were decent. The rest of it was dried up, overcooked, and rubbery. The last thing on the plate I had was a bite of Mahi Mahi. Upon swallowing the bite, my mouth immediately began to itch. I drank some water and didnt think any more of it....I have had no fish allergies in the past and have tried a multitude of fish in my lifetime. Luckily, after complaining (rightfully so) about my meal, they comped it and gave me two free desserts...much better! Yummy desserts (should be called Nick's Dessert Market) and a little extra money for the weekend endeavors from the bank of Mom and Dad.
As I consider this an educational blog in addition to your pure entertainment from my somewhat strange life, I pause for a little lesson. If you eat fish and it makes your mouth itch, it means one of two things: You are allergic to the fish or you just ate old (not yet rotten but going there fast) fish. Apparently the latter was true in my case. I went to sleep that night and woke up next morning with, well, a swollen lip. Benadryls helped it but as my friend Jessica put it, I looked like I just got back from getting Collagen injections. Moral of the story, BEWARE ITCHY FISH! End of educational report, we now return to our regularly scheduled program.

Flash forward to birthday weekend/marathon weekend. My sister flew in to cheer me on and drink adult beverages. Unfortunately, the weather did not cooperate for most of her trip to this point which included backpacking and camping on Kauai (two things my sis LOVES). But she was a good sport about the whole deal and knowing when to say when on something that just wasn't going to happen. She flew back to Honolulu a day early. We had SUCH a fun weekend! We chilled out on Friday night,watching movies and sleeping. Saturday, Dave made us a wonderful breakfast that included his artistic "Honu" (Turtle) Pancakes. We then had a leisurely morning and wandered down to the shorbird where we met with a few friends at our favorite bar/restaurant The Shorbird. We relaxed on the beach and then headed back to get ready for Marathon Sunday which started at 3 AM. I was so nervous I only slept about 3 hours.
Now, one word about the Honolulu Marathon in general: HUGE. The third largest marathon in the country. Lucky for me it started about a mile from our apartment. Even luckier for me, Dave and Teresa went with me. This marathon is extremely popular amongst the Japanese who make up approximately 85% of the 28,000 people in the run. The whole thing was beautiful. It was dark of course and it was just me, my sister, my husband and the greater metro population of Tokyo. Oh, did I mention the weather? What you say? In Hawaii isn't it always perfect? The answer is a big fat no. The race started a 5 AM and at about 4:50 what can only be described as torrential downpour descended upon us. What makes 26.2 miles more fun? SOGGY shoes and underwear and everything in between. However, by the time they started the fireworks, the rain stopped and we were off!....until about a mile in when cats and dogs descended from the sky again just to give my shoes that extra soggy feeling and add a half pound to each leg. But Teresa was with me and we laughed the whole way....
SO, my race continued on, through Chinatown, Waikiki, up Diamondhead....the first 7 miles were literally elbow to elbow (or maybe elbow to face with the Japanese--I am a giant next to them) and had a cattle herd effect. Luckily, my sister helped me out with the beginning, my friend Karen met up with me for about 6 miles, and then Dave finished the last three, all went well....mile 25 produced more downpour,almost welcomed at this point but it also produced mile 26 and then mile 26.2! That right! Not only was I crazy enough to enter, I actually finished! My time was slower than I wanted but when you consider the rain and the asian invasion, I think I did pretty well.
Today I hurt in places I didn't know I had but we had a fun day of shopping and being on the beach for my sis' last day. I am back to work tomorrow but I can't even complain about that. This whole weekend was AWESOME! SO far, thirty feels great. Thanks to all who helped make it such a wonderful event.Check out details here of my marathon http://results.active.com/pages/oneResult.jsp?pID=30036984&rsID=50629