Happy Late Birthday To Me

This past Friday was MY BIRTHDAY! I turned the big 2-4. We spent the day in downtown Denver shopping (mostly browsing) the stores on the 16th St. Mall. I fell in love with Breaking the Mold Candle Company when my Mom was visiting and decided my b-day present was going to be a locally made Vanilla-Tahitian candle. Isn't it gorgeous?!? The holder is made locally as well from the same shop. If you are ever in Denver you must visit this place; the candles are delicious! You would have to smell it to believe it. We finished up my day at the Cheesecake Factory where I had a yummy lunch and Chocolate Godiva Cheesecake.

I'm finally settled...sort of.

Helllllo everybody! It has been a long time since the last post. Things have been so crazy. Have I told you that I hate moving???

We left NC on Saturday morning and it took us 2 days to drive out west. Our first night we staying in Columbia, MO which turned out to be a nice town. We passed through Chattanooga, TN, Paduchah, KY, and St. Louis, MO, before arriving in Columbia. This drive wasn't so bad...probably because I went to sleep 3 times or so. We bunked at the La Qunita Inn which is a plus for anyone who has pets. They are very pet friendly and do not charge any additional pet fees. The next day was a nightmare. We headed west through Kansas City, MO and into Kansas. If you have never driven through Kansas, don't bother. There was nothing to see along a never-ending road. I have never been so bored out of mind. If you are making the drive out west, I highly suggest taking 40 along the southern route; much more to see and do.

So, we arrived in Denver last Sunday and had the pleasure of staying with Brian's aunt, Susan. Before we left NC we found out Susan lived within walking distance of the apartment we were applying for. How crazy is that but wasn't that nice of her? Her house was lovely and we had a chance to check out the neighborhood before we actually home-steaded.

We were finally approved and moved in to Village at Bear Creek on Tuesday. The apartment is so nice! It is definitely an upgrade from our Hawaii closet. Plus, we have a nice brick fireplace for the cold winter nights...and days. The complex comes complete with 2 swimming pools, hot tub, and exercise room. You heard me right, Rain...a workout facility less than 5 minutes away. I can't wait to get in there and get the ball rolling again.

My Mom stayed with us until today. While she was here we were able to get some things for the apartment. We found a very unattractive couch at a thrift store but it sat well so we bought it for 40 bucks. As luck would have it, we also found a Linen's and Things that was going out of business so we found a very cheap sofa cover. Now we have a pretty couch. My Mom had been collecting things for the 2 years we were in Hawaii so thanks to her, I now have a fully stocked kitchen. By the way...the kitchen is big, so now I am more than motivated to cook again. I had a small dining room table that I purchased years ago but never got to use. All in all, we are set with everything except a chair for the living room and all the bedroom furniture. We don't have a bed yet so we are bunking on an air mattress. It doesn't really bother me seeing as how we slept on the floor for 2 years. I am very pleased with our living quarters.

Shrek is more than pleased as well. He is loving the room to run around and the soft carpet to lay on. We bought him a new doggy bed that has NASCAR flags on it since Brian is a NASCAR fanatic. He loves it so much he won't hardly get out of it. While we were in Hawaii, Shrek lived with my Mom but he was an outside dog. I thought I was going to have problems with potty-training him again but so far, he has not had one accident in the house. I am so proud of my baby! Most people will say that dogs wouldn't remember someone after being away for 2 years but I must disagree. The way Shrek acts around me makes me think he actually does have some faint memory of those years we spent together.

Since this post is getting so long, I believe I will wrap it up. I have some pics to post as well as some sight-seeing to talk about. I have begun my job search so I will keeping everyone updated with that as well. I also have some interesting observations about living a mile high that I can't wait to tell you about.

Thanks so much for stopping by!

I GoT a MasTeR'S DeGReE!

This past Sunday was the big day. I officially walked across the stage and received my 'diploma'. Of course, it wasn't an actual diploma; instead there was a piece of paper from Chancellor Hinshaw congratulating us. Not very exciting considering I worked my behind off for 2 years but it works for now. The official documentation arrives in several weeks, like 10.

The ceremony was okay. It felt very, very long. Those who received certificates walked first, followed by us Master's students, law degrees, medical degrees, then the big kahunas - PhD students. Hearing the medical degrees was pretty interesting but having to sit through the reading of dissertation's by the doctoral students was a HUGE snore. Granted they worked very hard and deserve the moment, I had no clue what any of the studies were with the exception of one and that was only because I had a class with him.

Anyway I thought I would leave you with a few of the photos from my big day. You can click on any of them for a bigger view. The first photo above was of my dress when I was getting ready. I just loved the color.

Can you spot me? It's like playing Where's Waldo

I'm not trying to turn ya'll on to the bald guy. Instead, take a look at the different colors on all the graduates. Mine were black, white, and green.

Shaka with all my beautiful leis and my slippahs.

My partner in crime...I mean the title sponsor of my research.

My diploma, cap and tassel and all my leis. I got photoshop so I have been playing.

Thanks so stopping by and sharing in my moment. We didn't have graduation dinner last night because I wanted to make it home in time to watch the season finales of Extreme Home Makeover and Desperate Housewives. How sad is that??? Anyway, tonight we are headed to Cheeseburger in Paradise for a little celebratory indulging.

I got to see...

the LION KING ON BROADWAY! It was such a magical experience. I love that movie; it was always one of my favorites. To see it recreated on stage was just amazing. The effects thay had were awesome. At some points in the show I just starred in awe at what was happening with the lights and special effects. It is truely a show to see and well worth the money.

My best advice...sit in the balcony! There is so much going on it will most likely be hard to take it all in from the floor.

I was supposed to have a fundraiser tomorrow but it got cancelled. I can't say that I am upset because it was like pulling teeth to get people to volunteer. That's okay though, it is OVAH!

Speaking of OVAH I had my midterm on Tuesday night. I was so anxious about it and that is so not me! I summed it up to my lack of test-taking skills. After all, I haven't taken a test in years! My supreme lack of abilities though wasn't a damper on my final answers...at least I hope not anyway! I actaully feel okay about the exam. My one problem, the questions seem extremely open-ended so I could have spent the entire 2 and a 1/2 hours scribing a book about the problems and possible solutions of the Digital Divide. I suppose we will see what happens.

I have no major plans for this weekend except for a yummy sale at Ben Franklin this weekend! Very exciting, I plan on doing a lot of shopping for Christmas. I have vowed to create most of my gifts this year. As a matter of fact I have the cutest Halloween goodie bags planned for my co-workers and a few for friends. If Brian is good I might make a few for his co-workers. After all, everyone needs to have a SPOOKTACULAR HALLOWEEN don't they?

Aiea Loop and the Battle with Nature

It shouldn't have surprised me but amazingly enough I woke up Saturday with clogged sinuses. It seems that this time of year has my number. I am always getting sinus infections or the flu or some other tyrant of a disease that forces me back into bed. Not that I can complain about being able to lie around all day either. As luck would have it we had planned to do the Aiea Loop Hike on Saturday and since I am used to this whole being sick part of life I decided I was well enough to battle the great outdoors. So off we headed to Aiea and the 4.5 mile loop that was supposedly going to be a great hike. We parked the car and headed to the trail head which was straight uphill so by the time the trail beckoned my call I was already pooped. Not to mentioanl my nose was running faster than I was. The trail proved to be just okay. There were never any steep grades along the way but because the brush was so thick it was difficult to get any good views of the island. I suppose the best part of this day was the cloudy skies that kept the trail cool for the most part so we could enjoy our leisurly stroll. It is sometimes difficult to remember that Oahu actually has lots of greenery when you live in the concrete jungle known as Honolulu. It proved to be rather refreshing to be able to smell the outdoors and peer off at nothingness. Hues of green line the trail and off in the distance the lighter shades of green look like popcorn scattered among the trees. But even on top of a mountain the city can not be fully escaped when there are power lines running atop ridges and around the trail. It has been a rather rainy week making large portions of the trail seem like nothing but one giant mud pie. There were points that my shoes were completely under a puddle of mud and slowly sinking further. Needless to say I escaped having mud only up to my lower back. All in all however, it was an okay hike. I think it would have been a better trip had my nose not been the enemy.

Thunderbirds Perform Over Oahu

This Saturday was very busy, well busier than usual, and we were able to see a performance of the Thunderbird Jets. Instead of lying around doing absolutely nothing with our lives on a rainy Saturday we fight the worse traffic ever to go stand in the rain to watch 6 jets perform stunts over Waikiki and Magic Island. Was it worth it, you ask? Oh yea!!! These guys were amazing and while the show didn't last as long as they had advertised, those 30 minutes of my life were something that I thoroughly enjoyed and dream to see again. There is something about jets playing a rousing game of Chicken, flying upside down, and darting around the city that makes everyone, young and old, male and female, dream of flying. Or maybe that is just me. At any rate, the performance was spectacular. I was able to catch some video of the performance that I wanted to share with everyone. You can check those videos out on the web at Crystal's Photos along with photos of the Flower Parade that took place before the Thunderbirds.

In the meantime, check out a couple of photos I was able to get. They definitely do nothing to demonstrate the excitement of the show, but it is incredibly hard to capture the true essence of six jets flying at hundreds of miles an hour.



These were the four jets that ran formations and enabled the other two to perform death-defying stunts. (That might be a little bit of an exaggeration, but that is the way I saw the show)



This jet had just finished barrel roles which, by the way, are quite amazing.