Christine – Page 4

Hawaii trip – day 1: An overview of the island by plane

Hawaii Here We Come

Early June 30th, we were up before dawn ready to start our much awaited adventure to Hawaii. We were up before 4am and out the door to the airport. This would be a long flight with one short layover in Salt Lake, but we were prepared. Or so we thought.

We arrived at the Salt Lake airport with just enough time to grab a quick lunch and get to our gate. When we sat down to eat, we got a call from Delta. Our flight was delayed. Ok, so at least it wasn’t cancelled. It was only going to be delayed a couple of hours, or so they thought. Apparently there was a mechanical error that would not allow the plane to fly over the ocean so a part needed to be replaced. One was being flown in from LA. The gate attendant assured everyone that the part was easy to replace and we should be able to board in no time. No time came and went. Michael stood at the window to watch the repair progress. There was much scratching and shaking of heads by the mechanics. After a 7 hour delay, we were told that the plane was not going to be able to fly over the ocean but they could take us to LA where we would switch planes and once again be on our way. Only one glitch remained, they would have to take the extra fuel out of the tank before we could leave. We boarded the plane and waited, and waited, and waited. I was by the window and watched more of the head shaking scratching that Michael had seen before. After watching half of a movie, Jack the Giant Slayer, we were finally able to leave Salt Lake.

Looks like we made it

We finally arrived in Hawaii, got our luggage, rental car, and made our way to the Ko’Olina beachclub resort. It was 11pm when we got there. Tired, hungry and ready to sleep. I have to say that the staff there was amazing. They provided us with some sandwiches and drinks at no charge and made sure that we were all set with anything we needed.

Up and at ’em

Still on Pennsylvania time, Michael and I were up early and wandering the beach in front of our building as the sun was coming up. It was a beautiful morning, slight breeze and some humidity (not like PA). We took some pictures and walked around the resort exploring. After the kids were up, we went out in search of breakfast before our plane ride over the island.

Up up and away

amr

Siri led the way to the place we were supposed to meet our pilot for the morning. Well Siri actually got us a little lost. With some help from google maps we got on the right track and went to meet Gene, our pilot from Flight See Hawaii. The plane, a Cessna 182 Skylane holds 4 people, including the pilot so we split up.I went with Amanda and Christopher. Amanda had the co-pilot seat, Christopher was in charge of pictures and I was just happy to see the awesome view. Gene flew us over the island and pointed out places that we might want to go back and visit on our trip. He pointed out places that tended to be crowded and places where the locals go. He was very knowledgeable and personable. It was a great trip. Even the little air bubbles were fun, for most of us. After we landed, Michael and Alex took their turn. Because of the trade winds, they saw a few different areas we didn’t see. It was fun to combine our photographs and see everything.

ckrcpr

After our amazing flights, we were off to buy groceries for the week and get some lunch. We found a store similar to Whole foods, and a Costco where we stocked up on fresh fruits and food that we could make for breakfast. The kids got to pick where they’d like get lunch. Now if you know our kids, it won’t surprise you to know that they picked a place we don’t have here, a place that they, of course loved. The place was called Ramen Ya. It’s a Japanese noodle restaurant that serves Ramen noodles. But these noodles aren’t the salty things that college students buy by the case load. These bowls were HUGE and filled with yummy goodness. I learned, however, that eating noodles with chopsticks is something that I’ll need more practice doing. By the end of our meal, I was no longer flinging juice across the table. I think that’s improvement. 🙂 Here are a couple of our bowls.

A dip in the pool

After lunch and putting groceries away we were off to the pool(s) and the beach to relax and play in the sand. It was a great way to end our first day on the island of Oahu.

Good neighbors and a stranger with a chain saw

Tonight was going to be a good night to relax and regroup. Things can change like lightning.

I drove home from work this evening heading toward sunny skies. As I got nearer my destination, the skies started to darken and lightning flashed in the distance. It was a beautiful sight, all that flashing light in the darkening sky. As I got closer, the weather picked up intensity with rain pelting the car faster and faster. Soon I was slowing down with traffic to a near crawl. Visibility was poor and the roads were like being in a river. Cars were stopped under overpasses as dime sized hail bounced off the car with a pinging that sounded more like bbs hitting the metal.

It wasn’t too long until I was through the storm and back into sunny skies. Those sunny skies didn’t last long. I barely made it home before the beginning of the storm started again.

In the kitchen we were making dinner as the storm lashed out it’s fury. The wind was blowing sideways and lightning was flashing. In the blink of an eye, half our tree was gone.

The tree was part of our lives. It survived 12 years with our family giving us shade, blooming in the Spring and providing a great view from the kitchen window. Now are view is not as pretty.

In a flash, it all changed.

In the middle of the road... — In the middle of the road…

The tree covered half of the road. Traffic was blocked and there were branches everywhere. And so the work begun.

Mike pulled out a chainsaw. After a few slices, the chainsaw died. Next came the handsaw followed by a series of handsaws until one by one the blades dulled. As Mike went in a hopeful search of a replacement blade, Christopher and I dragged branch after branch into a pile in the back yard. On one trip back to the mess in the road, we saw a jeep stop and a stranger with a chainsaw came to our rescue. His name is Ben. He said, “As I was jogging by, I noticed you trying to cut up the tree with a handsaw. I have a chainsaw, would you like some help?”

Wow, a stranger willing to help someone he didn’t know. Those kind of people are few and far between. Pretty soon, neighbors came out of their houses and helped take down the tree.

neighbors neighbors2

Soon the work was done and all that is left is a huge pile of branches filling up the yard, and a reminder that on August 1, 2011 a Summer storm struck our tree and brought out good neighbors and a new friend with a chainsaw.

We are thankful for good neighbors and a stranger (now friend) with a chainsaw.

Quilt Market Spring 2010

Mama C, the Lizzie B Girls and I made it to Minneapolis, MN. blah blah blah

Dinner was at the Melting Pot. We made sure there was a balanced ending to our meal.

Yin Yang Chocolate

Check out the Lizzie B Cre8ive blog for more of the week’s antics. I was the guest blogger and though I had fun doing it, it was too much to try to keep up 2 blogs during the week. I really don’t know how people do this on a daily basis. It takes a LOT of time.

There were many new friends (like Elliott) made. Much fun was had with old friends.

Quilt Market is something that will wear you out but is fun at the same time.

Waiting…Waiting…Waiting

I’m sitting at my chiropractor’s office writing a blog post. Why? you may ask. Well it’s my punishment for doing a good deed. I of course, talk to everyone and was checking out when the staff mentioned that they had a problem with their wireless. I just happened to have my geeky son with me so I volunteered his services. Duh! It’s never as easy as it seems and I’m still waiting. It’s going on 45 minutes now and I had plans for this morning.

I’ve checked Facebook, surfed the web on my phone and taken a couple of calls about an alarm going off at my parent’s house. Now what?!

What do YOU do when you’re waiting?

Paris 2007

Paris Day 1 – Friday/Saturday

We boarded a plane in Philadelphia and headed to Paris. We sat next to a couple, Rich and Kristen, who were on their way to Portugal and were trying to learn the language on the way. They had been to Paris before and were quick to point out that we should plan to eat as many pastries and baguettes as we could since they would never taste the same in the states as they would in Paris. What good advice!

View from the Hotel We landed in Paris, later than expected but still with enough time left in the day to get a feel for the city. We checked into our hotel and I, of course, took pictures of the cool buildings that we could see from our window. There is a beauty to these buildings with their rod iron balconies and flowerboxes. There are trees growing on balconies and roofs and greenery in places you wouldn’t normally expect.

We could see the Eiffel Tower – Tour Eiffel – from the street outside our hotel. Mike thought that it looked close so we should just take a walk and see it. About 3 miles later after passing UNESCO and numerous other buildings, we were able to see the Eiffel Tower up close. The day was beautiful and sunny with a slight breeze. It was such a nice day that many people were sunning or having picnics on blankets in the grass by the tower. What an amazing structure the tower is. When I looked up at the detail on the arches it made me realize how much you don’t actually see when you are far away. We walked around the opposite side from where we came in so that we could take a picture (or several) from up higher. This was when we got our first taste of street vendors. They would attempt to stop us every few feet trying to sell miniature towers on key chains. By about the 8th or 9th person, I stopped feeling sorry about saying “No.” One enterprising vendor laid his selection on the steps of the Ecole Militaire building we were taking pictures from.

Eiffel Tower

Under the bridge over the Seine It was difficult to get a feel for the city from our location so we decided to take a boat tour on the Seine. My Dad suggested the Bateaux Mouche tour. We saw the boat we wanted touring down the river and Mike was convinced that if he just followed it on foot then he would know where it left from so we could go find it. I wasn’t about to follow a boat the length of the Seine so I took a break and sat on some steps under a bridge by the river. By this time of day, the weather had gotten quite a bit hotter than I was comfortable with so I was happy to enjoy the breeze by the river while watching the ducks. After a little while, Mike returned with the exciting news that the boat had turned around and if we hurry, we could follow it. So armed with our map and good intentions, we set out to find it. Did I mention that Mike had the map and neither of us had noticed that the name and location of the boat dock was printed on it? By the time the boat got a head of us a ways, we discovered where we should go and were only what looked like 2 blocks away (yeah, the blocks aren’t really blocks – more 1/2 miles blocks). What a relief to find the boat, buy the tickets (thankfully they took Visa as we still hadn’t been able to get cash out) and sit down. We sat at the top of the boat and as it started up we were able to feel the breeze and view various parts of the city at a glance. Truthfully, I was so exhausted at this point – keep in mind, we had been up almost 24 hours except for the little sleep we were able to get on the plane. I started to drift off every time they would translate the site we were seeing in another language. I would wake up when the English started but would drift again as they went through the other languages. At the end of the boat tour, we decided to stop for a quick bite to eat before trying to find our way back to the hotel for the night. We found a cute little outdoor café and ate dinner followed by a to-die-for crème brulee. We were only a few blocks (a mile) away from the Arc de Triomphe so we took a walk to view this amazing structure. On the way we passed a wall that was a huge advertisement for an espresso bar and it was made up to look like a zipper. Of course I had to take a picture. I ran out into the middle of the street to take pictures of the Arc and was able to get three before my camera battery died. We went under the road and walked over to the arch and looked around for a bit. At this time, we didn’t go up it since my secondary battery apparently didn’t hold its charge. We knew we’d be back but this was a good time to head back to the hotel. I thought that this was also a good time to try the metro – no way was I walking back to the hotel with blisters all over my feet. The man at the metro station that sold us our tickets was very helpful and told me that my French was very good. Not sure if that means that every other American he’d seen that day was worse or if he was just trying to be nice. He told us how to get back to Montparnasse and thankfully it was a straight ride back. Well, actually the train was straight back but then Mike navigated us to our hotel via the scenic route. We probably passed our hotel as we walked around in circles. Finally we found the hotel and we were able to collapse for the night.

>>Read more about our Paris Trip.

Frustrated with job searching

I know the economy isn’t great right now. I’ve been aware of it for a while but knowing doesn’t really make things easier does it. I’ve spent countless hours searching and applying for jobs, going on interviews, sending thank you notes and waiting to hear anything. Then when I go looking, what do I see? The same job postings for the same positions that I’ve applied for. It is extremely frustrating! One company even had me waiting while they hired the “team” that I would be working with. Their offer was so sweet that why wouldn’t I hold out for the job? Oh I know, it is because they couldn’t get the right people for the team and since the economy is bad, they decided to scrap the whole thing!

So what does an out of work web designer do in between job searches? I do the one thing that I love that doesn’t make me gain weight and allows me to relax. I take pictures.

I spent some time with a friend who took me up to the mountains of American Fork in Utah. It was beautiful with the sun shinning and the fresh snow. The air was crisp with a slight chill but the time I was able to spend shooting pictures and just regrouping was priceless. It always amazes me how much just being out in nature and away from the computer can help me to de-stress. Well, that is until the next crisis happens, or in my case, my garage catching fire. I’ll write about that later but for now, relax and breathe in the crisp cool air and picture yourself in the mountains with me.

So what does an out of work web designer do in between job searches? I do the one thing that I love that doesn’t make me gain weight and allows me to relax. I take pictures.

Are YOU a Bossy Cow?

There are animals all around us. The personalities of children closely resemble animals that most of us are familiar with: the Tasmanian devil, bossy cow, chameleon, donkey, monkey and the doe. Even if we don’t have animals of our own, we still come in contact with some of these animals when we least expect it. I will classify the six animal categories that I come in contact with weekly. Maybe some of you will recognize these animals. Perhaps you’ve seen them on your weekly outings.

Imagine that you are at the grocery store minding your own business and picking out the brightest red strawberries. Suddenly out of nowhere, you hear a high-pitched scream. The noise is so intense that you feel as if you should now have holes in your eardrums. You grab your head and let your strawberries fall to the floor. “What was that horrible noise,” you ask yourself once the noise has ceased. After picking up your now bruised strawberries, you peak around the corner into the next isle. There in a cart is a beautiful blonde child with the sweetest looking face and big, blue eyes, holding a box of Lucking Charms. Who would ever suspect that this beautiful creature is a Tasmanian devil?

The Tasmanian devil: This animal appears as a good-natured, wonderful child until he wants something that he sees. When that all-important item is seen, a loud piercing scream can be heard from one end of the store to another. This child will get what he wants just so that the parent of the Tasmanian devil can avoid embarrassment as well as the inevitable headache that can follow one of the outbursts. The Tasmanian devil does not limit outbursts to stores. These high-pitched screams can be heard in various neighborhoods as well as within the confines of one’s own home.

The Bossy Cow: The bossy cow is not quite as obvious as the Tasmanian devil but can be just as treacherous to control. Many oldest children fit into this category. This child tends to tell everyone around her what to do and how to do it. This child will always believe that he knows best and won’t hesitate to tell you so. This child can quote statistics that will sometimes surprise adults as well as make them feel uneducated. In a family situation, where many bossy cows may exist, big problems can occur. I have seen these types of problems first hand when my own family is together. In my family we have three generations of bossy cows. We also have bossy cows that have married into the family. Other animals tend to hide when this herd gets going.

The Donkey: This child is the epitome of the phrase “stubborn as a mule”. When the donkey is asked to perform a task that he finds unworthy of his efforts, a great braying can be heard. Sometimes referred to as whining, braying can last for quite a long time. You may have recognized the braying in a sibling or a child. This is the child that when asked to clean his room, sits on the floor and says, “But I don’t want to.” The word is “want” is drawn out and spoken in a very nasal tone when vocalized. If a bossy cow mother has a donkey for a child, many stressful moments can occur.

The Monkey: The monkey often appears as an easygoing child with a generally happy temperament. He can be often seen playing outside. The monkey is commonly good at sports and enjoys most outdoor activities. The monkey takes pleasure in many adventures. Unfortunately, when the monkey has gone through his repertoire of activities, he can be often found repeating his mantra. “There’s nothing to do” can be heard over and over again from the monkey. This is especially true in the summer months.

The Chameleon: As the name suggests, this child is a master of disguise. He can blend into his environment and appear to be one thing while carrying the traits of a completely opposite personality. Teachers praise this child for the wonderful organizational skills and work habits he has. The neat way that he keeps his desk will often be mentioned, sometimes in reverence. When at home, the chameleon often cannot find his belongings and keeps his room in total disorder. The chameleon’s clothes and personal items can frequently be found scattered throughout the house. When asked to clean his room, the chameleon can sometimes be found lying in the middle of the floor trying to blend into his surroundings so as not to be seen, as a way to get out of digging through the piles to find the floor.

The Doe: More often that not, this child is female. In rare instances a male counterpart can be found. This is the most pleasant of thee animals I’ve categorized. The doe usually had big eyes and a sweet disposition. This child is able to convince anyone around her that she should have anything she wants with hardly a word. This child is the easiest to give in to and the hardest to refuse.

As parents, aunts, uncles, brothers or sisters, we are likely to come in contact with at least one of these animals in our lifetimes. The next time you hear the high-pitched scream of the Tasmanian devil or the braying sound of the Donkey, just remember: it is a jungle out there. It is up to us to be prepared.

The Tasmanian devil: This animal appears as a good-natured, wonderful child until he wants something that he sees. When that all-important item is seen, a loud piercing scream can be heard from one end of the store to another. This child will get what he wants just so that the parent of the Tasmanian devil can avoid embarrassment as well as the inevitable headache that can follow one of the outbursts. The Tasmanian devil does not limit outbursts to stores. These high-pitched screams can be heard in various neighborhoods as well as within the confines of one’s own home.

The Bossy Cow: The bossy cow is not quite as obvious as the Tasmanian devil but can be just as treacherous to control. Many oldest children fit into this category. This child tends to tell everyone around her what to do and how to do it. This child will always believe that he knows best and won’t hesitate to tell you so. This child can quote statistics that will sometimes surprise adults as well as make them feel uneducated. In a family situation, where many bossy cows may exist, big problems can occur. I have seen these types of problems first hand when my own family is together. In my family we have three generations of bossy cows. We also have bossy cows that have married into the family. Other animals tend to hide when this herd gets going.

The Donkey: This child is the epitome of the phrase “stubborn as a mule”. When the donkey is asked to perform a task that he finds unworthy of his efforts, a great braying can be heard. Sometimes referred to as whining, braying can last for quite a long time. You may have recognized the braying in a sibling or a child. This is the child that when asked to clean his room, sits on the floor and says, “But I don’t want to.” The word is “want” is drawn out and spoken in a very nasal tone when vocalized. If a bossy cow mother has a donkey for a child, many stressful moments can occur.

The Monkey: The monkey often appears as an easygoing child with a generally happy temperament. He can be often seen playing outside. The monkey is commonly good at sports and enjoys most outdoor activities. The monkey takes pleasure in many adventures. Unfortunately, when the monkey has gone through his repertoire of activities, he can be often found repeating his mantra. “There’s nothing to do” can be heard over and over again from the monkey. This is especially true in the summer months.

The Chameleon: As the name suggests, this child is a master of disguise. He can blend into his environment and appear to be one thing while carrying the traits of a completely opposite personality. Teachers praise this child for the wonderful organizational skills and work habits he has. The neat way that he keeps his desk will often be mentioned, sometimes in reverence. When at home, the chameleon often cannot find his belongings and keeps his room in total disorder. The chameleon’s clothes and personal items can frequently be found scattered throughout the house. When asked to clean his room, the chameleon can sometimes be found lying in the middle of the floor trying to blend into his surroundings so as not to be seen, as a way to get out of digging through the piles to find the floor.

The Doe: More often that not, this child is female. In rare instances a male counterpart can be found. This is the most pleasant of thee animals I’ve categorized. The doe usually had big eyes and a sweet disposition. This child is able to convince anyone around her that she should have anything she wants with hardly a word. This child is the easiest to give in to and the hardest to refuse.

Welcome to Bossy Cow.net

Welcome to BossyCow.net. This is a blog that was created as a way to share. Here you’ll find links to travels that I’ve made as well as rants and vents about my quest for employment in this ever declining economy. I currently live in Pennsylvania and love it here. I love the fact that we are able to see all four seasons and enjoy them for however long they happen to last. For more about why Bossy Cow, see the About page. In the meantime, welcome!

Fall in PA