I'm back from Hawaii

and wow.... It would have been a good time except for the friend I went with. There are plenty of explicit words I could use to describe her I'm sure. We went to Oahu and I tried really, really hard to have a good time. That was easier said than done.
Anyway, here I am arriving at the Honolulu airport. We got some beautiful real flower lei's that smelled great. :)


So we went to the international marketplace and got some goodies the day after we arrived. I got stuff of my kids and family. Actually I got a TON of stuff. The I experienced my first sunset in Hawaii:

And my first Mai Tai:


We went to the Beach and I actually got into the Ocean, which is big for me since I have a big fear of the ocean.



We took a tour of the island, including Pearl Harbor, which was humbling to say the least. I thought the most amazing thing was the "Tears of the Arizona", the oil that still leaks out of the ship.


We also saw Downtown Honolulu on this tour. Afterwards, I had a cheeseburger .... In Paradise! :)


The next day we took a tour of the backside of the island. We stopped at a coconut plantation, Sunset Beach, the Dole plantation, and the Pali Lookout, where King Kamehameha forced opposing troops off the cliffs during battle.




On Tuesday, we went on a lunch cruise and to a Luau. Both were better than I expected, but were basically ruined by my supposed friend and her antics.



And our last day we went snorkeling. Well, I didn't. My fears got the best of me. But the view of Hanauma Bay were beautiful.



Anyway, that's the jist of my Hawaiian vacation. I'm sunburned and tired, but I survived. And I'll go back, only this time with someone who isn't crazy. *sigh*

So much to do, and I so don't want to do it...

Well, I scrapped again this weekend. But I'm just not happy with it. Although I did two things that I had been wanted to do, kind of a challenge to myself. First, I used the idea and tutorial I found here: Deco Edge Paper. And I used a piece of patterned paper from a stack that I never thought I'd have a use for, something I may have even thought was *gasp* UGLY. Now, mind you I worked on this while I was angry with my boyfriend. I guess I consider it my therapy. But I'm not pleased with it. Maybe because I was angry when I did it. Maybe it's lacking journaling. I dunno. But here it is:



I have to admit that I tried making my own border templates and that left me struggling. I couldn't get it to line up correctly. I'd totally buy these if they were pre-made. I'd probably get the whole set. I know a guy who owns a plastic company and I was thinking that I'd talk to him to see how much it would cost to get them designed and cut out. Probably way more than I'd want to pay, lol. I guess I will just have to wait for some company to get these, unless they are already out there, in which case, link me to them! :)

I decided that part of what I am going to challenge myself to do is use that "ugly" paper more on my layouts, so I can get rid of some of this patterned paper. I've already purged and mailed out two 23+ lb. boxes of paper. Surely I can use what I have left over now. ;)

I'm packing for Hawaii now. I have my suitcase about 1/2 packed. I have to have it ready to go by tomorrow afternoon so my sweet boyfriend can take it to his work and weigh it for me. It can't weigh more than 50lbs, because I can't afford to pay $80 to send it to the island with me. Needless to say, my girlfriend is a little grossed out at the idea that I'd wear the same shorts twice. Honestly, as long as they aren't dirty, I don't see the problem with it. It's like jeans. They always feel better the 2nd day. And the hotel has laundry service for a smaller fee than $80. She's going to pay whatever she has to in order to wear what she wants. She was telling me today that she was packing everything because she can't decide what to bring. Oh well, it's not my credit card debt I guess.

We're still trying to decide what to do while we're there. She wants to rent a car, but at a rate of $18 a day to park the car, I think thats crazy. Maybe if we did a one day rental, it'd be okay. But not for the entire week. Everything on our Go Oahu card has a shuttle provided. The only thing I can see the car being useful for is to go to the North Shore, and I'll give her that. But that's it. Otherwise the bus system on Oahu is amazing. You can get everywhere. But she doesn't like busses. This is feeling less like a vacation and more like another chore. *sigh*

And I have another interview tomorrow. Sadly, I really don't want this job. It's working for the state, but I'd have to drive 30+ miles each way everyday and its considerably less than what I had been making. I only really put myself of this particular list so that I would be called if this position opened up here in town. But I have to attend the interview to stay on the list. Damn rules! LOL

Alright, I have to go to bed. I've been working on an essay for my Core Humanities class all day. I'm almost done, and I'm struggling with an ending. Maybe it'll come to me in my sleep. G'nite!

The Reno Balloon Races 2008

I'm happy to report that we all survived the cold and the 3am wake up. :) I took the the kids to the balloon races and we all had fun. Although, I wasn't able to get a lot of "really good shots". But I'll show you what I have. :)

And here's a link to the other pictures of the balloons in the air and some more of us goofing around. I am going to go drink another coffee and chase it with a Monster and maybe I'll be alive to do my chores. ;)
Reno Balloon Races 2008

oh my, oh my, oh my....

It has been a whirlwind of stuff to do around here. I officially started school, and I am officially behind, lol. Don't panic, it'll work out. ;) I have been to two interviews this week, and I would take either job in a heartbeat. So hopefully, they call me back. {keeping my fingers crossed} My poor house looks like a bomb hit it. Dishes are piling up, I'm pulling clean clothes out of the dryer to wear and I had planned on cleaning my kids' disaster area, but that still has not happened. So to celebrate all the chaos that is my life, I'm playing on the internet tonight. Yeah, I know, bad Cassie. But I figure that since I was going to go to bed, I'm not really doing anything wrong, lol. Let's see. I'm still trying to decide what to do in Hawaii. You know, create an itinerary cause I'm anal like that. Definitely going to see the Pearl Harbor/USS Arizona Memorial. Definitely going scuba diving because my friend has threatened to kill me if I don't. {And no worries there either, I'm only irrationally scared of large bodies of water and marine life in general.} And OOHH yeah! I saw on 2Peas a reference to the Bodies Exhibition which as it happens is in Honolulu at the moment. I'm hoping my friend will want to go. She takes a lot of classes that deal with medical stuff, so maybe. I'm going to have to get all cozy with my laptop and check out other stuff to do on the island. I feel the need to plan!

This weekend is the Great Reno Balloon Race. I'll be up around 3am -ish to take my kiddos to see dawn patrol and mass ascension. So totally cool! And cold! We're going to have to bundle up. I guess I should find the box with the gloves n' hats n' stuff, huh? It's so much fun and sometimes I even get a picture or video good enough to share. :) I'm supposed to go again on Sunday, but I may not have the energy to get out of bed before noon that day.

Alright, I'm gonna go to bed now and fight my kitty, Zero, for my pillows and blankets. I got up on Tuesday morning and he was buried underneath my blankets, head on my pillow, snoring away. And he's been like that every night since. I take it he's not a cold weather kitty and it's been pretty chilly these past couple of mornings. I accidentally threw him off the bed the night before last. I was HOT and I snapped the covers off me. I didn't realize he was laying right next to me. Poor guy. He wasn't prepared for it. Heck, he wasn't even awake! Just so you know, cats don't fly well. ;)