2010 Resolution Recap!

Every year, I do this whole "check in with this year's resolutions" every New Years Eve/New Years Day to see how I did with the year's resolutions...and then post the coming year's resolutions a day or two later. I love New Years Resolutions, as cheesy as they are...even if I don't end up fulfilling them... I even check in with them around my bday (mid year) to see how I'm doing. Yup, I'm lame. Annnnd moving on... haha..

Okay, sooooo the things I resolved to do for 2010 along with updates....

Here's the post from last year....ya know...just to keep me accountable.. haha.. :)

1. Get my slowly-creeping-closer-to-30 (ew) ass in shape. 

This one should just stay on the list every year...haha.. I do SO WELL and then drop off the radar with it. I ran a 5K (my first one!) in early 2010! YAY! Then, I kinda dropped off til summer when I realized I needed to get in gear, so I busted.my.butt. in the gym until just after our trip to Hawaii. I even went to a personal trainer for a little bit...thanks to groupon! So, I think I did alright with this one. Would like to be more consistent, but I'm still pleased with myself. 

2. Finish.my.bedroom. Last year, I got a new bed that I just needed to paint and then I'd planned to revamp the whole room. 

Well, I definitely finished the room....in a new house! ha! I moved in with a roomie in March. :) My bed is painted, I have a yellow, white, and grey thing going on and I definitely dig it! :) This one gets a cheeeeeeeck! 

3. Keep up with the financially planning thing, saving, etc etc.. 

Ah, this is another one that will just stay on the list year after year. I did well, especially by moving in with the roomie and saving some cash. That said, I could definitely do better...*sigh* I put a little more into my 401K this year, so I'll consider this halfway done.

4. Last year and years prior, I maintain traveling or seeing as much of the country/world as fiscally and feasibly possible. I firmly believe life's about experiences as well as the people you share them with. :) I was very blessed to go to out of town quite a bit last year-Dallas with Eric, and some other places... and cant forget St. Lucia! Doubt I'll be taking as fabulous a vacay as St. Lucia this year, but am resolving to take some time off and go somewhere(s) for sure-even more weekend trips-hopefully with that guy I kinda dig. ;)

This year was a great year for trips...Eric and I went to Memphis in the spring, Colorado in the summer and to Maui in the fall! *closing eyes and thinking of Maui....* Also had a fabulous girls trip in the summer! :) I feel like I'm missing somewhere else, but needless to say, my travel resume is growing and that makes me very blessed and thankful. :)

5. Make sure the people I care about KNOW I care about them. 

I suppose I can't really assess this one on my own; you should ask my friends and family... *shrugs* But, I feel like I've been pretty good at this.. :) 

6. Continue personal development professionally. :) 

Well, I guess you can check this one off the list since I CHANGED JOBS this year! Bananas! I obviously didn't see the change coming as evidenced by the resolution..haha. I changed jobs in late April and while it was tough to leave my former job b/c I loved it AND the people there, the move was a good one.  I'm really happy with my new team, work friends and new role. My job is challenging...and that's really good. :) I mean, everyone's jobs have "those days" (*scowl* ha!) but overall, I feel like I can make an impact on the organization through my role there...and that's really cool. :) And I'm also so so so so happy that I'm still close with my friends from my former job, too. So, professional development gets a check!

7. Learn how to cook more (and better..haha)!

I think I get a definite check here. I mean, I made Christmas treats for people at work...and they ate them....and even complimented me on them- that's a huge victory, right?! :) I've also been Debbie Domestic with quite a few other things and I'm proud of myself.  *patting self on back...haha*:) 

So, living a new place, working somewhere new, traveling to Hawaii...

Having a year filled with health, love, positive changes...

It had its challenges, but what year doesn't... 

I'm happy with how 2010 shook out. :)

Wishing you happiness, health, love, and all good things for 2011! Happy New Year, friends! See you in 2011!  CHEERS! :)

Via we heart it dot com

Christmas Recap :)

First, THANK YOU for the tips for my New Years Eve dress below! I am TBD on the tights depending on weather... It was like 65 degrees here today! I dunno what it's all about but I am SO okay with it. :) I also may or may not have gotten a spray tan last night... but on the lowest level. So, we'll see if I can break out these legs of mine without blinding people now :)

And I finally stole some pics from Eric from Christmas weekend. Some are from my camera and some are from his...

Okay, so kinda out of order, but whatever... Christmas Eve, after we went to Eric's aunt and uncle's house, I stayed with mom. Even though it's just across town from my house, it's nice to wake up at her house on Christmas morning. :) Since there's just two of us, we usually have gifts opened, breakfast eaten, and Christmas lunch consumed...by liiiiiiiiiiiiiiike 2:30. Whatevs!

Christmas Day with my mamma.... :) 

Gracie looks thrilled....haha... 

Mom and I saw Meet the F0ckers on Christmas Day... Hilarious! :) Even though we're a little fam, we've got a lotta love and I'm so blessed to have her. We've had our growing pains, especially as two chicks living alone when I was growing up after my father passed away (very Gilmore Girls..haha)...but we've definitely grown closer over the years, learned to respect each other's differences, and not sweat the small stuff. She got me some super thoughtful and great gifts. She also (lovingly) teased me for being old since one of the things I asked for was a set of new mixing bowls...haha... Nice. :)

So, like I said above (sorry for being lazy and out of order), Christmas Eve, we went to Eric's aunt and uncle's house. They do a big family Christmas Eve dinner, gift exchange, etc... It just feels so festive and fantastic! :) <-- I know that sounds cheesy, but I'm serious! I am SO glad that I got to celebrate the holiday with Eric's fam again this year. I feel really flattered, blessed, and happy that they include me so much... I've never felt anything less than a part of the family...and that's an awesome feeling. :) His family got me some very generous gifts, including my new love, the Calvin Klein Euphoria perfume I wanted! I can't stop sniffing myself! haha! 

Me and Eric. Duh. 

Eric's sister and me :)

Eric's younger bro, his sis, and him :)

Sooooo the TU bowl game was on Christmas Eve night...and if you've been reading awhile, you know we're all Golden Hurricane fans! So, Christmas Eve was full of the sights and sounds of Christmas....and also of TU cheers...haha! (We won by the way! WOOHOO!)

Eric's dad in between gift opening... :)

Christmas night, after I'd Christmased and then movied (I just made up two verbs..whatever) with my mom and enjoyed some a.mazing enchiladas at Eric's parents' house, Eric and I headed back to his place to exchange! :)

Our gifts are so pretty, right?! :)

Eric told me the gift below was just something little... I opened it...and realized he got me tickets to see Beauty and the Beast when it comes here! YAAAAAAAAAY! Well, the tix weren't on sale yet, so he got me a little kiddie Beauty and the Beast book and put the Performing Arts Center thing in the book..haha! Super excited! 

A random factoid about me.... I compare pretty much every life situation to a Friends' episode...sometimes out loud, sometimes just in my head. Last year, he got me two seasons of Friends...this year, he got me two more! YAY! 

No, I'm not going to bore you with photos of us both opening all our gifts...haha.. So I'll stop here but he was very thoughtful. :) And I HAVE to include one of Eric and the new Kindle I got him! He looks happy, yes? :)

Oh and again with the TU fan thing... I may have purchased a snuggie....a TU snuggie. Haute, right? lol!

Our third Christmas together and I definitely couldn't be happier. He kinda rocks. :)

Anyway, a little belated, but that was my Christmas! :)  

Hope everyone is gearing up for a great New Years! I ALWAYS do a resolution post so it's coming, peeps. I'm serious about those things...resolutions that is...I'm off work tomorrow, so I'll play a little blog catch up and also blog some goals for 2011! My mom AND a good girl friend have come down with...wait for it...WHOOPING cough. What?! Yeah. And they've been vaccinated as kids. So... if I don't wake up coughing, I plan to get a booster as soon as possible. Sheesh! Who woulda thought whooping cough would ever come BACK? Weird. 

Glitz, glamour and...guidance needed...:)

Hi everyone! How was your Christmas? Mine was great! Fabulous weekend with friends and family! I will post photos and blog more about it later, but Eric has a lot of the weekend's photos so I'm gonna wait for those... I look forward to sharing :)

In the meantime...blogging for accessory advice.

Some of you may remember my new years eve dress I rambled blogged about...



It's black and gold sequins! :)

It's also a lot more bling than I regularly wear. Then again, I guess it's a lot more bling than most of us regularly wear...unless your day job is attending cocktail parties.. :)

I don't wanna overdo it with accessories, makeup, etc...but I dont want to UNDERdo it either, ya know...

So, throwing this out there to my favorite stylish friends...

What would you pair with this-jewelry? handbag/clutch? Tights or no tights?

I'm leaning towards tights....er...maybe.... and maybe black earrings....er...maybe... You're seeing why I need assistance. hah... Sheesh. Anyway, advice is appreciated, my stylish bloggers!

And while I'm on the train to randomtown, gonna do a little free advertising for a product I found this weekend! I got a gift card to Sephora, so you know I couldn't wait 5 seconds to use it I opted to see what they had yesterday when I was running errands... I really wanted some of that fun face highlighter stuff that makes you look all glowy like the stars do. You know what I mean... like they're ALWAYS in the right light. Anyway, I asked (and sounded kinda dumb b/c I didn't even know what it was called) and a girl directed me to this.

Benefit's Girl Meets Pearl. I.love.it.

It's easy and it looks SUPER natural aka not glittery or anything. It definitely does what it's supposed to. I dont really think it lasts super long (but that could be user error and not wanting to overdo it). There's a great youtube video of how it looks on someone's face here. Anyway, a fun product!

Christmas weekend recap coming lata!!! I have a holiday party with my old high school friends tonight. I don't really know why I go to these things since I usually leave saying "I dont know why I wanted to go to that" so I'll likely be blogging post-party... :) (I know that's mean; I dont intend for it to be. We've all just lost touch). Hope your weekend was Christmas-tastic!

Merry Christmas!!

I imagine a lot of you have seen this, but if not, check it out... A Christmas must-watch for the ditigal age...:)



I took the day off work tomorrow and, while I don't have much formally planned and gifts are all purchased, I dunno if I'll be on the bloggidy, so just wanted to take a quick opportunity to wish you and yours a VERY Merry Christmas! May the joys of the holidays fill your homes and hearts! :) (<--sounds cheesy, but I really mean it...)

Oldies.Goodies.Christmas.

Need a dose of Christmas cheer? Or at least a good holiday flick? :)

So, when I was a kiddo, we ALWAYS had to watch my parents' favorite Christmas movies... I'd groan b/c they were "ollllllllllld." *said in whiney 8 year old kid voice* Since I'm an only child and therefore had no means of escape some years when my parents watched these before Christmas, I'd reluctantly join.. (As if movie watching was torture. I really hope my kids are less annoying than I was..haha). Anyway, I think I'm officially getting old b/c I'm about to say it.... some of the old/original ones really are the best. :) But, shhhh don't tell my mom I said so...

My mom's fav is It's a Wonderful Life. She says Jimmy Stewart (aka George Bailey) kinda reminds her of her dad. I never got to meet her dad, so I'll take her word for it. But, admittedly George Bailey and the gang are an enjoyable bunch to watch in this movie... :) This is my fav scene, albeit a little blurry...



My dad's favorite....and probably mine too....is White Christmas. :) This is the scene where they surprise their general...


And here's another good one from it.... Oh how I wanted to be Judy...aka Very Ellen (the blonde). I don't know why, but I just LOVED her in this movie when I was younger. I'd dance around and sing... I'm sure it was right on par with the talent in this movie. (sarcasm noted b/c I cannot sing. at all.) Nevermind that I was also a chubby little kid...haha.. Whatever.



And how could you not love the original Miracle on 34th Street?!



Or a Charlie Brown Christmas!

And then a newer one....I haven't watched it in years, but I kinda dig Love Actually...especially the Juliet/Mark scene with the notecards. (It wouldn't let me embed it, so I linked it). :)


What are your favorite Christmas movies? :)

Weekend Recap! :)

Today I stepped in dog shit. 

It was about 10 minutes after I found out that my roommate has strep throat....as in 6 days before Christmas. 

I love her, but man alive, she picks some good times to be sicky...like right before our Maui trip...and right before my bday... 

Inevitably, it sends me into an emergen-C drinking, antibiotic taking, crazy tailspin trying to prevent getting sick before said important event(s). 

*sigh* 

So, I decided to abandon ship and head to Eric's to blog and hang out for the evening...but not before taking out the trash. I mean, I can't let a sick person be stuck with wheeling the big can to the curb. 

And that's when the dog shit happened. Full-on-mushy-step in the front yard. *gag and shudder* 

Dudes, it's all making me a little nervous for this being the start of Christmas week.... haha... 

But, I'm not sick yet (knock on wood!) and the pooooooo has been removed from my shooooooe... So, let's pretend Monday is the actual start of the week.. :)

And now for more important ramblings, this weekend was fun! I cannot believe Christmas is so freaking close! Excited! 

Friday night, Eric and I had dinner with a couple of his friends... Good times. Lots of laughs over lots of vino. They were much bigger wine aficionados and taught us the ways of the wine aerator and decanter. Pretty cool. If there's someone on your list you likes wine and you're not sure what to buy for them, go for the aerator. It's cool. Promise. 

Saturday, got some presents wrapped, etc, and then headed to dinner with another couple. They have two kiddos and rarely get to go out for an adult evening. In other words, even more wine was consumed...much to my liking. haha! I'm starting to sound like a lush. If you live in Tulsa and haven't had Dalessandro's, you're kiiiiinda missing out. It's heavy, but uh.mazing. I mean, Eric and I split an entree and a salad...which we NEVER do b/c we're indulgent, fat kids we like to try different things. But, you get a lot of food there, so don't say you haven't been warned..hah! I'm rambling, but it's good Italian food. Try it! :) 

We got home and watched The Town...not bad. I dug it.  Oh and I had my hair appt this weekend.. almost forgot that. *happy sigh* Nothing...or at least very few things...relax me more or put me in an instant happy mood like getting my hair done. :) Is that just me?

So yeah, that was my weekend. Sorry I led with the poop. That was kinda a buzzkill. 

Here are some pics from baking last weekend just b/c I never posted any! :) Hope you had a great weekend before Christmas and are geared up for a great holiday! 

Just SOME of the confectionary goodness from Ashley's house last Sunday!

The easiest things I made, but they were a BIG HIT! YAY!

When they say 10 minutes, they mean 10. Not 11. Gracie still wants it... haha! 

"Yes, the cookies are definitely low fat..." (haha! right). 

Some of the treat bags I took to work :)

If I'd done a weekend recap...

... I would have talked about all the fabulous baking I did with friends (and I would have posted pictures of it all-duh). :) And how a minute makes an insane difference in cookie land. (Might have burned a batch. It is what it is).

...I would have mentioned that I saw The Tourist (with Angelina and Depp... I accidentally called him Keanu earlier. Whatever. You knew what I meant. I was blogging at lunch...haha :)) with Eric and liked it more than I thought I would. A little slow at times, but good ending that made up for it. :) Still excited for the Reese W movie coming out this weekend. (I love Reese!) :) Eric and I had a bet over the Pioneer W0man and Bobby Fl*y showdown...and I won. Sooo I get to pick a movie, and I pick Reese's. *victorious smile*

...I would have given a shout out to my wonderful mother who had a birthday! We went to dinner on Saturday to celebrate. :)

...I would have talked about how I hung out at a friend's house for her husband's birthday on Friday night. :) I love that us girlies used to hang out in the kitchen at these things, drinking wine and chatting, and have now now transitioned into the play room, watching the kiddos play, etc...but we're still drinking the wine and chatting... haha! We're in trouble when they start repeating everything we say...

...I would have talked about Brooke and I having a fun dinner with Angela, who was visiting T-town on Sunday night!

So, yeah.. pictures of some of that to come when I get on the ball...

Even though I neglected my weekend recap blogness, I've been loving having time in the evenings this week and have...

... gotten ALL my Christmas wrapping paper, bows, etc, from Hobby Lobby b/c it's all 50% off right now! (through Sat!) LOVE the paper I got. Now if only I could master the wrapping. I'm so-so at wrapping. And I used to wrap gifts at a store I worked at in college (Crabtree and Ev#lyn) so you'd think I'd be good at it. Nope. The ends of my packages always look...well... we don't need to comment on it. At least my paper is pretty this year! ha!

...knocked out the LAST bit of Christmas shopping, including a couple hostess gifts! Well, okay okay.. I still have to get G dog a couple things (she always gets a new Christmas toy + bones), but am otherwise done. :)

...celebrated one of my best friend's 30th birthdays with some girl time over vino and yummy food on Monday night! I'm bummed that we didn't take pics, but we definitely had a blast celebrating Jenny's dirty thirty! I'm fairly certain some of our tipsy interesting conversation entertained and/or offended the table next to us..haha!

So yeah.. happy Wednesday, peeps! Hope your week is rocking along and you're knocking out the last of your holiday shopping!

Thankful Thursday!

Tracy's blog today reminded me about Thankful Thursday! I always forget to post, despite really wanting to. Sooooooo...here goes! I'm keeping this pretty random b/c otherwise this post would be (1) all mushy and (2) long as hell. It's that time of the month.I'm emotional this week for some reason. ;)

1. I am thankful for picnik, that let's me do things like this to my photos for free! (or 25 dollars a year in my case b/c I'm the premium membership for the coolest features like "skinnify" and "teeth whiten"-hello awesome). Our first Christmas card? Eh? I'm especially proud of Eric's candy cane heart.

2. Neti pots. Or rather MY neti pot. The thing sounds like it's weird if you've never tried it, but it works so freaking well! *as I inhale and exhale deeply through my nose to prove it...like you could hear me or something...haha* I mean Dr. 0z recommended it; it's got to be good. ;)

3. This book.

My (admittedly more organized) boyfriend was talking about how it helped him organize his email, etc.. I am currently reading it and loving the strategies! LOVING. I just organized my files and desk how the book suggested and am pleased as punch with myself right now.. haha... (I deserve a cookie, right? Or wine. I mean it IS after 5pm). I'll tackle e-mail organization tomorrow...or next week. 

4. My little Gracie dog. Yeah, this list is supposed to be a little random and she's not random...but this week, we've been hanging more since I have some more free time in the evenings than I've had the past few weeks... I'm reminded even more why she's my furry partner in crime. :) Thanks to a few of ya'll helping me decide via twitter (thank you!), I'll definitely be featuring little G funk on my holiday cards this year! (That is if I actually mail them. I have a BAD habit or ordering them...and then never sending them. Soooo..we won't talk about this too much right now..haha)

See... doggies smile! :)

5. the earmuffs I got at Forever21 on a whim a few weeks ago. They were 5 bucks and cute. Impulse buy that is paying off b/c it's been COLD walking in to the building this week... brrrr.. Winter has arrived, peeps.

6. All things Christmas! Music, lights, cider, decorations, wrapping, cards, parties, etc etc etc etc etc.. :)

7. Aveda's hand relief. It was a gift. It's at my desk. And my dry hands are grateful.

8. Heated seats in my car. I told someone I would cry if they ever broke. I wasn't kidding.

9. Having more time in the evenings this week than I've had in little while. I'm loving being able to blog more, Christmas shop online, read your blogs, better respond to comments, etc. :) I always, ALWAYS read my comments throughout the day on my smart phone. They kinda make my day :). But sometimes I suck at responding since I have to do that in the evening when I have a full keyboard... Anyway, having more time for the bloggidy/blog world is always something to be thankful for in my book. :)

10. Wine, cheese and chocolate night tonight at the Melting P0t for a good friend's birthday! :) Mmmmm cheeeeese... :)

Happy almost-Friday!

My itunes playlist reflects my obsession...

...with Straight No Chaser. They're like the real life Glee, the all-dudes version! I can't believe I haven't discovered them before. One of my fav Christmas songs (that I don't even attempt to sing) is Carol of the Bells. I went looking for a good version of it on iTunes and low and behold found this little group called Straight No Chaser. Intrigued by the name, I started listening to their stuff...and the obsession was formed. They even do a Lady Gag@ cover... and it's goooooood! One of my personal favs is their "I'm Yours/Somewhere Over the Rainbow" mix..

Anyhoo, if you feel like you need a little holiday cheer in your day, here's their version of Oh Holy Night... :) So beautiful!


And for more holiday fun, Eric's mom got me an awesome little desk decoration.... a pink Christmas tree that sings and dances! ha! You just touch its little hand..er..paw...er...branch...(??) and it starts in with "I'm the happiest Christmas tree......." (I dont know the rest...yet) and dances and lights up! ha! I think my cube neighbors love Pinky as much as I do! (Or at least they should.in my opinion) (I found a youtube video to demonstrate what it does)

Tomorrow, we have a team Holiday Party at our local Dave & Busters... I've never been but I hear there are games and pizza. Both of these things are good with me. Oh and a Dirty Santa exchange (nervous about someone googling that phrase and finding my blog, but whatever)... Those things always confound me a little. I mean.. Dirty Santa is the one where you can steal each other's gifts. But, they don't have to be funny gifts...er... right? And then White Elephant, you cannot steal gifts from each other, but they are often funny...maybe? Sheesh...Organized gift exchange with a large group of co-workers stresses me out...haha...

Lata, peeps! Hope Tuesday is treating you well...

Weekend Recap! :)

This weekend was a good one, even though Eric and I sniffled through most of it it with tissues in hand.  How on earth are allergies bugging right now? Sheesh. Anyhoo, let the weekend recapping begin.... :)

Friday, I really wanted to go see Christmas lights while it was still warm enough outside to enjoy them... Weather peeps predicted a cold blast coming through Saturday morning and sticking around quite awhile, so Friday's decent temps might have been the last prime light-seeing weather before Christmas! (see, how dramatic I am? Yeah. Anyway...) Eric humored me and off we went! 

Have to say, going to check out lights this year was much more enjoyable than last year when we were so cold, I was convinced Tulsa was located ON the North Pole. I went to go find that post and who knew...we went the exact same weekend last year! Here's the post. Random. Anyway...

We went to Rhema, a local bible college, that decorates in style every year. They sell hot cocoa, the lights flash to different Christmas songs (think the Bellagi0 water show, but with lights), etc. It's a pretty cool place to check out the xmas lights in my opinion.. :) 

May have done this same pose last year, too...and we still didn't get busted by security for going off the main path. We're such light-looking rebels... ;)

If this was a facebook picture, I'd click "like." Yeah, I would. :)

Good times, good times. :) And yes, that last picture is of me having climbed in a lighted bush thing. Whatever. I saw someone else do it. Anyway, headed to Starbucks for some cider afterwards to top off the Christmas-ey evening. :) (We may have had Mexican food before light looking, which may or may not be considered festive in your book. Guacamole is always festive to me. YUM!)

Saturday, saw Love & Other Drugs with a girl friend, which was predictable, but good...and I liked the ending. I could have seen a little less of Ms. Hathaway in the buff (or about 10 other females in the movie), but whatever....haha...

Sunday was full of errand running, laundry-doing, dog bathing, Christmas shopping, checkbook balancing, and grocery shopping. I think I also made one of my new year resolutions today. TBD. (I take the resolutioning very seriously...ish....) ;)

I was a blog slacker and never posted any Thanksgiving stuff, so here are a couple pics! The below is Eric and me at lunch on turkey day with my mom (blue scarf) and one of her friends. :) Mom and I have been going out to eat on Thanksgiving for a few years now b/c since it's just the two of us, cooking is a leeeeeetle overrated for both holidays for just the two of us. This year, it was fun to have mom's friend and Eric join us.. :)

After stuffing ourselves at lunch, we headed out to Eric's parents' house where we enjoyed some fabulous dessert, laughs, and the movie Christmas Vacation. :) His (middle-aged) cousin had never seen it! How on earth can one go that many years and not see Clark Griswold's Christmas light extravaganza?! Sheesh. :)

I won't go all mushy about thankfulness again, but I had a great Thanksgiving and am very blessed to have shared it with all the folks mentioned above. :) (and two courses of dessert is never anything to complain about either) ;)

Also, Lauren was in town from Chicago, so we dinnered a couple times and saw Harry Potter (which I'm quickly becoming addicted to, despite officially seeing the movies all out of order now). *shrugs*

Oh, annnnd you may or may not notice my normally-stick-straight lockes are curled! (I'll pretend that you did..haha). :) And they STAYED curled! You see, my hair will curl...and then fall after about 10 minutes. Hot Rollers. Curling irons. Nothing worked. My hair ended up looking like an overly hairsprayed attempt-gone-wrong. So, I'd just given up long ago...  I heard you could curl hair with the chi straightener and my friend does it quite well, so I've been wanting to try. I got bored waiting on an electrician (yeah, just realizing I didn't post about that debaucle), and ended up googling around trying to figure out how to do it. Found a youtube video and the rest is history! It's so easy once you get the hang of it and I'm digging being able to do something a little different with my hair for once! If you're curious, here's the video :)

Anyway, that was the weekend...plus last weekend... :) Hope Monday is treating you well, lovelies! It's FREEZING here, so I hope you're nice and warm wherever you are!

Maui Day 6!! The Road to Hana, part deux!

This is long....both b/c I don't want to drag out day 6 any longer and b/c I couldnt decide on just a few images (shocking I know. Pictures are memories frozen in time, people! haha). 

So, we'd just left Black Sand Beach in the last post....We had already decided to head into Hana for lunch and then take the trek back along the back side of the island. The guidebook said the back side was a little less than desirable in terms of unpaved roads, but we threw caution to the wind in our dodge ch@rger! ;)

Had lunch at Tutu's in Hana... seriously one of the only places there to eat...but not sure competition could keep up anyway b/c this place was yummy! 

Anyway, at Tutu's, you just order at a window and then eat on tables on the patio when they call your number....

No complaining about the view from our table! Behold, the town of Hana :)

 Feelin fat and happy, we decide to see what Red Sand Beach has to offer... It's located in Hana and is on private land..and the trail is "dangerous" (quoting the sign below). And if you can read the handwritten text on the sign, it says something about clothing optional...haha...From the guidebook: "So, the beach has marginal swimming, marginal snorkeling, potentially injurious five minute walk and a no trespassing sign. Is it worth it? Is sure is!"

Dangerous? Hmph! I ain't skeered! 

I take it back... haha...Maybe the trail where the dirt gives way every step is a leetle scary... 

 How gorgeous! The actual beach is just a little hike around the left of Eric in this photo... Stunning...

Welcome to red sand beach!!

 Okay, so when we hiked down there, a couple of locals were the only other peeps on the beach... And they kept STARING at us.. in a very creepy they-might-eat-us way.... (I think they were high out of their minds, but whatever). Anyway, we opted not to stay at red sand beach long, but we definitely took this "We're awkward; let's get the hell out of here before they kill us" picture... haha..

So pretty....part of the hike back....

On the back side of the road to Hana is a place called the Seven Sacred Pools.. Are there actually seven? Nope. There are like 4. But, it was originally called some sort of gulch and that didn't sound too alluring, hence the name change... People stop for a dip here before heading back from a long day of sightseeing on the road... :) It's gorgeous even though there wasn't a ton of rainfall before we were there. Falls drop into each pool until they all reach the ocean...

 I think everyone had the same idea....

 Eric was a bad@ss and scaled the rock wall to get to the top pool... (seriously, there was scaling involved). I opted to take a dip instead... :)

Eric leaping into the great unknown! (or maybe just jumping into the pool. whatever). I couldn't get myself up on those rocks no matter how hard I tried.. (and well, I didn't try that hard). As many of you have read, I have a freaktastic fear of dark water when I can't see the bottom of something. The thought of what could be underneath those rocks makes my heart beat faster as I type it.. So yes, I'm a freak show. Anyway, whatever....Eric jumping is cool enough for us both... :)

Geronimoooooooooo!

We'd had our fill and opted to head home... but we definitely got some gorgeous views on the way back... The back side of the road is not what you'd typically think of when you think of Maui.. It's drier, mountainous, and rocky.. But it's definitely gorgeous in its own right...

Okay, so we hadn't really decided whether we'd go up to Haleakala (the volcano). Admittedly, I think we were both leaning away from it. It seemed far and cold and the sunrise thing seemed awfully EARLY *cringe*. So, when I started reading the guidebook and we noticed the turn off for Haleakala was ON the road back, we shrugged and decided to go for it! The book said the sunset was every bit as gorgeous as the sunrise on top of the crater, so we just had to get to the top of the mountain before the sun went down..

At first, we didn't really care about racing the clock/sun... We were like "eh, if we make it, we make it." But as we started ascending, we decided to race the hell out of the sunset so we could make it to the top and see what it was all about!

See, you wouldn't think these trees were in Maui, right? Gorgeous!

Seeing the gps will explain my stomach a little later in this post...haha!

We were seriously RACING up those curves to get to the top before sunset.... and then we hit clouds... as in the white puffy things in the sky. Yeah, we were DRIVING THROUGH THEM. And we couldn't see anything at all...as in couldn't see CLIFFS off the mountain. *nervous* I don't think I said a word to Eric b/c I was trying really hard to breathe in and out to say calm...haha!

 This is my "I dont know if we should be doing this" face...

We almost turned around at least twice... Seriously, the clouds were THAT dense and scary. If we hadn't had the GPS, it woulda been worse.. At least we knew when we were supposed to curve with the road...

Anyway, I'm SO glad we didn't turn around b/c we got out of the dense fog/clouds and both smiled... We were freaking DRIVING above them! Seriously one of the most amazing experiences I have ever had... ever..

We started goofing off with the photos once we realized we weren't going to plummet to our deaths...

 The guidebook recommended a stop just before the summit that most people miss.. I am SO glad we took a few minutes to stop and take a photo b/c it turned out freaking amazing... I wish I could describe how excited we were b/c we were both like kids, loving the reward of our random last minute adventure up the mountain!

 Hopped back in the car quickly (b/c we didn't have a lot of time...and b/c it was freaking FREEZING) and headed to the summit...

A.MAZ.ING. This, my friends, was my favorite moment of our entire trip... It was so unplanned and so breathtaking.. I am so glad we didn't miss this... The sun was perfect, the clouds were perfect, our timing was PERFECT (seriously, like 10 minutes to spare before sunset...)

Yes, that is a beach towel around me. B/c it was seriously about 40 degrees.

 We darted back to the car for some banana bread and to blast the car heater....

told ya we ate it like a burrito.. ;)

 Then, we hopped back out for some shots before the sun went down... These are very "Yeah, we're freezing...and no, we don't care" :) People were pointing at us and remarking "ohmygosh he's in shorts...ane she's in her swimsuit!" We ignored them. haha... :)

 Don't believe me on how cold it was? Check out everyone else's attire... hahaha!!

We don't need no stinkin jackets... hmph! :)

Check out what 10,000 feet will do to a water bottle..ha!

Someone (Cough-Jackie) may have gotten a tinge car sick on the way down.. I have NEVER gotten car sick, people...never. I made it...and so did all the contents of my stomach. :) That guy I Maui-ed with was super sweet and went and got us Pita Pit while I laid down for a few....Pita Pit cured me and all was right with the world... :) 

And there you have it, my favorite day in Maui (a thirteen hour day in total)....and my favorite experience of that day on the crater. It wasn't like Eric and I sat there and embraced, drinking in the romance of the sunset on top of the crater...I mean in retrospect, I guess it was romantic... *shrugs* But at the time, we were too cold for all of that..haha...The best part was just having such a freaking amazing experience together, and being able to see he was having the SAME giddy reaction to it as I was, running back to the car freezing our asses off, laughing hysterically as people pointed at us in our shorts... Truly the best day of our trip and I wouldn't change any of it...not even if it means I'd get to have a sweatshirt instead of a beach towel...haha!

Next vacation post will be our last full day in Maui....*sigh*