Happy Halloween

Happy Halloween! 

What are you plans for the night?

Nathan has a soccer game 

so he probably wont be home till 8pm 

lame

so I guess we will make pop corn and watch some sort of "not so scary" scary movie 

I am a scaredy cat 

any suggestions 

and don't say the ring 

I still have nightmares from that one 

Hopefully we get a trick-or-treater or two 

last year we didn't get any 

but our porch is decorated 

so I have high hopes 

I still don't know why the ultrasound tech thought we would want the above scary picture of baby's face 

It looks like a skeleton 

which it kinda is 

it is SO weird to think that a person is growing inside of me 

Hope everyone has a safe night 

Vacation almost over

Nathan and I have been in the Bahamas/ Florida this past week. We are sad to go but are happy to get rid of hurricane sandy. Hopefully our flight out of Florida goes well.

More on my trip to hawaii and florida to come soon.

Last full day in Hawaii

For my last full day in Hawaii we spent the morning at Waikiki.

 I like the area is pretty well kept up. 

However, it was hard to find shade on the beach. 

In addition, the beach isn't the same as the North Shore. 

The sand is imported from another island 

so it feels different and is more rocky in comparison to the other beaches we went to. 

We had to leave Waikiki at noon to get back to the apartment and get ready since Emily's flight left at 3. 

It was sad to say goodbye, but I am so glad we were all able to get together.

 It was then back to the apartment where Erika packed and we hung out until Jo was done with work. 

We went up to tantalus lookout where we watched the sunset and got a little cold as some rain came in. 

It was a gorgeous view. 

We then ate dinner and then it was time to say goodbye to Erika as she caught the 9pm flight home.

 When we got back to the apartment 

I learned how to play rummikin, 

which I want a rematch Jo and then crashed at 10pm.

 At 1am I woke up and realized I was still in my regular clothes with makeup on and the lights were still on. 

Once I did get ready for bed, 

I couldn't fall back asleep until 4am 

and then I was awake by 7:30am. 

It was rough.

Tuesday was my turn to fly home. 

My flight was scheduled to leave at 12:30.

 So after dropping Jo off at work I got some last minute gifts for family 

and was then back at the apartment packing up my stuff.

 At 10:30, I checked my phone to find out that I had an alert from my airline. 

My flight was delayed 3 hrs. 

Talk about sucky. 

Instead of getting in to San Diego at 9pm

 I was looking at midnight.

 So I hung out at the apartment 

and met Jo for lunch where we said our goodbyes 

and then it was my turn to go to the airport.

It was an amazing trip and I am so glad that we were able to do it. 

Can't wait to hang out with these girls again soon 

Day 3 in Hawaii

On Sunday we woke up early

 and went to the North Shore again.

 Only this time we went to Waimea bay. 

Again we found a shady place to layout

 and enjoyed watching

 the surfers, bodyboarders, waves, and people jumping off of jump rock.

 I did not jump off the rock like I did 5 years ago, 

I don't think baby would have liked it. 

I am 22 weeks pregnant in the above picture

Eventually I went in the water where the waves were not so big. 

I have to say I think that Wiama is my favorite beach for swimming.

 I love the texture of the sand, clarity of the water and ample space.

 After we spent half the day at the beach, 

it was off to One Love Surf Shop to get the Acia bowls. 

However when we got there,

 we found out they only had enough granola to make one more bowl.

 Let's just say that bowl was gone in 3 min.

 Deliciousness! 

We stopped at Turtle Bay 

and watched a little bit of the amateur paddle board competition

and walk around the resort  

We then stopped at Ted's for another pie. 

I had one bite and called it good. 

I am seriously having a food/sugar overload. 

My poor body is not used to eating so much rich food. 

I would say I should do one of those cleanses when I get home, 

but I don't think baby would like it very much.

 After Ted's we stopped at the Laiea temple and went to the visitors center. 

We had to have some sort of spiritual experience since we missed church.

 From there it was off to Pali lookout 

where we battled with the fierce wind. 

Way back in the day

 when King Kamahmaha was conquering the islands

 his men would fight each other in those mountains and push their enemy off the cliffs. 

Kinda extreme. 

 From the lookout it was Thai for dinner. 

This was my second time having Thai, it was pretty decent, 

but baby or my digestive system did not like it. 

Most of the girls were out at 10pm,

 but I stayed up to finish my book The Great Gatsby. 

My verdict, I still didn't like it. 

First time was because of Daisy,

 second time because of Gatsby. 

I mean seriously I want to slap these characters for the way they act. 

Overall it was another great day in paradise.

Day 2 in Hawaii

Today was another long but fun day.

It started with driving to the North Shore.

However, we did make a few stops along the way.

 We stopped at Chinaman's Hat,

 the crouching lion, 

Pounders

 and Laiea point. 

Aaron, Jo's husband, grew up on the North Shore 

so it was fun to see some of his favorite beaches. 

We stopped at his parents house so I could use the Bathroom. 

I seriously have to pee every 2 hours.

 We had lunch at a shrimp truck and were surprised with some rain.

 Jo introduced us to Teds bakery where we had a delicious pie with halieva in it. 

We eventually worked our way to Eukhai beach.

 Me being a whitey found a nice shady place to layout 

and was surprised by a phone call from Husband where I got to use google hangout to see him. 

Eventually I joined the rest of the girls in the water where we played the game "over under." 

Which isn't really a game but it was fun deciding if we should dive under a wave or go over it. 

 I am excited to see the video we took with Aaron's gopro. 

We then headed to One Love Surf shop 

where we were disappointed to learn that they were sold out of their acia bowls

. So it was then off to the Dole Plantation where we arrived 15 min before they closed.

 I love the pineapple whip 

so much that not only did I get my own, 

but I also indulged in the pineapple split that the rest of the group got.

 What can I say, I love pineapple whips.

 And the stuff at the Dole Plantation is so much better than the ones they sell at Disneyland.

 It was then back to the apartment 

where everyone showered and got dressed up for dinner at the Italian restaurant Assigios.

 After dinner was over, we went back to Jo's house and crashed for the night.

Don't you wish you were here

Tonight was my last night in Hawaii. I am sad to leave paradise, but SO excited to see Nathan. Emily and Erika left earlier on Monday and I leave Tuesday; it's sad seeing our numbers dwindling. It has been a great trip and I am so happy that us 4 girls were able to get away for the weekend.

Stay tune for more pictures

Greetings from paradise

I am living it up with a girls trip in Hawaii. Yep you heard that right. I am in Hawaii. It has been 5 years since I lived hear for the summer and I am glad to be back.

If you look back to my 2008 posts from when I lived in Italy, you would see me with the same 3 other girls. Well we are together again. We are actually staying at Jo's place in Honolulu.

I arrived on Thursday after a long morning. Nathan woke me up at 2:30am not knowing the time, and thinking I had missed my flight. I then woke up at 4:40am scared that I was gonna sleep through my alarm. Needless to say I made my flight and my connecting flight and have arrived safely in Hawaii.




Yesterday (Friday) we went snorkeling at hanuma Bay. It was amazing! I loved looking at the amazing fish. I have never gotten so close to so many fish. It was pretty cool. I did end up cutting my toe on the reef when I was trying to fix my mask. Silly me. But overall it was my best snorkeling experience ever! So much better than the cold cloudy california water. There were a bunch of annoying pigeons that were fearless. They wouldn't leave when I would kick them with sand.

After snorkeling for the first half of the day we went to the halona blowhole and Leonard's Bakery for some hot delicious Malasadas. Baby liked it too. We then restocked our sunscreen supply at Costco and had some lunch before heading over to Diamond Head.

Hiking Diamond Head was pretty easy. I had to take frequent breaks for baby but was able to take the "hard way" rather than the "easy way." It was a beautiful view at the top. Except the gnats were super annoying. Overall it was a great hike and the shaved ice we got afterwards was well earned. We went to Waiola shaved ice which was delicious and dare I say better than the famed matsamotos on the north shore.

We ended the night with yummy chicken and the movie What to Expect When Your Expecting. Which as someone who is expecting was funny to watch. But I have never liked how movies display labor. I seriously need to research various birthing methods to prepare me. It was a busy day and I was thoroughly exhausted and super full.

Goodbye In-n-Out ...

...Hello retirement

until baby comes 

In August I said goodbye to working at In-n-out burger

it was bitter sweet 

I cried 

only for a day 

In-n-out was my first job 

I got hired during my senior year of high school

they were so great with working with my school/ cheer schedule 

and continued to be great with working with my crazy college schedule 

I remember there were times when I could only work Fri night and Saturday 

and they made it work 

They let me take a leave of absence when I lived in Hawaii for the summer 

and they did the same when I Study Abroad in Italy 

I was able to transfer down to the Mira Mesa location when we moved to La Jolla 

and when we bought our Condo in Oceanside 

I transferred again to the Carlsbad location  

Nathan and I loved attending the company picnics 

(except the last one was kinda lame) 

and the company would always give gifts to the employees for being accident free

we always got a Christmas present from the company 

and there was usually a Holiday party or breakfast

sometimes I would drag myself out of bed for the breakfast

I loved working in the team/family atmosphere 

and always enjoyed my time working 

but with a family wedding, vacation and a husband sick of me working every Saturday

it was time to say goodbye 

My last day/last store meeting 

Over this last year, 

my boss had me trained all the new hires 

and on my last day at the meeting 

they announced that my most recent batch of trainees got promoted 

it has been nice to see how my various trainees have grown and progressed throughout the year

Me and many of my trainees 

Since quitting In-n-out 

Nathan and I have been and continue to be busy 

every weekend 

it's exhausting but fun 

luckily I never have plans during the week so I can rest more 

but seriously

My next weekend without any plans is Nov 10th

and even then I am busy 2 out of the 4 weekends in November 

but back to the point of this post 

if there is even a point 

thank you In-n-out 

it was a great 61/2 years 

but I am ready to start my new chapter in life 

as a mommy

you will always hold a special place in my heart 

and my stomach 

 I will visit 

A weekend getaway

Back in August 

Nathan had a work inspection outside Santa Barbra 

and I got to tag a long

I relaxed while husband did most of the driving
only problem he kept trying to push off my potty breaks

We stopped in San Luis Obispo
Saw the mission


Smelled the pretty flowers

Wanted to pick the grapes

took a photo with the founder of the missions
and left
We had lunch in Pismo Beach

The clam chowder was delicious
The next day we hung out at the pool
got sun burn

and visited the touristy town of Solvang

Nathan tasted some yummy cheese

and called it a day

The next day we stopped in Santa Barbra on our way home
We saw the mission

(this time during the Daytime)
We took pictures with the same angel cutout we saw last time we were here

Nathan's picture from last time was funnier 

Hey isn't that the same statue that was at the other misssion

I have a special place in my heart for the Santa Barbra mission 

since I did my California Mission Report on it in 4th grade 

maybe one of my kids will do their mission report on it too