Watch This

Remember that guy who made the news because he was trying to track down a rapist in his hometown?  His interview was ridiculed and remixed by A LOT of people.  But this guy made the best of it and even agreed to perform the remix of his interview live!  Why can't everyone be a good sport like this?

Maui Mamas!

So after two trips to Maui (the first one with my girl Aisha), I feel like I've conquered the island as much as I want to.  It's a beautiful and fun place and you totally can find things to do that you CAN'T do on Oahu.  Here's a summary of what went down during the fabulous 4-day weekend I just spent in Maui:

Friday: Visited the only Krispy Kreme in Hawaii/ Hiked twin falls and with some investigating, found both waterfalls/ Went to the I'ao Needle (a famour rock pinnacle)/ Explored a the cute "hippie" town, Paia/ Drove down the Road to Hana for a bit (I went all the way to the black sand beach last visit, but not this time!)/ Relaxed by the pool at the Maui Westin Resort & Spa

Saturday: SLEPT IN/ Worked out at the Westin Workout/ Did the Maui north shore drive (lots of cool sites!).  The pic below is of "Boulder Beach"

Sunday: Massage and exfoliating moisturizing treatment at the Westin Spa/ Shopping (I did some damage at Swarovski)

Monday: Breakfast at Kula Lodge.  I definately recommend this place.  Their pancakes and omelettes and stupendous.  Plus it's nestled high on a hillside so you get an amazing view of the whole north side of the island while you eat.  I took the picture below sitting at my seat!/ Zipline adventure with Skyline Eco-Adventures.  This is a definate must-do if you go to Maui.  I did the one in Haleakala which was 5 zips and 1 suspension bridge.  The guides were cool and the zips are awesome (don't forget to look DOWN). 

Pastor Fred

This book is by my former pastor.  He was a true down-to-earth guy... normal like the rest of us, but amazing at the same time.  Check it out.

Nate's Visit

I feel like there's way too much to write about, so I'm just going to zoom through recent events to catch up.

So first big thing, Nate visited Hawaii!  We went to the Big Island and did a one-day whirlwind tour of everything from the macadamia nut factory to the black sand beach to flowing lava!  The next day we went on a catamaran ride which was definitely worth the time and price.  $29 for all you can drink beer, soda, and maitais and a sunset ride.  On our ride and Aussie couple got engaged.  SO CUTE.  :)  After the catamaran we went to a comedy show.  It was at Sharkey's in Waikiki.  I don't exactly recommend going to this show.  It's mostly guys starting out practicing their jokes on audiences of like... less than 10 people.  However, we lucked out and Dat Phan happened to be in Hawaii and hopped on the bill.  He was hilarious.  We also went on one of those submarine rides.  It was kind of cool... but not really worth the money in my opinion.  That afternoon we went on a 2 hour horseback ride a Kualoa Ranch.  My butt was so sore during the ride (what can I say, I'm no expert rider), but the views were amazing and it was really fun to ride a horse with my honey.  :)  One of the main highlights for sure was going on a midnight "shark hunt" with 955-FISH.  They're a great low-key company and we caught 2 sharks on our boat ride.  I got to reel one in!  $99 to catch a shark... not bad.  Anyways, in between all this stuff we ate good food, saw four movies (yes, four), and just enjoyed each other.  ((sigh))  Some random pics from Nate's visit are below.

Home Sweet Home (Illinois)

So after North Carolina, I went to visit my family.  I loved spending time with Mom, Dad, and Evelynn... and my friends too.  Some of the highlights include:

-Winetasting at the St.Louis Zoo
-Kind of a crazy night at Skootr's (yes, NO "e") in Mascoutah
-LouFest!  Great day/night of indie rock (not many chances to see good (non-"pop") bands when I'm in Hawaii.  I got to see Adam Reichmann, Titus Adronicus, Lucero, Airborne Toxic Event, Built to Spill, and Broken Social Scene.  Broken Social Scene rocked my socks.  I wonder what next year's LouFest lineup will be.
-25 cent tacos and a few beers with friends at Laurie's Place on my last night.

"Love the Way You Lie"... 3rd Grade Style

I dig the original, but this parody is a fun one.  Enjoy!

North Carolina

For my post-deployment leave, my first stop was Fayetteville, North Carolina to see a handful of loved ones.  I didn't do a good job in documenting the week in pictures, but I can type all about it (from what I remember).

First Nate and I went to Fantasyland Waterpark.  It was a lake that had tons of rope swings, slides, paddleboats, etc.  The lake looked like iced tea (see pic below), but it was the perfect temperature and fun, fun, fun.

Then we went indoor skydiving the same day at Paraclete XP.  For about $160, we both got free gear rental, t-shirts, a DVD (which is VERY embarassing to watch), a basic skydiving class, and 3 trips in the wind tunnel.  Nathaniel was a natural- I was absolutely terrible at keeping a good body position.  Another girl in our group slammed her face into the glass of the tunnel mid-air though... at least I didn't do that!

Nathaniel and I also went to the Maroon 5 concert.  We tailgated and got to hear the first opener (VV Brown) from the parking lot and went hit the ampitheatre soon enough to see Kris Allen (some American Idol winner) and of course we got the FULL MAROON 5 EXPERIENCE.  :)  I danced all over our lawn area and we met some 2 new great friends, Niki and Shannon.

I got to have dinner with the lovely Meredith.  We roomed together for the last 3 years of college and we got to catch up on eachothers lives and discuss her upcoming wedding which I can't wait to be a bridesmaid in come January!

Nate and I went camping on Carolina Beach one night.  At Freeman Park, you can drive right onto the beach (if you have 4WD of course) and stay for the night for 20 bucks.  It was so amazing sit by the fire and be in the great outdoors for the evening.  HOWEVER, at about midnight I realized I was getting eaten ALIVE by mosquitos.  (We found out later that the rain brings the bugs out).  I renamed Carolina Beach "Bugbite Beach" and we resolved to just close the backhatch of the Cherokee to keep the bugs out.  Sadly, the humid summer kind of made that Jeep an unbearable hotbox.  We decided to grab a beachside hotelroom on the fly to ride it out until morning.  We get one and when we open the door, the doorknob falls off... and a giant flying cockroach starts attacking me and we realize we left the key in the outside doorknob and when we go out to get it, it's gone!  Nothing else could have went wrong... I felt like I was in a movie.  haha.  It turned out okay because Nate went to the front desk and we got a complimentary upgrade to another building of the "resort" and got a sweet suite.

The next night I got to stay the night in a cabin on Smith Lake.  If you live in the Fayetteville area, I totally recommend these.  For 35 bucks a night, you get a cabin that sleeps 4.

The next day we went to Cupcake Gallery.  It was a very cute place and the cupcakes are pretty good.  I got a coconut creme pie one, and Nate got a peach one.  Then we hung out with Nick and Christina at their pool which was lots of fun... mostly to hear Nick and Nate talk about their crazy Soldier stories...  Nick and Christina had to pick up their friends that were coming from out of town and Nate and I decided to hit Smith Lake.  My favorite part was the water trampoline.  They also had this huge inflatable cylinder you could attempt to run across.  When I tried it, I felt like I was on Most Extreme Elimination Challenge.  hahaha.  After Smith Lake we zoomed home to get ready to enjoy a dinner with 6 of our friends at Luigi's in Fayetteville.  Luigi's is delicious and has a comfortably classy atmosphere.  The wine selection is respectable and they have a varied quality Italian menu.  I recommend it!  After Luigi's, I got to hang out in the home of one of the loves of my life, Sam!  She was one of my lacrosse teammates and is one of the best ladies I know!  See us snuggling below:

And that was that.  I had to leave North Carolina in the morning.  :(  Next stop, STL/Illinois!

Back in Hawaii

People ask what I've been up to since I've been back to the island.  Well, just see below:

Finding a Home: I found a 2 bedroom 2 bath apartment with a yard and covered parking... so it'll do just fine for me for at least 6 months.  However, every shelf (kitchen AND bathrooms) was covered with cowprint.  The problem is resolved now, luckily.

Brigade Ball: This event was held before I even got my household goods out of storage, so I didn't even have my uniform to wear.  However my boss was cool enough to bring my case up and make it so that I could attend (I would just have to go out and buy an appropriate fancy-shmancy dress of course).  So with the dress and some borrowed items from Molly and Mrs. Nacho, I threw together an outfit.  Aisha was my unofficial date, even though I don't think she knew/knows that.  Afterwards I hung out with Leslie, Chris x 2, Dave, and Aisha.  All around... a good time.

Polo Match: Good friends, a makeshift BBQ, and horse sport... it was a good Sunday afternoon.

Beach: Getting my Hawaii tan back.

Church: One week, the a (the?) Korean children's choir came to perform and they were absolutely delightful, bilingual, talented, little people.  I got a hug too!

Sealife Park: Sealions, penguins, turtles, stingrays, and dolphins- they are all at the park and they all made me smile.  :)

Deployment #1: Complete

Sorry I haven't been updating.  I've been busy traveling back from Iraq and settling in.  "Settling in" is a lot harder than one might assume.  Anyway, I am satisfied with the experience I was lucky to have during 12 months in Iraq.  My Soldiers did their part, and I feel like I did my part too.  I worry that a lot that we have done for the Iraqis is not sustainable a lot.  The things that we needed to work on would require a whole generation's worth of time to change.  Time will tell.  I had a rough time dealing with certain people at times, but I stayed safe... and relatively normal.  When I first came back, I did not know what to do with myself... (wondering what I should do with all the "down time", always looking for my weapon, and was not happy with all the bills I now have to pay).  Luckily, I had a handful of good friends to welcome me back and bring me back to earth (namely Molly who hosted me for weeks upon weeks... and by "hosted", I mean HOSTED... she housed, fed, and clothed me!).

Pictures

I won't be able to blog for a good bit (I'm assuming) due to this whole REDEPLOYMENT thing I'm doing (woo!). So in honor of the journey back to Hawaii I'm about to start... here are some photos I've taken while tromping about on other journeys (pics are happen to be from Canada, US, Peru, Panama, Italy, Iraq, and Spain). This pictures don't do these places justice, but they're reminders of the best of times. Now, I've got to FINALLY get to Australia, Africa, and Antarctica... NOT having been on every continent is really giving me an inferiority complex...