My heart is in Hawaii

Most of you who have know me a while, know that I love Hawaii. You also know that I would love to live there and somewhat wished I was a native. In the past, it was easy to become friends with me, all you needed to do was ask if I was from Hawaii. Also, if you were from Hawaii, you were instantly my best friend and we would have a one hour chat about your homeland. I always dreamed of going to Hawaii.

I went through a phase in high school where everything in my bedroom was Hawaiian/Luau/Beach decorated. I had everything from a grass skirt turned bed skirt, to parrots hanging from my ceiling. On the walls of my bedroom were cascades of beach pictures from magazines, maps of the island, or any picture that looked like Hawaii.  I even thought about putting sand on my carpet to have a beechy feel when you walked in.  Don't worry, it didn’t happen.

My dream of visiting the island finally came true. On October 16, 2009, we landed in Honolulu, Hawaii. I was teary eyed when the plane touched down, and I thought “I am home.”– You are probably thinking “a little dramatic” but all the years of staring at my Hawaii wall in my bedroom and having Luau birthday parties, I was getting to experience the real thing. 

 
Now that I am married and have a house to share with someone who doesn't love Hawaii as much I as do, I still get to have a grown up beach room in one of the bedrooms. Thanks Love.

Since I have been to Hawaii now, I appreciate the little things that make it one of my favorite places to see. To make it feel more like "home" I have a new hibiscus plant that brings the island to my home. This was a Easter gift from my mom, who still gives me Hawaii/Beach/Luau decorations for my house. 

Thanks mom dad for letting me live in my own paradise while living in your home.

"Sure, I will take a cupcake with that"

Every morning I have my coffee and get ready for work, then I have breakfast. It usually looks like this:

I go to the pantry and open the door, then I stare into the pantry like I do my closet when I can't find anything to wear.

I wish I could say that I usually have a healthy cereal or a whole grain english muffin with almond butter and fruit on the side.  Those would be the ideal breakfast if I didn't have a sweet tooth in the morning. To be honest, my breakfast usually consist of Cinnamon Toast Crunch Cereal, a bagel or waffles with syrup.

Maybe I have trained my tongue and senses to only have sweet things for breakfast, because that is the only thing I really want in the morning. If I did not gain weight and it did not matter how it affected my day, I would have cupcakes for breakfast. A warm chocolate cake with icing on top and a cold glass of low fat milk. (maybe that would help)

But reality is, I can't, unless it's my Birthday...or Valentines, Christmas, Memorial Day and even 4th of July. 

I really want to like oatmeal or something healthier in the morning. Yes, I have tried adding fruits, nuts, cinnamon, honey, and even crasins. To me it's just so bland. Growing up, I usually had toast with butter or sometimes my mom would make oatmeal. She made the best oatmeal, and all it was, was instant Quaker Oats. I don't know what she did, but it made the perfect consistency and taste every time. Ever since I have been on my own, I have tried to make oatmeal, but it looks and taste nothing like moms did. It taste more like chunky soggy cardboard oats. Like I cooked the cylinder box with the oats.

Like the picture above shows, I tried making oatmeal on Saturday morning and followed a recipe by Jillian Michaels. It called for pecans and apples, with a pinch of cinnamon. I tasted it..then I added more apples, then a little sugar, and then I added some crasins. It still did not taste good, I felt like I had to force myself to eat it and pretend it was good. At one point, I thought about holding my nose and eating it, but instead I just chewed without trying to taste it.  (hard to explain without sounding like a child)

Ugh, I want to find something I like that is good for me. Any suggestions? 

P.S. - I ate half the bowl and then ate an apple to get the taste out. 

P.S.S- Here is a picture of what I had today

English Muffin with some Butter

First Time for Everything

Last year I bought a subscription of Southern Living with the hopes of learning how to garden and have a greener thumb. With the 12 magazines I received last year, I saw many beautiful pictures of plants and flowers, made a few recipes, but did not read or learn much from the magazines, except that plants in Texas heat do not survive unless you plant cactus. In the end, I made $5 at Half Price Books from selling them my magazines.


This year, a tangible opportunity arose when I was asked to purchase a flat of flowers that benefited a little league sports team. I was given a form with a few different types of flowers to choose from. I had no clue what any of these things were. I Googled each one and put them all on a word document so that I could compare what they looked like and try to imagine them in my yard. I had not come to the realization that many of those photos I copied had a few hundred in the picture to make it look awesome. The flat I ordered only had 20.


I brought home my flat with hopes to start a beautiful garden very soon. The only things missing was potting soil and a shovel. Lets just say we thought about buying a nice pot, shovel, gloves, and a knee pad, but that would have made this $20 project turn into a $80 expense that I did not plan for. To save money, I used Kona's poop scoop shovel and purchased a small bag of potting soil. Here is what I did:





The Beginning (notice a bush in the way I am trying to take out)


After digging the weed bush up, I realized we had clay in our garden area. Clay is no good for plants and makes them choke. At this point with a big hole that I dug the weed out from and little flowers waiting to move in, I went ahead and plannted them, knowing they will only be here for a short while.

 This was my first time to plant flowers. Along the way, I learned from a visitor how deep to dig, how much potting soil to put, and what to expect- A short life. But in the end, I am happy with what I did, even though I ran out of potting soil after planting 12. It took me a week to plant the rest since we had 2 hail storms and really wet soil.

And with that, I will end with celebrating my first dig.


On a side note: I have recently subscribed to Better Homes and Gardens magazine and received my first copy yesterday in the mail. We will see what this subscription will help me do.

What have I got myself into?

Mashed Potatoes

 In starting this blog, I feel like I just jumped off a big cliff,  with no harness, no one watching, and with no instructions. You might be thinking that this is a little extreme when talking about starting a blog Melinda, you are making this sound so daring and dangerous. Well, let me tell you that this is not a cliff like the Grand Canyon or Niagara Falls, no-this is one in my mind that I made up. This cliff I just jumped off is very steep, but what I am diving into makes all the difference.

The way I think of it, the only safe part about doing this, is knowing that I am diving into my comfort food, Mashed Potatoes. Those mashed potatoes are my husband, sister, and cousins for now. I know I heard from a few friends that said they would read my blog if I started one, but for now, I like the comfort of knowing a few people who love me no matter what, who will understand what I am saying and hopefully comment to make me feel good. That is what comfort food is for anyways, knowing you can trust what is there and and knowing you will enjoy something that gives you a positive emotion.

Deep, I know.

With all that said, "Cheers!" to following what Nike says to do and to having my comfort food to be watching.

P.S.- Here is a picture of me when I hit the "start a blog" button

 

It has been 5 minutes,  and I can't figure out how to Rotate. So this is all you get for now.