paradise

I'm back from a wonderful week in Hawaii. I think we've finally reached a good point as a family where travel isn't purely stressful but filled with some really nice moments that far outweigh the temper tantrums and exhaustion. (FINALLY!) After the past couple trips, I was so happy to be home and promised myself we'd just stay put and avoid venturing too far from the stability and predictability of home. Today, however, I find it kind of nice to be thinking about the next big trip and knowing that we are capable of traveling and enjoying each other's company as a family. I think the husband and I have also decided that the island of Oahu is more our speed as a family with kids. Our usual Hawaiian destination is Kauai. Maybe we were expecting too much to expect the kids to appreciate the wild and untamed beauty of Kauai. All they want is a beach, some sand and a shaved ice. In Oahu, it's easy to find all of that without even having to get in the car. Perfect.

Didn't pick up the sketch book once. Took a few pictures, but mostly of the kids. But I did manage to do some fabric shopping. I love the availability of beautiful Japanese prints in most fabric stores - I could have spent hours in Fabric Mart if the 1-year old hadn't insisted on coming with me. Maybe having him there was a blessing because I found myself falling in love with rolls of fabric and thinking, "Hmmm... there must be SOMETHING I can make with this... and this... and this..." I ended up with this stack of prints and I'm still not really sure what I'll do with them. Maybe a scrapbook cover for an album with all of our Hawaiian trips. We'll see.

After a visit with my Auntie (my Grandmother's sister) in Honolulu (it was so wonderful to see her - like seeing my Grandmother once again), I can't get the idea of retiring in Hawaii out of my mind. Her retirement residence was so beautiful and the residents were all so cute wearing their bright aloha shirts and muu muus. Of course, the $350 we spent for a week's worth of groceries put paradise in perspective. Aloha isn't cheap! I guess if you've lived there your entire life, like Auntie has, the high cost of living is all you know. Funny commentary about this over at The Lost Hawaiian. I certainly can sympathize!

second chance

Made Banana Cake. Recipe from MomsWhoThink.com. (I didn't do the cream cheese frosting - just drizzled Royal Icing - look up "royal icing" on Martha.) It's pretty darn good. I just hate throwing black bananas away. I hate it entirely when I let fruit or vegetables go to waste - but with bananas, you get a second chance. Bad bananas make great muffins, bread, pancakes, cake. So when I end up throwing them away, it's reminds me of how lazy I can be. Not today.

Pureed the bananas pretty good - didn't want ANY lumps.

One for the house, and one wrapped up to give. The kids gave it their stamp of approval.

ribbons

The husband did good. On his recent trip to Berlin, he picked up these wonderful ribbons for me from a store I can't wait to visit next time I get to tag along on a trip to Germany - KaDeWe. Not sure yet what I'll do with them just yet. Too pretty to store away - must be used. Maybe I'll hit the Martha website, type in "ribbons" and see what kinds of craft projects pop up. I'm afraid I haven't had much time for fun projects lately. We've had pet drama - a fluffy dog named Ringo is on the mend. And, as I mentioned, the husband was out of town for a week so I was living it up single-parent style. This is actually the first moment in a couple weeks now that I feel like I'm finally starting to catch up with the chores. I must be getting old, because days like this really wear me out now. What I'd really like to do is sit down and start some Christmas crafts. (Christmas music, hot chocolate and a blustery day outside!) Am I crazy to be thinking of Christmas? I think about how fast the summer went by and, technically, Christmastime is really only about a summer's length away. It's going to be here before we know it. Now I'm remembering all the projects I wanted to get done for Christmas but just couldn't manage to sqeeze in last year. Sure, I'd like to start now, but how am I going to get six more hours into each day? And not just any old hours, I need six hours when I'm refreshed and powered up to be creative. I need more hours before lunch. If I'm not struggling to get through my to-do list after lunch, I'm struggling to stay awake. I guess I've just given myself the answer... but who wants to wake up and start their day at two in the morning???