double list

it's a new year, which means new years resolutions... yadda yadda yadda

so here are some of my goals for 2012.

in no particular order

{run a half marathon}

{read my scriptures and pray daily}

{lose 15 pounds}

{new blog design}

{travel to a foreign country}

{save money}

{get a 4.0}

{take more pictures}

{develop a talent}

{read more, facebook less}

{don't be afraid to try new things}

i feel like these are some pretty decent goals.

hooray for a new year.

oh and ps. i've had another change in my life plan.

after much deliberation, pro/con list-making, and prayers i've decided to stay in utah.

last week it reached crunch time and i really had to make my decision.

i just felt like hawaii maybe wasn't exactly where i needed to be at this point in my life,

and then everything worked out just perfectly for me to stay in utah.

so utah: here i am. let's have some fun times. and make some money.

and hawaii: i miss your warmth, sunlight, and beautiful beaches already. 

you were a fantastic adventure to have. thanks for the good memories.

and speaking of lists.

i've made a list of adventures i didn't get to have while in hawaii.

so dear future husband: we are going to do the following when we vacation to oahu.

{hike stairway to heaven}

{go sky-diving in haleiwa}

{swim with the sharks}

{jump waimea rock}

{adventure to the bunkers}

{crouching lion hike}

{chinaman's hat}

{paddle boarding}

before i holla out there is one more thing i must address.

some people crazy crack smokers think that i stayed in utah to get married.

it's a little hard to get married when you're not actually dating anybody.

so no. i am not planning on getting married anytime soon.

thank you very much. :)

holla.

maunawili falls

so on saturday i did a semi-terrible thing.

i called in sick to work so i could go play... oops.

don't tell my mom.

but it was SO worth it.

plus you only live once.

and going on exciting night hikes to waterfalls while living in hawaii as a college student is totally something worth missing work for and maybe it makes it okay to lie to your boss a little bit and this is a terrible run-on sentence.

our hike was definitely an adventure.

first. there were about 35 people who showed up for said hike, and only 4 cars.

you do the math.

but living in hawaii has made us all master smooshers, 

so we just smooshed and squished our little guts out.

second. for some reason all but three people decided that flashlights are stooopid. 

once again, you do the math.

it sure made things exciting to not be able to see where your next step was going to be.

third. it's been pretty rainy here on the beautiful island of oahu.

so the trail was super super muddy.

i was fine with my trusty chacos thanks guys, 

but other people were barefoot or in flip-flops, which probably wasn't the best idea ever.

fourth. because of the above mentioned things, the complainers really came out of the woodworks.

people were whining all over the place, and i secretly wanted to punch them a little bit.

but i had a fantastic time. it was definitely a memorable event.

i spent a lot of the time hiking by lonesome, but i didn't mind it one bit.

it allowed for some deep, contemplative thoughts/conversations with myself. 

and the final destination was super pretty.

and jumping off waterfalls in the night is thrilling!

anyways. enough chit chat. here are some pictures.

trying to capture the muddiness of our feet 

every good hike is followed by a late night denny's run

well i'm sleepy now. curse you 7:30 french class.

holla.

hawaii kai weekend

i have some friends who's parents live on the other side of the island.

so this past weekend we had a nice little weekend getaway and went and stayed at their house.

first off. i seriously almost had tears in my eyes when we first walked into their house.

because it was a HOME. a real home. with real furniture and real parents.

and they were so welcoming. and their house was beautiful.

and it was just fantastic.

it made me miss my family. like a whole lot.

which in turn made me super super excited to go home for christmas! 

wahoo. just over a month left!

second. it was fun to go to new places and see new sights.

and i may have found a favorite place on the island. 

so folks. here are some lovelies that were snapped during our little hawaii kai getaway.

and i really need to do a better job of taking pictures here.

it's just a bit sketch with all the sand and ocean everywhere. i get worried.

enjoy.

linds, christina, and zach

we just had a quick lil' photoshoot.

linds, myself, christina, tay

isn't hawaii the prettiest? i sure do like it.

the turquoise water and the sunset were just perfect.

you know what? life really is beautiful.

ps. feel free to follow... i'm sick of that little number over there! :)

holla.

surf sesh

so tonight i went surfing for the first time! wahoo!

and it was seriously a RIOT.

okay, so i didn't actual stand up ever.

and i may or may not have fallen off my board a couple times, just while i was paddling. oops

but i did ride on my knees for a second.

and my arms are already super sore. 

so that's basically like getting up, right?

plus it was almost dark by the time we get there.

but that almost made it more fun. 

it was a great little adventure for sure!

and so we're gonna try again either tomorrow or saturday.

and i am PUMPED.

this will be me in no time.

hawaii is such a great place to live. 

i really love it.

quick little update

so i'm being super unoriginal and stealing this idea from every other blog in the world.
here's an update of life as of late according to my phone.

absolutely beautiful sunset view from my balcony
a yucky cow head on the beach... what the junk?
only at byu-hawaii. plus it's the story of my life lately. no men allowed.
curse this predicament.
after emerging from the ocean with a few speared octopus'/octopi? this guy told us that
"it was just another day at the office."

 my polynesian cultural center id. wahoo for jobs.
bike garage. i really do love biking all over the place. 
it takes me back to my childhood.
puffer fish on the beach. i don't know what's with all of the dead animals.
i promise that hawaii isn't just a dead animal junkyard.
lost pig sign. you gotta love hawaii.

first time wearing earrings since february. such an ecstatic moment.
yay for getting my ripped earlobe sewn back together.
best package ever. thank you thank you mom.
favorite snacks on the beach = one happy girl.
flattering mumu's are the best. 
yes, this picture was taken in the bathroom. so sue me.

and i think that's pretty much it for now.
i live a pretty grand life.


holla.


ps. i just discovered a new enjoyable blog, full of lots of pretty things.
check it out.

trip to town and party at pounders.

so first of all, this weekend was full of fun and great times!

jenni, mckell, and i decided we wanted to have a car aka freedom for a few hours on friday.

so we rented a car and took it into town aka waikiki and honolulu 

we were able to go to target and have a yummy dinner at islands.

afterwards we were gonna head back, 

because we were supposed to have the car back in laie by 10:30,

where we live, about an hour drive from town

but then we decided to stick it to the man or the car rental company and hit up waikiki.

so we basically sprinted all through the town to make it to forever 21 before heading back.

it was a great little gno, even though i spent far too much money. oops

strollin waikiki

then on saturday, after beaching it for a few hours,

mckell and i decided we wanted to head to haliewa say hall-e-eva for a few hours.

so we hitched a ride on over and just strolled the cute little shops 

and watched a beautiful sunset on the beach.

following which, we ate the most delicious thai food.

romantic right?

we are having far too many woman dates these days.

total gooby tourists

delicious panang curry. 

and then monday night was one of my favorite nights thus far on the island.

after hitting up fhe, some of us decided to go night swimming.

so naturally we went to a beach called pounders.

where the waves are known to pound many a soul into sandy oblivion. 

hence the name.

it was SO much fun though. 

it was definitely a memorable experience.

just swimming in the ocean and the HUGE waves was so crazy cool.

and i didn't even care when i had sand in all sorts of places afterwards. 

due to our sand fight + huge waves

legit pyramid

we sure did struggle with this concept

theme: awkward

oh. and if the past few days haven't been fantastic enough, i also got a job!

finally. praise the heavens. for reals though.

i am going to be a waitress for one of the buffets at the pcc. 

and i am SO incredibly grateful that i was finally able to get a job.

sorry that i always have the longest posts in life.

oh well.

holla.


ps. feel free to follow my blog. i will not be sad if you do so.

oh frabjous day! callooh! callay!

my title may or may not come from the jabberwocky poem.

i had to memorize it in eight grade, and bits of it pop into my head at random moments in time.

anyways. today has just been a fantastic day.

here's why.

#1 i had the chance to get to know a super cool guy much better today.

 crush? most def.

plus it's always fun to make sweet new friends.

#2 this is where i get to go once i'm done with classes for the day.

if this isn't the best way. ever. to unwind, i don't know what is.

#3 i was able to go to the temple tonight with my ward.

and it was exactly what i needed.

plus i love my bishop. 

he gives big hugs and little cheek kisses to everyone in the ward.

i love the polynesian culture.

#4 i got to skype with the gang in e-town.

ephraim, utah. obvi.

seriously. this made me SO incredibly happy.

i love these people so much.

and the hour that we skyped completely made my week.

first glimpse. once they figured out how to work skype.

ha. i love you guys.

and that's all for tonight.

because i should probably get started on my homework.

hip hip hooray!

holla.

hawaii adventure update

i just realized that i haven't even had an adventure update since my mom left a few weeks ago.

so here we go folks! 

pictures included.

mckell and i at hukilau beach

just being jungle ladies

beautiful hike

first day of church

strawberry guavas

ps. thanks for letting me steal of your pictures mckell!

can you believe that i've hardly taken any pictures since i've been here?

i usually haul my camera all over the world, but i've been a slacker lately.

most of these pictures are from the pcc hike we went on last week.

it was absolutely beautiful!

everything is beautiful here. it is just so green and lush and just great.

i love that i finish with my classes (which are all absolutely fascinating, i love having my generals taken care of) for the day and i go to the beach.

what a life.

i love that my hair is always in a lovely nubbin on my head.

i do not love that i still look a homeless child at all times.

oh. and i've been doing pretty good at the goals i made.

i have been running every day (except friday and saturday.)

plus we go on hikes.

and i either walk or ride my bike all over the place.

well not my bike as of late. curse you flat tire.

it feels great to be so active. 

hopefully i'm getting in shape.

i think that's all for now.

i really love it here. seriously, i'm going to stay here for as long as possible.

people are super friendly here.

and i love the sound. smell. sight. of the ocean.

holla.

ps. feel free to follow le blog.