Category: Uncategorized

I did a little grilling for memorial day. I posted a few of the photos to my filickr.

What month is it? What city do I live in?

William and I hope that everyone had a wonderful Christmas celebration full of lots of great holiday memories!  We also hope your New Year is enriched with abundant blessings and tremendous joy.  William and I certainly believe that God has great things in store for us in 2011, so hopefully we (especially me) will do a better job blogging about those events.

Adios 2010.

Happy New Year!!!

Earlier this month Kyllan and I took our nephew to the Museum of Nature and Science. We all  had a great time. Our nephew taught us how to pronounce all of the complicated dinosaur names at the dinosaur exhibit. He also joined us in touching as many hands on exhibits as possible.

Pictures from our trip can be found on flickr.

Our first stop in our Hawaiian tour was the island of Oahu.  Oahu is probably what many people are familiar with since it is home to the capital city, Honolulu, and Waikiki Beach, and is the most populous of all of the Hawaiian islands (75% of the state’s population).  Interestingly enough, it is not the largest island, but the 3rd largest island.

We stayed at the Hilton Hawaiian Village, which I would definitely recommend for anyone visiting the island.  There are several shops and restaurants on the property giving you lots to explore.  They also have several pools and a lagoon.  The beach was quite nice and not too crowded.

We arrived late Wednesday afternoon and did not do much besides get situated in our rooms, plan some excursions, get some food and get some sleep.

On Thursday, we had a full day.  We visited the Polynesian Cultural Center.  The Polynesian Center has created mini villages representing the islands of Hawaii, Fiji, Samoa, Tahiti, Tonga, and New Zealand.  At each village, you learn about the culture of that island, sample foods, etc.  In Hawaii, we learned a hula dance, and sampled Poi (the staple food in Hawaii made from the taro plant).  In Samoa, we leaned that the men do all of the cooking, watched  a guy make fire from two pieces of wood, saw him crack open a coconut and get coconut milk and also watched a man climb a coconut tree in about 10 seconds.  There was also a canoe parade where each of the islands had canoes and performed traditional dances.  It was very colorful and neat to watch.  Of course we did not leave without taking part in a luau where we feasted on traditional Hawaiian cuisine.  There was also a performance at the end of the night called “Ha, Breath of Life”.  It was a bit hard to follow, but was interesting to watch.

On Friday, we took an island tour and made stops at several touristy attractions like the Dole Plantation where the specialty was Pineapple ice cream (it was actually better than I thought it would be).  We also made stops at several beautiful beaches, including the North Shore where you can typically see surfers attempting 30 foot waves in the months of December and January.  I always had the impression that Maui had the prettiest beaches in Hawaii and they absolutely do have some beautiful beaches, but Oahu has a few beautiful beaches as well.  Hanauma Bay is definitely one of the beaches in Oahu that William and I would like to return to.  The water was a beautiful blue and the sand was fine and sugary. 🙂  One of the most interesting stops was at a place called the Pali Lookout, where we experienced what felt like Hurricane strength winds (it is amazing what the trade winds are like in that area).  You will see several pictures on Flickr where my hair is standing straight up because of the wind!!

On our last day in Oahu before embarking on our cruise, we visited the most popular Hawaiian tourist destination, Pearl Harbor.  It was an awesome experience.  Very humbling.  I learned more about the events of December 7, 1941 and the lives lost on the USS Arizona and many other battleships that day.  We also visited the USS Missouri, which was the last battleship built by the US and is where Japan surrendered to end WWII.  I think that was one of William’s favorite parts.  Guys love battleships.  I actually enjoyed touring the USS Bowfin.  William says that Naval history is one of my new hobbies, but this it NOT the case.  I just enjoyed learned about the capabilities of submarines.

After our visit to Pearl Harbor, we packed up and headed to board the Pride of America on embark on our Hawaiian journey.  Our itinerary is below.

Pictures from Oahu and Pearl Harbor are on Flickr. Click on the links to see them.

More to come….

About a week ago, I went to Costco and left disappointed…and it was not the first time.  I often cannot find the brand or item I am looking for.  I have not shopped at Sam’s in a while, but I feel that when I shopped at Sam’s before, the selection was much better.  Now… before you think I am completely crazy… I do agree that Costco in general is much cleaner, more organized, and with certain products like their store made pasta, salads, and other heat and eat items are much better than Sam’s, but I still somehow feel I am wasting my money with the membership.  I think one of the difficulties for me personally is that since we are only a family of two people, I do not have a need to buy many items in bulk.  I typically don’t buy meat or other items in bulk.  I do like buying laundry detergent, paper products (although they did not have my select-a-size paper towels when I went last time) and other items like toothpaste in bulk, but there would be too much waste if I bought much more.  The only food items we make it through without waste are granola bars and apple juice.

My store of choice for the moment is Tom Thumb, primarily because it is MOST convenient (2 minutes away… I have timed it…only b/c I timed my route to work).  Ironically, the Neighborhood Walmart is only 6 minutes away, but the Tom Thumb seems so much closer and is the one I pass almost 100% of the time when I am driving to and from wherever.  Tom Thumb is a bit more expensive than Walmart or Super Target, but they have a decent selection of food and have been very focused on customer service (always asking you if you need assistance, although sometimes too much).  Their meat and produce is always fresh, and the one by us has a sushi bar that is actually pretty decent.

Of course my all time favorite is Central Market, but the closest one to us is 35-40 minutes away, so that is not a realistic option for general shopping needs, especially in the Texas heat.  Not to mention, the prices are definitely more expensive than the others.  Our grocery bill would probably double.

Anyway… just thought I would share my experience/dilemma and see if anyone else has feelings on the subject.

You probably just think this is a corny subject… and it probably is 🙂

Guess what high school was selected #3 in the nation by Newsweek?

I finally uploaded some photos from the Pacquiao v. Clottey fight. You can see them on my Flickr page.

It is snowing in Dallas again. It’s suppose to get worse today. Now my 1 hour commute in gets to be a 2 hour commute. I guess it will just add to the fun that everyone has while they are in town for NBA All-Star weekend.

Congratulations to the New Orleans Saints! Also, all the people I meet during my time in New Orleans, please stop emailing and text messaging. I get it. The Saints won.