Full Moon Ramblings

Last night was a full moon. In fact it was a SUPER full moon and when I looked online to make sure that it really was going to be a full moon last night I found out that it was also called the Full Corn Planting Moon and/or the Full Milk Moon. Why? I don't know, I didn't feel like doing a full on research on why, but it was nice to know that the beautiful moon that I saw last night had some pretty cool names...coz my days, it was a beautiful moon.

A picture I took last night enjoying the full moon.

When I was a little girl, I used to open up my window and it had a perfect view of the moon, at whatever phase it was at...and I would "talk to the moon" because I was taught that you had to "talk to God"...but I didn't really know how. All I know was that God was "up there" and at night whenever I looked "up there" I saw the moon. So at an early age, it was always me talking to moon hoping that somehow my words were also traveling "up there" to God. Also, it was a good visual for me...I wasn't just talking into space or something...I was talking to the moon and praying that it was somehow reaching God's ears. I know now that it was and has and will always be. But the moon holds a lot of sentiment to me.

The past few weeks have been tough, no doubt for everyone, but my feelings are valid, too. Sometimes it's easier for me to be strong for those who need me to be strong for them when they can't be strong themselves...but for some reason, for as long as I can remember, it has hard for me to allow someone to be strong for me. I somehow feel like I don't deserve it or something...but you know what, I'm slowly getting there. Trusting people more. But last night, as I was sat waiting for the moon to pop up out from all the clouds, I was zooming down memory lane and remembering all the secrets I would "tell" the moon...and I miss doing that.

I journal. I blog. I do have my friends that I talk to, however those nightly moments when I use to voice my thoughts to the moon, was so pure and so heartfelt. And that's what I did last night. I talk and talk and talked and realized that wow, that was something I really needed. I makes me smile to know that that same moon that I saw last night is the same moon that was there for me when I needed to talk all those years ago. I don't even know why I stopped. 

I love the ocean. I love the mysteries that it holds and I can watch documentaries of the wonders of the ocean for hours and hours and (if only I still had internet connection!) I could even let it play for a long time in the background of my daily life whenever I was home. But what also fascinates me is the cosmos. The heavens. The sky. I am a self-claimed sunrise chaser. (Mind you, I am by far a morning person...there IS a difference!) I can cloud watch, star gaze and meteor showers amaze me. I look for those wishing stars and I smile when I can recognize certain constellations. Whenever I can see a planet my heart beats a bit faster and when I spot a satellite passing overhead, it makes me smile. 

Nature is my inspiration. Yes, I hear that all the time. What inspires you? Nature. But it is so true. I can not even imagine life with out nature. And my heart fills up with so much happiness when I realize that there is a creator (God) that made all that...FOR ME. For everyone, yes...but I like to think that He took His time with certain things...a lot of things, really...because He know that it would make one of His children smile...me. At least that is MY belief. 

Yes, the times right now are uncertain. Yes, the times right now are tough, and sometimes...well, a lot of times, I just feel why?! What's the point? But I know, I know that there is an end. And no matter how lonely I feel, no matter how I feel like I'm alone in my struggles, no matter how tough it all is...the moon and the sun will always rise and fall, no matter who is watching it...it just does. And the God who created them loved me enough to know...that in my darkness, I would need light. And my heart is filled one more time.

The full moon over the Olomanas.

Random Rambles of a Quaratined Mind

It's been a little bit more than a month since we were encouraged to stay home and self-quarantine, social-distance, and/or social-isolate ourselves from the outside world. It hasn't been an easy, by far, and sometimes I wonder if this all is necessary. Then, I talk to a family/friend who is an essential worker...the amazing, self-sacrificing frontliner, and I think, yes, it really is necessary. It's hard, no joke, it really is hard, but I just tell myself apart, we are together.

I am blessed to have a place to stay at night. I have blessed to have a home to go to...a home to stay at; a place to call my own. I live in an amazing place that is gated and is beautiful...a horse ranch, and I can't complain that I am "stuck" in quarantine in this beautiful island of Oahu. My only gripe is the fact that I have next to no internet/cell reception...and that I am alone. I live alone. I am not quarantined with anyone, so I am alone. And with no reception...well, with very little reception, it is so hard to stay focused on what matters. I find myself starting to look at myself and feeling sorry for myself because somehow, along the way of these trying times, I had lost my self-motivation, self-determination, and self-worth.

I am a teacher with no classroom, no students. I am an Auntie, with no littles to love on. I am a friend, with limited ways to communicate to see if they are okay. I am a sister, with limited and short communication to my sister and brother. I am a daughter, with no way to be near my parents since they are high-risk. I am me, with no purpose. Or so it seemed. I tell myself...it is NOT like that and it is my choice to see it like that.

Or I can say, I am a teacher/auntie/friend/sister/daughter trying my best to do what I can do to help them...by staying home and not adding to the problem. I write letters, postcards, post videos up for my preschool keiki to watch. I call/text my family and friends whenever I can. I send little care package "letters" to random people. I cook and bake yummy experiments for my neighbors. I try to do my best to spread love and cheer in the midst of this horrible moment in time. And that is all that I can do.

I want so bad for things to go back to "normal" and then I ask myself, do I really? Do I really want things to go back to normal when "normal" was not the healthiest? I mean, come on, it took something like THIS to finally get people to understand that you have to WASH YOUR HANDS, and COVER YOUR MOUTH?! If normal means not doing those things as much, no, I don't want things to get back to normal. I pray that when this is all over, people will learn and take into consideration what they had to go through to get back into society.

I think what I want mainly is to not live in fear. I hate having to second-guess everything I do, and everywhere I go. As of right now, I have deemed my place, my school, and two of my friends houses as a "safe place" My place, because it will always be my safe place, my school because since we have closed our doors, no one goes there, except for us teachers who just stay in our own room. I go there to create videos for my little ones to watch. And two of my friends who are just as careful as I am, and who I trust that they will tell me if I can't come over for whatever reason. Since this all started I have only gone to the grocery store once; it helps that I am living by myself and I don't have to worry about taking care of anyone else. I do have to worry, though, about remembering to eat. I have found out that with no real schedule in my life at the moment, I tend to forget to eat.

But yes, I want to not live in fear. In fear that I might run into someone and want to badly give them a hug, but I can't. In fear that I might catch the dreaded COVID-19 virus and not be able to get ahold of anyone since I have limited connection to the outside world from my house. In fear that I won't get to be with my family any more. In fear to just make a "quick stop" at the store to grab some ice-cream. In fear of going to the beach and getting a fine because we aren't allowed on the beach anymore...much less hiking trails and public parks. I hate how limited human connection is now. I believe that we are built to have human connection and that without, life can get really hard. It is hard.

I always said that I loved my job. I am a 2-3 year old preschool teacher. Everyday I would come to school to unlimited hugs, unlimited stories, unlimited cuddles and love. Cold turkey I went from all of that to nothing. It has been more than a month since I received a hug. It was only just recently that I was even comfortable to get out and see people again. I live in a place that I lovingly call the "deadzone." It really is like the "deadzone"...so way off-the-grid. I get no mail, no tv service, no internet, no cell reception. Okay, the reality of it all, I do get service, but so minimal that it's hardly worth the mention. And it's hard. I miss my family. I miss my friends. I miss my kids. And I miss just being around people and knowing what is going on in the world. But I try to tell myself that I need to concentrate on myself and by staying limited in the places that I go, and by staying home for days on end, I am helping.

What have I been doing to stay sane? Read. Paint. Write. Lots and lots of writing. Do my nails (which is my guilty pleasure in this time of craziness). Sing. Play the piano. Play the ukulele. Sing. Work out. Lots and lots of working out.

Before all “this” happened, I used to wake up at the crack of dawn…4:30AM, text my good friend that I actually got up (love my accountability friend) and do some kind of work out. I try real hard to stay with that schedule. But now with long days that seem to last triple the actual “normal” day, I find myself unable to motivate myself to get up to work out. I mean, I USED to have to be at work at 7:00AM (Although, I would always get there at around 6:45AM), so I had to wake up at 4:30 to work out if I wanted to take a shower afterwards and put my face on (side story: love putting on makeup and doing my hair all cute—sometimes!) and drink my coffee, eat some kind of breakfast…and have my morning devotional! That is a lot of stuff to get done in just a little over 2 hours. I swear I am not a morning person! (Sunrise chaser, yes, but morning person, no.) But now that the days are soooo looonnnngggg….I don’t feel that need to wake up so early any longer. I keep my alarm at 4:30AM…blah, who am I kidding at 4:31AM (you KNOW that one minute is means SO MUCH that early in the morning! Don’t pretend you don’t know what I mean!), so I do wake up…but that does not mean I get up.

I did have a pep talk to myself though. One thing about living by yourself is that you are you own pep talk person. No one else is there to get you up and showing up…only you. When I first started living on my own, I would get the occasional parental call or big sister call…or even the brother call to see if I am okay…but now, who cares, right? Out of sight, out of mind…but it’s my responsibility to myself to be my own motivator. So, yes, I did give myself that pep talk and told myself to SUCK IT UP BUTTERCUP! Storms don’t last forever…so get up and show up. And so now, yes, in the morning (very vague here) I get up and do some time of kickboxing and then in the evening (again, very vague time frame here) I do Insanity by Shaun T. Have you heard of it?! Oh days, look it up…it’s something else. No joke. I am currently doing the Cardio Max…and it really is no joke. You want to sweat and feel like blacking out, but feel good about a good work out…check it out. And now that the beaches are open, I try to go to the beach and swim.

That’s another thing. I wish I were a mermaid. My mom said that I could be anything that I put my mind to and if I work real hard at it…I can do it; I can be it. I want to be a mermaid. Are mermaids real, you ask? Well, the ocean is huge, and we haven’t yet explored the who thing…and even if somehow we did, there is more that is left unexplored. That is all I am saying there.  

Well, enough of me rambling about anything and everything. Enjoy your life! Aloha!

"We are all in this together" I created this while holed up in "the deadzone". A good reminder, that even though we are apart, we are still together in this mess that the world is in. Together, healing together, far apart, but together. 

Hello March

Hello March! I can't believe how fast this year is going! I seriously feel like I blinked and 1/4 of the year past! But Christmas break is long gone and I have survived this far...and I am so looking forward to Spring break in a week or so!

Work/School is going...going...going...well. I have finally gotten all the keiki where I wished that they could have been 2-4 weeks from the beginning of the school year. I think this is the first time I have worked with the younger 2..some starting on their birthday. And I have to say that it was rather difficult (with this age group) when a child started, since all they would do is cry, cry cry. And when I finally got that child settled, another child would start at a later date, and the whole crying process would start all over again. Which is what happened this year. I had children starting as late as November...and another one that started this past FEBRUARY! It was hard only because the whole dynamics changed in the class and I had to work real hard to get it back to where the children were wanting to learn, instead of trying to grasp to the newness of something...new. But wow, I made it...and I am still loving it, that's for sure! I love my keiki; I love what I do. I love getting to know each child individually and as a group. Each year is different...my goodness, each DAY is different and I wouldn't have it any other way.

Now to only try to get the children to stay home when they are sick! I feel like this is a constant battle among teachers...sick children coming to school...spreading their sickness...irritated parents from hearing other children sick and coughing in their child's face...and then having to deal with that as a teacher...who feels like she is now sick from all the sickness spreading around the school. I have never had this many children "allergic" to something. The "reason" why the children come to school with runny noses, coughing, drippy eyes, and a lethargic behavior. "They're not contagious- it's just allergies." But they are STILL leaving a trail of mucus and whatnot where ever they go! But what do I know? They probably do have allergies...

But enough with that. I love my keiki...and I love my class. I love the spontaneous aura I have in my class...the whole "no two days are a like" is so my class. Working with two-year olds is so rewarding because I have the privilege of seeing so much develop in such a short amount of time! A lot of my keiki started not talking...(or speaking in gibberish or "minion-talk"), and now we can talk story for days...and I actually can understand them! I love hearing their thought process, the why of life, and the reason for anything under the sun! I love watching their confidence and self-esteem grow stronger each day and I love seeing "my" little ones start developing ohana feelings for their classmates and for myself. Their attention span is improving...they all love art...and dancing is a must in my class. We have these wonderful impromptu dance/karaoke sessions in my class...and I tell the little ones that as long as they are singing "anything can be a music instrument." They are getting to know the rules to that though...PEOPLE are not drums...and neither are fish tanks. And their little voices singing is so endearing to me! I love how they are in a habit of singing most anything. I love hearing them make up their own lyrics and dancing to their own beat! And I am very impressed with their "clean-up" skills and how they are using their words. They are always game to trying out new things for artwork, exercise movement, activity, and/or circle time.

I was real impressed the other day when we talking about the alphabet. At this age, I don't normally try to teach them letters (we are a more social/behavioral school)...but since our topic for this month is music and literature, I try to introduce to them a letter a day and of course I started with the letter "A." I was telling them that "A" is for alligator and had plans to read the book "There's an Alligator Under My Bed" by Mercer Mayer, pretend we were alligators, had an alligator artwork ready for them...the whole she-bang. But as I drew the letter on the board and said "Okay my friends, "A" is for alligator"...I had a little boy speak up and say, "Aunty, "A" is for Aloha." And he couldn't have been more right! :) We do sing that song:

"A" is for Aloha ("A" is for Aloha)

"L" is for Love ("L" is for Love)

"O" is for Ohana

"H" is for Hawai'i

ALOHA, ALOHA

so, of course...it made my heart smile.



It has been cold, cold, cold lately and a few weeks ago it rained so hard, I thought I was going to get stuck! Where I live there is only one way out on a bridge. If the ocean rises enough from all the rain and floods the bridge (which I am told that it has happened!) Then I guess it's good that I'm so comfortable swimming in the ocean to get to the other side! *laughs* Nah, I have my friends who have boards and boats that could probably get me, OR I just stayed on my side of the bridge and did some artsy stuff while listening to the steady flow of the rain! And since rain doesn't bother me so much, I did walk down to the beach and sat at the shoreline for a bit. I love watching all the moods of the beautiful ocean. Right now it is saying that it is 68degrees. Cold, super cold for Hawai'i. But then then again where my sister lives, I feel like it is much colder than where I would normally be at this moment. At home.

Now, that is another long story. But for short...the heavy rains drove the critters out of their homes and so I have been finding a lot of RATS (which I first thought were mice, but was wrong!) INSIDE MY STUDIO. So until they cease to enter my place I have moved out of my beloved studio and have come to live with my sister for the time being. I do go back to my place every morning to get ready for work and after work I stop by before come here to my sister's only because my landlady is still there (for some reason the rats are finding their way into my studio, but apparently not here house) and I go there to check up on her and make sure she is okay and of course, my fish. I have 6 aquariums with my darling fish, and I have to feed them and make sure to do their water changes when needed. But is has been tiring to say the least. The whole back and forth, back and forth of it all. I am so grateful for my sister and her family for allowing me to stay with them, but I also really, really miss my own space and home. Plus, I feel like it's a LOT colder where my sister live...but it's always so good to be with family. :)

My family is growing...and I couldn't be more happy about that! In the past couple of months I have gained several nieces and nephews some whom I haven't yet met, but still love so very much! My best friend had her baby and I am so looking forward to seeing him in a couple months! All these babies are making me smile! I am so happy that I work at a preschool, because watching the new generation grow and develop is such an awesome feeling! I love being a part of a child's life, helping them learn the skills to get along in life...and just watching their personalities shape into who they are. But my family is everything to me; I love them. I love them all! :)



My family makes me feel blessed and loved. I feel like that there is no stronger bond (other than God's love for us!) than a family bond. I also feel like people can choose who is in their family...so I believe that friends can also be family to you.



I have always loved to paint. That doesn't mean that I am any good by far! But I am choosing to get better so I am doing it more. I love to paint with acrylics, but now I am venturing out of my comfort zone and trying to watercolor paint. So. Much. Different! Wow, it's so different! I like it though. I feel as if it's more soft and challenging. Don't get me wrong painting with acrylics is not an easy thing, but because I don't paint watercolor painting as much it's more of a challenge for me. Lately these "galaxy watercolor" paintings have catching my eye and so I wanted to try them out myself. They are so beautiful and so I tried my hand at it, and even though it looked easier enough to do, it was harder...well, more different than what I was used to. I am also loving all these creative quotes! I made a few of these round galaxy with quotes in them and I have given a few of them out to share. They are a lot of fun to made and look at !



Another thing I have been trying is the pointed pen. Wow, that is fun! I love writing with the pointed pen. I have to hold myself back from buying all the supplies for the pointed pen! I actually have a few material for the pointed pen but when I got the tools that I needed from a new subscription box that I subscribe to (The Inky Box-mini). My sister actually gifted me a 3-month subscription to this box and I couldn't be more happier with it! I might have to continue with this subscription because it introduces me to new ways to letter that I haven't even thought about it! With the pointed pen it's a lot different than the brush pen that I am used to. I like that pointed pen because it does force me to slow down and really thing about each stroke of the pen.



Every day I am trying to post something up on Instagram that makes up my life. Whether that be some lettering that I've done, some artwork that I've painted, my fish (I love to aquascape their homes!), some book I've read, a place that I visited/travelled to, a view that that made me smile, my current planner moment, one of my journal entries...something...anything. It's always fun to look back to see what I've done and it's also a fun way to meet people and get inspiration and tips and other things. (Feel free to follow me! @mylife_oceanstorm)



Before I forget, I wanted to mentioned that in the beginning of the year a celebration of life was held for Legend. I had so many emotions as I was a part of this amazing event. Saddness all around, but happiness and awe to see just how many peoples lives were touched by the 3 life-filled years of this young, precious boy. My friend was able to get this picture of while we were walking back to my place after the event. There were so many people who were brought together to support and encourage and grieve with Legend's parents and sisters. I consider myself blessed to have known this young boy who was taken from us too soon. Legend, my you rest in peace, little one. Can't wait to see you again one day!



Well, hopefully I can be more consistent with my blog entries.  I miss writing them...so I will try my best to find time to write. If not, I will be back...one day. :)

"I can't go back to yesterday because I was a

different person then."

-Lewis Carroll

Alice in Wonderland

Please check me out and follow me on IG: @mylife_oceanstorm

Mabuhy Philippines!

This postcard from Melissa of the Philippines was a nice surprise. It brought all these nostalgic feelings rushing through me. A few weeks ago this lady contacted me to see if I would do a direct swap with her. I sent her a postcard and I hope that she got mine. She mentioned that she had been here, in Hawai'i, as a layover a few years ago, but didn't get a chance to explore it. I hope that one day she will be able to. Everyone deserves to live their dreams. :)

Painting and Yema.

Today was an early start for me. My landlady wanted to repaint my outside porch and since I like to paint (when my brother-in-law lets me!), it's therapeutic to me!, I offered my help and so since I wanted it to dry faster, I decided to start early this morning. I didn't take all that long...but I had to make sure that I was staying in for the rest of the day since I won't be able to walk on my porch with the wet paint!

I first painted going down the stairs...that took less than 10 minutes...but I did wait an hour or so to paint a second coat.

I had to move all my stuff down to the end of my porch and we're going to paint that section down there at a later date. This area literally took less that 25 minutes...it was quick. But like I mentioned earlier...a hour later I did paint a quick second coat since it started sprinkling rain when I was nearly 2/3 done!

 

I left the space directly in front of my door free, so that I can still go outside for just a little bit! *laughs* My landlady said that she would paint it when I am at work and so it won't bother me much. :) Not that it would have...but that's okay. :)

Since I was stuck in the house for the rest of the day, I had to find things to entertain myself...and I decided that I would make yema! I remember when I use to eat yema all the time when I was in the Philippines; it was one of my most favorite treat to have and Jyn and Joy taught me how to make it myself!

I know that there are several ways to make it...and since I didn't have any egg in the house, I decided to make it without eggs this time.

I melted the butter first...and it smelled like buttery goodness! :)

Then when the butter was all melted I poured the sweetened condense milk in...I had extra that I was saving the fridge that I also added...couldn't hurt, no?! If anything, more yema! Then I mixed the shit out of the thing F  O   R   E   V   E   R! I mean...it seemed like forever...! For nearly 30 minutes I had to stand there and mix, mix, mix, stir, stir, stir...over and over and over again and again and again...you get my point. I had forgotten how forever that can seem. You don't want the milk to get burned, so you have to constantly be moving that baby...so mix, stir, mix, stir for a L   O     N     G time.

When it was the right consistency, I dumped the blob of yumminess on a plate to cool. The smell brought back SO MUCH wonderful memories of me making this stuff in the Philippines with my two good friends Jyn and Joy. I can't think of yema without thinking of those two. I miss them so much...and we had such good times together. I miss them. 

As "the blob" was cooling down, I prepared a bowl of plain sugar and one with cinnamon and sugar.

And there is the finished product. Yes, they were absolutely as delicious as I remembered...yema balls. I rolled half in the sugar and the other have in the cinnamon/sugar...and which taste better?! Both...they both tasted yummy!

SURPRISE!

Today is over. Yes! Today is over and I survived the first "First Day" of school. One more to go...tomorrow. But for now I will relax in the fact that I made it through the first day.

When I got home, I noticed that I had a package waiting for me on my doorstep. It is from my cousin from California! I quickly snapped a picture of it...

and sent her a picture of the box to let her know that I received her package (of course the picture I sent her did NOT have the hearts and shells covering the address! :)) And when then I flipped the package over and opened it from the bottom since I didn't want to ruin the front part of the box. :)

It was filled with carefully wrapped tissue paper...and when I opened each one up, oh my goodness! I my heart will filled with happiness and nostalgic feelings of how much I miss my family back in California! I know I didn't take a picture of everything one by one, or we would be here for DAYS...but here is everything that was in it:

It was choke filled with makeup and jewelry and a postcard. And I love every single piece of all of it! I then called her up and I didn't even know what to say because I was so full of happiness and thankfulness that I was actually speechless! And this is the cousin that I like to say that we are the same where we talk a lot and we talk super fast to each other. Like speed talking, no joke! And so we ended up talking for more than an hour and I am so thankful that she is in my life and that she thinks of me. I miss her and I hope that she knows how much this package meant to me.

It really is hard being away from family, home...my comfort zone. I love it here in Hawai'i, but I hate that I'm so far away from family. And I love my family. :)

Postcrossing.

So, I just recently heard about Postcrossing...and I wish I heard about it a long time ago!! Basically it is this site where you join and you receive postcards from all around the world from people like me--people who like to give and receive postcards! I signed on about a month ago, and I should have thought to document it from the beginning, but today when I received my first post card through this site was when I thought that I can document my experience on here!

When I joined, I made a simple profile about myself and requests of postcards. I didn't want to make any specific qualifications of the postcards that I would get; I just requested that they send me a "surprise to make me smile." To start, you request (up to) five addresses to send a postcard to. The first five places that I got to send postcards to were Russia, China, Ukraine, Taiwan, and Germany. The posts cards that I sent to Ukraine and Taiwan got to their destinations in 21 days and the post card to Germany got there in 20 days. The post card that I sent to China is on it's 26th day and the Russia postcard is on it's 30th day. So that was one things that I learned with the first batch of postcards that I sent out...patience. The first week I was constantly checking the website trying to see if my postcard got there. I had to force myself to forget the postcards and it was an amazing surprise when I got the email saying that three of my postcards got to their destinations. :)

How it works is, like I said, you request up to five people's address to send a postcard to. When you receive the address you will get to see their profiles and see if they have any special requests for their postcards. You can use those special requests as guidelines, but you don't have to follow them. Technically all is needed is that you send a postcard to the person. Their profiles also tell you a little about the person. You will also get a code to put on the postcard, which is something you HAVE to put on the postcard because that is how the postcard is tracked.

You first start with (up to) five post cards to send out at one time. The more post cards that reach their destinations, the more postcards you can have out in the mail. When your post card is registered with the code that you provided (from the site), you can then request another address and you are now next in line for the next person who requests to send a postcard! So the more postcards you send out, the more you will get! If you go to their site Postcrossing it explains it all. On the website it also says that "The number of postcards allowed to travel at any single time goes up the more postcards you send."

I sent out five about a month ago. Three have gotten to their destinations so I was able to request three more address and I will be receiving three postcards sometime. So I have sent out eight postcards through postcrossing as of now. And today I got my first one in the mailbox. :)

I wasn't smart enough to take pictures of the first five I sent out, but I did take pictures of the last three that I sent out last week. I did check the box saying that I didn't mind receiving postcards from people from my own country (you do have the option not to) because I figured that I haven't been to all 50 states, and I think that it would be cool to get a postcard from somewhere here in the States as well! :) The last three places that I sent postcards to was to USA (Florida), New Zealand, and Germany again.

This is the postcard that I sent to New Zealand. She had requested a postcard with sunsets, so I sent her a postcard of several different sunsets here in Hawai'i. She also asked to write her a recommendation of a book that she should read. I also added my favorite quote at the end. :) ....and stickers. :)

This gal had requested a postcard with flowers (she had an impressive list of requests! Flowers was just one option!) Since she never requested anything specific to write about, I decided to write out one of my favorite flower quotes from Emerson. "The Earth laughs in flowers." And of course, I love adding stickers...:)

The one that I sent to Florida was this one. I didn't have any of the requests that she had asked for except for this one. Kind of.  One of the options that she had  was "Greetings from..." postcards, so I figured this "Aloha from Hawai'i" was our equivalent of "Greetings from..." so I hope that she likes this one! And I wrote out some of my favorite quotes for her to have.

Like I said, the requests of postcards that each person asks for are only a guideline so that you are not in a rut of the kind of postcard that you want to send. There are so many postcards here in Hawai'i...but I"m pretty sure that I might use the same postcard. For me, I will try to at least try to send something that the person will like. At least, I'll try to send something from their list...and I'll try to write something that they would be interested in. I never wrote suggestions of what they can tell me, but I did say to surprise me. :)

My first postcard was from Tennessee and it was sent in an envelope (I have discovered that people do sent postcards in an envelope, I don't mind either way though.) The surprise for me was that I didn't only get one, but I got TWO! That was SO sweet of the person who sent it to me!

This was the first postcard that I took out and it's of the Smoky Mountains where winter meets fall...and it make me so nostalgic for "home"...where we actually had four seasons. Not enough to move back...yet, though! :) I don't know if you can tell, but the foggy/snowy bits of the postcard is glittery! That's awesome!! I love it! :)

This was the second postcard that was sent in the envelope. I love the story of "The Legend of the Dogwood." And anyone who knows me knows that I love flowers...so this was perfect...especially since it's PINK! :)

The person who sent me has convinced me that I need to make it to Tennessee to witness the Dogwood Festival in May and a "cool" firefly event in June! And I think that it would be so awesome to find "hidden homes, arrowheads and treasures!"

I can't wait until I receive more postcards! I use to have a huge postcard collection which disappeared in all the moving that I did...and that made me sad. And when I mentioned this to a friend, he told me about Postcrossing and so it is my turn to pass it on to you! It's also fun for me to pick and choose which postcard is perfect for the receiver and it's always a challenge to figure out what to write, but that's the fun of it! 

Happy Postcrossing!

Lazy, relaxing day!

I honestly was NOT in the mood to go to church today, but my niece had asked me yesterday, so very kindly, mind you, if I could go to church with her. So, of course, I can't say no to my lil' DollGirl! It was good though. My parents usually go to the Fil-Am church, however there is a Men's Retreat in Waianae and so my dad went to that for the weekend. So, my mom ended up going to church with my sister, and I caught a ride with Amanda to go to church and we all met up in Kailua SDA Church. It was good to go to be in church again with my mom.

I found out a few days ago that my parents bit the bullet and bought a one-way ticket to the Philippines on August 18. Whenever I think about it I just want to cry all over again. I hate knowing that the date is coming closer and closer to when I have to be without my parents again. Here I am, an almost 30 year old woman crying for her mommy and daddy...but this time around, my heart isn't breaking for myself. My heart aches for my niece and nephew. DollGirl is my dad's personal shadow. Yeah, I can't write about it right now... I can feel myself tearing up. Change subject!

Well, after church, I ended up coming over to town to be here and spend time with my mom and my niece. I ADORE spending time with my niece...and I also equally adore spending time with my lil nephew! I can't believe that he is almost 4 months old! In four days he will be 4 months old...my lil KaiBoy is growing SO fast!

He is such a happy baby! And he has the cutest laughing eyes ever! And he laughs...really laughs out loud when you tickle him! It's the cutest thing ever! These are a few pictures that I can't take credit for. My lil DollGirl took them! She loves taking pictures, that one! :)

I love how DollGirl is super protective of KaiBoy. She loves to cuddle with him and tell him stories and you should hear her when she hears him crying..."No need cry, baby, I'm here. Ate is here!" It is SO heart warming!

My brother and Amanda are here right now to. Right now, Neal, Jeremy, and Amanda are doing a 1000 piece puzzle. That is their thing...they love doing puzzles and they do them like its nothing. I can't sit still that long. This puzzle I gave to Amanda for Christmas...I gave Neal a 3000 piece puzzle...they gave up on that one in a few days! *laughs*

I was trying to wait for them to be tired of the puzzle, but it doesn't look like they are going to be finished anytime soon, so I will say goodnight and just get ready for bed now. :)

Rainy Day.

Today was a comfort day. This is the first time in a long time that I actually do not have to work this weekend...and I just wanted today to be a lazy day filled with comfort stuff and just recollect myself. And that is what I'm doing. Just doing anything that I want to do. 

Right now I am enjoying my Ginger & Lemon tea with honey and a bowl of popcorn. I am listening to Pentatonix on youtube and I can hear the rain falling in the background. And I have to admit that I feel super relaxed at the moment and I am loving it. I think that everyone should find time for themselves just to do whatever you want to do...no obligations, no pressing matters...I know that it's hard to find times like that...but every once in a while when you can, grab it...and never take for granted those times that you can have a moment to yourself.

I did wake up early this morning...even though I knew that I could sleep in. But my body is already used to the fact that I wake up early...and so I just woke up and for some reason the first thing that I looked at was my nails.

And oh my days! How did I let this happen! Oh yeah, I've just been super busy that when I get home I was not feeling like taking off the nail polish. *laughs* That is actually it though...the only reason why I don't do my nails every day...(I do love painting my nails and coming up with different designs!) is because I do not like taking off the nail polish. *laughs* I know that I can paint my nails with elmers glue first...that way I could just peel it off...but then when I do do that, they can accidentally come of in the middle of the day...and I don't like that at all. So at like 7 in the morning I sat in front on my computer watching Netflix while I took off my nail polish and cleaned, cut, and shaped my nails. 

I knew that I wanted to do my nails pink because it is Breast Cancer Awareness month...and I wanted to do my part in supporting the cause of finding a cure. So I picked this design that is chokefull of pink and girliness. :)

You might not be able to tell, but it is an ombré effect of lighter pink going to darker pink with the "falling" effect to tie it all together. Looks super girlie and I love it. :)

I did go to church today. And I did like the sermon a lot. I might go to church more often because I really like the sermons of Jesse. I am so glad that I got to know him as friend before knowing him as a Pastor...I feel more comfortable around him because of that. He is actually Shilhi's husband...and her family is my hanai, so I do feel comfortable around them all. 

I remember him preaching a sermon similar to this one and it was a great reminder because I needed it. His catch phrase today was "Are you out of your comfort zone?" The first time I heard him speak of this topic, I was touched that I even wrote down the quotes that he used from this sermon which is why I remembered it so well. This is what he said, "Success is stepping out of your comfort zone." That's it. That simply. 

I like that a lot...because there are times in my life where I feel as if I am going no where...where I feel as if I'm a failure or not even needed. And I realize that success is not really that far away...it's just stepping out of your comfort zone. So simple to say...but it is a scary thing to do. Going to school abroad was super scary for me...but I wanted to do it because I knew that I would experience something great...and I'm glad that I stepped out of that comfort zone. Moving here to Hawai'i was definitely stepping out of my comfort zone...because California will always be my comfort zone...well, I don't know if it will "always" be...but it's high up there...but I am learning that I can "succeed" here to. It was a powerful sermon today, and I am glad that I made the decision to go to church.

I was also glad that I recieved my ipsy: glambag today. It was a good day today...and I wish that I didn't have to end...but as all days will, it will end and I will get to see what will happen tomorrow. Something exciting I hope...I do have to say that listening to this rain outside makes me a bit homesick...but it's okay because Hawai'i is starting to feel like home. 

Yep, I am looking at my nails and they super, duper, uber make me smile. :) See, I'm such a simple girl...just painting my nails makes me happy. *laughs*

4 years.

I am actually glad that I don't have school tomorrow. Since it's a holiday [Labor Day], I wouldn't have school to observe this day no matter where I worked. But I am glad that I don't have school so that I can just have  a day of no thinking of school, heartbreak, or being the "new" teacher.

Today a lot of emotions are flowing through me. I don't think that it has fully hit me that I will not be going back to "my" keikis but to new keikis. I would like to think that I have a huge heart and that I have room to love all the children...literally...all children. *laughs* I mean, like I said, a lot of emotions are flowing through me and I am started to feel more excited about this new adventure that I am about to go on.

Today actually marks my 4th year anniversary of living here. Mine and my brothers. It's hard to believe that I've been living here for four years already! When I look back through the years that I've been here, I have not found that I regret moving here. Homesick, most definitely, but no regret in moving here. In the years that I've been here, I've met so many people that I can not imagine my life without. I have done things that I never thought that I would ever have the guts to do. And I believe that it has pushed my sister and brothers closer...and look at that! I'm even going to be gaining a sister! I already have my baby niece (whoops! She is most definitely NOT a baby anymore!), and another one is on his way!

I was talking to my friends here and we have agreed that once I've lived here for 7 years, I guess I can consider myself a local already! *laughs* They said that when I am drunk I sound like one already...I don't think so though because I can not whatsoever speak pidgin! *laughs* But I do have a lot of local friends that I absolutely love and adore and I am so glad that are in my life. We have lots of fun and there is no way in the world that I would forget them even if I did decide to move someday.

Well, I am just waiting for my DollGirl to wake up, and her daddy come home because we want to go to the beach and chill there for a bit. That is something that I will NEVER get tired of! I love how no matter where you go, the beach will never be more than 30 minutes away! From my house it's only like a minute walk...and from my sisters house just less than 2 miles away. Beach hopping is pretty common here. *laughs*

I was talking to my parents...but they wanted to take a nap. They wake up at crazy hours! But it is SO good to have them home again. I need to find time to hang out with them...just me and them. I miss them. I know that there are times where I get frustrated with all their [what it seems like] lectures about my lifestyle...but for the most part, I know that they just want to be near me and just talk to me again. I missed them something fierce when they where gone...so I am happy they are here.

I can hear DollGirl putting away her toys, blanket, and pillow now and so I need to wrap this up. One of the many things that my keikis gave me when I left was flowers...plenty, plenty flowers...and being who I am, I "processed" them right away when I got them...and the white roses opened so beautifully! I would even go to say that I would use them in my arrangement! *laughs* Flowers...they always can make me feel better. 

Palm Tree Nails.

Everyone and their mother knows that whenever I feel sad, anxious, happy, mad...or basically any extreme emotion, I like to paint my nails. I know that to some it seems like a "girlie" thing to do...and it is...I'm not denying that...just for me...I forces me to concentrate and stay still so that I won't mess up my nails. I have to stay focused on just my nails for the moment...breaking my focus on whatever is making me feel "extreme" at the moment. Whatever...it works for me. :)

Like I've mentioned in my previous posts, I have been dealing with a wounded heart in knowing that I'll be leaving and saying goodbye to another chapter in my life. I makes me sad that it doesn't seem as if my family does not understand how sad that this can make me seem. In another lifetime, it would of made me frustrated and angry to see my family acting as if this is nothing...the fact that I'm hurting over saying goodbye to where I work for the past couple of years. Now, it just makes me sad because I know that I can't talk to them about that...without them making me seem inadequate to control and suppress my feelings.

So, I find comfort in the small things life. Like painting my nails. My keikis love it when I paint my nails and they are always, ALWAYS excited to see when I paint my nails. I adore how there are plenty of times where they come up to me and tell me what they want to see on my nails...also, I find it very flattering when they come in with their nails painted...and they would run up to me to show me their nails in a very excited matter. Also, there were plenty times where they would tell me that they painted their nails "just like Ms. Charity." :) It makes me smile.

So, today I decided to paint my nails.

A couple days ago Mandy sent me a pin and I decided to use it as my inspiration. So these nails are done for her...but for me and my keiki at the same time. If that made any sense. :) 

I rarely ever...I don't think that I've ever actually posted my nails LIKE THIS! No polish...yes, I know that I've posted my nails when they are chipping, but this, this is something that is a first for me...at least to my knowledge of my memory. But here are my nails when I just took off the nail polish. Not TOO bad looking or stains, considering there is usually ALWAYS some kind of nail polish on my nails. 

Since I usually keep my nails well cared for grooming-wise, I didn't have that much to do in prepping my nails. I was able to cut and trim my cuticles, scrape and buff my nails and I used my favorite hand spa scrub, Mary Kay: Satin Hands; I love the feeling of how my hands feel after using Satin Hands. 

I highly recommend you to always add some sort of nail strengthener. It really helps your nails...especially if they are prone to being brittle. I am blessed that my nails aren't, but I always apply some sort of nail strengthener. It also works as a base coat...which is something that you should always use whenever you paint your nails to protect them from getting stained...also a base coat will help bond your nail polish to your nails for a lasting manicure.

My friend, Ashley, actually gave me this particular nail polish. I rarely ever just have my nails in one color...but this color makes me happy. I love bright, loud colors...and this color is both. 

I then used a make up sponge to dab on white polish as a second layer. I had totally forgotten that this bright green nail polish actually leaks onto other colors on my nails...so after awhile this white color turned into a lighter green...but it worked out. 

My third layer I also dabbed it with a make up sponge...it is a brown, golden color with flakes of glitter. I love glitter and so I chose this one particularly because it had the flakes of glitter in it.

To smooth the colors out, I painted a clear coat over it. I loved the way it was able to smooth it out and connect the colors better.

I then took my fine tip paint brush and drew a palm tree in black. I actually was tempted to keep it like this because it looked like a silhouette against the background of my nails. Maybe next time. :)

I then took another fine tip brush and added two different shades of green on my black palm trees. 

After letting it dry a little, I applied a top coat...and then some quick-drying oil on top of that so that it could quick-dry faster than normal. I really like how it turned out. 

So, it looks like this could possibly be the last design my keikis will see as their teacher. I know that I will visit them and they will see what designs I have on my nails then...but not as their teacher. 

I need to stop thinking like this. But I know that I will be able to move on. But for now...my nails. My palm tree nails...I can look at my nails and still smile.