in review

So, I figure I'll be starting this little bloglog back up again. I'll have more time to think, more time to write. Anywho, here's a look at the past year....

So, I thought I'd hop on board with all the year-end hubub. This past year was...great! I was a mess most of the time in 2008, and even though I had a fair share of grief, 2009 done me good. Let's review a few of my favorite moments (and series of moments.) In no particular order(ish):

10. Working at the RWC. Best job ever. Hands down. I started in August of 2007. Worked there alll fall, winter, spring, and summer. Coolest (and nerdiest) coworkers. Greatest boss. Hours of laughter at staff meetings and trainings. I've never learned more and had the best time doing it.

9. Hikes. Doesn't matter who I'm with. Something about my feet in the earth, getting my hands dirty, pushing my to its limits and finding out there's more. All that time traveling for my hand to dive down into the soil and back up into the skies, and to come out feeling more like myself and more like the earth, and everything's beautiful.

8. Dance parties. Thank you Cassie for invitations to much needed stess relievers. Dressing up, and boogying down. P.S. Jolie -- why didn't I know you then? I met See Bee way back! Bahhh why didn't we all play sooner!

7. The Outback House. Katie, Rachael, Jane, and Collette made it the funnest, cleanest, most comfortable, and absolutely lovely home. Sharing five closest. Dinners together. The random screams coming from Katie's room. Jane's crazy jokes and late night talks. Rachael making a rap video. Collette and I being married. Oh, and art time together.

6. Tie-dye party in my front yard. The most gorgeous summer day. Lots of great friends. Good music. Everyone coming from the beach, from work, everyone just stripping off their jackets and their shoes. Rolling up their sleeves. Basking in the sun waiting for all to dry. How groovy the clothesline looked with it all hanging up. It was just one of the most peaceful afternoons.

5. Living around the corner from Alyssa. Watching Season Seven of Gilmore Girls every day after school (when we still had time). Nightly hangouts in front of Sam's Store. Her roommates thinking I lived there. Others thinking she lived at my house. The times we squished onto Collette's bed for homework and late night talks. Mornings and afternoons at Hukilau. Trips to town, just to wander: Greek food, the library, and some Menchie's. THANK YOU MENCHIE'S.

4. Biking up North Shore all the way to Shark's Cove. Acai bowls. Back to Keiki's for a day in the sun. Getting absolutely fried. Fighting the wind the whole way back. A stop  at Turtle Bay, water, and some free pineapple. Getting face-licked by a wookie dog. No really, click here.

3. Iowa for a couple weeks. Mini road trips with my sister. Field of Dreams. Ice cream capital of the world. Spending afternoons with the twins down at the creek. Dipping in my ankles. Swinging. A backyard picnic party. Harry Potter. Family photo shoots. Catching up with the cousins. Growing corn in our own garden. Cleaning out Gram's old house. The Renegade Garden out back. Knowing I'll never live here again, but still loving the visit.

2. Ridiculously amazing beach days with good friends. Back to the house for talks on the living room floor. FUN PIX. Ice skating. Adventure lists. Shopping malls. Shokudo and honey toast. New friends. A new home. Beautiful, beautiful people.

1. Oh, and falling in love. =)

the time has come

So, you know me and my whimsical ways. Always changing up this worn little blog. Always after something new. Off to a new blogosphere adventure:

yes. i hopped on the tumblr train.

check out musings and photos there from now on (probably) (at least for awhile).

http://littlemisserika.tumblr.com/

best invention in the world

it's not just FUN....it's FUN PIX!

*

....definitely going next weekend with travis. and may invest in one for my future home.

congratulations japan for officially being the coolest EVER.

one more week

a little listless this weekend without my captain co-captain.

just one more week and a day until my adventure partner returns.

and with him all the vibrancy of life will be amplified.

and i'll be giggling a lot more.

snorting a lot more.

and i'll feel a lot more like i'm not missing an arm or something.

latelyish

as always photos mostly from cassie and kara. i've been lazy with my camera (which has been dead for quite awhile, charging as we speak). but i have acquired a mac. expect a lot of photobooth fun in the near future. oh oh and in other news travis and i totally made the most amazing driveway fort last night. we were hoping to picnic on the north shore for dinner, but rain spoiled those plans. so, instead we used the clothesline beneath our overhang, and camped out in our makeshift fort with candles and frozen pizza.

yep. life is good.

the options are endless

It has been over six months now since Gram died. I still have a hard time saying it aloud, and even writing it now is not done so without moments of hesitation.

A part of me may have shriveled up and retreated to the depths of my being that day, but the rest of me -- the greater part of me -- is still young and alive and cannot help but suppose (read: completely knows but is struggling to accept) that my grandmother would tell me to stop fussing and get on with my life. She would heartily encourage me to get out and be filled with the kind of appreciation for life that only comes with risk and adventure, with savoring each and every small moment.

"It happened, it's done, and there's no way for you to go back and change it! So what are you so sad about? Crying won't make things better; crying will only make you sad. What are you waiting for? You'll never know all the answers, so you might as well just make up your mind and do something. Memories you make now will keep you going when you just aren't able to do things anymore. You just never want to look back and feel regret. That...that will just leave a bad taste in your mouth."

So now I'm re-thinking my plans. I've spent twenty years playing it safe and sticking to the books...and well, now I'm about to have a Bachelor's Degree and then what? I know what's supposed to come next, but must I be in such a hurry? I feel like it'd be a shame to pass up all of the wonderful opportunities I have at this point in my life.

No need to guess what radical plans I'm now making; I haven't. But I can. And I may just go for it.

butterflies

all up in my insides.

for awhile now.

i don't want it to stop.

sunset

once again, cassie captured some amazing shots at sunset beach.

aunty kythira

the new wheels.

(named after this greek isle)

that which moves my spirit

I've recently brought back to life my joy journal -- appropriately dubbed "That which moves my spirit"
          and just in time to match these newly penned pleasant notes,
                                                                              a long run of wildly wonderful, fulfilling days

sunshine.beauty. sand. everywhere. pasta and good friends.sundays.lazy, hazy Saturday afternoons.wandering.purpose.thoughtful conversation.incessant giggling.harry potter.silly internet quizzes.baking.books.alice in wonderland.getting to know someone new and loving every minute. grocery shopping.cleaning. being free.getting organized.doing the dishes. making someone smile.feeling loved.family. and knowing it all just keeps getting better

super saturday

this past saturday was so wonderful and fulfilling and satisfying. it was just the right mix being productive and doing nothing. spent the morning cleaning and doing the necessities, and then spent the afternoon at the beach with two dear friends. after sunset we ambled home for music, good talks, my first avacado, and the compilation of an adventure list.

thanks for the photos and the fun, cassie!

transitory

I've always loved airports.
As much as the "waiting" part of traveling isn't terribly exciting, waiting in the terminal is one of the places I feel the most calm and peaceful.
Weird. I know. But hear me out.

As I sat staring at a curly-haired man, I began to think about him. He had brown eyes. Maybe his mother has brown eyes too. Big brown eyes that caught a man from across the room, that drew that man in and swallowed him up as he fell in love. And from that love between that man and the brown-eyed woman came this curly-haired man. Now full grown. Probably loved by women, and loved some back. Maybe he's the life of the party. Maybe he's notoriously shy and reserved. Perhaps he likes poetry -- or maybe action movies. Adventure. Hiking. Coffee shops. Jazz. Hip-hop. Maybe he's afraid of heights, or spiders. Maybe he's afraid of being alone or lost. He probably has secrets -- deeds and thoughts he's never whispered to another soul except for that freckled blue-eyed girl he used to spend nights under the stars with. But she's gone now, and he's waiting for a plane to take him from where he was to where he will be.

That's what I love about airports. That last part. Despite whatever else is going on in that curly-haired man's life, right there in the airport terminal he is in-between. And so is everyone else. Each person in that airport has a life of their own -- friends, family, a job, an education, dark thoughts, lonely nights, sparkling aspirations, quiet hopes, and a roaring appetite for something. But here they are -- not in one place or another. Travelling. Separated. Transitory. In-between.

And somehow that is a comfort to me. And strangely intimate. I get the feeling you can learn a lot about a person uprooted from their environment, with their valuables and neccesities packed at their side, waiting to be suspended in the air for a time.

behind

I know, I know. It's been weeks. And so much happened and happiness had and whatnot. So here's an abbreviated version of the haps in pictures:

Promise I'll try to update some more this weekend. I've read some great books this summer, acquired some amazing tunes, and learned some valuable life lessons. I want to share! Time, time, time.

48 hours

I love that Mom bought my favourite cereal and stocked the fridge with root beer and chocolate milk. I love that she bought all the ingredients for smoothies, and all the goods for cookies. I love that by the time I woke up Saturday morning, she already baked a cake, and I love that the three of us had finished it by dinner. I love that Mom says crazy silly things that don't make sense sometimes and I love that we sat down and decorated cookies Saturday night.

nicole's creations were...interesting

an attempt at a nice photo with my dog gone wrong. his head looks huge! and today he "wrestled" with me and drew blood. he's always thought i was a cat or a chew toy or something.

new hammock and chairs in backyard. it looks amazing. my favourite place to relax.


my dad's sweet creation in the "renegade garden." more detailed photoshoot of my backyard and such to come.


they planted corn instead of alfalfa in the lot around my house this year...and i just LOVE it! we are just surrounded by a sea of corn fields!
on another note: i have these black sweatpants at home. they aren't actually mine. we aren't sure where they came from, but i've gotten in the habit of wearing them when i'm home. all the time. every day. they are so comfy! and, well, i don't feel like getting dressed if i don't have to.
well, i think my mom is trying to discourage it. after wearing the sweatpants all day saturday, my mother offered me a pair of her "hawaiian" pajamas to wear saturday night. now, i have other sweats i could wear. she's never loaned me her pj's before...but, they are cute, huh! now i just want new pajamas.
but as soon as i got home from church today....i definitely put those black sweats back on.

(p.s. i need to confess something. i fell in love with country music about halfway through nebraska and i can't stop listening to taylor swift. i'm a bit embarrassed but trying to play it off cool and confident. watch.)

oh! and dad is home now. and has a very hairy face. i almost fell on the ground laughing when i saw him. he just hugged me and said "what's wrong?!" and rubbed his hairy face on mine yelling "i'm the billy goat gruff!" and i said, "you're the jimmy goat gruff!" and then he hugged me again for being so clever. and then he brought out a couple bags of dark chocolate m&m's (our family has a thing) and we all settled into down to watch this scifi movie he's been into. i told him i liked the hammock and he replied "oh you like the hammock?" "yeah i love it." "oh you love the hammock" "yeah it's great" "oh, you think the hammock is great" "yeah dad! love the hammock!" "oh you like the hammock. that's nice." hahah! he is ridiculous.

and tomorrow i get to play with my twins and wear overalls and go watch harry potter. best life ever.