Living with Sybil

I do not like this phase that my "angel/demon" child is going through. Up and down, happy/mad, nice/screaming etc...
Every little thing I do now calls for huge drama from him. I really don't know how any of us survive childhood!!! What about these families that have 19 kids??? INSANITY!!!!! I was not a good kid and I am wondering how my mom kept her cool. Several times a day I feel my blood pressure rise to the boiling point and then slowly come back down.
Our school district is thinking about cutting out one day of school so it would be 4 day school weeks. That might just be what puts me over the edge.
And to think that I actually signed up for this fun!!!
A padded room with food, crafts, and medication sounds good right now. I do hope all of you will come by for visits.

Simple Pleasures!!!

KT, KT,KT put on her blog some favorites of her week a few days ago. I am a copycat.

So here are some of Smartie Pants very simple pleasures of this week.

#1). I had coffee with a dear friend Alicia this week. She is a peaceful blanket. Her presence wraps around you and you feel calmed, relaxed and comfortable. We haven't spent time together in probably a year. It is always so nice to reconnect with a friend.

#2). I went to "Rose City Ceramics" and spent time with my friend Angela. We laughed and got to spend some quality time together. We have plans later this week to head to the beach for a few days. YAY!!!

#3). I got to go to a scrapbook store and get new paper, and accessories for free. I have a store credit there and still have more money left. That is super duper!!!!

#4). I am actually making progress on some cards that I have been trying to make for 4 weeks. I am still doing a lot of shuffling but I did put 16 cards together in 2 days. YAY for me (it's the little things in life)

#5). The bag of ALL GREEN M&M's are out for a short time. Must be Valentine day soon.

#6). I actually TALKED ON THE PHONE to Oogah Boogah!!!! The crazy senorita with a drinking problem and glass eye. Doesn't that sound like it would be a good reality show???!!! I hope to actually see her soon, even though she can only see half of me. Hey that's one way to look thinner!!!

#7). I actually am reading a book for pleasure instead of a parenting book. Mama Llama lent me an awesome book called "The Shack". It is a book that is hard for me to put down. I recommend it very highly. It is a book that will make you think about why we are here.

#8). The sunshine has been a huge mood booster!!! Love it!!!

#9). My family actually worked together as "a family" to clean up all the downed branches and spiffy up the backyard. That right there is AMAZING!!!!!

#10). Watching my son play basketball on a team with classmates. He had fun and loves basketball. He is such a goofball like his mom.

So friends, how was your week??? Need more bloggers!!!!!!!!

No more "Happy Cream"

Well I know the holidays are over. I have not been able to find my "Peppermint Mocha" creamer in weeks. I am on my last bottle. I am very sad. I will have to resort to the French again. I never had any desire to go to France by the way. I here they are very snobby people. SIGH!!!!

I'm dreaming of a white Christmas!!!

This beautiful poinsettia was given to us along with a beautiful fir wreath to hang on our door by our friend LN and her family. This poinsettia was HUGE!!! And I still have the wreath hanging up on our front door. I am hoping it lasts all year!!!! We don't buy these things because we are so "practical" (I'm not) and so these gifts were such a treat!!!! Thank you LN!!!!

I am thankful I missed a big part of the snow that occured. We all wish for a white Christmas until we are snowed in for a couple of weeks. Well you can blame that snow problem on my friend Oogah Boogah's (the one with the glass eye) husband. He has a snow machine and I think he accidently left it on to long!!!!

Christmas was different this year. Being gone for 6 days ahead of the holiday made me cut out a lot of unnecessary shopping and fretting over things I think "have" to be done or Christmas won't be perfect (as if it ever has been). Then returning to a snowed in city meant I still couldn't do the stuff I planned. I actually think it was better. There is so much emphasis on the material stuff and not being able to get out was good, at least for me. So my new holiday tradition is to be on vacation somewhere tropical so I am less stressed!!!! Works for me!!!

Michael is the official Christmas tree decorator in the house. He does a great job.

Every year he gets a new ornament as part of our family tradition. These are just a few of his ornaments. This year he of course got an ornament from Hawaii. A car with a surfboard on it. When he leaves the nest to get married he will have his own Christmas tree decorations to take with him. Hopefully they bring back happy memories. As my dear friend Abeer pointed out and which is probably very true his future wife will not have the same sentiment for them as I do and they will somehow "disappear"!!!! That will be one of my questions for the potential daughter-in-law, "So how do you feel about 25 year old family traditions that should be put out every Christmas??" If she doesn't just love these ornaments she's probably no good!!!

Here's that face I love!!!!

I love the penguins!!!! OK I guess the whole ornament tradition is really for "ME"!!! See how theraputic blogging is??? I just saved myself some big money on future therapy on why my daughter-in-law and I don't agree on the ornaments. Oh well, I will continue on with the tradion and enjoy it while he's still my guy!!

The End of Hawaii

Here I am at the top of "Diamond Head"

crater. That my friends was a good hike for this fat old lady!!! The shaved ice we bought when we got back down was so refreshing!!

These are part of the 270 steps up to the top

These were some unusual flowers along the path.

Here is my favorite flower in Hawaii.

The plumeria. I only saw a couple on Oahu.

Maui had a lot when

I was on that island years ago. They smell so good and are such a simple flower.

We did a lot, saw a lot, and had fun!!!!!

I miss the islands already.

Christmas Hawaiian Style

Christmas is different in Hawaii. Santa wears

his "Speedo" and wanders the beach with his surf board. We saw a Christmas parade while we were there. They decked golf carts out like reindeer which I loved!! I really want a golf cart and have thought about stealing one!!!! Fire trucks were all lighted up as Christmas trees, cheerleaders in mini skirts, everyone wearing shorts. It went down the main street of the city we were in and only being a couple of lanes for cars traffic was backed way up. The bad thing about using the main drag is that a real emergency did happen and the fire trucks that were not decked out in holiday regal had to try and get through the parade and bumper to bumper traffic. Bummer for you if your strokin' out during a parade!!!

Look at Santa's
coloring next to mine!!!
GROSS ME!!!!

Dole Plantation

This is a snail

hidden in the plant. Good

camouflage!!!

We spent a couple of hours at the "Dole" plantation. It has great pineapple whips, food, hand crafted gifts, a train that shows you the pineapple fields and other agriculture that they grow on the farm, a HUGE maze, and a beautiful garden.

I've been here before but this time I really got to explore and enjoy it. It is one of my favorite tourist spots. The air is clean, the store smells like pineapple, and the garden is so beautiful. I obviously love photography and there was ample opportunity for me to snap away.

The hibiscus area was so colorful. The ginger was gorgeous, and they even had a pond that had beautiful lotus plants.

One of my favorite parts of the garden is these signs. They tell where and how far places are in the world. Your all lucky I am not posting every picture I took. I am just like my Grandma G. (stop laughing Lisa!!!!). We all were driven crazy by the amount of pictures she took when we were kids and now I understand the love that she had for the camera.

There were so many lizards and snails there, I took those pictures for my little reptilian son. I tried so hard to catch one so I could get a great shot but those buggers are FAST!!!!

They have a pond where you can feed the "Koi" fish food. That is so fun. The fish practically jump up to your face to get a fish pellet. They crawl all over each other to get the food. It is quite the sight.

Where ya headed?? Mexico? New Zealand? Paris?

Love the signs!!!!

Byodo-In Temple

We went to "The Valley of the Temples" which is a big cemetery. There were lots of people there weed whacking their loved ones graves. Lots of the plots were decorated with Christmas stuff. It was a very nice setting between the Ko' Olau Mountains and the Pacific ocean (east side of the island). The funny thing to me as we drove around were all the signs advertising "Available".

At the back of the cemetery is this "Byodo-In Temple".

It is a very pretty building and the grounds have lots of flowers, a pond with black swans, wild peacocks, chickens, doves and pigeons. You of course have to pay to get on the grounds. So I walked up to the man in the booth and told him which cemetery plot I wanted. We both laughed. I actually wouldn't mind being buried there. Nice views!!!! That is my friend Lynda ringing the temple bell. She is so tiny that if she swung the wood hard enough it would probably lift her right off the ground!!!

Of course they have a souvenir shop there with every kind of "Buddha" statue you can imagine.

There was huge bamboo plants there and the wild ginger.

Everywhere in Hawaii has beauty to it.

The beach at the resort

This was a semi private beach at the resort. They shaped it like a sea shell. There were net barriers to keep the sharks, and bigger fish out.

I have never been to a man made beach and I liked it. The sand was beautiful. There was not trash all over it. That right there is a pet peeve for me, we have such a gift in this earth and we choose to trash it. Anyhoo!!! One of the things I noticed was there were only little itty bitty shells on the beach. The size of dimes maybe. There were pieces of coral also. There were little school of fish that moved in with the waves and right back out. It was truly a nice experience. They had lounge chairs and cabanas to rent and also small canoes. It felt safe for kids. You didn't have to worry about the currents carrying them away.

Jimmy Buffet is famous for his ocean songs and his song "Changes in Latitude" reminds me of this vacation.

"It's those changes in latitude, changes in attitude nothing remains quiet the same."

The change in my latitude helped my attitude (until I got home).

The Sea~

As I dig my toes in the sand I listen to your water, it sounds so grand. Whether calm or stormy it relaxes me.

The sound of the birds, depending on where in the world you are all have a goal. They sing the praises of the creator who holds the sea in His hands.

The water plays chase with me, of course the water always wins. It sneaks up fast and splashes me and then quickly darts away.

Big shells, little shells, wash ashore. They whisper "pick me, admire me I am special can't you see??" Each one crafted individually.

Of course my favorite would be the warm ocean breeze compared to the breeze that makes me freeze.

For me, there's no other place I would like to be than the islands of Hawaii. The smell of plumeria, and gardenia. The water warm and clear.

The sounds of palm trees swaying, make it clear, this is where my soul longs to be.

If I could I would live by the sea and enjoy each and every memory.