Spring Break in Kauai

I love my husband.  Really.  He is one of the few persons who enjoys vacations more than I do.  On our honeymoon we came to Hawaii for the first time and visited 3 islands.  We also made a promise to each other that we would continue to come to Hawaii at least every five years during our marriage.  We will be married 21 years in August and this is our 6th trip.  We are indeed blest.

This time we are in Kauai, the Garden Island.  While it probably hasn't made much news in the mainland, Kauai has been hammered for the last week with rain.  Lots and lots of rain.  In fact, in the last four days this side of the island (in the Poipu area) has had 14 inches of rain (more than twice the amount Phoenix gets in two good years).  The Princeville side of the island has had about 36 inches of rain - in FOUR DAYS.  That's some serious rain, even for a tropical island - a small tropical island.  The bride to Hanalei is out, there have been some landslides and on Monday night when we arrived there was a fierce thunderstorm that bent palm trees and put us to bed abruptly at 9:00 p.m. when the electricity went out.

But this is Hawaii.  Even bad weather is exotic and "ain't no big thing brotha"  Here's the view this morning in paradise:

Kauai and I are reconciling.  The only other time we were here was 9 years ago.  This is the greenest place I have ever seen and very quiet compared to the other islands, but at that time I was 2 months pregnant with my daughter and SOO SICK.  Needless to say, my memories were lying on a couch in the condo and heaving over the side of the tour boat.

Somehow I think this time will be better.  We celebrate my daughter's 9th birthday tomorrow.

Aloha from Kauai.

cindy

Thinking Day

Girl Scout Thinking Day.  It's a day when girls around the world focus on an issue of global importance and think about ways they can make a difference.  This year was global sustainability, or environmental stewardship.

The girls in our troop made cards from recycled materials (paper, tin foil, fabrics, felt and yarn).  The purpose of the cards was to inform their parents of ways they could create better sustainability in their families and communities.

With "The Lorax" being such a popular movie for kids (and adults), it's likely your kids will be thinking about how to keep the world unpolluted (sustainable) for future generations.  As Girls Scouts, we thought of some very practical ways to help (reduce/reuse/recycle).  These also make adults very happy because they are money savers!

• Turn off water while you wash hands or brush teeth.
• Take showers, not baths (baths use a lot of water) and make those showers shorter.
• Don't wash your car in the driveway.  Car washes actually recycle the water so they use far less.
• Install low flow toliets, dishwashers, front loading washing machines and instant hot water devices.  Each saves a lot of water.  You may also be surprised to find your community or utility gives you a rebate for installing these items.
• Run washing machines and dishwaters only when they are full.  We also encouraged the girls to think about whether they need to wash every item of clothing they touch :)
• Drive less.  Plan trips so you can go several places at once.  Take the bus (I LOVE doing this for part of my commute).
• Don't use leaf blowers!  These things are horrible for air quality, especially when used on dirt, or hard surfaces (driveways, patios & sidewalks)
• Recycle - paper, glass plastic and anything else your community takes.  Please make sure materials are free from food or other debris or they get trashed.  
• Upcycling has been a trendy option for sustainability.  Reuse clothes by handing them down or donating.  Also, if you sew or craft, consider cutting clothing for fabric scraps and felting on wool items. (I'm dying to try this!)
• Turn off the lights! Unplug appliances (TV, DVR, DVD, computer & printer) when you leave for a day or more.
• Don't use plastic water bottles!  They are expensive and a huge burden on landfills (that much plastic doesn't get recycled)

After our Brownie meeting I heard back from several parents that their girls were full of great information.  They were also genuinely interested in sustaining our environment.  Let's hope they do.

cindy

Scrapbook Sunday - Superstar

I haven't done a Scrapbook Sunday for a while, mostly because I'm too tired on a Sunday night to put it together.  I swear sometime I'm going to get the pictures done during the day so I have better light.  Oh well, on with the Superstar.

This is a page I did for my guy when he was about 2 (my little dude will be 11 in April).  I like doing pages like this - a single subject without an event.  Sometimes these little opportunities come along.  Christian just found some sunglasses and beads and he just did his thing.

The page was pretty simple because I wanted to keep the focus on the subject and not a bunch of fancy stuff.  I used some paper letters and glued each one on the page.

I love mats.  I have a hard time doing a layout without them, mostly because I cut my pictures in squares or rectangles.  These mats were plain blue on green (to match the background paper).

I also used brads to attach the pictures (can you tell I also like brads?)

Sorry for the fuzzy pictures.  I miss those chubby cheeks and how serious he was about everything.  I had (have) the cutest boy!

cindy