Automated Messages

Automated Messages drive me F'ing insane!!!!!!!

So this morning I had to call the post office to find out if they offered a service, which FYI they don't anymore! Anyhow, so I call the 1800 number because I couldn't find the local branches direct number. So I'm on the phone for 10 minutes with an automated service asking me the same thing repeatedly. I don't know how many different ways to say "Customer Service" without getting pissed off. So finally I get angry and yell "Representative", the machine responds with "Did you say Customer Service?" ummm... No I f'ing didn't, I said Representative!!! I say Customer Service and get nothing, I say Representative and get Customer Service. So annoying!!! I would really like to be able to pick up the phone and call somewhere and not have to talk to a robot. I would love it if a person picked up first thing and they took my information. Instead of having to type in the information on my phone. Why oh Why did they get rid of actually people working instead of robots? This country has a lack of jobs... here's an idea... STOP USING ROBOTS!!! Hire actual people. There are people out there that are willing to work! Oh and if you call the wrong department by mistake, transfer them to the correct one and don't be a bitch about it. UGH... its been a hell of a morning.

Then I call the bank, and I understand having to put in your account info, so it makes it a little faster. I was so glad that that's all they asked for, no other stupid crap. I got put right on through to a living breathing person. Found out they don't provide the service to non-members so it was a dead end, but it was a nice non-aggravating way to find out the information that I required.

Xmas

Merry Christmas Everyone

I hope that everybody had a fantastic day and got lots of presents. My day was pretty low key, which for me was perfect. I cooked a turkey among a few other things, and had a relatively laid back day. The turkey was amazing, as were the baked potatoes. All around it was a great day.

Lazy

I have been so lazy and lax with this blog... I've finally settled into our new place and gotten pretty much everything in order when it comes to the decorating. Everyone keeps making fun of my curtains, but I like them and at the end of the day that is pretty much all that matters in my opinion. Our new bed FINALLY arrived! It just took close to 2 months. I love it, it is so high off the ground compared to our older bed.

New Bed

My Energy Efficient Washer & Dryer

So I am in love with my comfy new bed. The mattress is amazing!!! I think I might like it more or at least as much as our washer and dryer, which I do love. They are spectacular, they use less water, and have an eco boast button, which I love.

Wreath

We Xmas is only a few days away, I love my door wreath. Clearly I'm loving a lot of things right now... Weird. Not much else happening here... Things have been pretty dull. I'm trying to find a job, which is turning out to be harder then first expected, but eventually I'll find something (I hope).

Hopefully the next time I write I have something far more interesting to put on here.

Settled In

Well a couple of weeks ago we were finally able to move out of the ridiculous hotel room and into our house. The house is unpredictably nice. Its rather large for just the 2 of us, but has plenty of room for the dog to go crazy and run around like a crazy person. It has a back veranda, which in the spring/summer will be really nice with a table out there. What I really like about the house is that it has its own dining room. In Hawaii our dining room/kitchen/living room were kindof all one, here they're all seperate. The kitchen is attached of course to the living room, but its larger then the one in Hawaii and its blocked off and shaped better.

On another note, the other day I took Sam out and as we were coming up the back stairs he ran and jumped, and went and got his foot caught. It was horrible... I thought for sure he'd broken something. He was yelping and crying and I couldn't get his foot out. He was finally able to pull his own foot free. I was so worried about him.

Wow... I have nothing else to talk about. I put the Xmas tree up and I'll post a picture once I take one.

Ugh...

Ugh...

This is an update for my previous post and then some. I wrote that I would add photos of our drive, but that just isn't going to happen, and here is why.

So, iPhone had an update and being the good apple consumer I went ahead with the update, not realising that it was going to delete all of my pictures. So I do the update and then go to put the photos onto the computer, and I realise now that I should've put the photos on first. But what can you do. Nothing I can do about it now, but bitch and complain. I guess I should really start reading the fine print before accepting anything... just like that episode of South Park should've taught me.

On another note my husband has started his own blog, which is pretty good, he has a good way of writing. You can find it at: 700-sickos.blogspot.com

The Journey

Well, we have finally arrived in North Carolina. It took us 3 days of travel to get here but we arrived. We left bright and early... ummm or not... we left Houston, Texas at around eleven - eleven thirty'ish; which was actually perfect for us. We drove through Texas and entered Louisiana. It was such a windy day and chilly, you could feel the car get pushed by the wind. Leaving Texas was nice, and uneventful.

When we reached Louisiana, I remembered driving through it years ago to get to Georgia, and there being this long bridge. The bridge is 18 miles long... I'm not kidding. It is a bridge that covers nothing but swamp land. (photos were taken, I'll add them once they've been uploaded to the computer) Driving through Louisiana was really dull, we stopped to feed the dog and let him walk around for a little bit as he'd been couped up for several hours.

We decided to drive straight through Louisiana and spend the night in Mississippi. I DON'T like Mississippi, I don't even like it a little bit. I wanted to stay in Baton Rouge, but we would've had a longer drive the following day. So after 6 hours of driving we end up in Baytown, Mississippi. We spent the night in a Motel 6 as that is the only place we could find that accepted pets. What a horrible night that was. Motel 6 has nothing to offer anyone, other then a good hot shower and a bed. Other then that its tiny!!! I was relieved when we got up the next morning to drive onto Georgia.

So we left around 10ish for Georgia. I was so glad to finally get out of Mississippi. So we are driving to Georgia to spend the night in Atlanta. But before Georgia we had to go through Alabama... Not I LOVE Alabama. I can't stand its neighbouring state Mississippi, but Alabama makes me happy. I think because it the first state where you start to see cotton fields, now cotton fields make me ridiculously happy, and I'm not entirely sure why. So we drove through Alabama, and absolutely loved it.

We arrive in Georgia, and both B and I wanted to see Atlanta as neither of us had ever been there. Its MASSIVE and highly confusing. I can say without a doubt that I am most certainly not a city girl. So we got lost in Atlanta and ended up staying in the town of Roswell, which was on the outskirts. Now there we stayed in a Holiday Inn, and that was so friggin' nice comparing to the Motel 6 from the night before. We went out for dinner, which was delicious, and spent the night in absolute comfort.

We left the following morning for our final leg of the drive, the drive to Fayetteville, North Carolina. We left at around 10 - 11am. It was a nightmare just trying to find the Interstate in Georgia, we went through neighbourhoods to get to it. Finally we are on the Interstate and B decides that he would prefer it if he could drive. So once we make it into South Carolina we change seats. Now entering South Carolina is nothing but gorgeous. It is the most delightful view after being in a concrete jungle. It was stunning.

We finally arrive in North Carolina to our final destination, and our journey is over. Now we are sitting in a hotel room until the middle of next month for us to get our new home. I can't wait to finally move into it. We are going out and buying some furniture, including a washer and dryer... Damn those things are expensive!!!

Anyhow... sorry to bore you all :-)

Houston

We've FINALLY arrived on the mainland. We got here a week ago. We flew into Dallas, Texas because that is where our car had been shipped to. The day before we left Hawaii I called the company that had received our car and asked how far the place was from the airport, the man told me 1/2 a mile. OK 1/2 a mile really isn't that far, I mean I could walk it. So we got in a cab and told him where we wanted to go, well 10 minutes go by and still no car place... We ask the driver how far it was away, and he was like 15 - 20 miles. Thats a whole lot further then the 1/2 mile we thought it was. So we pick up the car, take it to get an oil change and then drive it down to Houston. Let me tell you this, Houston is BIG but Dallas is MASSIVE! It is so ridiculously big, and the driving and congestion is ridiculous. We eventually got out of Dallas and onto the freeway to take us down to Houston. The drive was long and boring. Seriously, the drive was literally a straight line. Put some curves in to keep the drivers awake, would ya?! So we drove on this straight and boring road for 3 - 4 hours... SO BORING!!!

We arrived in Houston and our dog Sam was already here waiting for us. So we were all over him and excited to see him once we walked in. By 7pm that night we were exhausted, so we go to bed, were fast asleep, and the door busts open and in walks B's brother C. I mean have you ever heard of knocking?! So while B got up to sit and talk with his brother I rolled over and went back to sleep. I specifically asked my MIL if C and K were coming over, she responds with NO they aren't... OK so we can go to sleep and not have to worry about anyone coming over... BOY was she wrong! Anyhow...

So we've been here a week and we really haven't done much of anything. I keep telling B that we are going to need to buy winter clothing, as pretty much all our clothes are for the summer time. He just responds with No we don't... AH you're wrong! Anyhow... I think that is what we are going to do today, or at least what I am going to do today. So until next time... I'll try to remember to take some photos so I can post those.

Waiting for Wednesday

Well, we have officially moved out of our apartment here in Hawaii. We are currently staying with a friend who doesn't have cable, or any form of TV, so its driving B a little crazy not being able to watch his sports. Only a few more things to do before we leave for the mainland. We have to take Sam to the airport and have him shipped off on Tuesday and that's pretty much it. Not much else left for us to do here in Hawaii, we've pretty much done it all. Tomorrow B has to work most of the day doing some final sign out stuff, and then on Tuesday he goes in for 1 hour, and then he is off for a month. Which is exciting.

We fly into Dallas where we will be hopefully able to pick up our truck (fingers crossed), then drive down to Houston to pick up a few things, then we are road tripping it to North Carolina. Not sure if we will stop and do some sight seeing along the way, I hope we will but I guess it depends on the weather as much as anything else.

So I guess I will write again before we leave Hawaii, might have a few final pictures to post.

Upcoming Moving Day

Well, moving day is just 3 days away... We don't leave Hawaii for another week but our household goods are being picked up in 3 days time. I am so excited to finally be moving on. It is so chaotic getting everything into some sort of order for the movers. I've started dusting and cleaning all of the frames/pictures that were/are hanging on the wall. I didn't realise how many I actually have until I took them all down and started cleaning them. Yesterday alone I cleaned 20 photo frames. Today I've cleaned close to 10... and I still have more to go. I have to start packing our luggage and washing everything that needs to be cleaned before we move... so much to do!!!

We had to buy a new kennel for Sam the other day... and let me tell you it is the biggest kennel that I have ever seen. We had rented a Jetta because our car is being shipped to the mainland, and B thought it would fit in the trunk/boot even though I had measured it and said that it would in NO WAY fit!!! So he tried anyway, and what do you know... it didn't fit. So we had to call someone to come and help us bring it back home. So now we just have to figure out how to get it to the airport on Tuesday for his flight. He is going to have quite the journey, and he hates being in the kennel.

So now I have to get back to cleaning out draws, cupboards and closets, as well as taking down all the pictures off the wall. I'll post again with photos of the mess that will be this coming Friday.

Not Surprised

Well, my mother has done it again! Its so cowardly to leave someone in a friggin' letter!!! Anyways... I don't even want to go into that. (This is what I'm "not surprised" about)

On to happier things. My husband is going to the Philippines for a week which he is really excited about so I'm excited for him. I think it'll be a nice little work vacation for him and he'll have a wonderful time. Everything is going well in regard to the upcoming move. So far no worries, but we all know that could change in an instant.

B and I have been going on hikes which has been fun, and I think we are going to go back and re-walk Ka'Aina Point. Its long and daunting and is probably best if we leave in the morning to start the trek, as it is in a location that gets very little wind.

We've hit the beach a few times. I have taken some pics but I haven't loaded them to the computer once I do I'll post them here. I really have no news... so dull!

Ka'iwi Point Trail

Today we decided to go on another hike. Well I decided and kept whining about it until we went. Little did I know that it was all up hill, but Oh so worth it.

Rabbit Island

Ka'ena Point

Well, this morning B and I got up and decided to go for a hike. It was highly enjoyable, if not hot. There was absolutely no breeze blowing, which sucked as it was HOT HOT HOT. I got sun burnt even though it was 9am. I took some pictures... 7.8 miles... Good news, I didn't start bitching until the 7th mile.

The Trail

Our final time and mileage.

Beer List

Since my husband has been home he has spoken about beer probably more then anything else. So I thought I would write down his beer list. His TOP 5! So here goes.

Top 5:
1. Flying Dog, Raging Bitch IPA (Yes, it is really called that)
2. Guiness Foreign Extra Stout
3. Sierra Nevada Pale Ale
4. Gordon Biersch Hefeweizen
5. Duvel

On another note, the other day we went out for lunch and B ordered a beer. I took a photo to show what a poor pour looks like... and what the lacing should look like. The lacing is when you take a sip and the foam sticks to the glass... Or at least that is how I interpret it.

B demonstrating a crappy pour with a thumbs down

Lacing

Sick

Ugh... I feel like crap. My husband got home 3 days ago and he kindly brought a cold back with him. Wasn't that nice of him?! So now I feel like shit! Yay for me. Anyhow... Today we went out and I got some new running shoes, they're purple and pretty bad ass.

I really have nothing else to say. Yep... That's about it.

June 15th

My husband comes home tomorrow!

9:50am!

WOOHOO!!!

My Day Yesterday... *WARNING* It's a Boring Read!

My day yesterday:

I was awoken at 7am by my dog Sam wanting me to take him out. I had to get up anyway to take the truck in for it's leveling... Anyhow I got up, took the dog out, spoke to my husband before he left for Balad (he's on his way hom YAY). So I took the dog out and then decided after talking to my hubby to get ready for my day.

I was taking the truck in to be leveled, don't ask... It's a long annoying story. Anyhow, the leveling takes 3 - 3.5 hours, so I thought I would be stuck with nothing to do... Oy was I wrong! I dropped off the truc at around 9am. I decided instead of waiting in the shop area I'd walk up to the, I wanna say strip mall, but it's really not that big. Only about 10 shops in all. It was about a 15 minute walk, anyhow... As I was walking I was trying to figure out what to do, I really didn't want to sit in Starbucks for the entire time I would be waiting. So I though "I know what I can do... I'll get my hair cut". So I was hot and sweaty by the time I got to the hair dresser, so I thought "I'll have them wash my hair", I typically don't have them wash my hair. So I told the lady, "my hair will need to be brushed as I haven't brushed it in like a week". She doesn't brush it before washing it, which personally I think would've been the obvious route. So she's washing my hair and it took like 30 minutes, I'm not kidding. It felt good, but so much conditioner! So after a hour at the hairdresser I errrrr wondering "what can I do now?"

I went and sat in starbucks for a bit, got a tea and relaxed on one of the couches. Then I saw a sign "Mani/Pedi Combo $34", so naturally all I could think of was "YES! That is perfect, it'll kill like a hour at least". I walked in and picked put my colour for my toes Hot Pink. So I'm sitting there talking to the guy, and I had to warn him that I have a tendency to try and kick people who mess with my feet when it comes to the scrubbing part of the bottom of your foot. I'm sure everyone has that one part on there foot that is freakishly ticklish. So when it cam to the scrubbing part I had to concentrate so I wouldn't kick him. Then came the massage and he asked me if I liked having the massage. I looked at him and said "it's the bes part! How could anyone not like it?" he looks at me and responds, "you'd be surprised." it took about a our for the pedicure, and my feet felt awesome! So, I can't think of the word I want to use to describe how good they felt, but if you've had a pedicure you should know what I'm trying to say... Relaxed isn't a word I would associate with my feet feeling, but that's the only way I can think to describe it. The manicure was fine, I've had better manicures, you know where they massage your arms up to the elbow. But it went well. So close to 2 hours later I was done.

I started walking back down to pick up the truck. By the time I got to it, it was finished! Woohoo, no waiting around for me. It turned put to be a pretty eventful morning. Me bitching at my husband that it was going to be boring becausei would have nothing to do, and it ended up being rather enjoyable!

So that was my day yesterday, and yes you really did just sit there and read all my ramblings!

Conversation with MIL

Yesterday I had the most interesting conversation with my MIL (mother-in-law) via text. Yesterday she had a tooth removed. So I sent her a text instead of calling because I knew that she would more then likely not be able to speak. This is how that went:

ME: How are you feeling?

MIL: Vebery sleep. And witd some pai m had to gopp and I cannnt walk good headhardDd.

ME: What?

MIL: Nwou I mzleepie cindi. Foof dog cake good cfair of meeee

ME: What? Are you high?

MIL: Bach at u hey

-- Ok I still have no idea what the hell she was going on about. I can figure out some of it but wow... she must have been doped up to the eyeballs. I got a good laugh out of it though :-)

Doctors

I went to the Doctor today, I woke up with the most incredible upper back/neck pain imaginable. Anyhow... thats not why I'm writing.

I was wondering as I was driving back from my visit, why do Doctors ask you when they walk in "How are you?"

-- Ummm I'm at the Doctor so clearly I'm not 100%.

Doesn't that seem ridiculous to you? If I was good I wouldn't be sitting here talking to you. But the thing is when you answer, we usually go with the standard answer of "I'm fine". I usually answer with "I've been better", but thats just me.

I guess its the politeness of everything that comes into play. It is a standard greeting.

What was I Thinking?!

Well, I've been walking my dog Sam daily, as the vet told me that he is "apparently"... get this OVER WEIGHT!!! He's 100 pounds, is that big for a Lab?! Anyhow... well I usually take Sam on his walk to a near by park, which is actually really pretty. But today for some reason I decided to take him up the hill. And I'm not talking about a slight incline, I'm talking about a "holy shit my legs are on fire" hill. So we get to the top by walking and as we start running back down (Yes, I walk up and run down), he is only a little bit in front of me and he keeps looking over his shoulder to make sure I'm keeping up. The first time he did it I didn't know what to think, so I'm cracking up laughing at this... A little further down the hill he does it again, so I start to smile... and then I think he realises that YES I mean RUN, so he picks up the pace and has his tongue hanging out the side of his mouth every time he looks back at me. I know it doesn't sound very interesting or even a little bit funny, but I literally have nothing else to write about. So I thought this would be a good update.

On a side note my husband comes home in a month... WOOHOO!!! So very exciting. I think a group got back yesterday but he is on a later "chalk". Not sure why its called that, but whatever.

Sam with Mum

You Know What I Love...

The Dentist!!!

Yes, I know its crazy talk, I love going to the dentist. I'm not entirely sure why or how this happened, but I thoroughly enjoy myself at the dentist. I don't like going to the regular Doctor so much. My theory is that a doctor will always tell you there is something wrong, whereas a dentist won't. I've never had a cavity, and I don't have perfectly straight teeth, but I have incredibly healthy teeth. I'm like a dream to the dentist. I floss daily, which by the way everyone should do to prevent cavities between the teeth, I use mouth wash daily and of course I brush daily.

It is strange though here in America when you go to the dentist as opposed to back home in Australia. Back home the actual dentist does all the work, the cleaning and the flossing and what not and the dental assistant does that awful suction thing and hands over the instruments. Well, here in the States the dental hygienist (I'm assuming that's the title), they do all the work. They do the flossing, the cleaning, the suction thing and then get the dentist to pretty much check to make sure everything is OK. The actual Dentist comes in and makes sure you don't have cavities and to check the X-rays. So in Australia the Dentist actual does all the work and gets paid correctly, whereas here the Dentist doesn't do all the work but still gets paid more money. Hmmm....

Anyhow, it has been noted that I need to have my wisdom teeth removed, its not a dire situation or anything, it has just been noted and I have been informed that it would be better if they came out. Thing is its pretty pricy to have something removed like that. Anyhow... I'll figure something out on that front.

-- So even though mum you hate the dentist I LOVE IT!!

Easter

HAPPY EASTER

FU**ING BULLSH**

What a "title" right?!

I'm highly PO'd. The US Government has decided to not pay the military (among other workers). It is disgusting that people that are sent unwillingly to "War" zones, are having there paychecks cut. While people in Congress continue to get paid. Here's an idea, why not cut the pay of people in Congress, who earn more then enough money, and use the cuts to continue to pay the military?!

What I fail to understand in this country is why football players, baseball players and movie stars get paid so much money. More money then they could possibly need, and then they complain because they aren't getting paid enough. Do they not play for the love of the sport? Do they only do it for the big paycheck? Lets face it all they do is throw/hit a ball or stand in front of a camera. What about the people out there that work there asses off to keep them safe and comfortable. I'm not just talking about the military, what about Police Officers, Fire Fighters and Ambulance workers. They don't get paid nearly as much yet, they have a much more dangerous job that deserves to be paid in a higher bracket. But the thing about those men and women is they don't do it for the money they do it for the love of it, they do it because when they were little that is what they wanted to be when they grew up.

I get it a lot of people want to be NFL stars and baseball players and actors/singers. But what I am failing to understand is why do they get paid so much? What they do isn't dangerous, sure its entertaining but in my opinion its not worth millions of dollars per player. Its like people in Congress they don't like the thought of having to cut there own paycheck, or having to go without it... but they will cut from military workers. They will cut from people that don't get paid quite so much. How selfish can people be?! SERIOUSLY?! Greedy people work in Washington DC.

So now come a week from today, I have to find a way to pay the rent, the car, the electric and the phone bill? Please indulge me on how I should go about doing that? Take out of my savings, sure, but the savings will only last for so long before even that is all gone.

Cupcakes

I must say that I am surprisingly sick of seeing F***ING CUPCAKES EVERYWHERE!!! Yes they're delicious, and yes they're cute to look at, but come on!!! Its annoying. I'll tell you what brought this I'm sick of cupcakes rant on... I was looking through other random blogs and I saw about 3 with cupcake backgrounds. CUPCAKES!!! Whatever happened to whole cakes, are people so weight conscious now that they can't have a slice of cake, they have to eat a f***ing cupcake?! I also hate when you go to the store and you see a whole bunch of cupcakes in the shape of an actual cake. Why not buy an actual cake! I get it, this way you don't have to dirty a knife, plate or fork; but you do end up with sticky fingers and a piece of paper. I also hate that now cupcake stores are EVERYWHERE. (well maybe not everywhere, but they're around.)

Goodbye Hawaii! Hello....

Ft. Bragg, North Carolina!!!

My husband just told me where we are moving to. I am so excited!!! North Carolina is so beautiful and it is one of the largest bases in the world I believe. We're moving either in September or October. I am really excited, a little worried for my husband who will have to begin jumping out of planes again, but other then that I'm really excited!

-- On a side note, I finished that amazing Jilly Cooper book. It was really good. I cried at the end because she killed off one of my fav charactors from another of her books. Very sad indeed.

Jump! by Jilly Cooper

OK... I just have to write this down and let the world know how much I am in love with the very first page of this book. Best line I've read in a while, and I only just opened the book. On a side note, I absolutely love Jilly Cooper books, something about her I just love. Just remember this line was written by someone born in the 30s.

OK the line I'm talking about can be found on: Chapter One, Page One, paragraph 5. It is written as such:

"If you'll excuse me, gentlemen, I have to go and fuck my secretary."

This is said in the middle of a meeting. Isn't that just the most amazing thing you've ever read?! Or at least visualised. This man of 60 I assume, as it says he has been married for 45 years, gets up in the middle of a meeting and says... THAT!!! (wishing I could draw an arrow)

Its funny and entertaining to me and really, that is all that matters. :-)

Houston Rodeo Pics (Some) 2011

Panoramic View of Reliant Stadium

That has got to hurt the poor cow

The one that got away (I was literally cheering for the cow)

Get off of me!

WooHoo!

Doesn't the bull look pissed?

Oh Yeah!

He really is pulling it by the tail

5 year olds riding sheep... SOOOO cute

Some Pictures from Houston Zoo

Thinking time

Soooo Sleepy

Bald Eagle

Who is Trace Adkins?

I have been asking that question for about two days now. Who is he? Yes it's a he. Last night we went to the Rodeo and he was the one performing. Everyone that we went with didn't even have an answer to that question. Very strange. The Rodeo was so much fun yesterday although I was a little disappointed in the animals. There weren't that many! Out of say 200 there was only about 50 on show. So many of the stalls were empty, very disappointing. I'm not sure if those cows haven't arrived or if they were off somewhere else doing cow things. And if you know me you should know how much I love cows. We did get to pet a cow which K said to it while petting that "it was a stupid animal", do the cow turned it's head away and moo'd. It was the highlight of that particular part of the rodeo.

We then ventured around the shops, like market stands, and they had such nice stuff... But so expensive! We were looking at belts and we saw one for 470$!!! A BELT! Needless to say we didn't buy one, I mean come on who would spend that much on a belt? You would definately want to get your moneys worth if you purchased it. They had some real nice cowboy boots which I am so buying before i leave Texas, but I'm going to get them at a regular store with a not so high mark up. I think i'll get blue ones, they're so pretty.

We then ventured outside and up to the suite we were going to be sitting in (awesome tickets by the way), where we met our very friendly, very Irish bartender... Seriously I don't think I've ever had drinks so strong, but oh so delicious! He was making a rum and coke, not for me but for someone else who I got it for, and I said to him "with a splash of coke", he poured in about a half glass, I looked at him and said "I said a splash", he turns to me and says "that's an American splash, not like those Australian splashes!" I cracked up at that.

So the rodeo began which was amazing, some of the calves got away so I'm sitting up in the suite yelling "GO COW!" I must've looked like a crazy person cheering for the cow at the rodeo but come on, it was pretty awesome when the little fella got away. I loved the bull riding. I took a whole bunch of pics that I'll post once I get home, as i forgot the cord for the comp. So the rodeo finished and the kids came out to catch a calf for a scholarship, it was hilarious. Some of these kids were catching those calves by the tail and the kid would fall so the cow would start pulling the kid around.... Highly amusing.

So then the concert began.... The concert with Trace Adkins, yes him. He sang about ten songs I think and even though I sat through his concert I'm still asking myself "who is Trace Adkins?" I couldn't understand a word he was saying, I understood the song about my ass... Yes MY ASS!!, just kidding. Then after the concert we left... It was a very enjoyable afternoon/night. I love the rodeo and I'm hoping to go back for another show before I go back to Hawaii.

On another note, my hubby brought me this pretty badass iPad, which i love! I am writing this on it now and you can use the keyboard just like you would use a regular one, you know touch typing, and have no issues.. I love the touch screen and all the apps, very badass, and very sweet of him to buy for me.

Houston Zoo

Today B and I went to Houston Zoo, which compared to Honolulu Zoo is spectacular. If I had to rate it out of 10 it would probably get a 7 out of 10. It has been done up since the last time I was there about 6 years ago. We got lost trying to find it as the location it is in has changed over the past couple of years. They had 2 baby elephants, which were so cute (pics will be added later); they started playing with each other, which was so adorable.

They have this new African Safari section, which literally only had 3 animals! Three animals in the entire African part... the elephants were nowhere near that part. They had 2 monkeys, a handful of giraffes, and 3 rhinos. It was a complete let down.. they have huge billboards all the way to downtown Houston saying "Visit the African Safari", something along those lines; then you get there and Oh so boring!

The reptile house was pretty good. I do love looking at snakes! They had so many different kinds, mostly from the desert in America, but some from Africa and Asia. They had a huge albino alligator, which was pretty to look at it. It didn't move though which was a bit disappointing, but not completely unexpected.

After 2.5 hours at the Zoo it was time to leave. My feet were killing me. We went and had a very nice lunch... as opposed to the day before at the really crappy restaurant in Austin.

Austin, Texas

Well... Today B & I drove to Austin to go see the State Capital, which I have only ever driven by before about 8 years ago. So we drove down to Austin and we drove straight past it again. Literally 1 second of viewing time. I wanted to take pictures and a whole bunch of stuff, but then we got lost. So we eventually found our way back to the interstate/freeway and decided to not try and figure that out again! (I've decided I'll take a bus tour or something over to Austin at some point in time.)

So we ended up going to a strip mall type thing as B has been looking for some shoes, which we found. We also stumbled across a Borders which is closing down :-( . So B and I decided to go to the bookstore where I purchased a book by Bill Bryson called "A Walk In The Woods"; I just got done with the book "In a Sunburnt Country"; which Yes Mum was hilarious! I laughed so hard at the wheelbarrow bit. So I got a new book for 30% off which was pretty awesome.

Then after the book store we decide that we should eat lunch before driving back to Houston, so we go to some Italian restaurant which in my opinion was terrible. I ordered soup and a small main. The soup I ordered was Minestrone which they put lima beans in... Yes I said LIMA beans. It calls for kidney beans if I recall correctly. So I had a soup with the wrong beans in it... My small main was angel hair pasta with artichokes. It was OK. It really wasn't that great! It had no form of sauce on it. Shouldn't it have come with at least a garlic sauce?!

We finally made it back to Houston where we stopped at the grocery store to get some food for dinner. Tomorrow we are going to venture to the new and improved Houston Zoo. They apparently have some new African Safari part.

Texas ~ DAY 1

Well… I have arrived!!! What a long flight… that I didn't sleep on! I kept dozing off and then waking up thinking the plane was plummeting to the ground! How freakin' scary is that!!!

The guy picking me up to take me to the airport was 30 minutes late getting me, then I get into the airport and I had to sit outside of the terminal… They closed it off because they had someone in customs holding. So we are all sitting outside the gates and at the airport in Hawaii its not air conditioned throughout the whole building. So it was bloody HOT!!! Well hot for 6pm at night. Don't you just love when the airline workers say that "We're getting ready for boarding" and its like everyone stands up. You aren't going to be first people… only the people that spend a fortune on tickets get to go on first and so on. So the people are standing up to wait in line to sit back down. People take a chill pill and relax, the plane isn't going to leave without you!

I just love how 3+ years ago when they would come around with your meal (I was on a plane you didn't have to pay for it on) they use to give you a choice between chicken or fish, or something like that. Now they give you this nasty burger type thing… YUCK! Its not enough that you now have to pay for luggage, you now have to pay for headphones, drinks, and on some airlines food. I mean aren't the actual airline tickets covering everything?! I know, I know… RANT RANT RANT

Then when you land everyone stands up all at once because apparently the doors are going to open miraculously and you are going to get off as soon as the plane is done taxiing. Its not going to be that quick people!!! Then waiting for you luggage at the carousel, everyone stands in the same spot when there are perfectly good spots all around… No lets all stand in a congregation and get in everyones way when we actually try to take the bags off the thingy. Ugh… your bags aren't going to move any quicker, or necessarily be the first ones out.

Well I finally got out of the airport and had a very nice breaky with my MIL and SIL (mother/sister in law). Followed by a trip to the grocery store, where me naturally in my sleepless state stood in front of what was needed and stared at it thinking "what is it I needed to get?" I walked so slowly through the grocery store in a complete and utter daze!

Then home!!! My beautiful dog Bindi came running up and all crazy, getting in my face and wagging her tail non-stop. Luckily she didn't get me with the tail… that sucker hurts! I take a nice relaxing shower with plenty of HOT water! (I complained to my MIL she didn't have enough hot water the last time I was here) Got out and decided to take a nap… 2 hours later I heard a guitar being strummed and it wakes me up… I thought it was on the TV. Then here comes Bindi again wanting me to wake up and her tail must've hit the guitar and strummed it… all I could say was "Its good to know shes musically inclined".

Well day 1 is still in progress I am going shoe shopping and to visit some friends which I am looking forward to.

Texas

Well, I'm off to Texas in a little over 2 weeks which is exciting. I'm really looking forward to seeing my husband when he comes home for R&R. We are going to be going to the Rodeo which I LOVE!!! Gotta cheer for those cows to get away from the awful cowboys! I do love the broncos, and the bulls, especially when they throw off the rider... is that mean?! I think we are going to go up to Dallas to see a ice hockey game as well as a basketball game. Yay Mavericks... I would so prefer to see the Spurs but Lakers vs. Spurs tickets are so friggin' expensive!!! I hate the Lakers so that would be a preferable game to see.

I'll post pictures at some point of my journey in Texas. Maybe I'll go to the Alamo again. I think we are also going to hit up Six Flags Over Texas which is a theme park in Dallas! WOOHOO thrill rides!!!

ARGH....

I found out about 2 weeks ago that the person who owns the apartment I rent is selling it. My lease isn't up until June and I'm not allowed to break it. After June my husband and I only have 2 more months left here in Hawaii before we move on to a new duty station. Who on earth is going to want to rent to people who are going to be leaving within 2 months?! I would be so nice if we could get a 2 month extension on our current lease, which is what we were initially going to be doing. But... now under these circumstances we aren't sure if that is going to be able to happen. It is so frustrating!!!

R&R in Texas

I am so looking forward to my husbands R&R. I can't wait!!! It will have been 8 months since we have seen each other when R&R comes around. We have decided to go to Houston for those 2 weeks that he has off. I am really looking forward to it. We will be in Houston during the Rodeo which I am really excited about. I can't wait to see the cows... I'm not entirely sure why I love cows so much, but its a little disturbing, even to me. Hmmm I'll have to think about that a little later. They really are cute though; in my opinion! I think we are going to drive up to Dallas for a couple of days and over to Big Bend, I'm not entirely sure what is at Big Bend, but I am willing to find out. I really hope I see some tumble weed on our road trip... and free standing cactus. When I pictured Texas for the first time I thought that is all I would see, but I had to go to Arizona to see those things. I love the cactus that looks like a person. I'm pretty sure his family is excited for us to come as well.

I am really looking forward to seeing Bindi as well. That makes me so happy. I miss my Bindi puppy so very much... such a happy dog :-)

Maui

I loved Maui. I must say that. Maui is so different from O'ahu. It's much more rural, seems to be more farming, less industrial (which is a good thing!). I loved that Maui doesn't have a freeway. It was amazing how little traffic they have there. I know it is well populated, but traffic wasn't even an issue. 

We stopped along the way and it is whale season, we pulled into a look out on the way back from Lahiana and you could see the Humpback Whales breaching... it was a sight worth seeing. I took some pics, but I don't have the best zoom for that sort of thing on my camera.

We drove the Hana Highway, which was a long drive. It wasn't the greatest, but I'm glad that I did it. Took about 5 hours round trip. 

In Hana

View of a town along the Hana Hwy.

Part of the Hana Hwy

Cows.

Windsurfers

Whale breath

Paradise Cove

One word can really describe Paradise Cove and it is... wait for it...

"WOW"

It was such a wonderful night! The events prior to the Lu'au were amazing as well. They had stand type things, where they did Lei making, spear throwing, net fishing (not exactly sure what that one is called), how to de-husk a coconut. After all that you go over to the pig pit, i guess we'll call it, where they take out the pig that they'd been cooking in the ground most of the day.

After you ate the Lu'au begins... AMAZING!!! It really was wonderful.