Holy Awesome

I have a lot of money in my bank account right now. Well, a lot for me anyway. Got my tax return!!! So many wheels turning....gotta put some in savings, some to give my dad, some for a little interisland trip, some for a new tattoo, some for a car, some for a massage table pad, some for m----

Yeah, it's not that much.

But it's still cool.

Cookin it up...

I know this may sound a little ridiculous, but I've been so proud of myself lately. Those of you who know me well, know that I'm not that interested in cooking. I've never really enjoyed cooking that much, I'm not very creative in the kitchen, and I usually don't have anything resembling the basic necessities of cooking. I tend to buy food items that don't require any actual cooking - you know, yogurt, cereal, salads, sandwiches, etc. I have been known to occasionally cook spaghetti or macaroni and cheese....things that you can't screw up too badly. (I'm the jerk that always bogarts bringin the salad or the chips and dip option for dinner parties because I dislike cooking so much) (or I bring a store-bought dessert)

I'm sure that having Bradley around all the time has helped in some way, but ultimately I'm not sure why I have a sudden interest in cooking food. Part of is has to do with food being so expensive here, and part of it has to do with my interest in saving money (see previous post), and the only real way to remedy that situation is to cook at home. Part of it also probably has to do with my being in a relationship - I didn't realize how much of my motivation to go out was fueled by the desire to meet someone special. Now that I have him....I really couldn't care less about going out (during the week). I'm so happy to come home, catch up on our days, cook some dinner, and snuggle up with a movie.

ANYWAY.....my point is.....(good lord I'm verbose sometimes).....after going to Costco on Sunday and spending a whole love of money and buying in bulk, I made a decision that I would not eat out for three weeks. The impetus being the desire to not spend anymore money when I have perfectly good food in the house. Normally I do that kind of thing, and then eventually the majority of that food just goes to waste. This time....no can do! I have cooked dinner every single night since Sunday, and like I said, I am goofily proud of myself. (yes, goofily is a word Elissa) (look it up) (it's right next to irregardless).

Wednesday night was an extra special night of cooking for me for two reasons: Number Uno, Bradley was bringing over some fish that he caught. Too cool to be able to catch your dinner. Some of you may be gasping at the thought of my eating fish. I was too, but I was determined to try it because Bradley caught it! Number Dos, I was going to make these portobella mushrooms that are uber delicioso that Tilla used to make when I lived with her in SJ. So we did it up right: A beautiful Ullua filet, some fish fried rice, broiled portobella mushrooms with feta and balsamic, and a gorgeous green salad with local avocados. Talk about a meal fit for a king - and even more exciting, I ate every bite of that fish, and asked for more. It was not fishy tasting at all, and I loved it.

Last night I made a chicken pasta with garlic, olive oil, and lemon. It was quite tasty. Tuesday night I made a sweet and spicy thai chicken. I can't say that I'm getting creative yet - I don't know if I will ever be in my mom's category, but I am pleased with a newfound enjoyment of cooking dinner. And also glad that I have someone who really loves to cook - Bradley is most definitely creative in the kitchen, and I'm taking notes.

I actually even went out and bought a little set of knives - one big one and one paring knife - nothing special, and certainly not CUTCO, but they cut so much better than the stuff that was at the house, and it makes a HUGE difference in the process.

Send recipes!!!


Bradley's fish.....mmmmm......




And Bradley.....mmmmm..... :)

The Aloha

I remember a few years ago, visiting Maui, and hearing people greet each other with Aloha - both the word and the value, and I wondered if I would ever feel comfortable adopting that phrase into my vocabulary.

When I first moved to this beautiful island, I used it intermittently depending on the audience and when I felt like I could "get away with it", and for some reason I felt like I was a bit of a poser using it.

I can safely say now that it is a very comfortable and common phrase in my vocabulary, and recently I have really begun to embrace it's meaning and practice it daily. Every now and then I'm reminded that it isn't a part of my native tongue, but I hope that someday that word along with many others - a hui ho, e komo mai, ohana, etc. - will forever be a part of my everyday language. For such a small alphabet, the Hawaiian language carries a lot of beauty.

Nuthin in Particular

I keep feeling like I should post something up, but really not much new is going on. I'm currently in a holding pattern at Mala, waiting to see if I'm going to get a raise. I should know end of next week. It was hard asking especially in this economic climate, but I've really been feeling undervalued - I'm taking over a lot of the roles the GM is supposed to be filling, and I've gotten no increase in pay. The GM makes an unbelievable salary, and I'm here with a small hourly wage. Which was fine with the original job description - not my current one. Good thing is that the owners seem to understand and agree that something needs to be done, it's just a matter of figuring out what that will be.

On a positive note, financially I'm in a good place right now - I finish paying off my scooter this month, and I'm expecting a nice return on taxes, which will allow me to completely catch up on my medical bills, and still save a little. So I'm hoping this is a turning point for me financially....if I can get a little bump in my hourly, then I'll be able to regularly put away a little money every month while still paying all my bills....that's a situation I haven't been in for a lot of years. I'm still very skeptical, thinking something is going to eff it up - I don't want to get my hopes up too high. I've lived so long in financial squalor...to be in a place where I'm paying all my bills (including my school loan that is finally out of hardship), and where my credit is in good shape....it's a very odd feeling. It will be a long time before I'm able to save for something major, but it's just nice right now not being in red, and paying off credit cards and loans. Who knows, maybe in a year or so I can actually look at planning for the future....(what a novel concept).

Bradley and I are doing great - I'm amazed that in less than two months we'll be marking one year together. Things are very even keel with us right now - we have found a great rhythm together. Not much has changed since his brother came home - he spends a couple extra days out on the beach fishing now, which is great. Last weekend I joined him, Joe (his bro), and Ethan (his nephew) for an overnight fishing/camping trip at Polo beach. Camping is funny - I find it so interesting that we choose to go spend the night in a tent, totally uncomfortable for no real reason other than to enjoy nature. I wonder if it's something in our genetic makeup that tells us it's "fun". I did not sleep soundly, I hurt my back, I was cold, we got a bit wet, we wake up whenever a fishing bell goes off, it took me three days to recover, etc., etc...... And yet, I love it. I love camping, and I still look forward to it. So weird.

My hair is getting pretty long these days. I'm kind of liking it, and looking forward to another haircut to style it a little cuter - the length is good, but it's grown out from another style, and is looking a little frumpy.

I gave myself a pedicure last night - painted my toes purple with white polka dots. That was fun.

I've been working out pretty regularly - at least 3-4 times a week. So the evenings I've been feeling pretty useless. I've been crawling into bed around 9pm. Granted, I'm usually up by 5:30am, so it's not like I'm totally lazy or anything, but I htink also that my body really needs the extra sleep while I'm working out hard. The body needs to recover after all!

On that note, I've been in a much more relaxed place about my weight loss. For some reason something just clicked in me after joining the gym, and I'm not so aggro about my results. I still have goals - I would love to get down in the 165-170 range, but I'm seeing that as a much longer term goal, and I'm not obsessing over my calorie or points intake or how many calories I have to burn, etc., etc. My mentality has changed a bit, and I'm more laid back about my approach - still working hard at the gym, but I'm not freaking out about food or anything. I'm just trying to be "good". Ultimately, I would like to get rid of my buddha belly, and into a size 10-12 again, and that would make me happy. I'm thinking it would be cool to be in that place by Nicole's wedding so I can fit into this cute dress I have in a box back in Hollister, but if it doesn't happen, who cares?

That reminds me, I need to cancel my subscription to WeightWatchers Online. I've wasted a lot of money on that.

I hit up Costco on Sunday, spent $300 and bought food for the month (I hope). My goal is to not eat out for the next three weeks. I think I can make it happen!

All right, I should get back to work - this post ended up a lot longer than I expected!

Whale Day!

Saturday was Whale Day on Maui! Kihei celebrated with a parade and a festival with music, food and vendors. It was too fun - my friend Jake has this horribly awesome chopped limo that everyone on the island knows. This thing carts around to all the special events on the island - you get special treatment wherever you go in that beast. It has also become the official vehicle of the Maui Roller Girls, the local roller derby team. Jace and Jason decked the limo out this year with a whale tail, fins, and headlight eyes. Too fun!

As a complete bonus, yesterday the whales were going absolutely nuts in my backyard ocean. I saw a mamma and baby whale come closer than I have ever seen them, and they spent 20 minutes frolicking right in front of us. The little baby whale kept breaching and flapping his fins on the water. It was so amazing!!!

Me with a whale day goat. So flipping cute - and SOFT. I'm getting a goat.

It's All Relative, I Know.

But I was flipping freezing here this morning, and it has been really chilly at night the last couple weeks. I know, chilly for me doesn't hold a candle to chilly in New York or Chicago or even the 30 degree Bay Area nights that some of you have been having, but when you're used to it being 70 degrees on the way to work, and all of the sudden it's 55-60, you feel it.

Plus, I'm a big old weinie these days. The cold is seriously unbearable, and I just can't deal with it anymore. I'm officially acclamated to the warmth, and don't ever want to be cold again.

:)

The Day of V

Mmmm...guava mimosas and broccoli. :)



Had a really nice Valentine's Day. We just had a quiet dinner at home - cooked up a big ole' mess of crab legs, a couple steaks, and enjoyed that with some guava mimosas. In my house, my mommy always bought us some kind of small present wrapped with love and a bunch of unnecessary candy. Totally awesome. So I of course followed that tradition and bought the Bman a little present, and threw in some of his favorite treats. I didn't mention this to him at all, and he doesn't come from a family with a whole lot of traditions like that, and in hindsight I should have said something because he felt REALLY badly that he didn't get me anything. Which doesn't bother me in the slightest - he's more of the type that brings home little presents whenever he's thinking of me, and those are so special.

Honestly, I'm a little overwhelmed with this relationship - I get so overcome with emotion so often when I'm with him. Little moments, little things that fill me with love. Every now and then the old Whitney's brain will make some kind of observation about how he looks or seems from the outside. If you've seen pictures of my caveman, you'll know what I mean. :) I so distinctly remember in the past not dating someone because they didn't fit a particular image or style. Along with a whole bunch of other things I've learned about myself in the past few years - one of the biggest is that style and image don't define me. Or anyone else. Sure, they're a part of who I am, but I've shed a lot of the pomp and circumstance of my style. I still feel like the funky fresh Whitney that I am, regardless of what I'm wearing or doing with my hair.

And, well....no one can hold a candle to how my caveman makes me feel. He honestly makes me forget about accessorizing my personality with things. It's a lovely, simpler feeling. Which I think is also perpetuated by the island life - just about everything is more simple and stripped down here (literally and figuratively).

(Just a small side note here....however I am simplifying my life, I still cannot - CANNOT - shed myself of my Red Monkey watches. They are a constant that has never waivered since my first glorious purchase, and many subsequent purchases and gifts received) (I love them) (So you're not getting my collection just yet Megan).

Anyway, enough of the super mushy talk. On a milder mushy talk note - I do believe that this weekend, Bradley alluded to a future of moving in together. It wasn't so much a direct reference, as a mild insinuation that he was planning for it. He's in the process of building a studio apartment, and while showing me around he indicated that one area would probably be built out for more closet space, because there would need to be plenty of room for a girl's shoes - after which he kind giggled and stumbled around. We didn't have "the conversation", but shared a meaningful look full of intent, and a small exchange about how he should have his studio as a bachelor pad for a while first. But he's planning, and back to my original statement of this being a rather overwhelming relationship....we're coming up on 10 months, and already having that little convo. (which I've never had with a bf before. ever.) I've never been so comfortable and well, I guess.....ready. It's a wonderful feeling.

Mmmm...crab legs.



And the handsome chef!