operation pink glittery elephant is successful!

Mike is my hero.  

I guess I contributed as well.  I did the necessary field work and he made the necessary phone calls.  We make a great team apparently.  

Kona would have come through had I called that evening.  Supposedly a lady had shown up to their store right before close and bought all 19 elephants.  I have no idea why she wanted 19 pink glittery elephants, but I'm not judging.  After all, I'm the one that was searching all of the Hawaiian islands for one of these suckers.  

Did I mention they're adorable?

How was I to know that would happen?  Seriously, what are the odds?  (Although with my luck, I should have known.)  I guess I just considered how my workplace functions and assumed there'd be a total lack of communication between whoever took the phone call that evening and the person that would have to ship it the next morning.  Better to wait until the morning so the same person would be taking care of my box o' elephants.

Well, clearly I was wrong.  Not to worry though, California came through.  I'm still getting my elephant.  Actually Mike ordered me five elephants.  They were on clearance and, considering my recent talent for destroying wine glasses, he correctly assumed some back-ups weren't a bad idea.

Only downside is the lack of closure.  After all that trouble I can't even hang the sparkly guy up.  They just all got boxed up with the Christmas decorations until next year.  

Bummer.

the pink glittery elephant

I have breaking news.  There was regretfully a Christmas casualty today.  I was taking down the tree.  Simple enough, right?  It's well past New Year's.  It needed to happen.  And then...

It all happened in the blink of an eye.  (No cliché intended.)  Actually no, I take that back.  It was more like slowmo.  Tragic, but inevitable.  I'd like to tell you that it was a family heirloom.  Or super expensive and exotic.  Truth be told, most of the Christmas ornaments that I've collected over the years remain in Michigan.  I guess it was never worth it to transport them across a continent and an ocean, especially since we didn't even have a Christmas tree until last year.  The handful of actual ornaments I have here mean a lot, I suppose.  At least compared to the generic shatter-proof Walmart fill-ins (some of which I've managed to pathetically personalize in the cheapest of creative means) that occupy the rest of the branches.  Mike and I have already created a tradition in which we annually purchase our ornament for the year.  Plus, I have always added certain items that speak to me, for whatever reason, to my collection.  He actually doesn't seem to grasp this yet.  Then again, he doesn't know what Christmas treasures are stored in Michigan just waiting to adorn our future (and hopefully real) tree someday.  But when we surveilled the aisles of Pier 1 earlier last month I could not help myself.  And, to my benefit, he watched that reaction.

It was a little pink glittery elephant.

I have no explanation as to why a pink glittery elephant ornament grabbed my attention so vehemently, but I saw it and wanted it and Mike knew there was no argument to be made.  And secretly, I think he liked it too.  So although we agreed that it was not "our" ornament for the season, it was going on the tree.  And there it stayed until today.

I was careful.  I remember reminding myself to be careful.  And then there was tinsel.  It snagged somehow and I was caught off guard.  It flung a little bit.  I think I bobbled it for a moment, keeping my hopes up and then CRASH out of nowhere.  Beyond repair.  My little pink elephant, precious even though bought at Pier 1 under $10.

In all honesty, I didn't realize how attached I was until it's face was smashed into a thousand glittery pieces.  I was heartbroken.  I broke the news via text to Mike and apparently he was attached as well.

The hunt has been on all day.  There are none left on the island so I think I might get one shipped from Kona.  It says online that they have 19 available.  

When initiating my search I told the Pier 1 employees that I had to replace it cause my 3 year old daughter had picked it out.  She apparently loves elephants and her favorite color is pink.  I lied cause I'm a grown woman that felt silly trying to desperately search for an ornament that is $1.68 on clearance.  And I also secretly enjoyed pretending that I had that little girl that loves elephants and the color pink.

Let's keep our fingers crossed for Kona to come through.

And for someday having a 3 year old daughter like that.

christmas is assaulting my ears

No Pandora, I actually don't want to listen to Hillary Duff's Christmas hits, but thanks anyways.

frohliche weihnachten

As fun as today was and as much as I appreciate having the opportunity to do something I would normally not have the means to do, it did not feel Christmas-like in any way. Well, maybe briefly. Let me give you a recap.

Rachel picked me up early this morning. After the horror that was my double yesterday, I was debating whether I wanted to suffer through the annoyance of waking up to an alarm this morning (instead of sleeping in and then spending the day alone). Ultimately I decided it was worth dragging myself away from the comforts of my bed. I gathered my beach belongings (sans the necessary sunblock for my fair skin) and we made our way to pick up her cousin from the aeropuerto. From the airport, we took the H-3 to Kaneohe, which is where Rachel's sister lives.

I love Kaneohe and Kailua. The lifestyle is so much more laid back and peaceful, yet you're within reasonable driving distance to Honolulu. The best of both worlds. And their house was so bohemian, colorful, cute (for lack of a better word?), and livable. They had a real Hawaiian Christmas tree, which sort of resembles a Charlie Brown Christmas tree, but is actually much better to hang ornaments from.



Plus, there's no messy pine needle clean up!

The girls and I hung out in the house for about an hour while Rachel's brother-in-law got the sailboat ready. We drank mimosas, ate samosas (not made intentionally to rhyme, just leftover from the previous week's Bollywood party), and watched the kids as they played with their new gifts. Around noon we packed the car and made our way to the Kaneohe Yacht Club, stopping at Subway, which was surprisingly open, on the way. I finally got a hold of my parents on their way back from Canada, wished them a Merry Christmas, and applied some borrowed sunblock from Rachel's sister so that I wouldn't fry to a crisp.



Traveling on the catamaran sailboat were three toddlers and eight adults. The plan was to sail out to the sandbar, or "disappearing island," about a mile off the coast. The weather wasn't perfect. The sun kept peeking out from behind the clouds. An occasional light rain sprinkled us while we were trying to sun ourselves out on the nets in the front of the catamaran, but by the time we made it to the sandbar there was more sun than not.



Now, I grew up on boats. I am familiar with the water, although I am most familiar with lakes. In short, I have not been living under a rock for the majority of my life. However, this sandbar was fascinating to me. Here it is, a mile from shore, rising up from the ocean floor. Look at the startling contrast between the deep dark blue (the depth, I couldn't guess) and the grainy neutral appeal of a sandy bottom. For the water is merely ankle deep on the sandbar...and that's during high tide. When the water recedes a miraculous "disappearing island" of undisturbed sand appears, only to drop off into the abyss without a warning. Nature is so random. Rachel and her cousin and I wandered about the sandbar for quite some time, Rachel and I drinking mimosas along the way. When we finally made our way back to the catamaran the weather started to disappoint. The wind and rain forced us below deck for the majority of the ride back to the harbor.

Once back at the house the four of us ladies took to the kitchen. Initially we started out cooking the two little ones a little dinner, but it turned in to an Italian feast. Pasta with alfredo sauce turned in to a spicy vegetable delight, complete with olives, artichokes, and broccoli. An excessive amount of eggplant was discovered hiding in the recesses of the fridge. That spontaneously turned into a makeshift eggplant parmesan. By evening the kids were bathed and the four of us were enjoying a surprisingly elegant Christmas dinner. It was a fitting end to the day, for sure.



Despite the many alterations in my plans for today, despite the many individuals who sought different arrangements for the holidays than I had hoped, I did manage to keep myself happy and occupied. It was most certainly not a Christmas I could have experienced in Michigan, be that good or bad. And apparently I am going to somehow receive a Christmas present (and birthday present) after all, as my parents are going to mail me money.

After years of insisting that money is an adequate and respectable gift, they finally responded. Huzzah! I am completely open to anyone willing to contribute to my fund.

rest in peace, my dear casio

My lack of camera is aggravating. I'm normally an avid photographer, but even more so here in Hawaii. Everything is more picture worthy. Now that I'm blogging I always keep in mind opportunities to capture photographic evidence of blog worthy material. Yes, I'm a dork. I sorely missed out on Sunday and I know tomorrow will be something I would have loved to capture also, not to mention future shenanigans and New Year's Eve. Oh, I'm sure someone will have a camera on hand tomorrow, but I prefer to have my own. Call me a control freak.

A small fraction of me hopes the coworker that broke my camera will buy me a new one. (An even smaller fraction of me hopes that by beating my camera against the coffee table this will somehow fix my lens and the screen will no longer say "LENS ERROR"...umm, not that I've tried that or anything.) My incessant guilt trips at work can only help me in this endeavor, but I doubt they will. In time I will buy a better one. Until then the camera on my Blackberry will have to suffice. (Alas, I can't get too frustrated over my loss, as the camera was a hand me down from someone in the first place.)

By the way, it is now past midnight, so I suppose I should wish everyone out in the blogosphere (if you will) a Merry Christmas. Hopefully you get what your heart desires.

winter wonderland?

So Michigan is going to have a white Christmas for the first time in Lord knows how many years. And apparently it won't stop snowing, or at least that's what Andy says. They had a couple inches last week and then another foot a few days ago. It snowed overnight. Plus whatever has accumulated in between. Nothing's melted cause it's freezing cold. Because of the budget cuts the city of Mount Clemens can't afford to plow every road, which means my parent's street gets excluded since it's merely a court. This doesn't affect my Dad, whose truck can drive through anything, but my Mom was stuck at home for three days. Though I believe that was the case last year too. It took 45 minutes to get my little Focus down my street on the morning after my birthday because it didn't get plowed.

To say I'm grateful not to be dealing with that right now would be an understatement.

live and learn

Sometimes I feel the perspective on my life is skewed. I think it has something to do with self-preservation. The easiest way to deal with my current situation is to only look at my current situation. To look at how life has been, to look at how it could be right now, to look at how it will be, would be irrelevant and futile. I can do nothing, at least for now. So what would be the point of dwelling on anything else??

That's not to say my alternatives are peachy keen. My life before I moved was not fulfilling. I have good reason to be here and I have no regrets.

But at this time of year, post-birthday and inching nearer toward Christmas every day, I find myself wondering how my heart led me to such a predicament. I am a homebody. As much as I want to envision myself as a independent city girl, I am a homebody at heart. And at this time of year I am incapable of stifling that part of myself. I am a Christmas fanatic. I start breaking out the holiday CD's mid-September. It is my sole duty to assemble, decorate, and perfect each year's Christmas tree. My parents only contribution is DJing and bartending (the "Christmas Drink" recipe was closely guarded for years during my youth and, although it now features rum, was also obviously non-alcoholic at that time). Now I'm left to wonder if the tree is even up yet. My Mom is busy working and driving up to Canada to take care of my Grandma, which is a definite priority. My Dad also works and has an incurable lack of Christmas cheer until the 24th. Last I asked, the tree had not yet made it's grand entrance into the household. Even if it had, I'm sure I would not approve of the haphazard manner in which my Mom adorned it.

I watch holiday movies chock full of the ideal Christmas settings and I am envious of what I see. I play my newly downloaded barrage of Christmas music classics (Bing Crosby, Dean Martin, Mannheim Steamroller, Home Alone, among others) and my heart aches because I am without the accompanying comforts they have always assured me. I have no spirit surrounding me. I have no snow falling gently outside my window. I have no family joining in the festivities with me. I have no one to bake with or for. I have no traditions to uphold. I have nothing that I have been yearning for this month. And as much as I enjoy the pleasure these songs bring me, I am left bitter and unsatisfied.

Perhaps I am overreacting. I have no doubt about this. Life will, as they say, go on. There will be other Christmases. There will be other holidays. In fact, I don't have to question that. A year from now I will know not to put myself in a situation like this. I will be able to visit home not long from now. I have learned, which is a blessing to have in life...a privilege even. Others can be doomed to repeat the same mistakes over and over.

I know my parents don't know how I feel. Maybe they have never been in a situation to view life like I have. Maybe it's my fault for being inable to express it. Mom knows my affinity for the season, but for some reason she's never properly understood my thought processes...about anything.

P.S. I'm enjoying Muppet Christmas Carol and I have concluded that Beaker and the Swedish Chef are tied for my all time favorite muppet characters.

making my spirits bright

Within a day or two's time I have been able to download a flawless assortment of Christmas tunes and store them on my iPod nano. This should make for a festive bike ride to and from work. At least I'll start off in a cheerful mood when I get there. If there are any suggestions to add to my collection, please feel free to offer. I'm quite particular, but with such a quantity out there I have probably forgotten many of my favorites.

mele kalikimaka

Did you know that the Hawaiian islands are the most geographically isolated pieces of land on the globe? It's honestly not that shocking, but if you consider how many other land masses are stuck out in the middle of an ocean, it's a tad more impressive. Having said that, being stuck on this volcanic rock an entire 8,000 miles or so from home during this holiday season is monumentally devastating. The fact that I'm here without my arsenal of Christmas CD's only makes it all worse. Perhaps I'm being dramatic, but I am quite enthusiastic about Christmas. (This is one of the few traits I have not acquired from my Dad, who is Scrooge incarnate until December 24th.) Every year my internal holiday calendar attempts to tell me it's time to deck the halls around mid-July. I usually resist until approximately September, but this year I didn't have to. There was a complete lack of Christmas spirit, or any spirit at all really, until today. Hawaii celebrates Christmas like the rest of us. The city attached the customary tinsel Christmas trees and candy canes to the light posts before the Thanksgiving turkey had even been carved. Holiday music is piped through the open air mall for all to hear, although an occasional Mele Kalikimaka featuring the ukulele can be heard. Children began waiting in line for Santa a week ago. Despite all this, I was incapable of comprehending what the calendar in front of me was saying. My logic knew the date, but my mind was skeptical. There is something surreal about spending this holiday surrounded by birds of paradise and hibiscus plants. Starbucks breaks out their supply of cups with white snowflakes on a red background and I'm left wondering why I'm not wearing a scarf. Expressing my unexpected disbelief at my tropical winter wonderland only makes me sound irrational and ignorant to those that are born and raised here. After all, what's so great about snow and it's accompanying wind chill factor? What exactly is it that I am so confounded by? I hate to say it, and I never thought I would, but I miss the cold. Maybe not the wind chill factor part, but maybe a light snow flurry. I ventured down into the lobby of my apartment today only to discover the strong smell of pine. My initial reaction was confusion, but then curiosity took hold and I found a twelve foot Christmas tree. It was magnificent. Now, in my house we normally used an artificial tree, unless somehow my Mom finagled my Dad into going real. That was considered a rare treat. So this scent brought back a highlights reel of my favorite Christmases. I garnered some odd looks when I stopped to smell it like a bouquet of flowers, I'm sure.