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Big Island was lots of fun!! My camera decided to break right before we left so I will rely on friends to get those. Post about it later. :)

But we're back to real life, homework, and working with Jeanne.
Yesterday Jeanne and I went for our usual outing and had to do some errands to do. She likes to lecture everyone on how they aren't exercising enough, eating right, looking heavy, etc. She found a poor stranger to attack. The woman was in her mid thirties and very heavy set. She told Jeanne she wanted to lose 100 lbs. Jeanne replied, "Well, lets just face it, you're not going to lose a hundred pounds!" and then continued to lecture her on how she should be exercising and critiquing her diet. I wasn't in the room so I couldn't apologize for her extreme rudeness. The poor lady shut up and didn't say a word after Jeanne's discouraging comment. I felt so bad for her. But who is Jeanne to say anything?
Later, we went and saw this
It was "cute". I was expecting a little more in the wardrobe category.
Jeanne and I had a good day. She was pretty fun to be around.

I downloaded the Solitaire application on Cameron's iPhone and now Cameron is hooked to the game. He stayed up late last night just to beat it... haha... and it's my fault because I downloaded it on his phone :) right?

My parents are coming next week! What a treat! No kids, just the two of them. It will be so fun to have them around, just themselves.minus little chocolate baby Charity. I love her but she's staying at home. She is sure cute though. :)
I'm excited to see my parents! I can't wait for them to meet Jeanne.
I can't believe it's almost March. This year has flown by.

Valentine's Day

It's been a busy week but...

We're flying out to the Big Island for Valentine's weekend.

We're going here...
And if we're lucky, we'll see some of this...
Happy Valentine's day to you. <3>

Happy 23rd Birthday Cameron!

I would post pictures of your birthday but my camera has decided to stop working.
He had a birthday full of surfing, lots of sun, good food, and lots of BTS cake with some friends.
I got Cameron a few things: a tennis racket, a surf movie (that ended up being a bit dirty), and a hat (that didn't fit). But hey! 2 out of 3! :)
I have such a good looking hunk of a husband! Cameron is amazing and makes me so happy. He is constantly a great example to me and I am such a lucky girl!
Happy Birthday!

woman vs. nature

I love Hawaii but I can't stand how the humidity here doesn't do anything for your hair or face. It does wonders when you're having a beach day. But any other time, not really. Actually,I take that back, it does moisturize your skin. Being in San Diego for the holidays was amazing because I would get ready and then look the same hours later!
When I first moved to Hawaii, I couldn't figure out why I didn't look/feel the same here. Then it clicked when reading Erin Nelson's blog post sometime back when she said that make-up melts off your face. I couldn't agree more. You did your hair in curls and 10 seconds later it has turned into unenthusiastic waves.
Even though most days I don't care what I look like when I go off to work as a 75-year-old's hired friend... but the days I do care, I use this:

I discovered this little treasure while at my parents house during the holidays. It doesn't have the same creamy texture that regular conditioner has so don't be fooled. I was putting mass amounts in my hair at first because it felt like I hardly put anything in my hair. Be careful. When I found the perfect amount, it works like a charm. It does not lie when it states "Frizz control". It's perfect for a straight doo in Hawaii. They sell them at Costco for about $15 a bottle (pretty big bottles... it's Costco now). I find that pairing it up with el cheapo Suave shampoo and the Bed Head conditioner does it for me and keeps the cost low.

And when I want a really sleek doo, I use this:
Paul Mitchell Super Skinny Serum. Thank you oh dear roommate Cecily. Not only for doing my hair while I lived in Idaho but for introducing this lovely product to me. :) A drop (this too you have to be careful) of this rubbed into your hair before or after straightening works like a dream! $8 for a small bottle that lasts a really long time.

And my all time favorite hairspray that works anywhere is this:

I'm sorry the name's a little irreverent but it's Big Sexy Hair Spray. The only spray worth using for $12 a bottle. It's the only thing that can remotely keep my hair curled here. I usually get it at Nordstroms rack and this too lasts a long time. I think you can find knock-offs that probably work just as well. Believe me, if you haven't used this yet, it will surprise you.

I'm posting these items not to show you what you should use but because I have found these little treasures, I love using them here in this humid climate, and why wouldn't I share them with my friends?

As for make-up, I'm a little lost. I think mac is best for long lasting eye shadow but mascara, eyeliners, and foundation seem to "melt" all the same.
Any suggestions? I would love to try and find some more favorites!!

Cameron's -day post to come... my camera seems to be broken.

usps vent

Why has about 85% of the United States Postal Office employees that I have come in contact with seem to be so rude, unhappy, negative, and unkind?
No customer service at all.
The little lady at the Hauula Postal office may deceive you with her colorful flowers in her hair but she is one sassy, unhappy lady who just put me in the worst mood. (I know I choose to be bothered, but she started it. And I know by being in a bad mood, I'm only joining her in her misery) This isn't the first time she's been like this. She acts like by coming to the post office, I have just intruded her personal schedule.
Thank you unhappy postal worker for making my day just dandy. Oh, and after giving me my package, thanks for that lecture. I'm thinking...Are you kidding me? Are you really doing this?
You're a peach.


And sorry if your friend or relative is a USPS employee. They must be in the 15% that are kind and happy with their lives.

a haircut disaster

I love Cameron's hair longer.
That's how he had it almost 7 years ago when I first met him and I still like it that way. Since Cameron goes to BYU-Hawaii, the hair cut code is pretty strict. We can barely get him in the testing center with his usually shagginess.
This week Cameron has been asking me over and over again to give him a hair cut. No, I am not a cosmetologist or someone who has ever had any previous experience cutting hair except maybe on my barbie dolls. Over the past year I have given him several haircuts and they've been bearable.
Tonight, Cameron begs me at 10:00 pm to give him a haircut before school tomorrow. So, I'm not so much in the mood for giving him a haircut, cleaning it up, I'm tired, but... sure, I'll do it. What the heck.
So I start rapidly snipping away as if I'm a pro. Cameron looks into the mirror and then gives me a suggestion to cut a lot off the top because it looks like a front mullet. Side note: Last time Cameron gave me a suggestion (to cut his bangs straight across... I'm sure you can imagine) I did it and it looked hideous. So I listened to him tonight and started chopping the front of his hair off. And then I glanced back to look at my work. My eyes welled up with tears, Cameron starts laughing uncontrollably, I start laughing with tears falling down my face, then crying , then laughing with Cameron again, and it goes on. Poor Cameron. It was both of our faults but lets just say it's not his best doo.
Luckily, Cameron enjoys wearing hats.

Day after note: haha... Today Cameron got called out for having a mullet from two separate friends at school. I really did chop off the front.

Smart woman, stupid women, crazy woman, and the first lady.

This woman rocks my world.

I wish she could personally just take over my finances for the rest of my life. If you haven't watched her show, find out when it is and watch it. She's great.
Women that don't rock my world so much... the Real Housewives of OC. They're are so catty and stupid but somehow I'm entertained by it all. Don't watch it, it's dumb.

Had a CRAZY day today. Jeanne hasn't gone to her upstairs for 4 years. Welp, she decided to go up and all hell broke loose. Really. I was ready to rip my hair out. And on top of that, she decided to do it when everyone called in sick. No other cleaning girls, just Jeanne and me.


And I'm loving my sewing machine! Making lots of little things. I'll post some pictures of some things I've made once I've made something worthy of posting.

And welcome to the White House President Obama!

I hope that he will do the country good!

Additional note: After publishing this post, my husband read it while I was at the gym. I returned to Cameron being a little appalled and that I sounded like an "Obama supporter". I wasn't really into Obama while he was running for office but now he is our president. I believe that I need to be patriotic by supporting him and do my best to voice my views as a citizen of the U.S.. (of course if he turned into something awful down the road I wouldn't be very supportive of him... get the point?).
"We believe in being subject to kings, presidents, rulers, and magistrates, in obeying, honoring, and sustaining the law."

I would like to be optimistic in saying that I hope President Obama does great things while in office.
and thank you Cameron. You make me laugh.

Boys...

Visitors again! (I guess that's what happens when you live in a prime vacation spot)
My brothers Brad and Jeff and their two friends Scott and Matt came to stay with us. Jeff is leaving on his mission on Wednesday so it was kind of their last "hoorah"/surf trip before he left.
They were great guests and were surprisingly tidy!

What handsome boys!
Matt, Scott, Jeff, Brad

A good bye picture with Jeff. I didn't think I would cry but of course I did.

Scott and Jeff performed every night they were here.
They are so so so talented. And that's not being sister biased.

Cam and I at one of his shows.
After I was cheering, taking pictures, clapping, to Jeff's performance, Cameron says, "I'm so glad I never had a sister to embarrass me."
Haha... thanks Cameron.
I know you didn't mean it that way. :)

waiting for their turn on stage

I made a cake and decided to make it a birthday cake since Jeff would be missing his birthday with us!!
Haha... Jeff thought we were weird. Which we are.

"Happy Birthday Jeff!" haha... not till September

Playing games in the yard...

It was such a pleasure having these guys here. I will miss Jeff for the 2 years he's gone in Mexico. I guess it doesn't make that big of a difference since we live a 5 hour flight time apart. :)
Brad was a great manager for the pair and is so determined.

My brothers amaze me all the time.

A year in Paradise

I can't believe it's been a year in Hawaii.We moved here a day after our 2 week honeymoon. I threw somethings in a suit case and off we went. Cameron was going to a new school, we both were looking for jobs, and all we had was wedding money and gift cards to our name.

Cameron's friend Poppy (Brian) for our wedding gave us a free car. It didn't have a title, registration, or insurance. The trunk didn't close and I think the transmission fluid leaked. But it ran and we drove it! One night we even drove it down to Honolulu and bought 3 chairs and Costco groceries and somehow they all fit! (and we managed not to get pulled over!)
Our first house we moved into was a dream! It was so cute,perfect, and on the beach. It was everything we dreamed of for our first little hut in Hawaii.
We had great neighbors and friends that let us borrow practically their whole house while we got ours together. It took us a whole month to find jobs. I did marketing downtown for a company called "Vanpool Hawaii" and Cameron was working at Pizza Hut as a delivery boy.

Wow... things have changed...
Now Jeanne has come into our life and things are just a little bit different. :)
I'm curious to see what will come in the next year.

Cameron and I looked at the classes he has to finish up school and I realized two more years will fly by.
One year of enjoying Hawaii so far.

I loved this warm happy movie.
And now I'm reading the book.
Not really just about a dog but more a relationship between 2 people.

And even though it's PG, it's still an adult story.
I'd say 8 and up.

Our Quick Break

I've been horrible at blogging and so much has happened. While slacking on my own blog, I've enjoyed reading all of yours!
Went home to San Diego for 10 days and

1. Went to Kate and Pehrson's wedding

2. Went to see Wicked the musical with mother-in-law Shannon.
This was AMAZING!!!

Got to go back stage!
We lucky enough to get a behind the scenes tour with the star of the show!

3. Did so many fun things with our families!
Also got my shopping trip in with my mom. :)

4. Celebrated the Holidays with family.
Here's baby Trey!

My family... haha... any more and I don't think we could get them in the picture.

Celebrating Christmas Eve at Nana and Papa's

5. Got some pretty awesome gifts!
Cameron got me this:
And I got him this in silver:
My in-laws tricked out my bike!

6. We celebrated our one year anniversary!
Dec. 28th 2007








We celebrated by going out to dinner downtown and staying a night there.

Cameron surprised me with the flowers and the most thoughtful card.

Our very red room! It was cute.
We spent the next day downtown using some of our Christmas gift cards shopping.