3 years

I can’t believe it’s been 3 years. Today Mark and I celebrate our wedding anniversary.  It’s been a really amazing past 3 years. Mark and I have known each other for over 10 years now, which is hard for me to believe. We've been friends for ages and I know it's slightly cliched to say but I really did marry my best friend.

This is when it all started, Prom 2003 (I apologize for the awkward teenage-ness of this picture)

A few years later in 2006, Mark just home from his mission drives 4 hours to see me. I realized then he still really liked me.

But then began the 'man whore" phase of  Mark's life. In 2008 we had talked about getting back together...it didn't happen due to aforementioned "man whoring"  

When I returned from France in 2010 Mark knew he only had one shot at wooing me. 

Mission accomplished. 

Fall 2011. Shortly after getting married we moved to New York for our grand adventure in the city.

We were ready for a new adventure and moved to Honolulu in  September 2012.

We've known each other for almost half our lives and are excited to know each other for the rest of our lives. 

This one's all about food.

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When people come to visit us we have a somewhat predetermined way to show them around. We sight see based on where we can eat. It was like this is New York too. We come up with super yummy places we want our guests to try and then we figure out what’s close by that would be interesting to see. For instance, in New York we would always want to take people to Shake Shack. If they had never before been to New York we would first go and spend a couple hours in the morning at the Natural History Museum and then head across the street to Shake Shack. Of course the museum step would be skipped had they previously been. There was always a standard list of places we would want to take people, Tom’s for breakfast, Absolute for bagels, Junior’s for dinner and cheesecake.

So far things here are shaping up to be the same. We plan visits around where we want to take people to eat. Personally I think it is a great way to experience a new city. For many places the food really defines the culture and the people. In Honolulu that is definitely the case. The food you get here is unique to Hawaii and it’s hard to find the same food on the mainland.  Lau Lau and kalua pork at Yama’s, pan-fried pork chops at Side Street, kim chee fried rice at Home Bar, plate lunches at Rainbow Drive-In. Oh and shave ice at Dis n Dat. 

Basically anyone planning on visiting us can expect to experience Hawaii through food. With a little beach time thrown in for good measure.

I really love Pinterest but...(part 2)

Moving right along, here is part 2.

My next grievance: impossible-to-do-by-yourself crafts. This is a serious problem. Pinterest has given the false hope to many that they too can do what Martha Stewart does. The truth is even Martha Stewart doesn’t do all those silly crafts by herself. She has a massive staff that has every possible tool at their fingertips. They have endless supplies that allow them to do and then redo projects until it looks just right at which point pictures are blasted out of a perfect looking topiary made with fresh wildflowers only found in Outer Mongolia.

I feel I should be fair and include a disclaimer that I don't craft and I am by no means a crafty person. That said I just want to look out for all those who do enjoy gettin' their craft on.

There are some really great blogs out there that chronicle the sometimes epic fails of people trying pins. My favorites are craftfail.com and pintester.com. If you want a good laugh or you want to see what happens when normal people try and tackle some seemly simple pins check them out.

This pin is a great example.

In conjecture with this subject is the endless supply of re-purposing pins.  People try and re-purpse everyday items like t-shirts and not so everyday items like wooden pallets. Because we can all go out and pick up a pallet and turn it into a desk chair. I totally get wanting to be able to continue to use something that isn't quite ready to be thrown out but there are only so many ways you can re-purpose something before it be comes obscene.

For this next pet peeve I will freely admit that this is just me and they way I like to use Pinterest. I can't stand pins that go nowhere. This is what happens when people blindly repin something without first clicking through to see if there is an original post. Often people repin a picture that is just that, a picture. When someone follows the pin it takes you to some tumblr or wordpress site that just has other pictures on it and no words. What's the point of the pin if it doesn't take you somewhere helpful? I clicked through one pin the other day that took me to a yahoo! image search for Mexican Food. I was really hoping for a recipe guys!

I really don't feel like this is the way to use Pinterest. I understand the point of wanting to keep track of good ideas and such but what happens when you decide you want to actually do something you've pinned. You're sunk, that's what happens.

I really love Pinterest but...(part 1)

So I had a really long post about all the things that drive me crazy about Pinterest but I've decided to break it up into a few smaller posts. Here we start with part 1.

I really enjoy Pinterest. Ask my husband. I’m especially hooked on the food/recipe pins. I think food pins represent 85% of my personal pins.

I have noticed a few things about Pinterest though, things that really bug me. Before I get into those I should remind you, my readers, that everything I saw in this post represents my own opinions. If you're offended you can read a different blog, I don't care.
  

My heart aches...try this instead.

My number one personal vexation, Pillsbury. Every time I see recipe using a Pillsbury product a little part of me dies. Some day when no one but a select few know how to make donuts or crescent rolls from scratch we can all blame Pillsbury. My hope is that the general population will realize before that that just because something is “quick” and “easy” doesn’t give you the go ahead to sacrifice flavor and the joy of making something. Along this same vein it is not ok to roll whatever you want up in a crescent roll.  Just because you can doesn't mean you should. Chicken salad belongs between two slices of good quality bread, not rolled up and baked in who knows what. Making bread or dough isn’t rocket science. It is incredibly fulfilling and there is nothing more satisfying that pulling out a freshly baked loaf of bread and enjoying the first slice slathered in butter.

Stay tuned, next we look at the evil crafting side of Pinterest and people who don't actually know how to use Pinterest...
 

the sequester

When I moved away from DC I was not at all sad to leave all the politics behind. Living there a person can't avoid the daily conversation of politics and living there during an election year magnified it all. I really haven't paid too much attention to the politics of Washington in the last 3 years. Since leaving DC I've felt very removed from what goes on there. But now our lives and what is happening in them are directly tied to what happens there in the next couple of days.

Mark is currently in the hiring process to become an air traffic controller, something that he has been working towards for the last 2+ years. Last May he received his tentative offer letter which told him where he would be working and it also started the hiring process. We have since been waiting for him to be placed in a training class in Oklahoma City and from there he would begin working full time doing something that he loves. We've never know exactly when he would be placed in a class. There are many variables that go into the whole process but for the last few months it has been our understanding that he would most likely go into a class sometime between April and September of this year. That was until it appeared that the sequester was going to happen. The FAA is going to implement a hiring freeze along with furloughs for current employees. They will also need to close the training center in Oklahoma City. There is now no indication as to when he will received a final offer letter and be off to train in his dream job. He is not the only one. There are literally thousand of others who rely on the government for employment that face similar situations.

We had made a lot of plans based on Mark beginning his career. We moved 5,000 miles last fall to a new city with just our suitcases and some boxes. We've put off buying a car, relying on public transport and friends to get places. We've also, and this is probably the hardest thing, put off starting a family. Something that we both desperately want. There are many other things we would like to be able to do, things we want to buy and places we want to visit but all those things are now placed on hold. We are now forced to live our lives in a state of stagnation.

There is a lot I don't know or understand about the sequester, budgets and the economy. All I know is that Mark and I are facing a terribly depressing turn of events. The worst part is that we have done nothing to bring this on ourselves. Many people try and point fingers in an attempt to place blame. The fact of the matter is, the game of politics is being played by both sides and those who will be hurt the most are simply spectators.

Now that's something you don't see everyday

When Mark and I went running in New York we always went in the morning. Mostly this was due to the fact that for most of the year that was the nicest time of day weather wise. It was also convenient with our schedules. Really morning just worked for us.

One of the things we were really looking forward to when we moved here was the fact that we would be able to run outside all year around. No more trips to the gym in the dead of winter for us. We started with a similar morning running routine here, which worked out at first since we were jet lagged beyond belief and the sun was coming up at 6am. Pretty soon though we were starting later in the morning and it was getting a little uncomfortable to run. We would start in the cool morning air but as soon as the sun came up we would feel the heat. A couple people had told us that the best time to run here was in the evening. I was hesitant. I’ve never been very good at running at the end of the day. I really just want to change straight into my pjs when I get home from work and do nothing.And besides a run at night in Central Park quickly turns into a run for your life in Central Park so we never really did it in New York.

One evening in late October we decided to give it a try. We were careful not to eat too much in the late afternoon (that was another one of my worries, my body was use to running on an empty stomach) and set out around 5ish. It was amazing. A serious revelation. I think that first night we ran 4 miles. It was truly amazing. As you start running the sun is just getting ready to set so the temp starts to go down and as you get closer to the beach (btw we run right along the beach) you catch a bit of a breeze. As the sun continue to sets it gets cooler and we also get to enjoy the sunset.

We've been trying to get out for a run a couple times a week and we've been hitting 3-4 miles each time. Last Thursday I really wanted to break the 4 mile mark and we ended up running about 5.2 at a 10:30 pace. It was so great. I felt so great during and after the run. I've now decided that I want to keep improving. There is a great half marathon training schedule on marathonrookie.com that I used when I was training for the Baltimore half marathon so I thought why don't I use that as an outline. Then I got to thinking why don't I train for an actual half marathon. The Honolulu Half Marathon is the second week in March which gives me plenty on time to get my distance up. There is also an 8 mile run on President's Day that I think I'll do as well, to get me in the racing mood.

I really love running here. It isn't Central Park but it will do.

So This is Christmas(?)

 Well, thanksgiving came and went here and I have to admit, it almost seems like it didn't happen. We were invited to a big group dinner (I brought rolls) and had a really great time with friends and meeting new people. Because we weren't directly involved with the preparing we didn't have the usual bounty of leftovers. The hosts provided to-go boxes for everyone and we were able to bring home enough for a meal or two but not having the days and days worth of leftovers made Thanksgiving feel shorter than normal.

As with the mainland, people here are beginning to decorate for Christmas and the radio stations have begun playing Christmas music. It all seems so out of place. There is a Christmas tree vendor that we pass on the way to the beach and the smell of Christmas trees mixing with the salt air is so weird. I was saying to Mark the other night that I don’t think it will every really feel like Christmas. I suppose I will eventually get use to it. I think part of it is the weather. 

Our Christmas this year will be very low key. We're still recovering from the expense of moving as well as getting use to a lower income than we had in New York. We won’t have a tree and we really don’t have any decorations. That's probably another reason why it doesn't feel like Christmas time. I've got the time off but chances are pretty high that Mark will have to work. In all honesty we’ll do what Mark has been bragging about since before we moved here: spend some of the day at the beach.  I’m sure it sounds unbelievably wonderful and on some level it is but I am going to miss “normal” Christmas.