Stars

So, you may know that there are a couple of TV stars in our building. Husband and wife...seemingly very nice and normal people. We have passed casually on the elevator and at the swimming pool. Its usually the husband that I see. He is actually a friend to a friend here in the building. So, we always get the nod of recognition and sometimes a hello or how are you? I am not really star struck, because I don't watch the shows that he or his wife appear in, but I know that they are pretty famous people these days. He just won an Emmy for the role he plays on a popular TV show.


I have always wanted to see or meet a movie/TV star. Well, I am pleasantly surprised to see that they are just regular people...or these two are anyway. I just saw them washing mud off of their shoes yesterday at the outdoor shower.  This is proof positive that stars really are human...they don't just play them on TV.

Our not so "new", new condo

I guess most of you know that Jason and I moved within our building about two months ago. We moved up 9 flights and into a condo that had previous tenants. That was such a relief to me!  We were the first tenants to rent the downstairs unit.  I was totally stressed all of the time trying to make sure we took care of the brand new granite countertops, the travertine bathroom, the Wenge hardwood, and the stainless-steel Viking appliances. Then we had to move...I wasn't sure what I would think about being higher in the sky, but man I am so relaxed. It feels like a dream. Two bachelors had lived here prior which means that everything has been throughly broken in.


There are stains on the carpet (no more hardwood), the walls are scuffed, the appliances are broken in, and I left my OCD downstairs! WHOO HOO! Oh, did I mention that the dishwasher is broken and the garbage disposal was full of plastic, metal, and DVD wrappers? HAHA! Gotta love the single lives of those Air Force pilots.

So, no more obsessive cleaning or nightmares about scratching the hardwood floors for me!

Back it on up

Just a short rant here...Why does everyone in Honolulu feel the need to back into parking spots??? I do not get it! They hold up the whole line of traffic trying to manuever their giant SUV into a compact parking spot...which requires many wheel turns while pulling forward and going backwards to get in there. What's the deal people? I think its much easier to back out into an open aisle instead of between two lines with a car on either side.


But that doesn't stop these people. And they even do it parking garages! And these parking garages have GIANT signs that say: CAUTION: DO NOT BACK IN! Seriously people, find something better to do with your time and a new way to showcase your driving abilities. I guess we didn't get the memo or get invited into the "Back In to All Parking Spaces Club". Well, I would have declined the invitation had I gotten one...so there!

Home for the Holidays????????

So, the debate continues...go home or stay here for Christmas. The tickets are so expensive right now that staying here seems appealing, but I know come Christmas Eve when I am missing the festivities of home (for the first time EVER in my 32 years), that I will be really sad and depressed. I have never been anywhere for Christmas Eve or Christmas Day other than Letcher County. So, we keep leaning towards home because that's obviously where we would like to be. But then there is the whole issue with getting through the airports around the holidays with a shred of sanity left. We are still on the fence, but we hope to be home for the holidays.

Fall has arrived...on the inside anyway...

I worked really hard on getting into the Fall spirit of things. Besides a few degrees cooler and some rain, you would never know that its fall here. But I guess the people that live here don't really understand what I am talking about. They probably haven't seen leaves changing colors and felt the crisp, cool mornings in KY.


Their color changes come in the form of flowers and everything is blooming, AGAIN! Its beautiful, but definitely a shock to my system. Regardless of all of this, I still have out my pumpkins, gourds, and fall colored leaves. And there is a candle burning that smells like Autumn Harvest...whatever that is. So, out there it may be "perma-summer", but inside our condo, its all Fall.

Halloween

Since we were gone most of the month of October, time really seemed to fly. Halloween in Waikiki is apparently a big deal...for adults anyway. Jason and I didn't dress up and join the rest of the crowd, but we did see alot of ghouls and goblins making their way down the sidewalks. Unfortunately, due to the security of our building, there were no trick-or-treaters. But on a positive note, that means there were no tempting bags of chocolate in the house. So, it worked out well for all of us!


Christmas decorations come early here. I think that things started going up at the malls on November 1st. Well, I take that back, before I left for home, Macy's already had their decorations and ornaments out. Currently, there is a HUGE Santa in the mall parking lot. He is a jolly old soul!

Home Sweet Home

So, here I am again, a return to my blog after a long hiatus. I could say that I have been busy, but that would be a lie. I just haven't felt like blogging.


Things have been good though. Jason and I made a trip home. Three weeks for me and almost two for Jason. Part of his trip was in Washington D.C. for work. We had a great time at home though. We got to meet three new little girls...all born in the past year after we left. One of them, Emma, is the newest addition to the Ison family. She was born in February, barely a month after we arrived in Hawaii. She is a cutie! And then we met Madeline and Lexi. Both are absolute dolls, too.

Jason and I were thankful to find that home was still "home". We loved our short visits in Lexington, which mainly consisted of eating, visiting, and trips to and from the airport. And, being in Letcher County with our parents was fantastic as well. It was very relaxing and felt so normal.

It wasn't as hard to come back to Hawaii as I thought it would be, but whether I want it to be or not, this is my home for now. And it was nice to get back to my bed and my "stuff". I just wish my bed and "stuff" were located a wee bit closer to my old KY home.