It's official...my baby is Hawaiian!

No i'm not pregnant...my CAR is officially registered and sporting her rainbow (not that kind!) ;) After several trips to 2 different service station for a safety check and the DMV I finally got my Hawaii plates, yippie! That is one more thing to check off the list...I love doing that :)

Also, on an unrelated subject, I have started walking with a friend from work in the afternoons. It is so nice being a short walk from the beach and shopping! Here are some pics from todays walk.

Don't be a hater...Laters!

Snuba...not scuba

Ok I know I am a few weeks behind, I was waiting for pictures from a girl at work because I forgot my camera but it could still be awhile so I will just post them later. Anywho, wow I have a lot to catch up on telling you. So 2 weekends ago a big group of us went snorkeling at Hanauma Bay. A sea turtle ran into my leg...freaky at first until I realized what it was. Then it popped its head up, cute! Here is the group that went:

1st row (L to R): Thea, Natalie

2nd: Cornelia, Amber, Danielle, Trisha, Jayme, Marylin, Me, Ali

3rd: Christine, Amber's boyfriend, Kevins hair, Jijo, Keith, Sovy

Then that Sunday I got a calling at church, sure didn't take them long!! Haha I am an FHE co-coordinator so if you have any ideas please let me know! 

Last weekend I went Snuba diving (pictures to come). It is a mix between snorkeling and scuba diving. You breathe through a regulator like scuba and wear a weight belt, but you don't carry the tank on your back. It floats on the surface and you are connected with a 20 ft. tube. We only went down about 8 ft. but I got to hold a starfish and a sea urchin and I touched a sea cucumber! It was pretty neat:) Later that night Christine, Marylin, and I went to the Made in Hawaii Festival. They had all sorts of things from clothes to food to jewlery, and the best part...free samples! You all know I am a sucker for free stuff.

Apparently Elvis was made in Hawaii ;)

After that Christine and I went to a Japanese Bon Dance. It was at one of the Buddhist temples here in Waikiki. They dance around in a circle with flags and towels and do choreographed moves to honor the spirits of their ancestors. It was very interesting to watch. Plus some great food :)

Traditional Bon dance

Teriyaki mochi ball skewer and teri beef plate...mmm! 

(It tastes a lot better than it looks I promise!!)

Then on Saturday Christine and I went to the North Shore. We ate at a cute little diner and went around to some cool shops. Then hit the ocean for a bit of sun. Oh and we discovered the most delicious treat I have ever eaten in my life! I am seriously in love. It is called an acai (a-sigh) bowl. It is like a thick berry smoothie with granola, bananas, and blueberries all topped with honey...yum-o! I am on the hunt for one here in Waikiki, I found one place but it wasn't nearly as good :(

 After that we were supposed to go horseback riding but they called and cancelled on us while we were on our way...lame! It was actually probably a blessing though. My left eye had been bothering me ever since breakfast and by the time I got home it was bright red and teary and any light hurt it. Long story short I ended up having to go to the urgent care to get medication for the infection. It started clearing up Monday and is now completely gone! I was finally able to start wearing my contacts and mascara on Friday...woo hoo!

This weekend was pretty low key I had a lot of errands to run and things to do around my apartment so I didn't do anything too exciting. But I did go to dinner with my friend Natalie at a place called Roy's (in honor of you uncle Rog;)) and got a huge steak. I couldn't believe my eyes when it came out.  Good thing I sat through that timeshare presentation..again with the free stuff haha. 

My new Hawaii boyfriend Natalie ;)

Did somebody say steak?

Also, Friday was my 1 month anniversary can you believe it!! Crazy how time flies. Well here are some pictures of sunset from my balcony...

Still makes me stop everytime I see it!

Love you guys so much! MUAH :)

Birthday fun!

So yesterday was my birthday and I want to thank everyone for all of the phone calls, texts, cards, gifts, and comments online...it really made my day!! :) I got together with my co-workers and new friends and went to dinner at Dave and Busters (or Dave and "Bustas" as my mom likes to call it). It has a huge arcade upstairs so we played our hearts out! I got a whole load of tickets from everyone and I still have money left on my card so I will go back and get somethin' purdy after I use up all my credits and win even more tickets:). Wow I sound like I am 12 again haha I guess working in the schools brings me back to my youth! Oh and I even got lei'd ;) Here are some pictures from the evening. Thanks guys for everything!!

Skee ball queens!

My game could use some work :)

Free Heinies...I'll take 2! (they were just holding...AND drinking them for me) 

Intense Dance, Dance battle

Front (left to right): Me, Laretta, Jayme, Natalie, Thea, Kevin

Back (left to right): Ali, Nicole, Donovan, Trisha, Ann Marie, Isaac, Jijo

Week 2 and a half

HI!! Sorry I haven't put anything up in a little while (I know you were dying of anticipation), but I just barely got internet on Monday yay! So I will be better and putting stuff up as it happens. Well I started work last week and I love it! I have 27 kids on my caseload (which is pretty low) and I only have to see 16 of those on a weekly basis. I am in the Honolulu district and I go to 4 schools: 1 high school, 1 middle school, and 2 elementary schools. All of the staff and kids have been so nice and welcoming! It was a little stressful at first trying to figure out the schedules and such but things are going pretty smoothly now (knock on wood).
I have gotten involved in the University/singles branch and most of the people seem pretty cool. There are about 75 people that come to church and about 30 for activities...quite a change from Utah but still not bad! We had an India culture night last Monday with dancing and food...yum-o! On Thursday Jijo and I went to Wal-mart for the first and hopefully LAST time! It is so crowded and it took us like 20 min. to park! And then after all of that, they only had like 5 isles of food, how disappointing! Oh well live and learn.
Saturday I went to the swap meet with a couple of girls from work (if anyone has requests let me know and I can ship stuff to you). After that we met up with a few more therapists and went to White Plains beach, it was so nice! That is when it finally started to sink in that I actually live here and can do that whenever I want!! Then that night I went country dancing...can you believe it, country dancing in Hawaii! I was so happy to find this place, it is pretty pathetic compared to Utah but it will get the job done haha. I even took a shot at the bar!!! (Water of coarse haha) the bartender was so funny I couldn't believe she actually did it, I was totally joking! Classic!
Oh my gosh when I got back to my apartment that night look what I found!



Ok I have usually been pretty cool with killing bugs but honsetly how are you supposed to kill that thing! I instantly had a flashback to staying at my grandparents condo in Las Vegas with Renae when I was 13 or so. We stood on the couch for 30 min. (watching the disney Nsync concert mind you haha) waiting for my grandpa to come home and kill a cockroach for us only to find out that it flies!! Lets just say maheim insued! Well after looking at it for like 5 minutes...literally...I decided that I would trap it in a cup and throw it out the window (don't judge I was in crisis). Well that only half worked because he was fast so it only caught the back end of him, I ended up having to just use a HUGE wad of toilet paper to grab it and flush it down the toilet! Man I hope that is the last of its kind I have to deal with...sick!!

Yesterday I met up with Donovan and the gang at Compadres for Tuesday taco night where tacos are only $1! I didn't think I would ever find anything here for a dollar...seriously! After that we wondered through the mall and use the free massage chairs, we are classy what can I say :). Lastly here are a few slide shows of my pictures so far...

Here is my new apartment. It is not glamorous but hey it'll do!

Here is a slide show of some of the cool new people I have met.

My Office...5 of us share so it is a little tight but hopefully I won't be there much once things pick up.