Exploring.

There are times where I feel like I am on the verge of suffering from "island fever" and I just want to get off the island...but I can't. But whenever I start feeling like that, I just go out and explore this beautiful island that I live on. I have almost lived here for 6 years, and there are things that I have not yet done because...I live here. Since today was a holiday (Statehood day for Hawai'i)...I decided that I wanted to go to two museums that I have always wanted to go to...but just never really did.

It just so happened that my landlady is a docent at the Honolulu Museum of Art and she had mention a while back that if ever I wanted to go, she could always walk me around to the different places. I asked two of my friends to come along and that made 4 of us total, and we were all excited to go on our adventure.

Honolulu Museum of Art is like 3 museums put together. The Spalding House, the actual Museum of Art and the Shangri La. Today we went to the Spalding House and the Museum of Art. (And yes, I am already planning to go on the Shangri La tour!)

We first went to the Spalding house where we were able to see the exhibit Plastic Fantastic.

 

It was a pretty cool exhibit posing the question, is plastic "fantastic" or not? We can use plastic for a lot of things...but then it is also something that is harmful for the environment. But without plastic we wouldn't have the medium to produce such beautiful art...but also in excess and used irresponsibly it is more harm. This exhibit used plastic that was "garbage" to show people that there are uses for plastic and you don't have to throw it away.

 

These amazing pieces were made with different colored plastic bottles that were cut up and used to make art.

 

 These "geos" were made from paper and plastic. (I can see my class doing something like this as a project in our class!)

We also participated in an art masterpiece....

So all the plastic pieces that you see here were found on the beaches of Hawai'i. So sad. :(

These were the instructions of what you could do to participate in a large-scale public installation that someone will put together next month.

It was actually a lot harder to find pieces to match up to 1 ounce! It took me a while to get it just right...but I finally did...and

 

I strung all the pieces together with a little metal wire...

 

 ...and placed my 1 ounce of plastic on the wall of nails where a plenty other 1 ounce pieces were hung. My landlady (the docent) said that this project has been going on since April (I think that's what she said!) and so this wall has been filled up so many times already! At least twice a week they had to take down the little one ounce pieces to make room for the new pieces! But it was pretty cool to be a part of that!

We also were able to walk the beautiful grounds of the Spalding House...

 

I could not get over just how beautiful the outdoor grounds were! This garden was amazing and so gorgeous! I feel as if I would be so inspired to do a painting here! If only I could sketch! I feel like I can stay here for a long time....

 This tree was begging to be climbed...and I could so see myself climbing this tree with a book in my  mouth (or in a backpack) and just reading balanced on one of the branches. It was so beautiful!

I was super bummed because we could have had a picnic on the lawn...however, when we were ready to eat lunch...there was a downpour. Which I wouldn't have mind eating in...but I didn't think my friends would have liked it the way that I did. But as soon as we had our amazing, yummy, tummy-filling lunch...we headed over to the Honolulu Museum of Art. But not before my friend and I played with this art piece!

It was actually a lot of fun and challenging trying to take a selfie in this mirrored art piece! 

This was the closest that I got to trying to get myself in all the little mirrors! :)

 

 Thank you James Seawright for this...it was very entertaining. :)

Before making our way to the Honolulu Museum of Art, my landlady warned us that we wouldn't be able to go through everything because of how big the place was. So I have decided that I would like to go back again one day. :)

The first exhibit that we went to was the art of the Philippines. I was ashamed to say that I didn't know about a lot of the art pieces that I saw...but in my defense, I did not grow up learning about the Philippine Art...I did notice though that I really liked a lot of the jewelry that they made!

I really liked a lot of the earrings! I can't really see myself wearing the necklaces...but I do like them as well! Their bracelets were pretty impressive as well!

This art piece caught my attention...but when I got close to it...it kind of freaked me out!

When you looked closely at this piece...you can see why I quickly jumped back. 

There are EYEBALLS all over this totem thingy! It reminds me of something from Jeepers Creepers! Yeah, it took me awhile to be able to have the balls to take this picture...because it was really nerve wrecking...eyeballs. Staring at you. *shivers* No, thank you.

Well this piece is called "Assemblage of miscellaneous objects." I guess the person just had eyeballs just laying around to add. Hm....

I don't really remember the room that this tea collection was in...but I really like it...I like teapots, teacups, tea anything...I want to have a huge collection myself! :)

One of the last things that we did was rest at the Shangri La Cafe...and have these amazing cookies!

And then I also had the hibiscus soda...and that was super refreshing as well! But the company was amazing, the day was filled with informational fun...and I had a lot of....fun. :)

I can't wait until my next excursion to cross off my bucket list. :)

Birthday Celebrations.

Today was an amazing day. I had a lot of fun spending time with my sisters. The older that I have gotten, the more that I realize that there are certain people in your life that will stay in your life-active and there for you no matter what. I have been blessed to be have a few of those people in my life. Today, I got to spend time celebrating my sister's birthday with two other people that mean a lot to me, my sister-in-law and a family friend who I admire so much and am so blessed to have in my life.

Our day started nice and early with my little Doll Girl coming to wake me up. I slept over my sister's house last night since I was there to watch my niece and nephew last night so that my bro-in-law could take my sister out for her birthday dinner. (I totally recommend that no matter where you are at in your relationship with your other half, you should NEVER stop taking each out on dates!) I can 98% count on my little Gumball to wake me up each morning I sleep over at her house. When she was younger, she use to jump on me and want me to play with her right away...now that she is older, she just comes into the room that I am sleeping in (I have strict instructions from the little one to not lock my door so that she can come in the morning! :)) and since I am a light sleeper, I always wake up to the door opening, but she will crawl on the bed and just cuddle up next to me, and she will whisper, "I'm not going to wake you up, Aunty, I am just going to lay down and wait for you to wake up." It cracks me up that she does this, but she really does, she will wait for me to wake up, and the second I open up my eyes, she'll give me my chapstick and ask to put some on me and I'll put some on her and then in her words "Can we explore the world now, Aunty?" *laughs* Gosh, I love that girl. Well, today, I knew that she was extra excited since she knew that we were going to be going whale watching on the Star of Honolulu with her other Aunties as part of our girls day celebration for her mom's birthday celebration.

I was pretty excited too. I love whale watching...well, the nearer I am to the ocean, the more relaxed I am...and being on the ocean is pretty spectacular. I was bummed because the first time we went whale watching earlier this year, we didn't get to see any whales, so I was excited to go today. And we did, we saw whales! They are so beautiful and just to awe-inspiriting to be around! There was a mother and her calf just playing in the water and we were just watching at a safe distance. By law, we are not allowed to get near the whales, but if they swim up to us, there is nothing that we could do, and we have to stop the boats propellers so that we wouldn't hurt the whales by accident...and they did get close enough that we had to stop the boat. The captain of the boat was so nice because since there wasn't that many people on the boat, he allowed us to be out on the water even longer than the 2 hours than we were suppose to have! I can't wait until next year to see the whales again. I have seen the whales from certain places on the island, and even though I have not seen any while on my beloved Lanikai beach, my landland has told me that she has since they have to pass us to get to where they want...but being out in the water is a different feeling. I like being out on the water no matter what...but when you see these magnificent creatures it's another story.

I have friends who surf, kayak, canoe, sup, and have had moments where these whales (and sharks and hono's (sea turtles), and other sea creatures) have surfaced near them, or have swam under them...and it's pretty scary, but amazing at the same time. There have also been times where I have been swimming out (ALWAYS with other experienced swimmers!), and I don't even question them when they tell me to swim a certain direction or even back to shore "fast'...but I love the ocean, and I hope to never fear it.

After our mini whale cruise, we went out and got Acai bowls at Lanikai juice and headed home to get all dressed up to go to tea! That is "our" thing. To go to high tea. It's fun and we could be there for hours just talking and talking for days and days! :) I chose not to take pictures to be there in the moment, but my sister-in-law was able to snap a few pictures. I am still waiting for the whale watching pictures...but she sent me some of tea time...



Here is a candid picture of my beautiful sister. All of us are always so busy with our crazy schedules, so just being able to go out to celebrate my sister's birthday is a treat to all of us.  We all have our favorite tea's and favorite tea sandwiches and goodies and it's always good to have friends and family that you feel comfortable with that you can keep a conversation going forever! :)

 

Tea at 1024 is our favorite tea place here on O'ahu. I have to say though that because our favorite person just recently left (she had been working there for years!), it wasn't as fun of an experience since it wasn't as personal and then they charged me for an extra person, and then when I told them, they gave me back how much that person would have cost...but I still paid tax and tip for it even if it was 5 people when only 4 of us was there. I had to give them the benefit of a doubt since the new girl was fairly new and really didn't know what she was doing...and so yeah, but over all, it was fun hanging out with my family...and I am so glad, lucky, and blessed to have such an amazing, talented, there for me, gifted, beautiful sister. :) I hope that she had fun. I know that I did. :)

 

Day 8 of 30 Days of Gratitude.

Day #8: What book are you most grateful for?

Oh my goodness! This is an extremely hard question! I love to read! It would be more easier if the question was "What author are you most grateful for?" I can answer that so easy...but just one book?! My goodness, uhm, let me take a moment and think....

Oh okay, after a few minutes of conflict I have chosen a book. It's not really a book, but yet, it is...and the book I am most grateful for would be my planner/journal book. DO NOT ask me which planner/jpurnal, because I can't tell you that one, it was hard enough to answer. *laughs*

Tea Traveler.

I have a new "darling" who started today at the preschool...and I am so glad that I didn't really have much trouble helping him settle in. I am so proud of my kids, they really helped him feel welcomed and they did pretty well in modeling "correct behavior." I told them that he didn't yet know the rules of my classroom and of the school and so he was going to be watching them to know what to do...and  know that I have a classroom full of potential leaders, because they did a very good job in making sure that he knew what was going on. I am very proud of "my" kids. :)

It didn't rain today, but it was gray overcast the whole day. The sun was hiding behind all the grayness and in all honesty, it felt like the approaching of the holidays! Although, it LOOKED gloomy, it felt like home. And I was happy that it was like that because I have been feeling homesick lately. It's been awhile since I've been home, and so I think that I should make a trip out there soon before I go crazy.

I have a confession to make. I did something that I thought that I wouldn't do. I added "friends" on Facebook. I had deactivated my "old" account a few years ago and told myself that I was not going to be sucked into that place again, but every few days I would get a message, a friend request, a pop up on my wall of my past...and I got me really missing home and all my family and friends back there. The only reason why I had made this new account about a year ago now was because my sister was giving me so much grief about how I didn't have an account anymore. And then she said that she would send me pictures of DollGirl anymore and the only way that I can see the pictures is if I joined Facebook! What?! Who does that?! So for a long time I did have an account, but I literally only had 5 "friends" who were my family. My sister, brother-in-law, my daddy, Mandy, and DollGirl. But today I just went through all my friend request and added all those who were family and those who I am mostly still on contact with.

I have to remind myself to not get "addicted" to that place...but for the most part, I'm pretty good about it now. I don't really do anything on there, except to check out the pictures my sister posts up...but I can see the pro's about the place. It really does keep you connected with your family and friends when you are away from them. I have moved around so much that I have friends and family in all kine places...so I have decided to stop "hiding" from everyone and if they have asked me to be their friend and we actually know each other, then I will accept.

I miss home. I miss my family. I miss my friends. I miss my "comfort zone." But I got this. :)

Well, when I got home today, look what Mandy had put on my study desk!

Mandy was fortunate enough to have fall break and so she didn't have school on Monday and today and so she was able to get my package for me...and right away I knew what it was! And I was extremely excited to open it!

And I was right! I finally received my Tea Traveler! I am always drinking tea and so this is a good way to bring my tea with me. I like loose leaf tea too, so this will be good. And then to, when I finally start the Fit Tea I can use this. Ash wanted me to do it with her so I told her I will wait for her and she has been meaning to go and get a strainer for the tea, since it is loose leaf...but I just told her an hour or so ago that will just meet her after work and hook her up with one of mine since I have plenty. I'm telling you, I have a lot of different teas and accessories for tea, so I don't mind sharing with her.  

But I think that I am going to buy her one of these as well. If I order one tonight for her, it will be here next week and so I think I'm going to. I will get her that strainer though so we can start already. 

But I am excited for my new Tea Traveler! I love, love drinking tea (Irish Breakfast and Peach Ginger are my all-time favorite!)...and this is so that I can bring my tea with me! I am going to try to figure out how to make the microwave work in my classroom so that I can bring some tea to work and have my tea at work as well. :)

Fit Tea.

Look what I got in the mail today! I am actually excited to start this...

So, last week I was talking to Ashley and she asked me if I would try something with her. I told her it all depends on what it was...and if it wasn't harming anyone or myself...I would. Then she told that she wanted me to try this Fit Tea detox thingy with her to help her stay motivated and just so that she can have someone to do it with. 

I have to say that I have never really tried any kind of "loosing weight" program thingy...well, no, I take that back...long time ago when I was still in Jr. High...my mom wanted me to join Weight Watchers...which helped me loose weight, but I was very active in sports back then and I did have that eating problem (dark past that I don't really like to revisit if I don't have to)...but I think it was more because my mom wanted me to get in the habit of actually eating again...but that is a different story...but that was the only weight "loss" thingy that I've ever tried. Other than than, I would just do the whole exercise and try to eat more healthy dealio...but, my mom actually wanted me to go on a detox/juicing diet thingy with her. But I like food...and I like to eat...and I do have the biggest sweet tooth ever! But I also know that if I wanted to, I can be "more healthy"...but I would need a lot of motivation, moral support, and a very good reason. 

I do want to do the whole juicing/detox thingy just because I know that it's healthy and I do want to get in better shape before my brother gets married. I have been running and boxing more...and I am force myself to be more aware of what I eat. I still love my smoothies and I always tell myself to eat salad everyday. So I am more conscious of healthy eating and all. But juicing is SO expensive! I know that is just an excuse or whatever you want to call it...but it is what it is. I am a teacher...a preschool teacher and we get JUNK PAY...and I would go broke in a quick second if I had to buy fruits constantly to juice it. Coz if I could have it my way, I would eat all the fruit ever! I love fruit...apples are my favorite..I LOVE all kine berries...I can eat dragon fruit all day long, mangoes...oh my days, I love mangoes and I miss, SUPER miss white nectarine! That is one thing that I'm sad about living here in Hawai'i...the fruit here are so mad expensive! I kick myself now for taking for granted all the fruit that surrounded me when I was growing up in CA! We a kickass garden with fruit trees of all kind...and a vegetable garden with the best tomatoes ever! And cucumbers...oh mandope...I would LOVE to have a garden like that again! I remember always climbing and just reading up in the apple trees and peach trees in my backyard. And I could always just reach across and grab me some plum...oh my goodness plum! I LOVE plums! So yeah, I'm not against juicing, it's just...if money was not an issue, I would do it. But it is an issue and it is something that I would probably have to save for and not do for long amounts of time. 

So, when Ash asked me if I would do this detox thingy with her...I said, "why not?!" It's only a 28 or so day thing...and in the grand scheme of life...it's only a drop in the bucket...and so why not?! I think that we have decided that we will start on Sunday, if not sooner...but I have yet to tell Ash that I finally got it! :) At least we can start on the beginning of a new week...and we'll do it do together. 

I got the Super Fit Tea pack from here. And this pack came with everything that you see in that above picture. One thing that I looked at was that all the ingredients was natural and I am always drinking tea anyways...and so that is a good thing...I don't have to change that. I have to get used to taking the pills 30 minutes before breakfast and lunch though...I'm not the biggest fan on taking pills...and if I can help me I don't take pills for ANYTHING...but it can try it. 

The reviews that I have read said that the tea was a pleasant taste...and like I said, I love my tea! I have a pretty impressive collection of tea, but my #1 favorite tea is Irish Breakfast (with milk and sugar!) :) That and Peach Ginger tea are my go-to tea. (I still love my cup of black coffee in the morning though :)). 

I think the thing that sold me on this detox thingy is that it's basically tea...and I love tea.

The only thing that I could do with out is the stevia. (And we all know that I don't like CORN! *laughs* But it won't kill me to consume that!) I'm not the biggest fan of stevia...but in moderation, I guess it's okay. And...HONEY POWDER?! I have never heard of that before...but it's powdered honey, I guess. Can't go wrong with that...just it sounds weird. I love honey. :)

Well, I'm excited for this...we will see how it goes. I'll talk to Ashley and it will be pretty cool to document this journey of this Fit Tea Detox tea. Hopefully, it will be a good experience...can't hurt, can it?! :)

Four.

It is said that time flies when you are having fun...but I would also like to say that time also flies when you really don't want it to. I was talking to my boss and it was one of those stressful kind of days and she said, "I just wish that Friday was here already!" and then she looked at me said, "Wait! No, I don't want Friday to come coz that would mean come next week, you are gone. I don't want that!" I just started laughing, but inside, I was sad too. Yes, things were pretty stressful today, but I was hoping that time would just slow down just a little bit.

Four more days. Why am I counting down the days?! I don't even know...but whenever one of my keiki's gives me a hug, I can't help but hold on just a little longer and squeeze just a little bit tighter knowing that I won't always be here anymore. I'm not going to lie, I knew that it was going to be this hard...but that doesn't make me any more prepared for the goodbyes.

Since Nicole had given the letter to the parents that I was leaving yesterday, a lot of the parents are coming up to me and making it a point to talk to me. I am proud to say that I do have a relationship with all the parents that come to my school. I also make it a point to get to know the parents of the keikis that come to our school. I mean, I would want that too if I had a child. So, reminiscing with the parents is hard as well. But I like it, because they reassure me that no matter what, we DO live on an island, I will see them sooner or later. :)

I have been trying to prepare my "mine" that come next week, I won't be here. I have been telling that just like "Olivia" (a former student of mine who went to a new school a few weeks ago) And that there will be times when I will be able to visit, but for the most part, I won't be their teacher anymore.  And I have been trying to incorporate it in my circle time. I have a post-it on the calendar so they can have a visual one when I'll be leaving. And then when I do my feeling faces, when I get to the sad face, I always ask the question, " What kind of things make you sad?!" And it's so adorable because they know my next question is "What are the kind of things that you can do to make your friend smile again if they are sad?!" And you know the kind of answers are like, give them a bang-biscuit [high-five], a hug, ask them if they are okay, ask them if they want to play with you, ask them if they want to be your friend...and so forth. Well, my keikis' always jump the gun, so whenever I ask this question before I even finish the question they all drown me in hugs and "lovings."

Today, when I asked the question what makes you sad, I said that it's making me sad because I won't be able to see them all the time anymore and that I was going to miss them all so very much. My lil Benji then proceeds to launch himself at me and give me one of those hugs where his arms encircle my neck and his head laying on my shoulder and he says, "But you don't have to be sad." I asked him, "But why, Benji, it makes me sad that I won't see you next week." And he said, "But Aunty, I am here now. And whenever you feel sad and you need a hug, you can come back and I will give you a hug." Oh, my heart cracked just a little bit more...even writing it makes me tear up.

Just this little anecdote lets me know how much of an influence I have with my keiki. Benji has been in my class the longest so far. And he has seen some of his classmates come and go...whether that is to a new school or to the next classroom when their birthday comes around. And whenever one of mine leave my classroom, I always tells them that if ever they are sad and need a hug, all they need to do is ask their teacher if they can come and get a hug from me. Transitions are hard for my little ones and so they know that I'm just right across the courtyard from them, so all they have to do is look up to see that I'm still here and they don't have to be sad. Benji has heard me say that...and he was now comforting me and it made my heart hurt knowing that I'll be leaving him soon.

I love this quote that Maya Angelou said, "I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel." And it is so true. I get sad sometimes because I know that my keiki are so young (2 years-old) that I know that they won't really remember me in the coming years, but I can always have hope that they will remember how I made them feel. I love each and every child that walks through the gates of my school. And even though I might forget what their name was, I will remember their little spark in my life, and I can only hope that they can remember the love that I had for them and how I tried to make their learning experience fun...but also that I did care for them. 

Tea...tea not only is yummy...but it also soothes my sad soul. I hope one day that I can have a HUMONGOUS tea collection of everything tea related! *laughs*

Day One: Running.

I just got out of the shower...and I thought that I was going to take a nap, but actually, I feel good. I haven't run in such a long time. Well, I take that back, I have run...but not proper run. I woke up at 6:00AM to get ready to run. I made sure the charge my nano iPod, because I find it hard to exercise without music. Well, actually, I have a hard time getting through my day without music...but I hate running and music is a good distraction.

See, just looking at the fun socks that I bought yesterday makes me happy. Yes, it's the little things that make me smile. :)

So, here I am ready to go. I decided to just run the Lanikai Loop, which is just two miles long and shouldn't take too long for me to run. It was as lot harder than I thought to go back into running...but I have decided to do it...and so I will. I have confident that I can...and I did. I thought that I was going to stop...but then the different things that was going through my mind were things like:

--Just. One. More. Step.

--You're not tired! Your body is...but not your mind.

--You've ran 8 miles straight before...you can do just 2!

--Hurry! You have things to do!

--The end is just around the corner.

--Just keep going.

--Your feet do NOT hurt.

...and things like that. Part of me was laughing at myself, and another part of me was trying to block out everything. And most definitely, the music helped a lot.

Before I start to do my school related things that I need to get done, I made myself some yummies to consume. I made a smoothie made out of acai, strawberries, bananas, a handful of granola, honey, and Matcha powder. And it was yummy as anything! And then my pot of Irish Breakfast with honey. It was a good start of a day. And now to get my day rolling...

"She who leaves a trail of glitter is never forgotten."-anonymous

Family Day.

Yesterday I knocked out like nobody's business! And let me tell you why. So, on Thursday night I decided to pull an all-nighter to prep my classroom for the summer...and just do a lot of school stuff. So I didn't go to sleep until 4am. I knew that I can survive the day on 3 hours of sleep. I've done it before...and I thought that since the next day was Friday, I'll have all weekend to relax. But guess what?! I get a phone call FORTY-FIVE minutes later. It was my friend Jess who is sick. And has decided to call in-sick. Which is fine because she has been really sick the whole week. She stuck it out like the amazing person that she is. And I actually didn't mind taking over her shift. Oh yeah, that is why she called. The only problem, she is an opener. She goes to work at 5:30am...which means, I had to go to work on 45 minutes of sleep when I thought that I would at least have 3 hours. I thought that I would have been able to make it...but then several people called in sick...and guess what?! I was asked to close. So I worked a VERY VERY long day. So like I said, I knocked out.

And while I was knocked out, my sister kept calling and texting me (among other people!) I may be knocked out...but I am also a very light sleeper...and if someone calls and I see it's someone that is family I will always pick up the phone. So, it being my sister, I was picking up the phone. But it was nothing really life-threatning...just plans on what she wanted to do today. I was barely functioning when she was calling me...but I got the gist of the fact that she wanted to have a family day at Ka'ena Point. It was confusing...but you know what?! It was super fun! Look at this view!

We decided to plant ourselves at this beautiful North Shore place...and just look how perfect it looks. That is au natural...no filter...just the pure beauty of Hawai'i. I love it. And you know what else I love....

....coral?! One reason why I love this place is because of all the wonderful coral here! And a lot of fun tide-pooling! The water was so clear and it was a fun, family day. We all did our own individual things, but we also did things together. And it was fun. And I was able to get a lot of coral, shells, and sea glass for my collection. 

After that, I went to my sister's house to spend more time with her and her fambam. While we were there, we decide to walk around and go get dessert at our favorite frozen yogurt, Menchie's. Before we went there, my sister wanted to go to Executive Chief to look for more bread pans...but guess what I got?!

...I got more tea for me! I so need a new storage for all the tea that I have! But my all-time favorite tea is Irish Breakfast. So I got me some Irish Breakfast...and then I got some Matcha Tea...I love me some matcha tea. And then we walked to the other side of the street and got me some...

...new running shoes and socks! I have decided that starting tomorrow, I will try to exercise EVERYDAY...and run whenever I can. I got these shoes on sale and they are the same brand that I got my other pair of running shoes. And those socks are just so happy. So some motivation for me. :)

And then guess what?! We finally went to our favorite frozen yogurt place. It's a place where "we make you smile."

Even my DollGirl had some to, and boy did she love it a lot. Her face was priceless. But you know what was even better?

When we gave her the choice to finish her little sample of frozen yogurt or have strawberries, she chose the strawberries...it was cute. 

Yep, it was good day today and it was a fun day. But as for now, I need to go to sleep early because I plan to wake up to go running. Day one of running...here we go!

"You don't have to live forever. You just have to live."-Tuck Everlasting