aloha every day

aloha every day

Friday, August 19, 2011

A Friday Moment

Linking up with Some The Wiser
{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.
If you're inspired to do the same, leave a link to your 'moment' in the comments for all to find and see.



  First day of school...new job...blessings abound

Monday, August 15, 2011

My old man

My  handsome husband turned 30 yesterday!  
We had an entire birthday weekend, full of lots of events.

On Friday, we went to the Del Mar Racetrack with Nick's cousin, Paul and his wife, Gia.
Scaccos in the HOUSE!

That's the horse that won...I didn't choose that one.

Jimmy Eat World played at the racetrack after the races

The man in foreground is NOT my husband, but he IS sporting a hair-don't

On Saturday, we headed to the golden sands of Coronado Beach







We also got some jalapeno white cheese sauce from Miguel's

At the art gallery, we met Fran.  It was her birthday, too!  She was our favorite part of the day...

Sunday was his actual birthday.  
Special Kitten didn't seem to care

Birthday cake of choice...grasshopper pie from Baskin Robbins

Bowling in the Gaslamp

In walked the cast of The Real World.  Kev swore he was going to be famous.  Can you see them behind Kev?  They were like 18 years old and had NO FUN AT ALL.  Boring.  Boring T.V. from those folks.  They should have been filming us.



Nick found some new friends



On Monday, Brandon took Nick to WWE.

We were going to go for "30 days of being 30", but day 4 proved to be just enough.  30 is not like 20...only so much fun can be had day-after-day ;)

Thursday, August 11, 2011

Home again, home again, jiggety...wait...where's home again?

 March 2011...
We love living in Hawai'i
We see the end of grad school on the horizon
We have an exciting adventure in Europe ahead of us
We dream of the days when we are responsible towards one job each and can come home to an enjoyable evening free of writing thesis papers...
We get a phone call
The owner of our apartment is selling...NOW...
She's an older lady and needed money for medical bills
Okay, not optimal, but we can find a new place, 
really, we can...
I know, I know, we LOVE our apartment
I fought hard to find that apartment after the robbery in our old place
We had a rhythm in our apartment
We loved the rooftop grills...the pool...walking to the beach...walking to The Cream Pot...
2 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms of our own to spread out...
but, she was selling it.

Enter work one day.
Special Ed jobs are dependent upon the numbers of students...the more students, the more teachers.
Meeting with the principal...the numbers don't look so great for next year...
I'm low man...
a tenured teacher has been placed at our school...
but she is going to do everything she can to keep me, too.
Type-A, worrisome Lindsay: There's no way I'll be around next year.
Could I find a new position on-island?  Most likely, yes.  
Did I want to move locations, meet new staff, transition to a new school culture?  No.

Rewind months prior.
We talk.
Is this Hawaii life sustainable post-grad school?
We didn't move here for grad school.
In fact, we were here long before then...surfing, snorkeling, beaching, loving life
But we want a family one day...
a family that can play in a back yard that we own...
a family that can live in a house that we own...
a family that can see grandma more than once per year.
We would have to invent something irreplaceable, win the lottery (which doesn't exist in Hawaii), or take up bank robbing to have that in Hawaii.
Hmmm...
A move was on the horizon...
When? Was the question.

Fast forward.
No apartment.
Possibility of no job.
Almost 30...Want to start a family in the next few years

Okay, God. We hear you loud and clear. We're moving.
But we WILL be stubborn about one thing:
The ocean.

July, 2011
Beach? Check.
Family? Check.
Jobs? God? We're listening...

Sunday, August 7, 2011

Last day of our big adventure

Here are some shots from our last few days in Greece with sweet baby girl Sophia:

Yah, that's right, she can already use an IPad...so there, world!



She LOVES tickles, and has the best little laugh.
Post-tickle face

Hey, Auntie Lindsay, you gettin' this?  I'm making some pretty stinkin' cute faces here!


Glo Worm and Sofie...2 must-haves when hanging with Sophia!

Okay, Auntie, enough of the camera now...

Just kidding!  Tickles and laughs, tickles and laughs, 




Check out the hat!

Laughing is a way of life in these parts...
When you're around Sophia, do as Sophia does and you'll surely find happiness!


Check out my sunglasses! Heeeyyy!

Serious picture!

Silly picture!
This girl gets it already...makin' silly faces is always better than being serious.
Just hanging out, like Scacco girls do best!
Check out my big toe! 'Aint it cute?

Happiness happens, you know?

So the saying goes, all good things must come to an end.
It was here that our trip ended...
Sophia went down for a nap,
we said tearful good-byes,
and headed to the airport.

Ciao Europe!
'Till next time!

Next up?  San Diego...