On my way home from a quick jaunt to the store, I noticed that the sun was about to set. It had been so hazy and voggy here the last few days but today was clear with just enough haze to make the sky look like it was glowing. This was a quick snap with my camera in the few moments before the sun disappeared behind the mountain as I stood at the boat harbor at Maunalua Bay in Hawai'i Kai. It's moments like these that I feel so fortunate to live in such a beautiful place, especially during this time of year.
Hope all of you are having a great weekend. I am working on new posts now. In the mean time, here's an "HDR" picture that I took with my iPhone and processed with the Camera+ app. Pretty cool.
Sorry I haven't written in a few days. My friend's mom died unexpectedly yesterday at the age of 51. She had nothing wrong with her that she knew, only a cold. She fell down and died. They're having an autopsy done but it's so sad and tragic that I've been a mess and haven't felt right about blogging my shallow and random thoughts right now. I have to take a few days.
Life is so short, you can die at any second. No one knows when the Lord will come for you. I pray that Jesus comfort her family and all those going through similar situations. If you love someone, tell them. If someone you love isn't on good terms with you, let it go and make it right. You don't want to have them die without the opportunity to resolve any problems or tell them you love them. Life is so short.
Rest in peace Suzanne. I know you're in heaven.
Life is so short, you can die at any second. No one knows when the Lord will come for you. I pray that Jesus comfort her family and all those going through similar situations. If you love someone, tell them. If someone you love isn't on good terms with you, let it go and make it right. You don't want to have them die without the opportunity to resolve any problems or tell them you love them. Life is so short.
Rest in peace Suzanne. I know you're in heaven.
I was spending the day with my mom after a long, hard week back at work. She treated me and Alaka'i to a late lunch at Neiman Marcus Mariposa restaurant. Thanks mom!
I ordered the Laksa Seafood Curry which was delicious and tasty. The dish was full of salmon, clams, shrimp, onions, bell peppers, eggplant and a few more treats and had a light curry flavored sauce. It was not as thick of a curry, actually more of a soupy consistency which I liked because it was light and delicious without being heavy like curry sometimes is. It came with a plate of about a scoop and a half or white rice. Everything was delicious and cooked to perfection. I thoroughly enjoyed it.
After this delicious meal I had an illy cappuccino with just the right amount of foam and my mom and I shared a rich and decadent four layer chocolate cake with ice cream and cherry syrup on the side. I only had a few bites because it was so rich yet utterly delicious.
Alaka'i had spaghetti and an ice cream sundae which I didn't have the chance to snap a shot of with my iPhone because he ate it up before I could take a picture. When my boy's hungry, there's no stopping him to take a snap shot. He wants to eat!!
It was a nice break from the hectic work week I've had. I know Alaka'i enjoyed his lunch and treat after having a long few days back at school. (Yay for winter break being over!!)
I don't really shop at Neiman Marcus except for makeup and perfume but it's such a pretty store. I have always loved the long strings of gilded butterflies (fake ones of course), strung from the 3rd floor ceiling and dangling down to the 1st floor. Very pretty and delicate. I like how they seem to sparkle and catch the light. I think they're actually made up of feathers pinned together and spray painted gold. Gorgeous nonetheless.
When Alaka'i was really small we'd come in here once in awhile and he liked to blow the butterflies as we went up the escalator in the store. When they moved, he used to think they were flying. So cute. Even today, I caught a glimpse of him blowing them with that same wonder in his eye. He's so precious to me.
Happy Friday everyone! I hope you all have a lovely weekend.
All pictures taken with iPhone 4S and Camera+ app.
All pictures taken with iPhone 4S and Camera+ app.
In an otherwise hectic and crazy day for me, I managed to take a minute to take pictures of pretty plumerias blooming on a street nearby. It was a nice break from the wild and insanely busy work day and multitasking that has become a regular occurrence in my life as a single mom.
I spent the first day of 2012 with my son doing fun things that he enjoys since he goes back to school very soon. We went to Dave and Busters, watched an amazing movie called We Bought a Zoo (which I really liked) and drove around taking pictures of random things as we drove.
All the pictures were taken by my son with my Panasonic Lumix camera as I drove through Waikiki during sunset and down by Kahala mall's empty parking lot as the day turned to night. The pictures are quite lovely!! I didn't have my camera with me because I didn't want to carry that bulk around with me to the movies and to Dave and Busters but I'm enjoying the pictures Alaka'i took.
We Bought a Zoo was a funny and heart warming movie. I knew it was bound to be one of those tugs at your heart strings kinds of movies but I wasn't very excited to see it, to be honest. Once I sat down and watched the movie, adults and children alike were laughing and feeling the emotions that the actors did an excellent job at portraying. I highly suggest you see it!!
What have you done so far in 2012? Have you started any of your resolutions yet?
I know it's 2 days late but I've been really busy with my son and squeezing as much fun out of these last few days of his winter break as possible.
It's illegal to pop fireworks in Hawai'i now unless you have a permit which only allows for those little lame poppers you throw on the ground. Because of the large mix of Asians in Hawaii culture, fireworks are kind of a big deal during New Years celebrations. My son loved lighting sparklers and small fountains that shined beautiful light and colors when you lit them on fire. It was never legal to have huge aerial fireworks but just the same, the government kind of killed the fun and excitement of New Years and future 4th of Julys for my son and so many other children like him.
That is why we journeyed to Waikiki and braved the huge crowds of people so he could see some fireworks. It's really lovely and magical to watch a light show in the sky as the new year rings in. There were only a few places doing it and we thought that because it's Waikiki, this show would be the greatest. It was pretty but very much lacking, in my opinion. It wasn't as good as previous shows I've seen there and it went by in about 5 minutes and it was done. Next year I think I'm going to go to Ko Olina on the other side of the island because they had an amazing show.
Despite my disappointment, I managed to get a few pretty shots of the fireworks as they lit the night sky. Thankfully I was fully prepared with my camera all set and ready to shoot. I enjoyed the modest firework show in Waikiki, especially the color of the black ocean at night reflecting the sparkling lights from the fireworks above. All of the displays were lit from a barge out in the sea so it looked like the fireworks were jumping out from the ocean which was pretty neat.
I feel so lucky to see such beautiful things in my life. There are people who don't ever get that opportunity. My son was using my small Panasonic point and shoot and got some pretty good shots considering it was handheld by a 10 year old. He is really proud of them so I thought I'd share. Here are his shots. The last is one he did after he realized he could make shapes by moving the camera as he took the shot.
What are your New Years resolutions? I usually have a hard time keeping mine so I made them simple for this year. Spend more quality time with my son/be a better mom, be a better Christian, be more forgiving and kind and get healthy in 2012. All of these are doable if I refuse to give up on them. That's my goal and my mission for this new year.
Share with me your resolutions or goals for this coming year. Do you have any that are really difficult to achieve?
Happy 2012 everyone!!