Foreshadowing?

Today, my summer hiking partner and I took the road less traveled. 

I can't help but wonder if this unfortunate, lifeless creature was an omen as to what was ahead.

Project 365

Click Here to read up on the hike and see tons of photos!

Lily Pad

Project 365 is taking its sweet time. I definitely take photos every day! But getting them into the blog is proving to be a chore some days. Like yesterday.. I was way more excited to show you my new pincushions. 

It's all good though. I will still bang out 365 of these suckers... even if my year becomes a 13, 14, 15 month'r.

So today's photo comes to you from the ditch. 

Yes, you heard right. 

The ditch. 

The bebes had soccer games in Kaneohe this morning, so after, we swung over to Bellows (my favorite place on the rock) to get lunch at Chicken Stand. But, to our disappointment, Chicken Stand was absent. Luckily, there's a Subway at the shoppette by the beach...so we had our veggies & pepperoni subs in the shade while we listened to the waves crash.

Nice. 

And where does the ditch come in you ask?

Well, not far up the road from where Chicken Stand is supposed to be...there is a ditch. It's a very giant-ish ditch. A baby boat could float it. And as we were driving over the ditch, Angel yells out, "LILY PADS!" 

So as we were driving out of Bellows, and leaving Handsome to paintball with friends, the inner-photog in me pulled over at the ditch to snap some shots of the floaty flowers.

And when I got home, I played around with one of the pics in Photoscape.

Viola'!

Today's 365. 

Which do you like best?

Original?

Antiqued? 

Contrasted? 

Fish-Eyed?

Cross-Processed with Vignette?

Tilt Shift?

Watercolored?

I know some of the changes are kind of subtle. =/ But 'shopping is fun!

The Chameleon Lady Bug

Project 365

I once read that when Ladybugs emerge from their week long cocoon stage, their color is often a faint yellow or gray... and that a few hours basking in the sun will bring out their true & glorious colors. She could be destined to live in shades of blue, green, red, orange... the list goes on.
Makes me wonder about this Little Lady.
Had she ever met the sun?

There are over 5,000 species and variations of this beloved little beetle around the globe. When you think about it, that's quite a large variety for just one type of insect. How do you even begin to differentiate between them all?

The same could be said for us people. There are so many, many variations, colors, races, talents, abilities out there... how are we supposed to find our place in the world? How are we supposed to harness our true color?

I know the answer.

Submit to Grace.

Bask in the SON.

Like a ladybug, who receives her vibrant coat after time with the sun, we blossom and shine when we let the Son into our lives. I whole-heartedly believe that we cannot be truly and completely fulfilled with out Jesus. 

The amount of peace and joy that I feel when I am syncing up with The Lord is unending. 

His guidance and grace bring out the best in me. I am encouraged and empowered by His faithfulness. 

I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength. ~Philippians 4:13

  I have had people ask me how I know God is real... how I can so blindly believe...

The answer is faith.

If I know nothing else, I know and feel and live and breath this faith. 

I know that God is truth and that Jesus is the Savior... more than I know anything else. 

There is nothing evil, false or deceiving about God. 

I feel only peace and joy and love in The Lord. 

Patience.

Calmness.

Strength.

Guidance.

All else fades before Him.

 

Break Out.

I think this little grey lady bug got her coloring because she was just fitting into her surroundings, and not assuming her full potential. She was being a chameleon to her environment. Had she ever truly met the sun and embraced the light, she may have soared with golden wings. 

Luckily for her, she is a beetle. And being grey is what she was probably meant to be. 

But we are not beetles.

Don't be a chameleon.

Let the Son shine on you! 

When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life."

John 8:12

 

Dominoes

Project 365

One Day, 

I hope to

Spend my days under beautiful trees with old friends. 

Laugh about times past and good ol' days.

Remember the lessons learned from unfortunate mistakes.

And be glad of those lessons. 

Photo by: one of my aunts, that's me in the stripes

To count my children and grandchildren among the great people of the world.

And get to smile a little because I helped make them. 

Have wrinkles and gray hairs that show off my blessings-

life, 

love, 

hardship,

triumph, 

perserverance, 

joy, 

sadness,

trials,

tests,

babies,

teenagers,

weddings,

funerals,

FAITH.

These things all make me who I am. 

Strong, weathered, refined. 

AGE is a BLESSING. 

Every day...every breath... is a gift.

Gray hair is a crown of glory; it is gained by a righteous life.

-Proverbs 16:31

Photo by William Hearron, my Papa Bill, these are my uncles, daddy & Grandma

I hope to

See my siblings often.

Because we live close, not far.

Photo by Vladimir Rolov

To examine deep laugh lines on my sisters

And laugh some more when they say mine are worse.

Photo by my Mama, these are my grandparents

To still flirt with My Love like when we were teenagers.

And reminisce all the amazing things we have done.

To be proud and fulfilled... ready to go home. 

Come and go with me to my Father's house.

It's a big, big house...with lots and lots of rooms...

John 14:2

Also see:

The Sunscreen Song

Spinach Smoothie

Project 365

Here's a way to make your kids go yum!! And sneak some green into their diets...

I will admit; my kids eat better than I do. 

They eat carrots by the handful, grapes by the bowl. Cucumbers, steamed broccoli... salad!!!

They are the kids that get upset when the apples run out...not the cookies. 

I wish I ate as well as I've trained my bebes to eat. 

Eat as I say... not as I eat... 

So, while a lot of mamas out there are trying sneak some natural goodness into their kids' diets, I'm finding ways to sneak it into mine!

I love spinach. As long as it's fresh and not boiled, I LOVE it. And after many months of forcing having my family eat it... they are on the spinach wagon too.

I feel better through out the day when I've had my daily does of the green. 

It's super-rich in antioxidants and tons of vitamins and minerals. 

Wikipedia can tell you more about that. ;) 

 So I bet you're wondering if I'm going to tell you about the little smoothie I've pictured up there? 

I am. 

It was, so far, the best spinach smoothie I've made. And after I added a little granola to the top, it was a very satisfying breakfast! Just as good as any chain store smoothie I've ever had.

So...here's what I did... 

I jammed a couple handfuls of spinach into my little shark blender

added some pineapple juice and pureed

Then when I had liquidy spinach, 

I threw in a banana, some frozen blueberries and strawberries and pureed again. 

And finally.. I added a teeny scoop of My Love's protein powder.  

that was an extra..

It was AHmazing!

I've also made these yummy smoothies with just raspberries, strawberries, spinach, banana and a tiny bit of whatever juice is available (for lubrication). 

The cool thing is, fresh raw spinach has virtually no taste.. so you can add it into any smoothie you like.

My kids love these!!

Let me know if you make them too! And how you and your bebes like them! 

Here is a link to my Pinterest recipe board...I've pinned a few spinach smoothie recipes!-->

Peace

Project 365

He makes me lie down in green pastures...

365 Download

Hello Bloggy People.
As I predicted days ago, I have been M.I.A. from the computer world. Project 365 has been neglected for days and sooo much has happened over the last couple of weeks. My mama was in town visiting from Saturday to Saturday, the 4th of July happened, and my younger daughter turned 9 years old!! Ah!
And then, my older daughter turned 11!

So here I am, back to typing and photo-editing. The normal-ish day-to-day things are commencing and I have concocted a gigantic list of new projects to do. This week we will be switching little girls' rooms, a process that will rebirth Angel's room into a swanky big girl's room and make Tator's much less crampy. I have been lying awake at night dreaming up new re-dos and ideas. Eeeee. =)  There will surely be many before and after shots of stuff and room reveals. And as always... the Project 365 things.  So... here is a re-cap of my long week and the 16 day download for the 365. Enjoy.

Friday...
To get ready for 4th of July, and really...to change up my shelf and use my folky flag... I removed a few things from the rope shelf and added the flag. It's still not exactly perfect. I'm not really sure WHAT to put up there. But I heart this shelf so much.

Saturday...
This is a... Earring holder? Picture Board? Barret clippy hangy thingy?
I think, vertically, it is definitely an earring holder. How cute would a little girl's dangley earrings look on this?

I had made a little dry erase board for Angel's room out of this frame's twin..and since I broke the glass for it, luckily I had this frame to steal a replacement from.
I took step-by-step photos for a tutorial-ish on the dry erase board... but they are lost. Erased. I am so sad. Boo.

So...since I was clumsy and this poor frame had no glass, I just made something out it. I think it's pretty... and I'm putting it in my pile of craft fair things to sell in September at the Miss Fancy Plants booth.

It was super easy to make... I just painted the frame, covered the cardboard insert with fabric, added ribbon and pearls and sealed up the back with brown paper. Voila!  A thingy.

My mom landed on the rock on this day as well. So in addition to finishing up this little project, I was busy cleaning and preparing the house for company. The girls had no idea their Oma was coming. They were super surprised when she walked through the door first.   I love surprise visits!

Sunday...
We did the North Shore Drive. First stopping at the Dole Plantation for Dole Whips!! That's the only super touristy thing we do here. Because pineapple soft serve is of God. I am sure. It is aaaaahmazing! I could eat it for breakfast, lunch and dinner ever day! Seriously.

Then we drove through Haleiwa, and didn't eat at a shrimp truck...again... (which has become a joke now)... and drove and drove and stopped everywhere that was gorgeous. This photo was taken at Kaena Point. We were trolling for sea glass. I thought this little half-buried shell would be a nice shot.

If you want to see more pics of some pretty things on the Sunday North Shore Drive.. Click Here.
And to see some gorgeous pics from The Waimea Valley and North Shore Drive that happened a few weeks ago... Click Here.

Monday...
Independence Day.
We spent the evening at Pearl Harbor again this year. There is just something about spending the 4th on a military base. Patriotism is thick in the air and seeps in through your pores. Everyone stands, stops, salutes, holds their hand to their hearts...when the National Anthem is played. And it means something to them.

I couldn't get shots like I did last year with the ships under the fireworks... But it was beautiful.

To see other 4th of July posts click:
Happy 4th
&
Happy 4th!!

Tuesday...
What a full day this was. When Mom is in town...we are always busy...always go, go, go. But it's also very laid back. We woke up when we woke up and finally got out the door around 11ish. We started off the day with the Brookish tour of the UH campus. Since I talk to my mama all the time, everywhere..I thought I'd show her where I am while we chat. She likes to be able to picture where I am. So took her around campus and showed her the Haunted Library (that's always everyone's favorite). Fun!!
To see a bunch of pictures from a previous and recent trip to the Hamilton "Haunted" Library and some UH pictures click:  College Kids.

After the campus tour and lunch, we drove to the back of the Manoa Valley and hiked up to the Manoa Falls Trail. I did not remember how steep it was...or how many steps there were. Oops. But it's a gorgeous hike. Right at the beginning, there is an opening in the canopied trail that spreads out into a gigantic valley pocket. I swear, that is what I pictured Hawaii to be in my mind...before I moved here of course. It is beautiful and big. Think Jurassic Park. Manoa Falls is breathtaking. It is one of, if not the, tallest waterfalls in Hawaii.

This photo-->
is of some teeny tiny fungi growing on an old fallen log on the trail. I took it with my phone camera of course..    
After...full day kept going. Soccer practice, dinner, staying up late talking. Love.

Wednesday...
It was our relaxing day. We did as we do again... and walked out the door around 10:30 ish. The truck took us down to Ko'olina Beach. I have found a new favorite place to float. The Ko'olina Beach parks are lovely little coves with clear blue waters and calm, relaxing non-waves. I guess they are part of the resorts...but the public has access to them. I think these coves are a popular wedding destination for Japanese couples. We saw two wedding parties taking photos all over the beach.

This photo is of Tator's feet. =) I'm not sure why I'm drawn to taking shots of sandy toes...but here they are. Bright blue in the heat and sun. She's wearing the mood changing nail polish that I showed you HERE.

Thursday...
Mom and I woke up early and drove over to Hanauma Bay. That's pronounced  ha-na-oo-ma. Just in case you're not up on the Hawai'ian pronunciation. Of course.. we say ha-na-ma.. because we're haoles.  Hehe.
This was my first day ever snorkeling in Hawaii. I can't believe it took me a year and a half to finally do this. I am hooked. It was amazing.
This photo is obviously of our flippers. I snapped this shot because my long E.T. finger toe sticks out in a very funny way.. Mom's feet are the outside two, and mine weirdo toe is the middle one. I put one of the film-effect filters on this image...and now looking at it, I think it just looks like a dirty old photo. Ha!

    
Friday...
Today was Angel's 9th birthday. We had a very fun, girlie day full of shopping and lunching and baking and fireworks. The day started with purple waffles, a first for me. Then we got dressed and did the traditional birthday photo shoot outside with the trees and bushes. I GOT SOME BEAUTIFUL SHOTS OF MY BEBE!!!! Then... the shopping commenced. Both the girls scored majorly in birthday cash, so we hit up the mall. Tator filled bags and bags with clothes and yummy smelling things and head bands. Angel was much more selective and brought home a dress and some sunglasses. Target was the last stop before we headed home to scarf down some birthday pizza and bake the cake before running out the door to make the fireworks at the Hale Koa pool. (Which are really the Hilton Hawaiian Resort fireworks.) And finally...after making it back home...I decorated Angel's cake- a pink s'mores cake- per request, and we sang happy birthday at 10:30pm. Phew.

Saturday...
Mom's last day.
=( Sad face.

The girls had their first soccer games this day, so Oma was glad she got to see them.
Mom and I got burned finally. After days and days of beaches and hiking and snorkeling... we forgot the sunscreen for just a tiny 2 hours in the morning and baked!!

Mom even got lectured by the little old Filipino cashier at the BX for being so sun-burned.

So this photo-->
is of the wine that was finally finished. It is called SofaKing Bueno.

But thought is was SofaKing Gross. ;)
I am more of a Moscato girl.
The label is awesome though!

I had a great time with you this week Mom!! I love you!!!

Sunday...
Angel requested Wet n Wild for her birthday. So we went.. 2 days late. It was definitely a great day. We hit up every slide, every wave, every line.

This place doesn't hold a candle to Splash Town in Spring, Texas... or Schliterbahn in New Braunfels, Texas... but it was fun none the less.

The girls had a blast. And we will definitely be going back next summer for season passes.  

I absolutely recommend wearing a bottle of sunscreen each, (don't forget your scalps! I am still scraping dead peeling skin from my part line. Agh!), and lunching outside at your vehicle in the parking lot. It is much more relaxing to eat PB&J in lawn chairs by the truck in the shade than to break the bank on theme park food while sitting among the masses of loud people.

Just sayin...
 

Monday...
Was back to the daily grind. Soccer practice and work. Of course, I am still on summer break, so my work was just house work. Eh.

I enjoy going to the girls' soccer practices so much. The perfect Hawaiian weather is always extra perfect in the late afternoons into dinner time....right when practices are. This weather is one of the only things I will truly miss when we leave the rock.

So today's photo is of soccer practice. That's my bebe, in the blue shorts, running at the head of the pack. And that's My Love, in the blue shirt... coaching. They were running drills.

Tuesday...
Today was Tator's birthday. SHE IS ELEVEN! I can't believe it. My bebe is 11!!
It was a full day again. With late night birthday cake. No shopping this day.. but it was so nice. Relaxing. The day started with breakfast out with Our Man. Then we spent hours at the Hale Koa, swimming and eating shave ice. Tator wanted to re-do the Hale Koa since their firework-swimming session had been cut short a few days before. On the way into the pool, there is a koi pond lining one of the resort's restaurant patios. I took tons of shots of this lily pad flower (of which I will post more of in THIS BLOG). I chose this shot for today's 365 because I love the sweet little fishy that wanted its photo taken.

The night rounded out with homemade birthday lasagna, games at Dave & Busters, and late night birthday cake... this time a sandy island with gram cracker surf boards and "hang 11" scribed on top.
ELEVEN!!!

Wednesday...
Hiking day.
My girlfriend, Michele, and I are trying to do hiking-Wednesdays while the kids are out of school... so far, we've only made it a few times. But now that all the visitors are gone, and our ankles and feet are not injured, ha!!, I think we'll be able to make through till school starts again.

So today's photo comes from the Likiliki Falls. We made it there via the Old Pali Highway. This hike is BY FAR my FAVORITE hike in all of Oahu... so far.

I must have said how much I was loving that hike 938448283002111 times while on the trails. The switchbacks, rope assists and hidden trails were exciting. The views were phenomenal, and the rush of seeing such history under my own two feet was priceless. This is my favorite kind of exploring.  

I'm going to do a photoblog on the Pali Hwy & Likiliki Falls highlighting my favorite parts of the trek. You'll see graffiti, flora, hidden stairs and ancient Hawaiian roads.
--> Click here!


Beautiful.
As is my bebe...all by herself at the waterfall!

Thursday...
Was not super eventful... the girls and I continued in the room switch process. I guess I forgot to mention that we started the process on Wednesday after the hike. I was too wrapped up in remembering the gorgeousness that I had witnessed.
Anyway...
The porch post bunk bed was finally decommissioned and will be made into a Porch Post Computer Desk. Once it's finished, you will see a link there to view it. I'm curious to find out what it will look like myself. My Hubs is taking on that project.

<--So this photo...I took while sitting at soccer practice in the shade under the raining-ants-tree. I was reading Eat, Pray, Love... the first book in my 10 Book Challenge, and also in my 30 before 30 list. I am sorry to say that I am not doing a good job at plowing through my list. Especially the 10 list. I only have a month and a half to finish that one. Ugg. Perhaps when the girls are back in school in a couple of weeks I will make some progress?  We'll see.  

Friday...
We found ourselves back at Ko'olina beach. And we saw another Japanese wedding party there...  hehe.
Today we went with Michele and her girls...and Sam and her kiddos showed up too. It was fun just floating in the lagoon and talking about everything. I love days like this with my girlfriends.
The day rounded out with a long-overdue girls' night in. Home-made peach sangria and mojitos and lots of yap-trapping.  Perfect. Just like the view in today's photo.

Saturday...
More soccer games and room rearranging. It was actually a very chilled out day. We slept in, cooked, went to the game, then to Lowes, then home again.. Handsome worked in his garage and I hung up some more stuff in the girls' rooms.

Then... it was date night!

My Love and I started out an indoor go-cart track. FUN!!!
<--That is where today's photo comes from. That's me, waiting verrrry patiently in queue to race. I came in 5th. Grrr. There were some very slow, and very awful drivers blocking me and not obeying the "GET OVER AND LET THEM PASS YOU" flags that the refs were waving at them. Hm!

After the race... My Love and I went to dinner, where I suspect I contracted a mild case of food poisoning... we'll talk about that in a minute.
After dinner, and my very delicious strawberry-peach sangria, Handsome and I played with toys in K-mart until it was time to go to the movies...
This is when it hit me. =(
And I won't go into detail here. But we left the movie about 30 minutes in.
On the way home, we suspect that we saw the 7 patrol car response to a shooting... or something. I haven't checked the news.

And now... it is Sunday. 

And I am finally finished catching up.
So I will leave you with today's 365 photo.. 
Me... blogging on the couch... with Kitty.

How are you today?

...All Summer Long

..on the way to the pool with the windows down and breeze in our hair..

 Project 365

Summertime is my favorite part of the year. 

There's so much going on. Memories being made. Relaxation. Soaking up the sun. Friends. Family.

I always find myself thinking back on my childhood days. 

All day in the swimming pool, building forts in the woods, riding bikes through the neighborhood. 

Fireflies, fire crackers, camp fires.

I can't help but feel nostalgic and calmed. 

Summertime reminds me of simpler days where there were no worries and the fading sun was the call to come home. 

 I REMEMBER

Kick ball with the neighborhood kids 

Scrounging up up change for the ice cream truck

Drinking out of the waterhose

Climbing Trees and scraping everything!

Swinging so high the swing set legs come up off the ground

Staring in awe at the 4th of July fireworks

BBQ's with everyone

Going barefoot everywhere

Long days spent waiting in line for water slides

Snow cones at the baseball fields

Mom always in her sunglasses

Seeing umbrella drinks & wanting one

Summer camp!!

Camping with the family

Staying outside all day long

Only watching cartoons on Saturday mornings

Always walking in the door dirty 

Saving jelly jars to catch fire flies 

Concerts in the park

Reading, reading, reading... to get the free Book-It pizza!

Never-ending water gun fights

Rollerblading!

Playing ghost in the grave yard

...and almost peeing your pants, you're so scared of being caught

Telling ghost stories with a flash light in your face

Playing Marco Polo.. and never saying Polo till you were just out of reach

Building forts in the woods by the house

...and then having rubber band wars out of them

Blowing bubbles for hours

Covering the driveways with sidewalk chalk

Knocking on friends' doors at 7 in the morning

KOOL-AID

On-going freeze tag games

Riding bikes around the neighborhood for hours

...and our parents never knowing where we were

Listening for Dad's loud, finger in the mouth whistle, a cue to get home NOW

Buying candy cigarettes and root beer.. cause we thought it was cool

FEELING FREE

Yes. Summer is my favorite part of the year. I just hope one day my girls will be able to look back on simpler times...and remember some of the things that I do. 

My kind of Nostalgia:

3 Days of 365

 

I am a smidget behind in my 365 posting. But I have definitely been taking photos every day. My family is actually becoming a bit annoyed with my incessant picture taking. I think... they should give in and feed my need and buy me a new fancy-smancy awesome camera for my up-coming birthday. HA! 

A girl can wish can't she? 

So to the right -->

Is a gorgeous Sumatran Spider Lily...

And this is Today's Project 365.

The girls and I went up to Handsome's work and had lunch with him under the lanai outside his building. There's a beautiful garden surrounding the property and tons of opportunity for a snap happy gal like me.

I resisted whipping out the camera...until I saw these newly bloomed lovely lady plants on my way to the truck. The urge was too strong then. I had to whip out the camera! I always have it with me..cause it's in my phone! And I'm always impressed with the pics it takes.

Camera Macro is BOMB! 

This photo is from a batch I took specifically for the Project 365 challenge. I was snapping pics of the white plumeria, because it smelled fantastic!! and because I don't have any pics of this very common Hawaiian Flower. In the middle of my obsessive interesting picture taking, I made a new friend. So I thought I'd feature her here. Lovely Little Lady isn't she? 

And this little fire flower fell to the ground as I was pulling in the trash can the other day. It's about the size of a silver dollar. I wish I knew what it was called..so if you do, please let me know!? Google is not telling!

My little sister has developed a pretty flower taking obsession just like me. If she had a blog, I would direct you now! Maybe I'll tell her to start one up! She has to do what I say after all, I am the big sister.
And she would love Project 365!

So there you are. 

Now I'm semi-caught up with my 365's. 

I'm gonna jam now! 

Today I am Soccer Mom!!

How was your day?!