10 Years Gone

Like most high school kids, I was eager to be finished with it all.  Eager to graduate and get to college and leave everything behind.  And I did.  Two weeks after my high school graduation I packed up all of my belongings (including every piece of paper I’d ever scratched a thought on) and headed west – first to my cousin’s wedding in Utah (happy 10 year anniversary, Kristi and Dave!) and then to California where I lived with my aunt and uncle for a year while attending Santa Barbara City College (don’t knock city/community college – smaller classes, cheaper and automatic transfer to the university).

That was ten years ago next month.  I lived in California longer than I lived in Idaho and Utah still holds the record with 11 years there.  I haven’t lived with my parents or in the same state as them since I left Idaho.  I haven’t lived closer than an hour to relatives in five years.  I’ve had 10 addresses in as many years and I know there will be many more with Wes’ job.

The first year was definitely the hardest and I cried a lot.  Every time I left my parents at the airport.  No one ever tells you how hard it is to leave your family behind.  And the shit thing about it is that you don’t have to do it just that first time.  It’s every time you leave them the pain is fresh – you’re all alone in the world, or so it seems.  I suppose I had the opportunity to tell my parents I wanted to move home, but I never did.  I was too stubborn to admit that maybe spending a summer in Idaho would benefit me in any way.  I haven’t spent more than two consecutive weeks in Idaho since I left.

We have a couple of friends who are living away from home for the first time ever.  In Hawaii.  Which has got to be the worst place to try out living on your own for the first time.  Flights home are at least 5 hours and the time difference is a killer when trying to maintain phone friendships.  I have to constantly resist the urge to talk about my experience in living away from home for the first time and let them go through it on their own. But what I want to say is that they should enjoy this time.  We live in Hawaii.  It’s not the place I want to settle down in, but it’s definitely an enjoyable place to live.

The first year in Orange County all I wanted was for a normal life where we bought a house and settled down and raised a family in one place forever.  And I struggled every day with the fact that that would probably not happen.  But one day I not only accepted it, but I got excited about the fact that we would be moving around often.  It’s an adventure! I keep telling myself.  And it works.  I get excited about where our next stop will be, and the stop after that.

10 years.  10 addresses.  Gone.  I’m looking forward to the next 10 and what they hold.

Mangy Mutt

When I was in junior high my dad bought my mom roses (anniversary, birthday, something important) and in the bouquet was fern to spice things up.  And on the underside of the fern there were spores, as ferns are wont to have.  Those spores, that are on most ferns, scared the hell out of me.  Thanks to my brother, I probably cried.  Yes, I was probably old enough to not be crying over spores, but they really freaked me out.  I have not liked fern since and with every boyfriend I’ve had I’ve made it clear that I don’t want fern in any flowers they got me.  Yes, they still scare me.

A couple of weeks ago we started noticing some two bald spots on Tsunami.  We watched them and when they started getting scabbed over I made an appointment at the vet to get them checked out (a week before she was supposed to get her final vaccinations and we were able to get the shots early!).  Turns out, it’s mange.  Mange!  It’s caused by microscopic mites on dogs’ bodies.  All dogs have them, but in puppies or dogs with weak immune systems they can sometimes get a little out of control, causing the hair loss and scabbing.  I was sent off feeling confident in a speedy recovery and not having a mangy mutt.

But (of course there’s a but).  Last week I started noticing the hair on her spine thinning.  Wes convinced me that it was just where she was biting and the hair was mussed.  And I believed it because I don’t want a dog with mange all over her body!  This is where it all ties into the fern: the balding spots along her spine remind me of the spores on fern.  And yes, it’s sort of freaking me out.   Yesterday she was spayed and sent home with another medication to hopefully take care of the mange and I really hope it fixes it.  The next step might be some sort of dipping, and while I’ve read about pet owners opting out of that for a more holistic cure (oil and lavender, for one), I generally take orders from doctors.

She’s only four months so there’s still plenty of time for her immune system to get its shit together and self correct this.  Until then, I’ll convince myself that the balding spots are just messy hair.

Back on the Horse

When we lived in Orange County I hated cooking in our kitchen because it was so small.  We couldn’t have the dishwasher and refrigerator open at the same time.  It was incredibly difficult to fit two people in there at the same time and with the counter space limited it was pretty much impossible to try any new and daring recipes.  Moving here and having a kitchen that, although not even close to my dream kitchen, is spacious enough to try (and to want to try) new things had me making exciting things for all of two weeks.  And then we got a puppy and trying to cook with a four-legged creature who is either underfoot in the kitchen or wreaking havoc in the living room (cooking in the kitchen = prime time to run around on the couch without getting in trouble) is even more difficult that trying to cook in the our old kitchen.

But now Tsunami is growing into a very well-behaved puppy (thank god we finally get to take her outside!) and I’m ready to start cooking again. I’m ready to get our weekly menus going and try to find the best places to buy the freshest ingredients.  I’m ready to stop getting caught up in finding the quickest thing to eat, which is usually the worst thing.  I’ve been noticing that all the hard work I did in the gym in February has faded away rather more quickly than I would like.

In 97 days we’re getting married and I know that’s part of the reasoning behind getting back on the horse of a Healthy Lifestyle, but it’s other things as well.  I’ve watched my parents struggle with their weight and healthy eating and I know that Diabetes runs in my family.  I have to take care of myself before things get out of control.  Yes it’s a little about looking good, but it’s more about feeling good and being healthy.  It’s nice to walk into the closet and not have to worry about what fits and what doesn’t and how I feel in each and every article of clothing.

And all of this is just leading up to the fact that I’m contemplating running the Honolulu Marathon this year.  What a way to end out 2010, right?  Right?  After running the Half Marathon in 2008 I decided that running a full marathon wasn’t something I needed to do in my life.  But now, 2 1/2 years removed, it seems like something I need to do.  So much so that I added it to my Life List.  I’m sure I’ll sort of hate myself for it as I’m training, but I know the sense of accomplishment I felt after the half marathon and I’m looking forward to feeling that (times two, hopefully) again.

Mentor (Also, Day 4 with My Parents)

I have been coveting my dad’s fancy DSLR camera since he got it two years ag0 – or was it three?  Anyway, I loved that thing.  I loved the pictures he sent out and the continuous shot option.  I started looking for my very own DSLR camera, convinced that all I needed to take beautiful pictures was a fancy camera.  But then I started looking at them and oh my god are they expensive, and after dropping my point and shoot in a bar and having to pay to fix it, then dropping it in a cup of water, I couldn’t justify the expense.

Still, I wanted one.  So when I opened up my Nikon D40x on Christmas morning I was so super excited.  No, it’s not as nice as my dad’s camera (his old one or his new one), but it suits me just fine.  I’m never going to be a professional photographer and when I look at my dad’s cameras I am ridiculously overwhelmed (actually, I’m sort of overwhelmed when I look at my own camera), so my camera is just perfect for me.

It’s been nearly five months since I opened got the camera, and I’m still struggling to figure out all of the settings.  What the perfect ISO is and what mode I should be in.  Should I use flash here?  Should I take the lens hood off?  Most of the shots that look good have been all luck, I’ll be the first to admit that.  My dad is kind enough to send me links to helpful information and I can pretty much ask him anything I want to know and get the correct answer.  I’ve been reading the manual and trying different setting configurations and I’m slowly getting there.

And then my parents came to visit and we took a lot of pictures and I realized that even though I was getting better, I understood very little.   So my dad would jump in and help me out and during the week that they were here I started to understand more and my pictures got better.  The technical stuff is starting to make more sense, and now I just have to work on picking good shots.

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Monday we headed to Diamond Head to get some sort of sunrise pictures:

The views from up there are amazing and I know a lot of photography books say to keep the sun at your back, but I love the way it looks up there.

We climbed those

My favorite bush to photograph

My parents saw this lighthouse from the plane when they were landing and spent most of the first days trying to figure out what side of the island it was on.  Only when they saw it did they believe me when I said they could see it from Diamond Head.

She's gotten used to posing for pictures

How my dad looks most of the time

After the full weekend and early morning on Monday, we decided to take it easy Monday afternoon.  We had a delicious meal of molé, which I have been trying to learn from years and think I might finally understand the basic concept of making it.  Actually getting it to taste the way I want it is going to take some time of course.  My dad documented the entire thing, but I can’t share the super secret family recipe.

Instead I’ll end with a picture of Tsunami splayed out on the kitchen rug like, Hey, look at me.  I’m being good.  Can I have a treat now?  Like some of that delicious-smelling chicken? Yes, her ears usually look like that.  We’re constantly telling her to fix them, that she can’t go outside looking like that, but she never listens.

The Next 100 Days

Holy heck!  The wedding is in just 100 days!  Tomorrow we’ll be in the double digits!  And, yes, I realize I’m overusing the exclamation point bu my wedding is in 100 days!

I was thinking about how this time last year Wes and I were counting down to our 4th of July trip to DC to visit Brette and Wiley (who are also now engaged!).  And how once we got there Brette and I spent many a night in the kitchen discussing our respective boyfriend’s lack of commitment.  Over a bottle of wine, naturally.  We wondered how, after dating for 3 years and moving cities, these guys could take so long to realize that they wanted to marry us.

And then, just over a month after we returned from DC, Wes asked me to marry him.  I think a lot of my friends who were sick of me wondering when it was going to happen were glad that no longer had to listen to it.

Before we got engaged I had visions of doing a fantastic DIY wedding.  Of course, once we decided to have the wedding in Portland, and then found out we were moving to Hawaii, it was pretty impossible to have a DIY wedding.  Instead we searched for a venue that would do everything for us – wedding, reception, catering, alcohol.   Once we found it the rest was all downhill.

Well, mostly anyway.  There were a few speed bumps along the way – though that’s bound to happen when there are so many cooks in the kitchen (and there are many cooks in this kitchen).  But for the most part it’s been smooth sailing.   This past weekend we got our invitations (made by Wes’ sister as our wedding gift) and oh are they pretty.  I’m not ashamed to admit that I caressed them when I pulled them out of the box.  They look amazing and I am beyond excited about sending them out.  Something about putting them in the mail box (in 9 days!) will start a more serious countdown.  Yes the save-the-dates have gone out.  The venue has been rented.  Deposits have been made for dessert and flowers.  Bridesmaids dresses are in hand.  My dress is bought.  But there’s something about sending out the actual invitations that make this thing real.

I am getting married in 100 days.

Day 2 With The Parents

Ok, well, really, it was Day 3, but Day 1 was minor so I’ve just sort of skipped it.  One of the things that my parents wanted to do was see the “Real Hawaii” and stay away from mostly tourist activities.  My dad really wanted a hike through a rain forest setting and Wes and I were having trouble figuring out a good hike.  We received a book on Oahu hikes for Christmas, but most of them were very small, 1-3 miles total and all categorized as Beginner.  But on Saturday we happened upon a Patagonia store and found a great hiking book for Oahu.  The book had three times as many hikes as our other book and they looked to be a bit harder.  So we picked it up and found what looked to be a great hike for the following day.

Now, whereas the first book was filled with way too easy hikes that were talked up to be more difficult, this book was filled with hikes that were made out to be easier than they were.  The hike we picked was described as “Novice/Intermediate” and passed a waterfall.  The pictures that accompanied the hike showed people swimming under the waterfall and we thought this would be a great hike – waterfalls, bamboo forests, and rain forest all in one. We also thought that it would be fairly simple.  I ended up wearing my hiking sandals, to make swimming easier. Which would have been fine if the hike had been anything like I imagined. But it wasn’t.

In 2002 there was a mudslide that closed to the waterfall area for swimming.  So it turns out I wore my bathing suit for nothing.

My muddy feet

The waterfall was still lovely to look at, as most waterfalls are.  Cold clear water falling down the rocks – how can that not be a beautiful sight?

Lovely

Walking up to the waterfall was muddy.  But also beautiful.

Still on the street to the trailhead

We had to walk about half a mile to get to the trailhead through a neighborhood (one of the consistently nice neighborhoods we’ve seen here in Hawaii).

Grass

Ominous

Stream

By the time we got to the trailhead I already had to pee.  Luckily there were outhouses near the beginning.  Unluckily, they were disgusting.  So disgusting that the first time I walked in I ran out gagging.

Gross

And, yeah, I know I have a gag reflex, but these outhouses were disgusting.  They were donated by the t.v. show Lost in 2006 (?) and I don’t think they had been cleaned since.  It’s a hugely popular show, I’m thinking they could spring for an upgrade before they depart the island for good.

I haven’t done much photographing since we got the puppy, which means I haven’t learned a lot about how my camera works.  It was so great having my dad here to give me pointers on what ISO setting to use and what shooting mode I should be in.  I ended up getting some great photos thanks to his help.  But we also ended up lagging behind for the first part of the hike.

Trees

Growing Out

When Wes hikes he goes fast.  He’s not so keen on taking time to see all the surroundings.  Consequently, he spent a lot of the hike looking back at us.

Wes waiting

Steps

Branches

Wes was kind enough to hold this tree apart while we passed.

Wes keeps the path clear

Path

There was a lot of restoration on the trail, and instead of using real wood there were steps and paths made out of fake wood.  Slippery, yes, but sturdy enough to last.  (And yes, I’m aware that “fake wood” isn’t the most accurate term, but I can’t remember the name of it so this will have to work.)

Fake Wood

Just before we got to the waterfall there was this great canopy that was perfect for framing a picture.  Again, Wes is waiting for the shutterbugs following him.

Canopy

After the waterfall there was a break in the darkness of the trees and the trail opened to this view of . . .  more trees.  But different trees.  I’m not sure what these are called, but my parents loved how they seemed to fit together without having to be trimmed into place.  For the rest of the trip they kept pointing them out and saying, “I love those trees.”   They even spent some time plotting on how to get them back to Idaho and planted in their yard.

A break in the trees

After the break the trail continued through the bamboo.  We would shake these branches to get some of the water off and cool us down.

Bamboo Forest

Look, I know this tree starts with a ‘B’ but I can’t remember the name.  The branches grow down.  In the city they get trimmed up, but out here they were growing wild and I love the way they look.  I’m sure there are lots of creepy crawly things in there that would having me screaming, but I love that it looks like a house from a fairytale.

Branches

Wild Orchids

We had to cut the hike before we finished to get back to Tsunami in time to play with her before dinner in Waikiki.  My feet were so muddy that I couldn’t see my toes and when I washed them off in the shower (after rinsing them off in the stream on our way down) the water was muddy.  Perhaps next time I’ll wear hiking shoes, no matter what the guide tells me.

The end

Even though my parents were stressing the non-tourist activities, what’s Hawaii without dinner on the beach?  The Hula Grill in Wakiki has a great early dinner special.  And yes, I realize that makes me sound a little old, eating before 6 o’clock, but the deal is so great and the views awesome at that time that I just don’t care.

Wes ordered a beer and I ordered a lemonade drink with alcohol, which, strangely, didn’t contain lemonade even though it was part of the name.  And I won’t lie, when they brought it out it tasted like soda water.  My dad ordered the same thing and since he isn’t afraid of sending things back, we did.  It wasn’t the best drink ever, but it did taste more like the description.

Drinks

On Vacation

View from the table

For an hour dinner, we were gone for nearly four hours.  Such is life living in the ‘burbs.  We cut a lot of things short to be able to spend time with Tsunami since she had to be kenneled the entire time we were gone.  I think all involved parties are looking forward to visits were she isn’t such a burden on our time.