hawaii

warning: this is a long post with a ton of pictures, and it doesn't include pearl harbor. that will have to be a completely different post.

i had a lot of fun in hawaii...even though it was technically a work trip. i got to experience a lot more of the island because one of my friends from work had lived there for several years. the people were friendly, the fish was unbelievably good, and the weather was great!

hawaiians also have some interesting lingo:

• aloha: welcome, hello, goodbye
• talk story: to gossip, chat
• mahalo: you're welcome
• pau: done, finish
• vog: volcanic smog, occurs when the volcano on the big island erupts and gases are emitted like air pollution
• da kine: that whatchamacallit
• eh: you know?
• howzit: how are you doing?
• shi shi: go the bathroom (#1)
• haole: white person

the view from my lanai the first night:



the other view...Honolulu:



after our training we went to the north shore, and my friend introduced me to banapples...one word: a-mazing. they are a cross between apples and bananas and are quite delicious.



pipline:



sunset beach:



turtle beach:






the dole plantation had pineapple ice cream...delicious!



leathered-skinned beach bum with a mullet...



the hotel i stayed at had penguins...why? i don't know, but they were kinda cute.






the tourist beach at waikiki...it was a bit too rocky for me.

sunrise sky...

flowers were everywhere. if you were single and ready to mingle, you wore them on the right side. if you were taken, you wore them on the left side.

my only problem was the birds. they were everywhere. this one and some of his friends thought it would be nice to hang out on my lanai every day.

diamond head:

lanikai beach...my favorite:

there was pretty landscape all over the island:

and there were also shacks and "houseless" people. this is the best drive-by picture i could get of the tents.

rabbit island...look at at the different colors of the ocean:

makapuu beach:

lava rocks:

and when i got back, i had to dig my car out of 7 inches of snow at the airport.

the envelope

i'm going to blog about hawaii, but it's going to take a while. in the meantime, i wanted to go ahead and post pictures of my new artwork.

my sister bought a new house and wanted a neat piece of artwork above her fireplace. she had seen pictures of envelopes blown up and thought about doing that with one of our grandparents' letters. this concept was also featured on my favorite website. so, of course i had to have one for my apartment too.

my sister had a letter and envelope that my granddaddy wrote my granny during the war. so, she had it enlarged and framed. and it turned out great!

here is a picture of my granddaddy during his tenure in the army:



here is my granny. she would often go to photo booths and then send the picture to him.



and here my the envelope enlarged and framed. it's not the best picture...it's at an angle, but you get the gist. it's also pretty big (33''x52'').



and here are my grandparents how i remember them...silver haired, aged, and still in love after a ba-jillion years together:

while i don't have a nice new house like my sister, it's still pretty nice to have such a unique reminder of my grandparents.

lately, every afternoon...or night...when i leave work, i can literally feel the tension in my neck and muscles. things have been stress-ful.

but i leave for hawaii on sunday. hip hip hooray! even though it is a work trip, there will be time for rest and relaxation. and i won't have to type a single progress note or diffuse a single crisis for a whole week! and i think that might excite me a little more than actually being in hawaii.

i have yet to pack a single thing. guess i better get to getting.

here's your inspirational quote of the day:

while i know myself as a creation of God, i am also obligated to realize and remember that everyone else and everything else are also God's creation.
-maya angelou

(even birds and the other team)

water zoo

today, thad and i went to the water zoo in chattanooga...better known as the aquarium.






these 2 were not behind any glass or nets....yikes! they definitely made my heart beat fast, but i was able to take their picture from a distance...hence the picture.

thad was afraid to touch the sting rays...

so, i had to show him how it was done.

according to thad, this is a pitcher plant...which is a carnivorous plant.

i was trying to take a picture of this penguin but the stupid staff squirted water right in the way. thanks a lot heifers.

notice the big pole that one of the divers is holding....that's to ward of sharks. why would you want to hang out in a tank with sharks with only a pvc pipe thing to save you?

jellyfish!

i don't really remember what this is called, but it looked neat.

the sleeping turtle

this was in the seahorse exhibit. i thought the coral was pretty.

i think this is some sort of dragon fish but am probably wrong.

he actually touched the sturgeon on the first try.

gi-normous catfish!

we were impressed by how they set up one of the freshwater exhibits...complete with a boat, paddle, pier, and minnow bucket.

the trip's not complete without a trip to ben & jerry's.

and a truck load full of crap with a duct-taped laundry basket. sir, while i appreciate your thriftiness, the dollar store sells them for a few bucks. splurge and get yourself one.

we stopped at little river canyon on the way back...very pretty and serene.

three on thursday

1. the sister entered in a video of the brother opening the present i gave him for christmas for some prize from cma fest. go and rank the nerd alert video 5 stars (and none of the others), sign in at the bottom, and submit. http://cmafest.com/2009/ViewResults.aspx

2. all i have to say about the game tonight is HOOK 'EM HORNS! i can never, ever cheer for the other team. ever.

3. because of the weather, we got to go into work 2 hours late today. i thoroughly enjoyed that. i wish i could get up at 7 every morning. and so far, i think every other school in middle tennessee has been closed tomorrow...except the school i work at. greeeeaaaat.

2009

in 2009, i got promoted to a supervisory position and then several months later got "let go" when the economy finally hit the mental health field. 2 days after i got the news, i had accepted a job offer that significantly increased my income. for the past 6 months, the job has been great!

in 2009, my parents moved from the town that i grew up in, and i have yet to return to that small town.

in 2009, i saw wicked...and it officially became my favorite musical.

in 2009, i began to carpool to work...something that i have never done before. spending that much time in the car with another person every day is quite interesting.

in 2009, i lost my granny. i still really miss her.

in 2009, i bought a brand new car....the first time that i have ever done that. my only 2 requirements were good gas mileage and an input for my ipod.

in 2009, i had some adventures at the lake...including getting stranded on an island.

in 2009, i was able to triple my savings.

in 2009, i learned that i have hearing loss.

in 2009, i experienced the pure joy that a talking cookie jar lion can bring.

in 2009, i jumped out of a plane! and it was the coolest thing that i have done in my 28 years on the planet.

in 2009, i spontaneously got another tattoo.

in 2009, i went to one of the largest shopping malls in the world. it was a-mazing!

in 2009, due to my increase in income, i spontaneously purchased some big ticket items. let's hope this trend doesn't carry over to 2010.

in 2009, i learned (or finally realized) that i have some odd quirks...i don't like for someone to hold one of my fingers and not let go (makes me feel claustrophobic)...i don't really like to wear socks but begrudgingly will in really cold weather....i hate to eat cold ketchup...i don't really like hotel's covers and will bring my own if i can...and i really, really, really hate birds.

it's been a year. i had some stressful times. i had some very sad times. but i also had some pretty neat experiences. i guess that's the way life goes.

now, i'm off to ring in the new year with the sister and the daphster and her cute kid.

merry christmas and war eagle!