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.

what a difference a year makes...

I have officially been spoiled rotten by my man in 2013.  

Well, at least by my standards.  You have to keep in mind that this is coming from a girl whose previous relationships were...well, less than stellar.  A hot date in my early twenties was Wendy's.  Or, for special occasions, TGIFriday's.  Yes, I was a lucky lucky girl.  

And now I have someone who is just as generous as I am.  Not that I'm simplifying it to that.  I just have a very different life now as opposed to an impoverished college student dating an impoverished college student, both of which were plugging along in the industry.  (Among other unimpressive relationships that don't even enter on the radar.)  Blatantly put, Mike and I worked very hard to be where we are, which is a much better place than where we struggled to be out of over a year ago.  

I can now write freely.  Literally.  My archaic laptop is an item of the past.  I am now mobile and can blog where I want and do so unobtrusively.

2014 will be amazing in so many ways.  We've been members of 24 hour fitness for almost a month now.  Surprisingly, I was the main driving force behind that one.  Big adult life decisions!  I believe I've actually openly proclaimed that I would never be a "gym person" and now I find myself SLOWLY on the way to becoming one.  What can I say, the last couple years have lead me to make several healthy decisions in many ways.  And reinvigorating that competitive nature within has kinda done wonders.  

I'm finally excited for life and where things will take us.  Our relationship has been through some pretty unorthodox things, but maybe that's why we are where we are.  

 

You and me baby, until the wheels fall off.

makin babies

My sister messaged me this morning telling me she had a very vivid dream in which I was pregnant. And then proceeded to ask me if there was anything that I needed to tell her.

Uhhhhh...

I know I'm 31 years old and my biological clock is a tickin, but now my pregnancy dreams have graduated from my subconscious to my sister's?

Mike just needs to make an honest woman out of me already so we can get on with makin the babies.

the counter is calling my name

The dieting's getting old and I'm sick of being hungry all the freakin time. I must stay strong though! Once we acquire some new running shoes I might be able to get past this plateau I've been stuck on. Yes, it's great that I fit into my clothes much better. And yes, it's great to see progress, but when it stops suddenly and you're still starving your butt off every day...

Well, it just really makes me want a cheeseburger from The Counter. Oh, and those parmesan truffle fries.

What??? Not like I'm gonna do it. Besides, they're closed.

chunky little butts

Lately I feel like Lucy likes Mike more than she likes me. And while I've managed to joke about it in front of him, it actually really bothers me.

Most of the time I attribute this to the fact that I play "bad cop" more often than he does lately. I yell at her for scratching. Scratching the couch, the bed frame, the screens...you name it. I squirt her with my nifty little water bottle for jumping on the nightstand, which she now knows is a no-no, but yet does anyway. She's an insolent teenager trapped in an incredibly cute cat's body apparently. And I feel like my regular litter box emptying is completely unappreciated and does nothing to warrant me fuzzy feline affection.

It's not that Mike isn't involved in taking care of her. He is every bit of parent as I am. He helps out with emptying the litter once in a while and will clean out the box when it needs it. It's just that he's a heavier sleeper, so by nighttime, when most of the water bottle action takes place, he's out cold while I'm left to deter her from her rebellious habits. Therefore making me bad cop. He's better at feeding her, making him good cop.

Cats are incapable of evaluating these differences. Maybe I should just start sneaking her treats to win over her affections?

If only she wasn't already a chunky little butt. Chunky little butts don't get extra treats. I should know. Mike and I are both dieting right now.

dietary willpower

Mike and I are dieting...hard core.

It was time lol.

So no carbs, starches, sugars (okay, so we bend a little bit on sugars occasionally) and no soda. Butter is obviously limited or eliminated altogether in favor of olive oil. And once in a blue moon, I'll break down and have a teensy portion of potatoes with my two eggs and turkey bacon once a week. Leave me alone, I'm Irish and besides, I'm only human. For the most part it's strict city though.

I am accustomed to this severe of a diet, but he is not. He misses bread, but on his behalf, he never had to do this in the past. Kinda hard to be a fatty when you're in the Army. He could eat complete crap because of how much he exercised. You know, the total opposite of my lifelong lifestyle.

january schmanuary

I just deleted an entirely eloquent and thorough post. It was my grand entrance back after months of silence, and while it kind of makes me mad to delete it, the last month of my life has been too personal to broadcast in detail. I'll be brief instead.

January has been a blur. It's been so tumultuous, in fact, that I'm glad to move on to February. The year 2013 has not favored me kindly so far...and as for the month of January? It may go eff itself, as far as I care. To sum it up, I was really sick. I went to the doctor, which is unusual for me, and then that night I found out my Grandma died. And in between all that? I worked a lot.

My health is now okay, but I am not. Not completely. Thankfully, I was able to make it back home for the service, but it's still rough. I'm a sensitive soul. We were close. This is not a wound that will heal quickly. Or ever. And seeing family for such a brief period of time was almost a tease. My parents, my sister and I were together again for the first time in years. It was natural and unnatural at the same time. My stay there was too short. It made it harder coming back. It made it harder not to want to move back.

The last time I visited Michigan, while completely different in planning and purpose, was much longer and fulfilling. Yet this time, despite my longing to visit with family and friends longer, I was still happy to see my island. I do feel a fondness for my tropical residence. I know now that my dread of landing on this rock last time was actually attributed to my dread of the "relationship" that I was returning to (to ultimately and officially end) and not Hawaii itself. It also makes a difference when there is someone you do actually love waiting to see you off that plane.

Unfortunately my renewed feelings toward Hawaii, as well as my residual fondness for the bleakness that is Michigan, only add to my frickin confusion. Why can't I have both???? Or a private jet at least...

life is an awfully big adventure

I really need to get out of this funk, or this state, if I ever want to blog consistently again. Okay, perhaps that's a tad extreme. I mean, I do love Hawaii. Leaving here would not be nearly as easy as I make it out to be, especially because it's so hard to make it back. And we do have memories here.

I'm just ready for change in my life. I'm ready for another adventure. And I'm excited for Mike and I to have that adventure together. In the meantime it's work work work, and while I enjoy my job (if only for my coworkers) it's not enough to fulfill me. I think we can have a better life together somewhere else. It's just a struggle to have patience as we try to make that happen.

And that just removes any desire I have to write. Instead I just internalize lol.

Very healthy, I know.

love is...

Love is plucking each other's eyebrows regularly so you don't go out into society looking like a hot mess.