Merry Belated!

Merry Belated Christmas! Been too long again (woops). Zade, Ruby and I had a good Christmas, only thing that could have made it better was being with my family! Christmas Eve we went boating with some friends and snorkeling then to a Luau at the Hale Koa (loved it). For Christmas Day we just lounged around! Talked with the family on the webcam, cooked, ate, ate, ate! All in all a good day. I got to meet up with my friend Rosie from Virginia Beach while she was here visiting her sister - how fun! We hiked Diamond Head together Saturday and Monday did the most ridiculous "Stairway to Heaven" hike. 3,922 stairs! Feelin it in the legs today!! Saw the sunrise and the beautiful Hawaii from way up top in the mountains, truly amazing!
Today I ran around and got some errands done, then Ruby got to meet her friend Cooper who came in from "the mainland" today! They were a little snippy with each other but we will blame that on Coopers big day in the air! :) Tomorrow, a hike with the dogs and maybe the beach! Just another day in paradise...

<3 andrea

Beautiful Morning

Good Morning and Happy Monday :)

Snuggled on the couch with ruby enjoying coffee and the Today show - my favorite. Lets recap the weekend! Friday brought a wonderful day of Kayaking with Megan. We rented Kayaks from the Marine Corps Base and kayaked around Kaneohe, found some really beautiful waters. Saturday hubby had to work so I ventured off to the Swap Meet...not my favorite, fun but it certainly did not change my life. We ended up finding a cute little Christmas town with trees and wreaths and gingerbread houses all decorated, I love Christmastime :)
Yesterday a LONG run on the beach with Hubs and Ruby- so beautiful...I love living near the beach and I think it will forever be a requirement for my life, then Christmas music and Christmas cookie making - oh and we finally found a tree (more pictures to come)

<3

Settling In

We are almost completely no longer living out of suitcases, which is quite a fantastic feeling. Yesterday in an attempt to get into the Christmas spirit I baked ALL day! I'd like to share a recipe I found for Hawaiian Oatmeal Cookies - let me tell you...they are AMAZING!

Hawaiian Oatmeal Cookies (makes 36 cookies)
1-1/4 cups packed light brown sugar
3/4 cup butter-flavored solid vegetable shortening, plus extra for greasing the baking sheets
1 large egg
2 tablespoons orange juice
1 tablespoon grated orange zest
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon orange or lemon extract
3 cups quick-cooking oats, uncooked
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1 can (8 ounces) crushed pineapple in natural juice, well-drained
1 cup flaked coconut
1 cup chopped macadamia nuts

Pre-heat oven to 375 F. Grease baking sheets with shortening. In a large mixing bowl beat brown sugar, shortening, egg, orange juice, orange zest, vanilla and orange extract until creamy. In another mixing bowl stir together oats, flour, baking soda, salt and ginger. Gradually stir flour mixture into creamy mixture. Stir in pineapple, coconut and macadamia nuts. Drop by rounded tablespoonfuls 2 inches apart onto prepared baking sheets. Bake 10 to 12 minutes or until cookies are lightly browned. Cool 2 minutes; transfer to cooling rack to cool completely.

ENJOY!!!

<3 from the Aloha State!

Coconut Grove

Been too long since my last entry!! We have been busy! After many days of house hunting we finally found a place! Mannnn that was ROUGH! The selection here is just very different than Virginia Beach...we can just leave it at that! Our new place is in Kailua Hawaii, in the Coconut Grove part of town...if it sounds amazing then yes, it is! :) We love it! We live in the upstairs part of a big house. We lucked out and found a place with a nice kitchen, 2 porches and 4 bedrooms! Amazing! Even though we have all the space, we still need to get rid of some stuff, and fast! Its crowded in here! Its so nice to have a place to cook meals and relax!! Almost not living out of a suitcase or box anymore, which is quite an amazing thing!
We just took a nice bike ride and found this cute little trail along a canal just around the corner from our place :) Ruby is tired!

I will send pictures soon, a few more days and it will be unpacked and ready for viewing :) For now, its a disaster area!

Miss you all!! I will be better about my posts from now on, promise! :)

<3 me