Hawaii Part Two - Hyatt Regency Ka'anapali

Wow, I've been a lot busier this week than I thought I would!
 Despite that, I still have Hawaii pics to share!

In West Maui, we stayed at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in the Ka'anapali Resort area.

It really is a BEAUTIFUL hotel, with great shops, pools, beaches and AMAZING restaurants!

 

Our restaurant of choice was JAPENGO! Oh.My.Gosh. the food was INCREDIBLE! They have this mahi-mahi dish that they serve on a bed of forbidden rice with a lemongrass beaurre blanc sauce.

{yea, that's right, I said FORBIDDEN rice!}

I seriously think I would sell my house and dogs for this rice! It was soooooooooooooooo good!

 

 

Around the hotel, they have parrots that we got to know by name, a penguin exhibit, black and white swans, koi ponds and african cranes!  It was so much fun just walking around the hotel and checking everything out.

There was also plenty of gorgeous foliage, with one of my FAVORITES... bougainvillea. It is such a beautiful vine-tree-type of plant with mounds of BRIGHT pink, purple and orange varities of blooms.
I would love to grow one on our arbor in the back yard but I think it gets too cold here... :(

 

Also at the hotel is a Cirque de Soleil-type of show that is called Cirque Polynesia. The acts were classic cirque-performers: CRAZY-AWESOME with tight-rope walkers, hanging silk dancers, hula dancers, and the WHEEL OF DEATH!

If we were to go back to Maui, we would mostly likely rent a vacation home or condo and save the extra money, BUT we would DEFINITELY spend some of the saved money to have a great night at the Hyatt, seeing the CIRQUE POLYNESIA and eating at JAPENGO!

Hawaii Part One - Maui Wowi

Greg and I finally took our long-awaited Vacation to Hawai'i!

We spend a total of 8 days on the island of Maui in the Ka'anapali resort area near Lahaina.

8 days really didn't seem like enough time and we were only on ONE island!

We met some great people, ate some AMAZING food, saw some INCREDIBLE sights.

I HEART MAUI!

Here's a rundown of just some of the things we got to do:

• lay out in the sun by the pool/beach doing absolutely nothing. {most important}
• drink pina coladas on the beach with fresh pineapple slices and a purple orchid. {mandatory}
• eat at two 4-star restaurants. {definitely a plus}
• hang out in Lahaina. {cool town}
• drive the road to Hana. {gorgeous landscapes}
• hike to the seven sacred pools and see a bamboo forest and banyan trees. {awe-some}
• go whale-watching-searching and hang out with FOUR whales! {a life-long dream}
• snorkel at local Airport beach. {GREAT beach to just hang out all day!}
• alone-time, just the two of us, all day-every day. {perfect}

I have so many pictures to share that I'll have to break it all down into few posts instead of just one.

 {Besides the fact that I have to spend most of my time uploading and downloading the photos and Greg's our photos are all like gazillion megapixels.}

Thank you Honey, for an incredible vacation, to an Incredible place!

Freedom!

Sooo... BIG news.

I turned in my notice at work and my official last day at Reliance is the end of this month.

{GASP}

AND... Greg and I are going to Hawaii next week!!

{GASP GASP}

I have to admit, I'm kind of freaking out about the whole jobless situation.

Not only have I always had a job {different places of course} since I was sixteen, but I've been at Reliance for about 6 years.

Greg and the rest of my family think it's a good thing... finally taking a break from the stress of working in a family-owned business.

{not being able to just let it go and leave everything at work}

I'm freaking out about the fact that I won't be earning my own money,

 I'll be completely dependant on someone else,

I'll be spending someone else's money,

{haven't gotten used to the whole "it's OUR money" thing yet},

and I get to become 'me' again without being so busy I forget who I really am.

{Scary stuff} :)

I'm seriously looking forward to this long-awaited Hawaii Vaca and hoping that it will help me gain some ground where I was previously floundering.

Time to take a deep breath and jump into ME again. :)

Wish me luck!

Timber's Best Friend

I know I already posted about Timber today,

but I took another picture and I just really couldn't pass it up:

Timber Tuesday 2

Last Week, Timber met up with two friends; one old, one new, both brand-new- "Besties."

{Bestie #1} My Best Friend Leah came into town on her moving-journey to D.C.

Her boyfriend just accepted a job at the White House in their IT Department.

-Yep, I said White House. Go Tim!- 

We had an awesome few days of talking, texas tacos and bowling, woot! :P

Apparently, 'Tims' are smitten by her charms and Tim-ber fell in love at first site.

Look at his Smile!

{Bestie #2} Last Christmas, I gave Greg a gag-gift-personal-joke Sock Monkey in his Stocking.

Up until last week, the poor little monkey sat in a dark closet gathering dust.

I found it hiding under a scarf and dangled it out to Timber as a new toy.

 Needless to say, it took Timbo only one day to learn,

"Where's your monkey-toy? Go get your monkey-toy!" 

He Loves it!

Hope your Timber Tuesday is Terrific!!

P.S. Here's a funny bonus for you.... spell check picked Timbo and prompted me to change it to Bimbo!
Awesome.  :)

Daffodils a'dilling

 

As of last week, Spring is officially here! Greg brought home some beautifully-bright yellow Daffodils AND... my new necklace from RachelleD on etsy arrived in a pretty little package, just for ME. :)

The weather is warm, my weeds are all pulled, my daylilies are starting to grow... I'm ready for Summertime!

Backyard BBQ, here we come!!

She's a Maniac, Maniac! Why Skinny Girls SHOULD Work Out.

There are those that believe working out is merely for meat-heads and/or overweight people. It is this same set of people that shake their heads with a knowing smile or bug out their eyes incredulously when a skinny girl says "I really need to work out."

I'm here, with my sister and mother, to let those people know: we have made a new commitment to ourselves and our health. Exercise is good for everyone, even the weight-gain challenged!
Working Out is not to "stay/get skinny." Working Out is to stay/get HEALTHY.

Top Reasons Skinny Girls Do Not Exercise:

• See incredulous reactions above.
• They are told, "you are already skinny, you don't need to work out."
• They think, because they are thin, they do not have body fat.... Soooo wrong!
• They are too lazy and think that it won't change the way they look, so what's the point?
• A Dumb Gym teacher in high school tells them to stop working out, that are anorexic and will never be able to have babies. (I know you're thinking "What the?!" but it's a true story).
• They think they will always be skinny.

Top Reasons why Skinny Girls SHOULD Work Out:

• Good for heart health
• Brings more oxygen into your body, (more circulation, better oxygen flow).
• Rids the body of toxins through sweat, therefore good for your skin!
• Increases circulation through the body, therefore good for your skin, brain, limbs, etc.
• Strength and muscle tone!
• Exercise is proven to lift your mood! Depression and mood swings are lessened!
• Um... how do I put this... healthy "relations" with your spouse. :)
• What good is being skinny if you are sick all the time and can't even lift a grocery bag without getting shaky?!
• Just DO it! You will feel SO much better!