Thankful Beyond Words

With Thanksgiving on Thursday, I've been thinking a lot about how blessed my life is.  I really try to do this often (other than just the month of November) but this year in particular, it's been easy to slip into moments of ungratefulness.

Example: Instead of thanking God for the amazing job I've been provided with... a job which I LOVE to do... a job that helps us pay our bills.... a job that allowed us to buy a second home this year.... I catch myself thinking: "why is my job so stressful this year, when it hasn't been this stressful in the past?" Those thoughts snowball into "Is it me?"  and "Am I just really bad at this?" In reality I know I'm doing the very best I can every single day.  I know I've been put in this job for a reason and I'm grateful for what it's teaching me.

I really and truly have absolutely NOTHING to complain about in my life.  I have amazing friends (on both the east and west coasts), I have amazing family who loves us unconditionally, I have my amazing husband and we have our health.  We have food on the table and a warm place to sleep at night.  Life. Is. Good.

Sure, I sometimes get caught up in "but I DON'T have this or that..." and "If only we had more..." thoughts.  But, someone out there is probably praying for exactly the things I DO have.  I am also a firm believer that when I show my gratitude to God for all He has provided, He then provides me with more.  He's gracious like that.

Speaking of blessings, we've been blessed with a house this year.  And because we own it (which naturally means we make large payments to another party who ACTUALLY owns it), we are trying to take care of it by making small improvements here and there.  Here's a summary of what we've done so far... in pictures...

HALL CLOSET BEFORE

HALL CLOSET AFTER

THE HANDLE IN THE CARPET HELPS US LIFT THAT
BOARD AND THERE ARE STAIRS DOWN TO THE
BASEMENT UNDERNEATH

WE ADDED LOTS OF STORAGE.

BUT THE BIGGEST THING IS THAT WE ADDED
MOTION DETECTED LIGHTING!

LIGHTS TURN ON WHEN WE ENTER... AND TURN
OFF AUTOMATICALLY 30 SECONDS AFTER WE LEAVE!

IT'S NOT A DARK DUNGEON ANYMORE! 

AND WE HAVE A SPECIFIC PLACE FOR THINGS.
NO MORE RUNNING AROUND TO FIND OUR
BACKPACKS AND HELMETS FOR MOUNTAIN
BIKING.  WE KNOW EXACTLY WHERE TO FIND
THINGS.  YAY FOR ORGANIZATION!

Then we tackled the kitchen.  Originally, I wanted to do a HUGE kitchen renovation (like replacing cabinets and counters and everything).  But, even though I don't LOVE our cabinets, they are in good shape and they are obviously functional.  So, I began looking for ways to do small things that would help me love the kitchen more.  

KITCHEN BEFORE

THE SAME MATERIAL COVERING THE COUNTERTOPS
WAS USED AS A BACKSPLASH...

IT WAS RIPPED AND GLUED IN SOME PLACES.
I JUST REALLY DIDN'T LIKE THAT.

OUR CABINET HARDWARE WAS ALSO A STRANGE
DARK CHROME COLOR???  DIDN'T LIKE THAT EITHER. 

KITCHEN BEFORE AGAIN...
BEIGE WALLS...
EVERY SINGLE ROOM IN THE HOUSE IS BEIGE

DINING AREA... WITH BEIGE WALLS AND CHANDELIER THAT IS
NOWHERE NEAR THE DINING TABLE. 

DURING!

BACKSPLASH IS GONE AND HARDWARE REMOVED

WE CHOSE A GRAY COLOR FOR THE KITCHEN

IT WASN'T A DRASTIC CHANGE BUT I CAN'T EVEN
EXPLAIN HOW MUCH OF A DIFFERENCE IT MADE
FOR ME!
I REALLY LIKE THE KITCHEN SO MUCH MORE!

IT MATCHES THE COUNTERS PRETTY WELL....
WHICH MAKES ME DISLIKE THEM SLIGHTLY LESS.

AND THE HARDWARE GOT SPRAY PAINTED AND
ACTUALLY LOOKS REALLY, REALLY GOOD!
LET'S HOPE IT HOLDS UP OVER TIME! 

We also changed out the chandelier in the dining area.  You can see the old one in the pictures above.  It was too big for the space AND it hung down right in the center of the room.  Because it was so big and so low, we've actually had friends come over who have to duck to walk underneath it.  Not cool.  

So, a while ago I found an idea on pinterest and I've been collecting the materials ever since.  I found a cheap "orb" at TJ Maxx a while ago ($9.99) that I've just been holding on to.  Then, I checked a local antique store and found one of those old brass fixtures that no one likes anymore.  I took the lighting from the brass fixture (tossed the ugly brass and glass thingy)... sprayed it oil rubbed bronze.. and added it to the orb.  Ok, I didn't really do it... Mike did.  The whole thing cost $25 in materials and the promise of one neck massage was the price I paid for labor!  Thanks again babe! 

Anyway, TA-DA!!!

SO MUCH BETTER IN MY OPINION

NOTICE HOW WHITE IT LOOKS OUT OUR WINDOWS?
YEP... IT'S SNOWING! 

I LOVE LOVE LOVE our "new" kitchen.  And I love making our house feel more like home. I'm excited to cook Thanksgiving here and host some of our friends.   

I have lots of other ideas (sorry Mike). Since this is a blog about being grateful, I wish I could say I am content and don't want to do anything else to the house but I don't think that will EVER be me.  I will always find something else to work on. Nothing HAS to get done (fortunately), but there are definitely some ways that we would like to put our touch on this place.  We will definitely take our time getting it done.  

To all of you: 

I wish you the happiest of Thanksgivings.  I hope you spend your time with friends and/or family.  I hope you stuff your faces with a delicious feast!  I hope you recognize all your blessings in life and appreciate where you are in the moment.  I'm grateful for you.  Happy Thanksgiving!  

The Big Island Part 4: Don't Piss Off Pele

Pele is the Hawaiian volcano goddess.  Although I do not believe in Pele, some Hawaiians still do.  It is very insulting if you don't show respect to Pele and the volcano (for example: if you try to roast marshmallows over the lava, or you poke the lava with sticks, or you throw things into the lava to watch it burn, etc).  So, if Pele herself doesn't blow you off the side of her volcano, the Hawaiian people may take matters into their own hands if you disrespect their land and their goddess.

On Mike's birthday evening, after dinner, we decided to venture out into the rain to see the glow from Kiluea crater which is visible from the museum inside the park.  Within Kiluea crater is Halema'uma'u crater which is where the active lava lake is.  It's a bubbling lake of liquid hot magma and is what you may picture in your mind when you think of a volcano. Instead of posting my really poor pictures and videos of the lava lake, you should check out the better resolution shots HERE.

The next morning, as it was still raining, we packed up and headed back into the park.  We stopped first at the Thurston lava tube because a) it was raining and we could walk around in the tube without getting wet and b) no one else was there!!!

THE ENTRANCE INTO THURSTON LAVA TUBE

INSIDE THE LAVA TUBE

From there, we drove Chain of Craters road, so named because of the chain of different craters that are visible along the drive.

AT THE END OF CHAIN OF CRATERS ROAD,
THE SUN WAS OUT IN TIME TO VIEW THE
HOLEI SEA ARCH

I LOVE THE CONTRAST BETWEEN PREVIOUS LAVA FLOWS
AND NEW, GREEN FOLIAGE.
CHAIN OF CRATERS ROAD IS THE ROAD YOU SEE GOING UP
THE MOUNTAIN.

BEAUTIFUL CONTRAST

By then, the weather had cleared a bit and we were ready to start our first hike of the day, a 4 mile trek across Kiluea Iki crater!

FROM  THE RIDGELINE, LOOKING DOWN INTO KILUEA IKI CRATER (CLOSEST) AND YOU CAN SEE THE
SMOKE FROM THE LAVA LAKE IN HALEMA'UMA'U CRATER IN THE DISTANCE!

ABOUT TO CROSS KILUEA IKI CRATER...
THIS LAST ERUPTED IN 1959!

YOU CAN SEE SOME PEOPLE BEHIND ME ON THE TRAIL. 

THE HILL YOU SEE IS CALLED PU'U PUA'I AND IS WHERE
THE ERUPTION OF 1959 BEGAN.  SOME LAVA FOUNTAINS
REACHED 1900 FEET!  THAT IS 4 TIMES THE HEIGHT OF THE
CRATER WALLS!
THE ERUPTION LASTED FOR 36 DAYS! 

THE LAVA LAKE HAS COOLED AND CRACKS WHILE IT IS
"SETTLING"

We left the park midday to meet Pam and Michael in the town of Pahoa, just north of Volcano.  We drove to the Kalapana side of the current lava flow to get the best view of it.  It's a long walk (about 4 miles each way) along a flat, gravel road.  The hike is totally worth it in my opinion.  It is one of the most easily accessible lava flows in the world and we were fortunate enough to get to see if flowing all the way into the ocean!

HIKING BACK INTO THE PARK (FROM THE
OPPOSITE SIDE OF THE PARK)

WALKING TOWARD THAT BIG CLOUD OF SMOKE!

LAVA FLOWING INTO THE OCEAN!  HOW AMAZING!

SO WE SAT AND WATCHED THIS IN AWE FOR A WHILE UNTIL WE OVERHEARD SOMEONE SAY
THAT A SHORT HIKE AWAY YOU COULD SEE LAVA FLOWING THROUGH A HOLE IN THE ROCKS...

NATURALLY WE HAD TO GO CHECK THAT OUT: 

LAVA!

 Then we headed back down toward the ocean to get a good seat for the show... the lava show:

BEAUTIFUL!

WE WERE WATCHING LAND BEING MADE.
TRULY AMAZING! 

THERE WERE OCCASIONALLY THESE SMALL EXPLOSIONS OF LAVA!  SPECTACULAR! 

Our day at Volcanoes was indescribable.  When we got back to the car we were HUNGRY and tired.  We headed to the closest pizza place and then headed to our humble abode for the night (a rustic cabin within Volcanoes National Park).  

The next morning, we PLANNED to go hike to Green Sand Beach but honestly, we were starting to lose steam.  Our feet were still tired from the hike the previous night and we were just ready for a relaxing beach day.  

So, we made a quick stop at Punalu'u bakery on our way back to Pam's house.  

MALASADAS!  PORTUGUESE DONUTS!  SO DELICIOUS!

Then we headed to Kua Bay for some lounging: 

FINALLY A WHITE SAND BEACH DAY

We decided to switch to Pine Trees State Park to take in the sunset: 

OUR SUNSET VIEWING SPOT

DRAINING... 

FILLING... 

FULL!!! 

We headed home for dinner followed by HUGE slices of macadamia nut pie for Mike's birthday!  Delicious!  

The next morning we woke to our last day on the island.  Our flight didn't leave until 9 pm so we had ALL day to enjoy one more beach!

We chose to hike to Makalawena: 

THE HIKE IN PREVENTS MANY PEOPLE FROM
COMING TO THIS BEACH!

THE BEACH STRETCH OF THE HIKE

FLOWERS ON THE BEACH?!?!
TOO AWESOME!

THE LAVA STRETCH OF THE HIKE

PERFECTION!

We headed back to Pam's to shower and pack... then went out to dinner at Kona Brewing Company and into downtown Kona for ice cream before heading to the airport.  

We were so sad to leave because we had such an amazing time!  

Thank you so much Pam and Michael for being wonderful hosts, tour guides, chefs, chauffeurs, and personal photographers!  We are truly sooo grateful!  Please come back to Tahoe anytime!  

Here's a little video compilation from our trip.  Enjoy!  

The Big Island Part 3: Regular Bananas Suck!

Regular bananas are simply NOT as yummy... as APPLE BANANAS!  If you haven't had an apple banana, they are small bananas that taste like apples. Weird, right?  Weird and DELICIOUS!!!

Alright... on to the good stuff... the REALLY good stuff.

On our 4th day on the island, we hiked to Kealakekua Bay to see the Captain Cook monument and (more importantly) to do some snorkeling!  In January 1778, Captain Cook stumbled upon Hawaii. In this bay, Captain Cook was killed by the Hawaiians due to a petty skirmish over a stolen British rowboat.

Anyway, enough about HIS adventures... let's get back to OURS!

Let's discuss our adventures in pictures, shall we?  

Any objections?  

I didn't think so. 

THE TRAIL DOWN TO KEALAKEKUA BAY...

NICELY GROOMED AND MAINTAINED, RIGHT?

NOT ALWAYS!

ONE STRETCH OF THE TRAIL WAS REALLY
OVERGROWN.  I WONDERED IF WE WERE
EVEN ON THE RIGHT TRAIL!  ALSO,
IMAGINE RANDOM CHUNKS OF LAVA ROCK
IN THE PATH THAT YOU DON'T KNOW ARE THERE
(UNTIL YOU STUB YOUR TOE ON THEM).

SOMEWHERE ALONG THIS STRETCH OF TRAIL,
MY LOVING HUSBAND MADE PIG NOISES THAT
SOUNDED SO REAL, I FROZE IN MY TRACKS.
THANKS AGAIN BABE, FOR SCARING THE SNOT
OUT OF ME.  

THERE WERE A FEW SHADE PROVIDING TREES
ALONG THE TRAIL.

I HAD NO IDEA HOW GRATEFUL I WOULD BE
FOR SOME SHADE ON THE HIKE UP!!!! 

WE PASSED A COUPLE OF RANDOM COWS ALONG
THE HIKE.  HAD TO WAIT FOR THEM TO MOVE
OUT OF THE TRAIL.

MOOOOOO!!!!

THE TRAIL OPENED UP FOR THE BOTTOM HALF.
NOT TOO BAD ON THE HIKE DOWN...
BUT TERRIBLY HOT ON THE HIKE UP!!!

 The thing about hiking in Hawaii is that the terrain can be steep.  I mean, not steeper than anything we have in Tahoe but still, you can gain some legitimate elevation.  The problem for Mike and I, was the HUMIDITY!  Five steps in to any hike and my entire body was dripping in sweat (dripping off my earlobes kind of sweat).  SOAKED.  And on the hike back up we had to pace ourselves to fend off heat exhaustion.  Every slightly shady spot warranted a rest break!  And as motivation to keep walking, we talked about what flavors of Hawaiian shaved ice we were going to get once we got back to the car!

CAPTAIN COOK PLAQUE
(WHERE HE WAS KILLED???)

THIS MONUMENT ACTUALLY SITS ON BRITISH SOIL

We snorkeled for about an hour, had lunch, then got back in for another round of snorkeling.  

URCHINS AND YELLOW TANGS

A WHOLE DIFFERENT WORLD UNDER THE SEA

WE FOLLOWED A TURTLE FOR A WHILE... 

THAT'S ME, JUST FLOATIN' ABOVE A TURTLE... NO BIG DEAL. 

SWIMMING THROUGH A SHALLOW NOTCH IN THE ROCKS...

THOSE BUBBLES ARE FROM MIKE'S FLIPPERS AS HE SWIMS
THROUGH THE NOTCH

AFTER LUNCH, WE SWAM OUT TO WHERE IT DROPPED OFF
INTO THE DEEP....

... THEN HEADED  BACK TO THE SHALLOWS TO SEE A FEW
MORE FISH BEFORE STARTING THE HIKE BACK TO THE CAR! 

When we got back to the car, we just sat with the air conditioning on FULL blast for several minutes.  When we were finally cool enough to function again, we headed into "downtown" Kona -  an adorable little colorful town to walk around.  We finally refreshed ourselves with some shaved ice!  

THE MOST DELICIOUS AND WELL DESERVED
HAWAIIAN SHAVED ICE EVER...

OUR FLAVORS: PINEAPPLE, BLUE HAWAIIAN, AND
MAI TAI (WITH A SCOOP OF VANILLA ICE CREAM
IN THE CENTER).  SO DELICIOUS!

VIEW OF THE SEAWALL IN DOWNTOWN KONA...
THIS IS ON ALI'I DRIVE WHICH IS A POPULAR AREA FOR SHOPPING
AND DINING.  

From here, we headed to the harbor.  We met Pam and Michael and headed out with Sunlight On Water for a NIGHTTIME SNORKEL WITH MANTA RAYS!  

Yep... ridiculous awesomeness is about to follow: 

HERE WE GO!  

THE BOAT RIDE TO THE SPOT WASN'T BAD

PAM'S WORKPLACE IS LITERALLY BEHIND HER...

... SEE THOSE BUILDINGS?  ONE OF THOSE IS HER OFFICE!
EVERYDAY SHE WORKS THERE...
WITH WINDOWS THAT FACE THE OCEAN!

THE GUY BEHIND HER SEEMS PRETTY BORED WITH IT.  

THIS IS THE SPOT WHERE WE SNORKELED...
SUPER CLOSE TO THE SHORELINE! 

ARE YOU READY FOR THIS AWESOMENESS???  

YOU JUST FLOAT ON THE SURFACE, HOLDING ON TO A
RAFT WITH LIGHTS THAT ATTRACT PLANKTON...

... AND THEN MANTA RAYS JUST SWIM RIGHT UP TO YOU
AS THEY ARE LITERALLY DOING BACKFLIPS WHILE EATING!

THEY COME SUPER CLOSE TO YOU!

SUPER DUPER CLOSE!!!

NO WORRIES... MANTA'S ARE GENTLE GIANTS.
THEY ONLY EAT PLANKTON... SO THEY WON'T EAT YOUR FACE OFF.
AND THEY DON'T HAVE STINGERS!

 Now, I know what you're thinking... "Yeah, that looks pretty close."  

Allow me to show you in better detail... please enjoy this video compilation of our experience snorkeling with MANTA RAYS!!!  

After an awesome adventure, we headed home, threw some pineapple sausages on the grill, took hot showers and hit the sack (the typical routine when you're packing your day full of adventuring).  

Ok faithful blog readers, are you tired yet?  'Cause we were still going strong!  

This brings us to Wednesday: MIKE'S 33RD BIRTHDAY!!!  

We packed up our things, loaded into our rental car, and drove to Hilo in search of waterfalls.
 Have no fear!  We found some!

RAINBOW FALLS!
YOU DON'T NEED A FANCY DEGREE TO KNOW WHY IT'S
NAMED THAT!  

4 MILE SCENIC DRIVE
ONOMEA BAY

NOT A BAD PLACE TO HAVE A PICNIC

THE DONKEY TRAIL

WHERE THE DONKEY TRAIL ENDS

RIVER MEETS OCEAN

AKAKA FALLS

AKAKA FALLS: A 420 FOOT DROP!

WE DROVE THROUGH BANYON DRIVE IN HILO...

... THEN HEADED SOUTH TO AHALANUI WARM POOL.

EVEN HAWAIIANS WANT TO KEEP TAHOE BLUE!
(THAT STICKER WAS THERE... WE DIDN'T PUT
IT THERE)! 

THE WARM POOL...
...IT'S OCEAN WATER THAT IS GEOTHERMALLY HEATED.
WE DIDN'T HAVE TIME TO SWIM BECAUSE
WE WERE EAGER TO GET TO OUR NEXT STOP: 

KAPOHO TIDEPOOLS!  

Such an awesome spot.  I LOVE tidepools!  

And these tidepools were FULL of coral and fish (and eels... we avoided that pool).  

And... my GoPro battery was totally dead.  

We did snorkel here but I have no pictures or videos of it.  Honestly, the view from above water was just as beautiful as the view below the water.  

LOOK AT ALL THESE POOLS TO CHOOSE FROM!

A RAINBOW OVER THE OCEAN AND MY HANDSOME HUSBAND
SCOPING OUT A TIDEPOOL FROM THE ROCKS

CLEAR WATER, BEAUTIFUL CORAL, TONS OF FISH!
AMAZING EXPERIENCE! 

AS THE SUN SET, WE PACKED UP OUR STUFF
AND HEADED TO THE QUAINT LITTLE TOWN OF:
VOLCANO!!!!  

 We booked a night at a cute little cabin apartment in the quiet town of Volcano, just outside Volcanoes National Park.  We picked up poke and edamame for dinner and Milky Way candy bars for Mike's birthday dessert (I really go all out for my man's birthday). We got to the little cabin and it was warm and cozy inside while it chilly and rainy outside.  It rained all night... on a tin roof!  I slept like a baby and it was lovely.

You all are very smart... you can probably figure out what adventures were in store for the next day based on my previous paragraph. If you can't... well, then I guess you'll have to stay tuned for the next blog to find out!  Hope the suspense doesn't kill you!