Hawaii Part 4

Playing catch up? Here ya go!

Hawaii Part 3

Hawaii Part 2

Hawaii Part 1

Here we are, Monday again.

With all of the partying we did over the weekend, Meg and I were ready to take some down time. So we slept in, and spent our morning catching up on normal things. Housecleaning, Kardashians, blogging, facebook, doggie snuggles, etc. It was a great morning!

That afternoon we did decide to go for a hike. We decided on the Pillbox Trail.

The Pillboxes were created as World War II bunkers on the top of a few hills to protect troops when they were fighting the Japanese. This was the message that Megan was told, so I am relaying it all to you! :)

Yea, that's straight down from the trail. Not comforting. 

Look at that view! 

The graffiti is legit! Someone was hungry! 

Another girl was up on the roof, and had done a bridge, and she was bent in half. I wondered if I could still do it. This was my best attempt. I found out, she was 14. Yup, I guess I'm beginning to understand the changes that come with old age. hahaha :)

A view of the sunset!  

Love the view! 

 Meg looked at this picture afterwards, and noticed the date. Apparently I need to find a guy with a G name by December, 13th! Hahahaha.

Finally found the trail sign!

Crazy sun pictures.

We were going to stay for the actual sunset, but we started craving coffee. Off to Morning Brew!! We loved that little coffee place, and their coffee is too hard to stay away from.

When we arrived we saw this:

That's right folks, they were roasting the coffee beans there!!! We sat down at a table next to them, and with a couple of questions, we ended up talking for an hour and a half. This couple had been to Maine, and could name several small towns, their favorite being Cutler, Maine. These people know Maine and are living in Hawaii! So much fun!! :) They were so sweet, and gave me fresh coffee. He pulled it out of the roaster, ground it, and handed it to me. The grounds were still warm! When Megan and I made it the next morning, it was heavenly! 

They also told us about Manoa Chocolate Company which roasts and makes their own chocolate products. But that will have to wait for another post! 

Keep traveling,

M

Hawaii Part 3

If you missed out on the party.

Hawaii Part 1

Hawaii Part 2

Third day. Saturday.

This post might be picture heavy, because we did A LOT!

First we went to Hanauma Bay. It is a beautiful bay that was carved out by the ocean water and the volcanoes. Coral and fish have come in and taken over. So of course we had to snorkel. I unfortunately did not have an underwater camera to capture any of the gorgeous fish, so you will just have to come visit for yourself.

There was one fish, that was at least 2 feet long, bright purple with blue fins. The fish was gorgeous. It also swam less than 3 feet away from me. I like to look. I'm very good at the looking thing, not so much the touching thing. I don't like fish touching me. 3 feet of space is not enough with a fish that big. So I swam away. Hahaha.

Here are some of the pictures over looking the bay.

I know, I know. I'm a jerk. All that beautiful blue water that I got to swim in. Hahaha. It was very warm. It has been years since I have snorkeled, but it came back so quickly. So much fun to just swim around, look at God's handy work, and all of the intricate details. 

Later, we went into Waikiki and went para-sailing. Megan didn't want to go, so I talked Shawn into hanging out with me. She took some pictures, as well as relaxed, and enjoyed the boat ride. It was almost like being back on a lake in Maine. 

Getting ready to ride!

Shawn doesn't enjoy my shenanigans.

Channeling my inner Jack Sparrow.

Take off!

Flying! 

We might have been a bit up there. 

Landing.

 Para-sailing was so much fun. Much calmer than I thought. Shawn and I both agreed that we should have done skydiving instead. We wanted a thrill, something to be crazy, and although para-sailing was a fun experience, it was just too calm for these adrenaline seeking folk. 

We finished out the day by heading to the North Shore, to watch the sunset on the beach. It was beautiful, and a nice swim. But we got a bit hungry, so the sunset was forgone, and we went out for food instead. :) 

Sunday. 

We started our morning by hitting up Denny's. They don't really have breakfast places here, so Denny's it was. 

We then went to church, and headed over to the Beach Bash. They were doing baptisms after lunch. I had never seen baptisms done in the ocean. Some people fell over....the waves were a bit much. But we stayed from 1:30 in the afternoon until 8:30 at night. Meeting everyone was so much fun. The sunset was gorgeous as well. I found out how to take panoramas, so I got a lot of the sky that night and all of the colors. 

The picture does not do justice to the colors. 

The weekend was wonderful. God had made so many beautiful places. I am so blessed to be able to see so many aspects of it. 

Keep traveling,

M

Hawaii Part 2

If you weren't able to read part 1, and you don't feel like scrolling down, feel free to click this link here...

Hawaii Part 1

...and that will get you up to date on what this curious traveler did in her first day in Hawaii!

Now onto the good stuff.

After the beach, we decided to head into Waikiki to go to dinner at Bubba Gump Shrimp Company. DELICIOUS!!

First though we stopped at the Pali Lookout, and boy was it windy. Meg and I were so cold from our beach shenanigans, so we took a quick photo, and booked it towards dinner!

Wind=hair fixing

Look at the tan lines, lots of sun! 

#Godshandywork

Second day. Friday.

We decided, like any good girlfriends do, to grab lunch and get a mani/pedi. It was HEAVEN!!! My cuticles were a bit sore, but hey, nothing like getting them ripped off in a tropical place!!! I decided to get a bright pink, in Megan's words "to make [me] look more tan." I can use all the help I can get!! :)

We ate lunch at this delicious salad place "Aloha Salads". It was so yummy! Everything was so fresh, great colors, and very flavorful. I had a passion fruit and orange salad dressing. YUM!

After our nails were dry, NEEDED coffee. Lucky for us there was an Adorable coffee shop right next door. I was asked if I wanted the vanilla or spiced chai. There were choices for chai?!? THE BEST EVER!!! So delicious. We ate bagels, and enjoyed how cute the shop was.

That night we headed back down to Waikiki to walk around, watch some fireworks and see the city. The sunset was gorgeous, and the fireworks were great! A hotel has a firework show every Friday, so they aren't as big as the 4th of July, but they were still beautiful!!! 

gangster shawn.

silly people get in the way of my sunset.

the fizzy ones happened right before I clicked it. 

so pretty!

the finale. whiz. pop. bang. 

It was a beautiful night. So nice to walk around, and see so much of the city. 

Onto the next adventure! 

Keep leaping!

M

Hawaii Part 1

I am quite unsure of the number of parts to this vacation, but I can promise there will be ample stories and pictures to entertain you! This curious traveler is having a blast!

I started in Boston at 8:45 a.m. I took a flight to Seattle, onward to Los Angeles, and finally landed in Hawaii at 10:00 p.m. Hawaii time. That means I landed at 4:00 p.m. eastern time. LONG DAY!!! I was so tired, but surprisingly awake.

Boston

One of the big mountains outside of Seattle!

Sunset flying towards Hawaii

The colors were fabulous!

Because of the time difference, and being up so late, I kicked jet lag really fast. I slept in until 6:30 here, which with the 6 hour difference, should have been 12:30 in the east. Megan and I decided to make it a beach day. It was fabulous to just sit on the beach, hear the waves, and try to not let the sun burn me! 

The sun tried, but my crazy amounts of sunscreen helped! Hopefully I will come back with some brown color, not all red! :) 

Keep leaping,

M

Update

I unfortunately did not get either of the jobs in Maine that I applied for. So it looks like another year in Lawrence.

I am okay with this. Even though it feels like such a blow to the heart, I know God has a reason for this. With all of this in mind, my roommate and I are sticking together for the next year. Which again, has been such a blessing. We are looking at apartments, and have found some beautiful places!

I mean look at that hardwood floor!!! LOVE IT!!!! 

I am looking forward to living in another wonderful place, and hopefully in a city that doesn't feel so much like a city. Preferably a place with trees around it. I like trees! 

Being settled in plans for the next year, I am very happy to be trying to fund a project through donorschoose.org. I need writing supplies for my classroom, and have chosen these materials to fulfill that need. If you could help at all, I would be beyond appreciative!!! 

The project

If you can help in the next 10 days, use the code INSPIRE at checkout, and donorschoose will match the donation dollar for dollar! 

Thank you so much for your prayers and thoughts for me during this time of transition! 

Keep leaping,

M

big Big BIG leaps!

I haven't told many people about this, as I'm not sure what is going to happen, and I don't want to get people's hopes up. But....

I MAY be  moving back to Maine.

I miss my family.
I miss my friends.
I miss trees.
I miss the roads.
I miss people who think similarly to me.
I miss good trucks. NO dodges....yuck.
I miss the summer.
I miss Acadia.
I miss Bar Harbor.

I miss home.

There is a lot of things that I will miss about living in Mass, but being home is worth all of that.

I have already started the process of getting my Maine teaching certification, all I need is to receive a passing score on a test that I took a few weeks ago. After that, I need to be interviewed and hired for a job. I can only move home if I have the job.

There are many things that need to happen for me to move home, but I am praying, hoping, and wishing for those things to happen.

I would very much appreciate all of your prayers in this time of transition!!!

Keep leaping,
M

Dating Diaries

I know I know....it's been FAR too long. But there is a reason.

I've been trying to keep my personal life off of the blog, which left teaching stories. By the end of the day I choose to forget half of them in trying to remain sane, so they don't make it long enough to be written out.

So, here we are, back to personal life. I have kept it off of the internet out of respect for those who were involved in my life. But that mutual respect wasn't really shown to me over time....so I might as well share the hilarity that ensued.

Have you ever heard the saying "Behind every bitch is the asshole who made her that way." Oh...excuse the swearing, it is relevant I PROMISE!!

So the assholes. I still do have respect for them. So I will switch their names. I talked with my mom, and told her I would rename them to the men who have always been there for me.

1. Jack Daniel's
2. Jim Beam
3. Johnnie Walker
4. Captain Morgan
5. Dr. McGillicuddy
6. Jose Cuervo

Side note: I feel like I should be taking shots of each of these men as I tell you these stories, but nevertheless, my liquor cabinet is a bit empty after this school year.

Let's start with Jack Daniels. We went out on a date. It was good. Good catching up with an old friend, great food, and a very comfortable night. But I didn't want to hang out the next night, because I had had an AWFUL day at school. So rather than keep conversing with me, a week later, A WEEK LATER, 7 DAYS LATER, I received this text: "Sorry I have not forgot about you. I have been really busy." Ummm......busy for the 24 hours of the past 7 days. I don't think so. When I received a "Happy Birthday" text from Jack, I was grateful, but I responded with being equally busy.

Jim Beam and Johnnie Walker decided to double up with the SAME issue. Ummm....I don't know about you, but when I have only been talking to someone for a few days, I DON'T want to talk about my showering habits, and the likelihood that you can JOIN me!!!! I think it is unbelievably rude, and frankly waaaaayyyyy toooo forward for me to have any respect for you!

Captain Morgan was a true gem. (please re-read that sentence with EXTREME sarcasm), okay thanks! So I needed to get out after I took a huge test (that is another blog post), and I called up a guy who had asked to take me out to dinner earlier that week. He wanted to meet up, so I drove down to Boston. Mind you, I drove 30 miles, while he walked a block. We had a very nice dinner and drinks. He invited me back to his apartment for a glass of wine. Now I hear all of you gasping, "Oh no! Why would she go back to a guy's apartment?" I get it, I get it. I PROMISE! I had my reasons, being that we had talked quite a bit over the previous week. I knew I was breaking a rule I had previously set for myself, but I was conscious of the decision.

So....we go back to his apartment, and as soon as the door closed behind me, I find his mouth on my face. It wasn't that he was a bad kisser, but I wasn't expecting it. But I moved on, and we kept kissing. All of a sudden I found his hands roaming.....NOT ALLOWED!!!! I pulled back and told him so. I shit you not this was his response "But I took you out to dinner and drinks, don't I deserve it?" UMMMMMM..........NO! No you don't!! You don't deserve anything! You made a choice to take me out, I'm making a choice to not sleep with you!

So he calmed down, and I was about to leave when he picked me up. As I set myself back down he said "I should get bonus gentleman points for not taking you to my bed and doing what I want with you!" ummmmmmmmmmmmmmm.......NO! Strike 2! No! You don't get bonus points for NOT raping me! You don't get bonus points for NOT committing a crime.

Strike 3 for the Captain, was as I was leaving I said he could get the bonus points for walking me to my car which was at least 5 blocks away, in the middle of Boston, and it was 10 p.m. and he said "No, I'm not walking you to your car." Ummmm good human being points don't even go your way. It took me over 30 minutes to find my car. I thank the good Lord above for Rissy, who stayed on the phone with me until I did find it.

Dr. McGillcuddy comes in from the wonderful app of tinder. He seemed like a nice guy. But within the first week of talking with him I answered the question "would you like to hang out sometime?" Sure! Absolutely! Will I ask myself out on a date? Heck, no! He made a "joke" at one point, on a day I was doing nothing, "oh it's too bad you're too busy to hang out today" Nope. Not okay. You haven't even asked me out on a date, don't try making a joke about not hanging out. Ugh. So when he finally did ask me out, for a few days later, HE DIDN'T EVEN TALK TO ME FOR THOSE FEW DAYS!!!!! I received a text at 8:45 p.m. the night of our supposed date, and he said "hey is it too late to hang out?" Yes. Yes it is too late. Reschedule? Yea sure, that's if you ever actually have the guts to talk to me again.

Last but not least, my man Jose. Now this was a guy that I was becoming good friends with. But after a few ridiculous jokes over a couple of months, that were truly not funny, I became annoyed. I found out from a mutual friend that Jose said "If Megan keeps acting like this, I'm going to go home early." Well.....if we are going to be so childish, then yes, please go home early. Save me the trouble.

When I went home, I was reminded that there are actually good men out there. Good friends, who even after months and years of separation can still care about you as a person. I think that's just another sign of needing to be home. But that's another post for another time ;)

Keep leaping,
M