Party. What social gathering rocked your socks off in 2010? Describe the people, music, food, drink, clothes, shenanigans.
===========================================================
First, I have to say that we just don't wear socks here in Hawaii - which means that a good pedicure is a must at all times! That being said, the social gathering that had me kicking off my slippahs and kicking up my heels this year was my birthday celebration.
For most of my life, my birthday was a family affair - cake and punch at my grandmother's house. In fact, I don't recall ever having a birthday party that included anyone but family. Sweet sixteen, eighteen, twenty-one... even my fortieth came and went without so much as a tacky noise-maker or paper hat.
This year seems to have made up for it ALL! All day, I was led to believe that my then boyfriend was taking me out to dinner. Instead, I was treated to a surprise birthday party at one of my favorite spots on the island, surrounded by a dozen or so wonderful friends. But wait, there's more {in her best Ginsu knife ad voice}!
After receiving my gift - a gorgeous KORG digital piano - I noticed that champagne was being poured. Then, my sweet man called me up in front of the whole room and asked me to marry him, presenting me with a blindingly gorgeous heart-shaped diamond ring. To top it all off, as if that weren't enough, he remembered my favorite birthday cake - coconut - or haupia as it's called here in Hawaii. And while it wasn't my Nannie's coconut cake, it was beyond delicious. All-in-all, it was a perfect night.
I'm looking forward to February 5, 2011 as my top party for the coming year, as this is when I will marry the love of my life.
Thursday, December 09, 2010
Wednesday, December 08, 2010
Day Eight: Beautifully Different
Beautifully different. Think about what makes you different and what you do that lights people up. Reflect on all the things that make you different - you'll find they're what make you beautiful.
==========================================================
I've been known to burst into song at the slightest provocation... say, for instance, hearing a word that reminds me of a song or song title.
I'm also insanely curious. I simply cannot stand NOT knowing something - so if someone asks a question to which I do not know the answer, out comes the phone or computer. This will inevitably lead me on a journey of a thousand links... often getting so lost in the wealth of information, that I forget the original question that I was attempting to answer!
I have a crooked nose... or maybe it's a crooked face, as the surgeon who repaired my broken nose once informed me.
I have a crazy laugh that often leads to snorting.
I'm horribly un-photogenic, having inherited my mother's knack for having my mouth open or my face contorted into some odd shape at the precise moment that the shutter snaps.
I love dogs... all kinds of dogs... and I always talk baby talk to them... even if they're in the car three lanes over. It's what I do.
I also love to cook... but I abhor recipes... so I cook with reckless abandon, tossing in a pinch of this and a dash of that. Every once in a while, the results are disastrous... but most often, it turns out exactly as I imagined.
I'm a hopeless romantic and an even more hopeless sentimental fool. I cry at Hallmark commercials... and once, even cried over a Purina Cat food commercial. Put me in a movie theater with a film like The Notebook or Steel Magnolias and I'm a blubbering mess. But on the flip-side, I can be scathingly sarcastic.
I'm not certain that any of these things really make me DIFFERENT, they just make me who I am... and after not liking that person for a very long time, I've come to be very fond of her.
==========================================================
I've been known to burst into song at the slightest provocation... say, for instance, hearing a word that reminds me of a song or song title.
I'm also insanely curious. I simply cannot stand NOT knowing something - so if someone asks a question to which I do not know the answer, out comes the phone or computer. This will inevitably lead me on a journey of a thousand links... often getting so lost in the wealth of information, that I forget the original question that I was attempting to answer!
I have a crooked nose... or maybe it's a crooked face, as the surgeon who repaired my broken nose once informed me.
I have a crazy laugh that often leads to snorting.
I'm horribly un-photogenic, having inherited my mother's knack for having my mouth open or my face contorted into some odd shape at the precise moment that the shutter snaps.
I love dogs... all kinds of dogs... and I always talk baby talk to them... even if they're in the car three lanes over. It's what I do.
I also love to cook... but I abhor recipes... so I cook with reckless abandon, tossing in a pinch of this and a dash of that. Every once in a while, the results are disastrous... but most often, it turns out exactly as I imagined.
I'm a hopeless romantic and an even more hopeless sentimental fool. I cry at Hallmark commercials... and once, even cried over a Purina Cat food commercial. Put me in a movie theater with a film like The Notebook or Steel Magnolias and I'm a blubbering mess. But on the flip-side, I can be scathingly sarcastic.
I'm not certain that any of these things really make me DIFFERENT, they just make me who I am... and after not liking that person for a very long time, I've come to be very fond of her.
Tuesday, December 07, 2010
Day Seven: Community
Community. Where have you discovered community, online or otherwise, in 2010? What community would you like to join, create or more deeply connect with in 2011? (Author: Cali Harris)
====================================================
Many days during this past year, I have felt like a community of one. Moving so far away to a place where you really only know one person has a way of doing that, you know. Thankfully, I became a part of a wonderful online community some 10 years ago, in the midst of my struggle with infertility and miscarriage. This community has held together and these wonderful, amazing women have stood by me - from all across the country - through thick and thin. Without them, the past twelve months would have been, at times, unbearable.
In addition to my online community and the wider world of Facebook - which allows me to keep up with friends from all stages of my life, I have discovered two new communities here in Hawaii. The first is what most would consider completely unlikely for me - a motorcycle club - and I'm not talking about your weekend Harley riders either. This group of veterans, while honoring their charter by being active in veterans affairs, earns their patches. It's kind of like having a slew of big brothers - not of the Orwellian variety, I might add. With this community, I know that whenever my man is travelling, help is just a phone call away. It's like family... with colors and cuts.
The second community I discovered this year is an association chartered to protect the interests of enlisted seamen - Navy, Marines and Coast Guard. My fiance' is a retired Marine and currently serves as President of the Honolulu Branch of the organization. Here I have found lots and lots of surrogate grandparents, as we are likely the youngest participants on the rolls. I will take on a more formal role once we are married and I join the ranks of the Auxiliary Unit.
In 2011, I would like to find a music community. I'm sorely missing my band, my choir and my fellow musicians back home. My soul needs that outlet.
====================================================
Many days during this past year, I have felt like a community of one. Moving so far away to a place where you really only know one person has a way of doing that, you know. Thankfully, I became a part of a wonderful online community some 10 years ago, in the midst of my struggle with infertility and miscarriage. This community has held together and these wonderful, amazing women have stood by me - from all across the country - through thick and thin. Without them, the past twelve months would have been, at times, unbearable.
In addition to my online community and the wider world of Facebook - which allows me to keep up with friends from all stages of my life, I have discovered two new communities here in Hawaii. The first is what most would consider completely unlikely for me - a motorcycle club - and I'm not talking about your weekend Harley riders either. This group of veterans, while honoring their charter by being active in veterans affairs, earns their patches. It's kind of like having a slew of big brothers - not of the Orwellian variety, I might add. With this community, I know that whenever my man is travelling, help is just a phone call away. It's like family... with colors and cuts.
The second community I discovered this year is an association chartered to protect the interests of enlisted seamen - Navy, Marines and Coast Guard. My fiance' is a retired Marine and currently serves as President of the Honolulu Branch of the organization. Here I have found lots and lots of surrogate grandparents, as we are likely the youngest participants on the rolls. I will take on a more formal role once we are married and I join the ranks of the Auxiliary Unit.
In 2011, I would like to find a music community. I'm sorely missing my band, my choir and my fellow musicians back home. My soul needs that outlet.
Day Six: Make
December 6 – Make. What was the last thing you made? What materials did you use? Is there something you want to make, but you need to clear some time for it? (Author: Gretchen Rubin)
==================================================
I make many things. I make the bed, make coffee, make up my mind, make sense of life, make love, make dinner (not necessarily in that order). Recently though, I made a souffle -- and while that may not sound reverb10 worthy, I think that it is. The event was a Thanksgiving potluck at my fiance's office. We signed up to bring sweet potatoes. Now, in my four-and-a-half decades on this earth, I have cooked sweet potatoes in many different ways - candied, smothered in marshmallows, savory - with onions, black pepper and ginger, whipped, chopped and sliced. This year, however, I decided that my sweet potatoes needed to reflect the culture of my new home - Hawaii. In many ways, I have fought becoming a part of the culture here - with all of the asian fusion foods and Polynesian influence - so I decided to try to incorporate a little bit of Hawaii into my sweet potato dish.
As most of my research begins, I typed in www.google.com to see what concoctions the Mighty Internet might provide. I found dozens of different sweet potato casserole recipes - many which would have sent me into anaphylactic shock with their use of pecans and walnuts - but eventually my eye landed on this: Sweet Potato Pineapple Souffle. PERFECT, I thought! Doubling the recipe to allow for the masses of Army, Marine and civilian diners, I set out to buy five pounds of sweet potatoes, two pounds of butter, a pound of crushed pineapple, half a dozen eggs, brown sugar, cane sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg and vanilla. Two hours later, a gorgeous souffle was pulled from the oven. After the drive across town to the base, it joined the dessert table and within minutes, ooohs and aaaahs were emanating from the room. The dish was a huge hit and, despite the odd sounding combination, it was DELISH if I don't mind saying so myself.
In addition to proving that the new gal in the group can cook, the making of the souffle served a deeper purpose for me: it taught me that holiday traditions are what we make them and they can be modified to suit our current situation without the earth tipping off its axis. It also taught me that unlikely pairings often make for delightful surprises!
==================================================
I make many things. I make the bed, make coffee, make up my mind, make sense of life, make love, make dinner (not necessarily in that order). Recently though, I made a souffle -- and while that may not sound reverb10 worthy, I think that it is. The event was a Thanksgiving potluck at my fiance's office. We signed up to bring sweet potatoes. Now, in my four-and-a-half decades on this earth, I have cooked sweet potatoes in many different ways - candied, smothered in marshmallows, savory - with onions, black pepper and ginger, whipped, chopped and sliced. This year, however, I decided that my sweet potatoes needed to reflect the culture of my new home - Hawaii. In many ways, I have fought becoming a part of the culture here - with all of the asian fusion foods and Polynesian influence - so I decided to try to incorporate a little bit of Hawaii into my sweet potato dish.
As most of my research begins, I typed in www.google.com to see what concoctions the Mighty Internet might provide. I found dozens of different sweet potato casserole recipes - many which would have sent me into anaphylactic shock with their use of pecans and walnuts - but eventually my eye landed on this: Sweet Potato Pineapple Souffle. PERFECT, I thought! Doubling the recipe to allow for the masses of Army, Marine and civilian diners, I set out to buy five pounds of sweet potatoes, two pounds of butter, a pound of crushed pineapple, half a dozen eggs, brown sugar, cane sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg and vanilla. Two hours later, a gorgeous souffle was pulled from the oven. After the drive across town to the base, it joined the dessert table and within minutes, ooohs and aaaahs were emanating from the room. The dish was a huge hit and, despite the odd sounding combination, it was DELISH if I don't mind saying so myself.
In addition to proving that the new gal in the group can cook, the making of the souffle served a deeper purpose for me: it taught me that holiday traditions are what we make them and they can be modified to suit our current situation without the earth tipping off its axis. It also taught me that unlikely pairings often make for delightful surprises!
Monday, December 06, 2010
Day Five: Let Go
December 5 – Let Go. What (or whom) did you let go of this year? Why? (Author: Alice Bradley)
========================================================
Having been relatively self-sufficient and fiercely independent since my late teens, this year found me in a place that prevented me from being so. In an absolutely horrendous job market, I found it difficult to obtain meaningful employment here in Hawaii. After two mis-steps into jobs made out of sheer panic at being unemployed and out of money, my fiance' finally asked me a simple question, "Why won't you let me take care of you?" This stopped me in my tracks. Why wouldn't I? Thus began the interior dialog that soon plummeted straight into the bowels of catastrophic thinking... the what if's of impending doom and failure... the fear of being thousands of miles away from home, vulnerable and completely at the mercy of another human being. For weeks, I agonized over this question and my inability to simply let him take care of me and, while I cannot pinpoint the moment that the actual 'letting go' occurred, I can tell you that what I let go of was fear and what I embraced instead was trust... a trust I have never allowed to exist... a trust that has transformed my life.
========================================================
Having been relatively self-sufficient and fiercely independent since my late teens, this year found me in a place that prevented me from being so. In an absolutely horrendous job market, I found it difficult to obtain meaningful employment here in Hawaii. After two mis-steps into jobs made out of sheer panic at being unemployed and out of money, my fiance' finally asked me a simple question, "Why won't you let me take care of you?" This stopped me in my tracks. Why wouldn't I? Thus began the interior dialog that soon plummeted straight into the bowels of catastrophic thinking... the what if's of impending doom and failure... the fear of being thousands of miles away from home, vulnerable and completely at the mercy of another human being. For weeks, I agonized over this question and my inability to simply let him take care of me and, while I cannot pinpoint the moment that the actual 'letting go' occurred, I can tell you that what I let go of was fear and what I embraced instead was trust... a trust I have never allowed to exist... a trust that has transformed my life.
Day Four: Wonder
December 4 – Wonder. How did you cultivate a sense of wonder in your life this year?
(Author: Jeffrey Davis)
===============================================
I must admit that this prompt has given me some trouble... although many looking at my life from the outside would think it would be the easiest by far -- what with my move to a tropical paradise to be with the love of my life. I'm not certain that I have done anything to cultivate a sense of wonder this year. Although I have had moments that were gloriously wonderful, they have just seemed to appear - as if by magic - in those times when 'tropical paradise' has seemed anything but. Perhaps this will become part of my journey for 2011.
#reverb10 Prompt 4
(Author: Jeffrey Davis)
===============================================
I must admit that this prompt has given me some trouble... although many looking at my life from the outside would think it would be the easiest by far -- what with my move to a tropical paradise to be with the love of my life. I'm not certain that I have done anything to cultivate a sense of wonder this year. Although I have had moments that were gloriously wonderful, they have just seemed to appear - as if by magic - in those times when 'tropical paradise' has seemed anything but. Perhaps this will become part of my journey for 2011.
#reverb10 Prompt 4
Day Three: Moment
December 3 – Moment. Pick one moment during which you felt most alive this year. Describe it in vivid detail (texture, smells, voices, noises, colors). (Author: Ali Edwards)
=============================================================
It was a cool, but sunny morning here on Oahu and I awoke with butterflies in my stomach in anticipation of the day's events. I dressed in jeans, boots, and a long-sleeved tee and then pulled on the helmet. Sure and steady hands fastened the chin strap and steely blue eyes gazed into mine with such adoration that my breath caught in my throat.
Instructions followed: "lean with the bike and, whatever you do... trust me." The bike was black with purple flames and glimmering chrome - I threw my leg across the seat and placed my hands on his thighs, feeling the softness of the worn denim and the warmth of him.
We pushed off and glided down the incline, out of the parking lot, and down the mauka... at the bottom of the gulch, with the Pacific ocean to our right, the engine engaged and the deep rumble shattered the quiet of the morning. The vibration went through my whole body... thrilling... and then we were off... the wind in our faces, the sun warming us...
Over and over I coached myself in my mind... 'trust him... trust him'. As we rode on, past lush green mountains and sparkling turquoise seas, I settled into him and found this amazing sense of connectedness... With the gorgeous island as our backdrop, we became one in a way I never imagined.
=============================================================
It was a cool, but sunny morning here on Oahu and I awoke with butterflies in my stomach in anticipation of the day's events. I dressed in jeans, boots, and a long-sleeved tee and then pulled on the helmet. Sure and steady hands fastened the chin strap and steely blue eyes gazed into mine with such adoration that my breath caught in my throat.
Instructions followed: "lean with the bike and, whatever you do... trust me." The bike was black with purple flames and glimmering chrome - I threw my leg across the seat and placed my hands on his thighs, feeling the softness of the worn denim and the warmth of him.
We pushed off and glided down the incline, out of the parking lot, and down the mauka... at the bottom of the gulch, with the Pacific ocean to our right, the engine engaged and the deep rumble shattered the quiet of the morning. The vibration went through my whole body... thrilling... and then we were off... the wind in our faces, the sun warming us...
Over and over I coached myself in my mind... 'trust him... trust him'. As we rode on, past lush green mountains and sparkling turquoise seas, I settled into him and found this amazing sense of connectedness... With the gorgeous island as our backdrop, we became one in a way I never imagined.
Friday, December 03, 2010
Day Two : Writing
December 2 – Writing. What do you do each day that doesn’t contribute to your writing — and can you eliminate it? (Author: Leo Babauta)
================================================
The easy answer to this is FACEBOOK. But, if I delve deeper into what trolling Facebook means and why it keeps me from writing something meaningful, then it gets a bit more complex. You see, Facebook is superficial. It doesn't require one to be real - it just requires one to be (occasionally) witty or obtuse or droll or sarcastic... or simply to remain silent while observing others being witty, obtuse, droll or sarcastic. While it carries with it a hint of validation in the number of "likes" one gets, there's something all-together different about really sharing a piece of yourself through thoughtful, purposeful writing... and lack of validation for the TRUE sharing is sometimes difficult to take.
Part two of the question asks if I can eliminate it... The easy answer is 'yes, I can'. The harder question is, 'do I want to?'
================================================
The easy answer to this is FACEBOOK. But, if I delve deeper into what trolling Facebook means and why it keeps me from writing something meaningful, then it gets a bit more complex. You see, Facebook is superficial. It doesn't require one to be real - it just requires one to be (occasionally) witty or obtuse or droll or sarcastic... or simply to remain silent while observing others being witty, obtuse, droll or sarcastic. While it carries with it a hint of validation in the number of "likes" one gets, there's something all-together different about really sharing a piece of yourself through thoughtful, purposeful writing... and lack of validation for the TRUE sharing is sometimes difficult to take.
Part two of the question asks if I can eliminate it... The easy answer is 'yes, I can'. The harder question is, 'do I want to?'
Day One: One Word #Reverb10
I have decided to participate in a blogging project. The object of the project is to reflect on 2010 and manifest what's next for 2011. I'm a few days behind... so will endeavor to catch up in the quiet of this balmy December day in Hawaii.
=============================================
December 1 – One Word. Encapsulate the year 2010 in one word. Explain why you’re choosing that word. Now, imagine it’s one year from today, what would you like the word to be that captures 2011 for you? (Author: Gwen Bell)
2010 was a year of CHALLENGE for me. As much as 2009 taught me about not being defined by what I do or what I own, 2010 challenged me to reevaluate who I am in this world. The year began with the challenge of belonging. You see, I sold everything I owned, left family, career and home and moved 4600 miles away to a small rock in the middle of the Pacific Ocean... all for love. The challenge was to figure out how and where I belonged in this new life - a life with a man whose household had long ago been established in bachelordom, with a defacto step-son who was 18 and making it crystal clear that he did not need me in his life, in a culture that is not welcoming of 'round-eyes', and an economy with few opportunities to earn the kind of income I had come to expect. Yes, 2010 has definitely been a challenge... and the challenge has not really changed so, in creating my future I choose BELONGING for 2011.
=============================================
December 1 – One Word. Encapsulate the year 2010 in one word. Explain why you’re choosing that word. Now, imagine it’s one year from today, what would you like the word to be that captures 2011 for you? (Author: Gwen Bell)
2010 was a year of CHALLENGE for me. As much as 2009 taught me about not being defined by what I do or what I own, 2010 challenged me to reevaluate who I am in this world. The year began with the challenge of belonging. You see, I sold everything I owned, left family, career and home and moved 4600 miles away to a small rock in the middle of the Pacific Ocean... all for love. The challenge was to figure out how and where I belonged in this new life - a life with a man whose household had long ago been established in bachelordom, with a defacto step-son who was 18 and making it crystal clear that he did not need me in his life, in a culture that is not welcoming of 'round-eyes', and an economy with few opportunities to earn the kind of income I had come to expect. Yes, 2010 has definitely been a challenge... and the challenge has not really changed so, in creating my future I choose BELONGING for 2011.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)